Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 zombiegleemax Jun 07, 2004 17:06:01	Does anyone know if Rakasta were ever "officially" statted out to be a PC race like the other OD&D race classes for Mystara? Kind of related, since Bruce Heard developed the Rakasta as kind of an oriental-adventures style race, has anyone tried to introduce Rakasta Samurai or Ninjas (into OD&D) - I know, its a stretch, but you never know! :D
#2 Cthulhudrew Jun 07, 2004 17:27:16	Originally posted by crash_beedo Does anyone know if Rakasta were ever "officially" statted out to be a PC race like the other OD&D race classes for Mystara? In a couple of places actually. In several of Bruce Heard's "Princess Ark" articles, they were developed as an OD&D race. One of them had them following a racial progression like the orcs, etc. from Gaz10: Orcs of Thar (ie, starting at "young"- 1 HD, and progressing upwards). A later article (issue #181, IIRC) had them and lupins from the Savage Coast progressing from level one as a human character class (ie, fighter, wizard, thief, or cleric) as well as adding a host of "sensory abilities." They were then developed further in AD&D 2nd edition, and given some more abilities (like a hind leg rake attack). Another Dragon article by Bruce (#237, I think), added even more abilities as it developed them with different "sub-races". Kind of related, since Bruce Heard developed the Rakasta as kind of an oriental-adventures style race, has anyone tried to introduce Rakasta Samurai or Ninjas (into OD&D) - I know, its a stretch, but you never know! :D I don't know of anyone that has developed these, but I don't see why it couldn't be done. I'd imagine just variations on the fighter and thief classes (you could even use the Thug for a ninja, or combine that class with the thief). They could be in Ochalea, or even just exclusive to Patera/Myoshima. You might check out the Vaults of Pandius for some information. Specifically, the section on Martial Arts which features some articles on unarmed combat fighting styles (using the Weapon Mastery system) that were developed by various people, including one by me. (I actually had a ninjutsu one at one time, that I don't think I ever posted to the list, hence its lack of inclusion there. I don't know if I still have it or not...)
#3 havard Jun 08, 2004 5:27:57	Another writeup of the Rakasta could be found in the D&D Heroes miniatures box for the D&D Challenger series. Rakasta Ninjas and Samurai are not far fetched at all. Most would probably originate from Myoshima though, but they could still be found anywhere on Mystara. Other possible locations are Thunder Rift (also from Myoshima) and Ochaela, although Ochaelans tend to be a more peaceful lot and dont really have a Samurai society. If you use the AD&D version of the Savage Coast, the Rakasta there are identical to the Myoshimians, rather than having the British Elizabethan culture they originally were supposed to have. Håvard
#4 Cthulhudrew Jun 08, 2004 10:23:17	Originally posted by havard Another writeup of the Rakasta could be found in the D&D Heroes miniatures box for the D&D Challenger series. Come to think of it, isn't there a writeup of them in Rage of the Rakasta? (One of the TR products I don't own.)
#5 zombiegleemax Jun 08, 2004 11:32:27	Thanks for the heads up on the Rakasta. I actually found that Dragon#181 in my archives, and sure enough, Bruce has some stats for Rakasta PC's in there. Good deal. I also looked at the Vaults section on martial arts, very useful stuff making it conform to weapon mastery. I do think Rakasta Ninjas could be like Thugs; are there any 'archetypical' capabilities that a Samurai-variant fighter would have over a standard fighter? (I figure there would be the weaponry, and new weapon mastery tables for Katana, Wakizashi, and maybe some of the Ninja weapons) - I don't recall what they had as a class. Also - I don't have Rage of the Rakasta - are those Thunder Rift supplements very good? Worth tracking down?
#6 Cthulhudrew Jun 08, 2004 12:05:05	Originally posted by crash_beedo I also looked at the Vaults section on martial arts, very useful stuff making it conform to weapon mastery. After the Cyclopedia did the Weapon Mastery thing with Wrestling and Unarmed Strikes, I figured it was the logical next step (and evidently others did, too, judging by the other articles). Makes for some interesting variants. In addition to the Aikido one I have there, and the Ninjutsu one I had, I also had a Savate one (from settlers from New Averoigne). I always thought it would be interesting to play with the system even more and come up with some weapon/unarmed system combos- such as Malaysian knife-fighting and such. I do think Rakasta Ninjas could be like Thugs; are there any 'archetypical' capabilities that a Samurai-variant fighter would have over a standard fighter? (I figure there would be the weaponry, and new weapon mastery tables for Katana, Wakizashi, and maybe some of the Ninja weapons) - I don't recall what they had as a class As far as class abilities, I can't think of anything offhand. Maybe some ki abilities... and a sort of kiai shout/roar would actually be pretty perfect for a rakasta samurai, I'd think. Maybe something like the Knight (9th level fighter) ability to demand shelter from nobility. Come to think of it, you might just have the Samurai be a Name-Level option for Rakasta fighters- in the manner a Name-Level Fighter can choose Paladin, Avenger, or Knight. (The argument against that, of course, is that at a certain point in RW Japanese history, Samurai was a caste you were born into, and were raised as, and not something you became.) Come to think of it, rakasta samurais and ninjas (with their ability to recover from falls, etc.) would be a perfect match. I never really thought of how great a combo Bruce came up with when he "orientified" the rakasta. Also - I don't have Rage of the Rakasta - are those Thunder Rift supplements very good? Worth tracking down? They're pretty hit or miss, actually. The Thunder Rift campaign setting is pretty good, and can be easily modified or adapted. Quest for the Silver Sword is decent, and the best of the adventures I own. The others... eh. Sword and Shield and In the Phantom's Wake are probably the worst of the lot. The main trouble with those adventures is that they really were written/created for a very introductory game- players who never played before, or who were just learning to play. There isn't much "real" backstory to them, just a series of rooms with encounters to defeat, along with a single poster map and tokens. If you wanted to play them as is, you might not get that much enjoyment out of them. For "stealing" ideas or adapting, though, they're as useful as anything. Maybe more, because they aren't tied in too closely to any game world or backstory.
#7 heretic888 Jun 08, 2004 13:32:06	Depends on your personal definition of "samurai" and "ninja", really.
#8 havard Jun 09, 2004 8:24:34	One way to flesh out a Rakasta Ninja or Samurai for OD&D would be to model it after the RC Mystic class, combined with some of the racial abilities of the Rakasta. You should probably lose some of the abilities of each class to maintain game balance, or you'd have to increase the XP value quite a bit. The above should at least work well for Ninjas. Rakasta Samurais could just be plain Rakastas aswell. Or you could have Rakasta Samurai as a class option for Rakasta who reach 10th level, as a paralell to Paladin/Avenger/Knight. In fact I suppose the Samurai wouldn't be much different from a Knight. For 3e, there is already a Samurai Class in Complete Warrior. This should probably be considered a favored class for Myoshiman Rakasta. I think the Samurai would work well as a PrC too tho. I've seen a Ninja Class somewhere, possibly in Dragon too. Again, this might be a good PrC aswell... Håvard
#9 zombiegleemax Jun 09, 2004 11:57:59	Over on Dragonsfoot, some guys helped me track down a Samurai class for OD&D from like Dragon #3 - basically a fighter variant with improved criticals, unarmed combat, and access to special weaponry/armor. So I like the idea of making the Rakasta Samurai the equivalent of an OD&D Knight, Paladin, Avenger. Regular Rakasta Fighters from Myoshima would still use the Katana and Wakizashi, but wouldn't have access to the higher level options unless they became a Samurai. I'll keep the flavor of improved criticals and skill with unarmed combat and just balance them against what Paladins, Avengers and Druidic Knights get in Rules Cyclopedia OD&D. Otherwise there will just be some required skills - things like 'quick draw'. That should be enough flavor for the Rakasta fighters without me doing anything drastic like picking up 3.0 Oriental Adventures (since we're doing a basic game anyway). Thanks for the help guys!
#10 heretic888 Jun 10, 2004 11:08:33	I've seen a Ninja Class somewhere, possibly in Dragon too. Ahem. http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=188379 Best. Ninja. Class. Ever. (At least I like to think so. :D ) Enjoy.
#11 zombiegleemax Jun 10, 2004 12:19:07	And to think... I was just going to go over to 'real ultimate power' .net (http://www.realultimatepower.net) and get all my ninja ideas from over there - they'd all be able to fly, and flip out, and cut people's heads off. And they'd all be mammals. :D Thanks Heretic, I'll read through your class.
#12 heretic888 Jun 10, 2004 12:52:17	Thanks Heretic, I'll read through your class. No problemo. Please post any comments or suggestions you have on the appropriate thread. ;)