May Entry: Tanaka's Challenge

[Redrobes]

Cool, I don't think your entry looses anything from it. In terms of getting a place, I think the fact that we have super prizes on offer and only 4 entries might have something to do with this entry being a somewhat high barrier to assail...

[Gamerprinter]

True enough. Even if I can take one of the prizes: 1st, 2nd or 3rd, I can't win all three of them, so two are other's are going to get prizes too. One shouldn't worry so much, as there will be three winners here - which is more than usual.

GP

[Gamerprinter]

One last bump for this entry before voting starts at end of month. 14 maps measuring 24" x 36" at 100 ppi JPG files, created in 4 days, for use as a 1st level adventure chase run through a medieval Japanese castle town for Kaidan and the CWBP.

Bump, bump, bump!

GP

[DerWille]

Excellent job on the maps Gamerprinter, the amount of detail is amazing. I especially like the last beach tile. I love how the water looks. Makes me want to go swimming there.

Since it's a commercial product you're working on, I just had a few concerns about some of the naming. When I first saw the name, I thought the world was called, "Staircase". However, I looked it up and another meaning is "Ghost Stories". Since the daimyo is a vampire, is this product suppose to be a medieval horror setting? Or, is it just this one place.

My other big concern is the daimyo's name. Izo Tanaka seems a little strange for a daimyo. Tanaka is sort of like the Smith of Japan. If I were to use an equivalent name, it would be something like Nebechanezzer Smith. Literally what Tanaka means is, "In the rice field". It was a common last name used by peasants who made their living growing rice.

Lastly, from what I could tell, "Muto" isn't a word in Japanese, well, at least my dictionary. The closest I could find is, "Mutou" which means "sugarless". There is probably something I missing however.

I'm not trying to talk down to you or anything. It's just that I noticed this and wanted to know if this was intended. If it was, well, ignore almost everything I said. The map is still great looking.

[Gamerprinter]

Well it is a feudal Japan-like setting, called Kaidan (which means ghost or horror story).

Now, Lord Tanaka is an invention of 12Rounds, as he created it for the CWBP, Cooperative World Building Project, I think he picked the name as it sounded Japanese - but nothing name wise is cut in stone except for the setting.

So Lord Tanaka could always change. One thing, though Kaidan is a setting involving an endless cycle of reincarnations (there is no ressurrection in this setting as fas as D&D goes.) Lord Tanaka (probably needs a name change...) was not always of the Noble Caste. Rather he was born into a Ninja clan, and in four lifetimes elevated his soul to the Noble Caste. He is one of the few noble Daimyo of Kaidan, who has done so.

I'm sure I'll come up with something different. The name, Muto, I borrowed from a book, and that could always change too.

Good catch on the names, though. I am half-Japanese, but not as fluent as I'd like to be, so I'm glad you pointed that out.

Thanks for the comments on the map too!

GP