Rafael wrote::didn't get that joke with the dragon:
I'm not positive, but I took it as a joke about the unpopularity of psionics. If you ask some people about the role of psionicists in their games, they'll respond that they are dipped in steak sauce and offered to dragons.
DeepShadow wrote:
I'm not positive, but I took it as a joke about the unpopularity of psionics. If you ask some people about the role of psionicists in their games, they'll respond that they are dipped in steak sauce and offered to dragons.
Of course, with Anders it may be the dragon who ends up on the barbecue.
Rafael wrote::didn't get that joke with the dragon:
I'm not positive, but I took it as a joke about the unpopularity of psionics. If you ask some people about the role of psionicists in their games, they'll respond that they are dipped in steak sauce and offered to dragons.
Something like that, Fuzzball?
Thanks.
Actually, I never inserted them into my campaigns, because, well, the psionic system was never introduced to me, and I happily skipped the page in the core books - of whatever edition.
As I just stated on the "Umberlee's Belly" thread, the PC's are amassing more and more information, so I might as well make it available to the players. Let's start with the Saragossan lexicon.
Saragossan slang has evolved over time to hide secrets from translation magic. For example, when Angus demonstrated this principle before Cortez, he said, 'Geenan gornan, scut me if'n I swagged you Hob's flot?' Cortez's magical translation heard this as, 'Good evening, good morning, sink me if'n I swaggered you Hobson's flotsam?' when the meaning was closer to, 'Count me yours, but could I have overestimated your food stores?'
The key here is that this is slang; the meaning changes depending upon the context. If a word becomes too rigidly defined, it ceases to be slang and translation magic will discern the true meaning of it. Thus, you need to keep in mind that the following definitions are very loose guidelines. Compare the translations above with the words used below and you'll see how these tend to get stretched.
Belly--Saragoss
Binny or Binny-bait--bottom rung of crew hierarchy, used to pay "dues;" from "binnacle," the infirmiry of a ship, based on the fact that most crews offer their sick first.
Booty--loot given by Sahuagin in exchange for additional offerings of "sport." As opposed to "duty," which are for protection from the nightwalkers.
Breaker--the crewman in charge of hazing. Usually the first mate or equivalent.
Bulk--cargo stowed on a hulk for safekeeping
(Cat) Kisses--lashes with a cat-o-nine tails, usually to remove a curse.
(Dragon) Wrath--powerful storms that sink ships
Dog--someone trying to join a crew, called so because they are usually forced to act like dogs as part of a hazing ritual.
Dragon's duty--a clever coup, usually to the detriment of another.
Duty--the obligatory offering of crewmembers to the sahuagin.
Et--food
Flot--valuable goods. From "flotsam."
Hob--unfortunate person; often refers to anyone in Saragoss. Derived from "Hobson's choice," a euphemism for no choice at all.
Hobblers--those who take advantage of others' misfortune
Hulk--uncrewed ship
Nickel--cheap trade goods
Nickel-Dog--prostitute, also used to denote someone at the mercy of another.
Nicky--favorite lover OR scheming enchantress.
Nightwalkers--mysterious creatures that come out at night and sink ships; the sahuagin "duty" is paid for protection from them
Reef--a person with such bad luck that they needn't care about changing it; a blind spot against the unseen forces of Saragoss.
Rot--enemy crews
(Sea) Devils--sahuagin
Scud (Scudders, Scudding)--basic derogatory term. From "scuttle" (to sink).
Show(n) the binny--to offer someone to the sahuagin, or to be offered
Slimerakes--birds with a high fat content that make them useful as candles when dried OR merchant-spies who travel from ship to ship
Swag--putting on a show of force for visitors, from "swagger"
Complex Slang
Geenan/Gornan--these have acquired a multitude of meanings beyond the literal corruptions of "good evening" and "good morning." They are usually used together, and depending upon context and order they might connote anything from a simple exclamation to a surrender to a declaration of war. Generally speaking, "Geenan gornan" is a submissive statement, figuratively implying that the speaker has "spent the night" with someone and become his "nickel-dog." On the other hand, "gornan geenan" is a common exclamation of wonder or surprise, but depending upon context can also mean that the speaker is sincere (or rather, that he's trying to appear sincere). These statements are so common and so easily confused by newcomers that they are commonly given additional meanings by hand-signals and posture so as to conceal the true meaning of a conversation.
Superstitions
Don't speak well of your home, or the spirits of the dead will become jealous. Likewise, don't pray to or even speak of any other power, lest you offend Umberlee and she not spit you out when you go to leave. The only way to undo either of these is for the offending person to suffer, so that the spirits will not be jealous of him.
Saragossan Sayings
"Umberlee's Belly, this, and her hobs the lot of us!"
"Hobs or hobblers, et or eaten, that's the whole of the law."
"Don't swim in the desert, hob."
"Don't spill hope!"
"Better at the table than on it" OR "Better on the table than at it"
Vermin-ward
(Abjuration)
Range: 0
Duration: 1 week/level
Area of Effect: 100 square feet/level
Components: V,S,M
Casting Time: 1 turn
Save: None
The vermin-ward prevents vermin such as spiders, wasps, mosquitoes, flies, mice, rats, small snakes, and other small pests from entering the warded area. Mages often use this spell to protect grain silos and cargo holds. The mage must trace the perimeter of the warded area with a slurry of noxious chemicals that costs 1 gp per 10 linear feet. The spell consumes the material component.
Vermin-ward
Abjuration
Level: Brd1, Clr0, Sor/Wiz0, Pal1
Range: Touch
Duration: 1 week/level
Area of Effect: 1 10'x10' square/level (S)
Components: V,S,M
Casting Time: 10 minutes
Save: None
The vermin-ward prevents vermin such as spiders, wasps, mosquitoes, flies, mice, rats, small snakes, and other small pests from entering the warded area. Creatures larger than diminuative size--including monstrous vermin--or with Intelligence greater than 1 are unaffected, as are vermin that are part of a magical swarm. Affected creatures will not enter the warded area willingly and will do everything they can to flee if forced to enter. Mages often use this spell to protect grain silos and cargo holds. The mage must trace the perimeter of the warded area with a slurry of noxious chemicals that costs 1 gp per 10 linear feet.
This spell could drastically reduce the disease vectors aboard Cortez's ships, if you could find a supply of the material component.
From Wikipedia:
Psi denotes the unknown factor in parapsychology, usually referring to psychic or psionic powers, but in the later part of the 20th century found along the following line of thought:
"The term psi denotes anomalous processes of information or energy transfer, processes such as telepathy or other forms of extrasensory perception that are currently unexplained in terms of known physical or biological mechanisms. The term is purely descriptive: It neither implies that such anomalous phenomena are paranormal nor connotes anything about their underlying mechanisms."
--Daryl J. Bem and Charles Honorton*
Check out the d20 psionic rules on d20srd.org. Though if you can get access to the Expanded Psionics Handbook it might be even better, as the SRD leaves out all the flavor and evocative pictures...
Though I think that if you have never heard about Psionics before it might be a bit much to take over Anders. It would be like playing an wizard for the first time - and at epic levels - with no idea of how the spellsystem works.
Last edited by The Giamarga on Sat Sep 30, 2006 5:04 am, edited 3 times in total.
Ah, I see. No, I've picked up a lot over the years, though. As a teenager I picked up quite a bit of rhyming slang from the "Three Investigators" novels, and that's expoanded over the years. I had a whole college class in nonverbal communication, and the teacher and I discussed how slang is technically a nonverbal communication even though it's vocal.
That class came just before I started this game, so I had already developed the concept of using slang as a way around translation magic. It was something of a dirty trick, I knew, so that's why I codified the slang so I wouldn't be tempted to go farther than the rules allowed. After all, if someone said they were an "Eskimo," translation magic wouldn't interpret that as "eater of raw flesh" even though that's what Eskimo literally means, because the word has long since acquired a clearer denotation.
EDIT: After looking into things, I think I'd prefer the original book by McMullan, upon which Gygax's seems to be based.
So, Ciera suggested that Invictus watch over them in the lifeboat, but did anyone actually say anything else about it? I guess this is more a question for Cortez than anyone else. If Invictus was ordered to watch over them, then he'll stay right where he is. If it was only the suggestion, then the earlier order/suggestion to keep a lookout for trouble would take precedence and he'd go try to listen in.
Fuzzball wrote:So, Ciera suggested that Invictus watch over them in the lifeboat, but did anyone actually say anything else about it? I guess this is more a question for Cortez than anyone else. If Invictus was ordered to watch over them, then he'll stay right where he is. If it was only the suggestion, then the earlier order/suggestion to keep a lookout for trouble would take precedence and he'd go try to listen in.
Thanks. 
