Wandering Adventure Party

Improving my #Italian and learning how previous generations fought #facism in one go! How could I resist?

#antifascism

(comment on La resistenza lunga. Storia dell'antifascismo 1919-1945)

This work contains player-facing options for Tian Xia, the "Asian"-themed continent of Pathfinder's Golarion setting. A huge part of the book discusses different ancestries. Some are variant takes on existing ancestries, such as kobolds, goblins, leshies, and so forth. Others are new to this volume. The kitsune were to be expected. Tanuki are a bit more obscure, although still fairly recognizable. But the more obscure ones stand out - my favorites are tsukumogami poppets, old items whose spirits have awakened to sentience.

Another major chapter is on archetypes, many of which are tied to local arts and crafts. In such cases, their section have copious notes on these crafts, which will help the players and GMs to understand their cultural significance. However, a word of caution - there are some archetypes which can drastically shift the tone of a game. The most blatant of these is the Starlit Sentinel - yes, now you too can play a Magical Girl/Boy right out of anime in Pathfinder 2E. GMs should be ready to either enforce archetype rarity classifications, or face the consequences.

All in all, this book whetted my appetite for its companion piece, the Tian Xia World Guide.

I bought this book as a result of an Internet Argument where one of the posters claimed that the medieval European guilds were in their own way just as horrible as the large multinational companies of the present #LateStageCapitalism (though on a smaller scale) - and they cited this book as a reference.

If nothing else, this book should give me some useful context for my own #folklore research.

(comment on European Guilds)

"L'Alber, o ALBERER, è un enorme uccello di fuoco che porta sventura a chi lo vede."

— Dario Spada: Gnomi, fate, folletti e altri esseri fatati in Italia, p. 14

I find the "Alber" to be a very interesting creature indeed. It is a "bird of fire" whose approach is heralded by a disturbing whistle, and then everyone has to flee inside their houses and bar doors and windows so that they don't perceive it and suffer misfortune as a result. That description would make me inclined to identify it as a #WildHunt -type phenomena, perhaps similar to the Australian Wildg'fahr.

But what also makes me curious is its name. Is "Alber" derived from "albero", Italian for "tree" or "mast"? If so, perhaps this is no "bird" after all, but a flaming pole - which would make it kin to the "flaming pole"-type apparitions from German folklore as well.

#Italiano #folklore

"Una delle loro occupazioni principali è quella di succhiare da un orecchio il sangue ai neonati che rapiscono dalle culle per nasconderli nei tronchi delle querce."

— Dario Spada: Gnomi, fate, folletti e altri esseri fatati in Italia, p. 13

And with the very first encyclopedia entry, we already have child-stilling "little people" - the "Abitatrici Dei Campi" ("Inhabitants of the Fields", if I've gotten this right). Although unlike their German counterparts, they do not replace the stolen children with changelings, and I am not sure if this is better or worse. #Italiano #folklore #kidnapping