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My favourite Malkavian was a ST character. Extreme paranoid anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder. He'd have been terrible as a PC as he spent most of his time ensuring his home was perfectly mundane, but he also ran a network of spies for advance warning of when 'they' would come for him, so he wound up knowing quite a lot of things. Getting information was always difficult because he insisted on total normalcy in his home - no violence, no supernatural powers, no open talk, eating the dinner he cooked for the dinner party excuse (and only one of us had Eat Food) - and would react with extreme violence himself if something threatened his 'cover'. It was never made clear how he fed, but probably by inviting people over and drugging them or eating pizza guys. He of course lived in the suburbs.
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Jul 7, 2016 06:08
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Ferrinus posted:The best Malkavians are the ones my gaming group made up: https://the-act-of-hubris.obsidianportal.com/wikis/malkavia-and-lucidity This Malkavian homebrew seems pretty rad, like if synesthetic oracle Sherlock Holmes took a dive into the collective unconscious. Do you have any good anecdotes or examples of how it's worked out in play?
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Jul 7, 2016 06:16
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Foolster41 posted:Yeah, that's also kind of what I was thinking is the court jester type, who's the only one who has the guts to mock people in power. i was doing some research a little on shakespear's jester's too (Touchstone from "As you Like It" and the Fool from "King Lear") It is really hard to play this sort of character without having strong support by a powerful social figure in your domain or the world at-large. Being a strong wit and thinking on your feet is critical. Malk insight or being given plotballs from your LST from visions is a great way to play every side, but how much fun you have and create will depend on who you are playing with even more than your basic uptight thriftstore suit vampire.
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Jul 7, 2016 17:10
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Foolster41 posted:Yeah, that was one thing about playing a malk I wasn't sure about. The derangements specificly wasn't a reason I chose malk for that character, but more in general Malks seemed the most trickster-like. Honestly, maybe another clan would work too, or work better. I think I chose Malk mainly because of the Sophistry merit looked neat. If you just want to play a Trickster, the Ravnos are probably your clan. That's basically their whole schtick. Ferrinus posted:The best Malkavians are the ones my gaming group made up: https://the-act-of-hubris.obsidianportal.com/wikis/malkavia-and-lucidity This is correct. I loved the Malkavian NPC I made in the Methuselahs game I ran, where he was a Lucidity Malkavian from that page. He was the Unaligned Sheriff of a deeply divided domain who used his lucidity to get to the bottom of matters and tried always get to the truth - doing otherwise would have gotten him killed, as his neutrality was basically the only thing he had going for him. The Lucidity meant that it was always relatively easy for him to actually work out what was going on, but actually communicating it was near-impossible. Furthermore, people don't want to talk to you, because they can be driven mad just by trying to work out what you're saying. The party were a bunch of thousand year old plus methuselahs who were royally pissed off that one of their friends had been murdered in this domain and had descended on it like the fist of god to right the wrong. This never loving happens in Requiem, so basically nobody cottoned on that this was what was happening - apart from the Sheriff, whose Lucidity had given him the complete picture of what was going on. His desperate attempts to communicate the gravity of the situation to the court and to tell the party what they wanted to know in a way they could understand so that they would loving leave already were some of the most fun scenes I had in that game. For those who haven't clicked the link, Lucidity Malkavians have something akin to associative synesthesia where they just start uncontrollably free-associating creepily correct information from small cues. This is extremely disorienting and anxiety inducing for them - exacerbated by the fact that if they actually try and explain their findings to people without Malkavia, it comes out as a stream of free-associated gibberish that's barely comprehensible. One of the party did temporarily catch Malkavia at one point, as he cottoned on that the Sheriff actually knew something of value and made the effort to understand him. Successfully passing the roll to understand a Malkavian's ramblings risks giving you temporary Malkavia. A two and a half milennia old Roman Ventrue who had Status 6 (Prima Invicta) can be quite dangerous if he's suffering from Malkavia.
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Jul 7, 2016 23:46
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The trick with Ravnos is to take something more interesting than "Stealing" as a vice. Like "Cheating at Games" or "Cons".
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Jul 8, 2016 00:17
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MonsieurChoc posted:The trick with Ravnos is to take something more interesting than "Stealing" as a vice. Like "Cheating at Games" or "Cons". The Trick with Ravnos is not to play Ravnos.
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Jul 8, 2016 00:34
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Senior Scarybagels posted:The Trick with Ravnos is not to play Ravnos. 
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Jul 8, 2016 00:55
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Emy posted:This Malkavian homebrew seems pretty rad, like if synesthetic oracle Sherlock Holmes took a dive into the collective unconscious. Do you have any good anecdotes or examples of how it's worked out in play? Its maiden voyage was actually a surprise. The player of a Mekhet PC in a road trip game wanted some kind of weird hook or power or something, so the ST and I cooked up Malkavia and Lucidity in secret, and then inflicted Malkavia on the Mekhet first. Like, the ST didn't even name it, he just pasted the basic rules for Malkavia but replaced "Malkavia" with "[PCName's Problem]" so for a few sessions the Mekhet would just roll too well on Perception or Auspex or whatever and get all confused and jumpy for one or more scenes. Eventually by meeting and comparing notes with various NPCs she put the pieces together, awakened her Malkavian bloodline fully, and started buying Lucidity. She didn't use Lens that much, but Prism does a LOT of work (too much...?) and there was a memorable scene in which she hit the commander of a TF:V unit with Lantern and completely destroyed his ability to actually issue intelligible orders to his team.
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Jul 8, 2016 15:36
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Doodmons posted:The Malkavian that's my pipe-dream character I'd love to play in a LARP eventually is a regular, got-it-together guy who just happens to know that the ST is there. Somebody gets murdered and they send for the Malkavian to see if the famed Malkavian perceptiveness can make any headway. You walk into the room, look at the dead body, then look over at the ST and go "So who killed him?" I had a Malkavian character like this back when I played V:tM, though just in regular tabletop, not in a LARP or anything. I had it worked out with my group that my derangement was that I had no out of character voice. I could say what my character was doing in any given scene but anything else I said was in character. If the GM needed to pass me a private note or private message my in game character literally pulled a notecard out of his back pocket that said what the GM gave me. My GM took time before the game to write up extra notes (and also slipped me a couple of blank cards) for me filled with inane poo poo like 'Look at the player across from you and chuckle maniacally'. So that if people decided to steal my notes they'd see a lot of nonsense. My group also liked to smack talk and go wildly off tangent. At one point the other players got in a discussion about how everyone in KISS was wearing animal makeup. I wind up asking "What about the star guy?" to which someone said "Starfish, yo". I being a mouthy teenager of course quickly and loudly retort 'gently caress your starfish'. The guy my character was shadowing was not really impressed with my profanity laced outburst from someone he up until that point didn't know was there. Time for a footchase instead of following a guy to his hideout. DeathSandwich fucked around with this message at 03:43 on Jul 10, 2016 |
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Jul 8, 2016 21:48
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Senior Scarybagels posted:The Trick with Ravnos is not to play Ravnos. I hate to say this but it's true. The clan does better as the scruffy survivors presented in the Anarch guide or the Sabbat, or as the karmic warriors they were trying to go for with the revised clan book. But it does best when it's a pile of ashes.
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Jul 8, 2016 22:12
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So somehow, my Ventrue martial artist, with 2 dots in each Social Attribute, zero dots in Empathy and I think maybe a dot or two in Etiquette (don't have the character sheet in front of me) has somehow been elected Harpy in the tabletop game I'm playing in.  I'm not super-great with the politiking aspects of Vampire, wat do
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Jul 11, 2016 01:37
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FrostyPox posted:So somehow, my Ventrue martial artist, with 2 dots in each Social Attribute, zero dots in Empathy and I think maybe a dot or two in Etiquette (don't have the character sheet in front of me) has somehow been elected Harpy in the tabletop game I'm playing in. 
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Jul 11, 2016 01:53
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Ensure proper behavior via kung fu dueling.
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Jul 11, 2016 01:58
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FrostyPox posted:So somehow, my Ventrue martial artist, with 2 dots in each Social Attribute, zero dots in Empathy and I think maybe a dot or two in Etiquette (don't have the character sheet in front of me) has somehow been elected Harpy in the tabletop game I'm playing in. As far as my very bad understanding of the office of harpy goes, their most relevant role where your character is concerned is as a sort of fashion police to keep the local Kindred in touch enough with living culture to pass and avoid trouble. In other words, this scans to me as the Carthian Republic of Vampires arriving at the democratic consensus that they want the fashion police to get Tough On Crime. Go find the most Victorian looking fucker you can and tell them they have one week to master Weird Twitter and adjust to life without ruffles before you burn down their house and remove their legs.
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Jul 11, 2016 02:10
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Yeah, enforce modern clothing rules. Anachronisms are potential Masquerade breach. Then organize a kung fu tournament.
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Jul 11, 2016 02:26
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MonsieurChoc posted:Yeah, enforce modern clothing rules. Anachronisms are potential Masquerade breach. "There's a vampire... [That look is] carbon dated. Only someone living underground for 10 years would think that's the look"
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Jul 11, 2016 02:36
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Lea also gave an explanation once about how Harpies are the bank, as in, Kindred run on a favors economy and it's the Harpy's job to keep track of who's actually able to keep their promises and live up to the local standard of behavior.
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Jul 11, 2016 02:46
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The primary job of the Harpy is to act as an advisor to the Prince with regards to who is who and how important they are. (EDIT)And also keep trak of who is an rear end in a top hat who doesn't keep their promises. In larger cities this can be pretty crucial since the Prince rarely has the time or inclination to show up at every social event to keep track of who is winning the personal arms race that is vampire politics. Not every Harpy is a petty snot, but it helps. See the great thing about insulting people is it instantly tells you how important or hot tempered someone is compared to you. If you insult somebody all day and they don't do poo poo it means that they see you as more powerful than them. If they immediately reciprocate, that tells you something else. The smoothest way to diffuse a Harpy's insults is to cleverly throw it back at them, which is why a lot of Harpies and their courtiers are viewed as antagonistic assholes. The Harpy gets to test (and keep track of) who thinks they are above the Prince's law. People who play ball are potentially still dangerous but they aren't dangerous outsiders, which is another thing a good Harpy keeps track of. A bad Harpy goes too far and actively makes enemies against the Prince's best interest. There are of course, other ways to keep track of this kind of thing. The stereotype of the mean spirited and cruel fashionista persists because it's fun to play but there are other avenues. Playing a Harpy like some kind of inquisitor might be fun, constantly questioning people about their motives and alliances to sniff for treachery. Being a genuine nice person can also work, setting yourself up as some kind of sacred cow that all the best members of court adore so that no one would dare speak against you is another. Just remember that the stereotype exists as a means, not an end. There are more creative ways to keep track of vampire status and power.
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Jul 11, 2016 02:55
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Mendrian posted:There are more creative ways to keep track of vampire status and power. Like holding a martial arts tournament.
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Jul 11, 2016 03:26
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MonsieurChoc posted:Yeah, enforce modern clothing rules. Anachronisms are potential Masquerade breach. I brought this up once OOC and was told that since human beings sometimes dress in old timey clothes and carry swords it's no big deal if vampires do it. ...gently caress, I hate the MES more and more.
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Jul 11, 2016 03:46
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Pope Guilty posted:I brought this up once OOC and was told that since human beings sometimes dress in old timey clothes and carry swords it's no big deal if vampires do it. ...when does this happen outside of LARPs and Renn faires? is the conceit that vampires are claiming to be vampire larpers
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Jul 11, 2016 03:47
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Pope Guilty posted:I brought this up once OOC and was told that since human beings sometimes dress in old timey clothes and carry swords it's no big deal if vampires do it. If you're the Harpy, you get to make that call. Or at least ridicule these buffoons as much as possible.
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Jul 11, 2016 04:00
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Mendrian posted:See the great thing about insulting people is it instantly tells you how important or hot tempered someone is compared to you. If you insult somebody all day and they don't do poo poo it means that they see you as more powerful than them. Or it means you are so far beneath their consideration they look right through you. A dog barks at me, I don't fly into apoplectic rage. It's a dog, barking is what half of them do. Thing tries to bite me now, and it's going to find out how profoundly far down the food chain it really is.
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Jul 11, 2016 04:10
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Boogaleeboo posted:Or it means you are so far beneath their consideration they look right through you. A dog barks at me, I don't fly into apoplectic rage. It's a dog, barking is what half of them do. Thing tries to bite me now, and it's going to find out how profoundly far down the food chain it really is. Or they're just good at grinning and bearing it while quietly grinding their axe and waiting for you to slip up for even a moment. Vampire politics played to the hilt are brutal, is what we're saying.
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Jul 11, 2016 04:13
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ZiegeDame posted:Like holding a martial arts tournament. The tourney is split into three parts: a 1v1 tournament, a team tournament where teammates are selected "randomly", and the freeform kata session to show off the innate beauty of the art.
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Jul 11, 2016 04:59
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Kung Fu Harpy punishes social missteps with swift throat punches and spinkicks to the abdomen. Wore the wrong colour tie to the Prince's shindig, since the Prince is so old he adheres to Roman sumptuary law regarding colour? You better believe that's a spinkickin'.
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Jul 11, 2016 05:38
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Boogaleeboo posted:Or it means you are so far beneath their consideration they look right through you. A dog barks at me, I don't fly into apoplectic rage. It's a dog, barking is what half of them do. Thing tries to bite me now, and it's going to find out how profoundly far down the food chain it really is. Right, quite possibly, but a Harpy isn't just an rear end in a top hat, he's the Prince's rear end in a top hat. A good Harpy doesn't just call everybody 'bitch' and hope for the best; you cater your poo poo to the people you're talking to. If a Harpy is conversing with someone near the Prince's equal, you'd better believe that's someone that the Harpy is going to be very careful with. See, being a good Harpy is all about ensuring that you (and thus the administration) is in good with everybody who matters. You offer powerful people certain considerations and the right to a powerful appearance, they offer support. Usually Vampires at the player character level are the ones the Harpy tends to make fun of, and generally if a typical PC-level character tries to play the whole 'you're beneath my notice' game with the Harpy that can lead to hilarious (and of course fun!) results.
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Jul 11, 2016 07:11
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Pope Guilty posted:I brought this up once OOC and was told that since human beings sometimes dress in old timey clothes and carry swords it's no big deal if vampires do it. The SF game has a gangrel elder who shows up in a chain hauberk with an axe. Only IC sadly, OOC he's wearing jeans and a wifebeater. When my smarmy anarch neonate commented on beo-wolf over there, someone tried to argue it was San Francisco and people pretty much wear whatever. But no, Mr. elder apologist, even in San Francisco there are not a lot of dudes running around on Muni looking like they got kicked out of the furry remake of Lord of the Rings. I mean, if it was Folsom weekend and it was an assless hauberk, maybe. The rest of the year, not so much. I can only imagine the reactions in the less deranged parts of the country.
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Jul 11, 2016 20:43
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If you just don't give a poo poo about being subtle and hiding the gently caress are you playing Cam/Anarch for anyway?
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Jul 12, 2016 03:21
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That brings up something I've been thinking, what is left for in a sabbat city like? Everything I've read up to revised was"take city, make it a shithole" but I'm unsure if that was Sabbat, worse then anarchy or sabbat, pseudo-Catholics interpretation of the group. Anyone have any pointers on ways to make a city feel like it's a Sabbat city?
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Jul 12, 2016 05:05
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The WoD is a lovely place in part because vampires have been steering human society for millennia and it's the world they want. Remember how in The Lost Boys every vertical surface in town is covered in missing person flyers? That's what the WoD is like, because that's the world vampires have shaped for themselves. Sabbat cities are worse than most, because while the Camarilla is interested in the world having at least the plausible deniability of a facade of order, the Sabbat tend to range from regarding the existence of vampires as something humans aren't entitled to know about (and basically skipping even the rudimentary steps of Masquerade enforcement and going directly to killing the witnesses) to straight up enjoying that people know there's something awful out there waiting for them. So there's nobody shutting up the media about the crime rate, because the Sabbat don't care if anybody notices that things shouldn't be as bad as they are. Nobody's reining in the rambunctious, violent neonates, because the Sabbat don't care that the murder rate is high or that young vampires aren't learning to maintain their Humanity or anything like that. Meanwhile (informed or otherwise) hunter/vigilante activity is probably utterly rampant because of none of that stuff getting smoothed over and covered up, raising the level of violence all the further. And all the miscellaneous weird poo poo that crawls the night? The stuff the average Camarilla Prince probably wants cacked because it's weird and attention-getting and might attract eyes in places where the Kindred are hiding, or threaten the herd and reduce the amount of sweet, delicious human blood still contained within human bodies? The Sabbat, again, gives no fucks unless said things are after vampires or violate one of their weird systems of morality, so not only is the "vampires don't exist" aspect of the Masquerade getting shot to hell, the secondary "the supernatural isn't real" element is falling by the wayside, too.
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Jul 12, 2016 06:37
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I dare someone to run a Requiem game with this article's conclusions in force: http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/heres-how-long-it-would-take-for-vampires-to-annihilate-humanity
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Jul 12, 2016 18:43
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A lot of those papers seem to assume contagious spread of vampirism real frequently, though.
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Jul 12, 2016 18:53
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Mors Rattus posted:A lot of those papers seem to assume contagious spread of vampirism real frequently, though. The assumption of most of the papers is that humans fed upon inevitably then rise as vampires, or at least die. It's not an accurate model for the WoD, though it does help illustrate why draugr and their wake of revenants are so dangerous.
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Jul 12, 2016 19:20
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MonsieurChoc posted:Yeah, enforce modern clothing rules. Anachronisms are potential Masquerade breach. California Uber alles!
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Jul 12, 2016 20:53
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Thinking about it a little more, the Harpy actually serves an even more important and basic function. If the Sheriff exists as the hard edge of the Prince's justice, the Harpy is the soft reminder of its existence. A Sheriff punishes you for breaking the rules, a Harpy tries to prevent you (via social pressures) to avoid breaking the rules in the first place.
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Jul 13, 2016 00:39
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Mendrian posted:Thinking about it a little more, the Harpy actually serves an even more important and basic function. If the Sheriff exists as the hard edge of the Prince's justice, the Harpy is the soft reminder of its existence. A Sheriff punishes you for breaking the rules, a Harpy tries to prevent you (via social pressures) to avoid breaking the rules in the first place. so Harpies are the Recess supervisors who keep the kids safe and the Sheriff is the over zealous vice principal who seek swift justice against those who dare go against the rules.
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Jul 13, 2016 00:44
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But how does Kung Fu Harpy fit? Is he the over-enthusiastic teen counsellor who got really into Japan in the 80s and keeps talking about zen bullshit to try and calm the little shits?
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Jul 13, 2016 01:31
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Loomer posted:But how does Kung Fu Harpy fit? Is he the over-enthusiastic teen counsellor who got really into Japan in the 80s and keeps talking about zen bullshit to try and calm the little shits? Nah Kung Fu Harpy is the over-enthusiastic h.s. teacher who runs the teen program at the methodist church and got into anime.
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Jul 13, 2016 01:46
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Senior Scarybagels posted:Nah Kung Fu Harpy is the over-enthusiastic h.s. teacher who runs the teen program at the methodist church and got into anime. ....So you had one of those too?
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Jul 13, 2016 02:04
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