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Author Topic: Influences and references  (Read 14313 times)
Sunfire
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« on: October 12, 2015, 06:53:06 am »

I propose to collect all the game's influences and references here. It may be useful for any AoD wiki page. So, let's start.

"Adventure. Excitement. An assassin craves not these things." (Darista end dialogue)
This is a reference to the Master Yoda quote:
"Ready are you? What know you of ready? For eight hundred years have I trained Jedi. My own counsel will I keep on who is to be trained. A Jedi must have the deepest commitment, the most serious mind. This one a long time have I watched. All his life has he looked away… to the future, to the horizon. Never his mind on where he was. Hmm? What he was doing. Hmph. Adventure. Heh. Excitement. Heh. A Jedi craves not these things. You are reckless."

Black Dow (an unique axe)
This is a reference to The First Law fantasy series written by Joe Abercrombie:
Black Dow a sharp-tongued member of Logen's band who is famed for his ruthlessness. Later he becomes the King of the North. His favored weapon is an axe, with which he is a skilled fighter.

"Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and blessing." (Meru quotes in Al-Akia)
This is a reference to The Bible, Revelation 5:12:
The Lamb Exalted
[11]Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands, [12]saying with a loud voice, "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing."

"I offer myself to Thee – do with me as Thou wilt. Relieve me of the bondage of self, that I may better do Thy will. I give myself up to Thee. My body, my mind, my soul are thine. Do with me as Thou wilt, relieve me of the bondage of self, replace my will with thine." (Meru's prayer in Al-Akia's main chamber)
This is a reference to The Third Step Prayer which can be found on page 63 of the "Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous":
 "God, I offer myself to Thee - to build with me and to do with me as Thou wilt. Relieve me of the bondage of self, that I may better do Thy will. Take away my difficulties, that victory over them may bear witness to those I would help of Thy Power, Thy Love, and Thy Way of life. May I do Thy will always!"

Carpet Diem (Nasir's Carpet store in Maadoran)
This is a reference to a Latin aphorism, taken from the Roman poet Horace's Odes (23 BC):
"Carpe Diem." It usually translated as "seize the day", or "pluck the day [as it is ripe]" - i.e., enjoy the moment.
« Last Edit: October 13, 2015, 01:26:44 am by Sunfire » Logged
Vahha
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« Reply #1 on: October 12, 2015, 07:35:04 am »

Mack the Knife
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mack_the_Knife
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Sunfire
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« Reply #2 on: October 12, 2015, 08:59:18 am »

"Let us seek a prince who may rule over us, and judge us according to the Law." (Meru quotes in Al-Akia)
This is a reference to The Tale of Bygone Years or The Laurentian Text of Primary Chronicle (a history of Kievan Rus' from about 850 to 1110):
They said to themselves, "Let us seek a prince who may rule over us and judge us according to the Law." They accordingly went overseas to the Varangian Russes: these particular Varangians were known as Russes, just as some are called Swedes, and others Normans, English, and Gotlanders, for they were thus named. The Chuds, the Slavs, the Krivichians, and the Ves' then said to the people of Rus', "Our land is great and rich, but there is no order in it. Come to rule and reign over us."

"I’ve learned that the void is anything but empty. The darkness hides it well, but nothing can stay hidden forever. There are those who dwell in the void and I’ve taken it upon myself to watch them." (Abukar explains why he observes stars and the void between them)
Lovecraft-inspired. Those who dwell in the Void and all that.

Heavy armor of the elite Legio XIII Ferrata, meaning Ironclad. (Imperial Armor description)
Vince liked how Ferrata sounded, so he picked it for authenticity. At the same time, 13 is a holy number (Fallout, Rome), but the actual name of the 13th legion (Legio XIII Gemina Pia Fidelis) sounds like a zodiac sign, so he mixed and matched.

It was said Nabupolassar, the great sage and prophet, was visited by the Divine in his humble mountain abode and commanded to answer Brother Meru's prayers for divine guidance and act as a conduit between House Crassus and the divine plane. (Grifter Petras takes this name when he comes to Ganezzar)
This is a reference to Nabopolassar:
He was a king of Babylonia and a central figure in the fall of the Assyrian Empire.
« Last Edit: October 12, 2015, 09:41:42 am by Sunfire » Logged
Lurker King
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« Reply #3 on: October 12, 2015, 01:50:37 pm »

Great thread!  Salute

A pillar of skulls (Planescape)

Attaching a new eye to your body (Planescape)

Power Armor (Fallout)

Funny dialogue about the tradition of killing rats (cRPG commonplace)

You will find others here: http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/index.php?threads/aod-news-main-thread.80241/page-7
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m-a
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« Reply #4 on: October 15, 2015, 01:45:53 pm »

"I'm gonna fuck you up" - AoD combat taunt.
Fallout combat taunt.
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Onasaki
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« Reply #5 on: November 07, 2015, 01:42:18 pm »

So, one thing I've noticed a lot-a-lot., is the number of references from the Musical, Oliver! I want to know if I'm crazy, or if this is actually true. 'Cause I did a rendition of Oliver! for my theater group some years ago, and I played Fagin. It just amuses me.
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Onasaki
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« Reply #6 on: November 07, 2015, 05:28:43 pm »

Achievement "Good Morrow to you, Magistrate" - Fagin's Reviewing the Situation, Oliver!

Persuasion 5 or 6: "You've learned to make friends and influence people" - Fagin's Reviewing the Situation, Oliver!
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donbaloo
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« Reply #7 on: November 07, 2015, 08:34:44 pm »

Crashing the Airship leads to a brief conversation that I'm relatively certain is a reference to the beginning of Arcanum. Its been a long time so I may be wrong.  I don't have an exact quote but I'll try to come back and edit later.
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Sunfire
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« Reply #8 on: November 08, 2015, 10:55:01 am »

Greeting game's quote has taken from "The Black Company" by Glen Cook.
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Astrofaes
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« Reply #9 on: November 08, 2015, 02:43:26 pm »

As an avid reader of Lovecraft and a frequent Arkham Horror-player I really enjoyed the references to The Outer Gods and The Great Old Ones. The name of Agatoth is similar enough to the bane of our universe, Azathoth. Hassatur sounds a lot like The King in Yellow, Hastur.

Thematically it fits the harsh world of The Age of Decadence perfectly.
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Vahha
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« Reply #10 on: December 11, 2015, 02:01:53 pm »

Someone noted that some names and ideas were more or less copied from Joe Abercrombie, I haven't read him, so I cannot confirm or deny that.
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Vince
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« Reply #11 on: December 11, 2015, 02:16:12 pm »

Someone noted that some names and ideas were more or less copied from Joe Abercrombie, I haven't read him, so I cannot confirm or deny that.
The story and quests were already written by the time I've read the first book. The only reference and name is that Black Dow axe. I really like Abercrombie but I can't really think of anything that resembles the story or individual stories in the first 5 books.

The trilogy is about turning the stereotypes around - you have a Conanesque barbarian, a wise wizard, even wizard's tower in the capital, a young nobleman who's destined to be king, but they are unlike anything you've read. It seems that Joe was sick of generic fantasy and he changed the script completely just to fuck with the expectations and make fun of the stereotypes.

While we made fun of the stereotypes here and there, we have neither the cast of characters similar in any way to Abercrombie's nor the stories, factions, or overall setup.
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Vahha
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« Reply #12 on: December 11, 2015, 02:39:04 pm »

 Approve  Salute
He also mentioned The First of the Magi, and generally he might be referring to some points about lore, I've no idea.

PS: also, any writing boils down to a creative synthesis of some elements from various sources, and besides there are always some archetypal basic components common for so many different books, from fantasy fiction to ancient myths, from Shakespeare plays to holy scriptures.
« Last Edit: December 11, 2015, 02:47:04 pm by Vahhabyte » Logged

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Sarl
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« Reply #13 on: December 11, 2015, 02:46:59 pm »

Lore 8: You've learned much: from steamworks to magick obscura.
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Vince
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« Reply #14 on: December 11, 2015, 03:23:07 pm »

He also mentioned The First of the Magi...
Coincidence. I didn't want to use the words wizards or magicians. Magi was perfect. It has a Zoroastrian origins, which fits the setting perfectly, and means both magic users and wise men, which too fits the setting perfectly, making the player wonder if the magi knew magic or had knowledge others didn't. So once the word Magi was picked, the First was an easy choice as it's the only choice. What else is there? Chief Magus? Too Navy. Head Magus? Too school-like. Grand Magus? Too plain and smells of spellcasting. High Magus? Doesn't leave much room for anything else in terms of hierarchy.

Bayaz (Abercrombie's First of the Magi) is thousands years old, a wonderful example of a long-lived bastard who no longer cares about normal people because they will be dead in the blink of an eye anyway, so who cares if they die a bit sooner? He *is* a spellcaster who killed two godlike beings (his former masters). He constantly seeks power for selfish reasons but so far it didn't really blow in his face, which makes it very hard to draw any parallels with AoD's First of the Magi who was very much mortal and bit more than he could chew.
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Vahha
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« Reply #15 on: December 11, 2015, 05:08:47 pm »

Ok, I've passed your response to him, thanks.
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Vahha
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« Reply #16 on: December 12, 2015, 07:07:48 pm »

Kewl, an authentic meteor metal dagger (the bottom one) that belonged to King Tutankhamen, it was used for ceremonies
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UpsidesDownChuck
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« Reply #17 on: December 31, 2015, 04:44:51 am »

"Thought you'd be bigger"

Something the player (particularly combat oriented players) is often greeted with. Reference to Road House
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Thoth
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« Reply #18 on: January 28, 2016, 03:21:44 am »

The story of Enarion strikingly resembles Porcupine, the stalker's mentor from '79 Stalker movie by Tarkovski. When I first heard Enarion story from the trinket merchant, it made me shiver with anticipation!
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Vahha
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« Reply #19 on: January 30, 2016, 04:30:26 am »

Roger Zelazny, "Damnation Valley", there was a crucified skeleton by the Dayton Abyss, hidden in yellow fog.
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Vahha
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« Reply #20 on: January 03, 2017, 05:25:41 pm »

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AbounI
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« Reply #21 on: January 08, 2017, 07:43:16 am »

Construct helmet


Secutor gladiator
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Falcon
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« Reply #22 on: January 11, 2017, 08:39:30 pm »

Surprised no one's noticed this, but maybe not many went all the way in the Maadoran Arena.

The last guy is Yazid and the Arena Master tells you he ran away from home to join Jellal's Lions.

That's a shout out to Sgt. (later Lt.) Jellal in Heinlein's Starship Troopers.
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Vince
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« Reply #23 on: January 11, 2017, 08:46:57 pm »

That's a shout out to Sgt. (later Lt.) Jellal in Heinlein's Starship Troopers.
Salute

Darista also mentions them when she tells her story.
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AbounI
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« Reply #24 on: January 12, 2017, 04:32:01 pm »

"Come on, you ape! You wanna live forever?" (phrases)
Also from Starship Trooper too, no?

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Falcon
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« Reply #25 on: January 13, 2017, 08:47:03 pm »

Had an itch about that name it wasn't right. Yep, checked with the book and it's "Jelal". But hey, close enough.

Now am wondering if House Aurelian is a ref to Marcus Aurelius, "last of the five good Roman Emps". Gaelius seems like the only good one of the three, so it kinda fits.
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« Reply #26 on: January 13, 2017, 10:36:02 pm »

Now am wondering if House Aurelian is a ref to Marcus Aurelius, "last of the five good Roman Emps". Gaelius seems like the only good one of the three, so it kinda fits.

He just seems more competent/pragmatic/ruthless than the other Lords.
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Falcon
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« Reply #27 on: January 15, 2017, 08:35:22 pm »

Well, Daratan wants WMD, and Meru is a nutcase, so who's left?

Meanwhile, back at the map, I finally noticed that Inferiae is laid out like the Eye of Horus.
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Falcon
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« Reply #28 on: January 18, 2017, 08:42:16 pm »

Well, just to keep things alive here, the Commercium symbol is the astrological sign for Mercury.
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Vahha
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« Reply #29 on: January 19, 2017, 04:36:02 am »

! No longer available
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Goldseeker
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« Reply #30 on: January 19, 2017, 06:18:22 am »

Senna in Aurelian praetor questline gives you a letter that absolves you of all sins with exactly the same wording as in the letter that Cardinal Richelieu gave to Milady de Winter in The Three Musketeers by Dumas
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Falcon
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« Reply #31 on: January 25, 2017, 05:17:08 pm »

Been quiet here lately.

Anyway, finish as Daratan Praetor, in the ending text, you get sent to this island with glowing ruins that just came up from the sea. Yeah, can you say R'lyeh? Sure you can.

And there's that storyteller in the Ordu camp. Mentions that the Ordu fought a Tngri:  "Ynghaanshungge, he was called, and Yuan-Shagga, and Shuun-ae the Shining-Serpent".

Seems a little too close to Yog-Sothoth for comfort. . .
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dab
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« Reply #32 on: January 29, 2017, 03:07:36 pm »

Not sure if it's actual influence or just coincidence - but https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_helmet concept is actually (in a way) scientifically possible
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Objulen
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« Reply #33 on: February 05, 2017, 12:19:37 pm »

(click to show/hide)

...you say something along the lines of, "Your reign is over, and not short it enough it was."

Which is what Yoda says to Palpatine before they battle in Revenge of the Sith.

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