So I’m on a trip to Nipponland and I see one of those lotus ponds in the courtyard of a certain temple. It’s a really big one, just this eerie see of sun speckled green, broken intermittently by those alien looking lotus bulbs. I crouch beneath the leaf-line and look at the waters below, almost completely dark beneath the shadow of the white leaves except for those veins of light where it sneaks in between.
And I think: I want to play a game about tiny people (like, maybe the size of a thumb knuckle, maybe even less) who live on the water, in the shadow of lotus leaves, in the courtyard of a temple. They wear clothes made of leaves and maybe sail on little leaf boats. Fishing and gathering water plants for food.
What else can I add to such a setting? I think I’ll share it with my brother when I return home, he loves that shit.
I didn't notice my camera was upside down. You get the point, though.
Ethan Johnson
Depends on how small were talking but here are a few anything animal adaptations o the top of my head >Bullfrogs are Kaiju-level threats >Koi are used as vehicles and beasts of burden >Dragonflies are mounts for the skilled and daring
Blake Hernandez
Text to speech really mangled that post but you get the picture. Also forgot >Thanks to the dangers of fire, the tiny towns are lit at night by domesticated fireflies
Matthew Nguyen
This seems relevant (it's Ainu, not modern Japanese, but who gives a fuck)
Eli Lewis
>OP does drugs in Japan, channels spirits of ancient indigenous shamans and interprets resultant visions as Veeky Forums ideas
Josiah Ramirez
Are you sure to didn't arrive to Australia by mistake?
Lucas Sanchez
Further evidence OP is tripping balls.
Isaac Bennett
Is there a supernatural element? I think there's a lot that could be done with Japanese folklore in here.
Also, for cultures that practically existed on the water, look into some parts of Southeast Asia and something called "Marsh Arabs".
Are there dry parts Beneath the Lotus Leaves?
Wyatt Mitchell
Oh hey, I went there. Pretty cool town.
Luke Young
You mean Hokkaido? I don't think they have lotus ponds there, though. Isn't it way too cold?
Justin Foster
If they're that small, isn't fishing most kinds of pond fish for them more like whaling?
Imagine what they'll do with a catfish.
Eli Peterson
No. That statuette is from a town called Sakaiminato. A manga artist who did a long running series about Yokai lived there and the whole centre of town is dedicated to his characters with shops selling souvenirs related to it.
They've got 153 little brass statues of monsters just like that one in a trail all around town, and posters and banners of all these ghosts. Even the drain covers are Gege no Kitaro themed.
It's a cool place to spend a couple of hours if you're travelling through.
Ryan Brooks
In any case, Koropokoro would be perfect for user's suggested setting.
Hudson Fisher
...
Jack Nelson
Well, that's pretty comprehensive. Weird how both this guy and user had such similar ideas.
Gabriel King
There's got to be a thing where they collect lotus seeds that fall into the water and use them for sorcery.
