shindeimas
Mongoose
Will Mongoose translate RuneQuest in French ?
RuneQuest in French?
- Thread starter shindeimas
- Start date
We won't ourselves, but it is very likely someone else will pick up the torch for this.
Matt, while you're at it:
What about some other languages like German? I've been interested in what titles of Mongoose have been published (or have been licensed) to german publishers. So far I have only tracked down Truant Verlag with some books of the Quintessential Series. Are there more?
Regards, Nico
What about some other languages like German? I've been interested in what titles of Mongoose have been published (or have been licensed) to german publishers. So far I have only tracked down Truant Verlag with some books of the Quintessential Series. Are there more?
Regards, Nico
There are not a huge amount of German translations, no.
msprange said:
Sadly there a not many RQ fans in german speaking countries at the moment.
Maybe this comes from the fact that german roleplayers prefer more the german games like
"Das schwarze Auge"
or
"Midgard". (which has not that good rules, but one of the best fantasy world settings ever IMO)
One idea could be to have MRQ translated by "Pegasus Press" which has proved its abilities with a great Call of Cthulhu translation. (better even than chaosiums original)
I'd say that apart from DSA (Das Schwarze Auge - The Black Eye) little to no german RPG is that successful on the german market. (Pegasus Press' translation of the Lord Of The Ring game by Decipher died even before the english one, and that was quite early on
I'd still think that a german version of a strong setting like Mongoose's Babylon 5 or a decent Trek game would have some followers and could work out...
I'd still think that a german version of a strong setting like Mongoose's Babylon 5 or a decent Trek game would have some followers and could work out...
Enpeze said:
Sounds like a good idea, but I think the way these things work the person who wants to produce a translation has to approach the company that publish the book and sublicence it, so you're far batter off making noise on the Pegasus boards for them to ask Mongoose if they can make a RQ translation, than the other way around.
(at least, I *think* thats how RPG translations usually work
)
The King
Cosmic Mongoose
Something is puzzling me: why do you need books in other languages if you already know English?
Moreover, you should know that most often product lines are by far not always fully translated (i.e. how many books of the Hero Wars game were translated into German?)
The RGP "Das Schwarze Auge" also has stunning and clever adventures, far better than the usual and typical ones we found in other games.
FYI, Chaosium is now copying the Pegasus Layout for CoC and I don't find it that good because there is many dark motives which don't fit well to B/W printings.
Moreover, you should know that most often product lines are by far not always fully translated (i.e. how many books of the Hero Wars game were translated into German?)
Enpeze said:
The RGP "Das Schwarze Auge" also has stunning and clever adventures, far better than the usual and typical ones we found in other games.
FYI, Chaosium is now copying the Pegasus Layout for CoC and I don't find it that good because there is many dark motives which don't fit well to B/W printings.
The King said:
Oh come on, there is an easy answer to that one: Not all players are into english as much as I am. I have been reading english novels (mostly Trek) since I was in the 9th grade or so. I'm more the language type than science (physics or chemistry *phew*). So english books are no real problem for me. But I don't play RPGs all by myself but with people. And it is way easier to play a (complex) game in your native tongue. Seriously!
My girlfriend and my 12 year old nephew aren't that much into gaming in english as I'm, so we tend to play in german.
It is much more work to set up an evening of gaming as one has to translate everything from your setting, campaign or adventure that comes in english to german. That's a lot of work. It takes a lot of time, time I usualy don't have. So I game less or I don't use cool books that I own.
So it's much easier running games in my native language and you (as a company) could reach a much bigger audience. My nephew would never start a game that is only available in english (at least not until hes 15 or 16) but I could interest him into german D&D quite easily and will play Lord of the Rings with him, as I have all the translated german stuff as well as the english stuff, especialy as there are books that have never been transalted and most likely never will be. (Moria box for example.)
As per your other question: It's true that not all titles are being published, as the market isn't that strong and a lot of people get their books in the original language as they are cheaper (e.g. D&D stuff is usualy some 20 % more expensive than the original publication) so the market is limited. I give you that. But it's much easier to incorporate stuff from one or two sourcebooks that don't get translated and fit that info into your setting then to translate everything by yourself or play in a different language.
The King said:
That again is interesting. I don't know, but is there realy a translated version of DSA? Do you know/play it? I for my part have played the german version, but didn't like it that much, but my player group then sucked big time
The King
Cosmic Mongoose
That's true but considering the fact that noadays most people learn English either as a mother tongue or as a foreign language, it can be read by most people who wish to invest some time.
Of course it is always easier to read in one's own language but I don't believe most RPG books are really hard to understand (don't forget that most are written for 12 year old people, which implies some simple vocabulary and sentences).
In fact I believe a translation (or adaptation) of a game makes sense when there is an improvement in some way. For example, Pegasus did translate some CoC adventures but most of the material they published is adapted to German customers which makes a sense.
As to Das Schwarze Auge, there is a translation with the title "The dark Eye". It is essentially the same as the 4th edition boxed set under the form of a hardcover book. I think only one adventure book was published in English.
When I wrote that DSA adventures were clever, it's because the main purpose is not to pick up the treasure at the end or catch the greatest magical items. There is indeed very few magic items (even fewer that in Conan RPG) and there are always great and many interactions between PCs and NPCs which don't always result in fights.
Of course it is always easier to read in one's own language but I don't believe most RPG books are really hard to understand (don't forget that most are written for 12 year old people, which implies some simple vocabulary and sentences).
In fact I believe a translation (or adaptation) of a game makes sense when there is an improvement in some way. For example, Pegasus did translate some CoC adventures but most of the material they published is adapted to German customers which makes a sense.
As to Das Schwarze Auge, there is a translation with the title "The dark Eye". It is essentially the same as the 4th edition boxed set under the form of a hardcover book. I think only one adventure book was published in English.
When I wrote that DSA adventures were clever, it's because the main purpose is not to pick up the treasure at the end or catch the greatest magical items. There is indeed very few magic items (even fewer that in Conan RPG) and there are always great and many interactions between PCs and NPCs which don't always result in fights.
The King said:
Qucik, find me a 12 year old to tranlate my Shin Seiki Evangelion RPG for me from the Japanese. It was actually an accomplisment when I figured out Attack/Defense and Hit points on the data cards.
I'm a fan of the Bond game, and tired to translate some stuff over from the French edtion (it is one of those games where the foreign edtion has some improvements). It's not so easy. I do alright with thepictures and stat blocks, but other than that I can't make heads or tailsof the mssions. I think they are spy related.
I would not want to try to GM a game written in my second language. Sometimes it is hard enough to understand the rules when they are written in your primary tongue.
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