Forum

I was attracted to the Coriolis RPG by the following two phrases: "Arabian Nights" and "Serenity". 

I would appreciate some revelations on what is the Arabian Nights angle to this beautiful Role Playing Game. 

Seconded!
I'd love to hear how the Arabian Nights flavor is represented.

normaly dont write in english but this is an exception since to me, the coolest aspect of Coriolis is the Arabian Nights in space setting. This basicaly means that the middle-eastern hotpodge is the main culture that the setting draws from instead of the usual western(or maybe japanese) culture that sci-fi normaly assumes is the status quo. so basically the food, the music, the clothing, the myths and legends, is based in that region altough it also has its own thing with muliple gods and that its assumed that most people are belivers in those gods(in fact it was a flaw to be an atheist in the old swedish version) and at the same time has a pretty advanced technology. 

Hope this gives a taste of whats to come

I would like to add that for me, the specific notion of "arabian nights" is meant to invoke a Middle East before monotheistic religion and not so much the "fairytale" notion. I mean, it's the easiest way to make people think of the proper culture with its flavors, clothing, architecture etc but without thinking about all the bad things that would come to mind if you just said "it's a Middle East setting" (like religious strife, colonialism etc).

So, yes, in some ways it's Aladdin (mainly the "color" of the setting), but it's still much more gritty science fiction than fairytale fantasy - the focus isn't on princess-rescuing

I would like to add that for me, the specific notion of "arabian nights" is meant to invoke a Middle East before monotheistic religion and not so much the "fairytale" notion. I mean, it's the easiest way to make people think of the proper culture with its flavors, clothing, architecture etc but without thinking about all the bad things that would come to mind if you just said "it's a Middle East setting" (like religious strife, colonialism etc).

So, yes, in some ways it's Aladdin (mainly the "color" of the setting), but it's still much more gritty science fiction than fairytale fantasy - the focus isn't on princess-rescuing

Aladdin isn't strictly speaking part of the Arabian Nights ... and the original folk tale seems to be Chinese to boot ... but that's a common mistake.

Aladdin isn't strictly speaking part of the Arabian Nights ... and the original folk tale seems to be Chinese to boot ... but that's a common mistake.

Was referring to the well-known Disney movie, which is set in a setting similar to what I imagine most people are thinking of when they hear the Coriolis inspirations under discussion here. So in a way, you're right - Aladdin shouldn't strictly be what you should be thinking of when trying to understand Coriolis, but not for the reasons you're giving.

Was referring to the well-known Disney movie, which is set in a setting similar to what I imagine most people are thinking of when they hear the Coriolis inspirations under discussion here. So in a way, you're right - Aladdin shouldn't strictly be what you should be thinking of when trying to understand Coriolis, but not for the reasons you're giving.

Yes! No! Maybe. All right, the Disney movie has even less to do with the Arabian Nights than the Chinese story that was just plugged into the Arabian collection in the 18th century by a French guy.

But it's definitely true that most people rather think of those fairly late additions – Aladdin, or even Sinbad the Sailor – to embody what Arabian Nights really stands for. That includes modern retellings of those tales, including the Disney ones. And on that note, I'm going to dig out my Dreamworks Sinbad soundtrack. Maybe it could be used for Coriolis after all.

I was allured as well to the Kickstarter through the Arabian Nights hook. Aside from reading and re-reading translations of the Scheherazade's tales, while I was in University some years ago, a friend of mine was a Qatari girl who studied pre-Islamic Arabic & Persian poetry. Incredible literature. Rich and fertile imagination.
I'd never thought I be drawing on such material for a science fiction game, but...

Thank you all for the insights into the thematic elements of the Coriolis RPG setting. 
I too enjoy the stories narrated by "Scheherazade" in the classic version of "One Thousand and One Nights", which I believe is the proper name given to that collection of tales. 
Legends say her life was spared by the king day by as she promised him new stories every night.  :D

Well, she was more cunning than just that. She baited him with cliffhangers every night so he wouldn't chop off her head. Maybe the Coriolis GM will be in a comparable situation?

There was a great new translation from the original into German five years ago – the original, without the staplings-on from the 18th century, and I wonder whether I should just buy that in preparation for Coriolis. It doesn't come cheap though, oh no.