Has anyone done a Translation to German from the Basic Actions?
I tried it myself. What do you think?
Attune – einstimmen
Command – befehlen
Consort – gesellen
Finesse – überlisten
Hunt – jagen
Prowl – pirschen
Skirmish – prügeln
Study – studieren
Survey – untersuchen
Sway – beeinflussen
Tinker – basteln
Wreck – zerstören
Stefan Struck?
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I’ve got only a few differences:
Consort – verkehren
Wreck – zerschlagen
Tina Trillitzsch hmm..
I think “gesellen” fits better with consort. It has a more positive undertone.
I thought about “demolieren” for Wreck. But “zerschlagen”? I don’t know it can also be used for subtle Manipulation or blowing something up, in that context it does not really fit.
Yup, you’re probably right. My translation is from way back (v1). I haven’t checked for changed coverage of skills in v8 yet.
While some of those may be fine and literal translations you should look at what the actions actually do and try to find a good german word for that instead. Translating “Finesse” as “überlisten” just does not represent the intention of the action in question – in fact it misrepresents the action. “Überlisten” does not cover the physical aspect of “Finesse”, nor does “Zerschlagen” cover the use of explosives like “Wreck” does (“zerstören” could work in this case).
Unless you get paid by a german publisher, i’d not bother to find good names (and you know they will fuck that up too) and use the english versions.
If your players do not speak english at all, it is probably more helpful to find groups of words that cover the Blades-specific meaning to define what is part of “Finesse”, “Attune” or “Wreck” and what is not.
But, if that does not stop you: Work from the fiction to the name you’ll be using. “Zerstören” would be a good translation because it covers the all fiction used in the examples/ descriptions for “wreck” as well as being very close to the actual meaning.
Finesse or Consort will be more tricky, because of both ambiguous meaning and use (both in Blades and language as a whole). I listed my issue with “überlisten” already. Both “verkehren” and “gesellen” may be appropriate translations for “consort”, but they are awkward as fuck in actual use. “harmonieren” maybe? also very awkward. “verstehen” maybe? better, but needs more context.
I do not envy those who will get paid a pittance to translate this for the actual german version of the game, should there be one. And i hope they will do a good job, because if the actions have shitty names it reflects badly on the game.
Heiko Qd I think you have some points here and I know that some of these Actions simply cannot be translated properly you can get close but never catch the essence of what is meant. John Harper took very long to come up with the final Set of Words and it is hard to find fitting ones.
To my defense: Überlisten for finesse fits mostly. The Main thing it does not cover is handling vehicles. You can still fight by tricking someone, so there it fits.
This Word took me by far the longest to get a handle for. Leo translates the action finesse with “etw. mit Fingerspitzengefühl machen” and if it could be an adjective i would choose “gewandt”, maybe “behändig”? Even if no normal Person uses this anymore.
And I do translate because I am simply not sure most German players would instinctively get all those Words. They are not “normal” Words you would use all the time, even if you learned english and you would have to explain them each time. Thats why I searched for fitting german equivalents. To teach the System quickly and easily.
Vincent Shine yea, i can see your issue.
even native speakers have issues figuring out what some of the words mean. all the more credit to John for figuring out cool names.
If we break with the use of verbs we could indeed use “gewandt” or “geschickt”. And it would not break the fiction. It simply shifts the question from “what are you doing?” to “how are you doing it?”.
“Wie fährst du die Kutsche? geschickt/gewandt.”
“Wie bekämpfst du den Schurken? “geschickt”(finesse), “direkt” (skirmish), “rücksichtslos” (wreck)
Those last two are obviously bad examples for actually naming the action, mainly provided as contrast.
I prefer to use the english action (even in german games) to conserve the ambiguity of the original english words, like finesse or prowl etc.
Heiko Qd yeah. It would probably be the best Choice, simply to use “geschickt” or “gewandt” instead of forcing a German equivalent, which most likely does not exist.
Stefan Struck
how fast do your German Players “Get” what those Actions actually mean? It is pretty fast or do you have to explain it pretty often?
Vincent Shine My player got that really fast. We’re mainly a) old school player who grew up with english material because there were no german games or b) young folks who grow up with youtube/internet and good grades in english.
Remember: Fiction first, so if the player just describes what he/she wants to do, the name of the action is not that important.
I just had an idea:
What about generally using adverbs instead of infinitives?
It would emphasize that they are not skills, and also it’s easier to handle in german:
Attune – Magisch
Command – Herrisch
Consort – Gesellig
Finesse – Elegant
Hunt – Pierschend
Prowl – Gewand
Skirmish – Prügelnd
Study – Studierend
Survey – Beobachtend
Sway – Überzeugend
Tinker – Bastelnd
Wreck – Brutal
Jörg Mintel Interesting Idea but I think a couple of Words do not fit 100%
“Elegant” and “Gewand” are too similar.. I would use something different for Prowl.. not sure what tbh.
“pierschend” would suggest it is some kind of sneaking Move, while it is more often used for tracking and shooting. “Jagend” maybe?
“Brutal” is a bit to general… maybe “zerstörerisch”?
All in all.. it does not feel like a huge improvement in my Opinion. :S