History Mayincatec / TabletopGames

%%** ''TabletopGame/{{Mystara}}'': The Hollow World, being a collection of {{Fantasy Counterpart Culture}}s, has the Azcan as Mayincatec.%%How are they examples?

* ''TabletopGame/WarhammerFantasy'': The Lizardmen, FantasyCounterpartCulture of the [=Mayincatec=]. Culturally they're closer to the Maya, with the in astronomy and prophecies and the like; however one of their major gods is based on Quetzalcoatl (since they're, you know, Lizards), and the jewelry they often carry is more Aztec-inspired, as is their focus on blood sacrifice. To complete the hat-trick, they have a habit of mummifying dead rulers and displaying them as relics, which is taken from the Inca (said mummified remains are haunted by Slann's spirit and are the most powerful magic users in the setting).

** ''TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms'' features[[note]]Well, ''featured'' after the Spellplague, ''TabletopGame/{{Maztica}}'' being switched with the counterpart on an alternate dimension, until it was brought back again[[/note]] the continent of Maztica, far to the west across the ocean from Faerun, with a dominant culture, the Nexalans, based closely on the Aztecs. It was subject to invasion by the Amnians and their admiral Cordell and became the site of a burgeoning Faerunian colony. Based [[FantasyCounterpartCulture so closely]] on the Aztecs, in fact, that it might technically not count as [=Mayincatec=]: rather than generic ancient South American culture, the Nexalans ''are'' [[ShownTheirWork Aztecs]]. With a quick word-find-and-replace for proper nouns and a light sprinkling of taking the mythology at face value (this was Creator/{{TSR}} policy at the time, though Maztica was one of the most severe offenders). Additionally, the sourcebook ''Serpent Kingdoms'', describing the society and history of the yuan-ti (a race of evil snake people) gives them some distinctly Mesoamerican-inspired architecture and culture.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'': Aztlan. Something of an invoked trope in that it's explicitly noted in-universe that the Aztlan powers-that-be have deliberately thrown random motifs from old Latin-American cultures together to create a national identity to suit their own ends. One of the narrators of the Aztechnology sourcebook sarcastically notes that most of the Aztlan leadership are descended from European ancestors and have little to no grounding in the "ancient culture" they've "revived" at all. \

* ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'': Aztlan. Something of an invoked trope in that it's explicitly noted in-universe that the Aztlan powers-that-be have deliberately thrown random motifs from old Latin-American cultures together to create a national identity to suit their own ends. One of the narrators of the Aztechnology sourcebook sarcastically notes that most of the Aztlan leadership are descended from European ancestors and have little to no grounding in the "ancient culture" they've "revived" at all. In fact, mestizos still eat shit culturally

* ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'': Aztlan. Something of an invoked trope in that it's explicitly noted in-universe that the Aztlan powers-that-be have deliberately thrown random motifs from old Latin-American cultures together to create a national identity to suit their own ends. One of the narrators of the Aztechnology sourcebook sarcastically notes that most of the Aztlan leadership are descended from European ancestors and have little to no grounding in the "ancient culture" they've "revived" at all.

* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'': The Rainbow Warriors space marine chapter are [[DependingOnTheWriter inconsistently]] depicted as taking after native South American cultures. Also interesting to note is that the ubiquitous [[ChainsawGood chainsword]] used by the space marines and occasionally other factions is (probably coincidentally) extremely similar in both concept and appearance to the iconic macuahuitl, a wooden paddle with obsidian razor blades embedded in the sides, used throughout pre-Columbian South America, most notably by the feared Jaguar Warriors. Just as obsidian is terrifyingly sharp but far too brittle to make an entire sword out of, the chainsword's teeth are usually made from [[SharpenedToASingleAtom mono-molecular]] materials that would be difficult if not impossible to forge into a single blade of usable length, not to mention easily breakable and costly to repair, which the Adeptus Mechanicus compensates for by attaching many tiny ones to a larger device.

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* The blood mages from ''TabletopGame/CastleFalkenstein''
* Several ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' sourcebooks, including ''Deities & Demigods'', have presented versions of the Aztec pantheon suitable for use in campaigns.
** The jungle continent Xen'drik in the TabletopGame/{{Eberron}} campaign setting has a [=Mayincatec=] flavor.
** The ''TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms'' campaign setting features[[note]]Well, ''featured'' after the Spellplague, ''TabletopGame/{{Maztica}}'' being switched with the counterpart on an alternate dimension, until it was brought back again[[/note]] the continent of Maztica, far to the west across the ocean from Faerun, with a dominant culture, the Nexalans, based closely on the Aztecs. It was subject to invasion by the Amnians and their admiral Cordell and became the site of a burgeoning Faerunian colony. Based [[FantasyCounterpartCulture so closely]] on the Aztecs, in fact, that it might technically not count as [=Mayincatec=]: rather than generic ancient South American culture, the Nexalans ''are'' [[ShownTheirWork Aztecs]]. With a quick word-find-and-replace for proper nouns and a light sprinkling of taking the mythology at face value (this was Creator/{{TSR}} policy at the time, though Maztica was one of the most severe offenders). Additionally, the sourcebook ''Serpent Kingdoms'', describing the society and history of the yuan-ti (a race of evil snake people) gives them some distinctly Mesoamerican-inspired architecture and culture.
** A classic adventure set in the ''[[TabletopGame/{{Greyhawk}} World of Greyhawk]]'', ''Lost Shrine of Tamoachan'', has the {{Player Character}}s exploring the ruins of a Maya-themed temple. Later, the Olman people from Hepmonaland and the Amedio Jungle in the distant south were introduced with a culture that was pure Mayincatec.
** The Hollow World of the ''TabletopGame/{{Mystara}}'' setting, being a collection of {{Fantasy Counterpart Culture}}s, has the Azcan as Mayincatec.
* ''TabletopGame/EmpireOfThePetalThrone'', (1975) published by Creator/{{TSR}}. It's set in the world of Tekumel, created by M.A.R. Barker (see the entry in Literature).
* There are several examples of this in ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'', as well. Firstly, the characters used to represent the language of Old Realm are pretty much directly based off of Mayan hieroglyphs. Also, the First Age was either completely loaded down with this trope, or it was mostly limited to the areas in the Southeast around Rathess, depending on your edition. The Dragon Kings go deeper into that aesthetic, sacrificing hearts to the Unconquered Sun, constructing geomantic temples and mastering astrology.

** Ixalan is a more complete world, and has ''two'' factions that more properly resemble their real world counterparts: the Sun Empire, modeled after the Aztec with a few Incan trappings (alongside their brighly colored, feathered dinosaurs), and the River Heralds, a group of merfolk that is the local analogue of the Maya. Plus Vampire Conquistadors called the Legion of Dusk (as well as Pirates to round out the fourth faction)

* One of the pantheons player characters can choose from in the tabletop RPG ''TabletopGame/{{Scion}}'' is the Aztec one. It features Mictlantecuhtli, God of death and the underworld, who is a sadistic SOB even by the standards of Myth/AztecMythology, and that is saying something. The "Aztlanti" pantheon are not the only Central American pantheon; they're just one of the last ones left following the war with the Titans. Others are still around, but not nearly as powerful. The Atzlanti signature character, Dr. Aaron Tigrilla, is fairly sympathetic -- he was a surgeon who got around that "necessary blood sacrifice" bit by sacrificing the leftovers of heart surgery to Tezcatlipoca. As you can imagine, this didn't go over too well when the board found out. He eventually becomes the god of extirpation, and works to patch up soldiers in the war against the Titans [[note]]and dealing with the annoyance of his closest compatriot being a ''little'' too quick to MercyKill them[[/note]].
** 2E keeps the Aztec pantheon ([[AdaptationalNiceGuy albeit considerably reworked to be more sympathetic]]) and also adds [[Myth/IncaMythology the Incan pantheon]]. In this case, the trope is averted, as both pantheons are very different from each other (though their shared history means they're fairly close).

* ''TabletopGame/WraithTheOblivion'' is unusual in having sympathetic Aztec ghosts. The Flayed Lands - the Dark Kingdom ruling over Central America, sometimes referred to as "the Dark Kingdom of Obsidian" when others bundle the North and South American Dark Kingdoms into it - operated on a semi-theocratic system that allowed them to reap [[{{Mana}} Pathos]] freely from mortal devotion. Unfortunately, wraiths fleeing Stygia saw this system and were all sorts of horrified - Renegades because it reminded them of the empire they were fleeing, Heretics because of the associated sacrificial practices - and went all Cortez. The destruction of the Flayed Lands is part of what set off [[WorldWreckingWave the Third Great Maelstrom]], so nobody won there.
* The Lizardmen in ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'', FantasyCounterpartCulture of the [=Mayincatec=]. Culturally they're closer to the Maya, with the interest in astronomy and prophecies and the like; however one of their major gods is based on Quetzalcoatl (since they're, you know, Lizards), and the jewelry they often carry is more Aztec-inspired, as is their focus on blood sacrifice. To complete the hat-trick, they have a habit of mummifying dead rulers and displaying them as relics, which is taken from the Inca (said mummified remains are haunted by Slann's spirit and are the most powerful magic users in the setting).
** Meanwhile, [[TabletopGame/WarHammer40000 in the grim darkness of the far future]], the Rainbow Warriors space marine chapter are [[DependingOnTheWriter inconsistently]] depicted as taking after native South American cultures. Also interesting to note is that the ubiquitous [[ChainsawGood chainsword]] used by the space marines and occasionally other factions is (probably coincidentally) extremely similar in both concept and appearance to the iconic macuahuitl, a wooden paddle with obsidian razor blades embedded in the sides, used throughout Pre-Columbian South America, most notably by the feared Jaguar Warriors. Just as obsidian is terrifyingly sharp but far too brittle to make an entire sword out of, the chainsword's teeth are usually made from [[SharpenedToASingleAtom mono-molecular]] materials that would be difficult if not impossible to forge into a single blade of usable length, not to mention easily breakable and costly to repair, which the Adeptus Mechanicus compensates for by attaching many tiny ones to a larger device.

* Several Aztec gods are featured in the ''TabletopGame/{{Rifts}}'' sourcebook: "Pantheons of the Megaverse". "World Book 9: South America Two" features the Empire of the Sun, a Magic- ''and'' Technology-using state ruled by the actual Incan gods. In addition, they also have several Nazca influences, not due to poor research, but rather an alliance and assimilation with the ancient Nazca Line Makers and their descendants.

* One of the pantheons player characters can choose from in the tabletop RPG ''TabletopGame/{{Scion}}'' is the Aztec one. It features Mictlantecuhtli, God of death and the underworld, who is a sadistic SOB even by the standards of Myth/AztecMythology, and that is saying something. The "Aztlanti" pantheon are not the only Central American pantheon; they're just one of the last ones left following the war with the Titans. Others are still around, but not nearly as powerful. The Atzlanti signature character, Dr. Aaron Tigrilla, is fairly sympathetic -- he was a surgeon who got around that "necessary blood sacrifice" bit by sacrificing the leftovers of heart surgery to Tezcatlipoca. As you can imagine, this didn't go over too well when the board found out. He eventually becomes the god of extirpation, and works to patch up soldiers in the war against the Titans [[note]]and dealing with the annoyance of his closest compatriot being a ''little'' too quick to MercyKill them/note]].
** 2E keeps the Aztec pantheon ([[AdaptationalNiceGuy albeit considerably reworked to be more sympathetic]]) and also adds [[Myth/IncanMythology the Incan pantheon]]. In this case, the trope is averted, as both pantheons are very different from each other (though their shared history means they're fairly close).

* One of the pantheons player characters can choose from in the tabletop RPG ''TabletopGame/{{Scion}}'' is the Aztec one. It features Mictlantecuhtli, God of death and the underworld, who is a sadistic SOB even by the standards of Myth/AztecMythology, and that is saying something. The "Aztlanti" pantheon are not the only Central American pantheon; they're just one of the last ones left following the war with the Titans. Others are still around, but not nearly as powerful. The Atzlanti signature character, Dr. Aaron Tigrilla, is fairly sympathetic -- he was a surgeon who got around that "necessary blood sacrifice" bit by sacrificing the leftovers of heart surgery to Tezcatlipoca. As you can imagine, this didn't go over too well when the board found out. He eventually becomes the god of extirpation, and works to patch up soldiers in the war against the Titans [[note]]and dealing with the annoyance of his closest compatriot being a ''little'' too quick to MercyKill them[[/note]].