Imagine, if you will, a scene. There you are, sat in your favourite coffeehouse, tea room, pub or similar establishment.
Five people walk in. They carry assault rifles and a variety of other weapons. They wear bulletproof vests over their clothes - which are stained with dirt, and something else that could conceivably have come from someone's artery. They approach the counter of your establishment and order drinks and a few small items of food.
Would you feel terrified? Would you feel dismay? Would you leave that coffeehouse with as much swiftness as you could muster? These people don't even display the marks of any police force or army about their persons - not that would necessarily be a comfort, but it would perhaps give you an idea of their intentions.
Ask yourself, then, how a band of adventurers in the traditional Dungeons and Dragons vein would fare wondering into a place that did not know them.
"But surely, sir, Dungeons and Dragons and similar fantasy has at least part of its basis and inspiration in the genre Western. Moreover, we are talking of a world far removed from the norms of the Twenty-First Century AD. My reaction to a man with an AK-47 interrupting me in the middle of a pot of Darjeeling is hardly comparable, however dramatic an image it is."
Well, I agree. I have rather exaggerated proceedings. But let us consider the Western: think of a saloon scene. Everyone might sprout six-shooters and Bowie knives from their belts. There is a distinction between this and sitting all night at the card table with a Winchester repeater across one's knees.
If nothing else, consider the uncomfortable business of a mail-clad Fighter sitting at a table trying to keep steady a broadsword, shield, crossbow and obligatory foaming tankard of ale. Not what one dreams of after a busy day of dungeon-crawling.
Which is why scenes set in a city far from the frontier or frontier-equivalent demand a few things. Firstly, that our heroes walk around a little less openly armed - or suffer minor in-universe penalties, largely, perhaps, to Charisma (not that Charisma is at all simple; the Barbarian in the City might give the impression of being an unlettered primitive or a noble savage).
Secondly, a change of clothes. Even if folk in armour do not necessarily spell trouble, unknown folk in armour without badges of office or letters of introduction certainly do. To say nothing of unsanctioned preachers and hedge wizards.
(This also allows the possibility for a carousing-equivalent. This table may prove useful.)
There is, of course, the possibility of the lawless city; the Wretched Hive of Scum and Villainy that cares not for what weapons one carries in the street. But even this seems like it would have something in the nature of a weapons check at the door. The Head of the Thieves' Guild is as careful of his personal safety as the Grand Duke, if not more so.
If this seems a little limiting to you or your players, think back to the Western, or to that interstellar gunslinger Han Solo. Think of the sudden explosions of violence, rather than the drawn out skirmishes in dungeon corridors. Think of what those lacy cuffs might conceal.
Wednesday, 26 April 2017
Sunday, 23 April 2017
Small Military Units, the Party of Adventurers and Evelyn Waugh
This is feeding somewhat off my Cosmopolitanism and Vietnam article. You may wish to give that a read.
Let me pose a question: how would one connect the small band of freelance adventurers, religious zealots, magicians, mystics and such as seen in many an RPG to a military organisation?
Well, there are a few simple answers. Mercenaries are nothing new - even if the dozen or so personnel that any given band of heroes could offer are hardly going to sway the fate of nations on the battle field. Irregular units are perhaps as old as regular units, or indeed older - it just needed a moment to identify them as formally irregular (if you will). The same might be said of guerrillas or partisans.
There are perhaps better solutions to this. But what I wish to talk about is something else. Jumping off that previous article, I happened upon a copy of Popski's Private Army in the library at home. For those who don't know, it is the history of a man, Vladimir Poniakoff, not a regular soldier, who effectively started his own special forces unit - the titular private army - in the British Army in the North African campaign of the Second World War.
Without diving too heavily into the details of the history of the unit, this appears to be the sort of time and place in which this little unit - less than thirty men under arms - could function and exist in connection with an organised, deeply formal organisation - that is to say, the British and Imperial forces. This is the same place the Long Range Desert Group came into being, and, indeed, the SAS. Numerous units from allied nations or resistance groups seem to have existed in the same sort of space.
Reflecting on this, my mind went gently to Evelyn Waugh's Sword of Honour trilogy of novels. These detail the experiences of Guy Crouchback, a British Catholic nobleman and his military service during the Second World War - or indeed, his lack thereof. Based on Waugh's own experiences as a man in his late thirties joining the army and on the whole, failing to find his place. Both Waugh and Crouchback end up in a Commando Unit and take part in a series of failed military operations.
The whole thing comes off as somewhat satirical of military life - the chivalrous Crouchback unable to come to grips with the enemy, sent to desk job after desk job - even if the tragedy of the Second World War and Waugh's lament for the undoing of the old order stand out most prominently by the conclusion.
Both 'Popski' and Crouchback exist in a sort of space where a band of adventurers could link itself to a modern army; where the money would be flowing plentifully enough to be spent on such a group, and where the need would be felt most keenly for these rough-hewn mercenaries.
Incidentally, the regiment Guy Crouchback ends up in is the fictional Royal Corps of Halberdiers. I like to use this in the same context I might Ruritania or Barsetshire; a fiction with real roots. For the United States, I thought up the fictional state of West Dakota - a decent proportion of the European settlers of which might well have been Ruritanian refugees.
Let me pose a question: how would one connect the small band of freelance adventurers, religious zealots, magicians, mystics and such as seen in many an RPG to a military organisation?
Well, there are a few simple answers. Mercenaries are nothing new - even if the dozen or so personnel that any given band of heroes could offer are hardly going to sway the fate of nations on the battle field. Irregular units are perhaps as old as regular units, or indeed older - it just needed a moment to identify them as formally irregular (if you will). The same might be said of guerrillas or partisans.
There are perhaps better solutions to this. But what I wish to talk about is something else. Jumping off that previous article, I happened upon a copy of Popski's Private Army in the library at home. For those who don't know, it is the history of a man, Vladimir Poniakoff, not a regular soldier, who effectively started his own special forces unit - the titular private army - in the British Army in the North African campaign of the Second World War.
Without diving too heavily into the details of the history of the unit, this appears to be the sort of time and place in which this little unit - less than thirty men under arms - could function and exist in connection with an organised, deeply formal organisation - that is to say, the British and Imperial forces. This is the same place the Long Range Desert Group came into being, and, indeed, the SAS. Numerous units from allied nations or resistance groups seem to have existed in the same sort of space.
Reflecting on this, my mind went gently to Evelyn Waugh's Sword of Honour trilogy of novels. These detail the experiences of Guy Crouchback, a British Catholic nobleman and his military service during the Second World War - or indeed, his lack thereof. Based on Waugh's own experiences as a man in his late thirties joining the army and on the whole, failing to find his place. Both Waugh and Crouchback end up in a Commando Unit and take part in a series of failed military operations.
The whole thing comes off as somewhat satirical of military life - the chivalrous Crouchback unable to come to grips with the enemy, sent to desk job after desk job - even if the tragedy of the Second World War and Waugh's lament for the undoing of the old order stand out most prominently by the conclusion.
Both 'Popski' and Crouchback exist in a sort of space where a band of adventurers could link itself to a modern army; where the money would be flowing plentifully enough to be spent on such a group, and where the need would be felt most keenly for these rough-hewn mercenaries.
Incidentally, the regiment Guy Crouchback ends up in is the fictional Royal Corps of Halberdiers. I like to use this in the same context I might Ruritania or Barsetshire; a fiction with real roots. For the United States, I thought up the fictional state of West Dakota - a decent proportion of the European settlers of which might well have been Ruritanian refugees.
Wednesday, 19 April 2017
Cosmopolitanism Follow-Up
Lankhmar bears a deliberate resemblance to Alexandria and even takes its place in 'Adept's Gambit', when our two protagonists do some universe-hopping. Howard Chaykin adapted the stories for Dark Horse Comics; his introduction to the collected edition makes comparison with Manhattan circa 1935. The artist - the superb Mike Mignola - seems to have taken note: his exterior scenes of Lankhmar show as full of tall, narrow tenements with rickety external staircases. At least one panel even seems to have a drum-shaped water tank on a roof-top.
 |
| Fafhrd and the Grey Mounser, Dark Horse Comics |
The story 'Lean Times in Lankhmar' perhaps demonstrates some of this best. The difference between the Gods in Lankhmar and the Gods of Lankhmar is made very clear. But the national character of Lankhmar is always somewhat occluded: aside from some mentions of urban customs. The Gods of Lankhmar are a shadowy presence; the Gods in Lankhmar - and there are a great many Gods passing through - taking centre stage most of the time.
This situates Lankhmar as a city of bustling, competing identities; with religions in competition, living alongside one another - even if one temple is rather more splendid than its neighbours. That the Gods of Lankhmar are content to wait in the background until they need take action allows the cosmopolitan nature of the city (something similar occurs with the traditions of the Thieves Guild in 'Thieves' House'). Considering the Alexandria analogue, the city may have been deliberately founded by a leader of many nations, establishing the nature of the city from the word go, although this is merely speculation on my part.
Nevertheless, this bustling metropolis of Lankhmar seems a model for all D&D cities since; with numerous temples and factions of believers.
***
To re-iterate the purely human, faintly 18th Century, semi-military re-naming of 52 Pages Character Classes:
Fighter: Can stay the same,
Rogue: Rogue? None of that loose cannon stuff here! You're a Ranger from now on!
Wizard: Tempting to say apprentice, but an apprentice would be serving their apprenticeship in safety, one feels (see my Journeyman article). 'Magetrooper' or something of the sort feels too on the nose; merely saying a player is Talented or a Talent or some such defies the scholarly, Vancian magic of The 52 Pages. Perhaps saying the player is a 'Newly-Qualified Magician' works best.
Prophet: Devout Follower of the XYZ, presumably becoming a Prophet of the XYZ
Dwarf: Pioneer
Elf: Scout or Guide
Gnome: Skirmisher
***
To speak on the 'Pietistic Discipline' naming of things: the nature of a specific denomination with -ist and -ism lends an Early Modern air to things, as well as implying that all the believers involved are of one faith, as they are of one organisation, of one species.
Consider also, for this kind of effect renaming other things in a more abstract fashion: EG, the Workings of Providence instead of the Will of Zeus; the Image of the Divine instead of the Face of Ra. This gives things a more modern feel - though be suitably verbose and arcane in your language, or you risk becoming dangerously 20th Century!
Terrae Vertebrae: The Heavenly Jury
As referenced in my last most as the faith of a people far to the East of Vertebrea. Not necessarily written for Terrae Vertebrae, but usable nonetheless.
1.
The
Juror of Strict Legalism. Follow the Rules and I will be merciful.
2. The Juror of Generosity. Give of yourself without stint and I will be merciful.
3. The Juror of Penitents. You could not always follow the rules, yet you followed them when you could and I will be merciful.
4. The Juror of Protocol and Appearance. Present yourself in a fitting and charismatic fashion in all interactions and I will be merciful.
5. The Juror of Truth. Dilute not the truth in your heart, nor seek to conceal it and I will be merciful.
6. The Juror of Ambition. Ever strive to better yourself and I will be merciful.
7. The Juror of Dominance. Do as most others in your culture do and I will be merciful.
8. The Juror of Servitude. Your people were few in numbers and surrounded by strangers, yet you were true and I shall be merciful.
9. The Juror of Followers. You were obliged in life to take orders, not to give them; for bearing this burden, I shall be merciful.
10. The Juror of Leaders. You were obliged to look to the welfare of many, not just your own; for bearing this burden, I shall be merciful.
11. The Juror of Means. Your practices were benevolent, whatever the result; so I will be merciful.
12. The Juror of Ends. Your ends were noble; however you pursued them, so I will be merciful.
The Heavenly
Jury
...it is said of the peoples
occupying the Volantic Kingdoms at the far western peninsular of the temperate
regions that they believe not in a singular Heavenly Judge, as we do, who
judges (or will judge, or has judged...) all men, but rather in an entire Jury
who do something similar. Let there be no mistake: this is no panel of
magistrates but most certainly a Jury, who merely cast their lot for Innocence
or Guilt. It is unclear to what degree an accuser or defending counsel exists,
or indeed if the entire structure of a court of law as we understand it attends
upon them. What is certain is that punishment and reward wait upon the word of
the Jury.
As to the disposition and nature
of the Jury, many schools of thought exist: are they perfect observers, willing
to consider the evidence without bias? Most would say not. Members of the jury
are characterised very differently. Some are inclined to mercy. One will look
favourably upon audacity and daring; another may reward the truly penitent.
Some may take into account the circumstances of a man’s sins; they are opposed
by those who hold the principal of the law into account above all others. The
letter of this law is not spelt out. Most Volantic theologians generally feel
it aligns rather well with human laws and ethics, or at least acknowledges the
worth of such codes. Ignorance of the law is no excuse, but what we should make
of a legal system that fails to inform any of those under its rule of the
statutes it enforces?
Such a question is of purely
scholarly interest to Volantines. Believers generally make no attempt to avoid
largely unknown pitfalls, but rather but faith in the strength of their
characters. No man may live an entirely blameless life. A Volantine will select
seven or more Jurors (a majority) as their patrons: as sources of protection
and inspiration. They will build their case around two or three Jurors in
particular (“My Major Jurors are...”), and then widen their scope to achieve a
majority (“My Minor Jurors are....”). It depends rather on the canon a believer
adheres to which they pick, but pick they do. This selection has rules: it is
considered foolish in the extreme to pick opposing jurors for one’s Majors. To
pick such a pair, or even, in extreme cases, all Twelve as icons is a
distinctly uncanny move: it may well result in an unsteady character or a
poorly presented case. Some spectrum of difference is acknowledged – for
instance between the Juror agreeable to extenuating circumstances and the Juror
of strict legalism – though it is the extremity of such a scenario that is held
to cause spiritual turmoil in the next world and an unbalanced mind in this.
Of the origin of the Jurors
themselves, little is made explicit. Some hold them to the different parts of
the universal spirit of humanity. Sometimes they are grouped into opposing
factions, or aspects of the characters of opposing beings. Nor, it should be mentioned,
it this strictly dualistic. Many compete to determine the fate of man. Nonetheless,
all the Jury are held to be separate identities.
Quite what will become of The
Jury once the judging has concluded is unknown to me. Perhaps it shall move on
to judge the souls of other beings. It
would be nice to think that it might hear appeals.....
******
The
Jurors themselves:
2. The Juror of Generosity. Give of yourself without stint and I will be merciful.
3. The Juror of Penitents. You could not always follow the rules, yet you followed them when you could and I will be merciful.
4. The Juror of Protocol and Appearance. Present yourself in a fitting and charismatic fashion in all interactions and I will be merciful.
5. The Juror of Truth. Dilute not the truth in your heart, nor seek to conceal it and I will be merciful.
6. The Juror of Ambition. Ever strive to better yourself and I will be merciful.
7. The Juror of Dominance. Do as most others in your culture do and I will be merciful.
8. The Juror of Servitude. Your people were few in numbers and surrounded by strangers, yet you were true and I shall be merciful.
9. The Juror of Followers. You were obliged in life to take orders, not to give them; for bearing this burden, I shall be merciful.
10. The Juror of Leaders. You were obliged to look to the welfare of many, not just your own; for bearing this burden, I shall be merciful.
11. The Juror of Means. Your practices were benevolent, whatever the result; so I will be merciful.
12. The Juror of Ends. Your ends were noble; however you pursued them, so I will be merciful.
****
Some
Jurors are in opposition. This does not always preclude an appeal to both, but
it makes it more difficult. Consistency is always better than variation; one
might appeal to Ambition until one has riches, then be generous. But this would
be unwise. Ambition should not cease and the Petitioner should always have been
generous, not infrequently.
Sometimes
this sort of thing is out of one’s control. A common soldier might be promoted;
Follower becomes Leader. In this case, the Petitioner’s conduct towards other
Followers or Leaders might be considered.
It must
be asked what the Seventh Juror considers a dominant culture. This varies, and
belief in the Jury is multinational. The answer is “Our Culture. The one that
makes up 70% of the population,” for many. The more international and
open-minded theologians must reflect that the Seventh Juror represents cultural
dominance on a case-by-case basis, even where a dominant culture is ascendant
over a different dominant culture. Yes, this looks confusing and inconsistent.
What else did you expect from a Divinity?
[The Seventh Juror is a canonical xenophobe.
Unpleasant, but not too much of a clash with more ethically palatable positions:
“If you live in Ruritania, you should speak Ruritanian,” not “If you live in
Ruritania, you can beat, steal from and enslave non-Ruritanian persons within
your borders.”
Likewise,
the Eighth Juror doesn’t compel acts of separatism, revolution, non-interaction
with Dominant cultures, &c.]
The
Juror of Protocol isn’t just about appearance and fine speech. It’s about
getting along, diplomacy, compromise. Yes, there is a charismatic element – but
think of it more like a Host keeping the mood of a party happy rather than a
swaggering ego. Not that this Juror can’t be enticed, as it were.
****
A Table of Oppositions
Means.....Ends
Dominance......Servitude
Leaders.....Followers
Generosity....Ambition
Truth.....Protocol
Legalism....Penitents
****
EXAMPLES
The Governor of the 15th
Prefecture
Major: Leaders, Generosity, Legalism. Minor: Protocol, Dominance, Ends, Ambition
(“The more influence I have for myself, the more I can give to my people.”)
The Commander of the Army of the
North
Major: Leaders, Ends, Penitents. Minor: Ambition, Truth, Means (“There
is a time for chivalry. I wish it were more often,”), Servitude (“How did an
Outlander reach this rank? Perhaps I shall tell you one day.”)
A Freelance Thief of the Scum
Quarter
Major: Protocol (“Aren’t I a charming
rogue?”), Penitents, Servitude. Minor:
Followers (“Even if I don’t work for anyone on a permanent basis, I’m clearly
not a leader, am I?”), Ends, Ambition (“That next big score!”), Truth (“At
least I admit I’m a thief.”)
A Tenant Farmer of the Southern
Levels
Major: Followers, Means, Legalism Minor: Truth, Dominance (“ ‘e’s not
even from round ‘ere!!!”), Ambition, Protocol (“Good fences make good
neighbours.”)
A Trooper of the Civic Garrison,
Capital of the 4th Prefecture
Major: Followers, Ends, Legalism. Minor: Penitents (“Don’t let it happen
again”), Generosity (“I’ll let you off this time.”), Truth (“It was you what
did it, wasn’t it?”), Leaders (“Community Policing.”)
A Scholar of Divinity of The
Most-Blesséd and Eminent College
Major: Truth, Legalism, Means. Minor: Ambition, Followers (“I do my
bit for the College,”), Protocol (“We have some rather fiery debates,”),
Servitude (“It’s a rather uncommon approach to the Celestial Jury; not everyone
sees it’s merit.”)
A Merchant, far from the Lands
she knows
Major: Protocol, Servitude, Ambition. Minor: Dominance (“One day I’ll go home, away from these strange
folk.”), Legalism (“Fair exchange is no robbery.”), Leaders (“Got to set a good
example for my employees,”), Generosity (“I give generously, when I feel I
can.”)
An Exile, far from Home and
unlikely to Return
Major: Servitude, Truth, Followers. Minor: Penitents, Ends, Protocol (“I
won’t bow the knee, but I will play their games,”), Ambition
Terrae Vertebrae: Beyond Vertebrea
Vertebrea is formed something like a vast arrow, pointing north, flanked by a few islands. Land masses, different continents stretch away in roughly four directions: East of Talliz, South of Talliz; West of the Nirvanite Imperium and South of the Imperium.
This is all largely on the same basis as world building in Vertebrea, but fairly loosely sketched in - partially out of ignorance, partially out of focus. Though there are some bits I am fairly fond of and seem a touch more substantial.
East of Talliz
Closer to Talliz one finds something reminiscent of Central Asia; nomadic tribes and vast stretches of steppe. This is comparable to the Mongol hordes or the Crimean Tartars, given their proximity and mutual hostility to the Talliz.
Beyond such lands, the traveller might find something reminiscent of the Far East. Vast settled, civilised lands; rather better unified (in theory) than Vertebrea. Seeing as Pseudo-European nations owe their characters to national epics/vague notions of personality, the same applies to Pseudo-Asian ones. Thus, not-China is in the middle of and/or in living memory had something resembling the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
As far as religion goes, the most prominent one is a belief in something called The Heavenly Jury - detailed elsewhere.
Nations that bear some resemblance to Japan, Korea or Vietnam presumably exist. The furthest East one may go probably centres on a Yoon-Suin -like 'city at the end of the earth' in the midst of an archipelago.
In the mountains of this land, the Dwarves dwell, upon peaks higher than any other. Their cities can be seen here, steep sided and bedecked with spires. They are difficult to reach and are the subject of many legends. The equivalent of Polynesia and Australasia is unknown.
South of Talliz
South of a great desert, separating the Talliz from them, lie a series of kingdoms on fertile plains sloping down from the mountains. These are most heavily reminiscent of an Africa largely free of European or Arab influences: the Maasai rather than Mombasa and Zanzibar. Far enough to the South presumably lies the veldt and the Zulu.
Some ports exist on the coast, though trade with other continents is irregular. As above, the Benin Empire rather than the Kilwa Sultanate.
West of the Imperium
Across the Traitorous Passage out of the Inner Sea lie a people dotted across the seaboard. They raise a series of proud cities, filled with amazing architecture, decorated in dizzying patterns. A remarkably ornate culture has developed. All these cities owe homage to one distant overlord, but that has not stopped them seeking their own gain, through trade and exploration.
This is, in short, all rather approximate to Islamic civilization: the Arab World of the Thousand and One Nights and the Alhambra rather than the deep desert. It is an urban - and urbane - world, and knows Verebrea as a neighbor rather than an enemy. It has never been the subject of crusades from the Faith of the Eight; the beliefs of these lands bear sufficient resemblance to the Faith to live and let live - unlike some closer to home, South of the Imperium.
Beyond the deserts, we reach two distinct areas: one is once again reminiscent of Central Asia; the Central Asia of Samarkand and Tamurlane rather than Genghis Khan and the High Steppe. Reaching far into the West is a land much like the Indian Subcontinent - which may need it's own entry.
The Dwarves of this place walk among the race of men, openly and unafraid; they have proven time after time the strength of their resolve. Their lands were hard won and hard kept.
South of the Imperium
The land of the unbelievers, the fallen. A great desert, with who knows what lurking beyond. Where ten crusades have faltered. The Land of Punth.
Babel meets Barsoom, on the sands of Arrikis. Suitable reference should be made to the Ancient Mesopotamia of history (rather than the Babel of literature), Snow Crash and the Ascian people from Wolfe's Book of the New Sun.
Verbatim from my notes....
I am perhaps most proud of Punth and the Qryth. Quite derivative in their way, but the notion of a relatively sophisticated Late Medieval world being jammed up against a Newspeak-ridden Barsoom appeals to me. If anything asks for more attention in Terrae Vertebrae, it is this.
This is all largely on the same basis as world building in Vertebrea, but fairly loosely sketched in - partially out of ignorance, partially out of focus. Though there are some bits I am fairly fond of and seem a touch more substantial.
East of Talliz
Closer to Talliz one finds something reminiscent of Central Asia; nomadic tribes and vast stretches of steppe. This is comparable to the Mongol hordes or the Crimean Tartars, given their proximity and mutual hostility to the Talliz.
Beyond such lands, the traveller might find something reminiscent of the Far East. Vast settled, civilised lands; rather better unified (in theory) than Vertebrea. Seeing as Pseudo-European nations owe their characters to national epics/vague notions of personality, the same applies to Pseudo-Asian ones. Thus, not-China is in the middle of and/or in living memory had something resembling the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
As far as religion goes, the most prominent one is a belief in something called The Heavenly Jury - detailed elsewhere.
Nations that bear some resemblance to Japan, Korea or Vietnam presumably exist. The furthest East one may go probably centres on a Yoon-Suin -like 'city at the end of the earth' in the midst of an archipelago.
In the mountains of this land, the Dwarves dwell, upon peaks higher than any other. Their cities can be seen here, steep sided and bedecked with spires. They are difficult to reach and are the subject of many legends. The equivalent of Polynesia and Australasia is unknown.
South of Talliz
South of a great desert, separating the Talliz from them, lie a series of kingdoms on fertile plains sloping down from the mountains. These are most heavily reminiscent of an Africa largely free of European or Arab influences: the Maasai rather than Mombasa and Zanzibar. Far enough to the South presumably lies the veldt and the Zulu.
Some ports exist on the coast, though trade with other continents is irregular. As above, the Benin Empire rather than the Kilwa Sultanate.
West of the Imperium
Across the Traitorous Passage out of the Inner Sea lie a people dotted across the seaboard. They raise a series of proud cities, filled with amazing architecture, decorated in dizzying patterns. A remarkably ornate culture has developed. All these cities owe homage to one distant overlord, but that has not stopped them seeking their own gain, through trade and exploration.
This is, in short, all rather approximate to Islamic civilization: the Arab World of the Thousand and One Nights and the Alhambra rather than the deep desert. It is an urban - and urbane - world, and knows Verebrea as a neighbor rather than an enemy. It has never been the subject of crusades from the Faith of the Eight; the beliefs of these lands bear sufficient resemblance to the Faith to live and let live - unlike some closer to home, South of the Imperium.
Beyond the deserts, we reach two distinct areas: one is once again reminiscent of Central Asia; the Central Asia of Samarkand and Tamurlane rather than Genghis Khan and the High Steppe. Reaching far into the West is a land much like the Indian Subcontinent - which may need it's own entry.
The Dwarves of this place walk among the race of men, openly and unafraid; they have proven time after time the strength of their resolve. Their lands were hard won and hard kept.
South of the Imperium
The land of the unbelievers, the fallen. A great desert, with who knows what lurking beyond. Where ten crusades have faltered. The Land of Punth.
Babel meets Barsoom, on the sands of Arrikis. Suitable reference should be made to the Ancient Mesopotamia of history (rather than the Babel of literature), Snow Crash and the Ascian people from Wolfe's Book of the New Sun.
Verbatim from my notes....
Tharks +Ancient Astronauts + Ziggurats+
Tower Of Babel [Cf. Snow Crash?] + Ascian Language [Book of the New Sun, Loyal
to the Group of Seventeen] Tharks
expy = The Qryth
Order of tyrannical Mage-Priests [NB –Cf. White Martians] impose Mind
control on Vast nation in times gone by; defeated by Tharks, but psychic after
effects shatter language. Tharks have to restructure – in fairly exploitative
fashion. Ancient astronaut –esque cult develops around tharks, who live at top
of vast Temple Towers, Ziggurats, in Deep desert, &c. All rayguns &c.
now purely ceremonial / decayed beyond use / lacking ammo. Martian
Barsoom-esque Grand Canal
City peoples more wedded to
Ascian than rural. Cf. Fremen for deep desert people; inner resilience,
strength, harshness, individuality. ‘Tharks’ remote, but rather an object of
sincere faith. City folk called Punthites; Desert call themselves Ka-Punthites (that
is, true Punthites). Odd synthesis of sincere faith in the Qryth combined with
an awareness (the truth of which being shrouded in the mists of time and
folklore) that there was a time when they were not so dominated by another
species. Greater contact with northerners, traders &c. increases this
feeling(cities aren’t necessarily Hermetically sealed, but not the same level
of free interaction) .
Border city; ‘City of
Compartments’ on pass between Kapelleron and Punth. Divided into large sections
by ancient Cyclopean architecture. City run by Dwarves on top of aqueduct –
main water supply. Desert folk at one
end; Northerners at the other. Tension!!! Called Austergate by the Northerners, Ermapunth
by the Punth and Karnaras by the Dwarves.
Tuesday, 11 April 2017
The Cosmopolitanism of D&D, Vietnam and Xenophon
Fantasy role-playing games, typified by Dungeons and Dragons, involve a lot of different characters - or at least types of characters. The adventuring party of cliche involves a remarkable assortment of people doing different jobs: the Half-Elf Ranger, the Dwarven Cleric, the Halfling Wizard, the Human Barbarian, the Minotaur Psionicist...this is without layering on top of these cosmic alignments (the Chaotic Good Half-Elf Rogue, the Lawful Neutral Dwarven Cleric...) and the political, religious &c. entanglements any given setting may contain.
Setting is the key word here - if the choice is given to these players to be all those things, then the setting has to contort to get to the fact not only that there are extensive dungeons to plunder, but also that you can all meet up in an inn (the Minotaur clipping the low-hanging beams with her horns). As such, whatever world you are in seems remarkably mixed. This is not as such bad - but it does seem very 'D&Desque' - which may feel a touch artificial or forced.
There are two further things I wish to note before: firstly, that any given party might be made up of characters with different backgrounds, skills and from different species - but that is not quite the same thing as what the zeitgiest currently calls diverse (cosmopolitanism seemed a usefully different way of expressing this). This will be to a degree a question of setting; if the setting is firmly Celtic or Pseudo-Celtic, you are more likely to be playing Cu-Chulain or Not-Vercingetorix than Mansa Musa - but you are equally unlikely to play a Druid in Steampunk-country. (This is useful post on the subject).
Secondly, that this feels even odder in video game RPGs than on the tabletop, in some ways. There is no desire on the part of multiple players to fill different roles. I enjoyed the Mass Effect games, by and large; the setting was a part of this. But stepping back from the game, it does seem odd that our hero, Commander Shepherd must assemble a group in the way she does. This isn't the frontier country of Greyhawk; surely the thing to do is put in a request to the Galactic Government for a brigade of veteran star-commandos rather than pick and choose a gang of (undeniably talented) freelancers with their own agendas?
Indeed, the propensity of any rag-tag band of adventurers to turn on itself always nudges a bit at credibility: why hasn't the Lawful Good Paladin throttled the Chaotic Neutral Rogue yet? Who would employ such folk? There are answers to these questions, and I have enjoyed games with a party assembled of such dissipate types. But I have a different set of thoughts.
This, then, feels like a core part of Dungeons and Dragons and all inspired by it. What happens if we strip it gently away? To play not as a member of some adventuring party picked from the shady desperadoes in the saloon, but as soldiers in the same platoon or as monks of a militant religious order or as blood-oath sisters of the same war-canoe?
Let us assume we maintain a similar set of mechanics. Different races drop out of the picture; race-as-class has to be renamed; I like Pioneer for Dwarves (sans heat-vision, I fear) and Scout or Guide for Elves; if nothing else it gives it a Last of the Mohicans feel (Native Guides for colonial forces; not that this is an intrinsic element of the mechanic) fitting for the D&D frontier - and even echoing the usual Dwarf/Elf rivalries. Classes are downplayed in favour of a group of soldiers armed after a similar fashion - though not utterly: not every role in a platoon, military order or war-canoe is identical, after all! The Prophet renaming for the Cleric used by The 52 Pages looks a touch off here; who let the bearded man with the End is Nigh! sign into the barracks? I would prefer something less explicitly like another occupation; IE, Sopespian is a Follower of the Pietistic Discipline* who grows into a Cleric/Prophet role.
[We might look briefly at a pair of RPGs based on belonging to explicitly military organisations and derived from the wargame Warhammer 40,000. In Deathwatch you play as a band of Space Marines; in Only War as soldiers of the Imperial Guard. Neither prompts you to play as five troopers and one corporal, offering a variety of classes; Deathwatch even utilises an in-universe organisation made up of Marines from a variety of Chapters. This multiplicity of classes is perhaps fitting, given the Byzantine and baroque nature of the Imperium of Man in Warhammer 40,000.]
So: what might be the value of increasing the uniformity of an adventuring party? Well, it would bring into sharp relief the isolation of the players, walking into the unknown without a mine-dwelling Dwarf or a Gnome able to speak Kobold pidgin. The tone takes on a darker element.
And this is where Vietnam kicks in - or at any rate, the cultural image of Vietnam; a journey into the heart of darkness, full of violence and terror.
The more I contemplated this, the more I liked it. Consider the image of a First Level party like raw recruits; with crewcuts out of the opening montage of Full Metal Jacket and service issue rifles and flak jackets (or crossbows and chainmail, as the case may be). They emerge from the dungeon with loot intact and start becoming adventurers: with new scars, with trophies, clutching their Swords of Eldritch Fire or Dragonscale Shields or an Amulet ripped from the neck of a Goblin Shaman. Eventually, they start to resemble more the squad from Predator or the broad pastiches seen in Tropic Thunder than any platoon that ever passed inspection.
The notion of D&D-but-everything-is-like-'Nam requires a certain amount of finessing, however. The Heart of Darkness-Apocalypse Now connection makes itself, but more could be done. Werner Herzog's Aguirre the Wrath of God occurs to me also or something faintly Mad Max-ish. Here's the best idea thus far, though: the Anabasis or March of the Ten Thousand of Xenophon. An army of Greek mercenaries are defeated in battle and must make their way home through hostile territory.
I like this perhaps the most. Consider: first level characters are rolled up (if we imagine some newcomers to the rules, perhaps the Vietnam anachronism could be extended to a few boot camp scenes!). They join up with an army, and go on a vast hexcrawl to their first battle when they are given their first taste of battle, and the captains of the expedition are slain. Cometh the hour, cometh the man, and our heroes have to lead their comrades to safety through hostile territory -rising to the occasion as great leaders, warriors, clerics, magic-users, &c..
Now, if one player took on the part of The Extras as put together at Against the Wicked City, this could make for some interesting fun Re. divisions of the spoils (only one Frostfang Axe to go around!), the privileges of rank and the potential for mutiny....
Of course, this has all taken quite a leap from cosmopolitanism. Would the semi-uniform adventuring party hold up? I believe it would, but I have hardly pictured players in the roles of individual pikemen in a phalanx. That would be another story altogether; to play not only as a uniform group, but a disciplined one acting under strict orders. A further departure from Dungeons and Dragons than simply not having the option to play an Elf.
EDIT: To say briefly that I am putting together a follow-up post, compacting some things and drawing areas that got left out of the first post.
Setting is the key word here - if the choice is given to these players to be all those things, then the setting has to contort to get to the fact not only that there are extensive dungeons to plunder, but also that you can all meet up in an inn (the Minotaur clipping the low-hanging beams with her horns). As such, whatever world you are in seems remarkably mixed. This is not as such bad - but it does seem very 'D&Desque' - which may feel a touch artificial or forced.
There are two further things I wish to note before: firstly, that any given party might be made up of characters with different backgrounds, skills and from different species - but that is not quite the same thing as what the zeitgiest currently calls diverse (cosmopolitanism seemed a usefully different way of expressing this). This will be to a degree a question of setting; if the setting is firmly Celtic or Pseudo-Celtic, you are more likely to be playing Cu-Chulain or Not-Vercingetorix than Mansa Musa - but you are equally unlikely to play a Druid in Steampunk-country. (This is useful post on the subject).
Secondly, that this feels even odder in video game RPGs than on the tabletop, in some ways. There is no desire on the part of multiple players to fill different roles. I enjoyed the Mass Effect games, by and large; the setting was a part of this. But stepping back from the game, it does seem odd that our hero, Commander Shepherd must assemble a group in the way she does. This isn't the frontier country of Greyhawk; surely the thing to do is put in a request to the Galactic Government for a brigade of veteran star-commandos rather than pick and choose a gang of (undeniably talented) freelancers with their own agendas?
Indeed, the propensity of any rag-tag band of adventurers to turn on itself always nudges a bit at credibility: why hasn't the Lawful Good Paladin throttled the Chaotic Neutral Rogue yet? Who would employ such folk? There are answers to these questions, and I have enjoyed games with a party assembled of such dissipate types. But I have a different set of thoughts.
This, then, feels like a core part of Dungeons and Dragons and all inspired by it. What happens if we strip it gently away? To play not as a member of some adventuring party picked from the shady desperadoes in the saloon, but as soldiers in the same platoon or as monks of a militant religious order or as blood-oath sisters of the same war-canoe?
Let us assume we maintain a similar set of mechanics. Different races drop out of the picture; race-as-class has to be renamed; I like Pioneer for Dwarves (sans heat-vision, I fear) and Scout or Guide for Elves; if nothing else it gives it a Last of the Mohicans feel (Native Guides for colonial forces; not that this is an intrinsic element of the mechanic) fitting for the D&D frontier - and even echoing the usual Dwarf/Elf rivalries. Classes are downplayed in favour of a group of soldiers armed after a similar fashion - though not utterly: not every role in a platoon, military order or war-canoe is identical, after all! The Prophet renaming for the Cleric used by The 52 Pages looks a touch off here; who let the bearded man with the End is Nigh! sign into the barracks? I would prefer something less explicitly like another occupation; IE, Sopespian is a Follower of the Pietistic Discipline* who grows into a Cleric/Prophet role.
* In Castle of the Otter, Gene Wolfe defines a Pietist as "One who hopes to achieve direct contact with the Increate". He uses the word in a different way than Wikipedia, but not unreasonably given the Dying Earth setting of Book of the New Sun and how real terms are used to refer to things outside our own context. Either way, I felt this worked as a good verbal defanging of Prophet, that it fitted the narrative discussed below and that it dovetailed with the 18th Century angle hinted at by Pioneer and Guide.
[We might look briefly at a pair of RPGs based on belonging to explicitly military organisations and derived from the wargame Warhammer 40,000. In Deathwatch you play as a band of Space Marines; in Only War as soldiers of the Imperial Guard. Neither prompts you to play as five troopers and one corporal, offering a variety of classes; Deathwatch even utilises an in-universe organisation made up of Marines from a variety of Chapters. This multiplicity of classes is perhaps fitting, given the Byzantine and baroque nature of the Imperium of Man in Warhammer 40,000.]
So: what might be the value of increasing the uniformity of an adventuring party? Well, it would bring into sharp relief the isolation of the players, walking into the unknown without a mine-dwelling Dwarf or a Gnome able to speak Kobold pidgin. The tone takes on a darker element.
And this is where Vietnam kicks in - or at any rate, the cultural image of Vietnam; a journey into the heart of darkness, full of violence and terror.
The more I contemplated this, the more I liked it. Consider the image of a First Level party like raw recruits; with crewcuts out of the opening montage of Full Metal Jacket and service issue rifles and flak jackets (or crossbows and chainmail, as the case may be). They emerge from the dungeon with loot intact and start becoming adventurers: with new scars, with trophies, clutching their Swords of Eldritch Fire or Dragonscale Shields or an Amulet ripped from the neck of a Goblin Shaman. Eventually, they start to resemble more the squad from Predator or the broad pastiches seen in Tropic Thunder than any platoon that ever passed inspection.
The notion of D&D-but-everything-is-like-'Nam requires a certain amount of finessing, however. The Heart of Darkness-Apocalypse Now connection makes itself, but more could be done. Werner Herzog's Aguirre the Wrath of God occurs to me also or something faintly Mad Max-ish. Here's the best idea thus far, though: the Anabasis or March of the Ten Thousand of Xenophon. An army of Greek mercenaries are defeated in battle and must make their way home through hostile territory.
I like this perhaps the most. Consider: first level characters are rolled up (if we imagine some newcomers to the rules, perhaps the Vietnam anachronism could be extended to a few boot camp scenes!). They join up with an army, and go on a vast hexcrawl to their first battle when they are given their first taste of battle, and the captains of the expedition are slain. Cometh the hour, cometh the man, and our heroes have to lead their comrades to safety through hostile territory -rising to the occasion as great leaders, warriors, clerics, magic-users, &c..
Now, if one player took on the part of The Extras as put together at Against the Wicked City, this could make for some interesting fun Re. divisions of the spoils (only one Frostfang Axe to go around!), the privileges of rank and the potential for mutiny....
Of course, this has all taken quite a leap from cosmopolitanism. Would the semi-uniform adventuring party hold up? I believe it would, but I have hardly pictured players in the roles of individual pikemen in a phalanx. That would be another story altogether; to play not only as a uniform group, but a disciplined one acting under strict orders. A further departure from Dungeons and Dragons than simply not having the option to play an Elf.
EDIT: To say briefly that I am putting together a follow-up post, compacting some things and drawing areas that got left out of the first post.
Saturday, 8 April 2017
Terrae Vertebrae: Knightly Orders
On the basis that anything aping Medieval Europe will have orders of Knights, be they secular or organised by the Faith and that both Fighters and Militants might appreciate the chance to belong to a greater organisation (not that this is obligatory, or even necessary - see Prophets, and why they get called that in The 52 Pages).
For MR and UR consult the Faith of the Eight posts.
For MR and UR consult the Faith of the Eight posts.
State
Order of
St.Vaderian – Nicquardy based order for Royals. Predates MR/UR split, so is
open to both, but dominant in worship forms, customs &c. MR. Most kings
don’t seem to mind.
Order of
the White Wings – based on Nicquard second sons who went to Talliz to bolster
the borders and inherited the wings of the hussars. Nicquard/Talliz,
principally.
Order of
the Green Collar – Torwick. Cf. Sir Gawain. Principal order of chivalry. UR.
Female members by association (some of which are fighters), but all of which
get to wear emerald silk arms-covers.
The
Order of the Golden Talon – V. Recent Talliz order, founded by the current King
for his supporters. UR
The
Brothers of the Fierce Owl – Old Guard Talliz border lords. ‘The eye that
watcheth in the night’ against raids. Opposition to the Golden Talon. UR
The
Knights of the Long Valley – Fahflund political faction. Conservative
aristocracy; not lacking in military skill, but rarely focuses specifically on
it. Still a force to be reckoned with in war, due to wealth if nothing else. MR
The
Brethren of the Tall Tower – Fahflund burgher urban order; a deliberate counterpoint
to the Knights of the Long Valley, but not nearly as wealthy.
Twelvepine
Lodge – Sylmunnion. Heroes of the far north.
The
Little Brothers of St. Dimitri – Talliz rough and ready heroic order. [‘Little?
That man is six foot seven!’ ‘Ha! Before
St. Dimitri, we are all little! Have some more Kvass!’]
The
Equestrian Order of the Seventh Aspect – Kapalleron rapid-response knights.
Colours: navy blue and gold. MR
The Long
Horns – oldest and grandest Trygvir warrior band. Somewhat crusty. Halfgiant
membership allowed.
Grand
Order of the Splendid Shield –Novopolian order of knights. Now known more for
foppery than anything else. MR
NB – Talliz hordes function
similarly to knightly orders and in some ways replace them.
Church
The
Knights-Errant of St. Berengaria – Questers into Elven lands. Bring them into
the fold. Gender neutral. Moderately scholarly. UR (mainly).
The Band
of Iron – international order, designed to ensure good relations with dwarves.
MR (mainly)
The
White Star Order of St Lemuel – maritime order. Principally western. Symbol:
white eight pointed star on navy blue. Cf. Knights of Malta; crusade focus.
Also deal with distressed seamen. Known as ‘The White Stars’. MR
The
Peregrine Order of the Vigilant – the ones who inform for the Questors.
Moderately sneaky.
The
Custodian Knights of St. Castrum – crusader die hards. Dug in on the Punth
border.
The
Order of the Steel Suns – First Aspect militants. As often female as male, with
combat roles in theory mainly male. Very different in practice. Known as ‘The
Steel Suns’. MR
The
Order of St. Ophelia the Bloodyminded –origins in Nicquardy. Female only. Spreading... MR,but open-minded.
St Godric’s
Hand –demonhunters. Serious business.
The
Harts of Oak – Knights devoted to the Third Aspect. Deliberately masculine in
practice; but not necessarily male.
Stag/Oak imagery. Not quite druids. MR. Hope you like big silly wooden
antlers.
The
Sacristans Belligerent – guardians of churches in remote and hostile places.
The
Anointed Sisters of St Rhadegunt de Sanglier – Female only; taking the faith
into dark places. Have a charter allowing for defensive forces. Not only
military, but not pacifistic.
The
Enshrouded Order of the Eighth Aspect – Nirvanite, but range further. Ancestor
cult in arms. Put down the undead (other orders will do so, but these guys have
a specific remit). Gender neutral, but who can tell under the robes. MR
The
Swift and Resplendent Order of the Fourth Aspect – Couriers and bankers, with a
charter for self-defence (generally lay brothers and ‘consultants’, rather than
dedicated warrior monks). Being superseded by Novopolis banking houses in the
west and St Tankred in the East. Suggested they might have a future as a
financial regulatory body. MR
The
Choir of Steel – Fanatics. The MR Attack dogs.
The Five
and Twenty Terrible Clerks – Fanatics. UR attack dogs. Named for the ones who
went berserk at a theological conference. Name initially ironic; clearly not
very good clerks if they went on a rampage. Soon proven to be dreadfully true.
A bit of both; rather local but
ultimately clerical
The
Order of St Tankred – military, financial and political power in Hurdamark.
Sometimes get round to killing monsters. UR
Terrae Vertebrae: Ancestor Spirits of the Giants
They are old, but lucid – if obsessed. They like
being talked to. Each has an area they like taking about. Each has a token one
is meant to offer them as a sign of respect and as something for the spirit to
physically interact with – thus it is normally smallish. Tokens the spirit has
kept for a long time are imbued with something of the spirit and can be used
for long-distance communication and prayer.
Not respecting a spirit by ignoring them only has
consequences if near their dwelling place or temple.
Social consequences only
happen in Half-Giant tribes (and then mostly only to the local spirit – if you
disrespected one on the other side of the valley that was stupid, but it’s not
their fight...); the Giant civilisation long since past presumably had methods
of making sure respect was offered.
Spirits have...../A
Designation/ A Sex/ A Preferred topic of conversation or method of interaction/
A Suitable offering [can be non-physical, but often there are a number of
physical options, even really abstract topic]/Other Remarks
/The Coin-Counter/Female/ Money,
trade, banking/Coins
/The Player of Games/Female/ A Rousing game of
chess, cards &c and a discussion on it afterwards/ A gaming piece/ She is
making her own game and has been putting a lot of thought into it.
/The Old Soldier/Female/War!/Military Paraphernalia,
Weapons, &c./
/The Wrestler/Male/Wrestling, boxing
&c. Will have weird ghostly arm wrestle and probably lose, but is a good
sport/An Arm ring or similar token.
/The Hunter/Male/Huntin’, Fishin’ and
Shootin’/Hunting Trophy (or similar)
/The Gardener/Male/Gardening (esp.
Flowers)/Flowers (esp. fancy cultivated ones)/ Very proud of his rose garden –
deservedly so, since he’s in the tundra!
/The Harvester/Female/Crop-raising; like the
gardener, but more practical – raising things you can eat/Fruit, Grains,
Vegetables
/The Teller of Tales/Male/Stories, the
taller the tale the better!/A story! Something solid? An ornamental letter
/The Archivist/Female/History/An accurate
account of ongoing events or past events/Writing Materials/has a vast
historical collection of tomes and is compiling an ongoing HISTORY OF THE WORLD
FROM YEAR ONE!!!!
/Smiler/Female/Comic stories,
jokes/Likes to receive same; physical token - some silly trinket/
/The Fisher/Male/Fish, sea creatures,
the sea/Fish, fishing paraphernalia
/The Tailor/Male/Sewing, textiles/Sewing stuffs, tapestries, &c
/The
Thinker/Male/Philosophy, Logic, Inquiry/Books on Same
/The
Rider/Female/Domestication of Animals, Farming of same/Horse stuff, cattle
stuff
/’Old Man Fang’/Male/Teeth/Teeth and
Some Ivory/He’s really kind of creepy. Really. Not necessarily malevolent but
really weird.
/The Grandfather/Male/The Old Days, how
much better things were, the shocking lack of respect these days, we wouldn’t
have let a little thing like the destruction of our civilisation get in our way
/Something from the Old Days
/The Reveller/Male/Beer, Wine,
Spirituous liquors/A libation of same, an ornamental bottle
/The Falconer/Female/Birds,
bird life/A feather (No pigeons. Or Ptarmigans.)
/He who watches over
Lovers/Male/Romantic Love/Tales of Same; physical token – A carved heart or
pair of figures holding hands or entwined some other way
/The Judge/Male/THE LAW,
Courtrooms, enforcement, arbitration, discussion of same/A law code, a
touchstone
/The Architect/Female/Buildings/A Plum
bob or set square/Twinned with The Geometrician
/The Geometrician/Female/Abstract
Mathematics/A Slate and Stylus/Twinned with the Architect
/The Chambermaid/Female/Physical Love
and Beauty/A token of same –perfume, lock of hair, handkerchief/Designation at
least partially ironic.
/The Dweller in the Snows/Male/The Cold,
Snow, Frost, &c/Ornamental snowflake design
/The Arsonist/Male/FIRE!!/Flammable
Materials, Charcoal, Flint and Steel, tinderbox.
Wednesday, 5 April 2017
Popular Mechanics: Charisma - Highs and Lows
The basis for this comes from two incidents pertaining to Characters from Fantasy RPGs I had rolled up.
The first incident occurred when I described a Fighter I had once played: 18 Strength, 17 Charisma - gone too soon and much missed. The chap I was talking to took this in and said (as well as I remember it) "So, he would just flex his muscles at people and they'd come running?"
The second, when I was in the process of putting together a Dwarven Cleric. Charisma ended up being one of the lower stats; only 5 or thereabouts. One of my fellow players, in sporting mood, looked at this and described my character as "short, hairy, and grunting at people". Now it is true that Charisma does have some bearing on social interaction - but my conception had been of a hellfire preacher; certainly unlikable and certainly not terribly sociable - but not inarticulate. However much my friend's interpretation rankled, it didn't stick as our campaign progressed (slowly).
Now, discussion and interpretations of Ability Scores is nothing new (here and here, for instance, are two posts on Wisdom). But Charisma may be impinged on by other scores - hence, my glorious muscle-bound knight. Emphasis on 'may'; a steely-thewed warrior might also be terribly articulate; who can tell quite what his body looks like under all that plate armour?
Anyway, here are some thoughts on what a character might look like (this is hardly authoritative, or even notably thorough) as I 'ring the changes' on a Charisma and other Ability Scores. My point of reference, as ever, is The 52 Pages - but this isn't so very unfamiliar to other systems.
STR 18; CHA 18 - You are gigantic, but remarkably comforting to have around.
DEX 18 CHA 18 - You are swift and graceful as a swan. Everyone else loves swans.
INT 18 CHA 18 - You always have a solution - and, what is more, you can explain it in all its complexity!
WIS 18 CHA 18 - You are terribly considerate of others and notice when things are wrong.
CON 18 CHA 18 - You epitomize that moment when the Protagonist sees the Love Interest after hard work or exercise with a 'healthy glow' about them.
STR 3 CHA 18 - You are weak as a newborn kitten. Everyone else loves kittens.
DEX 3 CHA 18 - You are clumsy as a young fawn. Everyone else loves fawns.
INT 3 CHA 18 - You are, or could pass for, Bertie Wooster.
WIS 3 CHA 18 - You are frequently oblivious to your surroundings, but when other people get your attention, they find you pleasantry amenable. [This works the 'willpower' part of Wisdom in quite nicely.]
CON 3 CHA 18 - You are absolutely lovely, but probably dying of tuberculosis. The Romantic Poet of the party.
STR 18 CHA 3 - You are over-muscled to the point of parody. Even in a world of magic and mystery, it looks unnatural and unnerving.
DEX 18 CHA 3 - You move like a snake, you strike like a snake. Everyone else hates snakes.
INT 18 CHA 3 - You possess Mr. Spock levels of pitiless, pragmatic logic. [Neal Stephenson's Anathem has a series of 'Iconographies', largely on this basis in Chapter I]
WIS 18 CHA 3 - You are much like T.H. White's Sir Galahad in The Once and Future King; far too good to be merely polite. [Ch. XXXII of The Ill-Made Knight]
CON 18 CHA 3 - When everyone else has collapsed from exhaustion, injury or fatigue, you'll be standing upright and firm, ready to push on. This is useful, but hardly appealing.
(Not quite as happy with this last lot.)
STR 3 CHA 3 - "We've only been going ten minutes!"
DEX 3 CHA 3 - "Which blockhead gave you a crossbow?"
INT 3 CHA 3 - "How many times do I have to tell you...."
WIS 3 CHA 3 - "Pay attention! That ambush almost cost us our wizard!"
CON 3 CHA 3 - "Come on, that's just a flesh wound!"
Again, these are all open to interpretation. But it's all part of the interplay of Ability Scores and Role-Playing, and these are a few options.
The first incident occurred when I described a Fighter I had once played: 18 Strength, 17 Charisma - gone too soon and much missed. The chap I was talking to took this in and said (as well as I remember it) "So, he would just flex his muscles at people and they'd come running?"
The second, when I was in the process of putting together a Dwarven Cleric. Charisma ended up being one of the lower stats; only 5 or thereabouts. One of my fellow players, in sporting mood, looked at this and described my character as "short, hairy, and grunting at people". Now it is true that Charisma does have some bearing on social interaction - but my conception had been of a hellfire preacher; certainly unlikable and certainly not terribly sociable - but not inarticulate. However much my friend's interpretation rankled, it didn't stick as our campaign progressed (slowly).
Now, discussion and interpretations of Ability Scores is nothing new (here and here, for instance, are two posts on Wisdom). But Charisma may be impinged on by other scores - hence, my glorious muscle-bound knight. Emphasis on 'may'; a steely-thewed warrior might also be terribly articulate; who can tell quite what his body looks like under all that plate armour?
Anyway, here are some thoughts on what a character might look like (this is hardly authoritative, or even notably thorough) as I 'ring the changes' on a Charisma and other Ability Scores. My point of reference, as ever, is The 52 Pages - but this isn't so very unfamiliar to other systems.
STR 18; CHA 18 - You are gigantic, but remarkably comforting to have around.
DEX 18 CHA 18 - You are swift and graceful as a swan. Everyone else loves swans.
INT 18 CHA 18 - You always have a solution - and, what is more, you can explain it in all its complexity!
WIS 18 CHA 18 - You are terribly considerate of others and notice when things are wrong.
CON 18 CHA 18 - You epitomize that moment when the Protagonist sees the Love Interest after hard work or exercise with a 'healthy glow' about them.
STR 3 CHA 18 - You are weak as a newborn kitten. Everyone else loves kittens.
DEX 3 CHA 18 - You are clumsy as a young fawn. Everyone else loves fawns.
INT 3 CHA 18 - You are, or could pass for, Bertie Wooster.
WIS 3 CHA 18 - You are frequently oblivious to your surroundings, but when other people get your attention, they find you pleasantry amenable. [This works the 'willpower' part of Wisdom in quite nicely.]
CON 3 CHA 18 - You are absolutely lovely, but probably dying of tuberculosis. The Romantic Poet of the party.
STR 18 CHA 3 - You are over-muscled to the point of parody. Even in a world of magic and mystery, it looks unnatural and unnerving.
DEX 18 CHA 3 - You move like a snake, you strike like a snake. Everyone else hates snakes.
INT 18 CHA 3 - You possess Mr. Spock levels of pitiless, pragmatic logic. [Neal Stephenson's Anathem has a series of 'Iconographies', largely on this basis in Chapter I]
WIS 18 CHA 3 - You are much like T.H. White's Sir Galahad in The Once and Future King; far too good to be merely polite. [Ch. XXXII of The Ill-Made Knight]
CON 18 CHA 3 - When everyone else has collapsed from exhaustion, injury or fatigue, you'll be standing upright and firm, ready to push on. This is useful, but hardly appealing.
(Not quite as happy with this last lot.)
STR 3 CHA 3 - "We've only been going ten minutes!"
DEX 3 CHA 3 - "Which blockhead gave you a crossbow?"
INT 3 CHA 3 - "How many times do I have to tell you...."
WIS 3 CHA 3 - "Pay attention! That ambush almost cost us our wizard!"
CON 3 CHA 3 - "Come on, that's just a flesh wound!"
Again, these are all open to interpretation. But it's all part of the interplay of Ability Scores and Role-Playing, and these are a few options.
Tuesday, 4 April 2017
Terrae Vertebrae: The Giants
Who were/are the
Giants??? What are they in myth? Vast, humanoid, frequently possessed of an
attachment to a facet of nature (frost, fire, storms), frequently hostile but
able to be treated with, capable of great deeds in war and peace, primal. If
one includes nephilim references as well, one might consider opposition to the
Creator/Allfather/What-have-you (or at least, not quite an intended part of
creation.....).
Origins of all ‘Protagonist race’ sapients is from a creator
or creators. Elder Races are Elves, Dwarves, &c. A gulf separates Sapients
and the divine – just as the Fall of Man, but quite possibly due to Angelic
Defection or Quarrels between Mortals (‘If you can’t play nicely...’) rather
than the Temptation. After this fall, Elves, Dwarves, Proto-Humans were left in a
somewhat weakened state. Those Angels and/or Deities that actually cared to
intervene with the world were permitted to aid them. Some taught them,
sheltered them and nurtured them. Others
just gave them powers directly; these became the Giants. This was regarded by ‘The Top Brass’ (who or
whatever that is) as giving a Child a revolver in order that they could protect
themselves from playground bullies. The Angels/Deities/Aspects of the Creator
responsible were reined in.
By this point, of course, the Giants had become what they
were: able to weather cold, hunger and other forms of adversity with impunity
(they were able to walk through the Arctic naked, but most wore clothes as a
matter of etiquette and beauty). Capable of building tall towers and great
cities; they showed great strength with their arms. However, being aware (or
made abruptly aware by the Powers that be) of their potential to disrupt the
development of the other races, they sequestered themselves in inhospitable
areas (partially out of pride, it must be said: ‘Look, humans! Look at my
palace! It’s balanced on top of Mount Everest!’). They developed swiftly,
breeding herds of beasts to an appropriate size for themselves and raising up
vast cities.
Those that died, after many centuries of life, lingered:
they were made to survive this world, and this impeded somewhat their possible
re-uniting with the Divine. A certain amount of ancestor worship sprung up, and
those spirits that lingered long enough took on roles of importance – at least
until they could work out the method to ascend. Those spirits that gave good
advice (or at least plausible advice) got more out of it than those that
didn’t; thus, few of the ancestor spirits that received worship were absolute
bastards. Some of the Spirits worked out the Clerical Spells function to make
themselves even more into Godlings – but those that abuse in get their fun shut
down by the ‘Top Brass’.
They developed swifter than other races, and whilst they
didn’t have necessarily more inherent problems than any other race, those
problems became threatening on a wider scale quicker, and the cities of the
Giants were cast down (Weapons of Mass Destruction? Perhaps.). Those that
remained on what would become the Trygvir Isles lost much of their former
prowess, for all the attempted guidance of the ancestor spirits. Of those
giants killed in the destruction of the cities, many became unquiet, tumultuous
and increasingly incomprehensible spirits, minds ravaged by the drama of the
fall and the ages of half-life and desolate ruination thereafter (whereupon many
take on qualities similar to the spirits and giants of Tim Powers’s Declare and The Stress of Her Regard; IE, attaching themselves to old statues
of themselves or to desirable persons or of the ruins of their old house).
The ruins of the Cities are not a safe place to go. None but the bold visit
them.
Terrae Vertebrae: Non-Humans (Half-Giants)
Verbatim from the Trygvir entry: There is also the remains of an Atlantis-analogue as run by Giants. Half Giants remain in Trygvir (Eight foot or so tall, some hooves, horns, bone spurs, immensely strong; slow of speech but not foolish. Touch also of Shadowrun trolls. Pseudo-Atlantis was a fairly cosmopolitan place.) remain, a shadow of what has gone before. Ancient and mysterious ruins; one might contemplate Nephilim references?
As promised, a set of rules (untested) for playing as a Half-Giant character.
Half Giants are native to Trygvir, but can be found in other places. Most resist conversion to the Faith of the Eight. They lack any real magical talent, but they can have some degree of faith based powers in the vein of 52 Pages Prophets (something that might be the subject for character advancement, as per the glimpses of the Next 52 Pages). Further articles shall dwell more on the lore of this, though it may be difficult to adequately balance the advantages of being a ten foot power-house and possessing spell-casting abilities.
Considering the 'Non-Humans as specialisation' model I've been working with on Terrae Vertebrae, the physical endurance and might of the Half-Giants and the Giants is best perhaps contrasted with the denizens of faerie: master-manipulators of the mind and of magic - but not terribly resistant to cold iron!
As promised, a set of rules (untested) for playing as a Half-Giant character.
NB EXPERIMENTAL and UNTESTED
IF A PLAYER ROLLS 18 STRENGTH & 15+ CONFIDENCE ONE CAN
PLAY AS A HALF GIANT
Advantages: Automatic
12 AC.
Can jump, reach higher/further without making rolls (IE, The
Fighter can only jump the ten foot gap with a successful athletics roll. The
Half-Giant easily makes it, but must roll for the fifteen foot jump)
Roll d8 for HP.
+10 Body Save - The Strength of the Giants endures.
+2 Melee Bonus; +1 Missile.
Instead of Fighter Powers:
At first level, can attack two enemies at once if both adjacent. By
third level, three. Stops there; fighter powers resume.
Opens most locked doors automatically. But they stay permanently open.
Do more damage with sized up weapons; 25% more (round up).
Disadvantages: Higher
cost for weapons & armour; must be especially made.
Minus to Civil Relations type Charisma uses; you’re a big
hulking thing and slow of speech, esp. in non-Trygvir Society.
Only +3 Speed Save. You’re a big hulking thing. Doesn’t apply
to Missile Bonus – you have presumably been training with it.
+3 Mind save.
-2 Penalty to sneak. You’re a big hulking thing.
-2 Penalty to Handiwork on Smaller objects. You’re a big
hulking thing.
Weird physiology means healing from Serious Injuries is difficult
for Humans to help with.
Must start with background NORTHERN ISLES.
Start with (Plus/Minus Bonuses) One Knowledge, One each
Notice Detail/Hear Noise. Zero Handiwork, Zero Stealth, Zero Athletics.
Level advance similar to fighter. Size Two - this can work against you!Half Giants are native to Trygvir, but can be found in other places. Most resist conversion to the Faith of the Eight. They lack any real magical talent, but they can have some degree of faith based powers in the vein of 52 Pages Prophets (something that might be the subject for character advancement, as per the glimpses of the Next 52 Pages). Further articles shall dwell more on the lore of this, though it may be difficult to adequately balance the advantages of being a ten foot power-house and possessing spell-casting abilities.
Considering the 'Non-Humans as specialisation' model I've been working with on Terrae Vertebrae, the physical endurance and might of the Half-Giants and the Giants is best perhaps contrasted with the denizens of faerie: master-manipulators of the mind and of magic - but not terribly resistant to cold iron!
Monday, 3 April 2017
Terrae Vertebrae: Non-Humans (Caprines) and why I wouldn't touch Gnomes with a Ten Foot Pole
So: there's no way round it. The 52 Pages offer Gnomes as a character class. It fits an interesting mechanical slot - one can only choose to play as Gnome with all the various offers that advances if none of your ability scores have a positive modifier. Gnomes themselves have an interesting set of skills that mollify the effects of these low rolls. (See here for a blog post on the subject over at Roles, Rules and Rolls).
But, Gnomes just don't feel like a good fit. Not for Terrae Vertebrae anyway. Not for any mechanical reason - not really. One could argue that they jostle for space with the 'Underground Skill set' with the Dwarves - but some duplication seems inevitable.
All this is ultimately dependent one how a player chooses to act, but fundamentally Gnomes occupy a space that doesn't seem right. The image they have is of manic, mischievous creatures, prone to wild ideas and reckless extravagance.
I might offer two objections to this.
Firstly - and anticipating how one might attack the stereotypes of Elves or Dwarves - there is almost a rule in mind for adapting pre-existing Non-Human races in my mind that gets them 'off the hook'. Call it the 'Two Image' rule; Elves can be envisaged as Wild Men of the Woods, Creatures of Nature - or as Haughty Lords of the Elder Days. Dwarves likewise have the potential to slot themselves between Dour, Skillful, Underground-Dwelling Artisans and Ferocious, Lust-for-Life Warriors.
Gnomes....at least in my mind....don't. They sit firmly in the 'mischievous sprite' camp, pointy hats or no. Tolkien's Hobbits (and anything like them) sit squarely between Down-to-Earth Farmers, Gentleman-Scholars and Wide-Eyed Naivete. The spells gifted to them in The 52 Pages prevent me form just calling them Halflings. The notion of Dragonlance's Kender is, well, unspeakable.
Secondly - and knowing the potential pomposity in my words - they are just silly. Yes, this needn't be a downfall in a party of adventurers, nor is comedy shunned at the gaming table. But ask yourself about the sort of humour involved.
A party of adventurers walk into the dungeon. The Rogue trips over her bootlaces, the impassioned speech by the Paladin goes down like a lead balloon, the Wizard casts fireball at just the wrong moment, the Barbarian is taken out of the running by a series of dice-rolls from an unusually resilient kobold. The party leaves the dungeon singed, battered, none the richer for all their travails; everyone round the table has a chuckle at the best-laid plans Of Murderhoboes and Men.
The Gnome...well, if the Gnome falls flat on his face, that's practically expected. It's the equivalent of somebody entering to an obnoxious laugh track. A race of comic relief is less than desirable; one might see the adventurer as Straight Man - the GM and the Universe she operates are the Comedic Foil.
What alternative do I offer, and how does it differ?
A leaf not out of Northern European myth and legend, but Southern. The Faun and the Satyr - I refer to these collectively as 'Caprines' (this link, interestingly, suggests the possibility for Terrae Vertebrae of antelope-men in southern climes).
Do they pass the 'Two Image' rule? At one end, we have Mr Tumnus and the denizens of Narnia; on the other, the wild revelers and Dionysiac figures of Greek myth. They have some of the same qualities associated with Gnomes - but without the puckish element.
But, Gnomes just don't feel like a good fit. Not for Terrae Vertebrae anyway. Not for any mechanical reason - not really. One could argue that they jostle for space with the 'Underground Skill set' with the Dwarves - but some duplication seems inevitable.
All this is ultimately dependent one how a player chooses to act, but fundamentally Gnomes occupy a space that doesn't seem right. The image they have is of manic, mischievous creatures, prone to wild ideas and reckless extravagance.
I might offer two objections to this.
Firstly - and anticipating how one might attack the stereotypes of Elves or Dwarves - there is almost a rule in mind for adapting pre-existing Non-Human races in my mind that gets them 'off the hook'. Call it the 'Two Image' rule; Elves can be envisaged as Wild Men of the Woods, Creatures of Nature - or as Haughty Lords of the Elder Days. Dwarves likewise have the potential to slot themselves between Dour, Skillful, Underground-Dwelling Artisans and Ferocious, Lust-for-Life Warriors.
Gnomes....at least in my mind....don't. They sit firmly in the 'mischievous sprite' camp, pointy hats or no. Tolkien's Hobbits (and anything like them) sit squarely between Down-to-Earth Farmers, Gentleman-Scholars and Wide-Eyed Naivete. The spells gifted to them in The 52 Pages prevent me form just calling them Halflings. The notion of Dragonlance's Kender is, well, unspeakable.
Secondly - and knowing the potential pomposity in my words - they are just silly. Yes, this needn't be a downfall in a party of adventurers, nor is comedy shunned at the gaming table. But ask yourself about the sort of humour involved.
A party of adventurers walk into the dungeon. The Rogue trips over her bootlaces, the impassioned speech by the Paladin goes down like a lead balloon, the Wizard casts fireball at just the wrong moment, the Barbarian is taken out of the running by a series of dice-rolls from an unusually resilient kobold. The party leaves the dungeon singed, battered, none the richer for all their travails; everyone round the table has a chuckle at the best-laid plans Of Murderhoboes and Men.
The Gnome...well, if the Gnome falls flat on his face, that's practically expected. It's the equivalent of somebody entering to an obnoxious laugh track. A race of comic relief is less than desirable; one might see the adventurer as Straight Man - the GM and the Universe she operates are the Comedic Foil.
What alternative do I offer, and how does it differ?
A leaf not out of Northern European myth and legend, but Southern. The Faun and the Satyr - I refer to these collectively as 'Caprines' (this link, interestingly, suggests the possibility for Terrae Vertebrae of antelope-men in southern climes).
Do they pass the 'Two Image' rule? At one end, we have Mr Tumnus and the denizens of Narnia; on the other, the wild revelers and Dionysiac figures of Greek myth. They have some of the same qualities associated with Gnomes - but without the puckish element.
Within the world of Terrae Vertebrae, I conceived elements of Caprine life thusly: Fauns are settled, urbane if not necessarily urban and
often smaller than Satyrs as a result of lifestyle. Both look to satisfy pleasures in
relative idleness and comfort. Difference being, Fauns wonder down to the pub
each evening for a glass of wine and a chat; Satyrs wander into town from the
country when they wish to paint the town red. Think of the two as Highlanders and Lowlanders.
Satyrs often worship the Old Gods. This is worrying to local
Churchmen and faithful; conversion is next to impossible. Fauns tend to look to the more indulgent kind of Folk Saints and to
keep their heads down in Church.
They are generally Nirvanite natives....though are less seen in the
Novopolis. Plenty live and work among humans, but a stranger is, by nature of
being an unknown Faun, especially strange.
As half goat, they are nimble, swift creatures and have some
minor magics as an elder race.
Now, no player ever yet chose to play as one. But their rules would not be so very different to Gnomes: something like Rogues and something like Magic-users. Naturally, they are of a different size. A different set of backgrounds would be necessary (eliminating the Dwarf-Gnome Underground clash discussed above), and less underground-centered languages. Perhaps the mind save might also be reduced, to emphasise the unfocused nature of the Caprines - but in return, their magical abilities might be less prone to failure.
Thus, then, mechanically, Caprines are skirmishers and supporting spellcasters - just as Gnomes. But without the pointy hats.
It did strike me that my other Non-Humans exists in comparison to one another. If this is the case, the Caprine seeking of worldly fulfillment (if not necessarily to hedonistic extremes; Hobbits are not decadents!) should be offset by a somewhat more spiritual, thoughtful race. This never quite came to fruition, though some ideas relating to C.S. Lewis's Out of the Silent Planet emerged.
Are there any offering a defense of the Gnome? Is the Caprine an acceptable substitute?
Sunday, 2 April 2017
Does Terrae Vertebrae and my style of play allow for.....
(A series of questions that help test the boundries of any given setting. Try them out yourself if you will.)
Low Fantasy?
If you mean Tim Powers or Buffy the Vampire Slayer real-world setting, no. If you mean that
the characters can take on the demon with just cold iron and true grit, then
perhaps.
High Fantasy?
Definitely.
Picaresque?
Yup.
Romantic Fantasy?
Yes – but more in the elements of plot rather than scene
dressing. There are opportunities for peaceful negotiation and “relationship-building, empathy, diplomacy,
healing, and love”. Not so many
magical horses. (http://udan-adan.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/romantic-fantasy-revisited-1-what-it-is.html)
Stereotypical genre Romance?
Only if you want to share the Romantic Boudoir scenes with
five other guys. And only if those five want to be in the Boudoir (after a
fashion) too. And if you want me as the
interior decorator of the Boudoir.
Erotica?
See Romance, then x 1,000. Not that a scene couldn’t have slight erotic suggestions, or that this is a universe without a hint of eroticism.
Urban Fantasy?
Cities? Yes. Contemporary cities? No. Magical Detecives
fighting sassy werewolves? No.
Dry, dusty MR James
Horror?
Difficult to do when your characters are designed to RIP AND
TEAR in numerous ways, but it has been done.
Oozy, horrible body
Horror?
I’d have to work on my delivery.
Hammer Horror?
Certainly. But the society of the setting would be a
difficult one to go full Dracula in without attracting unwelcome attention.
Lovecraftian
Shenanigans?
One could have Cthulu-style nasties. But the background
existential despair is probably out. There’s far more certainty and logic to
the universe.
Weird Fiction?
Probably get swamped in everything else.
Hard Science Fiction?
Only if you can think of The
Baroque Cycle as Science Fiction. A character could extend certain
technological and magical principles to a logical conclusion to Dungeon Punk
ends (but would they have time in between adventures?).
Space Opera?
Not really. Regular Opera is fine. Though some elements of
Sword and Planet are possible.
Corridors of Power Political Drama?
Not as such. Besides, why have an inventory if you don’t use
it yourself?
Classical Epic?
Not really.
Tragedy?
If Macbeth or Coriolanus, the
players will only be spearcarriers. If Othello
, they possibly could be main characters.
Classical Comedy?
That could be fun. Players are summoned to a mansion as
bodyguards for the local Duke’s grand ball and play matchmaker.
Farce?
I should like to avoid it as near as possibly. Farcical
elements, maybe. But the universe is playing it straight, even if the players/characters
aren’t.
Detective Fiction?
I’d have to come up with a good game mechanic.
Noir?
Difficult to say. The setting isn’t really corrupt enough (or doesn't carry the same air of corruption).
Could be the odd city.
Current, biting
political satire?
No. Breaks immersion a little.
Military Fiction?
Yes, we fight things. But the Characters are unlikely to be on
the front lines in the clash of armies. Sharpe
– no. Hornblower – no. Where Eagles Dare – maybe. Ice Cold in Alex – maybe.
Espionage?
Sure.
Robinsonade?
Why not. But new mechanics, &c.
Cyberpunk?
No silicon chips.
Steampunk?
No steam engine.
Western?
No steam engine, no gunpowder. Not enough frontier.
Courtroom Drama?
Why not. I’ve seen it done.
Adventure?
Duh.
Lost World?
Most of the world is fairly well known. But there are
corners that could hold something dinosaur shaped.
Tall Tale? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tall_tale
You can tell them, but I know precisely what you’re capable
of.
Gothic fiction?
The Picaresque gets in the way.
Dystopia?
No. Terrae Vertebrae is not a dystopia. Though we could play
the Galadriel’s Mirror vision of the future approach to imply something. Actually
visiting the place could be done, but grudgingly.
Post Apocalyptic?
See Dystopia.
Time Travel?
See Dystopia. But the in-universe gods probably frown on Dr Who style shenanigans and solutions
to problems.
Parallel Universe?
See Dystopia.