A question of authenticity

An issue has been raised regarding one of the aspects of the world some of my players don't like and I'm uncertain what to do about it. The world that the game is set in is a world of heroes and magic, mad science and ultra powerful, albeit steam powered, technology. Despite this, I'm struggling to keep very human and realistic issues present in the world and it seems be impacting the happiness of at least one, perhaps two of my players. The time period is 1847, and even in the alternative timeline of the world of steam and sorcery, there are a number of things that remain the same. One of these is the view of women in varying societies throughout the world. First, as a disclaimer, don't misunderstand my intentions. I'm a sociologist and a Marxist. I abhor gender inequality (all inequality actually) with every fiber of my being. I'm a feminist, and I'm a guy. But to me, issues of racism, sexism, and class struggle make for unbelievably great stories and create very real issues for characters to deal with. In my Warhammer Fantasy Roleplaying campaign, these issues were apparent, and included another of my pet peeves--religious zealotry. In the current adventure, the PC's had to go into an aristocrats club in Munich, and were immediately separated based on gender. The women were taken to a salon where they read poetry, and the males were taken to a smoking room. Everyone was there to try and gain some information. The women used a number of social rolls and a great deal of time to gain some information, and the male character bribed the bartender in the club. The information gained was virtually identical, yet to my female players it seemed as if the male character got this information easier. In the post game discussion, both of the female players (who also happen to play the only female characters) indicated their frustration (and in truth, did so during the game as well, much to my irritation) and one of them explained that, had they known the world was so misogynistic, she would have played male characters.

I understand their frustration. Originally conceived, the world wasn't supposed to have gender stratification in such an in-your-face way, but as I wrote the adventures, I found myself moving in that direction to create an engaging game. The role that gender plays was not explained to them, and I tried to help them understand how I saw it. The fact of the matter is that among common folk, both in my world and in the historical, women and men of lower social status were generally of equal status. Putting aside the idea of the breadwinner/homemaker model of the 1950-1960's, women have in some way always worked outside of the home. Like today, poor families of the Victorian era needed money to live on too, and often times the wife found a suitable occupation of some sort, be it mending clothing, laundry, or some such. Granted, these were domestic task, but even among those who chose not to have such an occupation, factory jobs were available for women. Among the aristocracy, economic issues such as starvation and impoverishment were not present (overall), and there was an expectation that wives be demure and educated rather than employed. I understand the desire for authenticity in a game (even one based of in the fringes of a theoretical scientific schema long dead), but I also understand that no one wants to be subjected to oppression in a game. So, which is the better route? Authenticity that angers and alienates players, or the happiness of the players at the expense of interesting role-playing situations?

The characters

The game has an interesting mix of characters that I'd like to talk about before I get into the first adventure log. Sadly, as it happens with any game I think, there have already been changes to the character line up for the campaign. One of my players has left to be a dad, and another was unhappy with his character, so he is changing between adventures. Near the end of the adventure another player joined us, so I'm going to avoid mentioning his character here since he's new and I haven't yet gotten a good grasp of his character.

Ash Larue: Ash is an American Cowboy wanted by his own country. It is interesting because from the very first game, Ash was a cut up. His wit is great, and he has an amazing capacity to turn anything any of the characters say into a joke, and is by far the comic relief of the group. He is a gunslinger that, if memory serves, worked for American sparks in before he became wanted by the US government for some travesty. He is full of stories of past exploits from places such as Hong Kong, London, New York, etc. He is an unbelievably charismatic character, and his silver tongue has managed to ingratiate him and his cohorts with people that might not necessarily want or like his company. Ash is somewhat of a learned fellow, knowing a little about Philosophy. His two pepperbox pistols are called Descarte and Hume, which I find amusing. He was the owner of the Weatherlight, having won it in a card game with the owner during a stay in New London with Francis (See below).

Antigone Moriarty: Antigone, or Arty for short, comes from a long line of powerful European sparks. She herself isn't one, and during her childhood was the subject of her families cruel machinations. Despite this, she has a soft spot for her family that is naive at best and fatal at worst. Her most hated enemy is her twin sister, who has tried to kill her on more than one occasion. Arty is full of stories of her families exploits, and on some level seeks to perhaps find a niche that they haven't occupied. Among them are experts in clockwork, Bioengineering, and Necromancy (her family boasts one magic user, who is married to a Transylvanian Count with a penchant for drinks that aren't....wine). She is a gifted mechanic and airship pilot, and seems to have some pacifist leanings. She is at times a bit naive and has been the butt of many of Ash's and Francis' jokes.

Francis Doyle: Francis Doyle is one of the best magic users in the world. His skill at magic is unmatched by all but the most experienced mages. He has been the faithful sidekick of Ash for a long time, and their exploits are amusing. The two of them play off of each other so well it is almost unbelievable (I'm sad that Ash's player is taking a break, and Francis' player is unhappy with the character. Their in-game dynamic is great and is by far some of the best role-playing I've seen). Francis is, or at one time, was a doctor, although with the capacity to heal magically, he very rarely uses mundane medicine.

Delana Vichela: Delana is a Hessian Dwarf, with an extensive knowledge of explosives. She is also very nearly kleptomanical, and has a penchant for finding things that other people have lost in their pocket, homes, or other personal territory. Her only other obsession is explosives and fires, although not necessarily in that order. She is adept at sneaking around, and is the groups designated rogue, if one could call her that. She is also skilled in magic to a degree, but only insofar as a few spells that aid her in stealing or hiding.

First adventure inspiration and about the Erl

I think that all GM’s draw inspiration for games from things they’ve seen. For me, a lot of my inspiration comes from movies and television shows. It isn’t to say that I rip them of blatantly (generally), but that sometimes there are ideas that are just so good that I can’t not use them. The wonderful thing about Steampunk is that because of its variability there is a plethora of sources to draw upon. While I’ve mentioned previously some of the things that gave me inspiration for the game and the themes of the world, specific plots are often drawn from many other sources that I didn’t mention. In the case of the first adventure, it is taken nearly completely from a movie that I became enamored with in the past.

In 1988 a movie came out called The Beast, or The Beast of War. The movie, set during the Russian invasion of Afghanistan, was in my opinion one of the best movies ever. I love war movies, and this one is a war movie of a different sort. In it, a column of T-62’s destroys a village, and one of them gets separated from the main column and has to try and find a way back to their base. While they are doing this, the brother of a village elder who was killed by the tanks raises some Mujahadeens to try and destroy the tank before it razes another village. The interesting thing, and sort of the twist of the, lies with the tank crew. The commander is a vicious little bastard that runs over Afghani’s and poisons watering holes when he thinks that it will slow people down. Eventually he gets pissed at one of his men, played by Jason Patrick, and ties him to a rock with a couple of hand grenades under him. Eventually Patrick’s character escapes and is shortly thereafter saved by the Mujahadeens who are pursuing the tank. Originally they were going to kill him, but after he fixes the only RPG the Mujahadeens have, they decide to keep him around as long as he will destroy the tank for them. Eventually they catch up with the tank after it passes through a narrow gorge, and Patrick’s character destroys it with the RPG.

I loved this idea a first adventure, partly because it almost immediately cast a sharp division between the technology of the world and the arcane, since in the first adventure it isn’t an afghani village that is destroyed, but instead an Erl (Elf) village. In this case, the RPG wasn’t present, so instead, a mage that had the Make/Break sphere of magic is used in substitute.

A note on the Erl. One of the ideas that I’m toying around with is the nature of gender among the Erl. They were, as originally conceived, a highly patriarchal society. Women didn’t fight openly and were more quiet and demure than men. The Erl society is highly militaristic, and the glory of a family is directly relational to the battle prowess of an Erl warrior. Subsequently, men are highly valued and form the back bone of society. Still, the sociologist in me cried out at such oppression, so I had to put something in their society that allows for some upward mobility. In this respect, I drew from the idea of the Native American Berdach. Among some Native American tribes, men could, should they choose, embrace the role of a female. They had sex with men, became wives, and were generally accepted as members of the female gender.
Among the Erl, as similar practice is in place. In this case a woman chooses to eschew her gender and become a man. She undergoes a rite that culminates in the removal of her breasts, and from there on, she is allowed to function in Erl society as a man. He can own land, take wives, fight, become leaders, etc. Obviously even in the age of steam there is little that can provide an adequate substitute for the male reproductive organ, so these Berdaches can hire Progenitors, Erl men not unlike prostitutes, who impregnate the Berdach’s wife. This child of this union is recognized as legitimate child between the Berdach and his wife by Erl standards, and often times the offspring never knows the true nature of his or her lineage. Originally this practice was reserved for wealthy Erl aristocrats and lords that had no male heir, but since the practice hasn’t been outlawed and was not specifically banned among lower classes, it is a practice that is wide spread today. Roughly 10% of the Erl males are Berdaches.
This is not the only way that Erl females can engage in aggressive pursuits. The order of the knives is the official secret police and anti-spy network of the Erl lands. Their agents roam the black forest, and are often seen in large European cities as well. They are entirely female, trained from youth the arts of deception, stealth, disguise and combat. The Erl are a well known patriarchal society, and having female agents quickly discounts suspicions about Erl abroad, making them exceptional spies. Even within Erl lands women tend to be easily discounted, which is why they are useful.

The first post

So I've tried this new an novel idea of creating a blog for my campaign. Not so much for anyone but my players and the whole 6 other people in the world who might be interested in it. This is a place to publish my ideas about the game, some of my views about gaming, and create a campaign log to keep track of the characters progress. I did this for my Warhammer Fantasy Game and it worked well. Since it is a public forum I couldn't give the PC's all of the information that might be available in an adventure log book, so I'll not refer to specifics here but it will give me, and hopefully them, an opportunity to know what is going all in a multi faceted light. I hope that this will also let me develop the world a little bit more as well as get feedback from certain people who are in the know. My last reason for this is sort of a sentimental one. One of my players is getting ready to have a baby which prevents her from playing with us. I hope that this minute gesture will help her feel connected to the happenings of the game in some way and allow her, between midnight feedings and constant diaper changes, some amount of amusement. Her husband, who is also part of the group, is getting ready to take off and enjoy the role of fatherhood. Because of this I also wanted to give him a means of keeping track of what happens for his return. Additionally, other players are hopefully going to be joining the group in their stead so this is a means to help the understand the world and my processes as well.

My inspiration for this campaign came primarily from the computer game Arcanum and the Studio Foglio Comic book Girl Genius. Hands down Girl Genius is the best comic ever. Not withstanding the fact that it's purely an online comic and as such it is only published every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, it is by far the best example of my little world. Like in Girl Genius, the campaign takes place on Earth in many of the same locals that exist today. There is little difference in all honesty. The British Empire is the strongest and most wide spread in the world, and so far no other industrialized nation has come close to achieving what it has. America is about where it is supposed to be historically with a few minor changes. The US has never moved beyond the original 13 states really. Florida has been added but the land beyond the Appalachian mountains is grossly different that what it was historically. I love the idea of Sparks. Hands down one of the best parts of Girl Genius. Because of that I borrow liberally from the concepts of what sparks are. In my world they are super intelligent, nearly megalomanicial mad scientist bent on ruling the world. The advances of the world are all due pretty much completely to them. At any rate, Sparks exist in my game and most of them live between the Appalachian mountains and the Mississippi river. Originally part of the Louisiana purchase, in my world, the American president became fearful that the sparks of the America's would try to take over the country, so in 1804 he offered them land in the new Louisiana territory. Cheap. Very Cheap. Many of them took up the presidents offer and the US made a killing in profit. Unfortunately, many of the sparks came into conflict with each other, resulting in an area of fiefdoms not unlike feudal Japan or Europe where each spark builds towns and industry and then wages war against the other sparks.

The fantasy of Arcanum is also a huge influence. I didn't want to do strict steampunk because I wanted to cater to the desires of some of my groups love of fantasy gaming. I had always like Arcanum and the concept intrigued me, so when it came time to run my own steampunk world I decided that a fantasy element would be present. I think that it provides a wonderful contrast between the technology that the sparks use and the powers that wizards have access to. I liked the idea of magic users and sparks having a more purposeful reason for hating each other but that gets into the mythology of the world which is outside of the scope of my first post. For the most part, the fantasy element of my world ranges from high fantasy to low fantasy based on where everyone is. In the Black Forest, home of the Erl (Elves), it is high fantasy, complete with Dragons, ogres, demons, Gods and unbelievably powerful magical areas. In London or Berlin, highly industrialized cities, there is little indication of magic and it is certainly controlled if not outlawed.

Some other inspiration for the game, in case anyone is wondering is:

Mage: The Ascension A good Transcendent magic concept that I wanted to use but never got around to. Instead the dichotomous relationship between the traditions and the technocracy is very similar to the contrasts of sparks and technology versus wizards and magic.

Rifts: The idea of a highly magical and highly technological world is explored in depths in Rifts. I never cared for the ease with which a character could get unbelievably powerful weapons in Rifts but I liked the fact that for the most part the people in the world were divided in to two groups--those with magic or those with technology. I'm hoping to explore this in my own campaign. Rifts made it so that magic and technology could more or less counter each other, or at least be mingled together.

Shadowrun: I use this mainly as a really cool way of looking at magic and magical ideas in a modern society.

There is also countless other inspirations not gaming oriented. Some of them include

Wild Wild West--both the movie and the series
Adventures of Brisco County Jr.--Bruce Campbell at his best.
From Hell--Make the Freemasons to a magical order and you've got a super sweet Victorian era supernatural story that could easily be seen in a steampunk game.
Lord of the Rings Trilogy--a commentary on the evils of industry can be seen in Sarumon and his Black Orcs.
The Rocketeer--Man flies with a rocketpack and fights Nazi spies. What isn't to love.
Firefly--it was a travesty of justice that they took this off the air. The rough frontier like feel is pretty much what the world of the American Spark is like.


Ok. So you know my inspiration. Hopefully it will give you some insight into where the game might go.