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.
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.
posted by Aleris at 9:21 AM
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