Faction Player Characters Based on Cultural Knowledge

[Clovis]

I think the "mysteries" are mostly about what the Demorthèn know of the ancient tongue, of Tri-Kazel's history, of traditional medicine, of the C'maoghs. They are taught a whole body of knowledge about the traditions of the peninsula in general, which fits their role as the ancestral keepers of knowledge. Some elements of such data (about Nimheil, or the Morcail, for example) are far from being known to everyone, and are kept more closely and secretively by the Demorthèn, since they are about dangerous or unsavory elements of the Demorthèn "profession".


Now, regarding what is commonly known about Demorthèn, I think it is mostly generalities: they are the keepers of ancient traditions and lore, know many things related to medicine or spirituality, and must be respected because of their particular closeness with nature.

However, I'd say that it mostly depends on each Demorthèn: some of them show a very mysterious and even maybe frightening behavior, while others can be much more friendly and involved in the day-to-day activities of the village. Therefore, each village can have a different attitude toward the local Demorthèn. Actually, I think we can compare that to our contemporary physicians or policemen: everybody knows roughly what they are meant to do, but not many people are actually aware of what the precise rules are for their profession.

As for the traditions, it can go from ancestral ceremonies that must be observed (such as Earrach Feis) to very obscure directives about what must and what must not be done to live in peace with the spirits of nature. Once more, it's up to you and the GL to use your imagination to define precisely what such rituals and traditions could be!

[Skywalker]

While this is certainly true, players have a strange habit of wanting *more*. As a GL, it falls on me to provide the players with information about the various factions for a player who wants to play a member of the faction. Several of my players (in both gaming groups) considered the material to be "limited information" because the material is presented from a subjective, rather than objective, point of view.

Given a PC would learn knowledge subjectively, I actually find this aspect to be more naturalistic and immersive, and also it allows for greater freedom of intepretation of the like that would happen in the setting (rather than some reference manual from up on high)

It is not hard to extrapolate all three factions from real world equivalents if you feel you need a little more too.

[JohnK]

Hullo, Skywalker,

While this is certainly true, players have a strange habit of wanting *more*. As a GL, it falls on me to provide the players with information about the various factions for a player who wants to play a member of the faction. Several of my players (in both gaming groups) considered the material to be "limited information" because the material is presented from a subjective, rather than objective, point of view.

Given a PC would learn knowledge subjectively, I actually find this aspect to be more naturalistic and immersive, and also it allows for greater freedom of intepretation of the like that would happen in the setting (rather than some reference manual from up on high)

I totally agree with you on this, Luke, and to be honest, prefer my rpgs to handle this sort of thing in a subjective, rather than objective fashion, for the most part. But I can see where players might find it limiting (their words, not mine). As you said, it's really a matter of having greater freedom of interpretation, but some players and GLs...

It is not hard to extrapolate all three factions from real world equivalents if you feel you need a little more too.

Which is what I expect in games of this sort, where interpretation is somewhat more important than it would be in other game systems. So that's partially what I've done for my campaign as well.

[SnowLeopard]

Hi Clovis,

Now, regarding what is commonly known about Demorthèn, I think it is mostly generalities: they are the keepers of ancient traditions and lore, know many things related to medicine or spirituality, and must be respected because of their particular closeness with nature.

Ahhh... I think something just clicked. I was thinking of the Demorthen as another form of religion. But it is more like a wiseman/wisewoman whose knowledge has been passed down through the ages, what has worked and what has not. One able to see patterns in nature and with the knowledge of the elders s/he is able to predict or warn of upcoming events. Humm....

Once more, it's up to you and the GL to use your imagination to define precisely what such rituals and traditions could be!

Yes, very true.

Thanks Clovis.

[Skywalker]

Ahhh... I think something just clicked. I was thinking of the Demorthen as another form of religion. But it is more like a wiseman/wisewoman whose knowledge has been passed down through the ages, what has worked and what has not. One able to see patterns in nature and with the knowledge of the elders s/he is able to predict or warn of upcoming events. Humm....

In an age of relative ignorance and limited communication, knowledge and tradition is hard to distinguish from religion and spirituality. The later is often a pursuit to provide answers for phenomena that are not understood, after all.

If you look at the Celtic people, their beliefs were highly individualistic from place to place. Though there were some shared understandings passed on by Druids and the like, even their teachings were often influenced by that Druid's own personal experience and thinking. Celtic Gods and spirits differ from place to place and have different names, almost like a vast game of Chinese whispers.

I think this is the key to why Esteren's approach of subjectively presenting the setting is a good one. It forces the players to think like their PCs and come up with their own answers on the information provided to them.

[Clovis]

I couldn't have summed it up in a better way, Skywalker!

[SnowLeopard]

In an age of relative ignorance and limited communication, knowledge and tradition is hard to distinguish from religion and spirituality. The later is often a pursuit to provide answers for phenomena that are not understood, after all.

Yes, yes, that is what finally clicked. Nicely stated.

If you look at the Celtic people, their beliefs were highly individualistic from place to place. Though there were some shared understandings passed on by Druids and the like, even their teachings were often influenced by that Druid's own personal experience and thinking.

That experience would certainly influence how the Ionnthen/Demorthen interact with Nature/C'maoghs and what they would say to the villagers, and how.

I think this is the key to why Esteren's approach of subjectively presenting the setting is a good one. It forces the players to think like their PCs and come up with their own answers on the information provided to them.

Subjectivity is good and everything is going to be subjective to a character but to get a better overall picture you need more than one view point. The story in book one with the Demorthen returning and finding out that his Ionnthen had let the forest around the village to be clear cut, is one such example. We saw what could happen when the Ionnthen strayed from his teachings but what was supposed to be the correct answer to the vision quest? If the Ionnthen had been true to the teachings (it was clear in the story that he was not, but if he had been true..) What was he supposed to have seen in the vision quest? I realize that this would be personal and unique to each person but what do you think he should have seen?

Thanks for the clarification!

[warwolf1969]

I'm planning to run SoE in the near future and I'm not going to allow my characters to be full members of the groups. I think they'd get more in the game and learn more if they start as Ionnthen etc. It also allows me time to work out how these groups work and for the details to turn up in the main books or in the support books as they are released.

[StripelessTiger]

I think they'd get more in the game and learn more if they start as Ionnthen.

I couldn't agree more. Based on a player's experience with tabletops and general craving for more information, it would behoove anyone to start the PCs in a very limited scope of knowledge anyway, since they are just beginning to venture out into the world and discover the mysteries of Tri-Kazel. Having players start with no Oghams or Miracles is a great way to immerse someone in the training required, and Disciplines.

Even for Varigals. It takes a long time to actually traverse most of the peninsula, and even still, they shouldn't have seen everything. While they would have more knowledge about the land than most, considering how isolated the villages are, they would just have started out locally.

I think leaving the player's with a limited perspective improves your ability to coax them into adventure. I find it easier to explain as I go, instead of info-dumping onto the players. All the previous suggestions are great ideas. Tri-Kazel has such striking similarity to actual history that you can draw upon those influences to relate them to someone.

Let them make up their own mind about it.

[Kadakithis]

My issue was less with the orders, since I am used to my players never reading the books, and having to wing explanation. But with the countries. It felt often that many of the sources were from nearly always Taol-Kaer as opposed to Gwidre or Reizh and it was hard when nearly everyone wanted to start play in Baldh-Ruoch where there was relatively little on what daily life is like there.

I am really interested how artificial light works there "An artificial light imitating the rising sun, spread in a soft pinkish hue on the top of the court walls" So do the places in the middle of the rocks have completely different lighting?

Also I am really scratching my head over Gwidre's military. They are growing, but doing relatively little with it rather than patrolling their cities to make crime incredibly rare. Why are they not worse than Reizh rogue military? Is the Gwidrite capital a police state? I adore the world and am always surprised that the nuance it was made in has such an effect I can ask a question and ponder it which few worlds give you the chance to do.