The third round of the game was actually our second actual physical gathering, since we had played the first two rounds in one night. That had required a certain amount of anticipation on my part; to prepare the various alternatives in the second round, I had to predict a range of actions the players might take, translate those actions into major historical forces, and devise new scenarios based on how I estimated that society might evolve. That method had limitations, in particular the difficulty of predicting how civilized humans would view primitive historical crossroads. I had already seen how the players were averse to taking extremes. Where the ancient civilizations were apt to solve their problems with brutally direct methods, with war and conquest and death, the players were trying to shepherd their cultures with compromise and diplomacy.
Diplomacy doesn't stop famine. Compromise doesn't stop the seasons. Until their civilizations had the means to survive the great catastrophes of their age, diplomacy and compromise would be limited tools. Still, I couldn't see the players abandoning them entirely, and therefore their actions would be hard to foresee. At this stage I concluded that one event at a time would be best.
Since so many years had passed between the last events and these, I decided that the clans* had entirely forgotten the true nature of what had occurred. They had passed down their recollections and interpretations from one generation to the next, and the actual events had been converted from history into myth. To represent each clan's interpretation of the historical events that preceded it, I began this round to present the players with a written Myth for each clan to precede the Event.
Year 50,000: The Interglacial Period
Diplomacy doesn't stop famine. Compromise doesn't stop the seasons. Until their civilizations had the means to survive the great catastrophes of their age, diplomacy and compromise would be limited tools. Still, I couldn't see the players abandoning them entirely, and therefore their actions would be hard to foresee. At this stage I concluded that one event at a time would be best.
Since so many years had passed between the last events and these, I decided that the clans* had entirely forgotten the true nature of what had occurred. They had passed down their recollections and interpretations from one generation to the next, and the actual events had been converted from history into myth. To represent each clan's interpretation of the historical events that preceded it, I began this round to present the players with a written Myth for each clan to precede the Event.
Year 50,000: The Interglacial Period
All tribes are being affected by the major event taking place in the world's geology: the planet is getting warmer. Everywhere, glaciers are retreating, ice is melting, and seas are rising. What were once seashores are becoming tidal flats, or drowning in salt water. The warm subtropical band around the equator is becoming a tropical sauna. Plants and animals are adapting to the warmer temperatures, migrating in search of food, or dying out, changing the balance of flora and fauna available to the hunter-gatherers. Their ancestral hunting grounds are changing. In all the clans, there is environmental change that they are just barely conscious of.
The Thrian Telepath Chooses. The devotion of the Thrian aguen herders is tested when the ancient bridal exchange ceremony is in direct conflict with their promise to keep the herds safe. The players cannot decide whether to allow the Big River tribe to slaughter the herds, or to destroy a new civilization of half-human, half-aguens, and so they put the entire decision into the hands of a telepath descended from Temu.
The Evanu Exile The Swift Hand Clan. When a small tribe of Evanu break the law against mining without the supervision of a priest, they are exiled. The players choose the method of exile, sending the Swift Hand clan into the caves, accompanied by the rock goat.
The Hybesh Valley Is Burning. Two distinct tribes of the Abequa have evolved: the Ascenders, who are strong climbers, and the Leapers, who appear to be developing the capacity for gliding between the treetops. The two tribes disagree how to handle the raging forest fires that are consuming their valley — is it their quest to stay and guard the trees, or to follow the herds? The players elect to send the tribes in both directions at once.
The Teyo Nami And The Moon Tiger. When the moon tiger confronts the people of Teyo Nami, separating their souls and frightening the people, the players are called in to destroy it. The question of placing the souls back into their rightful bodies, however, they leave up to the tribe.
The Bellaron Sacrifice Chamandra. They have crossed the island chain in search of new lands, for the seas are rising. They have finally come within sight of the mainland, but it is a very great distance to sail. The tribe cannot decide between following their leader to the mainland, or following Chamandra, who claims to be immortal and is not afraid of the rising waters. Immortal, are you? the players ask. We can disprove that theory.
The Thrian Telepath Chooses. The devotion of the Thrian aguen herders is tested when the ancient bridal exchange ceremony is in direct conflict with their promise to keep the herds safe. The players cannot decide whether to allow the Big River tribe to slaughter the herds, or to destroy a new civilization of half-human, half-aguens, and so they put the entire decision into the hands of a telepath descended from Temu.
The Evanu Exile The Swift Hand Clan. When a small tribe of Evanu break the law against mining without the supervision of a priest, they are exiled. The players choose the method of exile, sending the Swift Hand clan into the caves, accompanied by the rock goat.
The Hybesh Valley Is Burning. Two distinct tribes of the Abequa have evolved: the Ascenders, who are strong climbers, and the Leapers, who appear to be developing the capacity for gliding between the treetops. The two tribes disagree how to handle the raging forest fires that are consuming their valley — is it their quest to stay and guard the trees, or to follow the herds? The players elect to send the tribes in both directions at once.
The Teyo Nami And The Moon Tiger. When the moon tiger confronts the people of Teyo Nami, separating their souls and frightening the people, the players are called in to destroy it. The question of placing the souls back into their rightful bodies, however, they leave up to the tribe.
The Bellaron Sacrifice Chamandra. They have crossed the island chain in search of new lands, for the seas are rising. They have finally come within sight of the mainland, but it is a very great distance to sail. The tribe cannot decide between following their leader to the mainland, or following Chamandra, who claims to be immortal and is not afraid of the rising waters. Immortal, are you? the players ask. We can disprove that theory.
Players
Joe the Leader
Dave the Artisan
Connor the Mystic
Jack sat in this week. He was a long-time roleplayer I had known for years, but who hadn't been free for Game Night lately. His frequent absence was one reason we had started this campaign in the first place. Not that I'm blaming you, Jack. Jack was assigned the role of the NPC Storyteller and loremaster.
*About my use of the words tribe and clan: I will try to maintain clarity when I write this blog, because we are talking about so many different and varied people. When I say clan, I mean many thousands of separate hunter-gatherer tribes that reside in that general area and have the same mythical interpretation of history. When I say tribe, I mean one hunter-gatherer unit consisting of 30-60 people and only a few interrelated families. The players, as the Great Spirits, are called down by a tribe which is facing a crisis that I feel will help to shape history to come. The survival advantages thus conveyed to that tribe will help its stories spread to the rest of the tribes in that clan. By no means are all the tribes within a clan identical or monolithic in culture, but they will share some common elements for the sake of simplicity; there's simply no way to create the complexity of ten thousand separate tribal units, each acting on its own.
Jack sat in this week. He was a long-time roleplayer I had known for years, but who hadn't been free for Game Night lately. His frequent absence was one reason we had started this campaign in the first place. Not that I'm blaming you, Jack. Jack was assigned the role of the NPC Storyteller and loremaster.
*About my use of the words tribe and clan: I will try to maintain clarity when I write this blog, because we are talking about so many different and varied people. When I say clan, I mean many thousands of separate hunter-gatherer tribes that reside in that general area and have the same mythical interpretation of history. When I say tribe, I mean one hunter-gatherer unit consisting of 30-60 people and only a few interrelated families. The players, as the Great Spirits, are called down by a tribe which is facing a crisis that I feel will help to shape history to come. The survival advantages thus conveyed to that tribe will help its stories spread to the rest of the tribes in that clan. By no means are all the tribes within a clan identical or monolithic in culture, but they will share some common elements for the sake of simplicity; there's simply no way to create the complexity of ten thousand separate tribal units, each acting on its own.
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