Character Creation in the Old West

Last year, I started playing in the very occasional Boot Hill game of Regina, she of the web-serialized, historical novel Five Dollar Mail. Gina's group likes to go somewhat rules-lite. Gina gave me a page of information on the setting, basically boiling down to "a small town with a pony express stop in the Nebraska Territory of the early 1860s" and "magic exists, but it's not flashy, more historic-feeling." And she said: "come up with the character you want to play."

After a bit of consideration, this is what I sent her:

From The Western Gunfighter Encyclopedia (Wheeler, 1975):

CROWE, GIDEON (1820-?) - gunman, spiritualist, and carnival performer. Born into a once prominent Baltimore family, Crowe was the son of a former minister and a fortune-teller and sometime-actress, described as "of Gipsie [sic] blood" and purported to be the illegitimate daughter of infamous occultist/confidence artist Alessandro di Cagliostro (Giuseppe Balsamo). Crowe allegedly fought in the service of the British East India Company in the latter days of the campaign against the Thuggee cult. Returning to North American, he was obscurely involved with the East Texas Regulator-Moderator War. He joined John Joel Glanton and his scalphunters, but deserted them shortly before the band fled Chihuahua as outlaws. He performed sharpshooting shows, and European-style phantasmagoria--"ghost shows," utilizing a primitive antecedent of the slide projector, for several years in theaters and dance-halls in San Francisco's Barbary Coast. His ultimate fate is unrecorded.

Despite being little known today, Crowe was the the inspiration for a dime novel serial, "The Sideshow of Prof. Crowe" in Mundsen & Grandee's Old West Library (1880). Here the carnival aspects are played up, and Crowe has accomplices in the form of "the mighty Negro, Samson," a mute strong-man; and "the sultry Gypsie, Appollonia," a medium. In addition to being a "dead shot with a pistol, " Crowe was said to be "master of the esoteric sciences" and "adept in the secrets of the Hindoo." In the pulp era, he served as the inspiration for a series of short stories by T. Mallory beginning in 1934 with "Satan's Gunman" in Western Mystery. Here, his associates were much the same, but Crowe himself is gifted with more of a supernatural nature. He is a skilled medium and occultist, and referred to as "the Frontier Faust." It is intimated that he is under some contract to send evil-doers to hell and is--at least once--called "the Devil's Pinkerton" by an adversary. The pulp stories, in turn, served to inspire Italian horror filmmaker Lucio Balsamo to pounce on the "Spaghetti Western" craze with Pistolero del Diavolo (1967, U.S. title: Satan's Gun). Gideon Crowe was portrayed by an actor credited (likely pseudonymously) as "Max Shreck," who is practically a Lee Van Cleef lookalike--which makes him not a bad likeness of the real Crowe given the one daguerreotype extant, believed to date from the mid-1850s.

My purpose here--writing it as "fictional non-fiction"--was to suggest hooks and interesting tidbits that might be of interest to the GM without necessarily assuming what was "true" in her world. Historically removed and masked by legend, who's to say what the truth of Gideon Crowe--the character who would result--was?

It's the sort of thing I would be able to get behind as a GM, but I was unsure how Gina would take it.

Luckily, she took it completely in the spirit intended. A few days later she emailed me the character with game abilities, fleshed out with tidbits inspired by the write-up.

I don't suggest something like this would work for ever campaign, or every player-GM team, but I think the collaborative nature of game worldbuilding should start from the very beginning, not just when the adventure begins.

Wednesday Bonus Art

Given that Warlord Wednesday was msotly a reprint issue, I figured I should meet my quota of entertainment with some artwork I've scavenged--er, collected:

"Those aren't orcs!"

"Alas, the skull is not for sale...":

To the victor goes the spoils:

(This ones for Paladin in the Citadel :) )  Dejah Thoris walks her dog?:

Warlord Wednesday: Flashback

Let's enter the lost world with a briefer than usual installment of my issue by issue examination of DC Comic's Warlord, the earlier installments of which can be found here...

"Flashback"

Warlord (vol. 1) #11 (February 1978-March 1978)

Written and Illustrated by Mike Grell

Synopsis: Chased by a charging triceratops, Morgan, Machiste, and Mariah manage to find safety in a cave. Mariah's cold, so Machiste lights a fire. Morgan stands by the opening and keeps watch, but by the time the triceratops leaves, Mariah and Machiste have fallen asleep. Alone with his thoughts in the dim glow of the fire, Morgan reflects on how he came to Skartaris and how he met Tara.

Emerging from his reminiscence with renewed resolve, Morgan swears, sword raised, to find his lost love.

Things to Notice:

• The title page marks the debut of the tag phrase the series will carry in most issues for the rest of its run: "In the savage world of Skartaris, life is a constant struggle for survival. Here, beneath an unblinking orb of eternal sunlight, one simple law prevails: If you let down your guard for an instant you will soon be very dead."
• Our heroes are quick to leave their horses to fend for themselves.
• It's origin recap time, and for the second time in the series' short run--though this time is a direct reprint.

Where It Comes From:
Other than the framing sequence, this issue is a reprint of material from "Land of Fear", First Issue Special #8.

What Rough Beast: The Orcish Mind

"A routine soul-smear confirmed the presence of pure evil."

- Dr. Hibbert, The Simpsons

Orcs as read in D&D are the epitome of evil, congenitally irredeemable. And they're ugly, too.

As something of a reaction to this portrayal, latter-day orcs are often semi-noble savages. Something like Star Trek: The Next Generation Klingons.

In the world of Arn, I wanted orcs to be creatures mostly as suggested in the Monster Manual. Clashes of cultures are fine, but I've got human cultures to clash. Orcs are to be monsters.

Just because they're monsters, though, doesn't mean there can't be a reason for their monstrousness. Orcs can be understandable, I think, without being particularly relatable.

My inspirations here are recent works with more of an emphasis on psychology. R. Scott Bakker's fantasy epic Prince of Nothing trilogy, and its follow-up, the currently on-going Aspect Emperor series, has a new take on the Tolkien-derived orc concept. The Sranc are derived in perverse fashion from the Tolkienian, elf-like Nonmen--making them analogous to orcs in more ways than one. The sranc are unreasoning marauders with beautiful Nonmen faces, who roam in large packs, and seem only semi-intelligent, but can employ weapons. Unlike Tolkien's orcs, the sranc explicitly derive sexual pleasure from their violence. Here's a descriptive passage from The Judging Eye:

"Running with rutting fury, howling with rutting fury, through the lashing undergrowth, into the tabernacle deep. They swarm over pitched slopes, kicking up leaves and humus. They parted about trunks, chopping at the bark with rust-pitted blades. They sniffed the sky with slender noses. When they grimaced, their blank and beautiful faces were clenched like crumpled silk, becoming the expressions of ancient and inbred men.

Sranc. Bearing shields of lacquered human leather. Wearing corselets scaled with human fingernails and necklaces of human teeth.

The distant horn sounded again, and they paused, a vicious milling rabble. Words were barked among them. A number melted into the undergrowth, loping with the swiftness of wolves. The others jerked at their groins in anticipation. Blood. They could smell mannish blood."

Like the neurosurgery patient turned serial killer in Crichton's The Terminal Man (1972)--violence seems to be wired to directly to pleasure areas of sranc brains. Presumably, this was done, along with the physical changes, by the No-God, who warped the sranc from Nonmen stock.

Another species or subspecies with modified neurocognitive structures are the vampires from Peter Watts' 2006 science fiction novel Blindsight. On Watts' website there's a rather clever PowerPoint-type presentation that details the fictional history how the search for a gene therapy for autism lead to the discovery of the genetic basis of vampirism. In Watts' novel, vampire (or as Watts would have it, Homo sapiens whedonum) brains are much better at certain types of pattern recognition and information processing than standard humanity--but are also violent, and totally lacking in empathy.  In other words, what we would call rather extreme sociopaths.

So what does this all mean for the orc? Well, it seems to me that orcs in the world of Arn, like Tolkien's orcs or Bakker's sranc, are the products of biothaumaturgical engineering. The base human (or other hominid) stock employed was twisted to create shock-troops for war--an intelligent creature imprisoned by a brain hardwired for hatred of all beings non-orc, and deriving a great deal of neurologic reward from inflicting violence. Individual orcs will vary in the degree these traits are manifest, and half-orcs even more so, but orcish brains make them what they've always been--the implacable enemies of man.

More Inspirational Nonfiction

Here, from my shelves to you, are five more works of nonfiction that I've find inspirational, or instructional, in the process of world-building:

Imaginary Worlds by Lin Carter: This first selection is an oldie--woefully out of print--but a goodie and worth seeking out. Not only does Carter provide a history of "secondary world" or "imaginary world" fantasy, but his last chapter is a "how-to" on world-building covering topics like religion, cartography, and naming. It's aimed at fiction writers, true, but it has some good thoughts for gaming world-builders, as well.

The Secret Teachings of All Ages by Manly P. Hall: Originally published in 1928, Hall's book is a good corrective to the simplified polytheistism in a lot of fantasy game worlds. He's got quick-read-but-detailed, chapter's on Pythagorean mysticism, Gnosticism, Hermeticism, and more mystery cults than you can shake a bone rattle at. It would probably be useful to add some color to modern, or modernish, occult games like Call of Cthulhu, too.

Dictionary of Ancient Deities by Patricia Turner & Charles Russell Coulter: Need inspiration for the portfolios or characteristics of gods in your game? Or maybe just need an obscure name to throw on an idol in a dungeon, and don't feel particularly like coining one? This books got you covered from A (Mayan death god) to Zywie (alternate name for Polish goddess of life, Ziva). It makes for interesting browsing for ideas you didn't know you needed, as well.

Encyclopedia of Heresies and Heretics by Chas S. Clifton: What's all this Ancient World-syle religion in a pseudo-medieval setting? Try out some of these challenges to Christian orthoxy through the ages. I've found heretical beliefs a big inspiration for "Catholicism-but-not" religions for games that need something like that. Not as much information as Cohn's book I've mentioned previously, but a breezier read and more browsable.

Monsters! by Neil Arnold: Arnold subtitles his book "the A-Z of zooform phenomena" giving a hint of his Fortean stance, but its weird sightings, urban legends, and mythological creatures make for fine adventure fodder. Arnold's entries suffer from a little sparseness of detail at times, and some of the monsters either already have analogs in gaming or would require a lot of thought to make them useful.  But things like the Hopkinsville Goblins, Jenny Greenteeth, or the cattle-mutilating, flying, Jellyfish of Japan, definitely have potential.

Mail Order Magical Materials

From the early 1930s until after World War II, companies like King Novelty Company sold "curios,"--hoodoo charms and ritual materials--and grimoires (including the famous Pow Wows, or The Long Lost Friend) alongside cosmetic and medicinal items.

In the world of The City, catalogs like these are handy resources for material components and materia magica. Even in more traditional, pre-industrial fantasy campaigns these materials might be used to add some flavor to spellcasting. For campaigns that don't use material components, maybe these materials enhance the potency of spells?

Here's a selection of some of the materials offered in the catalogs with suggested D&D game effects.  Example spells affected for each material are from the Open Game License System Reference Document version 3.5.

Devil's Shoe-String: Thin, flexible roots of a family of plants related to honeysuckle. These can be used as components in spells to "tie up" or "hobble" enemies (Entangle, Hold spells, Slow, Snare) and also be carried for luck in gambling.

Goofer Dust: Made from graveyard dirt, powdered, shed snake-skins, sulfur, and salt in the main, exact goofer dust formula's are trade secrets of the various manufacturers. Goofer dust is sprinkled where an enemy will walk, or perhaps placed inside his shoes, and leads a magical poisoning. [On a failed saving throw, the victim suffers a -2 to penalty to attack rolls, saves, and ability checks for a period of 1-10 days.]

Graveyard Dirt: Dirt acquired in a graveyard can be used as a material component for some spells which do harm to others (Bestow Curse, Cause Fear), but can also be used in spells of protection (Various Protection and Magic Circle spells). Whether graveyard dirt is gathered by the would-be caster or bought from a supplier, care should be taken that it has been "paid for"--usually by leaving an offering of a silver piece in the graveyard--to appease the spirits of the dead.

Lodestone: Pieces of naturally magnetic iron ore. Lodestone is a component used in spells of luck (Locate and Find spells), or attraction (Charm and Summon spells). Some hold that different color lodestones have greater potency when used for specific purposes.

Four Thieves Vinegar: An ancient, Old World formula, this is a mixture of herbs and vinegar, which can be ingested or applied topically to provide resistance to disease and magical protection. [Adds a +2 to saving throws against disease, and a +1 against spells for 2-12 days with each application.]

Van Van Oil: Made from herbal essential oils, it may be applied to the body or a surface as a component of spells of protection ([Alignment], Magic, Arrows, etc.). It can also be used to anoint magical items like amulets or rings to enhance them, or weaken cursed items. [Application of the oil adds one additional charge (1 time/item) to an item with limited charges, adds a bonus to the effect of any non-charged item for 1-10 hours, or removes the deleterious effect of a cursed item for 1-10 hours. These last two effects may be gained more than once per item, though never in a cumulative fashion. The oil has no effect on scrolls, potions, or magical weapons or armor.]

For information on real-world hoodoo and rootwork, and more examples of magical materials. check out Cat Yronwode's great website.

This Land...

"As I went walking that ribbon of highway,
I saw above me that endless skyway..."
- Arlo Guthrie, "This Land is Your Land"

Last Sunday, I mentioned the City sandbox campaign. I thought I might give a little more information on City, and its world.

The City sits at the mouth of the Eldritch River on the eastern coast of the New World (which isn't really new at all) facing the ocean, across which lies the Olde World which still suffering the effects of the strange weapons employed in the last war.

With the ocean and the Olde World behind us, let's heading out west. We come to the Smaragdine Mountains. These parallel the east coast, running into the sea in the north and petering out in the south. These old, forested hills are the home of superstitious yokels, moon-shining ogre clans, crafty conjure-men, and magical beasts. In the south, where the mountains shrink to hills, then flatten, and finally sink to vast swamps, we again find monsters--prehistoric holdouts and belligerent (and malodorous) skunk-apes.

West again, over the mountains, we find steel-towns, and corrupt Lake City, run by warring gangsters, on the shores of the Inland Sea.

Beyond the cities and still fertile farm lands, are the Dustlands. These were farm lands once, but now ruined by drought, ruled by sentient, malevolent storms--cyclone suzerains and tornado tyrants--and haunted by black-dust ghosts.

Eager to leave the Dustlands behind us, we push westward and find more mountains. These are rugged peaks that dwarf the Smaragdines, and shadow hardpan, high deserts. These are places of old mining ghost towns, deep canyons with ancient cliff dwellings, and strange, diminutive mummies that might still whisper in dessicated voices to those that will listen.

West again, one last time, and we're in the lands of Hesperia, and at another coast. Hesperia is the most civilized place we've come to since we left the east--and maybe more civilized, depending on who you ask. Sunny, palm-treed Heliotrope, in the south is the home of movie industry that entertains a continent. In the north is decadent San Tiburón, where lives a vagrant, who's either the Maimed King of the New World, or a sad lunatic.

And that's a brief, fly-over tour of a continent.  Sea to shining sea, as it were.