Mab
7:15pm, June 13, 2005
[Edit]
[Delete] | Hi,
Some players have come in with some very, very good ideas......for some other chat. This is a fantasy chat and it is a fantasy chat that is extremely open to interpretation and creativity, it having no specific literature or media on which it is based. However, it does have a little bit of a framework as far as the type of mood and style it is. Some of that framework has been established by the chat masters, some has been established by the players.
The best way to describe the mood and style is medieval times for the most part. This being a fictional world and a fantasy chat, there are some exceptions. One exception is the style of ships that may be around, such as ships from the 1700s and such, but those ships are not equipped with cannons. Instead they have harpoons and catapults, mostly harpoons. There are more primitive ships around as well, like viking ships, etc.
Another exception is the fashions. The fashions may have elements of renaissance times, but not later than that. Basically, there are no dudes running around in waist coats, but there may be a damsel wearing a corset. If it's renaissance, it's fine for fashion for the most part, medieval being just as fine and more practicle in most cases. There are no hoop skirts either. Those may have been around in the latter end of the renaissance, but they don't have those really silly things in Bettenchi. Of course, these are guidelines and a bit of a fantasy flare may indeed be added to the clothing designs, such as what the High Elves might have worn in LotR, and other purely fantasy inspirations. It's the feel and mood we're trying to preserve here, not a rigid dress code.
General Cultural Attitudes:
Human women that wear trousers are rare and will likely only be those more rebellious style of PC character women and should be frowned upon by most NPC peoples and even PC peoples, unless you're already aquainted and a friend of that PC woman character and already have no qualms with it. There are some human cultures that this is not the
case, but most of the cultures are like this about women's apparel. It would add flavour and richness to the RPs if people tried to play real to this attitude. I'm not saying your PC character can't go running around in trousers if she chooses, only that it would make the story richer if you RPd a realistic response by the peoples to that fashion choice by your character. Some cultures reward such fashion choices by putting the offenders in the stocks for a day, if they can catch the offenders or dare approach them. This usually only if the offender is human or thought to be human. Other species are given a bit more tolerance, mostly out of fear of the species. Ruapenchi has such an attitude and likely other human countries of a mostly European, medieval inspired style.
Most men are shovenistic in most of the human cultures and even in some of the magical ones. It's not that they're pigs or anything. It's just how they were raised and the style of the culture. You don't have to make your male characters shovenistic, but it would be best if you had a real reason why they aren't. It would add interest to your characters if you played them one way or the other accordingly with reasons why they aren't if they aren't. I, for one, find it much more interesting if they are a little shovenistic, innocently so, not that they're big jerks, just brought up a certain way. It could make for interesting interactions. The baddies can take it even further for added interest.
It's really no fun to play a rebellious, rogue woman if most of the guys and society as a whole are all good with it. hehe.
On the flip side, men are expected by most societies to do manly jobs. This is not to say a man can't be a tailor or a cook, but this would be a profession, not a reversed role in the home kind of thing, and as a profession they'd likely be in charge of a bunch of women doing most of those "womenly" tasks with the man being more in a supervising role. If a man wants a domestic kind of job, he'd need such a setup to work as a cover for him to avoid ridicule.
Men are expected to be tough and will be ridiculed if they can't handle a sword or other such weapon, unless they're elderly or crippled.
Only noble men are expected to be chivilrous to women. Peasant men can do as they please aside from maiming or murder without getting a second glance from anyone witnessing it, at least of NPCs. A PC rebellious character might take offense to such actions by a peasant man or a noble man might also take issue with it and intervene, but generally, women are oppressed, let's face it. It goes with the style time period and can make things much more interesting.
Young men can also be considered oppressed, though, due to the expecations placed on them. A young boy might feel just as oppressed as his mother or sisters, if under a brutal father. Peasant boys are worked hard. They have to prove their manhood and are only granted that statis by whatever standards the culture uses. Some cultures it's up to the father to proclaim the son a man, others have rites of passage, while still others it just goes by age. Whatever the case, until age 18, most young men and boys are in the same boat as the women as far as having a say in society.
Men, in most cultures, also have the prospect of being sent to war and they don't have a choice about it. Your characters shouldn't be in any more danger in a war type scenerio than they are the rest of the time, so I hope this doesn't discourage people regging people that are part of a culture. We really don't need THAT many rogue wanderers wandering about and war type scenerios can be very fun to RP.
Most cultures on Bettenchi have distinct classes, the typical noble class, merchant middle class, and worker poor class; the latter two being peasants, but the merchants getting a little more prestige and respect, almost treated as nobles by the poor classes and getting more respect from the noble classes.
Most people on Bettenchi cannot read. Only nobles, some wealthy merchants, and scholars, for the most part can read. Lower class should only be able to read if their job specifically calls for the ability, which are very few jobs. Usually, if a character is not a noble or a scholar, the best way to get a message to one is to send some sort of pictoral symbol that means a certain thing to the one receiving it. Your character isn't stupid just because he or she can't read and it makes things more interesting if they can't. They can get into more interesting trouble that way. You really don't want your character to know everything. That's boring.
Most cultures do allow slavery and give slavers certain rights. It differs from culture to culture how one might become a slave, but we cross that road story-wise as we come to it and it gets established how that comes to be when it comes up in the story. (Ruapenchi has a petty crimes get you put up for slavery policy, but those crimes have to reach a certain amount of monetary damage and they're usually sold for at least the amount of damage or theft they caused. Most crimes get you put in the stocks or beaten and then send you on your way.) If you play a slave or slaver, try not to get too kinky with it. Even though we're marked as R rated on the portal, we aim for a more Pg-13
rating for the chat. It's just marked R as a cover our butts precautionary measure. So, keep that in mind. Oh, and if you play a slaver, be sure that if you decide to up and abduct someone to become a slave that that someone doesn't have anyone that can vouch for their free statis. ;o) People do have some rights and protection, otherwise
it would be a slavers' free for all. War prisoners often get put up for slavery too. Slaves aren't usually branded, but war slaves are, because later on, when the occupied country settles down, it would be difficult to prove a slave wasn't supposed to be free if they were taken as a prisoner of war unless they were so marked, because there might be people left who could vouch for them if not for that mark. They're usually branded on the bottom of both feet and only by the military that captured them, not by slavers. The brands are given time to heal before they're sold. This only for prisoners of war and the more severe criminals (criminals of rape are branded for an example. Murder usually gets the death penalty, so they don't count. Theft usually won't get you branded, but, if you steal enough, might get you put into slavery unbranded, giving you a better chance for freedom some day). All other slaves usually just have some kind of identifying shackles or collar or some other such lockable on device. Prisoners of war slaves that are freed for some reason usually get a special, identifiable, very difficult to duplicate cover brand over their original brand, a brand designed to intergrate decoratively with the original slave brand to make a new symbol. So, prisoners of war slaves do have to experience more pain to be finally free. Most cultures use this method for prisoners of war. It's sort of an agreement that all cultures have with one another to help them all accurately identify true prisoner of war slaves. Of course, it isn't fullproof, but it's the best they can do. Most cultures do recognize the prisoner of war slaves as legal if they don't recognize any others. This is not saying a given culture can't be anti-slave, but most cultures aren't. It makes it more interesting. Also, almost all cultures do not allow slavers to brand a slave, only the governing officials and military can do that. It is considered illegal for a slaver to brand a slave.
What should be steered away from as very not Bettenchi in style:
1. Clockwork and gears and tech of that level or higher are not Bettenchi style. Things like bicycles and clocks and the like look very out of place on Bettenchi. Simple compasses are acceptible. Pullies are fine. Windmills and water wheels are just fine, even though they incorporate some crude clockwork type stuff, etc. Just keep in mind medieval styled tech and it should be fine. Magical devices are best kept with very magical styled properties, not with gears and clockwork type stuff, but with magic shape shifting or magic crystals. That's more in keeping with Bettenchi styled timeframe tech. Golems should also not be all clockwork type mechanics, but should be more magically animated puppet in nature. We don't want what is essentially magic powered androids running around. Basically, if you're more apt to call it a machine than a simple device, more apt to call its components mechanics than parts, then you might want to take a look at what you're thinking of introducing and ask yourself if it blends with a more medieval styled time frame. Think dark ages.
2. Gunpowder and firearms are not at all Bettenchi in style. We've had requests for greek fire, but we'd really prefer such things be of magical origin. We're still on the fence about greek fire and whether it is permissible.
3. We'd really rather keep the mixing of elements for chemical reactions down to a low roar. It kinda competes with the wizards' mixing of potions and makes that not as cool. It should be super cool to be even a low level wizard and if the tech of regular humans is too high it inspires the wizards to race too fast to the higher levels when it should be a slower process. We'd rather keep chemical mixing to very simple stuff and not explosives and such. Remember that wizards are supposed to be held in high awe and if man can duplicate too much of what a wizard uses magic to do than it renders the wizards less cool and awe inspiring.
What is okay, but should be very rare:
1. Spyglasses and primitive telescopes. They're okay, but should be mostly limited to ships and wizard observatories. Officers on a wall might have a spyglass also.
2. Hot air balloons might be invented, but aren't yet. They wouldn't really interfere with the mood and feel of the chat as much as some other innovations might. (Bicycle pedaled hot hair balloons are NOT Bettenchi like. Just regular hot air balloons are barely passable.)
3. Hand gliders by some cliff dwelling or tall tree dwelling culture might be incorporated. Think the ewoks of endore for the style and level of tech such a thing might be. Again, it is a barely passable level of tech that shouldn't interfere too much with the overall mood and feel of the chat.
Please keep in mind that these guidelines aren't intended to squelsh creativity, but are to preserve a mood and feel that we're going for in this chat. Most of the cultures are rather primitive. This helps magic look all that much more mystifying without having to be idiotically powerful and helps keep that more medieval times feel to the chat. |
