From: argrath@aol.com
Date: Sun 24 Apr 1994 - 02:55:00 EEST
Compare your basic guy standing on a street corner in Pavis, 1620 S.T., with your basic guy standing on a street corner in Washington, D.C. in A.D. 1994.
Joh Pavisite is part of a web of relationships based on his
family, clan, religion, and employment. Let's make him a second-
generation Sartarite immigrant of the Aranwyth clan. His father
came from Swenstown, married an Ernaldan of Sartarite extraction, and brought
Joh up right. The Aranwythi can't participate in their old clan rites here
in Pavis, so like other Sartarites they have formed essentially new clans
here, based on a "tribe" of Dorasor. The Pavis-Aranwythi (for lack of a
better name) act like a clan for marriage purposes, trading wives with the
other clans of Sartarite extraction, with a preference for the clans from the
Swenstown confederation. Joh is married to a woman whose father was of the
Kheldon tribe. Thus, he has ties to
every other Pavis-Aranwythi (whom he knows well), every Pavis-
Kheldoni (whom he recognizes on sight), and every other Pavisite
of Sartarite extraction (as part of the fictional "tribe of
Dorasor"). Most of these folks are part of the cult of Orlanth
and Ernalda, as are a number of non-Sartarites who thus have a
link with Joh because they see each other at the weekly rites.
Joh took a job as a servant of a Rich Hill family, one of the
branches of the Indagos clan. He works for them six days a week
and lives at their home, but today is Windsday and he has the day
off. As he stands, watching the city move around him, some bully
comes up and messes with him. Does he call the watch? Those
Lunar scum? His cousin-in-law Knut, a guard, just walked past
and waved at him, and some of his age-mates from the temple are
inside the tavern, dicing. He calls for them, obviously, and
they even the odds for him. The bully goes off in search of
easier prey. If the bully caught Joh in the wrong part of town,
then (if Joh is still alive) Joh can call on his employer to seek
justice and/or retribution, call on his temple, or (best of all)
call on his clan.
Joe Washingtonian, on the other hand, came here from East Lansing, and hasn't talked to his parents since last Christmas. He has made some friends at work and in the bars he hangs out in, but they live way out of shouting range (mostly in the suburbs). He works for a small corporation where the manager is a temp (and lives in the suburbs). A comparable bully comes up to him. What are his options?
Both Joh and Joe are average men with jobs, in every way normal for their society. But Joh would be lost in Joe's position, and Joe would feel suffocated in Joh's. In a crisis, Joh has dozens of people who HAVE to help him, even if they don't like him. Joe has his friends, who can stop liking him and not have anything more to do with him. His employer? Sorry, your employment benefits don't include hiring an attorney to get compensation for your assault and battery. The police take a report. Deterrent value: zero.
What a difference!
Let's go back to the geezer in MOB's example with Maculus. This geezer is in Suntown, if I recall correctly. He's an initiate of Yelmalio, part of the original group which settled in the new city when Duke Dorasor made his treaty. Like every Sun Domer, he has had his place defined for him by the cult since he was little. The Sun Domers are Orlanthi in culture, so he has a clan and his "tribe" is the Sun Dome County itself. Since I'm making this up, I'll say there are four clans in Sun Dome County, and they are normal exogamous kin-groups under the Orlanthi model. Geezer is a member of the Hyalor clan, his mother was of the Dike-builder clan, his wife is of the Glowbrow clan (he married well), and his daughter-in-law is a member of the Vrok clan (before the Cold Sun Switch, it was the Yinkin clan). Thus, he has ties to all the clans. Any random person in Suntown is his relative, and has to come to his aid. Even if he weren't, he is clearly (by his dress and speech) a Sun Domer, and every resident of Suntown will come to his aid in an emergency. He only has to yell out, and people will come running out into the streets, spears in hand. If the bully gets away, Geezer calls on his sons (one of whom may be in the street gang), his employer (the owner of the brewery, say), and, if necessary, his theocratic overlord for justice. This justice may involve catching the bully and giving him a good beating. Sure, they don't want the watch looking on, but that doesn't mean they do things any differently from the way they did them before the Lunars came.
Who needs the watch? More importantly, who wants to let them get involved, usurping the role of the family, clan, and cult? If the bully turns out to have the backing of his clan and cult, then the Sun Domers will have to turn him over to the Mayor's court or the Lunar court, whichever Geezer thinks he'll get a better hearing in. Like people today, he says, "I don't want a full and fair hearing, I want to win!" In court, the bully's allies will try to sway the judge for his release, while the Sun Domers scream for blood. Which way does the judge decide? It depends on which faction she'd rather annoy.
A point which my wife suggested (she's writing a historical novel): even if something in the story is authentic, if it destroys the willing suspension of disbelief, you have a problem. You can "footnote" it, you can try to shade it so that it convinces the reader/player of its authenticity (very difficult), or you can get rid of it.
Isn't the system of justice I've suggested a richer source of role-playing ideas than the "Call the watch" school? Instead of some strangers administering some strange justice, characters have their relatives protecting them and enforcing their own sense of justice.
Well, anyway,
--Martin
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