(Monday) History In Your Game (Islanders)

[alsih2o]

Island chains offer DM's the ability to throw in a completely different culture. With their alien geography and the relative isolation fo the peoples who inhabit them we are given free reign to experiment with societies and cultures without an overly profound effect on the main body of the campaign back at the mainland.

We are all well aware (especially with recent events) of the natural disasters that can be a challenge to adventurers and NPC's alike in the islands. This collection gives you a head-start into the Architecture, Art, Navigation techniques and Warfare practices of some real world islanders to build from. I have also included some first-person reports of outsiders coming upon the islanders to possibly help you when describing these native peopels to your PC's.

ARCHITECTURE- In Hawaii, going from a settled society to one with clases adn rulers involved building a bunch of coral temples. It also appears most of this change happened in the span of a single generation. coral temples and massive cultural changes are cool in any game. (Great quote form the article- “Architecture is the will of an epoch translated into space”) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6792150/

ART- A huge listing of the different types of art fopund around Melanesia.- http://www.art-pacific.com/artifacts/nuguinea/mapmelan.htm

Going back on page to http://www.art-pacific.com/index.htm gets you even more Art goodness.

More Art from Papua New Guinea, Australia, Trobriand and Hawaii- http://sorrel.humboldt.edu/~rwj1/oceanic.html

NAVIGATION- Getting from island to island in small boats ain't easy. Great info pages- http://www.pvs-hawaii.com/navigation.htm

OVERVIEW- The Marquesas Islands, there is enough info here to help start you towards building your own distintive island chain. http://www.tribalsite.com/articles/marque.htm

Nikunau, part of Micronesia- http://www.janeresture.com/nikunau/

Pingalap, a first person account of an early trader in the Marshall Islands- http://www.janesoceania.com/pingalap_story/index.htm

Samoa, first person account. (the second paragraph has 3 failed skill checks)- http://www.janesoceania.com/oceania_shaw1/index.htm

A more modern first person account of a Coronation- http://www.janesoceania.com/tonga_coronation/index.htm

WARFARE- The cannibals get muskets!- http://www.waitangi.com/warfare/canni1.html

First person references to cannibals in New Zealand(my readings have left me putting cannibalism under warfare rather than dining, read a bit and I think you will agree)- http://www.heretical.com/cannibal/nzealand.html

First person references to cannibalism in Polynesia- http://www.heretical.com/cannibal/polynesi.html

Same stuff from the Fijians- http://www.heretical.com/cannibal/fiji.html (Don't you just love first person historical accounts?)

Game well, have fun.

 

[mythusmage]

Take a look into the pre-Norse Faroes and Iceland. Different in many ways from the histories of tropical islands.

Or Tasmania for that matter.

 

[Psion]

I don't know of any links off the top of my head (but Google is your friend), but the demise of the culture on Easter Island was the topic of a paper I did in college, and would make for a fascinating model for a culture spiraling to destruction.

 

[MonsterMash]

Useful stuff again and a bump back up the forum.

 

[Maldur]

He is back!!!

 

[diaglo]

my ancestors ate Magellan

 

[mythusmage]

my ancestors ate Magellan

It's true, from the very start of their relationship Filipinos liked Spanish food.

 

[Wombat]

Mmmmm, yummy island goodness

Reminds me of my days running a pizza parlour -- most of my crew were from Hawai'i, Samoa, and Guam...

 

[fusangite]

Interesting stuff, Clay. One campaign I have permanently back-burnered in my life, it seems, is a more European island-based game. As a Dr. Who fan of long standing, I've come to the conclusion that the show is a continuation of/sequel to (conscious or not, who cares) of a pre-Christian Celtic story-telling tradition.

This tradition is echoed in the tales of Saint Brendan and Mael Duin, the Celtic holy men who sailed out into the Atlantic. The structure of these stories is that the holy men come upon an island with a small cast of characters where they must solve a particular puzzle or dilemma before they put out to sea and move on to the next island. Essentially, these stories are like a season of Dr. Who shows with the islands functioning the way planets do on the show. In both Brendan and Mael Duin's tales, there are dozens of islands, each functioning as its own little story and cast of characters.

Of course, from the Greek tradition, we have the Odyssey which functions in much the same way.

I think it would be fascinating to make a campaign of island hopping and an infusion of Polynesian history and myth traditions into this mix could, I think, produce something quite unique and fascinating.

Thanks again for the links.

 

[DaveStebbins]

Good to see this weekly feature back on the boards.

Thanks Alsih2o!