History Of The Game World

<BODY BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#C0C0C0" LINK="#FFFF00" VLINK="#808080"> <TABLE WIDTH="400" BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0"> <TR> <TD> <P ALIGN="CENTER"><IMG SRC="../images/mhb1.jpg" ALT="Magic Horizons Title Graphic" ALIGN="BOTTOM" WIDTH="398" HEIGHT="162"></P> <H2>Game World History</H2> <P>What follows is a gazetteer of information about the <EM>Magic Horizons</EM> game world, dealing primarily with the cultures that players can come from. More information can be gathered from purchasing the game world handbook. See the <A HREF="../info/orders.html" TARGET="_top">ordering information</A> for how to acquire it.</P> <HR> <H4>Historical Conventions</H4> <DL> <DT><A HREF="#languages" TARGET="Main">Languages And Game Conventions</A></DT> <DT><A HREF="#hero">The Role Of The Hero In LARP</A></DT> <DT><A HREF="#differences">Differences From Earth History</A></DT> <DT><A HREF="#technology">General Levels Of Technology</A></DT> <DT><A HREF="#religion">Religion</A></DT></DL> <HR> <H4><A NAME="languages"></A>Languages And Game Conventions</H4> <P>For ease of play, the standard language is Modern American English. The Aristocracy and Upper/Upper Middle classes use Latin names (usually three: a first name, and identifier, and a family name. This helps a lot when there are five Claudius Neros in a given family). The identifier is often a nickname rather than a given name: "the Elder" (Seniorius), "the Handsome" (Pulcher), "Conqueror of Germany" (Germanicus), "the Delayer" (Cuncator), "Curly" (Caesar), "Bean Nose" (Cicero) "the Fat" (Maximus). If you find it difficult to come up with names any good book about the Roman Republic and/or Empire will include dozens that you can use. It's OK to use English nicknames and drop the family name for minor characters; i.e. Marcus the Scar, Falco the Rich, Titus the Strong.</P> <P>Some general game conventions that are observed with regards to play is the diffusion of noble titles, and the gradual reduction of noble privileges. A player coming into the game and claiming to be a high ranking noble would be treated in much the same way that a prosperous banker would be treated in 20th Century America, rather than having the feudal rights of high, middle and low justice over the general populace. </P> <H4><A NAME="hero"></A>The Role Of The Hero In LARP</H4> <P>A very common misconception of LARP games is that single heroes should do very well. The common experience of lone heroes is falls far short of this. Since we draw much of our inspiration from heroic fantasy, how does the lone hero of fiction exist in our game?</P> <P>He doesn't. With a very few exceptions you will find that most of the "lone" heroes have a partner or assistant, and often rely on the skills of a group of persons to aid them in their quests, which is how MH is structured. The lone hero also has the full attention of the author, who can engineer all kinds of plot devices to save the hero from imminent death. The staff of MH does not have that kind of time or inventiveness for upwards of 40 players at once. MH will be pragmatic fantasy, and pragmatists surround themselves with friends and allies before doing anything dangerous. Therefore, players will find it advantageous to ally themselves into formal or semi-formal groups to aid and assist each other. Groups can be formed along (game) racial lines, a clan, a mercenary company, a noble and her retainers, a fighting order, a merchant guild, etc. And no character will ever be able to everything. To survive and prosper in a Magic Horizons world you have to interact with others.</P> <HR> <H3></H3> <P><FONT SIZE="5"><EM>MH will be pragmatic fantasy, and pragmatists surround themselves with friends and allies before doing anything dangerous.</EM></FONT></P> <HR> <H4><A NAME="differences"></A>Differences From Earth History</H4> <P>There are a number of broad differences in the history of the <EM>Magic Horizons</EM> game world from that of Earth.</P> <P>The most far reaching change is that there is no horse in the world of Magic Horizons. There are llamas and alpacas and the other, smaller, camelids, as well as the usual gamut of bovines and porcines as domestic animals.</P> <P>The reason for this change is that in many LARPs, characters will say "I don't care what it costs, I need to be 70 miles from here and then back, in 2 days. I'll buy a horse, ride it into the ground, do my errand, buy another horse, and ride it back." If the costs of riding animals are set high enough that this isn't possible, players (used to the cheap transportation costs of the 20th Century) complain that horses might as well not be available at all.</P> <P>Which became the end result.</P> <HR> <P><FONT SIZE="5"><EM>The most far reaching change is that there is no horse in the world of Magic Horizons.</EM></FONT></P> <HR> <P>The lack of riding animals has a number of broad reching effects. The first of these is in governmental forms. With only infantry for military force, most empires and kingdoms are much smaller than their European counterparts, and much more Balkanized.</P> <P>The second aspect of the lack of riding animals comes in weapons and armor. Without horses, there is no concept of a cavalry charge using heavy lancers. As a consequence, the pike square have remained the standard military formations for most of the civilized countries of the world. A consequence of that is that armor has remained relatively static; whatever armor was worn had to be man-portable, rather than horse-portable. Likewise, armor didn't need to develop in the rigors of dealing with a lancer's charge, so stayed lighter. </P> <P>What is referred to in the game as "plate armor" is much closer to the Roman lorica, or a Mycenaean back-and-breast plate set than what is commonly pictured by the term.</P> <P>Because of the lighter armor, the hurled javelin never became obsolete as a military weapon, resulting in the absence of archers as military units. (It takes far less training to teach a man to hurl a javelin accurately than to fire a bow.)</P> <P>The only real exception to this is in the Pragmatic Empire, where the tercio formation, manned with crossbowmen, rather than arquebussieres has given them a pronounced military edge.</P> <P>Bows do exist, but are mostly used for small game hunting, and as improvised weapons by some of the Great Waste Nomads.</P> <H4><A NAME="technology"></A>General Levels Of Technology</H4> <P>The broad level of technology in the game world is comparable to that of the Roman Empire at the high end, with a few additions. Most of the technology listed here is from the Pragmatic Empire. Many of the other nations have lower levels of technology to work from.</P> <P>Antisepsis is practiced in the Pragmatic Empire and most of the civilized lands, dramatically reducing the death rates in childbirth, for both mother and infant. The Pragmatic Empire is also versed in soil nitration techniques, one of the many reasons why it feeds the world.</P> <P>For building and manufacturing, the Pragmatic Empire uses both standard and hydraulic cements, with the water wheel and windwheel powering many devices that would normally have been powered by tethered horses or oxen.</P> <P>Agriculture relies on the ox-drawn plow, and most transport is done with small wagons pulled by llamas or alpacas, with large loads carried by ox-cart. Military loads are usually transported by dog-teams, which move faster, but are considerably more expensive.</P> <P>In civilized areas, paved roads link the secondary routes, with ox-drawn barges navigating canals and natural waterways as the primary method of using freight. In naval architecture, the recent innovation of tacking into the wind and the rigging needed to take advantage of it have revolutionized maritime power. The lack of reliable clocks and magnets keeps most ocean voyages to the scale of island hopping.</P> <H4><A NAME="religion"></A>Religion</H4> <P>It was decided, during the design of the rules, that religion would take a lesser role than it did in actual history. This comes from a consideration of three factors.</P> <P>The first factor is the comfort factor. Even made-up religions can cause people to become uncomfortable with a game. It's far too easy to create what is intended to be a harmless prop (or funny prop), and end up offending someone else's deeply cherished beliefs.</P> <P>The second factor considered is the role that most religions have in fantasy roleplaying games: Most religions boil down to an alternate system of spellcasting, which seems to detract from their intended effect as spiritual guides and moral mainstays. To present an alternate system of spellcasting, <EM>Magic Horizons</EM> uses the talents of the Philosophers and the Philosophic lists.</P> <P>The third factor is one of playability. Treated logically, multiple spell granting beings would result in a proliferation of spells and incants and requirements that would rapidy overwhelm most of the players in the game.</P> <P>The end result is that religion does exist in the world of <EM>Magic Horizons</EM>, but that it's treated as a personal pact or decision between your character and whatever deity they hold dear.</P> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0"> <TR> <TD><A><IMG SRC="../images/left_h.jpg" ALT="Left End Of Scroll Bar" WIDTH="32" HEIGHT="116"></A></TD> <TD><A HREF="../info/info_toc.html" TARGET="_top"><IMG SRC="../images/info_h_n.jpg" ALT="[Logistics]" ALIGN="BOTTOM" BORDER="0" WIDTH="45" HEIGHT="116" NAME="info"></A></TD> <TD><A HREF="../game/game_toc.html" TARGET="_top"><IMG SRC="../images/game_h_n.jpg" ALT="[Game Info]" ALIGN="BOTTOM" BORDER="0" WIDTH="60" HEIGHT="116" NAME="game"></A></TD> <TD><A HREF="../misc/misc_toc.html" TARGET="_top"><IMG SRC="../images/misc_h_n.jpg" ALT="[Miscellaneous Information]" ALIGN="BOTTOM" BORDER="0" WIDTH="62" HEIGHT="116" NAME="misc"></A></TD> <TD><A HREF="../faq.html" TARGET="_top"><IMG SRC="../images/faq_h_n.jpg" ALT="[Frequently Asked Questions]" BORDER="0" WIDTH="58" HEIGHT="116" NAME="faq"></A></TD> <TD><A HREF="../new.html" TARGET="_top"><IMG SRC="../images/new_h_n.jpg" ALT="[What's New]" ALIGN="BOTTOM" BORDER="0" WIDTH="52" HEIGHT="116" NAME="whatsNew"></A></TD> <TD><A HREF="../index.html" TARGET="_top"><IMG SRC="../images/home_h_n.jpg" ALT="[Magic Horizons Home Page]" ALIGN="BOTTOM" BORDER="0" WIDTH="59" HEIGHT="116" NAME="home"></A></TD> <TD><IMG SRC="../images/right_h.jpg" ALT="Right End Of Scroll Bar" WIDTH="22" HEIGHT="116"></TD></TR></TABLE> <P>Problems with the page? Email <a HREF="mailto:burnside@itis.com">Ken Burnside</a>.</P></TD></TR></TABLE></BODY>