tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6617677799085549365.post2584532776755705646..comments2024-03-12T22:45:16.936+01:00Comments on The Disoriented Ranger: An Exorcism of ... Political Correctness? "Who are the Nibelungs?" Part 2Jens D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/18394303166081684904noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6617677799085549365.post-70729235396766094462015-02-19T14:24:31.950+01:002015-02-19T14:24:31.950+01:00I love it! Some very nice ideas and I like how you...I love it! Some very nice ideas and I like how you used the setting to implement D&D. That's how it's done, in my opinion.<br /><br />And thanks for the clarifying about Arianism. Some interesting insights and definitely a dynamic I'd like to have in Lost Songs!Jens D.https://www.blogger.com/profile/18394303166081684904noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6617677799085549365.post-18301165772220366522015-02-17T22:20:48.679+01:002015-02-17T22:20:48.679+01:00My campaign never really assumed electronic form -...My campaign never really assumed electronic form - it's mostly still in either pencil on bits of paper in my loft, or thought-form in my head. It leaks out sometimes, such as in the idea for the 'Observer's Book of Monsters' - the distribution of 'Giants' in Central Europe/the Baltic is pretty much an amalgamation of Jotunheim in Norway with the territories - real or imagined - of the 'Eoten' (Jutes), the Gotar/Geats/Goths, and any placename (eg Gottingen) that might refer to them. So in assimilating Goths Jutes etc to 'Giants' (and in D&D terms that can mean anything from Goblins upwards) and marking their conquests (from Ukraine to Kent) gave me a distribution for Giants (of all kinds). Likewise Orcs: Orghul (Angle) I've already mentioned, but there's the Orcades of course - now islands or Orcs (and beyond Britain, both the city of Uruk in Mesopotamia and the Iroquois Confederacy in North America are Orkish). The Franks are werewolves(Franci = Varangi = Vargr), the Gaels are Ghouls, the Hellenes are Elves... and the Lombards are Dwarves.<br /><br />The setting was a mish-mash: part 'Arthurian' in a Pendragon sort of way, partly something a little more based on archaeology, part out-and-out fantasy. The Empire had collapsed in the west and to an extent, in the former imperial territories, people were living with a fading understanding in the midst of crumbling ruins. Warlords set themselves up with bands of horsemen operating from old decayed cities and military camps, and demanded tribute from the surrounding peasants. Seems like a great background for adventurers! I may post more detailed bits on the blog I suppose but the background was never really 'written up' - it was more of a framework for fitting other things into I suppose.<br /><br />One thing it did frame (as the primary focus was Britain AD495-505, or there abouts) was the idea of the time-frame of a campaign that I'm carrying over into my current campaign; I structured space and time around external events (in this case the legendary battles of King Arthur) and used these as a background for the actions of the characters.<br /><br />As to Arianism - the Ostrogoths, Visigoths and Vandals, and I think the Alemanni, as well as the Lombards a little later, were all converted to Arian Christianity, whereas the Franks and Anglo-Saxons were pagan when the entered the Empire and converted to Catholicism. This section of the wiki on Arianism is interesting I think: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arianism#Early_medieval_Germanic_kingdoms . I don't think the Arians really established a lasting organisation - in the areas of the Empire conquered by Arian Germans, the Arian Church lasted as long as it had official support but not long after. But for at least the period AD400-650, it was competing with Catholic Christianity in some places, due to the influence of Germanic kings who were Arian Christians.<br /><br />You're right that in Germania and Scandinavia that there were many unconverted Germanic peoples after AD600 - I was referring to those closest to the Empire really. I came across a timeline the other day of when different kindoms were converted (though I did mention that there were 'unconverted kingdoms' as late as AD1100, as I think Sweden was converted around this time).Red Orchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07015582577046093985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6617677799085549365.post-59449030669641748082015-02-16T18:05:10.816+01:002015-02-16T18:05:10.816+01:00Very interesting indeed! I'm just an enthusias...Very interesting indeed! I'm just an enthusiast in this and I really appreciate informed feedback like yours. This is good stuff!! Having two "Christian" factions warring for influence is a good idea and worth pondering on. That other hierarchy would be king Chlodwig, right? Or did you have something a bit more sinister in mind?<br /><br />But I really don't believe that so many Germanic tribes had already been converted to Christianity in AD600, mostly for the reasons I state above (lack of communication, mostly political conversions and a huge dose of propaganda in the sources). It was present, sure, but it didn't arrive in the population at large until much later. That's at least the argument I'm trying to make here. I mean, the Vikings hadn't been fully converted. Here we have enough sources and we speak of a period somewhat between AD850 and AD1050, right? (Or is this just pop-cultural reference?) It's just open to interpretation, I guess.<br /><br />'Clerics' will be (Christian) priests, yes. At least some of them or several aspects of them: some could be merely academics, some could be able to work wonders, most won't take up arms to defend themselves (?) ... still toying with ideas here. The main distinction will be that those of the "true" faith will be able to repel evil (like turning undead) and those of the "old" faith will be able to work magic (in a fairy sense). Demons will exist, too, so witch-pacts could be several things (or just a short-cut to power with a huge price-tag ...). Let's just say there will be several possibilities :)<br /><br />Those Sithones are exactly what I had in mind, nice quote. Thanks for referencing it, too! I'll definitely use this somewhere.<br /><br />I'm still interested in seeing what you did there with your campaign. What did you have in mind, posting it on your blog at some point or send it via mail (for that matter mails may reach me on disoriented dot-thingy ranger with the google-crowd)?Jens D.https://www.blogger.com/profile/18394303166081684904noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6617677799085549365.post-3687229052869715842015-02-16T00:10:03.840+01:002015-02-16T00:10:03.840+01:00Interesting. I'm currently writing something a...Interesting. I'm currently writing something about the transition to the Early Medieval, contrasting the Germanic kingdoms of East Anglia and Italy in the reign of Theoderic, looking at precisely some of those questions of power, politics and cultural change in the 'conversion period'.<br /><br />One thing you haven't mentioned in the section on Christianity is the fact that, at least until about AD600, many of the Germans were Christians, but of the Arian sect, rather than Orthodox (which at that point meant Catholic). As well as those who were pagans until the last kingdoms were converted around AD1100. Is your intention essentially to make 'Clerics' Christian priests, or have I misunderstood? Even if it is the case, there could still be two competing Christian cults, one loyal to Rome and one to ... some other hierarchy. Apparently, the last Arian monarchs were Grimwald and Garibald, Lombard kings in Italy.<br /><br />That reminds me, I must send you some info about my 'Dark Age Europe' setting, where the Lombards (and Burgundians=Nebelungen for that matter) are Dwarves and the 'Angli' ('Orghul' in Medieval Welsh) are Orcs...<br /><br />On women's rights - Brunhild is a good example, and the idea that we don't know everything is also very solid, but Tacitus mentions, 'bordering on the Sviones [ie Swedes] are the Sithones, who resemble them in other respects, with the single difference that they are ruled by women. To this extent the have fallen not merely below free men but than slaves.' (Germania, 45).Red Orchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07015582577046093985noreply@blogger.com