Inspiration from History

I’ve barely begun to dig into the Abandoned Communities site. Just the top few pages are a treasure trove of inspiration for villages and towns. Here are a few samples, taken from the site, with no context.

Look cool?

Couldn’t exist. Just not possible.

Or Did It?

Okay, maybe it did. Still, there cannot be that many cool places from history.

How about Wharram Percy?

Yep, it existed too.

Aerial Photo of Wharram

Head on over to Abandoned Communities and dig into the details. You will not be disappointed.

Compendium of Modern Jobs

I’ve been neck deep in data for a few weeks. Processing, converting, formatting to fit the needs of the pointy haired boss guy. Not a drop of it related to gaming. I’ve built a dozen software tools to import, export, convert and publish the data. So why not find a strange data source for RPG inspiration? I came across one data set over at the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The BLS publishes a lot of data. Most of it arcane and strange. If you toss out the excess information, something useful for role playing lies underneath.

Ever wondered what the guy walking down the street did as a career? Or got asked what some random NPC that meant nothing to a campaign did for a living? Wondered what some fellow did before he was trapped in his current, mind numbing job? All reasonable questions in a modern or post-modern/apocalypse games. Generally, any answer works but occasionally you want something specific. Maybe as a hook. Perhaps just to not tread down a well worn path yet again. Maybe you just need a little inspiration for a few key NPC’s who will be part of a larger plot but are struggling for a little history.

Jobs. Occupations. The BLS data covers it well. Go figure. With minimal formatting and zero data correction, I give you the Compendium of Modern Occupations. Covering 24 occupation categories and over six thousand individual job titles, the compendium should get ideas flowing on jobs and careers.

At first, I was going to convert the data into a random generator. Occasionally, its nice just to have a huge, voluminous list to page through until something hits you. The random generator can come later. Perhaps tomorrow.

Drop me a comment if you find it of use. I might be motivated to edit the data if you do.

Need a modern identity?

My initial reaction to FakeNameGenerator.com was dismay. My gut told me it was completely insane. In reality it was just a bunch of a random information, done well. FNG doesn’t just produce a modern name based of the available US data. They produce entire personalities off a statistical bunch of data and have worked hard on expanding it.

Anyone covering 22 countries including the newest, Poland, is working pretty hard. Not to mention they are using actual addresses in those countries. That’s not a trivial random table. It took work. If you are freaked out like I was at the start, its all public information. A SSN? The US government provides a validation service. Phone numbers? Many claim to do reverse phone number lookup but simply searching for them works fine. Many people, like sheep, put them on Facebook. Facebook has a an excellent privacy track record and has no interest in your data.

Beyond the addresses, most of its randomly generated. Freaky but it just follows a well known pattern. I’m not sure when I’ll need a tracking number for an identity but who knows. The first GM that makes me quote the tracking number might get buried in a landfill. I’m just saying. I’ll leave his head out of the ground.

All the King’s Deer

We all know Robin Hood hunted stags in the woods without the permission of the king to feed his men. Nearly every fable notes it was outlawed to hunt the stags because the evil king was keeping the best hunting for himself. I wonder how the king would feel if the outlaw was roasting the rare and very rare variants on a spit.

Calico Deer

Calico deer are very rare. Usually only seen in the whitetail variants. As much as she looks delicious, I believe I’d have to mock the king by chowing down on an albino. Some claim the albinos are even more rare than calico’s. Both are very uncommon. Some sites claim the calico is a fake. Others do not. The albino’s are quite real.

Albino Deer

Makes you wonder. Did Robin ask, “Hey John, you feeling like some white meat?”. Surely Prince John would have gotten his undies in a twist over an albino. If I were up to defying a king’s rules, I think either one would a great choice. I might even send the pelt to the king just to rub it in his face. Of course, the photos are of females. Taking a “stag” or a buck of either variety would certainly be a capital offense.

Inspiration

What would you use this for?

Sometimes odd items get used for strange purposes. I ran across this $3.00 item while I was shopping today. If you know how my brain works, you can likely guess why I drug it home. Kudos if you can also identify what it was intended for. I’ll reveal the results in the next few days.

One man, a castle and a fire breathing dragon

By all accounts, Jim Bishop is an eccentric. Many describe him as a madman. Certainly, his political leanings are to the right of conservative conservatives based off his continuous legal battles with local government. Building off a small, stone-work cabin on land purchased in the late 1950’s, Jim has constructed a castle in south-central Colorado. Other than a small amount of help from his father in the early construction, the castle was built stone by stone by his hands alone. No plans required or desired.

I first visited Bishop’s Castle in 1998 on a road trip with gaming buddies. The castle is amazing and frightening. The construction is stone, cement, and wrought iron. When I last visited it was maze that has grown over the last 12 years. While the lower portions of the structure are massive, solid chunks, the upper tiers are not for the faint of heart. Continue up as long as your will holds. The stone work gets less massive and the wrought iron stairs and bridges sway with every step.

Bishops Castle

Jim is a modern day hermit but not in the eremitic or recluse sense. He lives by his own rules. Ask him and you’ll likely experience a diatribe on the government, freedom and independence. His opinions are well documented.

Aside from his extreme viewpoints, Jim is inspirational. Building your own castle is a common dream of many role players. Actually building one is a beyond comprehension for most. Jim caught the bug and the results are open to the public. Follow his rules, enter and enjoy at no cost (donations encouraged).

I’m quite certain Jim wouldn’t have fit well in the medieval ages just as he doesn’t today. I would be hard pressed to come up with a more dynamic, oddball of society in a game context. He certainly would make for an interesting encounter in a modern day game among many other settings.

If you want to learn more about the castle and the builder, start with the references under the Wikipedia entry. I need to make another trip but my 1998 pictures are available. Do not miss his hand written signs.

Hermitage

The word just rolls off the tongue. When I saw it the other day, I assumed the definition would be something trite like ‘place where hermits live’. We all know about assumptions. Turns out I learned something. My entire mental definition of a hermit as a general recluse only touches on the deeper historical meaning of the word. Roughly, my interpretation is partially accurate. In modern terms, my general idea is widely used if not historically accurate.

As it turns out, hermit has a significant religious tie. Most particularly, hermits were an early form of monks living in solitude. The Wikipedia entry on hermits is a fascinating read. In particular, the introduction does a fine job of redefining the word for me.

A hermit is a person who lives, to some degree, in seclusion from society.

In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Christian who lives the eremitic life out of a religious conviction, namely the Desert Theology of the Old Testament (i.e., the forty years wandering in the desert[1] that was meant to bring about a change of heart).

In the Christian tradition the eremitic life[2] is an early form of monastic living that preceded the monastic life in the cenobium. The Rule of St Benedict (ch. 1) lists hermits among four kinds of monks. In addition to hermits that are members of religious orders, modern Catholic Church law (canon 603) recognizes also consecrated hermits under the direction of their diocesan bishop as members of the Consecrated Life.

Upon stumbling over this knowledge, I realised the hermit angle could be used in many different contexts with an RPG session. I’ve used them in the past but generally in a simplistic wise old guy living in the woods fashion. I’ve never utilized a religious context. The tie seems obvious now. Recluses of a religious bent are obvious choices for nature based gods.

My discovery did not end at the religious discovery. Turns out hermitages were not just found in remote areas. Nay, there were hermits amongst the townsmen of the Middle Ages. Once again, from the Wikipedia entry on hermitage, I found hooks usable in city or town settings.

A hermitage is a type of monastery. Typically it has a room, or at least a dedicated space, for religious devotion, very basic sleeping quarters and a domestic range, suitable for the ascetic way of living of the inhabitant. Depending on the work of the hermit, premises such as a studio, workshop or chapel may be attached or sited in close proximity.

Traditionally hermitages have been located in caves and huts, often in the desert or woods, sometimes abutting monastery buildings of a cenobitic community when there was an exchange of labour and provisions. In medieval times they may have been endowed by the Lord or Lady of a manor in return for prayers for their family, or in city dwellings, e.g. inside the city gate as remuneration for services rendered as a gate keeper. In modern times they are to be found even in large cities and high-rise blocks of flats, depending of the hermit’s means.

So many plot ideas rolling about in my head now. So easy to introduce in nearly any setting or campaign. Hermits are going to get a mental and play overhaul in my campaigns in the future.

I love it when a stereotype gets thrashed by random discovery.