RPG setting content based on the real sunken subcontinent of Sundaland. Imagine a land where the progenitors of the ancient Egyptian, Mesopotamian, Indus Valley and American cultures came from. I also post about ancient history topics that can serve as inspiration.
The overall tone is Bronze Age to Classical Antiquity type civilisations with a touch of Sword & Sorcery.
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Tuesday, April 21, 2020
Real History: Who were the Denisovans?
A short video about the Denisovans, an archaic species of human that lived in Southeast Asia and for a while alongside our ancestors (Homo Sapiens Sapiens).
I love that we are looking at much the same, but not exactly the same, material for filling out ancient Sundaland. I included a Denisovan-inspired species for players to choose, along with a few others (Homo floresiensis, Gigantopithecus blacki, even though the latter is certainly anachronistic, and of course good ol' H. sap.). I have neanderthalensis in the world too, but they are far from the campaign region.
To be honest, most of what I ended up doing with them was based on half-remembered stuff from Clan of the Cave Bear. I made them live mostly in memories (based on the idea that the majority of their brain mass seems to be concentrated in expanded versions of the parts we seem to use for memory), with the ability to dimly recall ancestral memories (using GURPS, I gave them Racial Memory at the basic level, and some savants having even the more complete level of that trait). As a result, I sort of saw them as sort of like the Ur-ru in The Dark Crystal, living lives of elaborate ritual and remembrance. Given that I was using active spirit beings in my setting, I also figured that the ability to act as a spirit medium was pretty common among them, though not universal like the Racial Memory thing.
As for the others, I figured the Flores Hobbits as being fairly communally-oriented. The image in my mind was the apes from Princess Mononoke, or maybe a bit like humanoid meerkats. The Giants I saw as fairly gorilla-like, with a mainly peaceful culture, but focused on defending their remaining ranges and so acting as sort of defenders of the northern (by Sundaland standards) forests/jungles.
I love that we are looking at much the same, but not exactly the same, material for filling out ancient Sundaland. I included a Denisovan-inspired species for players to choose, along with a few others (Homo floresiensis, Gigantopithecus blacki, even though the latter is certainly anachronistic, and of course good ol' H. sap.). I have neanderthalensis in the world too, but they are far from the campaign region.
ReplyDeleteI think we're lucky that there's a lot of new information coming out about this. Do you have any thoughts about the cultures of these people?
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, most of what I ended up doing with them was based on half-remembered stuff from Clan of the Cave Bear. I made them live mostly in memories (based on the idea that the majority of their brain mass seems to be concentrated in expanded versions of the parts we seem to use for memory), with the ability to dimly recall ancestral memories (using GURPS, I gave them Racial Memory at the basic level, and some savants having even the more complete level of that trait). As a result, I sort of saw them as sort of like the Ur-ru in The Dark Crystal, living lives of elaborate ritual and remembrance. Given that I was using active spirit beings in my setting, I also figured that the ability to act as a spirit medium was pretty common among them, though not universal like the Racial Memory thing.
DeleteAs for the others, I figured the Flores Hobbits as being fairly communally-oriented. The image in my mind was the apes from Princess Mononoke, or maybe a bit like humanoid meerkats. The Giants I saw as fairly gorilla-like, with a mainly peaceful culture, but focused on defending their remaining ranges and so acting as sort of defenders of the northern (by Sundaland standards) forests/jungles.
Delete