#6: Zoroastrian Noir

[RPGnet Columns]

http://www.rpg.net/columns/oneshot/oneshot6.phtml

Summary:

Presenting pulp Persia!

Go to the column (http://www.rpg.net/columns/oneshot/oneshot6.phtml) for more information.

[Jason D]

Brilliant!

[indra]

Grazzi :D

[JavaScrybe]

Indeed, brillliant. I always liked your work, Mr. Bayn (you may or may not remember my "Yin-Yang" system, inspired by Nameless).

I work for a company that publishes a certain game called "Prince of Persia" :) , maybe I'll drop this on the desk of that rpg-loving friend of mine on the franchise team. :)

[indra]

Three of my all-time favorite games! (and isn't that the same company behind the upcoming Assassin's Creed title that has me drooling like one of Pavlov's dogs?)

Suffice it to say, I'd love you forever ;)

--Dan

[JavaScrybe]

Three of my all-time favorite games! (and isn't that the same company behind the upcoming Assassin's Creed title that has me drooling like one of Pavlov's dogs?)

Suffice it to say, I'd love you forever ;)

--Dan
Yeah, that would be the exact same company (and exact same studio, incidently). :) You'd (probably not) be surprised at the quantity of RPGers working here.

I always was amazed at how much persian/sumerian/mesopotamian religions were little represented in RPGs. Exalted is the only recent game I can muster that admits inspiring itself from middle-eastern epics like Gilgamesh's.

[Baduin]

"It is also too diverged from reality to be considered historical, so I don't want to see any comments about "accuracy" in the forum."

I cannot help myself. In Zoroastrianism "soma" was called "haoma" and was holy, certainly not forbidden. (Maybe make another drink, "haoma" with similar powers, but allowed only to people in highest favor with Amesha Spentas?}

And Varuna is an Asura, not a Deva. (According to some speculations, he is the Indian equivalent or the precursor of Ahura Mazda)

As for the influences any rpg with a war between Angels and Demons can be considered to be influenced by Zoroastrianism - since they were the first to invent the concept.

[indra]

Yeah, that would be the exact same company (and exact same studio, incidently). :) You'd (probably not) be surprised at the quantity of RPGers working here.Sounds far more engaging that my job: technical writing for a check printer ;)

I always was amazed at how much persian/sumerian/mesopotamian religions were little represented in RPGs.Ah, yes. Sumer is the next stop on my ancient history research binge. I know very little about their religious practices, beyond the fact that their gods have a habit of showing up in other religions as demons. A glowing recommendation, if I ever heard one!

--Dan

[indra]

I cannot help myself. Damn you <inhale> Baduiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin!!!


In Zoroastrianism "soma" was called "haoma" and was holy, certainly not forbidden. (Maybe make another drink, "haoma" with similar powers, but allowed only to people in highest favor with Amesha Spentas?)I hadn't come across the Persian spelling, but this _was_ a deliberate point of departure. Soma was such an obvious candidate for Prohibition, I just had to make it illegal.

And Varuna is an Asura, not a Deva. (According to some speculations, he is the Indian equivalent or the precursor of Ahura Mazda)Ya see, the way I heard it was that Varuna has been classified as both at various times and places. I just picked one.

--Dan

[Karro]

The concept is cool, but one thing got my goat a bit.

Now maybe you meant to turn the world upside down... but you have the daevas fleeing into India.

Then, a few paragraphs later, you indicate that Persia faces war on all sides--from the Daevas in the west to Greece in the east.

The daevas fled before them, retreating to the deep jungles of India. The Amesha Spenta outlawed their worship and slaughtered those priests who would not renounce them. The asuras united Persia under a new religion and set about making it the most advanced civilization on the face of the Earth.

Plumbing, irrigation, and steel were just the beginning. Steam has been harnessed as a power source, ushering in a new age in mechanized warfare. "Springbolt" weapons exceed the bow in both range and accuracy. Persian dominance of the battlefield is challenged only by the exiled daevas, to the west, and the rising power of Greece, to the East. War is inevitable; the only question is which enemy to strike first.

But, pardon me, isn't Persia located around-abouts modern day Iran? So... isn't India East of Persia and Greece to the West.

A peculiar irregularity in an otherwise excellent column.

[indra]

I also get my left and right confused with nearly 100% accuracy.

You are, of course, correct. Those should be reversed. Plus, I only recently found out about the Greek Dark Ages, which were in full swing around 1,000 BC. Greece, in fact, would not be a player in this setting at all. Maybe Egypt. Also maybe the Sea People... hey, wouldn't it be cool if they were an army of Deep One hybrids? There's a nice third party to throw in the mix :)

--Dan

[Karro]

I also get my left and right confused with nearly 100% accuracy.

You are, of course, correct. Those should be reversed. Plus, I only recently found out about the Greek Dark Ages, which were in full swing around 1,000 BC. Greece, in fact, would not be a player in this setting at all. Maybe Egypt. Also maybe the Sea People... hey, wouldn't it be cool if they were an army of Deep One hybrids? There's a nice third party to throw in the mix :)

--Dan

Well, other that the East/West thingy, I didn't bother fact-checking you since you put that little disclaimer at the beginning of the column.

Given that, recognizing that having a Persian super-power with some sort of pulp-era mix of magic and technology would have to change the dynamics of history from that point forward, wouldn't it? So, as this is all beginning, Greece has their Dark Ages in full-swing. Then, some enterprising Greek or other gets his mits on a few small pieces of Persian tech, or somehow gets involved in the Soma trade. A pending Greek Rennaissance followed swiftly by an industrial revolution become virtually inevitable. (As an example in real history: it wasn't long after the U.S. developed and acquired nuclear technology before several other countries, both allies and rivals, also acquired such technology. Sometimes this was shared, sometimes it was not.)

And heck, if you're going to flesh this world out, why not throw in Egypt for the fun of it. They'd certainly be contenders at this point in history. And sea people? Why not? If Ashuras and Daevas are real gods, who knows what else is out there?