I've started work on a bit of a project which was originally a wuxia-type setting. But as I researched a bit on chi and ley-lines and such, I got into reading about chakra. I liked that concept enough that now I've become interested in how I might do a martial arts/wuxia type game, but with an Indian focus instead of the usual Chinese/Japanese milieu.
So, ISTKOTTRO, what are some good resources for myths, lores, religious beliefs, and histories of the Indian continent? Especially useful if they have tie-ins to Indian fighting styles or martial traditions.
I'm also looking to tie-in some elements of the middle east, so resources in that direction would help too.
Likewise, the nature of the resources can be wide varying. I'd love movies that showcase some of what I'm looking at, also books and online resources.
Have you read the sci-fi novel Gorgon Child by Steven Barnes? In the book (don't worry this is a very minor note and not spoiler worthy), an elite number of warriors within a militant feminist cabal study an obscure and ancient martial art called "Durga" which is apparently based on the combat prowess of the Indian goddess Durga. Interestingly--because Durga is a less bloodthirsty aspect of the ferocious goddess Kali--"Durga" is an entirely defensive yet nonetheless brutally effective martial art because it also provides offensive training (similar to Aiki-jujutsu and Hapkido). Under penalty of death, the art may only be learned by women; now, I may be misremembering this part, but I seem to recall that "Durga" originated as a means of providing women with defence against Thugees.
Regarding non-fiction on a wider scale, I suggest that you browse down to the reference section of this webpage. I have several of the books listed in the bibliography, and this is one of my favourites.
__________________ Makes me that much stronger
Makes me work a little bit harder
It makes me that much wiser
So thanks for making me a fighter....
--from the song Fighter by Christina Aguilera.
I don't have much to add right now (that I can remember). But, you should without a doubt have Urumi in the game: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urumi
Edit: Actually depending on what kind of era you are doing. I always found the tensions, culture clashing and mixing, etc. of the British Raj period to be quite fascinating.
Last edited by Fallen Seraph; 08-02-2009 at 01:35 AM..
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Re: Indian Myths, Lore, and Martial Traditions
It continues to baffle me how under-represented India is in gaming. I wish I had soemthing to add, but I know just enough Indian hsitory to know that I don't know anything. But--damn--they have a vast national epic about kicking ass (among many, many other things, of ocurse) and I can't believe there isn't a game about being Arjuna and taking names (and don't even start with the usual Exalted business at this point).
Indian-fu is called Kalaripayyattu.
Wiki it, and youtube Kalari.
It's stupidly bendy, quick, ferocious, and intensely acrobatic. Unfortunately the traditional garb is a cup of oil and a posing pouch.
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+1 Bringing out the good point.
+1"Won the thread" point
Well, the bastards can just tell themselves shooting people with bullets is just a social construct and bullets are just metaphors so they can be criticized as text.
Kalari was the martial art of the Nayars of Kerala, in coastal South-West India. Search also for Nayar. Kalari is considered the forefather of Eastern martial arts, by the way.
Also try to get data on the Nayar society because it's really interesting. Men lived appart from women in societies of fighters. They had no property other than their weapons and cloth. That way they would not get interested in anything else than fighting for their lords.
Women lived among themselves. The men would visit the women and form frendships. A woman could have several male friends and a man could have several female friends. This ensured the men were never certain of who where their children, thus they didn't form father-child bonds, another way to ensure they would not have ties other than to their leaders and warrior group.
Someone said not to mention Exalted, but actually the Mahabharat TV series is one of the closest things I've seen to what I've picked up about Exalted, at least in terms of the superpowered fighting stunts.
__________________ SILVER BRANCH GAMES Jaws of the Six Serpents - sword and sorcery and darker fantasy for the PDQ system. Out now! Legends Walk! - superheroes empowered by the gods, heroes and monsters of mythology, in Original and Truth & Justice editions. Questers of the Middle Realms - The lighter side of fantasy gaming. In less than 80 pages. For the PDQ system. www.silverbranch.co.uk
Keep in mind that not everything the characters do in the epics would be approved by the authorities of the time or your game.
Princess Draupadi marrying all five of the heroes of the Mahabharata (at the same time!) would have been unusual.
Kalari is considered the forefather of Eastern martial arts, by the way.
Yeah, but so are a hundred other styles from all over the continent. None of them have anything approaching actual evidence to back up the claim.
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"Sometimes the things that may or may not be true are the things a man needs to believe in the most. That people are basically good; that honor, courage, and virtue mean everything; that power and money, money and power mean nothing; that good always triumphs over evil; and I want you to remember this, that love... true love... never dies. You remember that, boy. You remember that. Doesn't matter if it's true or not. You see, a man should believe in those things, because those are the things worth believing in."
-- Hub McCann, in Secondhand Lions
I love Wushu columns. I really do. There is so much flavor and coolness contained within each one... And so many cool concepts Ive never even heard of. It's crazy.
So, of course, I will differ you to not one, not two, not three, but five seperat columns that are based in Indian myth: Karmic,Tulpa,Rakshasa,Bodhisattva, and last but not least Untouchable. Plus, each one contains a multitude of wiki links.
I will also mention an old Green Ronin product: Mindshadows (links to Paizo's sale), which i don't actually own, but it is definitely very much inspired by India. However, it is d20 and uses alot of Psionics, so there ya go. Might be worth it just for the flavor.
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