[necro]Doomed Slayers - Justifying the tropes of Adventurers

[Jürgen Hubert]

Re: Doomed Slayers - Justifying the tropes of Adventurers

I'm thinking of the reasons why someone might embark on the life of a Slayer. I think the possibility of severing all existing social ties might be useful - by becoming a Slayer, you might be able to evade the following:

- A debt.
- Apprenticeship obligations.
- A forced or unhappy marriage.
- A criminal charge (for non-capital crimes).
- Feudal obligations (of a serf to his lord, of a knight to his lord, and so forth).

Of course, there is no going back if you do that - if you become a Slayer, and then discover that constantly having monsters trying to eat your face isn't what you want out of life and try to go back, you not only have to face up to the responsibilities and duties you left behind, but you might well face additional charges and penalties for evading them, since obviously you never were serious about becoming a Slayer in the first place. There may be some "minimum time period" for living as a Slayer before you can get away with joining or rejoining another social class - five years sounds good, given the dangers.

Any other ideas for what new Slayers might be trying to get away from, or other reasons for becoming a Slayer?

 

[Redfeild]

Re: Doomed Slayers - Justifying the tropes of Adventurers

I've considerd a lot of the same things but never put then down on paper. I doubt mine would have been as well thought out. Good stuff.

I like the role play oppertunities when the rules are broaken. Tolls and fees enforced by a greedy king could leave his country in danger. Should the slayers help anyway knowing that the best of their spoils would go to the royal armory? Just how selfless are the slayers? If a slayer gains enough wealth, why not become a land owner? Or better yet, why not king? This culture could be the begining of guilds and orders whose power may subvert the king. Who's side would you be on?

Lot of potential here.

 

[towishimp]

Re: Doomed Slayers - Justifying the tropes of Adventurers

Love the idea. I'd definitely buy the write-up for $3-4. Planning to use the idea for my next D&D campaign.

Any other ideas for what new Slayers might be trying to get away from, or other reasons for becoming a Slayer?

The money (despite the dangers, you can get REAL rich REAL quick by Slaying)

Upward social mobility (Hmm...should I stay here and mud farm in desperate poverty with no rights for the a-hole lord, or risk an early death killing monsters?)

Fame

Altruism (I can think of fewer better career paths for a person who wants to spend their life helping others)

 

[David J Prokopetz]

Re: Doomed Slayers - Justifying the tropes of Adventurers

"While Cerea is mainly known as the deity of agriculture, one of her lesser known aspects is that as a defender and avengers of farmers. Numerous Slayers (and not just halflings, either) pray to her to give them strength after they have seen villages burn once too often, and many a farmer's son or daughter has started their careers as Slayers with a vow to Cerea on their lips to avenge the harm done to their own home. [...]"

If a Slayer fights in Cerea's name, does that make him a Cereal Killer?

 

[E.T.Smith]

Re: Doomed Slayers - Justifying the tropes of Adventurers

Any other ideas for what new Slayers might be trying to get away from, or other reasons for becoming a Slayer?

The French Foreign Legion, which you stated as an inspiration, had a tendency to pick up abruptly disenfranchised soldiers after their homelands got trounced militarily (often ironically by France herself), defeat on the battlefield often meaning forced decommissioning of the loser's army. These were no-questions-asked recruitments; there were a lot of German-speakers serving in the Legion right after World War II. These were men who had nowhere else to go when their life-long military career was taken from them, and were often bitter about being stuck with criminals and thugs in the frontier after having served as distinguished officers in more prestigious locales.

In the Doomed Slayers setting, I can easily see the marshals of a defeated army being told they can either swing for their treason as officers, or walk away on the road as Slayers.

 

[Aenghus]

Re: Doomed Slayers - Justifying the tropes of Adventurers

To force a (semi) permanent decision to be a Slayer, a brand or tattoo (or combinations thereof) might be used to distinguish them and exclude them from normal society. These may be magical in nature to prevent removal by scarring.

A variant is a particular sort of birthmark. People would be born Slayers, and perhaps sent to schools to be raised and trained in the adventuring life.

Another is something like the dragonmarks in Eberron (which can be suddenly appear at any point in life). To be unmistakable, perhaps they appear on the face. This could be a tragedy for an ambitious noble or merchant who suddenly finds himself exiled and excluded from his power base and previous ambitions.

 

[Epengar]

Re: Doomed Slayers - Justifying the tropes of Adventurers

Any other ideas for what new Slayers might be trying to get away from, or other reasons for becoming a Slayer?

They might be atoning for/expiating some kind of deep shame or dishonor, maybe the violation of religious or social taboo. Could be something they did themselves, or they might represent (or be scapegoats for) their family/clan/tribe.

 

[Jürgen Hubert]

Re: Doomed Slayers - Justifying the tropes of Adventurers

I've just written up the first draft of the Introduction. Tell me what you think:


"The world is locked in a never-ending cycle. Small, isolated villages begin to band together under a common ruler for mutual protection. Slowly, these villages expand into the surrounding wilderness and become nations. Their armies become larger and stronger, eventually conquering nearby nations and forming an empire. But sooner or later, the empire will fall apart, its provinces splintering, its people scattering, its borders falling to the encroaching wilderness, and eventually only a few points of light remain to keep the fires of civilization burning until the cycle can start anew.

But what causes these empires to fall time and again? Why don't they reach ever-greater heights of progress until they cover the world and proclaim an end to history?

Sometimes they are weakened by decades of warfare against another expanding empire, leaving each too drained to carry on. Sometimes they are torn apart by vicious succession struggles, with brother turning against brother until no one is left to carry on the fight. All too often, the central government grows fat and corrupt, draining the imperial treasuries for their own decadent pleasures until the empire is sucked dry and withers away.

But most often, monsters are the cause.

Some monsters are so powerful that they can slaughter an entire village all by themselves. Other monsters breed so rapidly that they will quickly overwhelm all opposition with sheer numbers if they are not constantly held in check. Others still can insidiously hide themselves among ordinary people, preying on and corrupting them and never letting their presence known until it is too late.

All this can combine into a devastating onslaught on civilizations and societies, destroying them from within and without. It is unclear why empires seem especially vulnerable to such attacks, though the most likely explanation is that they start feeling so secure in their power that they cease their vigilance in a way that lesser nations would never dare. It is also possible that there are dark forces abroad that plot and scheme to bring down such realms in particular - monstrous secret societies, the legions of Hell, perhaps even the dark deities themselves. But scholars whisper that maybe even monsters might have their own heroes, who respond to the call of their beleagured people suffering under the onslaught of an empire and bring it down...

One thing is clear, though: Civilization hangs by a thread, always. Ignoring the menace of monsters only causes it to grow. For society to survive, prosper, and grow, the monsters preying on it must be constantly fought. But the armies of the nobles alone cannot do this - they are too focused on patrolling and protecting that noble's territory, and they simply do not have the breadth and depth of experience to deal with the sheer variety in power and of types of monsters out there.

Thus, to give civilization a fighting chance, a new class of people has developed who will not only defend society from the monsters that attack it, but strike hard and fast into the enemy's territory and stalk the monsters into their very lairs. They called are the Slayers, for slaying monsters is their ultimate reason for existence. And they are called Doomed Slayers because most of them do not survive their first year."

 

[Jürgen Hubert]

Re: Doomed Slayers - Justifying the tropes of Adventurers

If a Slayer fights in Cerea's name, does that make him a Cereal Killer?

I did spot the possible pun, though I ultimately derived the name from Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture. Though I suspect "cereal" derives from the same root. Still, puns are a long-standing tradition of Dungeon Fantasy games... right?

 

[Jürgen Hubert]

Re: Doomed Slayers - Justifying the tropes of Adventurers

Now I'm wondering about what other professions might spring up in the wake of Slayers. Sure, there are enchanters, innkeepers, whores and so forth, but I am sure that some more specialized professions might be invented in such a world as well. An Example:


When Slayers clear out a dungeon or other locale from the monsters dwelling there, then despite the stereotype they might not always take everything that's not nailed down - not to speak of the things that are nailed down. Frequently this is because they simply cannot carry more plunder, but often Slayers - especially more experienced and wealthier ones - will regard taking everything as below their dignity, and concentrate on the obviously valuable items.
The Crowmen, on the other hand, feel no such restrained. Named after both the crowbars which are one of their most important tools as well as their general scavenger-like behavior, they follow groups of Slayers (or rumors of the same) and take everything they can from the location that has the least bit of value, leaving it bare. If possible, they arrive with entire wagons, though they will do without if necessary. Slayers frequently despise Crowmen for profiting from their work while being exposed to little of the danger, and often make their views known to them (sometimes violently so). However, other Slayers have a far more amiable relationship with groups of Crowmen following them around, often giving them tips for specific locations in exchange for a cut of the sales. Furthermore, Crowmen often have all sorts of odd items for sale which might just come in handy with the latest quest...


Any other ideas for such professions?