"Primitive" Disads

[Supreme]

The Wife Supreme is making a character who is an alien from a hunter-gatherer culture who gets transported to Earth in 1961. Aside from the usual, "Ignorant of Earth Culture" disad, and any of you think of other disads that would be associated with coming from such a culture? One that I thought of would be "Unable to Distinguish Magic from Technology."

 

Any other suggestions?

[Blue]

Re: "Primitive" Disads

 

Cannot distinguish between Magic and Technlology (I have no idea what that's worth, but it sounds cool)

 

A host of phobias related to the "new" world. Fear of Loud Noises. Fear of Flying/Heights (After all, primitives were not known for such things).

 

Worships "The box with the little people in it who act out plays". (Much like the rest of us!)

 

Might be a languague barrier of some kind. "Communicates only in grunts and hand signals".

 

Weaker Immune System (Vulnerability or Susceptability to disease)

 

But Don't ask me. I'm just a simple caveman. Your dice and pencils frighten me!

-Unfrozen Caveman GM

[Blue]

Re: "Primitive" Disads

 

Depending on how like humans the Alien is, Well, I'm pretty sure you've considered Distinguishing Features (Primitive features), Social Limitation (Primitive)--which would encompass such things as eating with hands, not shaking hands, greeting people by sniffing them, etc. Then there's plain old "Primitive Instinct" in which some things just cry out to be attacked (Cars that honk, People who make direct eye contact--"challenging" you, Waiters who try to take your plate before you are done with your food).

[BoneDaddy]

Re: "Primitive" Disads

 

Has the Wife Supreme read The Broken God, by David Zindell? The protagonist faces a similar situation for the first few hundred pages.

 

Phobia - fear of predation. There are refugees from Chad (the so called Lost Boys of Chad) who have a hard time accepting that there aren't Lions in Portland, Maine.

 

Enraged - figure that a survivalist culture would place high enough importance on some things, like basic property rights, and low enough importance on other things, like negotiation skills, that the net effect is the same as enraged - steal my stuff and I hit you until you hold still.

 

I'm not sure how primitive you mean. Hunter gatherer? Nomadic? Encamped? Cave dwelling? Tree dwelling? Making there own shelter? Uses fire or not? Creates fire or guards it? Animist or polytheist? Tool use - wooden speartip, burnt wooden speartip, bone speartip, stone speartip, atlatl, bow? Clothing - raw skins, cured skins, sewn skins, reed cloth, wool cloth? Worships the black obelisk, or fears the black obelisk? Stores things in skins, clay jars, or reed baskets?

[Killer Shrike]

Re: "Primitive" Disads

 

I would hesitate on loading her down with too many Disads tied to her origin, as she will presumably become acclimated to the new environment but have a pile of Disads that are no longer relevant.

 

A single Physical Limitation "From another Place/Time" All the Time Slightly Limiting might be appropriate, and then leave it up to your wife to interpret that as she sees fit in game.

 

As far as abilities go, the Anonymity perk might be good, at least initially, as she wont be found in any census or data source.

[DocMan]

Re: "Primitive" Disads

 

Hunter Gatherer cultures are often rather stratified. So there may be some issues with cultural aspects from her home society. Such as Code of Honor, Hatred of x, Considers y persons to be beneath her, Fear of certain symbols, etc, etc.

 

Doc

[Supreme]

Re: "Primitive" Disads

 

...But Don't ask me. I'm just a simple caveman. Your dice and pencils frighten me!

-Unfrozen Caveman GM

That is friggin' brilliant! We both loved that sketch. RIP, Phil Hartman.

Depending on how like humans the Alien is, Well, I'm pretty sure you've considered Distinguishing Features (Primitive features), Social Limitation (Primitive)--which would encompass such things as eating with hands, not shaking hands, greeting people by sniffing them, etc. Then there's plain old "Primitive Instinct" in which some things just cry out to be attacked (Cars that honk, People who make direct eye contact--"challenging" you, Waiters who try to take your plate before you are done with your food).

She's eight feet tall (the runt of the litter) and blue (your kinda gal). Not sure that she should take both Distinctive Features: primitive and DS: 8' tall and blue. The social lims seem appropriate. I also thought it would be applicable in the sense that most people will assume she's too stupid to understand the most basic things.

I'm not sure how primitive you mean.

Stone-age, nomadic, hunter-gatherer, creates fire, animisitc, all cloth comes from a special kind of bark found only on her home planet.

I would hesitate on loading her down with too many Disads tied to her origin, as she will presumably become acclimated to the new environment but have a pile of Disads that are no longer relevant.

 

A single Physical Limitation "From another Place/Time" All the Time Slightly Limiting might be appropriate, and then leave it up to your wife to interpret that as she sees fit in game.

 

As far as abilities go, the Anonymity perk might be good, at least initially, as she wont be found in any census or data source.

Yeah, I was wanting to keep her from loading too many of them on and especially the high-point stuff in case she wants to buy them off later. She should probably avoid taking disads for things that the character will learn eventually. And the anonymity perk is not an option for obvious reasons.

 

One of the things that my mind was trying to wrap around about this is the difference in spiritual thought between the hunter-gatherers and us. According to anthropologists, HGs do not ever distinguish between the sacred and the profane - or at least non-sacred. To them everything they do, from eating to pooping to making love is all done in reference to their mythology. "I brush my teeth, as Gkjcslnsflh brushed his teeth in the before-time," and so on. Not sure if that's a disad, or a footnote.

[TaxiMan]

Re: "Primitive" Disads

 

Go ahead and pile on the neat-o disadvantages, all of them. Any that might cause trouble after the character learns more, assign a value of (0). I'm sure there will be enough to more than make the point max for a particular type of disad.

[BoneDaddy]

Re: "Primitive" Disads

 

That is friggin' brilliant! We both loved that sketch. RIP, Phil Hartman.

 

Stone-age, nomadic, hunter-gatherer, creates fire, animisitc, all cloth comes from a special kind of bark found only on her home planet.

Phil was a great one. Never go to bed in the middle of an argument.

 

She sounds like a giant blue Lenape. Natives of the Pennsylvania area, still in residence when the Quakers arrived. They had few permanant residences, but set up temporary shelters wherever they went, currently called Wiki-ups. They had lasting concepts of real estate ownership - hunting grounds and fishing areas were owned by certain tribes at certain seasons. The winter camp areas were also considered the lasting property of individual tribes. They had little in the way of intertribal politics. There is a good deal of verifiable research into the Lenape out there, if you are interested in a resource.

 

http://www.delcohistory.org/dchs/Bulletin_14.doc is a good start. Could tell you more about who to expect, based on one example.

[Brandi]

Re: "Primitive" Disads

 

Weaker Immune System (Vulnerability or Susceptability to disease)

 

Actually, if she's survived to adulthood her immune system is probably pretty robust, though as an alien she might be susceptible to unfamiliar Earth diseases (as the very technologically-advanced War of the Worlds Martians were).

 

She might, however, have scars or even an oddly-set limb from injury.

[Hex]

Re: "Primitive" Disads

 

Possible chemical suseptability to things like caffiene, sugar, alcohol, stuff that's never been introduced to her body before could have a magnified effects. Depending on how primitive, maybe an enraged when overwhelmed by stuff she doesn't understand, like going ape on a TV or car or something. ;D

[etherio]

Re: "Primitive" Disads

 

Hunter Gatherer cultures are often rather stratified.

 

Actually, the opposite is true...stratification comes with civilization...I got that shoved down my throat in Anthropology classes.

[Supreme]

Re: "Primitive" Disads

 

Actually' date=' the opposite is true...stratification comes with civilization...I got that shoved down my throat in Anthropology classes.[/quote']

Yeah, what I remember from anthro was that the only person in a HG group to have any status was the "big man" whose only perk was that he got to decide when to move on to the next watering-hole and got the first drink when he got there. If others in the group didn't like his choice of watering-hole they could leave and start another group.

 

Stratification generally comes with things like agriculture or horticulture. Then, suddenly, you have a whole list of specialized-labors that need to be performed. Someone's got to dig the ditches. Someone's got to prepare the seeds. Someone's got to plant the seeds. Someone's got to check on the sprouts, etc. And most importantly: someone's got to make sure that theives don't make off with our crops!

[DocMan]

Re: "Primitive" Disads

 

Oh? How much do hunters gather? How often do gatherers hunt?

 

You're talking about specializaiton of work, like cooks, and flint sharpeners, and farmers. I'm talking about social levels: Warriors, hunters, gatherers, dependents.

 

But since you've had the anthropolgy courses, you don't need this thread. You know all the answers.

 

Doc

[Supreme]

Re: "Primitive" Disads

 

Oh? How much do hunters gather? How often do gatherers hunt?

 

You're talking about specializaiton of work, like cooks, and flint sharpeners, and farmers. I'm talking about social levels: Warriors, hunters, gatherers, dependents.

 

But since you've had the anthropolgy courses, you don't need this thread. You know all the answers.

 

Doc

Didn't mean to offend. Just dutifully regurgitating all the stuff I heard in classes that I'm still paying for.

[Jhamin]

Re: "Primitive" Disads

 

I imagine that she would not only be overwhelmed by our technology, but also by the pace of our lives.

 

As I understand it, part of the reason that there was so much religion was because there was time for it. Modern hunter/gatherer societies only really need to spend about 4 hours a day providing for themselves. That leaves the rest of their day free.

[Magmarock]

Re: "Primitive" Disads

 

Did anyone mention "Cannot read"? Or "Cannot count or do math"? I mean, it's amazing how much we take these for granted.

 

Imagine this:

 

Justice-Man: "Primal, how many Viper Agents are out there?"

 

Primal: "More'n some, but not as many as lots!"

 

Heh.

 

Mags

[Supreme]

Re: "Primitive" Disads

 

I imagine that she would not only be overwhelmed by our technology' date=' but also by the [i']pace[/i] of our lives.

 

As I understand it, part of the reason that there was so much religion was because there was time for it. Modern hunter/gatherer societies only really need to spend about 4 hours a day providing for themselves. That leaves the rest of their day free.

Excellent - and depressing - point. I think that we'll probably have one player in the group be filthy rich to help support her and pay for all the stuff she breaks.

[Supreme]

Re: "Primitive" Disads

 

Did anyone mention "Cannot read"? Or "Cannot count or do math"? I mean, it's amazing how much we take these for granted.

 

Imagine this:

 

Justice-Man: "Primal, how many Viper Agents are out there?"

 

Primal: "More'n some, but not as many as lots!"

 

Heh.

 

Mags

True, people don't generally develop counting until they develop pastoralism (how many cattle?). Though I don't think the Wife Supreme wants to become completely useless. Besides, you could argue that some HG tribes will develop counting, such as when they barter with other tribes.

[xzaras]

Re: "Primitive" Disads

 

possibly an irational fear of technology 'technophobia'.

[freakboy6117]

Re: "Primitive" Disads

 

possibly an irational fear of technology 'technophobia'.

even better an overwelming curiositry about technology

"What does this button do?"

 

much more likely to get you into trouble when she pushes every flashing red button around.

[Supreme]

Re: "Primitive" Disads

 

Well, I've discussed the various ideas with the Wife Supreme, and the one she seems to like best is "cannot distinguish between magic and technology."

 

Now, what do you all think this is worth, and in what sorts of situations do you see this becoming a problem?

[Magmarock]

Re: "Primitive" Disads

 

Well, I've discussed the various ideas with the Wife Supreme, and the one she seems to like best is "cannot distinguish between magic and technology."

 

Now, what do you all think this is worth, and in what sorts of situations do you see this becoming a problem?

 

 

It's not worth much if it doesn't limit her in some way... such is the reality of Disads. Unless she has a big Psych Lim: Fear of Magic, or something similar, I wouldn't give it more than 5 points.

 

Now, not being able to read is a much bigger Disad and worth way more points. She couldn't even get around it by saying she watches TV, because there is so much written word flashed at everyone on TV, it still hampers in some way.

 

Mags

[Magmarock]

Re: "Primitive" Disads

 

Here's an idea for the Wife Supreme:

 

Have her build her PC on the base points, plus whatever Disads she is willing to put up with. Yes, her PC will have fewer powers to start with, but then she also doesn't have to worry about those pesky Disads either.

 

Then as the game progresses, find Disads for her along the way. Give her the points to add to her PC as each Disad is added to her sheet. Her powers will grow as she gains these new Disads which is fair for everyone in the game.

 

Mags

[freakboy6117]

Re: "Primitive" Disads

 

I guess inability to perceive the difference between magic and technology might manifest as an inability to use technology except in ritual form.

 

I think the best example I can think of is warhammer 40k where the space marines weaponry and Armour is repaired by tech priests who don’t really understand the technology but have learnt by rote incantations and litanies that allow them to diagnose and repair equipment but they lack the knowledge to understand how they really work.

 

So the primitive would be Kind of like the members of a cargo cult who build fake airstrips to lure magic silver birds filled with gifts from the gods. She sees you turn on the television and the picture change but she won’t understand the concept of television, she might even be able to repeat the ritual but she has no framework to expand beyond the ritual.

 

So if you microwave a burrito in front of her she could repeat the process but probably not correctly or she could try to nuke something she caught and leave it under cooked or try to start a fire in the microwave so much fun.

Also she might mistake other devices for a microwave or fro that matter steal the TV remote and start pointing it at anything that looked like a TV.

 

 

Mind you it’s not just a primitive problem many modern day first world people can't tell the difference either.