Need help with Sikh and Gurkhas

[starblaze]

Hi,

 

My wife is playing a Pulp Heroine who is from India. We originally had armed the some Kukri and after researching it found that that is traditional weapon of the Gurkhas on India. No problem. Only thing is she doesn't want to Hindu but instead she wishes to be Sikh because she likes the religion and after reading about the religion I can see why. However she still wants to be this Kukri slinging avenger of evil.

 

So my question is could it be possible for a Sikh woman to become a Gurkha? Or is that too much suspension of disbelief?

[Roter Baron]

Re: Need help with Sikh and Gurkhas

 

Actaully I don't think it is historically an option. But there where never any female Gurka anyhow, so you ever hand-waiver her anyhow and make her the " one in a billion oh-so-very-special-because-she-saved-the-big-cheese-Gurkha's-life-in-a-bloody-battle-Sikh-woman-who-joined-the-Gurkhas" and go with it or you throw the whole idea of ANY woman in a Gurkha regiment out of the window.

 

"Hey, you look sick!" - "Oh, that's just my religion." - "Hmm, but you are a woman, too: OUT OF MY REGIMENT! - Women, all so sick for Gurkhas ..."

[Markdoc]

Re: Need help with Sikh and Gurkhas

 

Yep - add to that the fact that Ghurkas don't actually come from India, but mountainous Nepal - far from the hot dry plains of the Punjab and .... well, it seems little unlikely

 

Still, if the idea of a sikh appeals, they have their own ceremonial weapon - the Kirpan (a heavy knife, or short sword) - which has great religious significance. That'd make a good weapon for a sikh hero.

 

cheers, Mark

[Roter Baron]

Re: Need help with Sikh and Gurkhas

 

Right. You heard the only Danish Ghurka. Err ... Gurka. No, Gurkha ...

 

WAAAAAAAAAAAH! KALIIIIIIIIIIIII!!! ALL MUST DIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[starblaze]

Re: Need help with Sikh and Gurkhas

 

Ok, I am thinking of maybe changing her to a female Sikh warrior as the Sikhs are supposed believe in sexual equality.

 

I originally had her as being hunted by an assassins guild and having to stay on the run because of that. She was a member of that particular guild but refused to kill a target issued to her. She has been on the run and ran into another PC who is a circus animal trainer and got a job as a knife thrower (the last knife thrower was fired when he started drinking before a performance). She has a grandmother who is a DNPC whom she has to protect from the guild.

 

Unfortunately I wasn't sure if this was an appropraite origin for a Pulp Hero so we tried something else. The next background we had was that Vijay (that's her name), was the only daughter of a rather famous and incorruptable Gurkha. She of course couldn't be a Gurkha so I thought that she would study in private. Then as she grew older she would discover that she had mystical powers such as the power to cloud mens minds. Her Father and Mother were killed by an underworld empire that wanted to send a message. The other Gurkhas couldn't find the assassins but Vijay, with her special powers was able and took vengence on them. One got away and now she and her only surviving relative, her grandmother is still alive. They are on the run from the assassins.

 

As it is however, my wife doesn't want to play a Hindu so I am thinking that a Sikh sounds like a better arrangement. What do you guys think?

[Tarek]

Re: Need help with Sikh and Gurkhas

 

Vijay is the male form of the Hindi name meaning "Victory."

 

The female form is Vijaya.

[Acehero]

Re: Need help with Sikh and Gurkhas

 

Well, check out this site for info on Sikh women:

http://www.allaboutsikhs.com/women/index.htm

 

But, if your wife wants to play a female Gurkha, you could probably figure something out. First, 'Gurkha' is the name given to units in the British Indian Army (and later, after Indian independence, the British Army and the Indian Army) which were made up of soldiers recruited from the Gorkha region in Nepal. These soldiers were of several ethnic groups, including Gorkha. The point being 'Gorkha' is an ethnic group and a region, so there are plenty of women Gorkhas. Perhaps your wife's character joined the Gurkhas while disguised as a man. Or, maybe, once your wife's character was rejected by the Gurkha recruiters, a retired Gurkha took her under his wing and trained her. She has become a 'one-woman' army.

Be aware, too, that the Gurkhas are Hindu--and the King of Nepal is seen as a living god by most Nepalese.

Sounds like a lot of fun!

[alexraccoon]

Re: Need help with Sikh and Gurkhas

 

Well, check out this site for info on Sikh women:

http://www.allaboutsikhs.com/women/index.htm

 

But, if your wife wants to play a female Gurkha, you could probably figure something out. First, 'Gurkha' is the name given to units in the British Indian Army (and later, after Indian independence, the British Army and the Indian Army) which were made up of soldiers recruited from the Gorkha region in Nepal. These soldiers were of several ethnic groups, including Gorkha. The point being 'Gorkha' is an ethnic group and a region, so there are plenty of women Gorkhas. Perhaps your wife's character joined the Gurkhas while disguised as a man. Or, maybe, once your wife's character was rejected by the Gurkha recruiters, a retired Gurkha took her under his wing and trained her. She has become a 'one-woman' army.

Be aware, too, that the Gurkhas are Hindu--and the King of Nepal is seen as a living god by most Nepalese.

Sounds like a lot of fun!

 

 

Actually they were known as gurkhas long before they ever served in the British army.

 

Your character can very easily be a SiKh either with or without the Gurkha ancestry.

 

There is a very large contingent of Gurkhas serving in the indian army far more than in the British army, There is a large Sikh population in the Punjab and until recently they got on quite well with their Hindu neighbours, given that in Nepal men far outnumber the women it could be very likely that your characters father decided to stay in India and get married to a local girl.

 

another alternative lies with the fact that the Kurki is very likely introduced into the Punjab by the soldiers of Alexander the great. Your character could have found an ancient weapon bestowing mystical powers etc

 

The Kurki is as much a tool as it is a weapon useful for digging,chopping wood slicing vegetables

[Narratio]

Re: Need help with Sikh and Gurkhas

 

I was in nepal about 10 years back, a friend was on a hydro-electric dam construction project so i went visiting. I visited a nearby village and saw some of those blades. Those Kukri come in various sizes. I've now got a British army standard issue affair. I comes with 2 smaller knives in the same scabbard. The Kukri's issued for battle are very much a heavy bladed chomping slicing, killing weapon. Can't throw it, juggle it or shave pencils with it. It's designed to cut through the arm, leg or rib bones of a man and for that it is perfect.

 

The ones for home uses are much lighter. And then there's the Bull beheading special. At a religious ceremoney a Bull is dragged up and the strongest man in the village drags out this monster chunk of wedged steel, hauls back and off comes the creatures head. Amazing to see.

 

An India Assassins guild? Only one of those on the subcontinent, the Thugees (from where we get the word thug), dedicated to the worship of Shiva, goddess of death, destruction, the post service, national railways and other types of pain and discomfrt. the Brit's broke thier power in the late 1800's, but they're supposed to still exist. If your heroine is on the run from them... Ugh.

[starblaze]

Re: Need help with Sikh and Gurkhas

 

I was in nepal about 10 years back, a friend was on a hydro-electric dam construction project so i went visiting. I visited a nearby village and saw some of those blades. Those Kukri come in various sizes. I've now got a British army standard issue affair. I comes with 2 smaller knives in the same scabbard. The Kukri's issued for battle are very much a heavy bladed chomping slicing, killing weapon. Can't throw it, juggle it or shave pencils with it. It's designed to cut through the arm, leg or rib bones of a man and for that it is perfect.

 

The ones for home uses are much lighter. And then there's the Bull beheading special. At a religious ceremoney a Bull is dragged up and the strongest man in the village drags out this monster chunk of wedged steel, hauls back and off comes the creatures head. Amazing to see.

 

An India Assassins guild? Only one of those on the subcontinent, the Thugees (from where we get the word thug), dedicated to the worship of Shiva, goddess of death, destruction, the post service, national railways and other types of pain and discomfrt. the Brit's broke thier power in the late 1800's, but they're supposed to still exist. If your heroine is on the run from them... Ugh.

 

 

Yeah, that was the plan actually.

[Edsel]

Re: Need help with Sikh and Gurkhas

 

The Thugees were quite fond of strangling their victims/enemies if I recall correctly. Beware the fellow in the shadows with the garrote.

[st barbara]

Re: Need help with Sikh and Gurkhas

 

I was in nepal about 10 years back, a friend was on a hydro-electric dam construction project so i went visiting. I visited a nearby village and saw some of those blades. Those Kukri come in various sizes. I've now got a British army standard issue affair. I comes with 2 smaller knives in the same scabbard. The Kukri's issued for battle are very much a heavy bladed chomping slicing, killing weapon. Can't throw it, juggle it or shave pencils with it. It's designed to cut through the arm, leg or rib bones of a man and for that it is perfect.

 

The ones for home uses are much lighter. And then there's the Bull beheading special. At a religious ceremoney a Bull is dragged up and the strongest man in the village drags out this monster chunk of wedged steel, hauls back and off comes the creatures head. Amazing to see.

 

An India Assassins guild? Only one of those on the subcontinent, the Thugees (from where we get the word thug), dedicated to the worship of Shiva, goddess of death, destruction, the post service, national railways and other types of pain and discomfrt. the Brit's broke thier power in the late 1800's, but they're supposed to still exist. If your heroine is on the run from them... Ugh.

Generally the Thugee are shown as worshipping Kali, the most fearsome aspect of Devi the wife of Shiva.

[st barbara]

Re: Need help with Sikh and Gurkhas

 

N B For whatever it may be worth there are both a Ghurka and a Sikh character written up in the old "Kingdom Of Champions" supplement.

[Narratio]

Re: Need help with Sikh and Gurkhas

 

Sorry St barbara, I lost the connection between my fingers and my brain. Got ahead in my typing. I should have said "...Shiva's wife, Kali, goddess of..."

My bad.

[st barbara]

Re: Need help with Sikh and Gurkhas

 

The Thugees were quite fond of strangling their victims/enemies if I recall correctly. Beware the fellow in the shadows with the garrote.

As shown in "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" !

[bigdamnhero]

Re: Need help with Sikh and Gurkhas

 

Ok, I am thinking of maybe changing her to a female Sikh warrior as the Sikhs are supposed believe in sexual equality.

 

I originally had her as being hunted by an assassins guild and having to stay on the run because of that. She was a member of that particular guild but refused to kill a target issued to her. She has been on the run and ran into another PC who is a circus animal trainer and got a job as a knife thrower (the last knife thrower was fired when he started drinking before a performance). She has a grandmother who is a DNPC whom she has to protect from the guild.

 

Unfortunately I wasn't sure if this was an appropraite origin for a Pulp Hero so we tried something else. The next background we had was that Vijay (that's her name), was the only daughter of a rather famous and incorruptable Gurkha. She of course couldn't be a Gurkha so I thought that she would study in private. Then as she grew older she would discover that she had mystical powers such as the power to cloud mens minds. Her Father and Mother were killed by an underworld empire that wanted to send a message. The other Gurkhas couldn't find the assassins but Vijay, with her special powers was able and took vengence on them. One got away and now she and her only surviving relative, her grandmother is still alive. They are on the run from the assassins.

 

As it is however, my wife doesn't want to play a Hindu so I am thinking that a Sikh sounds like a better arrangement. What do you guys think?

I think either of those origins would work for Pulp, and it doesn't seem like they would require much tweaking to make her a Sikh.

 

In addition to the Gurkas, the British Army has had various Sikh units over the years. Check out the History section of the site AceHero linked to. But while Sikhs do believe that women are equal to men, female warriors were still pretty rare. Don't know if they would've been allowed in the Indian Army, tho I doubt it; certainly not in the British Army. There's always the tried-and-true Pulp convention of the woman who disguises herself as a man to seek adventure, etc.

 

Something else to think about is that Sikhs were highly regarded as bodyguards in the Pulp era, because they were highly trained, dedicated, and thought to be incorruptable. (This changed a bit in 1984 when Indira Gahndi was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards. But even today, one of the largest security companies in the world, Akal Security, is Sikh owned-and-operated.)

 

Used to have a number of Sikh friends, but sadly have lost touch with most of them. It really is a fascinating culture. BTW, Sikhism was almost completely unknown to Americans until the 1960s, so she can expect to be mistaken for either a Hindu or a Muslim by most Westerners. (Even today, this happened to my Sikh friends all the time.)

[starblaze]

Re: Need help with Sikh and Gurkhas

 

Well I ironed out her back history and decided to just go ahead and post her CS.

 

Here goes.

 

Vijaya

 

Val Char Cost

15 STR 5

20 DEX 30

14 CON 8

15 BODY 10

18 INT 8

13 EGO 6

15 PRE 5

16 COM 3

 

3/6 PD 0

3/6 ED 0

3 SPD 0

6 REC 0 Saved: Tue, 12 Sep 2006 22:45:25

Campaign:

Genre:

GM:

28 END 0

30 STUN 0

 

6" RUN 0

2" SWIM 0

3" LEAP 0

Characteristics Cost: 75

Cost Power END

13 Mental Powers: Multipower, 20-point reserve, (20 Active Points); all slots Requires A Psychic Powers Skill Roll (-1/2)

1u 1) Cloud Men's Minds: Invisibility to Sight Group (20 Active Points) 2

1u 2) Mind over Matter!: Telekinesis (6 STR), Fine Manipulation (19 Active Points); Concentration (1/2 DCV; -1/4) 2

Powers Cost: 15

Cost Skill

3 Acrobatics 13-

12 +4 with Blades

3 Deduction 13-

2 KS: Arcane and the Occult 11-

2 CK: Calcutta 11-

2 CuK: Psychic World 11-

0 Language: Hindustani (idiomatic) (4 Active Points)

3 Language: English (completely fluent)

3 Lockpicking 13-

3 Power: Psychic 12-

3 Sleight Of Hand 13-

3 Stealth 13-

2 Survival (Desert) 13-

10 Two-Weapon Fighting (HTH)

3 WF: Common Melee Weapons, Rifles

Skills Cost: 54

Cost Talent

6 Combat Luck (3 PD/3 ED)

Talents Cost: 6

Cost Equipment END

Small Kukris: Killing Attack - Hand-To-Hand 1d6 (1 1/2d6 w/STR), Range Based On STR (+1/4) (19 Active Points); Costs Endurance (-1/2), 6 Recoverable Charges (-1/4) 2

Kukri Swords: Killing Attack - Hand-To-Hand 1d6+1 (2d6+1 w/STR) [Notes: Always carries two] 2

Equipment costs shown above are for reference only, and are not included in Total Cost.

Val Disadvantages

20 Psychological Limitation: Will not Surrender (Common, Total)

15 DNPC: Grandmother 8- (Incompetent)

15 Hunted: Assassin Guild 8- (As Pow, NCI, Harshly Punish)

15 Psychological Limitation: Must Avenge the Murder of Any Friend, Family Member, or Protected Party (Uncommon, Total)

10 Social Limitation: Female from India (Frequently, Minor)

Disadvantage Points: 75

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cost Summary: Base Points:75 Disadvantage Points: 75 Total Experience Available: 0 Total Character Cost: 150

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Height: 1.61 m Hair: Black

Weight: 53.00 kg Eyes: Black

Appearance:

Personality:

Quote:

Background: Vijaya was born the only daughter to Ran Mankaran, a famous and incorruptable Gurhka policeman who was stationed in Punjab. Unlike other of his nationality he fell in love with a local girl Vijaya's mother, Dal Thalbir who was a Sikh. Her embraced the same faith and converted from Hinduism. Vijaya loved her parents very much and idolized her father. Although she was a woman and had little chance of becoming a Gurhka like her father the stories told to her by her Sikh grandmother, Dal Devi about courageous Sikh women enboldened her. She trained in secret, often times by studying the training of Gurkha soldiers.

 

Then as time passed and see started to go through puberty, Vijaya noticed strange changes coming upon her body, and not usual things that happen to young girls! One day when she was practicing in secret she saw some high ranking Gurkhas and British officer heading her way. She knew that she would get herself and her father in trouble so she tried to hide. Just when it looked like they were going to find her she wished real hard that she could not be seen. She was amazed, when after opening her eyes she saw that even though she was in plain sight no one could see her! It was almost like they just didn't seem to be able to percieve her.

 

She immediatedly went to her grandmother because she doubted anyone else would believe her. She was even more amazed to find that her grandmother was not surprised but excited! She told Vijaya that the women of her family line had a history of psychic powers and that although it skipped a generation with her mother the gift had been passed down to her. Dal then began to train her in her budding powers.

 

Then one day as Vijaya was just turning 19 tragedy struck. Some assassins, a local Thugee cult that her father had been investigating attacked her home in the middle of the night. The other police tried to find the killers but had no way to locate them. But Vijaya had an ace in her hole. Using her training and special ablities she tracked down the assassins and in rage-fueled vengeance exected all but one. This one knew who she was and therefore this put her only surviving relative her grandmother in danger.

 

So she packed up what she could and as luck would have it managed to Alice Charles, AKA Soltana, Queen of the Beast. She got a job as a knife thower and left India for a new life of adventure!

Powers/Tactics:

Campaign Use:

[FenrisUlf]

Re: Need help with Sikh and Gurkhas

 

Generally the Thugee are shown as worshipping Kali' date=' the most fearsome aspect of Devi the wife of Shiva.[/quote']

 

And not just Kali, but Kali Bhowani (or Bhavani), who demands human sacrifice. I seem to remember there being a grand temple to her in Calcutta, the Kalighat, which featured human sacrifices until the Brits closed it down in the 19th century.

[Basil]

Re: Need help with Sikh and Gurkhas

 

Starblaze: If she grew up in Punjab, her native language would be Punjabi, not Hindustani; she would, though, be likely to have 1 or 2 points in Hindustani.

 

Also, the last paragraph seems to be missing a chunk.

 

Great idea! Repped.