 Whirlwind  | 14 Apr 2014 1:45 p.m. PST |
I was vaguely wondering if some of the WFRP careers actually had any historical precedents in Europe c.1500 (I haven't included the ones which are obviously setting specific)? Bounty Hunter
Gambler
Hypnotist (seems very unlikely for this one!)
Pit Fighter
Roadwarden
Tomb Robber Regards |
| 79thPA | 14 Apr 2014 4:38 p.m. PST |
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| Onomarchos | 14 Apr 2014 5:01 p.m. PST |
Warhammer Fantasy Role Play |
| Pedrobear | 14 Apr 2014 10:03 p.m. PST |
Interesting question. I assume there have always been gamblers and fighters in illegal fights where people placed bets, and of course tomb robbers. link link |
| darthfozzywig | 14 Apr 2014 10:29 p.m. PST |
Don't forget rat catcher! |
| Pedrobear | 14 Apr 2014 11:07 p.m. PST |
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| Griefbringer | 15 Apr 2014 2:46 a.m. PST |
Pit fighter is inspired by the ancient gladiators, but no such form of entertainment was to be found in the renessaince Europe – if you wanted to see a fight show, you could go and watch a tournament instead. Bounty hunter is probably more inspired by western films. |
| Pedrobear | 15 Apr 2014 3:00 a.m. PST |
"but no such form of entertainment was to be found in the renessaince Europe" Mayhap 'tis because the foremost rule of the martial fellowship is "thou dost not speak of the martial fellowship"? |
| fred12df | 15 Apr 2014 2:25 p.m. PST |
I'd never thought too hard about the careers in WHFRP – but all of them seem plausible in the kind of pseudo late-medieval environment, that is used in most RPG settings. Some may be a bit latter in period, such as Tomb Robber or Hypnotist (which could be a charlatan style entertainer) I think professional gamblers have been around forever – probably the kind of 'job' where you have to keep moving if you don't want the odds lengthening against you. |
| djbthesecond | 16 Apr 2014 3:00 a.m. PST |
If there was bear baiting and dog fighting in the C15th then I would say you would find pit fighters in the 15th century no problem. Tomb robbers have been known of at least since Ancient Egyptian times hence the escalation in tomb building such as pyramids and underground tombs etc. I've also seen in those nasty B grade horror movies of people breaking into family vaults and tombs at various periods of time. Also Robert E Howard of Conan fame seems to suggest that some of the magicians were using nothing more than hypnotic suggestion for much of their magic tricks. I see no problem with transferring the hypnotist skills to the WFRP world in this sense. |
| Whirlwind | 16 Apr 2014 9:32 a.m. PST |
@djb the 2nd, Just to make absolutely clear, I'm not criticizing WFRP in any way at all, I really like the game, I was just interested in whether some of the careers had C15-C16 historical precedents. I like Maelstrom link too for even lower-powered adventures and I was wondering which would be suitable for porting across. For instance, unless there is any evidence of Pit Fighters (and I've never heard of any), I'd be more likely to use the Protagonist and Entertainer – Wrestler careers to cover the idea of 'fighter for entertainment'. Similarly I might avoid Tomb Robber and have tombs robbed by more standard thieves. Highwaymen might be better covered by Outlaws and Protagonists rather than the more C18 version in the book. I'm not sure whether the Gambler in the WFRP rulebook doesn't seems a tad too C18/Wild West but I could definitely be persuaded if there are some references to professional gamblers anywhere within C15 or C16 Europe. Whilst I'm thinking in this vein, are Marines historical for this period? Regards |
