TROS: The Americas

[Charles Smith]

Guys~

   I've had an idea brewing in my head for a little while now and have decided that TROS is the system for my game. I have wanted to do an alternative culture RPG for some time, and have come to the conclusion that I want to try a pre- or post-contact American Indian game. Of course, I want to make it mythical as possible, with all the spirits and mythologies alongside the American Indian culture included, but all of that stuff I can pretty much do on my own (suggestions are welcome, however!).

   My main concern is how the American Indians of the time were equipped for warfare and fighting. Now, I'm posting this *before* I do any research on the topic, but I'm heading that way now. If anyone has expertise or opinions on their weapons, armor, possible spiritual charms/"magical items," and methods of fighting, I'd be grateful.

   Not much in the way of AmInd RPGs, btw. I figured there'd be *something*, but I must be one of the few interested in this over other games. :)

Charles

[Ben Lehman]

Well, you have to remember that the Americas are, at the time, a stupidly diverse culture.  The Aztecs and the Incas are forging new "grand eternal empires," and as such have some pretty sophisticated weapons technology (as I recall, the Aztecs got a major military advantage through the use of formation tactics and "sword" wielding elite guards.  Not sure about the Incas.) as well as revolutionary supply chains.

In the north, we have mostly a "raiding party" culture in the great plains and southwest areas, where there isn't so much actual war and fighting as stealing and counting coup.  In the east, we see mostly hunting weapons (tomohawk axes, spears and bows) turned towards war and conquest as the Iroquois League runs about against its rather hostile northern neighbors.

And, in California, there is no war or fighting of any kind at all.

So, really, there's a lot to cover.

Good luck!

yrs--
--Ben

[Charles Smith]

Ben~

   "Stupidly diverse"? :) That's a funny way to put it, but I do agree.

   Thanks for the background information. I'm planning on focusing on a couple of tribes in North America, either in the region now known as good ole' CA, the Great Plains, or the northeast great lakes area. The Incas and Aztecs probably have more in the way of fighting and work on a larger scale, but I'm a bit more interested in starting from the ground up: focus on the PCs home tribe and build from there.

   I'm going to have to seriously delve into a couple of different areas of the now-US to see what each region consisted of.

Thanks again

Charles

[Muggins]

The Americas, hey?

Well, for a start, there is an enormous mix of technology between different areas in South, Central and North America. Some cultures are still Stone Age (mainly in North America), while others have got well into Iron Age technology. From a TRoS point of view, this will make a difference, as stone, bronze and iron/steel make a huge difference in weapon effect, as well as weapon resilience.

The primary weapon throughout the Americas is the spear. Long, short, throwing or fighting, it was the easiest to make. Following behind this are the bow (some tribes could make extremely complex composite bows, pretty powerful but still small enough to used from horseback) and the handaxe. Shields of wood and metal were also used.

Now to the difficult bits. Owing to the fact that technology brought by "them pesky white men" spread so fast, there is quite a bit of ambiguity as to when some technology was taken up. We have the accounts of the early British settlers in the north-east, which indicates a primitive early iron age group, but the technical innovations that the Europeans brought in soon meant that as the Europeans pressed into the interior, they came across more and more technologically advance cultures. Most would put this down to technology outpacing exploration, but there is the chance that the Indian cultures developed some things independently.

As an example, the horse was not used as a riding animal in the North-East. However, by the time the Central Plains were explored (200 years later), tribes there had been using horses for several generations. The lack of written records is always the problem with addressing these issues, though there is a large bulk of archaeological literature out there (I could be wrong in my statements above- medieval history is my focus, and it has been a while before I examined state-of-the-art American Indian culture!). The best way to start if you wish to get a really good overview of the true history is to visit your local college library or Archaeology department. The view of much of Early American history has changed radically in the last 3 decades!

James

[Vagabond Elf]

Remember too, that the tribes trading with the white man were usually middle-men, who would then trade the weapons, tools, and so forth at a profit to other tribes not on the coast or Hudson Bay.

I would also encourage you not to limit yourself to the territories that are now the U.S. Most if not all of the Native tribes territories spanned the border.

If you go for post-contact, I encourage you to look at the histories of the Hudson's Bay Company, which was a monumental force in white-native relations from 1670 forward.  Even after the U.S. reveloution many territories that are not part of the U.S. belonged to the HBC or their rivals the North-West Company.  The HBCowned most of Washington & Oregon states until the 1840's, for example.  I've just finished Peter C. Newman's Company of Adventurers, and the sequel Ceasers of the Wilderness, and I'd recommend them highly as a good source for info on this phenomonally powerful group.

[gloomhound]

What are you talking about? "Hudson's Bay Company?"  Northern tribes, Southern, Central? Forget it.  The one thing you need to do an Americas game is... Vikings!!!
  The Strange Blood washed invaders from the Frozen North! I can see it now. The year of our lord 998 A.D. and the dragon ship make for shore thru the mists. The hunters hidden in the wood don't know what to make of these giants with yellow hair, and their huge war canoe. As the moons past the mystery only deepen.
 So strange they are but we watch and learn. Of there way of life and there way of war.  A warrior of the people to prove his skill and bravery ghosted into there camp and returned with a strange axe. Now around the fire the warriors of the people pass this strange shining axe from hand to hand. Harder than flint, the magic axe, this gift from the gods, is a riddle that the people must solve to survive.

[Valamir]

If you really wanted to do a North American TROS game, I'd concentrate my research on the Iroquois confederacy and the various tribes related to allied with, conquered by, or enemies with them.

They represent about the closest thing NA had to actual recognizable nations (in the European sense...its said by some that the Iroquois Great Law of Peace was used as a model for the U.S. Constitution) and there was ALOT of really cool warfare, hostage taking, terrorist tactics, diplomacy, and atrocities to keep you well stocked in potential SA material.

The French and Indian War and the American Revolution become MUCH much more interesting if you study the pre war Indian history, and discover just why many Indian tribes hated other Indian tribes far more than they hated Europeans, and why they were willing to help Europeans (in ways that would eventually contribute to their own fall) in order to take revenge on hated enemies.

I'd be hard put to dig out my reference material at this point, but do a search on Iroquois, Deleware, Huron, Mohawk, Seneca and you should find loads of background material.

Finding details on actual fighting styles for use in TRoS might be a little harder, but I'd probably start by seeing if Osprey has any books dedicated to the Iroquois.  If they do, they usually have a wonderful bibliography for further research.


this is a good site for general info.

Interestingly, the site makes a tantalizing reference to the Mohawks abandoning mass formations and wooden body armor subsequent to losing engagements with musket armed French in the early 1600s...Mass Formations and wooden armor?...that has me wanting to know more.