Lefthandedness

[Fallen_Icarus]

Excuse me if this has been covered in a previous thread.  As you can see I am new to the forum.  

I've been playing a very by the book adventure now for about four months and alot of plot has been developed so far based on the structure of Weyrth and its social/political backround.  However I read in a previous thread concerning Priorities and slightly "gifted " humans, that to be left-handed is a stigma in a large part of the world.  Apparently this has something to do with a superstition about sorcery, the "left hand path" perhaps.  I scoured the book after I read that trying to find anything on the subject and came up dry.

Am I missing something or was I just reading house rules.  This would be very helpful to my campain as it encompasses a good part of the world and one of my players is a Fey.

thanks,
Eric

[Shadeling]

Excuse me if this has been covered in a previous thread.  As you can see I am new to the forum.  

I've been playing a very by the book adventure now for about four months and alot of plot has been developed so far based on the structure of Weyrth and its social/political backround.  However I read in a previous thread concerning Priorities and slightly "gifted " humans, that to be left-handed is a stigma in a large part of the world.  Apparently this has something to do with a superstition about sorcery, the "left hand path" perhaps.  I scoured the book after I read that trying to find anything on the subject and came up dry.

Am I missing something or was I just reading house rules.  This would be very helpful to my campain as it encompasses a good part of the world and one of my players is a Fey.

thanks,
Eric

Remember Fey are not humans, and therefore wouldn't see being left-handed as bad. Also, a Fey isn't going to be out openly with men-they will be disguising themselves with illusions and what not. The left hand thing is more of a setting thing spoken of on this board.

[TAROT]

I read in a previous thread concerning Priorities and slightly "gifted " humans, that to be left-handed is a stigma in a large part of the world.  Apparently this has something to do with a superstition about sorcery, the "left hand path" perhaps.  I scoured the book after I read that trying to find anything on the subject and came up dry.

Am I missing something or was I just reading house rules.

Well, I'm still waiting by the mailbox for my copy to come, but I got the impression that the sorcery and left-handedness connection was in one individual's campaign.

Of course, the nuns used to smack my father when he tried to write with his left hand, and in Latin, the word for "left hand" is sinister.

Chris

[Fallen_Icarus]

Thanks for the response.  Im glad to know I wasn't missing a vital detail.

My wife is left-handed and I can tell you that there are many times that I have mused over the correlation between that and her sinister nature.


Eric

[Mike Holmes]

Historically the reason that left handers are ostracized is simple. They're different from most other people. In most ignorant societies this alone is enough to get people looking at you funny. In fact in Old (Middle?) English the term for left handed is Sinister, as opposed to Dexter for right handed. Hence why Sinister today has the meaning that it does.

Possibly apocryphally (and I bet Jake knows), knights considered lefties to be edangerous because they could shake hands with their right hands and still stab effectively with their left.

Mike

[deltadave]

Lefties are also more dangerous in combat.   A left handed person has their weapon on the weapon side of a right handed person somewhat negating their shield.  Also most combatants will not be used to facing a leftie (including other left handers), swings and thrusts come from a different angle than they are used to and it takes a bit of adjusting to.

Speaking from SCA combat and fencing experience, the first time a person faces a leftie they are totally baffled.  Experience is a harsh teacher tho, and they mostly compensate by the end of the 3rd or 4th bout. Most fencing coaches try to find at least one leftie or convert a right hander to the left.

[Valamir]

Well lefty is bad for all manner of martial applications.  Try forming a shield wall with a number of men having the shield on the wrong arm.  Try marching in a formation of pikes with a number of men reversing the hold or putting the pike over the wrong shoulder.  Try firing a musket from the third rank over the shoulder of the second rank with some lefty trying to use the same shoulder you're using.   Try jousting in a list with a guy whose shield and weapon are backwards.

I imagine you'd find similiar problems in the field of mass labor (heaving ropes and tackle, laying brick and the like) that required large numbers of people working with coordinated motion.

There's a whole passel of stuff that durned lefties just plumb screw up.  

Solution...train 'em to be righties like everyone else.  How do we motivate them to switch...hmm...no problem...from now on being lefty isn't just an inconvenience, its an affront to the gods and demonstrates an evil or possessed nature, that'll get 'em to switch quick.

Problem solved.  Everyone now carries their spear and shield properly.

Makes me wonder how historically inaccurate allowing SCA fighters to fight left handed is to begin with.  Maybe that should be forbidden in the interests of authenticity :-)

[Jake Norwood]

Well, it's later in the period, but Joachim Meyer's fechtbuch features several left-handed fighters in the background. Silver--about 5 years later--also discusses left-handed fighters without any baggage.

Jake

[Brian Leybourne]

If you simply kill them at birth (or as soon after as they begin to exhibit signs of lefthandedness) then the problem is solved.

The beneficial side effect is that with no right-brained people in the world, there's got to be a lot more logic, and less "modern art" that looks like somebody vomited on a canvas.

Brian.

[arxhon]

The beneficial side effect is that with no right-brained people in the world, there's got to be a lot more logic, and less "modern art" that looks like somebody vomited on a canvas.

Ummmmmm, hey Brian.......

I'm left handed.








I also have a pretty good sense of humor. :-)

Besides, you right handed guys are just jealous of our obvious superiority. :-P

While on the topic of lefthandedness: in the animal kingdom, there is an even split between left and right side dominance, in humans, left side dominance happens in only 9% of the population. There seems to be no explanation.

Left handed people tend to swing to the intellectual extremes: they are either better at stuff, or just plain old fashioned mentally handicapped. Again, there seems to be no explanation.

On the other hand, four of the five designers of the original Macintosh computer were left-handed. What this proves is up to you. :-)

[Bob McNamee]

My thought is that you have to learn to cope with a world that is not designed around you... it broadens your thinking.
There are a surprising amount of Lefties (I'm one) who are Tinsmiths, and other skilled trades. I think it has to do with a little bias toward the spatial thinking side of the brain, but its just my own pet theory.

And yes, Lefty on Lefty fighting is confusing too. You learn to fight so many more Righties in sparring. (I loved starting out in a standard Righty stance, then switching shortly after the start of sparring )

[Brian Leybourne]

The beneficial side effect is that with no right-brained people in the world, there's got to be a lot more logic, and less "modern art" that looks like somebody vomited on a canvas.

Ummmmmm, hey Brian.......

I'm left handed.

See.. that just proves my point ;-)

Brian.

[prophet118]

my mom is left handed, she loves claiming she is in her right of mind

[deltadave]

In SCA I was usually posted at the end of a shieldwall putting a weapon at the end instead of a shield.    If there were more than one of us (lefties) we would all end up on the left side to protect that flank of the formation.  I imagine that it was the same thru the ages...  

As far as shooting goes, I shoot rifle with my right hand but pistol ambidexterously.  The M16 shoots brass right back into your face if you try to shoot it lefty without a brass deflector.  Bolt action rifles are set up for right handers too. Most black powder muskets will blow hot sparks into your face if you try to shoot them lefty so I imagine that  would be a good inducement to shoot right handed.

[Bob McNamee]

M16 with a brass deflecter... the hot brass can land in the crook of your elbow...
And all those things like safeties and magazine release are set up for righties too...