NaGaDeMon / RoleVember 2019 - Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis
The hypothesis of linguistic relativity, part of relativism, also known as the Sapir–Whorf hypothesis, or Whorfianism is a principle claiming that the structure of a language affects its speakers' world view or cognition, and thus people's perceptions are relative to their spoken language. (Linguistic Relativity, Wikipedia)
Since the awakened mystics in this game derive their knowledge of the loopholes in reality from a variety of different books, I'm really tempted to apply the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis into the game. Different books will require knowledge of different languages before they may be understood. Since this is generally intended to be a street level game (generally aimed at an Australian/US/UK audience), many of the books will be in English... but since it's about marginalised groups in these communities then it makes sense that quite a few books will be in the languages spoken by those communities. A few in Spanish, some Arabic, some Hindi, some Cantonese, maybe a couple of Hebrew texts, a scattering of other languages. Its really important here to point out that books from one language might be translated into others, but learning the associated magic will always be easier when reading the original language. Also note that there are a few magical "texts" in the setting which aren't written down; they might be chants, musical in nature, or the rhythmic movements of dancing or martial arts. Many of these seem to transcend language barriers, but still require some kind of underlying contextual knowledge before their secrets may be revealed.
It's probably also worth pointing out that as an awakened mystic understands more of the reality around them, their ability to communicate concepts in this model becomes easier. They intuit the meanings of more things, overcome the restrictions in language, and find it easier to communicate with the people around them. This also mean they become less parochial in their outlook, and might mean that the initial subcultural struggles that set them on the path to awakening lose their immediacy.
I'm still tinkering with the various factions at this point, but current thoughts are tending away from secretive manipulators struggling against one another to dominate the world and more toward confused occultists trying to piece together what they can with tiny fragments of the truth. These tiny fragments of truh and their awakened nature are the only real advantages that these factions have over the typical citizens of the world. There are much bigger threats out there, and to tie those threats into the original themes of the game, it makes sense that they would actively be responsible for the wider problems in the world. This isn't to be disnissive of the problems in our world which might be reflected in the game, it's simply to inject a bit more of the escapism and the boundary between reality and game that was mentioned in the first posts of this sequence. If a mystic gains power from their marginalised status, then there is probably another force in the setting which draws power from reinforcing that marginalisation. Similarly, if a player wants to seek catharsis in the game by letting loose at in-game refections of specific groups of people who might be problematic in real life, then the option is there.
Maybe the Nazis are driven by a supernatural entity that feeds on hate, maybe the Nazis drive their own actions and the supernatural entities feeding on hate follow them beause it's an easy feed for them. I certainly don't want ot fall into the White Wolf trap where every historical moment was driven by a conflict between one supernatural group and another.
I don't think I'll tie specific factions to specific cultures or subcultures... so there won't be the cabal of lesbian witches, the circle of Haitian voudonista practicioners, the stealthy yakuza ninjas, the Muslim terrorist assassins, or anything like that... going that way would be playing into the easy stereotypes I'm trying to avoid. Both the protagonist characters and their antagonist opponents should be rich and complex beings gaining knowledge and power from their respective communities and agendas for change. The only real villains would be those who seek to deny that change and who maintain the systems of oppression and hatred in the world (or those who seek to make those systems even worse).
Since the awakened mystics in this game derive their knowledge of the loopholes in reality from a variety of different books, I'm really tempted to apply the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis into the game. Different books will require knowledge of different languages before they may be understood. Since this is generally intended to be a street level game (generally aimed at an Australian/US/UK audience), many of the books will be in English... but since it's about marginalised groups in these communities then it makes sense that quite a few books will be in the languages spoken by those communities. A few in Spanish, some Arabic, some Hindi, some Cantonese, maybe a couple of Hebrew texts, a scattering of other languages. Its really important here to point out that books from one language might be translated into others, but learning the associated magic will always be easier when reading the original language. Also note that there are a few magical "texts" in the setting which aren't written down; they might be chants, musical in nature, or the rhythmic movements of dancing or martial arts. Many of these seem to transcend language barriers, but still require some kind of underlying contextual knowledge before their secrets may be revealed.
It's probably also worth pointing out that as an awakened mystic understands more of the reality around them, their ability to communicate concepts in this model becomes easier. They intuit the meanings of more things, overcome the restrictions in language, and find it easier to communicate with the people around them. This also mean they become less parochial in their outlook, and might mean that the initial subcultural struggles that set them on the path to awakening lose their immediacy.
I'm still tinkering with the various factions at this point, but current thoughts are tending away from secretive manipulators struggling against one another to dominate the world and more toward confused occultists trying to piece together what they can with tiny fragments of the truth. These tiny fragments of truh and their awakened nature are the only real advantages that these factions have over the typical citizens of the world. There are much bigger threats out there, and to tie those threats into the original themes of the game, it makes sense that they would actively be responsible for the wider problems in the world. This isn't to be disnissive of the problems in our world which might be reflected in the game, it's simply to inject a bit more of the escapism and the boundary between reality and game that was mentioned in the first posts of this sequence. If a mystic gains power from their marginalised status, then there is probably another force in the setting which draws power from reinforcing that marginalisation. Similarly, if a player wants to seek catharsis in the game by letting loose at in-game refections of specific groups of people who might be problematic in real life, then the option is there.
Maybe the Nazis are driven by a supernatural entity that feeds on hate, maybe the Nazis drive their own actions and the supernatural entities feeding on hate follow them beause it's an easy feed for them. I certainly don't want ot fall into the White Wolf trap where every historical moment was driven by a conflict between one supernatural group and another.
I don't think I'll tie specific factions to specific cultures or subcultures... so there won't be the cabal of lesbian witches, the circle of Haitian voudonista practicioners, the stealthy yakuza ninjas, the Muslim terrorist assassins, or anything like that... going that way would be playing into the easy stereotypes I'm trying to avoid. Both the protagonist characters and their antagonist opponents should be rich and complex beings gaining knowledge and power from their respective communities and agendas for change. The only real villains would be those who seek to deny that change and who maintain the systems of oppression and hatred in the world (or those who seek to make those systems even worse).
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