I play my DS campaign a few years after Freedom and was thinking about a concrete way to represent this new freedom in Tyr.
So... freedom... human rights... born free and equal... no one shoul be held in slavery or servitude... everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression... Hum... interesting!
There's already theatre and bar chat but is there any other "institution"? No.
So why not a newspaper?! First, 3 problems.
1. Technological. The press of Gutemberg was not discovered yet. But if I remember well the Chinese had invented in classical times a kind of press (something related with banknotes) Does anyone of you know more about? The ink now... vegetable one? And last but not least: paper /parchment hum... a lots of problem but I've thought about the very psionical nature of Athas. Powers, powers,...: Minort creation (vegetable matter=parchment= ink). duration 1 hour /level... no enough but with persistent+extend power, it lasts 48 hours! Not so bad... Let's imagine a group of psions 10 lvl payed for their work, it would be OK.
2. Reporters. Once again seem not obvious but a lot of templars are now unemployed and they know writing and reading. In my idea, the chief redactor is a reconverted templar. There're also nobles, traders, a few freemen, why not "elf special reporter". They could speak about topics as local politic, foreign politic, economy, gossips, the "nightcamp tale" page, etc.
3. Public. Who will read this? Good question! The same persons who write the papers of course. The price will be high... but a lot of them could pay for it. Let's say 1sp, 33cp, 2bp. Not democratic yet... but it'd come! Maybe it would become à la mode.
I thnik that could also encourage the other people to know reading/writing... litteracy is a kind of freedom!
The name: Free Tyr, Tyr Times, Libertyr, The Wanderer, Athas Mirror, ... other ideas?
Comments? Ideas, inputs are welcomed!
See you
Nefal
Ink could be gotten from almost anywhere.
As for the printing press, why bother. You would still have all of the newly freed scholar slaves that the templars had working for them anyhow (as if they bothered doing all the beaurocratic red tape paper work themselves, really). Now, instead of them being slaves, they can be indentured servants, working under nearly the same conditions as before for the same masters. Line up enough of them and you've got an assembly line of workers ready to chunk out your next pamphlet. Of course, calling it a 'news' paper is probably not a good idea (poor and unflavorable connotations come to mind), but I'm not sure what they called them before the press machine came out.
With the templars and nobles running it, they would likely have it entirely colored by their own personal whims and gear it very much toward garnering more power for themselves through public support (something they never had to care about before). Likely it would be full of lies, deceit, and other such bander.
Someone was mentioning mass reading lessons for former slaves the other week. You have to try hard not to laugh at these time I know, but...
Originally posted by Kamelion
they're still on the whole "Let's join the noble Veiled Alliance and bring enlightenment to the Masses" thing. Hero types. Never mind that the masses will probably stake them out for the antloids, nooo...
I always gotta laugh when I see people referring to the VA as "noble" ...
or even "good" ...
(Edit: heh - oh yeah, that's a rude word in the US
)I always gotta laugh when I see people referring to the VA as "noble" ...
Yeah, first time the PCs met up with Korgunard, he tested them by posing as a templar looking for Korgunard. When a pair of PCs made a deal to turn Korg in, he roasted them. Ahhhhhh... the sweet joys of being a bastard of a GM.
Mainly rich folk send the kids there, but sorta works in my mind.. the beginnings of wide-spread literacy.
First I wouldn't imply the VA in this newspaper (You've right Mach... this name isn't really appropriate... magazine, gazetteer, I miss words... frenchspeaking) Let's name this paper... it's only a project.
My first idea was to provide an organ of propaganda for the Templars of Tyr. The leader would, as I've already said, a reconverted templar, an ancient templar in charge of the propaganda of Kalak.
The audience will be very limited. True. But what have always caracterized Athas, was history, the movement. Today the audience would limited to templars, nobles, merchants. But tomorrow? Who knows? If the VA is organizing "Common" lessons it could really develop literacy (in a restricted social class of course). Another point: some people already see the importance which have templars in Free Tyr. Actually they have still a great power. They control a large of politic. I guess a lot of freemen would like to learn to read/write to have a part of this power... envy!
Technical problems: thanks for your suggestions... I like the army of scribes. Paper is still a problem... but once again with minor creation, extended and persistent power... it could work.
Actually I find it could be fun... and could break a little but this "oppressive" atmosphere (already 8 years that I play on DS world... need maybe change!)
Thanks for your answers!
And the name? Ideas for articles? For example: "This month our great reporter Lari Khingh have met the legendary Wanderer. Read him telling his marvellous adventures." why not...;)
Nefal
What have you done with my thread!
Its called the natural flow of thought from one subject to another ;)
Anyhow, it would be interesting to see what you can come up with on it. If you get more info penned down, let us know.
Of course the silt must be blend with an other pasty material but hey!! It could work. How about mixing it with a kind of sap found in a tree?? (cant remember the name)
Your idea of silt is pretty good! But actually I'm not a chemistry specialist and I don't know if it could work... But why not? It's a fantasy setting after all... and it could integrate the silt in a local economy... very interesting!
It could be a new thread: what are you used to do with silt?
I wouldn't jump right into a newspaper. Tyr is pretty fractatious now that there's a bit of a vacuum of power. Perhaps factions in Tyr wish to influence people in positions of authority in Tyr (those who can read). To do this, people begin printing up short broadsheets or pamphlets containing both viewpoints and news articles (these news articles are used to discredit opponents). These short essays could then be distributed in the wealthy neighborhoods, out of town estates and centers of government.
These pamphlets would probably endose issues that benifit the nobles and templars and are printed as a means to circumvent the ex slave population and mass laborers (as they cannot, generally, read). Eventually, the 'lower classes' will begin some sort of information dissemination campaign. I'm not sure what form it would take, given the reading barrier. Perhaps a town crier, town square philosopher culture may spring up to influence the uneducated masses. (Best visual I have right now is Brian's brush with evangilism in Monty Python's 'Life of Brian.)'
As to how people print up their broadsheets... I agree with Mach. I think the new freedom of Tyr would probably mirror colonial North American indentured servitude. Slavery by another name, basically. Anyone writing up these pamphlets probably has a stable of copy scribes who scribble everything out. Way I figure it, there are plenty of people out of work and few who can actually read. Its do-able.
I wouldn't go introducing the printing press into the campaign though... the social ramifications are too immense. My own bias, but, I don't really see post Kalak Tyr as being a socially enlightened place. The poor are kept in their place while given the illusion of choice and being placated by heroic stories of gladiators rising up and overthrowing mighty sorcerer-kings....
Originally posted by Zeitgeistgeist
Hi Nefal. I don't know if you're still taking suggestions on this, but here ya go anyway...
Thanks for the interest... I'm always interested for suggestions...
I wouldn't jump right into a newspaper. Tyr is pretty fractatious now that there's a bit of a vacuum of power. Perhaps factions in Tyr wish to influence people in positions of authority in Tyr (those who can read). To do this, people begin printing up short broadsheets or pamphlets containing both viewpoints and news articles (these news articles are used to discredit opponents). These short essays could then be distributed in the wealthy neighborhoods, out of town estates and centers of government.
These pamphlets would probably endose issues that benifit the nobles and templars and are printed as a means to circumvent the ex slave population and mass laborers (as they cannot, generally, read). Eventually, the 'lower classes' will begin some sort of information dissemination campaign. I'm not sure what form it would take, given the reading barrier. Perhaps a town crier, town square philosopher culture may spring up to influence the uneducated masses.
I agree with you. As I've already said, I would see this broadsheets as propaganda for factions, for the ex-templars actually. It's difficult for them to take the power by force but IMHO they are champions for politic tricks. They could try to earn more power in the camp of the aristocracy by controlling the information. I see the tyrian politic as a game of influences and the battle between factions is not a physical one but a battle for the control of information.
Let's imagine that the "Tyr Times" (provisonial name) reveal to the masses that the King and the Heroes of Tyr are far from the City only after a few months after the freedom of Tyr (events of the PP). What would it be the reaction of the masses: Anger, doubt, fear? With articles it's also easy to start rumours... for example: "The King Hammanu plans another war against Tyr! Where are our heroes?" something so...
Then it's so easy to control a mass which fear or hate something/someone. The point is to manipulate the mob or - easier - the head of the mass (the people who could read and participate to the politic of the City). That's the role of this broadsheets or pamphlet. Under the appearance of democracy and freedom of opinion, this "free" press would be an organ of control of the masses and of power.
Best visual I have right now is Brian's brush with evangilism in Monty Python's 'Life of Brian.'
BTW One of the best source of inspiration to play a DS game!
As to how people print up their broadsheets... I agree with Mach. I think the new freedom of Tyr would probably mirror colonial North American indentured servitude. Slavery by another name, basically. Anyone writing up these pamphlets probably has a stable of copy scribes who scribble everything out. Way I figure it, there are plenty of people out of work and few who can actually read. Its do-able.
I wouldn't go introducing the printing press into the campaign though... the social ramifications are too immense. My own bias, but, I don't really see post Kalak Tyr as being a socially enlightened place. The poor are kept in their place while given the illusion of choice and being placated by heroic stories of gladiators rising up and overthrowing mighty sorcerer-kings....
I agree with you and I've changed my mind in regards of the beginning of this thread. The social ramifications are huge. I think that we could compare it to the arrival of the masses in the political sphere of 18th century with the socialism... huge effects!
I'm not really sure to intoduce this idea of a newspaper in my campaign though it could be a good start for a scenario (players engaged as special reporters and they see then that the chief redactor manipulate their informations for the profit of a faction or another)
Comments? They are always welcome!
Tschüss (and my excuses for my poor english...)
Tyr could easily have something similar. It would be used primarily by the nobles and templars, but I can see some enterprising person charging to read the news aloud for the illiterate.