Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 jon_oracle_of_athas Apr 10, 2005 6:27:32	(To create a new topic that doesn't deal with rhulisti, rajaat, champions, advanced beings, defilers/preservers or game mechanics) What do athasians do for recreation apart from watching gladiator matches? Even if the common man has little or no leisure time, there has to be recreational activities. There is the amphitheater in Balic, the Crystal Spider casino in Tyr, "raxoc" and "uey" in Draj, to name some examples. What do your athasians do for recreation?
#2 Pennarin Apr 10, 2005 12:35:36	Back-alley pit fighting!!
#3 Kamelion Apr 10, 2005 12:53:13	Hawke's Gambit! Also popular are "Tickle the Mekillot's Tummy" competitions, held wherever the foolish and dexterous gather in large numbers...
#4 zombiegleemax Apr 10, 2005 13:29:22	work-fon, where the slave who does the most work for the day gets a nod of semi-disdain from his or her overseer :D **the templar runs for cover** dwarf boulder hurling, elven marathon/sprints, gulg tree shimmying, balican dagger juggling, tyrian jongluer juggling (a half giant favorite ;) ) halfling blowgun dart match, ledopolus grand silt race, tembo wrestling, tyr mounting (no dirty thoughts! its mounting as creature runs by, preferably inix), games of bait & switch with otherwise vicious predators :D bards, dancers & showmen are always welcome in a drab city. i had a group called Fete Gala that would travel and do shows everywhere (and was not so clean & fun as they masqueraded as ;) ), though their trickery might be confused with magic, which is not so good for an itinerant peddler :P also games of psionic skill (aka pushing a pebble across table against another's will...metaphysical arm wrestling :D) artisan contests, craftsmen fairs & art shows, army parades (good for morale), talespinning (munchausinism at its best!) and the good ol' story by the night fire. children have mastered play, everything from tag, hide&goseek, kick the can and tug of war. adults not preoccupied with labors might enjoy a bit of competition or simple amusement and the timeless traditions of liquor & wenches. for thee so inclined
#5 judicator_shekar Apr 10, 2005 15:17:44	Don't forget Saragar. I'm sure the people of the Last Sea region have quite a few things to do for fun, considering most of their time is spent in that very pursuit. The accessory, Mind Lords of the Last Sea has several illustrations of athasians sunbathing (hehe) and windsurfing. As the campaign I'm runnign will go there soon, I'll probably have more to post on this topic (if it's still going) in a few weeks.
#6 Grummore Apr 10, 2005 19:57:45	In Tyr, in the lower quality establishment taverns or inns, etc. instead of playing darts, peoples play with an axe or any athasian weapons that might be throwed with a rotation toward a target. Instead of the traditionnal circles, it is in rectangles (longer than larger) that these peoples have to throw their weapons in.
#7 zombiegleemax Apr 10, 2005 21:18:49	I had an idea for an athasian game that would be the basis of an adventure. Basically, it functioned like a game of Warhammer. I haven't come up with the specifics or the rules of the game. But that's not what's important. Whats important is that this game was played by having one or two mindbender "gamemasters" who mentally projected the game field into the players minds. (familiar, no?) In order to play or spectate, you had to submit to the mindbender's mental images. The catch is, the mindbenders subtly send subliminial psychic messages and slowly turn their players into a mind-controlled mob. Sort of like the episode of ST:TNG where Wesley tries to save the ship from some weird game with cones and balls. :evillaugh
#8 beyowulf Apr 10, 2005 22:26:47	bards, dancers & showmen are always welcome in a drab city. i had a group called Fete Gala that would travel and do shows everywhere (and was not so clean & fun as they masqueraded as ;) ), though their trickery might be confused with magic, which is not so good for an itinerant peddler :P I think we might be pursuing this from the wrong angle. Our modern society places a great deal of emphasis on entertainment. Somewhere like Athas this wouldn't be the case. They'd be working 16 hour days and even the children would be expected to help out(at least the older ones). Younger children maybe playing with dolls or balls made of rags. I could imagine that children would regularly emulate the actions of adults. Perhaps instead of 'Cops and Robbers', it'd be 'Templars and Wizards'.
#9 objulen Apr 11, 2005 0:17:00	Music, dancing, singing and crafts all seem like good recreations and hobbies. Possible emphasis on recreations that provide usable items or have utilitarian values for the poor. The cheaper, the better. Few, if any, intellectual hobbies. Richer classes would probably have more intelletual hobbies, and have more hobbies that flaunt their wealth and class in one way or another, such as tending gardens (with or without slaves :/) or authoring fiction and/or poetry. Given harsh realities of Athasian life, martial games are probably emphasized to some degree, depending on culture. And, of course, where despiration or decadence runs high, drugs are everyone's favorite way out.
#10 jon_oracle_of_athas Apr 11, 2005 1:07:59	Perhaps instead of 'Cops and Robbers', it'd be 'Templars and Wizards'. Nice one. Hmm, playing dodgeball with a fist-sized rock could be interesting.
#11 eric_anondson Apr 11, 2005 1:25:21	Elven recreation? Running. Also separating the non-elf from his money. I hear they get big laughs over this. ;)
#12 zombiegleemax Apr 11, 2005 2:13:06	I'm going to borrow someones idea about throwing rocks... Blood rock, a quickly growing sport in the arena (and with the impressionable kids who are starting to emulate the game on the city outskirts), is something very similar to our rugby with the difference being that the ball has been replaced by a two-handed rock. It is fast-paced and extremely bloody (thus its name), much to the delight of the spectators. As there are currently only two teams that compete, the match is made up of frenzied grudges between the players of both sides. The stable owners are very pleased with this fact, and are hotly debating whether or not to allow expansion. Only time, and their greed, will tell. I know this thread didn't really want another gladiatorial game, but I'm sorry; I couldn't stop the thought.
#13 zombiegleemax Apr 12, 2005 11:13:47	I think we might be pursuing this from the wrong angle. Our modern society places a great deal of emphasis on entertainment. Somewhere like Athas this wouldn't be the case. They'd be working 16 hour days and even the children would be expected to help out(at least the older ones). Younger children maybe playing with dolls or balls made of rags. I could imagine that children would regularly emulate the actions of adults. Perhaps instead of 'Cops and Robbers', it'd be 'Templars and Wizards'. But consider the arenas. They are a central image of the campaign setting. I think Athas, when it comes to recreation, hearkens back to the days of ancient Rome. Yes, the world is besieged by poverty and death, but the ancient Romans stayed in power through "bread and circus". If you keep people fed and entertained, they won't notice their rights and safety taken away from them. In other words, the arenas are one way the SK's and the templars control the Nobility and Freemen.
#14 beyowulf Apr 12, 2005 13:30:00	But consider the arenas. They are a central image of the campaign setting. I think Athas, when it comes to recreation, hearkens back to the days of ancient Rome. Yes, the world is besieged by poverty and death, but the ancient Romans stayed in power through "bread and circus". If you keep people fed and entertained, they won't notice their rights and safety taken away from them. In other words, the arenas are one way the SK's and the templars control the Nobility and Freemen. Hmm.. Only problem I see with this. I can't really imagine the templars handing out food regular-like and watching some shmoe beat another shmoe to death does little to eleviate hunger pangs. Even with slavery I'd think most people would need to work long hours to make ends meet.
#15 zombiegleemax Apr 12, 2005 21:39:18	Hmm.. Only problem I see with this. I can't really imagine the templars handing out food regular-like Of course they wouldn't, that's what slaves, lackeys, and underlings are for. :D and watching some shmoe beat another shmoe to death does little to eleviate hunger pangs. True, but I would imagine it does get your mind off of them for a time. One of the few times in fact where people are actually equal to boot. Common ground being laughing/cheering/screaming lunatic. And that's got to act like a glue of sorts to a fractured mind/psyche. [edited because]
#16 zombiegleemax Apr 14, 2005 23:47:29	I am beginning to think that only the upper class (nobles, templars) have the advanced ability scores found in Dark Sun. You can't have a STR of 20 if you can't get enough to eat. Most people on Dark Sun are probably very weak and skinny. Given the harshness of Athasian life, they probably have to work seven days a week just to survive. They would only get holidays off. Working would be from sun up to sun down. Athasians probably don't have much time for recational activites. The only people with time for recreation would be young children, who probably played a ball game with a hide filled with hay and sown. Note that you were probably considered an adult on Athas when you were in your early teens.
#17 Band2 Apr 21, 2005 9:08:47	Last night I noticed in Veiled Alliance that in Urik they prefer sports that rely on strength such as arm wrestling. It also mentions that Urikites like to play a hoop-rolling game called pichut. That is all it said. No description of pichut or another other strength sports. Just came across it last night and thought it make help you.