Braggu - a new menace? (by Echo, manfred and Maggot) *

1. Braggu - a new menace? (by Echo, manfred and Maggot) *

   #1

   The idea comes from a chat between manfred and EchoMirage. Another chat with Echo, manfred and Maggot has made the ideas cleaner and shown it has potential. On we go:
   
   
   Who are the Braggu?
   
   :arrow: from the wilderness they come, looting and throwing themselves against the walls of hamlets and cities alike, raging and shouting in their coarse guttural language. Huge, almost eight feet tall, with long shaggy fur into which they weave tokens from their medicine-men, claws protruding from their hands and bony ridges from their forearms, their teeth able to bite a sword in half.
   They are the menace of the borderlands, travelling with their herds paths they used for millenia, and razing any signs of civilization in the process. When the winter is especially harsh or the summer unusually dry, they descend upon the heartlands of kingdoms like a plague, more a natural disaster than an enemy.
   
   They are noble creatures, caring deeply for others.
   They are brute savages, filthy thieves, a plague of the lands.
   
   Their legends say that once, the whole world was in the hands of the GoldTeeth, whoever they may be, who used all as slaves, and cut up the land, and even locked the sun up in a cage to work for them, and chained the stars. It were the Braggu who led the flame of rebellion and set the works of the GoldTeeth ablaze, burning them one and all on a pyre made of their unjust works, and setting all their slaves free.
   Even today, Braggu are free, and resent all forms of restrainment, whether of themselves, or of others, even the land.
   Most of all, they resent when someone is keeping resources for himself, and others suffer because of his selfishness. This sends them into a rage they call "Free-the-Stars", in which they bash the object of their ire until it stops doing whatever it was up to (e.g. living, being greedy, etc.)
   Following their exodus from the Halls of Greed, they went through harsh times following the cataclysm they caused by dethroning the GoldTeeth, and only by their example and generosity, others survived. Bud so did the legacy of the GoldTeeth: selfishness and greed.
   Today, they still remember those days through song and legend, and fight. When they encounter walls (most probably erected as a defense against them) they tear them down, for they are chains upon the face of Mother earth. The same is true for dams. And when they stumble upon someone hoarding wealth, they take it and distibute it amongst those in need. As they see fit (that the Braggu themselves are in need quite often, it comes down to them taking stuff to use themselves, but the philosophy is there). They do not tear down houses, because they're just immobile tents (stupid idea, isn't it? Immobile tent!*shakes head*)
   
   So:
   good: family. unity. sharing. freedom.
   bad: constraint. greed. selfishness.
   
   Of course, if someone is opposed to the redistibution the Braggu have in mind, and for example mans the (evil!) wall to protect his (ill-gotten!) riches and even shoots and throws nasty things at the Braggu, he's an enemy, or even servant of the GoldTeeth. Thus, he must be smashed to ensure the survival of the Braggu, all free people and of course the continuity of freedom.
   As long as you fight them, they will 'fight back' - but they DO NOT kill non-combatants, and if you stop fighting, they let you go (how sad that most people don't know that) they do not take prisoners, and eschew slavery. If one was empathic enough, one could easily travel alongside them, and be part of the community - they've got not problem with that. But you'd have to get used to a wholly different lifestyle.
   
   They do not claim mates - they're pretty much promiscuous, and quite eager, which lends them the image of lecherous rappist beasts in the eyes of others... while they will not commit violence upon a chosen mate, they will follow their own courting customs, which are ... rather wild.
   Their kids are raised communaly, and considered the greatest treasure. No sane Braggu will harm a kid.
   
   SO->
   The Braggu have NO concept of property rights. "Property", if anything, is what you use at the moment. Whatever you do not need immediately, is public property, and keeping more than necessary is Greed, which is the worst of all evil things.
   
   Not helping their public image is the fact that they are large, strong, and smelly, and get easily enraged about the Greed of others, particularly the greedy midget races.
   
   If a Brugga is around, (s)he is likely to pick up and try everything that is not nailed down, and the rest later too. Of course, most things will be dropped immediately, only a selected useful item may find its way into the temporary posession. Unfortunately, as most races desperately cling to all their property, conflicts arise.
   
   
   Quoting from the chat:
   
   
   so, a woman you are not using currently is also just to be had freely. With the Braguu being large and smely (like a Big Mac) this is rather annoying...
   
   and as i intend to use them in a campaign where the pcs are from an Europe 15th century - like culture, this could get funny...
   
   they do not understan why the farg is a farmer trying to chase them from a hundred acre corn field - he can't eat that much possibly, right?
   
   and as they are about 8 feet tall, all muscle, fur, claws and stink, they've got some good arguments..
   
   
   Group Identity?
   
   they're nomads, travelling hence and forth
   
   So they live in small groups?
   
   if you call a group of 1000 small, accompanied by herds of livestock, then yes, they travel in small groups.
   
   ...but some would call them locusts, I think.
   
   so, when they come across a village with a pallisade, with tons of food inside and guarded by greedy midgets, they get into a righteous rage..
   
   A rather noble race
   
   if you are a greedy midget, then it is right to bash your face until you no longer are greedy...
   
   
   Trade?
   
   So one can do some good business, if one is smart...
   
   ...exchange those funky stones for good eating, right?
   
   But they don't belief in trade right?
   
   Not really.
   
   The tricky part is to convince them to give up things...
   
   ...without making it look like a real exchange.
   
   well, he might trade his axe for a better axe...
   
   Ahh. For them everything must be given freely?
   
   or taken freely
   
   their "trade" might look like this: "youse drops dat ax, mesa drop wuh-man, we turns around, the faster one takes what he can carry "
   
   
   Actual "property rights"?
   
   I think the point is in "using".
   
   yes. you cannot need more weapons than you got arms
   
   You do not own, but rather use something for the moment (or year).
   
   you cannot use more than you can carry. only one riding warthog can be reserved for you.
   
   If you cannot use something immediately, you actually hurt others!
   
   yes, you prevent them from using it. See, the Braggu had to go through harsh times, with deadly winters, famines and stuff
   
   food in your bowl is yours, the rest belongs to the community
   
   Among such a race,class cannot exist
   
   Since everything belongs to the tribe
   
   yes. you can be revered for brawn, brains or skill, or ability to get/make stuff, but not for stuff itself.
   
   when one makes arrows, he makes 20 for his quiver, and hands the rest out. a smith keeps the best axe, and makes then some for the rest...
   
   
   Society?
   
   But still, there are some that are more listened to.
   
   those with brains
   
   Ya know,their philosophy is pretty noble
   
   yup
   
   A chieftain may be given "the first pick", but not more loot (relatively of course!).
   
   there are no beggars, and all work for a greater whole. protecting the kids, warding off beasts, bashing greedy midgets..
   
   Noble, and caring for others...
   
   ...and bashig greedy midgets.
   
   Lol
   
   yup. the one who makes a kill gets to pick what he wants in his bowl, the one who bashes a greedy midget can pick something of his unjustly hoarded riches...
   
   Whcih of course,is only fair
   
   yup it is. if he is good at something, provide him with the tools.
   
   a good hunter would be useless if he cannot mmake arrows and noone would give him any...
   
   a smart Braggu would be of little use if noone listened.
   
   Hard to think of them as brutal monsters,when you portay them that way
   
   a fertile woman would not give life to as many kids if she was denied food.
   
   
   Interaction with other races?
   
   Meeting one, you get scared...
   
   ...drop your stuff...
   
   and he grabs it!
   
   ...and they freely look what they can use, and take some.
   
   
   Borrowing?
   
   Can others borrow their stuff?
   
   Not really...
   
   ...you either use something or it is not yours.
   
   So "borrowing" isn't the thing either.
   
   the one having the stuff would come over and ask: "wut youse need doink?"
   
   cuz borrowing would mean giving up ANY claim to the item
   
   if you need a brush but got none, he's more than happy to brush yer fur, but will not let the brush go
   
   Why?
   
   cuz if he lets the brush go, he's neither carrying nor using it and thus it's not his...
   
   so if he wants to have a brush, he should better keep track of it.
   
   
   The Braggu in us?
   
   Something like the noble savage myth
   
   Primitive yet admirable
   
   Something that us civilized folks would like to be
   
   Admirable, once you know them.
   
   Otherwise, they look like thieving brutes.
   
   hmmmm. i wouldn't like if somebody carried off my computer when i go to the wc...
   
   LOL!
   
   What if you needed to use it asked for it back?
   
   And they returned it?
   
   Surely that would touch you
   
   Unless, they needed to use it themselves...
   
   Good point
   
   ...so you wouldn't get it back.
   
   well, i personally am very touchy about stuff. my pencils, scanner, coal, ink pens, books, and undies...
   
   The Brugga on the Internet, oh my.
   
   i mean, still, we share a characteristic of the Braggu. copyright violations, anyone?
   
   heh,heh
   
   I guess we aren't that different

2. Braggu - a new menace? (by Echo, manfred and Maggot)

   #2

   I don't see them as a different race. I would see them as a different "ethnic" group of humans. Sure they are "BIG" and "STRONG" and have a constitution of iron, but they are still round eared humans.
   
   I could see them sweeping down and stealing all food.
   
   I could see a lone farmer standing firmly against them... explaining that most of this being saved for planting next year. Without this, there will be no food next year (or any year after). I could see them looking perplexed until he hit upon the breeding stock (Do you eat all the creatures in your herd, or do you save a couple so they can make more). He might actually get them to save his stored grain.

3. Braggu - a new menace? (by Echo, manfred and Maggot)

   #3

   of course it is possible to simply make them another tribe of humans, yet it is far easier for them to be misunderstood and demonized if they look like feral beasts...
   They should not be easily understood, lest the conflict be non-existent very soon. The idea that they actually could be communicated with (instead of bashed and stomped) should not come easily to anyone. They are meant to be seen as feral, perhaps only semi-sentient, by outsiders. After all, they have no writing, create only few permanent structures (some mines to acquire metal - those might lie in their hearlands and never be seen by strangers) and their speech is not that different from a bad case of indigestion.
   The prime focus of this race is to have an antagonist who at first is totally unintellegible, and simply declassed to 'barbaric brute'. Then, if one bothers to investigate to a certain depth, one learns of their perfectly valid motives, though they should remain totally unacceptable to a civilized man.
   
   (another interesting variation popped up in one of Harrison's series, the Deathworlds, where there are nomads who don't hate ownership, but permanent structures instead. And when miners arrive, and erect shelters mineshafts, and stores, the hell breaks loose...)

4. Braggu - a new menace? (by Echo, manfred and Maggot)

   #4

   The difference in many fantasy worlds between Braggu being a new race, or a group of Humans, would simply be in the game mechanics. For the inhabitants of the game world, there wouldn't be any functional difference between non-Human Braggu and Homo sapiens Bragu.

5. Braggu - a new menace? (by Echo, manfred and Maggot)

   #5

   Well... think of how easy was for us to declass africans to savages, and the only excuse was their dark skin and slightly different facial features... if they were caucasian too, the gap would be easier to bridge.
   
   I want to make the gap between humanity and the Braggu be VERY difficult to cross. Sharing the same looks (but they are people as well!) is detrimental to my endeavour. I am thinking of making them totally non-humanoid to increase the chasm's width... "Now, shake hands!" "Error: appendage not found")

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