Clan of the Cave Bear

Started by Nothing, February 21, 2008, 04:51:43 AM

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Nothing

Couldn't really put this in solo's, cause it's a clan, therefore a bunch of people....
And since I just put one in Games Wanted, I decided to put it in here, and I suppose I'll probably be runnin' it anyways....

So, yeah...Clan of the Cave Bear, by Jean M. Auel (I'm pretty sure thats her name...)...
Awesome story, read like 4 of the books...I have a couple games that I play in already through e-mail run by other people, and I adore them, but they're not very active, or at least, my characters aren't very active...

So, I've been trying to run a game for this for quite a while...came up with a game concept and intros and character sheets and posts and all kinds of bullshit...Ended up posting it on like 4 different RPing sites, and not a single person wanted to play my game...

So, I guess this is my one last desperate attempt to pitch my poor game...
It's not explicitly a sexual game, per se....there is sex in it, although it's very casual and unremarkable, usually done quickly and efficently without any thought as to feelings and emotions and pleasure and all that....it's just kind of function of life, like peeing, or eating, or something...
Mostly the game focuses on the every day life of the clan, cooking, collecting, hunting, interaction with each other, ceremonies, playing with the children (although, after reading the Characters Consenting Age thread, that one may have to be...tweaked, or improvised, or something...plus, they're like 8-10 when they hit puberty, mated at 11 or 12 and havin' babies...)..
So, I don't know...I don't know if anyone's interested, no one else has been so far, lol...I don't know if the game's appropriate for this place cause of the above issues...I don't know if anyone even cares....
So....yeah....that got complicated...


__________________________________________________________

Game Intro

Ayla has been cursed with death and sent to the world of the spirits and the Great Mog-ur has gone with her. Brun has died and Broud took over the clan. He ruled with a heavy fist and an angry temper until his death. The clan is recovering, albiet slowly. Most everyone from the original clan has died, and there have been few births, conditions under Broud's leadership not able to support a large and healthy clan.
Food stores are gone, the land is overhunted and prey depleted. The clan must give up their beloved cave and search once more for a new home.

Will they survive their journey?

_______

Character Sheet

Character Name :

Gender :

Age :

Totem :

Personality :

Appearance:

History/Background :

Mate, if any :

Elven Sex Goddess

I have a game that has been on going in the same genre.  It is still going, through in a slow down cycle of play.    It is in along the same lines  of the clan of the cave bear.   

https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?board=266.0



















Question Mark

#2
I am expressing my interest.  This actually sound slike something right up my alley.

I've never read the series, but, hey, they invented Wikipedia for a reason.  ;)  I'll look it up a bit.  Just know that I 90% certain to be in.

EDIT: OK, just read up on the concept, and i'm in.  Love the idea behind this.

Nothing

Awesome, it got some response at least :)


Question Mark

Hmm, I was hoping you could give me some more information on the setting and background and all that good stuff?  Having not read the book puts me at a disadvantage (my library doesn't have it  :/ ) so I'll soak up all the information I can.

And let's hope more people show up.  x.o

Nothing

That sucks that your library doesn't have this, every library should have it :)

Anywhoo...
It's a pretty long book, with a lot of details...some of it's kinda boring, she'll write chapters upon chapters of tool carving...but there's a lot of herbal lore in it, which makes up for it, at least for me...

As for the society, they are run by males. Women have a distinct place in the clan, as do men. Men are the providers, the protectors, the hunters. Women gather and collect, make babies, cook, clean...and all that other "womanly stuff"...

The clan is a very spiritual world, everyone has a animal totem, which guides and protects them throughout their lives. Female totems are the smaller, gentler animals, mcie and rodents, deer, birds...males are the bigger ones, boars, bison, wolves, mammoth, and of course, Ursus, the Great Cave Bear, which the clan worships universally. They hold ceremonies regularly, most of which the females are not allowed to participate in. For a woman to witness a forbidden ceremony would certainly anger the spirits and bring bad luck to the entire clan. Some of them though, the lesser ones such as naming babies and mating ceremonies, the women have a small part in.

Lets see here....um....
Sex, which is what this site is all about, is not really a big part of the book. Sex to the clan is just another function of life. They don't believe that it leads to children, the spirits take care of that part...it basically happens because a man has "needs" that the women is there to fulfill. He gives her a signal and she assumes the proper position and they do their thing. They don't have to be mated, a man can use any woman he wants, and some women even encourage it with a man they find attractive. It is however, looked down upon for anyone to use the Leaders Mate, or to bed with/ mate their sibling. Mating is done at a young age, and children are highly encouraged and fawned over.

The clan, in the long run, is destined for death. They cannot evolve anymore than they already have. They have no ability for forward thinking, inventing or change. They have remained the same way for thousands of years and are unable to see existance in any other light. Women cannot hunt, or protect themselves (for the most part), and they cannot talk to the spirits. Men can't cook, or make furs or collect plants and vegetables. They cannot survive without each other, having become so ingrained with the roles that they live out, there is no room left for change.
They have memories, like we do, but they also have the ability to remember what their ancestors learned, and their ancestors. They can see all the way back to the joining of man if they concentrate hard enough. I don't remember exactly what she called it in the books, but it's something in the back of the brain that's been fully developed, which is why their heads are so large and bulgy. The frontal lobe, which allows for forward thinking, is almost non-existant within the clan. The "Others" are natures new experiment, with the ability for experimentation and change.

There's a ton of details about them and their development in the books, and I could write a whole list of things about them, but I figure this is good enough for one post...anything you need expanded, or that I didn't put in there that you want to know,  just ask :)

Question Mark

Thanks, that clarifies a lot.  You asked if I needed anything further, and now that you mention it, yes, I do.

More info on stuff like...

    Totems.  Do they carry them around?  Do their respective animal shape have any effect on the holder's status?

    Ancestor Memories.

    The Others.  this isn't LOST.... is it?

    Ceremonies.

    Language.  How does that work?  I read somewhere they used sign language...

Thanks for everything so far!  :D

Nothing

*laughs* Can't say as I've ever seen LOST, but I'm pretty sure that this was around before it ever came out...*digs out the book and looks at the publishing date* Yeah, 1980, lol
Anywhoo..

Totems : They carry an amulet bag, basically a simple bag made of hide with holes cut in it and a thong threaded through that you pull tight and wear around your neck. You put various things in your amulet bag, you get a red orche stone when you're named and accepted into the clan as a baby, you get one when you become a hunter or some other postion of status. Occasionally your totem will send you a sign, an unusual rock or something along those lines, to let you know that the decision you made was the correct one...your totem tests you from time to time, the trials in your life and such, and if you suceed, your totem will reward you with a sign...
They have no influence on status...in the book, Mog-ur, the great spirit/ceremony man, his totem was a roe deer, so...totems are just spiritual protectors, fighting for us where we can't go, in the spirit world...

Ancestor Memories : These are a little...weird, and I'm not sure exactly how to explain them....basically, WE are the Others, sort of...it's an early version of us...the Clan is the previous evolutionary step, before us...their brains function differently than ours do. Basically, all of their knowledge has already been learned, they're just going off of what the people before them learned, they just have to be reminded of it as children and they will remember. So, they don't so much as learn how to do things as they "remember" them, even though they've never done them before, they have the knowledge stored in their brain already, it just needs to be triggered....They don't have the compacity to learn new things, they're brains have already been filled up, there's no room for anything else in there, which is why they're a failed race, doomed ultimately for death...
Like I said, they're kinda weird, and I don't really know how to explain them...but I'm tryin', lol

The Others : touched on a bit in the last bit...
In the books, there's like 5 or 6...the only one thats actually about the clan is the first one...at the end of that, she goes off by herself, leaving her son behind and makes her journey to find her own people, The Others, as the clan calls them...The Others call the clans Flatheads, so....they share the planet, but they don't have anything to do with each other. The Clan fears the Others, and the Others think that they're above the Clan and don't even really consider them people, they see them more as animals...They don't know a whole lot about each other, and of course, ignorance spreads superstition...so, they avoid each other whenever possible..

Ceremonies :
Some ceremonies, women can attend, such as the mating ceremony, and the "becoming a man" ceremony, and the baby naming ceremonies...These are pretty simple ceremonies that don't really have a lot to do with the spirits. They're more for clan status and structure than the spiritual life.
The other ceremonies, the protection ceremonies and guidance and such, are forbidden to women. Women are stronger in the spiritual world, because they have the ability to bring forth life, that gives them power. Thats why, in this world, men are the dominent force, for balance or something like that...They must be controlled and kept under strict watch and rules, so they never discover this power that they have, for it would be the ruin of the clan. Also, the men plead with the spirits during ceremonies, begging them for help and protection. If a woman were to see the men in this weakended state, it would disrupt everything.
The ceremonies themselves are pretty simplistic, put this paste here, bang this stick against a drum, do some dancing, and so forth...different rituals for different things, I'm not gonna go into detail about them all, unless you really want me to, hehe..

Language :
Yes, the Clan communicates almost entirely through sign language, but it's a very rich, complicated language, and they're very good at reading expressions and body movements as well. They do have some words, such as names (Brun, Uba, Iza, simple things like that) and other words important enough to have a sound. They don't have the vocal compacity that we do, they're just not formed for it, they can't sing or hum or laugh, they don't understand these things...they don't smile, either, for some reason...they express happiness or gratitude, but they have no words for Thank You, or Goodbye...They can't lie, they're body gives it away, and they don't know what the concept of a lie is anyways....some of the women withhold information, such as the Medicine Woman has a secret herb that prevents women from getting pregnant that they don't tell the men about because it would be forbidden.

Hehe, go ahead, ask me something else :P

Question Mark

Actually...  That probably won't be necessary.  It appears my local library got the book this very morning.  How's that for a little wierd?  So, I'll be picking it up soon and reading it in my free time.  But, if I do have any questions, I'll make sure to consult, O wise Woman of Knowledge.  ^^;

Nothing

Yay for libraries!!!
Well, hopefully it won't take you toooo long to read the book, cause I'm eager to get started, although, yeah, we should wait for a few more people...

*laughs* I'm always here for your questioning and answering needs :)

Question Mark

Well, nothing says I have to finish the book before we can roleplay.  Why don't you tell me the basics, and we can jump off from there while I keep reading the book?

And, if no one shows up (I'm not used to the pace of this forum, but a week with no one else responding...), maybe this could turn into a 1-on-1?  Up to you, of course

Nothing

I honestly don't know how well this would work as a one on one...I mean, I'm certainly willing to try, but I just don't know how well the story will go along, as there's always a bunch of other people around you in the cave...

But I'll give it a shot :)

Question Mark

We could just NPC them.  Life's been busy, and I'm making short progress in the book.  I do think I have a hang of their style, language, rituals, beliefs, etc.  I could BS the rest or ask you if I really have no clue.

Sugarman (hal)

excellent story. Liked Valley of the horses also. If you are looking for filler characters I'll help out, just PM me.
"And in the end
The love you take
Is equal to the love you make."

My On/Off's

Nothing

Hal! :)
Always happy to have you around.

Nothing

OK, I think it's time to get this thing started :)

Should I set up a thread with just the three of us?

Sugarman (hal)

will you be playing the Ayla character?
"And in the end
The love you take
Is equal to the love you make."

My On/Off's

Nothing

Well, in my original RPG, Ayla's long gone and her son is an old man, but I think that for simplicities sake, we will stick to cannon characters, so yes, I'll be Ayla :)

Question Mark

Hmm, I'm just going to ask if one of you can give me a detailed plot synopsis.  I want to enjoy the book, but I also want to do the roleplay.  Life's too busy for me to get through it anytime soon.  :/

Sugarman (hal)

"And in the end
The love you take
Is equal to the love you make."

My On/Off's