Masetian Culture

[Tim Nutting]

I've been working over a possible Khinasi campaign with a player and we
started collaborating on what the Masetian people might have been like. I
don't know of any real references outside of CotS for these disappeared
folk, but from the look of names and the pictures in CotS about the
Serpents realm, we have basically assumed that they were very Greek/Roman.
(The Serpent's boats are essentially Triremes - which BTW I just read a
Scientific American article on - a VERY interesting design by a VERY
interesting people, more ingenious by far than what my ancestors in the
Atlantic made due with)

I'd like to gather whatever opinions anyone else has about these people and
what they might have been like. My chief interest is so that I might be
able to create more accurate ruins for their culture, and an idea of how
they might have viewed the BR pantheon and names they might have used, etc.

I can just see their perception of Haelyn as a Zeus-like character,
passionately throwing thunder and lightning at those who displeased him,
but subservient to the mighty goddess of the seas, inscrutable Masella (for
after all, how could any land bound god ever face up to a sea which could
swallow all land whole - they've got to have a flood myth somewhere! )

Semi-unrelated - If anyone missed "They Odyssey" with Armand Asante on
American TV about a year ago, their perception of Poseidon when he spoke to
Odysseus was impressive to say the least. Great rolling breakers with a
vaguely human face booming its displeasure at the triumphant and pitiful
human.

[bloebick@juno.com (Benja]

On Thu, 9 Apr 1998 03:26:22 -0700 "Tim Nutting"
writes:
> I
>don't know of any real references outside of CotS for these
>disappeared
>folk, but from the look of names and the pictures in CotS about the
>Serpents realm, we have basically assumed that they were very
>Greek/Roman.

I think of the Masetians as more Minoan, really. Just MHO.

>
>I'd like to gather whatever opinions anyone else has about these
>people and
>what they might have been like. My chief interest is so that I might
>be
>able to create more accurate ruins for their culture, and an idea of
>how
>they might have viewed the BR pantheon and names they might have used,
>etc.
>

The Legends of the Hero Kings has an adventure set up around Masetians
(The Gift of Azrai), and the Ariya handbook has a little bit of detail on
the Masetians.

Benjamin

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[Mark A Vandermeulen]

On Thu, 9 Apr 1998, Tim Nutting wrote:

> I'd like to gather whatever opinions anyone else has about these people and
> what they might have been like. My chief interest is so that I might be
> able to create more accurate ruins for their culture, and an idea of how
> they might have viewed the BR pantheon and names they might have used, etc.

I think the Masetian name for Azrai should be "Azari," since that's how
everyone mispells the name when they're typing too fast.

Mark VanderMeulen
vander+@pitt.edu

[darkstar]

breye@earthlink.net wrote:
>
> I had gotten the impression that the Masetians culture was more towards the
> culture of the ancient Minoans myself (great mariners, non-military). There is
> an adventure in Legends of the Hero-Kings, that takes the characters to the
> isle of the Serpent. Unfortuneately there is not a whole lot about Masetian
> culture there. There is in the Netbook, my point of view on what a Masetian
> is in the article Lost Tribes.

I am putting on surviving Msetian realm in Aduria, will probably be
using a Minoan type culture mixed with dutch or something like that.

The article mention above is at
http://darkstar.cyberserv.com/netbook/rules/rules18.html is anyone is
interested. Save you from going looking for it.

- --
Ian Hoskins

e-Mail: hoss@box.net.au
Homepage: http://darkstar.cyberserv.com
ICQ: 2938300

[KirbyRanma]

In a message dated 98-04-14 07:41:52 EDT, you write:

"The chief deities in their pantheon would have been Nesirie, Avani and
Ruornil. There was probably a heavy female bias within the priesthoods too.
They probably regarded Haelyn as soemthing of a figure of fun - Nesirie's
over-excitable, violent husband. Eric would have been incomprehensible to
them, while Sera would be quite widely venerated as well. By the time the kids
started to get priesthoods the Masetians were in pretty terminal decline."

Question for you, why would they have regarded Haelyn as something of a
figure of fun, over-excitable and violent? His AoC is War, Leadership; he is
the lord of courage, justice and chivalry along with the patron of kings and
warriors. He is also Lawful Good. Just because he's the lord of noble war
doesn't mean he's violent. Are you trying to make him like Zeus just because
you're basing them of the Greeks? In my opinion, they should see Cuiraecen/
Khirdai as that way instead, shouldn't they? He is the stormlord; his AoC is
battle storms; he's the god of storms and conflict and perceived as a force
for change and good. Also, he is Chaotic Good which doesn't have to have the
discipline LG does. This is my opinion as a player, and I hope this helps.

Take care,
Kirby

[Neil Barnes]

On Tue, 14 Apr 1998, KirbyRanma wrote:
> In a message dated 98-04-14 07:41:52 EDT, you write:
>
> "The chief deities in their pantheon would have been Nesirie, Avani and
> Ruornil. There was probably a heavy female bias within the priesthoods too.
> They probably regarded Haelyn as soemthing of a figure of fun - Nesirie's
> over-excitable, violent husband. Eric would have been incomprehensible to
> them, while Sera would be quite widely venerated as well. By the time the kids
> started to get priesthoods the Masetians were in pretty terminal decline."
>
> Question for you, why would they have regarded Haelyn as something of a
> figure of fun, over-excitable and violent? His AoC is War, Leadership; he is
> the lord of courage, justice and chivalry along with the patron of kings and
> warriors. He is also Lawful Good. Just because he's the lord of noble war
> doesn't mean he's violent. Are you trying to make him like Zeus just because
> you're basing them of the Greeks?

I'm not saying that they have an accurate picture of Haelyn, but...

... if I was basing their view of Haelyn on the Greek view of Zeus,
they'd imagine him to be an inveterate philanderer who enjoyed raping
women while disguised as a whole range of wildlife. Which he doesn't, at
least not if you don't ask the Temple of Eloele (who probably have a
whole bunch of jaundiced views on the Erik/ Avani relationship - OTOH I
imagine they have the sense to shut up about Sera & Ruornil... :)

The way I see it, they'd have a whole bunch of myths about Haelyn
getting into trouble through being too impetuous (while basically well
meaning), after which Nesirie would have to use her wits to get him out
of trouble. After all, she's their principle deity, not Haelyn.

I don't see the masetians as being a really good match for the Ancient
Greeks - maybe in architecture, food and physical stuff like that, but
in general I see them more as philosophers and thinkers, rather than
Muscular Warrior types (ie. no Spartans for example). Their society
would be much more egaliterian than the historical greeks - I don't see
Masela or Nesirie encouraging the supression of women or the keeping of
slaves.

When it comes to war, I suspect they'd take the attitiude that brave
heroic, "Once more into the breach dear friends" type leaders have their
place, but it's as battlefield leaders, not strategists.

> In my opinion, they should see Cuiraecen/
> Khirdai as that way instead, shouldn't they? He is the stormlord; his AoC is
> battle storms; he's the god of storms and conflict and perceived as a force
> for change and good. Also, he is Chaotic Good which doesn't have to have the
> discipline LG does. This is my opinion as a player, and I hope this helps.

The Masetians were pretty much gone my what, 400 HC? (I've not got my
books on me, so that's from memory.) Cuiraecean had only just been born
by this point, so I really don't think they had enough time to really
get used to the concept of Nesirie having kids, let alone base many
tales about someone who was probably just developing facial hair (in a
divine sort of way :).

neil

[prtr02@scorpion.nspco.co]

It was written:

> I've been working over a possible Khinasi campaign with a player and we
> started collaborating on what the Masetian people might have been like. I
> don't know of any real references outside of CotS for these disappeared
> folk, but from the look of names and the pictures in CotS about the
> Serpents realm, we have basically assumed that they were very Greek/Roman.

I've got some (unfinished) players secrets for the Khinasi countries
floating around, so I could send you those if you want them.

What I came up witrh for the Masetians is pretty vague, but:

Masetians practiced something along the lines of Greek Democracy: All
land or ship owning free men or women (I don't see Masela encouraging a
sexist society ;) get a vote: property is the key issue here.

However most city states in Aduria were controlled by Tyrants -
autocratic rulers. This was probably a result of the Shadow's influence.
As a result some of the Cerilian Masetian cities were democracies, while
others were controlled by Tyrants. After Deismaar the democracies tended
to fail and blooded rulers became dominant.

> I'd like to gather whatever opinions anyone else has about these people and
> what they might have been like. My chief interest is so that I might be
> able to create more accurate ruins for their culture, and an idea of how
> they might have viewed the BR pantheon and names they might have used, etc.

[Samuel Weiss]

Time for my two cents on this.
The Masetians were most likely a pseudo-Semitic culture, like the
Phoenicians or Carthaginians but without the nasy human sacrifices.
Considering the names and appearances given for the Khinasi, it seems they
are Arabic one moment and Black the next, I figure one part of that had to
come from the Basarji. I make that to be the Semitic/Arabic part.
The Phoenicians were rather good mariners for their time. That fits in quite
well with what we know about the Masetians. Their appearance, dress, naming
conventions, and several other cutlural quirks all point to such a
connection in my mind.
And at least this duality among the Khinasi has an explanation, they
absorbed the Masetians. The Vos duality is a lot harder to explain away.

Samwise

[Chrys murphy]

Samuel Weiss wrote:

> Time for my two cents on this.
> The Masetians were most likely a pseudo-Semitic culture, like the Phoenicians
> or Carthaginians but without the nasy human sacrifices.
> Considering the names and appearances given for the Khinasi, it seems they are
> Arabic one moment and Black the next, I figure one part of that had to come
> from the Basarji.

If I remember correctly, it has been stated that the Khinasi are actually based
on the Moorish culture that stretched from Spain along the coast of North Africa
and into the Ottoman Empire.
Looking at the Serpent and his domain, One gets the feeling that the Masetians
were based on Ancient Egypt rather than any Arabic Culture.
IOt is true that the Basarj assimilated much of Masetian Culture but that is
chiefly because they built their Kingdoms upon the ruins of the ancient Masetian
Culture more than any racial intermingling. Remember the Basarj were latecomers
to Cerilia, arriving well after the other human cultures and aiding in the war
against Azrai not through any past dealings with that Deity but rather, because
they sensed the true evil of his nature and chose to oppose him.