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05-28-2013, 11:11 AM | #1 |
Join Date: Apr 2013
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Urban Fantasy with Spirits, Totems and Shamans?
Hi. Do you guys believe the shaman with spirits (or spiriworld), totems etc in a modern world could fit? I am a great Fan of animistic, but I do not know how well animistic harmony with modern world.
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05-28-2013, 11:19 AM | #2 |
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Lawrence, KS
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Re: Urban Fantasy with Spirits, Totems and Shamans?
Sure! In fact I included an "urban shaman" template in GURPS Fantastic Cities. There are even traditional spiritistic beliefs adapted to big cities: for one, the Roman idea of lares, spirits who in the country watched over the boundaries of land areas (for example, of farms) but in the city protected houses, lots, or neighborhoods.
I think there are several types of spirits you might look at: Rural spirits that have more or less adapted to survive in cities Rural spirits that have taken off in a big way in cities Spirits of new, distinctively urban things, such as technology, specialized land areas, or even the city itself (Dea Roma and all) I'd also suggest taking traditional symbolic gestures, such as giving someone "the key to the city," as actual evocations of magical and spiritual forces. Bill Stoddard |
05-28-2013, 11:42 AM | #3 | |
GURPS Line Editor
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Montréal, Québec
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Re: Urban Fantasy with Spirits, Totems and Shamans?
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Sean "Dr. Kromm" Punch <kromm@sjgames.com> GURPS Line Editor, Steve Jackson Games My DreamWidth [Just GURPS News] |
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05-28-2013, 12:39 PM | #4 | |
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Lawrence, KS
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Re: Urban Fantasy with Spirits, Totems and Shamans?
Quote:
Bill Stoddard |
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05-28-2013, 01:45 PM | #5 | |
Join Date: Mar 2008
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Re: Urban Fantasy with Spirits, Totems and Shamans?
In my idea list I have
Quote:
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05-28-2013, 03:19 PM | #6 |
Night Watchman
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Cambridge, UK
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Re: Urban Fantasy with Spirits, Totems and Shamans?
That is an interesting idea. I find myself with ideas ... I'd expect that in such a world there were always spirits of workplaces, and people thought they had a direct relationship with craftsmen. But when factories started to be built, rather than there being lots of small weak spirits, one at each workstation, there turned out to be one big one for a whole factory. This would probably change the history of industrial development significantly, could have strange effects on labour relations, and when businesses grew to have multiple factories, managing the relationship between the spirits of different factories could be important.
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05-29-2013, 11:52 AM | #7 |
Join Date: Jul 2006
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Re: Urban Fantasy with Spirits, Totems and Shamans?
Our Production department had (at one stage): Johnny Two Spanners (who caused leaks by undoing pipe connections that had previously been good), The Spanner Monkey (that stole spanners and other tools for its nest) and the Bumposaurus (a dinosaur like creature that caused vacuum distillations to boil over).
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05-29-2013, 01:45 AM | #8 |
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Yorkshire, UK
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Re: Urban Fantasy with Spirits, Totems and Shamans?
How much of that book (which I remember from the original Fourth Edition schedule, but which never saw the light of day), made it into other published works such as GURPS Thaumatology: Urban Magics?
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05-29-2013, 06:07 AM | #9 | |
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Lawrence, KS
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Re: Urban Fantasy with Spirits, Totems and Shamans?
Quote:
Bill Stoddard |
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05-28-2013, 12:36 PM | #10 |
Join Date: Mar 2013
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Re: Urban Fantasy with Spirits, Totems and Shamans?
Almost any story by Charles de Lint has this sort of thing. I'm even using shamans in my space opera game.
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