Oh, my GOD.

Bosh... You are awesome.

So much to think about & add thoughts to and I'll take at least a day to get around to it, but for now suffice it to say... man, I think I love you.

I'm a bit leery to straying toooooooooo far from Dresden canon however. The simplest (perhaps too simple) way to make things match up would be, like you say, making ying and yang match up with winter and summer and sticking everything else into wildfae.

Yeah, I wonder at what point it becomes a completely different fictional world just using the Dresden Files rules. That's not a bad thing if it's a stand-alone campaign, but for those playing a more conventional DF campaign it would be better to keep basic similarities.

Speaking of Wildfae, the Center/Yellow Dragon is an interesting entity that could help focus the theme of the five elements and directions. The Center is rather like a Spring and Autumn Court in the dual Summer-Winter system. If you go by yin and yang the balance that the Center represents is even more important, since neither yin nor yang is the ideal by itself--rather, the balance is critical. (Which was kind of the entire point of Summer Knight, when you think about it.)

The Yellow Dragon as neutral arbiter could be the one that's keeping the Yin and Yang Courts from a state of constant conflict. If the Yellow Dragon went missing, however, the two Courts may have difficulty containing hostilities or maintaining balance. The reason behind the recent severe snowstorms, perhaps?

Especially with the rampant faking of genealogical records after the end of the 양반 (yangban) as an organized class so that everyone and their dog could claim to have 양반 ancestry.

Yeah, no one knows whether they really are of noble blood or our ancestor was an enterprising commoner who bought/stole a name. 양반 outnumbered the commoners by the end of the Chosun period anyway, because many who were actually of noble blood were selling their name to make money and those commoners who could afford a noble name wanted the yangban's immunity from forced state labor. Factor in the confusion of the fall of Chosun and the Korean war, and it's really hard for anyone to know their actual ancestry.

Sort of like the 화랑 reborn then? They have a cool Arthurian vibe that could fit in just fine.

The Hwarang (화랑) were warrior nobles who swore allegiance to the king, so I suppose they're largely equivalent to a European medieval king's knightly vassals. Hwarang as an institution lasted for hundreds of years and not all Hwarang were heroic figures, but yeah, the idea of some of the bigger heroes coming back is an interesting idea.

Get iron spikes and drive them into every important place all over the world.

Coolness! Thus the knowledge of the supernatural didn't just fade, but was actively suppressed along with the power of the supernatural. An additional campaign premise might be that this is the reason that predatory supernaturals like the vamps thrived in secret--not only did humanity start ignoring the paranormal, but (mostly) benevolent entities like guardian spirits or land gods largely faded away.

Speaking of the recovery of magic, the Korean government and private groups alike have been active in removing these spikes for the past decades. That, in campaign terms, could help bring about the reemergence of magical beings like the god-beasts (신수) and the birth of magical talents.

On the subject of magical talents, I'll extend the original post into an important area where a Korean campaign is different:

Korean magical talents

An important point of consideration in a Korean campaign is the forms that magical talents may take. These may be very different from the European or American conception of a wizard. The traditional Korean concept of a supernatural mortal is less "wheezy wizard" and more "supernatural warrior" or "religious practitioner." Some of the archetypes are outlined below, and may be useful for NPCs or PCs.

Gods/shapeshifters: I'm not sure what other tradition to place these under, so I'll start with the old gods in the founding myths. They themselves are not strictly mortal, but they are also the ancestors of the ancient kings whose bloodline is dispersed widely in the population by now. Some of their specific powers, or just general supernatural talents, may show up unexpectely in modern characters.

Some of these beings were from the heavens, as in the case of Hwan-ung (환웅) or Haemosu (해모수). They both showed shapeshifting powers, as when Hwan-ung helped a bear become human and later changed into human form to marry her. Haemosu, who seems to be a sun god, had a shapeshifting battle with 하백 (Habaek, The River Chief). When Habaek became a carp, Haemosu became an otter to catch him; when Habaek became a deer, Haemosu turned into a wolf; when Habaek became a pheasant, Haemosu became a hawk.

Then there are the river gods, like the abovementioned Habaek, another shapeshifter. This line of gods was joined to the sky-gods' line after Haemosu married Habaek's daughter, Yuwha (유화, Willow-Flower). She was then abandoned by Haemosu and cast out by her father, and subsequently impregnated by a ray of sunlight that followed her around (another reason to think Haemosu was a sun god). She gave birth to the first in a line of hero kings, the legendary archer Jumong (주몽). Well actually she didn't give birth to a baby, she lay a huge egg out of which came the baby.

Another set of demigods-become-kings are babies dropped off by the heavens. In both stories, they were found when horses wept at where they were hidden, possibly indicating a horse totem tribe connection. Both have a connection to sky and water. One was found after ritual prayer to the heavens, the other had their location indicated by a ray of sunlight. One was a baby in the form of a golden frog, another was a baby in an egg inside a well.

Some suggestions for using these myths include shapeshifting abilities, perhaps limited to a specific animal like a bear or horse, an affinity to water including the help of water creatures, and shafts of sunlight as unexpected guides. And maybe incredible martial prowess because hey, why not? It seems to be the number one perk of divine ancestry.

Shamans and the shamanistic tradition: Shamanism is arguably the oldest extant religious tradition in Korea. The central figure in shamanism is the shaman (무당). A wizard of the White Council would probably call her an ectomancer, and a character like Mortimer Lindquist would probably feel right at home talking shop with her. These are mostly women, and the talent is thought to pass through the bloodline, often mother to daughter (enforcing the canon idea, incidentally, that magic passes through the distaff line). It may lie dormant for generations before it springs up on an unsuspecting person, usually young and female.

There is a great amount of cultural ambivalence surrounding the shaman. On the one hand, her services are much sought out for those who want good luck in their endeavors, are haunted by ghosts, or want a glimpse into the future. On the other hand, being a shaman is not considered a respectable occupation at all, and being struck with the talent is most often seen as a personal disaster that the budding shaman and her family will try to resist.

The first manifestation of the talent is illness, called 신병 (spirit sickness) or 무병 (shaman sickness). The afflicted, often a young girl or young woman, may experience symptoms including constant thirst, food refusal, social avoidance, and visual (ghosts and spirits) and auditory (cymbals, voices) hallucination. She may also suddenly rush out of the house dancing wildly then fainting in an ecstatic state, and could start giving premonitions, or oracles. These conditions have been observed in Central Asia and Siberia as well.

The sickness is not cured by medicine or by the usual shamanistic rituals (such as 푸닥거리) but only with a special ritual of advent (called 내림굿) where the shaman's guiding spirit is invited to possess her. After she is thus cured, the shaman in training (called 애기무당, or baby shaman) will be trained by her spirit mother (신어머니, 신모, whom the shaman might casually call 신엄마, or "spirit mom") to be a full shaman.

A shaman's primary responsibility is to help the living and dead communicate. In her capacity as fortune-teller she passes on her spirit's glimpse into the future, and as an exorcist she drives out the malignant spirits from a place with rituals (called 굿) involving dance and music. As priestess she brings peace to the dead and prays to the spirits for good fortune in her clients' endeavors.

There's an interesting video showcasing some of the different shamanistic rituals here. You can see a male shaman talking there, too. Male shamans, called 박수, are very much in existence and I'm guessing they go through much the same process as their female counterparts. I know one of my dad's friends is one, though I never had the chance to talk to him. There's also a freaky part where a shaman is walking barefoot on the cutting edge of a fodder-chopper and she's WALKING BAREFOOT ON THAT FREAKING GIANT BLADE starting at about 1:40. Man, that stuff still weirds me out.

I don't know if these shamans would be invited to join the White Council. From the Council's point of view most are probably closer to focused practitioners or minor talents, and other shamans might not be interested in the foreigners' funny business. Shamans tend to be traditionalists, like most religious leaders, though younger shamans might be more open-minded. But as the Council itself isn't the pinnacle of open-mindedness, the two groups are likely to steer clear of each other for the most part. That doesn't preclude cooperation, and individual shamans may well choose to join the Council.

Taoism: Taoist influence is perhaps best seen in the many 도사 (dosa) figures in Korean literature and popular imagination. Dosa are basically mortals who, through training and meditation, took on supernatural powers and long lifespans. Some may be of the "guardian of the forest" variety, popularly visualized in the form of old men with long white beards (산신령). Other dosa are accomplished martial artists, armed or unarmed. Some common abilities for dosa include shapeshifting, near-teleportation (moving great distances in a short time), flying, and illusions. They may be the closest thing to the Dresden File conception of magical practitioners, and the added martial element can make them very interesting and useful.

Many characters in popular fiction skirt the border between mundane martial arts and supernatural powers. The most powerful martial artists may have gotten their skills by practicing not just punches and kicks, but the skill of controlling their 기 (ki), or life force. Armed martial artists might also have the added advantage of a mystical or spirit-possessed weapon. A whole genre of fiction, called 무협, is devoted to these almost-supernatural martial artists who might or might not be dosa, but do use varying levels of supernatural forces to power their prowess.

Buddhism: Buddhist temples are most often found deep in the hills. Some are a part of well-established tourist or hiking routes, and others might be really out of the way. They will often have the kind of holy aura that repels the nastier supernatural creatures. Individual monks may have supernatural powers such as banishment or exorcism, and there are Buddist rituals that persuade a ghost to let go of its emotional attachments and follow the light to the next world. Reciting holy texts like 금강경, 아미타경, 천수경 and so on may soothe a ghost of its obsessions. In the late sixteenth century, during the Japanese invasion of Chosun, a number of Buddist monks (called 의승병, voluntary priest-soldiers) rose up to defend the country, acting as independent militia or as adjuncts to government forces. A modern monk might be an inheritor of that martial tradition.

Christianity: Churches are usually located wherever people live, especially in big cities. In a city like Seoul Protestant churches (교회) are extremely numerous, from big megachurches to smaller outfits that might take up less than a floor of rented space. Catholic churches (성당) are less numerous, but each is typically a building of its own.

As Bosh mentioned, hardline Protestants can be pretty intolerant toward other religions, and probably all supernatural phenomena that they don't see as divinely inspired. Catholics are generally more tolerant, though there is obviously a wide variety in individual attitudes. Individual ministers or priests, based on the strength of their faith and/or preexisting talent, could have supernatural power. Churches administered by sympathetic holy men could serve as safe houses and sanctuaries, much as in the original novels.

Also as Bosh said, much of the educated urban class is Protestant and pretty conservative to boot. Adventures that involve the supernatural activities of the elite could well involve some snooping around churches. It could be interesting if these rich megachurches aren't actually holy places at all, but that really depends on what kind of social commentary you're willing to introduce into play.

I'm looking forward to learning a bit more about Korean folklore on this thread (any good reading suggestions lokisdottir?)...

I can't think of anything in English, since my knowledge of Korea comes sort of "through the pores" as a native Korean. I did notice a book called "Korean Tales" by Horace Newton Allen on the kyobobook.co.kr site, but I can't recommend it without having seen it. It might be a good resource for covering the bases.

Right, in Dresden terms lots and lots of Ectomancers. Korean's shamanistic traditions are similar enough to Siberian ones that you could transplant some bits of Siberian (ore even Sami/Lapp) folklore related to shamans pretty seamlessly.

Yeah, language seems to indicate a Ural-Altaic origin, implying some kinship with such groups as Mongolians and Finnish. The Koreans' Northern origins are something that could definitely be useful for constructing playable myths.

Probably having beings/organizations relating to the four directions would be a good substitute for the role of the conflict between the Summer and Winter courts in Dresden.

That's a fascinating thought, because there's a whole system of symbolism and elemental harmony/antagonism between the five directions and five elements.

The five directions: North, East, South, West, and Center.

The five elements: Water, Wood, Fire, Metal, and Earth. (In corresponding order.)

The seasons: Winter, Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Changes (the in-betweens).

Yin/Yang: Strong yin, yang, strong yang, yin, and balance.

The five colors and beasts: "Black Tortoise," Blue Dragon, "Red Phoenix," White Tiger, Yellow Dragon.

("Tortoise" and "Phoenix" are equivalents, but not the same. Even the dragon is quite different from the European conception. See here for pictures, which are in order of "Phoenix," Tiger, Blue Dragon, and "Turtle.")

The elemental harmonies: Wood creates Fire, Fire creates Earth, Earth creates Metal, Metal creates Water, and Water creates Wood.

The elemental antagonism: Wood digs up Earth, Earth blocks Water, Water puts out Fire, Fire melts Metal, and Metal cuts Wood.

...All of which can make for a pretty complex system of alliances and enmities. Or, for simplicity's sake you can simply equate South and East (yang) with Summer and North and West (yin) with Winter, with the Center as neutral arbiter or just non-existent. Mortals could gain a god-beast as an ally, rather like being a Knight of Summer or Winter. (Riders of the god-beasts, perhaps?) There was an entire graphic novel series (later adapted as a musical and TV drama) that revolved around this concept, called 바람의 나라 (Land of Winds), with the king protected by the Blue Dragon while his son was backed by the Red Phoenix and so on.

That also reminds me that with Korean last names there’s separate lineages for most Korean family names. You could attach supernatural significance to some of the lineages. For example my wife’s family name (허) is composed of seven different lineages/clans.

Korean genealogy, at least paternal genealogy, is pretty crazy. I can look in a book and find out all about my famous paternal ancestors, going back a thousand years. That in itself is pretty good fodder for adventures based on history.

I would love to hear more about this, sounds like great adventure fodder.

It's been a long time since I read 퇴마록, so my memory is very fuzzy. I think some of the related adventures takes place in 퇴마록 혼세편. There's a blog where the original internet serial is reproduced. Do a text search there for 말뚝.

Other stuff I've read on the subject: One rationale behind the iron spikes was that Koreans during the Japanese occupation were holding out hope that Korea's feng shui (Korean pronunciation pung-soo, literally "wind and water") would give rise to the birth of heroes who would liberate the country. Messing with the flow of the land's energy was an attempt to prevent this from happening.

If feng shui is related to heroic births, you could very well have an adventure with competing factions trying to prevent or fulfill some specific birth by way of geomancy. There's also the fact that Koreans may be doing a swell job of messing with the land themselves. Someone could realize that all those apartments and buildings are being put up in points where they cut off all the land energy. Instant adventure!

That whole vibe doesn’t fit in Seoul at all so a different feeling is really called for.

I think you've got the feel down really well. What it comes down to is the general atmosphere of oppression and menace, and a system that is so wrong yet so integral that any fundamental change is going to be difficult, painful, and fatal for many. Combine that with...

-The massive power of the Chaebol conglomerates

...and the villain's rant practically writes itself. "You fools! The people you're fighting for don't WANT to be free of us. They want someone to tell them what to do. They want to place their decisions, their lives, in the hands of an all-controlling social system. Go on, get rid of me. Watch the untold confusion and misery you will have caused. And then...(smirk)...watch someone just like me take my place. You're not fighting me--you're trying to fight Korea."

Is s/he right? What choice will the PCs make? *cackles* In some ways it's a very similar choice to the one Harry faced in Grave Peril, but with different emphases and nuances.

Generally more of a feeling of “human culture and its leaders are being corrupted from within and changing into something that is very wrong even as it keeps the cheery mask screwed on tight” than “humans are herd animals being fed on by predators and the predation is ripping human society apart” that you get a lot in Dresden.

Very much so. That systematic failure is something that was implied in a lot of the DF books, but can be explored with much more clarity in a Seoul campaign, IMO.

I'm sure we can slap something together, I could post my campaign notes at least when summer comes.

Sounds good. I can put up some preliminary notes as I write my way through the thought process. I'm just not sure where to place the notes. Here, maybe?

The discussion in the DF Adventures thread drifted a bit into localizing the Dresden Files for South Korea. Some thoughts on that...

The supernatural heavyweights

Since it appears the powers of supernatural beings are affected by mortal beliefs, a Korean adventure will probably be lighter on the Sidhe and deal with a lot more ghosts/specters/shades. The country's old shamanistic tradition emphasizes the role of the dead, with shamans (ectomancers in Council terms) enlisting the help of their helper spirits for clairvoyance and luck for their clients. Confucianism is another old tradition in which ancestor worship is the primary religious element.

Other traditional supernaturals include dokkebi (shapeshifting spirits who arise from a place or old object like a broom or a tree), mountain/forest spirits who may be in the form of bearded old men or tigers, Taoist lords of the heavens and the underworld, and the "god-beasts" of the elements and the directions including dragon for the East, white tiger for the West and so on.

All of these elements could be given a more modern twist, for instance a resident forest spirit fighting against the razing of his hill for a new apartment complex. A tiger showing up to wreck the proceedings will be a matter of great consternation for the city and the contractors, especially since tigers are extinct in the wild in Korea.

The western mythologies have definitely made inroads, of which the White God is especially prominent given the huge numbers of Christians (both Protestant and Catholic, though Protestantism has more adherents) in the country. A minister, priest, or nun could definitely be an ally (or foe) in any supernatural adventure.

Also there's plenty of more modern beliefs to draw from like 동학/천도교 and the Heavenly Mother (하나님의교회 세계복음선교협회) wackos.

And never forget the Moonies when you're talking wacko. Korea is home to so many minor religions, and some were not some minor--the 동학 or Heavenly Way believers actually started a rebellion. All these religions are great fodder for conspiracies, adventures, and new supernatural weirdness.

The long reach of a long history

Another way a Korean-centered urban adventure is different is that the dominant culture in the country has a history of more than two centuries with the land--a lot, lot more. One of the recent popular dramas, Queen Seon-duk (선덕여왕), was about a queen who ruled almost 1500 years ago. It may be the year 2010 in the Gregorian calendar, but it's the year 4343 by the Dankun calendar, Dankun being (we are told) the son of a heavenly lord (환웅) and Bear-Woman (웅녀) who founded the first nation on the peninsula. (The lord from heaven was probably a member of a Bronze Age culture who married into a local bear-totem tribe, but who knows.)

That long history, the earliest events so long ago that history is indistinguishable from legend, is a gold mine for supernatural adventures. For example: Maybe Bear-Woman was the progenitor of a long line of powerful shamans, mother to daughter, and her latest descendent is... the teenaged daughter of a U.S. serviceman? Or: Pillars of water were seen rising from the Kingsrock (대왕암) or Water Grave (수중릉), final resting place of king Munmu, the monarch who united the Three Koreas in the seventh century. (And you thought the current Two Koreas situation was bad...) Munmu had asked to have his ashes buried there specifically so he could become a dragon and defend the land from Japanese marauders. Is something up with Japan? Are the pillars signs sent by the ancient dragon? And so on.

Korea's more recent cluster@#$! of a history has a lot of good stuff, too:

I especially want to learn a bit more about Korean Geomancy, especially after reading an historical article about how after their occupation of Korea the Japanese drove iron spikes into several Korean mountains to screw with Korean geomantic energies. Having people be able to do things like that to alter geomantic energies would be a great source of plot hooks and a good reason to get people to travel to strange locations.

Yup. In fact, a Korean modern fantasy/horror novel series called 퇴마록 (The Record of Banishing Evil, to provide a clumsy translation) capitalized on that tidbit when it had a KIA (Korean Intelligence Agency) agent tasking the protagonists with finding the spikes. That's just the kind of thing a geomancer would be good at, and could result in a lot of great adventures, a lot of them far from civilization. Also, the Korean War, the decades under military dictators, and the current standoff with North Korea are all sources of enough suffering and fear to pack whole campaigns with. Heck, if the Denarians or the Black Circle want to do a lot of damage worldwide they might find it worth their while to tamper with the North-South situation.

That's all I have time to write for now, but yeah, there's a lot of great stuff out there for supernatural adventures in Korea. Just how different to make a Korean adventure from a Euro-American adventure really is a matter of taste, but there's a whole lot to draw from if desired. The same probably goes for any location or culture, really. An adventure with a Native American bent, for example, would probably look very different from the original Dresden Files even if it took place in or near Chicago. But in the end it's all relatable, and all fun--people are people, no matter where you go or where you come from.

You're right, it's inspired directly by Ars Magica. I've experimented with various forms of troupe play the past few campaigns, and this form is both closest to its original roots and the largest in scale.

And Fred likes my idea? I just may have to go die of fannish cardiac arrest...

Allegedly there was a thread almost exactly like this before, but a search turned up nothing so here goes:

You know you're already thinking about your Dresden Files adventure. Maybe you've already run/played one or more. Dish! I think it'll be a good way to share ideas and just have fun. Here's one:

Untouchable

People, particularly young and vulnerable ones, keep dying and disappearing after hanging around a famous model and actor/tress. It's suspicious enough that the police and media have asked around, but all investigations and more than one career have been dashed by the Powers That Be. Plus, cause of death is just weird and it's hard for even the most dedicated investigator to establish culpability. The player characters knew one of the dead people and/or the family, and are enlisted to find out the truth and bring the alleged perpetrator to justice.

The celebrity is a White Court vampire, of course, one that has gotten a little too arrogant about how untouchable s/he is. Problem is, it's not something the mundane authorities can really deal with. Causation is impossible to establish and the White Court has too much influence, as the stories of a washed-up cop, former district attorney, and former up-and-coming reporter who all had their careers ruined chasing this case will make abundantly clear. This influence will presently make itself known to the PCs' lives in the form of threats and smears. To mix it up a little more, the White Council doesn't want them pursuing this case because the vampire has been giving inside information to the Council when it suited his/her interests.

Resolution could take a lot of different forms. I'll probably have several different NPC's suggesting or trying to pursue different solutions. It can range from killing the holy heck out of the vamp to manipulating the White Court's political machinations to cut him/her off from its protection. Probably there will be a related plot going on that pertains to the war with the Reds.

An alternate, slightly less White Night-like possibility is to make the vamp a reformed baddie who came to see the light, but was set up to feed fatally on a mortal after working against the White and Red Courts. Now the White Court is using its influence to destroy its black (heh) sheep's reputation and life, and the Council has no more use for the vampire since the source has been compromised. Then the PC's would have to decide whether to save this repentant vampire or to let him/her go down. Perhaps in this case the vampire or a mortal parent is a friend or associate of one or more PC.

I'm really excited to start my campaign when the game comes out. In the meantime I'm just dreaming up plot seeds, and I'd like to see others', too. On a related note, this thread about weird real-world events is a gold mine of ideas.

--Hel Lokisdottir