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DFRPG / Koreanizing the Dresden Files
« on: January 26, 2010, 08:22:36 AM »
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.
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:
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.
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:
Quote from: Bosh
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.