 March 2, 2014 - 4:55am | Dances With Wolves was on last night and while I've seen it a bunch of times I decided to watch it again to think about and analyze the story. Actually fell asleep during one part but the end credits had a statement that 13 years after the events in the movie the last band of Soix submitted to government authority at Fort Robinson and the great horse culture of the plains was forever gone. The people remain but the actual horse culture has vanished. While I didn't think any deep amazing analytical thoughts about Dances With Wolves, largely because I fell asleep, I was struck by the similarity of theme with another Kevin Costner western movie which didn't have any Indians at all: Open Range. Open Range was a cool movie about the tensions and conflicts between Ranchers and Free Grazers. Free Grazers stayed on the move with their herds camping out under the stars. Not sure if it was the end credits for that movie or the bonus material on the DVD where I learned that back to back harsh winters and a massive blizzard drove all the Free Grazers from the open range in the 1880s or 1890s. This got me thinking of the things that would pass away in the Frontier due to technological, social, ecomonic, even environmental changes. Couldn't help but think of the "horse culture" in the Frontier; the ul-mor. They are clearly patterned on the horse culture of the American plains. What would be the impact on the ul-mor and thier culture in a modern Volturnus where the UPF governor administers things, mega corps are interested in the rich mineral rights and will likely desire to fence off their claims and be just a little bit unfriendly toward bands of ul-mor "riding through". You also have to wonder at the impact on ul-mor and edestakai culture of their having chosen the quickdeath as an object of religious belief/rite of passage. Certainly under a UPF governor quickdeath will be hunted without a thought and any party of eorna petitioning for some restraint will be written off as crazy. No doubt a dralasite holovid director will make a documentary on the plight of the ul-mor which will recieve critical aclaim back in the Frontier and perhaps even win an award. Mega Corporation lawyers will point out that the cultures of the primitives of Volturnus are the product of 900 years of eorna tampering and crafting and thus do not constitute something that should be respected or even accommodated since they are something that is in flux and the eorna can just modify these cultures to face the realities of the modern Frontier. And lets face it 1 out of 4 eorna have lost their minds anyway so its foolish to let eorna craziness stand in the way of progress. On the other hand the eorna will no doubt be champions on behalf of the primitives complaining to the governor about mega corp abuses and encroachments. So perhaps the horse culture of the ul-mor will survive in a modern Frontier. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
 March 2, 2014 - 5:33am | The "Horse Culture" was also an artificial culture. Remember that horses are an invasive species North America descendents of animals released by Spanish explorers. So the Souix would only have had horses for a 300 years max. Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go? |
 March 2, 2014 - 8:29am | But you have to file for and disclose to get a patent. So the megacorps have precedent to ignore Erona claims. -iggy |
March 2, 2014 - 9:31am | Good points Rat T . It makes me wonder what Soix culture was like before the horse, does archeaology shed some light on that? I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
March 2, 2014 - 6:59pm | Not to much different. The horse gave them greater range and better hunting options. Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go? |
 March 3, 2014 - 10:38am | I would imagine post-contact Native American cultures were really messed up after diseases and colonial pressures. I think once the plagues swept through, surviving groups combined and their cultures evolved somewhat. Fun fact, horses were actually indigenous to the Americas, but went extinct (hunted to extinction?) around 11,000 BCE. Crazy to think how fast the horse population exploded in three centuries. |
 March 3, 2014 - 1:06pm | In our Volturnus campaign, the players made sure that the Volturnians inherited the rights to the mines, which they viewed as the only proper thing to do. The Eorna & PCs helped them manage the mines, which were then dug by robots. This has affected their cultures just as much as megacorp interference would have. They have been forced to modernize, to a certain degree. |
 March 3, 2014 - 11:09pm | Before contact  After Contact  Horses merely advanced prairie and desert roaming. Interesting fact, did you know the American Indians hunted these guys to extinction before the buffalo?:  Giant ground sloth (Megatherium) View my profile for a list of articles I have written, am writing, will write. "It's yo' mama!" —Wicket W. Warrick, Star Wars Ep. VI: Return of the Jedi "That guy's wise." —Logray, Star Wars Ep.VI: Return of the Jedi Do You Wanna Date My Avatar? - Felicia Day (The Guild) |
March 4, 2014 - 5:31am | Considering what will happen on Volturnus brings up the issue of what its government looks like after the Volturnus campaign. I sort of tackled what the possibilities were in the "Return to Volturnus" article SFman 16 Zebs timeline suggests that its a UPF governor overseeing it as a territory. This is perhaps my favorite option from the above named article and is quasi cannon (if you accept materials from Zebs). Under UPF territory administration the eorna will cling to their city of Volkos. With the discovery of the egg ship 50,000 eorna will repopulate this city and it will be rebuilt but without serious support from either the UPF or a mega corp the work will go slow. The new generation of crche raised eorna who will quickly dominate their society may not see the value of the Great Mission and prefer to return to the eorna pursuits of creating beauty letting the UPF & Rim worry about the sathar. Perhaps they become a hippie like artist commune. Fate of the "Great Mission" with a revived eorna race the Great Mission is not as crucial as it once was and it will perhaps become the Great Hobby. With no egg ship and a revived eorna race then Great Mission become even more important as its the ultimate legacy of the eorna. Opportunity for the primitives to resent eorna meddling in their lives and society. Opportunity for a "Nanook spearing the offending missionary" where one of the primitives kills an eorna- resulting investigation and trial reveals continued eorna manipulation of the primitives. Mega corps will naturally have their mineral rights and seek to fence these off either displacing native or interferring in migratory patterns for tomar horses and ul-mor. Mechanon uprisings will put pressure on the primitives as the mechanons are not super favorable toward biological life. I think its a mixed bag of what the impact is. you could have settlements displaced for the edestakai and kurabunga because they are sitting on rich mineral deposites while the ul-mor are nomadic they will simply move elsewhere. Yet displaced settlements can be rebuilt and the culture goes on where as the nomadic economy and culture of the ul-mor is perhaps more fragile and outside pressure might have greater impact. Ultimately, the native peoples of Volturnus will become dominant populations on the planet edestakai, as farmers, have the greatest potential for explosive growth. kurabunga are hunter gatherers and the ul-mor are similar but with flocks of kwidges and cactus wompurs. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
March 4, 2014 - 11:57am | Territory is a general term with alot of meaning. Take the US Territories of Guam, Somoa and Puerto Rico. While fairly independent they have varying degrees of input on issues like taxes and laws. Also while there is a UPF governor it could be an Eorna. Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go? |
