“Delusions are lies that tell the truth”

I went to see Luca Guadagnino’s 2018 film Suspiria* and had my mind blown away. So rich, so intense, and it resonated with many of my own fantasies and fears.

First of all, this is not a horror flick. I repeat, this is not a horror flick. At the end of the show, when the lights came back, I noticed two young guys who looked disappointed, and I could hear them mutter that it hadn’t been what they had expected. Yeah sorry tossers, Hostel part XVII was showing in the other theatre.

Suspiria is actually more like cosmic horror à la Lovecraft. Sara’s character, for instance, is a lot like most protagonists in Lovecraft short stories: they deny the evidence of bad shit happening until it’s too late.

And, just like Lovecraft short stories were deeply ingrained in their time, Guadagnino has managed to perfectly fit Suspiria in the mood of 1970s Europe, at a time when the wounds of WWII hadn’t healed yet, and European youth was rebelling.

The above doesn’t mean that Suspiria is a Lovecraftian film though. It is not. Lovecraft did not understand (and probably feared) women and female sexuality. Suspiria’s cast is 100% female** and the plot revolves around [mild spoiler] the fact that a foremost, all-female dance institute in Berlin is actually a coven of witches; the pupils live at the school and there are innuendos about Sapphic love.

For me, Suspiria is a film that explores a part of our psyche and culture that is usually overlooked in our patriarchal society: the role and place of womanhood, of female sexuality, of the three visages of Woman: the virgin, the mother, the crone. And just like “kung-fu” movies celebrate the male body, Suspiria, with its breath-taking dance scenes, celebrates the female body.

So what’s in there for the RPG buff?

The obvious answer is, inspiration for a contemporary horror RPG***. This is so obvious that I won’t expand. Depending on the maturity of your players you may emphasise the female sexuality aspect, or the political one, neither, or both.

Gloranthan fans will find food for thought aplenty:
a) First, the whole film is a great illustration of why the Dance skill is actually super useful. And, based upon the already-classic “Olga scene”, you could even devise a whole magic system based upon dancing moves. Think of the implications for matriarchal societies… How cool is that?
b) There’s also quite a lot to be salvaged in terms of dreams, how they are suggested to one’s victim, how they influence reality, etc. Great stuff for a game set in Eastern Genertela.
c) And, last but not least, there’s also a profound reflection on illusions. “Delusions are lies that tell the truth” is a phrase the Doctor says. I can see implications on Eurmali hero quests.

If Suspiria is not a horror film, it certainly is a weird one, as in: weird as a genre. So if you like Lamentations of the Flame Princess, you will find tons of gameable ideas in this film. I reckon you could actually transpose the whole film to the same milieu as Better Than Any Man, as a sister or alternate adventure, the coven of witches being allies or nemeses of the ones in Jim Raggi’s adventure.


* Luca Guadagnino says his film is not a remake of the classic 1977 giallo, but a re-telling.
** Even the only male protagonist of the film, the Doctor, is played by a female actress with prosthetics, Tilda Swinton
*** Because horror RPGs are not the same “horror” as horror films.

Because Fuck You, That's Why

From James Raggi on Google+: the artwork, by Yannick Bouchard, of the Lamentations of the Flame Princess catalogue at Spiel.

Pure LotFP-ey art.

The Tale of Tales

Giambattista Basile (1566-1632) was an Italian writer. He is particularly remembered for his collection of Neapolitan-language fairy tales titled the Tale of Tales. In 2015, the Italian director  Matteo Garrone made an English-language film, titled Tale of Tales, loosely adapted from three of the tales: The Enchanted Doe, The Flea, and The Flayed Old Lady.

The film is quite LotFP-ey, especially the most grotesque scenes, and in particular the whole part with the giant flea, the betrothal of Violet to the ogre, and the ensuing mayhem. I heartily recommend it.

Anyway, I started scouring the internet for information about the Tale of Tales, and I stumbled upon a collection of illustrations by the decadent Austrian artist Franz von Bayros (1866-1924). They are quite LotFP-ey too :-)

Castles of the Fair Kingdom

If you navigate to this web-site and click on the word ‘részletek’ next to the name of each single castle, you will see a drawing of said castle. Here are some of my favourite ones:

Castle Boldogkő

Castle Zeßnegg

Castle Großwaschon

Castle Inselsburg

Leonardo Da Vinci's War Machines

Polymath Leonardo da Vinci designed a lot of war machines during his career. Luckily, I have recently been able to visit a display of wooden models of his inventions in a Tuscan museum. The sheer amount and diversity of his inventions is simply mind-boggling. Luckily (?) it appears that none of his designs were ever actually used, but if you're a weird fantasy referee, you may safely transform your Renaissance setting into a "Renaissance-punk" one.

Leonardo da Vinci lived almost exactly 100 years before the Blood Countess, so you may consider that, by the times of the Csachticz campaign setting, whatever secret machines he had created had spread all the way to the Fair Kingdom and the surrounding warring empires.

You may have a look at this blog entry here, and at my pictures below for inspiration.

Glider (simpler design, with a rudder)

Glider (wing-like)

Vertical Parachute

Artificial Wings

Bicycle

Mechanism to counter siege ladders

Scythe Chariot

Ninja-Style Climbing Gear

Ninja-Style Water Walking Gear

The Blood Countess Died Exactly 400 Years Ago

Erzsébet Báthory, nicknamed the Blood Countess, died 400 years ago, on 21 August 1614.

(I would've posted this on 21 August, but I'll probably be without an internet connection on Thursday!)

She is probably the most (in)famous Hungarian noblewoman in history, as the No.1 female serial killer not only in Europe but in the whole world. She allegedly tortured and killed hundreds of girls between 1585 and 1610. After her trial in 1610, she was imprisoned in a walled area of her castle in December 1610, where she died slightly less than four years later. By the way, the 21st of August is the day she was found dead lying on the floor; she may have died earlier.

The most famous tale about the Blood Countess is that she had the girls bled to death so that she could bathe in their blood and retain her beauty. According to the Wikipedia, this is a later addition to her legend, a detail not mentioned at the time of her trial. Still according to the Wikipedia, György Thurzó noted the presence of horribly mutilated dead, dying, and imprisoned girls at the time of her arrest. György Thurzó was the man whom Emperor Matthias had asked to investigate the horrible rumours about the Blood Countess.

However, Emperor Matthias was heavily indebted to the incredibly rich countess, and, for political and religious reasons, he was also opposed to the Báthorys, who ruled large autonomous or semi-independent estates all over Central Europe. Some scholars argue that the whole rumourmongering and trial were the results of a vast conspiracy against the rich and independent-minded countess.

György Thurzó, the man who conducted the investigations and assembled the evidence was Archduke Matthias' right hand man before the latter became emperor. One of the consequences of the trial was that the Emperor never had to repay his debt to her.

Whatever the historical truth, you may use the Blood Countess in two ways in your campaign: as a horrible villain, or even as a vampire-like 'big boss' figure, or as innocent and fiercely independent woman. In this latter case, she could be the patron of the player characters, whose aim would be to thwart Thurzó's schemes in a politically-oriented campaign.

A Seeress

Another beautiful panting by John William Waterhouse (1849-1917): The Crystal Ball (1902).

A Witch

click to enlarge

Very inspirational... Magic Circle (1886), by the talented Pre-Raphaelite painter John William Waterhouse!

Edit 16/10/2014− I am adding a link to a fan-made 13th Age character class called... THE WITCH!

While wizards use carefully studied symbology and an occult grammatical system to work magic, and sorcerers draw intuitively upon the icons' power and the magic hidden within their own blood, witches tread a different, less direct path to arcane mastery. True, they often study occult lore, and some even manage to learn a few wizard spells. True, it is not uncommon for a witch to have a magical birthright that sets her forth on her journey or an unexpected link to one or more of the icons. But the witch sees each of these systems and links as a mere tool — one in a much larger toolbox that is well worth exploring. Beyond these basic starting points, the witch looks for the magical connections that these methods share and that bind all things, and she calls upon those beings that understand such phenomena better than she does. She does not limit herself to one narrow system, but pragmatically accepts each gift of arcane learning that Fate and the other occult powers send her way.

In time, the witch learns many useful tricks — spells, of course, but also hexes. The latter can be used with greater frequency, by deferring the arcane cost to another time — or another being.  Most critically, by sensing the strands of Fate, she tries to work with them, instead of against them, taking the subtle path of least resistance to achieve her goals. Sadly, this may bring her to the attention of other beings that take an interest in Fate, as well as those exotic powers that she calls upon, from time to time, in pursuit of lore. For the witch, this is a small price to pay, to gain a deeper understanding of the most hidden workings of the universe.

Swiss Mercenaries

I have been reading the French translation of an interesting article published in Die Zeit about the history of Swiss mercenaries [Schweizer Söldner: Immer zu Diensten]. I understand the article itself is just a summary of a fully-fledged book written by Jost Auf der Maur and published by Echtzeit about this very topic, titled Söldner für Europa, Mehr als eine Schwyzer Familiengeschichte ('Soldiers for Europe, more than a Swiss family history').
Here are a few notes I've jotted down, for the enjoyment of those who like their mediaeval fantasy gritty!

Between the 13th and the 18th century, the Swiss served as mercenaries throughout Europe. They were notoriously thievish, carousing, and rubble rousing.

They were known to:

• Use fat from their victims' bellies as shoeshine
• Cut off their victims' feet with an axe
• Eat their victims' heart
• Put on their enemies' uniforms to dupe them
• Kill their prisoners
• Only use noms de guerre, like Pityless, Headhunter or The Terrible

A Swiss mercenary made £18 per month when a well-off farmer only earned about half this money, which explains why up to 25% of all Swiss were serving abroad as mercenaries at any given time.

Life as a mercenary was not all perks, though. Less than half of those who left returned, and these veterans were often maimed drunkards unable to lead a normal life in a peaceful country. The few lucky ones, however, who came back both healthy and rich helped Switzerland become the wealthy neutral country it is today.

Link: An interview with Jost Auf der Maur.