Those Delightful Few Days of the Month

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    • Those Delightful Few Days of the Month

      So...As a Female RPG Human I feel the need to ask this.

      Since from other questions I've asked I've learned all Female Janah give birth to live young (Thinks about Ersaerhead) That leads me to the conclusion all female Janah menstruate like Female Humans do

      Since this is a pre-industrial society I feel I must ask...What do female Janah do during those delightful few days? Do they have some equivalent to a pad? I know ancient societies like those in the Old Testiment had certain rules for what Ladies could and couldn't do when they were having a period and I know Dardunah has a 'ritual of cleansing'

      Also in Fantasy Tales sometimes a Female Mage's magic is affected by her time of the month

      As a side note, of all the fancy euphemisms for menstruation my favorite has to be 'Walking through a field of wildflowers in soft focus'
    • Do they take from the human side here, or animal side?
      Paksin, Sarpah, and even feline Vajrah possibly look down on any other species afflicted with that damn monthly curse, because of the dramatic differences in reproductive systems (Reptiles and birds have completely different ones, and feline reproductive systems are too lazy to menstruate)
    • Yes,TEENAGE MUTANT SARPAH is correct..... What makes this completely correct is due to the merger of the human genetics and for the added simplicity it brings to the game....

      All the animal types give birth to live young, and as such each of the animal types would most likely have some type of menstruation cycle similar to a human female's although possibly more frequent or less frequent due to the differences in age limitations as well as other factors such as the animal type and the propensity to reproduce found upon our own world.

      We have purposefully left this subject somewhat vague as it will be covered in the WORLD GUIDE which will be soon to follow in the near future... I can offer a small amount of information from the last version of the WORLD GUIDE these following quotes, from a section titled INTERNAL PHYSIOLOGY:

      "The Janah share a common internal physiology. All of the Janah are warm blooded, bear live young, and function in a similar biological way. Certain highly specialized internal physiologies such as internal gills, multiple stomachs, or special adaptive traits might be retained by the Janah. Therefore there are variations between species, but only in a few cases are they extreme."

      ...and from a section titled REPRODUCTION....

      "They all share similar external genitalia which are similar to humans. Traits such as penis sheaths and bones or other highly specialized reproductive systems have disappeared."

      ...and later in the same section it goes on to say the following....

      "All Janah have live births. Furthermore, all Janah have the capacity to suckle their young. Gestation periods vary from 4 to 8 months depending on the type of animal (shorter periods going to more prolific animals)"....

      So there you have it! According to the original ideas presented in the WORLD GUIDE (still being edited), it would seem that the times for the monthly cycle of a Dárdüni woman's reproductive system might coincide with the type of animal and the length of life they may live with special consideration being given to the type of animals in question...

      A good game master will take into account all these factors if they decide to include aspects of the very personal nature of reproductive systems within the bounds of the game they have chosen to run, and use good judgement which will encourage players to be more comfortable and feel more connected to the characters they have chosen to create. As always it is the job of the game master to not only satisfy the desires of the players, as well as balance the aspects of fantasy with reality so that the experience is both believable and entertaining at the same time...

      I hope this helps, but if you would like me to go into greater detail concerning the rules on how reproduction happens and how the animal types of the babies are determined I would be more than happy to do so for you.... I am just glad you two have found our game interesting enough to inquire about these things... Clearly your interests are an indication that we are headed in the right direction for inspiring many more exciting conversations about the wonderful World of the False Dawn!

      Until next time!

      Good night!
    • Well my specific questions were a bit more culture related like if menstruating females have a pad equivalent so they aren't leaving puddles everywhere and do menstruating females have certain things they can and cannot do in accordance to the cultures Dardunah is inspired from? Do they have more rituals of cleansing than other times?

      The post was edited 1 time, last by Teenage Mutant Sarpah ().

    • I would suggest in regards to the above question that it would be a great idea to research the history of countries and regions such as India, China, Bali, Egypt, Japan, Nepal, Arabia, Persia, Northern Africa, Ethiopia, Mongolia, Turkey, Tibet, Thailand (or the like), and gather examples of how such things were dealt with within the scope of our own world's history, and then adapt it to fit the needs of Dárdünah for your specific campaign.

      It is important to realize that in the game of SHARD there will be a great deal of difference concerning all matters depending upon the area one might find themselves living in (in much the same way that things vary upon the planet Earth, or even in different regions of a land mass such as the United States)... The rural south for example tends to lean towards conservative thoughts and an almost singular belief system, while the northern and other urban areas might embrace a variety of different religious choices and belief systems. The same would be likely on the world of Dárdünah with respect to different cultures...

      Another thing to keep in mind is that the jánah of the world of Dárdünah are greatly influenced by the mental states of the GREAT MOTHER AND FATHER who came to this world from an advanced civilization and as such there is a greater chance that such thoughts about the nature of the difference between the sexes would be shaped to some degree by the acceptance higher intelligence is known to bring.

      The good news is that we have chosen specifically not to elaborate on such issues as mentioned above, partly because most fantasy games simply do not mention them within the context of the rules of the game itself, and also in order to allow Game Masters who may wish to include such things within their own campaigns the freedom to do so with out having to change anything about the rules as they are written... Which once again leads me to say, the shortest answer is to do some research and include what you feel will make your game more complete for your players, so long as it does not run counter to any of the rules which have been put in place to maintain both a sense of rules balance...

      Lastly I would say exercise extreme caution when placing rules exclusively upon a particular sex as it may endanger the balance of the game experience for those who may wish to play the sex in question...

      I hope this can guide you in creating a personal campaign experience which will be equally inviting to every player you ask to share the pleasure of our game with! :thumbsup:

      Good Night!

    • That makes a great deal of sense, considering in many cultures which use the written language to document history that women were often overlooked except for the obvious reasons... While in nomadic cultures such as the hunter gatherers the balance and equality between male and female was more obvious to those who existed in the communities...

      I am very pleased that in the game of SHARD that is not the case. The game itself is centered around the idea of the duality which exists at the very foundation of creation, and as such the populations of the world are not so quick to label one sex as superior or dominant over another in the ways the western cultures of Earth have done. The inhabitants of Dárdünah tend to focus on the fact that the Yin and the Yang, the Dark and the Light, the Night and the Day, the Male and the Female, the Positive and the Negative, the Outcaste and the High Caste, the Rich and the Poor, the Give and the Take,... are all simply different manifestations of the will of the Great Mother and the Great Father, and as such are equally important for the Universe itself to remain a balanced manifestation capable of maintaining its cosmic existence.

      I simply love the fact that with this game we are free to use our own imaginations to design situations which can be as vague or as detailed as we wish, while taking small inspirations from the histories of the ancient world of Earth. Pure Magic!!!

    • Indeed! Griffin has essentially illuminated this topic perfectly...

      As you will eventually see detailed in the World Guide, there are a number of facts and other bits of information concerning the "Physiology of the Zoics" that we will expand upon to allow GMs a greater width and breadth of information to draw upon when digging into further details for their own campaigns. What we will most likely NOT do is delve deep into the "nitty-gritty" of various personal and private bodily functions (male or female), if we think it begins to go beyond the tasteful bounds of general public decorum. Assume, for the most part, that such details of a more personal nature are not necessarily the stuff that "high adventure in a fantasy world of magic and martial arts" is made of...

      After all, though we highly encourage GMs and their players to personally explore any aspects of the world of Dárdünah they wish while creating their own private campaigns,...for the sake of all the presentations Shard Studios engages in (even in forum discussions such as these), the genre we wish to portray is meant for the general public, and will cater to the kinds of "high fantasy" elements expected from a fantasy role-playing adventure game one could discover on the shelf at most hobby and gaming stores...

      All that being said, consider for a moment most works of general fictional entertainment that you might go to most public cinema's to watch... Most movies (and believe me when I say that we like to imagine fans of Dárdünah experiencing and thinking back on their own games as if they were great, cinematic events) generally don't deal in private "bodily function" moments unless it's for the sake of raunchy comedy... It's rare that you watch some "epic" fantasy or science fiction film and spend a scene watching characters mundanely use the bathroom or carefully pick their nose in private (or whatever), unless it's for the sake of some comedic interlude, or for the sake of showing the characters having a "vulnerable moment" to help introduce some other element of fiction (such as being spied on, about to be attacked, discovering something in an unlikely location, overhearing a nearby "secret" conversation, etc.)... Such vulnerable moments, or even comedic ones, are generally handled with a degree of decorum and taste to suit the audiences for which the film was made...

      For the sake of the SHARD RPG, whenever we choose to publicly discuss the world of Dárdünah, assume that we will generally be "PG-13".... a "family-friendly film" if you will... ^^ Of course, for the sake of your own campaigns, feel totally free to explore whatever aspects of the world you wish! Just know there may be a limit to what we may choose to discuss here, not because any particular topic is necessarily "in poor taste" so-to-speak, but because it may not fall into the category of things we feel fits into the "high fantasy" set of elements we believe make adventuring in the realm of Dárdünah fun for players of all ages...

      Scottie ^^
    • Ah yes...I for one love the 'Character overhears evil plot while in the lavatory' I love simply that it shows the complete arbitrariness of fate particularly if the one overhearing is a completely uninvolved third party...Just had the bad luck to get diarrhea shortly before two conspirators came in to plot against someone the Janah in the lavatory may no even know personally I always love the 'Spanner in the Works' Trope
      tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SpannerInTheWorks
      "A common mistake people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools."
    • Of course while most Players don't want to deal with this kind of stuff, is Science Fiction and Fantasy Menstruation can cause unusual things to happen for Mages or other 'Meta-Beings'

      See this TV Tropes Page
      tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MenstrualMenace

      One idea I had been toying with in my head for a story, and this may or may not apply to Dardunah but...I imagined a spiritual place that only a menstruating female can enter because she is 'open' to certain energies that she wouldn't be otherwise.

      So in my mind...I imagine a remote clan or tribe who have the Female Mages store the Ancestral Memories of the entire tribe in a special dream-space

      An Female Outsider...Let's Say a Gray Wolf wants to learn this tribe's secrets and to her surprise they are open to it! They take her a deep underground cave where they are greeted by a ghost. (While in Shard most Ghosts are considered a drawback who only exit to haunt characters, are there any 'friendly' ghosts who seek to guide and protect friends and loved ones Obi-Wan style?) Let's say a Panther Sorceress Ancestor who is the gatekeeper, she claims the Wolf Mage needs to prove her worthiness beforehand
      The She-Wolf Mae is left to spar with the Panther Ghost for days and nights they spar and the Living Wolf Mage never seems to get the upper hand, until one day she feels and sharp pain in her abdomen the Ghost knocks her into a pool of water,
      Wolf Mage: All right! All right! I get it! I'm not worthy! I'm going home now...Today...
      Panther Ghost: Wait Child!
      (Wolf Mage looks and sees she is no longer in the cave she is upon a hill overlooking the sea)
      Panther: The truth is I was waiting for you to begin your menstruation...Because this special dream space can only be enters when you are menstruating if you are not it is simply impossible...You can not enter any more than you can make a river flow upstream, and I know what you're thinking...Why didn't I say that before? Because I know you wouldn't have believed me it is something you have to experience for yourself.