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Author Topic: Asian Flavoured Cults  (Read 1873 times)

SHARK

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Asian Flavoured Cults
« on: April 27, 2022, 07:12:37 PM »
Greetings!

It is always interesting to read about various Mystery Cults and different religious cults, usually in an ancient or medieval European context. However, have you considered boning up on Asian flavoured cults for using in your campaigns?

For example, the "Red Turban" cult. A social and religious cult that arose in northern China during the reign of the Yuan Dynasty. More than a few such Chinese cults were very powerful, having many warlords, fortresses, and even armies following under their banners. There were strong bandit groups, river-going pirate ships, secret, mountain strongholds, and more.

The Asian-flavoured historical cults are distinctly different from the European traditions--while also often being religious, and initially secretive, the Asian cults often become far more organized and powerful, and even pose ongoing threats to the survival of empires and kingdoms alike.

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK
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Greentongue

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Re: Asian Flavoured Cults
« Reply #1 on: April 28, 2022, 01:44:17 PM »
Having potentially thousands in your group instead of a handful, makes a difference right from the start. 

Persimmon

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Re: Asian Flavoured Cults
« Reply #2 on: May 02, 2022, 07:04:20 PM »
Yep; given that half my homebrew setting is based on Asian cultures, we have plenty of Asian-based cults, not to mention assorted martial arts orders that essentially function like cults.  These include The Order of the Hidden Dagger, The Union of the Snake, The Green Viper Kumi, and the Nine Trigrams Sect.  Since one of my academic specialties is the study of secret society uprisings in China, I incorporate actual ritual practices into the game (for the PCs, not the players).

There are tons of good books in English out there on secret societies in Asia, especially China, and they make for great inspiration for RPGs.

Jason Coplen

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Re: Asian Flavoured Cults
« Reply #3 on: May 02, 2022, 07:31:17 PM »
Color me interested.

I think Pundit is writing a Silk Road game which might have some of this. I hope it does.

Running: HarnMaster, Barbaric 2E!, and EABA.

Hzilong

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Re: Asian Flavoured Cults
« Reply #4 on: May 02, 2022, 07:39:17 PM »
It’s kinda one of thise weird semantic terms. Religion in Asia is treated a bit differently than what we see in Most rpgs. It seems, to me at least, that D&D and most of its descendants mostly treat religious organizations as top down, monolithic organizations. Whether or not this historical is of course a point of contention. We also tend to separate religion and politics as most western sensibilities are derived from the Enlightenment.

In Asian religions there often really isn’t that much different from established religions. What was the difference between Taoism and the Yellow Turbans, the guys who destabilized the later Han dynasty? There were certainly doctrinal differences, but overall, the real difference was one was new and radically activistic and the other already entrenched within the system. Yet the Yellow Turbans are considered a cult and Taoism a religion here in the West.

Cults and religious factions in Asia were far more fractious than what we see in rpgs. We don’t normally see two temples of Tyr go to war with one another. But in Japan or China? Buddhists going to war with one another was called Tuesday. Also, cults and religions were completely interwoven with the political structure. Oda Nobunaga is known as either a villain or visionary, based on your perspective. One of the big events that shaped this image was when he burned down and massacred the monks in a powerful Buddhist temple. He did that because the monks politically and militarily opposed him.

For an Asian setting, i find it difficult to separate cults from religions since they meaningfully are not that far off from one another.
« Last Edit: May 02, 2022, 07:50:49 PM by Hzilong »
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Shasarak

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Re: Asian Flavoured Cults
« Reply #5 on: May 02, 2022, 08:09:24 PM »
Asian Flavoured Cults

I am thinking Umami flavour.
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Hzilong

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Re: Asian Flavoured Cults
« Reply #6 on: May 02, 2022, 08:27:12 PM »
Asian Flavoured Cults

I am thinking Umami flavour.

Flavors as diverse as Japanese KitKats.
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Effete

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Re: Asian Flavoured Cults
« Reply #7 on: May 02, 2022, 10:17:21 PM »
A couple years I started writing a setting based on a fictionalized version of the Muramachi/Ashikaga Period of Japan, when the empire was split into two courts. My research into religions and spiritual beliefs was a huge rabbit hole that ultimately consumed all of my time in how fascinating it was. There were literally dozens of sects of Buddism, influenced by anything from Shinto, Confucism, Mongolian culture, or just local legends. I never did finish the setting, but it was obvious I would have needed to "simplify" the religion aspects a bit.

For an Asian setting, i find it difficult to separate cults from religions since they meaningfully are not that far off from one another.

Same conclusion I came to. Spirituality was infused into their everyday lives in a way not often seen in Western societies. When it is seen, we typically coin such people "zealots," a rather perjorative title. The 'Restoration' of the Edo Period and Mao's Great Leap Forward have erased much of traditional asian culture. For Japan, arguably for the better, for China... not so much.

Charon's Little Helper

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Re: Asian Flavoured Cults
« Reply #8 on: May 02, 2022, 11:12:31 PM »
Cults and religious factions in Asia were far more fractious than what we see in rpgs.

That's true of religious factions everywhere. I don't if various factions of Buddhists killing each-other is weirder than Catholics/Protestants doing the same.

And it's true of almost anything in fiction generally for that matter. Unless it's the focus on the game/story, authors will use various shorthand for simplicity.


One thing is that in a wide-open polytheistic religion, there's less reason for a sneaky cult to worship something new/different/weird. Especially a more nature/location based one like Shinto. Just throw up a shrine and say it's to a local god of the forest/mountain/whatever.

It does seem like eastern religions often kept the directly divine royalty idea which fell away in the west when Christianity rose. (Though many royals/nobles still claimed to be divinely appointed to try making rebellion blasphemous.) I think that the leader of the Yellow Turbans claimed to be Jesus's little brother.

Persimmon

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Re: Asian Flavoured Cults
« Reply #9 on: May 02, 2022, 11:58:58 PM »
Cults and religious factions in Asia were far more fractious than what we see in rpgs.

That's true of religious factions everywhere. I don't if various factions of Buddhists killing each-other is weirder than Catholics/Protestants doing the same.

And it's true of almost anything in fiction generally for that matter. Unless it's the focus on the game/story, authors will use various shorthand for simplicity.


One thing is that in a wide-open polytheistic religion, there's less reason for a sneaky cult to worship something new/different/weird. Especially a more nature/location based one like Shinto. Just throw up a shrine and say it's to a local god of the forest/mountain/whatever.

It does seem like eastern religions often kept the directly divine royalty idea which fell away in the west when Christianity rose. (Though many royals/nobles still claimed to be divinely appointed to try making rebellion blasphemous.) I think that the leader of the Yellow Turbans claimed to be Jesus's little brother.

No; the guy who claimed to be Jesus' little brother was Hong Xiuquan.  He led the Taiping Rebellion (1851-66), whereby he and his followers tried to rid China of the Manchu "demons."  They captured the city of Nanjing and made it their "Heavenly Capital" from 1853-64, but were eventually put down by the Qing dynasty.  All told, around 30 million people died, making it the bloodiest civil war in history.  But he claimed to be preaching a new form of Christianity; it had nothing to do with earlier color-based "Turban" revolts, which were usually associated with Daoist sects.  There were a few attempts to link up with the Triads (Heaven & Earth Society), but they couldn't stand all the Taiping rules.

Moreover, there were simultaneously other massive rebellions taking place in China, including Muslim revolts and an ongoing rebellion by a group known as the Nian, who were partly a secret society with ties to the nefarious White Lotus Sect.  And the Qing army was infiltrated by the Elder Brother Society (Gelaohui), yet another secret society, though not necessarily religious.

So yeah, lots of gaming potential there.

Mishihari

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Re: Asian Flavoured Cults
« Reply #10 on: May 03, 2022, 12:22:26 AM »
It does seem like eastern religions often kept the directly divine royalty idea which fell away in the west when Christianity rose. (Though many royals/nobles still claimed to be divinely appointed to try making rebellion blasphemous.) I think that the leader of the Yellow Turbans claimed to be Jesus's little brother.

Amusing and possibly relevant:  A friend once showed me his family tree on an online genealogy service.  His line went back to the early kings of Denmark, the first of which was Odin.  According to legend, yes, _that_ Odin.

Hzilong

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Re: Asian Flavoured Cults
« Reply #11 on: May 03, 2022, 01:05:39 AM »

That's true of religious factions everywhere. I don't if various factions of Buddhists killing each-other is weirder than Catholics/Protestants doing the same.


Oh yeah, I think western history has also been sanitized over the years. No arguments there. The point I am more focused on is how we play out RPGs. I suspect it’s because most mainstream settings are written from the perspective of this neater version of history, but religions are rarely given much nuance in games. It’s either religion is meh, but tries to help and/or serve their gods and worshipers, or, much more commonly in modern media, organized are the real baddies. HUGE PLOT TWIST. Cults, funny enough, probably do a better job at showing the divisions and disagreements within beliefs as writers don’t seem to feel the need to paint them in such broad strokes.
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Charon's Little Helper

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Re: Asian Flavoured Cults
« Reply #12 on: May 03, 2022, 03:53:00 PM »
much more commonly in modern media, organized are the real baddies. HUGE PLOT TWIST.

Indeed - it's gotten to the point where if someone from a "church" is introduced, I immediately assume that they'll be incompetent and/or villainous.

Rhymer88

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Re: Asian Flavoured Cults
« Reply #13 on: May 04, 2022, 06:14:20 AM »
D&D "paganism" is basically American-style denominationalism, but with each church having it's own separate god. It's nothing at all like real ancient paganism. Although it's certainly convenient from a game point of view, I never liked it.

THE_Leopold

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Re: Asian Flavoured Cults
« Reply #14 on: May 04, 2022, 11:06:41 AM »
Thugee cult from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom would be a good cult to base one on.
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