Great House idea
Posted: Thu Mar 04, 2021 5:19 pm
Hi everyone,
I’ve been aware of Splicers for a while but have only recently started exploring the game. I have an idea for a Great House that I wanted to run by this forum.
I’m imagining a Great House that functions sort of like a creepy traveling carnival or sideshow. Bear with me here. Officially, it’d be called Great House Calypso, but most people in the Resistance would better know it as “The Flesh Faire”. This Great House seemingly consists of a dozen small itinerant troupes scattered across different areas of influence. Much like the old traveling circuses of 20th century Earth, the troupes wander the wastelands, stopping from Great House to Great House, and from Retro Village to Retro Village, offering their services. Although the Flesh Faire does presumably have a fixed base of operations (where its leaders, Engineers, and Librarian dwell), most members of the Resistance only ever interact with the house’s wandering troupes.
In return for hospitality and guest right (access to food, shelter, and nutrient baths for their biotech), each troupe provides entertainment for the local population. The forms of “entertainment” can vary but are generally reminiscent of circus and carnival acts. To be clear, this does NOT mean the Splicers of the Flesh Faire dress up like clowns. The Flesh Faire is intriguing, shocking, and amusing, but its performers are never cute. Rather, the troupe puts on shows, stage plays, games of chance, and exhibitions of skill or biotechnological oddities. Like old Earth sidshows, some elements of the entertainment may even be exploitative. Examples of the performances offered by a troupe might include a menagerie of biological rarities captured from one of Gaia’s Preserves. Particularly horrifying Biotic mutes with mind-boggling body morphologies. Costumed Technojackers coaxing the nanobot plague to perform dangerous “magic tricks”. A Gene Thief swallowing DNA samples, turning his flesh into a living funhouse mirror of roiling mutations. Cackling fool Scarecrows with rictus grins performing death-defying stunts of superhuman acrobatics, speed, and strength. A less-than-sane Geneticist and his conjoined Homunculi displaying their gallery of host armors with “exotic” metabolisms (acidovory, radiosynthesis, or cacovory, anyone?). Semi-invisible Skinjobs juggling bio-plasma and walking on ossified stilts above an enraptured crowd. The list goes on. Although much of the entertainment is harmless fun, the Flesh Faire also provides more illicit acts that are not for the squeamish or faint of heart.
For those Great Houses who accept the Flesh Faire into their underground havens and treat them with respect, a troupe will offer one other service. A troupe will temporarily lend its forces to fight alongside its host in a coming battle, so long as the battle coincides close to the time of their visit. While some Splicers have been known to balk at the Flesh Faire’s proposal for a joint combat operation, there are others who hesitate to turn them down so quickly. Keen-eyed Splicers note that, although dressed up in bizarre pageantry, the biotech of the Flesh Faire is unique and sophisticated, with performative effects that double as combat applications (a feature that's likely by design and not by accident). Troupes also manage to survive traveling the surface, which means they are experienced in battling or evading the Machine. Those who accept the Faire’s offer find the troupe’s carnivalesque demeanor shift to one of frightening focus and intensity. The ragtag band of performers is replaced by a capable, if unorthodox, unit of soldiers that laugh in mockery of the Machine. Once the combat operation has concluded, the Flesh Faire packs up and departs, heading off to the next stop on its journey.
Many Great Houses are unsure what to make of the Flesh Faire and distrust it. Other Houses, however, welcome the troupes and the distractions they provide for the populace. Life in the Splicers world is HARD. Centuries of warfare against an implacable foe waging a relentless campaign of genocide has left its psychological mark of humanity. Moments of true joy are few and far between. Death and suffering are typically the rule of the day. Consequently, many Warlords appreciate the services of the Flesh Faire, seeing the strange performers as a much-needed respite from constant war for their people; a distraction that boosts morale and lets attendees forget the fighting (if only for a little while).
In terms of flavor, I envision the Flesh Faire having the feel of a bio-tech cabaret combined with the dark carnival/creepy circus tropes. Lots of body horror (not unusual for the Splicers setting) juxtaposed against black comedy and a warped carny atmosphere. The Flesh Faire draws some influence from the works of Mikhail Bakhtin, specifically his carnival-grotesque. The Eldar Harlequins from Warhammer 40,000 also served for a little inspiration.
So what do people think? Does this sound promising, or is it too weird even for Splicers? The last thing I want to do is undermine the grittiness and brutality of the fight against the Machine. I welcome any suggestions or constructive criticisms. Even if you hate the idea, I’d love if you let me know, and why. In the coming weeks, I’ll try to write something up for the Flesh Faire and post it.
I’ve been aware of Splicers for a while but have only recently started exploring the game. I have an idea for a Great House that I wanted to run by this forum.
I’m imagining a Great House that functions sort of like a creepy traveling carnival or sideshow. Bear with me here. Officially, it’d be called Great House Calypso, but most people in the Resistance would better know it as “The Flesh Faire”. This Great House seemingly consists of a dozen small itinerant troupes scattered across different areas of influence. Much like the old traveling circuses of 20th century Earth, the troupes wander the wastelands, stopping from Great House to Great House, and from Retro Village to Retro Village, offering their services. Although the Flesh Faire does presumably have a fixed base of operations (where its leaders, Engineers, and Librarian dwell), most members of the Resistance only ever interact with the house’s wandering troupes.
In return for hospitality and guest right (access to food, shelter, and nutrient baths for their biotech), each troupe provides entertainment for the local population. The forms of “entertainment” can vary but are generally reminiscent of circus and carnival acts. To be clear, this does NOT mean the Splicers of the Flesh Faire dress up like clowns. The Flesh Faire is intriguing, shocking, and amusing, but its performers are never cute. Rather, the troupe puts on shows, stage plays, games of chance, and exhibitions of skill or biotechnological oddities. Like old Earth sidshows, some elements of the entertainment may even be exploitative. Examples of the performances offered by a troupe might include a menagerie of biological rarities captured from one of Gaia’s Preserves. Particularly horrifying Biotic mutes with mind-boggling body morphologies. Costumed Technojackers coaxing the nanobot plague to perform dangerous “magic tricks”. A Gene Thief swallowing DNA samples, turning his flesh into a living funhouse mirror of roiling mutations. Cackling fool Scarecrows with rictus grins performing death-defying stunts of superhuman acrobatics, speed, and strength. A less-than-sane Geneticist and his conjoined Homunculi displaying their gallery of host armors with “exotic” metabolisms (acidovory, radiosynthesis, or cacovory, anyone?). Semi-invisible Skinjobs juggling bio-plasma and walking on ossified stilts above an enraptured crowd. The list goes on. Although much of the entertainment is harmless fun, the Flesh Faire also provides more illicit acts that are not for the squeamish or faint of heart.
For those Great Houses who accept the Flesh Faire into their underground havens and treat them with respect, a troupe will offer one other service. A troupe will temporarily lend its forces to fight alongside its host in a coming battle, so long as the battle coincides close to the time of their visit. While some Splicers have been known to balk at the Flesh Faire’s proposal for a joint combat operation, there are others who hesitate to turn them down so quickly. Keen-eyed Splicers note that, although dressed up in bizarre pageantry, the biotech of the Flesh Faire is unique and sophisticated, with performative effects that double as combat applications (a feature that's likely by design and not by accident). Troupes also manage to survive traveling the surface, which means they are experienced in battling or evading the Machine. Those who accept the Faire’s offer find the troupe’s carnivalesque demeanor shift to one of frightening focus and intensity. The ragtag band of performers is replaced by a capable, if unorthodox, unit of soldiers that laugh in mockery of the Machine. Once the combat operation has concluded, the Flesh Faire packs up and departs, heading off to the next stop on its journey.
Many Great Houses are unsure what to make of the Flesh Faire and distrust it. Other Houses, however, welcome the troupes and the distractions they provide for the populace. Life in the Splicers world is HARD. Centuries of warfare against an implacable foe waging a relentless campaign of genocide has left its psychological mark of humanity. Moments of true joy are few and far between. Death and suffering are typically the rule of the day. Consequently, many Warlords appreciate the services of the Flesh Faire, seeing the strange performers as a much-needed respite from constant war for their people; a distraction that boosts morale and lets attendees forget the fighting (if only for a little while).
In terms of flavor, I envision the Flesh Faire having the feel of a bio-tech cabaret combined with the dark carnival/creepy circus tropes. Lots of body horror (not unusual for the Splicers setting) juxtaposed against black comedy and a warped carny atmosphere. The Flesh Faire draws some influence from the works of Mikhail Bakhtin, specifically his carnival-grotesque. The Eldar Harlequins from Warhammer 40,000 also served for a little inspiration.
So what do people think? Does this sound promising, or is it too weird even for Splicers? The last thing I want to do is undermine the grittiness and brutality of the fight against the Machine. I welcome any suggestions or constructive criticisms. Even if you hate the idea, I’d love if you let me know, and why. In the coming weeks, I’ll try to write something up for the Flesh Faire and post it.
