Thanks for the replies thus far folks, they've really got me thinking. To answer Jane's question, it's more of a political thing I had in mind. It seems that boasting has a number of roles.
The first is the basic communicative social role (I'd thought 'Barbarian Business Card' rather than 'CV').
Another might be to convey a sense of personal oral history and lineage; for example one would tell one's children of what their great grandfather did, and this could take the form of a boast.
Another might be blowing off steam after a battle (the beer, the beef, the boasting).
The thing I'm aiming for in game terms ultimately is a more political form of boasting. I'd be interested to hear if any of you have used this in your games. I have the notion that if boasting is an inherrently Orlanthi behaviour, after the Battle of Iceland there will be a fair amount of it going on. Sartar Rising suggests that players might have political rivals from within the rebellion itself - others who aspire to greatness and who see the PCs as a challenge. If you combine these two things, there is an opportunity for a boasting-based story telling competition.
What one has done on the battle field will obviously be important to how one is perceived afterwards. But only a handful of people will actually have seen what one did; everyone else will only know from the formal stories that are told (by skalds etc.) and from word of mouth (natural human tale telling, and also personal boasting). It occurred to me that the *political* winners of the battle of Iceland will be those who (i) fought well (ii) have a handy skald or three around to make a good story of it and (iii) make a good tale of it themselves. Boasting thus has a role to play.
In this sense it has a political edge. All things being equal, if I'm better at it than you, I can score political points that may have huge ramifications. It requires (i) having done something notable in the first place (ii) a passionate delivery (iii) the ability to turn basic facts into a good tale, including a sense of the poetic and dramatic (iv) perhaps a little discerning exaggeration (v) memory (vi) knowledge of the enemy (if you know the deeds of your great adversary, and can relay them to others, your victory could appear all the greater). It probably needs some other things too. Hence, for a political leader it seems like a skill in it's own right.
Anyway, I'm not sure where all that leads me but it has been most helpful for me to be able to write it all down!
Thanks and kind regards
Nam
Powered by hypermail