Caveman

I started writing this almost two months ago! After two rewrites, finally, I've finished it.

Are there any "caveman" rpgs out there? I watched a movie called Quest for Fire awhile back that got me thinking about it. I suppose most fantasy or generic rpgs could be house ruled to run a caveman setting, or a rules-light indie-type rpg could be designed. In any case, the game rules should emphasize the aspects of the caveman genre that define it.

I'm using the caveman term loosely here. Living in caves. Primarily Stone Age technology. Little to no civilization or farming. In more precise terms, for much of mankind it was before the last major ice age ended 10,000 years ago. For a caveman rpg I wouldn't necessarily aim for scientific accuracy, but instead use it for inspiration if it would be fun and ditch it if it's getting in the way of fun. I liked how Quest for Fire did just that, drawing upon scientific evidence (archaeological, linguistic, etc.) to supply and constrain its themes, but, within those constraints, the movie was creative and fun.

I took away two major caveman themes from Quest for Fire: fire and language.

What's the big deal about fire? In the movie, fire represents the caveman's relationship to his environment. It lights the night, cooks food, fends off predators, etc. Without the ability to make it, fire is rare and must be found near lightning strikes or lava flows...or stolen from other clans. Being a clan's "Keeper of the Flame" is serious business. Finally, the discovery of fire-making technology is a major event.

What's the big deal about language? In the movie, language represents the caveman's relationship to his fellow caveman. Language enables transfer and preservation of knowledge. Communication and mutual understanding. Representations and explanations. Agreement and disagreement. Treaties and declarations. Praise and curses. Politics and judgment.

If I have a complaint about Quest for Fire, it is that it imposed modern conclusions onto the caveman. There was nearly nothing that portrayed or suggested the magic or spirituality that cavemen experienced as reality. Such things would be welcome additions to a caveman rpg, in my opinion. It would bring the game closer to the fantasy genre. For me, that's just fine and, frankly, the whole point. For example, instead of:

- Fire represents the caveman's relationship to his environment
- Language represents the caveman's relationship to his fellow caveman

...switch it around so that:

- Language represents the caveman's relationship to his environment
- Fire represents the caveman's relationship to his fellow caveman

My mind boggles at the possibilities. A. C. Clarke's Third Law never interested me much. To me, emotion and poetics are more fertile sources of magic than is technology.

But anyways, if I ever get around to making a caveman rpg*, it will have a focus on fire and language. I'm sure there are other aspects that are worthy of including in a caveman game, but these two interest me most at the moment. I have no idea how fire and language would be represented and applied in the game, but it would definitely be more than just the ability scores and skill checks that other rpg systems use. Any ideas?

(* Other rpgs I want to make:
* Minstrel of the Dawn: the Gordon Lightfoot rpg of masculine nostalgia.
* "Some say he's dead...some say he never will be." The mountain man fur trapper rpg inspired by Robert Redford's Jeremiah Johnson
* Katz and Maus: the rpg of Jewish "Nazi hunters" and their prey in South America.)