Romulan religion

[c57d]

FASA Trek RPG wildly extrapolates from the only two TOS episodes with any real Romulan detail.
It states that the Preservers transplanted a large number of bronze age Vulcans to several varying regions of a harsh mineral poor world. Having a vague memory of what happened, as they built city states, the nascent Romulans also built a religion around a stylised version of the Preservers and called them the "Great Brothers". They rationalised that they were placed on such an unforgiving world in order to prove their worth to the GB's and one day meet them out in the galaxy.
A true manifest destiny!
This is not a religion of the supernatural, it doesn't see the GB's as gods but just an advanced alien race to be emulated.
Hokey, unsupported by any Trek Canon and a bit crazy I know, but something I love.
If you were to run a Romulan PC campaign what would you do with this?
I am thinking of doing so and would love to further brainstorm this.

[Falconer]

Seems like a good start. I think one of the cool things about TOS Romulans (which the franchise seems to have lost in TNG and later iterations) is how Roman they seem. So, any way Roman culture can be mined for ideas? Religion as a source of social order and not a matter of deep faith seems to work for them. So there could be ritual reverence of dead Romulan ancestors and heroes with the idea that they have already joined the Preservers. Maybe there are elaborate Romulan burial sites on all planets where they have been, with the idea that they are continuing the Preservers’ work and populating the galaxy with new gods. Maybe the families of those buried on those planets thus feel a sense of ownership towards those planets.

[c57d]

Yes, I definitely see the GB religion as a social one, but I hadn't picked up on the link to Roman state religions. And your advice to further mine Roman society for suggestions is appreciated.
The initial city states did, in the early days, contest (and even war) against each other for resources and technological advances. Each wanted to be first to the GB's.
So I had imagined each ship to be manned by a single city state, and it's personal GB. Maybe each GB personifies a single trait "needed" to build the way to the GB's? Invention, strength, courage etc.
But your idea of families whose ancestors were hero-martyrs who died to build the road, sounds like a better idea. A family built a colony on the site of an historical hero's death.

[c57d]

Two further thoughts.
1) In my version, the relocation of the soon-to-be-Romulans was not in any way significant. It was just one more random ecological experiment by the Preservers. At some point our PC's will,in the course of a quite different mission, stumble over a Preserver base which will uncover the awful truth!!! What will they do now that their racial manifest destiny is all a lie?
2) Totally crazy version warning!!! What if the Preserver relocated bronze age Rome-uhlans are Humans and not Vulcans? What if BoT got it all wrong and just included the Vulcan bit to build up the Spock/Stiles drama. So, they don't just use roman sound alike words for their society, they are Romans!!

[Falconer]

Just FWIW, there are extensive underground Preserver ruins on Colil V in the Triangle (FASA). It’s not fleshed, out but it is a neat idea.

[blackbat242]

Sorry - Diane Duane's Romulan society and history is what I use.

[Falconer]

Funny that FASA ran with Ford’s Klingons but not with Duane’s Romulans. Any idea why?

[c57d]

Is Duane's Romulan background that they fled Vulcan many hundred years ago in sub-light ships and ended up in Romulus?
If so, I read the first book, but already loved the FASA version, and just couldn't gel with Duane's concept.
I guess (other than a few niggles) I am FASA all the way lol!


As regards the Final Reflection being taken up by FASA, then FASA have stated that it was (for a while) Paramount semi official and that some FASA members were friends with John M Ford.

[starcruiser]

And then, "The Final Reflection" was a ripping good book as well!

[c57d]

Yes, an amazing book, even without its Trek affiliation.
And such a great setting for a Trek RPG Campaign!!

[blackbat242]

Feb 8, 2021 4:08:08 GMT -5 c57d said:

Is Duane's Romulan background that they fled Vulcan many hundred years ago in sub-light ships and ended up in Romulus?
If so, I read the first book, but already loved the FASA version, and just couldn't gel with Duane's concept.

Yes, that's pretty much it (except that the ships were faster-than-light, but only a little - they were still very slow compared to Star Trek warp drives).


The first book in her set is My Enemy, My Ally - the second one is The Romulan Way - which is told mostly from the viewpoint of a Federation deep-cover spy on Romulus (in second-person voice, though). This is the one with lots of Romulan cultural and historical info.

There are 2 (or 3) later books - the 3rd was split after its first publication into 2 volumes, which is the form I have it in.

[putraack]

Feb 7, 2021 17:07:21 GMT -5 Falconer said:

Funny that FASA ran with Ford’s Klingons but not with Duane’s Romulans. Any idea why?

No idea why Duane's Rihannsu were not adopted-- although I used that in preference to the FASA version.

Ford wrote the Klingon book for FASA, if that's what you're asking. If the question is why he was made the author, I can only speculate the above idea that he was friendly with the FASA team.

[c57d]

John M Ford was writing the superlative "The Final Reflection" at roughly the same time that FASA were writing their Klingon supplement. One of the FASA team were friends with him and so they collaborated. But he did not write the FASA Klingon supplement
This is as per the supplement notes.

[shapeshifter]

Shame TOS didn't go into any more detail about the Preservers. It gave the series a bit of intriguing depth that is often lacking.

Georges Dumezil wrote a two-volume work on Archaic Roman Religion which is dry as toast in the Sahara at noon, but a gold-mine of great, fascinating scholarship. If you can get it through university inter-library loan, I'd recommend it.

[c57d]

Totally! More on the Preservers would have been interesting.
I'm fact, I would personally welcome any themes around ancient civilisations/alien sentients etc. This is not the first time that sentients have explored our galaxy.
Star Trek-Indiana Jones anyone?