Heroes and Community in Philippine Ethnoepics and Mangayaw

I have been reading and studying Philippine ethnoepics a lot recently. Just cultivating that brainrot of mine (or letting it fester?). I’ve found that these texts are a wealth of inspiration for Mangayaw. In vibes, in game loop, in identity. 

There is an interesting commonality in these ethnoepics in how heroes are tied to community. I began contemplating how the player characters’ relationship with the game, the world, and the narrative they will make would change if they were part of and responsible for a community of their own. This is not an original concept by any means– folklore and stories from other countries have community-focused heroes as well. But in the realm of fantasy TTRPGs, heroes are usually framed as outsiders and travellers. They enter a new town, solve their problems, and move on. 

Heroes from these islands’ ethnoepics can’t just move on. They are tied to their communities, for better or worse. 

This is an attempt to define heroes and their communities as seen in a few select Philippine ethnoepics, and how I’ll try to take that as inspiration for Mangayaw. My sisyphean task of revising Mangayaw’s character creation continues.

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The Bikolnon ethnoepic Ibalong follows three different heroes: Baltog, the hero who slayed a giant boar; Handiong, the hero who tamed the land by slaying monsters and creatures that threatened his community; and Bantong, the hero who outsmarted a giant with mystical powers.

In the Sulod ethnoepic Hinilawod, the hero that the narrative first introduced, Humadapnon, became trapped in an enchanted cave. From then until Humadapnon was freed from the cave, the narrative followed his brother, Dumalapdap, and the powerful binukot whom Humadapnon was searching for, Nagmalitong Yawa, who ultimately freed him from the cave. 

There is no one hero in a community. Multiple heroes may appear and grow from it. The focus of the narrative might even shift from one to the other.

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In the Ifugao ethnoepic Hudhud hi Aliguyon, the hero Aliguyon learned from his father of a rival community, whose champion he was at a stalemate with. Aliguyon ventured out to this rival community and faced the son of his father’s rival, Pumbakhayon. Both their skills were so great a winner couldn’t be decided. So after years of fighting, the two decided to become brothers, and their communities became allied with each other. 

The community is a character of its own. It has history and relations with other communities. And the hero further write its story. 

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In the Ilianon ethnoepic Agyu, the hero Kuyasu’s community could no longer pay tribute to a sultan, so he killed the sultan. As a result, the brothers Agyu, Banlak, and Kuyasu had to lead their people into the mountains and fend off the sultan’s men who gave chase. 

A hero does not leave the community even when they are venturing outside of it. The hero is always responsible and representative for their community. The community may even suffer from the hero’s rash actions. 

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I want players to create a community of their own during character creation. The community is:

• Their home, a refuge after their journeys. Raiding is seasonal, and a hero has to rest eventually.
• Their strength and power. So a hero must labor to build the community up. 
• Their responsibility. A hero’s actions have consequences, especially to their community.

Where is the community situated? Who considers it home? What does it do for a living? What trial is it going through? These are questions I want the players to answer.

From this home they have made for themselves, wounded and fatigued heroes may rest, and other heroes may venture out in their stead. The character stable concept is already common in OSR games, so there are plenty of games to take inspiration from.

A hero representing a community in their journeys would act differently from a hero without a home to go back to, no people to be responsible for. Favors become alliances. Connections become trade. Conflict becomes war. 

They may (and will) still make bad decisions or perform less-than-spectacularly. That’s fine, that’s just what happens in TTRPGs. But they still hold responsibility for their community.

A hero is responsible for the community. They may venture out to solve the problems of the community, to build and maintain it. When there are holes in your ceiling and the storm is approaching, you will have to repair it.

But the relationship between the hero and community doesn’t have to be one-sided. They might bring back treasure, assets, or people, increasing the community’s capabilities. A war boat to travel with, a crew of warriors to lead into war, a mentor to train heroes. Building up the community is building up the heroes. 

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By next month, I’d like to have a draft of the Community mechanics for Mangayaw. I’m inspired by a lot of different games, not just from the OSR/NSR space. Whitehack, Mythic Bastionland, storygames, collaborative worldbuilding games. I have a bit of experimentation to do. 

I also want to read more on how other TTRPGs handle similar subjects. Some games I’m eyeing are Blades in the Dark and Beyond the Wall. Is there anything I should add to this list?