Debt in Mangayaw

Back in 2022, I added the concept of debt to Mangayaw. You can see the latest iteration of this in the current version of Mangayaw in itch.io. Not much changed, but there is an infant idea there.

Debt in Mangayaw was inspired by Gubat Banwa’s Debt mechanics, which was connected to the player characters’ Honor and the economy. The PCs in Gubat Banwa are called Kadungganan, “honored ones”-- Honor is how they move up in the world. Debt being tied to such a concept, both in the world and mechanics, makes it equally important.

I ran a Mangayaw campaign with my adaptation of Gubat Banwa’s Debt mechanics sometime in 2023. In play, I felt something was missing. I was not able to adapt the extra dimensions of debt, beyond the economic. It wasn’t a glaring issue, just a nagging feeling.

Why am I making such a big deal out of such a thing as debt? Is it not just something of monetary value that someone owes and pays another person? Well, no. I’m only using debt as a snappy, easily understandable game term, but when I say debt, I really mean to say the concept of utang na loob in Philippine cultures. 

Debt as utang na loob goes beyond the economic sense of the word. Gubat Banwa treats debt as a concept equal to honor. Mangayaw will treat debt as economy, relationships and community. 

But first, a disclaimer. Debt as a concept in Philippine culture and history also has the dimension of slavery attached to it. Entire societies were built on peasants and prisoners indebted to the elite and the powerful. Utang na loob still exists in our cultures. Though it is more disconnected from the concept of slavery (in most cases), it can still be a toxic concept that we live with. 

Adding debt to my game does not mean I romanticize the toxic dimensions of utang na loob. Debt as social connections might seem like an optimistic view of debt, but I mean to have both the good and bad of it. I want players to appreciate the closeness and reciprocity debt provides, struggle with the obligations debt entails, and revolt against the injustice debt can be used for. 

Besides, if D&D and other western fantasy games and worlds can depict monarch and feudalism as status quo, why can’t Filipinos use our own imperfect societal systems in our games?

Debt (WIP)

Value and Trade

Trade is an exchange of commodities, services and Debt. The values below are determined by rarity of commodity or intensity of service:

Petty: no value, free labor.

Common: widely available, a day or more of labor.

Precious: made for or by a specialist, a moon of labor.

Grand: treasured by chiefs and kings, a season of labor.

Life: a matter of life and death.

10 of one value is equal to 1 of the next higher value (e.g. 10 Common Debt is equal to 1 Precious Debt). 

Perceived values of commodities and services may change for whatever reason. A surplus or shortage may lower or raise values. Generosity may cause one to consider a service as Petty. One may throw in a few extra commodities for a lowered or Petty value to build good relations. In general, keep trade in the broad strokes, rather than calculating exact amounts. 

Obligation

In a Locality, all Folk are connected to each other in a web of Debts. To not be indebted to any Folk is to not have any social connection. These Debts may be of any value, from Petty to Life. 

At the end of a Season, Folk with Debt are obligated to pay 1 Debt of a value below their Debt (e.g. Folk with a Grand Debt have to pay 1 Precious Debt at the end of a Season). Payment of Debt can be in the form of commodities, service and ventures. Risking one’s life is also a way of paying back Debt.

Life Debts

Life Debts are the heaviest kind of Debt.  These are Debts built and severed in situations where one’s life is in the hands of another. Life spared in a fight, life saved from certain doom, lifelong allegiances, prices not even death can repay. 

Though not an area of complete exemption, Ventures are generally not situations where Life Debts may be earned. Danger and risk are understood and accepted as part of the job, lessening the weight of life and death.

Folk who owe a Life Debt are called Debtors and the Folk they owe a Life Debt to is called a Patron. Debtors can only have one Patron at a time. Patrons can have multiple Debtors, and together they make up a Community. Debtors are not disqualified from being Patrons of other Folk, but they are still obligated to work for their Patrons Season after Season. In exchange, Patrons are obligated to care for their Debtors, like they are family. Failure to do these obligations may be cause for severance of the Life Debt. 

Folk Heroes collectively can owe another Folk up to a Life Debt. With a Community, opportunities to owe Debt to other Folk opens up.

(Whats still missing: Player-facing stuff like community, how Folk Heroes take on Life Debts, creating a relationship map/diagram for tracking Debts)