Submitted by Malcolm Craig on Sat, 23/12/2006 - 13:24.

• contested ground studios
• creation
• malcolm craig
• setting design contest

Well, my entry for the setting design challenge is nearly done. So, here's another excerpt from the text, looking at various aspects of the society and culture of Ghastport.

Cheers
Malcolm

Policing, Crime and Punishment

The stricture of the post-war peace treaty mean that Ghastport is severely limited in the military forces it can have. This even extends to the police force, leading to some interesting situations…

When the monarchy was in power, they kept tabs on their enemies and political agitators through the 1st Bureau of Public Affairs, a not so secret secret police agency of some repute and few morals. With an ease that amazed observers, the 1st Bureau neatly segued into the post-war set-up, becoming the Committee for Social Order, or simply The Committee. An entirely plain-clothes operation, the Committee keeps a wary eye on revolutionaries and agitators of all stripes, reporting back to their masters in the government.

For all intents and purposes, the Committee are the true police force in Ghastport, having virtually unlimited powers of arrest and detention. Yet, the Committee is still too small to be everywhere at all times. For a uniformed presence on the streets and the protection of the borders of the state, the Government relies on the Regiment of Fusiliers. The Fusiliers are at the limit of manpower for military and police organisations allowed by the peace treaty, so their authority and duties cover a lot of ground. With a maximum of 2000 men under arms, they must work closely with the Committee in order to maintain the peace.

So, due to the relative paucity of officers of the law, crime and criminality should be rife within Ghastport. But, surprisingly, it is not as bad as some outside observers would expect. That is not to say that there are a goodly proportion of criminals at large within the city-state and that violence on the streets is not an uncommon occurrence. However, many casual criminals are discouraged by the potential punishments that can be meted out by the judicial system. Only those hardy enough or skilful enough can hope to live a true life of crime, giving rise to a professional criminal class, the urka.

Even the urka are not immune to the attentions of the police forces and when they are caught, retribution is swift and appalling. The scientists of Ghastport have developed many interesting and painful ways of dealing with criminals, but none are more feared than the Companion.

The Companion combines the worst and most debased works of surgeon and physical theurges working in the service of the government. By various means a tiny demon of the Infernal Realms is imprisoned within a metal container, scarcely bigger than the tip of a human thumb. This container is them implanted inside the criminal and from then on, their lives are never their own. The companion twitters and rages inside its tiny prison, it constantly harasses the criminal with imprecations and orders. They can exercise a certain amount of control over the limbs and speech functions of their hosts, giving rise to spastic movements, drooling and unintelligible gibbering. The life of a criminal implanted with a Companion and painful and sleepless. Many commit suicide simply to have some peace.

Modes of Dress

Mode of dress in Ghastport is very much dependant on the status, class and wealth of the individual. The ordinary workers wear almost anything from shabby rags, through rough breeches and jackets produced in vast factories to cast-off military uniforms sold off after the disaster of the Gross War.

It is only when you reach the realms of the middle classes to cloths start to become finer and tailoring of any kind creep into the equation. Gentlemen are most often clothed in tight-fitting suits in sober colours, complete with waistcoat. Often the only adornments to these dismal outfits are neckerchiefs or cravats in a range of patterns, but always still in sober colours. Hats are common amongst the higher echelons of the middle classes, where the lower order wear simple cloth caps. Ladies wear is just a sober and proper as that worn by gentlemen. Dresses cover the lady from neck to ankle. However, with the winds of change and revolution sweeping through Ghastport, there is a trend amongst the more risqué ladies to show a certain amount of décolletage and even to wear skirts which shown off their calves.

Such sartorial revolutions are often to be seen on the cabaret clubs and theatres, where the more liberated ladies wear dress which leave very little to the imagination of the gentlemen around them. Such displays of depravity bring howls of protest from older or more reactionary segments of society, decrying the moral wastage of the fairer sex.

The upper classes, those in Government, wealthy merchants and noted business people have a much greater degree of latitude in their choice of clothing. Whilst the men folk still wear suits of the popular tight fit, brocaded, colourful waistcoats are common and the suits themselves are often highlighted with braid and shiny buttons. Well-bred gentlemen will never be seen without an exquisitely tailored topcoat and handcrafted hat.

The ladies of the upper classes have wholeheartedly taken on board the new, less decorous fashions in Ghastport. At society balls and select dinner parties, more flesh is on display than in your average cabaret club, much to the disgust of the elderly members of noted families.

Arts & Entertainments

Despite the overwhelming atmosphere of political and social tumult (or perhaps because of this very atmosphere), the world of the arts and entertainment in Ghastport are at their most vibrant for decades, if not centuries. The stultifying strictures of the monarchy have given way to freedom of expression and artistic experimentation.

Indeed, the arts are one area in which women do not have to struggle for equality with the male population. The most popular stars of cabaret, the theatre and other lively arts are almost all female. The most caustic critics of the current regime appear on stage, couching their bitterness and desire for change in the lyrics of song, poem and comedic sketch.

The grand theatres still show the same stuffy old plays, the same interpretations of the ‘classics’, the usual heavy operatic productions attended by the moneyed classes yearning for the return of the old days. It is in the basement cabaret clubs, the impromptu street theatres, smoky concert venues and crowded beer halls that the most acerbic, the most cutting, the most politically vitriolic productions take place. It is in these venues that would-be politicians gather to enjoy, laugh, conspire and harangue. Many productions have overt political sympathies of one kind or another, with political groupings often investing some of their meagre resources in supporting artistes with views mirroring their own.

However, the dark, smoke shrouded corners of these venues are also popular with the men of the Committee, their informers, spies and lackeys. Anyone taking notes or asking untoward questions is viewed with suspicion and risks being hustled out at best, beaten senseless at worst. This makes the life of those who write reviews for the various newspapers somewhat challenging, as they are often mistaken for Committee men.