N. Malabonga's Character

Felizimo Saavedra Arguelles was the youngest child of Crisostomo
Arguelles and Felicia Saavedra. His father comes from a mestizo family
that traces its roots to Cuba, while his mother comes from a minor
branch of the Saavedra clan in Cebu. Although his family only had
a modest amount of land holdings, his father was the cabeza de barangay
of one of the towns bordering Tabaco City, Albay. Thus his family
has a small amount of status in the area.

As the youngest son, Imo, as his friends would call him, had relatively
few responsibilities compared to his elder brothers. He would
spend a lot of his time in the fields and became close to his paternal
grandfather, a fierce man even at that age, who taught him horseback
riding, the pistol, and the family arnis style. Imo started his
training in arnis at the age of 6, initially being taught only footwork
for over a year, before moving on to weapons, quickly joining his brothers in
practicing the family style.

Imo was also friendly with the family caretaker, who taught Imo hilot as well as
regaled him with tales of aswangs, kapres and other engkantos, how to fight them
and ward against their spells.

Although Imo's father frowned on his activities, which he considered
"too dangerous," there was really nothing else for Imo to do, so Don
Crisostomo was just thankful that Imo wasn't getting involved in any
mischief. All this changed when Imo turned 16. There were
reports of bandits and cattle rustlers causing trouble in one of the family's
lands. Two of Imo's elder brothers were going to check it out, but Imo insisted
on coming along.

The three brothers caught the bandits in the act of stealing a carabao. Though
none of the bandits had firearms, there were still 15 of them, and armed with an
assortment of weapons. Though the Arguelles brothers had pistols with them, the
bullets soon ran out. Five bandits fell after the initial volley, but the
remainder were emboldened when the brothers shot off the rounds in their
revolvers. With no time to reload, the fighting became a fierce and bloody
melee. The brothers' arnis training carried the day, with Imo himself killing
two and subduing one before the surviving three bandits yielded.

After that incident, Don Crisostomo decided that enough was enough and sent the
young Imo to live with an uncle in Manila and enrolled him in the Ateneo de
Manila, though he did bring his beloved bolo, a gift from his grandfather, and
pistol with him (after all, Tabaco was well known for the quality of its
blades). After graduating, Imo went to medical school in Paris, where he
learned the use of the rifle and the hunt when he went out with his classmates
during the weekends.

Imo decided to practice medicine in Madrid, and opened a small clinic there.
But after two years, homesickness prevailed so Imo closed the clinic and
returned to Manila with the intention of going back to Tabaco City. His uncle,
as well as some friends from the Ateneo, prevailed on Imo to stay in Manila, at
least for the meantime, so that Imo could gain more experience outside of his
rural hometown.

After settling down at his uncle's house in Sta. Mesa, Imo looks out of his
bedroom window, his face caressed by the warmth of a setting sun, pondering his
immediate future....

===================

Some trivia:

- The Saavedras are indeed a clan located in Cebu, though they are not political
powerhouses like the Osmenas or Duranos. This family though is well known for
their eskrimadors. Lorenzo Saavedra was one of the founders of the Doce Pares
club (originally the Labangon Fencing club). He was also one of the teachers of
Anciong Bacon of Balintawak and the Canete brothers of Doce Pares fame.

- Arguelles is the maiden name of my paternal grandmother. According to one of
my aunts who did the research, there were four Arguelles brothers who migrated
from either Cuba or Argentina (my bet is Cuba, because Argentina was a Portugese
colony, while Cuba was a Spanish one). One decided to settle in Leyte, one
settled in Batangas, another one settled in Quezon province (the branch of my
lola) while I don't know what happened to the other one. So if you run across
an Arguelles in Batangas, that would be a relative of ours, albeit a distant
one. This is where I got the inspiration for Imo's father.

- Bicol really is known for the quality of its blades, especially Tabaco City.
In the 1980s my uncle saw a street hawker selling bolos from Bicol, and in order
to see if they were any good, my uncle asked the hawker to cut a nail (one of
those big nails meant for concrete). The hawker chopped the nail cleanly into
two and there was no nick on the blade. My uncle immediately bought that bolo
and it's with him until this day. Also ask any vendor who sells blades, they
will say that Bicol blades are better than even Batangas blades. I bought my
current bolo from a Tabaco City blacksmith for P500. As I was lifting it up
from the pile of blades, it cut through one of the newspaper sheets without too
much effort.

B. Navaro's Character

Juan Guerrero was born of an illustrado family from Calamba Laguna. Juanito was not a very academically inclined student as evidenced by his mediocre grades in the Ateneo de Manila where he even studied as far as the first year in the University. He was pushed into a law or commerce degree by his father but his first love was riding horses in their family property in Laguna and the outdoors where he loved to associate with people his clan considered their social inferiors. This also involved hunting with his uncles in the hills where he found out he could shoot very well.

Judging that Juanito could use the educational and broadening experience of foreign travel, his parents consigned him to the care of his uncle Romeo, a bastard son of a Spanish priest who made very well in the business trade network between Luzon and Acapulco, Mexico. Juanito travelled to Mexico and made it as far as San Francisco, California.

Tito Romeo had some close business associates based on Texas and Arizona. These were half Mexican-half American ranchers who were rather wealthy. Don Pablo, who owned a large ranch was impressed by the pluck and panache of Juanito and, reluctantly, Tito Romeo allowed Juanito to stay and work at Don Pablo's ranch.

Juanito learned the ropes of a cowboy's life from the ground up, riding with the ranch hands and even engaging in gun fights with rustlers, native American braves and sheep herders in the prairie. There, he 'studied' under various 'gun masters' amongst whom was the ageing Phil Stonehill, an ex-confederate raider under Col. Mosby during the American Civil War. Juanito was never happier in his life, riding under the sun, packing a six shooter, firing off a Winchester repeater and throwing a Bowie Knife at some target. He always had a passion for weapons and honed his craft in it even if he didn't expect to rely on this for a living.

He saw how, theoretically, people in the US could buy or settle the land and live in wide open spaces, taking control of their own lives regardless of background or social class. Sure, the white man still marginalized the non-whites to a certain not inconsiderable degree, but it was better than what he saw at home. This, and Old Man Stonehill's stories of the War between the States made a lasting impression on him and made him question the rightness of things back home.

Eventually though, news reached him that his family was undergoing hard times and the rumor was that his father and elder brothers were being persecuted by the Spanish Authorities as insurrectos. Reluctantly leaving the States, Juanito returned to Manila to discover the country in revolutionary ferment. And yes, his father and brothers were rounded up and sent to the Cuartel.

Well, the time had come for Juan Guerrero to choose sides. With his six shooters and Bowie knife, he set out to take a stand in the coming struggle....

GURPS mahadlika Character Creation

Character Creation Parameters.
Game Date: 2nd week of Jun 2008
Power Level: (Exceptional Individuals) 125cp, -75 disadvantages, +25cp only on social advantages.
Character options: Realistic (no exotic advantages.
Genre: Historical shifting to Heroic
Theme: Heroes against the Odds
Wealth: See Below

Here is some GURPS-ified economic breakdown of 19th Century Philippines.
Word of Warning, this is just for a game.

Economically, the TL of the Philipines is 2. Its no surprise that the average height of a roman was very similar to the average height of a filipino (5ft!). Double the Cost of TL5 equipment.

P1 (1865) is equal to $12 (2004). The exchange rate was roughly $1 to P1.

Signature Gear is at TL5. $2500 per point.

Shared Assets: Wealthy Characters who are part of families will have a (shared)annual income of $40,500 (P3,375) with a $36,000 (P3,000) Cost of Living. This leaves the Character $9,000 for his own personal assets. The character on the other hand has shared assets equal to 5x his annual income. This assumes the character is part of a household. He could be married, w/ or w/o children, living with inlaws or parents... or any combinations.
Wealthy [20]; Status 2 [5].
Starting Assets: $9,000 (not including basic necessities for his status and that of his group)
Pros- Higher Standard of Living.
Cons- Duties, Obligations and Responsibilities; Conflicts within families,

Independent Assets: An Independent Character is a wealth level lower than his "corporate" counterpart but still is in the same status and needs only the Cost of Living of 2 levels below his own. An Independent would have an income of $16,200, and a Cost of Living equal to $7,200 (that of a middle class family) but has $18,000 of personal assets. This assumes the character is an individual who is able to generate his own income exclusively.

Bottom Line:
Comfortable [10]; Status 2 [10].
Starting Assets: $18,000 (not including basic necessities for his status)
Pros- Independence!
Cons- Lower Standard of Living and with no access to the much larger
assets of a "corporate partnership".

You still have family but the strength of your family ties will cost points. Of course you have a default set of close friends or family who will come to your aid and you feel obligated to for free based on your background.

At $9,000 you may be able to own a number of horses. Guns imported from America etc. costs x8 more. Remember that horses that can do many tricks cost x4 to x10 more.

What is Mahadlika?

In Teodoro Agoncilio's: The History of the Filipino People you will find the term Mahadlika. Mahadlika is described as a Free people, not to be confused with Maharlika who are nobles.
Surprisingly Despite the fact that the Book above is the STANDARD history book in colleges I've never encountered anyone who knew the word immediately when I mentioned it.

What is the Mahadlika RPG? It is a game setting based on 19th century Phlippines. The Mahadlika RPG draws its cast, theme, and challenges from Spanish ruled Philippines, with the only difference is that names of families, institutions and peoples have been changed to put some distance from history and focus on the fact that this is all a GAME.
Back when I had my website up this was the spiel (2003):
Below is the Setting Primer and Mythos (2003).
All are under copyprotection.

Mahadlika is a role-playing game that lets players enter the setting in Ma’ai, a land ravaged by Politics and Power struggles. It is a land, layered in intrigue, as deception threatens to destroy its people great heritage. Amidst the shadows of strife, fallen gods rise to seek retribution, an unearthly army has come to conquer the night, and its people on the brink of a revolution against their oppressive masters.

Mahadlika: The People under Heaven

Mahadlika is about a land in the brink of a revolution. It is a place whose people struggle under the yoke of an oppressive conqueror as its heritage and past is torn apart and burned by those who claim to be their savior.

Ma’ai is an archipelago that became the refuge of the 10 lords of Kalim (the 10 Datus of kalim in native). These men sought peace, equality and escape from the tyrannical monarch of their homeland. In exile, they took with them their traditions, knowledge and ancient gods. In this new land they began anew to carve a peaceful and altruistic way of life.

The Ten Datu (Lords): Puti (White), Bangkaya , Dumaglugdog, Sumakwel, Lubay, Paiburong, Dumangsil, Balensusa, Paduhinog, and Dumangsol came and settled in various parts of the Archipelago. With them came their Ten gods: Bathala (The All Father), Siginarugan (Warden of Hell), Sidapa (Mortality), Mandaragan (War), Agni (Fire and Iron), Balangaw (Inspiration and magic), Magwayan (Mistress of the spirit world), Lalahon (Rain and Harvest), Idiyanale (Nature), and Diyan Mansala (love and peace). They called themselves mahadlika or freemen. They were a people who strove for harmony with nature and each other.

As a gift to the fledgling nation, Bathala gave great wisdom to these Ten Datu. These Lords understood that the peace and goodness they have sought must be safeguarded. So the Datu found and trained men and women who will protect and serve the people selflessly. In the crisis to come these men and women will be known as the Bagani and the Babaylan.

In the first war of the tribes, kingdoms rose and gods came down onto the earth to join their followers and to advance their own goals. All the gods participated in the war, except for Diyan Mansala who sought to end it. She taught the first Babaylan. She trained her in how to communicate divine wisdom, see into the desires of others as well forge pacts that even gods must heed.

Father Bathala also intervened. Bathala taught the first Bagani how to be fair and just, the value of freedom and truth, and to protect the defenseless. Siginrugan, in Bathala’s bidding, taught to them the ceaseless vigilance and divine martial skills, while Sidapa taught them the secrets of defending the life of others.

Together with sword and compassion, the Bagani and Babaylan forged peace into the land and entered a new era of prosperity. The Bagani and the Babaylan were there to guide with both heart and mind so that bloodshed would end. The tribal wars ended when the last warring god was imprisoned. Great prosperity followed and Ma’ai found a great peace to grow and flourish.

This was until the arrival of the Imperials. Under the flag of a conqueror from the west, they called the land "Kings Isles" and sought to conquer all those who opposed under sword and holy word. There came a second tribal war, and the Bagani and Babaylan came to their duties only to find bloodshed that would not end. The Imperial army was superior in weapons, armor and number while the Bagani were few but fierce. The Imperials brought with them god killers: the Exelciadores who had the power to slay gods as they did in all the lands that came before them. There were those of Ma’ai who sought their own power aided the Imperials. Together they made an unstoppable force. Hoping for peace, the Babaylan asked for a chance to end the bloodshed. The Exelciadores relented only long enough to defile the companions of peace, and ravaged them before the pact of goddess was formed.

It was a pact that the conquerors would keep the peace and rule Ma’ai protecting her people, lest the wrath of all the gods they have slain will come for their souls. The Exelciadores laughed and agreed to what seemed to be a harmless pact. They agreed to the terms of the Babaylan and said "May the blood of the Trinity spill with the blood of your people." if we break our word, they promised.

After the negotiation, the Datu surrendered. True to their word they will accept Imperia as their own masters and cast away the gods that have been slain for them for the salvation of the Exellcia. In time, the land became the dumping ground for those who are too ambitious for Imperia and criminals. As time passed, the land grew twisted and wretched. The Politics of the Exellcia and Merchant Governors wracked the land with misery and suffering. The people cried out, but the word had already been given, that there is peace in suffering within the coils of a tightening serpent. It was a peace only the rich and the powerful enjoyed.

Ma’ai has changed drastically; where there were once wooden palisades and a contented people, now are vast Haciendas (Salve owned lands) and Plantations owned by the Elite and wealthy. Merchant Governors wield absolute power over their given regions; they are the chief justice, the monopoly as well as the commanders of their personal armies.

Powerful families have entrenched their control over the land. Their ambitions bring them into power struggles between other families. The Exellcia of Ma’ai has grown heavy with the number of the Faithless. The Faithless, are Salve that use their sacred duty to earn them power and wealth to equal the nobility of Imperia. The peasants are caught in the middle, suffering every injustice on all sides.

Beneath the surface of the struggle, here is a war brewing in the night. Someone is raising an unearthly army using the secrets of the Exellcia, an ancient darkness have come to life seeking to annihilation, and a pact is broken bringing down a vengeful curse.

The cry of the innocent has gone on for too long. Their gods were slain and all they have is the peace of the savior. Their savior heard their cries, three native salves of great talent and ability began to bring change to Ma’ai. Their efforts having lightened the heavy hand of the oppressors and held true the teachings of the Exellcia. They were known as the three saviors, three persons like the first savior. But, their actions were not tolerated, without fear of divine retribution they were convicted in a mock trial and murdered as a public execution.

As they bled and their blood soaked the earth, the wind blew from the west. As a blood red sun sank a ship arrived on that very day. What stepped on the soil of Ma’ai has come to answer the call of heaven.

Enters Samiel, The devil.