The White Lightning Setting
It’s been said before, but it bears repeating: The Dragonriders of Pern are the intellectual property of Anne McCaffrey. No copyright infringement is intended. We’re just here to have a good time.
Our game is set at the close of the tenth Pass on Pern. The current date, as of the beginning of play, is P10.45.6.1 In our timeline, AIVAS was found, but, sadly, it had been destroyed beyond repair. However, Landing held several other ancient treasures, most of which were records and equipment dealing with the biomedical fields. For that reason, Pern has advanced in the realms of medicine and biology, but the bulk of their technology is still very pre-industrial. So Thread still falls, and will continue to fall. Passes are approximately 50 Turns long, with Intervals of 200 Turns between.
White Lightning Weyr is located on the Southern Continent, in a narrow canyon carved by the Black Rock River as it runs north from the Sea of Azov. The dragons’ weyrs are carved out of the canyon walls themselves, and the main Weyr complex is a cave system that opens onto the shallow sandy beach formed by a bend in the river. The climate is temperate, and all four seasons are represented.
Within the Holds of Pern, gender roles are pretty well defined. Very rarely will someone successfully deviate from those roles. By and large, the men in the Holds are responsible for production, commerce, protection and rule. Women remain firmly in control of the domestic spheres. Occasionally, you’ll have a particularly talented woman named by her father or her Lord as Holder or ruling Lady Holder, but it’s rare, and the conclave can be difficult to convince.
Gender roles in the crafts, on the other hand, vary a bit more widely. Because the crafts tend to value competence above all else, it can be easier for a talented young person, regardless of their gender, to rise above the expectations of their birth. Several crafts, such as the Harper, Healer and Weavercraft have a roughly equal number of male and female masters. The Vintners, Fishers and Beastcraft have at least one female master and several journeymen. The Smithcraft has had female masters in the past, but has none as of right now, and the Minecraft has never had a woman progress past journey rank.
As for the Weyrs, one’s role isn’t defined by one’s gender so much as it is defined by the gender and color of one’s dragon. The Senior Weyrwoman is the domestic head of the Weyr, and is responsible for the liveliehood of everyone within. The rider of the Senior Queen’s mate is the Weyrleader, responsible for accomplishing the Weyr’s mission of protecting the Holds from Thread. Weyrborn children are closely watched as they grow, with the intent of shepherding them toward crafts or support positions that play to their strengths. At least, that’s the concept. As always, people sometimes push a child to go in a certain direction for their own reasons. This isn’t necessarily supposed to happen in the Weyrs… but of course, it does.
