Hello! It’s been a while. I couldn’t find the time to write a blog because of RPG sessions, playtests, (attempting) adventure writing, and just general horrible time management. I plan to post RPG session reports later on. We’ll see how that goes. Back to the actual post.
When I was thinking up tools and gear for Mangayaw, I copied heavily from other games. Early Southeast Asian and Medieval European technology have huge differences for sure, but there must be some elements that are universal. I just have to think of the SEA/Philippine counterparts to such. It’s something to start with.
Cairn’s Gear selection 
Mangayaw’s Gear selection
An iron cooking pot’s counterpart is a clay palayok or kawali. Sleeping bags would be banig, mats weaved from grass and palm leaves. Sacks or hand-carried bags would also be made of weaved grass and leaves called banig. And the 10-foot wooden pole is replaced with a length of bamboo.
They could be used in pretty much the same ways, but there is a difference in material and method of creation that could be a boon or a bane. But I’d like to argue that the bamboo is superior to the wooden pole, in terms of utility.
The pole is one of my favorite gear in OSR games. It’s an unassuming tool, but it can literally put a 10 foot distance between you and certain death from a dastardly trap. Bamboo could do the same, but for way cheaper.
They multiply in colonies and grow stupidly fast. They are probably cheaper to make than wooden poles. Just cut them down, cut off the branches and leaves, and you have a usable bamboo pole!
Bamboo can be used as a weapon. Cut the end of a pole diagonally and you get a rudimentary spear. Warriors from precolonial Visayas would cut bamboo into 3-foot lengths, sharpen and fire-harden the tip, fill a segment near the edge with sand to give it weight, and use them as javelins. The Agta and Aeta still use bamboo arrowheads when hunting boar and deer because they’re easier to make and doesn’t require imported metal to make.
Most species of bamboo have hollowed segments, which makes them very useful as a makeshift container. Poke a hole into one and you have a water bottle. Put it over a campfire and use it as a one-use rice cooker.
The best bamboo tool I’ve seen is the Pingga or Tuangan. It is a bamboo lunchbox, stabbing weapon, and dueling shield all in one. It’s what got me wanting to write this blog. I really recommend watching the video below to learn more about the tool, as explained by the Grand Guro of Garimot Arnis.
Also gotta rep Gubat Banwa for bringing this bamboo tool to my attention. Fae, the artist of the character art below, has an interesting thread about the inspirations behind the characters and weapons on twitter. Check it out! It has a lot of Philippine blades!!
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