I’ve read enough Russian novels* that I often find myself reaching for the patronymic in play even though most of…

I’ve read enough Russian novels* that I often find myself reaching for the patronymic in play even though most of…

I’ve read enough Russian novels* that I often find myself reaching for the patronymic in play even though most of the PCs don’t have one. So I made up a little sheet that lists a bunch of the most common ones (lifted from the State Department’s Russian embassy site, thanks guys!) and bundled that with a one-page handout that gives a bit of background on the youth organizations Night Witches PCs might have belonged to growing up, as well as a short note on the difference between comrade and citizen in ordinary use. Neither is necessary, but on the odd chance you or your fellow gamers like a little extra background, have at them!

*Well, War and Peace a bunch of times, Anna Karenina twice, and The Master and Margarita which I highly recommend for a wry look at this period.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bw8iFfIRXgBOSktXU3Z3YlQ2Nlk/view?usp=sharing

4 thoughts on “I’ve read enough Russian novels* that I often find myself reaching for the patronymic in play even though most of…”

  1. @everyone: thanks!

    I should note I am not a Russian speaker, so my analysis of how and when to use patronymics is very second-hand and does not capture the infinite depth of the supple, dark, rich Russian language. I would gratefully accept any criticism native speakers might want to lend.

    One of the things that struck me in reading A Dance With Death (and to a lesser extent Red Plenty) was how often things like Pioneers and Komomsol came up, so I made the handout for them mostly so I could drop references to them in my game (the current politruk is basically a Komsomol summer camp counselor in over her head; her deputy is the old-school, “the Tsar sent me to the camps in ’05” Communist.)

    Jason Morningstar Oh, I understand fully! My table is probably never going to use them, but when I GM I can worm them in, and of course my PC is proud to be Vera Alexandrovna Golvina! 😀

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