Lankhmar and Prohibition

This week, I’m not so much looking at a crossover with a particular fictional source as a more generalised era in history, one so distinctive as to practically be a genre unto itself.

And one that fits very well indeed. It’s widely believed that Leiber modelled Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser on himself and his friend Harry Otto Fischer (who co-wrote one of the Lankhmar stories, The Lords of Quarmall), and their exploits knocking around New York City in their misspent youth. Which was, roughly, in the years covered by Prohibition.

Isn’t it nice when things just work?

So, imagine Lankhmar is even more corrupt than it currently appears. Think of it as having leadership not unlike that of Jimmy Walker – charismatic and not particularly in touch with ethics.

Prohibition is unlikely to take the same form in Lankhmar that it did in the United States. I suspect that in Nehwon, it would prohibit that more popular opiate of the masses: religion. (Lean Times In Lankhmar is the definitive reference for this crossover.) One cannot help but suspect the bony hand of the Gods of Lankhmar in this – who else would be able to enforce such a ban on the city’s ruling classes?

In any case, it works out fairly well at first. Organised crime basically gets a monopoly on faith, since the only permitted faith in that of the Gods of Lankhmar, and they care nothing for money.

At first, Fafhrd and the Mouser probably get along okay in the changed city. But as time goes by, and organised crime gets more entrenched, relationships between independents and the Thieves Guild – never good – are only going to worsen.

And what happens when the Guild’s own internal politics can no longer be controlled? As the city erupts into the chaos of a gang war, there’s opportunity aplenty for anyone who’s handy with a sword to make a quick killing – in more ways than one. (If you’re feeling really evil, put Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser on opposite sides, and let your players get caught in the middle.)