Caste, a Reality Check

Caste is a function of populated areas, much like our modern day unions. Caste on Gor is also a function of tradition. Realistically, there is little need for caste structure in a town as small as Vargor, however, when Goreans settled the area they would seek to re-establish comforting traditions.

The value of caste at its simplest form is an exchange of knowledge and standards. In a larger area the caste system of Gor would offer such things as loans, education and pensions/insurance. This is not likely in a settlement such as Vargor and the role of Caste functions primarily as an educational and organizational body.

While some cultures on Gor didn't have caste, that is largely a by product of low populations or nomadic life styles. The general on-line role-play push back by these people towards "caste" is more authentically against "city living". A valid contention both in the Gorean fiction as well as our own earth history.

But it is important to note that Vargor is not a city, and is in fact only slightly larger then a Torvaldsland village and significantly smaller them a Wagon People tribe. All Goreans were expected to travel to the Sardar before their 25th birthday, and here would interact with others that practiced their same professions - regardless of being from a caste city or from a non-caste village or nomadic tribe.

Vargor's caste is not a throw back to the perceived snobbery of Gorean cities, but rather a Hail Mary by a group of extremely traditional people marooned on a remote island.

Feel free to turn your collective noses up at "Southern Cities" but don't misconstrue the reality of the setting. Vargor is NOT a southern or city anything and the implementation of caste is many shades less significant then even the smallest of Gorean cities.

We must also consider the barbarian cultures outside of civilized Gor as they do not have a Caste system. These would include such cultures as the Wagon Peoples, Torvaldslanders, Red Savages, Red Hunters and the Tribesmen of the Tahari. It is the people of the cities who can afford to be specialists within a Caste system. For the barbarian cultures, survival is a primary concern and thus they must become generalists to increase their chances of survival. Castes of Gor (Luther)