Soren Petersen ponders the requirements to progress
through the strata of Hrestoli society. I have two comments:
1)
For a model of how a Rokari and a Hrestoli might interact far
from their home territory how about the Jesuits' attitude to
Anjin-san in James Clavell's Shogun?
Not entirely an ideal model I know; Arlaten (as published) is
not primarily motivated by a desire to convert all the heathens
to his faith but there might be reasons why any immediate
desire to beat eachother's brains out might be tempered
by a need to act civilised in front of the locals.
2)
I've made a plea in the past for the "Westerners as medieval
Christians" model as a good way of introducing newcomers
to Glorantha. I now modify this as "Rokari as medieval...."
It seems obvious that the traditional images Soren alludes to
(Wizards studying in lonely isolation, noble lords on their milkwhite
steeds, chivalrous knights with faithful, coconut-equipped,
squires) are not really suited to the Hrestoli.
Let's face it: the Hrestoli culture as practiced in Loskalm isn't
even feudal in any meaningful sense so why should it adhere
to real world feudal style?
Perhaps Digesters would like to put foward some views
on what life is really like in such a meritocracy?
What factors maintain the status quo?
Or rather, what factors are there to stop the status quo
developing along Rokari lines with the sons (probably sons
if I read Western attitudes to women correctly) of Lords
inheriting their power without all this faffing around learning
how to farm, fight, and do wizard stuff?
Final and irrelevant comment:
Tom Zunder doesn't believe Manticores and Satyrs exist
in Glorantha? Well I'm afraid I don't believe Tom Zunder
exists. He is surely the deranged Trickster figment of
Greybeard's imagination....
Richard Crawley
End of Glorantha Digest V1 #300
WWW material at http://hops.wharton.upenn.edu/~loren/rolegame.html