Sorry folks. I sent this out the other day (or so I thought) but, it didn't take. I thought I'd repeat it now for what it is worth.
I just have a few supporting comments to make.
> There is one more thing to complicate your example. Your example
> presumes that you know an absolute direction. The problem is that you
> have nothing to tell you any absolute direction.
and,
> All that two compases, each pointing in different directions, tells you
is
> the angle between the directions they are pointing in. That's it. They
> give no other information.
If I understand the authors correctly (and I hope that they will tell me if I don't) they are (essentially) both pointing out some of the difficulties of obtaining a bearing.
In order to obtain a bearing you need two things. First,you need a method of quantifying a bearing. That is you need some conceptual construct that allows you to measure bearings. You have to be able to say that object A is 29, Trolpecs for example, from whatever direction the needle is pointing. Second, you need a means of measuring direction in those units. Rocks aren't liable to be specific.
ON MAPS Bearings themselves aren't all that useful unless you have an accurate map (as someone else mentioned) in the last digest. Accurate maps are difficult to make unless you have a means of measuring distance. The ability to measure distance is insufficient unless you have mathematical methods of extrapolate unknown information from known information. Presumably trigonometry doesn't exist in Glorantha.
Someone could come up with a magical way of making maps and could throw these objections out the window.
It is more likely that our PCs would have rough maps that would give them the general lay out of an area. That's okay though, I don't think that we'll be asking them to call in artillery by grid reference.
WHY SO MUCH DETAIL? In all fairness, nobody said that they wanted a really detailed idea of where they were. If your map is only a rough representation of the area you are in, and if your rocks only give you a rough idea of the direction to the object you want, then you'll only have a general idea of where you are. That is all you probably want.
Adventure is all about deprivation - of various sorts - after all. Danger is exciting and getting lost is dangerous.
A FURTHER ARGUMENT FOR ANACHRONISM Knowing precisely where you are, where everything else is, having access to cheap maps, having defined the world, changes the world as you know it and, your place within it. This kind of knowledge changed the our perception of the Earth. It would change the Glorantha for our adventurers.
Booker
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