Not offended, but somewhat concerned. Jeff, as a lawyer you must be more than aware of the use of word and phrase to manipulate and provoke. Using an expression such as "utter bollocks" instead of simply stating that you disagree for the following reason can only serve to rub the person you are responding to the wrong way.
As a "presumably normally a sober enough individual" I find it hard to believe that you really intend to do that, especially given the subsequent advise which is quite sensible, as usual.
That said, I agree completely that the OOP RQ2 sources are not essential to discuss Glorantha. Sartar, Peloria and the west are only described in post-RQ2 sources, many of them still in print.
Besides, how many people are there who join the discussion about each and every corner of Glorantha? I can think of only three: Sandy, who Just Knows; Peter, who is "the Gloranthan god of cross-referencing" as a swedish Gloranthophile who shall remain anonymous put it, i.e. who has a memory and an association abillity to envy; Stephen, who has left the Digest.
On the third or so hand, the Digest _is_ a cliquish place. The sarcasm and harsh words that rear their ugly heads now and then can certainly make anyone think twice before posting without having double-checked every old source. We are doing this for fun, and being insulted over a piece of missing information is not fun.
Finally, I don't know what flew into Laurent, but don't judge him too harshly. I think he misread Rick as gloating rather than offering sound advice.
No, not finally, this is fainally, personally I own no RQ2 stuff at all except the main rules book. It is also likely to stay that way since I thoroughly hate auctions. Buying a new apartment last year exposed me to all the bidding I can take for a considerable time.
P.S. I don't like haggling either.
Alex on valkyries:
>> What are Valkyries like, anyway?
>
>The Norse types seem to have been associated at least in part with
>Freyja, if I recall my (strictly Pop) knowledge of Norse myth correctly.
>(And with Odin too, I think.) The goddess of Sex and Death, and
>Pendragon puts it in endearingly tabloid fashion. ;-)
AFAIK, valkyries were originally thought to be rather horrid death spirits who picked warriors on the battle field. They were members of Oden's wild hunt, which is much more macabre than the celtic one, being composed of valkyries, ghosts and undead horrors.
The blond beauties in winged helmets is a late romantization.
Freja is a goddess of fertility. The death association is again a late thing "half the dead belomging to Oden, the rest to Freja".
End of The Glorantha Digest V5 #513
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