From: RuneQuest-Request@Glorantha.Holland.Sun.COM (RQ Digest Maintainer)
To: RuneQuest@Glorantha.Holland.Sun.COM (Daily automated RQ-Digest)
Reply-To: RuneQuest@Glorantha.Holland.Sun.COM (RuneQuest Daily)
Subject: RuneQuest Daily, Wed, 12 Jan 1994, part 1
Content-Return: Prohibited
Precedence: junk
X-RQ-ID: Intro
This is the RuneQuest Daily Bulletin, a mailing list on
the subjects of Avalon Hill's RPG and Greg Stafford's
world of Glorantha. It is sent out once per day in digest
format.
More details on the RuneQuest Daily and Digest can be found
after the last message in this digest.
---------------------
From: JARDINE@RMCS.CRANFIELD.AC.UK
Subject: Calendar
Message-ID: <9401111423.AA13611@Sun.COM>
Date: 11 Jan 94 13:22:00 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 2782
Ref: Enquiries about the Gloranthan Calendar.
A while ago I made up a gloranthan calendar like the old RQ2 one.
I encluded ALL the Holy and High Holy Days(& Nights) that I could find.
Unfortunately, for most of you I created it for LaTeX and so as it is
basically just a huge table it will be pretty useless for those without LaTeX,
even so it used a non-standard style file (to fit on the page) and also
accessed a Rune Font definition file. However, if people clamour loudly
I might post it to the daily.
-----
Lewis
-----
PS. On an unrelated topic; they are called Sun Wheel Dancers.
---------------------
From: rowe@soda.berkeley.edu (Eric Rowe)
Subject: Master Map Index
Message-ID: <199401112003.MAA13279@soda.berkeley.edu>
Date: 11 Jan 94 04:03:15 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 2783
Thanks to malcolm109@aol for the map index of Sartar. It prompted
Stephan Martin to recall he has a master map index of ALL gloranthan
maps. I convinced him to let me post them so he'll be dropping disks
by in a day or two. However, the amount of material may be too long
for even several digests. Once I format it all I'll check with Henk
and then probably just make it available on the soda ftp site and
e-mail it to those who request it.
Hopefully Stephen should be on the daily in a few more months and we'll
see some marvelous debate between him and some of our other experts.
eric
---------------------
From: 100270.337@CompuServe.COM (Nick Brooke)
Subject: Gold Wheel Dancers
Message-ID: <940111203525_100270.337_BHB31-1@CompuServe.COM>
Date: 11 Jan 94 20:35:26 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 2784
______________
Laajamki Jorma asked:
> What's the story about Gold Wheel Dancers? I'd like to know more.
> I know they all should be dead, but nobody ever knows...
(Hope I got the name right!)
From memory and theory (so I may get some bits wrong):
The Gold Wheel Dancers were one of the six races represented on the World
Council of Friends (aka "First Council") at the Dawning. That puts them on
a par with elves, dwarfs, dragonewts, trolls, and humans (in those bygone
days). Incidentally, Aram-Ya-Udram (aka "Tusker John", long-lost Emperor of
Dragon Pass) was the human member of the council, which makes you wonder.
Anyway, the Golden Wheel Dancers probably looked like one of three things:
(1) Golden discs or rings that rolled around on their own. (This is
how Pinchining is described).
(2) Tripods (or more) of golden legs, like the Isle of Man's
heraldic
triskele (and a load of Greek mythological symbols), possibly with
a circular body in the middle. (Like nice tripedal Krarshtkids??).
This fits in with their identity as "Dancers", and makes sense.
(3) Mr.Happy (by Roger Hargreaves), a traditional image for
benevolent
solar entities, and one popular among barbarian peoples (as witness
his recent use by Glasgow City Council). He fits in well with the
mythical sophistication of the World Council of Friends.
Perhaps these were separate racial types, or stages in their development.
Perhaps (2) and (3), which are "all my own work", are a pack of lies. Who
knows (or cares)?
They died out. We don't know why, but can tentatively assume it had
something to do with the rebirth of intolerance that struck, worldwide,
around the end of the first century ST. Golden coins are commonly named
Wheels in memory of them -- a particularly sick theory would have it that
the original coins were dead GWDs, and that later people started minting
their own. One would assume they were allies of the Lokarnos solar trader
cult, but they could just as easily have been rivals or deadly enemies.
So, yes, they died out. But that doesn't mean you can't find them again.
Pinchining (from the Cradle scenario in RQ2's Pavis pack) is a Gold Wheel
Dancer, who was reanimated by a timely critical roll on a prayer to his
hoard of Wheels performed on the Hero Plane by Urrrrrrggggggh the Ugly
(further details in "Alebard's Quest", TotRM 5). Funny how again there's a
connection between half-trolls and the GWDs...
Pinchining was a hoop or disc of gold that hummed and whirred as it spun
along, which was responsible for the magical defences (and possibly other
things) of the Giants' Cradle. Killed by Lunar magic, it was brought back
by Garrath Sharpsword and a bunch of Orlanthi HeroQuesters.
So you can meet them. When you do, remember: "Money Talks".
_________
Carl Fink wrote:
> There have been *lots* of hints that Arkat will return, but somehow
> he's completely missing from the Hero Wars in KOS.
There is a prominent guy there named AR*AT*: Argrath. But I don't know how
the Gloranthan equivalent of Grimm's Law works, and would hate to theorise
about reincarnations of heroquesting saviours as heroquesting saviours...
Besides, KoS is clearly not the whole story. Whoever said it was? There is
no an obvious reason for a revived Arkat to invade Peloria via Dragon Pass
en route for Dorastor -- especially as so much else has changed since his
time. The "Arkat Returns!" drama could be played out entirely within
Ralios, with major repercussions for the rest of the world that manifest
themselves as "generic" symptoms of the end of the Third Age.
I agree: I'd have liked to see Ethilrist et al. in KoS. But how big would
the book have grown (and how far away would "Next Year" have gone) if Greg
hadn't deliberately limited his scope?
_________
Tim Leask on Horses and Fire:
Gloranthan Horses are creatures of the Fire/Sky rune (at least, in
Peloria). Presumably their reaction is one of awe and religious dread,
rather than bestial fear. This makes your entertaining suggestion for a
Yara Aranis anti-horse spell as unlikely as the weather-modifying
anti-archery spells. It'd be like going into battle against the Maccabees
shouting "Jehovah!", in the hope of upsetting them... a pleasant but
implausible image.
_____
Sandy on stereotyping:
> The player said that HER dwarf was tall and willowy. I was amazed, and
> said, "What an unusual dwarf you have. I'm very impressed." Then the
> player lectured me about racial prejudice and stereotyping.
Stuff'em if they can't take a joke. For me, the opportunity to express my
ignorant prejudices is one of the joys of gaming. I am not a great author,
an actor or a dramatist. My characters and NPCs are caricatures. Naturally
they tend to extremes. In world-building, I go by what real people have
thought (this puts me at odds with the "Glorantha is wholly magical, and
thus unlike Earth" school: I think Earth is magical too, and can produce
any number of well-documented proofs). And real people are ignorant and
stupid and prejudiced. Especially when talking about religions or cultures
to which they do not subscribe.
What is the point of having cultures, Elder Races, cults, etc. if we can't
use them as handy stereotypes for our gaming?
Rant, fume, blether...
____________
Colin Watson wrote:
> I thought the Lunar anti-storm stance was the result of circumstance
> (ie. the Orlanthi cause trouble for the Empire so the Lunars don't like
> Orlanth) rather than general inclination. Wouldn't Lunars exploit storm
> magic like any other type of magic if they got the chance?
For arcane and philosophical reasons, they can't. There are only four Young
Elementals, not five -- Air was not reborn within the second Void. So the
Lunars have no "Air Elementals" of their own. The Red Goddess seeks to
usurp the Middle Air, and thus there are few strong winds within the
Pelorian Bowl. The Lunars think that the only good air is dead air -- and
you can take that as literally as you like.
It may be that in their attempted recreation of the Golden Age within the
Lunar Empire, they have found it necessary to regress before the coming of
disruptive Storm. This would fit with Dara Happan philosophy, which the
Lunars have of course inherited.
The Empire's practical anti-storm stance is thus necessitated and indeed
created by the magical-philosophical standpoint of the Lunar Way. By their
very nature, they oppose and rival the powers of Storm. They can't use
them, and they can't make friends with them. Tough all round, but that's
religion and cosmic rivalry for you...
Note that the Lunars have well-known connections with the elemental powers
of Darkness, Water, Earth and Fire (cf. Cult of Annilla x2, Carving of
Tarsh, Four Arrows of Light). There is no comparable Storm connection
(Molanni? Ha!), and IMHO there should never be.
Argrath's Temple of the Reaching Storm remains an uncorroborated rumour.
______________
A General Note
I *like* the various indices to maps, languages, etc. that enterprising
souls on the Daily have produced recently, and think this is the right way
to go as far as any "Gloranthan Encyclopaedia" project is concerned. We
could comprehensively index recent individual products first, then pool our
efforts (somehow) and go for a complete index to published works.
The thought of distilling *all* knowledge on a subject down to One True
Version and posting this to an Encyclopaedia makes me nervous. It is an
implausibly large task, and probably not a very healthy or creative one.
IMHO, of course.
====
Nick
====
---------------------
From: paul@phyast.pitt.edu (Paul Reilly)
Subject: Re: RuneQuest Daily, Tue, 11 Jan 1994, part 1
Message-ID: <9401112120.AA07620@minerva.phyast.pitt.edu>
Date: 11 Jan 94 21:20:44 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 2785
David Dunham asks:
>Are real world arrows less effective than they are in the game? Are shields
>or armor more effective against arows?
Yes and yes. Especially in ancient warfare. The tetsudo formation was
pretty well proof against period arrows, for example. And the Anabasis would
have been a much shorter work if arrows had been very effective against
armored hoplites...
People nowadays tend to look at Agincort and (insert Polish-Mongol battle
in 1241 name...) and project the results back into ancient times. I think both
the Welsh longbow and the steppes composite bow (a very complex piece of
materials technology) were developed quite late (12th and 4th centuries
CE, respectively, I think.) Would anyone like this looked up?
Arrows are effective in warfare but the casualty rate for arrows in RQ is
WAY high. Consider the number of arrows fired vs. kills scored in any
major battle. Will look up some numbers if anyone wants, but I'd be surprised
if the kills/arrows fired ratio was more than 1/20. Except maybe in some Mongol
encirclement battles.
---------------------
From: ddunham@radiomail.net (David Dunham)
Subject: YA Frighten Horse
Message-ID: <199401112128.AA06256@radiomail.net>
Date: 11 Jan 94 21:28:24 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 2786
>From: tsl@mulga.cs.mu.OZ.AU (Tim Leask)
>Having just recently seen on the news the effect fire has on horses
>I thought maybe the frighten horse spell is actually a special form of
>illusory fire that does no physical damage but is real in all other ways.
>The spell would both obscure vision and panic horses. The spell should
>be able to be combined from multiple casters to create huge illusions.
Given that the Scythian's horses were reputedly spooked by the sound of
donkeys, and the Mongol horses had to be tied to trees during a fight
against elephants (presumably scared by the noise?), I'd assumed Frighten
Horse was primarily sound-based. That would make it more effective as an
area spell.
---------------------
From: LOREN@marketing.wharton.upenn.edu (Loren Miller)
Subject: Lord Raglan's list of 22 heroic characteristics
Message-ID: <50F38D24A5B@marketing.wharton.upenn.edu>
Date: 11 Jan 94 20:31:40 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 2787
This is a message that someone posted on alt.mythology. I thought it would
be of interest to all those RQ fans who want to see how heroes have been
defined through western history. If you want to write about a RQ hero you
could do worse than to use this as a checklist or menu.
-- Loren
--- Forwarded message follows ---
From: erickso45@potsdam.edu (Norm )
Subject: Lord Raglan 22 characteristics
Date: 11 Jan 1994 20:21:34 GMT
To save on typing I have numbered the characteristics and then given each
hero the number that he/she displays. This will take some time, I hope you
readers of myth appreciate it, here we go!!
1) The hero's mother is a royal virgin
2) His father is a king, and
3) Often a near relative of his mother, but
4) The circumstances of his conception are unusual, and
5) He is also reputed to be the son of a god.
6) He is spirited away, and
8) Reared by foster-parents in a far country.
9) We are told nothing of his childood, but
10) On reaching manhood he returns or goes to his future kingdom.
11) After a victory over the king and /or a giant, dragon, or wild beast,
12) He marries a princess, often the daughter of his predecessor, and
13) Becomes king.
14) For a time he reigns uneventfully, and
15) Prescribes laws, but
16) Later he loses favour with the gods and /or his subjects, and
17) Is driven from the throne and city, after which
18) He meets with a mysterious death,
19) Often at the top of a hill.
20) His children, if any, do not succeed him.
21) His body is not buried, but nvertheless
22) He has one or more holy sepulchres.
Let us now apply this pattern to our heroes, and we will start with:
OEDIPUS: He has all of the characteristics listed above.
THESEUS: 1,2,4,5,6,8,9,10,11,12,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22.
ROMULUS: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8.10.11.12.15.16.17.18.20.21,22,
HERACLES: 1,2,3,4,5,6,11,10,12,13,14,17,18,19,20,21,22,
PERSEUS: 1,2,3,5,4,6,7,8,9,11,12,10,13,14,18,20,21,22,
JASON: 1,2,6,7,8,9,12,10,11,13,17,18,20,21,22,
BELLEROPHON: 1,2,5,9,11,12,13,14,16,17,18,19,20,21,22
PELOPS: 1,2,5,6,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,20,22,
ASCLEPIOS: 1,5,,6,7,8,11,13,17,16,18,21,22
APOLLO: 1,5,3,6,7,8,9,10,11,13,15,
DIONYSOS: 1,5,3,4,6,7,8,9,10,11,13,15,17,20,22,19,21
MOSES: 1,2,3,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,15,16,17,19,20,21,22,
JOSEPH: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8,11,13,12,15,14,
ROBIN HOOD: 5,9,11,10,12,13,15,17,19,20,22,21,18,
KING ARTHUR: 1,2,5,4,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,20,21,22,
NYIKANG (CULT HERO OF THE SHILUK TRIBE)
1,2,9,6,10,11,13,15,16,14,18,21,22,
Lord Raglan, The Hero, 1949
[You may notice unspoken characteristic 0: The hero is male. --LJM]
--
+++++++++++++++++++++++23
Loren Miller LOREN@wmkt.wharton.upenn.edu
Into the flood again, same old trip it was back when
---------------------
From: bsroka@ccs.neu.edu (Brian Sroka)
Subject: Re: RuneQuest Daily, Tue, 11 Jan 1994, part 2
Message-ID: <199401112148.QAA07405@denali.ccs.neu.edu>
Date: 11 Jan 94 11:48:35 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 2788
unsubscribe bsroka@ccs.neu.edu
---------------------
From: drcheng@sales.stern.nyu.edu (David Cheng)
Subject: Final RuneQuest-Con Bulletin
Message-ID:
Date: 12 Jan 94 07:45:30 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 2789
RuneQuest-Con Bulletin #6
=========================
(Wednesday, Jan 12, 1994)
Well, it's two days before the show, so this ought to be the last you'll
be hearing from me till it's all over.
MEMBERSHIP
I've received registrations from the following 155 folks, as of today:
Janet Anderson, Paul Anderson, Shannon Appel, Glen Bailey, Steve
Baker, Andy Ballantine, Eric Bauge, Chris Becker, Tom Beeson, Jason
Bennett, Maurice Beyke, David S. Bieksza, Rebecca Bisbee, Robert
Bisbee, David Blizzard, David Boatright, Ron Boerger, Hal Bowman,
John E. Boyle, Bill Bridges, Alice Briggs, Nick Brooke, John Brown,
Dave Camoirano, Barry A. Chambers Jr., James B Chapin, James D Chapin,
David Chapin, Diana Chapin, Donald R. Clarke, Scott A. Cowell, Paula
Crock, Bill Cumberland, Brian Cummings, Bryan Davis, Fred Davis, Mike
Dawson, Robert B. Detter, Andrew Diamaduros, Kristi DiClemente, Jason
DiClemente, David Dunham, Robert Dushay, Tom Etherington, Bill
Etherington, Jon Evans, Marc Eyrand, Robert Fanelli, William
Faulkner, Scott G. Ferrier, Gregory C. Fetzer, John Flavin, Brian
Forester, Mark Foster, Gregory Fried, Brad Furst, Paul Gilles, Mark
Gilles, Ian Gorlick, Andrew Greenberg, Kay Grimnes, Steve Haak, Nils
K. Hammer, Paul Harmaty, Paul H. Heinz, Rhys Hess, David Hixon, James
Ho, Mike Honekamp, Dennis Hoover, Eric Jablow, Barbara Jackson, Andrew
Joelson, Oliver Jovanovic, Andy Joy, Yvonne Kaplan, Charles
Keith-Stanley, Fred P. Kiesche III, John A. King, Barbara Kolln, Karen
Kolzow, Herman Liebson, Cary D. Long, Curtis Lyons, Peter Maranci,
Finula McCaul, John Medway, David E. Meneghin, Peter Michaels, Loren
Miller, David Millians, Mark Minster, Mark Mohrfield, Bob Monaghan,
Noel Montealegre, Charles Morehouse, Stephen Mumford, Glenn Newman,
Dang Q. Nguyen, Phil OUConnor, Jeff Okamoto, Ken Olson, Alison Place,
James Polk, Gerald R. Potts, David J. Radzik, Ed Reich, Paul Reilly,
Eugene Reynolds, Philip H. Rhinelander, Ken Richardson, Roderick
Robertson, Neil Robinson, Jim Rogers, William V. Rossi, Jr., Eric
Rowe, Mark Sabalauskas, John T. Sapienza, Jr., Nick Scaramuzzo,
Lawrence Schick, John Schmidt, Scott Schneider, David Schubert,
Michael Schwartz, Stephen T. Semienick, Santo Sengupta, Malcolm
Serabian, Chris Shedlick, Harald C. Smith, John Snyder, Rich Staats,
Chris Stafford, Ross Starkey, Robert Stoll, Michael Strathearn,
Steven Strawbridge, Tom Sullivan, Mark Sullivan, Curtis Taylor, Kendra
Tornheim, T. Michal Trout, Hans van Halteren, John Walker, Kurt
Wasserman, Scott Watson, Andy Weill, Thearin Wendel, Jeannie Whited,
David G. Wible, Marcia Witt, Robert Wolfe, Paul Woodmansee, Mike
Young, Jim Zanoni, Barbara Zoellner
If you've sent me a registration, and don't see your name here, please
contact me ASAP (212) 472-7752.
HOME OF THE BOLD
These are the folks lucky enough to get a spot in Home of the Bold:
Janet Anderson, Paul Anderson, Shannon Appel, Glen Bailey, Andy
Ballantine, Chris Becker, Tom Beeson, Maurice Beyke, Rebecca Bisbee,
Robert Bisbee, David Blizzard, Ron Boerger, Bill Bridges, Nick
Brooke, John Brown, James B Chapin, James D Chapin, David Chapin,
Diana Chapin, Paula Crock, Bryan Davis, Fred Davis, Mike Dawson,
Robert B. Detter, David Dunham, Jon Evans, Marc Eyrand, Scott G.
Ferrier, John Flavin, Brian Forester, Mark Foster, Paul Gilles, Mark
Gilles, Ian Gorlick, Andrew Greenberg, Paul Harmaty, Paul H. Heinz,
Rhys Hess, James Ho, Eric Jablow, Barbara Jackson, Oliver
Jovanovic, Yvonne Kaplan, John A. King, Curtis Lyons, Peter Maranci,
Finula McCaul, John Medway, David Millians, Mark Minster, Mark
Mohrfield, Noel Montealegre, Jeff Okamoto, Alison Place, Paul Reilly,
Roderick Robertson, Neil Robinson, Jim Rogers, Eric Rowe, Lawrence
Schick, John Schmidt, Scott Schneider, Michael Schwartz, Malcolm
Serabian, Rich Staats, Chris Stafford, Michael Strathearn, Curtis
Taylor, Kendra Tornheim, Hans van Halteren, John Walker, Scott
Watson, Andy Weill, Jeannie Whited, Robert Wolfe, Paul Woodmansee,
Mike Young
If you see your name here, but didn't receive your character in the
mail, please contact me ASAP (212) 472-7752.
RIDE NEEDED
Paul and Janet Andersen are looking for a ride to the con. They live
in the Princeton, NJ area. If you're looking for some folks to
share costs, please contact Janet at andersjc@howdy.princeton.edu ,
or call either of them at (609) 497-0414.
DC OUT OF TOUCH
I'll be leaving for the con on Thursday morning, so if you've got
any business to discuss with me, please contact me by Wednesday
night. Again, I'm at (212) 472-7752.
AUCTION GOODIES
There have been some requests for what good stuff will be auctioned.
Sorry to take so long to compile the list. This is only the stuff I
know about - I do know that others will be bringing stuff of their
own.
Unique (i.e. High-ticket items)
-------------------------------
FELIZ NAVIDEAD - an artistic creation of Greg Stafford. From the
rough description he's given me, it sounds like a take on the
classic Nativity scene of Jesus in the manger.
A detailed map of the Colymar lands in Sartar. Drawn by Stafford's
own hand. Lots of landmarks shown. Bundled with some rediscovered
God Learner maps.
The log of Sandy Petersen's world-spanning Pamaltela+ campaign, as
compiled (and donated) by Jeff Okamoto. At Convulsion in July 92,
I think this went for about $500 US.
A draft copy of _King of Sartar_. Editing notes and everything.
There might even be sections in there that didn't make the final
cut, but I haven't checked.
Rare (i.e. pricey items)
-----------------------
A few copies of original Chaosium's _White Bear and Red Moon_.
Stafford is donating a mint condition, unpunched copy from the
first printing. So is Sandy Petersen.
A copy of _Nomad Gods_. This will sell for a lot, as it seems
even more rare than WB&RM.
An original _First_ edition _RuneQuest_.
At least one copy of each of _Wyrms Footnotes_ 5-14. All are in
very good condition, at least.
At least one _Griffin Mountain_, unused and in excellent condition.
Chaosium's original _Elric_ (the board game), _Lords of the Middle
Sea_ (another board game, by Lynn Willis), and _Perilous Encounters_
(minis rules). All long out of print.
Other Good Stuff
----------------
Different Worlds 1-25, 27 & 28.
Dragon Pass
Stormbringer
Thieves' World
Original Snakepipe Hollow, Apple Lane & Ballastors Barracks
GW Hardcover Call of Cthulhu
2nd ed RuneQuest rulesbooks
Militia & Mercenaries, Creatures of Chaos
Gateway Bestiary
Plunder
... and more.
OTHER STUFF FOR SALE
--------------------
_The Rough Guide to Boldhome_ will be available to those not in HotB.
I suspect it will sell out on site, however. We cannot reprint it.
The Convention Program book will also be available for sale after the
con. It has essays on the changing world view of Glorantha by Stafford,
Stephen Martin, and David Hall. It also has essays from Sandy Petersen,
Professor M.A.R. Barker, and me, David Cheng. It has a directory of
131 dedicated RQers. It has lots of Dan Barker artwork. I currently
have about 200 to spare, and might reprint if demand is really high.
I predict a price of about $7 (but don't quote me on this), plus postage.
There are plans to record and transcribe the seminars, and the legends
from the Orlanthi Storytelling Contest. If this really happens, this
booklet too will be on sale.
IT'S NOT TOO LATE
-----------------
There are new tournaments not seen in either the pre-reg booklet or the
Crimson Bat Bulletin, including an adventure from Mike Dawson. As late
as last week the hotel was still offering the discounted con rate.
On site registration is the same as pre-reg ($30, only one event has a
fee). There are plenty of open games.
I look forward to meeting many of you in person.
* David Cheng
(212) 472-7752
---------------------