Bryan :
> > > I don't think the shielings are a place for family
> >
> > Aha. I'd been influenced by the RW practice of transhumance, in
> which
> > (I'd been given to understand) the herders went with their families
> > to the shielings.
>
> I suspect that this varies a lot from clan to clan.
As always ... :-)
Although my own impression is that it would vary more from bloodline to bloodline, than clan to clan, in strictly Heortling society anyway.
The main Heortling shepherd cults are Voriof, Heler, and Nevala (there are others : Uroth etc.). Speculation about Nevala has been that she cares for the sheep and lambs more in the valleys, whilst Voriof cares for them more in the hills. Heler ... well, let's just say he doesn't mind *where* the caring happens, as long as he gets to join in ... ;-)
But the thing is, none of these cults exists at the heart of Heortling culture, and even though Voriof is one of the Four Providers, he's also just the boys' god, superseded in most cases by Orlanth the Father. My personal impression is that shepherds are similarly "marginalised" (not the exact proper term) in Heortling society, and also that the boyish element of the main shepherd cult (although Heler will be the shepherd god in some clans) prevents most Heortling shepherding from being a family activity per se : the solitary lives of RW shepherds reinforces this impression (for me, anyways).
But of course, exceptions abound : the important thing is mainly to realise that the proposed shepherd families/bloodlines/clans are outside mainstream Heortling society in some way, and then have lots of fun discovering why ... :-)
... and which cults they worship : the plethora of sheep/ram/ewe gods and Heler's basic Protean nature are there for a reason : use 'em !!! :-)
> Some will have
> some rougher terrain that isn't suitable for the plough that they'll
> use for high summer grazing. Others will quite literally have high
> mountain pastures.
Bryan's suggestions are excellent !
> On a practical point, someone has
> to milk those ewes and cows who are no longer fully engaged in feeding
> their young, and then to make cheese out of any excess milk. If you
> don't bring along any of the women, then it probably implies leaving
> those animals near the steads.
... which is most likely where they'll be during the lambing (and therefore cheese-making) season : ewes only lactate when they have lambs, if specific Nevalan Feats aren't available : this motif is mainly why it was speculated that Nevala is a goddess of the stead.
> In short, figure out how you want it to work in your clan, for your
> game, and I'm sure it is a perfectly reasonable decision.
Heartily seconded !!
Julian Lord
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