> Apple Lane, with its wierd and wonderful characters,
> still exists in MY Glorantha, and my players have
> visited it. I am not really clear on why it would
> have been forced out of your universe.
I can't speak for other games, but it got forced out of my universe (with a sigh of relief) because it doesn't work, and doesn't fit. The HW products have told us how Orlanthi clans work, and a tiny village with no economic basis, far too many high level NPCs, a Uleria temple, and a shop just isn't it! Maybe someday someone will take the time to sort out just why Apple Lane is as weird as it is, and how it fits in with the other clans around it. Too much like effort for me, though. I'm sure Apple Lane is still on my map, but the players won't be going there.
> I am curious about why people feel compelled to make
> their games conform the data available.
So that we have some chance of being able to use new products as they come out. Some differences can just be explained away as "well, our clan does it properly and yours doesn't", but not all.
> Martin is right here. Don't you guys pick and
> choose? I mean, even I don't use all the gods and
> cults, and my players and I ignore whatever is
> inconvenient for the adventure.
It's a question of knowing which ones are important and which aren't. That isn't at all obvious from just reading a list of subcults. Which aspects of Ernalda are common, which are minor and/or unusual, which are integral to the clan or tribal structure? No hints given. I can ignore the problem for a bit, until someone starts addressing someone else as "Dar", and I have to figure out what on earth he's talking about.
I suspect the other problem in making background fit existing campaigns may be this business of "oh, if I say all, I really only mean 85%". If that's what you mean, then say so. The language we're using is English, not Sartarite. In English, "all" means 100%. If you want a word for 85%, try "most, or "usually". Misusing the language does not aid communication.
Powered by hypermail