> To be fair, there is a two-page spread near the back
> of "Thunder
> Rebels" which sets out which of the Orlanth or
> Ernalda aspects are
> common, archaic survivals, bizarre variants, etc.
There is? Thanks: I'll have to re-read. (Of course, I was looking in the original HW book, since that was when I needed it!)
> I can't say how pleased I am that
> current and future Issaries books are making clear
> layout and usability their priorities.
Seconded: it sounds as if they've got that message.
It occurs to me, BTW, that there is a potentially useful simile for all these sub-cults and general flavour. Chinese take-away menus. No, really. If you know *nothing* about Chinese food, and you're faced with this list of 100-odd names, you try to pick a few dishes, but you get the wrong number, or you get a mix that doesn't work, or you just give up and go down the fish&chip instead.
Or, you look at the back of the menu, and spot a "set menu for 2", and use that. That's what we need. "Standard clan A". This many people,w ith this mix of ages and genders. Has these people on the Ring, who are initiates/devotees of these cults and have these skills. Consists of these bloodlines. And *none* of them are "non-standard to make it interesting". They're the family with 2.4 children: no, nothing would ever really be that "typical", but it gives you a point to work from. Then you customise to your tastes: swap a sweet&sour prawn for a sweet&sour pork, give the clan chief more children, swap the Vingan warrior on the ring for a Humakti.
What do you think: do we already have such a thing anywhere? Could someone write it? Would it be useful?
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