RE: Fleshing out some Glorantha-specific details

From: Jane Williams <janewilliams20_at_...>
Date: Sat, 20 Nov 2004 23:59:48 -0000

> A [3 geographic feature] which marks the position where the
> territor- ies of three [1 groups of people] meet is also the
> source of [2 some unsusal magic]. Every [4 few years]
> delegations from all three sur- rounding communities must
> assemble at the location and and collect- ively renew the
> magic or they will (all) be without it's effect until the
> next chance to remew it comes around.

Sounds good.

> 1] group of people: I may have to use (Heortling) clans here but would
> prefer to use a smaller sized grouping if such
> distinctions exist below the clan level.

The next smallest unit is the bloodline. I'm not sure how well this fits with the idea of distinct territories and meetings being rare, though.

> 2] some unsusal magic: I could use landscape Daimones or Spirits but I
> would prefer something more unsusal.

This reminds me of a scenario from the Greydog campaign, which I seem to remember involved a Hare spirit and led into a heroquest. Let me look up my old Tales...

Hmm, Tales 7 (1992!) and "The Old Hare's Riddle" by John Quaife. The few rules are RQ, but it's mainly background, scenery, and plotline. Quite linear. Way, way, OOP, though. Anyone know of a copy on-line? It fits everything you're trying to do here extremely well.

To try to summarise 9 pages:

Every year the Hare spirit visits Greydog village in the guise of Trickster, and asks riddles. This ritual defines the relationship between the spirit and the village. This year, one of the riddles changes, so the village don't know the answer. To find it out, they decide to reenact the story of how their clan ancestor first found the hare spirit and asked for a blessing on the stead. And the details of that go on for pages... They have to climb a local hill and reenact a meeting with a troll who's trying to roll a stone up a hill. Look at the hill in the mundane, you can see "Troll Furrow" (he's been trying and failing for a long time).

The "Location" used here is the Hare Woods. The benefits to the clan seem to be whether or not cattle grazing in the woods get lost, the abundance of healing herbs growing there, and a taboo on hunting hares in the woods except for a certain period in winter where you can catch lots of them. Of course, one other benefit is keeping on the right side of a spirit who seems to be linked to Trickster :)

NZ email address, I see - anyone out there got a copy of Tales 7 and willing to lend it out? I'm the opposite end of the planet, or I'd lend you mine :)

If this does sound useful and interesting, we can go off-list and I'll try to fill in more of the details, but sadly copyright forbids simple scanning or photocopying :(