>> >...Though
>> >there may be the assumption that a woman, even with a
>> >dagger or knife, *can't* use it so as to resist a man.
>>
>> Sounds like a horrific flaw to the "Female Dara
>> Happan" homeland keyword.
>
>It does, but it's also a realistic mental attitude for
>a society of that type. And it's a HUGE flaw to any
>male with that mental assumption, facing a female
>opponent. Believe me, I know :))))
There's a good case for allowing a woman to use "Respectable Matron" as a defence against an attack by a Dara Happen man. If DH women aren't usually armed it's going to be because a man shouldn't attack them. So the typical DH male has his social conditioning working against him. And an attack may well bring passers-by to her aid.
>Jut skip the "downtrodden" bit completely. It doesn't
>add a thing, only takes options away.
The whole problem seems to be a role playing assumption that female characters in these cultures are going to be boring because they are downtrodden. So let's not bother with keywords for them. Given that the only people who think they are downtrodden are those trying to fight against their oppressors that leaves a lot of people whose lives are interesting to them. Actually there is a writeup for Dendara in the new RQ cults book and there are some interesting abilities mentioned. Also Gorgorma gives some very good reasons for DH menfolk not mistreating women. At least the DH women are less oppressed than the Carmenian ones whose goddess isn't even named.
>The Orlanthi way
>is great: here's the norm, and if you want to be
>different, fine. I haven't yet got a "feel" for how
>the Lunar way works in that sense, but the overall
>concept is promising.
It's probably the culture closest to modern feminism in Glorantha. Apart from almost any position being open to both men and women even the traditional female roles have and use power. Compare Felkenna with Dendara or Sun County's Ernalda. I can see the clash of cultures between Felkenna and Dendara having more effect on the Empire than Argrath ever manages. Dendara brings down the Red Moon for disrupting her court.......
-- Donald Oddy http://www.grove.demon.co.uk/
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