Re: Cannibalism (yum yum)

From: John Hughes <nysalor_at_...>
Date: Thu, 1 Mar 2001 12:14:03 +1100


Its a tale they won't believe...

In the RW and on Glorantha, allegations and boasts of cannibalism are incredibly effective in de-humanising (de-Uzzing?) and demoralising your enemies respectively. Its always difficult to separate the boasts and accusations from the reality - more than a few anthropological controversies over the years have centred on this - and that's how I play it. The reality is never clear. Anthropophagy is strong propaganda - whether real or impugned.

(In Australia, some raving right wing loon with bad dress sense recently
tried to make an issue of Aboriginal 'cannibalism'. It backfired - the only reliable records of anthropophagy concern parties of escaped English convicts lost in the bush. Pass the Worcestershire...)

And then we reached the Franklin River, and it took two days to cross we were wet and almost starvin' and for food we're at a loss we were hungry men with murder on our minds.

If you want to destroy the Maple Syrup clan in a feud, or denounce them to the Lunars, speak of their atrocious treatment of captives, their and why they make so much effort in fattening up their thralls. (Who knows, it may even be true).

If you want to demoralise or frighten a Lunar patrol or tax party, make disparaging remarks about their soft fat flesh, slaver with your tongue and tell them you have already eaten their squaddies. It can do wonders for your clan's reputation.

So that night we made a fire out of twigs and out of bark and our stomachs they were rumbling all through the night so dark, And they were making noises that death could not ignore and when the sun came up next morning,
the five had turned to four! ..

In terms of the Heortlings, I'd play head-taking as rare, archaic, but valid. I can see a place for in some types of champion's challenge (Chu Chulain et al) and in particularly provocative feuding raids.

Doubtless there are rituals and magics known (though not exactly mainstream) that involve head-taking and even consumption of flesh. The risk of being mistaken for Thanatari (if it is that different!) will make them rare. It won't stop them completely, any more than Nysalor stops Heortlings asking riddles.

Now he had been looking at me funny, sort of eyeing me for days, And you would not need to be too bright to know that bastard's ways: He was a sick man, he had murder in his heart. But even bastards have to rest, and even bastards have to sleep, And when he was in the land of Nod straight over I did creep, and the axe that he had wielded now was mine.

For game play, this is one area where top-down absolute statements don't work. While there are a few RW societies was approached with an abattoir mentality - the Aztec protein factory mass sacrifices and feasts for instance, most of the time cannibalism flips in an out of legend and innuendo. (At least in historic times). Intrigue, rumour and whispered innuendo are the way to go - sometimes false, sometimes ending with an invitation to a BBQ.

And I said, right there's another one, don't you frown, Chew the meat and hold it down,
It's a tale they won't believe,
When I get down
When I get down
When I get down to Hobart town!

John
(ably assisted by Mick Thomas and Weddings, Parties, Anything)

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