Jane, who disclaims ruling, about Persian analogues:
> They make carpets? That's all that "Persian" implies to me. A little bit of "didn't Alexander fight them?" and that's the end of my knowledge on the subject.
I like Alexander a lot, so I guess that's why I know a bit more about them.
> . . . but we all know about the Legions, Boudicca, and Asterix the Gaul.
Bou-who? I suspect this may be a bit of orientation toward the British isles, because all I know is (a) she's a she, (b) she was some variety of Celt in what's now England, (she had some leadership role. No clue what her story is.
Also, the allusions to the British empire are probably a lot less enlightening for me than for you. For me, the British are the ones we shot in our revolution, but they ruled the seas, Egypt, India, and a lot of Africa for a long time. And Canada, I guess. Oh yeah, plus Queen Victoria lived long enough to have an age named after her.
So, actually, "something like the Persian empire" is more useful for me than "something like the British empire."
> The Soviet analogue didn't depend on tech levels, only on the flaws in human nature and
> what happens if you get a fundamentally good idea and extend it way past the point where it stops working.
Um. Or what happens when you try to implement a fundamentally horrific idea. To get back to Glorantha, I bet the Heortlings would have that perspective on the Lunar empire: "Base an empire on the idea that you can include the Pre-Dark? Insanity!"
> One standard military unit, with standard uniforms and names. "You turn the corner and see some Lunar soldiers".
> How do you know that's what they are? They're wearing standard Lunar uniforms, and doing standard Lunar things.
> You're never going to find out what their cultural values are, you're just going to loose a volley of javelins and then go in with swords.
I actually agree a lot with this. I think the Roman-style legion caricature is perfect for the run-of-the-mill encounter in the barbarian belt. These are "Lunarized units." I think you only run into the odd Heartlands units in bigger conflicts. And, Whitewall would be such a conflict. That also guarantees that they come as a big surprise for players used to seeing legions with supporting troops. "Whoa! Who are those guys?" It also gives the GM some flexibility if the players are ignorant of the capabilities of the weird troops from up north. The players have to do some scouting to find out what they are up against. If that turns out to be too tough for our characters, the GM can always say that what they found out was just an overblown reputation.
> > When the Emperor withdraws support from Tarsh's war against Sartar it is
> > probably because the resources are needed in Oraya.
>
> Did that last funny name mean "Pent"?
Nope. Its the area of the empire bordering areas that Pentan nomads frequent (but not Pent proper, if I recall the map correctly).
> There's something odd going on with Pent anyway. What's all this about 13 year olds with red hair? Why is anyone interested in their hair colour?
Red hair, red moon, I think. Probably some ritual submission thingie. Something horrible probably happens to them. Or maybe they become warriors of that multi-armed nomad-slaying goddess. Something like Yana Aranis?
Stuart Cogger:
> But I find it hard to get away from everything I loved about the Lunar army as presented in White Bear, Red Moon.
> Built around the Stone Phalanxes as the toughest 'normal' unit. This makes me think of Romans before Persians.
Really? Phalanxes make you think of Romans? It makes me think of Greeks. And that makes me think of the Greek successor states, like the Selucids, who ended up being more of a Persian successor than a Greek successor. What period of Romans does it make you think of?
Chris Lemens
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