I really admire the richness and complexity of Gloranthan mytholgy and
society; that's not sarcasm, that's my true belief. However, I
sometimes wish I could go back to the days when I UNDERSTOOD the world
(and the game) enough that I could run it with confidence.
Intellectually I grasp that Barntar is an Air god, and Lodril is an
Earth god, yet that's something I'm likely to forget again and again,
because it just doesn't seem to fit. Barntar just seems to be an earth
god because I associate plowing with fields and planting and harvest;
I have to consciously remember that when Orlanth worship was
forbidden, the Orlanthi "hid" withing Barntar's worship, because both
Orlanth and Barntar have the Air rune. I just re-read the original
Cult of Lodril description (which gives him the runes of fire and
disorder), and I remembered the fire associations (spear, volcano,
wildfire), etc. much more than the farming associations.
I'm just grousing and frustrated right now, and ultimately it's not
going to affect me because I don't think I'll even have the
opportunity to run a HQ Glorontha game. I just wonder how newbies take
to this kind of thing.
Guy (Hoyle)