A small town in Sartar...

From: Peter Metcalfe, CAPE Canty <CHEN190_at_cantva.canterbury.ac.nz>
Date: Wed, 16 Nov 1994 22:42:06 +1300


Gidday!

Fleshman here. Thanks for all the Kudos.

Michael Hitchens:


>I think the real answer is that Greg has not done the sums. One (or maybe
>both) of the following is false:
>1. Sartar has 180,000 people
>2. Clearwine is significantly more important than any of the other stockades
>on the DP map

>Unless an official Sartar Pack appears, we are not going to know the "answer".
>For the time being, 1,500 is too big for my vision of Clearwine. If nothing
>else, it means there are going to be too many temples there, and I want my
>players to travel when they go looking to sacrifice for divine magic.

May I humbly propose the following solution. We know that the Heortlanders are traditionally decentralized with clans with respective chieftains stuck willy nilly all over the place. Based on the experience of the Athenians with respect to Demes, I propose that for the Colymar clan, the situation is somewhat more centralized.

A Clan chief in the Colymar tribe is merely a glorified bodyguard of the King. Decisions that would normally be made by the clan chief are instead referred to the King. Other decisions that require an immediate decision are made by the thanes. To prevent a clan chief asserting his 'rights' the chief is required to be housed in the quarters of the king and all stockades other than Clearwine are forbidden. The ideal clan chief is strong, thick and pliable. Elections to the kingship are made by the thanes.

This way, Colymar becomes a conservative ruralized community which has an important centre in Clearwine. And it also explains why the Lunars persistantly underestimate the strength of the Colymar tribe.

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