More Gloranthan relativism; monks; acolytes & StarWars!

From: yfcw29_at_castle.ed.ac.uk
Date: Mon, 21 Nov 94 16:16:16 GMT


Martin Crim says :

>Oh? Is that what the Mostali say? Or the Malkioni? Those are
>the only two groups to whom the notion of objectivity is
>familiar. ...

As Sandy has pointed out, all Gloranthan cultures belive that their world view is manifestly true. They believe their subjective view of the world is objectively correct. The Mostali and Malkioni are no different from any other Gloranthan culture in this respect. They may have rigourous philosophical arguments for why their worldview is the true 'objective' one, but they are just diging themselves into a deeper subjective hole.

The secret(s) of the God Learners can't be explained in the terms of an extant Gloranthan culture. I know it's prefferable to present Gloranthan lore in the words of a native, but there aren't any native Gloranthans left capable of stating them. They were all wiped out by the Gift Carriers.

> ... To sorcerers in general and the God Learners in
>particular, magic is simply the skillful manipulation of natural
>laws.

Sure, no argument. The difference is whether you believe these laws embody The Ultimate Truth (orthodox Malikoni view), or are just convenient and usefull for a given purpose (God Learner relativist view).

Peter Metcalfe says :

> ... You are seriously sugesting that
>monkhood is made of a majority of nohopers?

(Mis)quote from a Jesuit priest : "We have our mystics and spiritualists too. There are specialist mental hospitals all over Europe specialy set up to look after them. They are called monasteries."

Nick says :

>Probably the civilised Provincials are less
>flea-ridden than their hairy cousins; the benefits of Lunar hygiene,
>sanitation, clothing, dwellings all suggest those who adopt them aren't
>riddled with vermin, spiritual or otherwise.

Yeah. Appart from the improved sanitation, clothing, housing and getting rid of the vermine. What have the Lunars ever done for us?

Alex comments on Sandy's Pamalt cult hierarchy :

>Works for me. While we're on the subject, what is the social role of
>acolytes, and does anyone have a more evocative title? Are they quasi-
>autonomous "priestly" types, or essentially magical cronies of the
>chief?

Acolytes would probably be best characterised as 'elders'. The older more wealthy members of the village, with enough leisure time to devote some of it to ritual purposes. They have also been around long enough to accumulate the 10 pts of divine magic.

Nick Eden asks ;

>...Similarly I have Star Wars/RuneQuset ideas that I'd
>like some opinions on. Is this the right place?

Ha. I sugested running a Gloranthan heroquest game using the Star Wars rules to a friend last week. I was only half joking! So far as I know, this forum is suitable for discussion of alternative rules for Glorantha, though it is not a rules development forum. Actual rules sets are probably best mailed to interested parties directly.

Well, that's my weekends worth.

Simon Hibbs
yfcw29_at_castle.ed.ac.uk


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