Pieces, Bits, Clarifications

From: John P Hughes <John.Hughes_at_anu.edu.au>
Date: Mon, 5 Dec 1994 13:08:58 +1100 (EST)


Howdy folks

VARIOUS THANKS FOR CREATIVITY SHARED Ian Gorlick, thanks for your version of Yelmalio - nicest explanation I've heard so far. Nils, the tiger story was great. Sven *Erik Sievrin, you are a true skald, and your piece on spirit combat, had me jigging on the bus stop
(not in itself an appealing sight). Give us more!

AUROCHS I notice in Chaosium's cult write-up for Hunter that Odayla (the Orlanthi hunting god) teaches Command Auroch.

VINGA Dave Dunham asked about the source of my Vingan history.

The Vinga tidbit came from Greg, and was independently verified and expanded upon by Stephen Martin. I'd just done a story in which a Vingan played a major part, and we were going through the background.

KALLYR'S MISSING FOOD MAN Dave Cake:
* This comment is well and truly obscure!... What are you on * about, John?

Is this too obscure, even for the Digest? Probably not.

The Missing Food Man puzzle springs from the same ground as the Vingan material mentioned above. It's part of one of the big puzzles of KOS - the relationship between Argrath and Kallyr, including who really lit the Flame of Sartar, and when.

According to Stephen Martin the Orlanthi List of a King's Companions is fairly standard. One of the most important ones, 'Food Man' or 'Provider'
(i.e. Hunter, also corresponding to Quartermaster or Chamberlain) is
missing from the list of Kallyr's Companions included in KOS. This person was probably someone close to Kallyr whose future status precluded them from being mentioned as a mere follower or Companion - you get the drift?

REALITY, ALLEGED SOLIPSISM, NAIVE IDEALISM, MAKING JONAS GRUMPY ETC. 'The Godplane is like the mountains beyond the Cholanti River. It's a place we go to find out what is there.'
Moronii Hazel-Stick. Tovtaros Godi. 1629.

Kevin Rose: "John's description of an emic campaign, where reality can change wholesale at any time".

There's a misunderstanding here, and its at least partly my fault. The misunderstanding seems to getting stronger with subsequent postings, so before I get lumped into the Peter Metcalfe school of mythic archaeology
(Velicoskian sub-branch) let me clarify and explain that paragraph I
included about reality changing. Thanks to Dave Cake and others for clarifying what I was seeking to express.

(It's interesting what sparks debate. When I posted, I thought (hoped) that
my list of perceptions of the gods would spark comment: instead, it was a throw-away paragraph about waking up and finding that Elmal exists).

I personally don't believe in a Glorantha where reality changes wholesale, and happily concur with Dave Cake's comments on the matter. I DO believe in a Glorantha where reality is something that must be fought for, but that's a very different kettle of fish. My comment on waking up and smelling the Elmali was intended in the context of campaign adjustments to major changes to the official view of Glorantha, and it seems that I didn't make this clear enough. Another example would be waking up and finding your INT is 2d6+6 rather than 3d6, you suddenly can't remember lots of your battle err spirit magic spells, lay members no longer exist, Undead is Hunger, and your favourite priest is now a (favoured) initiate. We've all been through that.

The suggestion was intended primarily as a gm/player tease for maximum campaign paranoia - I guess I've been running Cthulhu for too long. As Dave Cake and others commented, it's a paradox, like the one about time travelling to kill your parents. No character would ever know such a change even if it occurred, though players would.

Strange things do occur from time to time however. I pray to the Wind that it is an uncommon occurrence. We know that memories of the past change through magical means. KOS mentions Minarian Memory Removal, where memories are "simply removed from existence". There is also Samarsh Historical Modification, and Memory Block - see the chapter entitled 'Forgetting Things'. Everyone forgot things when Gbaji was born. Humans lost their knowledge of Auld Wyrmish and draconic lore when the EWF fell. There may well be other instances that we've... well, forgotten. Whether you consider a loss of memory, history, lore skills and knowledge a change in reality is very much a matter of definition. As to changing the actual structure of history: heroquesters coming from the future to change the past etc. - I DON'T EVEN WANT TO THINK ABOUT IT! :-)

Cheers,

John

" I sometimes have to sit back and remember what this is all about." Greybeard aka Tom Zunder


End of Glorantha Digest V1 #39


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