catchup comments

From: via RadioMail <David>
Date: Sat, 28 Jan 1995 19:29:01 -0800

Martin Crim had good stuff on Praxian fighting. I'll add that the Grazers (and, I believe, most of the Pentan nomads) also count coup -- in my campaign, Grazers ride around with scalps of non-Grazer enemies tied to their coup sticks. I was always under the impression that all you had to do was hit someone with your coup stick [which Grazers would use like a spear], not draw blood, but perhaps that's a difference between the two cultures.

David Cake said

>I think that the essence of Issaries is not as a speaking god, but
>a trade god. In various ways Orlanth, Eurmal, Lhankor Mhy, and Issaries are
>all speaking gods, and certainly Issaries should not have all the aspects
>of the speaking god. Issaries is the god who speaks to survive and prosper,
>Eurmal is the god who speaks to get his own way, LM is the god who speaks
>the truth, Orlanth is the god who speaks the morally correct right words.

However, note that in King of Sartar [234], 3 of the 4 invocations used at the beginning of a story are to Issaries (one is to Lhankor Mhy). Also, Issaries is god of heralds, who surely have to be good with words to conduct negotiations between two Orlanthi clans. Issaries is the Speaking God.

Michael Raaterova said

>As orlanthi society isn't ruled by hereditary rulers, the chieftains
>should be more on the lines of the celtic ones

Well, it's not hereditary in that you know who is the next chieftain, but the Celtic model does have a nobility from whom the chieftain is elected. (I use this in East Ralios -- one of the player characters could lose his eligibility depending on how the next clan election turns out).

>The chieftain could lead some of the yearly clan or tribal rituals (at
>least those that have primarily secular purpose - like war preparation
>rituals), as the welfare of the chieftain is a symbol of the welfare of
>the clan. If the chieftain is unfit, the clan will suffer.

In East Ralios, the clan thane leads the yearly clan heroquest. If he fails, nobody in the clan can use the clan heroic ability that year.

Loren Miller said

>did any of the other North American
>subscribers see the footage this week of a mother moose defending her
>baby moose by stomping a man to death? It was on all the newscasts
>around Philadelphia, and it certainly defused the Bullwinkle image
>that I had formerly had of moose. I guess I could now accept the idea
>of moosehsunchen as being somewhat xenophobic and scary

No, I don't watch TV, but this makes me think the Alekki (the Ralian moose hsunchen) should have a high Love Family passion...

Sandy said

>whenever a Yelm worshiper's son
>fails to be initiated into Yelm, then the line stops dead -- no more
>Yelm (since it's hereditary)

I liked the bit in the Home of the Bold game I played in, where Harvor Ironfist managed to produce some old genealogies and become initiated into Yelm's cult. I think this would be possible even for the descendents of those who were lured into the Lunar Way. Not to say that all who had such ancestors would be gladly welcomed back into the fold.

Jeff Richard said

>I, on the other hand, believe that Orlanth Rex
>defines male sovereignity (kingship) as far as the Theyalans go

Though there have been female kings in Sartar (e.g. Beti of the Colymar).

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