With some reluctance I enter the longbow debate. I don't intend to contest any of the claims made so far. I just wanted to add that I checked bows up in one of my books on weapon history. It claims that an average medieval longbow had a drawing weight of 80 lbs. It also claims that the most powerful non-composite bows used are/were Kenyan longbows at 130 lbs.
Kralorela:
Sandy/Graeme:
>3) DRAGON MAGIC AND KRALORELA: Graeme suggests that the influx of
>Dragon Magic under Daruda may have actually been an invasion by
>dragonewts, their allies, and dragon hsunchen, this invasion's nature
>being later masked in the Kralorelan writings.
Peter M:
>I'm really of the Theory that Daruda actually talked with Sh'hakazeel,
>the Mover of the Heavens and gained the Draconic powers from Him (cf
>the Well of Rising Dragons in Puchai G:CotHW Kralorela). Undoubtedly
>he could have brought back an army of dragonewts and then convinced
>the Exarchs (or whatever analogues there were then) to make him Emperor.
I'm rather with Peter here: I think Daruda was a great heroquester who met and befriended dragons on his quests and brought back the powers, maybe using dragonewt mercenaries just as Peter suggests, in order to enforce the new beliefs. However, I think he was already emperor when this happened.
Sandy/Graeme:
>I think this is not
>only possible, but probable, and wonder how many other pre-time
>emperors represent such "changings of the guard."
If you buy this theory, which I'm not completely prepared to, the guy (which of them slips my mind) who invented written laws. After all, written law is a pretty powerful way to impose a new value system. Hmm, on second thought, "changing of the guard" isn't that far-fetched after all, but I don't see it as foreign invasions as much as changes within.
Peter:
>In fact, I'm groking the theory that the Teachings of Aptanace the
>Sage really envisioned rule by a Council of Sages (ie like the
>Exarchs and the Mandarins).
But Kralorela has evolved from a golden age solar empire, which definitely has a single guy at the top. In fact, I think rather that Aptanace is a backwards projection of typical Kralorelan values: a mythical figure invented to justify a lot of stuff. One of the pre-time emperors is said to have ordained the 'Kralorelan way'. I guess that's when Aptanace was thought up, so that the stuff not fitting the solar setup could be explained away.
>Unfortunately Kralorela has become cursed in that a Draconic Force
>which embodies the Attributes of Rule infects one random person and
>making him All Powerful.
I don't buy the theory but I like the dscription, definitely amusing reading!
Masters of Luck and Death:
David Cheng:
>If I had the time, I'd probably work to write up a
>full text version of the rules, but I don't have the time.
Too bad. The heroquest and ritual sounds really interesting, could be a nice reference for heroquest stuff in RQ campaigns as well.
Systemless gaming:
John Hughes:
>Generally, they emphasise in-
>depth characterisation, atmosphere, and concentrate on exploring
>emotional or moral themes, being character- rather than plot-driven.
>They rely on inter-player trust and group ethic, and on mutual
>storytelling.
(It's a bit difficult to fin _the_ quote in John's long and well-written
posting)
So why can't you have these in a game where you use a 'normal' game system and dice? I think it is fully possible to do that. Claims of 'the new and adult way of roleplaying, the future of our hobby' do sound just a little bit pretensious in my ears.
/Nils W
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