>IMHO distilling Glorantha down into catch-phrases and shorthand makes me
>shudder. I like the complexities of Glorantha and all of its grey areas.
I like the complexities too, but I also like the fact that RQ provides some catch-phrases that are quite helpful. For example, you can describe a culture as "Solar Nomadic" and know a lot about them. In this way you can get an overview of vast areas. My own experiences trying to grasp the fantasy world of Harn, which lacked such catch phrases, makes me appreciate how useful they are.
I could describe my East Ralians as "Orlanthi (or Storm-worshipping barbarians) with chariots" and people have a good first-order approximation of what they're like. This doesn't go into the various differences from other Orlanthi, of course.
Michael Raaterova wonders
>BTW, what are the oralnthi burial practices?
>
>I guess the Priests and Lords gets a Wind Burial, exposure type. Chieftains
>and Thanes are laid on the funeral pyre to send the soul up into the air,
>after which the bones are inhumed in a mound.
>Earth cultists of rank are buried right away, but what about the 'ordinary'
>people of the clan? How are they buried? Is there a consensus on this or
>does it vary from region to region?
I think EVERYTHING Orlanthi varies from region to region. In Ralios, burial is in the earth -- how can you be born again if you don't return to Mother Ralia? Thanes are of course buried with valuable grave goods.
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