complains that:
>[I] Still doesn't say what he thinks "culture" is in any clear or
>understandable way. Whatever it happens to be, every time I post a
>counter-example it turns out that apparently my guys weren't really
>cultured after all, at least not in the way _Peter_ was using it. So
>to heck with the whole discussion.
Eh? You posted a concise set of features by which you believed that the Second Age Empires differed from the Third. To simplify the debate, I laid out my differences alongside the said list of which only one was an outright rejection. It was _not_ an attempt to try and score points (and judging by the agreements it couldn't be called one) so I think the imputation of weasaling in the debate is somwhat uncalled for.
And please before you respond further, kindly spare us your sniping like 'inane darwinistic ramblings'. I mean things like Peloria having 'no future set out by the Soul Arranger' brings a derisive snort from me but you didn't see me making a hissy fit about your apparent psychohistorical-magical-predestationist crap.
>But I have to respond to this lamebrained comment.
>>We do have instances of Third Age technological progression.
>>[unrefuted list of technical *progression* snipped]
> No ship today is as good as a Waertagi Dragonship.
You are comparing Apples and Oranges here. A Dragonship is a city built on a living dragon. The humans do not construct City Ships because they are able to live on dry land. A much better comparison with the Dragon Ships would be the Leviathan of the Ratuki.
> No armor today is as good as the adamant suits worn in the
>Second Age.
So where are these suits now? Did the Luddites break them up into pieces just like the farming automatons in Loskalm proper, Tanisor and Safelster? Did these selfsame Luddites also managed to eradicate any mention of themselves and the suits from Gloranthan records a la minarian memory removal?
> The Closing was not a Second Age event, but the harbringer
>of the Third. The Opening is not a Third Age event, but the
>harbringer of the Fourth.
We have here a perfect example of Procustean History as practiced by the God Learners. The Closing happened in the second Age (920 ST to be precise). It should be considered as part and parcel of the second age. To say that it is the harbringer of the Third Age (thus the 'Second Age' Empires were powerless against it) is akin to saying Princeps was the agent of the Twentieth Century, the smasher of Empires, thus Austria-Hungary was powerless to prevent the assasination of Archduke Ferdinand. In short: *bleah*.
But then I guess I'm a lamebrain. What do I know?
End of Glorantha Digest V2 #334
WWW material at http://hops.wharton.upenn.edu/~loren/rolegame.html
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