Cold Trolls

From: Loren Miller <loren_at_wharton.upenn.edu>
Date: Wed, 6 Mar 1996 10:49:15 EST


mark groff <mg1160_at_messiah.edu> writes:
> The whole idea that trolls would be cold blooded in the biological sense
> ( assuming of course that biological realism is considered an asset ) is
> absurd.

Yes, and so is the idea that the gods have children by mortals, that there are races or species of beings that are descended from god/mortal miscegenation, that elves are walking vegetables that have a mystic sense that works through the forest, that trolls can digest rocks and acid, that there are tribes of people who give birth to totem animals and can become them, that the mountains are really a huge dragon or giant, that Orlanth's Ring, the largest constellation in the sky, travels in a spiral pattern up the sky to the peak and then disappears for seven days, and never appears on the horizon but rather appears half-way up the sky, while some other constellations travel in a circular pattern and others travel across the sky and disappear over 1 day, 2 day, 7 day, 92 day, and irregular patterns. Face it, Mark, earth science is useless in Glorantha. Certainly there are much weirder things going on than Trolls which are colder than the ambient temperature and get livelier the colder they get. Tough luck. In Glorantha biological realism is not considered an asset. If you require biological realism then Glorantha is not the place to set your game.

I happen to love the idea that Uz are cold, and that the more powerful they are the colder their body temperature becomes, until the coldest ones are surrounded by mists of condensing air and constantly shed ice that cracks and falls off them. If this picture doesn't grab your attention then you're in Glorantha for the wrong reason. IMO reality on Glorantha is myth-based, rather than science based. Darkness is the first and coldest element, and as the Uz are creatures of this Darkness they partake of its nature, including its intense cold. They are semi-divine creatures, descended directly from Kyger Litor, the hunter in darkness.

You can be certain that the next time I run a snow troll adventure it will become obvious that the Uz in question is even colder than the snow around it, and the mist and trail of broken ice will be the markers for its presence. Well, that and all the disemboweled bodies.

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