["do Gloranthan farmers learn many combat spells?"]
>Ok - so farmers in Seshnela revolt periodically - do they use any magic
>when they do? Do they even have magic? (Help me out here, I'm clueless
>about Seshnela.)
As farmers, they are only permitted to know Low Sorcery according to the Rules of Rokar. The only spells suitable for war that they would know would be something like Bless [Axe, Scythe or Hoe]. However some farmers have served in Seshnegi army contrary to the Rule and would know proper Battle Sorcery. These would be the leaders in any insurrection.
>And do Esrolians learn extra bladesharp spells to fight Harrek and his
>wolf pirates? (What's the point?) Do they fight off the Orlanthi
>raiders from the West, or just spend the extra magical effort recovering?
>Do the Esrolian queens, when warring against each other, use private armies
>of mercenaries and warriors, or their farmer folk?
Esrolians use their farmers like Trolls use Trollkin. Well, not as callous. The men are mustered in large formations, equipped with shitty weapons and sent towards the enemy in an effort to wear them down before the real (female) fighting units launch their attacks. This sort of tactic means it's not cost effective to teach them battle magic. Of course, these male units are near useless to repel raiders (as by the time they have been mustered the raiders are GONE).
>I think the Sartarite Orlanthi tradition of farmer/warriors are a bit of an
>exception in Glorantha.
Most of the farmer/warriors aren't very good IMO. If they're too poor to afford decent weaponry, I doubt they can afford fancy spells. The king invariably relies on his huscarls when he wants to do any serious campaigning.
>Which brings me to another unpleasant topic - are there many instances in
>Glorantha of total war? Have armies ever tried to wipe out the farmers to
>weaken their enemies? Or is the land and the farmers more often considered
>the prize?
The True Golden Horde was said to have practiced genocide before the Dragonkill War although this seems to refer to the Pelorian Dragonewts rather than the humans. One could argue that the defeat of the True Golden Horde was an example of wiping out farmers but the Fortunate Succession treats the defeat as akin to the Romans' losses to Hannibal in the first year of the 2nd Punic War rather than the loss of every male of military age.
The Aldryami of Kanthor's Isles were forced to kill all the livestock they could find at the command of the Luatha when Seshnela was sunk. The humans however were merely deported to Tanisor.
The Kingdom of War which comes the closest to total war treats the farmers as a valuable resource to be exploited. Arkat's campaigns in Peloria did try the tactic of killing everybody they could find but this was limited in scope.
The only people who might try 'total war' nowadays are the Pentan Horse Nomads who would exterminate the farmers so their land could be used as pasture for the horses.
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