I was astounded, myself. Never would have suspected it. Now, I know all the names of the mermen, but only because I was the guy who had to make them up in the first place. I'd like to point out my sorrow that most of the folks in the Pub Quiz could not name a _single_ type of merman. This was very tragic because it means that my mermen labors proved of use only to guys like Joerg.
>Of course Peter Metcalfe could probably give us a multi page
>discussion on the mythic nature of the scales on a merman's butt.
>Now that is sad.
I regard this as hurling down the gauntlet, Peter. I now expect such a discussion from you or I'll be severely disappointed.
Nick Brooke described the pact between Yelm and Orlanth in which they swore Eternal Friendship as "wishy washy rubbish".
Come now Nick. The two Gods are absolutely firm friends. Just ask them. They are in the ranks of the great buddies of history; Castor & Pollux, Robin Hood & Little John, Mercutio & Tybalt, Hitler & Stalin, etc.
Michael Cule
>2) Can anyone explain what the Ygg's Island Vikings, variant
>Orlanathi, are doing waaaaay over there, far away from the main body
>of Orlanthi culture?
They're not Orlanthi. They are Viking-like, which causes the casual observer to think they must be like the Celt-like Orlanthi. But they're not related in any way, except that they're both ferocious barbarians. Their own pantheon of gods is reasonably pathetic, and I play that they quite commonly convert to other gods who seem similar to (but better than) their own deities.
I.e., they sail all over Western Genertela. Now, they aren't going to join a Hsunchen group (physically impossible anyway), and they sure as hell aren't going to sign on with the Invisible God! The only gods acceptable to the Yglings that they're likely to encounter are the Orlanthi pantheon -- the king is a Storm God, like Ygg, but cooler. So ... many, if not most, Yglinga have switched to the worship of Theyalan gods, or else useful sea gods like Magasta or Dormal. Ygg still gets his worship though, at least from the stay-at-home types.
But this gradual religious encroachment on the Yglinga religion doesn't change the nature of their culture, which is not Orlanthi any more than it is Balazaring.
>Has anyone done any background on them?
Most of my players are Yglinga in my current campaign.
>3) Has anyone done anything on the Vadeli? Their culture and how
>likely someone sailing the seas around Loskalm is to encounter them?
Yep. Their culture is pretty much invisible to outsiders. When the Vadeli talk to anyone, they invariably put on an acceptable mask. This does NOT mean they emulate the culture they are contacting, though it might. Instead, they act like something harmless and benign to that culture.
For instance, in an Orlanthi town, a Vadeli acts like a traveling merchant -- these are well-known in civilized Orlanthi cultures, and are rarely robbed and killed. On the other hand, when communicating with folks from the Kingdom of Tanisor, a Vadeli behaves as if he is a noble of his kind (just slightly lower-ranking than the person to which he is speaking), and the Vadeli crew of his ship behave like his vassals.
Basically, they try to be all things to all people.
How likely is someone around Loskalm to encounter them? About as likely as a merchant in the ancient Mediterranean was to encounter Phoenicians -- i.e., they are met much more often than their numbers would imply. Most all of them are sailors, and they spend a LOT of time at sea.
Sandy P.
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