And you seem to have misunderstood my point - the supplements that you can go out and buy and play are written from a more or less monomyth point of view, and are readily understandable. You can play, and have fun, and ignore any of this stuff you don't understand.
GRoY, tFS, KOS, etc. are not for people to pick up and start playing - they are not game supplements, they are Gloranthan books, for people that want more than easy to play supplements. If all you want is easy to play supplements, then DON'T BUY THEM. Sure, you'll miss out on lots of great stuff that will contribute to a deeper understanding of Glorantha, and eventually contribute to better games. Your choice.
And its not stupidity, nor did I ever mean to imply it. Its just taking the time to digest stuff that is not in a directly gameable format, and working out how it might be useful in your game. Taking the time to think about a lot of fairly complex issues raised by trying to create a fantasy universe that has realistic religions, for example, is not a simple thing. If you don't want to devote that time, or haven't the time to do so, I heartily agree that there should be fun, easy to play, enjoyable stuff out there for you as well. I just don't that thats ALL there should be.
Paul Harmaty writes
>I'm totally against new material trying to reconcile the various myths. I
>believe that each source book should present the accepted world view for
>characters from that culture. All GMs and players need is a comprehensive
>world
>view for their characters.
Absolutely - as long as the players and GMs all understand what they are on about, what does it matter what other cultures from the other side of the continent would make of events? You should be able to grab a gaming supplement or two about a particular area, and have an explanation of how the universe works from that cultures point of view, a bit about their society, a bit about how their magic works, and in other parts down to the level of detail of maps and prominent NPCs. And if their version of history or myth disagrees with whatever the 'official' history says happened? Ignore it, at least as far as all the players are concerned. Why should PCs ever know the truth about what really happened in Pre-Dawn Peloria anyway (to mention just one esoteric subject of little importance to MOST games)?
Cheers
David
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