:I don't have 2nd edition, but Into Uzdom p. 26 says "the lynx spiders try
:to govern the actions of the unintelligent wolf spiders." "The lynx
:spiders are not very smart." Hmm. TRY. Sounds like real effective
:cavalry, no?
Are they as smart as -- horses? Which are reknowned far and wide for their
brilliance? (Sorry; I've always loathed the dopey four-legged things.
Apologies to any equestrians out there). That Lynx Spider average INT of
3-4 seems comparable enough to horses.
But I believe the studly spider steed in question is the _tarantula_, not the lynx/wolf spider. I don't believe Wolf Spiders, at least in the small variety, _are_ sentient, according to Trollpak. And Lynx spiders only need to be smart enough to fire & forget.
I think the lynx/wolf packs _are_ quite effective. You don't ride them; you basically send them off as little drones to attack. Not a bad thing, IMO. Perhaps better to say they're the equivalent of wardogs, or something. The trollkin equivalent in the spider world: more numerous, cheaper, and parallel in effectiveness.
:And Aranea's cult "is minute," (according to Troll Gods) so it's hardly
:going to form cavalry units.
It makes sense to me, reading _Into Uzdom_/_Into the Troll Realms_.
I'm assuming (and yes, I might well be wrong) that the presence of the 3 taranulas suggests Cragspider has a fair number of these beasties lying around -- she might field, oh, 50 of them. Maybe. The might not be used in more than units of 3, but that unit of 3 (with accompanying light spider escort) is pretty darn effective. An elite unit of 3 might be pretty scary.
Not an earthshattering force, but very useful for the trolls, IMO. Spiders provide a variety of useful little things for the overwhelmingly-infantry troll armies.
And that "minute" cult is, according to Troll Gods, pulling off a Great Temple in Cliffhome, so that's 1500+ worshippers. Yeah, they're minute in comparison to Kyger Litor -- it doesn't mean they've only got two initiates and a lay member named Fred. :) I interpreted it to mean that they're not a common cult, _except_ in the three Great Temple areas noted, where they must approach a fair bit of the population. True, it's possible to argue how much of these temples are composed of spiders who are worshippers, but 500-750 trollish worshippers seems to give enough of a base to field some cavalry out of DakInk.
:Also, my edition suggests that the tarantulas aren't sentient (INT 2d6,
:in RQ2 terms).
Are Great Trolls, with 2d6+2, sentient?
I was working off the assumptions that, 1) critters given rollable INT stats in RQ2 were sentient (note that nonsentient beetles, etc. aren't given *any* INT stats, just like horses weren't) -- in RQ3 terms, I presume (in trollpak) they've got rollable INT, rather than fixed? Or did they all get de-sentientized? (Might be. <Shrug>); 2) The fact that a tarantula's _max_ INT was higher than a Human/troll average INT (with the old 3d6 rules) is a good sign it's sentient; 3) As noted, they're (almost) as bright as Great Trolls; 4) are not the female spiders of the Spider Woods sentient, suggesting at least some spiders are?; 5) Those tarantulas in the RQ2/RQ3 Skyfall Lake scenario are using magic, after all; 6) the cult of Aranea clearly states that some spiders are "intelligent."
Altogether, I'd say that's a decent argument. I'm *not* arguing tarantulas pursue exciting careers in the world of nuclear physics. :) But sentiency, yes.
Or did you mean tarantulas (and other spiders, et al.) are like fish -- you have a very small number of intelligent specimens? I dunno -- I still think the rolleable INT is key.
:A troll on an intelligent tarantula *might* be better in a joust than a
:Grazer on an intelligent warhorse, but this is no more a cavalry
:encounter than two Humakti dueling.
<Mind boggles from thought of how you'd get a spider to joust>
What else would you call it?
Infantry: man on foot. Cavalry: man on mount. Just because it's got
double the right number of legs means it's not cavalry? I don't follow you
on this. What else would one categorize trolls so mounted as? What's the
alternative? And why is the Crimson Bat cavalry if my spiders aren't? :)
Seems easier just to say "stuff on horse/bug/spider/wolf/tusker/demi-bird/ trikes/bison/impalas et al is cavalry."
Or are you saying tarantulas (& trikes, and the bat) are more similar to war-elephants than cavalry? I always considered elephants to be a "kind" of cavalry, myself. Again, if it's not cavalry, what _would_ it be? If you can give me a good reason why my spiders shouldn't be called cavalry, I'd be happy to change my terminology.
: Show me a troll use of cavalry
Skyfall Lake. Used the same way the Orlanthi might send a group of
horsemen out to catch the fleeing bandits.
If you want a book reference to "yabba yabba yabba the trolls fielded cavalry at the crucial battle of Yelmboot" I'd point out that Trollpak doesn't really give adequate descriptions of battles and such. And, as has been argued numerous times on the Digest, trying to limit Glorantha to what Chaosium/Avalon Hill cranked out is ludicrously limiting.
You mention trikes: you be honest, I'd forgotten them, and they're probably better than tarantulas in most respects. So (deep sigh) the mantle of Glorantha's Best Cavalry goes to the perfidious dragonewts. Tarantulas have more general applicablity, true, but on level terrain a trike'd stomp my spider's hairy fanny into the ground, but quick. Geez. Stupid dragonfreaks not only avoid the Curse of Kin, but they steal our trollish cavalry glory. There ain't no justice.
:(I still think the Red Goddess on the Crimson Bat is the best cavalry in
:Glorantha. She could probably even take on Lord Death on a Horse.)
Troll #1: "We have word from outpost! Crimson Bat approaches!"
Troll #2: "Feed Tarantulor more royal jelly!"
Taran-tu-lor! Taran-tu-lor! You will flail the screeching moon! Eat up all the lunar goons! We believe in Taran-tu-lor!
I will freely admit that the Red Goddess on the Crimson Bat is the best cavalry duo in Glorantha.*
But, since she's evil and vile chaos, the judges of Glorantha's Best Cavalry have disqualified her. Hey, small chaos is all chaos.
James Frusetta
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