I was reflecting on these smart critters, and wondered: why? How did this come about? And how do they survive? So, a host of questions for the Gloranthan Sages resident....
Or was it due to losses among the ranks of animal deities -- the better
shape the animal deity in question when Time began, the better shape the
species? So you might see a higher proportion of, say, cats or ravens
being sentient, because Yinkin and Raven did okay for themselves, while
some sentient horses (because Hyalor survived, at least), but no
(or very few) sentient, um, blue-breasted throat warblers because Tien had
the God of BBTWs for lunch?
Or are the sentient members of the species the descendants of ancient critter heroes, how have magically passed on their abilities? Or perhaps deliberately created through use of powerful magics and breeding by cults, heros, etc.? Or "bred" into the unintelligent animals when the appropriate gods were feeling, um, randy? (Raven thus fostering lines of ravens, Yinkin of alynxes and such, etc. etc.)
And where the heck do the Hsunchen fit in to all this? Or were there originally a _lot_ more Hsunchen than survive today in a _lot_ more animal species, and the intelligent remnents are somehow tied in with these? (I'm not aware of more than a couple dozen Hsunchen tribes, max -- and maybe not that many -- but were there originally thousands and thousands, or something?)
Or, and typically Gloranthan, all the above detect as Truth?
If they do breed true with the aid of animal patrons, I wonder if some of the Human gods have very different form among other species -- if I'm an intelligent cat, I could probably give a fig about the wealth of myths concerning Yinkin and Orlanth: I've got completely different myths, because the god has a completely different role for me.
How do they survive? I mean, it's all well and good to be a smart
bunny, but when Argrolf the Orlanthi hunter shoots you with his bow before
you can say "Howdy!", the species isn't doing well. The Zola Fel fishies
survive in part by having a supportive cult -- where do the other animals
fit in? Sure, the bugs/spiders are covered, and perhaps birds as well.
(Mr. Bunny can probably hang out in the Voria temple, but that still
leaves all the nasty, dangerous and/or unappealing animals. Who wants a
skunk in your Orlanth congregation, even if it is sentient?)
I suspect there's all sorts of rituals dealing with sentient critters, who aid/bless your trespassing in their domain in return for not getting hunted, for protection of the ecosystem you need, etc. So the local Orlanthi all sing the "Hello Mr. Bunny" song before hunting, and listen to see if Mr. Bunny says "No! Wait! No! It's me!" And they leave enough virgin soil for Mr. Bunny, and keep the fox population low (unless Mr. Fox is smart, too...) In return, Mr. Bunny provides whatever services a rabbit can provide (which is... not much that I can think of. Mr. Bunny may end up as lunch yet).
Breaking the rituals not only loses you your animal partner, but may anger the appropriate gods, who thus visit plagues and torments on you. Might be an interesting adventure hook for "farmer" campaigns, protecting the link with the local sentient forest community. (And, if the Lunars don't hold to the same practice, you've got to protect Mr. Bunny from the Lunars...)
And the population of Beast Valley may be higher than anyone suspects, because it may serve as a refuge for intelligent animals who lost out to man. Considering past Lunar practice ("Well, time to burn down that Elven forest"), the sentient bunnies of Beast Valley may be refugess from Peloria... Watership Glorantha. Raising the interesting question -- if you piss them off enough, how they strike back? Can Mr. Bunny join Maran Gor? (Uh-oh.)
Fire Birds Darkness Bugs/Spiders/Worms/Crabs* Earth Reptiles Storm Mammals (?) Sea Fish Moon Things That Should Not Be
My god, I went an entire message without mentioning trolls. No, wait, I just did. Damn!
James Frusetta
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