critters & Esra

From: Carlson, Pam <carlsonp_at_wdni.com>
Date: Mon, 17 Mar 1997 08:30:00 -0800


James:

>** WHERE DO BRAINY BUNNIES COME FROM?
I think brainy bunnies, or any other critter, come from brainy bunny spirits. In fact, all bunnies come from bunny spirits. If 10%, (or, for bunnies, perhaps 0.01%) of animal spirits are sentient, then those spirits will enter animal conceptuses at a similar rate. Therefore, it's random. Brainy bunnies can come from dull bunny parents, and vice versa. Unless the bright bunny parents know a ritual to attract brainy bunny spirits to their babies. This is getting too wierd.

Perhaps a patron deity of an ecosystem, like Zola Fel or Kero Fin, can impart some more divity to lesser spirits - so the Zola Fel has more intelligent fish, otters and crawdads than most other rivers in Glorantha, while the slopes of Kero Fin may be home to a higher proportion of intelligent stags, bears, boar and groundhogs than other mountains. These places would be considered very magical by humans, (and other sentient critters).

I would guess that humans somehow won a higher number of sentients than other animals. Perhaps the Theyalans (?) have a myth that Grandfather Mortal traded his life for sentience? Really, it's obvious. Animals must be immortal, because when they die and are reborn, they still know how to do all the things they will need in their lives. But humans and man-things have to learn everything over again!

>How do they survive?

They are probably quite adept at eluding hunters. Think of the havoc an intelligent large predator could cause.

>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.

Probably quite true. But a sentient bunny is still only a bunny. He still has to convince all the other bunnies to so what he says to help you, and that's not easy, as they all have their own little bunny agendas.

(Bright bunny:"Hey Guys! I just made a great deal! If we choose on of us a week to sacrifice to the Hunter in the Valley, he'll not kill us any other time, AND he'll kill all the foxes! It's a great deal for all of us!"

Other bunnies:

"Run away!"
"Look!  Clover!"
"Grr!  Another male!  Attack - get -  the -  girl...."
"Is there a hawk here?"

I'm not sure how much success he's going to have! It does bring a whole new level to Glorantha, though. Rabbit PC's, anyone?

>Finally, on a related point: is there a God-Learnerish system of
classifying animals by rune?

Perhaps, but so what? It's a Godlearner theory - that and $2.00 will get you a latte. Just because the Godlearners call all birds fire critters means little, because they don't all automatically have a tie to all things bright and fiery. There are crows, owls, seabirds, flightless birds, etc.
As for invertebrate critters, I don't thinkthey're all darkness related.  There are bees & butterlies (assoc w/ flowers & sunlight), crawdads(water), annelid worms (earth), fireflies (light?), etc. And I still think spiders are beyond these petty affiliations, but I'd hate to insist on that too strongly, less the rath of Tarantulor be released....


Nick - thanks for the discourse on Argan Argar as an important husband in Esrolia. I particularly liked your Esrolian explanation of the origin of the god's war!


Thinking on it, Eurmal in his murder aspect could be a good avenue to revenge even after wereguild has been paid. The only problem is that this path places you outside the law in several ways - as an Eurmali, and as someone who refuses to accept the decisions of the clan. Or are those the same?

Pam


Powered by hypermail