<< The elf thread continues, yay! First of all, special thanks to James
Wadsley for his good short narrative. I do not agree with everything you
describe, but you captured the feeling of fear and mistery of being in a
hostile elven forest. Well done.>>
<<Wooden blades>>
I agree. IMG most Aldrymi communities depends upon wooden weapons. Spear is usually the primary HTH weapon, though death is usually delt with via bow.
In some areas, especially where there are other races about and trade can occur, other weapons are possible. The Garden dwellers have swords, daggers, and even axes for the Babester Gor guardians. An Aldrymi is allowed to have a special live weapon be a spear if it wants (and that plant is available), but it is almost always a bow for several reasons.
<<Of course, the elves can use magic to keep the wooden blade sharp, but then
they should sacrifice POW to the blade, not to the tree that grows it. This
sounds a bit too costly to me>>
I thought so to awhile back, but playing one in several games, as well as running a game or two with one in it has shown me that most aldrymi have that POW to spare, having a higher racial max than most other races. Still wooden swords are not IMG.
<<Wooden armor>>
Yes, IMG there are specialist armor plants that grow armor which the individual wears. The problem is not all forests have those plants.
<< Keeping wooden objects "alive">>
<<Erik Sieurin suggested that elves can make special rituals to keep their
wooden objects alive. Wrong IMHO. Wood is _dead_, as dead as the part of your
fingernails upu use to clip.>>
Here I agree with Erik. As a matter of fact, the armor an weapons are alive. It would be un-aldrymi to use dead wood if live wood would serve you better. Live wood regenerates, it is not as brittle, and is much more resistant to fire.
<<Copper elves and copper trees>>
<<I liked James Wadsley's ideas of the copper trees hidden in the deepest of
the forest, but all these copper trees/aldryami are somehow "ungloranthan".>>
I agree. Again, IMG Aldrymi have special plants which grow their copper weapons and armor. The metal is extracted from the earth under the tree's roots (where many copper items are put by the gnomes the Gardeners send to keep up the stock. The Aldrymi getting the weapon/armor spends the point of POW needed to "enchant" (a loose term here, actually bonding it with the owners spirit is better) it and then needs to tend it (in case of a weapon), or spend time hibernating (in the case of armor) with the item. That is needed as it will need to "feed" from the owner. The weapon/armor having grown (it takes awhile, and in the case of armor, a season is needed for the armor to shape and bond to the wearer), the new owner then has to keep the item with them as it needs to take nourishment from the owner to stay healthy. While they do not have as high a metabolism as an Aldrymi, they will still take enough that the aldrymi has to increase it's intake. The armors can also hibernate and use less when not needed, though the owner still has to tend it, and they are maintained by "tender" plants in a grove which is probably near the armor grove (it is an strange sight to see all the armor swaying in the grove, had some of my players spooked). Most of the time keeping the weapon with the aldrymi is no problem, though the armor might, they tend to go in seasonal shifts, depending on the number available.
Not all forests have the armor/weapon plants. A aldrymi bab. acolyte IMG has finally gotten her copper armor, having travelled an amazing distance to get it (not even her original goal). These trees are very prized, next to lore trees and considerable effort will go into getting one of these.
Some of the material that has come out with aldrymi carrying bronze weapons and armor can be explained by considering that it is far easier to use what is available all about, especially if you are in a war or that forest has lost some or all of it's special armor/weapons plants. The Hellwood Aldrymi are prime examples of this.
Lore Trees
Since I mentioned them I might as well explain. IMG (again), the Aldrymi lore is kept by special trees which hold all the imformation that that forest has collected. It will hold history, spells, maps, skills, even experiences of those who have decided to impart information into the lore trees.
The way the information is stored is through a combination of the aldrymi's empathic sense and it's Impart/Recieve Aldrymi (i.e Read/Write Aldrymi, which only one with the empathic sense can use, aldrymi do not "write" things down IMG). If one needs help, the Loremaster (a speciallized Gardener) or his aid can help pass the information. The effect stores specific memories from an aldrymi into the lore tree, and allows it to be compared and sorted so as to be as effective as a computer database, more so, as a specific experience (such as witnessing a special event so others can see/be there for themselves) can be passed on. Specific spell spirit information, true names, etc., even the spells themselves can be stored there (They act as INT spirits). Skill information can also be stored, though there are limits depending upon the type of skill (knowledge being the easiest to store and train in), most weapon skills stored never reach higher than 60% in the largest lore groves (those with a Great Tree). Information can be carried by storing the information in a lore seed (about the size of an orange), grown from the lore tree, though unless it is awakened (by a ritual which imparts it INT like that of an INT Spirit, I do not have it down on computer yet). The lore seeds act like books in most ways. They do sort and compare information as the Loremaster (and or aids, usually Shamans) directs. This makes it easier to find the particular information desired.
After a battle in which aldrymi with important information have died occurs, a Shaman or Gardener specializing in Ancestor Worship calls forth the spirits of the dead in question and bind them to the Lore Grove till all that is needed is imparted. Sometimes the powerful spirit of a Gardener or Loremaster who has died will be placed in a lore seed in a special ritual which will leave them in the body of a lore tree. This would be done only if the original body could not be recovered, and if the need was dire.
Some Lore Trees suddenly become intelligent of it's own accumulation of knowledge, or through the process above. The tree in question is now an awakened tree, and can act in every way as one of those do, although both would have all the spells/skills available to them.
As with computers, Lore Trees can "archive" information, though usually only that of great import, like history, ancestral information, etc. The process is not done alot as it requires all the lore trees to coordinate their information and Impart it into special lore seeds (these are about the size of basketballs, though more of a pod shape) which has an awakened spirit in it to act as guardian. The spirit actually sleeps till needed, it is just there to guard the seed, and will become the spirit in the grown tree. These special seeds are then placed in a secret place, known to only a few, and guarded by gnomes and other creatures. The information in it is not easily accessible, but can be used by the seeds spirit if really needed. The magics in these vary, though the spirit has the power of a Gardener (probably was on once) and can use them as needed. The Aldrymi IMG found one and returned it to it's home in the Elder Wilds, it had been found by Mostali and misplaced before it could be "researched". She did not know what she had for quite awhile as the guardian spirit was deeply asleep.
Ack! Ramble Alert! I will at some point put this all down in my computer, but till I have time.........
Aloha,
Scott Knowles
Chaos Society USA Coordinator
aka
Delecti_at_aol.com
Try Delecti's Glorantha Lore Library in the Upland Marsh at:
http://members.aol.com/Delecti/UpMarsh.html
End of Glorantha Digest V4 #329
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