Hsunchen from TTrotsky_at_aol.com on 1997-04-30 (Glorantha Digest Vol 04)

From: TTrotsky_at_aol.com
Date: Wed, 30 Apr 1997 18:11:40 -0400 (EDT)

Andrew Joelson makes some very good points about where exactly the Inuit-like seal Hsunchen I envisaged would be located. I completely agree with ruling out the north coast of the White Sea, and I'd forgotten about Erigia having been an elven forest (duh!). I was actually thinking about the coast of Pent when I said it, envisaging that this area might be a bit hostile to the horse-riding Pentans. But, unless they lived on islands - and their ain't any on the map - I concede you're probably right. I suppose one could argue that the coast of Erigia wasn't heavily forested, or that there aren't enough snow trolls in North Pent to cause a problem... but, nah, on the whole I think you're right. Drat!

M Anderson says he thinks Hsunchen are 'pseudo-humans tied to spirits of place'. I completely disagree with this. For one thing, in most cases they aren't pseudo-humans (I'll concede the Basmoli as a possible exception, but I see no evidence for the Telmori or Rathori, the only other two races to be described in any detail). What sets the Hsunchen apart from each other are their cultures (similar, but flavoured by the animal totem), and the Rune spells they have access to. From the point of view of a single Hsunchen wandering about, the former can't change, which only leaves the spells. So, if you travel to Dagori Inkarth you turn into a troll Gorakiki/Aranea worshipper do you? Nah, Wolfhide and Strength of Basmol (to take two familiar examples) are different spells with quite different effects, and IMO there is just no way the one can turn into the other.

Adminstrative point raised by Nick Brooke: Hey, I never said I was _Leon_ Trotsky, how do you know it ain't a real surname? ;-) Seriously, though, 'Trotsky' is actually a nickname, and predates me being on the Net. There are probably more gamers know me by this name than any other, so I hadn't even thought about it being 'anonymous'. Still, you can call me 'Jamie' if it makes you feel better.

All hail the Reaching Moon

Trotsky