RQ2 did not, so "worshipper" is used. Despite the OAD's statement, "worshipper" is probably more common even here in America.
Thomas Gottschall
>I don't think if you cut a walktapus into pieces that every piece develops
>into a whole walktapus.
Under normal conditions, I concur. Typically the pieces try to crawl back together again. BUT, if they are kept apart for too long, they will differentiate and form new, independent walktapi, though probably some of the pieces just die.
When two walktapi breed, they tear each other limb from limb, into exactly thirteen pieces (eight tentacles, two arms, two legs, and the body stump). The torso & head then die, and the twelve limbs each develop into a new young walktapus. The combat interaction serves the same purpose as sex for more conventional animals. The walktapi formed by this method probably grow faster and are more viable than those formed simply by cutting off chunks of a walktapus and keeping them in a bathtub (or whatever).
Walktapus do NOT breed every time they meet, but only rarely. Normally, walktapi are considered to be sexless, but sometimes they show male genitalia. There is only one report I've ever heard of of a female walktapus. No doubt such a creature would be exceptional in other ways as well.
NOTE: probably no scholar in Glorantha knows the above information about walktapus breeding. Certainly players would not be privy to it. It's a worthwhile Lhankor Mhy expedition: "How do walktapi breed?"
>But I actually don't know what happens if a tentacle is eaten by somebody.
Ecch. Eating a _living_ walktapus tentacle? Dangerous, at best. Even trolls prefer to kill the critters first.
>I think Walktapi can regrow their limbs within a certain time.
Yes, of course, but it's far easier just to reattach a severed limb.
>But there is something else, a walktapus can't be starved!
Well, this is sort of true. I think that an unfed walktapus gradually shrinks in size, resorbing its tentacles and limbs.
Stephen Martin
>Now I may be wrong, but I could have sworn that Saintly Yanoor was killed
>by the False Dragons Circle, and that Shang-hsa (MHNBC) was their
>puppet-emperor.
As you suspected, you are, in fact, wrong. [Personal discussion with Greg S., Greg F., Nils, & myself.]
Shang-Hsa came first. When his consciousness was awakened, he became Yanoor and swore off his former sins. Then Yanoor was easily defeated by the False Dragon Ring. In fact, I suspect that if the current Emperor had _not_ been (in effect) emasculated, that the FDR would have had a more difficult time of it.
>I would suggest that the "fact" that "Aether" and "Yelm" were the first
>two Emperors is a God Learnerism, and that the names of these Celestial
>beings were different before the FDR came in and changed the records --
>why do you think Shang-hsa (MHNBC) burned all the books?
They're not called "Aether" and "Yelm" in the Kralori tongue -- these names are what the God Learners applied to them.
Why did Shang-Hsa burn the books? Read on ...
SHANG-HSA MAY-HIS-NAME-BE-CURSED
When Shang-Hsa took office, he proclaimed, "All mankind is unhappy and
wrought with cares. All mankind is beset with toil, poverty, sorrow, death.
These are the Four Pains of life.
"The poor toil to please the rich. The wealthy toil to avoid having to toil. "The poor wish they had more, so they dwell in poverty. The wealthy can always see a person who is richer, so they, too, dwell in poverty. "The poor are sorrowful, because they have naught. The wealthy are sorrowful, because they fear losing what they have. "The poor grieve for the death of those they love. The wealthy are no different. "I know how to save all mankind from the Four Pains. Always we haverejected and despised the temptations of the Flesh [the Beasts] and of Ignorance [KoI, of course]. And all previous emperors were right to do so, for the Flesh and Ignorance are bad, singly. But I have seen beyond the Two Threats, and see how they can be merged into a harmonious whole. Consider the Four Pains.
"The beasts toil not, because they seek only pleasure. The ignorant do not strive to please others, because they foresee not that harm comes of idleness. Thus, they are happy.
"The beasts see only what they have. The ignorant do not lust for more, because they are unaware of its existence. Thus, they are happy.
"The beasts use what is at hand, seeking no more. The ignorant need nothing more, because they have all they can possibly use anyway. [The implication is that a man from the KoI could not use, say, a plow, because it requires skill and wisdom to do so. So he is happy with his little gardening trowel, laboring away on a skimpy crop.] Thus, they are happy.
"The beasts do not grieve for the death of loved ones, because they forget them at once. The ignorant do not fear their own death, for they do not know it will happen. Thus, they are happy."
After this famous speech, Shang-Hsa began his program. First, he burned the books. This enabled all mankind to move a vast step towards ignorance and lack of knowledge. Then he slew the rulers of the people [presumably whatever the First Age had as equivalents for Mandarins or Exarchs.], for they led the common folk in the paths of wisdom. Then he destroyed all the calendars, lest folk use them to look ahead.
Yet was Shang-Hsa discontent. The land was unhappy. Famine and plague ravaged it. The armies of Ignorance and the beasts invaded and were not driven back. [This is widely recorded as having greatly upset Shang-Hsa. He had believed that by emulating the Beasts and Ignorance, he would reach harmonious balance with them, and they might even join his happy empire as a first step towards blanketing the world.] He realized that the Two Sins were insufficient for happiness, and that he would need to uncover a Third Sin, like unto the beasts and ignorance. So he meditated, and commanded all the world [i.e., Kralorela] to pray with him.
At the Sunstop, his prayer was answered. He was enlightened, and Passed On. [In my belief, he then became Yanoor.]
BASMOLI SOPHISTICATION
The Basmoli who fought the Brithini & Malkioni in the First Age were an
advanced culture about which little is known (since they're destroyed, and
the only surviving records are from their foes). It is clear that they
worshiped other gods besides Basmol, and there is evidence that they didn't
worship Basmol at all, at least not openly. Certainly they were no longer
"mere" Hsunchen.
Peter Metcalfe
>Why should the Basmoli be wearing armour? The True Basmoli needs
>aught but his skin IMHO.
They were no longer true Basmoli. It's possible that part of the Basmoli Empire's army, even at a late date, was composed of True Basmoli, but I doubt they were in a position of authority.
Joerg B.
>horses get sick on the plains of Jolar quickly.
This is probably just a superstition, because we know that horses are used to this day in the parts of Jolar nearest Fonrit. Anyway, it was not the case in the Second Age. Perhaps one of Hon Hoolbiktu's Dooms was a horse-afflicting disease, carried by some insect or worm indigenous to the plains.
Peter M.
>then how _did_ the six-legged empire manage to conquer the plains in the
first >place? According to the Jolar writeup, their steeds failed which
implies that >they must have been effective initially.
They were effective until the final war.
DUCKS *********************
There are duck "centers" all over Wenelia. The large port in far west Wenelia (whose name escapes me for the moment) is not exclusively Duck, but certainly has thousands of Duck citizens.
>any idea what bit of the Holy Country?
Coastal areas.
>Cults: I gather that ducks used to worship Yelm and this changed when they
>were "cursed", so they lost their wings, gained live births and longer
>lifespans, and started worshipping Orlanth instead.
There's no actual evidence for Yelm worship and not much for their so-called "curse". They are associated with the Sky because they are birds, and in Orlanthi & God Learner cosmology, birds are the the Fire phylum. Even waterbirds, presumably.
WING LOSS -- The whole flightless thing is easily enough explained in natural terms -- intelligent ducks are huge -- 20 kg or more. Not many birds of that size can fly anyway -- especially waterbirds (think of the Great Auk and Emperor Penguin, comparable in size to RQ Ducks).
LIVE BIRTH -- I don't accept this for a moment. It is biologically improbable (evidence exists that animals with calcified eggs -- such as birds and crocodiles -- cannot evolve ovoviviparity). It is mythologically unimportant (who cares whether they lay eggs or not). And in terms of game play, it isn't as fun as having them lay eggs, since at least one common non-human PC type ought to be an egg-layer.
LONGER LIFESPANS -- water birds live a long time already, and the larger the bird, the longer it lives. RQ Duck lifespans aren't particularly prolonged for a bird of its size and background. Remember, birds are generally longer-lived than mammals. I think RQ Ducks live about as long as humans with no supernatural element needed. Ditto for their slow rate of maturing -- the wandering albatross doesn't usually mate until it's 10 years old or more, and it is much smaller than a RQ Duck.
>All I ever hear is that they worship Ernalda. Why?
People are assuming that because ducks are Orlanthi culturally, they must worship Ernalda, too. I don't buy it either. Heler, maybe.
>They're not farmers, they're fishers. Worshipping the river spirit would
seem >to make more sense.
At least, if they live on a river. Worshiping the Upland Marsh spirit is probably not so great.
More later,
Sandy
End of Glorantha Digest V4 #465
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