Re: Hunter cult, ants, Doraddi

From: Sandy Petersen <sandyp_at_idsoftware.com>
Date: Wed, 04 Jun 1997 16:44:37 -0500


Thomas Gottschall
>1. Is it true that hunter cultist aren't allowed to kill their pray in
>order to use their Peaceful Cut to kill them instead?

        The Peaceful Cut, for a hunter, is performed after the animal is already dead. It includes knowledge of who gets what cut of meat, for instance.

>2. The Peaceful Cut is a ceremony where the hunter kills the animal and
>sends its soul to the beastmother, right?

        The animal is only killed in the Peaceful Cut if it is not already dead from the effects of hunting & trapping.

>3. Hunters aren't allowed to use traps because the animals would be dead
>before he could use his Peaceful Cut?

        Not true.

>4. Hunter gods dislike/hate cultists who let animals unnecessary feel
>pain?

        "Unnecessary" is the key word here. "Necessary" pain is still okay -- it's part of life. Thus, shooting an obsidian arrowhead through the gut of a titanothere and letting it die slowly of septicemic shock is okay, because that's the best/safest way to kill these creatures. Skinning a mink alive is not okay, because the mink can be easily strangled or knocked unconscious just before skinning. Roasting a frog alive is bad, because it's easy to pith it just before cooking. Roasting a batch of clams alive is okay, because there's no convenient way of killing them first.

>5. There are no hunters who hunt for fur alone because the meat musn't
>be wasted?

        The Hunter Gods in Glorantha are worshiped largely by primitive or subsistence hunters. They don't hunt for fur alone, unless the meat is inedible for some reason. Civilized non-subsistence hunters don't worship the same gods.

Paul Chapman
>Who.what is the water fertility spirit/deity? _Is_ there a general one at
>all?

        Tholaina and Triolina are two important fertility deities of the Mermen. They're known in the Holy Country, where mermen are important, and would probably be known to the Ducks there, and thence to Duck Point.

Gary R. Switzer
>1) Who are the Lunars so hot to trade _with_ in the East?

        The Kralori Empire.

>2) What products are the Lunars importing?

        Among other things, slave collars, which are manufactured exclusively in a single Kralorelan city. Other stuff too, mostly luxury goods, spices, silk, magic items. Bulk goods are too hard to transport across Pent.

>3) What products are the Lunars exporting, or are they paying cash?

        I think they're paying cash, with some limited trade in Lunar magic junk.

>4) Is there a serious imbalance of trade one way or the other?

        There is a money drain along the lines of that suffered by the ancient Romans to the ancient Orient. Not enough to destabilize the Empire, but enough to make it economically insecure.

>Anyone want to classify Sandy?.....I think he's really Dayzatar....
>>Dorastran.
>>>Which explains the well known Sandy fascination for big ugly weird
>>>monsters. It fits all too well.

        I don't like the way this line of reasoning is headed.

GIANT ANTS
        Ants are EXTREMELY successful organisms, and solve the problem of survival in a number of varied ways. They engage in a wider range of behavior, breeding techniques, and lifestyles than any other animal.

Benedict Adamson
>If each colony has one queen (and thus one nest), the need to return to the
>nest limits the maximum size.

        Many types of ants have multiple queens. Other types (such as the infamous Solenopsis -- the imported Fire Ant) switch between multiple queens and single queens depending on local conditions (basically, imported fire ant nests have multiple queens in hard times, single queens in good times).

        Also, there are types of ants which do not have nests at all, but in which the queens travel with the rest of the swarm. The best-known of these nestless ants are army ants.

>The absolute maximum size is reached when the energy (etc.) gained from a
>foraging trip exactly equals the energy (etc.) consumed on that trip. The
gain >from each trip would be about equal, wheras the comsumption would increase at >least linearly with the distance.

        This is mathematically true, of course. But ant food is not spread evenly about the landscape, and ants have more than one kind of scouting expedition. Example: an extremely long scouting trip which finds a toothsome termite nest is well worth the thousands of fruitless expeditions. When the termites are found, the whole ant colony mobilizes, raids the termites, and returns.

>Do ants travel at night? If not, the maximum foraging radius would be half a
>day's walk.

        It depends on the type of ant.

David Cake
> The young married women are associated with Faranar, the mature married
women >Aleshmara, the old women Yanmorla. I think the young unmarried men are >associated with Vangono, the mature men Pamalt, the old retired men Cronisper. >I'm not sure about the young married men - Vangono still is my feeling, but I >think Aleshmara (who their wives worship) is the deity most opposed to >Vangono, so it would lead to some marital tension!

        I like David's idea of the Doraddi switching gods as they change their roles in life. I don't think Vangono is the universal young man god, though - -- I think that he is the god that the Doraddi worship when there is fighting -- when a man or a woman's role in life becomes warrior, then he worships Vangono. When his role reverts to normal, he goes back to the appropriate god.

>I think the deity associated with unmarried women is Nyanka - any thoughts?

        I can buy this. I like David's idea of the "hint of scandal" attached to her.

>Lodril used to be the ruler, and Pamalt is now. How did the changeover
occur? >It was obviously not too nasty, as Lodril is a loyal part of Pamalts Necklace.

        Of course the Pamaltelans don't call him "Lodril" -- that's a God Learner identifier. The changeover occurred at the start of the Gods War, basically. At that time, the Old Gods proved ineffective at stemming the tide of destruction, and in essence a competition opened amongst the Young Gods as to whom would be leader. This wasn't a formal contest, but is sometimes mythically treated as one. The various deeds and exploits of the Young Gods are clearly done in rivalry. Thus, you have Bolongo, Artmal, Vangono, Tamal, Sikkanos, Qualyorn, and Vovisibor all taking steps to rule the universe. In the end, Pamalt not only wins, but gets Lodril's blessing.

>What sort of thing do the Exigers do? I know that each clan is skilled in
a >form of magical battle, but is that meant to be a clan of magicians, or
>magical warriors? I'd thought in terms of things like a clan that uses
flying >knives, and a clan that uses animated ropes, and things like that.

        They're warriors, not primarily magicians. The Brands used fire in warfare, and had invented a type of gluey "greek fire" that they'd coat on the ends of blazing sticks and smear onto enemy armor and shields, setting them alight. Another clan specialized in the use of huge spinning throwing knives, capable of lopping off limbs on direct hits. Others had their own techniques, sometimes magic-based, sometimes not. The PCs who overthrew the Brands have, in effect, created their own Exiger clan whose secret is an alliance with a tribe of Moorgarki.

>Vangono and Lodril both are gods of inner heat (Vangono breathes fire) and
>both have a burning spear motif. Are they directly related? Perhaps
Vangono is >Lodrils son?

        I think that Vangono is Lodril's son. This also explains other things -- such as why Vangono is so violent (and a little bit of a bad guy), and why Vangono almost became chieftain instead of Pamalt.

Michael Cule
>I've had players who try to roll their Peaceful Cut (which must be under
their >Butchery skill or is it their Ceremony skill... Neither of which are very >high) and fail. They then turn to me and say: "I've failed. Am I allowed to >eat the meat?" Well?

        "It's not a one-shot thing. Keep trying till you get it right." But don't give them a skill check if they fail initially (thus wasting some of the meat).

>I rather think that they would have been among the 'Beast Peoples' left
behind >after the Dragonkill War.

        Ducks still live in Beast Valley as "beast-men" under Ironhoof's regime. I'm certain they lived there throughout the last 500 years.

>What are the staples of the *human* diet?

        It depends on the country. Turtles are one of the main protein sources of Esrolia, IMO.

>What are some of the exotic things eaten by humans?

        Newtling tails, dinosaurs, walktapus (NOT in regenerative mode), monkeys (in Haragala, monkeyherds are a common job), elephant trunks, pearls, other humans, stuffed camel, whale blubber, gelatin, moose-nose jelly, hallucinogenic mushrooms, bear paws, hairless dogs, carcinogenic fungus, bacterial scum, silkworms ...

>Who eats them and when (many unusual dishes would be related to rituals
>and special occasions)?

        Before certain holy days, priests in Teshnos spend a week in prayer and dining on lightning bugs. Then, the night of the ritual, their skin glows, too.

>After a battle with broos what is the usual response? Are your weapons
>discarded for fear of disease contamination?

        The metal parts of the weapons can be sterilized in a good fire. The wooden parts are probably best-replaced if they got too icky. Stick to arrows, if possible. A good healer knows techniques to get broo gunk out of many types of material, if it's not ground in too deep.

>What is the gestation period for a broo?

        It varies with the mother. Short, though. Several weeks in most cases, I expect, but sometimes only days.

>I guestimated three days. If it was significantly longer then the hosts
would >have to be cared for by the broos or face extermination by anyone who finds >it.

        I don't see the reasoning here. Why couldn't the broos just jump a herd of goats, then run off? Broo insemination isn't visible externally, after all. And caring for the hosts goes against broo instincts. Broos don't engage in pair-bonding, parental care, none of that mushy stuff.

>Is the host conscious and aware?

        Ideally, yes. Since that makes the host suffer more pain and anguish.

>If so, wouldn't people try to commit suicide afterwards?

        Of course. But most broo breeding is not upon sentient beings with the capacity to commit suicide. And broos are known to keep hosts prisoner (not _quite_ the same as caring for the hosts) until the babies emerge.

>What does a broo larvae look like?

        Nasty, hairless, embryonic, wriggling, toothed.

>I suspect RW aphids aren't very fond of woody plants (cue botantist?)

        Real world aphids infest trees all the time. Many types of trees suffer heavily from aphids and even more from the aphid's close relatives -- scale insects. Scale insects are also farmed by ants. Scale insects have the other interesting feature that they produce interesting non-food products: lacquer comes from scale insects, as does a type of wax.

Sandy


End of Glorantha Digest V4 #467


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