Slave Bracelets are not the same as Slave Collars, which, as Biturian Varosh demonstrated, reasonably accessible in the Lunar Empire and elsewhere.
>Personally, I think there are a number of sources of Slave Bracelets
Published material indicates that a single Kralori city makes 'em, as I recall.
David Cake
>The idea that Lodril used to be chieftain, and is now Defender, seems
>alright - except its the first I've heard of a particular 'Defender' status
>among the Doraddi.
I'm not sure Lodril is the "defender" exactly. He's just an Old God who is of cosmological & ancestral importance.
Me
>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.
David
>In modern Doraddi society, the chieftain is chosen basically by the
>old women, IIRC. Would they vote for Vangono?
No, of course not. That's one important reason Vangono didn't make it. The Doraddi have legends about his attempts to do so. Here follows one such tale (it's not just about Vangono, though).
PAMALT'S PROBLEM
In the Days of the Darkness, Pamalt was still new to the chieftainship.
Vangono and Sikkanos chafed under his rule.
Vangono said to his followers, "I am better fit to rule than Pamalt. I am mighty. Look at my spear! I can kill the Chaos. I can kill the Dark. I could kill the Bad Man, too, if Pamalt would let me! If we fought, I would easily kill Pamalt. I should be Chief, not he!" And his followers shouted praise to Vangono and clashed spears on shields.
Sikkanos grumbled quietly in the darkness and said, "If _I_ were Chief, things would be different. I would sit in the biggest tent in the village, and I would have the best woman. I would make the Old Women listen to _me_. At the feasts, nobody would be allowed to eat until I had had my pick of the best pieces of meat." [Divvying up the meat is normally the task of the hunter's wife.] And Sikkanos made secret plans in his tent.
Pamalt knew their plots and spoke to his wife Faranar. She said, "You must stay Chief, my husband. If Vangono were Chief all men would fight all the time and nothing would get done. If Sikkanos were Chief, all women would be oppressed and unhappy forever." So Pamalt decided to stay Chief.
One by one, he summoned each of Vangono's warriors to his tent. When each warrior stepped within, there was Pamalt in his majesty, wearing the Necklace, sitting by the Old Women and the Old Men. Noruma chanted magic rituals to make the world work. Cronisper prophesied truly. Faranar and Aleshmara spread a feast beyond belief. Pamalt said, "Whom should be chief?" Each awed warrior, ashamed to admit he had listened to Vangono, said, "Thou, O Pamalt." Pamalt then asked each warrior to tie their feather to Pamalt's stool. So did every warrior likewise. Some folk say that if all the warriors had come at once, they would have been braver, but they did not, and so they did not.
Then Pamalt summoned Sikkanos to his tent. Sikkanos blew acrid smoke, and strutted around the tent. HE was not abashed by Pamalt's wealth and power, but instead was made even more envious. Pamalt said nothing at all to Sikkanos.
Instead, he asked Faranar, "Should Sikkanos be Chief?" "No, O my husband. You are handsome and tall." [As per typical Doraddi dry humor, a person isn't insulted directly -- instead, another person is praised. For instance, if a Doraddi wished to call attention to Mark O'Brien's homeliness, he might say, "See what a beautiful couple the Brookes make, and how lovely MOB's wife is."]
Pamalt asked Aleshmara if Sikkanos ought to be chief, and she said, "No, O my son. You are kind to my daughter." Pamalt asked Kuangoa, and she said, "No, O my nephew. You are rich and generous." Pamalt asked Sikasso, and she said, "No, O my nephew. You honor your parents." Pamalt asked Yanmorla, and she said, "No, O my nephew. You give much meat to the oases."
Pamalt asked Duala, and she said, "No, O my father. I love you." [Duala's comment also has reference to Sikkanos' unrequited love for her -- the subject of other tales.] Pamalt asked Hondori Mal, and she said, "No, O my uncle. You are just and righteous." Pamalt asked Keraun, and she said, "No, O my cousin. You burn smoky fires." Pamalt asked Lokomal, and she said, "No, O my cousin. You do not waste meat." Pamalt asked Nyanka, and she said, "No, O my cousin. Your hands are soft and gentle."
Pamalt asked Cronisper, and he said, "No, O my nephew. Your hearth is warm." Pamalt asked Lodril, and he said, "No, O my grandson." Pamalt asked
Noruma, and he said, "No, O my nephew. You freed the spirits." Pamalt asked Rasout, and he said, "No, O my uncle. You do not hunt on the sacred days." Pamalt asked Jmijie, and he said, "No, O my cousin. You keep thepath-sticks bright." Pamalt asked Bolongo, and he said, "No, O Pamalt." But Pamalt did not let him explain why.
Sikkanos was abashed in front of all the people. for not one said they would prefer Sikkanos to Pamalt. Sikkanos sat down in his place and wept. [EVERYONE has a place in Pamalt's tent. Except maybe Vivisibor.] Sikkanos cried aloud, "I cannot live here any more. Everyone knows my shame. I must leave and go far away and never come back."
While Sikkanos was still weeping, Pamalt summoned Vangono to his tent. Vangono came in boldly, flourishing his spear and moa feathers. Pamalt said to Vangono, "Whom do you hate, of all people?" Vangono glared at Sikkanos, and said, "I hate Sikkanos more than all people, for he is without honor." Pamalt said, "Sikkanos is filled with woe, and wishes to leave us forever and forever. I will let him leave if YOU say he should go." And Vangono was glad and danced.
Pamalt said, "Vangono, do _you_ wish to be Chief?" And Vangono stopped dancing and stared. Pamalt said, "Look at my stool." He saw that all his warriors' feathers were tied to Pamalt's stool. And Vangono knew. Vangono said, "I have more honor than Sikkanos. I, too, am shamed, yet I too, must go away forever." [This is a typically sly Doraddi paradox. Sikkanos is embarrassed and wants to leave. Vangono, also embarrassed, only realizes he must leave because if even Sikkanos, the god without honor, is leaving, then obviously he should be at least as honorable.]
Pamalt said, "Sikkanos is only to leave if YOU say. Should Sikkanos go?" Vangono looked at Sikkanos for many hours. At nightfall he spoke aloud, "I wish to stay more than I wish Sikkanos to go."
So both Sikkanos and Vangono stayed in Pamalt's Necklace, and so Pamalt stayed Chief.
NOTE: The people that call Pamalt "nephew", "cousin", or "uncle" are probably not actually related to him.
BASMOLI
Peter Metcalfe
>I've heard it posted that the Praxian Basmoli are similarly Agimori in
descent >(rastafarian haircuts for the men and all that) so I don't see why
the >Seshnegi Basmoli should not be.
Whether the Seshnegi Basmoli were once Agimori or not, it is my belief that they were racially Wareran by the time of the Dawn.
THE ELF HOMING ARROWS
I've a suggestion which makes magical sense, and keeps these arrows very
rare.
The plant's stem makes the arrow shaft -- hence harvesting it kills the plant. In addition, the shaft has to be "taught" who the target is. This is done by watering the plant, when first planted, with the blood, sweat, or dung, etc. of the intended target.
Thus, if you want an arrow that will home in on Joerg B., you'll need to obtain some of his blood first, and water the plant with it. By the end of the year, it will be ready to harvest and you'll have an anti-Joerg missile.
WHY BROOS ARE BAD
A single broo sneaks past the guard into a herd of sables. The animals are
disturbed, they leap and kick, but he inseminates them all -- it only takes
him a minute or so apiece. Then he goes his way. The herd's owner notices
in a few weeks that all 47 of his sables are pregnant. He remembers the
night that the animals acted strangely and suddenly dreads that they are
contaminated by a broo. Summoning the Storm Khan, his fears are confirmed,
as every single beast tests as chaotic. All the Eiritha women of his clan
put together don't have enough Cure spells to do surgery on all the sables.
So they do the 7-8 they have, and the rest are killed by the Storm Khan.
The herd's owner is now a poor man, his family destitute. Two weeks later,
six infant broos burst out of his dogs and escape into the night.
DISEASE CONTAMINATION
>Any opinions on adding a Detect Disease spell?
A shaman can see the disease if it's caused by a spirit. Anyone with a Treat Disease skill can doubtless detect a disease by use of the same skill. A spell added to these seems a bit effete.
>Any thoughts on the level of sanitation in Pavis?
>If it is at the "dump the chamberpot out the window" level then is the
disease >infection rate as high as it was in medieval Europe?
Higher. Prax has a very high disease rate. Usually ignored in campaigns (even mine) except when it would be fun.
There were a couple comments on the dwarf musket & pike regiment. Just so everyone knows, the Nidan mountains fielded one (1) musket & pike regiment during the Second Age, and nothing has been proven since then. They may have seventy such regiments tucked away somewhere, or they may have none. The Hero Wars will demonstrate the answer.
Paul Chapman
>Please could you go into a bit more depth on Tholaina... Triolina is
mentioned >in some depth in the RQ books, but Tholaina isn't AFAICS?
She is the Queen of the Sea. Her husband is Manthe, unless I'm forgetting something.
>Sandy, how do slave collars work?
They are a kind of specialized MP matrix. Instead of just accepting MPs from the user, they automatically drain them off. Such matrices are known in Kralorela and other places. However, the slave collar adds three specialized features to this -- firstly, the MPs aren't stored in the collar, but are just bled off into the ether. This means that the collar never gets "full", and so it keeps draining eternally. The second feature is that the collar has a detection device in it so that it can tell how many MPs the wearer has. The third feature is that the collar can be set so that it _only_ drains off MPs above a set number. Thus, you can assign your slave to have only a single MP, or to have 3, or 6, or whatever. Even 0, if you want him to be unconscious for a while. They're really a pretty sophisticated construct.
>How common are they?
Extremely rare. Biturian Varosh was willing to pay around 3000 L for one, as I recall.
>Is it only the Lunar Empire that has them in the West (er..."non-East",
not the "real" West!)?
No. They're found everywhere in the world by now. But, outside Eastern Genertela, the Lunar Empire has the most at the cheapest price, since the Slave Collars are mostly imported there from Pent. The Collars are also sold in the East Isles, but there's not a big market for them there.
>How likely is a Lunar Force to have them?
It only costs money. They're imported by the hundreds every year.
>Which city in Kralorela makes them, ?
I don't remember. Look at the Genertela Book. I remember it's in the far north of Kralorela, not too far from the Shan Shan, which probably makes it a convenient stop for the Pent Traders.
>and why only there?
It's a trade secret, known only to the artisans of the Slave Collar guild, and they won't tell anyone else. The usual secret-society oaths, threats, and vengeances are involved.
>Is it draconic power?
Probably not.
Sandy P.
End of Glorantha Digest V4 #475
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