Troll hunger

From: Michael C. Morrison 8-543-4706 <mmorrison_at_VNET.IBM.COM>
Date: Tue, 05 Aug 1997 13:56:51 -0700 (PDT)


Nick contrapuntist Brooke wrote:

> Surely not. Don't you remember the troll greeting ritual:
> you chuck'em some tasty food, and say "Eat this, not me!"

I confess I don't recall this bit; is it heterodox, or did I miss it? OTOH, I do like it because it gives nontrolls a preamble to their combat with trolls -- the trolls can decide if they'll accept the offer or not ...

And using this preamble, Nick provides a good intro to the famous Crab Town bar scene, which I now believe _could_ happen as intended. Although all we did was toss some food to their beetles ... silly us!

I won't quibble over whether trolls and humans are of different phyla or not, but I agree with:

> *Don't* go barging into someone else's country unless you
> know enough of their customs to get by. By keeping trolls
> (and the other Elder Races) scary, we avoid the D'n'Dism of
> polyphyletic PC parties, where racial differences amount to
> a difference in ear size, precise parentage, and range of
> infravision.

I don't like multiracial parties to be homogenous, as if they were all human, but I do like an occasional mix up, if you catch my meaning ... If the player is brave enough to piss off some other players by being a true troll amongst humans, I think a mixed party would be fun! Just don't make it PC (in the nongaming sense) ...

I'll end by requoting (at the risk of breaking rule 3) Nick:

> *Don't* go barging into someone else's country unless you
> know enough of their customs to get by.

We need to know more of the customs of all nonhuman societies _from the human POV_. What strange and inhumane practices must I get up with to safely (one hopes) travel through troll lands, elf lands, mostali lands, pommy lands (duck!) ...

Seriously, I think this is an interesting subject; one that could become a fruitful digest topic. I'll even think on't and post what my brain reveals to me ...

Michael

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End of The Glorantha Digest V5 #96


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