But I also think that, given the dualist nature of the Theyalan Earth religions, and that the 8 week seasons seem to be known around the same places, that 4 week menses work well, and have the neat feature of being both similar to the real world AND mythically resonant. And Greg likes it. Of course, this has the disadvantage that the Sacred Time throws it out by two weeks every year, but I don't see that as a disadvantage - it means the omens for fertility vary each year, which is neat.
I can see the Pelorians wanting to tie everything to a celestial body - but I don't think its a universal thing. And I think someone should point out to Greg Trotsky's excellent description of the links between Shargash and menstruation - I'm sure he would be interested.
>> The romans wrote that the celtic warriors fought without
>> armors, naked.
Whereas proper Orlanthi go into battle protected only by a generous coating of woad and a healthy dose of Orlanths blessings, which looks like they are virtually naked, but is a lot tougher. Or course, there are many Orlanthi without the holy means to do this, and they either go into battle naked anyway and rely on their dodge ability, or wear armour. I'm sure in most Orlanthi big battles there are a few people naked but for blue paint.
Orlanthi Shadow Cats
As the subject has come up, I'm afraid I might descent into rules concerns, and note what damn monsters these things are. According to the RQ3 rules, their species max POW is 38! Which means they can main a POW of 18 and still have a 100% Pow Gain roll, or have a POW of 28 and still have a 50% chance. Yikes! Mist, the shadow cat ally in my game, is becoming a real headache, nailing everybody with spells constantly.
Its enough to make me want to return to the RQ2 rules for Species Max POW, under which they have a somewhat more modest Species Max of 28.
(yes, I know it says something about spirits having a chance to increase POW of 5% - thats disembodied spirits, not awakened animals)
And it leads to a running joke in our campaign about Shadow Cats and their Wind Lord allied spirits - the shadow cats are such magical powerhouses that they leave their owners in the shade.
[as everyone else has corrected Trotsky on the completeness of Fixed Int creatures, I shan't bother]
And lastly, just a little thing to warm the hearts of those of us who were on the RQ4 list many moons ago, but I just saw E. Gary Gygax describe himself as a 'grognard' in an article he wrote. Its good to know that peculiar term survives.
Cheers
David
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