James Turner:
> Being a cat lover I got to thinking about those Orlanthi shadow cats.
> When you place an allied spirit into an animal what happens to that
> animals spirit?
> Is it completely replaced?
> Is it still there but suppressed by the new spirit?
In RQ2 the Spirit is replaced. In RQ3, the Shadow Cat is awakened and retains its own spirit/personality but gains INT. This is a far better idea.
However, a fiendish GM from the RQ2 days ruled that when a Light Son gained an allied spirit in a Vrok Hawk he gained a human spirit which had been sent from Yelmalio's Halls, nothing wrong with that idea except that he then reasoned that the human had no knowledge of flight and so could not control the Vrok Hawk's natural abilities, having no common terms of reference. Hence we had a Light Son with a SIZ 4 Vrok Hawk which sat on his shoulder all day like some demented parrot. (Have you ever worked out how large a SIZ4 Vrok Hawk is - look at the RQ2 SIZ/Height/Weight tables and imagine that on your shoulder!)
Trotsky:
> Eh? I thought that familiars could only be incomplete creatures or
> inanimate objects, and a herd-man is neither. Mind you, I always thought
it
Herd Men have Fixed INT and are therefore incomplete. Any Fixed INT creature can be made into a familar using the Create Familiar spell. A better way is to use Alter Creature and a Divine Intervention to create a familiar, although sorcerers do not have this option.
Upland Marsh
Rick Meints rationalised the Dragonewt Zombies of the Upland Marsh. Personally, I would say that a Dragonewt who voluntarily became a Zombie where its soul was fixed into the Zombie's form would be cut off from the Cycle of Rebirth and would gain Delecti's promise of immortality. However, a Dragonewt that was killed and then reanimated (like Zorak Zorani zombies) may have to regain his body to progress (although he could use the Utuma ritual to progress without penalty, I suppose). It all depends on whether having your body turned into a Zombie is considered being dishonoured.
Erik Sieurin proposed the idea that the Ducks keep the Upland Marsh as it is which is why Delecti does not persecute them. He also suggested that Delecti hides in the swamp to escape the Dragons' Curse. These ideas fail for two reasons. Firstly, the Dragons' Curse no longer holds - it was broken centuries before by those who settled Dragon Pass, so Delecti need not fear the Curse and does not need the Marsh to hide out in. Secondly, Ducks are a Theyalan people and would never act to support Chaos. Marshes, thanks to the actions of that great "Chaos Helper" Waha, are tainted by Chaos - helping to keep the Upland Marsh going tends to further the cause of Chaos. I think that there is continual warfare between the Pale Daughters as they try to expand the Upland Marsh and the Ducks who try to stop them and to reclaim parts of the Marsh. This is why places like Duck Pond and Duck Tower resurface after years of being lost in the Marsh.
I liked Erik's description of the Upland Marsh as a fertile haven for the Ducks - I see it as a large Wildlife Sanctuary maintained by Delecti and his forces where Ducks and Newtlings and the animals of the area can live in peace and safety.
Ducks
Much has been made of whether Ducks are figures of fun in Glorantha. I see it this way:
If you play a Duck as a figure of fun (Daffy, Donald or whatever) you are
in danger of a one-dimensional amount of fun - playing ducks as silly
because they are ducks.
If you play Ducks perfectly straight and play them as serious characters
then you can really have fun. There are few things in RuneQuest as funny as
a Duck character who takes himself seriously - it just breeds hilarity. The
more seriously they take things the funnier it gets. The more offended the
Duck gets the funnier things become. That is how best to have fun at the
expense of Ducks and their players.
[Boring Campaign Story - please Skip if not interested] In our campaign we had Pektok, a Sword Drake (SIZ 4, I think, STR 22 - he was blessed by "Humakt" while on a quest in Snake Pipe Hollow and only escaped being killed by Storm Bulls because he had previously been Illuminated.) He took himself very seriously and caused mayhem and hilarity all round (he once walked up to a new Centaur PC who was killing himself laughing at the Duck Sword, walked underneath him and ran his Greatsword from front to back, disembowelling said Centaur, very serious, very funny at the time). Another time, he participated in the taking of "spoils" over a captured slave girl - the girl was reasonably OK until Pektok's turn, at which point she became highly agitated, afterwards, the player claimed "Sorry, I forgot I was a Duck". Finally, Pektok was involved in the "Massacre at DuckPoint" when his family were being arrested because of his involvement in the Rebel Movement. He organised an attack on the Lunar Garrison there in order to rescue them. This involved a few Humakti, a few Trolls (including a Great Troll) and some Storm Khans on their Bisons. When attacking the walls, the Storm Khans cast Shield, Extended Protection, Extended Ironhand, Jumping 4 and Berserker on their Bison mounts and sent them over the walls - The Incredible Bouncing Berserk Bison of Duckpoint. Needless to say, these went over the wall, killed a few Lunars, were tricked into coming out of the gates and proceeded to trample and stomp over the village of Duckpoint. After the fighting was over, the only Ducks who remained uninjured were Pektok's family who were driven out of town by the Ducks. Once again, Ducks trying to be serious and causing fun.
Simon
Simon Phipp <simonphipp_at_netpass.ru>
"'Every breath you take, every step you take, every move you make, I'll be watching you' - That's Police Talk" - Sledge Hammer!
End of The Glorantha Digest V5 #114
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