I had a chance to read the Glorantha-Con V draft of Belintar's Book (which Greg read from at the con), and I'd say the Monomyth is alive and well. One difference is that now it's being worked on from the bottom up. In other words, we have access to some of the original myths that were synthesized into the Monomyth summarized in RQ2 and RQ3 products. (Stephen Martin gives related examples in a recent post.)
The difference is sort of like reading a history book, or reading the original sources. The history book synthesizes and explains stuff. The original sources are invaluable for their subjective slant -- you get a different feel for the Roman campaigns against the Gauls if you read a good history vs Julius Caesar's Conquest of the Gauls, but any serious study has to include both.
Finally, it's worth mentioning that the God Learners were in fact correct in many respects. What they did wasn't wrong, it was how they did it.
There's a lot more Glorantha out there than there used to be -- and a lot of it isn't really intended to be gameable or even relevant to most people, it's background information for Greg as he works on different projects. Many of us find it interesting and useful, many of you don't. It's just a matter of taste. Since it's the only thing published lately, it gets discussed the most.
My suspicion is that the Glorantha Digest is less useful because some of the larger articles are now being posted on Web sites, and possibly even in magazines (there are more fanzines now, even if some seem moribund).
It might be a useful service if someone actually digested the Web. For example, they could post all the changes in the last week, something like: "Nikk Effingham posted a new cult. Jane William has a new article on the relative colorfastness of henna and woad. Loren Miller posted 4 more Carmanian plots, bringing the total to 32. David Dunham wrote more bad poetry in Korol's Saga" (with URLs). Granted, some people don't have Web access, but I'll bet most authors would e-mail a copy of the article -- this digest would at least let you know what to ask for.
The e-mail Digest is a place to ask for help, whether with basic or esoteric questions. And I think the unwritten rule is still "Your Glorantha May Vary."
Speaking of rules questions: Paolo, is that glaive-guisarm attack from the left or right side of the downed foe? And is the shaft made of ash or oak?
David Dunham <mailto:dunham_at_pensee.com> Glorantha/RQ page: <http://www.pensee.com/dunham/glorantha.html> Imagination is more important than knowledge. -- Albert Einstein
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