> I really dislike Jane Williams concept of Ernaldan eugenics.
That's a new word for me: my dictionary defines it as "pertaining to the
breeding of fine offspring". Was that what you meant? If so, we're on
slightly different topics, as I was thinking of improving the health of
offspring already bred by the normal random method.
> I can see no evidence for this ability any where in Glorantha.
Not as such, nor can I. But I do notice that no-one ever seems to be
described in any scenario pack has having any kind of congenital problem.
Never. Not even once. Old injuries, yes, but no-one is, for instance,
short-sighted. The aging rules do not include loss of perception
abilities (except indirectly). Thus, I think that such problems either
occur far less than in the RW, or are more immediately lethal. Or, the
authors were writing happy rose-tinted fiction: but let's not fall back
on that solution unless we have to :)
Given that Glorantha is an extremely magical and mythical place, the first place I look for a reason for differences from the RW is in magic and ritual.
> I am also of the strong opinion that these defects are seen as special.
Me too. As I think I said:
"Rarely, such deformities cannot be cured, and are then viewed as a mark
of fate. Such a child, while handicapped, is also marked as special and
cared for."
> Historically children who are born with severe handicaps fall into two
> groups. They are either seen as a burden and are slain
Entirely possible: I just prefer to think that, healing magic being
better than in the RW, more of them are cured than killed. Would a
seriously handicapped child be seen as being chaos-tainted? Given that,
in Glorantha, disease IS caused by chaos, would this perception be
accurate?
> I think a fairy tale approach that magic cures everything approach to
> Glorantha, it removes some of the humanity of the world.
Not everything. But far more than in the RW, yes. We today have far
better medicine than was available in ancient tiimes: are we still human?
> When Jane refers to congenital deformaties she list hairlip, short
> sightedness, both minor problems.
Try making a living as a horse nomad with short sight and see how minor
it is.
> However are you telling me that magic is
> the cure for Tuberous Schlerosis, Huntingdons Chorea, Cerebral Palsy, Retts
> Syndrome, Downs Syndrome, Prida Willi Syndrome and a whole host of others,
> Gloranthan equivalents of course?
I haven't the foggiest, as I don't know what most of those are.
> RNMH (P2K) Dip HE Learning Disabilities Nursing
>From the look of that, you do. Want to give a layperson's description of
some of them?
Of the few I recognise, I seem to remember Downs is genetic in origin: the wrong number of chromosomes, or something. Do we believe genetics applies to Glorantha? I seem to remember considerable evidence to suggest that it doesn't.
Healers can re-attach limbs and bring people back from the dead: given the number of healing spells Ernalda has, and her intense interest in childbirth, don't you think she might have a solution to quite a lot of this stuff?
Sergio asked:
> Which leads me to a question I've been thinking about asking to you all
> folks: RW history is filled with narrations of marvelous and heroic actions
> that are an excelent source of inspiration to Glorantha and RPG in general.
> Now, my question is: what do you think about people starting to send to GD
> those histories and suggestions on how they could be used in G?
This might soon fill the Digest. I'd suggest that where a RW example adds
to a Gloranthan situation already under discussion, a precis like the one
you gave us could be used. Other than that, perhaps pointers to sources
of more information might be better.
But then we'd have missed this: and that would have been sad.
> .... The Roman commander ordered his men to throw at them the gold coins
> he had promised to pay. They died lapidated by the prize of their
> treason!
Now imagine if the price had been in cattle!
Thomas asked:
> >From time to time I read of the wild hunt. This seems to be some magical
> phenomenon of the Orlanthi. Could anybody give me a more detailed info ?
I think you'll find it's heavily based on the Wild Hunt of British
folklore: Gywn ap Nudd, lord of the underworld, and his hounds (white,
with red ears), that hunt across the sky on certain nights of the year
and kill anyone they find out of doors. The theme varies with time and
place: Herne the Hunter is often named as the hunt leader, for instance.
Quite how this fits into Glorantha I'm not sure. It sounds most like a bunch of Gargarthi to me, but it should be a hunter deity really.
Jane Williams jane_at_williams.nildram.co.uk http://homepages.nildram.co.uk/~janewill/gloranth/
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