I don't know when it happened, but sometime in the 80s this world of ancient arabs, greeks and persians got sent forward 1000 to 2000 years into its future, and it became a world of native americans, celts and romans. The trolls were transformed from mysterious dark men with weird magic into cannibalistic hillbillies out of Texas Chainsaw Massacre. I noticed the changes about the same time that RQ3 came out. Others may have noticed it earlier, with Trollpak.
I didn't mind because all the new stuff that was coming out at the time was so good. But after a while I missed the ancient greeks and persians and arabs. Now we know that the arabs of Glorantha have been relegated to Fonrit and the rest of the north coast of Pamaltela. But the ancient greeks and persians haven't quite gone away. There are still some elements of greece in sartar... mostly the princes and the outsized cities. And the lunar empire still has some elements of persia mixed into the overall roman feel.
So there I was, missing the ancient greeks and persians, when I discovered that the Carmanians were supposed to be based on Assyria. You can't get much more ancient persian than that. Heck, you can't get much more ancient than that. So how did these ancients from a cold and hostile land conquer Peloria ages ago, when the dara happans had their breadbasket feeding them so nicely? A nice little spartan warrior ethic gets added into the urPersian mix, along with a tribe of sorcerors known as the magi, brass-coated cataphracts, and suddenly you have something interesting.
Carmania is also cold as hell. The climate isn't much at all like the climate along the Tigris and Euphrates, so it can't be pure Assyria anyway. Let's throw in some Russian winters, along with prophetic madmen, syphilitic and degenerate nobles, outbreaks of ergot fever, and the cruelest and most oppressive treatment of peasants anywhere. Ahhhh, now we have Carmania.
Let's continue further. We know from the sources we have to work with that the Carmanians used to worship Lions and Bulls, and that some used to worship Gloom. We also know that Carmania was the land of dragonslayers. Now it is time to decide which monsters dwell in Carmania. The reason for this is that Assyrian monsters just won't do. The mesopotamian civilizations combined Scorpions, Eagles, Hawks, Bulls, Serpents, Lions, Dogs, Men, Apes and Fish to create their monsters. This is where Griffins, Minotaurs, Scorpionmen, and Mermaids came from. However, there aren't too many scorpions or serpents in a snowy land like Carmania. Nor are there Apes. And eagles and hawks are rare and smaller. Bulls are fatter and hairer, not like the sleekly murderous bulls of the spanish pampas. I'd think that Carmania would have falcons, owls, mosquitos, lions, aurochs bulls, elk and moose, bears, pike, biting flies, and wolves. Most other dangerous animals would have to be imported and kept in zoos. Any of you who know more about the wildlife of ancient Poland and Lithuania than I should pipe up now.
Note that we still have to work with Gloranthan zoology, which retains quite a few animals that died off in earth's last ice age and before. I'm going to make up a little equivalency diagram. This will help in translating from the mesopotamian monsters to carmanian ones.
Eagle -> Owl Hawk -> Falcon Vulture -> Falcon Scorpion -> Mosquito Serpent -> ? Ape -> Bear Lion -> Lion (maybe a larger, hairier, white lion) Bull -> Aurochs Bull Fly -> Biting Fly Leopard -> Wolf Dog -> Wolf Camel -> Elk Sturgeon -> Pike Whale -> Giant Pike Crocodile-> ?
So... let's translate.
Griffin becomes a creature with a lion's body and an owl's head and wings. It will also fly silently and hunt by night. If we go by the RQ version of griffin, which the assyrians called the lion-dragon, then it would also have an owl's or falcon's claws for rear feet.
Scorpionmen become mosquito men. They may or may not fly. But they have human bodies and mosquito heads, they swarm, and they suck blood.
Humbaba who guarded the sacred cedar groves is no longer a hairy man or ape, but is now a huge bear.
Pazuzu had the head of a dog, four eagle wings, and the body of a man, and was the lord of flies and thus of disease. Our similar demon would have a wolf's head, four owl wings, a man body, and would be the lord of those damned biting flies that swarm in the summer. He'd also be a bloodsucker. Maybe his penis would be tipped with a huge mosquito proboscis instead of the snake of the original.
Enkidu who was as hairy as an ape would be as hairy and huge as a bear.
And let's also make up some new, likely monsters.
Owlbear, with or without wings
Pikewolf, with pike jaws and wolf body
Lakedragon, with giant pike body, freezing breath, lion head, bloodsucking fangs, bear claws
Pikemen, swim out of the lake, covered with pike scales, with sharp teeth and big mouths like a huge pike, are cannibals, and love to eat the mosquitomen
Got more?
Loren
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