You're right, but this poses a question. What's the relationship between
the Oasis people and the rivers in Prax?
IMO none. I think that the Oasis people is connected with oasis and water
wells that exist from pre-darkness times. They are the keepers of the Oasis
and wells. They have no connection with the *new* water sources, meaning
the rivers.
So, the Oasis people of the Scritha valley wouldn't depend on the river,
unlike the imigrees.
What about Indagos? This seems to be a different situation. I guess that
the town Indagos is farily recent, dating from the end of the 1500's after
the apearence of New Pavis. It was constructed by Sir Indagos, a Rubble
inabitant of Oasis origins predating the closing of Pavis. This family must
be heavily acculturated. After the opening of Pavis, they restarted their
relationships with their distant kin in the Scritha valley, becoming their
leaders, and introducing new social and political practices into the Oasis
people of that region.
> Actually, I quite like the idea that the Oasis people are
> totally powerless and defenceless, but for some reason
> no-one attacks them. The nomads don't know why, they'll
> change the subject if you ask, but somehow an attack on
> the Oasis people just doesn't happen. And if you ask the
> Oasis people, they smile.
This is an interesting possibility, but the problem is, if I follow your
reasoning, I cannot develop a campaign based on the Oasis people.
And I do have an explanation to why the nomads don't attack them: As I
said, they are the keepers of the oasis and wells. They preserve the water
sources. This is very important to the nomads (which, by definition, cannot
stay there doing it, since they are nomads).
The nomads need access to those water sources. It helps to have someone
there preserving it.
I think the nomads learned the hard way in ancient times the cost of
destroying the Oasis people communities: wipe out them, and some years
latter, when you come back in search of the water, all you find is an empty
hole. Or (even worst) it was conspurcated by broo or something like.
On the question of the Oasis people being *totally powerless and defenceless*, I accept it but with certain limits. Yes, they would not fight the main nomads tribes and clans. But why would they not fight the smaller tribes and clans? And they still need to defend them selves from broo, baboons, and other menaces. So, they must have some defensive skills and capabilities.
Sergio
End of The Glorantha Digest V5 #537
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