Of course it can...and there's feathers to prove it :)...
> Date: Sun, 30 Aug 1998 00:07:22 +0100
> From: Nikk Effingham <nikk_at_MailAndNews.com>
> Subject: Godtongue and HeroQuesters
>
> Godtongue is, according to the tatty piece of paper I have stored in my
> folder somewhere written by Greg says Godtongue is "There is a verbal form
> of this language, but it is rarely known or used by any but the higher
> gods. Lesser divinities simply are incapable of understanding more than a
> few words." so I get the feeling that Godtongue is not what Gods sit around
> talking in when they're relaxing in "The Gorp and Sword" pub on the
> Godplane - I would feel that it is more intended towards describing terms
> outside of mortal comprehension. For instance, the terms of the Compromise
> (if you believe in that sort of thing... : )
FWIW, some brief rules/info I made up...
GODTONGUE (from my RQ2 Blind King's Castle campaign)
Godtongue is a communications medium used by the Gods and "higher order" Heroes and Spirits to impart information about, and sometimes to interact with or manipulate, Glorantha. Speaking or writing this language requires an expenditure of power, the amount of power being determined by several factors. Basic communication requires the speaker or writer expend 1 point of temporary POW (MPs for you RQ3-heads) for each and every word (this should keep conversations among mere mortals to a minimum). The "words" themselves are not only sound, but transmit the expended power in a way that only those with access to the Infinity rune can feel and understand. Those without such access may speak or write words, but can never understand them fully, even if someone who could understand the words tried to explain them using a conventional language. By expending more power (oftentimes permanent, depending on the desired effect), Godtongue can be used to "speak" to anything and ask it or force it to do something. Factors involved in determining the amount of power expenditure required are many, but here's a few guidelines:
Example: asking a pine cone to drop from a tree is easy; asking a tree to topple over without cause is very difficult (and to take the example in another direction, asking a tree to burst into flames is impossible; the tree does not have the means to accomplish this).
Performing effects using Godtongue puts a strain on the "Net" of the Compromise in the localized area where the Godtongue is spoken and where its effect is directed. Things have been known to slip through the Net when this occurs. :)
BTW, lest anyone think my campaign is full of Godtongue speakers, my players have discovered 1 word of Godtongue in 18 years of playing, and the characters themselves are not even aware that the word *is* Godtongue.
Now, as for the feather(s) from Plunder that write in Godtongue, their worth is vastly underestimated and was obviously determined by someone who didn't understand any of the words :). There aren't many works of fiction written using these feathers; at least, they're not works of fiction once they're done...
End of The Glorantha Digest V6 #162
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