Trevor Browne:
<<GoG says:
"The 'standard metal' of Glorantha is called bronze, for it is red-gold in
color and can be made by mixing the equivalent of Gloranthan tin and copper.
However, bronze ore can also be mined, and is more capable of being stretched
or extended than is terrestrial bronze."
Introduction to Glorantha says:
"Untempered iron has the same physical qualities as bronze."
Does this mean Gloranthan bronze is more analogous to RW iron than to RW bronze?>>
Untempered iron is a bit naff in the RW too, IIRC, so I don't think that's true - although clearly Gloranthan bronze is not the same as ours.
<<The Glorantha Book says:
"For most of her human inhabitants, Glorantha is a simple and unsophisticated
world. In earthly terms, most of mankind is still at a Neolithic or Bronze
Age stage of civilization (limited agriculture, primitive tools, simple
governments). Certain areas have attained a
medieval level of sophistication, due to the magic that pervades the world, or
the legacies of the past ages."
By 'certain areas' I am assuming the west here.>>
The orient too, IMO. And the dwarves are way ahead of humans in terms of physical technology.
<< This means that in order for most of mankind to be Neolithic or Bronze Age the majority of Pelorian and Theylan cultures will have to be Bronze Age, albeit sophisticated late Bronze Age, societies.>>
Essentially, yes, although there are some medieval-type influences on the Lunar Empire - they certainly don't have a 'simple government'! Most Hsunchen don't even manage to be neolithic, IMO, although they don't form a large proportion of the population outside of northern Fronela and the Shan Shan.
<<Virtually all aspects of a society are significantly effected by that cultures technological level. Features such as stirrups, jointed plate armour, crossbows, rapiers, halberds and large literate populations all seem IMHO to be too advanced for a Bronze Age society. >>
I agree with you, and none of those things are present in Theyelan society IMG. The Lunars have some, but they are only common in the West. And even they haven't got large literate populations IMO.
<< I would suggest that fewer technological advances would have been made since the Dawn than in a comparable period of RW history.>>
If we arbitrarily set the Dawn as equal to the dawn of RW civilisation in 3000 BC (give or take the odd century) then we're only talking about the advances from 3000 BC to 1400 BC, which while certainly not zero, weren't exactly vast AFAIK. And Glorantha has been through two cycles of disaster in that time, which can't have helped. Technology will have improved since the Dawn - which was a pretty low starting point - but the change would be nowhere near as big as between 200AD and 1800AD, frex.
Forward the glorious Red Army!
Trotsky
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