>Why did Daruda change a circle of life to a circle of Dragonpower?
Coz he was investigating hsunchen traditions and reconciling it with his own learning.
>What do extraordinarily fair feminine Legalists get up to?
Provide a justice system that is fair to women (in terms of divorce etc). It doesn't extend beyond the borders of Hanjan province.
>What about th cult of Atyar?
Allegedly expelled.
>Are the Tongs a powerful force?
They are in control of the Underworld. They are immensely powerful in some cities, barely heard of in others and sometimes both.
>Why all the bridges?
Why the Millenium dome? Why the Sears tower?
>what would Kralori want from foreign merchants at Lup Nor?
Western armaments, Teshnan spices (inlcuding 'magic' ones), Hides, woods etc.
>What would an "Adventurer" do in Kralorela?
The same as a Thief in Peloria.
>Who are the enemies of Kralorela?
The outside world.
>What RW books/films/tv would give a flavour of Kralori daily life/adventurous
>life? (I'm thinking Water Margin? Monkey? War Lords by Sima Qian? Bridge of
>Birds by Barry Hughart? )
Judge Dee Books by Van Gulik.
Shaolin Temple
Chinese Torture Chamber Story (well, some of it).
>What is the Curse of the Ancestors?
Random posession by ancestors to see if their descendants are adopted?
Trotsky:
>1) Gods of Glorantha states fairly specifically that an Exarch is a governor
>of one of the eight provinces of the Empire. But the Genertela Book seems to
>imply there are rather more - the Seven Bridges have their own 'minor'
>Exarchs, for example.
This is a bit bloodyminded. The Prosopaedia entry does not specifically state eight provinces and therefore there is no contradiction between a large province being ruled by an exarch and a bridge being defined a province and thus having an exarch.
>I assume from this that there are ranks within the
>Exarch structure, with the lower ranking ones having relatively specific
>functions. Correct?
I think all Exarchs are equal but some are more equal than others. There's even Exarchs for sunken provinces (of which there are quite a few, mainly in Abzered). Imagine how much influence they wield!
>2) Is Seven Dragon & Wisdom the only 'Archexarch' or are there others? If
not,
>does his title imply he is the second most powerful person in the Empire, and
>(perhaps) that he runs the Empire in those interregna when nobody is on the
>throne? Is this individual a god, or 'just' a powerful hero?
Archexarch could be a Kralori title for minister. In which case, he's the Minister of War and merely one of many who advise the Emperor. IMO he's no more powerful than any other minister.
>3) We know that a Kralori citizen will remain within their social class for
>life, only marry within it, etc.
They are _supposed_ to do so. In practice, things are quite different.
>But the mandarins are appointed by
>competitive examination, so how does this apply to them (I believe MOB may
>once have written some stuff on this, although I can't find it at present)?
On his webpage.
>Are they supposedly taken from all classes, with peasants only ruled out by
>their unfortunate inability to write, recite history and compose poetry about
>the philosophical implications of the lotus blossom? Or is it officially
>restricted to certain classes?
The Kralori Mandarins make up a nobility of merit rather than birth. Naturally, however, the son of a mandarin has a much better chance of passing the qualifying exams than does the son of a fisherman. Genertela Players Book p29
>Once they are mandarins, where do their
>children and wives stand and who can they marry (I'd imagine they still count
>as members of the original class of the mandarin, but I may as well ask
>anyway).
They are now considered to be of Mandarin's class IMO.
>4) What sort of status do merchants have? AFAIK, merchants were pretty low
>status individuals in the RW orient [...]. I mention this as it is different
>to the sort of high(ish) status merchants tend to get in most fantasy
>settings, and indeed elsewhere in Glorantha.
In the West, merchants are pretty scummy too.
>5) The Kralorelan dragonewts apparently swear fealty to Godunya. What does
>this mean from the human POV and what is the relationship (presumably they
>don't answer to the exarchs, do they?)
It could mean they send contigents to fight for the Emperor. I see little problem in having an exarch appointed over them. They are not 'newts of Dragon Pass after all.
>6) Zombie galleys. They're cool. Where do they come from?
Kralori corpses.
>7) I get the impression that even the thieves are very hidebound and
>traditional in the Empire - even restricting their activities to the
>officially mandated time of night.
The name is chosen through custom and not by official decree.
>So are these thief gods actually official in some way?
They are no more official than the Mafia.
>Even if they are, it would still be the duty of town
>guards to arrest their followers, of course,
What town guards? Good Kralori citizens should be in bed and not roaming around the streets at night. Whatever happens to anybody after dark is their own fault.
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