> Peter and Jeff postulate that Orlanthi contacted the Ralians in the Dawn
> age, and converted them to Orlanth worship. O.K., I can vaguely buy that.
> But in 1000 years of near complete isolation (sorry, I discount occasional
> magical flying back and forth as real, cultural communication) and
> continuous exposure to a strong Western culture they haven't changed into
> something dramatically different?
It's pretty much an establish fact. The semi-official Broken Council Guidebook is the printed source with the most information. The Ralians transformed from hsunchen (totem-worshipping hunter-gatherers) to Orlanthi (deity-worshipping herders and farmers -- and hunter-gatherers at first, no doubt). (<http://www.pensee.com/dunham/ralios/mooquest.html> has one interpretation of this transformation.)
Except for the Ralians who transformed from hsunchen to Western farmers -- many did this, primarily lowlanders.
Continuous exposure to another culture doesn't necessarily transform one to another. I don't recall the specific examples from Jared Diamond's "Guns, Germs, and Steel," but he does explain how cultures better adapted to their surroundings can resist stronger, more technologically advanced cultures. This is part of my "hill barbarian" argument.
If Arkat's Empire were a true empire, it wouldn't be concerned about spreading its culture, only its rule. As long as the Orlanthi provinces paid their taxes, the Empire would have no reason to worry about the fact that they still worshipped Orlanth. After all, Arkat became an Orlanthi, so he might even have a soft spot for them.
Finally, the existence of the god plane is likely to keep all Orlanthi somewhat recognizably the same. Even if the Heortlings fly to Wintertop and the Ralians fly to Top of the World mountain, they're all visiting Orlanth's Hall on High Holy Day.
> Maybe I'm being too extreme, but it
> just seems to me that any East Ralian Orlanthi should me almost
> unrecognizable from Sartar Orlanthi.
I agree, which is why in my campaign
<http://www.pensee.com/dunham/ralios/ralios.html> I've tried to make them
different both culturally and religiously. Even if they can visit the same
hero plane, they are still two different sets of people interpreting it.
Anyway, thanks for the chance to discuss the East Ralian Orlanthi.
David Dunham <mailto:dunham_at_pensee.com> Glorantha/RQ page: <http://www.pensee.com/dunham/glorantha.html> Imagination is more important than knowledge. -- Albert Einstein
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