a whole plethora of threads

From: Steve Lieb <styopa_at_iname.com>
Date: Fri, 12 Feb 1999 09:08:36 -0600


>The stars (which I think are holes in the sky dome that let through light
from
>the sky world?) are the place I would sit if I were to do a aerial map of the
>surface world. For example if I were a Godlearner who had enough powers to
>Heroquest to a Star for just such a purpose, or a devout Dara Happan Pole
Star
>General who wants to see his troop manueuvers from above.

How high is the sky dome? Could you really see anything from there?

>------------------------------

Jose Ramos disputes the idea of Brithini Sky Commandos:
>I doubt any brithini flies. I mean, did they fly in the Ice Age? No.

Did they fly in the God's era? I would think they did if they wanted to. Is there a source that suggests this isn't true?

> Not to mention you can stalemate them by taking Dronal hostages (or
>Talars and Zzaburs). They are great for defense and punitive missions, but
>too inflexible for actual warfare. "We cannot build a camp. Those sneaky
>human animals have killed the Dronal diggers."

This sounds more like automatons than beings. I just think that if the Brithini were this easy to beat, they'd have been crushed long ago (for the magical plunder, if nothing else).
IMO, the reason Brithos is where it is and not bigger, is that they have no "expansionist" ethic. To me, the Brithini should be basically nearly undefeatable. Their curious worldview acts as a check on themselves.

This isn't to say that hostage taking wouldn't be an effective tactic, but I bet they've seen it before.
>------------------------------

Nick kicks in on the map issue:
>I recommend looking for copies of ancient maps -- I have a rather nice
>Italian facsimile of a Renaissance edition of Ptolemy's Cartographia, and of
>course the wonderful "Notitia Dignitatum" (detailing Roman governmental and
>military positions in the provinces). When you think these were the best
>that's come down to us from Roman times, it rather lowers your expectations.
>

I've basically stayed out of this thread for a while, Alex & I having bashed each other repeatedly about the head & shoulders with codfish to resolve the question in a logical fashion. However, I have to stick in my $.03 (I can never be brief enough to only call it 2) at this point.

I'll restate my earlier position: Ptolemy's Cartographia is really rather good. Imagine how much better it would have been, had he the ability to fly?

(However, I acknowledge Nick's valid points about the maps in the books -- I suppose this then is a dichotomy between my opinion and the published world. Egad, I'm out of canon.)

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