>My reading of the Polaris Rune Spell "Celestial Harmony" is that the caster's
>view of the battlefield is geared to the size of the battle. Lt. Gen.
>Dayzatarlassar wouldn't see the map on pages 26-27 of the Tarsh Wars book, he
>would see the 4' x 8' tabletop the Warhamster battle between Gen. Thrax's
>little
>army of (at most) 3,500 Lunars and auxilia and upwards of 6,000 Tarshites was
>being played out on. Useful for writing up your after action report, I
>suppose,
>but not much of a mapping tool. Even if the Lt. Gen. was attached to Fazzur's
>HQ and he cast the spell when the whole army got stuck in, he would just
>see the
>same 4' x 8' area, just the figures would be in 15mm instead of 28mm. =)
FRom previous post
>Simon Hibbs scribeth
> <snip> I'm sure lots of people have
>maps of glorantha that are perfectly adequate to their needs, but the
>question being debated is how many people have accurately projected,
>geographicaly accurate aerial view maps of the surface world.
me
<snip> the logical owners of geographicly accurate (albeit probably
outdated as >most maps are) are the Pole Star generals of the DH/Lunar
armies. This group is >used to an aerial vantage point, literate & at least
appears to me to be well >exposed to abstract thought. In addition they are
near the top of a hierarcy >with enormous resources.
>Their job, if Tarsh War is accurate, is the disposition of troops for
>battle. A >task made easier by physical maps, particularly the getting to
>&from the >battle. <snip rest of proposition>
I was not proposing that Pole Star generals use Celestial Harmony to create maps but that the spell (& other cultic vantage points & duties) provided both the mindset to use such & the requirement for them (in line with Simon's arguement about the need for detailed maps driving their production). Additionally they have the political clout to require an earnest attempt to provide maps. The Tarsh War document may well indicate the highest standard attained (I'm not familiar with ancient cartography). Additionally if the spell is geared as you propose a larger battle would provide larger coverage. Given that the spell has evolved, IIRC, from choreography to the ordering of troops (not such a vast shift really) loss of detail & foreshortenning are probably accounted for. Even more so when it is born in mind that this is the spell which is most likely to have been used to order the concecration of Temples otRM; which sacred dance has drastic religious consequences if it is buggered up. For details of this ritual see KoS pp150-152
Darvall
madamx_at_mikka.net.au
>From quiet homes & first beginnings
Out to the undicovered ends
Theres nothing worth the wear of winning
But laughter & the love of friends.
Hilare Belloc
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