> From: Philippe Krait >
> Is Gagarth the Wild Hunter (Theist) the same as the Prax
> Wild Hunter spirit (Nomad Gods ) ? If that is the case we
> ahve the same kind of Theist / Animist split as for Strom
> Bull and possibly Eirithia ?
Yes - and I think we are going to get this a lot. I wonder if the answer is that certain otherwordly entities have a presence in more than one world, so that Gagarth the God casts a 'shadow' which is Gagarth the Spirit. I certainly don't think it is viable simply to state that G is one or the other and that therefore either the Praxians or Orlanthi have got it 'wrong'.
> ------------------------------
> Subject: Re: Gargath
> I'm not so sure about Ride. Clearly, riding is useful for
> Gagarthi, but horses are expensive to maintain. Is it
> practical for Gagarthi to maintain them?
Fair comment, but I envisage them as moving about quite a bit, for which I think the mobility will be important enough to be worth having horses, especially in the lower and flatter parts of Sartar . If necessary this means either (horrors) taking care of them ("that horse is about the only thing he loves in this world") or just stealing new ones, as and when.
There is also a mythic dimension - Gagarth rides, so his followers also ought to be able to learn how to, even if they don't do it much.
> ------------------------------
> From: TTrotsky_at_aol.com
> Mark's write-up curiously neglects to mention
> Gagarth's whirlvishes (perhaps because he hasn't heard of
> them), which featured prominently in the RQ3 write-up.
I actually spent some time thinking over the 'Whirlvish issue'. Eventually I decided that they did not really fit with my conception of Gagarth in Sartar, a distinction I think is important to draw. Gagarth-Sartar is a huntsman over hill and through wood, whereas Gagarth-Prax scours the Wastes. Not only are the two framed in different mythic terms, but their followers would operate and be structured differently (raiding feuding nomadic herders in an open waste is going to be handled very differently from banditry in a settled, rugged land dominated by clans holding to bloodfeud). I think their 'context', from followers to depictions would also reflect local conditions and expectations. Thus, the Whirlvish are perfect for Gagarth-Prax, but maybe the (oh dear, back to this) Yinkinite Orlanthi associate him with his fiery-eyed pack of hounds.
This, after all, touches on the whole 'cultic unity' issue - - I just don't see Orlanthi envisaging a deity in the same terms as Praxians. You don't find dust-storms and dust-devils in Sartar and so, as Malkioni might put it, Sartarites don't have Whilvishes that they need to explain. But the Whilrvishes work perfectly for Gagarth-Prax, and I definitely will be using your useful stats.
Bye,
Mark
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