Correct. Almost all Nandani do *not* manifest the birthing powers. OTOH, the fact that they did have them once, when it was needed, is what forces the Orlanthi to accept them, no matter how they might otherwise feel about the Nandani.
And I think that Nandan comes from the Earth tribe, not the Storm tribe. As Rob pointed out, real Orlanthi would either Heroquest to end the fertility problem, go Vadrudi and steal some, or die out bravely, accepting their curse, much like the trolls do.
> From: Andreas Gustafsson <koraq_at_yahoo.com>
> Subject: The Silliness of Nandan, (sick of it already? don't read then...)
> I do think Nandan is a silly invention, basically since it is about
> men having babies.
No, it is about men having full access to women's mysteries. At the extreme point, that means bearing children, so if Nandan was fully part of Her mysteries, HE or His must have given birth (just as mixed wolf/human litters must have occured among the Telmori) at least once, sometime in prehistory.
Someone also wrote, suggesting that Nandan was one of the main cults for player characters. First, I doubt that is true so much as the Nandani exist as part of Heortling society, have certain powers that are occasionally used, and are tolerated between uses more than full blown Tricksters are. Secondly, no one from Issaries will come to your game and take the books back if you leave them as NPCs, or even ignore them totally, like some people feel about ducks (maybe it was knowing that Howard the Duck was then the most expensive comic book in circulation, but I never thought them particularly silly back in the 1979. And it was explained that it was Howard, not the Disney ducks, that was being played).
BTW, what is this about Babeester Gor wearing men's cloths? As far as I know, that is so only when talking of men wearing woad on their otherwise naked skins, comparing to the subset of BGers who go about wearing nothing but their necklaces of severed penises (and woe unto you if you notice her undress, no matter how perky her breasts might be!).
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