Gedday Jeff, and welcome back!
>Being the culprit behind Dragon Pass' "bitterly cold winters", I reckon
that
>I should pipe in. When I ran the original "farmer's campaign" some years
>back, I wanted Dragon Pass to be a region with dramatic seasonal variation
>in climate. Hot summers, with frequent thunderstorms, gentle autumns, a
>two-part winter - first, an extremely cold but relatively dry period (Dark
>Season), second, a less cold but very wet period (Storm Season), and
>finally, a warm but rainy spring. This is, after all, the epicenter of
>Orlanth worship in Glorantha.
This all confuses me, both in David's continued obfuscation (which has reached chestnut status since the cattle-rearing/beef-eating debate) and Jeff's self-designation as the 'culprit'. It seems most people have happily accepted extreme snow-bound Dragon Pass winters since at least RQ3 times. Certainly its been a feature of Sartar discussions on this list from at least the early nineties. Even boring old Questlines (1995) made mention of it in both the farming year timelines, in its discussion of magical types of snow that sometimes occur in winter storms, and in its effect on cattle gifting customs.
I certainly concur with Jeff's preference for dramatic seasonal variation. At base for me, its a Gloranthan design principle: 'sharper, clearer, more extreme'. It also reflects the nature of Dragon Pass's Storm and elemental deities and their manifestations: Orlanth, Valind, Imphara, Kolat, Ithas, Heler etc.
I haven't entered into the climatic analogue debate because I don't feel there's an earthly one-on-one analogue that's close enough to be useful for Sartar. Five distinct Seasons. Sacred Time. Active elementals. Home of the Storm Winds. Uz strongholds. Skyfall. Volcanic dust shadows. Snoring dragons. etc.
As far as analogues go, my working conception for the Far Place (and other, less important parts of the Pass :)) has always been Wale's Brecon Beacons with its vertical scaling up a few hundred percent (gors and gallt, for those who remember the attempted flame-baiting from last week, are Welsh words best glossed as 'forest and waste') or Finland with less birch and saunas. These evoke a coherent set of aesthetic and enviromental images for me, but are not intended as strict climatic analogues.
I'm amazed by number of confessed kilt-wearers on the list. Is it true what they say about what Celts wear beneath their kilts?
You know.... socks? :)
Cheers
John
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