The World Is Made of Everything

From: Greg Stafford <greg_at_glorantha.com>
Date: Thu, 22 Feb 2001 13:48:54 -0800

At 07:38 AM 2/22/2001 -0800, you wrote:

>Date: Thu, 22 Feb 2001 11:15:20 +0100
>From: Julian Lord <julian.lord_at_wanadoo.fr>
>But being a God Learner, I'm naturally more interested in Cosmogony than
Cosmology.
>
>The snippet provides an excellent model for how the world *is*. Which is
of course
>the only model that HW needs. Which is why I'm posting this response on
the Digest,
>and not the HeroWars list (Hi Jeff!).
>
>What I still don't understand, and which I think is worth discussing, is how
>Glorantha *changes*. What happens to the local otherworld of a culture
that is
>shifting from animism to sorcery, frinstance ?
This questions is not clear to me. "local otherworld?" The local spiritual ecology does not change according to the rsidents of a territory. (Unless they deliberately choose to work it over, as I have said. But that is an abnormal policy.)

>Does the relationship between the otherworlds shift only under extraordinary
>circumstances, when the world is destroyed frinstance ? Or can a culture's
magical
>worldview evolve and shift slowly over time ?
Basically, yes and no; exceptions abound. Mixed worship is common.

>Basically, is the strict division between the otherworlds a transitional
state or
>an unchangeable cosmic truth ?

It is an unchangable cosmic truth.
Except that you characters get to change it in the Hero Wars. Some heretofore impossible (or forbidden, or forgotten, or lost) powers will be made available to the players as part of the Hero Wars story. This will include things like teaching the general populace to read (or at least making it available outside of LMl) and setting up new kinds of hero bands (like Eaglebrown Warlocks) and learning how to travel from one Otherworld to another (the "Tavim Twist," which appears circa 1630+).

>Can only Heroes Change the World, or can Cultures do so as well ?
In a heroicly oriented world, I'd bank on the former.

>Julian Lord
>
>------------------------------
>
>Date: Thu, 22 Feb 2001 15:14:42 +0000 (GMT)
>From: =?iso-8859-1?q?Ian=20Cooper?= <ian_hammond_cooper_at_yahoo.co.uk>
>Subject: Re: The Godlearner Secret
>
>Personally I always suspected that the Godlearners
>were a group of structuralists*, who met their end
>when the forces of the old world deconstructed them**
>
>But then I spent too long in those classes and I'm
>probably mad.
>
>However I thought the 'What is the Godlearners'
>secret' was on a prohibited list of - topics not worth
>debating 'cos the folks that know sure ain't telling.
>
>Now, as to exactly who Harshax is...
>
>Ian
>* after all they built their power on the difference
>between signifier and signified, swapping elements at
>will.
>
>**by demonstrating the slippage of meaning (their
>contructs went awry).
>
>
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>------------------------------
>
>End of The Glorantha Digest V8 #272
>***********************************
>

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