> Greg:
>
>>>> >I don't have my copy of the Roster to hand, but are you saying that
>>>> >"animist horses" are one species, and "theist horses" are another?
>>>
>>>
>>> Yes, absolutely.
>>
>
>And can't (or don't) interbreed?
>
No, they interbreed fine. As Greg says, RW biology doesn't necessarily
apply.
>And the difference between, say, Yelmic and Rendelan horses, are of
>a lesser order (if they exist at all)?
>
A lesser order of difference, yes. They're certainly different, having
different myths behind them. One could explore the difference between
Yelmic and Redaldan horses in the otherworld just as much as one could
the difference between Redaldan and Yu-Kargzant horses - its just that
the latter requires two otherworlds to do and hence, in practical terms,
alien world modifiers.
Say you want to do a heroquest that involves Elmal's steed. You need a horse to do so. Now, any horse would do, but if you can get a proper Redaldan horse, that's ideal. If you can get a horse that's mostly Redaldan in origin/ancestry (and hence looks about right) that'll do, but not quite as well. Using a horse that's directly linked with Yelm would apply a penalty, as would a horse that's directly associated with Yu-Kargzant, but the 'animist' horse is probably no worse than the 'wrong theist' horse IMO.
To put it another way, I'm not saying that if two similar looking animals have their origins in the *same* otherworld, that they're necessarily the same species, just that if their origins are in different otherworlds, then they *can't* be the same. Unless one wants to force the issue through creative heroquesting, or something.
>>
>>> It IS TRUE for humans as well. Different human peoples come from different
>>> Otherworlds. I thought that was clear, too.
>>
>
>I do hope you're not about to tell me that Warerans and Kralori are
>different species... Even people whose origin myths come from the _same_
>otherworld, can in many cases have very different mythic origins, come
>to that. But it doesn't seem to make them terribly "inherently" different,
>on all evidence to date.
>
It might if you wanted to explore their creation myths.
>Trotsky:
>
>>> Not that it's an unreasonable question, I grant you. I suppose its
>>> possible that the Vanchite god saw Lotara's racoons, and decided he
>>> wanted to make some of his own. That way there *is* a mythic link (even
>>> if its not openly acknowledged by the Vanchites) but the creatures and
>>> their creators are still quite separate as entities.
>>
>
>You seem to be implicitly assuming that there's either zero or one
>"mythic links". Or if there's more, that only one of them is "true"...
>
I'm saying its a possibility, not necessarily that its the only
possibility :-)
>>>> >It equally seems odd to me if "different systems" is a (near-)absolute,
>>>> >and "different gods" (within a (theist in that case) system) counts for
>>>> >very little -- though there are such cases too, right?
>>>> >
>>>
>>> Sorry, you've lost me there...
>>
>
>Cases where there are different-but-related (same genus, different species,
>say) associated with different entities in the same otherworld.
>
Oh, clearly. Animist wolves and animist jackals, for instance.
>
>
>Basically it strikes me as more than a little cheesy that differences
>in system are being given such primacy, and common or garden differences
>in _myth_ seem to be playing second fiddle, at best.
>
Oh, I don't know, I think they're both equally important. But if the
origins are in different otherworlds, it stands to reason that they're
mythically different as well.
Me:
> > OTOH I believe there are several different species of racoon...
>
>Six, although five are found only on tiny little islands.
>
Sorry, that should be '...four are found only...'. Not that the same
numbers would be true on Glorantha, obviously.
-- Trotsky Gamer and Skeptic ------------------------------------------------------ Trotsky's RPG website: http://www.ttrotsky.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/ --__--__--
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