In glorantha the most common way to catch a disease is infection. Infections are caused by the malign influences of countless tiny *maliari* spirits.
I've felt that disease is one of the few things I'd like to have 'Top Downish' in my glorantha. In essence, I regard the listing of diseases in LoT and AR quite comprehensive. The rest are the exceptions. For me this bit unglorarantayish approach makes kind of sense in Her special case - Malia is such an unwanted entity among the gods & people.
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Btw one has to notice that the nature and origin
(and propably even experience) of disease differ
quite a lot between gloranthan and terran people.
(...and in a wacky way too, I should add.)
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But to compare disease in glorantha and the real world. Two things: there seems to be no veneral disease.
This I take as an example of the power of Uleria! Her allmighty boggletaming love encompasses all and beings of disorder (such as Malia) go amiss. The more cynical side of me might think of some Vadeli Heroes to have destroyed ancestral STD's away from disturbing their immortal way of life.
Of course the accepted gloranthan diseases can be spread around during carnal contact. A likely way for sniffles to transmit, I suppose.
Second thing: there seems to be no dental disease.
Is there REALLY no tooth-ache in glorantha!?
Well, ill case of black tongue or creeping chills could hit the dens, and an unlucky case of bad blotches might lead to loosening of teeth as well - but that aside.
A few thoughts of mine...
It is just that karies isn't a disease in glorantha,
(as all disease is from Malia) but a manifestation
of Ilkadz the Torturer.
Quackers! the Durulz know this secret.
Tooth-rot is a disease that moves around with the doldrums. Unruffled sailors are notorious to have bad or no teeth.
Tooth-ache is so common that gloranthans don't even mention it. Their remedy is bashing each other to the head. A removed tooth is most common target for regrow limb and regeneration feats and spells.
The people and cultures who understand the spirits have little trouble with their teeth as the Baddens spirits are very weak.
The sorcerous malkioni are especially vulnerable to karies, since they don't have the basic intuition how to deal with miniscule spirits. Especially the upper class religious folks who shun from common practises.
Coast people live with bad breath and bad teeth. But look at our Sons of Totem and our Daughters of Dream, what smiles! King Pamalt gives his people good teeth.
(... someone give those rumours their truth value.)
Please, I'd like to hear your opinions and insights! I'm positively puzzled.
-Topi
"There is nothing like desire for preventing the thing one says from bearing any resemblance to what one has in mind." - Marcel Proust, Rememberance of Things Past -
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