> From: Peter Metcalfe <metcalph_at_quicksilver.net.nz>
> Subject: Durbaddath
> To: glorantha_at_rpglist.org
> Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20050326112657.03fb57c0_at_pop.qsi.net.nz>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed
>
> Andrew Larsen
>
>> Me> There might be more to his beheading in Dara Happa but it
>>> has no importance to the cult elsewhere.
>
>> I have to disagree with the notion that who beheaded him isn't
>> important. At their heart, myths are stories, and myths that lack
>> good stories aren't very good myths. Additionally, by ignoring
>> the details about who beheaded him, there are probably important
>> ideas being left out. Take the birth of Athena from Zeus' head, for
>> example.
>
> But then again take the myth of the Three Kings from the Orient. They
> are widely told but who they are, where they came from and what gifts
> they brought has no larger significance on the life of the person they
> are honoring.
Not a good example. The parallel would be if the Nativity story said that Jesus was given gold, frankincense, and myrrh, but didn't say by whom. And the story is frequently understood to have allegorical signifinace, with the three gifts prefiguring Christ's royalty, priesthood, and death.
>> So in our myth here, Durbadath's changing heads suggests changing
>> identities or mindsets,
>
> But the old mindset was lost and unimportant in terms of the new
> mindset. That is why I invoked the parallel of the regiment. The
> new mindset is not going to have a grudge against the person who
> beheaded him.
The old mindset may have been lost, but it would still be useful to know.
>> The myth in Anaxial's Roster links his new loyalty to his conflict
>> with the emperors. GRAY links his loyalty to his new head, so
>> getting a new head is probably connected to his conflict with the
>> emperors.
>
> No, it's not because they are _different_ myths. One is a myth
> told by Durbaddath cultists while the other is a Dara Happan view.
> Combining the two to yeild a third perspective is a erroneous
> shortcut that the God-Learners engaged in - the two originals
> are mythically true but the third synthetic myth is not.
Nothing in the text of Anaxial's Roster says that its a Durbadathi cult myth. The story is present as straight-forward history, not as myth. Granted, the nature of Glorantha being what it is, stories that far back in history are essentially myth, but there's still nothing in the text to indicate it being a specifically Durbadathi myth. There's no reason that it can't be a Dara Happan myth--indeed, the statement that he 'revolted' after Urvairinus' death suggest that it is a Dara Happan myth, given the negative connotation of 'revolt'.
It's only Godlearnism if it's done by characters within the confines of Glorantha. When it's done by GM, it's creative use of source materials. Otherwise everybody who invents myths for the game is engaging in Godlearnerism.
Andrew E. Larsen
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