>Although I'm
>uncertain how the Loskalmi acquired such technological proficiency (although
>perhaps Sir Meriatan's heroquests had something to do with it),
That's a bit too recent. Meriatan only discovered the methods of heroquesting recently while the foundations of modern Loskalm started with the ascension of King Siglat.
> but I see no
>reason for such proficiency to be across the board.
I disagree. To look at Loskalm's advancement in terms of technological progress is the wrong way of looking at it. Rather one should look to literary parallels such as the Enchantment of Britian under King Arthur.
>For example, Loskalm
>does not need advanced agriculture to support a dense population (looks like
>they've got an average population density of 30-40 people per square mile -
>which frankly is about the same as the Heortlings.
But if the Loskalmi had advanced agriculture then they could support more people in towns and the like rather than the 10% figure that we've all been quoting since whenever. This would give Loskalm more towns, cities and the like as well as a prowess far beyond its 2.2 million population base.
>I can't remember what the Malkioni plow is, but I suspect the Loskalmi use
>the same plow as the Seshnegi. They might not actually have the horse collar
>(heck, they have such huge horse demands for their knights, they might not
>allow the use of the horse for any non-martial activities).
The Janubian City States are said to use the heavy Loskalmi plow (Genertela Book p12) which implies mouldboard ploughs.
> The point is that the Loskalmi have very advanced military technology. They
>might not have equally advanced non-military technology.
Again I disagree. Their entire society is advanced because of the transformations that Siglat wrought during the Ban. Part and parcel of their meritocratic ideology is their concern for farmers because all Loskalmi overmen were once farmers. Now if they didn't use their knowledge to benefit the farmers but shoved it all into military research and development (during the Ban!), that wouldn't look very good in their own eyes.
Hence I think that Loskalm is technically very accomplished with its advanced knowledge benefiting most portions of society. Its most damaging flaw is not the familiar litany of woes of the have-nots (although that still exists in the more remote regions) but the suppression and magical displacement of the portions of humanity that the Loskalmi think unIdeal.
> * BTW, has anybody ever thought that Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast could
>easily be set in a great castle under the Ban?
Already done. The Beyond the Building Wall Scenario in Tales #13 contains a character called Titus of Gorgonpaste which is taken from Titus Alone.
--Peter Metcalfe
End of Glorantha Digest, Vol 11, Issue 155
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