Date: Wed, 7 Apr 93 17:15:06 +0200
From: RuneQuest-Request@Glorantha.Holland.Sun.COM (RQ Digest Maintainer)
To: RuneQuest@Glorantha.Holland.Sun.COM (Daily automated RQ-Digest)
Subject: The RuneQuest Daily, Wed, 07 Apr 1993
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From: okamoto@hpcc90.corp.hp.com (Jeff Okamoto)
Subject: Re: The RuneQuest Daily, Tue, 06 Apr 1993
Message-ID: <9304061608.AA24825@hpcc90.corp.hp.com>
Date: 6 Apr 93 16:08:02 GMT
> From: wroberts@magnusug.magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (William C Robertson)
> Subject: Gloranthan Armies, Troll motivations.
>
> First, on Glorantha, just how big are armies? What size of an army could
> they realisically support with thier (various) levels of sophistication?
> What complicates the whole question in my mind too is the pervasive nature
> of magic on Glorantha.
There was an article somewhere that mentioned Lunar Magical Regiments.
If I remember, a single regiment of magicians was either around 500 or
5000 individuals. I'll try to recall where I saw it and find the
actual number.
> From: STEVEG@ARC.UG.EDS.COM (Steve Gilham)
> Subject: Re: The RuneQuest Daily, Mon, 05 Apr 1993
>
> Tom Zunder remarks:-
> >> Isn't Glorantha small? You could walk it! let alone fly..
>
> Genertela certainly tries to cram cultures from much of Eurasia, along with a
> number of others, into an area the size of the continental US.
I'd hate to walk Pamaltela (although some of my characters have just
about done that). It's larger than the United States.
Jeff
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From: awr0@aberystwyth.ac.uk
Subject: Just an Idea
Message-ID: <9304061649.AA27070@uk.ac.aber.fronta>
Date: 6 Apr 93 18:49:30 GMT
Anybody interested in putting a NET-RQ book together, containing
source material from various authors?
Adam
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From: ade@insignia.co.uk (Adrian Brownlow)
Subject: Elephants & Food Questions
Message-ID: <8089.9304061553@piglet.insignia.co.uk>
Date: 6 Apr 93 09:02:46 GMT
Subject: Time:4:53 pm
OFFICE MEMO Elephants & Food Questions Date:6/4/93
Do Elephants exist in Glorantha?
Is sugar available in the Lunar Empire - if there were elephants could
people make buns to give to them?
-----
Also - in the empire are there any 'fast food' chains? There are troll
restraunt chains mentioned in either trollpack or troll realms. What
kind of food would they serve. If you had a Praxian fast food joint
which types of herd animals would it serve. The Praxians live off
their animals - does this mean they eat no vegetables at all? Maybe
they'd eat the half digested food from the stomachs of slaughtered
animals.
Has anybody any ideas? It could be fun to watch players faces as they
are forced to eat the contents of a newly slaughtered sable's
digestive tract.
Ade
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From: 100116.2616@CompuServe.COM (David Hall)
Subject: Stuff
Message-ID: <930406200912_100116.2616_BHB16-1@CompuServe.COM>
Date: 6 Apr 93 20:09:12 GMT
Hi there!
RQ4. UK and Europeans can get copies of this from me if they send an
IBM 3.5in floppy disc to me at the Tales address (and something to
help with postage costs). Oliver has asked me to point out that it is
an old draft dating back to August 1992 and that it "won't look much
like the upcoming third draft". Oliver reckons that the third draft
will be worked on by Ken Rolston after he finishes Dorastor.
Sizes of Gloranthan armies. I usually use 2 percent of the total
population for civilised armies like the Lunars - though they could
support more for very limited periods. For barbarian armies 10 - 20
percent should be about right - and these will only be able to fight
for limited periods of a season or two. To spend more time campaigning
risks the local harvest, etc. Standing barbarian armies (e.g.
houscarls in Sartar) would probably number 2 - 5 percent. The lower
figure for civilised armies reflects the greater time and resources
put into training, equiping and supporting those armies all year
round.
Why don't the Lunars take over Dagori Inkarth? It would be a literal
nightmare for limited gains. Leading Lunar troops into the Trolls
underground lairs would be a waste of good troops. There are not
enough Blue Moon trolls to do this either, and they have had little
success before against their kin (see WF6). Why would the Lunars want
Dagori Inkarth? It isn't a threat at present, in fact played correctly
it can be an ally. There are few farmers and taxes to be had? The
religion isn't diametrically opposed to the Red goddess (as Orlanth
is) and might still be wooed. The Lunars don't always conquer for its
own sake.
I see the Lunars objectives in Dragon Pass as destroying the worship of
Orlanth, controlling a trade route(s) to the sea, access to mineral
resources, more farmers to tax, and the furtherance of the individual
political ambitions of whichever general is in charge at the time. The
latter objective may lead to incidents which make it appear as if the
Lunars sometimes conquer for its own sake.
I refuse to comment on the discussion about experience gains because
the example of the Babeester Gor priestess was, from my perspective,
utter and complete madness.
Tales #10 is looking extremely good (I reckon) - but late. The
Collected Griselda plods on. Wyrms Footprints is still at the drawing
board stage.
Has anyone seen Shadows on the Borderlands in a store yet?
---------------------
From: MAB@SAVAX750.RUTHERFORD.AC.UK (Mystic Musk Ox)
Subject: RE: The RuneQuest Daily, Tue, 06 Apr 1993
Message-ID: <9304070949.AA07019@Sun.COM>
Date: 7 Apr 93 09:48:00 GMT
>First, on Glorantha, just how big are armies? What size of an army could
>they realisically support with thier (various) levels of sophistication?
>What complicates the whole question in my mind too is the pervasive nature
>of magic on Glorantha.
>In our history here on earth I've read accounts of armies that were sized
>in the tens of thousands. I don't know if it's exaggeration or not, but
>if there were armies that big, then just how large were the battlefields?
Certainly there were armies that big, or bigger - Napoleon took near
on 600,000 into Russia in 1812. At Borodino, in the same campaign,
there were a total of about 500,000 troops. As to size of battlefield,
I seem to remember that at Naseby (1645), the deciding battle of the
English Civil War, the armies totalled about 20-24,000, and were
stretched over a 7 mile front. Earlier, in the Dark Ages, armies were
much smaller, mostly due, I think, to the fact that communications
were slower, and populations smaller and more dispersed, and tended to
rely on the leader personally taking command of them.
Something else worth considering: In the Thirty Years War (and I guess
for most armies of the time), it was quite common for the actual army
to be accompanied by 2-3 times its size in camp followers (mostly
women and children).
For use of magic, the BEST use it could be put to would probably not
be actually doing the fighting, but supplying the army (logistics).
Its no good having the shiniest, best beweaponed, magically nasty
force in the world if they have nothing to eat, or sleep under.
15,000 people eat a LOT of food! If they are foraging, then they will
have to keep moving - again, late in the Thirty Years War, an army
could only expect to stay within a given area for a week or so, before
having to move on, due to lack of supplies.
There is a big effect here in use of magic in other ways - for example
supply and farming. On Earth, until recently, a large proportion of
the population had to work on the land, just to provide enough food to
support the part of the population that didn't. Until you get to that
stage, you don't specialise, and hence development tends to be
broader, but slower. I would imagine that the BEST use for an Earth
elemental, for example, is turning over a field and removing the
stones, NOT crushing random peoples' legs. Given the choice between
that, or ploughing by hand I know which I would choose! (Do the
priests run 'rent-an-elemental' schemes? Maybe lots of bound
elementals in items, loaned out to farmers at varying prices,
depending on cult status etc)
Incidentally, I would be interested in views on 'alternative' uses for
the magic, which would actually let people get on with living their
lives, rather than just zapping others - even in a time of war, most
people were living as normal, it is only the twentieth century concept
of 'total war' (ie destroying an the economy of an enemy, rather than
their army) and aircraft, missiles etc which has changed that.
Glorantha is essentially a technologically based society - it's just
that the technology base (magic) is different from ours (physics,
mostly), so it might be better to think in terms of recent (say 1600
AD onwards) rather than ancient. In fact I think the late Renaissance
tends to fit much better.
Also: Casualties. 10% casualties in a battle is HIGH!!! There have
been cases of wipeouts, but they are very rare. Marlborough was once
severely criticised for losing 10% in a campaign. Until the beginning
of the 20th century, disease killed more of an army than battle, and
with that many people, badly supplied, badly clothed and lacking
simple hygiene, there is not much you can do to stop it breaking out.
How many cases can a Healer cope with in 1 day? Not many. Especially
if you are continually on the move. Healing spells are very common, I
would imagine that most people would certainly learn Healing 2, but
the disease curing spells are much rarer.
Given that most magical troops will be divinely based, what do they do
about renewing spells on campaign? I know Humakt has swords that act
as portable temples, is this true of other cults?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mark Buckley Program First, Ask Questions Later
(this is truer than you think!)
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