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Subject: RuneQuest Daily, Tue, 15 Feb 1994, part 2
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From: ANDERSJC@howdy.princeton.edu (Paul Anderson)
Subject: icebergs, wise giants, and other family matters
Message-ID: <9402142148.AA02431@yelm.Holland.Sun.COM>
Date: 14 Feb 94 23:48:14 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 3097
> From:
> To: RuneQuest@Glorantha.Holland.com
> Date: Mon, 14 Feb 1994 13:26:15 EDT
> Subject: icebergs, wise giants, and other family matters
This is being posted for Paul Anderson, on Janet Anderson's account:
Sorry about the time lag to comment; we're having net problems.
There was an article (NYTimes, 1 February 1994) reporting from a _Science _
preprint, on an event which seems to have taken place every five to ten
thousand years during the last ice age: every time the North American gladier
built up thickly enough over Hudson's Bay, enough terrestrial heat would be
trapped to eventually melt the bottom layer; whereupon it would suddenly (for a
glacier) slump and extend out to sea, producing "armadas of icebergs". Enough
icebergs, it seems, to coat the bottom of the Atlantic with a layer of their
debris. How very Gloranthan! Hmmm... Valind's Glacier covered at least one
inland Sea during the Age of Chaos. Maybe Lodril's part in the God's War has
been underestimated.
On Yana Aranis:
Another logical anti-archery spell is Veer. This would derive from the
Lunar side of YA's ancestry, representing the imposition of Lunar madness on
the straight, sane, Solar, etc., flight-path of an arrow. I am uncertain as to
the precise mechanics of this. It could be run as affecting an archer, a group
of targets, or all arrows passing through a given area; under the last two
options, the problem of wasteful duplication could be solved by intense
practice.
On Prax
Joerg says:
>What other Rune Lords need to know Peaceful Cut?
The Balazarings in GM, are required to be masters of five out of seven or eight
things, and Peaceful Cut is one of these. They are also Great Hunters, although
they are _not_, or at least no longer Hsunchen. Their dogs are partners, not
kin. Messrs. Reilly and Baumgartner seem to base their thesis largely on traits
common to many hunter/gatherer 'primitive' cultures, (but not all; cf.
Turnbull: The_Forest_People, on Pygmies).
On the Hellenes:
I see four major differences between Sartar and the Heroic Age of Greece:
In no particular order, the Sartarites:
1. field armies of metal-clad fighters.
2. use coined money.
3. are frequently literate.
4. are 'dualists'. Chalana Arroy heals disease; Mallia spreads it.
Apollo, however, is 'ambidextrous'. If he is propitious towards you, he heals;
if he is wroth, or wants your attention, he sends a plague or sudden death.
These are, of course, the presence and absence of the same function.
These diffences (except literacy) distinguish Sartar, and most of
Genertela, from almost all Terran Bronze Age cultures, not just Greece.
Sartar's cities appear to be centers of trade and civilization, added to
hill-barbarian culture. Homer's cities (Troy perhaps excepted) are simply holy
places and strongholds, more like Runegate Fort than Boldhome.
On _Codex_
One of the things I wish there had been time for at RQCon was looking at
Codex #1. Can you email us a table of contents, or something?
Comments:
I must thank those who have written to answer my questions; you are all
most interesting. Particular comments:
I seem to have been ambiguous. I said:
> 1. On CoP p.77 it says that Orlanth "led a strong army of immortals with
>many allies. The gods of light continued to fight back, led especially by
^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^ ^^
>[Yelmalio] in Peloria...." and continues with Yelmalio's wounding. Since the
^^^^^^^^^^
>discovery of the Elmal\Yelmalio (or is that Yelmal\Elmalio? :-)) schism:
>
> a} [answered]
> b} who tells it?
> c} what is the name in brackets?
I meant to ask about [Yelmalio] as Captain-General of the armies of light,
^^^^^
not about the Hill of Gold, which is, I agree, a local aitiology from the
Vanch (the border between the hills and the Pelorian plain) which has been
extended by [proto]-Yelamalions.
I don't yet have GRAY, but I don't believe Yelmalio is Captain of Light
anywhere in Peloria, for example.
Joerg comments:
>which [story] is the real one? This question might be irrelevant....
I couldn't agree more. This is one of the things that makes Glorantha feel so
nearly authentic.
I like Joerg's speculation about the wise Giants sending their children to
Magasta's Pool to commune with Annilla. (I presume the details on her are from
Troll Gods?) I would add:
The cradles do not exactly drift; the magics in them are for directing the
cradle and nourishing the child, as well as paying the Blue Moon.
Sa Mita and Hen Cik are not particularly wise, apart from the influence of
Gonn Orta. Her child would not be wise either, if it were not not sent down
river. In fact, the differnce between Wise Giants and others is not so much
racial as ritual and educational. The Old Lady raises [and, if the Lunars are
right, Heals] those Giant-babies who make it to her so they can control
themselves to wisdom. They then return, as young Giants, on a Blue-moon Night
to their homelands.
This would expain why there aren't hardly any Wise Giants any more: the
[illegible] GLs snagged _all_ the cradles.
Joerg also asks:
>Could you explain [lineages] in more detail? What is the role of common
>ancestry in the relations of different tribes along this line?
It provides additional cross-tribal links, just like cult ties. (It may be
that the Colymarssons are a lineage _because_ they have a family cult of
Colymar.) For example, a Colymaring going to Pavis would first look for a
sponsor among his close kin there,_if_any_. But if he didn't have a sister or
uncle in Pavis, he would seek his "cousins", the Colymaring sept, and appeal to
their sense of kinship. Failing that, he would look for someone who had married
a Daughter of Colymar, and ask the wife to intercede for him. [I abstract from
the effects of the several forms of Orlanthi marriage.]
Again, if two clans each have large numbers of the same lineage they may be
traditional friends (or traditional enemies) and not intermarry.
>does this work only for noble bloodlines?
No. A _bloodline_ is only 'noble' in the tribes and clans formed about it
(Colymarings in the Colymar, Brocksons in the Badger Clan, etc.); the Colymar
sept in Pavis is _not_ noble. Many fairly large lineages are noble nowhere. In
addition, there are professional lineages, analogous to the Beatons and
Seatons of Scotland or the Japanese go-players, which are widespread, but very
rarely noble anywhere. [I have most of this out of Evans-Pritchard,_
The_Nuer_, which is the clearest explanation of a very wide-spread institution;
compare (with caution) Fustel de Coulanges.]
Devin says:
>the problem is ... Spell Spirits... cannot engage in Spirit Combat.
It's worse than you think. They do, elsewhere in the rules: Spellteaching is
spirit combat with Spell Spirits under controlled conditions.
Nick says:
>Sacred Time has nothing to do with [illumination]
Even in CoT, the evidence seems contradictory. Oddi was Illumined without
realizing it, and there is no evidence that Sacred Time had passed since he was
Riddled. I think this rule is introduced only for the narrative of Pericippus
becoming Illumined while leading ST ritual, which is better explained by saying
that one is more likely to notice that one's world-view has revolved during
serious thought.
>YT initiates. (isn't it nice his runes match his initials.?)
Guffaw. Does this mean it's really Yankor Dhy?!
Sandy says [roughly, can't find refernce at the moment.]
"Wise Giants haven't been able to breed since the Golden Wheel Dancers died
out. Anyone who remembers Urggh the Ugly will understand what I mean."
I don't. Can you explain the explanation?
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From: prharmaty@aol.com
Subject: Home of the Bold Diary (Old Herb)
Message-ID: <9402132351.tn92055@aol.com>
Date: 14 Feb 94 04:51:02 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 3098
Greetings All!
I've completed my character's memoirs from Home of the Bold and have
forgotten who should receive it.
Someone please send me the name and proper address of the person collecting
this information.
Thanks ever so much.
Paul Harmaty
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From: pearse_w_r@bt-web.bt.co.uk (pearse_w_r)
Subject: RQ/Tekumel Queries
Message-ID: <9402142252.AA04067@Sun.COM>
Date: 14 Feb 94 22:43:08 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 3099
Author:
Date: 14-Feb-1994
Posted-date: 14-Feb-1994
Subject: RQ/Tekumel Queries
Sandy Petersen kindly replies to an RQ/Tekumel Query or two:
>>So there is other material of this sort available? Where can one
>>get hold of it?
>
>I'll let others answer this who are more computer-literate than I. I
>predict Loren Miller will let you know.
Thanks for the clarifications on 'Eyes'. Anyone able to pick up the
point about other Tekumel material available on the Internet?
Roger Pearse
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From: gbosch@vaxa.weeg.uiowa.edu
Subject: Pol Joni and other matters
Message-ID: <0097A0D7.818997C0.25564@vaxa.weeg.uiowa.edu>
Date: 14 Feb 94 21:34:53 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 3100
Hi all!
I've been reading the daily for a few months now, but this is my first posting.
A few weeks ago, someone expressed their surprise at GS's comment about being
unable to find Humakti willing to "go all the way" in a Heroquest. I must say
I am similarly amazed. In my ten years of running RQ, every Humakti I've had
has positively jumped at any chance to play out a Last Stand.
In my current campaign, I've got someone playing a Pol Joni tribeswoman. I've
been trying to work up a better picture of the Pol Joni for her and I was
wondering if anyone has anything they would like to suggest. My current
picture of them is of a sort of fusion between Praxian and Orlanthi culture,withclans living closest to Swenston being the most Orlanthi. Also, I'm trying to
clear up my picture of their political status after their defeat at the hands
of the Praxian nomads and the subsequent defeat of their allies in Sartar. I
would welcome any input.
I'm very interested in information and opinions about Pamaltela as well. In
my off time, when I'm not playing RQ that is, I teach and research African
history, so the hints about Pamaltela have me intrigued. If anyone has
suggestions about where to look or has anything they could e-mail to me, I'd
appreciate it.
Last item. I have someone playing a Lhankor Mhy initiate and he and I agreed
that the cult write-up seems to be almost a parody of what's wrong with the
academy (i.e. arrogant scholars with little sense of public mission bickering
over abstruse topics while hoarding their information and making themselves
unintelligible to anyone else). To try to make the cult into a better avenue
for adventure role-play, I wrote up a hero sub-cult that embodies what I think
ought to change in intellectual life. The sub-cultists are sort of a mix of
Steven Hawkins, Socrates, and Indiana Jones. I'm not sure if posting cults
is appropriate here, but I'd be willing to share it with anyone interested.
Gerald Bosch
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