The rpg.net topic 'Fantasy Sports', and references to Trollball, got me thinking: what sports do Ducks play? The following is my post on the joys of Marsh Cricket. Radio 4 listeners, I recomment you read it 'Blowers style', and insert 'dear boy's and 'dapper' as you see fit. Ah, the joys of Test Match Special - listening to it even makes losing to the RSA partially bearable...
Any other sporting ideas?
Marsh Cwicket
In my Glorantha, the Ducks are quite keen followers of 'Marsh Cricket'. Which is exactly what it seems: cricket... in a marsh.
Now this isn't as daft as it sounds, though the outfield is admittedly rather slow.
A pitch can be made anywhere; the Laws of the game only stipulate that the batsmen and their wicket should stand on hummocks of grass exactly one chain* apart. Fielders tend to deviate from set field placings, and stand wherever there is a patch of grass, and it's not too cold or wet. Some even spend more time chatting to ducklings at the side of the ground...
*~22 yards - so named as the distance was first set when a group of 20 ducks formed a 'human' chain so they could reach another hummock in a rather deadly bit of Marsh. Hence the actual distance depends on how long the 20 measuring ducks' arms are...
Generally, it proceeds much like cricket, only there is no boundary rope. All runs are scored by running between the wicket, apart from one exception. If you manage to hit a suddenly appearing Zombie Duck or other lost Delectian horror, you gain five runs, because the fielding team really should have checked the ground beforehand...
Obviously, you can't bounce the ball in a marsh, so all bowls are yorkers. Most generally around head height - the hook shot is very popular. Batsducks are well protected, wearing pads made of reeds... and a rather large, prominent 'box'.
So that's basically how it goes, with Ducks splashing back and forth between the wickets, and fielders disappearing into the misty gloom to find the damn ball. Sometimes they never return, and their haunting quacks are lost in the distance.
Occasionally, of course, the batsduck hits it really far, and the fieldducks start jumping up and down in a mardy fashion, and tell him to 'Gwo an' fwag it yershelff!' But good sportsmanship generally prevails.
The game starts at an hour and a quarter to noon, and there are many breaks:
'elevensies', 'forenoon', 'noon', 'lunch', 'afterlunch', 'tea' and then
'scones'. At these point the Ducks depart the field, to wolf down grubs and
ice-cold ginger beer.
So far, only the Ducks really play it (the relationship with Aldryami cricket is much argued), though there was a game against Argrath's Select Sartarite XI. Sadly, the human tribesmen forfeited the game and departed from the field in disgust. Apparently the Ducks' vociferous sledging was untolerable. Mind you, they were losing at the time, so their only hope was for a draw, through the ominous (though quite frequent) reason 'Delecti Stopped Play'...
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