Re: Rainbow Mounds: darktongue scrolls?

From: Jeff <jeff.kyer_at_...>
Date: Tue, 06 Mar 2001 14:08:07 -0000

Heh! Sheepfoot's a major villian for us now -- a rather nasty Gagarthi (love Mark Gagarthi's cult writeup) Um, glad you liked it. =)  

> Reading through the scenario, I see that quite a lot of the rewards
> are in the form of scrolls in Darktongue.

As the person who had to translate it into the HW... well... There wasn't much lattitude allowed us. Translate it rather than re-interpret it/re-write it.  

> Given that most Gloranthans are illiterate, who on earthXXXXXlozenge
> is literate in Darktongue? Even in troll society?

I know. I pretty much let our Lankor Mhy lawspeaker translate it using his 'translate document' ritual.

But at the time, I was unaware of how fiercely LM guards literacy (though I do love the 'Induce Literacy In Others' feat Paul's been using. "I said READ it! You WILL read it! (whack)" but our group is kind of silly at times.)  

> I have one PC and one "follower" (sometimes also a PC) who speak
> Darktongue: the follower is in fact a trollkin. Is there any
> correlation between speaking Darktongue and reading it?

Probably about the same correlation between spoken tongue and written. I don't know if Darktongue is phonetic and it certainly has dialects but with the long-lived (eternal?) Mistress Race trolls kicking around, it tends to stabilize a language greatly -- teh same way the printing press froze english at more-or-less the Elizabethan era.

But that's linguistics...  

> The only way I can see this working is if the written form of
> Darktongue is effectively a recording: you run a needle across it
and
> listen to the sounds. Or something. This might explain why a written
> language intended to be felt rather than seen is on a scroll rather
> than carved into a rock.

Mmmm. Probably. I don't know how trolls record dark-tongue... that's an interesting thought. Probably touch like braille.  

> Or is it taste-related? You eat the scroll, and the range of
flavours
> conveys the message? Very much a one-use item, then.

Mmmm. Unless its.. well... recoverable. (ahem)  

> Presumably other people have run this scenario: what did you do with
> the scrolls?

Sold them to an Issaries who dealt with trolls a fair bit. We got a small box of coloured thread and some bronze needles in exchange.

Jeff

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