Re: Re: Gloranthan Ducks

From: Guy Hoyle <ghoyle1_at_...>
Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2001 08:57:04 -0800 (PST)


Ducks have many completely useful functions in Glorantha.

They are objects of scorn and ridicule, of course, as they should be much of the time. However, when the Lunars put a bounty on their heads, you can make them a source of easy income, or an object lesson for the players (a mama duck defending to the death her children should arouse respect and pity in all but the hardest hearts, and there's little humor in that).

You can humble even the most arrogant of players by introducing them to a duck hero who is the equal (or better) of their mightiest warrior, as occurs in KoDP; even if he's not on a Humakti kill-the-next-person-I-fight heroquest, a mighty duel could take a character's ego down a peg.

Ducks are knowledgeable about the Undead, whether because they share marshy environs with the like of Vivamort or because of the well-known but inexplicable Duckish aptitude for death-cults.

Ducks are also excellent comic relief, good for breaking the tension when your characters get sunk too deep in tribal politics, rebellion against the Lunars, and quests against Chaos. They remind us that Glorantha is rich in many things, including humor; they have a place within Glorantyha, as well as being "funny talking animals".

IMNSHO, Ducks have a valuable role to play in my Glorantha, have earned their right to be there, and deserve respect as well as scorn.

Now, if I can only get off this darned soapbox...

Guy



Guy Hoyle
Webmaster, http://uncommoncon.com, http://www.hawkwood.org

Ignorance is preferable to error; and he is less remote from the truth who believes nothing, than he who believes what is wrong. - Thomas Jefferson



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