> They also do a fair bit of trapping. Its the best way to get small and
> fur-bearing game. Not sure if they do big-time trapping like Buffalo
> Jump or driving animals into large enclosures. I think that's something
> you'd find in Wenelia and Balazar (I MUST get my players there again...)
Doubt it. I don't think there's big herds of herbivores in Sartar to support that kind of hunting. The Balazaring hunters are more like the Ormalyan hunters, they're far more social than Odaylans and tend to hunt in groups. They've got more of a fear/respect relation like the Ormalayan hunters than the love relation Odaylans have with the wilderness. The wilderness is a scary place to most Heortlings and Balazarings I'd guess.
Of course there must be special techniques the Heortlings drag out when they need to hunt one of the big earthshakers. ("Boy, break out my dino-spear, the big one.")
> Probably a bit of both. But when does ritual become sport? The Odaylans
> clearly have ritualized hunts out of a sense of awe and need and
> obligation. Unlike more primitive groups, Orlanthi hunting seems more
> individualized and solo, rather than the group strategy required to
> bring down large game (eg mastadon and aurochs).
It's probably my anthro background but the word primitive in cultural contexts makes me uneasy. Though I do agree with the point.
I'd suggest that for the most part Heortling hunting is pretty individual or small groups going after deer, elk, wild boar. The Ormalayans go after what game there is close to the steads and the Odaylans go deep into the bush looking for the rarer stuff like elk. I imagine that the thanes in the clan sometimes go out hunting to get a break occassionally.
Two other reason for the Odaylans to come down country (i.e. back to the clan) that I don't think have been mentioned are women or men, and healing. Women and men are pretty self-explanatory and hunting can be dangerous and they will occassionally need some more skilled healing than a field dressing will provide. Of course succumbing to the forces of nature is pretty ecologically sound:-)
Oliver
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