"Uncle Bil, did you talk to many people on your trip."
"Assuredly so, young one; but more importantly I gamed with many a
man. Sitting across the gaming table from a man will do more for
getting his measure than three days of womanly chatter, Issaries
guide me!"
"Did you play Swords-and-shields, Uncle?"
"Well, youngster, I did and I didn't. You know the Cyrlings play
Swords-and-shields, you saw me play their trader for stakes last
harvest time. But they think it's Tarkalor at Grizzly Peak, and they
use knucklebones in play, more the fool them. I played a trader at
Arrowmound market; their board is nine by nine but they use the same
number of pieces. In Boldhome, I saw a pair of elder veterans playing
the game on a table carved with the field of battle; a full seventeen
squares across and seventeen deep, with more pieces than your brother
Starkad has sheep."
"Wow..."
"Yes, and it took a giant's age for them to finish. I talked to the
victor who said that the men in his band had a board carved inside
every shield, and played the game before battle for luck. He said in
Esrolia they call the King the Queen, and the Shields are her
protectors. He also showed me the strange knucklebones they played
with, little wooden cubes he brought from the Holy Country. I wagered
him my shoes for his 'dice', as he called them, and me with no other
footwear in my pack."
"And? Uncle, did you win?"
"Well, I've got the dice here, if you want to see..."
> Taking that thought further [SNIP]
This is a little elaborate for my taste. I prefer my Heortlings more as part-time Tafl enthusiasts than sacred game-players. On the other hand, it would probably be a big hit in Casino Town...
> Of course, this is getting a little detailed and obscure, so I'll
> shut up now.
Wait a minute -- I thought this *is* the details list! You want detail-lite mechanics you go to hw-rules; you want detail-heavy myth you go to glorantha-digest.
Mind you, I agree; I think this thread is just about drained of interest.
Roland Volz
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