Nice review, a few comments tho....
(my comments are in [square brackets] and uncommented prose is edited out)
-----Original Message-----
From: ian_hammond_cooper [mailto:ian_hammond_cooper_at_...]
Sent: 05 February 2002 13:19
>snip<
The Uz are Glorantha's darkness dwelling humanoids, who live underground or at the fringes of human lands emerging only at night. Dwellers in the darkness their eyesight is poor and far-sighted, their primary sense bat-like sonar. They are the great eaters, their immense hunger matched only by their ability to consume almost anything, including stone, which passes through their famous rock stomach (and leads to trolls having some of the most lethal alcoholic beverages known to man). They come in many shapes and sizes from the stunted trollkin (or enlo) through the Dark Trolls to the might Great and Mistress Race Trolls.
[emerging *mostly* at night?]
[might*y*]
A Bit of History
Back in 1982, in the RuneQuest days of Glorantha, Chaosium released
Trollpak. Trolls, everyone's favorite villains, were revealed to
be `people' with a history, culture, gods and biology all their own.
The trolls or Uz as they call themselves became one of the first
detailed non-human races to appear in a RPG, not just cardboard
villains. The Uz were not just monsters to kill, but an alien race
to encounter, with their own strange customs.
[of course 'alien' is right but it might give an Extra-Gloranthial(!)
impression]
>snip<
Uz Is What Uz Is
This chapter opens with A Tale of Uz, the history of the trolls.
Once dwellers in the Underworld, the death of the sun in Glorantha's
mythic past forced them to the surface. Uz history is a tragic story
of decline. The original mistress race trolls were stronger and more
magical than humans were, but exile to the surface damaged their
reproduction and most of the uz born were dark trolls. Dark Trolls
were still stronger than humans and ruled much of the surface world,
but after the Uz opposed the First Council's project to birth the
god Gbaji, he cursed them. The curse interfered with their
reproduction again and now most births are the stunted trollkin, far
weaker than humans are. As a result, the expanding humans have
pushed the Uz back, into marginal lands and places of shadow.
[I love this bit. May be a little biased towards Gloranthaphiles tho]
The chapter continues with What My Mother Told Me an in-character description of troll values, which reflects brutish Uz humor and All Kyger Litor's Children a description of the different troll races and a map of their locations in Glorantha.
[would read better with quotes around the book's section names, maybe?]
Comment: This chapter forms a good introduction to Uz history. Nine pages long this is not 60 page Uz lore of Trollpak yore, which may be a good thing as it covers the main highlights yet remains accessible to the Gloranthan beginner. Those who have the older material get a greater concentration on new material with this approach.
[again the issue of 'how do I get the older material' raises. Several
solutions spring to mind but OT]
Playing Uz
This is at the heart of playing a troll. It details how troll
culture works from their clan based culture through gender (Uz are
matriarchal), language, clothing, and law to their biological
differences (sonar-like Darksense and indestructible digestive
systems) and how they affect how Uz behave. Calling to the
Underworld details their beliefs and explains how Uz fit into
Glorantha's four-way magic system (they are both animists and
theists). The section concludes with Out of the Darkness the
keywords for Uz character creation.
[sounds great, I'm already changing into my running shoes!]
Comment: A good broad introduction to Uz life. There is enough here to run an uz clan centered campaign, including social structure, daily life, and laws. The role-playing notes on troll senses and hunger gave a good in to portraying them uniquely. The keywords are comprehensive (13 Dark Troll, 2 Great Troll and 3 Trollkin basic occupations; 4 Advanced occupations). A personal favorite is the Trollkin insect pilots who form an elite amongst the trollkin and ride giant flying insects. The keywords show the strengths of the Hero wars system, with many Uz attributes such as Eat Anything, Hungry, and Fear Daylight adding to playing Uz characters.
[have a good in = provide a good in-road?]
[good comments - esp about HW strengths]
>snip<
... Reading this chapter episode ideas popped into my head, especially involving evil Gadblad smiths...
[excellent, that's a sign of a great supplement]
>snip<
Overall: Uz is a great product that will serve both as a good introduction to Glorantha's trolls for new players and provide a valuable HW look at the Uz for veterans.
[like it!]
I hope the (very few) comments are helpful. You certainly sold me on this one!
Thanks Ian for a great review.
Matthew
p.s. please note new email address matthew.cole_at_... p.p.s very tired at the mo so excuse mistakes? ta
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