Re: Re: Dragonrise arc

From: Jane Williams <janewilliams20_at_...>
Date: Fri, 13 Mar 2009 21:00:40 +0000 (GMT)

>No, it's what's found in every scenario that's ever said "you come
>round the corner and see some Lunar soldiers". Or "a group of Lunar
>soldiers come and demand taxes." There's never any need to specify
>what type of Lunar soldiers, they're a generic foe. Scimitars, red
>cloaks.

> Which published scenarios are those?

I can't remember off-hand. Quite a few I've played in at cons, certainly.

> RQII Pavis details the Lunar
> units there and none of them are "generic foe".

Let's take a look back at the first "scenario" in Pavis, then. In the Moon Design reprint it's page 110 - the new players are entering the city. And they're met by "a Lunar patrol".  No description given, just "Lunar" and "guards". Generic. Next scenario, where they're provoked into a fight, is broken up by "the Watch" and they're dealt with in prison by "Lunar guards". Generic ones. In jail, they talk to an Orlanthi who has killed a Lunar soldier in a fight. A generic Lunar soldier, that is. Move on to the Rubble, and our random encounter table includes "Lunar patrol". Ooh, and there on the next page are their stats! This being RQ, it's painfully full of detail, but we get told that the officer is in the Marble Phalanx, and there's a picture of him. In lorica segmentata, with gladiius, pilum, and stereotypical Roman Legion shield. "Hoplites One to Six", we get told: spear, scimitar, large shield. Maybe that gladius is more bent than it looks? Balastor... there are "Lunar Guards" at the main gate and the bridge. The Yelorna scenario... apparently Jotaran thinks everyone else is beneath "the true soldiers, the hoplites of the Lunar infantry". The standard, generic ones, that is. Non-scenario, one of the "powerful people" is mentioned as being unusual because he carries the traditional weapons and armour of his peltast regiment, not the standard ones. That's about all I can find in the two RQ2 books. I won't manage to work through the shelf of RQ3-period stuff this weekend.

>They're different from the normal ones. Look at "The Widow's Tale"
>- massive detail on the Lunars, they're even being used as viewpoint
>for half the book, but no-one worries about what *sort* of Lunar unit
>they are, because they're the standard sort.

> Yes, the descriptions are vague but they don't describe the style
> of Roman legion you are talking about. E.g. pg. 12 "The soldiers
> again pulled back into two squares of long shields and bristling
> spears".

Eh? That describes a regular unit, in close formation, and, as gets mentioned later, uniforms. They perform rehearsed manouvres to order: even forming a testudo to avoid missiles at one point. They don't make the analogue as close as using the exact same equipment as a Roman legion, no, but the basic principle is the same, and totally different from the Orlanthi. Whether they use spear, gladius, or scimitar is a minor detail of implementation (though since what Makepeace breaks later is a scimitar, it looks like they're dual-armed, spear and sword). Could they perhaps be using the same long spear, scimitar, and big shield, as described for the generic Lunar soldiers in the RQ2 books?

> And yes I expect them to be the most common sort in Sartar - maybe
> as much as a third of all the occupation forces.

Exactly: a standard, instantly recognisable anywhere. No need for further description. Standard Lunar soldier. Most of the remaining two-thirds will be pretty much identical, too.

> >The main Pent write-up, Genertela book, Glorantha boxed set.

> Ah RQIII, one of the bits I've never seen.

Are you serious? The main reference for Genertala, for decades (still the only reference for many parts of it), and you don't have it? I don't have a spare, but I'm tempted to grab the next copy to come up on Ebay and send it to you at that rate. Some of it got repeated in the little Glorantha book that came out with HW, but not all.

>Also one of the Coders - Eslas? is one such red-haired Pentan.
>
>> My immediate thought is that the red hair is a sign of the Goddess
>> so perhaps it's a sign that a leader will bring the Pentans in to
>> civilisation. :)
>
>If so, Vingans should be getting the same treatment? Which would make
>for interesting story, but AFAIK isn't happening.

> And the Orlanthi would hate Vingans for consorting with the enemy.

If they did... yes, it definitely isn't happening. We'd have noticed.

> I've assumed there's two very different shades of red involved.
> The Vingans use henna so get a reddish-brown effect whereas the
> Lunar red is a brighter crimson, really unnatural looking as a hair colour.

Yes, I'd agree with that. But if these Pentans are being born with red hair, surely it's the normal ginger-red, unless there's something VERY odd going on?

>  Someone born
> with that shade of hair would be maked out by the Goddess.

They certainly would!

Today is Comic Relief Day aka Red Nose Day. Some nice people offered to spray my hair just that colour, if I paid them a pound. I declined :)       

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