Re: Vadrudi's customs and history

From: Chris Lemens <chrislemens_at_0Rke5yOGcz-Bo4sYtdOwQFN3f_zoPR6SbEcf9rT77uw9j-LPSoiF3IfANMZvMkVE>
Date: Fri, 9 Mar 2007 07:45:46 -0800 (PST)


Boris asks about Ygg's islanders.

In Sandy's RQ Glorantha (which Varied), we played them with a lot of ancestor worship. That would make sense if your normal pantheon lacked a lot of roles. For example, I don't see a healer among any of the deities associated with Vadrus (though I know nothing about Iphara).

Perhaps one approach would be to assume that the Ygg's Islanders are primarily animists. That gives them an odd, savage flavor. I like the image of Ygg's Islanders covered with fetishes and led by shamans. It also makes ancestor worship more interesting, especially if you like Peter's ideas on slavery. Imagine if it was socially acceptable to enslave your ancestors' spirits. The kinds of taboos that Vadrudi would have also seems like an interesting avenue for exploration. The entities that you and Peter mention could all be worshipped as spirits, I think. Perhaps a few (Ygg comes to mind) would be misapplied worship. Control over wind and water spirits would be a good thing for sailors to have.

If you have Ragnaglar as one of the pantheon, you'd have to think about what aspect they worship. Chaotic Father of the Devil seems unlikely to me. Maybe something more like the rutting goat. Another possibility is that he has a rapist aspect, which would match up with Ygg's Isalnders' proclivities when they go a-viking.

Using Peter's ideas on slavery also make clear what the domestic arrangements might be. Many (most?) women would be concubines, rather than wives. Kids would fight it out for dominance over their peers.

Perhaps there are two strands of Ygg's Islanders -- the nicer ones and the less nice ones. The former would avoid worship of Ragnaglar and would have more Orlanthi-like customs. Perhaps they have customs about slavery that limit its impact. Then there would be the clans that are effectively a caricature of Darwinian survival of the fittest. They grow in population mainly through slave-taking. I like Peter's notion that, in those clans, everyone (even a chief) is a slave to some degree.

Chris Lemens            

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