> Looking at the official maps for Heortland, Sartar and
> Tarsh one is struck at the lack of large forests.
<snip>
> in Sartar there's supposed to be lots of uncleared wildlands,
> badlands and hunting grounds on every tula, and the tulas
> themselves aren't supposed to be quite next to each other.
<snip>
> So how much forest is there to be seen... <snip>
Hello Adept,
IMO this problem has to do with the Gloranthan scale, simulation, and the mythical nature of Glorantha.
If we assume that the scale given in the official maps is correct, Glorantha is quite small. (And this has been discussed at length elsewhere) If we combine this small size with, for example, the typical tula size of a typical Orlanthi clan in Sartar (240 hides or a bit over 100 square kilometres), we end up with a situation where the clans must indeed exist immediately next to each other, and even then the space hardly is enough.
However, as has been noted in several occasions, IIRC also by Wesley Quadros and Greg Stafford, the scale of the official maps might not be entirely correct, and the lands may actually be wider, even substantially so.
The next problem is, how accurately do the map symbols describe the real landscape. Looking at the map that came with "Dragon Pass - A Gazetteer of Kerofinela", the two shades of green seem to depict "lowlands" and "savanna". Neither of these excludes the presence of trees, and especially the "lowlands" can be quite wooded and include even bogs etc., if you so choose.
In my Glorantha, Dragon Pass has a lot of woods both inside and outside the clan tulas, and I read the maps as supporting this vision.
The third problem is the mythical nature of Glorantha. IMHO, this means that also Gloranthan maps pay attention to the mythical importance of things. Not every wood, forest or tula hunting ground is mythically (that) important.
To me it seems that the forests on the aforementioned map represent wild territory, where the "civilized" presence of the predominant Orlanthi culture and its gods are not felt: The Kitori Wilds in the south, the Telmori hunting grounds (Dogbone Hills and Wolf Ridges), the forests surrounding the Indigo Mountains (and dividing the Human settled lands from the Uz land of Dagori Inkarth), the Lost Man Wilds of the Far Point, the forests of Snakepipe Hollow, etc.
IIRC also the forests shown around the Quivini Mountains, the Colymar Wilds, the forests around Wintertop etc. all have special divine connections or ancient spirit presences. And don't forget the Aldryami - large, forested areas always have a connection (however weak and ancient) to the Plant Tribe.
In summary:
1) The map scale is not totally accurate, and your mileage may vary.
2) The maps do not give a modern one-to-one picture of the lands, but
merely suggest what may be and where, if you so choose.
3) The forests on the map are not only forests, but embodiments
of mythical wildlands.
4) YGWV. :)
> Is Dragon Pass basically covered by old growth forest
> into which the tulas have been cleared, or has the recent
> human inhabitation already turned the place into something
> like modern Scotland, Wales or New Zeland, rolling hills
> covered in grass with hardly a tree in sight.
My opinion would be, that yes, in some densely settled and intensively cultivated areas of Dragon Pass the landscape is dominated by human activity. But even in these areas there are ancient groups of trees, woodland, impenetrable thickets and fens. Also hills, especially the brown-coloured rough hills, hide vales totally covered with forest, and the closer on moves to the large, continous forested areas, the denser and wilder these local thickets get.
Yours,
Ilkka
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