DP Flora and Fauna from John Hughes on 2007-09-11 (World of Glorantha)

From: John Hughes <john.hughes_at_s1_VI6lD4oAKSYXFQ-4a7Qe7xLA1jzsGqeUpNmplvHGECl3eg2yZF9YN7wpO8Q1J>
Date: Tue, 11 Sep 2007 12:26:30 +1000

Joerg:

A clan with a high proportion of hunters roaming distant hunting
>grounds is likely to have a "trader" carrying sedentary provisions
>(spear shafts, blades, arrow shafts, textiles, gathering and
>agricultural products) to the hunters und taking their kills back to
>the clan - wandering from hunting camp to hunting camp.

In some ways, this is completely alien to the hunting ethos, which is independence, few possessions, make it yourself, maximise all resources. A stead or market visit once a year, or a single seasonal trip to a hunting camp by traders or steadsfolk, would provide for those few necessities not available locally. And really, I'm hard pressed to think of more than few: bronze implements perhaps, and beer or mead. 9That's probably the reason people founded r.w. towns in the first place).

>Just as likely, those distant parties will have permanently assigned
>carriers and preservers staying in the hunting camp, offering
>additional services like healing, repair...

In a small camp, everyone will be a generalist. Specialists will tend to move from camp to camp: and they will move off the map fro periods as well. Folk don't hang round campfires waiting in case someone who might need healing.

>Looking at Dragon Pass, we find hunting cultures just about
>everywhere. Sartar and Tarsh have their portion of hunters, the Tarsh
>Exiles even more so, and the Grazers have an entire age group styled
>"hunters". Not to mention the Beastfolk, Tusk Riders, Uz and Dragonewts...

Yip. Sartar, as previously noted, is tiny and overcrowded, but there is plenty of wilderness for those seeking it.

>Migratory birds probably have two hunting seasons (passing through).
>Praxian herd beasts (possibly including tribal beasts) will be hunted
>whenever climate draws the herds or individuals to the western edge of
> the chaparral. The annual Stinkwood Boar migration appears to be a
>historical hunting event of the Bush Range, now down to too few beasts
>to excite a major hunting season.

Long range bird migration is extremely problematic in a lozenge without hemispheres. Micro-migration, sure, for mythic reasons. herd migrations I'm assuming will also be limited, and for the most part regionalised. You *might* escape the winter in Prax, but theres no food there. It *might* be warmer by the ocean, but human populations have blocked thoses routes for millenia.

Here's a listing I did some years back, part of a wider discussion at Questlines: http://mythologic.info/questlines/florafauna.html

It was created for the Far Place gors, but with a bit of tweaking is probably DP wide. I've ommitted the rain gors, which will be covered in depth in a future publication, and is highly specialised anyway, a unique environment.

Expansions and corrections are always welcome.

Far Place and Sartar Environments

These environmental types are primarily based upon the Euro-Siberian Province circa 5,000 BP.

HIGH MOUNTAINSIDE Above the tree line, the upper mountain soils are frozen much of the year, and the conditions are desert-like. In sheltered regions, moss and lichen prevail, while the following plants will flower briefly - campions, saxifranges, sedge and dwarf willows. Some deer and birds will occasionally be found, as will Wind Children and Griffins.

BOREAL FOREST (literally, 'Forest of the North Wind')

Trees here are tall but shallow rooted. You will find small mammals aplenty - mole shrew, rats and squirrels. Larger animals include lynx, wolverine, marten, rubble runner, weasel and stoat. Woodpeckers and owls are plentiful, while wood grouse or hazel grouse nest among tree roots. Crossbills feed by winkling out pine seeds. Raptors include haggar, buzzard, goshawk and owl.

Elementals and Land Spirits are potent forces in these forests.

Deer take refuge in the high forest in the colder seasons, as wolves rarely penetrate here, preferring more open areas.

HIGH FOREST MARSH Birds predominate here - swans, sandpipers, teals (ducks), wagtails and yellowhammers. The most common raptor is the hen harrier. The most sought-after fish are carp, pike, perch and salmonoids.

MIXED AND BROAD LEAF FOREST This environment primarily consists of broad-leafed deciduous trees with marshes, plus clearings with deciduous ground cover. Animal life includes alynx, hare, rodent, snake, lizard, vole, hedgehog, weasel, red fox, rubble runner, polecat and badger. Larger predators include bear, horned boar, (small) tusker, wolf and lynx. Deer, ibex and chamoix spend the warmer seasons on mountain pastures, and winter in the forest valleys. Birds include treecreepers, nightingales, blackbirds, jays, bullfinches, tits, goshawks, buzzards and sparrowhawks.

(In Neolithic Europe the siberian tiger sat at the top of this food chain. A suitable Gloranthan equivalent would be sabretooth, griffin or wyrm).

INLAND WATERS This is an environment of willow and poplar, peat moss and marsh marigold, bulrush, reed, waterlily and duckweed. Giant semi-intelligent turtles are the dominant species. Smaller life abounds, a multitude of birds and insects and fish. Common species include snail, frog, tree frog, salamander lizard, grass snake, otter, egret, and kingfisher (halcyon). Wild Horses, cattle and boar also inhabit the wetlands. Broo may often be found in the more remote marshes.

ELDER FORESTS In the north of Far Point exist incursions of spore, giant mushroom and Aldryami forests similar to those found in neighbouring Dagori Inkarth and Shadows Dance. See TrollPack for details.

GINIJJI In the west of Far Point lies the nightmare realm of Ginijji, known to outsiders as Snakepipe Hollow. This place is Chaos-cursed, and by its nature defies orderly description. Anything is possible (and probable) there. See Snakepipe Hollow for details.

The Fauna of the Far Place

Animals

Cultural Animals

Major Wilderness Fauna

Fish And Aquatic Animals

Elementals And Magical Creatures

According to the Uplanders, the mythical geography of Far Point is such that forces of fire are eternally weak. A spiritual soggyness pervades.

Animals have their own tribes, and approximately 1% of each species have a high degree of consciousness, free will and volition. They have their own immortal leaders, heroes and shamans, who may dwell both on the Other Side and on the Lozenge. These animals may appear as spirit guides and totems in dreams and visions. They have their own gods, rituals, holy places, heroquests and long term goals.

The topic of animals as symbols and omens is enormous, and largely unexplored. Why are they associated with certain events? What is their link to the world soul or web of Glorantha, the source of their folk and cultic associations?

Birds

'As for birds... you will find geese, teal, coots, didappers, water crows and herons - more than anyone can number, especially in the Long Dark or at moulting time. I have seen a hundred taken at once, sometimes with bird-lime, sometimes in nets or snares.'

Jaxarte Whyded. The Journey Through Far Point, 1624.

(Note: Far-Pointers use the term 'haggar' instead of 'hawk' or 'eagle', and 'teal' to distinguish non-intelligent ducks from the durulz.)

Birds

Insects

Note: Insect size increases dramatically as one goes north toward Dagori Inkarth.

The Flora of the Far Place

'These woods stretch unbroken over a vast region... dense woods, and so still... in many places all the ground is hidden for miles under a thick cushion of moss.... A holy and eternal gloom pervades the pillared aisles.'

SilverFoot the Poet (now missing in Dagori Inkarth).

(As well as Euro-Siberian flora, extensive use has been made in this section of Rodin Greenbeak's Guide to Gloranthan Flora, available in pre-www days at the Berkley Soda FTP server. Greenbeak's work is highly recommended to anyone making use of this list. (Who was the author? - can anyone help with this?)

Darkblooms are common in Far Point: they are blue/black plants that bloom in winter, feeding on cold and dark in the same way that normal plants feed on sunlight. Humans have little use for them: they have few known herbal or medicinal properties. However, they are much used by the Uz.

Some of the following species will be known to you as domesticated garden plants. However, they represent wild ancestors, and may bear little resemblance to the carefully bred domesticated varieties we know today.

Common Plants and Fungi

| Bullrush | Buttercup | Buttercup Maiden (?) | Carnis | Calfonilla 
(Aldryami) | Clingvine (Aldryami) | Clothfern | Clover | Cold Orchid 
| Cotton Grass | Cow Bloom (Yolk of Egg) | Cranes-Bill | Dandelion |

Henbit | Herder's Purse | Hobham Root | Iris | Jewelflor (Aldryami) | 
King's Spear (Asphodelus or Daffodil) | Knotweed | Kokolonni | Kraken 
Weed | Lady Slipper Orchid | Larkspur | Leechbush | Leopard's Bane |

Common Trees And Large Scrubs

>We know that the aurochs has been extinct for quite a while.

That's what the odaylans tell you. The Lady has many secrets. And with short worlds and heroquesting, even extinction is no obstacle to a successful hunt ...

Haven't we been through all this before... in '96, '98, 2001 and 2003? :) No list reviews of either Champions or BOG yet (and yes, I'm as lazy as anyone), yet we're resurrecting topics for the fifth or sixth time.

Such is <Gloranthan> life ... :)