How about discarding the RW terms of species and cultures and using a Gloranthan one of mythical groups?
Sentinent beings are classified by their mythical origins and to change from one mythical group to another involves a HQ. Some of those are easy because they have been followed frequently while others are difficult or even unknown. Being born into a group means you will tend to have certain characteristics but since chaos came into the world that's not certain. Initiation reinforces the characteristics of the main group or places you in an acceptable other group. So a Rathori will normally follow the known path towards integrating their souls. However if they choose to initiate, and are accepted, into Orlanth/Ernalda they become part of that mythical group. They lose the ability to integrate souls and gain the ability to emulate their chosen god(dess).
> Whilst social Darwinism is a bad thing in the RW, and YGWV, is there any real reason why
> some Gloranthans might not hold these unpleasant beliefs too. As in the RW, could not these
> ideals emerge as an ugly rationalisation for extreme hostility to certain other species or races?
> We all know of Gloranthan cultures and species in which individuals have a borderline
> genocidal hostility to certain other cultures and species.
>
> Could these Gloranthan proto-social Darwinists not make fitting antagonists in a scenario or campaign?
My objection to this is the same as introducing capitalism or communism into Glorantha - it's anachronistic and may well be incompatable with the mythic basis of Glorantha. Nor am I particularly keen on making a good/evil split between the players and antagonists. But that's just a personal view.
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Donald Oddy
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