[Glorantha] Re: Landscaping with dragons/Dragon eats lunar army

Malk Williams:    

  >> Well, the giant baby is 1/15th his height, which is the equivalent to a
>> 12cm-long baby (180cm/15) which isn't that big at all. So, take these
>> measurements with a large pinch of salt.
>
> In the context of this discussion Simon, I can't quite believe you said
> that! :-)

  Why not? The problem with having giants of different sizes etc is the same problem that films have that feature Godzilla/King Kong etc - they can't keep the scale accurate. So, a creature can hold a woman in one hand and also have that same hand the size of a biplane. What has to be really big to destroy buildings also has to be small enough to interact with actors/people.    

  In Gloranthan terms, a 150m giant should probably have a 20-30m long baby (although I've never actually measured a newborn baby so I'm just guessing). Mountains are even harder as they are clearly bigger than Gonn Orta, who is merely a peak. So, True Giants in the GodTime were even bigger than Gonn Orta. Fortunately, they are all dead/asleep so don't really matter.    

  Scales in Glorantha are _extremely_ relative, (un)fortunately.   

> It's a bit like Dark Matter theory... in order for mountainous dragons and
> giants to exist in Glorantha, there need to be ten times as many mountains
> made entirely of salt to make the measurements viable!

  I've no problems with gigantic giants and dragons, the more the merrier in fact, but they need to be consistent, if only in a gamish sense.   

> Sorry... I'll go back to sleep. But just before I do, I'd just like to say
> that in my understanding of RW physics, a 20 mile long dragon is no more
> impossible than a 20 metre long one (assuming wings, flying and so on).
> Likewise giants: 10x man size or 100 times, impossible is impossible! If
> one can exist in Glorantha, they all can. Reinforce the suspension of that
> disbelief and look again!
   

  Clearly, many things can't exist in the RW that exist in worlds of fantasy and legend. Fortunately, Glorantha is not the RW and so Giants and Dragons can, and should, exist.    

  Donald R. Oddy:    

  >>I have no problem with the dragon there rising from the ground like a
>>trout snapping up an insect. That's still not what I think it's like when
>>a dragon is actually fighting as a part of an army.
>
> Well I don't see dragons fighting as part of an army. They turn up
> to a battlefield and eat one or both sides. A sufficently powerful
> hero or an elite regiment (a group of heros) stands a chance of
> defeating the dragon. That fight occurs at least partially on the HP.
   

  Well, Dream Dragons have often fought as part of armies. The EWF sent dragons with a dragonewt/human army against the Redstone trolls - the dragons burned the tunnels and the army killed what was left. The dragonewts often fight with dream dragons, in fact one of their abilities in RQ was to be able to summon a dream dragon to fight (I reckon they actually dreamed the dragon themselves, being Ruler/Full Priests).    

  Amongst the EWF, again, the dragons fought in Dara Happa and were fought by armies. The True Dragons were killed by Heroes or Groups of magicians, so they might not have fought in armies themselves, leaving that to Dream Dragons. But I can't see why they didn't. Although, if I had a True Dragon on my side, I wouldn't need an army with it.    

  Alex Ferguson:   

  > Which isn't to say that that effect isn't feasible, if it's what you
> desire: dragonewts, wyrms, dinosaurs, dream dragons, and unusual or
> (further) "fallen off the true draconic path" variations on any of the
> above could all behave in the manner you seem to be looking for, without
> the inconvenience of being the size of a mountain range, and the power
> of a decent-sized god.
   

  Yes, it's easier to have non-True Dragons in armies.

  Of course, Cragspider has her own pet True Dragon, although I'm not sure how she uses it.    

  See Ya   

Simon     Received on Mon 03 Jul 2006 - 12:16:06 EEST