From: RobStoll@aol.com
Date: Mon 15 Jan 1996 - 07:25:32 EET
In the digest v2 #321, David replies to Martin's response to my question:
*quote*
>I vote for it being an oversight, or more exactly a failure to adequately
>envision Glorantha. As the scenarios in the troll paks were written for RQ
>II, and some were probably written before the first Trollpak, they reflect
an
>attitude of trolls being monsters. And of course monsters have treasure.
I believe trolls do have gold Wheels in their hoards, precisely because
they are not monsters. They are intelligent beings, and when they trade
with humans, perfectly capable of determining what humans consider valuable
and obtaining it. Also, the solar identity could be a silly human conceit.
Everyone knows you mine gold from underground, where the sun never shines.
Finally, trolls may value gold for its own sake, as a soft and malleable
(or smooth and tasty) metal. I'm sure they don't mint it into Wheels, but
they may have ransomed some foolish adventurer for cash.
*end quote*
I have to disagree with both. I think the very nature of the supplement
(fleshing out a whole Troll tribe, etc), shows us that the authors do *not*
think of Trolls as monsters (of floating hit-point blobs as Some Other Game
(tm) might do it). The authors might not have considered the runic
associations with gold when they put them in the treasure troves.
Which leads me to another point. I can't think of the solar identity as a
"silly human conceit". Runic associations just run way too deep for that,
especially for magical creatures such as Trolls that are, by their very
natures, creatures associated with certain runes. I would no sooner offer a
Troll a wheel in payment than I would offer a sundomer a bolg (some of 'em,
you can't even push lunars on!).
One more thing. I don't think it's at all weird that gold comes from
underground (although I wouldn't be surprised if someone told me they heard
of gold falling from the sky either - maybe if a sundomer behind on his
mortgage payments successfully DIs ...). After all, Yelm ended up in the
underworld after Orlanth whacked him. And Yelm didn't just sulk around,
either: he held Korasting (the Trolls' fertility goddess) captive in the
underworld, preventing her powers from reaching Kygor Litor and kin, thus
preventing the birth of any more Mistress Race Trolls. Furthermore, Yelm
drove out all the Trolls from Wonderhome. I could go on, but I think I made
my point.
Which leads me to believe that the wheels in the treasure troves are merely
oversights (maybe I'll replace 'em with 1d100 lunars if I ever run a game
through the Haunted Ruins to avoid the whole issue). Now, can anyone explain
why so many menbers of the Sazdorf clan have Detect Gold among their known
Spirit magic spells? (arrrgh! <g>)
robert
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