From: Sandy Petersen (sandyp@idgecko.idsoftware.com)
Date: Sat 17 Aug 1996 - 01:05:47 EEST
David Boatwright sez
>BTW Joerg you are still the one of the sadest people out there.
>Imagine knowing the names of the mermen types of both species.
I was astounded, myself. Never would have suspected it. Now,
I know all the names of the mermen, but only because I was the guy
who had to make them up in the first place. I'd like to point out my
sorrow that most of the folks in the Pub Quiz could not name a
_single_ type of merman. This was very tragic because it means that
my mermen labors proved of use only to guys like Joerg.
>Of course Peter Metcalfe could probably give us a multi page
>discussion on the mythic nature of the scales on a merman's butt.
>Now that is sad.
I regard this as hurling down the gauntlet, Peter. I now
expect such a discussion from you or I'll be severely disappointed.
Nick Brooke described the pact between Yelm and Orlanth in which they
swore Eternal Friendship as "wishy washy rubbish".
Come now Nick. The two Gods are absolutely firm friends. Just
ask them. They are in the ranks of the great buddies of history;
Castor & Pollux, Robin Hood & Little John, Mercutio & Tybalt, Hitler
& Stalin, etc.
Michael Cule
>2) Can anyone explain what the Ygg's Island Vikings, variant
>Orlanathi, are doing waaaaay over there, far away from the main body
>of Orlanthi culture?
They're not Orlanthi. They are Viking-like, which causes the
casual observer to think they must be like the Celt-like Orlanthi.
But they're not related in any way, except that they're both
ferocious barbarians. Their own pantheon of gods is reasonably
pathetic, and I play that they quite commonly convert to other gods
who seem similar to (but better than) their own deities.
I.e., they sail all over Western Genertela. Now, they aren't
going to join a Hsunchen group (physically impossible anyway), and
they sure as hell aren't going to sign on with the Invisible God! The
only gods acceptable to the Yglings that they're likely to encounter
are the Orlanthi pantheon -- the king is a Storm God, like Ygg, but
cooler. So ... many, if not most, Yglinga have switched to the
worship of Theyalan gods, or else useful sea gods like Magasta or
Dormal. Ygg still gets his worship though, at least from the
stay-at-home types.
But this gradual religious encroachment on the Yglinga
religion doesn't change the nature of their culture, which is not
Orlanthi any more than it is Balazaring.
>Has anyone done any background on them?
Most of my players are Yglinga in my current campaign.
>3) Has anyone done anything on the Vadeli? Their culture and how
>likely someone sailing the seas around Loskalm is to encounter them?
Yep. Their culture is pretty much invisible to outsiders.
When the Vadeli talk to anyone, they invariably put on an acceptable
mask. This does NOT mean they emulate the culture they are
contacting, though it might. Instead, they act like something
harmless and benign to that culture.
For instance, in an Orlanthi town, a Vadeli acts like a
traveling merchant -- these are well-known in civilized Orlanthi
cultures, and are rarely robbed and killed. On the other hand, when
communicating with folks from the Kingdom of Tanisor, a Vadeli
behaves as if he is a noble of his kind (just slightly lower-ranking
than the person to which he is speaking), and the Vadeli crew of his
ship behave like his vassals.
Basically, they try to be all things to all people.
How likely is someone around Loskalm to encounter them? About
as likely as a merchant in the ancient Mediterranean was to encounter
Phoenicians -- i.e., they are met much more often than their numbers
would imply. Most all of them are sailors, and they spend a LOT of
time at sea.
Sandy P.
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