From: Joerg Baumgartner (joe@toppoint.de)
Date: Thu 22 Aug 1996 - 00:01:00 EEST
After all these gruesome things (and highly mysterious stuff from Sandy
about Vadeli houses and compounds) I thought a bit about how Gloranthan
_characters_ would experience Vadeli.
Apart from the (usually terminal) experience of being robbed by Red Vadeli,
the average Genertelan citizen of a major port will encounter three types of
Vadeli in somewhat everyday life - Brown Vadeli fishermen, sailors and
merchants.
Brown Vadeli fishermen are perhaps the least enigmatic of all Vadeli. While
I doubt that they have cordial relations to the native fisherfolk of the
various port cities, I expect them to ply their trade in some sort of
competition with the more regular fisherfolk.
I see two possible courses the Vadeli enclave fishermen can take:
confrontation or evasion into niches unoccupied by the native fisherfolk.
Confrontation will likely result in competition for the best fishing
grounds, and using the best magic to attract fish. Native fisherfolk usually
will claim that the Vadeli sea harvest is tainted by that magic, so only
Vadeli are likely to use the products of their fishing. As long as this is
the case, Vadeli fishing might be tolerated or ignored by the natives, but
some conflicts are both more likely and lead to More Game Fun if player
characters can be drawn into these. For inspiration, check one of the
Thieves World stories (IIRC written by Robert Asprin himself) which featured
non-fisherfolk battling a giant crab ruining the crab baskets of the
fishermen. The co-existence between Beysib and Sanctuary fishermen can
provide ideas about Vadeli and natives as well, if one stresses the
differences and difficulties. (Otherwise, I tend to think of Waertagi when I
use Sanctuary's Beysibs for Refuge in Glorantha...)
Evasion of conflict with the local fisherfolk into niches will result in the
Vadeli eating strange, and often disgusting, seafood. Since this provides an
excellent source of all kind of rumours, it must be true. Vadeli
(non-magical) diet should include jellyfish, squids, crabs, shells, possibly
also worms or multi-legged other chitinous beach-critters, preferredly some
of these eaten alife - especially the crawly or slippery ones.
I am a bit uncertain whether non-Vadeli would consider to purchase seafood
from Vadeli sources. The general level of disgust cannot be that bad, after
all people buy wares handled by Vadeli merchants, possibly including
foodstuff. I believe that the Vadeli fishermen need to sell some of their
catches against money or services to non-Vadeli fishermen, and I am not sure
whether the local Vadeli merchants and sailors provide enough of a market to
provide them with sufficient resources to keep their vessels afloat.
IMO the Vadeli fishermen (BTW, do the Vadeli have separate roles for their
males and females?) will catch palatable fish as well, and offer it to
non-Vadeli natives. Regardless whether this fish is their main catch or just
some by-product of their more exotic catches, this will be the only product
they can sell to the natives, so they will rather rarely consume such
catches themselves, keeping their diet strange.
There is one problem with the Vadeli immortality and their profession as
fishermen, though. Historical statistics give a quite high mortality for
fishermen, drowning at an average age of about thirty years in northern
Norway (at the excellent fishing grounds of the Lofoten, which were not
renowned as extremely dangerous). Why would someone in a profession with
that low life expectancy worry about aging?
(Ok, so Glorantha is a magical world, and the fishermen have magical means
to save their lives, but as always there will also be magical hazards which
take another toll on the fishermens' lives, so in the end I feel medieval
numbers can apply to Glorantha conditions.)
And how would a culture which does not believe in any existence after death
The rumoured production of simulacra (or "clones", as Nick Brooke names them
To outward appearances, there seem to be extraordinarily many twins and
There would be Vadeli craftspeople as well in their enclaves, serving only
deal with the regular loss of their members, or facing the imminent loss
themselves?
in a modern term) might be the solution for this dilemma. Maybe the Vadeli
who has made simulacra of himself has a conception of identity which
includes all clone brothers, so as long as at least one of these survives,
he will not have died. This might also account for some daring and bravery
(may I say chuzpah?) the Vadeli showed in dealing with Jrustela and Umathela
after the Closing.
look-alikes among the Vadeli, but this might be explained by their
incestuous ways. For the Vadeli who have produced a clone, there should be
some magical ritual to exchange the experiences and memories since the
separation of the two bodies, thus reuniting the separate bodies of one
individual. Yes, this makes the Vadeli mindset very strange - as it should
be, IMO.
to Vadeli customers. After all, no guildsman can be expected to work steeped
in filth, nor would any Vadeli like the sight of non-Vadeli within their
private zone. As long as the Vadeli produce is not marketed within the same
city, no problems arise with guild laws, unless the referee decides that
this would be a fun plot to involve player characters. So, if (Brown) Vadeli
crafters exist, they won't be apparent to outsiders.
Vadeli sailors will be a quite normal sight loading and unloading their
ships in any port city. Local dockworkers may be suspicious of Vadeli
sailors, but unlikely more so than of other outlandish sailors (think
Kralori or Pithdaran traders in Maniria). There will be rivalries and minor
outbreaks of violence, but usually the Vadeli ought to be bad sport -
apologetic in confrontation, and vicious in magical retaliation. A Vadeli
curse should be feared on most docksides... a bit like the medieval beggar
subculture (which included the executioners at least in continental Europe).
Vadeli merchants are a reliable source for strangenesses and for hard
bargains for more usual goods. They will be allowed to outfit market booths
at certain days, or they will have shops on the outer perimetre of the
enclaves. If there are bazaars, the Vadeli are likely to form clusters
rather than distribute among the other traders.
Vadeli merchants come in two categories - miserable sellers of miscellaneous
collections of wares, or ultra-wealthy Shylock-clones trading with whatever
you can imagine, including interests and other immaterial "wares". These
latter will show up unbidden as well as bidden in the better parts of town
and politely remind debtors to repay their debts, or face terrible fates the
merchants regret not to be able to dispell without proper payment or other
redemption first. All of this extortion will be utterly polite, but the
magical retaliations will be not so subtle. Tapping is a usual method of
claiming in overdue debts, after all other negotiations have failed. The
Vadeli lawyers (yes, such must exist to complement the merchants) will
usually and truthfully claim oath- (or contract-) breaking as cause of such
disfigurements...
The Brown Vadeli may sell their services as sorcerers as well, but (at least
in all the major Genertelan port cities I listed having Vadeli enclaves)
they will have competition from other sorcerers, e.g. God Forgot types in
Kethaela. Whatever services they can offer without competition should be of
the disgusting type which gives sorcery such a bad name in many Orlanthi
regions.
Thoughts, comments, opinions?
Joerg
------------------------------
End of Glorantha Digest V3 #141
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