From: Paul Reilly (paul@phyast.pitt.edu)
Date: Thu 09 Sep 1993 - 21:14:57 EEST
MOB writes:
> 4) Unicorns are all male and immortal (Ref: RQ Companion) and only
> mate with virgin female horses, thus are a really wierd species.
We run that this is a legend based on the fact that, like many species, only the male unicorns have horns. In our campaign unicorns have a preference for meat and the females sometimes act a bit like ogres among humans: they sidle up to some unsuspecting horses and then take down a foal or small mare. Oh, the 'virgin' reference comes because female unicorns are smaller than horses, so they are thought to be fillies that have not attained their full growth.
Note that unicorns are not often been observed mating by mortals; when they are it is typically at a distance, leading to false impressions. Close up the females are quite distiguishable from mares; for example they have cloven hooves.
Many horned animals have males who fight for dominance and have evolved mechanisms (such as the curved horns of bighorn sheep) to avoid killing each other. When male unicorns fight, they victor spears the vanquished but heals the wound as the horn is withdrawn. The loser is disheartened and withdraws. A single male wins the 'rights' to many females and all other males withdraw from his territory; this is why the unicorn is considered a proud, solitary animal (the females are not counted.)
The losers of these dominance fights slink off; they provide the steeds for Yelornans, etc. They bond with a single individual.
All this is just in our version of things, not official.
>5) Cuirboulli produced from Rhino Leather has 9 AP.
I have to disagree with this one. Bronze and iron will have better armor value than an equal weight of leather. (Consider that leather was historically MUCH cheaper than metal in the ancient world; why go to the expense of bronze if layering leather had produced equally good armor?)
I'd put it at around six points and make it as encumbering as scale. Weight aside, it's difficult to move in something thick and rigid.
This idea is due to Mike Holliday. Meant to be taken with a :-)
>2. Considering that Glorantha is flat, how far can someone see
> on the ocean?
At last, a physics question! :-)= ( beard indicates Lhankor Mhy mode) Your question can perhaps best be answered by referring to the treatise "On the Properties of the Elements", by Clement Longhair of the Nochet Lhankor Mhy temple:
YOU:
o .... ....* top of mast -|- ..... Curved Path of Light from Top of Mast ..... |\ / \ .............. ............. | \ <- sail ____ ................. --- --------------------------------------------------------------------- the sea
At this stage the light from the mast barely skims the waters, making the top visible, but the path that light from the sails would have to take intersects the ocean's surface and is absorbed by the hungry waters. A little thought reveals this to be the true explanation for the 'horizon' of seafarers and for why the tops of objects are seen first as a distant object approaches. Note also that an observer higher up may see farther, thus we have lookouts atop the masts of ships and observation towers (this phenomenon is seen on land as well but is less obvious.)
As for the so-called arguments of the deranged Columbus Mercator, these rest on the principle that light travels in straight lines. Obviously this must be false, as we know that Light is but the subtle form of Fire, which, seeking its proper level, tends to rise. Thus it is insupportable that light should not curve upward in it path.
Objections of the Ignorant:
I answer this as follows: beyond the Sky Dome is a Shining World. Of the Shining World's great Light, but a small Fraction descends to us along the paths pioneered by mighty Yelm and his lesser descendants and followers. The Will of these divine Beings is to send light to the mortal world, hence the light descends, against its Nature. However, it always yearns to return unto its true Home.
2. That El-Metal (Gold) falls Down toward the Earth with great Force, against the Tenets of my Theory.
I answer this as follows: Yelm's metal indeed falls down with great Force, but in the oldest records this is not so. In Godtime, before the Darkness, it was the Lightest of Metals and would even Leap and Dance about, from the Yearning of the Fire Within to return to the Sky World. See [list of references deleted for brevity], and lastly "The Sun Wheel Dancers" by Hector the Wise of Sun County for a compilation of the works of the Ancient Authors I have cited.
Only _after_ the Sunslaying (familiar to all who love the Lightbringer Saga) did Gold become heavy and lifeless, seeking to join the Celestial Emperor in the Underworld. Thus through the actions of Great Orlanth did Gold become the heaviest of Metals.
From other works I get the impression that (like many Gloranthan phenomena) the horizon distance varies with height on Glorantha in much the same way it does on Earth, despite the great differences in the underlying physics, For a standing man, the horizon will be about five kilometers away. I'm not sure how far one can see from a 12 kilometer height (The Vent), but I could work out the Earth answer if you like. No guarantee that this will apply on Glorantha, although it's certainly a great distance. According to Pallikos, one can see clearly the smoking top of the Vent from the peak of Stormwalk Mountain.
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