From: argrath@aol.com
Date: Sat 02 Apr 1994 - 04:27:28 EEST
David Dunham asks about the location of Wexten in Ralios. I
asked Greg Stafford about this at the RQ Con, and he said it was
too small to make the map. Put it where you want it.
James Polk says:
"As a player, I am quite ready to play these games with a GM who
tells me "That's the way fit is because my daddy said so." My
character's father is a god, who knows more than the GM's daddy,
so my "dagger" can too kill my foes at 50 paces without having to
touch them. :-) "
I know you're just joking, but there's an important point here. In Gloranthan, Iron is a metal invented by Mostali. Period. There is no periodic table. If there are discoverable and testable rules comparable to physics and chemistry, nobody in Glorantha knows them (or if they do, they're not telling). I fail to see how someone who obviously accepts the power of magic (or else you wouldn't play the game) refuses to accept red blood that doesn't have iron in it.
Joerg says:
"Hashish, or anything else which makes "drunken", is forbidden to
the orthodox muslim as well."
Even at the level of generalization you're using ("orthodox muslim," whatever that is), this is less than accurate. The Prophet forbade alcohol. This prohibition was extended in various historic times to various other substances by various groups, but your blanket statement obscures more than it reveals. But hey, it's an interesting argument. Now let's switch sides. ;-)
I said, hoping to stir up agitation and foment disorder:
>>As for Urox, I believe his emergence as a separate cult is a
>>second or third age development. The same with Humakt. Before
>>that, they were just what we would call subcults of Orlanth.
Sandy said:
> My failure to concur with this is unfortunately
>un-backed up by any evidence for the Bull. However, I submit
>that the tales of Arkat and his betrayal provide strong evidence
>for Humakt being a separate cult even at the dawn. Plus Humakt's
>own mythology, which places great weight on being separate from
>Orlanth.
My evidence for this (frankly inspired by the Elmal/Yelmalio split) is as follows (and I'm not deeply attached to the idea, so flame if you must):
A WF issue with the Sartar High Council, where Storm Bull was clearly an Orlanth subcult. Theory here: early Chaosium thinking reflects early Gloranthan history. Hey, what the hell.
Reference to a first age "Barntar" cult in the same sense that Humakt/Urox are cults.
The fact that Zorak Zoran was the major war cult of the First Theyalan Council. Unlikely if Humakt had been around, but it explains why a later-emerging Humakt cult is so anti-ZZ. So two theories from one bit of evidence--very parsimonious!
As for Arkat, one of his titles is Humaktson, but does he really do anything Humakti-like? When the Humakt cult was casting around for its history ("we know we left it here someplace"), it naturally seized upon Arkat as a prestigious member.
Humakt's mythology certainly does place an emphasis on separation from Orlanth. IMHO, this is a cultural artifact of the cult's own separation from the Orlanth cult. People always put their origins back further than they really are. I note in today's Daily that Nick agrees with me.
Well, anyway, it makes an interesting theory for some Lhankor Mhy scholar to propound (and have his thesis rejected for being too God Learnerish).
General note:
Get a grip, people! This is a hobby, and a peculiar one at that.
If you write for it, expect to have none of what you write be
published. I have years of my work that hasn't been published,
but I keep at it because I enjoy doing it. I suggest everyone do
the same, and keep on sharing your ideas.
G. Fried said something about that poll of U.S. citizens regarding the existence of the Holocaust. It turns out that that poll question was worded in a very confusing double negative, something like, "Does it seem impossible that the Holocaust might not have happened?" When responsible pollsters did another poll, the percentage of Holocaust-doubters dropped rather dramatically, to less than 1% if I remember correctly.
In any case, subjectivism is a good way of understanding current cultural phenomena, and not a great tool for historical revisionism. If anything, subjectivists are less likely to engage in historical revisionism than ideologues of any other stripe.
Post-modernism is an architectural movement. Spy magazine had a good article a while back debunking the term, and last Sunday's Washington Post had an article with people trying to define the term and failing. One guy accused of being a post-modernist said he hoped he wasn't one.
Sandy, I know you like trolls, and I agree that they shouldn't be Barney-ized. One of my favorite troll PC's was a Gorakiki- mosquito cultist who had a bronze mosquito mask with a long proboscis that he used to suck blood out of his victims. In my campaign, a troll hero killed several thousand humans at one time.
Cullen Grace:
The first part of your message of 31 Mar, 9:24 GMT, was cut off.
Can you send it again?
--Martin
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