From: Sandy Petersen (sandyp@idcube.idsoftware.com)
Date: Fri 01 Jul 1994 - 08:19:01 EEST
>Well, I think all these things (freedom, barbarism) are true of all
>three nations, differeing only in degree.
Well, OF COURSE! (Hearty agreement) Yes, it differs only in degree. However, I don't concur that the UK's culture is "similar" to the US. You are misled by our common possession of different languages. My experience has been that Australians are quite similar to Americans (not so much Bostonian as Texan), but that British are less like Americans than are French or (modern) Germans. Doesn't mean I don't wish Americans were _more_ like British in some important ways. BTW, I was thrilled to read in a recent Neo-Nazi work an attack on Churchill in which it attempted to denigrate and degrade him by pointing out that he was half-American. I was proud that there were still Neo-Nazis who view Americans as the loathsome mongrel enemy, instead of as racist allies (which far too many of us are).
I don't mean this in any sort of negative way, and obviously it's the roughest type of stereotyping, with numerous exceptions.
Pam Carlson wonders:
>The Ward protects against "enemies". How does it determine an
>"enemy"?
Depending on the source of the Warding, I sometimes play that any living thing activates the ward. If you put a Warding on a barndoor, it kills your cows and sheep as they leave. This makes things simple, and keeps players from minimaxing and doing stuff like knocking each other out with Sleep spells, then throwing sleeping party members through the Ward, then waking them up again.
It also makes the Issaries Market spell, which _can_ distinguish between friend and foe, much more useful.
Actually, to be perfectly honest, I vary my interpretation of Warding depending on the cult that is casting it -- most warlike cult Wardings activate only on beings which are wearing armor, for instance.
>does a Ward have to be square?
Not in any campaign I've heard of.
Pam opines
>Babeester Gor seems to be the Gloranthan exemplification of this,
>but there could be protection subcults associated with other earth
>dieties. (Maybe not quite so twisted?) Dendaran Daughters for
>Defense? Praxian Mothers Against Marauding Morokanth? Sisters of
>Sartar? The Grazers have the Feathered Horse Queen, whose
>representatives teach "steak knife" skill....
Dendara has two protective deities -- Gorgorma (the "bad" one), and Lodril (but only when he gets excited -- note his special Rebellion rune spell). I think that Praxian women who want to act as defenders and warriors either stick with Eiritha (who can fight, after all), or join Storm Bull.
>I think that women tend to be less confrontational than men
Could be. Note that John Keegan in his excellent book History of Warfare (which I commend to all Daily readers, especially with regards to the excellent section on why pastoral cultures are cruel and effective in war) points out that, no matter what else can be said about war, it is clearly a male activity. While women can make inspiring war leaders, fine generals, and force their men into battle, with only "the most trifling exceptions", women don't go to war. Of course, this doesn't apply nearly as much to Glorantha, where we all know of plenty of women that go to war.
If Loskalm was on Earth, not one female knight would exist. On Glorantha, there are probably thousands (still few, compared to the hundreds of thousands of male knights, but better than Earth).
Joerg foolishly opines re: Lunar secret police
>Gimgim the Grim, Halcyon Var Enkorth and several other Lunars have
>successfully taken the role of Nazi bad guys in Indiana Jones
>movies, so I'd say that we have some source evidence. What we know
>about Danfive Xaron from official sources corroborates as well. I
>think this is a Gloranthan hard fact.
Mr. Baumgartner. the Danfive Xaron organization is _solely_ for rehabilitation purposes. Incidentally, Committees for Social Readjustment, Productive Happiness, and, of course Rehabilitation should be in contact with you soon.
>Sandy, does Teshnos have a Grain Goddess/Goddess of the Land?
I would have assumed the existence of a Teshna, or something, but if you have a more interesting idea than a dull old Land Goddess, let's hear it.
>BTW, when did the Hsunchen mythology first enter Gloranthan info?
They've been around a long time, originally probably as mere Beast-God worshipers (Basmoli, Rathori, Telmori, etc.). Note that the Hsunchen mythology doesn't fit so great into Theyalan philosophy, but it integrates just fine with Western. Also note that there are _extremely few_ Hsunchen in central Genertela, among the Theyalans. They were only really common in the West (where they are now much rarer) and the far East (where they are still pretty strong).
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