From: Bryan J. Maloney (jacobus@sonata.cc.purdue.edu)
Date: Tue 05 Jul 1994 - 12:57:23 EEST
(It seems that the author of the Basmoli stuff is a player in my RQ:AiG
playtest--I didn't look at the email address. Isn't it expensive to dial
up from where you are at the moment?)
Kirsten just told me who you were, oops and duh on my part, Chris. Anyway, some commentary on your Basmoli stuff:
"live in Prax and that their god, Basmol, is "distant". Their tribal
orginazation is into subgroups called prides consisting of 8-12 individuals.
Prides are led by females and contain a war shaman(male). Females are
warriors/hunters and men are warrior/hunters or shamans. There are about"
This is too small for a human hunter band. It might be the right size for a family group, but they'd be in larger groups or the population would crash. Women would not act as warriors--too dangerous for the children. However, given their mythic connection to The Lion Himself, I could see them acting as communal hunters to some extent. The problem is that human infants need a great deal more care than do lion infants, so you can't stretch the analogy too far. I would say that women act as gatherers and the core of the society.
Now, as for the majority of young men being driven out--too costly for humans to do this. HOWEVER, there is a way to explain why the core community has very few young men "sleeping in". Men in Basmoli society, except for the shaman and one or two other special men, are peripheral, both socially and physically. They live on the periphery of any Basmoli band. If they wish to have admission to the central circle, they must "purchase" it with a gift of meat to the women and cubs. They also must defend the core band against any threats. Failure to do this results in true outcasting. If a male distinguishes himself in "gift gathering", magic, or protection, he is permitted into the core group. It is not unknown for 2-4 Basmoli males to form a coalition to bring in more game than any one of them could alone.
"herd people who betrayed them. They have nearly wiped out their nearest
neighbors the rhino people."
Yeah, that's what the Basmoli say. Of course, since they're not part of Waha's bargains, they know nothing about the Great Journey around the Waste to and from the Paps. The real Rhino Tribe is nowhere near where the Basmoli currently live. Boy, will they be surprised when the main band shows up someday.
"Basmoli Shamans:
War Shaman:
A war shamans duties are to teach magic to his people(2/season), protect
lion spirits, take part in hunts, initiate new war shamans, aid Lions or
Basmoli if in trouble, keep the stories of the pride alive, and plan and
support raids. Also when they die they also must protect the body of Basmol
until he awakens when they will be reborn as lions.
Among their favorite shamanic powers are:
self-resurrection,discorporation,magic attack, spirit mastery, and second sense.
They are not forbidden any powers. Prefer the spirit spells: Spirit Screen,
Ironhand,Protection,Countermagic,Demoralize,and Fanaticism. They are not
forbidden any spirit magics. Divine magics are in the GoG."
The "divine magics" mentioned are listed under "Hykim and Mikyh" in GoG, I think. The "Shamanic Powers" referred to are experimental rules in the current RQ4 draft, that may or may not see the light of day in officially published materials.
"the death. Some prides add that they may only fight with hands and teeth(Lion's
Head divine spells)."
The taboo for unarmed fighting does not _require_ the Lion's Head and Lion's Claw divine spells, but they are preferred if possible. Beginning shamans are permitted to "get by" with Iron-hand (which the Basmoli call "Little Claw" since the Basmoli version actually does make the hand look paw-with-claw-like).
"Law Shaman:
A law shamans duties are to initial new shamans, adamantly keep the way of the
Lion King, to individually perform the hunt in the "right" way, and preserve
the Basmoli way of life. Identical shamanic powers, magic, and taboos
except that they are required to learn self-resurrection and they must only
fight with hands and teeth. They are trained as a war shaman and then"
Law Shamans are also required to learn the laws and customs of the Basmoli to a Master level (90% plus) before they are eligible to be installed in office. For a pride to lose a Law Shaman without finding a replacement is a small disaster. These prides will be willing to bargain, beg, etc. with other prides or through intermediaries to other prides to get another one or get the old Law Shaman's best student up to snuff.
"The Lion Quest:"
The Basmoli of Prax no longer have the Lion Quest. Lions are extinct in Prax. However, this does not stop some hotheaded youngsters from trying the quest anyway... Praxian Prides now have other sorts of contests, similar to those used by Foundchild to determine their Great Hunter. But, if anyone were actually to bring back a real lion...
"Kal'karrak(Beast)"
Kal'karrak has not been contacted within living memory in Prax (no lion
skins).
The tales of sterile lions among the Basmoli are due to Praxian beast
riders not knowing of the various Hsunchen "transform" spells that Basmoli
shamans have.
If Kal'karrak were to be successfully contacted, he could bestow the divine
magic mentioned with his cult.
Alternatively, he can offer a unique spirit magic spell:
Spirit Claws.
3 pts.
This spell, when cast, gives the recipient "claws" that function on the
spirit plane/in spirit combat. The effect is to give the recipient an
effective +3 to MP when attacking in spirit combat. The nature of the
spell is such that a discorporate creature may use MP from its fetch (if
it has one) to cast the spell.
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