Ali the Helering

Cat Scrat hings, Dog Scratchings and, for the Aramites, Pork Scratchings!🐖

The way that you can try to control the rate of information dissemination is to pass on a carefully edited part of said information. Train a copyist, but never, ever teach them to read or write. Train a metalsmith to inscribe an enchantment, but never, ever tell them what the symbols mean or why you need it.

I think you are making an unwarranted judgement concerning ritual humiliation. That could be an implicit part of their daily routine. Worshipping the Earth deities is a daily reminder of how their freedom of religion has been stripped away from them. I also think that you have a rather odd perception of the joys of serfdom, since a prisoner can at least hope for freedom. So glad that you aren't defending people who actively pursue a programme of turning Sartar into an image of Peloria-outside-the-Dome in the Glacial era, destroying their culture along the way. Starving the Sartarites to death is just a happy outcome they are totally willing to accept.

There have been some interesting studies recently regarding interracial pregnancies, indicating some difficulties relating to pelvic size, differing rates of prenatal diabetes and blood group incompatibilities. RW rather than Glorantha, yet interesting.

How interesting! Since they are but part Uz, I would have thought them very likely to be able to breed with humans. Divergence by cultural norms or isolation are quite likely to result in lower rates of fertility. Gonna hafta go check now, dammit! 😜

As per my earlier post, I was referring to the men-and-a-half, not other Agimori. I don't play in the West, but my reading is that if their stats lie outside base humanity they are people, certainly, but not human.

I think you have a rather gilded image of armies. Forget the taking of a city, I am referring to the 'liberation ' of food and valuables as troops advance accompanied by piecemeal murders rather than ethnic cleansing. Rape occurs everywhere. After a while prostitution on an industrial scale can emerge as formalised humiliation of a nation. (eg the Rieperbahn(sp?)) Garrisons conduct raids and pre-emptive strikes which seldom worried about collateral damage before the era of mass media.

Comparison needs to be fair in both directions. The 7M members are the Quislings. How many armies haven't looted, and killed those who resisted? How many haven't raped as they proceeded and garrisoned? I knew Netherlanders who only survived WW2 by eating tulip bulbs. Advancing forces & garrisons often live off the land, uncaring for the suffering they cause.

Orlanth is Dead told a rather different tale, the food supplies being dependent on political and religious submission. In RW terms the Dara Happan tradition is very close to Assyrian or Chin state terrorism.

That explains it. I don't play in the West, only with the men-and-a-half, who are well outside baseline norms. However, to return to the original issue, I still hold that Ogres were once human, but are no longer. They have been warped by practise and faith into ogres.

I am afraid that I have to disagree with the above reactions to my post. If a racial stat range falls significantly outside that of the baseline human I don't think of them as human.. Be they Reynold's Ultras or various Transhumans, Agimori or gern. Please note, as I said, no value judgement involved. In the case of the three non-gerns mentioned I would be inclined to say super human if pushed.

IIRC (no books in front of me) they have different stats to humans. Which makes them no-human in the same way gern and Agimori are non-human. Not a value judgement, simply the way they are.

I suppose it all comes down to a liking for the horsemen of the steppes. Argrath was a self-serving adventurer, never caring about the good that was destroyed to achieve his goals. Ditto Sheng Seleris. Argrath had a better propaganda machine. Sheng Seleris is a hero as long as he serves the purpose of bringing down the Empire, after which he is a disposable annoyance. Moonson was a self-serving monarch with a well-organised propaganda machine. Ditto Sheng Seleris. Not too sure that there is a great morale imperative here. But I do like horses and the steppe😎

I take your point. My comment is based on rape as violence and violation rather than a perverse sexuality. All a matter of which psychs one has read. I can't say that I have any desire to defend the Vadeli further! 🤢

It depends upon your culture as to whether such relationships are, indeed, unspeakable. Quite a few RW examples exist.

Of course we might be misunderstanding that fine Ulerian art of pyramid-dancing for a lecherous Blood Sun😇

Not all of us are fans of Argrath, either 👺

Perhaps because they adopted and transformed Hanuman to create the stories. Hindu deity by way of Buddhist mode of transmission, Tripitaka. One might even suggest that the irreverent Chinese were parodying the sacred truths of India in a piece of imperialist utter awfulnesssss…..

If the Vadeli are so evil, how could such an act be regarded by them as perverse? If it wasn't, why would it produce a succubus? Some of us actually rather admire Sheng Seleris…..

May I point out that males need not be the only ones tested by the Sex Pit.

I don't suppose you remember when he said this? His Cambellian Monomyth phase, his Post-Modern phase or another entirely? The answer could change the implicit understanding completely.

Just as the GRoY is a piece of religious propaganda, IMG so is the idea of a unified Kralori Empire under an unbroken succession of draconic emperors (except of course for Shang Hsa (mhnba). The folk religions are downtrodden and unrecognised (officially) remnants of previous pantheons, hints of the Vithelan gods and anti-gods are to be found, especially on the borders, mystic movements from across time and before the Dawn abound. Oh yeah, and the mandarins and ambitious others follow the imperial cult of draconic emperors. I do love unnecessary complication 😇

I always assumed that there would be a constant trickle of pre-initiates bound hand and foot on their way to happier lands. Otherwise, as you say. 😩

Of course, the Blood Rain does enable his cultists to grow khorne.... 👹

Would that be 'Blood for the Blood Sun' then?