Bill the barbarian

Enjoy!

Not sure that Ali is a young man or a young christian minister for that matter, an old christian minister... well that is much more possible. Also not sure this qualifies as allegory. It is very difficult to write what you do not know, not impossible, but difficult. So, why take the hard road and ignore the great scenes and characters... the plots and situations, all of those great seasonings and spices that make a legendary story! All right there, burnt into his synapses. What happened to this gentleman as the whole world around him literally was raised in the air and turned upside down around him and above him all to come crashing down as whistling willie came to visit is epic. And that was just his war history. ... Figuratively as well, as pastoral gave way to industrial, mores changed—possibly forever, religion and Empire entered new phases... the centre began to unravel. Oh where to begin. I figure when you decide to create thousands of years of history and myth—just to tell a bedtime tale to satisfy an insatiably curious young boy—it is better to not invent the thang "whole cloth". Now, this is simply my take and you can weigh it with as many grains o' salt as ya wish, but I am willing to take one of my fave writers at his word... mostly... kinda... Now JRRT's buddy, CSL... there was a self-confessed and widely acknowledged serial allegorist!

Aw no, that can't be so. Heroes that never ultimately fail.... Tell me you are making a joke Shiningbrow. Or someone else tell me he is correct and Orlanthi heroes are never the losers... Or perhaps Orlanthi do not worship thems that lose (either would truly make me sad... my fave sports hero is mighty Casey!)... I prefer to have heroes that can fail! It's what makes them heroes to my mind. Well off to research this, cause ya know, having a "never failing hero trope" sounds... (shakes dice... gets a 17 and consults rumour table)... A) too awful to contemplate!

Always has been and always will be in projects I do. It shows respect for those you work with. Actually, it just shows respect!

Let me toss an item into the lot... Though this is great for medieval games, perhaps CoC Dark Ages, (it details how to build a stone castle in post-Norman England) at 6:20-10:20, it starts to become relevant for the older games we play around here (with a few anachronisms) when it discusses the relationship twixt masonry and magic. I would think math and geometry as magic would be happy and at home in more sorcerous societies on the lozenge... fer instance, in the west and..? And the reminder that masons used to have lodges where they would meet to study, drink, and share started me thinking of secret societies. Masonic handshakes in the temple library in Pavis, hmm? At 15:02 the discussion of the Blacksmithing begins... Though it talks of a tech that is rare on the cube, it still nudges our modern mind to think to an older way so to aid the modern man into considering magic and the cube. Still this is middle ages...not exactly germane, interesting, but a thread drift. Moving to material we can more easily utilize on a bronze age magical world set the time coordinates to 33:06-34:50. Granted they talk about blacksmithing (and the devil) so it is not perfectly fitted to our redsmithing world, still it is still enough to make me ponder. Now building the mill is right in our wheelhouse... starting at 24:35 to 29: 29 the builders try a first attempt at the mill. The 2nd attempt is at 34:50-40:06. Even better, there is no need to ghettoize the info... I am sure one can glean some cool stuff from the Middle Ages material I have ignored. It is valuable just to get away from our 20th century day to day and visit another time for a while.

I get it. And congrats for avoiding a tie or aftershave....

It is a bit of a rant isn't it? Worthy of a read for a chance to ponder the question of cultural appropriation again (or for the first time).

In honour of the the "IndigeNerds" on the this site I thought I would mention that we here north of Valind's Glacier (the Turtle Island nation known as Canada) are commemorating "the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation" to remember the children who never returned home and survivors of residential schools, as well as their families and communities. While we are here for an imaginary world every now and again I like to remind folks the real world needs heroes now more than ever! So why only play a hero in a game when you can also be one in real life as well!

Jack Vance, I am seeing Moorcock (Jerry Cornelius)! and I was nt even thinking of the redemption card... Awesome.

Hey! Watch that kind of talk!

Why devise? Hm, let's see. As a lifetime 1st aider; first with cadets 5 decades ago, right up to the pandemic (I need to renew my certificate) I have held a St John's Ambulance 1st Aid Certificate. Beyond being taught about the body, and how we are to work with it as 1st aiders (not doctors) we are taught about devising simple slings, bandages, splints, stretchers. You name it. Buddy has a pencil in his eyeball, what do you do? Leave the frigging pencil where it is, get a doctor or an ambulance and then while waiting, devise a donut bandage to isolate the problem.

And if that does not scream ADVENTURE... nothing ever will! Of course this a problem, but there are some excellent Chaosium scenarios that have turn-coated priests... they just went to what they thought were bigger Gods who could protect them from the forth-coming retaliations.

Well of course, as a person who plays an Orlanth cultist and fisher-woman, all the same person...

Well Jeff, I am afraid we will have to agree to disagree. As I am the one who will have to piece together a shattered campaign, or provide succour to bruised egos, or try to get friends to talk to one another again... I know, this will never-ever happen, so I am just being silly... right? Better to mention that these are harder to play than an Orlanthi Farmer, in my mind.

I agree a lot! I have, for decades now, let folk know that the Humakt or the CA they want are problematic... and will require a bit (well, quite a bit) of finesse amongst common folk. Unfortunately, nothing on this forum has changed my minds. Both cults are a little advanced, shall we say?

Just watched a film that addresses the same question about a couple of books with a little greater import than the RQ G core books... I know, I know... blasphemy... and speaking of which... Errows in copy and piste have been around for awhile! Not to mention retconning and out and out changing of text for the editor or proofer's own agenda or...

Colour me interested as well... Maybe when I finally get out of the economic doldrums perhaps I will join you in dishing out cash... let me try a summoning svennson. What do you say @Rick Meints? Any good news now or in the future for us.

This is part of a scenario that demoes HQ by Jeff Richard ... It is pretty much as you stated it. That is, as it really happened in our world and what did happen on the Lozenge See above

No one has mentioned my favourite surprise I lay on players as part of how my Glorantha varies... Saunas! Back in the day when Orlanthi were patterned after celtic/vikings I figured saunas were a mandatory feature of any good barbaric (they once were called barbarians too, go figure) stead, in fact the bigger and richer ones had multiple saunas!

RIght now will be fine! Send all checks, money orders, currencies in various denominations, Beanie Babies and other collectables to: Bill the Barbarian Somewhere North of Valind's Glacier PO Box 2 Glorantha Please, no blogs!

I always knew @Effwas/is/always will be a trend setter! We were playing in 1611 in Torkani lands and rumour came of a large body of Lunars Tarshite troops moving home down the Pavis Road after being released from active status when the Prax campaign began to wind down.... Picking herself up she wanders to a nearby village on the road to set up a soap shoppe made from waste by-products found from around the stead... Seemed like the Issarian thing to do! I like to think that not only did she do the "holy thing" of making something of value from nothing... but also, she saved travellers and downwind towns from a fate worse than death!

Agreed, love the graphic by-the-by, very cool. Usually, such CE or iron-age BCE tech seems to be assigned to the oddballs and/or odd situations of our beloved lozenge. The "Dragon Pass Homeland's" equivalent of Steve Jobs, et al. Leonardo for example or The Dwarf, or an odd denizen or two of TInk or other such odd places. All usually imbued with that very odd Staffordian sense of wonder that makes such great sense on a cube. Agreed and those that exist would be much more primitive than most desired by adventurers! (See @Squaredeal Sten's comment about GM is about player's maps but the primitiveness of some of those very maps qualifies them for use in this quote) Or artifacts left over from the God's Age (and even sooner). Yep and Mythic as well! And the Myth might be more accurate than the fact on the lozenge!

Most humans aren't human! I know, I have met a few o' them!

WOW! No doubt... may I second that! WOW! ...all while the ball is quite sure it squarely wishes it was in otherworldly territory!

You know Richard, I would bet that the maps that would be the most accurate would be of other worlds/realmz/planes what have you. The Mythic being better mapped than the mundane. Not saying it would be easier to understand, just better mapped. In fact, I am sure the mythic would be incorporated into the better mundane maps making them just a little magical... just like written languages. My fave maps are knotted-cord maps from Prax...