The Ducks

[Ironwall]

so whats there history?

how do they differ from other orlanthi?

any gods native only to the ducks?

[AndrewTBP]

Your Glorantha Will Vary

The Durulz of Dragon Pass are a splinter group of the Keets of the East Isles. 
They worship exactly the same Storm, Earth, Water, & Death gods as the Orlanthi clans nearby. The artwork is Durulz centric of course, so their statues of Orlanth and Ernalda, etc., have Durulz heads & feathers. 

[dumuzid]

they were cursed by Yelm to lose the power of flight for siding with Water during the Gods War

[soltakss]

8 hours ago, Ironwall said:

so whats there history?

They were cursed by Yelm not to fly, or cursed by Orlanth not to fly, or both.

They lived in and around the rivers of Dragon Pass, and especially in the Upland Marsh, where they may heave been under the protection of The Lord Delecti.

They achieved very little of note, until Starbrow's Rebellion, where they were the scapegoats and had a bounty put on their heads, so they fled away from Lunar Dragon Pass.

They talk about Ganderland, a magical place in God Time, where they had an empire.

8 hours ago, Ironwall said:

how do they differ from other orlanthi?

They are physically ducks.

They live by water, generally, in houses that are not like the houses of other Orlanthi.

Most ducks are cowardly by nature, as hiding gets you killed far less often than fighting.

8 hours ago, Ironwall said:

any gods native only to the ducks?

Generally, no.

Ducks worship the same gods as do other Orlanthi.

Some people give them ducky names, such as Storm Bill, but I am firmly opposed to that in my games.

They may have Spirit Cults honouring especially famous ancestors.

 

[David Scott]

8 hours ago, Ironwall said:

so whats there history?

Ducks are covered in the RuneQuest Bestiary:

Quote

The origin of the ducks of Genertela is a mystery to outsiders. They claim to have once been the rulers of the world until their own sins and errors forced them into subservience to lesser races (elves, trolls, etc.) and, later, to humans. Others tell of them as an avian folk who forswore their allegiance to Yelm to follow Orlanth and were denied the sky as punishment.

The Guide says the same and a few alternative ideas

8 hours ago, Ironwall said:

how do they differ from other orlanthi?

The creating a Duck adventurer in RQB says they must take the Air rune as primary and Death at 75%:

Quote

Use the standard adventurer occupations for the Sartar Homeland. Ducks cannot Ride. Replace any use of Ride with Boat or Swim.

8 hours ago, Ironwall said:

any gods native only to the ducks?

No, but maybe local and hero spirit cults.

 

[Joerg]

5 hours ago, svensson said:

No. There is nothing about ducks.

A correct statement - all we have about them are guesses. They are documented for the Inhuman Occupation, and appear next to the Stitched Zoo creatures of Beast Valley.

There is a possibility that they were created during the EWF, possibly as a bad joke misunderstanding that somebody wanted drake-men.

It is possible that one of the other two origin stories is true - that they were survivors of the keets washed into the region by the Solkathi flood, or that they were a remnant of early Golden Age

 

5 hours ago, svensson said:

Feel free to ignore them.

Trust me.

Always an option, and not the worst one. But then you need something like group consent to avoid the hobbit/kender(choose your other annoying dwarfish species element.

The viciously effective death-drake is another trope that GMs or gaming groups might wish to avoid.

 

5 hours ago, svensson said:

[OK, I'm one of the vast minority of Gloranth-heads that don't like the ducks. But then, I don't like hobbits either.]

I don't like them either, but then Greg Stafford did not like the Mostali, yet he created them for his setting.

I am not a fan of Donald- or Daffy-esque antics, and other than the horrible eighties movie (on cable TV) I haven't consumed any Howard stuff.

Ducks can be used as a tragicomic element in the game, mostly harmless except when cornered in their semi-aquatic home turf. They have survived a genocidal persecution by their neighbors incited by Lunar conquerors (and IMO profiteers), and are quite vengeful about that, both to those of their neighbors who took advantage of the tax break and to those who shipped the bills of their killed family members to the Empire to be turned into magical jewelry.

There is potential for a mostly serious mostly duck characters grim-dark revenge game in the Lunar Empire. I even uploaded a file about such a possible campaign, and you might see me writing more details about that, but I am unlikely to GM such a game.

I have written a similar amount of notes on a duck exile community on the western shore of the Marzeel estuary as a suburb to Karse. A refugee camp slowly turning into a somewhat normal community.

[Darius West]

"The origin of the ducks of Genertela is a mystery to outsiders. They claim to have once been the rulers of the world until their own sins and errors forced them into subservience to lesser races (elves, trolls, etc.) and, later, to humans. Others tell of them as an avian folk who forswore their allegiance to Yelm to follow Orlanth and were denied the sky as punishment."

Perhaps this is why the Spike needed to be destroyed?  I personally would like to thank the forces of Chaos if this is the case...

Edited January 30, 2022 by Darius West

[Bill the barbarian]

15 hours ago, svensson said:

[OK, I'm one of the vast minority of Gloranth-heads that don't like the ducks. But then, I don't like hobbits either.]

Much as I truly wish that so... alas, I think vast might be overstated, though I am not sure about minority. I think you have more than a few friends on that front. Sometimes I feel a little lonely manning this deserted Duck Friendship Booth and pounding on this drum. 

...but should you feel warm and fuzzy toward our feathered friends may I suggest

[Rick Meints]

Can we please just focus on the original questions posted, and not make this about the value of ducks being in, or not in, the game.