Brown Elf hibernation

[Byll]

Brown elves sleep 'all winter' I've always assumed that this means all of Dark Season, and in most years most of Storm Season (Storm Season being unpredictable and sometimes spring-like). Should it be more mythologically orthodox (ignoring weather) and always last from the start of Dark Season to the end of Sacred Time? 

I assume pixies also sleep through the winter if they are linked to herbaceous small flowering plants, though I suppose some may represent evergreen 'herbs' like thyme or rosemary.

[Akhôrahil]

11 minutes ago, Byll said:

Brown elves sleep 'all winter' I've always assumed that this means all of Dark Season, and in most years most of Storm Season (Storm Season being unpredictable and sometimes spring-like). Should it be more mythologically orthodox (ignoring weather) and always last from the start of Dark Season to the end of Sacred Time? 

Probably not - winter ends somewhere in Storm Season (variable) when Orlanth defeats Valind in the Middle Air. This seems like it should be when the elves wake as well.

[jajagappa]

1 hour ago, Byll said:

Should it be more mythologically orthodox (ignoring weather) and always last from the start of Dark Season to the end of Sacred Time? 

It depends on where you are. Anywhere in west/central Genertela I'd say yes. But in Teshnos/southern Kralorela it might vary more.

Just thinking of when deciduous trees awake around where I live, it is never until Seaseason.

[Joerg]

Winter aconite pixies would be used to frolicking in the snow...

Edited October 11, 2023 by Joerg

[Rodney Dangerduck]

How do you handle this for a Brown Elf PC?  They just miss a few adventures every Gloranthan year?

Or does everybody just run Green Elves?  🙂

[radmonger]

Perhaps you can always wake up a brown elf, it's just that means they will die next Sacred Time.

There may be a Rune spell that allows an awakened elf to be mobile for a week, and then return to hibernation with no ill effects. 

Or play a green elf.

[Joerg]

51 minutes ago, Rodney Dangerduck said:

How do you handle this for a Brown Elf PC?  They just miss a few adventures every Gloranthan year?

Or does everybody just run Green Elves?  🙂

Players who want temporarily or spatially limited characters would be well advised to roll up a secondary stand-in character to play when the focus one is absent.

Brown elves would be absent only in Dark and Storm Seasons, Sacred Time consists of their Awakening quests.

Rathori characters need to hibernate roughly the same part of the year.

Hollri would have pretty much the reverse activity phases, at least away from their glacier(s).

You wouldn't normally bring a centaur to a cave crawl, or a ludoch merfolk onto dry land. Playing a baboon, gorilla or minotaur might limit your enjoyment of adventures of urban intrigue.

[Rodney Dangerduck]

1 minute ago, Joerg said:

Playing a baboon, gorilla or minotaur might limit your enjoyment of adventures of urban intrigue.

My minotaur PCs never survived a session, yet they were always a hoot to play!  But point noted.

[Squaredeal Sten]

3 hours ago, Rodney Dangerduck said:

How do you handle this for a Brown Elf PC?  They just miss a few adventures every Gloranthan year?

Or does everybody just run Green Elves?  🙂

Everybody - is that like the "Orlanthi all"?

Seriously, I have seen troll player characters, but never an elf.  That may have something to do with Trollpack being published for decades, while Elfpack is still in the future.  This seasonal question is not the biggest issue with running an elf  in Glorantha, either.

 

[Akhôrahil]

7 hours ago, Rodney Dangerduck said:

How do you handle this for a Brown Elf PC?  They just miss a few adventures every Gloranthan year?

Hellwood Brown Elf Krjalki are active all year, so that’s some kind of option. 🙂

[Byll]

16 hours ago, Joerg said:

Players who want temporarily or spatially limited characters would be well advised to roll up a secondary stand-in character to play when the focus one is absent.

Maybe an Uncoling trader who comes south for the winter with a few of his reindeer 

[Axel]

On 10/11/2023 at 1:04 PM, Rodney Dangerduck said:

How do you handle this for a Brown Elf PC?  They just miss a few adventures every Gloranthan year?

Or does everybody just run Green Elves?  🙂

When I played a Mreli, I played an alternate character in Dark and Storm Season.

I think RQ is best played with a stable of characters because characters can die very easily so it's good to have a replacement ready to go, a successful Divine Intervention can make a character not want to adventure for a couple of years while they recover their POW, a character can be a bad fit for a given story so having alts gives GMs more flexibility in the adventures they throw at players.

I think it's also worth remembering that in RQ2 players were expected to have multiple characters (The Cradle adventure, and stories from Greg's House campaign make that clear).