Hobbits of Malkion

[scott-martin]

Still looking for the primal reference to the notion that Brithini are little. Here's a bit from the Mortal Lords manuscript that went out to some RuneQuest Classic backers:
 

SIZ for the nobles at least is 2D6+3 so they're not teeny on average -- bigger than a dwarf or brown elf, as big as a larger typical trollkin -- but there's a distinct scrawniness here. In an earlier version of the text Greg blames this not on anything metaphysical (much as I'd like to) as on a poorer diet with more fish than bread or beef. Naturally none of this is modern canon, use at your own risk, past results future performance blah blah blah.

However, the horalites are, as one might expect, quite weird. At certain stages in the text there are horalite knights. And "Brithini armies of the First Ages have not yet developed cavalry warfare for the homeland of Brithos knew no animals of a size suitable for riding and the major barbarian races (the Vadeli whom the Brithini all but exterminated and the horse-shy Pendali lion-worshippers) also did not know riding." For what that's worth!

[metcalph]

The xxed out text apparently says "or been conquored by an estimated" and not as I originally supposed "or been conquered by an eskimo".

[scott-martin]

3 minutes ago, metcalph said:

"or been conquered by an eskimo"

There's probably a Manfred Mann reference in there somewhere! It would explain the diet.
(all out of reactions for the day, I'll be back with the like)

Edited October 3, 2018 by scott-martin

[Darius West]

30cm shorter and 20kg lighter?  Clearly Malkion is actually a linguistic drift misspelling of "malnutrition".  IRL Feudal Europe, the nobles were always the tall ones, because they had a decent and regular diet, unlike everyone else.  Clearly Talar are not Taller.

[Sir_Godspeed]

Seems odd that a Brithini with a diet of grain and fish would be shorter than a Pelorian with a diet based on grain and possibly not much else. I understand the comparison might be to highland Orlanthi, but the Brithini diet doesn't seem bad compared to agricultural serfs; some fish are very fatty and nice, after all. Also, how do Brithini Zzaburi fulfill their caste rules of being the tallest around? Hats and plateau shoes are already in used, but 30cm heels is pretty extreme. And what does this means for the town populated by short people that were allegedly tapped short in Fronela?

I don't know, this feels like explaining something that didn't need explaining, to me. It just raises more questions, and not necessarily the fun kin.

[scott-martin]

3 hours ago, Sir_Godspeed said:

short people that were allegedly tapped short

This may be the simplest explanation, assuming for the moment that we even follow the Hobbit Brithini Hypothesis. At one point Tapping was legal and the people were smaller than they are today. Now most people are taller and the zzabur like to point out they're the tallest of all. Coincidentally they ran the Tap on people or things we can't remember now. (Maybe ducks started big.) 

If nothing else gives me an opening to roll my eyes at their recruitment criteria as at least partially favoring SIZ over more effective sorcerous criteria, which in turn makes them incrementally less effective magicians as a group. Tall, blue and stupid.

[metcalph]

Rather than have the Brithini being smaller than normal, I like to think their actual substance has been tapped out so they are slightly less substantial than the ordinary human.  This carries over in combat where they can ignore the first few points of damage depending on how much they have lost.

It's not a normal Tap spell but then again the Brithini invented Tapping so they can use whatever variant they see fit.

And for the snappy monickers, call this the Brithini Nazgul theory.

[Jeff]

On 10/3/2018 at 7:15 AM, scott-martin said:

Still looking for the primal reference to the notion that Brithini are little. Here's a bit from the Mortal Lords manuscript that went out to some RuneQuest Classic backers:
 

SIZ for the nobles at least is 2D6+3 so they're not teeny on average -- bigger than a dwarf or brown elf, as big as a larger typical trollkin -- but there's a distinct scrawniness here. In an earlier version of the text Greg blames this not on anything metaphysical (much as I'd like to) as on a poorer diet with more fish than bread or beef. Naturally none of this is modern canon, use at your own risk, past results future performance blah blah blah.

However, the horalites are, as one might expect, quite weird. At certain stages in the text there are horalite knights. And "Brithini armies of the First Ages have not yet developed cavalry warfare for the homeland of Brithos knew no animals of a size suitable for riding and the major barbarian races (the Vadeli whom the Brithini all but exterminated and the horse-shy Pendali lion-worshippers) also did not know riding." For what that's worth!

I believe I incorporated this into the description of the Brithini in the Guide to Glorantha. 

[davecake]

30 minutes ago, Jeff said:

On 10/3/2018 at 1:15 PM, scott-martin said:

 

I believe I incorporated this into the description of the Brithini in the Guide to Glorantha.

Its not mentioned in the main description of Brithini on pg, 405-406, but the section on Western Culture says "Those directly descended from the ancient Brithini average around 5 feet tall and weigh between 95 to 135 pounds."

[Tarumath]

10 hours ago, Darius West said:

30cm shorter and 20kg lighter?  Clearly Malkion is actually a linguistic drift misspelling of "malnutrition".  IRL Feudal Europe, the nobles were always the tall ones, because they had a decent and regular diet, unlike everyone else.  Clearly Talar are not Taller.

Genetics are also important, Brithini are probably just naturally short.

Even IRL there is a lot of variation, and 5 feets tall on average is just above the tallest pygmy peoples on Earth, not that bizzare for protomen.

[g33k]

 

 

I like your theory a lot!

15 hours ago, scott-martin said:

.... Coincidentally they ran the Tap on people or things we can't remember now. (Maybe ducks started big.)