[Glorantha] Duckly Discourse

[Greg Stafford]

YGWV

> Subject: [Glorantha] Re:Re: Ducks the Twagic Heritance
> I find the theory about Delecti as a Necromantic Duck
> fascinating.
> Does we know anything that denies that?

If you know me, you know one one thing. :)

> From: Simon Phipp <soltakss at yahoo.com>
answers sensibly about
> Subject: [Glorantha] Re: Ducks, Ducks and More Ducks

>> Mike knows what he is quacking about!
>> > Back on-topic, but I can see the durulz having a sort of inherited
>> > re-life  sickness, in that they get it from their mum.

Relife is not communicable.

>> > The females make
>> > sure that all the nestlings get to hear the myths of how we fought
>> > Delecti, how Delecti ate Grandpa Donal's brain etc. to ensure that
>> > enough of them are sufficiently sickened to go out and find the means
>> > to protect the nests from the hordes of zombies just round the corner.

These are not myths, these are history.
These are the standard bogeyman stories, sensible and true.

>> If we have stomach to learn more, we should ask the 'Delecti connection'
>> question the other way around: "What connection Delecti has to Ducks?"
>
> Personally, I think the connection is fairly simple. Delecti created the
> Upland Marsh to protect himself against the True Golden Horde, an event
> which
> failed to a certain extent. However, in doing so, he created an
> environment
> ideally suited to the ducks and ensured their survival. Even now, without
> the
> Upland Marsh, there would be very little good habitat for ducks in Dragon
> Pass.

Nice and simple, and to my undersanding, true. Why make things so
complicated? They compete for the same environment, and the enemies are
UNDEAD for pete's sake!

> So, the ducks are thankful that the Upland Marsh exists, but are annoyed
> they
> have to share it with zombies and the like. In fact, many of the ducks are
> pleased that there are zombies in the UM, because they keep everyone else
> away and, generally, don't bother the ducks much. So what if you have to
> send
> the occasional duckling to Delecti to become a vampire or to be eaten by
> ghouls, it's a small price to pay.

Why even send a duckling when we can use a couple of humans orpropitiatory
sacrifice instead?

> There are so many Humakti ducks around the Upland Marsh simply because of
> the
> undead in the marsh, and because Humakt charged them to keep the Marsh
> clear of undead. Only the ducks know about this, of course.

Yes. You worship what is most useful to you. Humakt kills undead, worship
him if you live by undead.

> In my Glorantha, Delecti actively created the Upland Marsh to protect
> those
> in his charge, this included the ducks, newtlings and river-fishermen. He
> did
> this out of his duty as one of the noblemen of the EWF. Of course, after
> he
> was killed by the TGH and came back as something very nasty indeed, he
> still
> protects the ducks, but only as a grudging duty.

Interesting.

>> You can start by thinking the possibility Delecti WAS a fowl himself !
>
> You can, he is certainly foul.

I now that when I saw Delecti he was not a duck.

>> >> Relife Sickness is a curse inflicted by Humakt on those
>> >> who escape his sword.
>> >
>> >And which by that definition has no reason to apply to
>> >ducks (unless you're Nick Brooke and think all ducks
>> >should be dead).
>>
>> We *know* of no reason, the ducks probably don't either.
>>
>> >> Normally it's an individual's problem but the whole
>> >> duck race has  managed to get it.

Nonsense. They do not suffer from Relife sickness as a race. That's an
individual affliction.

>> >And since it clearly wasn't by the "normal" route, we
>> >need a new one.

No if they don't have it, and again, since it's not true in MY Glorantha,
I wouldn't worry about this at all.

=====
Sincerely,
Greg Stafford

Issaries, Inc.
2140 Shattuck Ave., pmb #2030,
Berkeley, CA 94704