@MadDog> The acts you state that so clearly show that the woman is clearly Atali, are easily the work of sorcery. The woman could clearly be named Atali, happens to a Priestess, and through sorcery achieved the abilities given to her. On top of this, IF she was a mighty sorceress, she could use immortality sorcery to extend her life, and create a reputation claiming to be the daughter of Ymir. Much like in Conana the Barbarian's Thulsa Doom claiming to be the "life-blood from which you flow." What you see as clearly deification, I see as clear sorcery. Her background could be fact, or merely a LIE she spread to enhance her reputation.
First, it I find it highly doubtful that REH would tacitly introduce the "Atali" character if the person wasnt Atali. The shortness of the story would lend no point to that sort of deception.
Second, you have a good point about the vampire being one explanation of the cold resistance. However, we are now stretched to believe that instead of Atali, we have a vampire/temptress/scholar of Ymir instead of the much more straightforward explanation of her being Atali.
Finally, you have yet to explain the teleportation, an ability explicitly listed in Atali's description, and to the best of my knowldge, the only such place for that ability.
Running naked through the snow wouldn't be a major feat for Akivasha the Vampire, that doesn't make her deific. There are other instances in Howards work of sorcerers' vanishing. There is nothing in the story that sets her above a mere sorceress.
I am not saying that she isn't the daughter of Ymir, I pointing out that it is just as possible that she isn't, and that is enough justification on support of the Nymph.
Find me an explanation on Conan RPG terms. Everything in this thread is how Conan-novels translate into ConanRPG. None of our arguments can go beyond that constraint becuase we are talking solely in terms of Conan RPG.
On a side note: Atali doesn't teleport herself, she asks, "Ymir, oh my father save me!" And she disappears in a brilliant light. This still doesn't prove much in your case as most diciples consider their deity there Father/Mother.
Find me an ability that grants teleport.
The problem with your point of view is that you can't even consider the possibilities of the cons of your position.
Wrong. I have considered the other viewpoint and found it to be far less likely than what I reasoned out. The odds are, Atali IS the person on TFGD.
Why dont you consider this statement from Vincent:
"Once I stumbled upon those tales of yesteryear, I realised I did have an REH character similar to that; thus I did take the Frost Giant's Daughter to be an inspiration here (who scampers around naked in a frozen wilderness), although she is obviously something more than a mortal temptress. "
Clinging to the SoS doesn't make you position right, as it's not necessarily CANON, it was the authors' attempt to represent Atali through her implied stature from the story.
We are talking in terms of Conan the RPG, so using SoS as evidence is absolutely correct.
As she doesn't appear in any future Howard writings and all traces of her vanish when Ymir saves her, it's the best position to take, not the ONLY position.
Great. We agree there is a chance, however small, that Atali wasnt Atali. The evidence still supports my contention that it is more than likely she was Atali. About the only way to settle this is to dig up REH's corpse and cast Speak With Dead.
As to cheesy art, and "painfully embaressing shot in the foot descriptions" seems to be over stated. As to the picture on p.98, don't think about it much, though if I had to think about it I'd say it reminds me of the fable where Eve offer's the forbidden fruit. Or that's an very tempting grape...
Fine, We disagree then. How many characters have you run with that cheesecake pose naked in forests while eating grapes ? Not very ConanRPG-ish is it ?
Mad Dog
