I'm currently reading a remarkably entertaining book about the history of German hydrology. Huh? I hear you say.
There's a review of it here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2006/apr/15/featuresreviews.guardianreview6
The reason I mention it here is that many of the German attempts to "conquer nature"; whether it's Frederick the Great draining all the swamps in Prussia and inviting in colonists to settle the new lands created; or the people of Baden, "rectifying" (i.e. straightening) the River Rhine to make it easier to navigate by steam-boat; or even Hitler, planning to drain the massive Polish marshes (and incidentally slaughter all the "lazy Slavs") to provide new living space for the Germans; it all smacks very strongly of God Learner philosophy.
There are are lots of historical events in this book which could form a good basis for a Glorantha Second Age campaign - obviously if you're going drain the swamps and turn them into agricultural land, you're going to have to do some sort of goddess swap, replacing a marshland spirit with an agricultural goddess (and you might well have to drive the Ducks out too!) before you can bring your colonists in.
As a member of the Association of German Natural Scientists and Physicians said in 1870: "The cultivated classes of the nation look to us for further progress in civilisation, further victories over the powers of nature."
God Learners, the lot of them!
There's a review of it here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2006/apr/15/featuresreviews.guardianreview6
The reason I mention it here is that many of the German attempts to "conquer nature"; whether it's Frederick the Great draining all the swamps in Prussia and inviting in colonists to settle the new lands created; or the people of Baden, "rectifying" (i.e. straightening) the River Rhine to make it easier to navigate by steam-boat; or even Hitler, planning to drain the massive Polish marshes (and incidentally slaughter all the "lazy Slavs") to provide new living space for the Germans; it all smacks very strongly of God Learner philosophy.
There are are lots of historical events in this book which could form a good basis for a Glorantha Second Age campaign - obviously if you're going drain the swamps and turn them into agricultural land, you're going to have to do some sort of goddess swap, replacing a marshland spirit with an agricultural goddess (and you might well have to drive the Ducks out too!) before you can bring your colonists in.
As a member of the Association of German Natural Scientists and Physicians said in 1870: "The cultivated classes of the nation look to us for further progress in civilisation, further victories over the powers of nature."
God Learners, the lot of them!
