theme for a fantasy campaign

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by Brett

I have a possible construction of the selkies as "stranden" (from Anglo-Saxon strand + mann) above, based on the assumption that the selkies grew large and had some adaptions for deep diving and cool water that were developmentally and metabolically costly. Let me know if the stranden are not the sort of thing you want.

No, actually, they sound interesting, and the metabolic argument makes sense. The large size was definitely part of my picture of them. I just was focusing first on what seemed the primary question, and delaying comment on the stranden till I had time to analyze them closely.

You mustn't swim till you're six weeks old,
Or your head will be sunk by your heels;
And summer gales and killer whales
Are bad for baby seals.

I'd want to look at the earlier phases of their navigation technology. I think that early on they would not be using wood very much, because it's scarce. I'd be looking at kayaks and umiaks and coracles and other sorts of skin boats, with the rigid parts often made from bone. They might have developed floats even earlier.

For a long time, their wayfinding might be a matter of Area Knowledge more than Navigation. Like Heinlein's Mars pilot who says he knows every bit of space in Mars orbit by its freckles (which RAH probably stole from Mark Twain).

Bill Stoddard