For some obscene reasons the llamas
keeps coming back on Amberside. They just too cute.
It all started when we discussed how
to use the non-arable slopes of Kolvir
Folly: "Oh, and if the sheep don't work out, maybe
next we should try llamas." [In part, of course,
because the player just *loves* the idea of a castle-by-the-sea
surrounded by llamas.]
GM (Ginger):Gerard wants to know what llamas do. Sheep
produce wool, and Gerard likes lamb with mint jelly, but Gerard
was never much into animal husbandry or estate maintenance, so he
doesn't know a lot about the use of domestic animals.
"They're mostly used as pack animals and wool producers,"
Folly says, "but they can also be eaten. Supposedly
they taste a lot like mutton. Their skins can be used for
leather, too. They're pretty low-maintenance and easy to
train. They're also cute as hell, which is why some
cultures don't think of them as food, but I realize aesthetics
aren't really our primary consideration here...." She
grins and can't resist glancing at Ossian. "On the
other hand, potential farmers might be more excited to work with
something cute like llamas than they would be for, say, yaks or
musk oxen...."
Monica has more information
[OOC - llamas produce wool, too, and are also good
mountain pack animals if we wanted to forge shadow paths across
the mountains.]
GM: [Gerard's a navy guy. He doesn't know llamas from alpacas.]
The GM:s obviously didn't want the
llamas to spread to chaos too
Ginger: Chaossiders, be warned -- there are some serious
spoilers in these quotes.Wait until later unless you want to know
what is happening in Amber.
Michael: Right! So if you don't want to know about the
Llamas, stay off the Amberside quote page!
Jeremy knows what's best for Arden
I'm quite proud of our decision to replace the hell hounds
with hellamas.
Karen:Yeah, dude, they're *awesome*. They're nine feet
tall, and they spit brimstone.
We're still perfecting the shellamas, though -- so far the most
badass thing they can do is cuddle you to death.
We are working on all kinds of uses for
the llamas:
GM: You can certainly sail out and meet the ship. If
it's a cargo ship than it may well expect a customs cutter to
approach it. Trained messenger birds are a great idea that
you haven't yet imported to Amber, though.
James: And the messenger llamas haven't learned to swim yet....
Sadly even llamas have some problems:
GM: Herders from the north of the city come with bad news.
The sheep have developed a disease that the shepherds don't know
how to deal with, and to prevent its spread, they've had to kill
a lot of animals. There is concern about public health, and the
shepherds are afraid to eat the meat because it may be tainted.
Olof: Beware the mad llama disease.
But they are still tougher (and cuter)
than most:
Conner and Folly do some basic research and decide that
what they have is a somewhat-more-virulent form of hoof-and-mouth
disease. <snip>
Karen: OK, we're definitely getting llamas this time:
(From http://www.internationalllama.org/html/ffmdfowler.html
-- wouldn't
it be great if Castle Amber had DSL so Folly wouldn't have to dig
through
piles of books to find the same info?)
1.FMD [foot-and-mouth disease] is a highly contagious virus
disease within
cattle and swine populations of Asia, Africa and some South
American
countries..
2.Llamas and alpacas have been experimentally infected with the
virus and
developed signs of the disease under those circumstance.
3.Researchers have concluded that llamas and alpacas are highly
resistant to
the infection.
4.Even with experimental inoculation, llamas and alpacas do not
retain the
virus for more than a few days, and do not become carriers.
Llamas, like, totally *rule*.
k/Folly
Google addict and llama llover :)
Folly still hasn't given up introducing
llamas to Amber :
If you're going to produce a tangible product, Folly
muses, you'd want something that relied on raw materials
available in Amber, so that future trade problems wouldn't
severely impact production. If we get llamas (and they work out
better than the sheep have), making llama-wool yarn and knitted
items might be a good choice.
They seem to infect the GMs too
(From the weblog)
GM#1: "OK, lets see where everyone is."...
GM#2: "What about Paige and Folly?"
GM#1: "They're doing Llamas."
GM:2: <eyebrow>...
Folly reports
The sheep have gotten sick with hoof-and-mouth disease.
Paige and I went out looking for llamas, which are more disease-resistant,
in general, but we didn't have any luck. [OOC: Next time,
perhaps we should send Lucas to the Houston Livestock Show.
*They've* got llamas, and he'd fit in so *well* there....]
Dragonfood
GM (Michael): After much travel and about where Jovian
feels confident enough to do so. He looks down. He has succeeded.
Below him, on the lower slopes of the mountains, are vast herds
of beasts. Furry, long-necked animals with barrel chests, they
bleat and run along the foothills. The almost make a patchwork
blanket on the foothill, and their fuzzy coats come in many
colors.
//What are those?// asks Canerath, obviously interested.
Karen: Noooooooo!! Don't eat the llamas!!!!!!!
<pout>
GM (Michael): It'll be a sorry day when you explain to Gerard
that no one can eat the herds you've so carefully cultivated...
Karen:...and here we see the importance of separating player and
character. Folly may dig llamas, too, in that love-them-and-pet-them-and-call-
them-George kind of way, but that won't keep her from eating them.
Especially if they're yummy with waffles.
GM (Michael): I'm still waiting for Mark to find out that these
are mega-Llamas, 74' at the shoulder, and that they can take a
medium sized dragon 2 falls out of three. On the up side, the
dragons probably only need to catch one...
Karen: Oh, joy! Oh, rapture! It's like a rhino and a llama all in
one....It's a llamaceros!
Llamas at home
Karen: ("Did you come in the back door?" LurkerSpouse
asked me last night.
"No, why? Was there a good reason to come in the back door?"
"No, there's a good reason *not* to come in the back door."
"Is something blocking the back door?"
"Sort of."
"Hmmmm.... Have we got a rhinoceros in the kitchen?"
"Uh, no, but that's sort of close."
<really excited> "Llamas! We've got llamas living in
the doorway!!!"
<Turns out we've got ants sneaking in under the back door and
snacking on our kitchen garbage. Too bad. I was *really* hoping
for llamas.>
The people staying in Amber know
their trade
Michael: "Some won't come, but it really won't be too long before Amber is a
sleepy little mountain town with picturesque herds of Alpacas dotting the slopes."
Karen K: No, no alpacas. _Llamas_! :-)
The pain, the pain
Plus to be forced to describe every female capable of ambulatory
behaviour as "shagadelic"...truly one wonders what kind of bad stuff Lucas might
have acquired.
Allen: You mean... chicks don't dig that?
Blake: Only the dragons...chicks dig the dragons. (and llamas)
Michael: My favorite scene in "The Llamariders of Pern" was in "The White Alpaca"
where Peruth (The White Alpaca) finally managed to spit fire. Oh, and when
the The White Alpaca became the coach for that ghetto Weyr basketball team.
This page was updated 15 sep 2005.