ops@ncsc (08/29/85)
From: ------ Operator <ops@ncsc> I would like to direct you attention to Poul Anderson's essay "On Thud and Blunder", which I have in a collection titled _Fantasy_ and which doubtless appears elsewhere. Anderson directly addresses such concerns as: Can you really lop heads off with just one blow? What happens if your sword breaks? Just how hard is it to learn to lop? East or west, which armor is best? How do you avoid plague, Montazuma's revenge, and crabs in a medevial culture? And the ever popular...If the damsel in distress can singlehandedly hold off the wicked sorcerer/Dark Lord/ogre/our hero with a forty pound broadsword, outrun the Dogs of Death/boiling lava/local gendarmes/our hero in 3-inch spike heels, ankle irons, and filmy garments, and outdrink, out fight, and out love the Black Company/an army of trolls/Ed McMahon/our hero...how come she looks like lifting a strand of hair away from her immaculately made-up face would make her faint with exertion? Leigh Ann might find some of the more serious concerns addressed of value, as would any one else contemplating life and war in a barbaric culture. Jessie (ops@ncsc) -------