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Some notes you all might find interesting. For centuries, Belintar was able to coordinate magical activity to everyone's benefit in the Holy Country. The gods were often manifest - so you didn't need tribal rites to have that contact. Belintar (or his stand-in) would invite the god to his palace, and everyone would enjoy the blessings. In Sea Season, big rites in Seapolis; in Fire Season, big rites at the High Temple in Caladraland; in Earth season, big rites in Ezel; in Darkness season, big rites atop the Shadow Plateau; and in Storm Season, big rites in Bullflood or whatever temple complex is below Stormwalk. Then the City of Wonders would tie it all together in Sacred Time - in fact, it always was like Sacred Time there. Crossing between the worlds was easy as long as Belintar was there to facilitate it. The Sixths were able to specialize in their elemental resources and work in coordination with the others to create a harmonious magical whole. It was a Golden Age returned to the world. The main gods got identified with their Runes: Ernalda-Gata, Lodril-Aether, Choralinthor-Zaramaka, Kyger Litor-Nakala, and of course Orlanth-Umath. I think when Belintar was around, the Holy Country was like Tamriel in the Elder Scrolls - six lands, each with their own strong identity, landscape, and even light and weather! Of course this had social changes.Tribal entities atrophied and disappeared. Having a God-King rule for three centuries of peace and prosperity added him to everyone's pantheon. Belintar was responsible for such phenomena as the harvest, the weather, defense against the enemy, for good luck with trade, and more. When Belintar disappeared, the Gods War came crashing back. Wolf Pirates, Western Barbarians, civil strife, Lunar invasions, and Chaos. Without Belintar, there are no established methods to handle these crises. Everything is ad hoc, and up for grabs. For twelve years, this continues, until finally many leaders decide to invite Argrath to be king - if he will protect them. A brief history of Heortland When Belintar came to the Holy Country, trolls and Hendriki tribe were dominant. The Hendriki were not an Orlanth Rex tribe, like the tribes in Sartar, and did not have access to that magic. Initially they were a "clan" - Hendrik was a bandit leader, not a king. His warband was held together by his own charisma and magic. When Hendrik died in 439, one of his companions Selelmal took over leadership of Hendrik's band, aka the Hendriki. It was Dinorth who actually founded the kingdom. He was given the magical regalia by Sindan Black who journeyed to the Western Ocean and returned. These were a crown, a scepter, and six magical items. Possession of this regalia + the tribal rites made one king. Clans obeyed the king or not, but the king was the king. The Hendriki expanded and contracted over the centuries. Sometimes they were little more than just the area around Whitewall. Sometimes they ruled all of Heortland and much of Esrolia. In 1300, the Hendriki ruled most of Heortland. The Bandori were a subject tribe. Southern Heortland was ruled by the Bandori, a subject tribe of the Hendriki. The Orshanti were a large clan centered on what is now Jansholm. They split over the rise of the Red Moon, with Colymar and his Esrolian wife leading his Black Spear Clan - zealots, visionaries, and adventurers - into Dragon Pass. In 1313, Belintar arrived. We all know the story. He killed the Hendriki King, who supported the Only Old One, and then a year later resurrected him. Many Hendriki refused to acknowledge the returned king, others did, and others directly revered Belintar. Some groups decided to risk exile into Dragon Pass. By 1350, the Hendriki kingdom is gone. Heortland - named after the great cultural hero who was often invoked by Belintar - was a Sixth of the Holy Country. The God-King kept good contacts with all the gods of the Holy Country, and to the rest of the world this was a part of the Otherworld manifest in the mundane world. Occasionally, gods or great monsters visited the Holy Country, and there were known to be many secret gates into the Otherworld. The Orlanth cult was strongly supported, but one that worked in conjunction with the other gods of the Sixths - a Monomythed Orlanth that could play A leading role (but not THE leading role) in something larger. This was intolerable to the would be heirs of the Hendriki and in 1340, a group of clans gathered at Whitewall and acclaimed Hardard the Green as king of the Volsaxi confederation. The Volsaxi proclaimed their independence and autonomy. Curiously Belintar took no direct action against the Volsaxi, although his governors in Heortland often fought against them. During this rebellion, other groups entered Dragon Pass - the Locaem, Kultain, and Dundealos tribes among others. Heortland was mostly administered according to traditional law, but social institutions did change. Clans tended to have a single ruling family, from which the leader would be chosen, etc. Clans supported heavy chariot cavalry (that were eventually supplanted by heavy horse cavalry once large enough horses could be reliably obtained from the Grazelands. Heortland itself is divided into four provinces: Vandarland, Gardufar, and Esvular. The fourth, Volsaxiland, largely governs itself. The borders change from time to time., but basically they are this: Volsaxi - from the Crossline to the Marzeel River. Vandarland - from the Marzeel to either the Syphon or the Bullflood rivers. Gardufar - from the Syphon or Bullflood rivers to the Minthos. Esvular - from the Minthos to the Nomad Marches. In 1541, the trolls of the Troll Woods took control of Whitewall and broke the Volsaxi confederation. The Kitori took control of trade between Sartar (and Peloria and Prax) and the rest of the Holy Country, and imposed high tariffs (basically robbery). This lasted until Prince Tarkalor defeated the Kitori with the aid of the Yelmalio cult. He refounded the Volsaxi confederation at Whitewall and built a road between Whitewall and Karse. All of this was done with Belintar's tacit approval. This greatly increased trade between Sartar and the Holy Country, and made the Sartar princes rich enough to contend with the Lunar Empire for another 30+ years. In 1616, Belintar disappeared. The governor of Heortland died and in 1617, two kingdoms divided Heortland between them. In the north, Broyan of the Volsaxi proclaimed the return of the Hendriki kingdom with himself as king. Much of Vandarland acknowledged him. Gardufar and Esvular supported the Western adventurer Rikard the Tiger-hearted, who proclaimed his kingdom of New Malkonwal. The two successor states lasted only two years before the Lunar Empire invaded in 1619. All of Volsaxiland (except Whitewall) quickly fell. In 1620, Malkonwal fell. Small Lunar garrisons were placed in all the larger cities of Heortland, and in 1621 Whitewall fell. But even this lasted only a short time. In 1622, Broyan reappeared and raised the Hendriki in rebellion, and many in the former Malkonwal supported him. The Bandori proclaimed their independence as well. Broyan inflicted a surprising defeat on the Lunar Army at Auroch Hills northwest of Whitewall and then fled to Esrolia to aid the new anti-Lunar queen. The Lunars followed in 1623 and besieged Nochet for a year to no avail, while their garrisons in Heortland were withdrawn. In 1624, the Lunar Army was routed at Pennel Ford and had to march all the way back to Sartar. Then in 1625, Broyan was killed and nobody knows how to perform his rites. So that's where things are now. A confused mess. No tribes beyond the Bandori. Just a lot of warlords, adventurers, and ad hoc arrangements. I suspect that's how things will remain until 1628.

Premiering this Saturday: THE WHITE BULL CAMPAIGN, RuneQuest Roleplaying in Glorantha actual play, on Chaosium Twitch!

Weighing in at 480 pages, the new Malleus Monstrorum will be coming out as a two volume hardcover slipcase set! Volume I Monsters of the Mythos - 216 pages Volume II Deities of the Mythos - 264 pages You'll be sure to find this two-volume collection packed with ideas, concepts, and insights to immerse your scenarios and campaigns deep in the heart of the Cthulhu Mythos. With lore and statistics updated and revised for Call of Cthulhu 7th edition, and all brought to startling life by the illustrations of expert artist Loïc Muzy. The Malleus Monstrorum will be available in PDF very soon from Chaosium.com and DriveThruRPG. The print edition will be available in October. If you buy the PDF direct from Chaosium.com, you get the full price of the PDF off the cost of the slipcase set when it is released.

Pralor is written up in the Cults Book as an exemple Hsunchen cult (along with Basmol, Mralota, Telmor, and Rathor). I have a LOT of material on Pralorela. Here's the Third Age history of the area: THIRD AGE The early Third Age was spent stabilizing the lands from the disasters that ended the Second Age. As is common in such turmoil, Chaos found the opportunity to strike and grow. Mallia spread wide her maw, broo raped their way to strength, and a small ogre kingdom tried to gain ascendancy along the Vankthi River before being smashed by otters, newtlings, and an unusual collection of werebeast magicians summoned for the special occasion. The people sorted themselves into four generalized groups of people, based primarily upon their region and favorite deities. They spoke the same language and knew generally of their common heritage, but thought more of their immediate concerns rather than long-range ideals. The first group were the coastal and island dwellers. They were mostly survivors from the sinking of Slontos and eked out a poor living with farming. Herding was more successful, but failed to provide enough wealth to support cities. The ruins of Hermat, an ancient Pralori city in ages past, were used as the seat of power. Their favorite god was Voriof, the Herding God, and Humakt was their god of war. The second group were the tribes of the Noshain River through the fens. They favored Orlanth as King of the Gods, though they had no king themselves. They could not afford to worship the lesser deities of the Lightbringer Pantheon. They were, however, friends with the cult of Noshain, god of their river. Noshain’s cult was exclusively in the control of the otters who guaranteed or withdrew protection of the humans’ rafts and canoes. The playful otters did not bother to oppress with their position of superior communications, and so the peoples were peacefully knit together, plagued only by their daily lives and human jealousies. The third tribe was the Sarbosi River peoples. They lived in tiny hamlets within the marsh and along the lower river, and in fishing villages along the higher, dryer portions. Their favored deity was Sarboai, the River God that they loved, but they also offered great propitiatory rites to the nameless Spirit of the Marsh, a formless and fearful entity which could control the mud sharks, crocodiles, will o wisps, giant frogs, giant herons, giant whirligigs, eerie mists, dense fogs, and mysterious sounds. It was the Spirit of the Marsh who caused the land to turn to reed and reed to turn to water in the spring, and then change all of the channels of a well-known river when no persons were there to know. The fourth group were the conservative Pralori in the dryer parts of the region, living in small bands and following the herds of elk from hill to lowland each year. They still worshiped Pralor and Foundchild the Hunter God, and trusted shamans to keep them safe from trouble. These groups spoke with the same accent, and they preferred to cut their meat in certain ways, or to use different rites in propitiatory sacrifices. But disunity was their most common feature. The Noshain group had at least twenty chieftain who each swore to his own independence, while the traditionalists in the hills were uncountable family bands who met and dissolved according to season or occasion. Their fractured independence was common to all of them. Southward, beyond the rugged Soft Hills, the land of Ramalia was a larger grouping of Slontan survivors. The region was untouched by the disasters, but refugees and raiders had reduced their population. Many kinglets, often bearing ancient titles, waited in their quiet land, listening to philosophers wonder at their sorry fate, and each year beggared themselves with expensive sacrifices to the terrifying ocean in hope that they would be spared their ancestors’ fate. To the west Tarnin’s Forest had grown in strength. The Aldryami reached from the Soft Hills to the southern edge of the Noshain River and New Fens. The Elk Hills were, as before, the hunting grounds for barbarians from Pralorela and from Helby in Ralios. To the east were the Wenelian barbarians. They were mostly forest dwellers, descended from mixed Pralori, Entruli, and Slontan stock. They were mainly Lightbringer worshipers. Handra Liv was a slave from a land in Ralios, sold as a child to a boatsmith and as a youth to a boating company. She spent years at the oar, plying the rivers and lakes of Ralios until she and her fellows were swept up in the slave revolts of 1150 which swept the lakes of Ralios. Handra was one of thousands who plundered Helby and one of hundreds who managed to escape two years later when heavy horsemen arrived to settle the dilemma. Handra led a loyal band southward through the Elk Hills where some of them found their old people. Handra lived for a while among the traditional Elk peoples, but could not resist the call of the Sarboai River. Handra went to a place she blessed as the Source of the River, and there found a shrine to Diros, God of Boats. This was also the ancient place where Diros had left the waters to trek overland, and so was already powerful with the spirit. Handra Liv then proceeded downriver, pointing to trees which Diros had shown her in a vision. These were chopped down and sent floating upon the river. Where they all landed was decreed another holy place, and that is the high point boats can sail, called Highwater. There Handra Liv built a boat from the wood she had gathered, and Diros was pleased to see another shrine set up. Then Handra sailed downriver to the mouth of the Sarboai, where it joins the Noshain. There she called together all the people and beings she could find, and together they made a wonderful floating temple to Diros. Handra taught people how to make better boats, and how to worship the boat god. She pleased the otters by making them supreme River Priests in their river, with no other race allowed, though other races are priests on the tributaries. Handra Liv then sailed downriver with many craft, until they lost sight of both riverbanks and though they must be entering the dreaded ocean. The waters were both muddy and salty when the flotilla was attacked by a kraken and half the loyal boatmen lost. The magical effects of Zzabur’s curse took effect then as they abruptly found themselves sailing towards their river again. There were some islands nearby and Handra Liv instructed everyone to land on them. They erected another temple to Diros there, the Mouth of the Noshain. The river god answered his summons, and told the prayers which he and Diros had once before made 270 kilometers away from there. A new pact was made, and Handra Liv was awarded High Priesthood of the Noshain. Handra Liv ruled for 93 years. By that time there were many boats plying their ways along the rivers, aided and guarded by proper worship of the gods. Trade, meager as it was, moved along the waterways. Towns grew up, especially in the northern regions around Highwater where good trekked overland from Ralios. About the year 1300 a previously sporadic trade emanating from the east, past Wenelia, began steadily entering the New Fens. This was carried overland by Issaries merchants from the Holy Country. This was an unheard of place, but people soon learned that a stranger had swum ashore from the inhospitable seas and, with much labor and several lives, established himself as a God-King, of the region and instituted a new way of life. The Shadowlands, which had been ruled by the Only Old One and his trolls since before the Dawn, was cast down forever. Highwater became an important post along this land-based route. It was also the first site to fall to the adventurous nobles from Ralios who sought to get rich on the route. These Trader Princes established bases through the north of Pralorela and Wenelia to the Holy Country, and for centuries prospered. At first the occupation of Highwater caused consternation among the river peoples, but after wars and invasions proved their eternal cost the inevitable compromise was reached. The rulers of Highwater endorsed the river cult and the city became the unofficial capital of the region. The press of civilization moved downriver and wherever there was trade or worship there were small towns. Better places fostered larger populations, and the Seven Isles, at the Mouth of the Noshain, was in an excellent position. Seven Isles was puny by most city standards, but it was the largest city on the coast for many hundreds of kilometers. Its boats also ventured for short distances along the coast, and the residents made contact with newtling groups who lived even further away and who claimed to be in contact with the Deep Sea people, the Triolini. In 1580 a ship, propelled by sails, approached the Seven Isles from the sea. It was larger than any boat men knew, and everyone recognized the craft of a god. Some thought it was Diros arriving once again. It was not the god of boats but the god of ships. This was the craft of Dormal the Sailor, who brought new secrets and a cult to the city of Seven Isles. He offered to sell them the secrets, and a long period of peace, for great treasure and wealth. He received it, and kept his word, then recruited many young people and creatures for his crews and sailed off with two ships. Seven Isles quickly set up their religion, built a ship, and tested their faith. Dormal’s words were true. No black fog enveloped them, no mysterious force turned them about. More ships were built and a small flotilla sailed eastward along the coast, towards the direction Dormal came from. They found other small cities like their own, who were also building ships but were slower since they lacked the resources of the Seven Isles. The flotilla reached the Holy Country, where Dormal came from, and paid homage to the God-King and the High Priest of Dormal. Trade began, and was established with cities to the west as well. In 1583, an army from Ralios moved over the Elk Hills at the request of the Prince of Highwater, and landed into boats to sail south. The intent was to seize the Seven Isles and take control of all the resources of the Noshain. But there was quick resistance, and the invaders were destroyed. A Seven Isles force was sent northward and seized Highwater with aid from the citiens. The Malkion temple was razed and the ashes sent to the wind. An Orlanth Temple, with other shrines in it, was established. Seven Isles continued its growth, but its leaders did break away from Highwater. The distance was too great, and Seven Isles profited from the inland contact but was rightfully preoccupied with the seas. Highwater lost its importance as a stop along a profitable trade route and dwindled in size. Most people moved to Seven Isles, or more popularly called Handra, which welcomed them and their wares. When Sartar fell in 1602 many refugees moved south into the Holy Country, but for many there was no welcome for them there. Unrest grew, and many followed their instincts to Seven Isles. A considerable refugee population was established and many wandering exiles have found their way there.

A question was raised over in the Facebook RuneQuest group: "Does anyone have any information regarding Hill of Gold, I have plans for my adventure group to visit the Hill but I would like if some one had some more detailed description!" and "are there any Maps or pictures available to start with, I understand it’s some kind of mountain or volcano with a city at the foot of the 'Hill'" Some very good material shared by @soltakss on possible quests (and there are a lot of variations possible - quite a few others written up in Enclosure 2). @Nick Brooke kindly posted the Yelmalio cult and GtG writeups over there, but here are my additional thoughts given my explorations over the years in the area: The hill itself: it is neither mountain nor volcano - it is a hill. I picture it most like some of the tors in the Pennines, perhaps Musbury Tor, Shining Tor, or Cat's Tor (may be others that make an equally good representation), though perhaps slightly more peaked. It is not a difficult climb per se. Might be ~300m high above the plains. Also worth noting that the Glacier did not cover the Hill of Gold - it stopped somewhere to the west, and left some line of glacial moraines. The town nearby: Peralam (which also means "Hill of Gold") has no great Sun Dome Temple, or any other magnificent temples. It does have temples, probably with lots of little votive statues. As noted in the Guide: "No physical structure exists on the top of hill, although many temples can be found in the nearby city which prospers from the visiting pilgrims." The town then is a place of pilgrimage, and a starting point for the climb up the hill. You can find guides - there's lots of local Vanchites who are quite willing to "help" you (and divert you into their "quests" where the thieving Raccoon god can rob you). Or, of course, you can go alone, following the myth you intend to follow. Proximity to the Otherworld: Despite the "normality" (at least perhaps viewed from a distance), it is a place that is very close to the Otherworld. In some material I was writing awhile back on Saird, I noted: "Normal folk stay away from the lurking shadows, the chilling air, the gusty winds, and hard-eyed warriors that haunt the great hill itself." Even a "this world" heroquest is going to bring others into the story. There are Orlanthi at Peralam. There may be an Ice Maiden or two of Inora there. The trolls are probably in the Darkcrow Woods to the east of the town: "These woods are dark and brooding. The sounds of crows sporadically interrupt the otherwise ominous silence. And there is always a feeling of being watched. Outlaws and criminals gather here, hiding from those who seek them." These folk begin their own quests - "pulled" or "pulling" others as the ritual quests get underway. Crystals/god's blood: you're not going to arrive there, march up the hill and find any. It's been a place of pilgrimage for at least a millennium. You need to get into a quest to find it. And if you're in the role of Yelmalio, you're the one doing the bleeding. Of course, the quest forces you to keep on, so until you can complete the quest, and then find where you/Yelmalio was wounded, the odds are against you easily finding any. Performing a successful Worship ritual in your nearby temple/shrine is important for getting the quest underway. But it's still easy to get "pulled" into someone else's quest, and not one of your direction. I don't think there is a "queue" of folks waiting to go up, but pilgrims do come (probably at the urging of their priests), and visit the temples. I suspect that if groups go, the quests lead them into "solo" paths as the real world and Otherworld interact.

It is interesting how quickly people on these forums quickly descend into the worst excesses and mistakes of the God Learners in their assumptions about how mythology works.

All of Chaosium's Call of Cthulhu back catalogue remains under consideration for redevelopment. But, I'm not just about doing greatest hits and nothing else. Thus, we put out Masks, OE as redevelopments, but also new campaigns like Two-Headed Serpent, A Cold Fire Within, Shadows Over Stillwater. Were possible, I try to combine the old and new, see the new Mansions of Madness. Older campaigns, such as Shadows of Y-S and Beyond the Mountains, are certainly on the to do list, as are brand new campaigns for Gaslight and so on. In fact, we have Lynne's campaign - The Children of Fear - in final editorial at the moment. There's some great older books we will revisit and there's plenty of new material to come as well.

GEOGRAPHY Pralorela is the region in western Maniria drained by the Noshain River and its tributaries. It is bounded in the north by the Elk Hills, the east by the land of Wenelia and the Mournsea, the south by the Soft Hills and Tarnin’s Forest, and the west by Tarnin’s Forest. MYTHOS Like all of the world, this region was ravaged by the Gods War and then polluted by the Chaos War. Whatever existed before was gone, and left were only hidden spirits and meaningless dreams. During the Lesser Darkness, across the world were many peoples called Hsunchen by later scholars. They all held in common that they were close kin – brothers – to the beasts of the wild, and also that the people lived like animals without the grace of civilization. In Seshnela, the Pendali were lion-people; in Fronela were the Bull and Bear peoples; in Ralios were the Wolf, Horse, and others; and in this region were the Pralori and the Mraloti. In the wars of the past the Mraloti, savage wood boars, had beaten the gentle Elk Folk and scattered them through the lands. The Mraloti were not immune to Chaos and Darkness, but their fate was better thanks to the powers of Entru, a leader so famous that the Mraloti became civilized and took his name for their own, the Entruli. In the Grey Age, when the powers claimed they saw a dim light in the East, there came to the region the god Diros. He came in an odd vehicle which moved over water, sailing with wind and oars, which came along the coast and then entered the Noshain River. At the river mouth, on an island, Diros and the river god met and made a secret pact. Then Diros sailed upriver, past the wondering natives, to the Elk Hills. There Diros disassembled his boat and walked to another river, out of the land of Pralorela forever. The disappearance of the boat and the god was of no consequence to the Pralori. They did not need or appreciate the boat god whose passing was a wonderful incident, but nothing else. Their lives went on. Another interesting fact: There is a lack of Triolini on the Noshain River. This is undoubtedly the result of the Gods War when the storm gods killed many of the inhabitants of the rivers. Unhindered, the otters and mudsharks developed to be a dominant life form in the local waters. The marshy ground is another result of the Gods War. The Noshain and its tributaries were wild and dangerous to the Earth. The mixture of land and water is a result of these battles, and even now it is impossible to tell exactly where the best channels of the river lie since it may cut a new one or the land may build up new bars and reefs of sand.

Thank you. Well, I have finished another sketch, after three attempts. This isn't as I'd like, but I lose fine control due to the flare-up. This noble should be riding a horse, but I decided to attempt to draw the articulated leg armor. I think that tomorrow I will attempt to do some needed illustrations that should be simpler.

I'd say about 60 (adventure)/40 (setting), with more adventure if you add in all the optional encounters. L.

Latest. I hope that this is fairly faithful to Jan's original illustration.

@Jeff posted this in the RuneQuest FB group: to which Matthew Cole commented as follows:

Latest. Another three ships to do.

The elements are not actually elements, but mental states. One moves from Predark (total ignorance) to Darkness (undifferentiated yearning) to Sea (division of the universe into types) to Earth (recognition of other existences) to Fire (logical reasoning) to Storm (integration of emotions and reasoning) to Moon (acceptance of ignorance and limits to knowledge).

There's a lot of material on Glorantha spanning decades. Sometimes you pick up something old and reread a bit you read years ago and thought nothing of at the time. Knowing the origin of the name Corflu now gives a very different reading to this stray passage from the RQ2 Pavis book (p.50): Corflu was the settlement’s name. It was named after the wife of Tolkazzi; who is unknown to history except through her husband’s compliment that, “she corrects all my mistakes, treading upon my life and erasing the errors of my record from my weary mind.” 😮

so, everyone wants everything. : ) I could give you a big list of new and classic books we are/will be working on, but I shall not temp the Old Ones wrath. ; )

Arkat has been dead and gone for 1200 years. He has no widespread cult, only a few shadowy groups of which wildly inaccurate tales are whispered. I've posted this before, but I'll do it again. Whenever I try to understand Glorantha's history - I position myself at the time of Alexander the Greek and look backwards. Present year 162710 years ago - Lunar Empire invades Hendrikiland25 years ago - Boldhome falls to the Lunar Empire50 years ago - Battle of Grizzly Peak100 years ago - Apotheosis of Sartar300 years ago - Belintar unites Holy Country500 years ago - the Dragonkill War (1120)1000 years ago- the Kingdom of Dragon Pass. After this came the EWF.1500 years ago - the Second Council. The Theyalans dominate Genertela and war with the Pelorian horse people.2000 years ago - I Fought, We Won, and the Unity Battle. After this, came the Heortling kingdom, which lasted about 800 years (until Gbaji destroyed it).2500 years ago - The Chaos Age, which lasted until the Unity Battle.3000 years ago - the Ice Age5000 years ago - the Vingkotlings10,000 years ago - Orlanth kills YelmCompare this to a Greek at the time of Alexander (330 BC)10 years ago - Philip founds Philippopolis 25 years ago - the Sacred War50 years ago - Battle of Leuctra (371 BC)100 years ago - start of the Peloponnesian War300 years ago - fall of the Neo-Assyrian Empire500 years ago - the neo-Assyrian Empire1000 years ago - the Trojan War1500 years ago - height of Babylon2000 years ago - Sargon and the Akkadian Empire2500 years ago - Gilgamesh is king of Uruk3000 years ago - Menes units Egypt (first dynasty)5000 years ago - Neolithic cities like Catal Huyuk and Jericho10,000 years ago - beginning of Neolithic age So Arkat's Wars are going to be viewed in 1625 something like how Alexander's Greeks viewed the time of Heracles. It will be filled with contradictions and inconsistencies. In some stories, Arkat is a mighty hero who defeats Gbaji atop the Tower of Justice or defeats the hated Palangio the Iron Vrok and his army of Dara Happens In other stories, Arkat is a troll monster who leads an army of man-eating demons and trolls to destroy everyone and everything in his path, and forces men to submit to the trolls. In others, he is a tragic atheist or humanist who refuses the Lightbringers and chooses to embrace hate and darkness. In others, he fights himself - each wound inflicted upon Gbaji causes him to bleed and suffer. These stories are not put into any sort of canonical order or cycle - there's lots of Arkat stories. Many scholars scoff at their diversity.

One playtest group managed it in 8 sessions (one per chapter), but their Keeper is ruthlessly organised and very efficient. I would expect most groups to take 2 sessions per chapter on average (if not more if you follow up on all the optional encounters). Chapter 1 is a pretty short introduction, but that's balanced by longer later chapters. Depending on what the investigators do, you could - technically - finish it in 6 sessions, but I'd expect that to be the exception rather than the norm. L.

Latest. May need more work on the face - difference in the definition between the laptop and the desktop. As this one is a Loskalmi light infantry, decided to go with a quilted corselet instead of lammelar.

About a month has passed, and while I've done some reading and some thinking/noting, I did get sidetracked quite badly. I also waited until I got permission from MOB to alter one of Chaosium's maps. Below is a tentative attempt, or sketch if you will, of the general area where Muskoxi would live - though not over all of it, and certainly not in any compact sense (the population density here is absolutely, abysmally, low.). It's a rather large area too - compared to Southern Genertela, the area showed in the map is basically the equivalent of Kethaela, Prax and Parts of Maniria and Dragon Pass. It's quite big. Inquiring eyes might also spot that it goes further north than the AAA or Guide maps, which has been a great boon for me. The map mixes canonical and fan-made place names, and is a part of the process I'm going through where I'm trying to figure out the world from these Muskox folks' perspective. I've therefore kept the fan-made names mostly straightforward English. Some smaller landmarks might not fit 100% with canon locations. That can be fixed in later iterations. Lots of work remains, such as trying to get a general feel for demographics/social geography, getting a better understanding of the Glacier/Ice Age so as to know where to finalize the moraines, as well as to determine the extent of permafrost (including attempting to distinguish those areas with continuous permafrost from those with discontinuous).

Some gestures I invented for Six Ages: 1) "Earth rune arms" on the main priestess of Ernalda: 2) Various communication runes on traders and envoys: 3) Solar blessing - "giving the Sun" on the priest to the right: 4) Rider insult - "You're a walker!"

He was both. I thought that was pretty intentional on Greg's part?

We are not currently working on a new edition, but of course in the future (talking years) a new edition is likely to come out. All I can say on the matter, is that a new edition would not be major rewrite of 7th edition, and would be more like a 7.5 edition with a few streamlining tweaks where necessary, but would be continue to be fully compatible with 7e and older editions. In other words, if you purchase the current edition you will be fine. The biggest change in the game's history was the release of 7e, and even that was compatible with all older material. So, hope I have put your concerns to rest.

I am counting these as one sketch, though I may split them up in the book. Am roughing out a Wolf Pirate penteconter and bireme. Though not without their own difficulties, these were far easier than trying to draw a figure at present.

Wow, this has been my favourite thread here at BRP Central for a long, long time - and I feel like by reading it I've added a significant percentage on to my chance of Illumination next Sacred Time. Here's one from me, it was found scribbled in the visitor's book at the Jonstown Lhankor Mhy temple: If you are reading this, then I have finally succeeded. My name is unimportant, but my dire warning is. I speak of the return of the God Learners, for their foul seed lies within us all - and we must forget it! The language we call Tradetalk is their seed. Do not mock! Think! Is it not convenient that there is one language which all can speak, that reduces the problems of communication between nations across all of the continents, known and unknown? Is it not unnatural or unusual that while Tradetalk exists our own languages exist too? It is because it is, was, and will be, the language of the foul God Learners! It contains within it their secret - a secret which must not be known lest they return and the world be destroyed and Chaos reclaim all. I have warned the peddlers of this doom, the cults of Issaries and Etyries, but they paid me no heed, and their leaders have tried to poison and kill me to stop my warnings from reaching you. Can those cults be God Learner constructs too? My last chance before the assassins reach me is this book. We must forget Tradetalk, we must embrace our own languages again! Before it is too late..

Rick has approved the printer's proofs for THE PEGASUS PLATEAU. Next step, printing!

Session ended in horror after a failed Spirit Travel, a fumbled Spirit Dance, and a Spirit Combat against a ghost that first rolled a Critical and then a Special. The shaman apprentice's possessed body is now gagged and tied to a tree.

Secrets of Dorastor is out and can be found at https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/318512/Secrets-of-Dorastor?affiliate_id=66807. A snip at $25.00 for 259 pages, it comes out as a Bargain on the Brooke Scale. There is a Table of Contents at http://www.soltakss.com/JC/StormSpearia-SecretsOfDorastor-TOC.pdf. From Nick's Scenarios: "Complexity: medium to high – a massive collection of material compiled from many years spent running RuneQuest games in Dorastor, including many self-consciously gross old-school elements – tips sadistic gamemasters can use to upset munchkin players, rules for “hyper-critical” hits, and a boyish enthusiasm for violated orifices, succubi and acid damage. The author writes with oblivious relish about this disturbing material." Secrets of Dorastor is a campaign pack set in the fabled land of Dorastor, in Greg Stafford's Glorantha. Inside you will find: A gazetteer of over one hundred places, with a map of Dorastor and nearby areas and maps of key places in Dorastor Descriptions of forty personalities, both of Dorastor and the surrounding Borderlands 25 types of Monster, of animal, vegetable and mineral types Write-ups of 9 Organizations RuneQuest write-ups of 8 Cults, including adapting the cult of Humakt to Dorastor New abilities for Illuminates and a description of Illumination and its various Schools 15 Magic Items Encounter Tables of all the important areas of Dorastor Sample Campaign and Scenario Hooks Extended RuneQuest rules for High Level Adventurers Tips for playing High Level Adventurers and NPCs Based on the write-up of our Dorastor Campaign, with a great deal of extra material, this covers the land and people of Dorastor and its Borderlands. WARNING: Dorastor is the most horrible part of Glorantha, a cursed land full of terrors. Secrets of Dorastor deals with extreme horror, with topics including violence, cannibalism, seduction, forced matings, ritual sacrifice and the liberal use of acid. Please do not purchase this if these themes might cause offense.

Peggy and I have begun work on our first non-Gloranthan QW project. It's something a little strange and different, but we're hoping folks will like it! Work is still progressing at pace on Lances at Dusk, the 2nd book of the Jaldonkiller's Saga, too. We're trying to make the best of my current job situation and the pandemic. The challenge leads to the solution, and all that!

The Red Goddess is a Duck.

Two new additions of note: Old Glorantha.com Forums (2013-2016) Find out what was being discussed before the forums moved here. @MOB’s old website (1999) Scenarios, notes, writings or just looking for Sun County errata? It's all here.

This is Kalf the Carrier. Art by Kristi Jones

Secrets of Dorastor is out and can be found at https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/318512/Secrets-of-Dorastor?affiliate_id=66807. A snip at $25.00 for 259 pages, it comes out as a Bargain on the Brooke Scale. There is a Table of Contents at http://www.soltakss.com/JC/StormSpearia-SecretsOfDorastor-TOC.pdf. From Nick's Scenarios: "Complexity: medium to high – a massive collection of material compiled from many years spent running RuneQuest games in Dorastor, including many self-consciously gross old-school elements – tips sadistic gamemasters can use to upset munchkin players, rules for “hyper-critical” hits, and a boyish enthusiasm for violated orifices, succubi and acid damage. The author writes with oblivious relish about this disturbing material." Secrets of Dorastor is a campaign pack set in the fabled land of Dorastor, in Greg Stafford's Glorantha. Inside you will find: A gazetteer of over one hundred places, with a map of Dorastor and nearby areas and maps of key places in Dorastor Descriptions of forty personalities, both of Dorastor and the surrounding Borderlands 25 types of Monster, of animal, vegetable and mineral types Write-ups of 9 Organizations RuneQuest write-ups of 8 Cults, including adapting the cult of Humakt to Dorastor New abilities for Illuminates and a description of Illumination and its various Schools 15 Magic Items Encounter Tables of all the important areas of Dorastor Sample Campaign and Scenario Hooks Extended RuneQuest rules for High Level Adventurers Tips for playing High Level Adventurers and NPCs Based on the write-up of our Dorastor Campaign, with a great deal of extra material, this covers the land and people of Dorastor and its Borderlands. WARNING: Dorastor is the most horrible part of Glorantha, a cursed land full of terrors. Secrets of Dorastor deals with extreme horror, with topics including violence, cannibalism, seduction, forced matings, ritual sacrifice and the liberal use of acid. Please do not purchase this if these themes might cause offense.

Last year, in a creative collaboration with Chaosium, Professional Writing students from Taylor University (Upland, IN) created and published a Call of Cthulhu scenario as part of their studies. Today, the published result of that creative collaboration, the scenario Refractions of Glasston, has received recognition with a Judges' Spotlight Award in the 2020 ENnie Awards. "This is a wonderful honour and recognition for the students, who managed all aspects of the RPG design process from research, writing, editing, art direction, layout, proofreading, and finally release", said Chaosium vice president Michael O'Brien, who established the project with Prof T.R. Knight of the Professional Writing department at Taylor University. With Prof Knight, and Chaosium's Mike Mason (Call of Cthulhu creative director) and Lynne Hardy (associate editor) on hand as mentors, the Taylor U students went through the entire RPG adventure design process – from idea genesis to publication – within one hectic semester. Though many of the team are members of the professional writing major, this was their first foray into the world of RPG writing. Refractions of Glasston was published in The Miskatonic Repository, Chaosium's Call of Cthulhu community content platform on DriveThruRPG, in December 2019. The scenario takes place in a rural town in northwest Indiana (near Taylor U itself) in the classic Call of Cthulhu era of the 1920s and builds on existing local legends of supernatural happenings. Chaosium thanks the ENnies judges, and congratulates Sam Guinsatao, Carson Jacobs, Joy Lemont, Elijah Oates, Rayce Patterson, Emily Pawlowski, J. Tucker White, T.R. Knight, Mike Mason, and Lynne Hardy! Read more about the project in the updates made throughout the semester: Students at Taylor University to write and publish a Call of Cthulhu Adventure in new Professional Writing course Update on Chaosium's collaboration with Taylor University's Professional Writing Course At the halfway point: our Call of Cthulhu collaboration with Taylor University's Professional Writing Course The Semester is over and Taylor U students' Call of Cthulhu scenario 'Refractions of Glasston' is now out! Our student collaboration 'Refractions of Glasston' earns critical praise

Wolf Pirate ships. Still only able to draw for an hour or two. [The Wolf head on the sail was GoT inspired.]

Anyone who has revised for final exams and not understood the hideous temptation of "Ingest Scroll" / "Devour Book" Rune spells will never grok how Lhankor Mhy cultists can fall into Atyar-worship. (In my family, we traditionally learn by osmosis -- if you sleep with your head next to a textbook, the ideas in it will creep into your brain during the night. It's always worked for us, that's all I'm saying)

This is not a dumb theory, but it is a fairly galaxy-brain theory: Argrath orchestrated the death of Gunda for the same reason that a character in a shonen anime will "release their power limiters" or take off concealed weights on their ankles or whatever. Similarly, Great Sister orchestrated either the death of Beat-Pot Aelwrin or a breakup between him and Jar-eel to fully unleash Jar-eel's abilities. What do I mean by this? Well, older material (Digest answers) suggests that the "superhero" chits in Dragon Pass are individuals who have achieved a level of connection with a Rune more profound than a standard Hero does. Regular Heroes (indeed, even regular people) can straight-up heroform deities, including ones who are understood to represent pure incarnations ("owners of") a particular Rune, like Humakt or Orlanth or Ernalda. Harrek is associated with Death, and Jar-eel with Harmony. So what makes them more profound than temporarily being their god? They present a hidden face of the Rune to the world. Harrek is Death as separation in the sense of total selfishness and self-absorption. Harrek kills without thinking, tosses away vast treasures without a care, moves entirely on his whims because Harrek's universe consists of himself and the White Bear, who are the same person (after all, they have the same skin!) and that's it. Everything else is of dubious reality. Jar-eel is Harmony as total selflessness. Jar-eel has, from the moment of her infancy, done everything for the Lunar Way and the Empire and the Red Goddess. Her selflessness is to the point that in the only definitely canonical material that gives her dialogue, Prince of Sartar, Sedenya spends more time talking through her than she spends talking. But both of them have key anchors that prevent them from a bizarre apotheosis- Harrek has his only real friend, Gunda, someone whose relationship with him is completely selfless and devoid of transactionality, and Jar-eel has her lover, Beat-Pot, and their relationship is entirely about their selves and their personal, intimate connection. And then Gunda dies, Beat-Pot seems to outright disappear (unless we're to presume that he makes an appearance at Dwernapple and Annstad merely used his Fertility magic to send Jar-eel back to ride Beat-pot into the ground or something) and we have the Battle of Heroes, where Jar-eel dies and Harrek... stops being Harrek. He leaves the battle, returns to the kingdom he carved out of Fonrit, and never does anything more until possibly participating in the Moonfall. So how did the Battle of Heroes go down? My suspicion is that it was like Alakoring Dragonbreaker fighting a dragon- Jar-eel and Harrek were performing (in game terms) immense Identity Challenges of each other, tempting each other with actions that would go against their mythic resonance and break the magic that came from being themselves as hard and totally as they possibly could. So Harrek offered Jar-eel a chance to retreat with her life at the cost of losing the battle, to indulge in selfishness, and Jar-eel refused. Because she instead tempted Harrek into engaging with the world and behaving selflessly by killing her, and so he carved her heart out... but she maimed him with unhealing injuries and sliced the Berserk out of Harrek the Berserk, leaving behind a ragged edge. Whether or not Jar-eel comes back after that (before she arrives to defend the last days of the Monster Empire), she managed a clear and total victory over poor Harrek. EDIT: I think this speculation is somewhat independent of when we date the Battle of Heroes to, but there may be some holes in it.

People on these lists massively overstate the tension between Yelm Imperator and the Red Goddess. Pretty much every member of the Yelm Imperator subcult IS an initiate of the Red Goddess and an Illuminate, and the Red Emperor is the head of the cult. Let the implications of that sink in for a moment. Yelm Imperator is a faction WITHIN the Lunar religion, and any tension is going to be within the Lunar religion - with entities like Great Sister or with the White Moon (which is persecuted). But the illuminated Yelm Imperator cult represents the establishment of the Lunar Empire - it defines the mainstream.

New Release: M-SPACE Companion M-SPACE Companion has finally been released! The new rules expand M-SPACE’s capabilities greatly. And it’s my best looking book so far. I have teamed up with Scott Crowder (Pentallion) to move M-SPACE into an even wider range of sci-fi storytelling. This is what you get: Rules for modular robots, both humanoid and simple droids. Cybernetics, with implants and body part replacements. The almost magical Q Tech implants. Rules for detailed character backgrounds. Computers and hacking. Scenario: Escape From Mosek-Uhn. Updated character sheet. And, if you haven’t already, don’t forget to download the seven additional Origins tables in the free Companion Addendum. Along with the Companion, Circles of Steel has already been released. It contains 13 organisations for robots and cyborgs. Tailored for the Companion, Alex Greene has crafted a versatile set of Circles that are easy to use in any campaign. The PDF is a Pay What You Want title on DriveThruRPG. 15% Launch Discount M-SPACE Companion is 128 pages, printed in full colour. I have two versions available on DriveThruRPG: Print and PDF. To buy them, just follow the links below. The discount lasts only a week, so you need to be quick. M-SPACE Companion Print $18 $15.30 PDF $9.95 $8.50 Circles of Steel Print $3.30 PDF Pay What You Want Let me know if you have any questions about the books or PDFs.

btw, if you want to see the Cosmic Mountain, the place to do that is in Jillaro. Conquering Daughter cult secret: if you stand at the intersection of the two Daughter's Roads so that one eye faces towards Kero Fin, and the other towards Top of the World, then let your eyes go out of focus, the two will converge and you will find that the "road" now leads to the Cosmic Mountain.

1920s, yes And it's written as Classic, but does have Pulp stat blocks for major NPCs if you prefer more two-fisted action. L.

Attempted drawing yesterday with the result below. For about the third time I cheated with the face, lifting it from a photograph as the nose and eyes I drew defied any attempt at correcting them digitally.. Afraid that when the arthritis flares I seem to lose co-ordination and can't control the pens as well as I would like. Have three more roughed out, but in two minds about attempting another.

Make Arkat Gbaji Again !

This first semester of Tabletop Game Writing Lab students at Taylor University showed amazing passion and professionalism, well beyond a semester course. Their passion got this course approved, their creativity designed the scenario, and their hard work produced this award winning scenario. I am honored and proud to have taught this course and been a developer on this project.

I wanted to thank everyone for their replies. I have now ordered the Runequest Glorantha slipcase, glorantha sourcebook, quickstart, and guide to glorantha sets. I have a great deal of reading to do, but I'm very excited to dive whole hog into this glorious world. Thank you all for your help!

Okay, this idea doesn't really help toward the goal of building a stead as a "women's adventure," but walk with me for a moment. Sen/Chihiro of Spirited Away naively falls into her role of mediator to a dysfunctional household of spirits, but her role as an outsider is vital to the mission's success. Meanwhile, Raus is hiring swordslingers in the typical fashion of old-styled Western movies. And elsewhere in Glorantha, we hear the lament of "What is my shaman character supposed to do?" Far-flung communities throughout Dragon Pass and Prax are reeling in the wake and turmoil of the Dragonrise and the Windstop. Things are just beginning to get back to "normal," but the spirit world is in disarray. What if your character band was a group of spiritual troubleshooters? Healers and ghost-talkers who get recruited to travel from stead to stead, re-negotiating pacts with the local land spirits, bringing home the spirits of the dead lost in battles leagues away, re-teaching the old ways and forging new traditions among broken communities. The adventures would feature challenge, mystery, danger, but not necessarily violent hostility. Sort of a middle ground between This Woman's Work and The Magnificent Seven, like Ghost Whisperer meets Ghostbusters, or even Call of Cthulhu with a gentle smile. Okay, that last one is a weird image. But where are these adventures? !i!

OK we now have a cover courtesy of Jon Hodgeson (of Handiwork games fame, previously Cublicle 7 One Ring, Lonewolf etc). This is just the front cover, the final book will feature it in its full wrap around glory :)

We Vadeli are a misunderstood people. Everything you've read about us (above) are vile Brithini propaganda. Vadel was a great explorer and his discoveries of different cultures challenged and threatened the strict conservative traditionalists. Zzaburr skinned Vadel and bound his soul into a book. The murderer of Malkion is the truly vile, opportunistic sociopath, not the Vadeli. We simply acknowledge that all creation requires destruction and accept that chaos is the Creator's tool to create. Brithini grudgingly accept our logic is unassailable but their prejudices and fear of change (their immortality depends upon stasis) prevents them from accepting that reality.

Sasa Radivojevic (the cover artist on Treasures and The Throat of Winter) posted this over on FB, and I thought it was too funny to not share over here, for those who aren't in both places. Before and after! This is why I need artists.

(Politely refrains from sharing “Argrath was Harrek’s Cabin Boy” theory, because that’s too dumb even for this thread)