Storm Khan

Fascinating! I don't have the guide . . . yet. Looks like I am already developing an alternate history. My Lunars show up by marching through a Grazeland in a state of chaos caused by the assassination of Mirina. Vistera is consolidating her power, and my PC's may end up working for her as a hit squad.

Which became an assassination executed by her "loyal" bodyguard!

So, Mirina (born 1586, Feathered Horse Queen 1610 to 1623, died 1623), militant Lunar sympathizer, was killed while fighting in / around Esrolia. Apparently, an alliance between the Esrolian Queen (Samastina) and Broyan of Whitewall defeated Mirina's Grazelander forces even as Mirina's sister (Vistera) simultaneously led a rebellion against her. As far as I can tell, the battle between Samatina / Broyan's army and Mirina's army has no name. Or, maybe, there was no battle? Mirina didn't actually die, apparently, until after her defeat in this unnamed battle, when her own Humakti bodyguards decided that she would look better in . . . errr . . . pieces. Any help? Here is the quote from the book that makes me think we might be missing a battle, and it would be fun to add a custom event for my PCs' histories: "The new Esrolian queen gained a new ally when King Broyan and his ragged army . . . arrived and defeated the Grazeland Horse Army (the Feathered Horse Queen [Mirina] was killed soon after by her own bodyguards). The Lunar army arrived in Esrolia and besieged . . . Nochet."

#46 from the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tsu: When the Tao is present in the universe, The horses haul manure. When the Tao is absent from the universe, War horses are trained outside the city. There is no greater sin than desire, No greater curse than discontent, No greater misfortune than wanting something for ones self. Therefore he who knows that enough is enough will always have enough.

I'm worrying about how Tamerian is looking at that farm animal!

Here is link to another great Vingan on the Deviant Art site. https://www.deviantart.com/magiy/art/Vingan-406511849 And, a wild Babeester Gor cultist. https://www.deviantart.com/magiy/art/Axe-Sister-406321553

Yes. Is the shaman a full shaman or an assistant shaman?

Yeah, I am in the data-creation / world-building stage myself. With Covid, it is ok to go slow. Not many tables will be opening soon. Your last sentence reminds me of the "murder-hobo" style of play I have seen referenced on other threads. It is something hard to avoid.

I am curious how this will work out / is working out. The Lunar weaponization of Chaos will be very hard to discuss rationally, especially involving PC's that have had their grandparents and/or parents obliterated spiritually and physically by the Red Bat. Is play in-process? Please share!

Har. I will have to see how rune magic and affinities match up.

I am planning on offering a pre-gen Duck character for my developing campaign. Given the race's affinity with the death rune and the ethnic cleansing I have read about after Starbrow's Rebellion, a shaman in contact with the spirits of the murdered durulz makes sense. Yeah, my campaign is trending on the serious side. I'd like the character to also be an initiate of a durulz equivalent of Daka Fal. Would anybody like to share their thoughts?

I have a "cut the Lunar supply lines around Nochet" game in the works. Dragon Pass, 1623: Agile, Mobile, and Hostile. Likely pre-gens include a Babeester Gor initiate / light Infantry, an Eurmal initiate / thief from Dunstop, a Duck Shaman (as I am advised not having a Duck is unacceptable), a bandit of unknown deity, and . . . others?

Maybe. On the other hand, there is nothing like religion for creating martyrs in this world. Imagine the potential in a world where the power of your god manifested directly from your own fingertips? It might be something I will explore when I run my game. Not exactly "cannon," but it might be fun.

I wonder, what prevents the equivalent of mass excommunications in the case of people changing sides? There is a game mechanism for it. Why don't, say, King Blackmoor's important thanes, only technically loyal Orlanthi devotees, wake up one day minus the ability to replenish their RP's for a year? Forever? If I were an actually loyal Rune Priest, that is the punishment I would unleash, and quickly.

Just starting, I may not have that luxury. Pathfinder is big here. Also, I have met the enemy, and I am him. I am WAY TOO COMPETITIVE, and that is one of the important reasons I am a GM, not a player.

Can I call this problem the "Box of Chocolates" syndrome? You never know what you are going to get. I was thinking that if you put all the PC's together coincidentally and have SOMETHING come after them, well, there's nothing like an external threat to bring a diverse bunch together. Also, if the threat is long-term and, ultimately, beyond their ability to handle, there are roleplaying opportunities as your PC's look for allies.

What can I say? I have been traumatized by mutual escalation duels between players looking for that ultimate edge and rendering less aggressive players irrelevant. That having been said, I agree that Ducks will not ruin play balance and will take them under my "wing." I don't have full stats for baboon adventurers, but they are wicked-strong (3d6+6), wicked powerful (2d6+6), wicked dexterous (3d6+6), and are faster than humans (10). They would be great bandits. Alas, I think too great. They'd also be good NPC's for my party to recruit, so I will add them to my list of factions to flesh-out.

"Don’t be too Orlanth focused." Yes, I will encourage a diverse set of initiates. I think a bandit / Ermal initiate would fit well in this saga. Also, a thief / Argan Argar initiate, previously running some exotic, dangerous drug the Trolls produce, is another thought I had. The Shadow Plateau is not so far away from Nochet. No non-human PC's, though. I don't want to spark a power-gamer competition to see who can leverage stats to dominate the story.

"King Blackmor of the Colymar. who has seen the Lunar Light, may want to be strict in disallowing Orlanth worship, but I fail to see how he can suppress it in each and every clan." It may come down to play balance. Just how miserable do I want to make my Orlanthi initiates? 😉

All interesting points, thank you.

Having some downtime due to the Corona-related recession, I am putting together a RuneQuest campaign idea, as follows: 1. PC's will have only one year of history, year 1622. All of them will come together as combatants in the Esrolian Civil War, Dragon Pass. 2. Experience will be limited to 2 points of rune magic and 4 points of spirit magic. Further sacrifices of POW, though, will be permitted to push up that rune magic total. 3. Percentage increases for skills will be 15% three times, 10% three times, and 05% three times. 4. They will begin with the task of cutting Lunar supply lines as those forces lay siege to Nochet in 1623. They will be expected to use captured booty for encouraging (errr, bribing?) others to join the cause. 5. I expect to have players unfamiliar to RuneQuest, so I am aiming for a slow start against Lunar-Tarsh conscripts. There is always time for more deadly challenges. Does anyone have pointers? I am wondering, especially, about how to present occupied Sartar. How hard, for example, should I make it to find a functioning temple to Orlanth? Best, Storm Khan