Erol of Backford

Exactly. I am glad as well, I want to say it's a spiritual past or like the thread title Ghost Past which needs something conducted in its future to permit a rebirth, what have you... its not time travel but seems to be so for the PC's. I like even more that it has something to do with mirages in the desert (Prax)... You are right and you are right. I was imagining that if they are, for instance, in Monkey Ruins and at that particular time they visit it is actively a Ghost Ruin at that time, they step in and it is functionally the past but it's more an illusion that you act in physically than really the past. This eliminates "time travel" if that is an issue and once they step out of the ruins by a certain distance they are out of the illusion, mirage, etc. So getting out is actually as simple as walking across some sort of spiritual boundary. Who knows maybe it is a Hero Quest but I hadn't thought of that in any detail... Is there a Monkey Ruins Hero Quest or one for other places that could be Ghost Ruins? This may be deserving of some dislike but the whole Belintar and City of Wonders with the magic roads has never been part of Glorantha for me. Its way to hoaxy. We never had it back in the early 80's or we didn't know about it and so when it appeared for us it was, now that I recall, in its own right a Ghost Ruin. I am thinking the City of Wonders would be a thriving city but not something of the past or future like something Feldichi (as per the inversion of Clarke's theorem - Joerg wrote this - will make a new thread on Feldichi sometime) stuff... someone else has had to think that the City of Wonders is out of its proper time period in Glorantha? Maybe that thought reinforces that Belintar was a time traveler? YGWV and so the magic roads have not been integrated for me. Who knows maybe the next big champaign will have them included...

There are waters that flow through the Shadow Plateau and so it could be that they are similar to those like the Red Stone Caverns, Rainbow Mounds, Snake Pipe Hollow, etc. or even a section that is the Styx or a tributary would it be non canon if its never been defined? The Dyskund Cavers also come to mind but with more water... I suppose the best part of Glorantha is your imagination or that of the players?

AndreJarosch posted this in another thread May 15, 2021: A long time ago a group of players went from Sartar to Esrolia and i invented a route that included a path through the Shadow Plateau. The characters followed a stream that vanished in the north eastern part in a big crack in the Shadow Plateau, and that stream flowed following tunnels through the Shadow Plateau and finally came out on the fast western end of the Shadow Plateau. The characters were on board of a very small boat, and their ride was inspired by "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom". I haven't looked up if this route would be of use for you, but it was very good MGF anyway. Made me wonder if the stream/river whatever may move its location or even disappear at some time(s) to reaper later or in a different location? Is the Shadow Plateau a magic place?

I have viewed Mr. Phipp's page in the past (I like a lot of the material) but am still not knowledgeable enough as to Hero Quests... Curious as to the effects of Mistress Race Troll tears being used to quench the thirst of Sword Death just after being forged in Hell? What about Styx water?

NVM I found a bit more... Verlanth was King of the Volsaxi and was deposed in 1388 ST after supporting his champion Dardestol against his high priest Desarvinos. He and Dardestol went into the Wastes to seek glory but Verlanth did not come back. So if I say the Night Jumpers are mostly Volsaxi am I incorrect?

I took mine to the printer and had it bound via spiral. it opens easy enough and doesn't come unglued...

Maybe Argrath was also a trickster?

Simple enough. Curious who/what worm guy is with sharp teeth? Maybe stats link, I hadn't noticed him before? Also any more on the hero Dardestol, who had a Dwarvish axe and left with the deposed king for the Wastelands to seek fame. What happened to his Axe what are its powers? I am guessing he was on the side of Darkness...

I was reading in the KOS that in 1636 Orta and Argrath shared a bottle of wine and they became good friends. Is this when Orta found out Argrath helped save Otra's child? Also if Orta's 300' tall is that particular bottle about 40'?

So the Night Jumpers subcult shrine is at an Orthanth Temple(s). The spells are fly and night vision, jump always seems hoaxy to me somehow but if it works so be it. Who is the 1600ish leader of the Night Jumpers, where actually are they based, the more locations the better and is their night vision similar to cat's eye or is it more like darksense? Just curious as if its near Stagwood it would be great. Does anyone have a map of Stagwood by chance? There is a good little write up on Stagwood in RQA 01, notable for its great stockade, Stagwood is very defensible and sits on a prominent hill crest. It has Taljaan's Swift Brigade which is a well known company of mounted mercenaries who make their home in Stagwood. Taljaan is a Centaur of course. Also there is Gogma Badaxe, an aged, famous Minotaur drill sergeant. It say this division will play a role in the upcoming Hero Wars as part of the Sartar City Mounted Militia. With our PC's moving between Sartar, Nochet and Backford this town will see a lot of game time. It has great NPC's already and though it says there is no Geo's... Does anyone have more on Stagwood and the Night Jumpers, how does one join, is there a subcult write-up somewhere? (Should have been my first question.) KOS say they all made a great jump (I like fly better) who are the daughters of Desrada and where is Orlanth's Lone Rock? Also how do you create a Blacknight (KOS p174) It also says Argrath Voskandorasson partook and always had a place at any Volsaxi high table wherever he went... an earlier Argrath? Tarkalor Trollkiller defeated the Kitori in 1560 and reestablished the Volsaxing kingdom. (GtG)

Wasn't but might be interesting. This would be in the current actual Glorantha. A rebirth if you will, would take time but the resurrection of a serpent in the ruins would bring prosperity... On the rumors' table this rates to horrible to even think about it... This is good but there is an impact, the Monkey Ruins does or will undergo a rebirth. This hits the target!

A particular alchemist needs the tears for a very potent elixir, maybe they are used to make dark-sense contact lenses or a substitute for Styx water to be placed in the tip of an arrow to kill vampires?

I like that if the PC's act in a positive manner that would enhance the lives of those in the Ghost Place the PS remain active in the past. It's like the PC's were supposed to be there, invited magically from the future to conduct some sort of business, kill chaos, slay a beast, get a kitten from a tree, whatever. If they act against the desires of the past, are not cooperative or helpful they get kicked out of the past? Maybe only the PC's who act in a negative way are kicked out, sort of like being let go from a Hero Quest or getting killed in a Hero Quest. The type of HQ you don't actually die in? (never gamed in a HQ nor have I been a GM for It could be that if the PC's are helpful they are invited back to conduct the next action, potentially part of a long line of actions or tasks that need to be put in order. This seems to fit perfectly. Say with Monkey Ruins, who's to say that there are not things to be put in order that need to be completed in the past for the "Return of the Monkey King" which is of course to be Melo Yelo. A secret compartment with holy relics or who knows what is created and set to be discovered in the future, a Monkey Ruins time capsule in a corner stone which will trigger a rebirth, the sprouting of a new serpent which turns the ruins into a Hanging Garden of Babylon. Maybe there is a river spirit at the Monkey Ruins that needs to be resurrected similar to Seolinthur... Now all I need to do is figure what the tasks of the past Monkey Ruins (as an example) would be for them to trigger a rebirth or renaissance of the ruins? If it were related to resurrecting not Genert but the Monkey King or an associated extinct river? Soltakss posted before: The Growing Ground was a Hidden green deep below the Wastes, where Genert's body was being reformed. It had the Stitchers (Earth-Nymph Daughters of Genert, or their descendants, who stitched the various pieces together), the Vomitors (Hyena folk you vomited the bits of Genert and then returned to the surface, so that you didn't need to kill all Hyenas to bring back Genert), and the Trackers (Worshippers of Caarith who searched the Wastes for Hyenas and for pieces of Genert). I know it's not the same (doesn't seem to be connected at all) but it could be paralleled to help create a storyline for Monkey Ruins? Again by Soltakss: The Adventurers summoned all Hyenas (for me now it baboons) to the Growing Ground (Monkey Ruins) and got them all to vomit up bits of Genert (dance for nuts that fall from the sky) then the Stitchers stitched the bits together. We work something in like the ritual that the baboons did in the Cult Compendium p.61 from the Travels of Biturian Varosh (Monkey's on acid dancing in the moonlight with edible nuts falling from the sky... some party). Three days out of Pimper’s Block, the head of my baboon escort came to me and asked if he and his followers might retire to a ruin nearby to celebrate an ancient ritual of theirs. If all the 10,000 baboons (GtG p. 440) were to gather at Monkey ruins (like Burning Man in Prax) and make nuts fall from the sky and than their ancestors all joined them something big could happen... What might the PC's do to placate Oakfed and or permit his temple to remain and be integrated into the rejuvenated Monkey Ruins, who knows... baboons with fire, could be interesting. This could be an entire campaign and could be done for almost any ruin... Ghost Pace in Glorantha. Maybe, just maybe Sun Wheel Ruin is a Ghost Place?

from another thread by Jaja in Eleven Lights Questions Belt 04: The right hand side is the Cauldron of Pieces. "The Cauldron of Pieces contains chopped up pieces of gods; you need to choose from among the heads bubbling in the cauldron." So that's what you see a set of heads being stirred around. Could some of the heads be Gold Wheel Dancers as well, why not right?

Rule 1 Issue 12 - Ghost Places of Prax by Andrew Larsen I love the idea that any of the ruins have occasionally appeared to travelers in Prax as intact cities occupied by its one time inhabitants. I suppose this is some sort of time paradox that may of my not be real. is it a dream. Imagine PC's walking into Gimpy's saying they were having a banquet with the Monkey King, only Malo Yellow would believe them... I mean why go to Monkey ruins and have a dream, why not actually be there in all its glory? That is one way to easily go and get the Might of the Monkey King spell? Go fight some Broo for the Monkey King near Sog's Ruins or do some quest. You come back and now its in ruin? The same could happen with Pavis depending and you are in old Pavis for a few days in an obscure part and its the city of magnificence it once was? Of course this brings me back to the Sun Wheel Ruin. Maybe its how it once was, if only for a night but somehow, maybe just maybe one of the PC's is a long lost descendant of Golden Fintalen and that somehow creates a time vortex... if just for day and a night? Yes more than 10 Sun Wheel Dancers would have occupied an incredible structure as this but Glorantha is a magical place?

I have it and will read it and the Cradle again... Lol, I was watching a Japanese comedy last night and they were using playon words... I understood 0% even I understood about 25% of what they were saying... you are amazing with being bilingual... I am jealous at a minimum! I will read up on those. IIRC the Eldar Secrets has Dwarves with lots of them, the PC's can get the Cauldron and bring a whole galaxy back to life... The note that Orta once looked at a duck for a long very uncomfortable time, for the duck, I do recall seeing it. The idea that the House Campaign went up over High Wyrm's Pass, also now called Bagtrap's Pass as he jumped into the Bronze Dragon's mouth and died... is noted in some passages... he was a member of the Temple of the Wooden Sword so evidently some of the original PC's went north at some time. I still think it'd be really cool to get a few of the original players on a panel at the Chaosium Con to have a QA session. Lots of interesting useless trivia could be had. Kinds of snack they ate who brought the beer and what kind... wait, no I mean why did Bagtrap jump to his death, did Pinchining's spirit actually join a gold wheel Urrrgh had in his possession? Was Redbird really almost as sleazy as Halcyon?! I keep going back to these items, Tada's ladder, somebody's table, Baroshii's crib, Beat Pot's pot... if not then are they Gold Wheel Dancer inanimate bodies?

Reading back through this thread you had suggested a Dryad as potentially similar. I do like that for part of it... Made me think of Fem-bots from Austin Powers somehow!? I do see a slight resemblance between the figurine and the cartoon, just a slight resemblance... I assumed Pinchining's actual body, in solid gold - inanimate form was in [23] Another Cave (Griffin Mountain p203) as Orta had it and was waiting for it's spirit to return before sending the child down the river... it could be Orta has a few other Gold Wheel Dancer inanimate bodies in his Cave 23, rounding out those missing or unaccounted forfrom the 10 that existed at Dawn that are still unaccounted for? Did Urrrgh actually have the gold coin which was Spinning Wheel's body while on the Hero Quest or did he just pray to his gold and the coin reanimated with spirit in Orta's cave 23? Spinning Wheel's spirit might have visited Urrrgh where the quest was taking place but maybe not in body just spirit.. but then again maybe the Gold Wheel Dancers are able to go between planes? Is there a source for Urrrgh being a relative of Argrath? He might know where Spinning Wheel went but why would he know where the others were, the unaccounted ones, are they sent to a particular place when they become inanimate? if that were the case could a PC not just call for some Yelmic or Elmali divine intervention to bring their spirit back or is that something the gods cannot do or haveany power over? Maybe that god is dead now? So it'd be simple enough to say that a few other Gold Wheel Dancers may have come back at that time and are just lost to history until a GM decides to spring them on the PC's? Why is the Cauldron even related? The inanimate bodies of the Gold Wheel Dancers exist and wouldn't appear suddenly, though some have been transformed... we noted Speaking Wheel became the Deceiver's mouth? This is a good possibility in my mind but it wouldn't be Pinchining that is unless any of Gold Wheel Dancer spirits could have been reunited with their body when Urrrgh rolled that critical?

I'll check out Charlie Williams' works, have not heard of him. I suppose it's true but know if that happens they'll end up being very powerful. Thinking the Gold Wheel Dancer would become more powerful or reveal other abilities as a PC companion grows their own powers? It'll take some time to develop as each Gold Wheel Dancer would have some general racial powers and other skills they developed that may also be magical or not...

So Spinning Wheel is alive again, wishing to generate stats for her (I am saying they are females and would be similar to Dryads) of course they are connected to Fire Rune, as is the Sun. Was thinking by using magic points they could form set fire but thinking there should be some other things going on...

Again I'll stick with mother-bear... posted in another thread but if this is where Mr. Thumbless meets the Haldbird it may be related?

Araslithos was born after a two year pregnancy speaking wisdom and prophecy. So there is a thing I recall as the "Gift of Tongues" someone who mystically or magically is speaker of many or all languages, able to understand and be understood by all, it's not a Gloranthian thing but I am curious what it might be in Rune Quest? So if a Gloranthian had a rudimentary "google translate" in their head what would the base % be that a PC would have for communication in a language and what bonus would they get when learning to read and write a language they could speak at say 20%?

You are correct that in 1600 it doesn't matter but if they have the Halfbird's eye in there head and are an allied spirit of the Halfbird but were a grandchild of the Yellow Bear it would be like time traveling to see grandmother or something like that, wait it'd only be via the eye some like Facetime but with a eye so Eyetime? Weird.

I read mother so I'll stick with that. Well not really as the PC has given their eye to the Halfbrid to help heal it and to help both of them be bonded, kind of like apprentice bonding, giving a gift... of course one would question that isn't the PC the apprentice but the Halfbird becomes the PC's Allied Spirit and or Familiar? It would be interesting either way. The first thing I thought of was the Eye and Hand of Vecna... why I recalled that instantly from when I was 13-14 means it must have been something that must have been very impactful in our game at the time!? What it was I don't know but from Stranger Tunings must be similar to them fighting a Demogorgon? This could be really fun, especially if the PC's don't know what will happen. http://dnd5e.wikidot.com/wondrous-items:eye-and-hand-of-vecna#:~:text=The Eye of Vecna and,artifact into the empty socket. I just read what may have caused the trama when I was a child: Each time you cast a spell from the eye, there is a 5 percent chance that Vecna tears your soul from your body, devours it, and then takes control of the body like a puppet. If that happens, you become an NPC under the DM's control.

What's that, link? Thank you.

In the same article anyone know about Sen Mari or bat-trolls?