Erol of Backford

Thanks for the map and further info Jeff! Jaja and Joerg have given some great feedback on trade early on in this thread. A lot of that has generated many unique adventure plot hooks. Thank you all yet again!

Based on the extensive wonderful input/insight above, the 1600 ~ 1625 campaign background ~ outline has all it needs and more. Insert events, encounters, scenarios and plenty of travel in between not to mention all the political mishmash, there is easily several years of quality real world RuneQuest Gloranthian gaming ahead. I am not sure what will happen to the denizens of Backford when its overrun but hopefully the PCs make it back in time to help the evacuation as I very much dislike the idea that they all become lunch? Thank you all!

Wait, am I totally wrong in thinking the Esvulari are all Aeolians?! Again the stuff in Tradetalk 12 by Mark and Greg may have been changed but they are calleded the children of St. Aeol!?

This is great stuff and one of the reasons I love Glorantha. Its like its an alive/living, changing world which archeology sometimes modifies the known/perceived history. The idea that all Aeolians fight is perfect for the campaign as the Aeolian PC's not only have but also, need to be the role models, setting the example for the overall population. It pushes the PC's to be exceptional, as what is expected. Along the same lines the caste system being open for those who work hard and progress, explains, adds flavor to the PC's backgrounds, working their way up from being farmers, herders, fishermen, etc. and so I will run with that as the PC's mostly come from the lot 60,000 rural peasants in Malkonwal, it simple to picture. I just have the PC's congregating in Backford, as my Glorantha varies... but Backford does, to me seem to be part of Malkonwal or at the northern border of it come 1617... From Jeff's earlier posts there are about 100k Aeolians south of the Syphon (I think I have this right with some 1500 in Nochet) with that there would be about 1000 higher level rune level/wizard types? Scott, that's me guessing the number from Jeff's earlier posts... link below. Depending on the city/town (The most important settlements of the Esvularings are Mount Passant and Refuge. Durengard, Vizel, and Leskos are also significant urban centers for the Esvularings.) Again Backford is important (to me) maybe as an outpost type border town for Malkonwal? So at most 5% of the higher level NPS would be there or the neighboring towns and villages. There would be several in Bullpen, some down on the coast, so really about 25 or so directly in Backford? That's sizable, again this is if the 1 to 100 is roughly correct of the 100k Aeolians... 30% in Passant, 20% Durengard, with another 40% spread amongst Leskos, Vizel, Duchamp and Refuge. The remainder "are scattered in the County of the Isles, in God Forgot, the Left Arm Islands, Hendrikiland, and in Nochet." Jeff's earlier post: So the Esvulari are centered at Mt. Passant: Mount Passant (large city): The largest settlement of the Esvularing people was built with the aid of Belintar after the old capital, Bensval, was razed. It has the largest Aeolian temple in the Holy Country. (If I have any patron saints, Tales 13, in the campaign they'd have shrines in the cathedral there...) The Kitori were ousted but may I assume the Oshanti, Vandarland and Gardufar get absorbed into Malkonwal? There is the time gap from 1571 ~ 1616 that has me perplexed. If there is another post on this, on the TBT, time before "Tigger" but after 1571 please send me there! Thank you all once again for the great input!

Totally wasn't intending to be unkind! I will take anything I can get, recall I am a RQ Junkie. I even have the old Judges Guild RQ stuff, Broken Tree Inn, Hell Pits, Duck Pond... Its all good to me. Just being selfish for my own desires. Keep it coming Sirs and thank you for the RQ Renaissance.

LOL, I have followed RQ since the 80's. I have some of the first prints of the fanzines and the old softcover books. I would always ask when and wait in anticipation. When? When I was in high school, when I was at University, when I lived in Tokyo, then I'd have anything I could get sent to me there, it was like I was waiting for my next drug fix. I recall being asked once, what it was I was reading on a limited express train to central Tokyo (Tales of the Reaching Moon, Issue 15 with a nice looking broo on the cover) that was back in the mid to late 90's... I have not changed I will still want and need more material. Am I a bad person to wish for new material before the rework of the old stuff? I'd rather see material on Esrolian, Grazelands, the Dragon's Eye but mostly Heortland or say a Sartar homeland book released before a New Elder Races or a GM's book? Sun County in Sartar would be really nice... but I'd be less thrilled to see another cults book? Over the years I have been exasperated waiting for the end of the Wheel of Time to come along or say the Doors of Stone but I will keep asking when, its in my blood! Thank you to those who keep plugging away at it! I'll take what I can get.

Per Jeff: "We got rid of the Sun County serfs. Greg and I were playing around with how Sun County might work in WF 15 but we weren't looking at things holistically. There is a whole Sun County book coming out which is far more useful." Does anyone know when the Sun County book may come out?

It seems very unlikely that with all the infighting of the Sartarites, that there weren't also some Sartarite Lunar collaborators, assisting and so, making at least a few of the assassinations partly inside jobs?

Along the same lines what is form/set lightning from an earlier post? "Do the Aeolian Cataphracts still ride around with form/set lightning lances?"

Still reading up on the Aeolians and while looking at the old Wyrm's Hold scenario (Tales of the Reaching Moon issue #13) the chance for mounted combat via jousting is likely. If a character hits another while mounted who is also mounted and coming towards them wouldn't the damage modifier be increased? It just seems the closing speed would increase the damage done by say at least an additional half the opponents active damage bonus?

Would not be stealing, Black Horses are intelligent and wouldn't go along with being stolen, would likely eat you if you tried? But rather earned/given for services rendered to Ethilrist. If said services are impossible, so be it.. was curious what feats might be required as this is a fantasy game.

Scott, thanks much for the link, (and to Jeff on the posts and maps found there on the Aeolians!) I am still catching up on having missed 15 years of Rune Quest ~ Glorantha, Scott, I also saw your old post on Ethilrist, I realize this is about a year late to enter that conversation but its quite interesting to me: So what would be the 5 point plan to meet Ethilrist, serve him, gain his trust, earn a Black Horse mount and still be allowed to move on to other "brighter pastures" with the mount after a given time or tasks performed? If there are 2600 of these demonic mounts (not sure where I saw this number) who's to miss 2~3 of them? What if one of your campaign's PC's was an adopted Agmori Aeolian Emali who, of course loves fire and doesn't mind riding a horse, albeit a demonic one? Again we are playing RQ3 so not so much into the runes but would an Emali need to be, illuminated to be able to ride a Black Horse? Darkness versus Light or since Emal still has fire would it be an issue? Have stats on the Black Horse ever been published? This campaign is starting in about 1600 and is based in Backford but the PC's will be moving up via trade to Sundome, Clearwine and of course Greenbrass and Apple Lane... later, much later, I see an Agmori knight in armor riding a rather large Black Horse out in Prax as potentially very epic for the PC's... The clashes with the Kitori and their troll friends would almost certainly be welcomed through this time period... trolls are not to be trusted.

Again off direct topic from women knights, but Tokugawa/Matsudaira Ieyasu, destined to be Shogun, was thought to have worn a Spanish Conquistador helmet and possibly a cuirass from what I read. It may have been for dress rather than battle but interesting to note nonetheless. The only armor peasants would have had, possibly women, was something stolen off a dead ashigaru or samurai who wandered into their village, wounded after a battle and likely on the run from the victors?

What is the best map showing the Hendriki tribes? Knowing some of the PC's are from Backford and are Aeolian are there any Hendriki that would be directly apposed to them? The thoughts on Brangbane are interesting and will likely turn into multiple adventures and a long term campaign goal. There will be at least 2 Humakti in the party possible 3 or even 4 depending on how it goes... Thank you for the info Jaja!

So since no one is interested in Bragbane (still interested in how many actual ghouls are in the woods if anyone has an opinion) being destroyed I'll ask another question. So repeating that the campaign I am looking at runs from 1600: If the twin adopted Agimori raised in Backford happen to befriend Londra (still looking for a plot connection following Apple Lane to get them with Londra) when she is getting started with the Temple of the Wooden Sword, travel travel with her off and on and end up going to the Haunted Ruins (on both occasions) to meet the Sazdorf Clan and actually play against or temporarily with the Whackers and Tacklers, I think it would be really fun to play out. They are like size 21~22 and are fast so Troll Ball would be fun no? Into Troll Realms and then Snake Pipe Hallow could follow. I have and love, a bunch of the old adventures. How to get the PC's to Clearwine following Apple Lane to meet Londra and Nameless? Is White-eye a Sazdorf outlaw and there is a reward for him being returned as he stole some troll artifact and is hiding it in the Rainbow Mounds? Any ideas? Do they simply tag along with Londra on her way there and get drawn into it all? Also along these lines how does a PC approach Nameless as a love interest over the timeframe ? Does anyone have ideas on she might be "tough and tender" as if one of the PC's was smitten with her it'd draw them back to Clearwine time and again? Just trying to spice up the campaign a bit. Are the Dragons Past magazines/articles available for purchase or are the articles only available via the Wyrm’s Footnotes? I have most of the Tales of Reaching Moon magazines... (NVM on this I saw the bundle on the Chaosium site!)

Sorry this is still slightly off topic but includes women's rolls on the battlefield if not as knights: I recall that the Ikko-ikki use volley fire (again mostly farmers and likely some women as the Ikko-ikki were made up of both sexes, peasant rabble, throw in a few female monks for color as well) against Nobunaga at Nagashima quite effectively that they held him off for a few years. Thus having been used against his forces with great effect (I think even one of relatives fell there) he learned from it and so Nobunaga (and Hideyoshi in later battles) deployed its use against the Takeda at Nagashino. It is off topic but interesting to note... the point women (samurai or not) and peasants, easily trained and then put to use to cut down the élite samurai. What an insult, maybe this was part of the reason Mt. Hei was burned (thousands killed) a few months after the first failed attempt to take Nagashima? (Katsuyori's father I think was actually mortally wounded by an harquebus ball while trying to listen to one of Ieyasu's soldiers playing a flute or something at night during the siege of Mikatagahara?) Maybe a new topic/thread would be how to translate some of the Daimyo to Runequest, Land of Ninja anyone!? It would be like Game of Thrones but set in Kralorela. Did anyone see the movie Ran by Kurosawa... "Go East" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sieges_of_Nagashima

There is a lot of great info on the Waring States Period on line but I prefer the Osprey books mentioned above, many by Turnbull have really great source material. At the Battle of Shizugatake in 1583, there was record of some 200 women musketeers. You could imagine the fury of the samurai charging their ranks only to be raked by the volley fire of female fired harquebus' and then to add insult to their masculinity, the wounded get skewered by females wielding naginatas!? I've been to Aizu a few times where there were supposedly some female samurai to die at the hands of the Mejii Forces during the Boshin War. There is nothing on site that I saw (limited Japanese I confess) which displays women fighting there but Niijima Yae who evidently lived through the battle was called the “Bakumatsu Joan of Arc”. The late 1860's is a bit late to be calling them "female knights" albeit they were "onna-bugeisha" (female samurai)?

Curious what would be the best alternate for the Hendriki Raiders if some of the PC's were Hendriki in the Pegasus plateau and you desired the antagonists to be more of a Lunar sympathizer type? Another question, if you had to estimate how many ghouls were in the Woods of the Dead what would you guess? What about Black Rock proper? Also, how many slaves would there be any given day on average? Would the Humakti turn undead affect Brangbane like a normal undead creature, even failure befuddles him until he fails an intelligence test? How/what would need to be converted to Runequest 3rd Ed/Avalon Hill... If you took 100 Humakti with say 10 Swords could you clear out the Woods of the Dead over a period of time?

Per the Avalon Hill RG, (I think RQ3?) it seems it is fairly simple to create an enchantment and so why do more NPC's not have them? Tattoos don't cost all that much so you don't really need an expensive gold torque necklace to make/have an enchantment? (was reading some posts on enchanting) Is it just the purchasing of the spells costs more than people make in a year? Just curious and thanks again.

There is a lot posted on "Tell me about Elmal and Yelmalio" but is there an actual cult write-up for Elmal even if non canonical?

What would be a good plot lead to have Dwarves end up inhabiting the caverns below Rabbit Hat? Did any of the Flintnail members help build any part of Suntown in Pavis or even the Sundome incognito?

I am finally about 1/2 way through the forum tabs and found "Aeolian Church - Heortland" from 2016 and "Deep background history of the Sun Dome Temple". Lots of great info there and thank you all once again. Joerg, Jeff and Jaja especially. Related to Sun Dome, I have WFN 15 and am surprised the Sun Dome in Sartar seems to be a slave state with nearly 1/3 the population are Ergeshi serfs?! Does anyone know of sources on any of the settlements as there are 6~8 shown near the Sun Dome Temple? Are there any maps of Vanntar or these smaller settlements? Should I assume they are similar to those in the Prax Sun County with walled villas say like Sandheart but the climate more temperate? Or would these settlements be more like Apple Lane?

Where is the best description of how to bind a ghost or spirit into an enchantment? We are still using the old 1990's AH version of the rules but have the new system (didn't read it yet) I was and still am confused about how to overcome said entity. I always thought it was total current MP versus MP not power versus power but really don't know? It would be great if there were an example of spirit combat using spirit block, etc. in order to bind one... How would you break and existing binding and move said spirit and or ghost into a new enchantment, if possible? How would one slay a "polar bear" and bind its spirit into it skin (without simply saying the character is a hero and can do that) Is it explained somewhere? Say you have a spirit binding enchantment and you place a spirit into it can you not transfer it to another enchantment? I am recalling lots of mad-head ghosts which you can break the enchantment binding them but would you be able to bind them into another enchantment at the time the original enchantment being broken? It says the become simple ghosts after the enchantment is broken.

Reading through the 100's of posts (tab 34, its taking a long time to read through this stuff) I am used to Sun County in Sartar, p12 of Escape From Duckland and Adventures in the Land of the Sun, I also picked up the trilogy of Sandheart but not familiar with Vanntar? Is Sun County in Sartar the same as Vanntar, it's old name? Is there an actual map that shows the boundaries of Vanntar or is it the same as Sun County? Who would be the Lakarnos contact there and or would there be an Issaries shrine at or near the Sartar Sundome? Also where is there detail on who's who in the Sartar, Sun County from 1600 ~ 1625 and the political relation with the Lunar Empire during that time? One other question back in the late 80's my friends and I learned to really dislike Halcyon var Enkorth. What happens to him and who is slimier than him in all of Glorantha? Did he somehow die? Did he take revenge on Bluebird? Who was the unnamed oger with him noted on page 48 of Griffin Mountain? Just look at him, what a grease-bag:

What year would be the earliest you see Storms in the Deep or The Barren Isle taking place? 1624 would be very late or so I am thinking. What years were the author's suggesting the two scenarios in Tales 10 took place as they were written before the Guide? Again this campaign begins in 1600 and would be costal at best in my mind as there is way to much good material on land in Dragon pass and Prax... Another interesting item would be that somehow dwarves are in the turtle ship with arquebuses and cannon. (Turnbull has some great samurai 1600's titles with Osprey) I don't like the concrete ship idea shown in Tales #10 for dwarves but iron (or some other metal) clad ships or even something similar to the ACW period would be welcome though they'd not be very seaworthy from what I understood from reading. Float spells and undines could rectify any of that however and dwarves are good engineers. Maybe Leonardo helped design something like this and its control mechanism went haywire? It would be interesting to see something like this float up the Zola Fel or Syphon if a shallow draft? 275'/84m is a good bit smaller than any dragon ship and so not as obtrusive? Maybe its just a trading vessel...