Murf

As of right now there is only one "Official" Dragon cult in the 3rd age; "The Sun Dragon" which was written up in the Cult Compendium. It is pretty bare on content. The "Company of the Dragon" by Andrew Logan Montgomery has a good Dragon cult It is part of his Six Seasons in Sartar campagne. It doesn't interfere with your character's regular cult affiliation but can only be used sparingly. Richard S had some good ideas for draconized Orlanth, the Sun Dragon and a draconic Humakt cults from the 2nd age on his BRP blog site. You can find them here; Also Paul Baker in his "Whitestone Ruins" module had an interesting cult for Orlanth Storm Dragon which i think may have been influenced by the 2nd age MRQ book "Magic of Glorantha" for a EFW cult Covenant of the Storm Dragon. MRQ is verboten around here but they had some good ideas. His mechanics are interesting but it was written pretty much to be a thumbnail mainly for the GM to play the bad guys. My GM and I liked it enough to flesh it out a bit I have been using it for my character for some time. It is still a little rough around the edges but good enough for our purposes. Hope this helps.

Does any one have any ideas on how to defeat or destroy the Big Bad D? I would imagine a HQ to find his vulnerability would be in order. Perhaps a variation on Jar Eel's dismembering Pharaoh while he was weakened during the Masters of Luck and Death Tournament. A couple of ploy seeds depending on his (it;s) diplomatic stance: Argrath is allied- The PC are a part of a delegation to ally D, As their journey progresses they begin to get clues THEY are to be a special sacrifice to to seal the alliance rather than sacrificing a whole regiment, What do they do? Post battle of the Queens. Phandros sends an emissary to the Marsh with an offer he can't refuse. PC can be for Sartar or Fazzur and are charged with finding out what the offer is and stopping the deal. Gen Fazzur needs allies in his war against his treacherous nephew. While the undead Lord of the Marsh is an unsavory choice needs must. Duck Point has been under continuous Lunar occupation even after Dragonrise. The newly arrived Argrathand the Sartar Free Army meets the Lunar army in the North, the Sartar City Militia is given the mission the besiege and taking Duck Point. The lunar garrison is being supplied through the Marsh with Delecti's tact approval. Argrath's enemy- Argrath wants the unpredictable Delicti destroyed and the Marsh drained before he moves against Tarsh. this will secure his rear and open up river traffic all the way to Skyfall Lake and allow him to keep his army supplied by river in Tarsh. The Lismelder tribe and the Ducks have been attacking the rods that maintain the edge of the Marsh. They have even managed to slay several Dancers of Darkness in the process. Delecti has been massing a undead army to push back the boarder and teach these children a lesson. The PCs are tasked with stopping the human/ducks from rocking the boat and/or assisting in defeating the undead army. Argrath has marched north into Tarsh in support of Gen Fazzure against Phandros. The Emperor has given Delicti what ever he wants to attack Agrath in the rear, Already several clans along the Marsh's edge have been attacked over run. With his forces tied up in Tarsh there is little Argrath can do to help. The PCs must rally everyone they to hold off the undead menace.

So does this mean that Delecti stays neutral? Strategically speaking I could not risk getting my army decisively engaged in Tarsh much less points further north and risk Delecti going of Night King on my rear area and storming a lightly defended Boldhome. On the other hand it would make and interesting campaign.

So what happens to everybody's favorite undead menace? Does Argrath take some time out to eliminate this threat to his flank and later his rear? Also are there any stats for the Mr Cold and Clammy and his bevy of blood sucking bimbos.?

Nice, Several members of our group have embraced the Draconic Way and will certainly get some use out of this product.

A further questions about Dragon Cults: Would there be Rune levels along with standard benifits such as Allied Sprites, increased chance for POW gain by priests, common rune spells (particularly spell teaching.) and devin intervention?

Sounds like a buy.

One off gifts sounds interesting. Ian Thompson's new book "Pavis: City that Time Forgot" had some Draconic gifts that people inherited from witnessing The Dragonewts Dream. We were thinking about making that the basis for a cult or more accuratly a school of thought for the Inner Dragon Cult. It would be less about transfoming into a Dragon and more about harnessing your inner power. There is also RQM's 2nd age EFW Dragon cults but that just doesn't feel quite right for the 3rd age.

One of our players is intrested in learning Dragon magic So after DragonRise Draconic magic is begining to reemerge. Are there any newly reawakened Dragon cults players can join? In Joel Kumpulainen's enjoyable "Night In the Medows" from Jonsstown press he gave the players the chance to join the "Cult of the Inner Dragon." except that sacrificing a point of POW gave you the ablity to learn Auld Wrymish beyond 25%. However he gave few details. In "White Stone Ruins" by Paul Baker He gives us the "Cult of the Storm Dragon" with some interesting ideas. Does anyone else have any cults or ideas on how develop one? Are their any Dragon cults in RQG cannon?

Thanks for the reply, I like all the points but specially Korolstead becoming a pawn in the political battle Argrath and the FHQ's courtship. Both sides wanting it to show up the other but neither side can risk getting into a war over it. Argrath wants to have a lodgment in Grazzer's territory and securing the passage way over the mountains. FHQ wants to prevent that and secure her flank along with the possiblity of opening a direct trade route to Sartar and a shorter fiver route to the Holy Country. Circumstans could even work out that the Korolites become a nutrial buffer state (If one side can't have it then neither side should.) Kind like the Cassablanca of Dragon Pass. Meanwhile the Empire wants to stir trouble between both to thwart Argrath from becoming KoD. Cementing the alliance with his marriage to the FHQ will give Argrath a real opertunity to invade Tarsh. I can see the the title of the book; "King of Korolstade: or how a new tribe held the fate of Dragon Pass in it hands. Interesting possiblities.

It mentions reestablishing the Koroltes Tribe and reviving the city as possible plot hooks. Anybody have some thougths on the the political ramifications with regards to the Grazzers or Argrath? We did the official Smoling Ruins adventure but did not retrive the mirrior thanks to some ill-timed bad rolls. Plus our campaing is deciding on settling down and establihing ourselves as land owners. Would not mind some "Game of Thones" type of political intregue adventures?

Any details on how Argrath's Muse Roost Campaing went? Our group did the "White Horse Quest" Where Sir Ethralist sacrificed his hwite horses to gain the demonic Black Horses and have had a bad attitude with him ever since. I know it is not cannon but YGMV and has become a defining part of our party. So we would LOVE to join in the looting and pillaging.

Not for everyone.

Doesn't mean it is not wrong. I have enjoyed Glorontha since the 70s. (yeah I ma that old) Sorcury was one of th emost intresting think in RQ3. It was not well done and often over powered but intersting. I had hoped RQG would adress that but they went way over board. It's unplayable as writen so why even bother with it? This is a place for voicing ideas right? Or am I in the wrong place?

You can twist it any way you want. You can fabricate what ever Gloronthianesq rational you can think of, the bottom line is RQG has commitied the ultimate sin and made sorcery unfun. And fun is the whole point of this exercise. There seems to have been an obsessive desire to make EVERY SINGLE aspect of sorcery infearior to...pretty much everything. I am not sure why but well, there is is. And unless the authors want RQG to go the way of RQ2, RQ3, RQM, etc etc they need to be focused on make the game as fun to as wide an audience as possible. Making Sorcery as lame as humanly possible ain't the way to do it. I'm just saying.

So I have bonded with a Hippogriff and now I want to be all I can be with it. Back in the dim past flying was reserved mainly for Orlanthi Priests. The traditional 15 minuet duration and non reusability by all but the priest hood meant few took to the skies. But RQ;G has changes all of that. Rune magic is reusable by all initiates and Runelords. What's more for a modest investment in extension it can be used for up to a full year. Additionally the number of airborne threats seem to multiply over the years with Moon boats, Gorakiki insects, hostile wind spirits. Wasp riders raiding cattle, Etc... Why would a Clan/tribe/ Kingdom not use this flying advantage to is maximum potential? Just the fast messenger caring and scouting would justify the costs alone. One last thing is there an official cult write up? I found what looks like a home brew but nothing definitive. Vangath the Rider.odt

Some useful pics to provide some color. Not only for Famegrave but Leika's Clearwine palace. This shows Famegrave from the north with the lower town spreading out towards Big Beard Bran creek. This is a view of a normal Magaron from the First/second age Dragon Pass region. After the Dragon Kill many of these hill fortresses were in ruins and abandon. However several were largely intact and suitable for occupation. When the Hoerotlings migrations began, they settled in the better preserved sites and used them for Tribal seats. This is a floor plan for the Frame grave Megaron, unlike the Clearwine place which has hallways on each side. The Famegrave place is located to close to the outer wall and instead has a lower level accessed by a stairway. This is the outer courtyard with the Megaron in the back ground. This is a typical Magaron "throne room" on a busy but informal day.

Doh! A Freudian slip of the RQ 2/3 type. With that reminder I think 1D3+1 IS apparat. In theory a player could do as much Multi-spelling a their Rune die pool. Ouch!

Yeah I noticed several similarities. Clear Wine Fort also looks like it was inspired. Leika's Place throne room looks like it was copyed from the Magaron at Pylos or Tyrins. Mycena's Megaron was placed at the edge of the fortifications and so is a bit diffrent.

Yes very effective but Firshala is limited to 1 Point spells for now. Still 2D3+2 straight through armor will hurt. Specially with a minimum of 4 pts of disruption. Really nice for dealing with gooey Gorps and slippery Waktapi. With a hard Extension 1 limit 2D3 is not to out of wack. Plus all fallow up castings are using sprite magic pts which are more abundant and easier to replace. I am just surprised such a small cult could have as powerful a spell? Do you have any myths about her to tie her worship to Dragon pass or can we just make up our own?

After doing some research on the bronze era( admittedly I know little of.) I found a good map to use for Famegrave. This is the the acropolis of a larger city. I read some where that the town was built on the foundations of a older city from a previous age.

Which do you think would be more appropriate for RQG. Being a player my vote would be 2D3 but I am hardly an expert (or unbiased).

Here is her write up from the original Griffin Mountain: This area appears as a low mound topped by a pair of 4-meter-tall stone plinths made of a bluish, translucent stone with a waxy texture. Unless a Detect Magic spell is cast on the plinths, no examination will reveal any further information concerning the nature or structure of the plinths. However, when a Detect Magic is cast upon the plinths, it will show the otherwise invisible figure of a woman in the region between the plinths. The woman is the physical manifestation of a powerful and benign fire spirit named Firshala. During Godtime she was worshipped to a limited extent, but during the God Wars she was imprisoned between these magical plinths. With the coming of Time, her worshippers have disappeared. Her power and intelligence dropped to their current level. Firshala can be released from her imprisonment by a Dispel Magic 4 cast upon her glowing form. If released, she will gift the releasing character with a small chip of stone from one of the plinths before fading from sight. The gifted character will know that this stone permits him or her to call upon Firshala (as per Divine Intervention, see below) once at any time so long as the stone is still possessed. The gift is not transferable. Once Firshala is released she will once again wish to be worshipped. The characters who release her will be invited to be among her first worshippers. Firshala is able to provide her Priestesses with all 1 point Rune spells as well as three Daka Fal Ancestor Summoning spells (see below) and the 1 point Summon Small Salamander. She also grants the use of her own 1 point spell, Soulfire, described below. In addition, Firshala’s Divine Intervention functions in an unusual way (again, see below). Firshala’s Runes are Fire and Spirit. She will require 2 points of POW to be sacrificed to her on her cult holy days (to be determined by the referee but her High Holy Day will be the day the characters free her). She has no love for any Water related deity or for the Elven cult of Aldrya. She is not a hater of Darkness cults and has had no first hand experience with things of Chaos. She will suggest to her worshippers that they reduce the cost at which they sell the following spells to their fellow worshippers: Detect Spirit, Disruption, Ignite, Spirit Binding, Firearrow, Fireblade, and Spirit Shield. She will ask that the price on Extinguish be increased. She favors the use of the bow and the spear. At this point, the referee is basically given carte blanche to develop the cult of Firshala as he sees fit. It might even be a good idea to allow the character who frees her to develop the cult. SOULFIRE 1 POW 80 meters, 15 minutes, non-stackable, reusable This spell must be cast upon one person. For the duration of the spell any Disruption spells cast by the Soulfired person will do 1D3+ 1 damage instead of the normal 1D3. The victim will feel a painful burning sensation instead of the normal wound. Divine Intervention This spell may be used to summon the physical presence of the being. A successful divine intervention will cause the spirit of the Firshala to possess the caller. To do this she must first enter into spirit combat with the summoner and if successful will possess the body for up to 15 minutes. During this time the host’s body is possessed as if a shaman’s fetch was taking over his/her body. However, the body takes on the physical attributes of Firshala herself, i.e., the host becomes female, glows slightly bluish and has its characteristics modified to those of the being’s. The host’s spirit finds it’s way to the spirit plane and stays there, to be guarded over by Firshala’s own personal fetch, and may participate in any combat as an allied spirit or fetch. At the end of the 15 minutes, the goddess returns to the spirit plane and the host reoccupies his or her body. However, the spell is not without side effects. The host character must roll under an average of his POW and CON x5% or his body retains the female form of the goddess. Removing such a transformation would take heroic efforts, possibly resulting including a Heroquest back to the time of the God’s War. Firshala’s Possession STR 2x host’s Move 9 CON +2D6 Average Hit Points 21-22 SIZ Host’s Average Defense 35-40% INT 20 POW 40 DEX 2x host’s CHA 24 flask. Weapon SR Attack Damage Parry Points Any DEX x5% +1D4 DEX x5% SPELLS: All spells known by host (who is used as a sort of allied spirit) plus Heal 6, Countermagic 4, Protection 4, Harmonize, (known by fetch) Dispel Magic 4, Detect Enemies, Detect Spirit, Detect Magic, Detect Life, Disruption. RUNE MAGIC: Absorption, Discorporation, Dismiss Elemental 1, Divination, Divine Intervention, Extension 1, Matrix Creation, Mind Link, Multispell 1, Shield, Spell Teaching, Spirit Block, Warding, Summon Ancestor, Summon Specific Ancestor, Summon Spirit Teacher, Soul Fire, Summon Small Salamander 2. SKILLS: Host’s +20%. LANGUAGES: Has the permanent ability of Mindspeech with all living beings. Also may use host’s language ability. FETCH INT 9 POW 21 SMALL SALAMANDER ONE STR 10 SIZ 3x3x3 meters INT 3 POW 21 Move 6 Hit Points 21 SMALL SALAMANDER TWO STR 11 SIZ 3x3x3 meters INT 6 POW 12 Move 6 Hit Points 18 Soulfire looks like a very handy spell especially when combined with Muli-spell and perhaps Extension. In the RQ3 edition of Griffin Island Soulfire was 1D6. I have almost no information beyond this if there are other sources available that would be a big help.

According to the Griffin Mountain Fire and Sprite.

To the learned Scholars of all things Gloranthan. So way back in the the day we freed Firshala. We sacrificed POW to her to get her "back on her feet". We didn't stay and develop a cult and eventually left for the next horizon. One player dropped out at that time and the story is his character stayed and became her "High Priest". Now years later the now NPC is returning to Sartar to establish her worship here. Can her power extend to Sartar or is she strictly regional. If so what with it take to make happen? I liked her powers and story and would not mind initialing with her. but I am a high level Orlanth imitate almost a Rune lord or God talker. will this work? Yes OGMV but what is the canoncial answer?