svensson

Well, there I'm gonna disagree a bit here. Glorantha mythology says the soul stays near the corpse for a short time and may petition for DI in the immediate moments after death. HOWEVER, I agree that once the soul departs on its journey to Hell, absolutely NOTHING will resurrect the worshiper... not even the direct actions of Chalana Arroy. The major guarantee of Humakt is that their souls and corpses are inviolate after death. The only proviso is if the soul is captured before death, such as what happened to Hofstaring Treeleaper or if a Humakti is a victim of a Thanatari headhunter.

As far as I'm concerned, that was the PERFECT ruling on the situation. It knitted the story, the player choices, and subplot together in a very elegant narrative. Nice work on your part but also nice work on the Humakti's part to play the cult so well. Two 'sidebar' things: 1. It would be great if the trollkin somehow got a player to play him earning initiation into Humakt [a stone bitch when you've only got a POW of 1 to 3 pts], and 2. I LOVE the idea of a 'krarshtkid queen'. That instantly went IMGU.

In a situation like this several things come to mind: 1. There's nothing whatsoever wrong with a crafter being an initiated member of Orlanth. Issaries is the most logical cult for a craftsman, but Orlanth isn't far behind. 2. Even if they're not initiates of Orlanth, they can still be lay members. It's not at all unreasonable that a fair amount of the local temple equipment and repairs comes from donated items or labor from lay members paying their dues in the most practical of ways. While the full-fledged initiates pay for much of the local Rune Priest's lifestyle, Snorvar the Redsmith buys his annual Lay status by repairing said Priest's brazier chains or cooking cauldron for free. 3. There is always a sub-context of conflict in an Orlanthi village, town or city. Differences in cults, trades, or families and the basic argumentative nature of the culture will lead to some kind of conflict. 'City mouse vs. Country mouse' isn't anything different. 4. As I understand it, Sartar isn't organized or... 'evolved' is the best word, I guess... to such an extent as have guilds regulating mercantile and trade activity. In Glorantha that would more likely be covered by Issaries cult activity instead of the classic Medieval 'Worshipful Companies' or Hansas anyway. Crafting skills are not yet 'trade secrets' and anyone can hang a sign out in front of any building they can afford to occupy. Yes, most cities in Sartar have streets where similar trades are practiced, but there isn't a 'Guildmaster of Clothiers, Fullers, and Dyers' ruling over the trade like some petty despot.

Yep. That's the one. Mongoose Traveller did an update with their Mongoose Traveller 2.0 rules, and it's great, but the original conception of design get the kudos for innovation.

I've been meaning to do that. You're not the only one who asked. I'll get that done this week.

Like everything, there is a balance to be struck in random vs. scripted encounters. If you ever have a chance try finding a copy of 'The Traveller Adventure' by GDW [1983]. While sci-fi focused, it still shows you an excellent campaign design. It has a very forceful narrative story [corporate skullduggery that crosses over into treason] but also includes long stretches of open play 'sandbox' periods in between episode chains. The writers took the time to include side jobs, patrons, and other free play elements that tie into the main story in unexpected ways. In my mind, this has always been my ideal model of a campaign structure and that model has served me well in the three long term games I've been privileged to ref.

1. The GM's Guide will be done when it's done, and not a minute before. 2. Proserpaedia /Gods of Glorantha requires a lot of art and layout, they're working on it. This is the next project that'll reach the shelves. 3. Issues with paper supply/printing and the worldwide shipping problems that are only now just starting to get resolved 3a. In re: the paper supply and printing issues, current political tensions between China and the free world [pretty much everyone is united in stopping China from expanding into the South China Sea beyond their legal territorial claims] create artificial slowdowns in every product that has a Chinese business relationship. Even breaking contracts with Chinese business and finding another printer takes time and legal fees. 4. AIUI, the project list goes like this: Proserpaedia/Gods, GM's Guide, Guide to the Lunar Empire, anything else Something that must be said here... Call of Cthulhu and KAP have large archives of art, hand-waves, and so forth. This greatly simplifies getting their product onto shelves. RQG is hiring new artists and writing new rules and lore... this naturally takes more time. So right now Jonstown Compendium is carrying the load for RQG. They're doing a GREAT job at it. Most [like 95%] of Jonstown material is for RQG. Admittedly most of it is centered Central Genertela, but that's where most of us adventure anyway.

Hey if I could hide a katana in a pair of bicycle shorts, I would 'have no rivals' either..... 🤣

He's a teenager... he's working on it! He's a lousy archer so no Kuschile Feathers for him! [And the HF program won't let me add feathers....]

Scotland won't be 'ruined' until the day they stop making Lagavullen....

Last is Turolan, Sun Dome Militia Gloranthaisms: A young Yelmalio initiate doing his annual cult service, Turolan is equipped from cult armories. All metalwork is gold tone. His torso and limb armor is dyed, laquered, or painted cuirboulli. It looks impressive, but it's not the plate of the Templars. He is carrying a gladius, but the only time he ever gets to drill with it is while doing his two weeks of cult service. He's far more skilled at the spear. A farm boy, his clothing is homespun and he bears no jewelry. While the HF program has almost no RQ runes, I was able to get a Sun on a Sky blue background for his shield.

Next we have Korlest, a clan Thane. Glorathaisms: All metalwork in gold-tones except jewelry. The splinted torso armor and helmet are a dull 'brushed bronze'. From an 'Axe-Orlanthi' clan with strong Earth ties, battleaxe is his secondary weapon. The pteruges skirting is looted Lunar gear, in Lunar colors. Helmet and knee-cops purchased from Sun Dome sources. Clothing is mostly homespun, with a brightly dyed tunic in Earth-green.

First up, Barstan Sword-Sage Gloranthaisms: All metal except jewelry in told gold-tones. Grey tunic in the color of his cult, orange and blue accents showing loyalty to the Storm pantheon. Not heavily equipped, 'knowing-people' tend to let the thanes and would-be Heroes handle the heavy combat stuff. Nevertheless, note the matrices in his jewelry. He is not a man to be dismissed.

Scotland would be on the sidelines cheering, but a clan feud has broken out over a stolen cow from 500 years ago...

"Nobody can make you do anything" is just another way of saying "We'll argue about EVERYTHING". I'm sure there are Irish and French gamers wishing that the clans of Sartar would get their act together. Not that we Americans have any problem with that... NopeNopeNope.... *sigh*

I believe that Heroforge is a cunningly devised plot to dethrone Sid Meier from the title "Greatest Time Waster of All Time" Prove me wrong.

Please use the downwind door.... 😉

The big problem with the Heroforge program is that you really have to discipline yourself into not going back into old work and fiddling with things. You can easily find yourself trying to 'gild the lily' so to speak. OTOH, sometimes you really do improve the original work. In this case, I was experimenting with posing and spell effects and I think I actually did improve Afara Moon-Sister. The change is substituting a scarlet orb for a spell effect... She's summoning a Small Lune.

Unfortunately, the HF program doesn't let me fiddle with the sizes of equipment, especially if it's off the body.

Well again, all of this speculation is fine so long as the great question of every referee everywhere is answered: "Does what I'm about to do tell a good story or augment the story I'm telling?' If the players are using a DI frivolously trying to avoid a plot hook or skip a difficult part of the story, they should fail every time. If the DI is out of desperation because the dice didn't go their way, well, they're already paying a Hell of a cost in lost POW points. In this case maybe being harsh with the atonement and penance may not be the best thing for the story in question. But it all comes down to the story in the end.

Yes, you're right. That is the one absolute hard and fast rule of Divine Intervention outside of a Heroquest... you may not manipulate Time in any way, shape, or form. Asking for a DI within a Heroquest is far, far more dicey and that's a subject I'm inclined to avoid altogether until the official rules on Heroquesting come out. Heroquests change and adjust the Great Compromise by their very nature because they send mortals to relive the God Time, when things were far more... 'malleable'... I guess. Time CAN be manipulated within a Heroquest [or at least events before Time began can] and so a DI within those confines is far more serious proposition.

OK, with the geasa it would be something like 'never accept magical healing'... OK, who forbids you magical healing? Your deity, the source of the geas. So, if your deity heals you, then it's not nearly as terrible a sin as choosing to break the geas. Breaking geasa is not heresy or apostacism. All the worshiper did was break a rule. After suitable atonement and penance, the worshiper returns to the fellowship of their congregation wiser but not all that worse for wear. This depends on the cult, the magnitude of the offense, and the authority assigning the penance. [See Solanthos Ironpike ordering the killing of ordained clergy of his own faith for lack of celibacy] But if, say, Humakt were to heal a cultist who had a 'never accept magical healing' geas, then you can bet that the Sword who assigns the penance would make it reasonably light... say, teaching at the temple for no pay for a season or something. If, like Vasana and Party, you're in Snake Pipe Hollow and you ask Orlanth to teleport you and your friends [none of whom worship Orlanth], then Orlanth will comply but this isn't gonna be your last trip to the Hollow... You'll be required to go back one way or the other.

WONDERFUL! I hope it works out!

I just posted a question regarding the possibility of licensed Glorantha fiction and your name came up @John E. Boyle. I'll make a point of looking your work up! Note, I'm not an author myself [I'm a rotten fiction writer] but this is for the sake of a couple of newbies. I'm teaching my niece and grandniece [cuz **there's** a phrase that doesn't make you feel old or anything] both RuneQuest and Glorantha. I wanted to find some fiction that'll introduce the milieu to them without some old geezer pontificating at them. 😁

But your examples are how the deity chooses to effect the DI and not the character's choices or agency for it. In my view, the PC's lose some agency when they make a DI request. In my campaigns there is a 1000% chance that any time a deity intervenes it will do three things... a] generally be of significant help to the PC's based on the specific request the PC makes b] must be with the deity's remit [their Runes, their role in their pantheon, etc.] c] will always advance the deity's agenda. Sometimes, a DI will result in the PCs violating their geasa... but the deity and church will be fairly kind with their atonement requirements. Sometimes the PCs will get precisely what they ask for, no more and no less. Sometimes the PCs will get far more, but with complications. For example, the Orlanthi PC is teleported away from the 5 Scimitar Masters of the OP's top post against his will, but will now have 5 highly pissed off Scimitar Masters hunting him and his friends. What the PC's get for their Divine Intervention request depends completely on what the GM thinks will enhance the story. The point is this: when you place your fate in the hands of the gods, you can expect to have something fairly random happen. Gods don't answer to player characters and their ways are unknowable.