svensson

Well, I see the inclusion of Vostor as a pregen PC as almost an invitation to do a campaign in Tarsh... it's got more conflict than Esrolia does, after all. Between the Lunar loyalists, the Old Traditionalists [and those folks are NOT you grandpa's Orlanthi, young initiate], the political hassles within the empire, and the epic defeats of the Dragonrise and Dangerford, it's absolutely screaming 'adventure'...

That's pretty much what I said... many if not most of the published RQG adventures can be 'Lunar friendly' in one aspect or another.

Yeah, a Tarshite campaign focusing on the 'Two F's War' (Fazzur v. Phargenetes) [😁] would be a worthwhile addition, I think.

Well, first off, welcome to the game and the board. AFAIK, the vast majority of adventures are pretty standard... the characters dealing with physical and magical challenges that have little to do with politics. After all, when you've got a Broo in your face, who cares what side you're rooting for, right? Of those that have a distinct political or theological leaning, the vast majority are pro-Orlanthi. Most are written in such a way so that it's relatively easy to convert to a pro-Lunar stance by changing the patrons and allies. We should also note the difference between 'Lunar-religious' and 'Lunar-political'. Even adventures set in post-Dragonrise Sartar can be pro-Lunar-religion to an extent. Sartar has a fair percentage of people and clans that converted to the Lunar Way during the Occupation, and adventures where some kind of accommodation can be reached where those people can worship without being harassed is certainly possible. One adventure in the Starter Set, 'A Fire In The Darkness', offers a great opportunity for adventurers to do just that.

What is so 'astounding' about it? I'm an amateur historian. As such, I've trained myself to NOT cherry pick information that supports an argument for this or against that, but to look at the historical record as a whole and try to perceive societal trends. That record includes laws, newspapers, letters and diaries, and every other form of written record. Ask any cultural anthropologist or sociologist, and they'll tell you that social progress is a spectrum of achievement just like technological advancement is. There is a good deal of step one leading to step two leading to step three. And then there are the outliers where step three leads to step seven. Using a modern example, gay rights in the US was encouraged by the allowance of gay marriage, but I was VERY surprised when BOTH the Chief of Staff of the US Army AND the Chief of Naval Operations of the Navy asked Congress to pass a law allowing homosexuals to serve in the military without let, bar, or hindrance. AND that Congress not only did so, but did so on the first try. And they did this in wartime, while troops were active engaged in combat. This was the moral and ethical equivalent of Pres. Truman's Executive Order 9981 which desegregated the military. I honest to God didn't think they [either the military establishment or Congress] would go so far so quickly. I'm glad they did, and it was about time, but I admit to being very surprised. As for the Phoenicians, well you got me. They propagated their alphabet from Britain to India. Nice comment.

Gonna respond by paragraph here. Hope it isn't confusing. 1. I knew the quote, but had forgotten it. +1 Internet to Darius 😁 2. We have solid historical information about societal attitudes [laws, military regulations, letters, graffiti] going all the way back to the Roman Empire. Less so in the East, where many laws were couched in allegory or euphemism, but still a good foundation of information going back to Han China and to Heian Japan. And we know precisely what the attitudes are in Glorantha as Greg imagined it. YOUR Glorantha will vary, of course. 3. The 'ten year old with a binding contract' comment was meant in a modern context, but I do see your point. 4. Excellent point, but I still like the 'experience the world /Mundane Plane from a woman's viewpoint' aspect. YGMV, I guess.

First off, the word everyone is looking for is 'eunuch' or 'gelded'. People were not 'stupid back then'. Society had not progressed to the point of complete acceptance of those whose sexuality was not mainstream. Social progress is just that: PROGRESS. Just because a society has not progressed to the point gender fluidity and the Alphabet Mafia does not mean that they are cruel, or unjust, or stupid. Just as their government is more primitive or their technology is more primitive, their society is not as advanced as ours is trying to be. Holding a culture accountable for strides and growth that it has not had a chance to make yet is like allowing a 10 year old to sign a binding legal contract today. The child can't be held liable for the contract because they don't have the maturity to understand the full ramifications of such a thing. Another thing to remember is that Glorantha is a primal environment much like our own Bronze Age was. In Glorantha, the Male and Female Imperatives actually have the mystical power ascribed to them by our ancestral worship of Frey/Freya, Bel /Ishtar, Osiris /Isis, etc. Then you get into 'who is the child of who' when speaking of inheritance, lineage, rights, and a host of other issues. Non-mainstream gender roles or identities are made allowance for, but the mainstream expectations of the words 'family', 'inheritance', 'lineage', and so forth still hold sway.

I think I like @Rob Darvall's explanation of 'experiencing the Mundane Plane as a woman' for those who are drawn to Babeester Gor. And I think that applies to most, if not all, the other cults with gender restrictions [Ernalda, Vinga, Yelorna, etc.]. In the first place, there are plenty of cults that allow gendered males to shine, whatever their societal role. A couple of war cults [or more] for gendered women is not only reasonable, but necessary in Glorantha for inclusion's sake if nothing else. For those who identify as alternate gender identifiers, if you're looking for a war cult Humakt doesn't care who or what you are provided you're not Chaotic or Undead. If you want to play the 'gender bender' role, there are a bunch of trickster cults or other cults that don't have specific gender rules. And lastly, as a general rule, other than the Fertility Rune propagation of the species aspect of things, almost all Gloranthan deities don't care who you love, so long as your oaths are kept. Two women, a Vingan and an Ernaldan, may marry in Orlanthi society, but if one has an affair on the other, it still breaks whatever oaths of fidelity they may have made to each other, just as it would with a man and woman [or any other combination]. What matters is the oath-breaking, not the gender identity.

I would LOVE to pick this up. But I'm a Civil War reenactor and I just got promoted to officer. Officer gear is expensive. PROTIP: If momma's not happy, NOBODY'S happy. Avoid WAGgro.

That seems like a solid use for the skill if no one in the party knows what to do. I can see a situation where the party has one professional warrior type in it, everybody else being hunters, crafters, merchants, whatever else, and he has to use his Battle skill to quickly devise a tactic and get the 'part-timers' into a situation where they'll have the opportunity to survive. Even if that situation is 'run like Hell' 😆

Yeah, I can see that. A kopis /falcata uses the same basic technique as the broadsword [although the balance points are decidedly different... a kopis has more in common with the later medieval falchion that way]. But a scimitar is lighter [as much as a quarter-pound /0.12 kg], curves the opposite direction, and uses a very different technique to wield.

And she demands that she be given dominion over the Middle Air... which is entirely unacceptable to Orlanthi generally. I stipulated that my 'replace' comment is stated from an admittedly Orlanthi point of view, but given how many Old Gods the Lunar Way DOES wish to replace it's not an entirely invalid viewpoint.

Well, that's not a jab at you, man. Personally, given that choice, I honest to God would pick carrying it. I've never had a 'rollaway' bag that I've liked very much and most of the time I find them more trouble than they're worth. Obviously, you mileage will vary... literally!... so do what's best for you.

It took some color blending to get the Humakt Sword on the shield, let me tell ya....

Oh, I never said that a YT couldn't be a good Humakti or vice versa. I just think they're separate deities and therefore separate cults, that's all. And as @MOB and @Nick Brooke have said, YGMV. Weez Iz Allz Uz 🤣 [OK, I'm gonna have to get a tee-shirt that says 'Weez Iz Allz Uz' and wear it to a con]

Well, as you say MOB, YGMV. IMG, YT and Humakt are completely separate organizations, just as Humakt and Zorak Zoran are separate, just Humakt and Babeester Gor is separate, just as Humakt and any other Death or Truth rune cult is separate. The Lunar Way attempts to replace EVERY non-Lunar deity with a Red Moon counterpart, not 'co-exist'... replace. In their world view all shall be subsumed by the Light of Sedenya or it will be conquered. The Scarlet Harlot would replace Aldrya or Kyger Litor if she could and she's got whole schools of mages doing God Learner type investigations trying to figure out how. With that in mind, no, I don't see YT and Humakt as being interchangeable. As to @Joerg's question, certainly, there's nothing preventing a YT from initiating into Humakt. For double the time, double the tithe, double the sacrifices, etc. They receive a new gift and appropriate geasa as well.

And what, exactly, is 'boring' about making becoming a heretic to your faith something to be avoided? If a player wants to be a Hero, they'd better get ready to suffer a lot more trial and tribulation than mere spirits of reprisal for abandoning a cult as an initiate. Fer crying out loud, it only happens once for an initiate anyway. Unless, of course, you're talking about cults with permanent curses like Issaries and Humakt. If a character is gonna complain about such minor slings and arrows, then they should go back to stick picking or peat digging or wherever the Hells they came from because they definitely aren't packing the gear for Herodom.

Yanfal Tarnils was an apostate Humakti. Sez so in the story of the Seven Mothers. One presumes that it was only his apotheosis as a God that preserved his ability to use a sword, which is pretty reasonable for Gloranthan mythology. However you'll note that, just like everything connected with Sedenya, that ability is tainted. He may not use a straight sword, it must be curved. OK, this last bit is probably an Orlanthi talking, but you get my point. So how can his cult have it both ways this side of Illumination?

I can think of half a dozen right off the top of my head.....

Yanafal Tarnils and Humakt are completely separate cults, with entirely different myths and religious practices. Therefore the heretic would be effected by all of the penalties. His Humakt spells become one-use. Once the RP are used, they're gone. His worship skill in YT starts at from 05% + Magic Skill Bonus. His Cult Lore likewise goes down to basic percentages. He suffers from the Spirit of Reprisal, once as an initiate and multiple times as a Rune level. IMG, I don't particularly like this generic random spirit attack that RQG uses for apostates. Some of the earlier editions have curses to afflict apostates that are FAR more effective. In Humakt's case, an apostate suffers the Sword Breaker curse. No sword or sword-like weapon will ever serve him again. Any time he picks one up, it shatters in his hand. Yes, magical weapons included. And with two similar deities like Humakt and YT, the decision as to whether one deity can protect a worshiper from the ire of another depends on several factors. In this particular case, I would rule that Sword Breaker does effect the heretic and that YT can't protect him because Humakt owns the Death Rune... the source rune of all swords.

Maybe this is the old military mutt in me, I don't know, but it seems to me that something I learned as a Boy Scout a million years ago applied then, applied in my military career, applied in my reenactor career, and applies here... "Never pack more than you can carry." If you can't lift it, you can do without it. Or you need stronger friends. Either way... 🤣😅😉

For at the table use, tablets and pdfs can be very useful, but for reading for pleasure there is nothing quite like the smell of a bookshelf and the feeling of turning actual pages. And here's the thing, I'm allergic to dust and dust mites. Owning a lot of books costs me an extra $30 a month for allergy meds! 😁 And this next part is important... when you buy a physical book you get to KEEP it! Amazon, or Nook, or whatever dumbass service doesn't get to suddenly decide that they don't want to carry a book that you paid damned near full price for and **poof!** the sum'bitch is gone. I've know several people that got caught in that racket with more than one service. They thought they were getting a pdf of a book, instead they just bought **access* to it, not the product itself.

We're all aware of Heroforge minis and so I thought I'd post my screenshot of my character I'm playing in an r/20 game. Meet Kesten, my Humakti. He's an Esrolian mercenary from Longsi-land and has ended up in Sartar as the current spate of warring has died down. This is my attempt at making him as Bronze Age Gloranthan as possible. Side note, I ordered the fig and have received it. Once I figure out how to get a decent pic of it on my phone and upload it, I'll show you the completed product. I will say that this was expensive. VERY expensive. For those of us on a budget [and I'd hazard to guess that's most of us], I'd think twice then think one more time before ordering the Colored Plastic option as I did.

Since I live near a major US military base, I went to a surplus store and got myself a day pack made of Kevlar fabric. It's worked GREAT for 15 years.

Let me also say that the artwork that you've shown us thus far is wonderful! I'm looking VERY forward to it.