David Scott

As a shaman you can interact with all spirits. Your tradition spirits are like to are normally friendly, others neutral or perhaps even hostile - it depends what you offer them. For example looking at the Praxian tradition you can see that The Red School of Masks is part of the Lunar tradition in Prax, along with The Twinstars. Shamans there can easily access charms from Moonbroth, and other moon rune spirits in the region. Jakaleel cultists in Prax can access spirits with the Moon Rune (Hidden Ancestor) Sky Rune (Hidden Ancestor), Darkness (Jakaleel), All phases (Jakaleel), Full Half Moon phase (Twinstars) Within the Twinstars & Hidden Ancestor are also other spirits that provide a few specialist charms - Water & moon (moonbroth). moon & plant (redwood), Moon and Movement (silver deer), these cases the Moon rune normal indicates that the magic is cyclic in some form.

Jalakeel's cult is the home of the Lunar spirit tradition. It's her cult that teaches contact with lunar spirits and their otherworld on the moon. Her Seven Mothers subcult is actually the full cult of Jakaleel. Her shamans work with all spirits, but are skilled at obtaining the aid of the lunar ones and specifically Lunes and occasionlly selenes. I didn't realise that this version was an edited down version of the Pavis GtA one, if you don't have access to that this should help: Lunes are described on page 184 and Selenes on page 86. On the same page in the example the Lunar sorcerer Magathius summons a Selene by accident. I would consider the Pavis version the original version except where it conflicts with heroquest glorantha. The Dying Phase has no glamours associated with it. However it is possible to use another phase to access lunar spirit charms (see above). Look at Magatheus in the sample character section. He could break out relevant charms from his Full Moon Phase. He would also have to start spreading his hero points to power another form of magic, which overall makes your character weaker in heroquest. But that's not to say it doesn't happen. He would then have access to glamours as well. They can, all lunars can use Lunar grimoires and hang them off their phase, but only if it matches. Other subcults get their charms from her. Jakaleel is a very singular cult. This all changes once you gain the Moon rune itself (normally after gaining the Black Phase) you can use all Lunar magic from all phases. If you've any other questions about this please ask. I did a lot of work for Pavis and HQG on this.

I’d just do it as a human companion. If you start stating it as a spirit you’ve made something else. Rodney the irritating sword sword (value) irritating (value) death rune (value) norbert the worldly staff worldly (value) staff (value) truth rune (value)

putting that together with their lack of metal working means that they could certainly use them, but they'd have to acquire them first.

I don't actually know anything about stirrups, but I had to look up toe loops! and I can't quite understand why :-) The wikipedia article was very informative https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stirrup. The funerary figure from 302AD is amazing (and is clearly a Pol-joni priest with a hazia pipe about to enter the gods world). I wanted to see the other side of the figurine and that led me on to The Great Wall in 50 Objects by William Lindesay. The figure and stirrups is describred there along with an excellent section on modern mongols learning to ride. The relevant section is on google books. https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=UsTeCgAAQBAJ&lpg=PT82&ots=lwgTO8krrT&dq=Western Jin stirrup 302&pg=PT79#v=snippet&q="However, for most of"&f=false William Lindesay does credit steppe nomads for inventing the stirrup, but he's clearly talking about a mounting loop, the next part makes much more sense with metal making skills needed for full development. The final quote of the section best sums it up for me - "Stirrups changed herders into warriors". However they seem too advanced for Glorantha with perhaps only dwarves using them when riding war-dinosaurs.

This touches on an interesting point made by @M Helsdon a few pages back. Just because we have all the parts of the technology doesn't mean we have it. I think wheelbarrows were the example. I would also like to add that some advances are lost for perhaps cultural reasons. They may be taboo or the group of people who had the advance is wiped out foe some reason. The dwarves send goblers to eat lost/stolen dwarf secrets. The golden age of riders may have been full of stirrups and super saddles, but if they didn't make it to the dawn age no one has it. Are there stirrups and saddles on the gods wall? Have a look the dawn map in the guide who has these things, they were very small populations?

Born in the saddle, you get your own mount when you are big enough. Skill and practice of a lifetime on an impala. It's not second nature it is your only way of existing. I believe it's impossible for us imagine such integration between mount and rider. Most people are very disconnected nowadays with this kind of relationship. The only people who come close in our society are those who ride professionally every day as job - like park rangers or police or if you work full time in stables (and ride).

More likely your neighbours. The Pol-joni buffer zone stops most of the other tribes scouts (you have to scout the target first). It would be the Pol-joni who do the raiding and they would be after horses and cattle as they are the prizes in their tribe.

Javelins still count as missile weapons.

carry on - it still counts as technology and materials.

I agree. bear in mind that female impalas have no horns, but it's normally large bulls that are selected for mounts. Hunters often select cows as they are more manoeuvrable and have no horns. With sables the overriding factor in selection of mounts is the backward facing horns. For this reason, most mounts are cows with their shorter less curved horns. Bulls can have their horns realigned. After 1625, Only one of the three remaining sable phratries use bows, the other two use javelins. Prior to 1625, one of two destroyed phratries used bows, the other used javelins.

I believe Glorantha likely has a full range of plants used for ritual/medical/pleasure and that Hazia is the boring "weed" of Genertela.. If you are interested I suggest you find a copy of Narcotic Plants Paperback by William A. Emboden, I've the 1982 revised and enlarged paperback: https://www.amazon.com/Narcotic-Plants-William-Emboden/dp/0020628404 It's an ethnobotanical/ethnography of a vast range of plants and fungi of our world. It splits them into The Hypnotica, the sedatives and tranquillisers, including the opiates. Tobacco Hallucinogens. Including snuffing tubes for various dried plants made of bird skulls, ceramic or hollow stems. Stimulants, with an excellent section on tea and coffee. I had no idea that Haysan tea was smoked in England the 1900s. Inebrients, including alcohol. One of methods of consumption for one of the plants involves slicing gashes into your scalp then rubbing the bulb into the cut... and this particular section could be an adventure in itself: It's not going to be any good unless it's the correct fish tongue. So smoking, snuffing, eating, drinking, inhaling while in a tent, incised into a cut, complex preparation methods, just so it works (Ayushka), stuck in your cheek like tobacco or coca with lime (not the fruit).

Thanks for the link @M Helsdon. It reminded me that we have a horse archer in our RPG group. I'm not sure what group he's with but I found the links to the British and local associations. Although they focus on modern course archery it does of course give insights into historical horse archery and the practicality of it and cool pics and vids: Bareback horse archery: http://mountedarchery.net modern stuff but gives a sense of how it works: http://www.barcroft.tv/horse-archery-centre-of-horseback-combat-london-uk

Greg's notes are quite clear on their basis, we actually have his reference from his original Nomad Gods notes. The height provides an advantage (significant enough), along with their speed. Major Tribes Herd beasts Reference table (part) Bison High Llama Sable Herd men Impala Male (ave) 1500 lbs 1600 lbs 525 lbs 175 lbs 135 lbs Female (ave) 900 lbs 1000 lbs 500 lbs smaller horns 130 lbs 100 lbs no horns Age to 25 To 40 To 18 To 50 To 15 Top Speed (Riding animal - burst) To 35 mph to 40 mph To 35 mph To 25 mph (not ridden) to 56 mph

I'm not saying I like or agree with this particular illustration (I'm not even sure what book it's in). I always refer player to @M Helsdon's excellent silhouettes in HeroQuest Glorantha page 210 and now we also have 13G's collection starting page 451.

This is a group of animals clearly drawn to fit them in to a limited space. None appear to be correctly scaled. It gives a sense of what they look like, the stats will and description will show the sizes. Greg’s not involved and the animal size likely hasn’t changed since RQ: High Llama These are tall, giraffe-like camelids, often larger than bison. Unlike modern camels they have only a slight single hump. Bulls stand up to 12 feet tall and weigh on average 1600lbs, with cows being shorter and weighing in at an average 1000lbs. Their heads are relatively small compared with the rest of the body, and their legs are long and stilt-like. Bulls and cows are mid-brown in color with occasional variation. In Dark and Storm season their coats thicken slightly. High llamas can live for up to 40 years.

Stirrups and saddles came up a few times in my praxian play tests. I side stepped the argument by letting the players decide. Some thought their hero would look cooler bareback and stirrupless. Others thought they should have both, one or the other or none. Most though a minimum of a blanket for comfort would look best as it can be colourful and or rune strewn. Most agreed that khans would never use them even if they existed and I liked that. So stirrups and saddles are for beginners amongst the praxians. Some people will never progress and like comfort.

Another alternative would be to reduce the number of cults to what we got in Cults of Prax or CoT. That will give you plenty more time. As you can tell those two books were the gold standard for me. Then you can just trickle the cults out in the odd supplement.

I really hated how Chaosium released Cults of Prax and then we had to wait for cults of terror. It really ruined Runequest for me and now Jeff’s going to do it again. I’m deeply disappointed that Chaosium are wasting their art budget when they should be trying to clone Jeff. We might as well give up on all of it now.

Of course it wouldn’t. It’s dark so you couldn’t see it.

Yes in Sartar.

Only at the Paps and then very limited, likewise limited with the oasis folk. As has been previously mentioned, it’s not an import.

For those not reading the article but just looking at the pictures: @Jeff said

I really enjoyed this The Stormbull fire-pit is hopping tonight. Gung-gar has had his slaves fetch out his hidden skins of high Llama ayrag and freely admits when he hands you the roasted Impala leg that he is worried that there’s not enough booze here tonight. He nods to the cloaked figure in the bone cuirasse sitting to one side, a war boomerang lies on the floor in front of him. “If it wasn’t for him and the six skins of bison kumis he brought, your horn would be empty”

I’m not convinced by this. There are no permanent structures outside of the Paps itself. Given that Praxians import all their metal (steal it as well), hot metal working is going to be rare. I’d suggest that outside of Pavis, Tourney Altar, Adari and Barbarian Town have the nearest hot metal workers. The pol-Joni likely access nearby sartarite settlements.