David Scott

Wyrm's Footnotes 8, Gods & Goddesses of Glorantha: Part Four - Spirits of the Sea, has some rudimentary family trees. Does anyone know of a more recent one for the Sea Gods?

By canon you mean the Guide (and possibly RQ3 Gloranthan Bestiary and HW Anaxial's Roster). Are these the only sources?

Yes. He's just not as good with it. It will have to be a standalone grimoire not hung off his phase, starting at 13. Yes, the sorcery rules on HG p174 apply. Be aware that the Lunar Sorcerer's cult may have access to dozens of Grimoires, so the limitation may not actually be a problem. The lunars definitely have a policy of finding new grimoires and translating them. The full cult of Irrippi Ontor certainly has access to dozens of Grimoires, mostly based around Truth, Illusion and Fire. Others exist but must be standalone.

Glamours: direct use of the Lunar Phase or Moon rune. Yes, this is pure Lunar magic. A glamour is something you create. The rules for glamours are the same as normal Rune magic, spells and charms. Mechanically there is no difference. Glamours mimic the runes the phase replaces. The real difference is they are subject to the moons cycles. Lunar Evocations: direct use of a Lunar Phase or Moon Rune to create glamours that mimic the Rune Magic of the runes the phase can replace. No feats are available. Lunar spells: direct use of a Lunar Phase or Moon Rune to create glamours that mimic sorcery of the runes the phase can replace. Note that Lunar sorcerers may have normal spells and grimoires without the moon rune or phases that are not cycle linked. As soon as a grimoire has a phase or a spell containing a phase in it becomes subject to the Moon's cycle. Lunar charms: direct use of a Lunar Phase or Moon Rune to create charms that mimic the charms of the runes the phase can replace. The Lunar tradition is like any other spirit tradition. It has spirit societies that specialise in particular aspects of working with spirits. Moon spirits can be associated with any phase and are tied to the moon's cycle. Tradition members have access to the spirit world of the Moon where most moon spirits come from. There are also charms and societies that don't access moon related spirits. Yes sorry for the delay in replying to this. I only just spotted it. It's been a long time since I worked on the Lunar magic. Be aware that this is only for Lunar magic, other moon rune based magic maybe different (e.g. the moon magic of the Twisters is tied to their cycle).

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I made near complete copies of the websites in 1998, 2003, 2006, 2013 using some simple site scraping software so I could access the info offline. The Ten Stonewall Phalanxes page from 2001 is near identical to an unpublished and incomplete work from 1997 called "The Lunar Army". Greg wrote: The Ten Stonewall Phalanxes The Stonewall regiments were some of the first of the Hightlight Regiments. Unlike most other (later) units, these all shared two characteristics rather than being different. These magic effects were: Ability to stand against an impacting charge and take much less damage than a normal infantry unit. Ability to be unbeatable if with other 9 similar units. Each also had a traditional foe, against whom they were especially effective in melee. The military units, which were later called the Ten Traditional Phalanxes, were all extant in the time of Khordavu, and helped that great Emperor to hold his throne. At that time they all had their own mythic connections with other war gods which gave them their great durability and fervor. They served in peace and war and through the Arkat Wars. For this whole time, whenever all ten fought side by side, they were invincible. This perfection was not to last as units were slowly eliminated forever, beyond resurrection. The first one destroyed, the Basalt Phalanx, was destroyed by "the Toga-man's pet" (ie- Emperor Anirinelm, c. 500, under the commands/influence of Ordanestyu) as traitors in the Enestool Rebellion. The second, the Onyx, was destroyed by Dragons, swallowed whole. [This is also called the Belly-boys, and can still be magically contacted, but cannot be found. It figures largely in common soldierly tales, whenever they fart, but it is beyond me how the regiment got transferred from the belly of the dragon to the belly of the storytellers.] The Slate Phalanx was the third, destroyed by the Carmanians, specifically Cartavar the Conquerer, who recalled the regimental god's human form, then beheaded the god and mounted it atop his own fortress. The Quartz Phalanx was fourth, destroyed in fighting against the Red Goddess and Yanafal Tarnils. Its destruction was one of the deciding issues for the other Traditional Regiments to acknowledge Yanafal Tarnils as their newest God of War. Fifth destroyed was the Diamond Phalanx, crushed and mangled by the Mad Sultanate on one of its invasions. Those of the Ten Traditionals are: (The format used is:) 0. Name; war god; special foe; Headquarters; fate 1. Granite Phalanx; Polaris; digijelm; Melsorkoth; extant 2. Beryl Phalanx; Urvairinus; Ram People; Darleep; extant 3. Marble Phalanx; Polaris; Darkness Camp of War; Mesavos (Naveria); extant 4. Jasper Phalanx; Polaris; bird people; Kalvostos (Naveria); extant 5. Basalt; Deity*; hates sokastori [no idea what this is]; Iothaka; traitors, destroyed by Erzanestyu 6. Diamond; Deity*; enemy*; Yuthuppa; destroyed by Mad Sultanate 7. Quartz; Urvairinus; bird people; Katchpidi; destroyed by Lunar Army 8. Slate; Deksdeddius[local war god]; matti Kukur, or Hilltop Bandit People; HQ*; destroyed by Carmanians 9. Emeraldite; Deity*; enemy*; HQ*; destroyed by Sheng Seleris 10. Onyx; Deity*; enemy*; *; swallowed by dragon The Flint and Lavic Legions, despite their mineral-names, are not among these, despite some ill-informed writers attempts to make it so. It is worth noting here that these ancient Stonewall units generally survived the vast slaughter of the Dragonkill. This was due to their having been assigned to the Home Garrison Army by Elmexdros, along with most of the other Traditional Units. They, considered old and inferior, were left behind to guard the women when the Golden Horde marched south to their destruction. Latest revision: 2 Apr 2001, new

I've had a look in the Wayback Machine: http://web.archive.org/web/http://terpconnect.umd.edu/~gerakkag/ but nothing was found - could you check your URL.

The latest Vassal Engine update reminded me that their may be newcomers here with Dragon Pass and/or Nomad Gods that don't know about this. What is Vassal? Vassal is a game engine for building and playing online adaptations of board games and card games. Play live on the Internet or by email. Vassal runs on all platforms, and is free, open-source software. http://www.vassalengine.org/index.php There are two modules of interest to Glorantha fans: http://www.vassalengine.org/wiki/Module:Nomad_Gods http://www.vassalengine.org/wiki/Module:Dragon_Pass You need the original games to play these.

I looked into the relationship between the mosquitos and Mallia. Lords of Terror says: "Insects. Malia is associated with certain insects, notably flies and a few types of beetles. Malia defeated some of Gorakiki's children in the Darkness, and she gains power from this association. Such insects are the preferred hosts for cult spirits, especially Spirits of Disease, which can possess such insects even though most diseases (except for certain insect-specific diseases) do not affect them; this is an exception to the normal disease rules." The mosquitos here are irritating as they bite, not because they are disease carrying. The Gorakiki shrine here is a powerful centre of power for them. Waha was undoubtably involved in its establishment, there's likely a rare Task called Waha and Gorakiki, known to a few Khans / shaman who are also members of the Shadow People spirit society . A Broo shaman would undoubtably want to change this relationship and convert them to disease carriers. This is a plot hook for players to involve them. Being drawn into a Mallia defeating Gorakiki HeroQuest is undoubtably a cool adventure.

- a slight rewrite: Evolution doesn't exist in Glorantha and so doesn't follow similar pattern to Earth. It is solely driven by Magic and Mythology. But your Glorantha may vary.

This is Mallia's role in the Wastelands, as the Paps seeks to return fertility, Malia seeks to pervert it with disease. This is the work of Gorakiki, seeking to reestablish her children in the Wastelands. There are spiders in the Wastes as the children of the spider tribe, the offspring of Spider Grandmother. Isn't it hard enough with the lack of fertility. It's not instant, takes a while. Of course they use chips for fires. Maybe Gorakiki has got Dung beetles there. Theses are great hooks for troll adventures. What are the trolls doing at Bigglestone. Don't forget the Gorakiki shrine in the mosquito marsh.

It's my intention to portray the Wastelands as a very nearly destroyed god's garden that has barely survived into time. I'm not intending to model it using ecology (hence my "Ecology" in the title) or real world evolution. I've studied enough of both evolution and ecology at uni, to know what to avoid. So This is my starting point, erase from your minds, the real world of animals, ecological niches, etc. I fully understand that your Glorantha will vary, but that can come later. So lets head back to the Great Darkness. Genert's garden is destroyed, it's fertility lost, Genert is dead. Eiritha's been buried to avoid death and there are pockets of survivors being barely sustained by those who will later become Waha's friends and part of the Praxian tradition. Waha gets everyone together and realises that the fertility is so badly damaged that without magical intervention, it's not going to be sustainable. Waha also ties the Wastelands back together, the damage is so bad that parts float away and are lost. Only that which Waha ties together is saved. At the Dawn Ernalda does not return to the Wastelands, she can exist only at the Paps and then only really through her daughter Eiritha. Aldrya only exists at the paps, along with a few other fertility related gods. The only fertile spot is the Eiritha Hills and the sacred ground around the Paps. There is no land god or goddess present in the Wastelands. Any other fertility or plant can be brought into the Wastes, but has to fight to remain. Other sources of fertility are clearly the Zola Fel, a few other rivers and the Oases. At the Dawn there are the tribes of the covenant, the independents and a few animal that survived the Great Darkness for their own reasons. The Basmoli are clearly the source of the lions. Tigers I'm unsure about - but there is clearly a cool myth called Waha and the Tigers. If we drew a fertility map of the Wastes, it would be more fertile at the edges, around water, the Eiritha hills. Fertility like Ronance is ephemeral and localised. This is exactly how it works. Unicorns returned due to a Green Age heroquest, War Zebras were bred magically by expert Pure Horse People breeders fulfilling a Paps prophesy to return the Zebras. There was also a Green Age Heroquest involved - just think who the Zebra founder really is. Plants brought in by invaders need fertility magic to stay - the sun domers did it, Dorosar's settlers did it, Pavis did it. Ernalda and Aldrya at the Paps are clearly involved in this, as are the 48 old ones for some of the crops that are now successfully grown. The broken fertility needs something big to change it, this comes with the Hero Wars, but not without a price.

I was working with the idea that there were 2-3 plants associated with each type of Herd beast. Given there were 21 original herd types, there were 50-60 plants at the Dawn. As the Herd types diminished so did the plants. Healing herbs are rare, and are mentioned in the Guide. A few oases, and Eyebrow. I'd limit all healing plants to the sacred area and the Eiritha Hills. Bear in mind that there are other plants by water, in the zola fell valley etc. The High priestess of Aldrya at the paps always encourages heroquests to establish plants, she clearly works with the elves of the Garden in the Rubble to this end. Haven't yet got an animal list other than what's in Pavis GtA.

To the west of Corflu, below Defenders Shore lies the Mosquito Marsh, then as it reaches Sog's ruins it becomes Sog Marsh. The marshes disappear completely south of Cam's Well (AAA p30). Here's the full version the Guide text is based on (too much detail for the Guide): "Mosquito Marsh: This unpleasant coast is avoided by Praxians because of the clouds of biting insects that plague it. It has the highest concentration of insects anywhere on the Bleak and Defenders Shore. Occasionally small groups of trolls enter the area, travelling down from Bigglestone to visit the shrine of Gorakiki-Mosquito hidden deep in the marsh. Sometimes they are accompanied by a Praxian shaman." "Sog Marsh: Once the site of a Waertagi port in the Storm Age. It was destroyed during the Great Flood, and nothing now remains but marshy earth and millions of biting insects. The marsh exist in the Spirit World as well." The mosquitos are not disease carrying.

Wildfire isn't really a problem as Oakfed is tamed by Waha and the Burners spirit society look after him. It's one of the tasks of Waha to prove you are a Khan: Waha and Oakfed (Solo) In the Great Darkness, Oakfed burned the world, helped by those he warmed. As Waha approached him, Oakfed burned hotter. Waha knew someone who had a tame fire. He went to Helpwoman and asked how she kept her cooking fire under control. She taught him the secrets of being a firekeeper, and showed him how to make his own sacred fire horn. Now Waha approached Oakfed, and taunted him that he could not burn what was inside. Oakfed leapt and Waha caught him. Waha knew that Oakfed and his family had had useful skills. They helped people survive. He made Oakfed and his family a new home in the Burners spirit society, and promised to release Oakfed and his family if they will help everyone who is a firekeeper. Khans of this task know the rituals of Befriend fire spirits, and Trick fire spirit. Task: Learn to be a firekeeper from Helpwoman. Make a firehorn and trick Oakfed at the Fireground. Holy or Spirit place: Monkey Ruins, Fireground. Applicable Task(s): Waha and Foundchild. Boon: Benefits dealing with all with fire based activity, social, martial, fire spirits, and the Burners spirit society. Associated Charms and Rituals (Mastery) Subdue Fire Elementals (Mastery) Befriend fire ritual (Mastery) Trick fire spirit Wildfire is the intentional releasing of Oakfed. The problem is the taboo you get when you learn to release Oakfed: (fire) Oakfed. Oakfed is the raw raging wildfire with power to spread. The taboo associated with this charm is Do Not Prevent Fire from Spreading. The shaman who heads the Burners spirit society needs his Khan's permission to release Oakfed, something not done lightly.

@Joerg's post Termites in the Wastes http://basicroleplaying.org/topic/4425-termites-in-the-wastes/ reminded me of the critter section for the upcoming Prax book. Initially I was a bit daunted that I would have to populate the Wastelands with creatures to possibly emulate a real ecology, so I ignored it for three years and came back to it. My realisation is that the Wastes don't have a rich "ecology". It has a limited damaged one maintained by a magical pact with the gods. I don't have to fill it. The main cycle is Earth -> Plant -> Herd beast -> humans/predators -> Earth. Any waste returns directly to the Earth to be reused. Fertility is finite, what was Genert's Garden has lost its fertility. There isn't much plant waste at all, most is eaten at some point. There are other creatures in the wastes, but not many. The encounter table sums it up in Pavis GtA, some birds not many species, perhaps only 6 or 7, predators 4 or 5, other small herbivores 4 or 5. Insects - some, flies, mosquitos on the coast, 1 species of ant, a beetle or two, but not the rich ecology of a chaparral. The richest places will be those adjacent to water. Oasis will have 1 or 2 other animal types. Rivers have fish etc. Plant wise, the Wastes probably only have 20 types including trees. It's not rich or varied by any means. Once Genert's fertility is restored, things will be different.

Although I don't doubt that termites exist in the Wastes, in the magical ecology of Glorantha, dead plant forms slowly transmute back into the earth they can from (Aldrya being the daughter of Ernalda). Herdmen get the bulk of their diet from herd beast meat. I'm sure they can supplement it with termites if need be. One of the themes of the Wastes is an absence of a rich animal ecology. I'll continue this shortly in a separate post:

Because Heroquests happen outside of time, the adversaries don't have come from the same time. They can come from any time, but will generally come from a similar time. Adversaries don't always appear as themselves, so it can be hard to tell who they are. The adversaries that you mention in Yelm's temple are likely fixed denizens who are always there (scenery), not people drawn in - unless of course there's part of a quest where you go and guard the temple). I rule that if it's a dynamic encounter, it can be a drawn in adversary, otherwise they are fixed and part of the scenery. In the real world they would be the painted guards on the temple wall.

If I was running RQ2, I'd certainly let players be dwarfs. Page 90 of RuneQuest Classic details them nicely for players to use.

Where's the submarine mentioned.

The first port of call for all of this is the Guide to Glorantha, if you don't have it the PDFs is available. It covers iron, the evolution of muskets, the cannon cult, the alchemical transformer, disorder kegs based on bowling balls and fuses, steam cannon, lava stuff, etc.

I do actually agree with you on that, I put the tombs in Griffin Mountain. I also used Ferry Village for Borni's Landing and Soldier ferry. However that's only 5% of the books. The rest was junk.

@SDLeary, in comparison with other products maybe yes. I was very disappointed as it was not what I expected. Released the same year as Eldorad was TORG, another of my all time favourite games, that did distract me from my RQ publication fix for a while (and still does).

for a moment I was happy, but then Eldorad and daughters of darkness reared their heads again...

You can't go wrong with Apple Lane. Within are two excellent starter scenarios - Gringles Panshop and the Rainbow mounds. If you want to go large straight away - I cut my teeth on Griffin mountain.