David Scott

Subcults are usually aspects of a god that are different enough to give different benefits, mostly in larger cults (eg Orlanth Thunderous, Orlanth Adventurous, Orlanth Vinga, Orlanth Rex). Hero Cults are usually specific individuals who have contributed to the cult in some way, usually teaching a specific skill, spirit magic or rune magic. Hero cults are usually local and have always been encouraged as a way of adding new magics / skills to your game as they don't alter anything big. There will be a point where some hero cults crosses over with ancestor worship and spirit cults. Usual Cult spirits are those that aren't any that fit into Spirit of Vengence, Allied spirit, specifically detailed cult spirits. Examples include (from upcoming GoG): I starred the ones that have specific summons, the others just use Summon Cult spirit. Ernalda has a large scope. I would imagine there are local elf hero cults. These would likely be detailed only in an appropriate elf book. Shannon Appelcline detailed a number in his elf book, which while for the Second Age, would transfer easily to Third Age locales. Ernalda hero cults are detailed in The Book of Heortling Mythology, Appendix C, Orlanthi Heroes and Hero Cults (pages 174-185): Benevalda, Darasra, Deleen, Demelasra, Derreva, Deserlanda, etc. There are more Orlanth heroes and those for other cults, in the reference above.

Barntar already gives Plow (RBM 69) as a rune spell. Cults spirits are listed in addition to those who already perform a role and usually include a spirit of retribution and Allied spirits. That's the kind of thing. They are tiny remainders, maybe in the temple forever woshipping. These are Hero cults / subcults, they are much more than the usual cult spirits.

To clarify, none listed in the Cult spirits section. You can of course add them for colour in your game. That's great too, it's works under MGF. That's the problem. We don't actually have full cult write ups at the moment, The details are in the upcoming GoG (or older publications).

I'll add it to the official Q&A if you are unsure. Mago has Summon small air elemental, Storm Bull teaches Summon small air elemental.

A cult's spirits are listed in long cult write ups, of which there are no RQG versions at present (except those in the preview GoG). They are usually present in older RQ2 write ups. They are in the subservient cults section. use the right tool for the job: If a cult has a specific summon spell use that, it has a specific set of rules associated with it. If it doesn't check the cults spirits, if available use Summon cult spirit eg Chalana Arroy These are all cult spirits so command cult spirit works on them. For healing spirits use Summon Cult Spirit (Healing Spirit) which is defined in RQG as Summon Healing Spirit 1pt, and specifically broken out as Summon Healing Spirit in the RBM (page 92). Why use the specific summons vs Summon cult spirt. The specific summons has a specific set of rules with it. In this case It's a ritual (so ritual augments work). As it's no longer temporal, the spirit doesn't disappear, so could be easily bound if an appropriate binding enchantment is available. For the other cult spirits, Allied and Spirit of reprisal, a priest would use Summon Cult Spirit and ask for the appropriate spirit (or would have the appropriate spirit sent by the god, given the context of the event). As to why you would use Summon X Elemental" if you could do it already with common magic: The summon elemental rules have specific effects: Finally, just because Summon Cult spirit is a common Rune magic, it's entirely possible for a cult to have no cult spirits or elementals, so the spell isn't usable. Or for all the cult spirits to be covered by specific Summon spirit spells For example Barntar has no associated cult spirits, and Daka Fal's spirits are all covered by specific summon spells. Neither has a use for summon cult spirit (Barntar has no use for Command Cult spirit either).

Which to complicate matters comes from Sherman Kahn, one of the players in Greg's early RQ campaign (and one of the Ringworld RPG designers).

No problems here. https://rapierminiatures.com/

I wouldn't use Summon cult spirit, just because it's a common rune spell, doesn't mean every cult has a use for it. Lots of cults have specialist summon spells instead of Summon cult spirit. In this case Daka Fal's 1 point version is Summon ancestor, the two stackable associates: Summon Spirit Teacher & Summon Specific Ancestor are the 2 point versions (stacked with Summon ancestor) and the 3pt is Incarnate Ancestor.

See Spirit Combat Results table

Just to clarify form the upcoming cults book - "All ancestral spirits are effectively cult spirits." Daka Fal doesn't have any other - no spirit of retrebution or allied spirits. The shaman-priest does of course have a fetch. Anywhere the shaman says is right. I recommend casting Sanctify then Axis Mundi inside it. Anywhere considered appropriate to the ancestors concerned. In the Wastes he has a known holy spot - Daka's Creek (see the Guide) an entrance to the Underworld. Don't forget that Ancestor worship cults are made by reskinning Daka Fal - Votank for example is the Daka Fal cult with an emphasis on Votank (see Griffin Mountain)

Do you have a reference for that?

We found that worked really well, and worked it in retrospectively. It does say "if sufficient opportunity was fulfilled during play to allow conception."

TBH, go with what works for you. I'd like to remind everyone, there's another map! It's in Return to Apple Lane, Sartar Companion (2009), it's available separately here.

There are definitely runes in the Spirit World, there are specific places where they manifest (Spirit Vortices for example). The spirit rune in RQ describes the form for those who can be in the Spirit World. It's whether you can cast that magic in the Spirit World. Parts lost by Soul Loss can be recovered by a shaman. It's a key healing practice amongst shaman. No, spirit possession for example involuntary. Not everything has a spirit. By its nature a corpse has lost its soul. Certainly some would manifest. But things like +4D6 SIZ just make the spirit look larger, others could be adapted like Regenerates 2D6–5 hit points per round (minimum of 1 point) in each injured hit location until dead, could just be changed to magic points or as it says in the Bestiary, "Often a spirit manifests its feature only when it possesses someone." Chaos shaman can bargain with the Bad Man, as he's the equivalent of the Horned Man, they have a linked origin. I'm sure some deities have no interest or power to deal with shaman.

Bodge it. Drop the RQ2 map onto the new one:

I used the RQ3 map so the players could draw on it. I moved the scale for ease in lining it up on Roll20 and squiggled through the two ruined buildings to show they are broken. Roughly the same for me. I used- Dario's Tusk Riders are excellent - https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/312542/Corallos-Zenith-Counters-Tusk-Riders (as are all of his counters). Here's the centre part of the map (after the players had finished), the tusk riders were tiny at the scale.

If it exists in the spirit world then it has a spirit presence. If while discorporate or through soul sight the illusion is visible, then it could have a spirit. Although here I would say that its a manifestation of the illusion rune. Can manifestations of the illusion rune be spirits - yes if in the spirt world. Are they spirit manifestations in the Middle World, not if they are rune magic, yes if it's an illusion spirit. See above. But most of these are manifestations of a god, so runes. Unless they manifest in the Spirit World, they aren't spirits. A physical path could have a spirit or might just be part of a landscape spirit. The sunpath is a celestial path so unlikely to manifest in the spirit world. Trails in the wastes could have a spirit as before or could be manifestations of Ronance. If it can be found in the Spirit World it has a spirit. The trench left by the block is an absence filled by the marsh, It has no spirit, but the marsh does (the corrupted sounder's river at this point). As for Ronance's "ley lines" between Oases, given that his Rune magic Pathway (RBM 68) is directional not path led, I'd say there's no spirit path. Maybe a shaman of his spirit cult can follow the spirit flowers left by his chariot. Personally I'd avoid the use of lay lines in Glorantha, if there are any, they are magic roads. As I mentioned before, extreme passions certainly are, especially if they manifest as disease that wasn't there before. However, there is a crossover here where rune induce this effect too. In shamanism this is a dual effect. First the event causes Soul Loss, part of your spirit/soul leaves with the trauma. Then something else moves into the space, it can be part of the event, passions created by the dying for example. When integrating a spirit into you, you would only ever use a friendly spirit, a neutral or hostile would cause disease. It's the job of the shaman to acquire the right spirits so this doesn't happen.

If you talk to real world animists about this, the answer is pretty clear. Is a dream a spirit - no, but spirits can visit people in dreams. dreams touch the spirit world and maybe a window / portal / entry point into it. Is a vision a spirit - no, but spirits can visit people in visions. Visions touch the spirit world and maybe a window / portal / entry point into it. Is a sensation a spirit - no, but spirits can cause sensations. Not sure what you mean by Paths, but a path across a field could have a spirit that is separate from the field spiri or crop spirit (if present) or be a different part of the field spirit, without the crop. It could be where the field spirit lives when the field is full of crops. Is a passion a spirit - generally no, but some spirits can possess people and cause them to act in a certain way. In RQG these are passion spirits. A real world shaman would classify it as a disease - a disease is spirit in the wrong place, in this case in a body. Using that, real world shaman would call disease, poison, extreme passion, malady (latin - sick-condition) collectively diseases (dis-ease), and deal with them in a similar cultural fashion.

To clarify things in animism - objects, plants, animals, tangible items.

However, it's every thing that has a spirit not the absence of something. Some that you list have a mythological origins too, not just spirits When they reach an abstraction, they are not something that would have a spirit. Poison is a thing, so has a spirit.

In animism, the belief is the everything has a spirit, shamanism is the practice of techniques to deal with these spirits. Poison in the eyes of a shaman has a spirit and can be dealt with as such. In tradition earth shamanism, there is little if any difference between the word disease and poison. This why shaman should be able to deal with poisons, although not all might do so. Shaman that specialise in healing definitely should be able to do it and will likely have a supporting spirit attached to their fetch. Some may even practice transmutation, taking in the poison, having their fetch transmute it to an antidote and then return it to the victim.

The easiest way of a shaman curing poison is to treat it as a spirit (much as disease is a spirit) possessing the victim and so treat it as Exorcism (page 358). Once the POT of the poison spirit is reduced to zero through spirit combat the poison is gone. As with the specific Shamanic Ability of Cure Disease, Cure Poison also exists (just change the word disease to poison). As for the main reasons Healing, Divination and Ancestral intermediaries, I would say are the main ones. Harming your enemies is a sideline, not is specific to most shamanic cultures, as the main three take up most of your time. The Amazon seems to be the major exception to this.

A Golden Bow shaman contacting Yelm for a shamanic ability, is not the same as HeroQuesting to Hell to gain Darkness HeroQuest abilities. In the rules, the abilities might be identical, but he method of obtaining them not. The shamanic abilities are very specific, lesser entities could give other abilities appropriate to their kind, that's what rune spells are. A Troll shaman could adventure to Amanstan's cave and receive fire powers, but not without a sacrifice of some kind, perhaps having to go through Hell Roar. In this case the shaman could start a spirit cult based around the spirit to receive the rune magic (still at double cost). However this would likely cause some consternation among the Zorak Zorani and potential conflict.

Namolding Clan of the Malani tribe

You might also be interested in Hordes of the Things (fantasy wargame rules), which has a Glorantha army list and the Gloarmy pages: http://hordesofthethings.blogspot.com/2013/08/gloranthan-army-lists-for-hordes-of.html http://gloarmy.free.fr/hottarmylist.htm