soltakss

Quote

Can a Shaman act as an intermediary for any god?

In my Glorantha, Shamans can interact with any deity by contacting that deity and negotiating either personal Runespells or Runespells for a Spirit Cult. Not that Malkion probably doesn't count as a deity in this case, unless he grants Runespells in which case he can be contacted.

On 3/28/2024 at 8:11 AM, EricW said:

Are there any gods who only communicate through priests and rune lords, whom a shaman cannot contact and worship?

Most deities have Priests or Rune Lords but they can still be contacted by Shamans.

On 3/28/2024 at 12:53 PM, Geoff R Evil said:

I would add that, even if a gm allows shamanic contact with a god it would only be if there was strong runic alignments….or if the god wanted something from the shaman….beware Gods with an ask!

Shamans generally have few Runic ties. If they do then they probably belong to a Spirit Tradition and find it easier to contact similar deities. However,  a Shaman of a Water-Rune based Spirit Tradition could, in theory, contact a Fire deity, it is just harder.

On 3/20/2024 at 1:57 PM, Darius West said:

Yeah yeah, Thed's not to blame.  She didn't want to be Ragnaglar's girlfriend.  She didn't want to unleash Chaos and destroy countless lives.  She's just a victim in all this.  Chop her head off Erannina Chan, we all know she tried to sexually assault Orlanth.

Where is the myth for this? I can't remember seeing it.

On 3/21/2024 at 9:45 AM, Darius West said:

In what way is the world a better place because of the Unholy Trio?  Thed tried to use disguise and subterfuge to obtain sex from Orlanth, and that is sexual assault.  That is a sexual attack on Ernalda's main husband.  Not all of us buy into the illuminated nonsense that up is down, purple is orange, evil is good, and Thed is a victim.  You know a tree by its fruit, and there are exactly 2 broos who deserve to live, and I'm not entirely sure about 1 of them.

Evil is rarely absolute.

However, I'd like to see what the myth says before drawing conclusions.

55 minutes ago, Tatterdemalion Fox said:

2 hours ago, Darius West said:

No.  Thed TRIES to rape Orlanth.
 

I do not appreciate nitpicking about a myth which is from the out-of-print zine The Book of Drastic Resolutions: Chaos (1995), itself a supplement to the out-of-print book Lords of Terror (1994), particularly when that nitpicking is used as a dodge. Do you have anything to say about the quoted paragraph and what it means?

I can't find any myths of Thed in the Book of Drastic Resolutions, so I am not sure what the myth referred to is. The myth from the Book of Heortling Mythology shows how Thed became the Goddess of Rape, but nothing that I could see there shows her seducing Orlanth.

Here is the description of Thed from the Book of Heortling Mythology.

Here is the myth from the Book of Heortling Mythology. I assume that Orlanth's Brother is Ragnaglar.

On 3/17/2024 at 9:41 PM, LivingTriskele said:

I’m considering a total of 40 bonus cultural skill points per character with a maximum +15% per combat skill and +35% per non-combat skills. Does that seem fair?

40 seems really low, considering the point made that Mythras gives 100. I wouldn't restrict to combat and non-combat, personally, although you might want to limit how many points someone can put into a skill. One Investigator in a Call of Cthulhu campaign in one of our old gaming groups had Shotgun 200% as he put all his points into Shotgun, because "I really like shotguns", he wasn't a great Investigator until it came to shooting things.

Elder Secrets describe how clay Mostali (Dwarves) reproduce, a shameful act involving grinding a pestle with a mortar for hours on end. So, Dwarves have parents.

For me, an Ancestor Cult is not something that springs into being, it is more a social entity borne of many generations. So, a Shaman would not normally suddenly become an ancestor worshipper. However, Cults of Prax has Baboons trading Summon Ancestor with a non-ancestor worshipper who can use it to summon an ancestor, so you don't need to be in an ancestor-worshipping cult to summon ancestors. That means that a Dwarf who wants to worship ancestors needs first to be able to join Daka Fal, then needs to start summoning ancestors and building up a family tree. It is possible, of course, to summon random ancestors and find out who they are.

On 3/16/2024 at 10:09 PM, MoreTimeThanSense said:

So, one of my players asked me the above question and it got me wondering if there's any official word/artwork either way?

Yes, why wouldn't they?

What I tend to do is to look for something similar and base the race on that, with adjustments based on what the race is like.

So, a race might be like an Elf but stronger, or like a human but bigger, so add a D6 to the STR or SIZ stat.

If you use hit locations then choose the best fit, or make something up if the race is unusually-shaped. Many races will be humanoid, or humanoid with a tail, or humanoid with wings, or a humanoid with four arms, so those are generally available.

Choose base skills as appropriate. A feline race might have heightened senses so might get bonuses to Scan, Listen, and have a new Smell skill, for example. Background/Cultural skills could be generic or specific, depending on your setting. So, a feline race of humanoids might be brought up in a Civilised or Barbarian culture, or might have specific cultures of their own.

Magic entirely depends on your setting and how you have spells. Do you have RQ-style Cults? Is magic generic and freely available? Is magic only taught in specialist schools? Do different races and cultures have different magic?

6 hours ago, g33k said:

Lookin atchu, Magasta, with your  alongside your ...

Far too big for the little Durulz, in my opinion, although coastal Durulz might have a different opinion.

6 hours ago, g33k said:

But also, Urox got that  +  thang goin' on.

Some people say that Durulz call Storm Bull Storm Bill, but I never have that in my games. So, Durulz can worship Storm Bull.

6 hours ago, g33k said:

And of course, everyone knows the Ducks are only "small" because so much of their mass is stuck in the chip on their shoulder... so the whole vengeance-y aspects of Babeester Gor should appeal to (at least some) Durulz.

Maybe, but female Durulz don't seem as petty, mean, and vengeful as males, for some reason. Maybe they are and I am doing them a disservice.

With the stripey costume it looks like a prisoner of some sort

On 3/2/2024 at 9:55 PM, Zalain said:

On 12/23/2023 at 9:46 PM, soltakss said:

Yes, if they are non-magical

So, if a Telmori falls from a ridge, cliff, etc... or a tall tower to the ground, he/she would get up as nothing?

Yes, in my game, no according to David Scott.

On 3/7/2024 at 4:56 PM, Snugz said:

It sounds like a Storm Age thing, but where it might be (~south/east of Nida, etc.), the GtG age maps (Appendix E) just show forest/ocean in early Storm, then Greatwood (middle Storm into Lesser Darkness), then ~Deadwood (Chaos Age), back to Greatwood (Grey Age). It's there by the Dawn (p126 Guide). I guess the Appendix E maps are just too zoomed-out to show it, and it was hidden in Forest (where the Hykimi Serpent Beasts would have been too, perhaps). And so yeah, maybe in the Storm Age sometime. Or, is there something I've missed?

My guess, and it is entirely a guess, is that it would have happened in the Storm Age Greatwood, before it became Deadwood. It all depends whether it happened before the slaying of Yelm (Early Storm Age) or after (Later Storm Age/Lesser Darkness).

On 3/5/2024 at 4:44 AM, EricW said:

If illumination teaches that law and chaos are interchangeable, yet Storm Bull's sense chaos implies that chaos is something separate and different which can be sensed, how can an illuminated Storm Bull believe law and chaos are the same thing, yet still be able to sense chaos?

We have played that they can, as Storm Bull is uneasy about Chaos.

However, in the narrative in Cults/Lords of Terror, Oddi the Keen becomes Illuminated and cannot sense the Crimson Bat. Now, you could argue that he was more then 10 metres away so he wouldn't have been able to sense it anyway, but the implication is that Illuminates might not be able to sense chaos.

My view is to keep it simple and allow Illuminates to Sense Chaos.

1 hour ago, Sir_Godspeed said:

Woah, wait, the ACTUAL dragon pass has a giant dragon skull over it?! I am just learning about this now! Is this still canon, or is it just a specific version that Oracle cited that might be no longer canonical?

It has always been part of Glorantha. The actual Dragon Pass is tiny compared to the wider Dragon Pass that surrounds it.

1 hour ago, Sir_Godspeed said:

Also, on another note, since this is apparently the only crossing possible - is it heavily fortified on either side, or is the "only" a bit of an exaggeration?

It is a dragon skull and has no fortifications that I know of. People could try and take control of the pass, stopping people from passing through, but the Dragonewts might have something to say about that. Someone tried that in one of my campaigns and the skull just took a big chunk out of them as a warning.

On 2/29/2024 at 10:31 AM, Snork said:

The question I have what's the usuaul custom with equipment would it be returned or kept as war booty?

I suppose it depends on the situation, the power of the person being ransomed, and the power of their clan, cuit or other organisation paying the ransom.

Capturing a yokel from a hick backwoods clan with no real force means that the ransomee could be given a kick up the rear and sent off without any belonging, with little fear of reprisal. That would not be particularly honourable, though.

Capturing a Storm Bull Rune Lord who is the leader of a thousand Storm Bull initiates might mean that they are released with all their equipment intact and some food and drink for their journey home.

Don't forget the story of Julius Caesar who was captured by pirates, he told the pirates that they weren't asking enough as a ransom, then spent a few years eradicating pirates in that area as revenge.

Clan feuds are a big thing in Glorantha and feuds can be started by treating prisoners poorly, including taking all their stuff.

On 2/26/2024 at 10:29 PM, Nick Brooke said:

If I understand it correctly, the question is: “Why don’t Friendly Local Game Stores share perfect information about when their distributors will be able to order and deliver product from Chaosium’s warehouses, when the Chaosium itself doesn’t yet know when those products will reach those warehouses?”

But that’s obviously a silly question, so I must be missing some nuance.

I think that people think that Chaosium shares release information with games stores before they share it with normal people.

14 hours ago, Super Thunder Bros. said:

So the basic vibe is a lot of Chaos remnants and the danger that brings.

Yes.

14 hours ago, Super Thunder Bros. said:

So I'm getting the vibe that it's home to exiles and new starters.

Yes.

14 hours ago, Super Thunder Bros. said:

Is it more of a colonization, taming a frontier vibe, or a place for criminals/a backwater to be exiled or feel to?

Yes. 🙂

It is both. The Lunars use it as a dumping ground for troublemakers - Come to the lovely Risklands or die as a rebel. They have a policy of open and permitted worship of Orlanth and Storm Bull in the Risklands as they assume that members of those cults will probably die soon anyway, due to the proximity of Dorastor. However, the Risklands is also about the taming of a frontier, and all the settler tropes will fit in nicely. It can be thought of as a colonization, especially as part of the aim is to reclaim parts of Dorastor itself, something that will be covered in Hahlgrim's War.

5 hours ago, Super Thunder Bros. said:

Gotta say this is the first time I’ve heard if Doraster, looking into it now but could you give me the basic rundown?

Dorastor, arguably the most dangerous Chaos Nest, or set of Chaos Nests, in Glorantha. Site of a lost God Time civilisation and re-energised in the First Age, it became the site of the God Project, whereby the participants created a new God, at the Sunstop, Osentalka, which didn't turn out as expected. It cursed the Trolls and Dragonewts that had withdrawn from the project, then showed two faces to the world, the benign face of Nysalor and the malign face of Gbaji. Arkat the Destroyer fought with Gbaji for two generations, even going so far as being brought back from Hell on a Lightbringers Quest, whilst the inhabitants of Dorastor took on more eldritch and Chaotic powers to fight Arkat, then Arkat destroyed Gbaji at the Tower of Dreams in Dorastor. Arkat cleansed Dorastor of Chaos, putting a curse on it for years. In the Second Age, Dorastor was reawakened and was ruled by Ralzakark, Demon-King of the Broos. Since then it has burst from its bounds several times, vomiting chaos into Peloria. In the Third Age, the Mad Sultan was ricked in his rampage across Peloria and was taken to Dorastor where he has lived ever since. Recently, the Red Emperor made a trade deal with Ralzakark and agreed that the local Orlanthi could worship freely as long as they founded a new Clan to guard the borderlands of Dorastor. 

The Risklands campaign details the people of the Risklands, or Renekotling Clan, as they guard the border. Other areas of Dorastor have been detailed, generally in Chaosium's Dorastor Land of Doom and Lords of Terror, in the Book of Drastic Resolutions (Chaos) fanzine, and in the very non-canonical Secrets of Dorastor and the Holiday Dorastor series of Jonstown Compendium supplements.

Some people say that it is a very dangerous place, but they probably haven't been there.

The following broadsides from Dorastor Land of Doom give a flavour of Dorastor and the Risklands.

We even have a map of Dorastor.

If you want to use Quick Character Generation, Holiday Dorastor: Risklands summarises all the published Homelands, including ones from Jonstown Compendium, in simple one-page formats.

21 hours ago, glarkhag said:

In times gone before one could become a Wind Lord by having Hide and Move Quietly amongst your mastered skills. These skills are specifically discounted for initiates in RQG so I presume they are considered cult skills. What is the reasoning behind not counting them for Wind Lord status now?

Maybe because Orlanth the Bandit is not the preferred way of thinking about Orlanth Adventurous? I have stopped looking for rational reasons behind design decisions and instead embrace, or ignore, the change.

18 hours ago, Super Thunder Bros. said:

I thought a clan game may be a good shout, possibly young members to learn about the world (though that’s got me second guessing too), so instructed my players along those lines. I have: a teenage Stormbull herder, Issaries diplomat, Orlanth Thunderous farmer (all 3 are cousins, family history means they’re pretty anti-Lunar) and a loner Heler hermit of sorts.

So I just don’t know where to go from here? I have ideas about the game being about plains and riding animals but nothing seems to fit, and am willing to drop that if it doesn’t go anywhere. I do want to explore an Egyptian/Indian vibe with this game so am drawn towards Holy Country and it’s cities (Esrolia and Heortland)

I also wanna explore Lunar occupation, Beast valley and chaos remnants. The residents of Prax appeal to me the most: Baboons, the block, Morokanth and their herdmen, half giants, the Dark Sun-post-apocalyptic atmosphere. I thought Pavis had simply too much going on lorewise and factions however but I could be wrong.

So to boil it down what I love about Glorantha: the real bronze age weirdness with bizarre cities, the multiple apocalypses, spiritual metaphysics and community-centered adventures where you deal with the troubles related to being people who live in a place so saturated with magic that random things just can't help but keep happening.

This sounds like Sartar, so playing as members of a Sartarite Clan makes sense. Also, playing as a Dorasing Clan in Pavis County might fit, and you can throw in Praxian Nomads as well, which seems to suit you.

Or, as a bit of a challenge, look at the Dorastor series of supplements. Now that Holiday Dorastor: Risklands is out you can easily start in the Renekotling Clan, so that gives you a detailed clan with lots of clan politics. It has Lunar Occupation, of sorts, as it is near the Lunar Empire and is really part of a Lunar Client State. Dorastaland could be your Esrolia analogue. Beast Valley might be a problem, though, as there isn't that kind of thing outside Dorastor itself. Then Dorastor is nearby, with all the splendid danger that it represents.

On 2/19/2024 at 5:31 PM, Jason Farrell said:

Nice to see you back on the JC, Simon!

Thanks 🙂

RQ3 was a better rules set than RQ2, but the RQ2 rulebook and supplements just oozed setting loveliness.

We played many a game with RQ2 and thoroughly enjoyed it, but that was 40 years ago. 

So, give it a go. The PDFs are cheap enough to buy and discard if you don't like it.

On 2/20/2024 at 2:59 AM, littlewitchmaus said:

i am so excited to grab this!

Thanks, I hope you enjoy it