Joerg

Yes, and reaction drives are common, but chemical rocket drives are extremely rare as they have bad exhaust temperatures/velocities compared to plasma - whether electromagnetically, direct fusion exhaust, or other such means. Then there are ion drives, gouvod for long term acceleration at low thrust rates, like system insertions to aid solar sail braking, or possibly braking by collecting solar wind with a buzzard ramjet. Maneuver drives using chemical drives or "going teakettle" exhausting e.g. superheated steam or a hot flame might be useful in those applications, but the reaction mass to acceleration ratio is simply abysmal. For a setting of my own, I have been looking at a slower-than-light application of the Alcubierre drive, using the warp-tunnel effect to "accelerate" to stellar speeds with manageable/survivable inertial accelerations.

The "l" in "lings" doesn't have to be a diminutive - it also can serve as a "-like-", much like -oid modifies -id in adjectives (e.g. humanoid). And some syllable closings don't lend themselves to direct addition of -ing. There is nothing diminutive in the German term "Wüstling", or in Tolkien's use of "Easterling". Heort himself was a shaman. His personal rune (in Thunder Rebels) symbolifies the antlers of his white deer ancestry (which isn't Hsunchen, but similar). I wonder whether his crown was antlered that way, too (shades of GoT...)

My Yiddish thinks this means an Alpine pub Yes, a masters degree in economy makes you a "Wirt" in German (usually Betriebswirt). Lots of lame puns in that, including the "wer nichts wird wird Wirt". The source you quoted was for mesolithic hunters, but then there is a continuity of technology from the meso- and neolithic all the way into modern times. Lactobacillus is the same organism responsible for solid soured milk (hence its name) and Sauerkraut (and other silage). This is one of several fermentation technologies that have been in use for quite some time. With a steady source of significant amounts of snow, I think that ice cellars are pretty common in Sartar. Ice broken off ponds is denser and will keep longer. Mythically, it is slightly weird to use certain aspects of Darkness (cold, fermentation) to ward off other aspects of it (putrefication).

As long as there remain open (snow free) patches of pasture, keeping the cattle outside saves on the hay. The real world example of transhumance that I am most familiar with is that of the "Almwirtschaft" of the high pastures of the Alp slopes and foothills, and Jeff is quite familiar with that region, too. In case of those highest pasture, you need to get the cattle down before they get trapped by early deep snows, but looking at the Varmandi clan lands, the hills there are significantly lower than the main Quivini peaks, allowing to keep the herds on the distant pasture a little longer. Looking at the herder portraits, I would move the scenario to late Earth Season. I wouldn't wish being caught in the onset of early snows wearing the Bronze Age equivalent of a tank top tunic (p.95)... not even wearing a linothorax (all the time?) with a heavy woolen blanket as a coat. It makes sense to postpone slaughter to the really cold days, makes preserving the meat a lot easier, and there will be some residual pasture near the village after the last hay-making to sustain the beasts that won't be carried through the winter.

The cult of Odayla provides similar shape-shifting rune spells as does the Cult of Telmor, but it takes 8 rune points or so to undergo a full shapeshift, which still feels quite broken to me when comparing it to the shape-shifting availability in HQG. The other (RQ2 canon) shapeshifter is a person touched by Chaos, able to shift shape with a lot less magical effort, but constantly on the lookout for hyper-sensitive Storm Bull initiates or rune lords. The Chaos taint is probably less than that of the Telmori (which started as a gift by Nysalor which then was re-inforced by Talor's curse), but still there, and a magical stigma. There are a few Orlanth myths about shape-shifting - one about the Hidden Kings, heirs of the last King of the Vingkotlings Rastagar who survived in the Greater Darkness by taking beast shape - wolves, IIRC, hunting other beast-shaped humans hiding in the wilderness. King Heort came from a lineage of Deer shapeshifters, the White or Heortling Deer, and there is a 85% chance or better for every living Heortling to be somehow descended from Heort (though not necessarily on the male lineage, that is supposed to have died out, although some unacknowledged child may have continued the male lineages without anybody knowing about it). Another notable shape-shifting Orlanthi noble is Greymane from Maniria, and someone from his lineage could be a were-lion throwback. There are descendants of Sartar among the Telmori, actually the closest royal kin Argrath has according to his declaration to the Colymar. But they wouldn't be worshipers of Orlanth. I think I would go with the RQ2 concept, awakened by a magical incident - possibly in the back-story, but possibly not entirely under the control of the character yet. One of several beast ancestries - bear, alynx, lion, white deer, possibly wolf (possibly a Kodigvari or Telmori inheritance). The Chaos taint will be a problem at times.

Yes, I knew I had read that, but couldn't remember where without re-building my old index. I don't think that any of the existing 25 or so long cult formats for the rune owners and the few extras for Praxian, Chaos and Troll deities would change much. Getting the other ones will be a lot more interesting than textual comparison between say seven versions of the Kyger Litor cult write-up for RQ. Has anybody read the Elder Secrets version front to back, word by word, after the RQ3 Troll Pak and Troll Gods versions? Sure. And while it remains unpublished to the general public, it doesn't count as a source you can refer to yet, unless providing a substantial quote (which isn't really what I want to ask for). And while Dave apparently managed to get his hands on a copy, I haven't so far. Do we get a new Prosopaedia? I managed to get a glimpse at one quite extensive version a few years back, and while the Prosopaedia doesn't provide extensive myths, it does provide a good elevator pitch for a whole lot of named deities in Glorantha that I would like to see again. Speaking of material I don't have yet, I originally hoped to be able to run scenarios from Smoking Ruins on our local RQG weekend halfway between Kiel and Lübeck, but with the memorial Rattling Wind scenario arriving just in time, I'll probably run that (and pour a good shot for the occasion). (And a week later, have a few more at the Kraken.)

Nice image, memories of Griffin Mountain, although the scenery suggests a ridge in Dragon Pass - Starfire or Dragonspine.

Duplicate post.

You should have given the source for that, David - the old Prosopaedia, also found at https://www.glorantha.com/docs/uleria/. Her temples have three entrances, only one of which is for people entering for lust. Her offering herself to the Boggles was not a carnal act - it was an act of unconditional love, paralleled only in Teelo Estara's/Sedenya's encounter with Blaskarth (as the coded text with that strange Lunar demigod symbols font hides).

The Midwinter festival doesn't have to happen exactly on the solstice, as our own date for Christmas (inherited from Sol Invictus) shows. There is no myth about Yelm regaining strength at the peak of the Darkness, though. There may be some myths about the living Cold Sun recovering, though - so we have to look at Elmal/Yelmalio or Kargzant or Shargash/Tolat. Neither Orlanth nor Ernalda have anything to add to a Darkness recovery myth. We have to look at the Grey Age demigods and heroes for those actions. Now Heort's I Fought We Won myth is already used in the Initiation rites, and his other myths (like finding and unfreezing Ivarne) haven't seen much attention. Maybe it is time to look into that.

The cultures associated with the Orlanthi are from Western and Central Europe, and often southernmost Central Europe (Danubian region in Germany). Where I live (Viking land north of most of Germany), it is equally far to the tip of Sicily as it is to the North Cape. England and Wales are fairly southerly, and southern England (even some places in southern Scotland) has palms linining the beach roads. Northern Europe starts around Oslo (or IMO rather Møre-Romsdal), Stockholm, Helsinki. Castle Stahleck is smack-dab inside the wine-growing region of Europe. The Champagne is where the Channel is narrowest, and well known for its sparkly wine. At my workplace, I need to prepare the first grape harvest... The oldest beer recipe we have is from Mesopotamia. (It uses grapes for yeast cultures.) The Romans and Phoenicians were Barbarians ("stammerers"), so were the Illyrian and Celts who encroached and occasionally violated Greek settled space. Enter reverently and respectfully take some loot from the rich nobles, leaving all the churches intact, only taking a few relics for their own worship. It takes civilized people on a rampage to destroy cities, which is why I think that the Sea People who leveled Ugarit were Myceneans. Probably they wear some pottery burning incense, to make up for the fact that they avoid washing with water. The waste heat gathers nicely below those ponchos. The half-citizens with their mini-skirts have it hard, but compare the Caledonians. (A devout fire worshiper should use a series of ever lighter oils, and remove residual ones with flame, IMO.)

Inora's moter is Kero Fin. No Darkness there...

That's too little Darkness-ancestry for me. Inora is a spirit (or deity) of Darkness.

Since this is Glorantha, elevation is quite sure not to follow the barometric formula for temperature. (Which is a bit of a pity - having that 800 m high island outside of my window at Drag i Tysfjord was a cheap outside thermometer in spring and autumn, as the frost border elevation was easy to determine on clear days.) The mythic reason for convection in Glorantha is a bit unclear, but warm stuff seeking to rejoin the eternal fire of the sky sounds about right, and cold stuff being attracted by the ultimate Dark at the bottom of the world fits, too. Mountaintops are cold because: They are the home of Inora (presumably the daughter of Himile, half-sister to Orlanth, Yinkin, Tara/Velhara and Quivin) They are adjacent to the Middle Air, and Sky has been weakened here (The white top of the Spike on the other hand appears to have been caused by the purest of flames and the matching forest.) Dragon Pass still has strong maritime influence, and Rozgali is a fairly warm current, at least the equal of the Gulf Stream off western Europe. Even with a predominantly northerly wind, there is a good chance for balmy air from the south being sucked into the Pass region all the way to the bottom of the Dragonspine ridge as counter-currents. Midwinter in Glorantha has a day length of about 8 hours (Guide p.112 - night length of 16 hours), a bit shorter than in Seattle or Montreal. Comparable to Denmark, really. Temperatures are ruled by three factors in Glorantha - the sun, air currents, and sea currents. Sea currents are dominant in providing warmth from the southeast, with two doom currents spawned off boiling Togaro and only one spawned off icy Hudaro. Storm is instrumental in carrying the cold of the Glacier eastward across Genertela. The Sun warms up wherever its rays touch down and aren't reflected or blocked. The Night Sky doesn't actively spread cold, though (under RQ3, Xentha had the Shadow Rune rather than the full Darkness Rune), but it still accepts the updrift of warm air. The Skyfall acts like a warm current in winter, too - its source doesn't change temperature with the seasons. The Middle Air does cool down in winter, but what arrives at Skyfall Lake remains mostly liquid.

Ambush from hiding is against Humakti mores. Hit and run attacks depending on superior mobility (or obstacles covering the distance between the skirmishers and the targets) are perfectly allowable. So is the lone Humakti blocking the road challenging the arrivals, and then skirmishers joining the fray. Orlanth killed a tyrant of people he cared for (Ernalda and her kin), but not his own ruler. If Yelm had acknowledged Umath, a lot of subsequent events would have needed a different excuse. Humakt is a thief, too. That's how he obtained Death. Footwear versus terminal change of existence... methinks that Humakt's theft weighs a little heavier.

There are known instances of Orlanth smiting his heroes with the Liberating Bolt in Heortling Mythology, causing lethal damage in all cases but two or three. However, these are instances of the hero challenging the deity directly. For infractions and severe lapses, there are spirits of reprisal, starting with impests. Their description says "cosmic farts," leaving little doubt about the method of their creation.

While that may be true for the tenant tending to your orchard, you want a little more loyalty from the person you trust to intercept incoming lethal intent. I was talking about Bronze Age leaders and body guards. Your caravan guard between two oases in Prax is a different proposal than the guy you let into your household and take along to highest level diplomacy. Basically, a warrior without a patron has no means of survival other than mercenary or banditry. Mercenary jobs may be far in between. Obtaining a patron means regular meals, access to decent dress and equipment. It is a big deal, and usually rewarded with a loyalty passion.

A Humakti wishing to eat regularly will have to enter a relationship relying on his loyalty with his employer which may be a regiment leader taking a mercernary contract, or it could be a noble engaging him as a bodyguard and companion.

There are a few obvious spells I can think of - separate water for drying stuff and creating a puddle or container of water, separate fire for dousing a fire and having a short-lived flame. Adding Command to the latter gives you a fiery orb or wall that you can direct at others. Separate Darkness might be a spell to detoxify some food, drink, or even a wound, or to concentrate a weak venom to something of immediate use. In connection with alchemy or mining, Separate is a god-sent. Want gold nuggets? Build a spell on Separate Fire. Want to avoid getting drunk, or want to pour a strong drink? Separate Water. Working on creatures might be trickier. Separate Man could be used for a sorcerous variation of Befuddle or a short-term parallel of Alter Creature. Separate Mobility might be used for Hinder (but Summon Stasis would do as well).

Good question! As a general rule, theist magic is "Something you are", but at least in RQ there are lots of theist rune spells that can be cast on others just like on yourself. In HeroQuest, I would reserve this blessing of others to rune level characters (Godtalkers or higher) unless it is obvious stuff like healing. In RQG Odayla basically gets the same rune spells I would expect a Rathori bear Hsunchen to have - no spear or bow magic, no mountain-toppling feat (as in the Plundering of Aron, alongside Hedkoranth).

Northern Sartar only - the Far Place tribes and the Dinacoli came from the north (with Yelmalio in their array of cults). The Quivini Orlanthi humans all immigrated from the south. (Ducks remained in place, the Telmori came in from the north). Orlanth Rex came from Ralios, along with Alakoring (and I still don't quite know whether he flew across the Rockwoods, ascended Top of the World and descended on the far side, or went via High Llama Pass). Alakoring rallied the Old Day Traditionalists of southern Peloria against the EWF, proved his mettle in slaying (Isgang)Drang, and spread the Rex cult among the Pelorian tribes. The Hendriki somehow managed to get into contact with northern Rex converts while the EWF still was active in the years after the Machine Wars, after having subscribed to the EWF/Orlanthland way of Great Living Heroes (like Renvald). I suppose that the Orlanth Rex cult made conversion of the Provinces easier than it might have been with the old Orlanthland priest council in place. While the anti-EWF kingdom of Saird appears to have been Jajalaring-led rather than traditional Orlanthi, the northern Traditionalists would have sided with the new Sairdite dynasty against the EWF after Alakoring's demise at the arrow of Tobosta Greenbow. Ralios is the homeland of the Orlanth Rex cult. The Enerali had a somewhat urban culture already before direct conflict with the Westerners. The immigrants that came through Dorastor would have been exposed to cities and their economic and cultic importance, too.

Wait a moment - a mere tribal king can override a clan's (plowed/built over) land claims with a simple command? So a Rex king of the Colymar could have sent the Varmandi packing, and leaving behind the Thunder Oak which houses their wyter? I can see such a command work with lands used by the clan - such as summer pasture or hunting grounds - but not with the area under control of the clan wyter. It is (usually) not like a clan ever received its land from the (current) tribal king. In the Quivini lands, many clans entered on their own, taking a claim to some land, and integrating that land in their clan identity over the centuries. It is possible to sever a clan from a tribe, but not to sever the clan from its land without defeating it beyond recuperation. (The Helvetii giving up their lands just like that, without a clear idea where they would settle next, always sounded quite suspicious to me. In case of the Germanic migrations, there appears to be archaeological evidence for the soil having been overworked severely.)

You get to pick up to three gifts at initiation, and another one (or as many as desired) at promotion to Sword. The way I see it, these are your two lifetime opportunities to pick up gifts, unless you heroquest or DI for more. You make this sound like superior swords are going to be guaranteed for each and every Humakti. I have some doubt about that.

Don't you think that Humakt is granting your character that gift with the intention that your character uses it in the name of his god? Delaying to allocate that gift feels rather lacking in appreciation. Besides, what are you doing initiating into the Cult of Humakt and not owning a decent sword?

That's why I talk semi-jokingly about the cult of Orlanth regulus (little rex). Yes, in my opinion, the "King of Tarsh" is a different word from "The King of the Colymar", probably a different stem. One is a "sacred king" or "king of tribal kings", the other is a "tribal king" or "king of chiefs". All of these kings are priests, and so are the mayors of the city - they are (or can appoint) the priest of the wyter. While not unelected, they probably can revoke a third party's priesthood of the wyter, too (although holding the wyter object will be a strong counter-argument against the elected king or mayor, leading to strife). The city confederations and city government add a weird republican level to Sartar. The mayor presides a ring which has the (deputies of) the confederated tribal kings, (a selection of) (deputies of) the leaders of major temples of the city, and a selection of (deputies of) guild leaders (if there are too many to have a delegate each). (Deputy, or lieutenant, or steward, or Pfalzgraf (count palatine), or...) Normally, the clan chief is the chief priest of the clan wyter, and hence "of the temple" as per Jeff's recent economy example explaining the role of the semi-free people in the clan. Personally, I tend to think of these tenants more as "people with an outstanding obligation" rather than as "people without the freedom of doing what they want", and that is a different kind of semi-free as in the Dara Happan stratum as far as I can see. There is a problem with the Orlanthi property laws, though. This is an intra-clan obligation, not a matter for lawspeaking. Theoretically, the chief and his ring have the power to decide which household has such an obligation and which doesn't, and a household can be demoted to tenant status at the (considered) whim of the chief unless there is so strong popular opposition that the office of the chief gets challenged for.