Joerg

If you are talking about the spiritual organ for your brand of magic, only the shaman's fetch gets to manifest in the spirit world in a way that it could be perceived as a separate entity. A theist's spiritual organ is the theist's link to their deity, and not the (rather rare) allied spirit some rune levels may receive. The RQ3 sorcerer's familiar was a corporeal entity in range-unlimited mindlink with the sorcerer, a second pair (or however many the creature may have had) of eyes, ears etc., and may have been created by the sorcerer donating a point of a characteristic to it (thus "flesh of his flesh"), but all of this doesn't seem to have anything to do with Malkioni philosophy, or with a secondary existence of the sorcerer. The RQ3 model was an interesting twist for a generic setting, with rather generic spells, but never quite managed to satisfy the Gloranthan theme (not even with a more medieval look and feel for the Malkioni). The Land of Ninja variation which had sorcerers creating a mandala felt like a better approach, and I guess that's where you got your concept of using a grimoire in that function. Under the old Three Separate Worlds dogma, the Grimoire as a memetic palace in the Essence realm would have been a good parallel for a fetch, with a physical book as the focus. Or some other tool exclusively associated with the zzabur caste. The grimoires in HQG might have worked in that way, too - although it looks like a sorcerer could have had several, belonging to different philosophies. (But then, multiple theist initiation is a thing, too, and a shaman is not limited to their own tradition or spirit society.) So far, we don't have anything like that for the Malkioni. And I don't envy the designers having to come up with something that is somewhat compatible with the Lhankor Mhy-based runic sorcery we know but models Malkionism better.

And ease of GMing doesn't allow for a more variable temporal outcome, even though narratively/dramatically a spell that wouldn't quite go off might cause a caster to try a little harder and longer. Narratively in-world, when and how does the attempt to gather your consumable magic potential falter?

Revisiting this: what happens if the first POWx5 roll for Heal 3 fails? Does it fail on SR4, even though no MP were used up in the attempt?

The spell which uses a variable amount of MP to heal is Heal Wound. As a rune spell it goes off on SR1, with one MP going off on that SR, and up to eleven more allowing the spell to take effect the same melee round. As a delayed action (waiting for a comrade to take a lethal wound), less MP could be added to prevent death at the end of the melee round. Spirit magic Heal can use MP up to the amount of points learned, healing the same amount. Then add 5 SR for another casting, DEX SR, and 1 SR for every MP beyond the first. Provided you succeed in your POWx5 rolls, with DEX SR2 and Heal 3 and focus ready you could get 3 points on SR 4, and 2 points from your second casting on SR 12. (Maybe on a different hit location.)

A book or grimoire is hardly the type of familiar previously discussed (animal, manifest spirit, homunculus). I can live with Malkioni wizards having a personal wizard item holding their knowledge, whether wand or grimoire, when these aren't entities acting autonomically. A book as a familiar won't sneak into places, or similar.

Having identified as a God Learner through the name of the podcast, I feel the need to point out that "the God Learners did it" is similar to calling Welsh people Englishmen. So, what kind of God Learner sorcerers are we talking about who may have used familiars? Nralar's pets aiding him overcome the adverse effects of old age "through piety"? Jrusteli parish wizards, engaging in philosophical debate with all five castes of their communities? The early Jrusteli, who discovered how studying the Abiding Book could give them Zzabur-like powers to pour down skyfire onto Vralos, burning 90% of that forest to the ground? The sorcerers of the Free Men of the Sea, who summoned and dominated a son of Tanian, making that entity to summon its father, again burning - this times the seas the Waertagi fleet and their Cetoi allies occupied, along with the occupants, though not by sorcerous magic but by divine manifestation? Are we talking of Pilif the Magus and his order of the New Order, who attempted to gain rulership over the reclaimed land of Seshnela and the crusader men-of-all of the Return to Rightness campaign? Are we talking about the Zistorites who constructed wind-driven prayer mills to power spells or worship feeding their Machine God? Are we talking about the Slontan researchers who performed the Goddess Switch? The Slontan twins who created the Cult of Caladra and Aurelion? The Umathelan university alumni trained to invade the Otherworlds? Are we talking about Yomili, the Pithdaran defender of Makanist orthodoxy, or Halwal, the heroic helper of the Irensavalists and neo-Arkati, who eliminated each other at the Red Ruins in a discharge of magic equalled only by the Nights of Horrors? Or are we talking about the orthodox monks Jonat transported into Fronela days before the Luatha eliminated the rest of Seshnela? From this list, I could see the Slontans and Umathelans having something resembling RQ3 familiars. The rest? Not really.

Something as lame as a rune spell matrix in a golden or gold plated object. The statue of a hawk. Or a (Maltese) Falcon. Might be a magic item, might be a ritual object for special rites. How deadly do you want this to be? E.g. below the Shadow Plateau, enter through Styx Grotto. The ruins of Genert's palace (for something linked to Yamsur, lost since Earthfall) A Kitori chieftain's trophy collection The imperial palace in Glamour, or the vaults of the Imperial College of Magic The Mirin's Cross Sun Dome Dykene Or, if quest as in heroquest: Hill of Gold Erenplose (carried by Palangio on his visit) Palangio's Iron Vrok quest in the western Mislari Mountains Sun Hawk, in the Three Feathered Rivals myths A prophecy? The Gold Wheel Dancers were mainly active with the First Council, and had mostly disappeared by the time the Second Council took over. Heortland was largely unsettled then - Pelaskite fisherfolk from Karse on the estuaries, Esvulari on the Vulari peninsula in the south, and Garanvuli around Whitewall were the main human population, with possibly a few Kitori (and fewer of those human) around the Shadow Plateau. The other foreigners addressed in the 5th century laws of Aventus would have immigrated during the time of the Second Council. But there may have been immigrants from near the Sun Wheel Ruins, and possibly some heirloom pointing there. Yelmalio Daysenerus arrived in force only after the Battle of Night and Day. Most may have followed Palangio westward as he took over Slontos for the Bright Empire, but a garrison and priesthood would have been left at Vanntar. I find it hard to link Palangio or his men with the Gold Wheel Dancers or their ruins, though. If any invader would have made it to the Sun Wheel Ruins, they would have escaped the Dragonkill. Any of the EWF era ruins would do, not limited to the urban ones. But if you want a ruin already detailed, the Smoking Ruins. None. When Palangio established the one in Vanntar the rest of Heortland wasn't that densely populated. During the EWF the Sun Domers were dragon allies and not really that welcome. After the dragonkill, no sun dome in sight until Monrogh reestablished the one in Vanntar.

This is the classical way to refer to Androgeus. Feel free to use "they" when you talk about her, but I will continue to address him with alternating cis gender, as that seems to be what she is about in his flings. Successor of Belintar: Tatius, Gagix Twobarb, Ethilrist, Jaldon, Sheng... it is easy to see alternatives that are in no way better. At the very least, Argrath does the same kind of unorthodox heroquesting Belintar did to keep the Proximate Holy Realm proximate, and otherwise he pretty much leaves people to organize themselves once the Wolf Pirate threat has been re-directed. No idea what he did about the Backford situation, but my guess is "leave it to player characters." Maybe give it to the remaining Telmori as a chance to redeem themselves?

Don't you think that's too limiting? Hunters use whatever works for them (and possibly their friends) to take down their prey. There are many options other than those three. Jeff led that statement by talking about Orlanthi: hunters in and around Sartar. Outside of the Telmori tribal lands and the Colymar and dragonewt wilds there are few wildlands in Sartar resreved for hunting rather than pastue, and a rather limited amount of megafauna or at least decent sized prey that may make use of the spear as a melee weapon rather than a missile. Wild boars may be the exception, but their main migration route was into upland Tarsh, not the Quivin hills. There may be occasional dinosaur hunts to prevent herds of these beasts from devastating farmland. These events will be royal hunts, where the subsistence hunters may play a major role as trackers or possibly drivers and get their moment of spotlight in tribal life, but those things don't happen often enough to warrant a place among the companions of most nobles. A few (great) hunters may rise to become companions and tribal or clan champions with greater wealth. All Telmori are hunters, even those serving as royal bodyguards do some hunting on the side, teaming up with their wolf companions. Telmori bodyguard hunting probably is the equivalent to thanes' horse riding to keep a war- or cavalry-steed combat-ready. The Telmori hunt in all likelihood uses the chase, the natural way of hunting for their companions, but javelins may very well shorten a chase. Hunting dogs are fairly widespread in Glorantha, too, including some of the otherwise more cat-loving Orlanthi, and apparently also many Hsunchen (other than Basmoli or Telmori) where I wouldn't have expected Brother Dog to appear. We know the various roles dogs are used in hunts, whether for tracking, chases, driving prey out of burrows or scaring birds up. But dogs were both companions and food animals in early agricultural and pastoral cultures, and I am not certain whether they fare much better in Prax or in Hsunchen clans when the hunting is lean. No idea whether eating domesticated dogs corrupts the Hsunchen magical purity, though. (Dog meat appears to have been something of a staple in Celtic culture, some of which surviving to this day, like dog butchers making sausage in contemporary Austria, the heart of the Hallstatt culture. See also Cu Chulainn's taboo against eating dog meat and his fatal inability to refuse the hospitality of the crone who had some dog goulash in the pot.) Shadowcats never are eaten by their human subjects. The other way around may happen in desperate situations.

The Lunar spirits in Prax are from the Nomad God counters explained in Wyrm's Footnotes #04. These are considered as extension of the foundational text in Nomad Gods (except where updated in the Guide to Glorantha), thus pretty close to canon as things can be. What follows isn't canon, but my view of these things: The Silver Deer is the uncatchable prey that figures greatly in the Hunter cults, and which turns out to be the Other of the hunter in hunter myths like Odayla's bear hunt, Orogeria's blue fox hunt. (Note the role of the Sky Bear in the Red Goddess quest, and how that worked out in Hwarin Dalthippas's assimilation and conquest of Sylila.) Another interpretation of the Silver Deer however is the White Bull, discovered by Argrath - the special beast of each tribe's herd that unites these warrior and magician troops. Redwood is of course related to the Redwood of Dagori Inkarth, which used to cover most of the holy land of Golden Age and even Storm Age Prax when the Tada-shi lived there practicing their horticulture, allowing the Beast Rider tribes to graze in the lands in between. The savannah of Prax was sacrificed to Oakfed in the Greater Darkness, before Waha reclaimed what was left of the devastated land with his covenant. In three or four weeks, expect some more informaiton on some of this.

I always imagined the Full Moon Corps demigods as humans with crimson red skin, or at least lots of skin markings in crimson. Painting them with Northern European flesh tones doesn't seem quite right to me. No disagreements about their equipment, which may be silver or steel (they are supposed to be the equivalents of rune lords).

Pinchining was at best man-sized in its spinning wheel form.

So rather than having an individual familiar, a parish wizard has a connection to the wyter-equivalent that takes in the worship energies?

While Foundchild is a spirit that harkens back to Nomad Gods, I am less convinced that the cult is Praxian in origin or distribution. There certainly is a bigger proportion of Foundchild (and Brother Dog) cultists among the Votanki than there are in Prax, where hunting is a quite secondary source of food and support. I would expect there to be several Gret Hunts where hunter cult members congregate to celebrate their high holy day, whether through serious contest for the title of master hunter or just participating "for the rune points" and the unity with their deity/spirit. I expect there to be parallel ceremonies held by region, with hunters from all over participate. In Prax, Men-and-a-Half and Basmoli may be over-represented in the tribal make-up because their tribes rely on hunting more than the pastoralists. The exact place of the Great Hunt ceremony might be determined by last year's victor.

Communal baking houses, or bakers allowing the community to submit commissions to the oven, are more fuel efficient than firing up baking fires everywhere. With a Gustbran cultist overseeing the structure the dangers of causing runaway fires ought to be minimized, too.

Cooking with clay pots is a time-craving procedure - a clay pot next to a hearth fire takes about 24 hours to prepare a porridge. Metal pots or pans can be put closer to the flame or embers, though not to the extent cast iron or steel implements can, with copper taking higher temperatures than bronze. If you don't mind significant losses, a skin cauldron can be used to boil water. Orlanthi farm houses are built around the hearth fires. You get the most use of your domestic fuel by combining cooking and heating. Urban architecture may vary. Baking is a communal thing, with a Gustbran fire rather than just a hearth fire. Having a separate baking house, with warm space for yeast to do its magic prior to baking, is the norm, usually shared between several households. In a city, bakeries may serve food stalls or they may take "commissions" of household cooking. Fire is a hazard in cities, no matter how much masonry or clay is used in the construction, there will be flammable building material. Fire control is essential. The fuel logistics probably make up a good part of urban transport. Charcoal is voluminous, but probably offers the best heat for mass ratio.

Barntar is by his myths a cattle man, the tamer of the bull, and thus a freeman/carl rather than a semifree cottar. Barntar is not a chieftain, but he is the productive freeman who goes to fight a dragon to end drought, and who musters for the warband. In a rural setting, 90% of the population engages in primary activities like agriculture and herding, with fishing and hunting distantly following. Few do any of these four activities exclusively.

Spirit cults will do what a lack of associate cults doesn't offer. These have the disadvantage that the rune power pools are separate and hence less flexible, but there is the concept of spirit societies that bundle several spirit cults and share one rune pool.

The only flaw in this theory is the fact that Hrestol's grandson from his stay as Vadeli judge becomes the father of the fourth Serpent King. Aignor the Trader's father was the son of Hrestol and his Brithini wife, who seems to have inherited his father's office when he went on to what would become Loskalm. Aignor himself may have had a Vadeli mother. Seshnegi use of Vadeli magic destroyed Hrelar Amali early in the second century, after the time of the Serpent Kings, but that magic might have come from forbidden tomes. After that, the Vadeli are more or less gone from mentions in Gloranthan history until the Opening.

The Orlanthi actually put that right in 109 or 110 ST with the Bridling of Kargzant. That event has been described as Umath chaining Yelm in an early Malkioni document, but my personal favorite theory is that we see Elmal chaining the runaway Horse Lord. After this effect, we have a single solar object in the day sky, a regular Lightfore, and IMO the unification of the Sun Disk and the Cold Sun. One side effect is that the Sunspear becomes available to Avivath, doing some dynastic pruning with some of the nastier specimen of the Jenarong rite emperors. It took another century of warfare before the Jenarong dynasty was toppled, and half a century for the Khordavu dynasty to start cooperating with the Dorastans, to start the identification of the Evil Emperor with Yelm.

A grizzly. Grizzly Peak is where Vingkot slew the Sylilan Odaylan bear hero/demigod challenging him for the crown...

Given Orlanthi architecture, that aspect of married life is quite public in their own homes anyway. And I don't think that Yinkini will wait for their partners to visit them (although they will take visitors in), they will be on the prowl all over the neighborhood, and know the hidden places in the granary or the haystack, or nice places out in the wilds. Both Orlanth and Yinkin did, at times as a team (and even with the same partner, e.g. Heler/Tarhelera), at other times on their own. Thanks to @Shiningbrow quoting my initial statement, but maybe that wasn't blatant enough. The tales of Tat and Tol are the Orlanthi version of Spring Break. Orlanth offers the same for adolescents, and his happens to be one of the two largest cults in all of Sartar. With lots of other benefits. Note that this year of solitude in the wilds doesn't mean celibacy in any way. It is a challenge to find partners in the wild, whether amoung the spirits of nature (mountain or river nymphs, dryads, swan maidens, elurae, satyrs, minotaurs, centaurs, and why not manticores?) or taking their picks from people herding out there. Raids on outlying steads with flings as a side benefit may be part of this, too. There are also those initiatory training camps of prospective adults following the ways of Orlanth, and at least the male Yinkini candidate may have already undergone that and know where to look for people curious about this sex thing. Another way to read this might be that runaway teenagers might come back after having been adopted by a shadowcat (or a small collective of those).

And then use a "Peaceful Cut" at the rite? We are talking about hunter cults, not Ikadz, god of torture.

Tharkantus is one of the many titles the Zola Fel Sun Domers give to their deity. Yelmalio is another one, as is Little Sun or Cold Sun. Not sure whether Lightfore is on the list of titles, or Yamsur (the portion that did not die at Earthfall). Hostile outsiders possibly use "that bloody Sun Dome deity" rather than "Yelmalio". Gods go by many titles, kennings and names. Some of these are localized.

Getting off-topic here, but mammals are synapsida, while reptiles, dinosaurs and their sub-clade avians are diapsida. The giant synapsids that peceded the dinosaurs as the dominant land animals like dimetrodons are more closely related to (the ancestors of) mammals than to reptiles (contemporary or otherwise). To make this Gloranthan again, Maran Gor's Earth Shakers probably include both ancient synapsids and overszed reptiles outside of the dinosaur family proper.