Joerg

The Syphon has a channel deep enough to maintain a fish road throughout its course, although that may become uncomfortable and akin to spelunking as the river flattens out at the ford of Backford, and then climbing up cliffsides and meandering into the Stone Forest and Foulblood Forest. My model for the ancient rivers are tendrils creeping inland but carrying the energies and nutrition back to the Sea. This involves a structure of currents and counter-currents inside, the turbulent outer current pushing water up the land and eroding the soil when in contact, while there would remain a laminar inner current returning to the Heart of the Seas carrying the goodies. There may be interior zones of stillness or of stationary rotating loops, growing and shrinking.

As a rule, clay dwarfs aren't produced from clay any more, much like humans aren't - that would beat the purpose. Instead, they replicate through a Growth process carefully supervised and as soon as possible turned over to a Making conditioning. Engaging in that Growth process, and acknowledging the possession of (and performance of) sexes is deeply disturbing to the clay dwarfs selected to perform that duty. Dwarf bodies do have a source code - it relies heavily on the Man Rune, of course, refined with all manner of internal and job-induced refinements. Living Rock, Elder Mostali, clay mostali all can be healed through application of the Harmony rune and perhaps a small side order of Fertility/life. Nolonger quite as alive material can be imbued using the Stabilize sorcerous rituals. The most detailed study on dwarf physiology is (ironically) in Troll Pak, where the nutritional reception of dwarf bodies or body parts by the troll digestive system is discussed. To human and troll eyes, dwarf blood probably is red. Blood enabling life tends to be red, blood carrying out death tends to turn blue. Death is collected by the air in the lungs and spread out, until overcome by Aldryami efforts to keep things growing. I would assume everyone has some Divinely Notated Ancestry immanent in their bodies that will lead to their bodies developing in a certain way. Most likely not in the shape of a double helix of desoxyribonucleic acid, I agree.

Seven Mothers rune lords will be good trainee material for dart competitions, at least as defense.

Potato tubers spoil (become poisonous) in direct sunlight, which is why they remain in the shelter of Earth, but the bits above the ground hog as much sun as they can (being members of the nightshade family). You can of course grow Lunar tubers which have crimson starch, but the common tubers you will find in our worlds market places are full of the sun's blessing when sliced open, collecting it in the shelter of the earth.

Rather than fish pens, my idea of coastal Kethaela are fish fences oriented against the quick flow. In most of Kethaela that would mean catching the outgoing flood of the falling Blue Moon, but the orientation of the Syphon current will orient the fences in the opposite direction. I wonder whether the falling Blue Moon will actually increase the uphill current in the Syphon, as the pull would also befall the river's head into the Chaos hole in Foulblood Forest.

If the Red Emperor Argenteus takes an interest in any matter, then most likely because a guest at one of his orgies manages to amuse him while relaying their concerns. There will likely be some other sycophant with a court office who will receive a "make it so!" order. Jaxarte Whyded may have many companions in both ambition and misery.

The reply to this might be in the nature of the Neliomi Sea in the Gods War, which was tapped out of its movement rather than out of its substance. What remained behind was stale, lifeless water, devoid of spirit. Tapping an element will rob it of its distinctive features - fire will lose heat and light, earth will lose stability, air and water lose their motive energy, and darkness may lose space (i.e. shrink) and fear. Tap may be the inversion of the Mostali Stabilize magic (although that too may take motion, or at least random motion, out of air and water).

Tapping Darkness might be problematic - there is only one orthodox Malkioni/Brithini school of sorcery able to deal with the special energies of Darkness (and Arkati troll sorcerers would not tap their native element, ever).

To be fair, we had hardly any myths for barley or wheat, and even less for oats and rye (and an experiment which proved land goddesses could be switched), with the assigned grains for land goddesses changing between RQ3 and RQG. We know plenty variations of rice and sweet grass from The Glorious ReAscent of Yelm (and the Sky) which we have little culinary or mythical information about. There are plenty other harvests which have no myth and little information about their role or importance in the diet of the people who grow them. Which is absolutely fine for a rpg setting or even a well-described literary creation. We ask for a lot from Glorantha, don't we? It is quite astounding that we have as much information as we do.

What did the Teelo Norri poor fund distribute before Hon-eel brought back maize? Something like the Jerusalem artichoke?

The carnivorous winged horses of the early Golden Age may very well count as terrible demons from above. While Hippoi lost some of those traits, there may well be intermediate states, or re-breeding efforts like the carnivorous stallion bred by the Char-un. When interacting with Godtime entities, horsefiends are a real option. Another fiendish variation would be a horse retaining raptor claws that may be folded into hooves.

The demibird alone is a melee weapon - it is basically a variation on the Terror Bird, and it might be the rider's job to defend their beaked attack weapon. I guess the Klanth works well as a parrying weapon, taking blows on the hardwood back rather than on the obsidian blades. The mounted scouts prepare the shock of the beak attacks with their slings.

Earth cult burial practices tend to aim at the preservation of the dead body, at least of the body shape. Mummification or other forms of embalming are typical. The dead of Nochet claim a great lot of land, making the overland import of fresh goods almost impossible. There obviously are ways to "repatriate" the dead, otherwise the temple of Esrola would be surrounded by tombs. Sooner or later, skeletons may be what is left of a body. I wonder what the idea is about keeping the body remains of an individual whose spirit/soul no longer lingers in Ty Kora Tek's halls. Daka Fal shamans may learn about a spirit departing to Rebirth.

Is the entire priesthood informed about the great plan? And may a Red Marriage plot have been used as a ploy to give the Lunars a false impression of progress?

The Sartarite model has the City Rexes pretty much stationary, and the royal palace of Boldhome isn't just for absentee ostentation, either, but I wonder whether King Sartar ever stopped traveling his realm, and how much his successors did outside of overseeing their building projects. My mapping of the intertidal and permanently submerged areas of the eastern Mirrorsea Bay sadly has not advanced a bit in the last months. I have plenty of scenario seeds and sandbox entries waiting to be detailed. That said, IMG there are children of Veskarthen trying to raise their heads above the sea bottom or the water level much of the time, but not unopposed. There are shattered pieces of land remaining from Worcha's onslaught underwater, possibly including Golden or Storm Age settlements fallen or glided into the seas, maybe one hanging almost sideways from the bedrock that fell into the water now providing shelter for a pod of Ludoch. There are mussle banks and sandbars accumulating from the play of currents and tides, and also destroyed again. There are corals in the Mirrorsea Bay, though no barrier reefs (yet), but part of the Building Wall magic may have been related to coral reefs growing. The magical and fully literate caste among the Aeolians are the zzaburi, with the nobles using Orlanthi magic instead - possibly becoming rune lords or rune priests of Orlanth, Issaries, Humakt or the Earth goddesses in their roles as rulers, traders, administrators and judges. Meldektown sits among the clay pits south of the walled city of Nochet and is home to one of the greatest urban populations of Aeolians in Kethaela, possibly greater than Mt. Passant and quite likely greater than in Vizel or Refuge. The Aeolians share the suburb with adherents of other Malkioni denominations and certainly also a significant number of non-Malkioni. See Harald Smith's Nochet - Queen of Cities for details and the map.

Clay dwarfs are the conceptual copy of the various races of humans made from clay (like the Agitorani, the first Dara Happans, the Thinobutan ancestors, the second children of Vimorn etc. etc.) rather than the result of ceramics. The clay in question definitely is unfired. Jolanti are carved out of living stone, quite different from golems shaped with wet clay and then fired in a kiln before receiving their written OS. No idea which mad magicians build these in Glorantha, if anywhere. Dwarfs are renowned for masonry, working rock into building blocks. They also know concrete, poured rock. While they could work with fired bricks, I don't see much to inspire them to go in that direction. Rather than pottery, dwarfs delight in the use of glass produced by the Lead caste, and their notion of ceramics probably comes as semi-molten rock inside glazed surfaces. In cooperation with rock dwarfs, they might produce glazed concrete containers if blown glass bottles (not necessarily made of clear glass) don't serve. The other high temperature caste of the Mostali are the brass mostali, and they might have an interest in heat-resistant chamotte. Possibly provided by a cooperation of Rock, Lead and Quicksilver caste brethren.

Vingkot was immolated, but that was in order to rid himself of the ailing but immortal body that was unable to recover from the Chaos wound he had received at the Battle of Stormfall. It was part of his apotheosis, but may have set the trend for his successors (possibly hoping for a similar transition into the Storm Realm). Other Orlanthi may have retained other practices. None of the other gods of the Storm Pantheon received anything like a burial (unless you count the Underworld dismemberment of Umath at the hands and presumably jaws of Shadzor-Alkor). In the time of King Heort, separating the Living from the Dead was the major task to get the Silver Age started. Having the Dead cremated may have allowed for a clearer distinction than body burials. With Vingkot as the example, male cremations may have become the standard (although the five husband-founders from outside of the Vingkotlings may have brought their own rites, possibly including necrophagy for the descendants of Porscriptor the Cannibal). Cremation results in burnt remains, with major bones often surviving the pyre (in a brittle state) when cremated properly, and possibly only medium-rare in case of mass burnings with limited access to fuel. In a respectful cremation, the dead body is laid out in state, with his grave goods which are supposed to undergo the same transformation/transition as the body, to be magically at hand in the afterlife. In case of rich burials, not all grave goods may fit onto the bier, and may have been marked for their afterlife journey in another way. One might need to consider the non-modern concepts of personal property among the Orlanthi when it comes to providing grave goods, though - these might include items or at least symbols enabling an everyday afterlife in the Otherworld, but more likely the deceased will receive a preparation for the afterlife heroquest, with support items like you give to a living heroquester about to penetrate the veil. Much of the property of the deceased will be property belonging to the bloodline rather than the person, with part of that property having been temporarily bestowed by the clan (or some higher authority), like much of the means of primary production.

Jeff was actively distancing himself from such comparisons (for Ygg's islands, not the Three-Step Islands) and any such comparisons. The islands off Washington or British Columbia are probably what we need to look for if we want real world comparisons at all. Or possibly off the San Francisco Bay area. When I suggested the Vesteralen all those years back then I had just returned to Germany from northern Norway. I personally drew on such comparisons after having lived inland of the Lofoten and Vesteralen for a bit, finding a lot of local historical detail on surviving on a cold but reliably liquid sea quite inspiring - especially the pre-Viking elements of local history and pre-history, but also notes on pre-modern everyday life as fishermen and whalers before, during and after the Viking era, including the culture of the coastal "Finns" (Saami). The Wolf Pirates started out as Yggite northmen leaving the service of the Vadeli, and those on Gothalos and Ginorth may retain more of that heritage than those who occupy the Threestep Isles. The role of Yggite women hasn't been explored much outside of depictions of female wolf pirates (other than Gunda). Possibly largely irrelevant for the Three-Step Isles, YGWV.

A majority of the non-enspirited Jolanti abducted by Gonn Orta followed Thog in his invasion of Pavis. They ended up as material for the Wall, creating the smooth outer ring by merging with the slabs planted there by Paragua and his followers. It is unknown whether the Nidan Council of Nine still has giant Jolanti, or whether they can produce new ones. The Faceless Statue was exceptional in size compared to the Nidan abductees. It doesn't seem like the Greatway Mostali retained the magics to awaken it, but Pavis succeeded with the added magical punch of the EWF accumulation of draconic magics.

Having walked in Cyrilius Harmonius's sandals, part of the Pavis cult was actively courting the Seven Mothers cult as another associate in the city array. Survival in the Rubble taught them to adopt whichever tools, foods and magics might help them to continue their existance, and possibly reinstate their former glory.

Of sacrificial beasts, most certainly. Of humans (or other sentients), unlikely outside of Chaotic cults such as Krarsht or Bagog. Kings and warlords may well have a semi-nomadic routine to overseeing their holdings, traveling in state with lots of received gifts, collected tax, and gifts to their more loyal followers. Diplomacy usually is carried by the exchange of valuable gifts (of the kind Biturian Varosh carries at the start of his narrative). The Malkioni make little distinction between those who trade and those who rule and organize. For the Orlanthi, the role model of the king is less about diplomacy and a lot more about martial and/or magical prowess (something the Malkioni have outsourced to other castes). Aeolian talars do seem to control traditional chieftains and Orlanthi peasants in Esvular in terms of tax flow. Aeolian farmers seem to cluster in Esvular or Bandori lands, around their cities, as do Aeolian fisherfolk. Aeolian craftsfolk (of the Worker caste) may have spread throughout Kethaela, with a large community just outside of Nochet (where they appear to control the brick-making?). They do seem to rake in more primary production from outside of their group than other populations in Kethaela, which might make them look as some form of gentry.

In our world, distillation (e.g. of pitch) as a human technology is older than application of yeast to sugary stuff. Distillation of alcohol requires a different technique for cooling the vapors and arrived delayed, probably unavailable in any of the local Bronze Ages except maybe in ancient China. Glorantha is a postapocalyptic world with many an anachronistic technology or innovation available (such as alphabetic scripts, triremes, or metal coinage, all unknown from archaeological finds in our world's local Bronze Ages even though some of our world's mythical texts might be interpreted as the ancients having had similar tech. Quicksilver mostali have distillation down pat, and the ones in Dragon Pass even hire out the Alchemical Transformer. The Second Council theninherited Feldichi magical technology, some of which may have survived into the EWF era (or re-discovered). There is also the possibility of using selective freezing to concentrate alcohol. Dragon Pass winters certainly get cold enough for making Apple Jack. Whether canonical or just YGWV, feel free to add some varieties of liquor to your games. I wouldn't make it a wide-spread technology as the equipment (glassware or metal tubing for capturing and condensating the vapors) would be quite costly. Gustbran and/or Caladra and Aurelion are likely to be patrons of some of that.

Apart from the niche publication in the (mostly non-Gloranthan) scenario book for the German edition of HQ2, extensive notes exist, but with this morning's (mechanical) computer crash, I either have to wish for data recovery or write it again from scratch. And I most definitely need an editor. The original version is set in 1619 or 1620, with a trip through the Lunar camp besieging Whitewall as the start of the travel entcounters. While that is not essential, I planned to make good use of world politics going on as backdrop for a road trip. In order to remain on topic, the scenario has two political portions. The protagonists are supposed to be (married to) descendants of the priestess (through female descent, conforming Esrolian legitimacy), spread out over numerous clans and even tribes in Sartar, and maintain her wishes against her patrilineal descendants of her home clan. In Nochet, they find out that their (great-) grandmother was from a branch lineage inside the ruling Enfranchised House in Nochet, who had fled her house after losing an important heiress she was supposed to chaperone to the Puppeteers. Dramas were written around the parents of said heiress. Having left in disgrace and damaging the main lineage, the current mistress of the House is disinclined to allow her stray kinswoman to join her ancestors in the family complex (although the ancestors at least of the side line, and from way earlier, would support her if a trial of ancestors would be held). Still, the will of a Grandmother might override even ancestral wishes (for as long as she remains in power). I may have crammed too much historical detail into the backstory, but provided the players run with it and acquire some of the information during play they may develop personal passions towards a number of very influential people in Sartar, the Lunar Empire and Esrolia.

Magic points used in Sorcery and Spirit Magic or for boosting Rune spells all go the same way. Most sorcery makes do without Tapping, using a variant of worship which cuts out the rune deities to empower "parish" wizards, or else milks bound spirits like everybody else does, only in larger amounts.

Given the presence of hot mineral springs in the chain, I would imagine that these would be used for long-term stewing, lowering earthware pots (possibly unglazed) into the springs.