jajagappa

1 hour ago, Sir_Godspeed said:

And someone trying to impose a tax on brewing has caused more than one revolt.

A royal tribute placed on cider and cider brewing was a big factor in my old Imther campaign (following the Imther civil war, so decidedly unpopular).

42 minutes ago, radmonger said:

One of the Lunar innovations is bringing, in the form of Etyries, individualist trade to Dara Happan and Peloria.

I'm not sure that "individualist" is the right way to describe it. Etyries is a tributary arm of the Lunar Empire - she offers no "neutral grounds", unlike Issaries, and likely controls particular monopolies for which the empire gets its cut.

42 minutes ago, Erol of Backford said:

I am guessing that maybe some of "saints" ascended masters, whatever are emanations of the Orlanthi Pantheon... maybe St. Xemela is actually Chalana Arroy as an example.

I think each of those old saints could be an aspect of the Orlanthi Pantheon somehow. Might run with that, easy enough to sort out.

Emanations are simply gods (not saints or ascended masters).

Think of it this way: the Invisible God created the world and then produced the emanations as more specific forms, closer to the material world. These are the gods, particularly the Lightbringers but also the Sun, the Earth, and other deities. 

These Truths of the Invisible God were revealed first to the prophet Malkion, and later to the prophet Aeol (who might or might not be Orlanth or an avatar of Orlanth). Subsequently, the Aeolians worship both the gods (according to their caste) and the Invisible God (through the intercession of the wizard-priests). The Aeolians are blessed by both the Invisible God and the emanations.

The saints/ascended masters don't really play a part in Aeolian tradition - they have the emanations/gods, so no need for such aside from the prophets.

52 minutes ago, Erol of Backford said:

Do the Aeolians have a group of traders that would indirectly/unintentionally act as missionaries and "spread the faith"?

The Aeolians are not a missionary group, but as noted elsewhere are an endogamous group (much like the Druze or Yezidis) - they maintain their cultural traditions but do not spread their traditions to others. As both they and the Heortlings honor the same set of gods (e.g. Orlanth, Lightbringers), they can clearly interact tolerably with each other. Issaries as one of the Lightbringers is one of the emanations they worship, and merchants among the Aeolians will worship him as well as the Invisible God.

56 minutes ago, Erol of Backford said:

Fertility magic aside, has the Aeolian population stayed relatively constant over the past 2-300 years on the Heortland Plateau? Guessing they don't marry out of the Aeolian ethnicity?

Yes, presume fairly constant; and as above they do not marry out.

1 minute ago, Erol of Backford said:

Guessing the location on the Grag/Richard map is correct location close to Bullpen Mt.

Yes.

1 minute ago, Erol of Backford said:

What if any relation would BT/Exile Stead have with Marcher Ft?

None. I think Jeff noted recently in an article on the Holy Country that Belintar created the Marcher Forts to help keep Praxian raiders at bay.

9 hours ago, Pnick said:

2024. And still asking for a friend. A year later I can assume that Robin’s edited submission was kicked into the long grass.

As previously noted, the place to check is the Upcoming Glorantha publications thread.
It's past editing which means it is likely up to art commissioning and delivery. It's not in layout yet (and you can see which works are), and until it's in layout we will not know a projected release date. But it is reasonably high in the queue (and it's a large queue).

3 hours ago, radmonger said:

2. the YA  novel  implicit here basically writes itself.

I did start my Kimonssaga, but got busy with JC works... 🙂 (Kimon is a son of Queen Hendira, but aids Samastina escaping Nochet and later goes through initiation into adulthood - and which I envisioned as tied into the ending of the Great Winter.)

1 hour ago, Joerg said:

His sister Inora got all of that.

And his nephew Valind.

1 hour ago, Squaredeal Sten said:

If not ErnAlda. then what cult, and how does that fit into the Esrolian network?  This seems to me to be important for adventurers visiting Rhigos.  Or even passing near the city.

As Martin notes, the Demivierge is the high priestess of Delaina, goddess of Wisdom, Music, and Heroes (the last in a tutelary capacity - i.e. NO spells or knowledge granted directly; you become a hero through the wisdom of lived experience). You'll find a couple of my myths about Delaina in Nochet: Queen of Cities. The Demivierge is definitely about lived experience, though often turned towards hedonism. It is the nature of the Earth goddesses to explore such experience though and you might think of the Demivierge embodying the Earth goddesses of the Green Age. I would not preclude the possibility that the Demivierge has been pregnant and given birth, and then restored her virginity ritually (perhaps by returning to the Green Age of Innocence).

(Also worth bearing in mind that while you will find the Six Sisters - Ernalda, Esrola, Maran, Orana, Delaeo, and Delaina - in Esrolian myths and stories, the nature of Esrolian myth also suggests that these are simply six faces/parts of Asrelia or Ernalda just as the progression of Asrelia/Ernalda/Voria is but part of the same experience too.)

4 hours ago, Erol of Backford said:

Is this village named in the Heoltland book and yes the river or stream is slightly extended to make the village on a water way, minor that it is.

Yes, it's called Newspring (as in a spring of water, not the season).

"Previously called Whitespring, the Pure Water clan renamed the town after a new spring opened in a nearby fissure after the Great Winter and the clan was blessed by its healing powers."

4 hours ago, Erol of Backford said:

Is there a better location near Backford not on the Syphon in your mind to enact the ritual of growth (or whatever its called - what is it called where the elves want to reforest all of Glorantha) associated with the rebirth of a new elven forest?

Note the village just to the right of the base/south end of your arrow. It is called Greenwood, probably a good choice.

"Greenwood is noted for its eponymous woods which remain green year-round, and for a nearby copper mine."

5 hours ago, Erol of Backford said:

There is also the scenario The New Grove on p.111 of the Eldar Races book which has good background but IIRC there were other scenarios, maybe in the new Rune Quest books protecting or assisting Elves?

It's in the Smoking Ruins book: "The Grove of Green Rock". 

3 hours ago, mfbrandi said:

What is without division

Therefore you have an argument that Kargan Tor and is in fact the first Power for without that division, there would only be the One  or the Infinite . 

44 minutes ago, Darius West said:

Does anyone else find Kargan Tor to be a confusing deity?  I mean, he was the god of Death before Humakt.

I think better to see him as the God of Separation, Competition, and Conflict. His home is the Court of Conflict. His Rune/sword divides and separates things.

The sorcerous techniques are a useful principle to look at in his (and perhaps Uleria's) case: there you have the Separate technique (and its opposite Combine). At the center of the Separate technique "rune" is the Rune of Kargan Tor. Without Kargan Tor you cannot divide one thing from another: the distillation of Water from Darkness, the separation of Earth from Water, even the creation of opposite Powers all arise from Kargan Tor. Where Uleria brings together and combines and unifies, Kargan Tor separates and divides.

The separation of one thing from another, often as opposites, also creates competition and conflict, so Kargan Tor comes to be the power that drives those as well. The ultimate separation is Death - and that is something of an endpoint for Kargan Tor as well, and the emergence of Humakt who could wield Death and also inherit the other capacities of Kargan Tor.

Revised and expanded version of Nochet: Adventurer's Guide is now available!

This version adds 30+ pages devoted to a full Character Background generation! Discover whether your grandparents met (or perhaps even sailed with!) Dormal. Learn whether your parents were at the Building Wall Battle (and whether they survived that). Find out how your character got through the Great Winter, what befell them during the Siege of Nochet, and whether they've ended up with a hated rival or a friendly mentor.

If you've already acquired the Adventurer's Guide, you'll find the updated version waiting in your Library on DriveThruRPG. And if you haven't picked it up yet, now's the time!

Get it here: Nochet: Adventurer's Guide

(And many thanks to those who helped playtest and proof the character background content!)

51 minutes ago, Richard S. said:

Gloranthan cats and lions are as closely related to bears, dogs, and wolves as they are to each other!

I wonder if all of them are half-brothers, or if Yinkin is the odd one out by his connection to Kero Fin?

While we know they are all fathered by Fralar, we only know the mother of Yinkin so unclear how close the others are.

6 minutes ago, Agentorange said:

Besides Yinkin are there any named or detailed ?

Are you including lions, etc, in your query? If so, we know Basmol (aka Pendal, Durbaddath, and probably a few other names).

At various times (though I think non-canonical), there have been various children of Yinkin: Gavren, Murni, and a couple others.

My Hearthmother goddess in Imther favors 'domestic' cats, not necessarily the alynx of Yinkin (I had one cat spirit named Mooraw in the past there).

And in Katrin Dirim's artwork we get Moon Cat. 🙂 

7 minutes ago, Squaredeal Sten said:

Which makes the battle of  Pennell Ford exceptional, in that in such a composite force, Harrek provided the flexibility to counter the unexpected.   Superheroes will do that.  A yet unwritten story should include what the Ernaldans did in that campaign.

Harrek, Argrath, and Broyan, though, yes, Harrek was the exception to counter the Lunar's solar magic and Greymane's betrayal.

8 minutes ago, Squaredeal Sten said:

That historical example implies to me that Esrolian armies will emphasize following the agreed battle plan, and be less flexible when unexpected events happen. 

Also consider that for 300 years, Belintar was effectively the Husband-Protector, hence the flexibility displayed at the Building Wall battle.

But there until the Lunar military ventures and Greymane's great raids, there hasn't been a strong need for military activity in a long time. The Demivierge has cast her lot with the Warlord of Porthomeka as her champion; Samastina has used Broyan and Argrath, but with Broyan dead and Argrath off to Pavis, she has need of a new champion....

On 1/10/2024 at 8:52 PM, Zaron said:

What happens when a four legged animal/creature has one leg disabled/severed? Two? 

I imagine that at three, it is definitely unable to move.

Depends on the animal/mount. A year or so ago we had a deer regularly passing through our yard with a clearly broken/useless forefoot. It generally limped through on three legs, but could still jump when needed. Definitely a slower pace but still got around. Perhaps with more active, larger predators than the local coyotes it would have been killed.

2 minutes ago, Squaredeal Sten said:

As I read 'Esrolia the Land of Ten Thousand goddesses" I perceive that from   page 10, "What is the difference between women and men"  which begins "Women are superior to men in every way.  They are shirt tempered and prone to violence, selfish and unable to keep promises, "... and ends ""What men are not is leaders..."

and also the second paragraph of 'What makes us great* on page 9, and the second paragraph of " How do we live" on the same page, 

I think you can consider that material as a view from a particular time period (e.g. when HW/HQ1 came out) that interpreted the Esrolian matriarchy in very strong gender-differentiated terms. I personally consider that view/material to be obsolete and non-canonical. (You'll note in my Nochet: Adventurer's Guide that 1) I rewrote it; and 2) it is from one specific in-world view.)

13 minutes ago, Ali the Helering said:

Tolkien's racial stereotyping, his colonialism, his imperialism, and his love for a non-existent pre-industrial idyll are all the result of his time and upbringing.  Regrettable, but so it was.

I think we've generally strayed far enough from the OP topic, and discussion of Tolkien should be taken to a different thread at this point.

19 minutes ago, Squaredeal Sten said:

"What is the extent to which the Esrolian characterationn of men in comparison to women has been internalized by the men and women who are not in the noble and priestly tiers of society?".

There was a view expressed in the old HW/HQ1 works and incorporated into the HQ Voices material presented at that time that suggested that men were always under the control of women due to flightiness, propensity to violence, or whatever. I'd recommend tossing that view out altogether.

As Jeff noted, this is still a Heortling society and I don't think you'll find any strong differentiation at any social level between genders.

1 hour ago, Ynneadwraith said:

However, there is one key gender division of labour that is flipped on its head from most patriarchal structures: women conduct business with outsiders, and men conduct domestic business (with the main caveat being childrearing).

I'd describe it more as: women control the business of the House (marriages, alliances, determination of household needs, ensuring access/control of temples, etc.). Both men and women are involved with externally focused business as directed by the House leadership. An eligible man (sage, merchant, warrior, etc.) is married out to another House to help secure alliances, while they marry in other men from other Houses for same purposes. There may be more trust in the women since they are part of the "House" whereas men married into the House may still have loyalties to their House of birth. But male or female might be merchants, sages, etc.

1 hour ago, Ynneadwraith said:

So, for Esrolia, it's the Queen who decides what the foreign policy is. The matriarch of each household conducts negotiations with other households. It will be a female general who decides where the army goes, and will meet the parlay before a battle.

The Queen... sort of. Depends on how dominant the queen is. Hendira was Queen of all Esrolia and also Belintar's governor, so she focused foreign policy on 1) Belintar's dictates while he was living, and subsequently 2) keeping the menace of Greymane contained. 

Samastina is not Queen of Esrolia, just of Nochet and North Esrolia. The Demivierge of Rhigos is recognized as Queen of Rhigos and South Esrolia as of 1625, and several other prominent queens control parts of Esrolia. So there is no central foreign policy. Nominally the Grandmothers' Council of Ezel (made up of all 200 noble Grandmothers) determines policy and direction for Esrolia and chooses a queen to implement that, but that's rather broken down at this point.

I would not assume it will be a female general deciding where the army goes. The Queen of the city/region or potentially all Esrolia if united behind one will most likely choose a Champion (Bless Champion spell applies) who will then lead the army. That could be a Wind Lord, a Light Son, even an Axe Maiden depending on circumstance and the queen's inclination.

1 hour ago, Squaredeal Sten said:

Do  Esrolian women participate in the militia system. the Irillo Hundreds?  (if not, how and why do they get trained in those weapon skills?)  If so,  are their sex role expectations in the militia different?

Yes, they can. And, no, no particular differentiation.

As seen in the Nochet: Adventurer's Guide artwork (by Lee O'Connor) we have our Quick Arrows militiawoman.

1 hour ago, Squaredeal Sten said:

The implication being that the officers are (or tend to be) women and the higher in rank you go. the closer you get to a glass ceiling, the higher proportion of women.

That does not necessarily match/equate though. The Husband-Protectors are that: Protectors - i.e. they can/do fight and lead. One of Hendira's two husbands was the High Admiral. Samastina's field leaders during the siege and at Pennel Ford were: Broyan Volsaxi and then Argrath at the latter.

The Most Noble Aunt has theoretical command over the Noble Brothers's Regiments, but the leadership of those units would go to whoever best fits the unit's alignment/needs (not necessarily an Earth worshipper, but would be for the Axe Maidens).

7 minutes ago, Erol of Backford said:

Wasn't there a Hero Quest with sheep that has steel wool or something? Do the dwarves use that to make mithril?

I keep mithril firmly in Middle-earth and outside of Glorantha. 

What I do think of with something like the wool of cloud sheep is the association with the Air Rune. Since clouds hold lightning, spun cloud wool might well be an energy source for dwarf machines - put it in a jar and watch the sparks dance! Then channel it to a coil of Earth-extracted copper and connect it to... [insert Mostali device name here]

Chaosium posted to the RuneQuest FB here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/RuneQuest/permalink/2714371438738838/

It is sad, and her last year seems to have been a very difficult one. Griffin Mountain was probably my favorite product from the early RQ era, and certainly the most used. But I also really enjoyed her Central Casting: Heroes of Legend work - very influential in my RQ games for developing character backstory, as well as in the character background material I've put together for Imther, Heortland, and Nochet.

23 minutes ago, Ynneadwraith said:

Mostali: Bring me moon crescents.

Human: ...huh?

Mostali: Moon crescents. Digital shields. Ten of them, departed from the whole periodically. Or twenty, I suppose, if you can reach them from your height. You rarely need them once departed. The trade is beneficial for us both.

Human: ...that's made it worse not better...

Mostali: This is the translated version. It is comprehensive. You should comprehend.

Exactly! 🙂 

In my game, one of the merchant characters decided the dwarfs wanted the hooves of cattle or horses and went dashing off to the butcher's quarter to procure those for trade. The dwarfs determined the delivery as acceptable/meeting the prescribed criteria.

Some items that the dwarfs in my campaign have wanted in trade:

• clay/dirt/sand - always of specific coloration (and never predictable which one they want)
• Feathers! - for transmuting into some Sky-related item
• Firewine? Or Mead! - Bottles of liquid light
• Stardust or Moondust - gathered from the edge of the glowline 
• Snake skins! - shed remains of dead earth
• Nail trimmings, crescent shaped! - touches of the Moon
• Human hair or a myriad collection of teeth - remnants of Grandfather Mortal
• Ink? - bottles of liquid darkness, prepared from tree galls?
• Unusual white wool - spun clouds (i.e. air)
• Human shadows - yes, they will literally cut off/detach your shadow from you

The dwarfs always describe such by Runic element and effect/use, never by an ordinary human word. They often have to consult huge translation dictionaries (often on copper plates) to state what they want.