jajagappa

Separate Death from Man (i.e. a mortal), Combine Fertility, Stasis for permanent life. (Doing only the first creates an undead being)

Probably. But the dangers are: 1) that their body is highly vulnerable without a fetch; 2) their connection to the Spirit World is likely more tenuous, and they may just be treated as some petty spirit to overwhelm by these higher spirits (including the Bad Man, who may well be attracted by these venturesome "spirits").

When the goddess speaks to you, through her chosen vessel, do you ignore her? Your Ernalda/Earth temple initiates should not. Your Orlanthi may well argue back, but likely depends upon their level. Orlanth initiates will likely have strong feelings of connection to the priestess/Ernalda - she's appealing to Orlanth (or her husband-protectors) in all likelihood. For those still skeptical, an Insight(human) might be a relevant roll. Your Orlanthi priest will understand her guise. Does he counter by manifesting more of Orlanth? Or accept her arguments? Humakt's glowing sword is obvious to those used to it too. Doesn't mean you don't respond to it. But the Ernalda priestess's appeal (and invocation of Charisma) may simply emphasize that this is Important to Ernalda, and therefore you'd better pay attention and listen. It depends. In a highly political temple, she'd likely consider the implications and her position (an Intrigue or Insight(human) roll). If it is important for her to counter the argument, I don't think it is a "don't try that on us", but "I, too, understand the will of the goddess".

Generally I've postulated a very small duck community in and around Nochet - if anything more around it in the marshy islands to the south. Many will be refugees from the Duck Hunts. Unfortunately there are also a lot of Sartarite refugees in Nochet, many of whom might be happy to send duck trophies back north so their kin can reap the rewards, so to speak. I expect more vibrant communities in the Right-arm Islands.

I'd say it depends on how Ernalda wishes to bless them. Does she see them as equal (twin daughters destined to bring great glory to the Earth), rivals, differing genders, etc. If one is not blessed, it creates interesting relations between these twins. Is the unblessed one jealous/envious of the other? One heroic, one tragic/flawed? One part of the community, the other an outcast (perhaps even a trickster)? One a leader, the other a follower?

The intersection of the Lady of the Wild and Serdrodosa will be where the spirits linked with both intersect, i.e. the dryads of wild groves with roots in the earth, the oreads of the untamed hills, the Serpent Mothers of secret caves that shelter beasts of the wild, etc.

The spells will have different manifestations. Charisma should not create some great green glow around the Ernalda Priestess. But all around may see her as more vibrant, more alive, her voice stronger and more compelling, yet calming at the same time - think more of turning up the dimmer switch on a light and how at the end all around see her strength and presence as the power that is Ernalda. (It is what priestesses are after all).

1) First, probably worried that there is a connection to the Maboder. Send folk to investigate. 2) See if Idrima can benefit the Lunars of Wulfsland, e.g. help fight the Telmori. Send folk to convince her to aid them (sacrifices needed, etc.) 3) See if Idrima can be wed into the Lunar pantheon. Longer term plan.

I don't think there needs to be. Lady of the Wild connects to Wild Places, aka uncivilized, and seems mostly related to the Hunt. Orogeria is probably connected in her guise as huntress. Serdrodosa is more the "spirit" side of the Earth - that which hears and connects to all the multitudinous hordes of rock spirits, earth elementals, and beasts that traverse through the earth.

Don't have to go to Prax for those! Hazia comes from the Stinking Forest, so has to be a good trade going north to the Lunar Empire and south to Sartar and Esrolia. The text doesn't say where Moon Flowers are from, so whatever is convenient for your game.

Yes, they can discorporate and learn how to perform Spirit Dance and Spirit Travel. No, they don't require the Discorporate rune magic to do so, but that's likely the most efficient and predictable way to do it. There are other means. See the Hazia and Moon Flower articles in RQG Bestiary p.199: "Hazia is a euphoric substance derived from the crushed stamens of a plant native to the Stinking Forest. It is highly addictive and produces the same effect as a Discorporation spell but lasting for 1D6 hours." and "Lunar alchemists refine Moon Flower into a potion that eliminates the physical harm and enhances aspects of the delirium and creates an effect like that of hazia (but without the addictive qualities)." Those are but two. The dark elves are undoubtedly tending special fungi and brewing fungi-based potions that have similar effects. In my Orlmarth campaign, the shaman Joseph Greenbeak brought a group of heroes with him into the Spirit World by having them find and ingest White Dust mushrooms, "picked before the dust is gone to open the way to the Spirit Plane". The downside of White Dust mushroom is that while you Discorporate, the effect doesn't allow you to find your way back to your body. For that Joseph had them find the thorns of the Green Spot Tanglebush "to follow the Trail of Pain back to the body" (aka, make a quick exit from the Spirit Plane when you're in trouble).

As long as they get to it before it starts to burn and give a bad flavor to the whole meal.

In HQG, this is the Whispering Caves Feat Yinkin cheated death or crippling injury nine times. The first was when Orlanth blew him from the cave, but raced to save him. If you heroquest to the Whispering Caves you can learn a feat to cheat certain death, just as Yinkin did. An Umbroli appears to provide help just when you need it, just as Orlanth appeared repeatedly to help Yinkin. You can use this feat to escape death eight times. Each time the Umbroli saves your life, he places a ring around your tail, which you will see in your alynx form. In RQ, I'd make this a quest to the Whispering Caves upon Kero Fin where Yinkin must be blown from the cave and fall towards the earth. On a successful quest, they can a special Rune magic (Secret of the Whispering Caves, aka Nine Lives) as a special Divine Intervention which always calls/summons an Umbroli to their aid. The cost though is that they can never use standard DI, ever.

They all follow the path of the Dead. See SKoH p.346: Trolls, broo, beast men, and every other mortal race join the Dead. All are united in death and silence, for none speak or quarrel. They all parade with a common purpose and goal: to reach Havan Vor, the Court of Silence. Undoubtedly some fail to cross the River of Swords or the Ferryman's Boat for they lack the coin of passage and are doomed to be ghosts forever congregating by the shores of the River Styx. Any who have broken oaths will be shredded, devoured, forgotten, etc. and never reach the Court of Silence. Those who reach the Court of Silence are judged. Their gods (including the Chaos Gods presumably) may speak for them. The afterlife varies. Some of this originally noted in Cults of Terror and reprinted in Cults Compendium (and presumably will see updated versions in Gods of Glorantha). Undoubtedly many are just reabsorbed into the primordial muck of the Font of Chaos. And some are obliterated, like the souls of vampires (or those devoured by the Crimson Bat). Mallia’s faithful know there will be no reincarnation for their spirits, and that all they can hope for is a safe eternity in Hell. Dead Initiates in the cult may be kept for a time as a spirit of disease before they, too, gain the final rest. Thed’s worshippers become demons of chaos after they die, and spend their time hunting the souls of those unprotected by their own deities. The demons will be scouts for the forces of chaos in the Final Battle. When a Thanatari lies dying, the Gatherer of Souls (one of many subservient cult spirits) appears to the stricken cultist and guides his or her soul to the Place of Waiting-reputedly that part of Hell where Hrothmir separated the head and body of Tien. After completing a term of service as a guardian, the spirit returns to the Place of Waiting once gain to bide till the day when the forces of chaos engage the gods in the final battle.

Yes. A good example in SKoH p.180 is Dorasa the Cat-witch: Dorasa is a notorious thief and bandit, but is as famed for her dark beauty as for her crimes. She is said to have many lovers including at least one Sartarite king and a senior Lunar general who has been tasked with capturing her! Dorasa is a devotee of Yinkin and often takes the form of a large black shadowcat. I don't know that it would be 'left-handed'. It's more their ability to utilize the natural surroundings to blend in, hide, transform their self, etc. Also the ability to cheat death (aka nine lives).

Nothing like an elf arm to get the fire really blazing!

Probably better to say you can turn any story into a Heroquest. Yes, there are a lot of stories/myths that connect to the descent into the Underworld and return from. That is what Spring/New Year is about - the rebirth of the world from the Dead - so quests to return with a New Seed (the great elf quest of the Hero Wars), a new light, fire, a new form of Death, etc. all work as Underworld quests. Myths are stories that interact with the fabric and archetypes of the world. They have obstacles, some of which you are supposed to win, some fail. Following the story leads you to the potential of the story/myth. Winning where you are supposed to lose alters the story and the myth - likely the real benefit of the myth is lost. Whether what you get instead, if anything, is of the same value or not is something that will ripple through you, your supporters, your clan.

Well, certainly could be an ogre witch!... But other options with variants on the story: Ty Kora Tek priestess - scary old hag, her cottage borders upon the urnfield (or barrows, or mausoleum, or necropolis); there are restless ghosts of children that won't stay silent - they long for playmates; Hansel and Gretel arrive at a convenient time; and if Ty Kora Tek has decreed that their Fated time is up... Asrelia priestess - the Earth was robbed, robbed by greedy Lunars, treacherous Sartarites, etc.; two special blessings were stolen by someone from a nearby clan, blessings bestowed upon Hansel and Gretel by their ambitious father/mother; now Asrelia wants her treasures back; Asrelia has instructed her priestess well - bake a pair of gingerbread loaves in the likeness of the children, let the children breathe their essence into the loaves, and send the loaves back to the clan as a warning; Asrelia will take the children into her Hut where they will spend their days until Fate cuts their threads, and Asrelia can keep the blessings once more.

As @Joerg noted, any quest into the Underworld is a HeroQuest. To go there, you must enter the Land of the Dead. Returning from Death is heroic and not to be taken lightly. It's different than going underground, say into the Caves of Chaos in Snakepipe Hollow. To go into Snakepipe Hollow, you simply need to travel there, enter the caves, reach your goal, and come back out (hopefully alive and not hideously transformed by Chaos). To enter the Underworld usually requires a ritual crossing from a sacred/holy starting point (there are some exceptions - if you fall into the Hell Crack in Pent or sail down Magasta's Whirlpool you will eventually land in the Underworld). Orlanthi use either the myth of the Lightbringer's Quest (or pieces of it), travelling west to the Gates of Dusk, getting Rausa the goddess of Dusk to open the gates for you, and then descending the spiral stairs; or the myth of Orlanth's Ring where Storm Home disappears from the Sky and appears in the Underworld. Ernalda/Earth worshippers use the myth of Ernalda's Sleep where she falls into endless sleep (think Sleeping Beauty), but is carried down through the Earth Temple to the Neverending Stairs and then past Nontraya until you variously reach the Caverns of Silence, Asrelia's Hut, or some similar border between Earth and Darkness. Humakti of the Lismelder tribe can use the Six Stones HeroQuest to enter the Underworld. Other cults have other myths. To enter the Underworld means that you effectively die. You and your soul have left the world of the living. The myths give you ways to move through the Underworld, even if it is the world of nightmare and the unconscious. To rescue Hofstaring, you must reach the Court of Judgment. And there you must make the demand to enter the Deeper Hell beyond the Adamant Gates. These rather proscribed actions, "stations" or "steps" of the myth, are key parts to making them a HeroQuest, part of the mythic cycle. The HeroQuest challenge is an opportunity to enforce or reinforce a specific step in the story and gain a greater boon or benefit. Perhaps your Orlanthi Heroquester gains an extra power against the Sun worshippers (which then is available in both the real world and in subsequent HeroQuests). Lots of possibilities here. Maybe he gains the blessing of Resurrection! (or Self-Resurrection). But it's still part of the greater quest which is to bring a great treasure for the benefit of the world out of the Underworld (Orlanth brought back the Sun, Yelm brought back Justice, etc.).

Priestesses of Ty Kora Tek or Asrelia, either one works fine! Or a Witch of Jakaleel if you prefer a Lunar version.

Across 40 years time, there's a lot of stuff. A challenge in responding can be trying to ascertain whether the question is: 1) simply a desire for ideas; 2) looking to get as close to canon as possible so that the next published stuff won't contradict what you're doing in your game; 3) understand different or diverging threads about a concept, culture, place, etc. All benefit from including a reference (source and page), though it has the downside of looking a bit "footnoted", particularly those sources that we know Jeff et al are actively using (generally starting with the Guide). I think Ellie put it well: Keep deep lore out of newbie threads. And a corollary to that is: Assume it's not looking for deep lore unless the poster indicates so. 

Agree. Irrelevant for a one-shot, or getting any campaign underway. Yep. Definitely agree. Agree, keep it focused on a bit of Glorantha summary, and getting going in the adventure. Definitely!

To keep it simpler at the start, particularly running the Apple Lane scenario, I'd suggest using: Harmast (leader, good mix of skills), Vasana (Orlanthi warrior), Yanioth (healer and earth magics, good counter to spirits), Vostor (muscle), and Nathem (scouting, tracking). If you want Sorola (knowledge/lore, some combat), I'd suggest using the Quickstart version with spirit magic rather than the GM Screen pack version with sorcery, simply to focus on the two types of magic rather than three. Introduce Glorantha - basics of the world. Basics of skills (d100, basic rolls, resistance rolls, opposed rolls). Everything whether normal skills, magical skills, combat uses those basics. Runes & passions, inspirations & augments. Their individual personalities and the ability to boost your basic skills with these. Spirit magic and Rune magic. Everyone knows some magic. Spirit magic is quick, short, but gives some basic boosts. Rune magic is stronger, more powerful, more dramatic. Review their character choices in light of these. Introduce the setting, and get underway.

Yes. Mythic quests are typically at one of two levels (possibly both): the communal, which is what you're noting; or the individual (you, acting as your god, seek to follow his/her footsteps and gain the benefits they did, and likely take on their flaws as a consequence).

Slightly out of order. Sequence is: Full Moon - Wildday Full Half - Godsday Crescent Going - Freezeday Dying - Waterday Black Moon - Clayday Crescent Coming - Windsday Empty Half - Fireday