jajagappa

For purely random, you could just do D10/2 for season, D8, and D8. I wanted something that could cover both pure random and weighted based on runes, hence spread each of them over a D100. Still just 3 rolls. If you're unsure what runes you want, you can let the random roll guide you and see what you get. If you know your runes, but find it odd that your birth date coincides exactly, then you can add in some randomness but still have good likelihood that it aligns.

RQG p.81 outlines a basic method for determining the season, week, and day of week for your character's birth. As I often like a bit more randomness in my character's birthdates, I put together the following tables that allow a couple options for calculating each (including mix-and-match as you will). Hopefully of use to others who like randomized birthdays. 🙂 Option 3 in each case is intended to provide a weighted roll. For Seasons, the weighting gives 55% for runic season, 10% for each other season, and 5% for Sacred Time except for the Moon rune which has 20% for the Young Elemental seasons, 15% for Stormseason, and 5% for Sacred Time. For the Weeks, I set it so that you'd get 50% chance each for your best power or the opposite of your best power, or a spread across the weeks if your form rune was highest. For the Days, there is a marginal addition for Wildday and Godsday. On the weighted roll, it currently just spills over into the prior/subsequent day (though I'm still playing around with other optional spreads). Season: Option 1: choose season from highest elemental rune Option 2: roll 1D100 on the Season Table Option 3: roll 1D20 + modifier from your highest elemental rune on the Season Table Water rune +0 Fire rune +20 Earth rune +40 Darkness rune +60 Air rune +80 Moon rune x5 OR roll 1D100 Season Table: D100 Season 01-11 Seaseason 12 Sacred Time 13-14 Fireseason 15-16 Earthseason 17-18 Darkseason 19-20 Stormseason 21-31 Fireseason 32 Sacred Time 33-34 Earthseason 35-36 Darkseason 37-38 Stormseason 39-40 Seaseason 41-51 Earthseason 52 Sacred Time 53-54 Darkseason 55-56 Stormseason 57-58 Seaseason 59-60 Fireseason 61-71 Darkseason 72 Sacred Time 73-74 Stormseason 75-76 Seaseason 77-78 Fireseason 79-80 Earthseason 81-89 Stormseason 90 Sacred Time 91-92 Stormseason 93-94 Seaseason 95-96 Fireseason 97-98 Earthseason 99-00 Darkseason Week: Option 1: choose season from highest power rune Option 2: roll 1D100 Option 3: roll 1D20 + modifier from highest power/form rune Disorder/Harmony rune +0 Death/Fertility rune +20 Stasis/Movement rune +40 Illusion/Truth rune +60 Man/Beast rune +80 Week Table: D100 Week 01-10 Disorderweek 11-20 Harmonyweek 21-30 Deathweek 31-40 Fertilityweek 41-50 Stasisweek 51-60 Movementweek 61-70 Illusionweek 71-80 Truthweek 81-82 Disorderweek 83-84 Harmonyweek 85-86 Deathweek 87-88 Fertilityweek 89-90 Stasisweek 91-92 Movementweek 93-94 Illusionweek 95-96 Truthweek 97-00 Sacred Time Note: replace Season if rolled, or reroll, or select preferred week Day of Week: Option 1: choose weekday from highest elemental rune Option 2: roll 1D100 Option 3: roll 1D20 + modifier from highest of elemental or Man/Beast rune Darkness rune +0 Water rune +11 Earth rune +25 Air rune +39 Fire rune +53 Moon or Beast rune +67 Man rune +80 Day of Week Table: D100 Weekday 01-14 Freezeday 15-28 Waterday 29-42 Clayday 43-56 Windsday 57-70 Fireday 71-85 Wildday 86-00 Godsday Sacred Time Week: Option 1: Choose either Fateweek or Godweek Option 2: Roll 1D20: 01-10 = Fateweek; 11-20 = Godweek Day of Week: Use Day of Week Table as above.

And very similar in appearance to what I saw first-hand in Iceland a week back - tall escarpments with low, flat coastal plains immediately around or between. I'll second that question. I see no barriers to the rains falling as the clouds climb up the Heortland plateau towards the Stormwalk Mountains. There's no rain shadow (unlike in Esrolia around Nochet) from southwesterly winds, which are what is noted in RQG as predominant from Seaseason through Earthseason.

Mostly current incarnations of Pathfinder and 13th Age - never played the original before discovering RQ.

As others have noted, pretty much as needed/desired. Mostly it's flavor for the day: it's hot and humid (i.e. you don't want to wear armor), it's raining (trails are muddy and will slow you down and make wagons useless), it's frigid with strong gales (better have cloaks and fur-lined outfits, otherwise penalize skills such as manipulation). Sometimes can be portents. Useful to know if it's clear or cloudy if Yelm or Orlanth want to cast certain spells.

My view of Nochet is that the urban clans are 'guilds' where they've gained particular privileges over a craft (e.g. House Ternvok is one of four clans that have rights as carters/wheelwrights) or part of a larger fabric of society where they pursue particular functions that serve common neighborhood needs (e.g. participation in one of the larger Societies of the Cloth). This creates a certain nominal balance until factors such as success/failure of a prominent clan leader, luck/fate, or population pressures (e.g. Sartarite and Esrolian refugees from wars) through things out of balance. If you don't come with a large group at your back, you'd do well to bring your craft/skills and marry or be adopted into an existing clan with a need (e.g. a small clan who suddenly find they don't have any craftsmen to compete with someone else pushing into their 'guild' territory).

Yes, should be some good farmland but you need crops that won't rot from the hot, humid, and rainy summer weather. Citrus groves may work here. And likely good for cattle grazing - less so for sheep.

I thought he was referencing the areas highlighted in yellow here. What's noted in the Guide p.245 "There is a narrow coastal strip which quickly gives way to thousand foot high cliffs ending at the plateau. Five rivers have cut gorges from the plateau top to the sea and these form the only access from shore to the upland farms." The climate as a whole is noted on p.234: "The climate is generally warmer in the southwest, colder in the northeast. The western lowlands (Esrolia, Caladraland, and the Right Arm Islands) rarely get any snow, while snow is common in the Storm Mountains and the Heortland Plateau. The western lowlands get hot and humid in Fire Season, the eastern highlands are warm and dryer. Storm and Sea Seasons are wet throughout the Holy Country; each Sea Season brings the warm Heler rains from the Homeward Ocean." Assuming it is this coastal strip, then it will be heavily affected by the dominant southwesterly winds that prevail from Sacred Time to late Earth Season (RQG p.110). Unlike parts of Esrolia, there is no rain shadow here - it's going to get rain right and fogs off the Mirrorsea, and a lot of the rain will be dropped as the clouds climb the plateau (and leaving the highlands of Heortland drier). My guess is that it is closest in vegetation to that of central/north Portugal or around coastal central California or central Chile (e.g. the Chilean matorral: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chilean_Matorral). This part of Heortland should see wet, fertile, relatively warm with drier winters. Lot of soil washed down from Stormwalk Mountains so fertile and good for farming. Talls trees nestled in along cliff bases. Maybe palm trees in the flats. Choralinthor itself is fairly calm so there will be tidal flats and probably good dune systems.

Agree, an Issaries initiate can gain/use the spell. The caveat though is this: The trade must be done in an Issaries Market. Also, the person they can trade with seems to be variable. While the opening text indicates it is done with another priest of any cult, the subsequent text says: other cults treat these transactions in various ways. All Lightbringers, for example, deal with their associate god of Issaries, but the Earth goddesses allow spell trades only if the High Priestess of the temple approves. The nomad gods (Storm Bull and Waha) require the High Priest to be present to negotiate. So I'd say most cults (except other Lightbringers) limit the ability of their initiates to engage in trading away special cult magic. Not that initiates couldn't do so, but likely they will face their Spirits of Reprisal if not blessed/approved by their priestess/priest. Of course, your Trickster initiate will be happy to trade for lots of rune spells, no approval required. 😉

Yes, it is there. I'd likely play it that they are part of the Culbrea still, but have a long-standing feud with their neighbors, the Two-Pines since that is noted (e.g. the Lorthing Gold Tribute which they've refused to pay/honor since Starbrow's Rebellion). They hate the Telmori, so have tended to be friendly with and aid the Cinsina and likely have marriage relations with them. Otherwise, per the map in the Coming Storm, they are a very isolated clan stuck between Telmori to the north, the aggressive Two-Pine clan to the west, the Sazdorf trolls of Battle Valley to the south/east (and I'm sure regular raids by Praxian nomads as well).

Welcome to Nochet. 🙂

"Yes, I swear upon the Styx that I will complete Harmast's Saga!"

Thanks for noting the original Rome references. I particularly liked this note: "would examine how a society could function without law. He chose ancient Rome as it managed to function as an imperial capital without a standing police force." That's Nochet in a nutshell.

Interesting. I've always found D&D and related products difficult to access and remember what class could or could not do what.

That's a very good point. Hopefully between the Gods of Glorantha book, the GM Sourcebook, and future material, the GM (and players) will have a broader range of material to facilitate character development (and encourage GM's to be bold and do what works for them and their players - the Maximum Game Fun principle is after all right up front in RQG on pg.6). I've always liked the fact with RQ that not all gods are equal, but any player can create a unique character with their own unique pathway through Glorantha. I'd always encourage a player to express a thought like "I wish Foundchild character had the Path Watch spell." As a GM, I'd ask the player to describe the story where Foundchild gained this. And I'd reply along the lines that, yes, you remember a Master Hunter at the Great Hunt telling this story and how he went on a quest to follow Foundchild's footsteps. Perhaps the Master Hunter failed, and gives a warning that he almost learned it, and had gained the Tiger Eye stone, but Raven tricked him at the Crossroads, stole the stone, and flew off with it. So, there's a way to get it, a partial outline of the quest to get it, and a way for the character to advance and gain something new, but still relevant to the god. It's just not common (yet - the character may become the Hero who restores the spell to all of Foundchild's followers!).

But that's been true in RQ since it was first created and true in Cults of Prax and Griffin Mountain. Granted we only had part of Orlanth there, but even then Orlanth was far more powerful and broader than Foundchild or Pavis or Flintnail or Zola Fel.... I never found that discrepancy an issue in all the years I ran RQ, and hopefully the material coming allows plenty of options and opportunities while recognizing that gods/goddesses are not created equal and don't have the same powers.

That sounds like a GM issue, not one with the cult per se. The major gods (storm, sun, earth, darkness) are powerful because they are broad and primary. Hunters are not; and the basic magical choices and options for 'cult' advancement within Odayla or Yinkin or Foundchild will naturally be more limited. The great thing with RQ was the ability of a PC to advance in multiple ways not limited to class (or cult or occupation). The GM has to be able to explore with the player what advancement makes sense. Is it skills as a Master Hunter? Is it knowledge of the Great Forest in the Spirit World? Is it recognition that Odayla is the Sky Bear (aka Orlanth's Ring) and that he is the power of the Storm too? Or that Odayla is the stead of the Red Goddess, the Moon Bear that turns the Sky Dome and that she is the power of the Moon too? All these are ways of advancement. All these can be achieved within the context of RQG. It's just not going to be spelled out as with a D&D Ranger class.

Unfortunately it's in the reprint at some time stage. Still worthwhile picking up the pdf.

It's part of a special exhibition on saddlery at the National Museum of Iceland, but unfortunately I didn't record where the piece originated. However, the writing on the piece is definitely a Scandinavian name and has a date of 1770 on it so my guess is Icelandic. The whole piece is visible here: http://www.thjodminjasafn.is/english/faldar-undirsidur/current-exhibitions/splendid-saddlery

They don't export those. 😉

Yes, could definitely see that. Could be fun to have players narrate what form/shape their characters have taken. PC's from the Red Cow clan might take the form of red cows/bulls. Or a bull-headed man or even man-headed bull (ala the old Assyrian gates). Or maybe a Humakti is a free-floating sword. Ernaldans might be varied types of snakes or like snake mothers. Lot of interesting possibilities - but I'm sure that whatever they choose the first time that they will be largely locked into that form in subsequent Spirit Plane ventures.

Buried in the Big Rubble, adventurers have discovered jars containing ancient cheese imported from distant Imther. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/16/science/oldest-cheese-ever-egypt-tomb.html

Pages from a bestiary of sea creatures plundered from the Lhankor Mhy temple in the City of Wonders.

The skeleton of a large coastal bird from the Three Step Isles, now thought to be extinct.

The skull of a monstrous broo, probably taken as a trophy after careful purification and cleansing rituals.