jajagappa

Depends on the GM's goal. Perception checks in my game are almost always Simple Contests. E.g. "I want to determine if the Lunars are pursuing us" - might make a roll on their Hunter ability, or on their Fire rune, or use their allied Hawk, etc. I have no issue with multiple characters trying, but probably would turn it into a Group Simple Contest then. If they succeed, then the result may be that they spot a dust cloud or see ravens circle in the air or find prints of trolls. The overall benefit might be that they won't be surprised when the Lunars catch up to them or the troll confronts them (or whatever).

It's the approach originally drafted in WF14. Made use of traits based on Pendragon, but added the mid-range where the dragonewt wasn't forced into a specific behavior.

Or extremely focused, and likely far more cold-blooded. I picture the shooter in Las Vegas - single-minded focus on his goal, no sense of rage in the process. That sort of rage mood is what I see in frenzied behavior such as those caught up in a mob riot. Comes back to how you interpret definitions, but I'm comfortable with Fanaticism reflecting the former and not a state of rage. YGMV.

Some of what happened is also covered in the Eleven Lights (see p.162) Immediately after the Dragonrise in late Earthseason, "In Sartar, only the garrisons in the cities and forts remain now — and Jomes in Boldhome has fewer than 2000 men, most of his regiments are at quarter strength following the Battle of the Auroch Hills and the Dragonrise. These are too few to resist an uprising. Kallyr musters an army from the rebel forces across Sartar and whole tribes including the Culbrea. They march on and seize the city of Boldhome from its leaderless and under strength garrison. The Cinsina and other tribes of the Confederation rise to overthrow their local garrisons, and join with Kallyr to take Jonstown." Then in Darkseason, "King Pharandros of Tarsh reacts to Starbrow’s revolt by sending a Tarshite army to reinforce Lunar rule in Alda-Chur — Harvar Ironfist was killed in the Dragonrise. With the north secure, the Tarshite generals plan a counter-attack to bring Sartar back under their heel. Kallyr Starbrow petitions the tribes to provide troops for the fight. She is only moderately successful, and an outnumbered, ragtag army marches to meet the Tarshites. They clash at Dangerford, and the rebels take the day through sheer inspiration. Following a meeting in Boldhome Kallyr, forges a new ring of Sartar and those present declare her Prince of Sartar." So Liberation of Jonstown and Battle of Dangerford are the key events in the north of Sartar in this period, along with Tarshite occupation of Alda-Chur. After the Battle of Dangerford, Kallyr returns to Boldhome to forge the new ring and prepare for her Lightbringer's Quest during Sacred Time.

Well, you've framed a contest and the goal of that contest is to attempt to achieve the outcome. So, in that sense, yes, you are rolling against the identified resistance until you've either succeeded or failed. Whether it's using the same or different trait (with the same or different augment) is dependent on the player's preference. I've had players who continue with the same actions until the contest is done, others who've changed up actions. And HQG provides options such as Assists, Risky Gambits, Defensive Actions, and Multi-Opponent Penalties that can create varied advantages or risks, particularly in a group extended contest. How you wish to narrate it can vary, too, but the nice thing with HQG is that everything boils down to a roll for the action and a roll for the resistance. And at its core it is that simple.

I think this is a good interpretation of what the shaman sees and encounters on the Spirit Plane, even as she/he travels in the Mundane Plane. And it should account for strange behaviors by the shaman (at least strange to those mortals traveling with her/him). The shaman will, so to speak, avoid the 'bad parts of town', or stop to converse with 'an old friend', or simply ignore many of the spirits she/he passes. At the same time, the Spirit World 'geography' is much more shifting. The shaman might be walking through the Nymie Valley, and sees the Guardian Woods much as the shaman's companions do except seeing the spirits who live there looking out from the woods. But where the companions simply see the northward trail, the shaman also sees a fog of greyness overlaying it and knows that is part of the Silver Woods, home only to lost and forsaken spirit fragments and dreams. And where the companions see Rurik's Cave, the shaman sees a tunnel towards the Deep Earth realm guarded by fearsome Earth Demons. But much like a lava lamp, things flow strangely in the Spirit Plane. One moment the Silver Woods may be adjacent to Rurik's Cave, the next a stream of Biting Spirits is flowing between much like a wind rushing through a valley, and perhaps then the shaman must stop and redirect that spirit flow elsewhere, or must hide himself in the Silver Woods because the Bad Man is hunting the Biting Spirits.

And that may be part of the variance in interpretations here. Most definitions of fanatic do not express anything to do with rage, but of someone who is overly excited and interested in something or having an enthusiastic devotion to a cause. That rage mood is what is reflected in the Berserk spell.

Probably occurs in Fonrit. The temple of Black Arkat might be another.

The heroes in my HQG campaign recently encountered a party of dwarfs and ending up trading for: - a small box that can trap Lunar glamours (though delivered with the recommendation not to trap too many lest it suffer from the multiplicative effect) - a Veskarstone that looks like a large fist-sized unpolished and porous looking red rock but with the right words can heat up (price = 2 shadows)

Except that it's not just Lyksos, but the combination of Lyksos and Lorion/Engizi as of the time when Belintar built the New Canal. That said, I'm sure the Esrolians propitiate the joint rivers to keep them calm and slow too (at least most of the year).

Because the gods and spirits don't like having their magic wrested from them via arcane formulas! They like you to make offerings to them, or bargains. They get something in those exchanges. When their magic is taken without anything in return, they think you're a thief. And they send their minions out to hunt you down (or at least badmouth you). Now in the Aeolian case, Aeol must have come up with a mechanism that allowed the formulaic exercise of the magic in exchange for something. Perhaps he found a way to let the magic used by the sorcerer (i.e. 'priest') channel back to the god. And perhaps the same is true for LM and Pavis through whatever means they (or their worshippers) devised.

That's why you want to approach from the south via Holy Island, or make sure that you have an Engizi priestess with you.

Seems reasonable (and likely). I'd guess that the different Nochet houses and their factors in Karse make arrangements with groups such as the ludoch, newtlings, and even trolls, to facilitate passage.

Yes, from an in-universe, mundane world perspective, these are the predominant approaches and worldviews. This reflects my earlier comments re: How you worship (i.e. how do you get into contact with your gods/spirits) How you obtain magic from them once you've approached them Exactly! And to me, this is perfectly reasonable and possible. But, there does not need to be any difference in how you worship or how you approach the deity/great spirit to achieve this. From an in-universe perspective, when you cross into the Otherworld, you do so by the path (i.e. worldview) that you culturally expect to use. You do not take one path to reach Kargzant (as god) vs. Kargzant (as spirit). You follow your path to reach Kargzant. But when you reach him, you do something different to gain one type of magic from him vs. another. As David pointed out, you could bargain with Kargzant to get spirits that enable you to create Arrows of Fire. Or you could sacrifice something to him to draw forth his power to create Arrows of Fire. An Arrow of Fire is an Arrow of Fire - from an external observers perspective of your action, the Arrow of Fire looks the same. However, the action you took to create the Arrow of Fire will look different. In the first case, you focus on your charm and will the spirit to create the Arrow of Fire. In the second, your fingers or your eye may glow with flame which alights upon your arrow as it is shot. Different causes, convergent effects. The observer of your action might say, "Oh, he's invoking a spirit charm! If I destroy his charm, I'll stop his action." or "Oh, he's channeling his god! If I summon the Sunslayer, I'll stop his action." Different behaviors to invoke. Different reactions to the perceived actions. You don't need to throw away any distinctions here. Does that help clarify some?

Which is what I was describing in the earlier (and subsequent) post. You can take a "shamanistic" in-game view where every interaction with Kargzant is through that lens. You dance along the Path of Fire, you enter the Otherworld in the Great Plains, and then seek out the Plain of Fire, and then find Kargzant "the great spirit" on the Golden Trail. You bargain with him and he grants you spirits you can bind in charms. Or you can take a "theistic" in-game view where you interact with Kargzant only in the Circle of Flame under the Noonday Sun. Your prayers and sacrifices carry you to Kargzant's Chariot. There you sacrifice and "link" yourself to Kargzant "the god" and in return he can come into you and you can become him. It's up to the GM to decide how these differences are described. And whether they are needed.

Really up to the GM and players to determine how they want to describe the approach and their character's understanding of the action. If you want to emphasize a distinction and describe it distinctly, it's perfectly fine to do so in HQG. But I wouldn't let varied game mechanics get in the way of how you want to approach setting up a Pentan tradition. You could say that Tribe X is Traditionalist. They always treat all gods and spirits as spirits. They create charms to hold spirits that can do these varied things and take on taboos associated with them. They even bargain with Kargzant this way. And Kargzant gives them "pieces of himself" to place into charms to invoke. Tribe Y though takes a different approach. They know that Kargzant is a greater spirit, and that Tribe X are fools to try to bargain with such a being. They bring sacrifice to him, and in return Kargzant will come into them personally. Perhaps you decide that this approach gives these magic users an advantage in a contest. Or perhaps not. The game mechanic lets you take either approach.

Anyone could/can have spirits. Just more abilities. Bound fire spirit in golden spear point 13

Actually, I've never found a need for any difference in HQG (and I've been running HQG campaigns for nearly 4 years now). Anything you have is an ability with a rating. Example: Fire Rune 1W Initiate of Kargzant (under Fire Rune) 1W Torch of Victory +3 Arrows of Flame +2 Or another example: Fire Rune 1W Golden Bow Tradition (under Fire Rune) 1W Flaming arrows +2 Command Flames +1 It's completely immaterial (and indistinguishable) whether these are "divine/rune" magic, "spirit" magic, "charms", gifts of the god, or whatever. Now, I could have something explicitly broken out and distinct such as a feat, a bound spirit, a charm, or a grimoire. But there's no particular reason to do so.

The areas where I see different approaches come into play are: How you worship (i.e. how do you get into contact with your gods/spirits) How you perceive the Otherworld as you approach them How you obtain magic from them once you've approached them In a theistic practice, you prepare the holy ground, you pray, you conduct the worship service, you make sacrifices. This brings the Otherworld of the gods close. In an Ernalda service you may find yourself in Ernalda's Loom House, or in one of her Deep Caves. In an Orlanth service you find yourself flying to Karulinoran, spiraling in through the Storm Mountains. You have come to the abode of your god. In a shamanic practice, the shaman stakes out the Sacred Circle and then your ecstatic dances, perhaps your drug-induced state, allows the Otherworld to overlap. But here you perceive yourself in the Spirit Plane. You must follow the shaman as she/he guides you through the shifting and dangerous realm to approach the great spirit you seek. Perhaps that is the Green Serpent Mother coiled in her cave. Perhaps it is West King Wind amidst the mighty gale force winds. In a sorcerous practice, you follow the formulae of your grimoire. It's a step-by-step approach of marking runes, defining borders, invoking runic powers, forcing the Otherworld to bend to your will until you can command the demon you have called forth to reveal its secrets. The initial step is different. The approach seems very different. But the place you've reached in either route may be coterminous, though you may never realize/recognize that they are. Once you're in the locale of your deity/great spirit, you can obtain magic. To gain magic to Call the Clouds, either Orlanth or West King Wind may require you to sacrifice a piece of your soul/spirit so that you can become or channel him in the mundane world. To gain magic to Sharpen your Blade, you may simply need to bargain with the being to reveal the focus required and whatever gestures needed to invoke the magic. From a Pentan point-of-view, No, I think the chieftain knows that there is one way to reach Kargzant: he must follow the Path of Fire. Maybe this establishes a walkway of fiery embers that run east-west that he must pass along while the initiates (the herd) dance along both sides. Maybe he must sacrifice a stallion in the east and step in its blood so that he can walk upon the embers successfully. As he walks west, he finds himself transported onto Kargzant's path. He must time his action so that he meets Kargzant at the right place in the Otherworld. Low in the East for the powers of the Rider. At the Zenith for the powers of Command. Etc. Perhaps he can bargain for the Rider's powers and these are basic "spirit" magics. Perhaps he must give of himself (make further sacrifice) for the powers of Command, and these are "rune" magics where he can "bring Kargzant into himself". The Pentan will not have our game perception separating spirit magic from rune magic from sorcery. He just knows the True Way to get the magic (and how to invoke it). I don't think they'd even be aware of this distinction. What they'd be aware of is the Dara Happan Yelm priest who does everything "wrong". They might understand that the only way to bargain with West King Wind, or with Kargzant, is to offer up a part of themselves first, and then the god/great spirit will listen to them. Other deities/spirits may offer up magic easier, maybe just requiring you to take on a taboo in return. Great spirits (i.e. gods) are always surrounded by lesser spirits (i.e. companions, heroes, etc.). Great spirits can offer much. Lesser spirits can offer little. Kargzant or West King Wind will always have an array of powers to offer. But the cost may be high. I don't think the Pentans are going to make any judgment based on whether it is "rune" or "spirit" magic. They will judge on whether the great spirit/god can offer magics that help them become powerful in the world.

Presumably yes. Could be formed in/from special Vengeance trees. Could be made from Copperbark trees. Could be something else. But I'm sure the Babeester Gor initiates interpret their oaths to protect the earth as including the plants growing from the earth.

IIRC Sandy Petersen, as a biologist, was the one who really transformed the trolls from a generic fantasy creature into the concept we now know as the uz in Trollpack. What Cults of Prax did in changing the way we perceived religion and the gods in Glorantha, Trollpack did in changing the way we perceived other species. You have to go to Greg's article in DW 24(?) "Why I hate the Mostali", to see the transformation of the dwarves into the caste-oriented, World Machine-dominated species they have become. And while dragonewts were already weird in RQ1/RQ2, it was the article on them in WF14 that showed how really strange they were.

Those are known to be, not just suspected. Chaosium published the Midkemia Press Carse from Raymond Feist's world and placed the city along the Mirrorsea as Karse. They also did the Thieves' World Sanctuary and placed that into Glorantha as Refuge. Karse has gone it's own way, and I don't know that anything has been carried over since. As for Refuge, it began to evolve with the Guide, though I haven't gone back to see how/whether the original setting now translates.

Well, perhaps we won't go there....

From a Nochet temple, a carving of Maran petting one of her favorite pig-dogs.

A carving of a Rock Dwarf? Or an Andim Demon? Or maybe some figure from the Kingdom of Ignorance?