jajagappa

Do you want to adjust for ability advancement. Yes. Do you need to slavishly tie it to 4 sessions. No. The GM is best positioned to determine the right rate of adjustment. Where my players tend to use HP's in play and not hoard to buy advancements, it doesn't make sense to follow that tightly.

There is a name for the Not-the-Red-Emperor. But when it may be revealed is another question. ;-)

Peralam sits below the Hill of Gold not on the hill. The placement on the map on p.337 on the hill is incorrect. It is dangerous to be on the hill as it is very close to the Gods War. Shadows, demons, storms, even chaos might be encountered upon it.

I don't quite remember how I discovered the existence of Wyrms Footnotes, but I did, and was able to get original copies of WF11-WF14 back when I started investigating Glorantha. For someone starting a campaign in the Lunar Provinces, having the Redline History available was/is a treasure - so much good material there (and the whole history is finally available in the Gloranthan Sourcebook). WF12 with the History of the Second Wane led me to discover the Conquering Daughter, the Daughter's Roads, and Sylila. All were important aspects in my original RQ campaign, and the Conquering Daughter was my first cult writeup. It reflected what I knew/thought at the time associating roads and the like with the Stasis Rune. It would be different now. Needless to say, I love the illustration on pg.320 of the Conquering Daughter confronting the Black Eel. While not the most finished work (and I'm not sure that the buildings behind are quite what I'd picture, particularly where the water seems to flow through the gateway), there's a nice sense of the magical confrontation getting underway. "The New Fire will burn away the guardians of the Black Eel River, break the gods protecting Mirin’s Cross, and leave a hard and indestructible bridge across the river, as clear as the purest crystal." My personal interpretation of the four-day battle is that Hwarin courts and wins over the Black Eel in a duel of Love, and that the Crystal Bridge is in fact the child of Hwarin and the Black Eel. Given familiarity with the Redline History, (and helping crowd-source edit the whole Lunar chapter) was there anything I found particularly new here? Yes, still a few items! (Such is the richness of the Guide) the Errio-Unit are clearly key players in the provinces, married into many of the provincial dynasties. This puts them squarely into a rivalry with the Eel-Ariash and the Tarshites. Be interesting to see how that plays out post-Dragonrise. Palace of Flowers (large city): Also called Elmsam - the name Elmsam was new. Suggestive of Yelm as the Bringer of Flowers. Verenmars’ Golden Coffin was stolen by Tarshite or Pentan raiders in the Third Age and lost. - Anyone wishing to resurrect Saird may need to find it. Tarshites of course would not want it to be found. Pir the Lawmaker is the patron god of Thubana and the source of its superiority. - I think this is the first appearance of Pir the Lawmaker. What's his or her origin? DH would seem most likely given Thubana's tall towers, but could have some other origin. Sword Hill, sacred to Humakt - sounds like a good pilgrimage site for Humakti.

For those interested, these were my original Hortugarth and Imtherian Southlands maps. The first represents Hortugarth at its greatest extent ~1616 ST before the Crimson Bat visited, and intrigue saw its population decline. The second shows my original placement of various locales. From the Guide you can see that the Sun Dome Temple (Kareiston's Temple - which I think I first detailed in one of the issues of the Enclosure fanzine) and Hortugarth have somewhat shifted positions. Blame it on poor mapmakers from distant southern lands!

"Kingdom of Imther. Imther is another client state. It fell to the Conquering Daughter in 1347. Its barbarian population is mixed herders and farmers; the state controls the Imther Mountain mines." From that tiny fragment in Griffin Mountain years ago, I began my exploration of Imther, and have subsequently ventured across Sylila, Saird, Vanch, and Holay. I'm not quite sure why I went in that direction, but being on the fringe of the Lunar Empire where Lunars might be both good guys and bad guys appealed to me. It was also easy to plug the cult of Yelmalio in here. It's fun, and flattering, to see my odd little contributions make it into this massive book. Hortugarth, at the junction of the Isildon and Imaron rivers, was I think my first creation in this world, and was home to my player's characters. Cider and cheese were popular there, and became a theme within the land now captured here. A major temple of the Conquering Daughter was in Hortugarth, and that was the first cult I fleshed out. Hortugarth saw many adventures of intrigue, but eventually the characters ventured beyond. The Plain of Stones was an ancient, haunted land of earth spirits, yet the characters boldly ventured in and encountered the mysterious Stoneface, who set them upon a quest to recover the lost weapons of the Earthwielder. Later, new characters journeyed east from Hortugarth to settle Amber Fort upon the Elf Sea, proving that the rumor "Imther has founded a colony at the mouth of the West River on the shores of the Elf Sea." to be True, not False (one can of course say that "Imther" had not founded the colony, but that the Etyries Temple did with assistance from the Conquering Daughter temple did, so the response in the rumor table is technically correct). While past efforts to get Imther and Hortugarth material published have not come fully to fruition (beyond my own fanzines and contributions in several others), maybe these tidbits will inspire others to venture there. After all, as of 1623, the King is dead, and only a true hero, completing a dangerous quest, can get the dwarfs to once again open their gates to the outside world and have the riches of the dwarfs at their disposal! More tidbits on Imther here:

@Steve is quite correct on this point. I've been running HQG for three years and there's been nothing that impeded play. It's a suggested convention. I think I raised difficulty level after about 6 'sessions' (I run PbF games so gauging a 'session' is a bit different). I don't use Pass/Fail, but focus on the Climax and Resolution points as the key actions. As with any game (including RQ), the GM has to decide the right point to increase difficulty (in RQ and other more simulationist games, it's just done by increasing # or strength of foes). You're just using a different tool to do so. What's nice with the HQG mechanism is you can maintain pace in the game - something that's difficult in games like RQ2 where you suddenly have to resolve a complex battle scene. Personally, I'd suggest going with RQG rather than RQ2 (i.e. Classic) from the start. The Quickstart is available now, and you can largely leverage older scenario books if you wish (and depending on the area where you wish to campaign). I've found the Quickstart quite manageable/enjoyable, including the intro scenario.

Defender of the lasting Light [Have mercy on us] Guard us through the dying Night [Have mercy on us] Shield us now from demons strong [Have mercy on us] Your glowing eye to last us long [Have mercy on us] We take refuge in your dome [Have faith in us] Guard the embers in our home [Have faith in us] Guide our eyes to find our foes [Have faith in us] And grant us hope from ancient woes [Have faith in us] Glory be to Winter's Sun [Praise Yelmalio!] Glory now to Order's Son [Praise Yelmalio!] Glory be to Light's Preserver [Praise Yelmalio!] And Glory to Truth's True Observer [Praise Yelmalio!] O! Blessed and Stalwart Yelmalio [Praise him!] O! Blessed and Stalwart Yelmalio [Preserve us!] Hail the Ever-shining Orb.

For Dragon Pass region, the canonical god is Minlister, one of the Household Gods, and Orlanth’s Master Brewer. He's said to be the son of Elmal the Sun and Esrola the Grain Goddess (or Esra the Barley Mother, depending on the source). The only book that shows a rune is Storm Tribe, which went to excess in creating new individual runes (in this case the Brewing Rune, which looks something like the Issaries/Trade rune, except instead of two vertical lines, the left side has two dots with one above and one below the horizontal line). The myth in Heortling Mythology p.155 states "He uses a huge magical cauldron named Karni that was taken from the water gods by Orlanth and the Thunder Brothers. He made many drinks in it, but none was perfect until once Minlister fell into the vat himself. Afterwards he could brew beer, ale, mead, or ambrosia, as he desired, without doing more than filling Karni with water and placing his hand in it." From that I'd say that Minlister does not have the Water rune, but he uses water and transforms it. I'd be inclined to say Light and Plant after his parents. I don't think Fertility fits because the drinks don't make you fertile. You might argue for Disorder given the aftereffects, but one could equally argue that the drinks only become that way when Eurmal gets involved. Therefore, you might argue that Harmony would be the right rune for the blissful effects of the drinks (and that would likely fit with his mother's runes too). There are other deities as well. Fronela has an unnamed beer goddess along the Janube (GtG p.225). Clearwine in Sartar is associated with Flamal and Ernalda. In the Vinavale, situated between Esrolia and Caladraland, there is the Free Father (GtG p.258), a son of Ernalda and Veskarthan, who is god of wine, fertility, and freedom. You could certainly give him the Fertility Rune, possibly with the Heat/Fire Rune. Nothium, a city in Sylila (GtG p. 321) has Jeru the Staff, a god of wine and pleasure. In Dara Happa, you can find Oroypsus, the Fat Man and sensual God of Pleasure. He holds grapes and an apple, or other fruit. (GtG p.675). I'm sure many other local deities can be found (and created).

Yep. So I'd go with Heavy given their armor. Undoubtedly the officers wear enchanted aluminum.

Note that the Noble Brothers should be Heavy Cavalry. They likely use spear or lance as primary weapon, and then depending on their preferred Noble Brother, fall back on sword, axe, mace, or even flail. Given the black background color, the text could use a different (light) font color. They'd probably fit best with that old classic, Medium Infantry. Their patron deity/Noble Brother is Helamakt. Bow/javelin used as ships close, then sword/shield as they cross to foe's ships and attack.

Yes, Fazzur appears in WF12 as part of the Personalities of Dragon Pass series. Others in the series were: WF11: Londra of Londros WF13: Rurik Runespear (included in the RQ2 Classic edition reprint) WF14: Master Lord-Prince of Four Jewels, and his attendants in the Dragonewts' March (who got illustrated in the Dragonewts chapter of GtG)

Some other magical units that operate in Esrolia: Within Nochet the most important magic units are: the Healers of the Chalana Arroy Temple, aka the Sisters of Mercy, who follow the Esrolian army and can even resurrect the dead; the Grace Priestesses, who can bless the Esrolians and curse their foes. The priestesses at Ezel have magicians who can master the Earth. One group can create devastating earthquakes; another can shape the earth itself, creating walls on the battlefield or pits too deep to cross. (Likely similar in many ways to the powers of the Shaker Temple) At the Necropolis, the priestesses there can release the dead to fight, although the price is considered too high unless Esrolia itself is at risk (the last time the dead were released was centuries ago).

Btw, here's the Kimantoring units that muster from Nochet: Noble Brothers: This regiment of veteran heavy cavalry serves the war gods of the Noble Brothers Temple. They are all subservient to the Most Noble Aunt, a hereditary office held by the Delaeos clan. Kimantorings: The sons of Argan Argar, this veteran regiment of heavy infantry includes ranks of spearmen, backed up by about two or three hundred heavily armored dark and great trolls. Their commander is typically a member of the Norinel clan and they are loyal to Queen Hendira. Axe Maidens: The temple fearsome war goddess Babeester Gor maintains two elite regiments of axe maidens, the most feared soldiers in Esrolia. They are vicious, man-hating berserks who fight with axes and make beer out of the blood of their defeated foes. One regiment is heavy infantry, the other is cavalry. Water Brothers Marines: This regiment of veteran marines (soldiers who specialize in fighting aboard triremes) is maintained by the Delaineao clan. Although heavily armored, they are superb skirmishers fighting with javelins and bows. The Humakt Battalion: This elite mercenary regiment of heavy infantry is maintained by the Humakt temple. They fight with swords and are fanatically brave. They are very expensive to hire but always fulfill their contracts.

Now that I'm back to my notes, the other patron deity is the Green Horse, called Dearn by the ignorant and Delarn by those of the Dearno district from which the Hundred is drawn, but its said that only the Noble Husbands and the Green Sages know his true name. Square shield is appropriate. I think they also carry an axe.

I found that one Scorpion Queen, K'Rana, was written up in the old RQ3 Lords of Terror book (who was an illuminated Scorpion Queen and Sword of Humakt - a very unusual occurrence). To my knowledge, that's the only one. For scorpionfolk, the adage is really "you are what you eat". To become a Scorpion Queen, you have to challenge a current queen, win, and then eat her body. To get to that point, start with a scorpionfolk figure. She'll need to advance through the cult of Bagog, either as a shaman or a priestess. Likely a powerful queen will have eaten a scorpionfolk from the other path, so she'll have the special Bagog rune magics (which you can find in either the old RQ2 Cults of Terror or RQ3 Lords of Terror), and an array of spirit magics. If she advanced via the shamanic path, she will have a fetch as well, and likely an assortment of magically bound spirits. Likely most Scorpion Queens will maintain power via the strength of their magics and spirits coupled with natural armor and weapons. With minions to do her work and bring her food, she's going to be busy laying eggs to spawn new scorpionfolk. No, but scorpionfolk are creatures of chaos, so you can certainly add to the terror of a given Scorpion Queen by providing some number of chaos features. The Scorpion Queen pictured is Queen Gagix Two-Barb, the Chaos demigoddess who rules the Queendom of Jab above Larnste's Print. She is probably the most powerful Scorpion Queen yet birthed.

Nothing like a Timinit with a Sword!

I agree with this assessment.

Axe Maidens have one heavy infantry and one heavy cavalry unit, not light infantry. Pre-Samastina, the militia are largely Defenders of Nochet, and would certainly fall under Irillo's 'domain'. My expectation is that all the militia units support Irillo along with another patron deity. I'm away from my home computer this week, so can't immediately check who I identified for these two. If I recall correctly, I have the Golden Racers also following Nolerianmar, son of Elmal. The Green Horses are a bit more of an oddity - definitely not Yelmalio, though. Agree. These are very scary regiments of vicious berserks that terrify most male-dominated units and have significant powers against oath-breakers - they are the most feared units in all Esrolia.

This is during the Esrolian Civil War as well, and before the Siege of Nochet, so he could well have been granted use of whatever cavalry Samastina had at her disposal. There were two militia units in Nochet to draw upon (the Green Horse and the Golden Racers; and if Broyan was able to invoke the Old Earth Alliance to release Irillo from staying in Nochet, these could have been used), plus two regiments of the Kimantorings (the Noble Brothers and one unit of the Axe Maidens), and likely mercenary companies including Sir Narib's Company. Then there are the Grace Priestesses, who have the power to bless and curse (and clearly support Samastina), the Axe Maidens infantry unit (who likely could cut down horses), and the Humakti Battalion.

Since Ovodaka held all the goddesses prisoner, this has to be a Hell Guardian. The question is of which Hell. Possibly it is the 3rd Hell over which Ty Kora Tek/Annara Gor and Deshlotralas preside since this would be the logical place for the Earth goddesses to sleep within. It could also be the same figure as Endon, who kept Orane and Durev prisoner until Orane wove Dumela, the carpet, to escape. If Deshlotralas, then per the Gods Wall entry in GtG, he wields a Bone of Power. This may also be the dead form of Lodril, so might well wield the Hell Fire to keep goddesses from escaping. You could think of Deshkorgos, aka Monster Man, who rules the Fourth Hell as another option. The Fourth Hell is where Yelm sends the Rebel Gods and other undesirables. I think less likely, but he's also in the Gods Wall entry and appears in the Underworld scene in Prince of Sartar (http://www.princeofsartar.com/comic/3-the-underworld/ ) as well as in the scenario with the Masks in Pavis: Gateway to Adventure. A third option would be Veskerele, the Faceless, and Natha the Balancer, who are keepers of the Second Hell. However, there's no real information on who is in the Second Hell though.

There was a Gods Age war between the Dragons and the Giants. It's noted in the Glorantha Sourcebook under the Genert entry p.33: "This was during the Golden Age, conmythory to the Green Age and possibly with the Dragons’ Age as well, if Genert is indeed the father, or maker, of the Giants who fought the Dragons in the early stirrings of protomyth." I feel like it is mentioned somewhere else, too, but can't find reference.

I like this! I could readily see a great invocation of this as part of the effort to raise the Sky Ship. I could also imagine that one reason that no one has reached the Celestial City is that you need the Boat Planet to help carry you along the river fast enough.

Not really. Mostly it's familiar. He's human, but had great powers (not specified). He arrives by sea in the Rightarm Islands. He summons the Silver Age heroes and defeats the Only Old One. He became the God-king. He was dismembered by Jar-eel. The tournament to form his new body has occurred 21 times. The only piece that is somewhat new (though suggested by Prince of Sartar) is this bit about his dismemberment: "While Belintar traveled the paths of the Underworld, seeking to defend the Holy Country against barbarians and Wolf Pirates, he was ambushed by Jar-eel and dismembered. His pieces were placed under magic wards and curses, and hidden in Lunar Hells."

I like this personally. And it could be that this is part of some early Golden Age period, but then rebelled or defied the Emperor and was brought down and cast out (and insignificant to the Emperor as a whole). Especially since Moon is connected with Magic skills (per RQ Quickstart).