jajagappa

There are some references in the Esrolia book (p.25) to the original number of Enfranchised Houses. (Btw, I initially marked the Sleeper and Survivor Houses in reverse - have corrected that above now) "The women gathered and wove a basket to hold life, a blanket to preserve family, and instructed the men to raise a fence to protect property. They then divided the world between the “nine times nine best women,” who were the first Grandmothers. For a short time, they lived in bliss and harmony, hidden away from the troubles of the world. Then the Seventy-one Griefs came. The Great Darkness descends upon the First Grandmothers with devastation, loss and horror. Losses are huge - fully two thirds of the Grandmothers. The poem [The 71 Griefs] says: Twenty to chaos, gone forever; Twenty to Death, the eternal Griefs; Ten to Darkness, gone below; Three to Evil, best left gone. Eighteen sleeping, resting, hiding. Survivors: thrice nine families for the Dawn." 27 Enfranchised Houses across Esrolia are counted as Survivors of the Great Darkness. The Great Houses (which are by far the most powerful) and the Survivor Houses are from these 27. The Great Houses have prominent land claims (which are still invoked to claim tribute) that pre-date the Darkness and go back to the Charter of Nochet when Familyland was divided. The Delargaraeo and Desdelaeo claim descent from the children of Queen Norinel, so are younger and do not have such land claims. The Sleepers are from the 18 "sleeping" houses who survived the Great Darkness by hiding and sleeping through it. There were thus 45 Enfranchised Houses at the Dawn, though only 17 or 18 of those still survive. The others were variously wiped out during the wars of the First or Second Ages.

And individuals within a house may be varied as well. The House's Grandmother dictates the current alignment, but some are stronger than others. How closely do their daughter's adhere to their current faction? Husbands come from other houses (or even Enfranchised Houses outside of Nochet, of which their are another 180 or so) - have they kept the factional preference of their original House or do they support their wife? House Delainaeo for instance is particularly focused on gathering wealth, dominating trade, and supporting the Delaina and Dormal cults. Their support for the Red Earth only goes so far that it helps maintain the status quo. Historically, they have strong connections with Rhigos and the temple of Delaina there (though not necessarily the Demivierge and her House Orendelaino, which have connections to the Trader Princes along the old Manirian road). Houses Rananaeo and Theruvele are also strongly associated with the sea-going trade, support the Dormal temple, but variously ally with or oppose the actions of the Delainaeo.

Yes, I can provide some insight. Keep in mind though that it does shift considerably as the Red Earth Alliance goes from being the dominant faction in 1621 to being largely destroyed by 1625. The Five Great Houses: Norinel (led by Queen Hendira) - Red Earth (though as @metcalph notes there are hidden factions within) Delaeos (Samastina's house) - Old Earth Delainaeo (Dormal's house) - Red Earth (in 1621), but shifts later to Warm Earth Evaeo (associated with the Necropolis) - Old Earth Oranaeo (strong connection with temple at Ezel) - unaligned; beloved by farmers and the least 'political' The Sleeper Houses: Hulta (described a bit in Esrolia book) - Old Earth Loma - unaligned The Survivor Houses: both close allies of House Norinel Delargaraeo - Red Earth Desdelaeo - Red Earth The New Houses (i.e. Post-Dawn) Red Earth includes: Farastar, Zirandarn, Urvarnta, Theruvele Old Earth includes: Eskelinga (has ancient associations with Harmast) Warm Earth includes: Rananaeo, Enfergorn unaligned: Yelendar (had unfortunate associations with the False Imarjarin), Serumthar undefined (left to GM preference): Marele, Drero

Thunderbreath Gobbleguts. And yes that was a classic and inspired piece of work.

Yes, that was very much my objection. And I do like your thought on this very 'dangerous' and alien aspect. I get this image of some remote Esrolian village on the edge of the Arstola Forest populated by 'Stepford Wives'-type women. Except they are Aldryami, and they lure men there for some obscure purpose such as becoming fertilizer for some rare grove.

Certainly Yara Aranis will be on the lookout for horse nomads, particularly in proximity to her temples.

Love the picture from the Dragonewt Expedition. The article about Master Lord-Prince of the Four Jewels was originally in WF14 and it's great to finally get an image of some of these figures. The coloring really stands out. (And nothing like a couple of ducks to talk with a crested dragonewt!) The dragonewt skull is a nice addition (and reminiscent of the old Trollpak). The incorrect association of stage 2 and 3 with omnivores and carnivores is just the type of in-game detail that can come from relying on suspect LM documents. The discussion on sound/language and sight is interesting, however, the inclusion of "airborne particles" seems too modern, not Gloranthan.

Which was an enhancement from the original article in WF14, though the 5th stage there was the Inhuman King. Glad to see it revert back to the original title. On the original WBRM map, the Dragon's Eye was 3 hexes, each numbered, and so formed 3 of the cities. I believe that is the complete known set.

Maybe some of the 21st century male humans. There's nothing that says that has to be the ideal for Gloranthan humans.

My exact thought too. It would have been much more interesting to make them more plant-like, more 'alien'. Those just seem to be too much stock fantasy elf women and really weakened both pictures. The Great Tree is ok, but doesn't really stand out in any memorable way. What I did like in the art: - the Gardeners - really fit in with the forest. Not just your friendly ents. Hollows where the eyes should be, odd limbs bent at unusual points. - green elf - the pine needle hair is a good touch. - High King Elf - looks like an elf heroquester.

The cult spirit has less 'free will'. They agreed to the terms of the god for protection, or whatever, so can't go imposing their own terms (beyond cult taboos, geases, etc as you note).

I assume so. In my Nochet work, among the folk from Nolos who settled outside the city in Meldektown before 1621, I included two of these societies, both infantry: House of the Stag. The warrior society of the Stag meets here to learn and practice its skills. They are known for their speed and maneuverability and serve the Caprati family. Horali of the Stag regiment never sport beards or mustaches and keep their hair cropped. House of the Boar. The warrior society of the Boar is housed here. Known for their tenacious and ferocious attacks, as well as their thick and bristly mustaches, they are sworn to the du Tumerine family.

It often doesn't take much to go down particular areas of long-standing discussion, particularly where the sources in the past have been scattered. Hopefully those digressions can be taken to new threads. Definitely not Dragon Pass! I first encountered Fonrit way back in 1984 in AH's Heroes magazine v.1 #6. And for many, many years that remained the only source info available. The Missing Lands and Revealed Mythologies added to the picture, but it was nice to finally get a unifying view of the culture and region. What stands out to me is an underlying and all-encompassing philosophy that Life is Slavery. Humans are slaves to each other and to the gods, and even the gods are slaves to other gods. What's not certain is whether this results in an inherent fatalistic attitude towards life in general, or if it leads to a more pyramid-scheme attitude where there's a constant desire to move up the 'rungs' of slavery and get more slaves of your own. My guess is something of both. They seem to be some sort of 'scabbards' so perhaps curved swords or daggers to use if the spear breaks. Yes, you'll find more in Volume 2 when you get to the Vadeli Isles section. But they certainly rank among the 'bad' or 'evil' guys of Glorantha. Slave Soldiers: remind me of the Unsullied from Game of Thrones. Could be some interesting room for development of these groups across the different city-states. Religious Emblems: that the priests of the deities may be marked by ritual scarification, etc. is not overly different than the varied markings of the Orlanthi of Dragon Pass. Yet there is an implication here that such marking symbolizes that you are not an avatar or representative of your deity as in Orlanthi lands, but in fact a slave or vessel for your deity. Interesting to consider how that might play out in a game. p.46 "many cities maintain war elephants (actually amebelodon shoveltuskers)": somehow this little tidbit fascinates me and I wonder about its implications in warfare. I like that it moves away from the standard elephant. p.47 some really cool deities here. Ompalam and Garangordos. Darleester the Noose. El Jazuli the Sister Witch. Seseine and Ikadz. And of course Gark the Calm. Someone in Fonrit must have an army of calm patient zombie soldiers.

Certainly feasible. Of course, magical ceremonies and rituals in certain areas may well 'pull' such foreigners into active engagements. E.g. as they seek to skirt past or through Raibanth on Fireday, they find that they are inextricably drawn by Yelm (or forcibly detained by the Sons of Yelm) who has detected the presence of Disorder in the Realm and is sentencing the Rebel Gods to be named for what they are and cast into the Pits (ala the scenario in Pavis:GtA). They will certainly need to find a place to cross the Oslir whether bridge (only at major cities such as Raibanth, Alkoth, Jillaro, or Mirin's Cross) or ferry (such as at Good Shore).

While the temples and priests provide their cult members to both Spirit and Rune magic (or Sorcery even in the case of Lhankor Mhy), and so involve the same individuals at the same locations, I see the acquisition of those as distinct, and part of why the two magics are different. With spirit magic, the priests are largely performing a function - it's like giving a blessing to those who come with the right offerings. And this could be granted to both initiates and lay members. Similarly with sorcery, the initiate are taught the ancient techniques and given access to the sacred grimoires of power. But with rune magic, the priests are leading the initiates into the stories, myths, and mysteries of the cult. It's an understanding of what it means to BE the deity, to follow in their footsteps. It does occur quickly (but that's always been the case). However, now that casting is tied to your percent ability in the Rune, if you want to ensure greater success, there's an incentive to use ceremony or other augments that mean you'll spend time to draw on those (and which should make it more momentous than the automatic casting of RQ2).

Totally agree, and I wouldn't explicitly use unless there was some MGF aspect to adding taboos (I'd likely only do that to spells learned from a shaman rather than the cult temple). It will be interesting to see whether the foci are referenced in the new rules. Actually, I don't think that models Rune Magic. As noted in the Quickstart p.20, "When an adventurer casts Rune magic, the caster acts as the deity. The caster imitates the deeds of the deity and thereby evokes the deity’s power. The caster always exhibits some form of manifestation of the deity while casting the spell." You may well concentrate on a rune tattooed upon you or on some object or pray or envision a 'quest', but here you are acting as your god (in effect becoming an avatar of the deity for that period of time).

The focal points for DH magics are likely the temples as those are the proper and ordered representation of the world. So if they enter a temple, they'll be detected as Disorder and Rebels. There's no all enveloping warding that signals that hostile folk have crossed into territory X. On Orlanthi grounds, it is only the tula which are the sacred grounds (e.g. the Guardian Woods, Orane's Loom, parts of Old Man Village for the Orlmarth clan). In Lunar/DH lands, it would be the temples or perhaps the cities (where there are deities who help ensure City Order or City Harmony). In the latter, the presence of such Disorder or Rebels might even cause or be considered the presence of Disease that must be uncovered and removed.

I don't think that considering it in terms of the 'how you get the magic' renders it more complex. RQ2 hand-waved it. We know it is the 'forceful alteration of the fabric of reality by use of one’s POW'. We know such magics are learned from their "Rune cult" via their priests. The priests charge for this (and presumably is good temple income). And we know that "Learning a spell takes one week of work with the cult you are paying to teach it to you." Why a week? What happens in that period of time? That's the how. IIRC (though don't have my RQ3 book handy), the emphasis in RQ3 was that the priests summoned their temple spirits (spell spirits) to perform the teaching. As RQ2 noted, part of the time is the creation of the focus, "a carved rune of some sort which acts to tie the conscious and unconscious minds together so that the spell works". While the temple priests will know how to create these foci, just having that is not sufficient to know the spell. So some type of imprinting goes on. If that is a spirit which is summoned, then so it is. It can be played, or not, depending on how a given GM wants to reflect it.

same comment as Joerg - nice catch!

My working of spirit magic goes along that line. Your priest or shaman brings you into contact with a spirit that has a particular power (i.e. a spirit magic such as Bladesharp). The spirit teaches you how to invoke the magic and the focus needed for it. Most people will carve or mark the focus into something: a weapon, a tattoo upon the body, a ring or bracelet, etc. By focusing on the mark and following the invocation (maybe a word or two, a gesture, a brief melody), the caster channels a portion of their innate self (magic points) into the world to achieve the magic. There may or may not be a taboo involved depending upon the spirit who taught you (essentially you are making some bargain to learn the magic - either directly with the spirit or with your god as the god commands many various lesser spirits). You are limited in how many spirit magics you may learn by your charisma/leadership because you are having to convince more and more spirits to teach you and there are inherent conflicts and rivalries between these spirits that you must overcome. This differs from the various forms of enchantment where you physically bind the spirit to some object and command the spirit to perform the action. Similarly allied spirits and awakened animals are a type of bound spirit that represent gifts from your god or shaman. In both these cases, the spirit is under your control and command and do not represent magics that you are learning but that you release.

Well, some of them were when the Bat landed on them (both the northern earthworks and Jarolar's towers).

IIRC the ark ends up on the Mound of Herustana which suggests more than just Ark Mother. It's unclear what the extent of Thilla's position is. Certainly Yuthuppa and immediate surroundings, but not sure about beyond that, and not sure she really has the land goddess aspect which is often the granting of sovereignty.

Only after Talor's curse (or perhaps Gbaji's 'gifts') - I think otherwise they are simply among the Hsunchen tribes of the Dawn (though I may be forgetting some reference). There may well be an epic to free them from the curse during the Hero Wars that we know nothing about yet.

Well, as Belintar noted (in Prince of Sartar), Harrek is the Destroyer. However, he also conquers the Pujaleg bat people and rules the Kingdom of Laskal. It's unknown what his rule is like there (or if he ever really rules there since he seems to be largely gone from there). His epics seem to mirror the destruction wrought first by Shargash (another Destroyer) and then by Arkat the Destroyer. We do know he goes crazy after Gunda is killed. And we do know that he takes Jar-eel's heart. But he largely disappears from the known picture after the latter event.

They seem to equate to Earth Mother/Land Goddess and Grain Goddess.