Jeff

Malkioni sorcerers do not generally use familiars (in fact, there is no Create Familiar spell in the RQG core rules). They bind spirits, dominate spirits, elementals, and animals, and generally do as they will (within whatever limits set by tradition and by their sect). If we assume about 3% of the adult population in Malkioni lands belong to the zzaburi caste (which is probably high), that would mean that there are some 60,000 members of that caste in Seshnela, spread out through a total population of 2.88 million people. So there is a LOT of room for variation in what they do. Some might be attached the household of a talar ruler, others be responsible for the spiritual and magical care of a village, or work directly for the Rokari School. Still others might work for whoever pays them.

Most every rural Orlanthi male (and many women) has participating in a hunt, especially on the big-game hunts popular with the warrior elite. That's NOT what the Hunting occupation covers. People who take the Hunting Occupation are subsistence hunters, not sports hunters. They survive largely through hunting, instead of through herding or farming like the overwhelming majority of farming. They are a Poor Occupation. Hunters use Animal Lore, Track, and their Missile Weapon skill to take down their prey, as well as small snares and traps (I considered them outside of the Devise skill, but folk can reasonable differ about that). Important animals are going to be deer, boar, rabbits, antelope, etc. In Dragon Pass, the gods who favor the subsistence hunter are Foundchild, Odayla, and Yinkin. Although Orlanth, Yelm, and Yelmalio all have their big-game hunting myths, that's sport hunting - like the Mesopotamian royal lion hunts and more akin to battle and duels than hunting. These cults don't participate in the Great Hunt - they hunt for status and prestige, not subsistence.

Nobody knows any more which goddesses were switched. The experiment failed. But maybe something will turn up detailing that failure.

And remember, the West Reaches have quite a bit of Theyalan influence, and not just God Time Pelandan mythology as per the Entekosiad. Humakt likely was recognized in Pelanda as early as the First Age. Humakt was present in Fronela from at least the late First Age (certainly in the Gbaji Wars). It may seem at the edge of the map now because of the Ban, but until then what is now the West Reaches was a crossroads between Peloria, Fronela, and the so-called Barbarian Belt. With weird "atheist" rulers that had their own spin on things.

Where are we talking about? Are you talking about a member of the zzaburi caste in Seshnela? Are you talking about one of the sorcerers in the employ of a Trader Prince? Are you talking about one of the senior sorcerers in Loskalm? The term sorcerer covers a LOT of territory! Arguably more than even Priest.

Humakt is still an important god in the West Reaches and there are about as many Humakti in the West Reaches as in Dragon Pass.

You are always welcome to do that in your games. But nothing in this thread has made me think that we should change the rules or writeups.

Because you get that from being a Hunter. The cult itself doesn't teach beyond that.

You would blow a Rune point to "spook the game"? How are you going to survive as a hunter?

Orlanth makes a terrible hunting god. Air elementals, lightning, thunderbolt, flying - these are lousy abilities for catching rabbits or deer.

Squaa is a pseudo cereal grain like amaranth, buckwheat, or quinoa.

War gods does not necessary equate to Rune Lords. Rather they are those cults who have found it necessary to have mortal manifestations of the god that interact with the physical world (as opposed to primarily with the magical world). Some of that is for historical reasons, some of that is for mythological reasons. The cults with Rune Lords are: Orlanth (Rune Lords and Rune Priests) Humakt (only Rune Lords) Storm Bull (only Rune Lords) Lanbril (Rune Lords and Rune Priests) Odayla (only Rune Lords) Waha (Rune Lords and Rune Priests-Shamans) Ygg (only Rune Lords) Foundchild (only Rune Lords) Kyger Litor (Rune Lords and Rune Priests) Zorak Zoran (only Rune Lords) Yelm (Rune Lords and Rune Priests) Yelmalio (Rune Lords and Rune Priests) Yelorna (Rune Lords and Rune Priests) Seven Mothers (Rune Lords and Rune Priests) Crimson Bat (Rune Lords and Rune Priests) Danfive Xaron (only Rune Lords) Hwarin Dalthippa (Rune Lords and Rune Priests) Yanafal Tarnils (only Rune Lords) Babeester Gor (only Rune Lords) Aldrya (Rune Lords and Rune Priests)

The Ostrich People number about 1,000 individuals, so let's assume about 650 are initiates of a cult. They revere Ostrich Mother, Waha, Foundchild, and Yelmalio. But these cults are tiny: Ostrich Mother - 250 members. That's a minor temple. Waha -160 members. That's a minor temple if they really try. Otherwise it is a shrine. Foundchild - 80 members. A shrine. Yelmalio - 70 members. Probably not even a shrine. They end up going somewhere else for their main ceremonies.

Not all cults are equal. Orlanth is the god of Storm, Adventurers, and Kings, who led the Lightbringers into Hell. He's a first tier cosmological entity worshiped by hundreds of thousands of initiates throughout the world. Yinkin is the god of shadowcats. Only reason he has much of a cult at all is he is Orlanth's loyal half-brother and sidekick who accompanied Orlanth on many adventures.

Most cults do not have Rune Lords. It is much easier to become a Rune Priest than a Rune Lord, and many cults have never developed the pathways - including some very powerful cults such as Ernalda, Magasta, Shargash, Polaris, and Valind.

I've seen almost everything suggested above, but I'd give a wildly different list of recommended films to get into that Glorantha vibe. Dead Man Jim Jarmusch does the Western. Shamanism, death, and Iggy Pop in a dress. A favourite of Greg and mine. HBO's Rome The ancient world as a lush soap opera. Epic scale, with great ideas on how to work player characters into that ongoing epic. Unforgiven The consequences of a life of violence, vengeance, and feud, and those touched by Death are forever changed. There are more than a few folk like William Munny in Glorantha, and this pops up in almost every RQ game I've run for the last quarter century.

Correct. Or as Greg used to tell me, if you want game balance play chess.

In many villages in Dragon Pass, you have two minor temples - one is to Orlanth Thunderous and his son Barntar, the other to Ernalda and the Grain Goddesses. Orlanth and Ernalda are the primary cults, with Barntar and the Grain Goddesses being subcults. Given the connections between Orlanth and Ernalda, this would effectively mean the men of the village do the Orlanth secret stuff, and the women of the village do the Ernalda secret stuff, and on major holy days they do their stuff together.

Yinkin's independent cult is very small, even in Sartar. Like Odalya it falls within the "Other" category, and is less than 1% of the population. There are minor temples to Yinkin at Wild Mountain, Wintertop, and Yinkin Hill, but otherwise the cult is just shrines inside Orlanth temples.

Between the Guide to Glorantha, Glorantha Sourcebook, RQG, Bestiary, GM Pack, and Weapons and Equipment, you have much of the contours of the setting. The only two big missing pieces are Cults (in layout right now) and the RQ Campaign (Boy King equivalent, in writing - it took Greg over ten years to do it for Pendragon after all!). The Dragon Pass guide and Sartar Players Guide are both in late art, and then I pivot to get Prax, Big Rubble, and Pavis done. These are all big projects and nearing completion (the Cults Book is easily the biggest amount of new Gloranthan material since the Guide). So there is an absolute ton of material. Meanwhile on FB I am regularly posting snippets of material.

Ty Kora Tek is propitiated each Wildday by Earth cults. Wildday of Death Week is her seasonal holy day. The entire Death Week of Darkness Season is dedicated to her; her High Holy Day is Wildday of that week. On that day, the dead visit the living and must be fed and offered gifts.

Odayla is worshiped by hunters because he is a Bear. He teaches Peaceful Cut and participates in the Great Hunt. And worshipers can potentially become bears.

Odayla is a bear cult that is worshiped as a son of Orlanth. He's usually found as a subcult of Orlanth in Dragon Pass but a few independent minor temples (I know of one on Jerra Hill) and shrines exist. But in Dragon Pass the independent cult is a rounding error. In Sylila and the nearby provinces, Odayla is a bigger deal, with some 10,000 followers. In Sylila, his cult is comparable in size to Orlanth's. He's also found in Talastar, Anadiki, and Brolia. At the end of the day his cult is that of a divine Bear God. His cult was more important in the First Age, when the King Bear cult was a big deal throughout the Pelorian Hill Country and even competed with the Heortling Orlanth cult for a while. But the Heortlings proved their Orlanth magic gave them mastery over the Bear God and now we have Orlanth Thunderous ruling the hill country instead of King Bear. Orlanth became a vehicle for magical exploration and quests, and his cult is broad and deep. Odayla in contrast is one of several Pelorian bear cults (although certainly the most numerous).

The Kitori are pretty easy to get a handle on once you realise that the term changed over time. At this time - the Third Age - the term Kitori refers to the tribe of humans and trolls that inhabit the Troll Woods. TROLL WOODS This forest in the foothills of the Storm Mountains has large stands of pines, firs, and other conifers, with a dark undergrowth of ferns. The Kitori Tribe in the Troll Woods is a peculiar one, for it includes a troll part and a human part, each equal to the other, though they do not interbreed. The tribe includes some 3,000 humans, 1,000 dark trolls, and 2,000 trollkin. Many, both trolls and human, think the Kitori take the Argan Argar ideals to excess, but outside opinions do not change the tribe’s ways. They eat insects, hunt and gather in the Troll Woods, raid the local humans, and trade with Dagori Inkarth and the Shadow Plateau. About a century ago, the Kitori dominated Volsaxiland and raided caravans going from Wilmskirk to Karse. Prince Tarkalor put an end to this in 1569 when he defeated the Kitori with the aid of the Yelmalio cult and re-established the Volsaxi confederation at Whitewall. The Kitori Tribe maintains a major temple to Argan Argar, and minor temples to Zorak Zoran, Xiola Umbar, and Gorakiki. The human part of the tribe maintains a minor temple to Orlanth Thunderous, while the trolls maintain a major temple to Kyger Litor.

Odayla doesn't have Darkwalk. He's a bear, not a troll.