Jeff

As an aside, Greg's "Arthurian monomyth" allows us to experience and play through as much of the myth as we want. But to do that, it is not particularly historically grounded. Pendragon leaves our history with the Enchantment of Britain and enters a mythological and magical realm filled with plenty of ahistorical features such as plate armor. Or indeed chivalrous knights. Or even knights at all. None of this may have existed in history (and certainly not circa 520 AD) but it is all part of the myth.

The option exists for players to play a female knight if they so want and without getting constantly screwed over by the setting. Because there are lots of players who would rather play a female character. Just as there are lots of players who would rather play a male character. There is no reason to create barriers that prevent people from wanting to play in one of the greatest RPGs of all time. When we've had female knights, they have always been exceptional and noteworthy, but not so exceptional or noteworthy that playing them is a constant uphill battle. At the end of the day, Pendragon is a FUN role-playing game, that lets us explore the Arthurian Romances - one of the greatest collections of stories and archetypes of all time. And every assembler of the Romances made their own additions and twists to it, which is in part why these stories continue to have power and meaning even to us mythically illiterate moderns. In short, there should be no obstacle to making Pendragon something fun for you and your players. Take it, run with it, and make it yours.

Sometimes called that, but it doesn't mean much.

It is actually pretty easy. Just base things on the building blocks of Glorantha Sourcebook, King of Sartar, RuneQuest, the Guide, etc. It only gets tough when you try to put the HW-era material in.

During the Darkness, there were stars that plunged down to protect the lesser beings of the world. Many greater gods, like Orlanth and Ernalda, had already disappeared from the dying world. And so the last lights of the world were all that left. This is pretty universal myth among humans and elves. Dayzatar is worshiped by gods. That's how awesome he is. There are certainly stories that Polestar swore loyalty to Orlanth. But I think that is merely a projection by Orlanth's mortal worshipers. Polestar is not associated with the Orlanth cult. When he has a wider cult, it tends to be associated with other Celestial deities.

Yes. Kallyr's great power comes from the Pole Star. Which is interesting, isn't it. That could have been a terrible weakness for her when she tried to perform the LBQ, don't you think?

The mesa of Masada is quite small about 0.5 km by 0.3 km. And the plateau can be easily accessed from the east and west sides - it is the north and south that end in cliffs.

Rigsdal is not a member of the Storm Tribe.

The plateau Two Ridge sits atop is some 6 to 8 kilometres long. Think more Mesa Verde, Table Mountain, or the Nor-Westers. Western Sartar has a lot of mesa and butte geography, more like out of the American West or South Africa. The Ambas of Ethiopa might make better reference points. Two Ridge, Starfire Ridges, and the Pegasus Plateau are all part of a rugged landscape that would make Western Sartar a really amazing place to look at. With redwood groves in Tarndisi's Grove, and the high snow-covered peaks of the Quivin Mountains.

Sing.

Polaris is an important cult in lowland Peloria and Pent. His runes are Light, Stasis, and Harmony. He is sometimes worshiped as a spirit in Prax and among the Orlanthi. Despite the efforts of Kallyr's poets to concoct stories to the contrary, he's never managed to be incorporated as an associated cult of Orlanth. Orlanth usually dealt with Polaris as an enemy, and lacks even the tales of cooperation he has with Yelmalio.

Here's the canonical list of significant rebellions and other events: 1602 – Boldhome is sacked by Lunar Empire, its temple profaned, and its people slaughtered. The last known heirs of Sartar are slain or driven away. 1603 – Conflict between Telmori and other tribes. 1605 – A major thrust by the Lunar army to invade the Holy Country, striking at heavily populated Esrolia. Countering with magical strength, the god-king Belintar stopped the Lunars by inflicting a decisive and humiliating defeat. At the same time, a minor thrust of the Lunar army reached the city of Karse and laid siege, but withdrew without permanent success. The Lunar victory was clear over the Hendriking defenders. 1606 – Lunar assassins begin infiltrating south to kill the remaining members of the House of Sartar. 1606-1611 – Civil conflict among Far Point tribes. This grows to become the Righteous Wind Rebellion. 1606 – Amidst the widespread Sartar clan disputes and tribal wars following the Lunar conquest, the struggle against the Telmori stands out. The Telmori wiped out the whole Maboder tribe under their fangs. 1607 – Jomes Wulf, a Lunar general, led a brilliant campaign, and tracked down the wolf-people in their own territory, using great personal heroism. The Telmori sued for peace but not before taking extreme losses. Pol-Joni defeated by Praxians. 1610 – Pavis falls, as do the Prax barbarians as the Lunar Empire searches for a route to the sea. Provincial Government imposes repressive laws on Orlanthi. 1611 – Righteous Wind Rebellion in Far Point crushed by Harvar Ironfist, Alone occupied. 1613 – Kallyr Starbrow leads a Sartarite rebellion, quickly crushed by the Lunar Empire. Temertain the Pretender rules with Lunar support. 1615 – Fire Bull Clan of the Sambarri rebel and are crushed by the Lunar Army. 1618 – Dundealos tribe destroyed by Lunars. 1619 – Lunar Empire invades the Holy Country, Karse seized. 1620 – Malkonwal broken by Lunar Army. 1621 – Whitewall falls, beginning the Great Winter. 1622 – Culbrea tribe in open rebellion. Lunars defeated by Hendriki and Sartar rebels at the Battle of Auroch Hills. Great Winter ends. 1624 – Lunar Empire defeated in Holy Country at the Battle of Pennel Ford by a coalition of Wolf Pirates, Esrolians, and Hendriki. Temertain the Pretender killed by Humakti led by Sarostip Cold-eye.

The map in TCS has a few errors.

It represents the map in TCS getting a few details wrong.

There is no official map of the fort itself. But the site is perhaps more interesting than the fort! Here's the writeup: Two Ridge Fort (hill fort): This ancient fortress was fashioned atop a steep-ridged butte at the end of the Gejay Hills, and includes farms and pastures. This is the political and religious center of the Malani Tribe, and has temples to Orlanth and Humakt.

You mean like this?

I am not sure Doburdun has much of a cult in the Third Age. He was a Darsenite Thunder God associated with Entekos. By the Third Age, he's probably just a local manifestation of Orlanth or a servant of Entekos.

If people assume that the alliances in the Hero Wars are straight-forward and easy, that is their problem.

Similar dynamics can be seen within the Lunar Empire, where several of the Seven Mothers really don't care one way or another about the Orlanthi or about conquests in Dragon Pass or even about the Lunar Empire except in an abstract Obey the Red Emperor level.

People seem to forget that Issaries, Lhankor Mhy, and Chalana Arroy largely try to stay out of the fight between Orlanth and the Red Goddess except when Chaos gets brought in or Orlanth uses the Lightbringer's Summons.

BTW, this should make it obvious that a loincloth is the normal underwear for Sartarites. In warm weather, it might be the sole item of clothing.

Etyries is sometimes treated as an associated cult, sometimes as a subculture of Issaries. She is acknowledged as Issaries' daughter. Note that the cult's famed neutrality tends to keep it neutral in conflicts between Sartar and the Lunar Empire. PARTICULAR LIKES AND DISLIKES The cult generally attempts to maintain a stance of neutrality between contending parties, preferring to profit from both if possible. They generally shun war. However, they are skilled at fighting, and once decided will keep to their way. Many among the Goldentongue cult are especially adroit at neutrality, and for this are trusted by many otherwise untrusting peoples. They are also sought after by others because they believe that the presence of an Issaries priest will ease the transmission of any communication—especially magical ones such as rituals or spells. Some cults also hire Issaries to protect their sacred ceremonial grounds and offer great gifts for this service. Like all Lightbringers they hate Chaos and dislike Darkness. While they can be neutral towards the races of Darkness, they cannot be neutral about Chaos. The cult has a particular dislike of hyenas, which are parts of the body of dead Genert and, if found alive, will cause a Middleman merchant to go on the trek to the desert unless a Desert Tracker can be persuaded to take upon the quest instead. Thus, the other brothers of Middleman will kill them on sight, if possible. They have a friendly rivalry with the Lhankor Mhy cult. Both cults have many desires in common, and therefore support each other. But whereas the Issaries cult collects items and knowledge to pass on to others, the Lhankor Mhy people keep it for themselves. ETYRIES There was also a daughter of Issaries, named Etyries. After a thousand years she grew tired of tending pots and counting stones and decided to travel a great distance to hear the words of a young goddess of the far north. She left her family and went to listen. The goddess was the Red Goddess, still on earth and in mortal form. The daughter of Issaries learned that she could use her great innate powers and still enjoy other pursuits. The Red Goddess taught Etyries that she was the guide upon the threads of the Lunar pantheon.

And of course, the knights (or "Men-of-All") are suppressed by Rokarism, as they view Hrestol as having made a series of errors that ultimately resulted in the God Learners and the corruption of the Middle Sea Empire.

A quick snapshot? The West is the realm of the humanists, who view the world as a natural process understandable, conquerable, and usable by conscious manipulation by mortals. That conscious manipulation is sorcery, which does not rely on god or spirit for its effectiveness. A part of that world-view is that human society itself should be logically organised (think Plato's "Republic" or "Laws" or the discussions of what the castes are supposed to do in the Mahabharata) - most Westerners have concluded that a system of castes is the only rational means to organize human society. The so-called "knights" are people who lead/guide/protect the community because they are capable of understanding the needs of all the castes. They follow a strict moral code (often translated as "chivalry") and counter-balance the ethical solipsism so common among the magic-using caste. They are traditionally mounted, hence they get called "knights", but that kind of is backwards. They have a code that could be roughly summarised as: 1. Be a good follower of Malkion's laws. 2. Defend the entire community of Malkioni followers. 3. Respect and defend those weaker than you. 4. Love your homeland and obey its rulers. 5. Do not show fear before your enemy. 6. Do not lie and remain faithful to your word. 7. Be generous and give largess to everyone. 8. Always be the champion of the Right and the Good against Injustice and Evil. How does that translate into costume and gear? Well the Westerners are basically a Bronze Age people - although Seshnela and Loskalm both have access to iron thanks to the dwarves (whom they don't trust and do fear - so just because they have access doesn't mean that iron is particularly common). Most folk are farmers, but they have a significant urban population of crafters, labourers, and so on, with smaller groups of professional warriors, and even smaller groups of nobles and wizards at the top.

What does that mean? Of course they acknowledge the existence of that cult among the Pure Horse People. Do they participate in it? It is a weird Horse Barbarian thing - like drinking mare's milk or herding horses. Not appropriate for civilised people, any more than civilised people worship Ares as a sword or castrate themselves in the name of Artemis.