Jeff

The last time I am going to say this - Kralorela is not the real Bronze Age China any more than Dragon Pass is the real Mycenaean Greece. It is the China of our myths - the Serica of Pliny and Ptolemy. 

That being said, big influences for me were Mark Lewis' "The Early Chinese Empires", Sawyer's "Ancient Chinese Warfare", Visually you can't go wrong with Watson's "Art of China to AD 900". and Li Feng's "Early China". And If I recall I had been reading Dalton's "Taming of Demons" and I'd be lying if I said that wasn't an influence. But at the end of the day, Kralorela is Glorantha (albeit pulled through those lenses, rather than through the Mahabharata, the sagas, and the Iliad) and not ancient China. Any more than Dara Happa is Babylonia or Assyria.

 

23 minutes ago, JonL said:

An outsider who studies deeply can indeed learn quite a bit, and even sometimes do great work. I have a Euro-descended friend who writes mystery novels set in 19th Century China and, thanks to having spent years living over there, she manages to not be inadvertently hurtful. The key part there is the years spent living with and really getting to know the people she's writing about. An outsider can also notice things that insiders might take for granted, fresh eyes bringing new insights to bear. This too has value.

However, an outsider is almost always going to overlook some subtleties, misconstrue certain contexts, not see the significance of how insiders respond to things, etc. that are readily apparent to someone who has grown up in a culture or navigated the intersection between two cultures. An outside expert who has learned the language and done the deep dives into primary sources and noteworthy commentaries thereon, and can even get an approving nod when ordering off-the-menu at the mom & pop restaurant restaurant in an ethnic-neighborhood still does not have the same perspective as someone who has spent a lifetime being alternately fetishized, stigmatized, erased, and stereotyped because of their ancestry and cultural background. I can keep up with my Vietnamese boss when he takes us out to his favorite joints, but I don't have first-hand experience with being shamed/ostracized in the school cafeteria because my parents pack "weird" and "gross" stuff for my lunch. 

To be clear, I'm not saying that only insiders should write about their stuff. Rather, we should recognize that even an expert outsider should at ideally want to collaborate with a knowledgeable insider who can bring that perspective to the table. Outsiders should be conscious of  and respectful that they're playing with someone else's toys, and welcome input from insiders who can let them know when they're about to break something and point out cool things that the outsider is missing.

I'm not suggesting that Chaosium grab a random Chinatown resident off the street, any more than they would ask my father to write a Deep Ones of Lake Erie CoC supplement because he happens to be from Ohio. Rather, adding the perspective someone like Agatha Cheng, Bankuei, or similarly appropriate choice should be a no-brainer in terms of making the best work possible and to hopefully avoid repeating past mistakes.

Heck, if you were working on a Voormain book, wouldn't you at the very least ask Jeff Okomoto to look over a draft and give feedback? 

Vormain is very much Sandy's creation and Kralorela is Greg's. Keep in mind, Kralorela is not China - it is the mythic China that worked itself into Greg's imagination.

1 minute ago, styopa said:

I entirely agree.  There may be more steps (for the player of D&D who's used to a to-hit roll then damage roll) but rather than unpredictably rationalizing parts of the chain of events, RQ has always just laid them out very logically and intuitively.  This, at its very foundation, is the reason for my 40 year love for this game.

IMHO: (at least this is my experience)

• RQ seems "complicated" for people who have internalized the rationalizations of d20 systems.
• RQ is *easier* to teach and far more intuitive to people who are coming at RPGs for the first time.

"You have a 75% chance to hit, they have a 25% chance to dodge, you hit them in W location, you did X damage, and they have Y armor resulting in Z harm to that location"

...really makes more real-world sense to anyone than

"You're level X (why?) and they have armor class Y (why?) so roll above Z (why?) to do damage to them."

Oh definitely! To be honest I still need someone to hold my hand anytime I play a d20 system. Whenever I am a player, the action stops completely as I ask questions like "what am I able to do again?"

4 minutes ago, Sir_Godspeed said:

Hm. Does this mean they worship Lodril over Barntar? Or does Barntar fall under Orlanth?

Barntar falls into Orlanth. He is usually worshiped as subculture of Orlanth and Ernalda, and only occasionally independently.

50 minutes ago, Mugen said:

Well, combat in RQG is also very simulationist and complex, and it's more difficult to just ignore it than Sorcery.
It's possible to use simpler iterations of BRP combat (like those in StormBringer, or OpenQuest), but you need to be aware those exist, and you'd lose some parts in the translation.

Apart ftom this, I agree D&D 5e is not the super-simple game some seem to believe it is, for all the reasons you mentioned. It's the simplest version since the "Basic" version in the 80s, but it's still much more complex.

For what it is worth, long before I was in charge of the revival of RuneQuest, I found RQ's combat system extremely simple once you get used to it. At worst you need to look up the Fumble Table from time to time. 

Just now, Tindalos said:

 

Huh, Storm Bull has two sections here. Is one of those meant to be a separate cult, or are 10% of Talastari Storm Bull worshippers?

That's me badly cutting and pasting this from my notes. Swap one of the Storm Bull entires with Other Lunar cults (Etyries, Irrippi Ontor, Hon-eel, Hwarin Dalthippa, etc.).

On 7/24/2019 at 4:34 PM, Akhôrahil said:

5. Local lore
5.1. Benksland and Skalland - what are they? Both are described as only occasionally affected by chaos from Dorastor, and there are some Skanthi living in Skalland. Is Benksland livable? Does anyone actually live there? If so, who? If not, they might be ripe for settlement. The Bestiary indicates that we get trolls from Halikiv here, which is cool and a potential source of trouble.

These are places where tough outlaws, crazed Storm Bulls, and wanna-be heroes might settle. An Aggari Wind Lord who killed a Seven Mothers Rune Lord, a band of Bullmen, etc. It is not a place for the faint-hearted!

Quote

5.2.  What does the future history of the area look like? 1617 is the official campaign date. Hahlgrim slays Hakon the Swimmer in 1622. Hahlgrim's War happens in 1623, with Oddi becoming king during it. What else? What about Ralzakark's future history and endgame (I realize he will be Emperor eventually, but how, and it probably doesn't mean much fun for the people between him and the throne)? And I mean, just how many times does he get “killed” (twice in a day by Oddi!)? How will Talastar get involved in external politics once the HeroWars slam into the Lunar Empire? Has anyone compiled a timeline of the HeroWars?

Yes. A solid history of the Hero Wars is in the RQ Campaign book.

Quote

(To me, a fairy clear plot point would be a shift in power between Traditionalists and Appeasers as the Lunar Empire gets thrown into crisis, and the Lakrene thing is certain to be a sore point. Kings are bound to at least try to re-conquer it, and anyone who does is in a great place to get declared as King of Talastar. It also seems like just the kind of place that Argrath might try to dragoon into his war.)

In 1625, there are rebellions throughout the Lunar Provinces and the main Lunar army is locked in a life and death struggle with the Pentans. The Lunar Empire has barely any resources for places like Dragon Pass and none at all for places like Talastar. The pro-Lunar factions suddenly find themselves on their own. 

On 7/24/2019 at 4:34 PM, Akhôrahil said:

 

2. Religion

 

Here's a rough cult breakdown:

 

Cult	%
Orlanth	25
Ernalda	20
Grain Goddess	10
Maran Gor	1
Babeester Gor	1
Chalana Arroy	2
Eurmal	1
Issaries	2
Lhankor Mhy	1
Storm Bull	5
Humakt	2
Seven Mothers	10
Erinflarth	2
Storm Bull	5
Yelmalio	6
Lodril	2
Other	5
	100

 

33 minutes ago, Leingod said:

For better or worse, when someone talks about what some powerful figure or organization is secretly doing/secretly supposed to do in fantasy, my mind usually fills in the blank immediately with "human sacrifice." Because that's right more often than you'd think, and even when it isn't human sacrifice, it's usually something roughly as bad, so it still isn't really a surprise.

In this case, that is not the case. .

2 hours ago, davecake said:

I agree with Peter that the version of Kralorelan history we have is largely a fiction to show that the rulership we have now is eternal and the rightful heir to all that has gone before. The unbroken line of Emperors that has been obviously broken at least three times etc. 

And one obvious difference between Kralorela and China is in the nature of the Emperors. Chinese Emperors were political dynasties competing through intrigue and war. Kralorelan Emperors are immortal gods replaced only through massive magical crisis. I think Tibetan rule by successive avatars of Avalokitesvara comes a bit closer than Chinese Emperors, but really it is a situation unique to Glorantha. The Emperors may not really rule Kralorela, but rather be supported by the state for religious and magical reasons. 

If you read the Guide it is pretty clear that the "eternal Kralorela" as it is claimed, probably dates to the downfall of Sheng Seleris at the latest, or the ascension of Godunya at the earliest.

And there are plenty of hints of what the Emperor is actually expected to do.

On 7/24/2019 at 4:34 PM, Akhôrahil said:

3. Culture
What are the significant cultural differences between "Northern"/Alakoring Orlanthi (like Talastarings), and Heortlings? 

The Heortlings of Dragon Pass look to Esrolia for their material culture, and Esrolians and Heortlings largely look the same. The Talastar look to lowland Peloria for their luxury goods. It is frankly hard for an outsider to distinguish a Talastari from a Sylillan from a Dara-nite or Henjarlite.

That being said, the Talastari have brown or reddish hair, and olive skin. Men and women grow their hair long and men wear beards. Rich men often affect long and oiled beards, which are frequently curled with tongs to create hanging curls. Men commonly wear a fringed wool skirt and cloak. The wealthy wear a tunic over the wool skirt. When possible, clothes are brightly coloured and patterned.

Quote

3.1. Language, of course. I'm assuming there's a specific Talastari language? 1/5th of Heortling sounds right for Talastari when it comes to base percentage? 

1/5th or 1/10th. I'd need to look at it more carefully.

Quote

4. Clans
How does it work when you form a new clan, like the Renekoti, and especially when it's not just a break-away part but one formed from very disparate new peoples? 

Same as always. You need a guardian spirit - but gaining that is part of the ritual to call the new clan into existence.

Quote

4.6. The Bilini tribe seems to be a very dominant “super tribe” within Talastar, even more so (considerably more so!) than the Colymar tribe is in Sartar, and to the extent that there doesn’t seem to be a ton of difference between being King of Talastar and tribal King of the Bilini these days. How many clans do you think it has? Talastar has a population of 125,000 (Guide), and looking at the map the Bilini look like they make up somewhere between half and a fourth of Talastar. This is one giant tribe! I could easily see 25+ clans, which is bound to make tribal politics a mess. 

They are an Orlanth Rex people and their tribal politics are far more tumultuous than those in Sartar. The King of the Bilini is the Orlanth Rex of the various Bilini groups; however, those that refuse to acknowledge a new Rex have more options, such as Oxhead, forming their own rival group, etc. Proclaiming yourself King of Talastar means you have gotten several other tribes or confederations or cities to acknowledge you as the highest Rex.

4.7. How do we think the Hold of the Bilini (pop. 3000) is run? Tribal seat ruled more directly either by the king or by some “city ring” style thing? I’m thinking Boldhome might be the best model?  

The king resides in the Hold and that is where the main tribal assemblies take place. Regardless of who is king, there are crafters, labourers, traders and whatever who reside there. They probably largely govern their own activities by kinship, cult, or guild - when there are disputes they go to the king. That's the normal Orlanthi way.

 

5 hours ago, Akhôrahil said:

 

1.1. 300 members (size given in D:LoD for the Renekoti) is tiny for an Orlanthi clan, maybe less than is even feasible given that it has to support a basic clan structure! Should this be interpreted as correct and motivated by the fact that this is a “starter” clan that must fill out quickly in order to survive, or should we imagine that the number  doesn’t include children and maybe double it (still a tiny clan even then, but perhaps no longer an infeasible one)? 

The clan is a new settlement. It needs to grow rapidly, have children, etc. It is comparable to the clans that formed during the Settlement of Dragon Pass.

5 hours ago, Akhôrahil said:

1.2. The broadsheet in D:LoD says that immigrants will receive a plow and an ox (just the one), while we now know that the Barntar plow uses a pair of oxen. This could just be the product showing its age and that you really receive two oxen, but it’s also conceivable that the poorer soil of Talastar has resulted in different plowing technology (you could certainly plow with just one ox, even though most cultures seem to prefer two). I suppose another possibility is that they’re being cheap and only create half-carls.

That's a hat-tip to the old Forty Acres and a Mule. A plow and ox and a hide of land is what I expect new settlers get.

5 hours ago, Akhôrahil said:

1.3. How would you treat the Orlanthi naming standards in Dorastor: Land of Doom? Here, unlike in more modern publications, people have a first name and a family name, like the Burisons and Soderfalls - should this merely be considered as obsolete, or as a quirk of the place? Such last names could serve a purpose when the new clan is a hodgepodge of disparate people - it will tell you which immigrant group someone belongs to (“Oh, you’re a Burison”). It could be interpreted as the name of the “mini bloodline” a set of immigrants forms.

I suspect those sorts of names are pretty common everywhere. Your proper name might be Vargast son of Vanganth of the Orlmarth, but everyone knows you as one of the Varani (descendents of Old Maran) or as Vargast Old Man (because of your village), or Vargast etc. 

 

5 hours ago, Akhôrahil said:

1.4. D:LoD makes it clear that marriage within the clan is accepted, even as this is emphatically non-standard in later Orlanthi descriptions. Perhaps this should be interpreted as traditional marriage customs being relaxed due to the immigrant nature of the clan? It’s not like there’s any risk of inbreeding at this stage. 

That's clan by clan. Most clans are exogenous, but this is a new clan, where the fictional kinship is obviously more fictional. The communities in Sartar are several centuries old. The Risklands are a few years old.

 

5 hours ago, Akhôrahil said:

2. Religion

2.1. What is Orlanthi initiation like in non-Heortling Talastar? I'm assuming that it doesn't contain the Heort/Second Son parts? So what replaces them? Do the Talastari have their own I Fought We Won myth?

I think too much is made of Heortling/non-Heortling on these forums. Especially when you are talking about the end of the Third Age. These distinctions were stark in the First Age, blurred in the Second Age (for example were the eastern Dragon Pass Orlanthi even Heortlings in the later Second Age?), and become completely muddled in the Third.

5 hours ago, Akhôrahil said:

2.2. You fly to Top of the World rather than Kero Fin on High Holy Days. This is neat. Do we have any myths or other information about that mountain (apart from the ones listed in the Wiki)? 

Top of the World is the Great Mountain. Massive and high, it and Queen's Peak loom above Talastar like Nanda Devu and Mount Everest. It is the home of Orlanth, raised by Mortal (like the Spike).

5 hours ago, Akhôrahil said:

2.3. What are the differences in cults? Any cults or subcults that would be unknown in the south, or southern cults that would be less common or even unknown here (apart from the obvious ones)? With Talastar being close to the Bull Belt (and with Dorastor close by), Storm Bull could be unusually strong, for instance? (I’m thinking Urox is the main war god, not Humakt.) Is Tarumath worship something that still exists? 

I didn't put Talastar in the Cult Distribution chart for the Cults book, but clearly I should have. Erinflarth is a bigger deal, the Grain Goddesses are more important, Storm Bull is more important than Humakt and his cult is closely associated with Orlanth. Heler is only an accoutrement of Orlanth. 

Tarumath is long gone. As pertinent in Third Age Talastar as Akhen was to the Ptolemies.

5 hours ago, Akhôrahil said:

2.4. I imagine the Earth cult influences are weaker in the north due to distance from Esrolia - perhaps longhouses rather than the square Earth Rune houses we now see a lot of in Sartar? Possibly Water (few to no Helerings) and Darkness (further from troll strongholds) influences would also be reduced? More sun worship might be expected, but I also gather that Elmal is not a thing this far north (it’s a Heortland and Sartar phenomenon)? Would the Sun worship (where it happens) occur in the form of “integrated” Yelmalio (Yelmalio seen as part of the Storm Tribe, unlike isolationist Yelmalio as in Sun Dome culture)?

Yelmalio is well known in Talastar. His Sun Domes dominate their environs. Yelmalio and Orlanth are their usual "frenemy" selves.

I'll try to answer the rest of the questions later.

9 hours ago, Travern said:

That may work for players coming out of D&D or Mansions of Madness or for horror fans of Goosebumps rather than HPL.  Otherwise, I find it to be too silly.  The artist Chris Huth is quite capable of producing frightening Lovecraftian illustrations (check out his B&W work for Sentinel Hill Press), so I have to assume the responsibility lies with the art direction.

I think the cover is great (and I have a lot to say about art at Chaosium) - at the end of the day remember, this is a cover for a commercial product and we have many different audiences with many different sets of expectations. What doesn't work for one audience can work brilliantly for another. I mean heck, I had one dude on social media complaining about the "low quality art" in the new RuneQuest stuff.

1 hour ago, g33k said:

Wait...  I thought the Dara Happan's were still heavily Yelm-oriented?  And Initiate into Yelm's worship readily.

 

Most Dara Happans can't readily initiate into the Yelm cult. In most cases, it is about 5% of the population who initiate to Yelm - the nobility. At least three times that number are Lodril initiates. So Yelm is the RULING cult but not the main men's cult.

Same thing in Pent. In most Solar Tribes, Yelm is the god of the leaders and the noble families. Except among the Pure Horse People, where he is the main men's god. 

10 minutes ago, Tindalos said:

And as for Pent, I'm assuming Yu-Kargzant is one of cults worshipped only by the Pure Horse clans and tribe, rather than the solar tribes?

Yelm is worshiped by all the Solar Tribes, but few outside the Pure Horse People can initiate to him. Just like in the rest of Peloria. Whereas among the PHP, he's the main men's deity (just like with the Grazeland Pony Breeders). 

7 hours ago, Tindalos said:

I guess the question is how much do they connect Yu-Kargzant with Kargzant?

Of course then there's the question of Pentans and their worship of Golden Bow and Kargzant, but no apparent record of the Imperial Sun after his death.

I've got to wonder if Yu-Kargzant is (in the third age) peculiar to the Pure Horse Tribe of the Grazelanders, and the legend of Harfraftos the founder and his quest to commune with the Sun God and reunite them with his children (thus separating centaurs into man and horse) a memory of him returning their ancestral cult to them after the Pure Horse myths had been influenced by Dara Happans.

I'm assuming the differences between Yelm the Sun Horse and Yelm the other one are similar to Orlanth Adventurous and Orlanth Thunderous? Two very different subcults to the same entity?

Kargzant is a pre-Dawn Light god. He's Lightfore. Most settled folk in the Pelorian bowl associate him with Yelmalio. Why do you think that Yelmalio has Kuschile horse archery and other horse-y skills?

Yu-Kargzant is the Sun that appeared with the Dawn. At first, many people thought he was the Sun Disk carried by Kargzant or Antirius or whatever, but soon enough most everyone concluded he is the returned Yelm.

Looks like there will be a limited number of the two volume set printed up for GenCon. My advise is to get there Thursday morning, or get someone to go Thursday morning for you.

2 hours ago, Qizilbashwoman said:

Well, in older RuneQuest, Moon and Light (and other runes) are swapped for the limited rune in question. Initiate into Yelmalio and you trade the "hot" bit of the rune for the benefits provided to a cultist of Yelmalio. It's not a separate rune; it's the same rune, so you just change your rune for the "limited" one. In the same way, We Are All Us principle meant that in earlier games you kindled your Moon rune (joined the Lunar Way) by trading your Fire or Change rune for Full Half Moon rune, your Earth or Life Rune for the Crescent Go Moon rune, and so forth. Each of these gave you access to powerful magics and elementals (Lunes) and set you on the path to Illumination. It also left you open to temptation, because the Chaos rune was always available to the Lunar initiate...

The real difference for me, I guess, is that Yelmalio is not Yelm. While I am glad we aren't in older Runequest, where there was a unique rune for everything, reducing runes to a mere handful reduces the distinction between the gods to name only. Yelmalio cultists don't wield fire magic, only light, and is the Little Sun as rewritten by Nysalor. This is why He is different: he is Light, not the Sun, and has a fraught relationship with the Solar Pantheon. The Sun Dome Temples rebelled against the Lunar Empire and seem primarily interested in their own survival and in converting the heathens.

Maybe this is nerdy? Idk, but they also write the Pure Horse god as "Yelm: the Sun Horse", which... I mean I certainly would never have written it that way. It's Yu-Kargzant (or Hyalor, I guess). There's really no reason to describe this god as Yelm.

I'm not trying to be a grognard here about lore, I swear.

Actually there is a perfectly good reason to call the Pure Horse god as "Yelm the Sun Horse" - as everyone would agree that the sun god worshiped by the Dara Happans, by the Pure Horse People, and invoked as the rival of Orlanth by the Orlanthi is the SAME GOD. However, the Pure Horse People speak a different language from the Dara Happans and other Pelorians, so call Yelm "Yu-Kargzant". 

Yelmalio cultists are human beings, and so their elements are Fire/Sky, Earth, Air, Water, Darkness, and Moon. But Yelmalio only has the Light aspect of Fire/Sky (similar to Polaris, Dayzatar, and plenty of others). They are forbidden from calling on the Fire aspects of Fire/Sky, but for game mechanical reasons it is unnecessarily complex to have to trade your Runes around. The cult writeup makes it clear you can't use those spirit magic spells. But at the same time, senior priests of Yelmalio can call down the ultimate FIRE spell - Sunspear - using their Fire Rune, by calling upon Yelm (who most definitely is Fire and Sky)..

57 minutes ago, Richard S. said:

Issaries uses Movement and Harmony I thought? At least those are the two runes that make up the Trade rune.

Issaries is Movement and Harmony.

As I see it, the major cults not appearing in this book are:

• Triolina (I really need to think far more about the Triolini before I tackle this cult)
• Godunya (already appearing in another book)
• Pamalt (will need to wait until I get to the South)
• Ompalam (see above)
• Seseine (see above)
• Invisible God (gets its own book)
• Arkat (needs Invisible God)
• Wachaza (needs to wait - his cult is right now confined largely to the Wachaza)

There are numerous minor cults that will appear elsewhere - Pavis, Zola Fel, etc. They are purely local entities. 

The definitive list of cults and spirit cults in the Cults of Glorantha are:

1. Kyger Litor

2. Anilla

3. Aranea

4. Argan Argar

5. Gorakiki

6. Himile

7. Subere

8. Xentha

9. Xiola Umbar

10. Zorak Zoran

11. Magasta

12. Choralinthor

13. Dormal

14. Engizi

15. Oslira

16. Ernalda

17. Aldrya

18. Asrelia

19. Babeester Gor

20. Caladra & Aurelion

21. Donandar

22. Eiritha

23. Flamal

24. The Grain Goddesses

25. Hykim & Mykih

26. Maran Gor

27. Mostal

28. Ty Kora Tek

29. Uleria

30. Voria

31. Yelm

32. Dayzatar

33. Dendara

34. Gorgorma

35. Lodril

36. Lokarnos

37. The Lowfires

38. Polaris

39. Shargash

40. Yelmalio

41. Yelorna

42. Orlanth

43. Chalana Arroy

44. Eurmal

45. Issaries

46. Lhankor Mhy

47. Barntar

48. Daka Fal

49. Foundchild

50. Heler

51. Humakt

52. Lanbril

53. Mastakos

54. Odayla

55. Storm Bull

56. Valind

57. Waha

58. Ygg

59. Yinkin

60. Horned Man

61. Earth Witch

62. Evening Star

63. Frog Woman

64. Kolat

65. Morning Star

66. Rainbow Girl

67. Raven

68. Six Sisters

69. Sun Hawk

70. Thunder Bird

71. Traveling Stone

72. Twin Sisters

73. White Princess

74. Robber

75. Sky River Titan

76. Oakfed

77. Seven Mothers

78. Danfive Xaron

79. Deezola

80. Etyries

81. Hon-eel

82. Hwarin Dalthippa

83. Irrippi Ontor

84. Jakaleel

85. Nysalor

86. Red Goddess

87. Teelo Norri

88. Yanafal Tarnils

89. Yara Aranis

90. Primal Chaos

91. Bagog

92. Cacodemon

93. Crimson Bat

94. Krarsht

95. Krjalk

96. Mallia

97. Pocharngo

98. Thanatar

99. Thed

100. Vivamort

Just now, Richard S. said:

At the rate you're adding new cults, we aren't going to get the book until the next edition of RQ comes out!

Nah, I am done. But while adding the Starting As An Initiate of XXXX sections for each cult, I managed to unblock what I wanted to write about Yara Aranis. It also brings us to 100 cults and spirit cults.

On 6/19/2019 at 8:48 PM, Jeff said:

Since the last list was posted I've added a dozen or so cults, including Ygg, Voria, Yelorna, Horned Man, Barntar, and others.

And how could I forget - Yara Aranis!

A sneak peak of how Books and Scrolls get handled in the RQC!

MAGIC BOOKS AND SCROLLS
Mechanically, a book typically adds +1D4x5% to one or more skills. Some might also provide knowledge in one or more sorcerous Runes or Techniques and even provide knowledge of specific sorcery skills. A few special books can even raise a characteristic modifier or increase a characteristic. These books should be the object of quests in their own right.

Give thought to their actual physical appearance, the proper bonuses (esp with Ian’s entries), who’d want it and where you might buy/sell it.

Glorious Reascent of Yelm: Composed in the First Age, this text is a mythic cosmology and kings list of the Yelmic religion. It takes three seasons to study. With a successful Read Firespeech, it adds +20% to the reader’s Yelm Lore, +10% to Dara Happan Customs, and +5% to Celestial Lore.

The Roads and Graves of the Makers: This text lists the first seven Sartarite kings, their main deeds, the roads they built, and where their graves are. There are many variations of this (often simply called “The Sartar Dynasty”).
This text takes a hour to study and with a successful Read Theyalan it adds +5% to the reader’s Sartar Homeland Lore.

The Orange Book or Theogony: This collection of God Learner texts from the Mythical Synthesis Movement is allegedly based on the Blue and Brown Books of Zzabur. It details the origins of the cosmos and the Runes, includes a series of genealogies of the different gods, arranged by elemental Rune, and describes the major events of the Gods War.
This book consists of 84 orange-coloured sheets of vellum and takes three seasons to study. With a successful Read Theyalan roll it adds +15% to the reader’s base Cult Lore skill and +5% to the reader’s Magic modifier. Upon a successful INT+POW roll on a D100, the reader achieves intellectual mastery of the Summon Technique as per page 384 of the RuneQuest rules. Most versions of this book include 1D3 sorcery spells. The book is thought to be protected by a dangerous curse.

Songs of the House of Sartar: This epic poem is based on oral tradition and details deeds and tragedies of the House of Sartar prior to the Lunar invasion of 1602. It is intended to be read aloud and was likely composed by a poet and only later recorded and refined by a Lhankor Mhy sage.
The poem consists of 2400 stanzas divided into nine books. It takes about three hours to listen to the entire poem. With a successful Read Theyalan roll, it adds +10% to the reader’s Heortling Customs and +5% to their Sartar Homeland roll. If the reader succeeds with a Sing roll while reading the poem, those who listen to the full poem and succeed with a Speak Heortling get the same bonus.

Six Chapters on Sword Fighting: This combat manual is thought to date back to the Second Age and is commonly attributed to Li Phanquan. The text takes a season to study and with a successful Read Theyalan skill roll it adds +10% to the reader’s Sword skill.
Studying the palace records: A season spent studying the records of the local palace or temple combined with a successful Read skill in the language the records are written in adds +5% to both the reader’s Bureaucracy and (local) Customs.

The Lives of Our Red Goddess: This didactic tract is an account of the birth of the Red Goddess by the Seven Mothers and of the Seven Steps of the Red Goddess to Hell and back. It is often illustrated. With a successful Read New Pelorian roll, the reader gains +10% in Seven Mothers Cult Lore and +2% to their chance of Illumination.

The Sword "Wrath"

Description

A double-edged enchanted iron great sword with a cruciform hilt, intended to be used with both hands. Silver inlayed Runes are carved into the groove of the blade, most prominently the Death Rune.

Cults

Associated: Humakt, Lismelder Tribe..

Friendly: Lightbringer cults.

Enemy: Vivamort

Knowledge

Famous, One of a Kind.

History

Wrath was forged by the Mostali in the Greater Darkness to fight against Vivamort and his minions. Its most famous wielder in the Third Age was the Humakti hero Indrodar Greydog. Indrodar used the sword to bring Final Death to countless undead and even wound Delecti the Necromancer. Since Indrodar's demise in the Upland Marsh, the fate of the sword is unknown.

Powers

Wrath does 2D8+3 damage. It is sentient, with an INT 13, POW 16, and CHA 16. It will link itself to the person who successfully allies with it. It will serve its attuned wielder alone until the wielder dies.Wrath knows the following spirit magic spells: Bladesharp 6, Demoralize 2, Protection 4, Parry 4.

The user attuned to Wrath can spend 2 magic points to use the sword's Turn Undead ability. The user can do this repeatedly, as long as they have sufficient magic points.

The sword also has a flaw, known only to the Humakt cult. At some point, the sword will be commit three terrible deeds on the part of the owner. Indrodar used Wrath to kill his king, his queen, and one other.

Value

2000 L or more to the Humakt cult or the Lismelder Tribe, 1000 L to those unaware of its history.