metcalph

Wyrms Footnotes #15 has an article on the Upland Marsh but really he's kinda like the Crimson Bat or the Horrors of Dorastor - too powerful to be used in a Boss Fight.

There are no *dragonewts* in Pamaltela. Pamaltelan Dinosaurs (excluding Slon) are mentioned in the Guide in Tarien and Jolar. For example Molibasku p582, Tarien Regional Activity p610, Sligo River p615

There were healing baths in the vicinity of the White Sea which Umath attended and was ambushed by Shargash. However the source is IIRC Thunder Rebels.

Moladehas or Mouladehas? Mouladehas is found on pages 3, 47, 87 and index Moladehas is found on page 33 and index.

On page 40, the Elf Story has two subheadings "The First Plantings" and "The Second Plantings". On page 41, it's just "The Third Planting". Consider making the third heading a plural.

She's implicitly included as one of the Grain Goddesses detailed on p9.

The current version *is* the old version. Esrola as the Middle Sister was something introduced in Storm Tribe: the Cults of Sartar.

Not sure whether this is an error but Gorgorma has runes of earth, moon and death p51.

Suggest replacing Dragon Pass with Apple Lane. Dunno where the Rockwoods Temple is.

p125 in a discussion of the Rune Lord, there are too paths listed - Bearwalker and Champion. I suggest that the highlighted word be replaced with either Odaylan or Champion to avoid confusion with the Bearwalker's path of the previous paragraph.

Mythology is due out in October and Moon is the first in 2024. https://www.chaosium.com/blogreleasing-october-mythology-book-for-the-cults-of-runequest-series/

Halfhalodos the Nonwise (the Founder of the Temple of United Eurmal) was persuaded by some of his subjects to buy some Zistorite Prayer Wheels going cheap that could be trained to generate gibberish which when feed to his subjects would reverse their insanity. Unfortunately the first bit of gibberish only made them say something so profoundly blasphemous that the Cosmos immediately destroyed the God Learners.

He wouldn't be the first god to disown his loser dad in favour of a more illustrious ancestor. Just saying.

Speaking of the Cult of Orlanth, there's something quite unusual. In a discussion of the Crown Test (CoR:Lightbringers p22), there is this: I've a feeling this was meant to be (or originally was) the Elmali Priest along the lines of King of Sartar. But since Elmal has been unpersoned (which is why I don't think this is an error), a more hilarious option seems to have been chosen. Kinda adds a time pressure on the Crown Tests.

I think Zzabur cast the Closing because the Middle Sea Empire had attacked Brithos. They had done it once before and who's to say they won't do it again? Sure relations with the Empire are fine and dandy at the moment but Zzabur always takes the longest view.

The Zistorite wonders were peculiar to the Machine City. None magical technology could have been propagated but it's important to remember: technology is a worker's job and spells is a wizard's job. A wizard who interests himself in technology is failing his obligations as a wizard to master sorcery. Thus there's no incentive for a wizard to study technology and set up factories elsewhere within the Middle Sea Empire. A worker could but he's only a commoner and hence unlikely to gain the ear of the nobility. As for the wider Middle Sea Empire involvement:

p122 "God Learner University of Yaraday" - Should be Yoranday.

I don't think the Emperors were worshipped as they were kinda more secular rulers. The magic that the God Learners had exacted from their citizens were funneled to their wizards to use. The Wizards spent a fair bit of that magic on their rulers (spells both protective and pangyrical) but most of the magic was used for their own researches and spells. Their caste duty that they must obey their nobles kept them in check even if it made them carry out otherwise silly projects.

Middle Sea Empire weapons were more like Manhattan projects than research a better type of Fireball. Most of their weapons were developed against the Dragons and they seem to have been successful in that the EWF was fought to a near standstill. Once the Dragons in a given theatre were neutralized via a cat-and-mouse game of crafted spells, the regular troops could then deal with the opposing army. As for mention, the God Learners had Zistor tear down the walls of Esrolia (King of Sartar p80), a big fire missile which destroys half a city (sent by a merchant guild! - History of the Heortling Peoples p81) and the Two Year Winter (Fortunate Succession p36). There were probably others but records from that time are scant (destruction of the Machine City, Sinking of Slontos etc)

A map by Jeff ( https://wellofdaliath.chaosium.com/the-middle-sea-empire/ ) shows the extent of Jrusteli control over the Eastern Isles. They reached as far as the Boil in the South and the extent of their reach in the north was probably the Andin and Arandinni Isles. They never controlled Hanfarador but the Pearl Islands were definitely within their control (an Emperor is cited as having tried a diet from there). I kinda think that the centres of God Learner power were the Jabbi Isles (where the Valkarians still are) and the Pearl Isles. The Valkarians were resistant to the God learns and probably escaped lasting damage from their downfall. The Pearl Isles seem much reduced in population and prestige compared to Hanfarador and so I think the Eastern seas Empire targeted them for retribution from which they still have to recover. The alleged superiority of the Mokatan ships is primarily Waertagi cope trying to explain why their ships weren't doing so well against the, Their ships were normal although I do think they had some boil-crossers to launch naval raids. People attempted to reach Vormain proper several times but were all killed off. I think Travellers could make their way around the Hinter Isles and chat with the exiles (so long as they didn't ask anything about Vormain proper). Vormain was IMO in a too hard basket for now as the Eastern seas Empire was still active. To control pirates, I think both the Middle Sea Empire and the New Dragons Ring spent their time sending Kaiju into Vormain proper (MSE from the Jabbi Isles, NDR from Desolation Isle) as a low cost alternative to a full-scale invasion.

The burning down the woods of Vralos was done in 654 ST when the God Learners were far from organized (the Abiding Book was only written nine years before and the Seshnegi are still to be conquered by the Dark Empire). The only resources available were Seshnegi migrants who had been there for sixty years and the First Migrants who had been there for another century before. So the destruction was really done by local wizards who unleashed big spells against the centres of elvish power and men with axes took care of the rest. As for Errinoru's interactions, we only have a single document from the Middle Sea Empire p50-p51. There's a single invasion - the battle of Talking Beach - in which they were driven off. Some years later Errinoru sends a raiding fleet down the (Pamaltelan) coast aided by the Triolini. They destroyed about four cities before they engaged with a God Learner Fleet and drove it off. Errinoru sends his ship down Magasta's Pool before remerging in Kahar's Sea. He then visits Fethlon and south and western Genertela before returning home. The events outlined in this document differ radically from Errinoru's history in the Guide (he circumnavigates first then goes down the pool before landing from the Sky) as it is undoubtedly an early outline. While the Battle of Talking Beach probably happened, its implied date in the document (before 734 ST) is kinda too early for the God Learners to be launching a massive invasion miles away from their nearest lands. The Dark Empire has not yet been destroyed, Kralorela has still to be captured and the Lopers are still causing trouble in Maniria. Even if it was the Umathelans, the geographical argument would still apply. So the dating of all this is up in the air. As for the strange insect - it might be the God Learners (unlikely IMO as their empire was being smashed apart by the Closing), Trolls (again unlikely as the Jungle Trolls are friendly and the Tarmo too distant), the Dwarves (unlikely as they don't work with insects) or Pamalt (who was blamed in the original Gods of Glorantha for halting the spread of the Jungle). It could even be internal elvish politics.

It's probable that they did. But they never learned the details of quality control so that all their blackpowder weapons were variable in quality (pretty much like a Disorder Keg Glorantha Bestiary p60). The God Learners could have cracked that but they had far more fruitful areas of research elsewhere.

Hon Hoolbitku won because the God Learner cavalry was bad because they couldn't live of the local vegetation. The God Learners didn't really have any units of magicians on the battlefield in the area - most of those were probably fielded against the EWF. As for ebing at the height of its power, that really refers only to the geographical expanse rather than the political tensions within the Empire. The Seshnelan King might have thought he ruled the world but the Umathelans would have become increasingly pissed off about how he ran things. Think of how various American colonies (English, Spanish and Portuguese) ended revolting and becoming independent. Why did the Empire never make a serious attempt to reconquer Umathela? Because they had most of their forces opposing the EWF and also a resurgent cult of Arkat in Ralios. Since those places are much closer to home, they have a higher military priority. A possibility for the Kolat slave riots might have been the Empire's non-chaotic replacement for Ompalam (I'm just thinking here as it's not been described). In promoting this cult and showing its superiority over Ompalam in controlling large populations of humans, the God Learners had hoped to convert the Fonritans away from Ompalam. Which would have worked if it hadn't been for the Kolat slave revolts. The slave revolts were serious because they affected the God Learner Cult and not the native Fonritans. Furthermore the image of overwhelming God Learner might was destroyed and they seemed much weaker than before. The Umathelans might have mustered enough troops to restore authority but they had their own greviances with the Empire.

IMO they knew at some level that Ompalam was chaotic but they never had the smoking gun to make the Fonritans agree with them. As for cleansing Fonrit of Chaos, I think the God Learners thought about but put into the TOO HARD basket. While the Fonritans were seemlingly subservient to them, I think the God Learners were all too keenly aware that they didn't have enough troops and magic to do the job. Instead I think they opted for a policy of slow transformation of Fonritan society into a non-chaotic version. But the Cosmos killed them before they could obtain any results.

Sorcery was already known to the world by the Storm Age. The Vadeli brought it to Pamaltela and Martalak to the Eastern Isles. In Genertela, Lhankor Mhy and Buserian both taught sorcery to their worshippers. Whether all sorcery of all these places had their origin in the West is an interesting question. The Westerners would say yes and everybody else would say no. That said, when the God Learners showed up (this is many thousands of "years" later), there were native traditions of sorcery in many of the lands they explored. Some of those traditions opposed them and others benefited from their wisdom. Those that studied the God Learners too closely were badly damaged in their fall while other traditions pretended they had vehemently opposed the God Learners all along with varying degrees of cradibility.