metcalph

The Guide mentions that he came from the Northwest Lands (Guide p193). That kind of rules out Saird which is to the west. He could come from Vanch considering that it controlled Ozarkos at this time would have an interest in Votankiland. Part of the problem with the writeup of Balazar is that there is a massive disconnect between what it is now and the fact that Greatway shuns trade with Dragon Pass but still have some mercantile interests in Balazar (Guide p90). I don't see much evidence of dwarven trade in Balazar compared to what Dwarf Mine gets up to. I kinda explained the discrepancy by having the Opili Tribe (under Sheng Seleris) reducing the Balazarings from a settled culture or sorts to one whose land was cleared for pasturage. Farms, towns and villages would then be put to the sword. Greatway retaliated by poisoning the land so that it became unsuitable for pasturage so that the Opili tribe eventually left it alone and only now is the poison wearing off, The Guide maps don't show any EWF control into the Elder Wilds (although in 700 ST, it does show Votanki control over parts of Dragon Pass!). That's probably because the Votanki were content to pay tribute to the EWF and perform whatever sacrifices they demanded. Now there was supposedly a nomadic dragonewt tribe under the leadership of Master Herds Allosaurs that wandered around the Elder Wilds but they do not appear upon either World Council Maps in the Guide (p709 and p715). Master Herds is described as a Rebel (History of the Heortling Peoples p17) so he may have simply wandered off map to the northeast rather than put up with the Inhuman King. So I think the EWF influence within Votankiland was of this sort. They had herds of Dinosaurs wandering around being attended by Dragonewts. Dragonewts that became dinosaurs, Magisaurs, Hadrosaurs etc or Dragonewts that had doubts about the way were exiled to Votankiland and tasked to help in the worship of the herds. They no longer survive because the True Golden Horde slew them all and their nomadicism means that very little was left in the way of construction. They would have built many things but there was been at least two waves of invaders which have a nasty habit of taking what can be taken and destroying what cannot. Much would have been sacked and destroyed. I think there were. Dwarf-made. It was sufficiently well known for a Pentan Horde to use it as a crossing in the Imperial Age. Given the scale of the construction 15 feet wide, 180 feet long, I doubt that it was made in mythical times and so suspect during the World Council or the Bright Empire. The origin of the curse against ownership looks interesting.

Trolls are adult at 14. Depending on how badly they have been defeated, the troops they have in 397 are likely to be a lot less than the troops they mustered in 379 ST. I don't think the trollkin would have had multiple births as of 397 ST but I find it plausible that they started arming whatever trollkin they could with spears as a desperation move during the Gbaji Wars.

The trollkin curse appeared in 379 ST. 397 ST is some 18 years later.

The Octamonist leaders are distinct from the Decamonists that rule Nida. The Octamonists believe that the creation of Iron and Diamond was wrong because it was done without the participation of the Machine. Everybody else including the Decamonists that rule Nida believe they are delusional loons. So Greatway called the Decamonists that rule Nida "criminally insane" and sent money to the Octamonist ldeaders in Nida in a blatant attempt to cause trouble.

Perhaps as tribal Khan, he has a legitimate right to travel the plains or visit the Paps and the Sables dare not infringe this right without attracting curses from the Paps?

The original has the Red Glass Tower Joke (Wyrms Footprints p36). It may be related to the City of Rose Colored Glass in Teshnos (Guide p433).

I'm fine (even had a good night's sleep). The quake was a lengthy rolling rather than a sudden rumble or shake. Christchurch is all shook out and there's hardly anything to cause damage down here (Wellington which is further away suffered more damage). The Tsunami warning was unusual but since I live 20 kays inland and 40 m above sea level, I'm well out of the danger zone.

Pavis: Gateway to Adventure does mention a God Learner settlement AKA "Sorceror Town" on the ruins of Robcradle circa 920 ST PGtA p35 (and which was the fore-runner of Ogre Island). However Pavis wouldn't have anything to fear from them.

Trolls and Elves have been described as cannibals. The trolls practice funerary cannibalism and the Sons of Kargg must regularly devour a relative. Elves were described as vegetarian cannibals as far back as cults of prax in the context of Food Song (Cult Compendium p193( but bit's not clear whether they are cannibals because they are plants eating plants or that they see nothing wrong with the eating of the flesh of sentient plants (elves, runners, pixies etc). There is a widely held fan theory (based on Shadows in the Borderlands) that eating human flesh is chaotic and eventually turns the eater into an Ogre. There's a number of problems with this and the Coming Storm has a more mythically pleasing explanation of how Ogres come to be. The Heortlings have myth (KoS p76) of the Hidden Kings whose last hunger caused the people to hide. Heort eventually kills the monsters (presumably because they were shapeshifting) and the people live in settlements once again. So they would believe cannibalism to be bad. Within the context of Orlanthi law, cannibalism is not a capital crime. However secret murder is. If the cannibal secretly preys on his fellow humans, then he can be put to death for secret murder as opposed to the consumption of human flesh. If a cannibal openly preys on his fellow humans then he may not be committing a crime (although people would still find his actions repulsive). He can however be openly killed and the only sanction would be the attitudes of the cannibal's kin (if any). Better still. A human eats the flesh of a herd man. The Praxians say this is not cannibalism. Everybody else have the kneejerk reaction that it is.

The story behind that was that the translator had difficulty deciding whether God Learners should be the Learners about God or the Gods that Learn (an interpretation unknown to me until I heard this story) So he asked Greg. Whose answer was "Well, it's ambiguous..."

A city mentioned in the AH Elder Races Book. p121 has the scenario outline of a family group of Baboons leaving their homeland (ie outside the Wastelands) to investigate the rumour that the legendary Gorilla City has returned to life in a nearby region. They hope to become the Alpha Baboon Clan as a result.

They are described as such in both the Guide (p27) and in Pavis: Gateway to Adventure p50 and p97

The tidal powers are said to be used by the Thinobutans, not the Blue People.

Since the people of Teleos to the north are said to seem racially similar to the Agimori (apart from the skin colour) Guide p523, I'm inclined to say that the same is true of the Masloi and other Thinobutan descendants. Most have dark coloured skin but some have red or gray according to the creation myth. The mention of escapees from Thinobutu on the ships of the Blue People is a Thinokosan myth (Revealed Mythologies p56) which has them also using tidal powers to defeat the waters in the first torrential war. However the tidal powers are an Artmali Power and the Thinobutans are not said to be Artmali. Hence I suspect corruption in the Thinokos myths that were used by the God Learners in compiling the Monomyth and that the Thinokosans acquired tidal powers and blue skins in Ulrana through unknown events.

Dynast is a title which may be in use in the Eastern Isles (there's a reference to Dynasts in Vormain - Guide p539) and given the close connection between the Eastern isles and Maslo, there's likely to be a lot of cultural influences. There are also Malkioni refugees from the Closing in addition to the Waertagi (Guide p138) so it is a rather cosmopolitian place. Because of the Closing, I don't think Hoom Jhis is a pirate from elsewhere. He rises up against the Vadeli between 1588 and 1594 whereas the Opening doesn't reach Teleos until 1595 (and the Flanchi don't reach there until 1598). When the comment about the pale blues of Thinokos first appeared in Revealed Mythologies, I considered it a mistake because the people of Maslo are not pale blues. Since it has appeared authoritatively in the Guide, I find their origin to be rather obscure. I kind of doubt they are Artmali-related as they wouldn't be distinguishable from the local blueskins. They could be related to the Sendereven though.

The source of that is the RQ Adventures fanzine.

The headhunters are the Culbrea fyrd IIRC. I did have an idea in which they take heads as a re-enactment of sorts of the dismemberment of the Giant Lant Ulfar (who lies in various pieces nearby).

Look at the God Learner Maps in the Guide. Map p691 - Vovisibor is attacking Pamaltela from some place near Ulrana, which is in the north. He marches south along the Corruption Trial and is defeated at Jaranpur Fields. Vovisibor p693 - [,,,] Vovisibor took over the rule of all that is evil and sent them everywhere in the South". Vovisibor p704 - This entity invaded Pamaltela in the Chaos War [Actually the Lesser Darkness - PHM], melting its way through the mountain wall [...] Jaranpur Fields p692 - Site where Pamalt met Vovisibor and detsoryed him with the Firefall. Firefall p691 "The Artmali were corrupted by Vovisibor [etc]" Vovisibor hence came from the north. As for his association with Fonrit, there is the Copper Canyon in Thinokos (Guide p559). Revealed Mythologies has more. p52 "The stranger [vovisibor - PHM] called himself Surprise-From-The-North"

Chaos in Pamaltela came from Fonrit, which is the north.

HeroQuest: Glorantha calls Draconic wisdom illumination as a shorthand for possession of the infinity rune. They are the same thing or completely different things depending on how you look at it (or more importanly whether you want an argument or not). There's really only two effects that we need to concern ourselves: 1) what the illuminate says about his wisdom and 2) what an observer says about the illuminate. In terms of what the illuminate says, draconic wisdom and nysaloran illumination are different as orthodox hesychasm and zen koans. In terms of what the observer says, the draconist and the illuminate can do very similar things through their transcedental knowledge. Nysalor did not invent Illumination - Yelm did when he was killed. According to the Dara Happans, Nysalor is an emanation of Yelm to bear the truths of illumination to mankind. The cosmic egg is not unique to draconism. For example, it appears in Orlanthi mythology as the source of everything. The status of illuminated wisdom in Kralorela may be many things but I think it too much to claim it as seamlessly. There are the Seventeen Lessons to Perfection that were taught by Osdero, criticized by NiangMao. NiangMao's own teachings weere put into place by Shavaya who was then confounded by Sekever. FInally we have the teachings of Daruda, the rusticism of which would be quite alarming to the adherents of both NiangMao and Metsyla. Plus you have the snobs from the Eastern Isles who deride the Kralori as degenerate dragon worshippers. There's a difference between the Red Goddess's illumination (which is perfect) and mortal understanding of it (which is represented by the Red Moon and is thus demonstrably imperfect). When mortals understand the Moon then it will be white. There is nothing wrong with Nysalor or his illumination. That he was slain by Arkat speaks more about Arkat than it does Nysalor. Orxili is the observable world. They are?

These are two different myths. In one place the Sun God performed a courtly dance to defeat the Storm God. In another place, the Sun God played the Harp. Later on, the Storm God was identified as Orlanth and the Sun God identified as Yelm. But instead of deciding which one was correct, they found that both were. The extinguished field lies, I believe, in Ralios where the early Ralians had a myth about Erulat (later identified as Orlanth) defeated Ehilm (Later identified as Yelm) in the Battle of Battles*. Ehilm was killed and Erulat forced to retire through a poisoned wound. *See here: http://www.glorantha.com/docs/safelster-in-the-first-age/ These variations are important in heroquesting because Harmast knew a certain magic that when he ventured onto the hero place and encountered a version of the myth that he didn't like, he could change it to something more favourable to him. Let's say, he went to kill Yelm and found him at the Extinguished Field. Harmast, because of his last battle alongside Arkat, wants to avoid battles. So he changes the myth to be one in which he fights (and kills) Yelm in a duel. No. It's a condensed version of mythical events that are described in some more detail (but not fully) in Revealed Mythologies. Basically in western Genertela, the people there were enslaved by dwarves and vadeli and only freed themselves by becoming Vingkotlings. The ruler of the Vadeli (like all Malkioni of that period) belonged to the Golden Caste and had golden skin so some identification of him as the Evil Emperor was bound to happen.

Given that the Ezokite School is described as a Zzaburi school at the Dawn, it seems a bit of a reach to me that the Rokari would find it suspicious considering they are described as seeking a return to a pre-Hrestoli religion. Likewise the description of Leplain refers to all schools being under the watchful eye of the Watcher Supreme with no statement made as to his suspicion of them for being pre-Rokari. I think the chief concern of the Watcher Supreme regarding various wizard schools would be: 1) prevention of any study of the forbidden verses of the Abiding Book (ie the ones condemned as heretical by Rokar) 2) maintenance of caste boundaries and a condemnation of Hrestoli practices. There is always the possibility of Arkatism but most wizards would consider it beneath themselves to consider debasing their intellect.

It may have been a detail for the long ago Sog City freeform. But there is an alchemical order in the city of LePlain where Theoblanc lives according to the Guide so they don't.

You could have a moon-boat or two in the caravan (usually tethered to the pack beasts) but from time to time made to scout the surrounding lands.