metcalph

The action being disputed as to chaoticness is praying to Malia to avoid further suffering from the disease while exposing others to the same disease. The "involuntary initiate" even sacrifices 2 points of permanent POW in the Cults of Terror rules and can become a voluntary initiate by simply seeking out a disease master. That seems to me quantitatively different from making an alliance with Broos and more like accepting a Chaos Gift from the Lunars.

It's the spell just above Become Other in the Red Book of Magic and is mentioned in the Eurmal writeup in Cults of RuneQuest: the Lightbriners at p56

Become Other, Red Book of Magic p16. It might be a rune spell of the Only Old One, which is why it didn't appear in RQ:G.

Arcane Lore p41 and it was for the HW:RPG or HQ1.0. Never really caught people's imagination and it was quietly forgotten. It could be used as a cult that develops after the Dragonrise but I have a hard time believing it existed significantly before then.

And also, this might be useful for ideas.

I dunno about the scenario but Harajallenburg is described in the Guide

Thunder Rebels.

Voluntary and involuntary aren't the right words to use. If one choses to perish from the disease rather than become a carrier then it's still a choice, init? I'm inclined to regard someone becoming a carrier in the same moral space as one who conceals a zombie bite (or a positive COVID test) and give them a 20% Chaos rating if not otherwise chaotic.

I think the wheels are built on the side of the Chariot-shaped Temple (which has no clearance between the temple and the ground). At the front of the temple are huge chains or ropes leading to a massive statuary complex of seven horses. At some point or another there was magical paint to render the ground floor invisible but it has since worn off.

There are Broo lay members of Ikadz in the Rubble, so he's not strictly Fonritan.

For a city under Lunar occupation. Dunno about you but I do think the Lunars would be unhappy about the Storm Bull temple killing people for being chaotic.

But it isn't automatically detectable. From the skill description. "The skill does not single out the source, but rather gives the Storm Bull cultist a sense of unease, or even pain, and the knowledge that Chaos is close at hand. The intensity of the feeling gives a rough estimate of the amount of Chaos present. It is effective within a 15-meter range." That's a hole big enough to smuggle drugs and bombs through. The only way a Storm Bully could be certain that somebody was secretly chaotic is to repeatedly meet that person. He could do this out to the desert but in a city like New Pavis, he can never be sure. So a person who once had a Chaos Gift ten years ago as a joke is probably going to annoy a Storm Bully as would a Telmori. But at this level, they probably aren't even sure that it was just a person or an invisible chaotic spirit that blew in from the wastes. A Krarshti Rune Lord or Vampire lying in wait to ambush the Storm Bully would send out a much stronger sense of unease and they would almost certainly have drawn weapons.

Malia is chaotic but propitiatory worship (*not* initiation) of her is not.

I assume a runic rating in the Chaos Rune would be enough to set off the Sense Chaos with a strength depending on the actual rating. Receiving a Chaos Feature or Chaos Gift is sufficient to confer a Chaos rune rating. I think that joining a chaotic cult would be be similar with a minimum of 20% (based on the Telmori description in the RuneQuest Glorantha Bestiary).

The chief point is that the Trader Princes set out from Drom and it's still important in trade between Ralios and Maniria. So you really have a large proportion of Manirians and Holy Country people visiting. Hence a notable Esrolian influence is possible. According to the Historical Maps, Drom seems to have been outside Estali control as of 1450 ST at a time when Castelain's route had been active for almost 300 years. Even in 1220, the New Dangim Alliance didn't control it. The area was controlled by the Middle Sea Empire so the Forester Prince might have had its foundations in that time. Perhaps he was just looking after the local Forest for the Emperor. Doesn't matter which Emperor, the title could have even been created by short-lived Slontan Empire.

I make no such queries. You are the one asking questions and quibbling with the answers for some odd reason.

I don't see what the problem is. Shargash *killed* Umath whereas Kargan Tor was alive until he abandoned his post shortly before the Spike disintegrated. A God of Battle from a pantheon that didn't obey the Emperor.

Storm Bull also has Death without being loaned it by Orlanth or beating up Humakt. It's possible that he acquired it from Ragnaglar who stole it from a sleeping Zorak Zoran (KoS p58)

Cults of Terror p51-52

Shargash who is associated with strength repeatedly in Dara Happan mythology

I suppose a key spark is the residents of the places that were razed for the forthcoming Lunar temple. Hnedira orders it as a sign of strength but the Lunar architects don't show up. When it becomes apparent they are due "next year", Hendira looks foolish and there are daily homeless protests. Erstwhile supporters who had been impressed by her now realize that she's always been a bit useless and soon plot her demise.

The thing about the Umathelans is that they've been under Elven thumb. The strongest Elf influence would be Gods worshipped by them so Babeester and Ehilm would have greater roles in Umathelan society. Pamalt has a image problem in that the Elves dislike Pamalt. So even if there's some Earth Goddess acknowledgement of him, that's not going to a very major part. The last Umathelan that we know of to give Pamalt any attention was the Lord of the World's Knowledge (cults of RuneQuest: The Earth Goddesses p116) and the Elves killed him. Could there a local version of Pamalt like Elmal to Yelmalio? I had thought for a time this would be called Talpam (based on a list of Elf names in the old Elder Secrets Book). But this cult would be intentionally constrained as the Elves would be well aware of who he is (they have a different view of the gods than humans do). Most of the Umathelans are aware of their history as God Learners and have avoided the Wizards ever since their fall. There might be a stronger avoidance of sorcery as being Evil Magic that Almost Destroyed Our World than there would be in Genertela. Such an attitude would still be around - some clans might be intentionally illiterate - but has largely receded as a result of the havocs wrought by the Cult of Silence and the Fonritans. The Orlanthi would know of a predecessor Storm God, Baraku, who would also be a God of Bandits in Fonrit. He could be a Waha analog as his chief hero was the Lord of Beasts who warred against the Artmali.

FWIW, Engr - the God behind the term Engrioni - might be a technical term/snappy Brithini insult to describe the Malkion made Flesh ("Malkion [...] came forth to descend into the material world and bind himself within its limitations. As a result, Zzabur [...] rejected Malkion [...]" Cults of RuneQuest: Mythology p100).

If I were to make Brithos a politically turbulent place, I would take a fragment from Cults of Terror which speaks of city states (in Arolanit) and rework it thus. Although Brithos had a King, the City Talars were supreme in their own cities. The Engrioni changed all that. Rather than travel to a city of a recalcitrant Talar to make him do his bidding, the King could send his Engrioni around instead. In response, the Talars hired their own Engrioni to impede those of the King. Before long, the stronger Talars soon discovered they could use their own Engrioni to coerce weaker Talars into becoming their vassals, additionally weakening the Kingdom. The demand for foreign troops explains why the Brithini would tolerate Arkat's Father running around on the Island and also a background to their civil war.

The chief interesting point is the apparent idea that after breaking Brithini strictures, one could begin anew. That said, Hrestol should have known better than to carry around a sword even if he didn't plan on using it. I don't find the idea of Brithini Engroni compelling and even if the King felt there was some merit to the idea (which *is* a plausible reaction), it's difficult to see how he could get past any Zzaburi veto. I suspect the idea of Brtihini immortality being central to their conservatism wasn't thought about at the time. If I were to bring this up to date, I would say that King Erltof decided to hire Seshnegi Men-of-All Bodyguards* to protect himself and his Kingdom. That is something a dissatisfied King could do without breaking caste *and* it also provides grounds for the Rebellion of Kaldes. *I was thinking of the Numerus Batavorum to give you an idea of how the Brithini may have appreciated them.