metcalph

The Malasp have access to crossbows in the RQ3 Gloranthan Bestiary. It could be fired above and below the water's surface. Above, it was a normal light crossbow while below it had a range of 20m. It seems to me that these weapons were crafted from sunken Jrusteli ruins.

The west is not described in the Book of Cults AFAIK. It's big enough as it is already. As for Caste Magic being mechanistically close to Rune Magic, another way that it could be implemented is that the non-Zzaburi gets knowledge of a caste-appropriate sorcery spell (such as a warrior getting Boon of Kargan Tor or Mend Flesh) which he then provides the magic points for. The chance of casting is a caste appropriate lore skill. Acquisition of caste magic would be done through a Zzaburi (thus keeping them in the loop as the provider of Malkioni magic). There's also the shamanic gifts/divine gifts route.

No. They are not rune priests.

Saints is obsolete terminology as the Aeolians worship Gods. I think their Zzaburi worship Lhankor Mhy among other deities but Orlanth and many other gods have their worshippers in other castes..

No it does not. A Malkioni has a wider definition than a sorcery user. Except the underclass is not pagan. They support the wizards and receive guidance and magical support. They acquire Rightness in their actions which allows them to use Caste Magic, a significaqnt distinction between themselves and people who are not Malkioni. The possession of Rightness and the consequent use of caste magic provides strong evidence to the Malkioni that the social order they follow is worthy of their support. But most Malkioni can happily use both caste magic *and* rune magic. It's not an either/or situation (unless they are sorcerers). They could follow the example of the Brithini and use only Caste Magic and Sorcery but the latter are practically extinct because they can't adapt to the World of Time. The wizards sigh and roll their eyes, muttering darkly about "misapplied worship" and how "the world is made of everything" but even they recognize their dream of a world of pure reason is unattainable. The Malkioni could overthrow the wizards but that's like cutting off their arms - the wizards provide the philosophy and magics that keeps the Malkioni strong against their neighbours.

Just looking through the Stafford House Companion and I saw this: Other sundry tidbits about early conceptions of the Holy Country therein.

The only difference that I know of is that the Aeolians have three castes instead of four. Seshnegi like King Rikard didn't have a problem with the Aeolians and vice versa when running the place.

The Talars of Seshnela worship their ancestors like Seshna Likita, Orlanth and Magasta as has been the case since Cults of Prax and RuneQuest Companion. For the Malkioni, Malkionism isn't a faith where one believes in the Invisible God - it's faith where one believes in and supports the Wizards.

The only "pure" Malkioni are the Brithini and the other Malkioni accept they are nothing like them. What wars over paganism would these be? The key difference between the Seshnegi and the Ralians is whether the wizards should also worship Gods, a heresy. The question of whether other castes should worship not Gods is one that nobody thinks possible. Except that Gods came from the Invisible God and are in origin legitimate emanations of It.

Only the Nobles worship their ancestors. Everybody else worships whatever the Nobles tell them and what the wizards permit (Humakt, Telmor, Basmol etc). The word from Jeff has been that the Loskalmi worship only Malkioni cults, like Xemela, Talor etc - no pagans gods, no ancestors. IMO this situation can't last and the ban is breaking down as the wider world starts to intrude.

No longer so. And it has not been reflected in Greg's stories about the Malkioni either. The Church thing was something created in a crunch in fill out details of the west for the Genertela boxed set. The Wizards practice sorcery. Other castes support the wizards. In return they have Rightness and permission to worship gods that will not corrupt them.

He freed her to break a curse that came from acquiring her brother. Hardly a case of discomfort IMO.

Mongoose isn't a "source" but someone's interpretation. In any event, they are missing the Hoolars are otherworldly creatures whose size is dependent on dramatic necessity but always bigger than you. They can be as big as mountains if need be.

I think they are a lot bigger than 16 feet.

There is a similar creature called the KuKwatta in Darjiinian myth which is cut in half to become elves. I think the Hoolars and the KuKwatta are based on Aristophanes' conjecture in Plato's Symphosium.

There's no stats for them in the RQ3 glorantha bestiary even though they have an entry. I suspect the mysterious giants of Umathelan are Hoolars or related to them.

Greymane has always given me the impression of personal leadership. He isn't a wise general commanding from a distance but someone who gets out and fights. His troops are clan and tribal contingents and he probably knows their leaders by name, rewarding them with plunder from the battlefield etc. . His troops would be a mix of light infantry and raiding cavalry. The Trader Princes under his sway might have a couple of heavy foot regiments but they wouldn't be the mainstay of his forces. For the ambush, one could always copy Hanibal at the Battle of Lake Trasimene for tactics.

Durulz are more also known as wereducks (ie man-ducks) so ordinary ducks exist.

For followers of the Red Moon (Yran of Fonrit), yes. For followers of the Blue Moon, no.

Oslira probably has one or two different spells and a whole host of different associated cults. But I think the Grazer river cult is probably better known as Jaldon's Wrong (following a recent facebook post). Something like, when the remnants of the Pure Horse People first dared to enter Dragon Pass, they were visited by the Ghost of Jaldon Toothmaker who mocked them and vowed he would hunt down and kill anybody who entered the Pass. But the River Goddess in their new lands shielded them from his depradations. Since that time, the Grazers have always known the river as Jaldon's Wrong River leaving outsiders confused about what exactly Jaldon was wrong about. The rune spell could probably something exotic (and limited) like protecting the worshipper and followers from being detected by any worshipper of Waha or Jaldon Toothmaker for a whole day.

Someone who was called a philosopher might be a sorceror in terms of Lhankoring style knowledge magics but that's about it IMO.

Isildilian *is* a True Mostali, not a dwarf heroquestor.

I did once have the theory that Fazzur as second in command of the invasion of Prax quarrelled with Sor-eel and was forced to retire. When he came out of retirement and became Governor-General, he repaid Sor-eel by starving him of reinforcements and denying him lucrative promotions. But in the material published since then, they are best of friends, alas.

Heroquest involves dealing in forces of the Other Side which is Bad in Dwarven eyes. The magics of the material world are best - iron, blackpowder and naphtha.