metcalph

I have not described them as "another troll queendom" and would highly appreciate it if you confined your musings to you think they are like instead of patronizing dismissals of my thoughts.

The demons are vaguely described and the trolls are by definition demons.

Given that the Eastern Isles already has sea trolls and Ludoch, I'm inclined to make them variations of conventional Elder races rather than entirely different species. Their main religion is the darkness deities ("A few renegade East Isles are also devoted to Darkness religions." CoR: Mythology p127). So the main types of Andins would be: Dwarves: The Dwarves worship a shattered version of the decamony with many metals non-existant. I don't think they have Gold, Silver, or Diamond Castes among them. Their main gods are Lead and Iron. The caste magics are quite different in scope from their orthodox mostali. For example instead of Jolanthi, the Tin Dwarves make Gargoyles. Trolls: The main troll types would be the Dark Trolls, Cave Trolls and the Trollkin. They worship Kyger Litor under the name of Arlu. Their main war god is Bandan who is perhaps another name for Zorak Zoran. Dragonewts: The Dragonewts are a mixture of barbarians and magisaurs. They honor the Sheradpara instead of Dragon Magic (Martalak is sorcery, Festanur is Daka Fal and Ombardu is Oakfed but instead his sacrifical flame is their fiery breath). The more magically powerful they are, the bigger, angrier and stupider they become. The priests of Vith say they can enlighten these monsters but show little inclination in doing so in historical times. Elves: Mainly dark elves with mushroom potions etc and perhaps a few moss monsters and goblins. Chaos monsters: Vampires, Ghouls, Ogres, walktapuses etc. Like their kindred elsewhere, the various types of Andins hate each other as much as they hate the humans. Unlike their kindred elsewhere, the humans have kept them contained for so long, that they have been forced to come up with elaborate rules and rituals for interactions between themselves so to function in a hostile harmony. Like for example, they have ritualized battles to resolves differences or tensions between them. As a result, their material culture has become homogenized and also includes a lot of Vithelan and Vormaino influences. For example, the rulers among them would wear makutas and lomphoks as a badge of their office.

The planets (with names of Dara Happan Gods) are: Sun (Yelm) Moskalf (Entekos/Dendara) Shargash (Shargash) Wagon (Lokarnos) The Blue Moon (Falsoretus) Artia Mastakos (Uleria) Red Moon (Verithurusa/Sedenya) Lightfore (Yelmalio) The Twinstars Buserian is most probably associated with Lightfore as like Yelmalio, he has the Truth rune. That leaves Ghevengus, Reladivus, Derdernus and Deumalos. Ghevengus or Veng are probably associated with Artia as they are bird deities whereas she is associated with bats. Perhaps it was a planet of the Birds which got devastated in the Gods War and only Bats live there now? Reladivus was perhaps a precursor to Lokarnos as the God of the Wagon Planet. Derdurnus and Deumalos are practically obscure as we know very little about them or how the ancient Dara Happans viewed the planets they might represent. It seems to me for example that the Twinstars had become a single planet with only an relic cult of their ancient duality surviving. Another way of looking at it would be that these are the ancient powers of the Celestial Court (Truth, Illusion, Motion, Stasis etc) attending to the Emperor (Yelm). The Planet Shargash is a stand-in for Kargan Tor and Orenoar might have been associated with Lightfore. Larnste would have been associated with the planet Mastakos. Uleria might have been associated with the Twinstars but that would require an elaborate fanwank using a Pelandan myth involving her and Vogmaradan. One could also use a similar exercise with the Avanparloth but the same problem occurs: the details don't mesh up with each other and we are unsure why.

Possible compromise: protection magic protects against crits *but* it reduces the damage to the minimum possible points of damage instead of zero. Although this means that a dagger would be more effective against magically armoured opponents than a sword for example.

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That's what the Marcher County is for. A series of forts which can intercept raiders. Knight Fort is well beyond Holy Country territory (about 40 to 60 km away) and who built and when is not clear. Going on an extended patrol into Prax with only heavy cavalry is a good way to get killed.

If a PC Aeolian wants to be socially mobile, the best place for them is Black Horse County. Starting out as a Farmer, they are never going make make a good sorcerer in any campaign and pretty much most gloranthan nobles are revolted by the idea of marrying a common oik. The knights are slow compared to the Praxian riders. Pretty sure that the Impalas are going to have fun using them for target practice.

Just because they are endogamous does not mean their population is slowly dying out over time. There are two minority sects in the near east that are endogamous: the Druze and the Yazidis. Both have survived a lot longer than the Aeolians and both have had hostile neighbours, which is not true of the Aeolians. Ever since they became Belintar's strongest supporters, their numbers would have increased steadily over the past three centuries. The years since then have been troubled but that same is true for everybody in the area. Why would people be itching to revolt against the Aeolians? The Orlanthi have stickpickers and half-frees yet nobody assumes they will plot to revolt against their nobles or carry out a rent-strike over lack of opportunities for social advancement.

Loyalty (to commanding officer).

No, the Malkioni worship the Gods knowing full well that they actually are the Gods - they are not monotheists. Case in point: the father of Malkio, Aerlit, is the son of Vadrus, the son of Umath, the son of Aether and Gata.

The Malkioni already worship Gods under the Invisible God.

That doesn't prove anything. Lhankor Mhy, Buserian and Chaquandarath have separate histories despite being the same god at some level. Yanafal Tarnils fought Humakt? Kargan Tor fought himself! And saying that the Great Compromise would have to be frayed is nothing compared to what has been written about the Compromise when the Red Goddess proved herself ("The processes of the Lunar Way seemed to contradict the Great Compromise [...] It was like an amendment to the Great Compromise" Cults of Runequest: Mythology p17)

How do you know they aren't the same God within a different environment? At times, Cults of Prax suggests they are.

Even under the old terminology, Saints were humans who had discovered truths of the Invisible God. Which kinda made the idea of a God being a Saint always sounding off. The Orlanthi would know that the Aeolians submit themselves to the will of their Sorcerors which makes them kinda sus. Even though they insist they worship the same gods as the Orlanthi, they always keep their mouths clamped shut at places normal people would have no reason to. The Malkioni would know that the Aeolians submit themselves to the whims of their gods which makes them very suspicious. Even though they insist they follow the Invisible God like other westerners, they indulge in the gods whereas other would restrain themslves. The Aeolians know that over the centuries, patient explanations of their faith have gotten them nowhere. Thus they keep faith in their Gods and keep silent about them when among outsiders. If they ever were to readily welcome strangers into their religion, it would take a hero to make the conceptual leap in their faith. As far as I can see it, the Aeolians acquire new followers by slow osmosis at the commoner caste. An Aeolian family acquires a farm of Orlanthi. Over the years one or two of them might make Aeolian observances to ingratiate themselves with their leaders.

Judging from the more common crossover examples of Lhankor Mhy -> Irrippi Ontor, Humakt -> Yanafal Tarnils and Issaries -> Etyries, the real problem isn't so much as the difficulty of doing so but the attitudes of your former colleagues after the event.

Much of what Chaosium has written about the Aeolians is now post-canonical largely because the Malkioni themselves have changed. Nowadays they aren't a missionary faith but they could have been in earlier ages. Knight Fort seems to have been established fairly recently and may or may not be populated by Aeolians at all. I don't think anybody is brave enough to establish a forward base and the Aeolians don't seem to have the necessary troops (ie light cavalry) to make the base a success. Since there are Aeolians in the Marcher County, the Baboons at Monkey Ruins and the outlaws at Exile Stead would be all to aware of them.. Whether a Baboon drank the Melo Yellow and tried to become an Aeolian is plausible - silly but plausible.

But the Stabilize Iron exception is explicitly cited in the spell description whereas Ward Against Weapons has no such exception.

"Lhankot Mhy" in Vormain: I think because of its association with Vashanti and the Kralori Invasion, the cult is looked down upon as foreign. Its worshippers are outcasts who collect lore about the world beyond Vormain. They are consulted by pirates and despised by everybody else.

My impressions of the local Lhankor Mhy Buserian (Peloria) Chaquandarath (Eastern Isles) - Cults of Runequest Prosopedia p22 Vashanti (Kralorela) Enroval (Malkioni) The Safelstrans and Fonritans may have their own versions but no likely names have been listed so far. I don't think Enroval is actively worshipped by the Malkioni. Instead he is seen as the the founder of a Zzaburi specialization - theology or metaphysics. I know Vashanti has different runes (Dragon and Truth) than the other forms of Lhankor Mhy but IMO the God Learners interpreted this as the Arachne Solara's Web which allowed them to place him within their monomyth. The cult was split byby tensions between the Wise Ones and the Learners when Shang-Hsa ruled. But as a result of the struggles at the end of the Age, the Vashanti (like other dragon cults) can only access Dragon magic through the rituals of Godunya. Now they are a cult of administrators and bureaucrats.

The Knowing God has a number of different names from the Western Lands to the Eastern Isles, just like other big gods. The relationship between Lhankor Mhy and Buserian is like Dendara and Ernalda. They should *be* the same god but they resist attempts to make them so.

I really don't have a problem with the statement that Aram-ya-Udram was one of the founders of the EWF. He could have returned again like Ironhoof does.

Glue would be a more appropriate spell methinks

Lhankor Mhy has no problem with Yelmalions. From the cult writeup p69 Cults of Runequest: The Lightbringers "They have no binding ties to any element and can advise Sun, Wind, Moon, or Earth with equal enthusiasm" although I suspect "equal enthusiasm" is doing a lot of work in that sentence. Yelmalions are forbidden sorcery according to the Well of Daliath but that's hardly a barrier to worshipping Lhankor Mhy.

Except that Yelmalio is present in Dara Happa. From Cults of Runequest: Mythology p153-154 Darjiin 4% Doblian 1% Oraya 4% Sylila 4%