metcalph

Sivoli and Kamboli Venform magics are described as using the Six Eyes and One Jewel. Since these are also spiritual organs, my thinking is to equate them with rune affinities, such as the One Jewel being the strongest elemental affinity (thus Fire is Ruby, Earth is Topaz) and the Eyes being the dominant Power Runes (which would require two more runes, perhaps Luck and Fate). The Kamboli magics are *like* Spirit Cults, the practitioners worship a Great Spirit (an Organ of the World) with the guidance of a spirit-talker. The condition of the Spirit Cult is that you must keep performing a specific action (ie daily light fires or cast ignite to maintain membership in the Ruby school). In return they get a Rune Spell which is considered an emanation of their own self. Sivoli Practices are far harder in that they have to refrain from specific actions (ie if studying Death, they must not Kill, if studying Life then they must not cast healing magics). When the time comes to manifest that rune - one time and one time only - they go on a HeroQuest. Success gives them a Hero-level power instead of the more mundane rune spells of the Kamboli.

Mysticism is not an either/or but enmeshed with other forms of religion. In an around Dragon Pass, the Yelmalions, the Lunars, the Arkati and the Draconists and perhaps even the Humakti have strong elements of mysticism that form part of their religion.

My opinions Since the Guide made Vith and Yothenara the equivalents of Aether and Uleria respectively, I've generally prefer to see the Vithelan Gods as more conventional Gloranthan Gods under a different name - Govmeranen has the same runes as Yelm for example. Korudel would then be the equivalent of Lhankor Mhy, Karki for Lodril, Maluraya for Yelmalio etc. The Sages are generally the founders of what would be sorcery schools except that they are not concerned with manipulating external energies (except for Martalak) but comprehending higher energies. Kabalt could be the same force of Humakt I see the Adpara as Darkness equivalents rather than Chaotics because that generally fits the mythology that Greg was reproducing. Yes, Avanpdur ruled large parts of Glorantha during the Great Darkness but then so too did the Uz. After all, to quote an ancient passage "This is one of those many cases where the mortal victims of the Greater Darkness confused the real enemy of Chaos with those People of Darkness, who were not only allies but bearing the real brunt of the fight against the invading Krjalki, often unsupported or opposed by humans" (Glorantha Sourcebook p60). While there is a chaotic element among the Adpara, I generally don't see it as very strong. Oorsu Sara has Storm as he represents the emergence of Storm. Some of his followers may be better known in elsewhere as the sons of Umath Avanapdur has Illusion and possibily Moon considering that he is .connected with the Dream World/White Moon mythology. Herespur could be either Shargash, Zorak Zoran or Orlanth.

According to Orlanth's is Dead p45, the Windstop becomes an airhole which the winds of the world seek to fill. Thus the winds gradually blow towards it (and disappear at the border of the Windstop"- piff" is the description used) such that within a fortnight, all the winds of the world are blowing in that general direction.

Umm, where is this place?

Cults of Terror did introduce the Thanes but I think at that time Greg cared about cultural verisimilitude as much as Orson Wells did.

As best as I can see, the map was made by Stephen Tempest (2003?) with suggestions from Wesley Quadros, Brian Fogel?, Andy House?, William Church and Greg Stafford

It's a bit tricky and some of the old statements made are now considered to have been too sweeping. My own interpretation is as follows. I don't believe there is a such a group as the Alakorings. There are peoples who were influenced by Alakoring (who brought forth Orlanth Rex) but even the Sartarites accept Orlanth Rex and the old defintion did not include them. The Tarshites are of the Northern Heortling stock (in contrast to the South Heortlings of Sartar and the Hendriki) and have been so since the Dawn Age. Any social distinction between the two has been amplified by a) the Tarshite acceptance of Lunar Ways and b) the Tarshite acceptance of lowlander Pelorian ways). The Tarshites don't really have tribes any more, the old tribal divisions have withered away in fvour of civic identifty (Bagnot, Dunstop, Furthest etc). Even if a Tarshite doesn't live in the city, he identifies himself and his kindred with the local city. The Northern Heortlings also include the Aggarites and the Holayans. There's two more kingdoms (imther and Vanch) that lie between them and the Lunar Heartlands proper but the Heartlanders regard them as Orlanthi Barbarians and the Northern Heortlings regard them as Lowlander Pelorians. To the west of Aggar is a third Orlanthi ethnic group, the Talastari. Rather than worship Orlanth at Kero Fin, they worship him at Top of the World. They hare distinguished into three groups (Lakrene, Talastar proper and Anadiki). Lakrene has been lowlandized for over a thousand years now while their Talastari are quite proud of their Orlanthi identity to the extent they wipe their bottoms with white shirts. At the same time the Talastari have adopted many lowland ways (like wear hoplite armour) so they could be considered similar to the Northern Heortlings (even though both nations would reject the comparison). The Anadiki are just Talastari who have adopted very few lowlander ways IMO. The Orlanthi of Ralios are yet another ethnic group and more different than the Talastari and the Southern Heortlings. They have common gods and practices (Orlanth Rex came from here) but many other customs would be quite exotic to the Orlanthi of Peloria or Dragon Pass.

Except that this is a passage in a Saga as opposed to a statement of fact. The same Saga we know to make false statements elsewhere (Argrath summoned Wyverns at Corflu, Argrath rescued Hofstaring from Hell etc). So you can't really use the Saga as a proof of anything - at most, you can only say that Argrath's followers believed he destroyed the Red Goddess and that the real truth might be in the list of pissibilities outlined by Zin.

The most up-to-date reference is HeroQuest Glorantha. The rules are largely unchanged since Cults of Terror. Illumination is acquired not just through Nysaloran Koans but also through conversations with a Dragon, exposure to the All etc. The mechanical resolution is the same. One mystical experience gives a 1% (cumulative) chance to being illuminated in any given year Different schools have different methods: The Lunars expose people to the All. They see the Cosmos in such a way that their brains melt and flow out of their ears. This is exceedingly dangerous but the lunars pride themselves on the intense experiences they've undergone. The Arkati unite their consciousness with the Gods in sorcerous rituals conducted in secret. The Draconists do many things such as speaking with True Dragons without being eaten. For your Sartarite Darkness Shaman, a fairly mind-bending experience (ie the sort of expereince you get if you fail your San in Call of Cthulhu or watch David Lynch for too long) can lead to a chance of being illuminated. He or she will then be approached by the Warlocks (Sartarite Battle Magicians) who are on the lookout for magicians who are a bit freaked out. They will explain what is going on and give certain suggestions of what should be done next in order to Truely Undesratnd. For a Warlock's mentor, think of a evil genius seeking to corrupt the seeker down a dark path. Although the mentor offers guidance and comfort, there should be a lurking doubt by the seeker as to what is really being offered,

A theory is that the Lunar Empire has no fleet but was transported on boats and ships from the Rightarm Isles and Esrolia (taking a page from the Archaemenids who fielded a massive fleet at Salamis which had not one Persian ship).

A man of all is not illuminated but one who has experienced Joy or the wizardly state of Henosis (unity with the one mind, a key part of learning sorcery, RQG p384). There are some spells that can only be cast while in such a state (mainly of the Hrestoli school). One could presumably substitue one's illumination for Joy etc. But these spells would be largely limited in scope and dedicated to enhancing Joy rather than being of any practical significance. A more pressing issue for the Man or All is that they have been practically God Learnered (ie undergone HeroQuests while blessed with sorcerous spells and picked up awesome magics as a result (like acquiring rune magics). In order to ensure that they do not fall into the Great Error and lose contact with the Invisible God, the Man of All must follow certain rules and strictures. For example, if a Man of All has humakti magic, he might choose not to fight with a sword (an example pulled out of the top of my head) so as to maintain a distance between himself and the God of Death. If the Man-of-all was Illuminated, such rules and strictures can be ignored. That just leaves the Rokari which probably suits them. Shamans can ignore their taboos.

I've speculated that the illuminated Arkati can use their illumination to avoid spirit magic cramping their Free INT.

The cult of Annilla in Troll Gods had a variant divination in which you learn random facts and on one occasion, an important fact directly relevant to you. This is because Annilla is the Godddess of Secrets as well as hidden powers. Making this a vehicle for illumination seems to me a plausible step.

Hero Wars Narrator's Book in the sample heroquest I think.

I kinda think the original Artmali didn't worship Gods as such but use their mastery over the tides to invoke their magic. Which made them creepy AF to their neighbours. But the modern blues have lost these ways and are forced to worship their gods in the conventional matter. I think some CHA-penalty on their rune magic is appropiate (-7?, -14?) to highlight their lack of connection to their ancestral gods (which would also mesh in with their gods being described as crippled. Heros and Illuminates will have no such penalty. Illumination Blue-Moon style would be to perform a divination ritual to learn a secret with the number of secrets known providing a chance for illumination. On the topic of the Loper Beast, based on their description in the RQG Bestiary, I don't think they are found in the wild. Rather the Artmali took young Loper Beasts which didn't have any eyes on its back and implanted them to boost its teleporting powers.

No different from Foundchild who serves harmony by killing animals.

In the Saga of Bituarian Varosh, there is a descreiption of a Humakti duel Alain the Singed is upset because Naimless used non-Humakti magic (the Salamander) to win the duel but even Humakt approved of it. So if even Humakti with his geases approves of magics in duels, you can be sure that everybody else does.

From Dorastor with Love?

An interesting thing about Ryzel is that it doesn't seem to have been in contact with the EWF. So the God Learners had a native dragonewt population which they could test their magics on before using them on the battlefield elsehwere. There's also an odd quirk in the history of the Genertela:CotHW boxed set. The God Learners learned of the secret of speaking to the Dragonewts as a result on a spirit raid on the cult of Drolgard. They tend teach this knowledge to others in Nochet, of which one of the first students is Vistikos Lefteye who then speaks to the Dragonewts of Dragon Pass. So it looks as if the God Learners learned of the secrets of Auld Wyrmish from Ryzel. However more recent works (the Guide and the Middle Sea Empire do not support this chronology. Digression: If there were no Dragonewts outside Kralorela and Dragon Pass at the Dawn, where did the Teleosan Dragonewts come from? Mercenaries by the God Learners or the New Dragons Ring?

At the bottom of the top map there is a legend indicating that it means "Market Town (to 500 pop)"

One would find Zistorite artifacts all over the world. One even turned up in Duke Raus' home in New Pavis (the Wand of the Seven Phases of the Moon, Pavis: Threshold to Danger). But sunc tools would have been worn out over the centuries since the Machine Wars and there is nobody left to fix them.

I think the Iron Rapier in Urvantntarn's Tower could possible have been made by Ibiros (of the Machine City fame) as they were always said to have bladesharp 3 back in the original Different Worlds 24 article.

One thing that bugs me about all this is that you are taking Argath's claims at face value. From a Saga which claims that Argrath rescued Hofstaring Treeleaper and summoned Wyverns to Corflu, using it as evidence for Argrath slaughtering everybody in Peloria is rather unwise.

How Arkati get Illuminated. Jeff has said more than once that he views that Arkati as neo-platonists of the Imablichus school of thought. To wit, this is participation in the worship of the Gods in order to approach the One. Translating this into Glorantha, where the Malkioni wizards eschew worship of pagan gods, the Arkati actively participate in their worship. At the same time as they are worshipping the Gods publically, they are also applying secret sorcerous rituals (of Hrestoli origin) to unite their consciousness with that of the Gods. Success gives them +1% of enlightenment come the next holy day or spiritually important moment. The base chance is INT+POW but there is some scope for improvement depending how how in-step with the God the Arkati is.