metcalph

It's not their style. Their magic is expensive (even a measure spell costs 1 POW!) and in all the examples of their magic we've seen from Gods of Glorantha and Elder Secrets, there's nothing in the way of magic cast on their enemies (okay there is a produce flame which would be ruled out by the paradigm described in the Bestiary). You might think that it is a good idea to have magic that a) doesn't suck and b) is useful to directly on their foes - but the Dwarves do not. In any event, given that they do have Black Powder, they probably don't see the need for human-style combat magic. Tap is only known to the Silver Dwarves and I strongly doubt they make combat use of it. Second, speaking in terms of runes, I think it more evocative to speak in terms of substances rather than runes. I purposely did not write about iron mostali harvesting death rune energies from the battlefield but about death instead. As far as I can tell, each of the castes has some additional speciality in addition to their basic substance. Rock - Cement. Lead - Glass Quicksilver - Alchemy Copper - "Energy" (Which sounds too modern. Probably the writers were suggesting electricity but I think steam works just as well). Tin - Life, Flesh Brass - Heat Silver - Magic Gold - Mind Iron - Death. Now in terms of magic for the Silver Mostali, I feel we should be looking at what the Dwarves think magic is and how it can be worked with. Now the Mostali believe in the World Machine which created the world and is ideally static. Magic being a changing mutable force is alien to the Mostali worldview, almost akin to chaos. Therefore the dwarves think that magic is something that should be used up and made material wherever possible. It's not something desirable but raw waste that must be cleaned up and reclaimed. Think in terms of the six techniques. Shape Mind would be the spell for instructing others. As for working with the Tamestones, that's the job of the Tin Dwarves, not the Gold. If you are going to introduce new techiques, then make it unique for a caste (thus Tins already have Animate and Silvers have Tap). Possibly each cast may have its own special technique but they should be thought of in quirky terms (ie what would be an interesting thing for a caste to do) as opposed to useful (They dwarves would kick butt if they could cast a death spell - they could but they wouldn't be dwarves).

The main problem I have with your suggestions is that they are presented in the form of combat spells when that isn't what the Dwarves do. Rather than a silver dwarf casting a spell to reduce a Storm Voice's Storm Rune Affinity, he would be more likely to create a field that dampens the Storm Rune Affinity of everybody in the area. There's some evidence from the Guide that the Dwarves do this.

I think joinings and the like are permanent and like heal and repair spells, they can't be dispelled.

I kinda think the Headmen were related to the Watchweres (which were in the RQ3 Glorantha Bestiary) - chaotic humanoids with very small heads but could see through stuff. This suggests that the Headmen were liike Mekons (cf Mekon the Mighty an opponent of Dan Dare) and were also served by Footmen and Handmen. As for their origins, the suggestion of coins suggests they were originally humans (or dwarves). So Artmali, Vadeli or Mostali - take your pock...

I think the best model for the Pelorian basin flooding (if it does) would be the Zanclean Flood (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zanclean_flood). Since that took anywhere betwen 2 and 10,000 years, I don't think the Pelorian basin will be as inundated as the southern coast of genertela.

Iron Dwarf Death Magic The Iron Dwarves can manipulate death through their spells. Specifically they go to places where significant numbers have died and collect the presence of death. Using the spells, (Cut Death, Shape Death etc) they able to transport the presence and use it to create Dead Zones in which nothing lives. The Dead Zones have a POT which does poison damage. to whoever is in their vicinity. Only wearing iron armour from head to toe provides protection against the Dead Zones. Too strong a Dead Zone can overwhelm even those encased in iron armour and so there is a practical limit on the strength of the Dead Zones. The Iron Dwarves have Iron Staves which they use to transport their collected Death to the Dead Zones. These radiate death and sometimes the dwarves have held these staves in battle to kill their enemies. The tactic is generally considered ineffective as the iron absorbs most of the Death. Rarely one sees iron weapons with attached Death. Most dwarves find it easier to smear their weapons with poison instead.

The most obscure reference I found was Brekkek Kekkek Koax in the Darios Istos Isles (Argan Argar Atlas map 51). That's the Chorus in Aristophanes' the Frogs.

Maker Magic medicine. For healing the Mostali make use of healing potions rather than spells. In the case of severed limbs, they do not regenerate the limb due to its bad association with Growth. Instead replacement limbs from the stock of available body parts are attached using Join Limb. The match need not be perfect and it is not uncommon for tales to spring up about a dwarf with hand attached backwards or an arm with two elbows. Stabilize Flesh is the standard treatment the Tin Dwarves use in cases of severe medical trauma. It prevents the body from decomposing after dying even to the extent of halting the soul's passage to the underworld. If the patient dies as a result of whatever surgeries or medicines the Tin Dwarf is administering, then the spell will prevent decomposition until the body can be a) restarted with Animate Flesh or sent to the embalming vats to be preserved as a source of body parts.

It's debatable. But nobody's going to complain if you call their mounted warriors knights. There's really no difference between the Orlanthi and the Esvulari here. The type of people the Esvulari appoint to be Deputies (The actual term would have been Vicar which is too ecclesiastical or the Greek Exarch (Ex-Archos -> From the Archon) which exists in Glorantha) and Comes (Counts) would be what the Orlanthi elsewhere call tribal kings and chieftains. They might even think of themselves as such with the Malkioni titles being reserved for formal government usage.

JOIN MIND 1 point Ranged, Temporal, Active This spell is cast upon a person, Each point of strength allows it to affect one INT point. The minimum strength of the spell must equal the INT of the minds being joined. Each time the spell is cast, the user expends 1 POW in addition to the magic points cast. The minds must reside within the same brain cavity. As a result of the spell, the two minds become one. Comment: In addition to reversing the effects of a Cut Mind, the spell can also be used to graft foreign intelligences onto a host mind. The host must have some spare brain capacity available (usually through the combined effects of Cut mind and Cut Brain) and the new mind must become part of a host through a Join Brain spell. Often used to rehabilitate treated heretics using the brains of dead dwarves of proven reliability. The dwarves of Slon use this operation to graft treated dinosaur brains into the brains of prospective dinosaur commanders.

(Prompted by a couple of comments over on the Glorantha forum) ...So I asked Karantharanis his magic cost him so much. He explained that because the Machine had made the world as is for him to change it would be an alternation to the plan and so require approval. That prompted a number of questions, none of which he understood.... CUT MIND 1 point Ranged, Temporal, Active This spell is cast upon a person, Each point of strength allows it to affect one INT point. The minimum strength of the spell must be equal to the target's INT. Each time the spell is cast, the user expends 1 POW in addition to the magic points cast. Each melee round for the duration of the spell, the caster may make the target mind divide itself into two of whatever mental dimensions that caster desires. One half of the mind is always in control of the caster's body while the other is screaming alone in a dark prison. The target's INT is halved as a result of the spell. Any spells, knowledges or basic reflexes (breathing, toilet training etc) have a 50% chance of being known by the mind-half in control of the body. The caster often takes excess time to fine-tune the mind-halves to allow the controlling mind-half more and more basic functions at a rate of 1 skill, spell or knowledge per melee round. The effects of Cut Mind can be reversed by Join Mind or suitable healing magics. Comment: This spell is used to combat heresy. The Gold Dwarves have determined the parameters of heresy using the Measure Mind spells to such a degree that they know the basic cuts to isolate the heretical portions of a dwarf's mind depending on the particular heresy. Thus there is an Openhandist cut, a Octamonist cut and so forth. There is also a Slave Cut which Gold Dwarves use to turn non-dwarves into slaves who would willingly follow whatever suggestion the caster makes.

The Esvulari structure themselves according to the social norms that were established by the Middle Sea Empire (I'm inferring from p86 of History of the Heortling Peoples). They probably have a big book of how its done that Belintar initially used to organize the Holy Country. They have separate organisations for government, army, trade, sorcery and treasure. The Middle Sea Empire book distinguished between Religion and Sorcery but I don't think that's viable now. There's also a Navy but that would be mainly fishing since the Closing.

I think Dragon Magic can really be handled as a form of Rune Magic. There is mysticism involved but that should be properly understood as being the attainment of certain spiritual states (Created -> Beaked -> Tailed etc). A lot of the material about the dragonewts being unwilling to use Dragon Magic can be handled as negative rune points. Thus to call an effect requires the Dragonist to make a roll versus the relevant affinity with a success being 1 rune point being acquired and failure meaning the full rune point cost of the effect is acquired. These rune points can be reduced at Dragon worship ceremonies. Acquiring more than the CHA in rune points means the draconist is in spiritual disfavour and goes down a rank. Passions and attachments to the gods are treated as permanent rune points.* To say that Dragon Magic is mystical magic and more practical than we normally think about misunderstands what is meant by Mysticism. Mystical magic should properly be used only of magic that is used to strengthen the transcendent self. A ritual that a dragonewt does to improve its spiritual status would be an example of mystical magic; a draconic effect used to hurt others would not. Additionally the source of mystic magic does not come from the transcendent self but is based on everyday magic of spirit spells, rune spells and sorcery. Summoning elementals and exposing yourselves to their malign effects (Cold, Fear, Heat, Madness etc) would be an example of a mystical magic even though the sources of the elementals and the magics to summon them are wholly conventional. As to the precise relationship between the Draconist and the Dragon whose abilities it calls upon is obscure. Thoeries range from worship of the Elder Dragons to calling upon one's future self. Only the Dragonewts know for sure and they can't say. Except that rune magic could also be described as heroquest powers and learned in similar ways. The answer to Fire Breath has to do with Tanian of all people. But as to the shunning of elemental magics, I think it stems from the desire to avoid being entangled with the mundane world, which is not the case for magics based on the powers. I feel the statement is true only for Dragonewts that heed the Inhuman King and those elsewhere may have a different view. *This does raise the question of what spirit magic and sorcerous draconism would look like. But I've done too much rules speculation for now.

The 1 point POW cost actually comes from the spells in Gods of Glorantha.

My initial reaction was "We need to build a wall!" I think it's a sign of how porous the borders are. The Sartarites won't stop small groups of Praxians (not just Morokanth) crossing their lands for any effective policy would infringe on their right to steal other people's cows. It's only when you get to Esrolia or beyond Lunar Tarsh that the authorities can actually do something about it.

Perfect Stillness is described therein as There's a bit of an anacrhonism there in that Perfect Stillness was created by Enrono to repair the flaws of Stillness. In any event this is hardly the evidence of Kahar as being a really powerful mystic and more indicative of hishaving mastered courtly etiquette in Osdero's palace. His wife is Harantara. She is said to be Thruhin Da when she appears as a Dragon but she does not appear as a Dragon as the wife of Kahar. According to the Guide p153, Harantara is known as Thruhin Da by the Kralori and p79 taught them the Cult of Orca to combat the wicked Zabdamar (her own children). Clearly the relationship between them is far from clear. I really don't have much time for these types of asides. The topic isn't about the Waertagi and the Closing, it's about the Kralori Fleet and the Sea of Fog. This isn't adding much to the debate. Telling me that whaling is "basically fishing expedition" is verbiage that can be easily deleted. Nor is the nature of Scandinavian fishing really relevant here. It's rather clear to me that the Closing extended into the Sea of Fog as the quotations make plain.

The Serpent Crown is received from Three Kingdoms according to the description. And the disparate headgear of the offerers supports this. The extremely tall hat suggests a Brithini so Arolanit was probably one of the three. Seshnela undoubtedly was another due to the serpent crown. Since the third is wearing a helmet, suggesting a knight rather than a wizard which indicates Loskalm (I don't think Castle Coast or Wagapi qualify to be recognised as kingdoms by Cragspider). The presence of the Stone Men suggests the backing of Nida. In addition if the Hrestoli King did not rule over Loskalm we would have a curiousity in that the Black Dragon Mountain pictographs went so far as to describe what was happening in Jrustela but not what was happening in Fronela.

Below are some of the more interesting things I noticed in the Runequest Glorantha Bestiary (which I loved). There's brown elves in the Colymar Wilds according to the distribution map? I see there's about 50 according to the Sartar Companion. A bit of a hiccup in the distribution map with the Imther Mountains being omitted. Morokanth are pretty much all over the place in Dragon Pass! The Trolls of Halikiv apparently can cross over the Rockwoods way into Dorastor in the region of Benksland and the Seven Hills. There's a population of wolfbrothers in Aggar! Looking elsewhere, I see that a tribe is mentioned in the Guide. Dragon Magic is the same as it was for RQ3. I think the spiritual cost of Dragon Magic could have been simulated by using runic affinities and runepower (successful use of an affinity incurs 1 point of dishonor, uncessful use incurs many points etc). I appreciate that space and the Dragonewts own quirky personalities means this wasn't explored. Bowling Balls are back! I loved the Mostali sorcery techniques being recycled from the Different Worlds issue. A problem is that Dwarves can have an INT of 12 or less meaning they aren't able to use sorcery. So what happens? My guess is that Maker Magic is hard-backed into the Dwarvern Mind (as ROM) Finally a picture of the Huan To. However it brings to mind an issue I have with the monster. With a mouth that big, why the need for a poisonous bite? I get the impression that there must be an awful lot of 1-handed (and 1-legged) ghouls in Kralorela. Although the cult of Vivamort is not described in the Bestairy, the apparent lack of mention that Vampires can steal other people's rune magic is a good sign. Pteranodons! Titanotheres in Heortland and Aggar?!?

Ikadz has the runes of Chaos and Truth according to the Guide p153.

However the King of the West is also shown in the Black Dragon Mountain Pictographs (Glyph 15 - Guide p748)) as carrying a sword, a woodsmans axe, casting a spell and copulating with the snake goddess which suggests a Hrestoli rather than a King of War.

The Guide is not inaccurate and was not designed to be played with RuneQuest. The date of the setting of RuneQuest: Glorantha was set some years after the Guide was published.

The material I quoted from the Glorantha Sourcebook is pretty much all that has been written about him. There's one or two sentences elsewhere but he's really the Guy in charge of Dark Spirits and not a guy known for doing anything major.

I've never heard of Ikadz being described as a Dehori before nor have I heard of the 22 Dehori. Himile is Dehore's brother and a god in his own right and with his own servants. Any darkness spirit is a dehori, even a shade. As for the parentage of the Dehori

Kahar's not the sort of person who can withstand the Closing and describing it as "refuting" is bizarro-gamespeak that should be avoided. More serious to the idea that the Closing does not extend to the Sea of Fog. The New Dragons Ring concealed the Closing for a generation (Guide p264). This may be related to the Battle of Diao Yu Cheng (Guide p272) in which the New Dragons Ring failed to take the city despite the possibility of doing a naval landing further up the coast. Likewise the Kralorelan Fleet is described as being confined to the Suam Chow during the Closing (Guide p264 and p467).

The Kingdom of War is not mentioned in either the TakenEgi Stelae or the Black Dragon Mountain Pictographs. This suggests the Kingdom of War is defeated by 1640.