M Helsdon

I should have drawn the baldric over the right shoulder (too late now), but otherwise, the positioning reflects ancient usage, such as those shown on the Tropaeum Traiani, where the pommel of swords are just below the armpit. It was also necessary to be a bit creative, as putting the sword lower would have risked it getting caught in the lower plate.

As the Sun Domers are very conservative, this potentially non-canonical information may or may not be relevant... Kareiston’s Templars Type Heavy Infantry Armor Bronze Weapons Sarissa, small phalangite shield, short sword Morale Regular 4 Patron Deity Yelmalio/Khelmal Magic Factor Medium 5 Missile Factor 0 Melee Factor 5 Kareiston’s Temple is the center of the Laramite tribe and benefits from the kingdom’s trade with the dwarves, meaning that the Imtherites are rich in bronze. Their helmet decorations are dyed yellow or orange. I have also assumed that they are supported by horse archers & archers in chariots...

This recent post by Jeff may be relevant:

Latest reworking. [Latest image updated to include 'Cuisses' label.]

I know - my father recalled what his father told him. My grandfather sailed on some of the last sailing ships (possibly a clipper) to round the Horn (he drowned at sea in 1936) and my father remembered him talking of waves the 'size of mountains'.

Latest rework (original modified using pen & ink, scanned, and then some digital shading). Going for a vaguely Minoan look. Bare feet intended as being practical on the decks of a wooden warship in subtropical conditions... The armor is made of aluminum. And yes, the amount of drawing over the last month is starting to take a toll - may have to take a break to rest my eyes...

Just redrawn one showing a linothorax.

Sorry, I can't quite make out the words? Latest. Not certain how many more will rework.

Purely my view, but I tend to use the Cimmerians, Scythians and Saka as my model for Pentans; the Mongols had a significantly different culture and military tradition, and from my view - just too late. Even 'Scythian' probably includes a multitude of different groups, and in some ways, the steppe peoples didn't show major changes in life style for a relatively long time. Sketch update: currently working on another, not included in the summary below. This also does not include drawings of weapons, armor, shields, or montages. Sketches I judge 'okay': 32 Sketches judged 'so so': 25 Sketches judged bad: 1. Have attempted to redo the last one several times and it just won't work, so it should either be deleted or completely restarted from scratch.

Latest.

One redrawn, and an old sketch shaded. Neither are perfect, but redrawing from scratch would take several days each.

Have made some digital changes to the shield to add more scratches and a tear. Two other sketches made today - one a redrawing and the other adding shading to an old sketch. Probably won't finish them today.

Probably the latter.

In Glorantha, images often seem to have innate powers, much as our ancestors believed. The bison head is more than a little stylized, enhanced by the attachment of the fur trim, and real ears and horns.

Fazzur married Harama of Bagnot, who was descended from the kings of Old Tarsh; they had two sons, Onjur and Annstad.

The art in the Guide for Teshnos is, for me, more reminiscent of Indo-China than India - of Funan and Khmer.

The Foot Bison are a regiment of the Provincial Army recruited in Vanch. I have about half a page of information about them. Whilst the shield illustrated is fringed with Bison hair and horns, it is a flat painted leather shield with a wooden frame shaped like a bison's head. In case anyone thought it was 3D, I drew a long scratch across the shield. Some small changes made.

Utterly irrelevant to Glorantha, but there are indications of unknown hominids in the DNA of sub-Saharan Africans who lack Neanderthal DNA. The simple fact is that who is/was human has a much wider definition than is often supposed, with the branching tree of our evolutionary history often recombining, and even then, our 'racial differences' are more due to isolated pockets at times of severe human dieback, than ancestral mixing with relatives. There's even indications that our ancestors and those of chimpanzees interbred for a long time before total speciation occurred. In much the same way, the Man Rune in Glorantha defines much more than just human.

Latest. Drat - forgot to shade the flesh: difficult day, and more likely to follow. Writing or sketching Gloranthan material is, sadly, a decided escapism at present.

Diamond cutting in India may date to the 4th century BC, but was probably happening a few centuries later - however, these stones would not have displayed the more complex cuts of the medieval period. For a long time, India was the only known source of diamonds; Ctesias wrote that the deposits were guarded by griffins (he never traveled far himself but collected travelers' tales).

Latest rework. Not perfect, but not sufficient time to redraw from scratch.

King of Sartar pages 116-117 is the best source: crossing the River south of Dwarf Ford, marching through the Dragon's Eye to Runegate, then to Duck Point, Wilmskirk, major battle at Caroman, and finally Boldhome.

There are several clusters of battles, and my fan book goes into them in some detail. What I can share is a map Jeff posted on the Glorantha.com site (the map is still there) which helps to demonstrate strategic features. Have taken the liberty of marking the location of the Dragon Pass. Not marked is the significant trade road through Grazer territory stretching between the trading posts - it isn't of the standard of the Royal Roads, but is a potential conduit.

Not so much a road, as a dirt track. It isn't built to the same standard as the Tarsh Road, or the roads 'built' by Sartar and his heirs. Throughout Time (and probably beyond) several sites in Dragon Pass have been repeatedly the scene of major battles, where geography conspires to make them inevitable battlefields.

Both. Gave me a break from drawing varieties of footwear, and acknowledged the fact that some historical hoplites didn't wear their footwear worn when marching in battle. There was the thought that being barefoot gave them a better leverage and grip in the event of a 'shield push'. Thucydides writes that the Spartans habitually went barefoot, and he mentions another city where the hoplites only wore a shoe on their left foot, as their bare foot gave them better traction on wet and muddy ground. The sketches aren't definitive - there's no such thing as a uniform in any Gloranthan (human) regiment, save that, for example, hoplites will all wear a helmet (styles and ornamentation will vary) and some form of torso armor. Just because one Vanntar phalangite has chosen not to wear anything on his feet doesn't mean his comrades do the same: there would be a variety of boots, sandals, shoes, bare feet. Some Lunar regiments probably approach a uniform but there is likely to still be a wide variety in the detail of equipment. The other reason was that it's my assumption that most Templars in a Sun Dome regiment are relatively poor peasant farmers, and their mercenary service brings wealth to their communities, so a hardy peasant might forego wearing footwear as unnecessary - shoes wear out (there's been a study of how long Roman legionary boots lasted on campaign, and despite iron hobnails and repairs, they didn't last very long). Repair spells might be effective, but leather soles will still wear through, and even hobnails erode - that sort of gradual incremental wear and tear might not be magically repairable. Should add that the Axe Woman further up the page is also barefoot, but for religious reasons...