M Helsdon

I suspect that this may be because there was a simplification made at some point during the evolution of the rules, for good gaming reasons, one of which being that it will avoid groups diverting from play to have this very discussion about saddles, stirrups and real world weapons. In terrestrial history, prior to the introduction of the stirrup, various forms of saddle were in use, and some were entirely capable of holding the rider in their seat, whilst transferring some of the momentum of the mount to their attack. For example, a kontos (a 2H lance in RQ terms) was held with both hands across the mount’s neck, levelled at the opposing rider, while directing the mount using the knees, leaning forward and bracing the legs just before impact. This hold gave great power to the thrust, utilizing the momentum of the mount for maximum impact. The shaft was firmly grasped to avoid the hands sliding along the shaft on contact. However, this technique made the kontos a specialist weapon requiring considerable training and good horsemanship to use. Similarly, a javelin thrown by a rider would also gain range and force from the momentum of the mount - without the rider making direct contact with the target. In fact, a large number of two handed weapons were used, meaning that the rider directed their mount with their knees and prick spurs, and very few used a shield when mounted. Xenophon recommended riders should wear a leather sleeve to protect their left arm. The other reason why this has been simplified may be because to treat it with accuracy, would require the exact type of saddle being used would be required, and there were a wide variety in use in the ancient world, and there's canon evidence of a wide variety being used in Glorantha. However, going into minute detail as to whether a rider is riding in the Hyaloring manner, as per the Starkin regiment, and so isn't using any saddle other than a blanket, or using a more complicated saddle would probably bog things down. Based on canonical descriptions and art, just about every type of ancient saddle is in use, somewhere, ranging from a simple saddle pad, an arched frame, a 'four horned' saddle, or one (also) with raised pommel and cantle. The latter two types provide a skilled rider to employ the full momentum of the mount in combat, and a 'four horned' saddle allows, I have it on good authority, a rider a very wide range of movement. The two things stirrups allow, are for the rider to be more comfortable if riding for long periods of time, and to use certain mounted archery techniques - though horse archers managed very well for centuries without stirrups. The literal long-hafted dagger-axe was historically an infantry weapon, but I suspect this term is used instead of sagaris - some of which were 1H weapons, but others were larger and were deployed two-handed from horseback. Praxians use a form of stirrup as a means of climbing up onto the tallest mounts. [RQ3 illustrations of 'knights' are no longer canonical.]

As in most of the ancient world, cavalry were recruited from the nobility, who were rich enough to own at least one horse. No phalangites & no heavy cavalry = no Macedonian victory in Greece or the Persian Empire. Whilst many of the Greeks were using combined arms, to a degree, it was the Macedonians that created a winning combination. For a time.

Unfortunately, it's the preceding portion of the sentence which is utterly wrong.

Pretty much the standard for the period. The wackiest book I own was printed in 1848, and its perspective on non-Western mythology is very... strange. Whilst Howard, like Lovecraft, was a man of his time, it's worth recalling that Conan's greatest love was the (Semitic) Shemite Bêlit. Judging Howard by later pastiches by other writers doesn't give an accurate picture of his writing - which, true, could be very variable, but at his best he was very very good. And Lovecraft is similarly a complex figure, as his views changed radically in his last years.

Curiously, Howard did... The Cymric tribes of Britain were a mixed Nordic-Cimmerian race which preceded the purely Nordic Britons into the isles, and thus gave rise to a legend of Gaelic priority. The Cimbri who fought Rome were of the same blood, as well as the Gimmerai of the Assyrians and Grecians, and Gomer of the Hebrews. Other clans of the Cimmerians adventured east of the drying inland sea, and a few centuries later mixed with Hyrkanian blood, returned westward as Scythians. The original ancestors of the Gaels gave their name to modern Crimea. The Hyborian Age by Robert Ervin Howard First published in The Phantagraph, February-November 1936 Howard's Gimmerai are the Cimmerians who lived in the North Caucasus in the 8th and 7th century BC.

That quote isn't quite correct... Philip and Alexander's tactic required the phalangite phalanx and shock heavy cavalry used together in a tactic known as Hammer and Anvil. This is a combined infantry and cavalry tactic, in which the infantry (in a phalanx) are used to confine and hold their opponents in place, whilst the cavalry either break through openings in the enemy line (often in a wedge formation) or maneuvers around the enemy and attacks their vulnerable rear. The enemy is then trapped between the infantry and cavalry. The side employing the tactic often needs to have a superior number of cavalry (and infantry) to be successful. The cavalry must defeat or drive off the enemy cavalry to prevent a counterattack. The infantry must also be sufficiently armed and armored to maintain the pressure on the enemy front. The tactic is best employed where one enemy flank is constrained by terrain, with the other flank on relatively flat ground. It also requires careful coordination and timing so that the enemy lacks the opportunity to disengage or prepare to fight on two sides. It's an example of combined arms tactics, and in the army of Philip and Alexander the ratio of troop types was roughly phalangite:cavalry 2:1; the later Successors tended to concentrate upon the phalanx, possibly because infantry are cheaper and easier to train than shock cavalry, and the ratio slipped until it was 8:1 or worse. This lost the advantage of combined arms and contributed to the demise of the phalangite phalanx at the hands of the Romans. The Macedonians also used troops with shorter spears than the sarissa later called hypaspists to link the phalanx with the cavalry. These troops were equipped more like a classic hoplite, so far as we can tell. For Glorantha, a heavy and well trained shield-wall/battle hedge would work as well as a phalanx in the anvil role.

Macedonian phalangites carried a smaller shield, which didn't overlap, because they stood in a different stance and were using a two-handed sarissa. Both hoplites and phalangites carried secondary weapons, usually a sword of some sort or a long dagger. The hoplite shield was about three feet in diameter (there's evidence of one four feet in diameter, but it may have been a display/ceremonial shield); phalangite shields were less concave and about two feet in diameter). One of the many problems with the term phalanx is that the Greek writers often used the term to mean battle formation, so it doesn't always mean what we think of as a classic hoplite phalanx. Some shields, to scale...

I should also add, that as a Cimmerian Conan would have been related to the Horse Peoples... The historical Cimmerians/Gimmerians who rampaged through eastern Anatolia were related to the Scythians. 8-)

Yes, that's the thread that provided quite a bit of fodder for the latest version... and it's reminded me of something else I need to add...

In private communication about the earlier draft when I asked the derivation of the name of Mirin's Cross. As with many Gloranthan place names, there's a pun there: a river crossing and an actual execution cross.

The conjecture and speculation below has been shared before, but this is the latest version (an appendix of 'the book')... Sun Dome Temples Throughout the entire region of central Genertela, including the Lunar provinces, there are no more than fifteen major temples during the Hero Wars period. There are Little Sun cults popular throughout south Peloria and Dragon Pass. Most commonly associated with Yelmalio, the Sun Dome Temple god, the god’s myths are diverse and contradictory. All the Little Sun cults claim their god is the son of Emperor Sun; that their god survived the Lesser Darkness and was the Last Light in the Darkness; all dislike trolls; all have at least some connection with horses. However, some Little Sun cults dislike Orlanth, others are allied with Him; some believe the cult has a right to rule, others do not; some cults claim the Little Sun has Ernalda as consort, others do not. A God Learner would say, perhaps accurately, perhaps not, that Yelmalio and Elmal are just variations of the same god. It is apparent that the Yelmalio cult is not as unified as it seems, and it is difficult to ascertain whether there is a single Little Sun, with regional variations, or many related Little Sun Gods. In Imther, the Yelmalio cult of Kareiston’s Temple preserves local variations in myth from the Yelmalio cults of Dragon Pass and the Mirin’s Cross network of temples. The name Khelmal is given to the god there. The locals call him the God of Kareiston’s Temple, and give him many epithets including ‘Little Sun’, ‘Son of the Sun’, ‘God of the Sky Dome’ and the ‘Cold Sun’. In other places, Yelmalio is also known as ‘God of the Winter Sun’, ‘Preserver of the Light’ and the ‘Golden Spearman’. He has many other titles. In New Lolon his worshippers there claim it as the site of his Seat of Judgment, where the Light Protector Heliacal lived with his wife, the Green Woman. Yelmalio is not alone in this diversity. Orlanth has very diverse aspects (so much so that Thunderous, Adventurous, and Rex are effectively separate cults). Throughout its history, the cults of Yelmalio have sometimes almost been extinguished, but as the light that does not go out, though diminished, the cult of the Cold Sun always reignites. Despite severe reverses, and a variety of names, the cult has a strong continuity, and although distant temples may vary in their rites and theology, strong similarities in ritual and tradition are apparent. The Sun Dome Temples have never been unified. Even in Saird, where there are close ties between the scattered Sun Domes, each temple is under its own religious and secular authorities. When two or more temples exist within the borders of a wider state, each owes fealty and service to the ruler, but not through a cult hierarchy. The First Age There were Little Sun cults scattered throughout South Peloria, Dragon Pass, and Kethaela at the Dawn. It should be noted that at that time, these cults were not associated with the architecture that now characterizes the cults. In the First Age, the God of the Sun Dome Temple was sometimes identified with Hastatus, God of the Spear (sometimes equated with Avivorus) or Antirius, the Dara Happan God of Order. Golden domes are now a defining feature of the Sun Dome temples. The temple-fortress to Manimat and Antirius at Haranshold originally built in the First Age also boasts several gold domes. The city of Kesium is now best known for its golden-domed temple to Antirius, built by the Bright Eagle Lords of Rinliddi in the Dawn Age of Peloria. The first temple complex in the style of the later Sun Dome Temples was built by Kestingatha of Kesium, one of the Bright Eagle Lords. His temple of Antirius, a golden dome set atop a square base, was completed sometime between 145 and 155. Mahzanelm, an Emperor of the Khordavu Dynasty, conquered Rinliddi and Vanch around 345-350. The Dara Happans sought to ensure that the barbarian lands could be kept under their control. The Emperor commissioned the construction of a grand structure that would be both temple and a military enclave for his troops. This temple was in the form of a dome within a walled compound entered via a stepped walkway. One of the settlements the Emperor destroyed during his southern campaign was Lolon, which had been inhabited since the Dawn. This was the home of the Tunoraling hunter-gatherers who worshipped Heliacal the Sun and his wife Negalla the Green Woman. After the First Theyalan War (366-368), more of the Dara Happan-style Sun Dome Temples were built – one was even built atop the ruins of Urar Baar (a troll trading place at the confluence of the Oslir and the Black Eel rivers). These were similar to the earlier temple built by Kestingatha, being set on a square base, which was now consecrated to Hastatus, the spear god. In all, five Sun Dome Temples served as Dara Happan military anchors to keep the rebellious Theyalans under the control of the High Council. The Little Sun cults received magical and spiritual patronage from the Broken Council and learned new insights from Dara Happa as well. The Little Yelm sobriquet, Yelmalio, became widespread. It was at the Battle of Day and Night in 379 that the constructed god Nysalor revealed Daysenerus - an aspect of Antirius who brings Antirius’ Justice to the barbarians - to be the deity of the Sun Dome Temples. Daysenerus’ first deed when invoked was to crush the army of Kyger Litor and his first new temple was built upon the site of that victory. The name Daysenerus translates as First Herald God, apparently relating to the appearance of the planet Lightfore, prior to the Dawn. Daysenerus became the Illuminated Protector of the Little Yelm cult. The Little Yelm temples obeyed the Holder of the Orb of Sovereignty – the Dara Happan Emperor – and the form of the temple became firmly associated with that of the Dara Happan military outposts. During the years that followed, new Sun Dome Temples dedicated to Daysenerus were built throughout the lands occupied by the Bright Empire. The Daysenerus cult was given good lands confiscated from rebellious Heortlings after the Theyalan Wars. The military might of these enclaves supported the rule of the Bright Empire. However, their association with Nysalor proved to be their downfall. When Arkat raised the Heortlings in their final successful rebellion, vengeful Orlanthi and their troll allies destroyed every Sun Dome Temple they encountered and eradicated the name Daysenerus from Peloria. According to Monrogh of Sartar, Sereventh in Sylila was the only temple to Daysenerus to survive the destruction of the Bright Empire. Other sources claim it was used by Ordanestyu in his Cold Light Fires Uprising and to revive the culture of Dara Happa after the fall of the Bright Empire. During the ensuing period of troll and Heortling domination of southern Peloria, the other Sun Dome Temples were relit by the prophet Severinalus the Rekindler. Severinalus named the god Tharkantus, the Empty Saving Hearth, prepared for the darkness to come. Only initiates knew the god’s name as Tharkantus. Only the priests knew that relics of Daysenerus were used to bless their temples, or that the largest temples rose upon the ruins of former Daysenerus sites. Severinalus settled many temples, for many places prepared once again for the time that the fires all went out. Tharkantus was later recognized to be the same entity as the Elvish Sun God, later known as Halamalao, and in many places the two races shared worship for centuries. Whilst the cult had its origins in the Solar cultures to the north, its presence on the borderlands with the Storm cultures to the south resulted in an increasing intermingling of the two traditions. What began as a title gradually supplanted the northern name. The Second Age In 562 a Sun Dome Temple was founded in Holay. Trolls resisted the construction but met with disaster when a trollkin lieutenant betrayed the attack because the White Women among the Sun Domers had treated him kindly. Circa 640 another was established at Domanand (modern Mirin’s Cross) in Saird within the boundaries of Orlanthland, and was later strengthened as a stronghold against the dragons and their followers. It boasted unique enclosed domes with anti-dragon runes upon their surface, and despite its Solar nature provided a center of resistance for the Orlanthi Traditionalists against the Draconic Orlanthi to the south for a long time. The city of Lolon was also rebuilt. Orlanthland was, as the name denotes, the land of the Orlanthi, extending south into Dragon Pass. Initially, the cult of Yelmalio fiercely aided the traditionalist Orlanthi and spearheaded armies invading the upland regions to fight the draconic heretics. Saird became a battleground between Domanand and southern Orlanthland, which was transforming into the Empire of the Wyrms Friends. But by 750 the EWF conquered Saird; the gold domes of Domanand were shattered - their ruins are still apparent in the modern city. The Lament of Domeland, composed by several poets who survived the catastrophe, recalls the fall of the city. The EWF revealed the Draconic Sun to the survivors. The Sun Dome Temples subsequently became a major military arm of the empire with their soldier-cultists used as mercenaries. Many new temples to Yelmalio were established on the frontiers of the EWF in Fronela, Ralios, and near Pent and in its core lands in Dragon Pass. Another was built at Hesterneo in Esrolia, later destroyed by Queen Orenda. Dara Happa was occupied by the EWF in 850 after its Emperor was killed by elite members of the Golden Dragon Society. At some point, the distant Sun Dome Temple of North Dona on the Janube River in Fronela was founded as a frontier garrison of the Carmanian Empire. In 877 the first Arrowsmith king of the city of Pavis in Prax requested aid from the Sun Dome Temple in Dragon Pass against the trolls and giants. The mercenaries were granted lands to the south of the city. A new Sun Dome Temple was built on the edge of the Wastelands. Karvanyar slew the imperial Golden Dragon in 910, leading a rebellion that drove the EWF from Dara Happa within seven years. The same year Alakoring Dragonbreaker flew into Aggar. He defeated Sun Dome armies and other EWF forces. Between the years 910-925, after freeing itself from EWF control Dara Happan armies marched south. In the Three Armies Battle in 920 the armies of Alakoring Dragonbreaker and a Carmanian adventurer fought the EWF. Alakoring fought Drang the Diamond Storm Dragon and killed it. Over the next fifteen years, Alakoring led the people of Saird, including the freed Sun Dome Temples, in rebellion. The soldier-cult purged itself of all draconic influence. Around this time, ruined Domanand was resettled, and named Mirin’s Cross for a lieutenant of Alakoring who had learned the secret of where to cross the Black Eel River and where he crucified a EWF leader subdued in battle. Mirin subsequently claimed the site for his own and after the cross was removed, built an impressive monument to commemorate the duel. Reliefs on each side, now almost worn away, depicted Mirin’s four great deeds. Dara Happa retook all of its lands from the EWF and expanded southwards. A great army marched through Sylila to the Battle of Zelfield where the dragons were defeated. The EWF counterattacked, reaching as far north as Alkoth in 947 but was unable to regain control of the north. In 960, on the abdication of Sarenesh, (an Emperor of Dara Happa of the Karvanyar Dynasty) to prevent war between his three sons, the priests enacted the Great Division of the World. The High Priest of Dayzatar awarded Dayzatar’s portion, Saird, to Verenmars. King Verenmars rallied all Saird against the dragons. He began great sacrifices to strengthen Jajagappa and raised the Jajalarings Dog Peoples against the EWF. Many Dara Happan colonists followed in the wake of Verenmars’ heroic wars against the EWF. Verenmars and his heirs ruled the Kingdom of Saird until 1120. The Saird Sun Dome Temples had initially fought against and then supported Verenmars and his kingdom. As a result they survived the fall of the EWF in 1042 when the leaders of Empire of the Wyrms Friends were exterminated overnight. In 1082, the Hero Balazar introduced the cult of Yelmalio to the Votanki to the east. He met and wed a local hunting nymph and they had three sons (or two sons and one daughter). The Sun Domes of Saird contributed much of the manpower of the Invincible Golden Horde. The destruction and devouring of those armies in the Dragonkill of 1120 severely wounded the Temples for generations, and extinguished Verenmars’ dynasty. The Third Age After the Dragonkill, the weakened Sairdite culture was mostly absorbed by the neighboring Orlanthi. Far to the southeast, the now isolated temple in Prax erected the Great Ballista to protect their rebuilt temple complex from draconic retribution. Jannisor’s Rebellion (1271-1275) against the rising Lunar Empire included the Sun Dome Temples of Saird, allied with the Sable Tribes, and the many Orlanthi tribes surrounding Saird. Some of the Sun Dome Temples were also part of the Kynnelfing Alliance that resisted but ultimately was defeated by the Conquering Daughter in 1347. The queen of Filichet was acclaimed as Queen of Holay, as a Lunar tributary ruler. Invasions by savage barbarians from Pent led by Sheng Seleris disrupted the Lunar Empire from 1375 to 1460. Much of the south was lost to the empire during this time as it struggled to survive. The Sun Dome temples endured this period, hiring out as mercenaries. Holay became a battleground between Tarsh and Sylila, and was finally reduced to Lunar dependency in 1458. Saird was regained around 1480 though Lunar rule in the Provinces was not secure until 1545, when the Provincial Government was formed. The Sun Dome Temples fought on all sides of these wars during Third and Fourth Wanes (1355-1462), but have been mostly allied with the Lunar Provincial Government since the Sixth Wane (1517 onwards). The Sun Dome Temples of Saird The Sun Dome Temples of Saird have, over the centuries endured and enjoyed the patronage of overlords from the Broken Council, EWF, Saird, Tarsh and most recently the Lunar Empire. Throughout history Saird has been a significant battleground between Storm and Solar cultures fighting over Earth as in the myth of Orlanth and Yelm competing for the hand of Ernalda. Outside of Saird, there are only four great temples. These temples are almost entirely autonomous and independent of their cousins in South Peloria. Ever-New-Glory in Tarsh was founded after the Lunar conquest of Saird. At some time after this, Elmal cultists from Alda-Chur, beset by Darkness and Chaos went north to find allies against the trolls. They returned with the Golden Spearman and took him with them to their next battle. A brilliant Sun Spear destroyed the trolls. The jubilant Alda-Churi gave the Golden Spearman a shrine in their temple to Elmal, the Orlanthi Sun God, and offered him regular sacrifices as one of the defenders of their people. In the mid-1500s, Lunar missionaries ‘proved’ to the priests that the Golden Spearman was the enemy of Orlanth, as part of a campaign to divide and weaken the southern tribes. The allegiance of some worshippers of Elmal was compromised and they rebelled against their traditional leaders, weakening resistance to Lunar encroachment. With the fervor of new converts, the Vanntari insist Monrogh founded the cult of Yelmalio and that Vanntar was the first temple. The presence of more ancient temples in Saird and elsewhere contradict their claims. With many major temples, Saird is still the center of the cult which is not a unified religious bloc. In addition to the Sun Dome Temples, Saird boasts important sites associated with the god, in many of the forms of the Little Sun, such as the Hill of Gold and New Lolon in Vanch. The Hill is where Yelmalio was sorely wounded, lost his weapons, and bled his power upon the earth before he rose again in Cold Light. Lolon was the place of Yelmalio’s Seat of Judgment, and where the Light Protector lived with his wife. The modern farmers and cities of Saird, are a mixture of lowland Pelorians and upland Orlanthi. There are some vestigial remnants of earlier cultures (especially the Red-Haired Goddess, a title of Redaylda), but mostly submerged beneath many centuries of later settlement. The extant temples of southern Peloria are the military anchor of the “Sairdite” Solar culture. They are all strategically located to defend the lowland farmers. Yelmalio is the main soldier cult of the river cities of Saird, coexisting with the military cults of Humakt, Hwarin Dalthippa, and Yanafal Tarnils. Yelm can only be contacted by those who can claim a line of descent to the old Dara Happan nobility established by Murharzarm (including the Pure Horse People). Yelmalio has been the divine defender of Mirin’s Cross, ancient Domanand, since the Second Age. Great Temples Location 1. Peralam Vanch 2. Daughter’s Road (White Rock) Holay 3. Domanand (Mirin’s Cross) Holay 4. Vanntar (Sun County) Sartar 5. Little Cafol (True Sky) Sylila 6. Laramite Hills (Kareiston’s Temple) Imther 7. Linstingland (Lingsting Sun Dome/Last Light) Talastar 8. Zalador Hills (Zalan Sun Dome) Holay 9. Orenair Sun Dome (Cold Sun) Aggar 10. Upper Forantin Sun Dome (Crystal Dome) Aggar 11. Ever-New-Glory Tarsh 12. Goldedge Tarsh 13. Karia March Delela in Ralios 14. North Dona (Northbank) Janube River in Fronela 15. Mo Baustra (Sun Dome County) Prax There are many lesser temples including: Sun Dome Temples Location A Alda-Chur Far Place B Dykene Balazar C Elkoi Balazar D Garhound Prax E Pavis Prax F Salantor Aggar G Serene Victory Jarst H Southbank Janube River in Fronela I Little Vanntar (Nochet) Esrolia Extinguished temples include: Sun Dome Temples Location x Billiz Aggar y Hesterneo Esrolia z Masassakar Aggar ? Sereventh Sylila

I suspect that whilst that's true for the mercenary regiments serving with the Provincial Armies, the forces available to the Temples are more varied, with archers, mounted and afoot, and others. My reasoning is that given the terrain in southern Peloria, a phalanx on its own is going to be in serious trouble because its flanks will be very vulnerable (and even formations such as the marching square used by the Macedonians aren't an answer). A pike phalanx operates best in conjunction with combined arms: light infantry and/or cavalry, whether those cavalry are riding horses or Praxian beasts as a Hammer and Anvil. The pike phalanx can hold and roll into the enemy in place whilst more mobile units hammer them. In the Provincial Army, other regiments provide that cover, and I suspect those Temples with cavalry keep them close to home. In our history, the ratio of phalanx to cavalry changed significantly over time, because effective cavalry are more expensive in terms of training and support. By the time the pike phalanx encountered the Roman Legion, the ratio was very high, with too great a reliance upon the phalanx alone. Some states attempted to raise supporting troops equipped in the Roman fashion, but it wasn't sufficient.

Several Templar regiments serve in the Provincial Army. One from Aggar, the Golden Shields of Holay, Kareiston’s Templars from Imther, the Goldedge Foot of Tarsh, and one from Vanch. The temples have a very long history of fighting for various employers, often changing sides: they fought against and for the EWF, they've fought against and for the Lunar Empire, and once Rurik is instated as Count of Sun Dome County in Dragon Pass, some will be fighting on either side... The Sun Dome in Prax is in civil war.

It was done... a Macedonian named Coragus challenged Dioxippus the Athenian to single combat. On the day of the duel, Coragus turned up in his phalangite armor, with his shield and sarissa (and a sword and javelin); Dioxippus arrived naked carrying a club. Diodorus of Sicily describes the outcome: As they approached each other, the Macedonian flung his javelin from a proper distance, but the other inclined his body slightly and avoided its impact. Then the Macedonian poised his long lance and charged, but the Greek, when he came within reach, struck the spear with his club and shattered it. After these two defeats, Coragus was reduced to continuing the battle with his sword, but as he reached for it, the other leaped upon him and seized his swordhand with his left, while with his right hand the Greek upset the Macedonian's balance and made him lose his footing. As he fell to the earth, Dioxippus placed his foot upon his neck and, holding his club aloft, looked to the spectators. The crowd was in an uproar because of the stunning quickness and superiority of the man's skill, and the king signed to let Coragus go, then broke up the gathering and left. He was plainly annoyed at the defeat of the Macedonian. Dioxippus released his fallen opponent, and left the field winner of a resounding victory and bedecked with ribands by his compatriots, as having brought a common glory to all Greeks. Fortune, however, did not allow him to boast of his victory for long..

There's a detailed overview of them in Wyrms Footnotes#15; I believe it is now out-of-print, but PDFs can be purchased.

Yes; this is why the availability of my 'book' is extremely limited. David has a hardback copy of v4.0 (which is full of typos, and now significantly expanded, and the weights and measures have been changed to metric in v4.9). I had five copies printed, of which another is with another Chaosium staffer, one is severely marked up, and the other two are in a box. Later PDFs are with two licensees, with whom the document was shared at the request of Chaosium staff. There should not be any other copies in the 'wild'. The current version is v4.9. I attempt to be very careful with what I share publicly.

Art, pieces of text gathered from Chaosium websites, past and present (often expanded upon/rewritten), unpublished material in circulation (of various levels of canonicity), bits of the Guide, bits of the Eleven Lights, etc. So many infringements of copyright, it has only been shared with Chaosium, two licensees as directed, and the artist. I could sanitize it, but there's always the danger of missing something. I should add, that it's written from the perspective of someone writing several Ages after the Hero Wars, about as distant in time as we are from Homer's Trojan War. Sources At this remote remove from the period, surviving texts from the Hero Wars and afterwards are often fragmentary, and at times contradictory. Archaeological evidence supplements our knowledge. Unearthed burials, weapons, armor, fortifications, decorated pottery and other pictorial evidence contributes greatly to our understanding. Numerous artifacts are on display in museums. However, the available sources are never definitive, and must be augmented with speculation and conjecture. In this book, it is assumed that a real historical period underlies the Legends of Argrath (or the Argraths) and the other Heroes. The most widely accepted dates of the Solar Time chronology are used, though these are, of course, subject to debate. The present tense is used to immerse the reader in the era. This permits the speculations to be wrong.

Unfortunately, 327 pages (counting the index) about warfare in central Genertela is unlikely to be commercial, and whilst most of it 'is my own work' it breaches so many Chaosium copyrights that it is unlikely to ever be seen unless I buy a license. Some bits and pieces drawn from it may be in Wyrms Footnotes #16... In the piece above, I tried to analyze the dominant forms of warfare in the region, and then apply it to the Templars; for Orlanthi neighbors you get javelin throwing peltasts (probably equipped with a throwing and a thrusting spear); for those near Pent you get chariot and cavalry archers (the chariots are used to carry archers equipped with small and large bows); in Prax you get fellow cultists riding strange beasts; as a default you get archers.

All the Templar regiments are Heavy Infantry, armed with a sarissa, fighting in a phalanx, though the details of their armor varies. Mo Baustra lost, and only recently regained, this fighting technique. They lost their cavalry and chariotry, and have not regained them. There are also other regional differences: the Vanntar regiment relies upon naked Ergeshi baggage-carriers, who, in addition to carrying supplies, carry a soldier's cuirass, vambraces and greaves, shield, and other equipment when on the march - but not their weapons. Ergesh is the Dara Happan slave god. Thinking about the other regiments, totally non-canonical, I believe that their location and cultural surroundings influences how their regiment is supported on its flanks, and at home these auxiliaries are probably more important and closer to the 'norm'. In this list, Mo Baustra is very unusual. Protecting the Flanks The flanks of a phalanx are very vulnerable and so they are preferably protected by other units. The Yelmalio Sun Dome temples each have different traditions regarding the protection of the flanks of their pike phalanxes. Yelmalion Regiments Flank Support Aggar Peltasts Goldedge Foot Psiloi (archers) Golden Shields Chariot & horse archers, psiloi (archers) Kareiston’s Temple Chariot & horse archers Mo Baustra Peltasts, Praxian auxiliaries, Unicorn Riders Peralam Psiloi (archers) Vanntar Psiloi (archers)

They are both masks...

Well, Peloria means monstrous in Greek....

One of those places where round eyed devils are permitted... Lur Nop (large city): This city in Wanzow is the only port of Kralorela which is open to foreign shipping. Traders from Vormain, the East Isles, Teshnos, Teleos, and the Holy Country meet here. Each barbarian nation has its own enclave, carefully overseen by the mandarins. Near the city is the Thousand Dragon Cliff, renowned for its numerous draconic images which have been carved out of the rock since before the Dawn.

At Dragonmeet last year, there was mention of a forthcoming supplement set in the port city of Lur Nop. The best currently available source is, of course, the Guide.

In the films and comics perhaps; in the original fiction Conan had a sensible approach to armor...

Yes, that's what occurred to me when I wrote that. However, even if the elite at the New Lunar Temple are fed, the garrisons out in the towns and cities will have to fend for themselves.