M Helsdon

Whilst relating to giraffes, the following may be of interest in regard of high llama grazing habits in Prax, which surely corresponds to a nutrient-poor environment. https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=7Qd-AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA30&lpg=PA30&dq=giraffe+grazing+ground&source=bl&ots=_n9499VZNR&sig=bR8mnM30GVt2LDmha4Pdl165LoU&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjBhvP_ob7JAhWIORoKHTSSCtUQ6AEIOTAG#v=onepage&q=giraffe%20grazing%20ground&f=false

There's rarely a single mythic explanation, unless the God Learner Monomyth is the source.

An early version had one of Xamalk's storm giants do this in the Nightmare; obviously utilizing a corrupt God Learner source.

Xamalk was defeated in Luathela (Guide to Glorantha, page 702), but according to Sandy, after attempting to destroy the East Isles. Xamalk_ = "Beater", the savage Nightmare Wind of Chaos -- a chaotic god. The Three Blows of Xamalk figure big in East Isles mythology. The First Blow was the murder of the Sun. The Second Blow was the murder of the Golden Emperor (who ruled Vithela). The Third Blow shattered Vithela itself. There was an abortive Fourth Blow, but it failed. Later Xamalk went to Luathela, where he was beaten badly. http://glorantha.temppeli.org/digest/gd3/1996.08/0987.html I don't know if the Petersen text is canonical.

Xamalk may be the same entity as the East Isles antigod Bodastu in Revealed Mythologies, whose followers were named the Slavering Horde who drooled and spat acid. In Sandy's version of East Isles mythology: In the confusion, Xamalk and Uralog, Beater and Eater, came to ruin the universe. Xamalk's First Blow had been the death of the Sun. Xamalk's Second Blow despatched the Golden Emperor, who joined his father in Hell. Xamalk's Third blow shattered Vithela into ten thousand realities, and the Golden Empire was no more. The ten thousand realities became the Islands of Dawn, and those which found some inward strength, some principle of identity, managed to stay above thd waves. Then came Uralog, Mouth of the Deep, and he began to swallow down the fragments of Vithela one by one. No island could resist him. Theya built the Gates of Dawn, and stationed herself at the east of the world as beacon, to summon back a Sun. She was tempted many times to abandon her post -- if she had, the Sun could never have returned. But though she was necessary to preserve Hope and to enable the Dawn, she was not sufficient in herself. Staying at her place, she wove a net from the threads of fate and the lingering strands of Vithela's voice. This net, given wings by the keets, who abandoned their power of flight in service to Vithela and the dead Emperor, spread throughout the ten thousand realities, and wove them together into a whole. Uralog found that he could not devour the isles any more -- as a unified whole, they were too great for his heretofore insatiable maw. Xamalk came and delivered his final blow, but he could not shatter the Isles of Dawn again -- for they were already shattered. So Xamalk and Uralog were thwarted. [Source: http://glorantha.temppeli.org/digest/gd2/1996.06/4150.html] This is a very different tradition to that given in Revealed Mythologies, and doesn't give any detail of what Xamalk and the Xamalki looked like, but given that Xamalk is known as the Beater, the huge hands described in WF#15 and the possible connection with the acid dripping followers of Bodastu, a certain appearance comes to mind...

The two hinged supports at the gates of Theya and Rausa remain unbroken, and the Sky Dome tilts north and south seasonally, going a little further south than north. According to the Doraddi, Pamalt had the Old Gods tilt the sky to pour down fire on the Artmali when they had been corrupted by Chaos during the Gods War. When this was achieved, Pamalt pushed the sky back into place but it continued rocking to and fro. The Firefall created the Nargan Desert. This is described in the Guide.

Gerendetho may be a local name for Genert?

It's interesting to note that with their origin as 'materialist' Malkioni the mythologies of the rest of Glorantha were, in-world, almost as alien to the God Learners as they are to us. Our filter is different, of course, derived from terrestrial mythologies, but we are also trying to solve the puzzles of Glorantha, and perceiving patterns that may or may not be valid in-world. Our view isn't that different from, for example, the Romans who eagerly sought out similarities between their pantheon and the pantheons of almost every other culture they came into contact with, and ravenously pursued a process of syncretism, in which local gods were merged and to a degree submerged by their Roman equivalents. Even the parallels we take for granted, such as the association of Jupiter and Zeus aren't entirely accurate, despite them both having an origin as Indo-European sky gods. The correlation with Mars and Ares, apparent even in their names, isn't an entirely comfortable fit, as the Roman view of the war god differed from that of the Classical Greeks. In the Gallic War, Caesar declares with assurance that the Gauls predominantly worship Mercury - he was referring to the god Teutates... And the Romans had real problems with cultures, such as the Jews and Persians, where no sort of syncretism was possible. As the Romans did for other cultures, we are trying to assimilate the Gloranthan deities into understandable entities - and most of us are probably unconsciously using the Mediterranean Indo-European or the Mesopotamian gods as a reference point. It's inevitable that our discussions are going to be God Learnerish in nature, and that some of our assumptions are going to sometimes be correct, and sometimes entirely wrong. Glorantha is a puzzle box, cunningly constructed into a conundrum for which there are often no correct ultimate answers. If its pantheons were laid out neatly and without contradictions and confusions like too many cardboard fantasy pantheons then it wouldn't be so fascinating, or so real, because often real religions only look neat and tidy from a distance, and when you start looking deeper you find similar contradictions and confusions. It's a function of world building as an art.

Received my copy today. Many interesting snippets of information.

Interesting. From the mentions of the Mythical Synthesis Movement in the Guide, I'd gathered a very negative impression of its use and effects as the basis of the God Learner manipulations and experiments which ultimately contributed to their destruction.

The various Earth deities may or may not be similar, but what is dissimilar is the cultural lens they are viewed through. The different regions of Glorantha vary enormously in history, outlook and political organization, and this will have a major influence.

The God Learners messed with almost every culture on or near a coastline, and many of their manipulations are still present if not widely recognized in many cultures and cults - probably to a degree members of those cultures and cults would find distressing and disturbing. The end of the Second Age marked a significant change in Glorantha. The only regions they didn't meddle in would probably be Peloria in Genertela and the south of Pamaltela.

The Dragonkill indicates that, whether failures or dropouts, the remaining dragonewts are still important to dragons, because every one has the potential to ascend to becoming a dragon. The presence of the Inhuman King indicates some still have this capability. Thus Dragon Pass remains important to dragons whilst there are still dragonewts attempting to evolve. This seems unlikely to change until the dragonewts go extinct by evolution or their eggs being destroyed.

True, but their cultures are very much younger, and many mortals in and out of Time seem to have changed 'culture' to greater or lesser degrees. There are very few human cultures that haven't changed (the Brithini come to mind). Even the deities in some divine tribes changed tribe in God Time: the Storm Tribe adopted several before and during the Lightbringers' Quest, for example. As a result the relationships between gods and mortal cultures is going to be ever so tangled: I suspect that very few of the extant divine tribes are entirely 'pure'.

I'd have been accused of God Learnerism...

My sources were: Glorantha.com, AH Gods of Glorantha, Esrolia: The Land of Ten Thousand Goddesses.

The Grain Goddesses are the Queens of the Land, the land goddesses. The Esrolians consider Esrola the Mother of the Grain Goddesses.

The Paps, as you assume, is derived from the breasts of the goddess, and is the site of the Deep Womb of Eiritha. Dunstop is more problematical; there are references to it being founded by a chieftain named Dun, as his 'stop', trading place, on Kordros Island, so it might be better treated as a proper name.

There's no such tight rule: consider: Fonrit and Ernamola; Fronela and Frona; Jolar and Nomiama, Kothar and Sedaia; Kralorela and Krala; Maniria and Esrola; Ralios and Ralia; Seshnela and Seshna; Tarien and Curu; Vralos and Vrala; Zamokil and Mwara. And I suspect Brolia isn't named for a goddess.

Genertela, Vithela, Umathela... There's no fixed standard naming convention, other than that lands are often named for a regionally important deity.

It's not a scenario in The Coming Storm.

The Coming Storm is a clan based campaign, and whilst the players meet Kallyr they aren't involved directly with the Dragonrise. They are, however, involved in other major events. The Dragonrise is enacted by a small band of powerful rebels who disrupt the opening ceremony of the New Reaching Moon Temple, using the myth of How Orlanth Conquered the Stars to invade the Lunar ceremony at the key moment when Orlanth meets Sh'harkazeel. PCs have the opportunity to talk with a witness to the events and take part in the consequences as Lunar rule in Sartar falters.

Everything that was there originally, plus a few essays from Wyrms Footnotes, and a description of Rurik Runespear.

Trollpak - tricky, though you could mesh it with a Pavis campaign where the PCs are friendly with trolls or have a patron who wants something that can only be sourced in the Troll lands. Snake Pipe Hollow - any trip for at least medium-powered PCs travelling through Dragon Pass and in need of funds/desire to look for treasure/kill Chaos. The RQ3 River of Cradles, Sun County, Shadows on the Borderlands, Strangers in Prax could all merge with a Borderlands/Pavis campaign (and all are effectively sequels/continuations of RQ2 material) with a minimum of work. There's some duplication, but also new material as well. Dorastor either fits fairly low-powered PCs on the border setting up a stead who don't venture too far in, or very high-powered PCs with some chance of survival.

The Coming Storm has the Dragonrise as a background event (PCs will feel the earth shake and see a massive dragon fly towards Kero Fin) but allows players to witness and participate in some of the subsequent events. The stars consist of ten orange stars (the color of Orlanth, one for each member of the ritual) and one green and are called the Eleven Lights by the Orlanthi. This is also the name Argrath bestows upon a new Magical Union which takes an important role in the Battle of Dangerford.