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Ainda

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Everything posted by Ainda

  1. You have quite the eye for costume design! Would you take commissions to depict some unfeathered folks?
  2. okay that's reassuring. i was worried it was being used as a dramatic device. not that it's off limits, but it's something writers should be VERY careful about.
  3. uhhhhhhh could I get a little more context for the rape scene, because that may influence my purchasing decision.
  4. I've recently become fascinated with Jakaleel, Yarnafal Tarnils, and Framanthe.
  5. I remember reading a post in the Google+ board probably a week and a half a go that said The Coming Storm would be available in PDF fairly soon; any word on this?
  6. I'm sure you all know that any notion of a unified 'Celtic' people is explicitly a construction of 19th century nationalism.
  7. I suppose I should have said they're the only culture that, where they're focused on (Dragon Pass,) it's not popular and is even disdained. This, one, doesn't make sense to me, and two, frames the Lunar v. Orlanthi question in a frankly boring way.
  8. After doing some thinking, I'm wondering how everyone feels about making slavery a larger part of Orlanthi society? They're basically the only non-nomadic culture that doesn't practice it, and too often it frames the Lunar v. Orlanthi question as one of Slavery v. Freedom, when it could be (and is, sometimes,) a much more nuanced thing.
  9. Got some cool ideas/discoveries you want to communicate? Opinions not expansive enough to have their own thread? Campaign/character/encounter hooks, but don't have them fully fleshed out? Post them here. I think there is a cult that started in Dorastar with Ralzakark's broo, which claims to be devoted to a cowed Storm Bull, illuminated and friendly to the Lunar Way. It is primarily a missionary rather than martial cult, and is gaining popularity in Fronela. Some Orlanthi clans get all their magic from their ancestors. When the Heortling mission came to them, they rebuffed them, saying that the gods were no help to them in the Darkness, and that they would not submit to them. These clans are few in number, as the Heortlings did not take kindly to being rejected. Some Malkioni hold that the gods are sentient, and that they are a result of the Invisible God completely purging all contradictions from within themselves. These contradictions manifested as sentient beings, and plague the world to this day. They and all other internal contradictions must be beat into the underworld, if there is ever to be peace.
  10. Erp is actually replacing Heorlson as my character in the campaign. I really like Tathorine. Always interested in seeing how Westerners respond to those types of divine manifestations.
  11. Thank you! Very interesting. Another thing on material culture: how common is armor? It seems just about every Orlanthi the Guide and other recent material depicts is wearing some kind of armor, but then most depicted are rulers or warriors. How common is armor? Would your average carl have any kind of armor, or would they rely only on their shields and spears for protection? Would they own a sword, typically? I'm a weirdo who plays almost exclusively outcasts and the lower classes, so this stuff is important to me :p.
  12. I suppose what I am really looking for is a less extreme form of the contradictions and opinions surrounding Arkat/Nysalor/Gbaji. For instance, look here, here, and here. Granted, this page is 19 years old, and contradicts itself in regards to Arkat, but it shows a few differences in not only naming conventions for various deities among Ralian Orlanthi, but also variants on their myths. According to this, Vinga in Ralian mythology disguised herself as a man, fought, earned a place among the Battle Brothers, and then revealed herself as a woman. This is different than the other two myths about Vinga I have heard. Additionally, in their mythology, Ernalda is the second wife of Orlanth, and Ralia the first, and rather than marrying her out of love, he married her to be able to rule the land (much in the way Irish chieftan/kings used to do.) One of the pages also mentions that Ralian Orlanthi bury their dead in the ground below cairns, rather than burning them, perhaps indicating that they are Earth peoples before they are Storm peoples. Likely that they had never heard of Orlanth until the Heortling missionaries came, and that they have retained much of their own culture from prior to the Heortling's arrival.
  13. Another: Erp Okay, so his name is Erp and basically his deal is that he was born under Orlanth's Ring and was strong in all of Orlanth's Runes; Air, Movement, and Mastery. He was in raids by the age of 12 and was clan Chief by the age of 20. Problem is no one ever taught him how to lead. He was a disaster; he was so bad that they outlawed him. He technically had all the makings of the perfect Orlanthi, but didn't have the will or good judgement to actual be one. In anger and vengeance, he began banding together other outlaws and made a new clan. He attacked his old tula in hopes of ransoming the new chief for admission of these outlaws back into the clan. It was a disaster, they barely made off with the chief and most of his band of outlaws died. No one even considered their demands, and the clan ring just chose a new chief. In desperation, Erp sacrificed the captured chief to Orlanth. Orlanth gave him a great power: the Storm Form. Orlanth said to Erp that this would either be his greatest blessing or his greatest curse, depending on how he used it. He could enter this form when emulating Orlanth to a sucessfull degree, and would become terrible and be granted great strength. Erp again rallied the outlaws, and got very good at waiting for travelers and at fighting them and at stealing from them. Then, due to his recklessness and pride, he camped on the tula of his old clan one night, thinking himself so like Orlanth that he would catch any danger on the wind and crush any attackers with the Storm Form. This happened, but only after all his fellows had been slaughtered; they had gotten drunk and passed out. Erp flew into the Storm Form and lightning crackled from him and his hair spiked up and he turned blue and his breath was like a hurricane. He killed the members of his old clan, and burned much of their tula, but was left with nothing. He rode the wind all the way to the far away land of the Solanthi, and they saw him and his terrible form, and agreed to give him a boat and a crew so that he could become a pirate, one to rival Harrak. He was sucessful and one day so gleaming with pride and strength that he was again like Orlanth Adventurous. His proud laughter made the boat rock to and fro, and his crew fell off the ship and were killed by Wolf Pirates, and the ship flew all the way to the Zola Fel Valley and crashed next to the city of Pavis. Now he has given up and gets drunk and steals from people on his own. He is very pathetic, and no one looks to him for anything.
  14. Thank you for the compliments! I like your character too; reminds of Fargo (the movie) in the way that it seems everything that can go wrong will go wrong. Only Heorlson is part of any upcoming campaign, the other two I've just made for fun. The campaign hasn't started yet, but it's taking place in Pavis.
  15. Another: Broochild Broochild is the result of a willing copulation between a goat Broo and a weird Chalana Arroy priestess from Boldhome. When they were born, many insisted on killing them, but their mother intervened, and said that she would take Broochild to the Broo of Dorastar, and so she did. She never returned, and the people assumed Broochild killed her. From that point on they spoke of the terrible Broo hiding in the skin of an Orlanthi, and one day, 12 years after Broochild's birth, a Humakti swore a geas that they would travel to Dorastar and kill this loathsome beast. That Humakti was Jaldi, not yet the Outcast. They did indeed find Broochild, but could not bring themselves to slay them, for she could not slay a child, even a Chaotic one. Instead, knowing she would be disgraced, she became Broochild's charge, and offered to take them to the Lunar Heartlands. Broochild accepted. Broochild is bald, has two horns curling backwards on their head, the eyes of a goat, and a tail in the shape of a dead snake. Their hands and feet are clawed, and their teeth sharp. Broochild is weird; they worship Nysalor, the dead Bright God. They are usually a normal child, but occasionally do strange things, like invoke "the right to use evil" when they do something wrong, or whisper secrets into Jaldi's ear which she does not care to hear. Broochild has the blessing of Ralzakark. Broochild's journey will take them all across Glorantha, and they will scare people wherever they go.
  16. Something I always enjoy is getting perspectives on a given world through the characters that people create in them and the stories they tell. Unfortunately, this often doesn't make it past the table or the save file, so I thought it'd be fun and illuminating to have a thread where we talk about our creations. Here are a few of mine: Heorlson Heorlson, a follower of Barntar and a carl, was raised in a warlike (even for Orlanthi,) and rebellious clan. They were always raiding, raiding, raiding; always angering the other clans and the Lunars. They survived, but barely. All but the weaponthanes were impoverished and starving. Many began to leave the clan for (literally) greener pastures. Heorlson and his "good friend" (wife) Ysra, a Lhankor Mhy law-speaker (hence why they are officially only good friends,) took all they could carry and their two cattle, and fled for Tarsh. The journey was hard, but eventually they made their way to Furthest. They were not granted land as they had hoped, but instead took up residence in the Seven Mothers temple. At first they were suspicious of the Lunar Way, only practicing it when the priests were looking. Then, when they talked to the farmers who came to the city to trade, they heard stories of abundance and peace. The Lunar Way and it's Empire, they said, practiced domination; they would not tolerate reprisal raids, and always brought peace to the lands they conquered. This was good for all common people, who did not benefit much from constant raids and reprisals, they said. Inspired, Heorlson and Ysra started practicing the Lunar Way in earnest. He began to follow Danfive Xaron, to chain his air rune, and Hon-eel, to bless the crops. Ysra followed Irrippi Ontor, and they were happy. Heorlson served proudly under the Crescent Come Moon, and, not being a criminal, was allowed more freedom than the usual initiate of Danfive Xaron. Eventually, they were rewarded for their service; they were offered landgrants along the Zola Fel River. They accepted, and are now on their way to Pavis to spread the Lunar Way and began their new life. Kistralda Kistralda was raised in Aggar, in a clan near Eneal. For her official initiation into the cult of Lhankor Mhy, she is to go meet the mysterious Axe People (read about them here) who reside near Bear Mountain. Really, they hope she gets lost and fails, as they hate her. She always asks irritating questions and disrespects her elders. After traveling to meet the Axe People in the mountains of Aggar, Kistralda comes back home and tells of her travels. The clan ring is shocked by the news of these weird Orlanthi, and insists she go back and correct them. Instead, she ends up helping them with a heroquest. The story is familiar, but several key details are different. To her surprise, the quest is successful. They bring back the Sowing Axe; human blood spilled with it will cause wheat to grow where it lands, regardless of the weather or pests. Most of the other people in her traveling party, weaponthanes, are very upset and demand they destroy the artifact, insisting it must be chaotic. She refuses, and instead swears an oath to the Axe People; if she can take the axe back to her clan as proof that the Axe People do not need to be corrected, she will ensure the Sowing Axe's safe return and protection from Lunar taxes. They agree. A few of the weaponthanes must stay with them, however, as a show of good faith. The ones who agree with the scribe do so, the ones who do not escort her back to the Tula. Great debate is had amongst the clan. The debate is largely divided along class and cult lines, as most things are; cottars and carls are largely apathetic, follower of Babeester Gor are overjoyed, Orlanth, Humakt, and Lhankor Mhy worshipers are variously horrified and angered. They advocate 'adoption' of the Axe People into the tribe, splitting them up so they can't cause trouble. Storm Bulls smell chaos (duh) and want to kill them all (double duh.) Chalana Arroy, Ernalda, Issaries, and Eurmal cultists want the Axe People left alone. None will agree to the girl scribe's oath; they will not protect them from the Lunars or their taxes, no matter what. That will be left to her and her alone. After several days of deliberation, the chief ultimately decides to go and raid the Axe People, because they're weird and small. To avoid more controversy, Kistralda is outlawed. She must now return to the Axe People with news of her failure. As payment for breaking her oath, they demand she devote herself to Aunty Babster Ger, and fight against the invading clan. This she does, as she is already furious with the clan's decision, and wants revenge. She declares that she will take the chief's head herself. The Axe People, to no ones surprise, decimate the small force the clan sent. They suffer no casualties, and the Earth is blessed with their blood. Another battle will no doubt come, and Kistralda will turn to things not scene since the time of the God Learners to win it...
  17. Thank you for all the replies everyone! There is definitely more variation among the Orlanthi than I had previously thought, and I appreciate that being pointed out to me.
  18. So, I came to Glorantha about a year ago after playing King of Dragon Pass (now easily one of my favorite computer games, and I've played a lot of them,) and purchased the Guide to Glorantha in July. I'm overall happy with it, though I have plenty of hang ups, one of them being the relative homogeneity of Orlanthi religious views, despite the lack of a centralized authority to enforce an orthodoxy. There are essentially three variations on Orlanthi religion as presented in the Guide; Heortling, Esrolian, and Malkioni/Orlanthi fusion. This just doesn't make a lot of sense to me. How can a people spread out over such a wide area and so often isolated from one another have so few permutations of their belief system? To illustrate how I think more perspectives on Orlanth and his worship by his followers could help the setting, I will point to The Elder Scrolls, which owes much to Glorantha, and a figure central to it's cosmology in the same way Orlanth is to Glorantha: Lorkhan/Lorkhaj/Shezzar/Lyg/Shor/Sheor. In the mythology of The Elder Scrolls universe, Lorkhan is at the center of the creation of Mundus, the mortal plane(t). What varies is why he did this, whether or not it was good, and how he did this. I won't go into great detail, but here are a few views on Lorkhan from various peoples: Altmer: Lorkhan tricked the Et'Ada into creating Mundus, and thus sacrificing their own power. He did so because he was evil and jealous. The Mundus is a prison and we must escape it. Triminac, a hero to the Altmer, tore out his heart in just revenge for his crime. He is the god of Men. Dunmer: Lorkhan tricked the Et'Ada into creating Mundus, and thus sacrificing their own power. He did so because he knew the truth of things, but the Et'Ada were so stuck in their ways that only evil and lies would convince them to do the right thing and create the testing ground of Mundus and the Psjiic Endeavor, which we must escape to learn the truth of things. Triminac, a hero to the Altmer, tore out his heart in anger. He is the god of nothing, for he is dead. Nords: Shor and the Et'Ada banded together in sacrifice to create Mundus and end the stagnation in the universe. The creation of the Mundus ensured an always-changing place, which would reset itself every Kalpic cycle and be created anew. He tore out his own heart in sacrifice. He is the god of warriors, leaders, and visionaries. I could go on. The point of this thread isn't to say "TES is better than Glorantha," because for one that's not productive, and for two I don't think that's true. Now the situation with Lorkhan is not the exact same as Orlanth; these views come from wildly different cultures, and have much less in common than the various Orlanthi peoples. My problem is, as stated before, the Orlanthi don't have nearly as much internal variation as they should, logically, and that the setting suffers for it. I think it might be helpful to think of the Orlanthi as being unified in much the same way old European mythologies are unified; most of them have some kind of storm god at the head of their pantheon, but have myriad variations on just who they are, what they're called, and what their personalities are like. TL;DR I feel that the various Orlanthi peoples are too similar to one another and that this hurts the setting and, frankly, makes the Orlanthi feel old and overdone. What do you think?
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