Darius West

Do I detect some Bad Seed?

An Empire of Broos run by Ralzakark? Seriously not the bad guys? Anyone who thinks that should go and become a citizen of that empire and see what they do to you. It is going to take some seriously demented illuminated doublethink to convince anyone that a Broo empire is not the bad guys.

The fact is, Prax is starved for timber. This carries over to Sun County an New Pavis. Strangely enough the Aldryami aren't particularly interested in chopping down their forests to support human civilization either. As you suggest, they may sell seeds, but then there is the issue of growing plantation timber in an area where nomad raids are plentiful and timber is in short supply. In terms of arrows, the Praxians use a plant called arrow cane to provide the shafts of their arrows. It grows well in arid conditions, and there is no reason why the followers of Yelmalio-Tharkantus wouldn't use it too. In my Glorantha, Thrandred Clubfoot makes a seasonal caravan journey into Sartar where he picks up a load of timber which collects at Herongreen, and takes it east into Prax, where a certain proportion is earmarked for New Pavis and Sun County. This amounts to many wagonloads, and is the sort of volume that mules couldn't hope to carry. The caravan is a popular one due to its regularity and strong guard presence, and he picks up many other smaller merchants to join it.

No, what justifies the genocide is the fact that the Lunars have set out to destroy other people and their cultures, and THEN, when the tide turns, the Lunars choose to turn to the Enemies of All Existence, Chaos, and casually adopt those powers en masse, so they can continue with their plan, because their initial efforts had failed.

Why the Lightbringer Quest? Perhaps try a Humakt or Zorak Zoran Hero Quest? They are both deities associated with Arkat. If Foyalfine were questing for the Unbreakable Sword, then it would make sense that he meet Arkat, who is likely still the owner of it. There could be no better proof of his status as an Arkati than to own such a weapon.

Like Conan in the movie? (😆)

And that is one of many reasons why she failed. Had she stuck to the one adventure per season model she would have renewed her RP.

I'm not sure Praxians have heralds, and I'm not sure Broos would understand who they were and what they represented. I'm sure the heralds would be a bit butt-hurt if their important social role was not respected and they were captured by broos.

FFS who in the Dark Hells would you send? They will then implicitly be one more person in the shameful conspiracy. One more mouth to spread the info, or blackmail you. How many people would willingly do business with broos as an agent on your behalf? How could you trust someone who consorts with chaos? It will all end in tears and secret murder, I'm sure.

I don't think broos have the same work ethic and grasp of economics as condotierri or landsknechts. They at least understood that a reputation for unreliability meant they wouldn't get hired or re-hired. Plus there is the whole thing of, "who in their right mind hires chaotics?". I mean, if you worship Waha or Stormbull, surely you are inviting divine retribution by fraternizing with the enemy of all creation?

Because Broos are disease carrying, rapey and murderous, and offering them pay means getting up close to them?

I doubt archetypes are platonic forms.

I suspect hiring broos as mercenaries is an extremely stupid thing to do unless they are extremely cheap to hire.

I think there is a strong tendency for humans to want to be gods. Carl Jung for example was appalled by the fact that so many women wanted to become and be treated as avatars of the Mother Goddess. It's all pure narcissism, of course. It is also fair to suggest that anyone who doesn't understand that they are not an archetype is not spiritually advanced enough to achieve much spiritual growth/self knowledge either.

That "My name is Legion" quote is much better than my Holy Trinity example. thanks mfbrandi. 👍 That being said, I'm not sure Yelmalio is a demon. I didn't say you're wrong, just that I'm not sure.🤭

Okay, you got me, I stand corrected....

Interesting ideas Sten. In RQ3 Trickster effectively only had acolytes imsmc. In the GOG Preview, there are trickster initiates and Priests. We can assume the priests do the initiating. In terms of initiation, I generally play that the Priest makes a demand that their would-be supplicant must fulfil in return for the status. The would-be initiate is perfectly within their rights to twist the wording of the demand. If they succeed, the initiator tells them where the nearest Trickster shrine is and they must go there and pray before the following Sacred Time arrives, gaining their first RP. After that they lose their 1POW, gain 1RP and are now an initiate of Trickster. Good point Sten. IMO any Lightbringer who has Trickster as an associated cult e.g. Orlanth, Lhankor Mhy and Issaries will all have an Eurmal shrine that provides the spell that is given to them. While tempting for secret tricksters to pray there, they run great risk of discovery, should they do so. The Preview Edition write-up says Trickster Temples are rare. Something of an understatement for a cult that also promotes the Hate Authority passion imo. Travelling unlocks new spells from hidden shrines. Fool's motley for public tricksters is a good idea. This is likely what Trickster Priests look like. While this separation between public and secret tricksters is pretty much the only way they can function, the GoG Preview doesn't mention the issue, more's the pity.

I have put a lot of thought into the whole "Masks of Yelmalio" issue, and I have a good answer. Yelmalio is a Soldier deity. He fights in a phalanx, and is not a god of individual warriors. He is a god of many names and faces because soldiers are a collective when they fight, unlike warriors, who are always individuals. Each different name is a valid deity in their own right, just as each hoplite in a formation is their own person, and the Cold Sun Planet represents them all equally, in a mystery not dissimilar to the Christian Trinity. That is why so many societies seem to have their own Cold Sun deity; each is a separate soldier.

I draw your attention to page 169 of The Book of Heortling Mythology, the Yelmalio entry: "Yelmalio: God of the Winter Sun, Preserver of the Light. When Yelm traveled to the Underworld, Yelmalio preserved the dim, cold light until he returned. He also fought against Orlanth at the Hill of Gold, and even stole fire from Elmal one time. He is now worshipped by some Orlanthi who have abandoned Elmal." Clearly Elmal is a different but similar deity to Yelmalio, and he does have fire magic.

Assuming the Broos don't simply take the half payment and F off.

Imagine the Daka Fal cult as Carmanian Nobles conducting a seance, perhaps? Sorcerous overtones, no leaping and hooting baboons working themselves into a frenzy, pleasant beverages and sweetmeats served subsequent.

Given that pretty much every Praxian major deity hates chaos passionately, I don't see how their followers can ever justify allying with broos, or scorpionmen, or any chaos creatures. I strongly doubt there are enough illuminated Chieftains to make this even remotely plausible, plus how likely is it that they will be overthrown on the spot, murdered by Stormbulls and then the whole clan goes on an anti-chaos rampage against their new "allie"? I think such Praxian/Chaotic alliances would need to be highly covert at best.

I actually have a Spiritualist Church in my suburb. I also have friend who is a stage magician who has an entire act based on conducting a Victorian Era seance, and it is completely unnerving even when you know it is fake. Like Ouija boards and Gypsy Tarot Readers, Seances are evocative and familiar folkloric rituals that potentially give players that good scare they are looking for from a CoC game. I look forwards to reading the Blasphemous Tome.

To clarify 99% of chaos is pretty evil. Not all chaos is evil, just the vast bulk of it. There is also plenty of evil that has nothing to do with chaos, agreed. As to your classic Orlanthi feuds and cattle raids being good or evil, we must remember that either side can tap out and pay tribute, but instead they prefer to do unto others knowing what can be done unto them in return. This amounts to consent. On a good feuds and raiding is money for nothing and your cows for free. On a bad day it is the same thing, but you aren't the recipient. On a really bad day you go on holiday to the River Styx. It is therefore neither good nor evil, but a very dangerous sport.

No, Chaos isn't absolute evil, but neither is cancer. Cancer is just the system of the body getting it wrong and breaking down. It's all a part of Glorantha's "world machine" but Chaos is entropy and wear, leading to death. Chaos serves the necessary function of being a good adversary to make a compelling story. And yes, perhaps you can negotiate with some Chaos creatues, and even feel like you are in control. After all, even Praxians hired Broos to help them fight the Lunars at Moonbroth... The politics of that slice of Gloranthan history is... fraught?