Darius West

So... Orlanth stays dead then? And his Air rune remains with Valind?

Not in my Glorantha, but fair enough.

So, when Orlanth dies, you are saying Rigsdal doesn't replace him? Who does then? Clearly Orlanth and Ernalda die adter the sack of Whitewall and there is the Long Winter. Clearly Orlanth is replaced. Who replaces him? According to what I read in HQ info, it's Rigsdal, or has that been retconned at some stage? Which bit isn't canon? I know what you are aiming for. It is called syncretism. The problem is that it doesn't work when you have deities from hostile pantheons being syncretized. You can say "the deity you call Rigsdal is the deity we call Polestar" until you're blue in the face, but they have different names, different mythology, and other problems like the whole "Orlanth Rigsdal is therefore Orlanth Polestar if we accept the syncretism" issue. This can't be passed off as a "mystery of the gods" because it implies that Polestar's right hand doesn't know what his left hand is doing, which is particularly unacceptable for a god who specializes in choreographed movements.

Get the eye bleach ready. If you read this you are going to need it. You have been warned. Now, click on the spoiler and read the answer if you feel you must.

The idea is that the Orlanth Pantheon needs a replacement for Orlanth who is dead and the present (live) Rigsdal is chosen for the role. The problem being that the present (live) Rigsdal is supposedly also the god Polestar, who is no friend of Orlanth or his pantheon except when he is Rigsdal, but we are supposed to pay lip service to both being the same deity.

I agree JRE. This has been the ideal for a long time, and we haven't achieved it. RQ seems to have a long term anti-sorcerer bias in many ways. I suspect this is because they somewhat detract from the "primal" setting of RQ, and of course Greg hated Mostali and Mostali are sorcerers. Presently sorcery does have things going for it, especially Duration. That being said, I do like the new sorcery rules in RQG as they compare to RQ3. I am also very interested to see how the rules will change with the upcoming GM's book, and perhaps a Sorcery/Malkioni/West book in the future. I am aware that in Glorantha a sorcerer is supposed to be some grayface in the background who spell buffs the Horali before they go into combat, but we can do better. A sorcerer should be a playable role, and not an afterthought NPC.

This is an oversight worth correcting imo.

For a Gloranthan superhero, Androgeus keeps something of a low profile in the lore. I remember reading that Androgeus had quite a few children and they were all powerful but, essentially deeply unpleasant and violent. I have always assumed that Jaldon Goldentooth was one of them based on the quote that has been raised. There is a fair chance that Sheng Seleris (Twisted Horse?) was too, but that it less certain. This means that Androgeus may spend time in the Wastes and Pent. We also know from the Dragon Pass wargame that Androgeus sides with the Tarsh Exiles when they push to control the Dragon Pass region and destroy both Sartar and the Lunars. Now this was likely done to provide the Tarsh Exile faction with a Superhero, but we now need to make this outcome lore friendly. Clearly Androgeus chooses to throw in with the Tarsh Exiles, even against Jaldon Goldentooth who is likely Androgeus' own son, but why? Lets just say that Androgeus is a very ambiguous figure and has motives that are hard to fathom. The Lunars think Androgeus came from a hell, while others think the Mostali made Androgeus and then cast them aside. It should also be pointed out that Androgeus is pretty old and allegedly was born in the Great Darkness, but then we read that Androgeus walked on the slopes of the Spike, which is impossible, as the Great Darkness pretty much begins with the destruction of the Spike. The only way for both things to be true would be if Androgeus was actually a child of the Celestial Court on the Spike, who somehow survived the calamity. Or Androgeus is fibbing... Interestingly, the Kerofini, who form the core of the Tarsh Exiles regard Androgeus as a Sky Captain, which is a bit more flattering than some assumptions people tend to make. There isn't a lot of art for Androgeus. I think this comes from the Gods of Glorantha boardgame:

Lopers from the bestiary seem to be based on chalicotherium if it were covered in extraneous eyes.

Remember when Orlanth and Ernalda were desecrated and died after the siege of Whitewall and the long winter sets in, then there is a HQ scenario to to get a replacement, and Rigsdal becomes Orlanth's replacement ? I'm pretty sure that's canon. Ergo, Polestar becomes Orlanth if Rigsdal=Polestar. And yes, Polestar is not associated with Orlanth, but Rigsdal is. See my problem with saying one deity is the same as another? It doesn't work and creates Godlearner-style contradictions where enemy deities form associations that make no sense.

Anyone up for a Calculus lecture?

I had a friend who was doing in-depth research on vehicles of the period. It started when his character made money on an 86-1 longshot out at Newmarket NY. He then parlayed the cash into a speakeasy, and soon needed vehicles as the business began to expand. He really loved Hudsons. As an overview, the auto market in the USA during the 1920s was quite a free-for-all. Many carriage companies went into making auto bodies, but even companies like dept stores, bird cage manufacturers, and sewing machine companies started experimenting with cars. Locking mechanisms were not invented until surprisingly late, due to cars being a rich person's toy and having chauffers. Windows didn't have safety glass, but ordinary dangerous old window glass, and no seatbelts. Many if not most cars made in the USA simply had a GM motor bunged onto the frame, and were very similar in performance/weight ratios as a result. Model T Fords, contrary to popular belief were already considered unreliable and obsolete in the 1920s, hence the nickname "flivver" which translated roughly means "flakey". It took a long time for decent highways to be built around the USA but by 1927 there were a fair few, and that eased up on the number of tire punctures. A real problem in the 1920s was the number of hit-and-run deaths. In terms of aircraft, the Curtiss JN-4 Jenny biplane was ridiculously cheap, because they were WW1 surplus. They were sold for as low as $50 in 1921 (unassembled and shipped in flat packs). The first airline ran from Florida to the Bahamas using seaplanes, and there were no trans-Atlantic flights at all until well into the 1930s and they too used seaplanes. Notably the US postal service loved Hudson cars, Curtiss Jennys, and Thompson SMGs. They had some truly solid and forward thinking purchasing agents. In terms of trucks, it was an age of grand theft auto. You could sneak into building sites and make off with heavy machinery without much fuss, and some folk did. Of course you then had to have a plan as to how to disguise the stolen vehicle. You could also simply hop into many cars and simply press a button and drive away until the car theft epidemic led to plumb-bob security devices and then ignition keys. It was a time of vast innovation in automobiles and there were literally hundreds of car companies in the USA, but they were gradually winnowed away over time and WW2.

Whenever you can have players roll more skill checks, let them. Notionally this will help them speed up the work (well, that's how I GM it), and then they can have any skill tick they earn. Characters die rather frequently, so letting them have the chance of a skill check or two is a good thing if they survive.

Tips for players: 1. Enter the scary property without any prior investigation. 2. Get scared by things that are wrong. 3. Trip over something unnamable and dangerous. 4. Roleplay (very cathartic) screaming. 5. Die horribly. 6. Repeat.

The three most dangerous jobs in Arkham are police, animal control, and real estate agent. Of course there aren't many real estate agents in the 1920s.

Rigsdal is also Orlanth these days. If Rigsdal=Polestar then Polestar=Orlanth. That being the case, why is Polestar attacking the Dara Happans? Is this some sort of coup where Polestar Orlanth is going to kill Sedenya Yelm? Crossing one's own T much?

Gaah! Rigsdal isn't Polaris, they just have the same spells. Just like Yelmalio isn't Elmal or Antirius or Tharkantus or Khim etc. The Polestar is the Commander of the hosts of Yelm, and he doesn't need to work a second job watching Orlanth's stead for extra cash to pay off his chariot loan.

Agreed Soltkass, that is the point I am making here. The Brithini and Vadeli have immortality as proof of their following of true Malkioni caste. The others have to settle for the booby prize of mortality and the rather strangled promise of "solace". In short, the poor Westerners think of themselves as Man Runes and not much as spirits.

If by that you mean that Arkat achieved his awakening as Nysalor's shadow at the same time Nysalor achieved full illumination, that is an interesting perspective indeed.

I think his body was likely disinterred from his Godly stasis and destroyed by the God Learners during the attack on Statham Well.

The logical answer is that children of Eiritha are the beasts the goddess births. Having their spirits in their tails is another big feature, and is central to the Peaceful Cut, as it involves the careful releasing of that spirit back to Eiritha from the tail. In my Prax, it is possible to sacrifice horses and other animals on an altar to Eiritha using the Peaceful Cut to add their spirits to Eiritha's herd, but that is a separate issue. As to humans being children of Eiritha, they either need to initiate, or be born of an Eiritha initiate mother. The Ostrich and Bolo Lizard tribes are only Eiritha worshippers by adoption and refer to her as Aunt Eiritha, as birds and lizards cannot come from a mammalian momma. Eiritha lays no eggs. Yes, for a long time I too thought it was the morokanths who were the "third leg" of the Two Legged Alliance, but then I stumbled across the Nose Lopers. If only I could still find that reference in the sea of Glorantha lore...

There are references to Nose Lopers as the now extinct tribe that is the third part of the Two Legged Alliance, along with the Ostrich Riders and the Bolo Lizards. David Scott's reference is on page 29 not page 28 of Cults of Prax, where the extinct tribes are also mentioned but not named. As to the Zaranistangi, yes they are definitely Loper riders, but read closely on page 151 of the bestiary and it mentions that Praxian Hunters claim to sometimes encounter them in the Wastes despite claims they are extinct... like the extinct Nose Loper tribe. I am not making this up, even if I can't presently lay my hands on where the original reference is.

Gods die. We know this. It happened back at the Fall of Whitewall. The Lunars wouldn't stop crowing about it. Is it then any surprise that when Humans break the Great Compromise that they unleash forces of Cosmic Vengeance? It happens at the close of every age. Civilizations get hubristic and make gods, and then they get destroyed. Arkat was the cosmic vengeance for the hubris of the creation of Nysalor, and Argrath was unleashed to destroy Sedenya, with the catalyst likely being the death of Orlanth and Ernalda.

I am merely paraphrasing from the famous quote "The past is a foreign country, and the people who live there are *&%$ing idiots."😉 WSS? Actually when it comes to such issues and how people in the past regarded them, if viewed across ALL human societies we really don't know what the prevailing attitudes were. What we can be certain of is that in a great many Classical societies where women were regarded as chattel that men who were bereft of their willies were legally regarded as women. This likely had a religious basis as male initiation into Goddess cults such as Cybele required castration. As for ten y/o being legally able to form contracts, our whole notion of childhood is a 19th century cultural artifact originating in Germany with the creation of Kindergartens. People tend to forget that generations used to be 15 year turn-overs, not the 25 years we assume today due to increased life expectancy. A child was considered a conscious thinking individual by their 7th birthday in many cultures, and ten was the same as the teens, given the lower life expectancy. Back then taking your Bar or Bat Mitzvah really meant Adulthood. And being such a primal environment, what better way of offering your service to a goddess of bloody vengeance than by offering up your own severed cock?

If Orlanth can die then so can Arkat.