Darius West

It does raise the question of whether the (Lunar pantheon)Twin Stars are part of the tradition too.

I just noticed this tradition, and while I can imagine a bit about what they are like, what is known about this shamanic tradition from actual written (dare I say "canon") sources ?

I direct your attention to RQG page 306 Shamanic Abilities: Materialize Fetch. Same page, Possession, also, Waha (and other) Shamans can put their fetches into their mounts. Fetches are unique, but they are products of their Shaman. They generally have less free will than Allied Spirits as a result, but nothing is fixed in stone. Shamans are always in the Mortal realm and the Spirit Realm, and are creatures of two realms. The Fetch is the portion of the Shaman that is on the Spirit Plane when the Shaman is on the Mortal Realm, and when the Shaman goes into the Spirit Realm, then the Fetch minds the body in the Mortal realm. They are binary and inextricably bound to each other. Spirits are not like Fetches. Spirits exist only in the spirit realm, and that is why they are mainly invisible. Spirits are not dead, and don't go towards Death the way dead sentient mortals do.

Don't forget Praxian Star Witches. 🙂

The Conduct of Raids “If you ever hear a fool complain he has too many beasts to care for, raid him to ease his burden.” Raiding for livestock is a major part of life in Prax, and the main method for men to achieve acclaim and promote their fortunes within their tribe and clan. A skilled raider proves themselves in cunning, daring, and skill, which are all the traits one needs to be seen as a Praxian leader, and the beasts they seize will add to their wealth, which leaders also need. It is the duty of the Khan of a clan to call raids. While braves sometimes go on raids without permission, this is a danger to the clan and a challenge to the Khan’s authority and generally warrants punishment of all the raiders involved. At worst, raiding an ally can bring shame and danger upon a clan. Successful raids that displease the Khan may still invoke the seizure of all the animals stolen, but Khans are seldom so quick to punish such initiative for fear that they will be seen as jealous or threatened by a subordinate. A wise subordinate will likely gift their Khan post fact. Sometimes illicit raiding will please a Khan however, and will receive an accolade tempered with only a minor reminder that raiding without permission is not advisable. To fail in a raid is often to die or be captured and enslaved or ransomed, and hence it is generally its own punishment to raid unsuccessfully and fail. All decisions about raids are based upon the information gathered by scouts about the deposition of enemy forces. It is generally scouts who break the protocol about having permission to raid, as they are the ones who see an immediate opportunity to raid successfully most often. For this reason, the dangerous job of scouting is a prized one by those who are most brave, as it is often the most profitable for those with the initiative to seize an opportunity. When a Khan calls a raid, he may elect to go himself, but generally he will delegate the honor to someone who has his trust as an experienced raider. This individual in turn has responsibility to delegate who is his order of command for the raid. It is an honor to be the leader of a raid, but it is also a lesser honor to be chosen as a participant, as it offers each member of the raiding party an opportunity to distinguish themselves with acts of bravery by counting coup in various forms. Typically, raiding will require the raiding party to choose one of seven tactics. The first and most popular tactic is that the raiding party adopts the attitude of scouts, hiding in defilade and observing their targets until they see an opportunity to catch their enemies unawares and steal their beasts. This potentially minimizes the chance for a fight between those guarding the herd and those stealing the animals. All clans know this tactic, and so they regularly patrol areas where enemy raiders are likely to be hiding. This tactic is favored by foot clans like the morokanth, younger braves, and chaos creatures. The second tactic is generally favored by the tribes with heavier beasts such as bisons and rhinos, which is to ride directly at those guarding the beasts and actively seek confrontation with the guards of the herd, hoping to defeat and scatter them. This is a very all-or-nothing tactic, and risks life and limb, but potentially will allow for the theft of many more animals, as there will be no guards left to stop you, as they are dead or fled (or captured). The third tactic is one of maneuver, and is favored by those who seek to avoid direct conflict, such as the pygmy clans of the Impalas, Ostriches and Bolo Lizards. It involves using multiple small groups in combination to harry the guards from multiple directions at once, while scattering or even stampeding the herd they defend away from their protection. This tactic favors missile weapons and speed. Slower mounts will fail if they try this. The fourth tactic is the night attack. This is notoriously hard to co-ordinate, and has many apparent drawbacks. Visibility is poor, communication must be done by shouting, and enemies may mimic and confuse you, and everyone will be tired. Finally, there is a good chance that the animals you want to steal will become lost in the darkness, and will eventually wander back to their herd on their own before morning. The best night raiders are the Sable Tribe, who use the light of the full moon to help them see and operate, as well as helping to overpower their lunar magic. Morokanths favor the night attack. The fifth tactic is known as a dirty tactic, as it involves using a dust storm to cover one’s attack. The aim is to ride in during a dust storm when most of your enemy will be taking cover, and take as many beasts as you can. This is more difficult than it sounds, as most animals will not want to move during a dust storm, and must be given considerable incentive to do so. This tactic is really only possible during Earth and Dark seasons when the Bull Wind whips Prax and the Wastes. The sixth tactic is to use disguise. You dress in the manner of your enemies, you ride their beasts, and you mimic the way their tribe speaks if necessary. You seek to pass yourself off as being of their people. This allows you considerable latitude to make off with their animals if they don’t suspect you. Sometimes it is enough to pass yourselves off as messengers or emissaries. It is also not unknown for actual emissaries who have been rebuffed, and conclude that there is no further hope for the negotiations, simply stealing animals on their way out of a camp. The seventh tactic is the "womens’ tactic". It involves finding ways to lure the members of the enemy herd away. This can involve tactics such as heading upwind of a herd and releasing cut green grass onto the wind, so the smell of better fodder will draw the herd. Sometimes it can involve the rune spell Speak with Herd Beast, and an effort to convince the herd that you have something better to offer them. On the other hand, it is hard to get close enough to a herd to do this without attracting the anger of any nearby guards. In essence there are almost infinite variations on these seven tactics, and Praxian boys begin their education in them from the day they start to speak. A lot of male discussion is about ways to improve one’s chances of a certain kind of raid, or how to defeat such a raid with greater ease. The next section is called: The Raiding and Seizure of Oases “When you lose your access to water, you live as a slave to water.”

I myself routinely summon Yog Sothoth to help with grocery shopping.

I may overstate these things a bit for dramatic effect (and comedy value). I think what we are dealing with could be called the MASKS OF YELMALIO (taking a leaf out of CoC). Is this actually the same deity? I don't think so. On the other hand, Time didn't used to exist, so causality is a mess Before Time. I am not so blind as to pretend that they are not highly similar deities, I just think Glorantha is richer when we include diversity. In this case, I would suggest modifying the cult write-up for Yelmalio a bit to incorporate the differences in the single cult write-up.

Given that Sheng was so recently tossed out, it is actually surprising that the Praxians weren't on a complete rampage against horse folk when you think about it. There can be little doubt that an alliance by Praxians would have destroyed the Pol Joni. You also have to question whether horse folk can ever really start being Praxians, but apparently the Pol Joni managed it thanks to Sartar's negotiating skills. I stand by my earlier statement that Praxians have a very nuanced and opportunistic horse prejudice, not outright fanaticism.

Someone should heroquest to provide the Pavis cult with associated cult status for Ohs (goddess of safety) and access to the Rune Spell "Ease of Access".

Ideally speaking, religious Praxians are supposed to hate horses, but a more honest observation suggests Praxians hate horses when it suits their purposes. Have the Praxians massed to kill the Pol Joni? No. They don't like their horses much, but they haven't made a point of forming an inter-tribal alliance to annihilate the Horse bastards. Weirdly enough, the Praxians and the Pol Joni all join the White Bulls to kill the Lunars. Praxian hostility to horses is a very nuanced prejudice, and some Khans "don't even notice horses" when it suits them, while on another day when there is an advantage will kill all the horses they can find. All riding a zebra achieves is removing one recourse to bigotry and hostility from Praxians.

Grrr...! Why does everyone want to destroy Light deity diversity? Damn your eyes Monrogh and your hegemonizing swarm mentality! This is pure Godlearner Syncretism ! Kargzant and Elmal are NOT Yelmalio. I mean what about their associated cults and subcults? Does Yelmalio get the Thunder Brothers because he is also Elmal? Does Kargzant get the Thunder Brothers because he is also Elmal? Does Kargzant get Orlanth? These deities are simply not the same person, and this idea of an over-arching Yelmalio is Godlearnerism.

I read it as Koo-shy-L. (Toe-may-toe/Toe-mart-toe).

Who thinks Zzabur will make a return? My understanding is that he is trapped in an esoteric paradox, but I can't remember the details.

The more correct English usage is Phalangite (fah-lan-jite with j as soft g not y) for a member of a phalanx. A falangist is a term generally reserved for elements of the pro-Franco Spanish Falange during the Spanish Civil War and has fascist associations. I know its easy to be prejudiced, but not all Yelmalios...😃

I can see kinky Hsunchen adoption ceremonies in your player's future. Warn him that if he lies with the furries he may rise with the fleas, however.😄

As the Ferengi Ruless of Acquisition tell us... Exploitation starts at home.😉 (Who better to exploit than your kids? Until they reach maturity they are essentially serfs) What you are suggesting here is pretty much the basis for overpopulation pressures in Olden Days Europe. If you have more kids, you have more free labor to work the fields. In short, this is a very plausible system. Mean, but very plausible.

While I cannot always vouch for the image quality, I run a collection of RQ Glorantha maps on pinterest. The actual Dorastor Land of Doom map is not among them, sadly. Here are links to what I do have: Dorastor map CoT Dorastor Map If anyone does have links to the real DLoD map, I would love to include it.

Jon Pol Joni reads like the "John dies at the End" chapters written from Johns perspective in the sequels.😁 I personally don't see either Harrek, Androgeus or Jar-Eel as being Mary Sues. They are ridiculously powerful, and they must be, because they are super-heroes, and not of the relatively low powered categories. They aren't Green Arrows, they're Superman caliber. That being said, Harrek has problems and personality flaws which don't fit with a Mary Sue. Harrek is a Gloranthan Conan, only tougher than Conan, Harrek is a berserker who can't often solve problems without recourse to violence. In many ways he's a one-trick pony, and that ain't no Mary Sue. Sure, he fought a bear deity in spirit combat and won, but there is evidence to suggest that the White bear may have somewhat allowed that to happen. Jar-Eel is far more of a Mary Sue imo. She is a child of privilege, born with every advantage, who seems to glide effortlessly through life up until the Hero Wars whacks her upside the head and destroys her world.

That's great. I will have to obtain a copy.

Fair enough. Killing prisoners is definitely involves an honor penalty.

I have an advance copy of RQ:GoG. So FYI Waha lay members will get half price Ride, Spirit Combat, Scan, Survival (Prax), Track and Tribal weapons. No love for Orate in the mix apparently. I would point out that a Noble background gets you +30% Orate and you may follow Waha, so there is clearly a bit of class warfare going on in Prax (just put it on the heap with all the other types of warfare plz). Initiates add Waha Lore and Worship Waha to the half price list. Again with no orate. Clearly "people skills" are not a Praxian priority.

I personally think she's Dragon Pass only. Prax is the wrong kind of wilderness. I have never heard of her going south of the Line of Death. She may have appeared in Tarsh, but has likely been hemmed in along with Orlanthi worship. I think I would let her roam Dagori Inkarth. I think she's ok for Balazar too.

I was not aware that the Snakepipe Dancers had actually been given stats and background yet.

I agree. Horror doesn't have to be Lovecraftian, even in CoC. I also suggested that CoC does indeed have rules for Vampires. My issue lay elsewhere. In the short form, I agree with this. In detail, Ravenloft has loads of nasty CR7+ monsters and CoC character are basically zero levelers. Most D&D monsters could kill a CoC character with a good sneeze. I mean, 3 rabid rats are probably more than a match for "Lionel the Librarian", let alone a goddamn vampire. Also, retrofitting plenty of documents/handouts into Ravenloft to make it work for a CoC investigation seems like a lot of work. Fun work potentially, and the temptation is always to give away too much info. IMO, Ravenloft is still an inferior as a setting to 19th century Europe a la Stoker's Dracula. Why opt for D&D faux Dracula when you could just do CoC Dracula? The source material for 19th Century London/UK is available in C'thulhu by Gaslight. That being said I don't think your approach to the material is bad, even if I may seem too critical. You clearly have something in mind that perhaps I am not quite understanding. Two thumbs up for this davewire. Most CoC characters are zero level by D&D standards. 3 rabid rats will do for your average CoC "Lionel the Librarian" character in about 2 rounds. Most CoC player spend the game avoiding encounters until they have ransacked the property for handouts and clues and fervently hope they never meet "the monster". I still worry that you will be stacking too many encounters against them. Personally, I'd sooner adapt Stephen King's "Salem's Lot" to CoC. It even has the Book of Eibon in it already.

My post was pretty tongue-in-cheek, but when I saw that you had suggested that Epona and Lustful didn't mix in Paganism, I felt I had to question the assertion with truly disgusting historical evidence that not enough people know about because it renders them nauseated, and thus is not considered a fit topic for discussion. On the other hand... A sadistic GM might have fun putting PKs in a situation where they are strongly encouraged to perform such a ceremony and watch how they wriggle out of the ghastly ritual commitment.😁 (Or call the FBI when they don't try)