Darius West

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)

Given the rules on RQG p234, how does one lose honor for ambushing? Ambush isn't specifically mentioned as something you lose honor for doing, and it is hardly cowardice for a small number of Orlanthi to ambush a larger number of Lunars. You can hardly call Lunars unarmed either, just because their weapons aren't drawn at the start of an ambush. Nor can the lunars in any way be called guests or call upon hospitality for protection. In short, there is no honor penalty within the rules as written that applies to ambushing from what I can tell. Care to elaborate Jeff? What haven't I understood?

To quote Gerald of Wales (A Norman Christian chronicler): "There is in a northern and remote part of Ulster, among the Kenelcunil, a certain tribe which is wont to install a king over itself by an excessively savage and abominable ritual. In the presence of all the people of this land in one place, a white mare is brought into their midst. Thereupon he who is to be elevated, not to a prince but to a beast, not to a king but to an outlaw, steps forward in beastly fashion and exhibits his bestiality. Right thereafter the mare is killed and boiled piecemeal in water, and in the same water a bath is prepared for him. He gets into the bath and eats of the flesh that is brought to him, with his people standing around and sharing it with him. He also imbibes the broth in which he is bathed, not from any vessel, nor with his hand, but only with his mouth. When this is done right according to such unrighteous ritual, his rule and sovereignty are consecrated." Yes, the bestiality part is EXACTLY what it sounds like. Never assume that we understand those higher mysteries, or that they didn't involve the "call of the flesh". Now this may have been Christian propaganda, but that's a lustful roll you don't want on your permanent record imo.😅

Look, you can do this, but I think you're pushing mud uphill. If you are going to run a Vampire scenario in CoC, why use Ravenloft at all? I mean, while it is great at bringing a Vampire aesthetic to D&D, the notion of retrofitting the same setting into CoC seems, well, an odd choice. Vampires are one of the creatures that Lovecraft didn't actually bother with much in his mythos, and ultimately CoC is about Lovecraft monsters. He does comver hematophages a little, but not with any depth. Lovecraft didn't want to rehash Stoker. Now to be fair, there are write-ups for Vampires for use in CoC, but Strahd is essentially a rip-off of Brahm Stoker's Dracula done for D&D, so why not do the whole Carpathian Transylvanian setting? I know it is pretty hackneyed, and IRL the woodlands of Transylvania are actually very beautiful and kind of cheery, and not the wolf-haunted misty wilderness you think you have signed on for. Nevertheless, Stoker has plenty of good lore and a great setting, if you opt for the 19th Century London arc of the story. In fact there is a CoC scenario pack called The Fungi from Yuggoth which includes a whole Transylvanian scenario without any vampires, that is passable. Regardless, there is a literal ton of vampire fiction out there to draw upon these days, just be careful not to sparkle too brightly in the sunlight. That being said, if I were going to translate Ravenloft (the specific D&D product) into CoC I would opt for a real world and possibly even contemporary setting. Consider a failing middle American city like Gary Indiana (already pretty horrific), and I would have the vampiric element actually using gate spells to enter Strahd's demi-plane, and quite possibly some sort of sick twist on things that would keep some of the characters alive, such as Strahd believing them to be reincarnations of his former lovers or favorite minions. That being said, it will be hard to make Strahd as stat-tough as he is in D&D unless you are very familiar with CoC.

At what point did your initial comment mention warrior cults specifically? Having read over your first comment, you may have thought you mentioned that you were talking about warrior cults, and it may have been clear in YOUR mind, but you didn't actually include any mention that the cults under discussion had to be war cults. I mean, no biggie, it's easy to forget things like that when jotting off ideas on a forum...

I believe what you are suggesting is what the Snakepipe Dancers of the Sartar Magical Union represent in the boardgame.

I assume you mean "worst" in terms of being able to wreak violence (from the way you are writing)? I mean Waha has it all over Issaries, Argan Argar and Pavis in terms of combat power. Also Waha has Shamans, and that's a big deal.

Wow, that write-up is ridiculously OP, less canon than cannon.