Darius West

A person who is a leather worker knows how to work and sew leather into usable items. As these items invariably include other materials, they are rolled into the leatherworking without penalty. To suggest that a leatherworker can't make boots at full skill because they include metal tacks is absurd. The finished metal item is being incorporated into the leather, not crafted independently by the leatherworker and is an integral part of the skill. Now a leatherworker may not know how to make studs, nails, eyelets (wooo, high tech!), rings, and scales, but they have an integral working knowledge of how to sew existing metal items into their leatherwork and can do so without penalty. Now your local redsmith likely has an apprentice going slowly blind in meeting the orders for small metal items for the leatherworker, but that is a different issue. Craft skills are described very generally in RQG, but we must make the assumption that a Journeyman (50% skill) who takes their time (+bonus), and has the requisite tools and materials can complete goods worth full market value and capable of being sold as such. In the case of the ringmail, the leatherworker is not making the ring, they are sewing it into the leather, ergo, full skill. I would even go so far as to suggest that a leatherworker would know how to incorporate wood and metal fittings into a scabbard at no penalty.

The magic comes from the person, not the object, as it is the person who is the focus of the divine link (to Humakt I assume), not the sword.

I dunno... Openhandists should be playable imo, just no musketry.

I think this is perfectly fair for basic weapons and armor, but let's be utterly candid... Magic items are not going to be returned, and that is what really matters. I think it fair to say that if most players are offered a choice between 800L in ransom (let the captive live) and an 11pt magic crystal (kill the captive), they will slaughter their captive and take the crystal. I don't think my players are overly callous, and even if they will take a -10% hit on their honor, they will still kill the captive. If the captive happens to have a special item like something out of Plunder, then they are doubly dead. There is also the old adage "never leave a live enemy behind you" to consider; if you ransom someone they can return for revenge, and doubly so to get their magical gear back. This is a fair point. In this case, the allied spirit weapon likely can't be used by the captor, but it should be ransomed separately I think. The carl will have more of an issue getting his gear back, as a nice sword pretty much just belongs to whoever takes it. Of course there is the aggravation factor of having 3 generations of Sartarite carls coming after you to get their sword back, and the endless feuds it can potentially cause, but if their family honor depends on a single sword, you really don't have much honor as a family, do they? "If you step outside your door you will make three enemies." -Japanese proverb.

1. Most people have their starting ransoms (the one you get from Character generation in Professions) held by their clan, but the information is passed to whichever temple is closest to where they are adventuring in advance. For example, if you are heading into Snakepipe Hollow, you may well want to contact your cult representative in Alda Chur about where you are from and who will pay your ransom. Of course if your cult is currently outlawed it is a pretty smart move to get the Chalana Arroys to ransom you, as everyone loves them or at least trusts them, and likely won't attack or defraud them. If you get ransomed, you will need to pay back your tribe, and if you want to increase your ransom, you will need to pay in to your ransom fund. Humakt is also a good choice for paying ransoms and receiving the captured, as they can sense when a deal is likely to go bad, and are honorable enough to abide by terms. 2. A characters initial ransom is payed by their clan, and generally the character has effectively paid for it with their taxes. Characters can shift their ransom location over time however, and even have more than one ransom fund effectively. Obviously a clan has a vested interest in keeping its people free, but sometimes they simply cannot pay, and the character will be sold into slavery or slaughtered if slavery is not an option for some reason. Now the real ugliness begins when we start talking about taxation... Can a ransom be considered taxable funds? In the year it is paid it certainly can. (Did you keep your receipt as proof of tax paid? My what? Hmmm... Roll Manage Household) 3. To the victor go the spoils. Adventure is a synonym for risk.

This is a job that has Humakt written all over it. Nice clean chop. Death, honor, crime, punishment. I suspect that Orlanthi, being a dueling culture, may well go in for judicial champions and trial by combat. Of course, Malia priestesses dumping plague in wells are generally dealt with a lot less ceremoniously.

Trolls and Dwarves likely first met with the Dwarves delving too deep and arriving in the Underworld well Before Time. It may even be that this is why the Trolls knew there was an overworld to flee to when Yelm arrived. The underworld was likely experiencing a boom in spirits of the dead by then too.

Lokarnos merchants can do something that neither Etyries or Issaries really can. Wagons are the only way of carrying really large cargoes overland, as mules have a much lower limit as to how much they can carry (55% of their weight). As a rule, most beasts of burden using a wagon can haul x6 their bodyweight with a modern harness, so about x4 with a bronze age rig (in my estimation, based on the archaeologically known tech). This means that Lokarnos merchants can deal in bulk goods like timber and grain, while still carrying smaller lighter cargoes. It is generally assumed that as Solar worshippers that they will use horses, but there is no reason for them not to buy and use mules, or even Prax beasts.

Smuggling on the Creek-Stream-River huh? IMO Thief as written in RQG is a bad match as a skillset for a smuggler. You'd want to have +30% in Conceal and either Boat or Shiphandling, and some other skills like Devise, Disguise, Evaluate, Intrigue, Swim as well as Hide and Sneak, and a weapon of some sort. It sounds like good work for a duck 🤮 to me, especially as they can hide their goods on the hundreds of tiny islands in the Upland Marsh until it is opportune to bring them in. The Creek-Stream-River is close to Dwarf Run (non-taxing), Sartar (taxing), the Dragonewts (non-taxing) Tarsh Exiles (taxing), Delecti (banditry), the Ducks (banditry/Sartar taxing), Beast Valley (tribute), Sun Country (taxing), Shadow Plateau (tribute), and Esrolia (taxing). There are plenty of powers who will want to get at any mercantile trade on their waterway, and so plenty of duties, and plenty of opportunity to make a profit by avoiding tarriffs to undercut local merchants. It is likely that the smugglers' natural enemies will be Issaries, Etyries, and Lokarnos worshippers unless they are cut into the action. IMO I think Engizi is a better choice than Lanbril. While Lanbril would have some nice advantages technically in terms of gizmos, Lanbril is more of a master heist thief than a smuggler. While Divination Block is a mighty useful Rune Spell, there is likely to be more utility to be gained from Engizi's spell list. Remember that going up-river is hard work, and it might actually be too hard if the distances are too great, forcing the smuggler to need to sell their boat and foot slog instead. The area around the upland marsh is perfect smuggling territory IMO. Close to Delecti, Tarsh Exiles, Beast Valley, Sun Country, Sartar's various tribes, etc. You really want an area with maximum borders to cross, as the more jurisdictions, the more smuggling potential as tariffs on goods in some places may not apply in others. If you want to make smuggling an important part of your game, you will need to consider what is in high demand, where the tax checkpoints that need to be avoided are, how actively the smugglers are being sought by local authorities, and create a basic list of smuggling staples, which should include weapons, drugs, luxuries, and (in bad times) food.

My understanding about the Pure Horse People is that they are essentially a tribe of Pentan religious fanatics. They were kicked out of Prax centuries ago. The thing about being Pure Horse, is that they will never herd cattle. That means that they likely have taboos about eating non-horse meat, but nothing is explicitly stated which likely means that are just have very conservative palates and will be leery about eating non-horse meats. You have to assume that the Grazelanders drink a lot of horse milk, which is actually surprisingly healthy, and allegedly helps with diabetes, tuberculosis, anemia, and is anti-inflammatory and koumiss, the alcohol brewed from horse milk apparently can help regulate blood pressure irl. It cannot be made into cheese however, without camel rennet. Now we can reasonably assume that there is plenty of foraging going on, but the bulk of the starch and vegetables likely come from the Vendref who form a captive sub-economy. The steppe peoples of Asia employed yurts on wagons for centuries, and there is no reason to suppose that a solar culture in Glorantha wouldn't have wagons, given that their trade god is Lokarnos. There is nothing to suggest that a temple needs to stay in one place, especially if their people are nomadic. if the congregation moves, so should the temple, and in my Glorantha the Grazelanders often maintain tribal temple wagon yurts that travel with them. As to whether the Grazelander settlements of North Post, Queens Post, and Rich Post have temples to the major deities of the Grazelanders, well, Queens Post probably does, but really why would they? It is the Vendref who are the settled people, and are gradually being turned into sedentary farmers akin to the Oasis people of Prax. As to where a Sun Lord gets his iron armor, I would suspect he rides to Furthest with a herd of Golden Eye horses, and gets a good high price for them, and then trades for iron gear with the money. The Lunars like to hire the Grazelanders as mercenaries, and so maintain good trade relations with them. Food and vegetables is the primary tribute, as humans cannot live on horse meat and milk alone. Next, they probably have to provide a portion of any trade goods they make. There have been Vendref rebellions when the tribute becomes too onerous, so you can assume they Grazelanders are less-than-ideal serf masters. It is possible for Vendref to escape the Grazelands, but they will be living free and poor for years to come, as most Gloranthan cultures aren't overjoyed at the prospect of newcomers showing up on their doorsteps. Yes. Not so much to form new communities but to integrate the captives into existing Vendref communities. This is likely to increase during the Hero Wars as the Lunars and Sartarites will both attempt to ally the Grazelanders over and over again for their campaigns. One might reasonably assume that if existing villages become overpopulated that new settlements will be created for the prisoners, unless they are ransomed back to their respective peoples.

Lol, don't forget spirit screen is also included in the triad of exclusion. Yeah, the magic system is always a bit scissors/paper/stone, and that is a good thing imo.

I try to encourage my players not to "13th Warrior" themselves. For example, if the RPG is based on the works of Jane Austen, you don't want someone trying to roleplay as the Incredible Hulk, even if they are currently in the midst of binge-watching Marvel movies at the time irl. It is a cardinal sin of players not to play something setting-appropriate that doesn't jarringly break the immersion of other players and potentially wreck the game for everyone else. Saxon Wotanic Shield Maidens are another good potential fit. While Saxons are generally presented as an enemy culture in Pendragon, that Strength/Size bonus can produce a very effective female warrior who is entirely setting appropriate. Whereas my LGBT players would be offended if I tried to ignore historical accuracy in favor of "creating a safe space" for them, but then again, I generally play Call of C'thulhu with them and they are horror fans and if I tried to go easy on the graphic and awful content or eased up on the ghastly social attitudes of 1920s USA they would take me to task as a GM/Keeper. I think they often try to see if they can bait me into being offended or shocked. So far only one has succeeded (ydwtk).☺️

And that's why Humakti (like everybody) need to invest in countermagic.

Why are you bringing Trump into this? 😬

Of course I agree. Strength Spell is good for the extra damage. I only said bladesharp 4 because it is the Humakti freebie staple from RQ1. As to how to take down a humakti like this, I suggest a phalanx. A tight grouped low frontage set of pikes that hit early and are likely to impale will make quick work of a 6d6 monster hitter.

Look, the fact is, the past is a foreign country and their values are not our values. If you want an authentic historical experience then you will need to jettison political correctness. If you want inclusiveness then you will have to jettison historical accuracy. Personally when I GM I prefer to include the prejudice towards characters who don't fit with the standards of the time, but not unremittingly so. People with unusual backgrounds will need to work a bit harder for the same recognition, as they need to overcome societal mistrust, but on the plus side, once they have it, there are many honorable souls who will take to their defense in the face of injustices. Yes, there may be chauvanistic NPCs who seemingly will never accept the characters, but that simply makes winning them over or defeating them a greater victory for the player. The way I see it, to pretend there is no prejudice is to silence the struggles and injustices of the past, when these are heroic roleplaying opportunities that can be handled responsibly by a GM. Let them know that being a hero is about facing bad odds and beating them, and that this can be that kind of story.

Pagan chics have more fun.😈

My grandma had a cutting allegedly of the Holy Thorn. It was gifted to her after she participated in a secret Jacobite gathering conducted at midnight in her childhood that happened in Western Australia. Go figure. Apparently the thorn is a symbol to all who keep to religion in the face of persecution, and was linked to the Stuart dynasty and their covert Catholicism, but I only found that out a lot later. The funny thing is, my Grandma wasn't Catholic. Perhaps that is why it eventually died? Or it might have been that someone forgot to water it...

OPTION SEVEN Let's face facts. APP is about role-playing opportunity. Attractive and well-spoken people get away with things that other less fortunate people don't. Being 'hot' is a super-power. Players actively seek out attractive members of the opposite sex, and to say that APP doesn't matter ignores the fact that some players will happily marry a peasant girl if she has 28APP but no dowry, even if she is the daughter of a bandit, and has a fetish for hurling piglets out of belfries at the heads of passers-by. On the other hand, if you are an ugly knight with a true heart the ladies will be all about rewarding you with money if you save their lives. Should an ugly knight negotiate a marriage for themselves, even mediocre looking damsels will be taken sobbing to the altar, and there is every chance that some brave and better looking knight will burst into the church on horseback to seize the bride and carry her away from a hideous 'fate', to the general relief of all concerned. Oh, and if the ugly knight should come seeking his bride, you can bet that he isn't the hero of the story anymore. If this all seems very unfair and symptomatic of the most superficial of values, that's because it is, but then, 'nature' has made standards of beauty unusually universal across cultures. A regular symmetry of features is desirable wherever you come from, and that is because human evolution favors certain traits that pretty people have. Everyone knows that the loathly are just cursed right? Some day someone will lift that curse and they will become part of the in-crowd. Arthurian Romance is many things, but it is not Shrek.

The answer is simple. Lancelot is French. Adultery is considered an honorable pastime in France.😜

Hehe, this ol' chestnut huh? All those poor crestfallen Humakti who thought they could do 6d6 damage because they didn't read the fine print. Trust me when I tell you that when you cast Truesword on your greatsword it will still do 4d8 (+bladesharp), plus you can stack it with Sword Trance (which is new, and will make a hero out of any zero). if you have bladesharp 4, you still wind up with max damage of 36 on an ordinary hit.

Certain cities in Sartar likely have an area where Dwarves visit or even stay if it is diplomatically advantageous to do so. Boldhome would be such a place, and possibly Alda-Chur. These areas will be reverse-ghettos, in that while they will be mostali homogenous, they will be unusually clean and well ordered, but will seem a bit alien to Sartarites.

This topic has been discussed before on the forum: Dormal's Loophole

Dragonewts make a point of completely destroying their bodies so that their spiritual progress cannot be retarded by people wearing their skins and drawing on their magic. This is just one part of the Sacred Utuma ritual's meaning however. For this reason I would suspect that EWF disposal of bodies would involve a ritual dismemberment, followed by cremation in the Orlanthi fashion, possibly with especially honored individuals having their funeral pyres lit by draconic fire.

In my Glorantha most of the tribes prefer not to eat their own herd beasts in order to keep their numbers as high as possible and insure that they have the best possible stock from which to choose and train their mounts. This means that the most populous of the herd beasts is the preferred meat animal for all the tribes, namely the impala. While there are a few other herds of Prax beasts that run wild in the wastes, there are more feral impalas than any other type, and more impala riders too. Impalas also produce wonderful cheeses due to the extremely high quality of impala milk, but then so do Unicorns, despite them being all males.