Darius West

I completely disagree. The fact is that a poorly worded oath that has no clarification as to what it means in practice can turn a pacifistic healer deity into a sadistic legalist and perversely austere mystic. This is repeated over and over again IRL religions, where the message is lost and becomes a legalistic creed. If you WANT a Chalana Arroy who isn't these negative things, then we NEED clear statements about what she can and cannot do, so we don't wind up with the perverse examples I have offered becoming the measure of the cult, because they are all perfectly reasonable interpretations of the "harm no living thing" oath that they swear. This is one way that sects develop irl btw. That's fine, but you'll be apostate inside a day. No, I don't want to play Chalana Arroy this way, that is the point. If we don't have some proper idea of how the "harm no living thing" oath works in practice, it can be misinterpreted to absurd extremes. That was the point I was making. I mean, consider the history of the Hippocratic Oath; it's pretty checkered, and completely irrelevant today, as 'first do no harm' has been replaced by 'first get insurance' etc. in practice.

Frankly, I think any future write-up of Chalana Arroy needs to clarify what their oath actually requires of them, as it is far from clear. I mean, arguably, a Chalana Arroy cannot use make-up as it might harm their skin, thus harming a living creature; themselves. They may also not stay up past their bed-time for the same reason. They may also not get pregnant as it poses an unacceptable risk to themselves and the infant, and both will be harmed to some degree in the process of giving birth. Arguably they may not have sex, in case someone experiences chafing. Going on adventures is right out, and completely irresponsible. On the other hand, they can take up arms against the undead, but will be thrown out of the cult if the undead hurts them. If they stub their toe, they are apostate according to the letter of their oath. Obviously I am playing devil's advocate here, but I am doing so to highlight the problem of why the Chalana Arroy oath needs clarification. I mean, we know that Yelmalio Sun Lords can't dress up in women's clothing (though they can hang around in bars), they can's sleep under a red blanket etc. It would be really great if there was a clear set of guidelines in the cult write-up that clarified what they can and cannot do to some degree, and some notion of why they can or cannot do those things according to the interpretation of the oath.

Hon-Eel's High Holy Day is Clay Day, Fertility Week, Earth Season. Every clay day is holy, and the clay day of every Fertility week is a minor holy day. IRL maize ripens on an 8-10 week turnover, and prefers to grow in Summer. That means maize in Glorantha, if it followed the same rules would produce 3 crops, Sea Season Fire Season, and Earth Season before the weather turned. On the other hand, IDK if Gloranthan maize behaves like Earth maize.

I think we are pretty much on the same page actually. Personally, IDK that keeping somebody bound up for one day a week is that much of a curse. It isn't overly burdensome on the community, unless they get free... So don't let them get free. It is a nuisance to the one who is cursed, but a lot less so than a medical condition that could strike without warning at any time. Arguably it is less of a burden than actually committing to training for 1 day a week with the militia. I suppose I'm a glass-half-full kinda guy. Now had Tanisor's curse randomized the day on which the transformation would occur...THAT would be a curse. If the curse also drained all the RP that the Telmori had, even more so. Predictability is what makes things manageable here imo.

LOL you forgot "No cross-dressing". This Temporal/Spiritual political dichotomy is repeated in many places IRL history and has been responsible for the ultimate separation of Church and State in a great many countries.

Is that really true though? The Second Age was destroyed because some 'bright sparks' didn't understand that you don't go around trying to make new gods outside the Compromise... Again... As such attempts invariably lets chaos in and force the Gods to intervene. That's hardly a mystery in my book. 😄

Thanks for the clarification. I thought the irreducible components of Glorantha were Runes not Atoms? Point taken about the irreducibility of Atoms, from the philosophy of Democritus et al. I had the Outer Atomic Explorers pegged as being unlucky sods who had come from the Lozenge and scraped up against our own reality, where their runes began to change into our atoms, allowing Earth/Glorantha cross-overs. Is the Void in question the same Void mentioned in Cults of Terror p11? That being the void that lies beyond the Sky Dome? Extra bonus question: Will they find all the people eaten by the Crimson Bat floating around out there ?

This is an interesting point, but the simple answer (within the lore) must be no, because you can't travel back in time in Glorantha. There was a brief period where Chaosium flirted with the idea of time travel, but then they realized what a rod for their own backs they had made and quietly shelved the idea. The Sorcerers are around in 1100 ST. For them to generate the Night of Horrors, they would have to be sent back in time to live in Orathorn, only to then get trapped in a time loop of their own construction that they would be quite aware of. This is an odd time-loop as it also allows them to progress after the Night of Horrors and be in Orathorn in 1625. How you do that when time travel is lore impossible, well, can you see why it needs a different answer? Yeah, good point. The parallels are obvious now you mention it. I had completely forgotten about them. 😀

Well, the fact is, Ernalda hates Hon-Eel for being an interloper on the powers of Earth. In relation to the blood sacrifice rituals, the Gods of Glorantha Preview Edition states: "Worship ceremonies to Hon-Eel emphasize the cycle of Life becomes Death becomes new Life. The offering of human lives is part of every worship ceremony, figuratively or literally. important holy days are celebrated with blood sacrifice ceremonies, often taking the form of gladiatorial combat between slaves, prisoners, or volunteers; the blood and corpses of the defeated are offered to the fields. These contests have proven very popular among the urban masses, and in areas resetteled after nomadic depopulations. They are also popular in the Lunar Provinces (being a more spectacular version of the duels and challenges the Orlanthi love so much). In other areas the cult may have to make do with merely the symbolic sacrifice of a figure made of maize stalks." I hope that helps.

Well it is a vast improvement on Baboons and their gorilla warfare.

This is a great idea for a topic. Sorry for not contributing sooner BrentS. Here are a few herbs I use in my Prax campaign, and elsewhere if appropriate... Axolberries Sour and strong tasting berries that ripen in Earth Season, that serve a number of culinary and medicinal purposes in Prax. Axolberries are used to deaden the taste of the drug stigummay and stop those who consume it from retching. The berries are also used to add a tartness to dishes that require it. Axolberries seem to be very good at fighting certain illnesses, in particular, the Blotches, and diseases of the teeth, offering +2 to the relevant characteristic for purposes of disease resistance rolls. They have uses in medicines made by the Chalana Arroy Cult and are considered a Healing Herb. Dust Grapes This fruit of ground creeper also known as “serpent noose” is often harvested for its fiber which is decent for rope making when boiled and stripped. Its fruit when aged, dust grapes, can be mistaken for tight packed balls of animal dung pellets, yet have no aroma, and a flavor like cherries. The roots of this plant produce a yellow dye, and the dust grapes produce a red dye. It is possible to produce alcohol from dust grapes, but it stains your mouth purple and actually kills your ability to taste anything for hours and is mildly poisonous (POT 2 Poison). It is very good for rubbing on bruises however, if you don’t mind them becoming strange lurid colors, and will add +1 to healing rate for wounds from crushing attacks. hey have uses in medicines made by the Chalana Arroy Cult and are considered a Healing Herb. Prax Onion The Prax Onion is smaller than domestic onions grown elsewhere and is a very hardy and resilient bulb plant that grows in the Eiritha Hills, the Eastern foothills of the Stormwalks and in Shadows Dance. It also grows in the Tunneled Hills of the Chaos Wastes. The bulbs are small, normally the size of a man’s thumbnail, but they grow in clumps and are plentiful, and grow back quite swiftly. The leaves are good animal fodder, and can be sliced up to add mild onion flavor to dishes. Prax onion is used with a great many dishes, and they are often foraged in large numbers and pickled in brine, though they keep for about half a season before rotting (or drying out). Typically Prax onions are fried in oil to make them caramelize. Prax onion has good antiseptic medicinal properties, and can be eaten raw in small quantities to treat the Shakes, Creeping Chills or Thunder Lung, to gain a +2 CON bonus, or as a soup to treat any illness with a +1 CON bonus. Prax onions are associated with the goddess Nanya who is one of the Daughters of Genert. They have uses in medicines made by the Chalana Arroy Cult and are considered a Healing Herb. Sun Witch's Sleeve This ragged looking herb grows in arid rocky places, and looks a little like the filthy and discarded lacework from a rich lady’s garment. It is gray in color and has tiny yellow flowers. If dried and crushed up it has an aromatic and complex smell and flavor reminiscent of oregano, and is good for driving away spirits, as the smoke offends and poisons spirits. The smoke from this plant, when burned, pervades the nearby spirit plane in the vicinity, and spirits must resist a 12 point attack or lose 1d3 Magic Points. They cannot fight the smoke, and the smell of it is offensive to them, encouraging them to depart the area. Old Friend This is a perennial and fast growing weed of Glorantha, having travelled the world, likely with the God Learners on their ships, if not traded far and wide by Issaries merchants in the First Age. Old Friend has a soft, broad downy leaf that is fibrous and doesn’t tear easily. The down of the leaf is actually its seeds. Old Friend is used for wiping bottoms, and in the process of doing so, its seeds get the nutrients it needs to grow more Old Friend. Old Friend does need more water than is commonly available in Prax, and hence it is mainly found growing at Oases, or the banks of rivers, and seasonal rivers. As a water-rich plant, grazing animals like to eat Old Friend’s succulent leaves, and propagate it in their dung. If picked and allowed to dry, Old Friend can be burned to produce a very smoky fire, which sometimes has signaling value. The down of Old Friend can be scraped and collected in a laborious process that produces a pinch of material per leaf, and can be used to season with a mild taste which has a gentle nutty bittersweet flavor, with hints of pepper, citrus and anise. The leaf itself is safe for humans to consume but has little to no taste, and has very little nutritional value, but has plenty of water content. Praxians are not at all squeamish about eating a plant normally reserved for wiping bottoms, especially if they are thirsty.

A werewolf might be immune to non-enchanted metal weapons, but they aren't immune to rope. If you tie them down securely before their change is upon them, and put a muzzle on them, they are going to be a lot less dangerous to a community. You seriously can't see how that could be of immense military advantage? How about this? You infiltrate a group of cursed Telmori behind enemy lines so they are in position by Fireday, hidden in an area where the enemy's logistics can be threatened. They then burst out and slaughter their livestock, caravaneers, mounts or whatever, and the enemy now has to deal with a group of freely roaming berserk werewolves in their territory. When the rage wears off, the survivors can use their hunter skills to slink back to their own lines until next week. There are endless variations on this trick, but you can always guarantee your enemies have no end of trouble on Wild Day. While not explicitly mentioned, BUMP.

There can be little doubt that the Sorcerers of Orathorn have access to chaotic magic, as they are on record as having summoned headhangers during the Night of Horrors, and are served by the undead. Given the proximity of Than Ulbar, it is reasonable to suppose that they may have received some magic from there. It is also worth pointing out that Urrquong has repeatedly said that the Sorcerers are not considered enemies of Chaos, which raises a lot of questions. The immortality of the Sorcerers of Orathorn raises more questions. If they were vampires, surely they would be referred to as such. If they were mere Thanatari, they would be called such, and the Stormbulls would have levelled their stronghold long ago. I instead propose that they are a small outpost of Vadeli. As to why they are there, solitude would seem the obvious answer. It is a fine place to set up a small self-sufficient settlement, well away from everyone and everything, with nice high walls to keep all but the most determined raiders out. I am not going to pretend that I know what sort of Vadeli they are, but all Vadeli castes use sorcery, and none have any compunction about using chaos. If you mainly wanted to do research, well away from the threats of the world, it is hard to imagine anywhere more remote than Orathorn. Perhaps they are researching the Hellcrack? Perhaps not. Given that Gonn Orta is a dealer in magical items, one might suppose that the Sorcerers of Orathorn are at least semi-regular customers, given their mutual interest and proximity.

In my game, the subcult of Arroin generally covers all the sorcery use, as they don't get proper access to Divine Magic.

I am surprised that no-one has mentioned Agora on this list It covers the life and death of Hypatia, the famous Pagan (Pantheist) martyr in the 4th Century. It offers some insight into the workings of ancient scholarship and could serve as a model for the Lhankor Mhy Temple in Nochet during the political upheavals of the end of the 3rd Age. Also, where in the name of Python is the love for The Life of Brian? Half of you quote Python while playing, fess up. 😄

This is excellent work Sten. Lichen based dyes hadn't occurred to me as a potential AA export. I can only think of a few things that didn't make your list that you might want to include... Mushroom skin based fabrics (MuSkin) https://www.fibre2fashion.com/industry-article/8805/mushroom-leather-is-more-than-a-sustainable-alternative-to-animal-skin. Parasols (A favorite for the well-to-do in Prax who like to keep Yelm's glare from toasting them as they gallop about the plains) Dark Glasses fashioned from Obsidian (Useful in high temperature industries, and they look cool) Black Elf Mushroom Drink (It is specifically mentioned as an item which Waha worshippers love) Less Lethal Troll Drinks (Trolls make some dangerous drinks, but let's face facts, there is a certain masochistic macho kudos in destroying yourself with potent alcohol that people warn you about, and that would make for a market in some odd trollish beverages). Sling Bullets (Trolls can munch bolgs into pretty effective sling bullets according to Trollpak, and if you happen to use a sling, you might want some) Trollkin Slaves (Used to ill treatment. Fantastic garbage disposal. Prone to eat their way out of restraint but likely won't try to escape as there are worse fates than being a slave to humans (like being a slave to trolls), Of more value if you know Darkspeech) As an aside, I can't see the Trolls ever making much of an impression on human populations with their foodstuffs due to their appalling hygiene. While there might be room to develop a market in various beetle meats, not many humans consider the extra trollkin booger sauce to be palatable, even if it is cuisine authentic.

Hmm... While the concept is appealingly disgusting, I think the Crimson Bat contains a howling void of chaos within it, and doesn't actually poop. A small mercy for a troubled Lozenge.

But you get the effect within game of having +48rp per season. You just have to arrange your life around your curse to make best use of your Wild Days. Should we regard the Lunar cycle as a curse then? So the Telmori need to become good time managers? This is a minor inconvenience. For a start, the Telmori move in tribes and don't normally associate with non-Telmori much. The fact remains that a rope or a decent set of manacles is a nice transportable form of restraint for those times when the wolf is likely to become a problem, but the fact is, you're chaos tainted, and likely don't overly care who you hurt, much like an ogre. The Telmori seldom if ever have good relations with anyone. The Kingdom of Sartar is an exception. If you think that the Telmori don't trust their "cursed changers", that would be unlikely. So you have to tie these excellent warriors up one day of the week in peace time? That's a small price to pay for their ability to keep transforming every week during a war. That is entirely a matter of perspective. You might as easily say that they're a hero if they are responsible for tearing hell through your enemies like a cut-price Harrek. I doubt the Telmori hunt their cursed. Now if some unfortunate person from outside the Telmori happens to become a werewolf due to carrying the curse due to Telmori ancestry, that is another matter. People are a lot less tolerant of such behavior outside the Telmori... So if you are a werewolf, you would do well to seek out the Telmori and explain your problem to them.

If that is the case then it can barely be called a curse, and is if anything more of a blessing that gives you +48RP per season.

Hyenagrams... A nice name for it, but of course they don't have telegrams in Glorantha (or is that another thing those Godlearners pioneered?). Certainly, the idea of using scraps of hyena skin and time honored geases to send Garzeen and Etyries merchants into the wastes is amusing, and who knows? Maybe they will find the Growing Place and rebuild Genert eventually if this keeps up?

Behind you! It's behind you!

Sorry to be a fly in the ointment, but this is an interesting topic, and I have a question about this exact topic. What happens to cursed Telmori's rune points? I have generally played that they cannot lose or regain rune points in any meaningful way, as every week they transform, which means they gain many more rune points than they would otherwise receive in order to perform their full transformation (6 per week x 8 weeks per season is 48 RP) but they lose all control over their change. One might argue on this basis that Talor gave them a gift, not a curse, but one with a difficult associated geas that limited their combat value to one day per week. So my first question is, how do other GMs handle this issue? Another question... Are we now to suppose that the Telmori have no link to the Lunar cycle too? After all, there was no Lunar Cycle for Talor to link the Telmori to in the First Age... unless he used the Blue Moon to further remove their access to their powers?

If people want to avoid splitting hairs, there is every chance that the shuffling about of various food crop varieties across Glorantha is all a product of the God Learners. They went to distant reaches of the world and brought back exotic crops which they no doubt offended the gods by seeking to plant in areas that had never known them before. Has it occurred to no-one that this might be part of what the whole Goddess Swap experiment might have been about? The point being, that the Earth pantheon that supports plant life is quite prepared to support even foreign plant life, and it only becomes a problem when matters are taken too far, and reliable staple regional crops are replaced by interlopers. For my money, there is no doubt that there are potatoes in Genertela, and quite possibly across most of the known world as well. Remember that Glorantha is a world whose sentient populations suffer periodic apocalypses and much knowledge of things is lost during these events, and the surviving populations will have only myths to explain why the world is as it is thereafter.

In the initiation myths of the Sartarites it is mentioned that Orlanth, Urox, Humakt and another unnamed god were taken when young and initiated by hostile foreign gods. The unnamed god was taken to the Sex Pit and there he was driven mad. This deity was almost certainly Ragnaglar, who was listed as a son of Umath prior. Thed is mentioned as having wanted to seduce Orlanth. She came to his bed disguised as Ernalda, but Orlanth had foreseen the deception and disguised unmarried Urox in his own place. Urox wasn't gentle, and Thed staggered away vowing revenge, only to meet Urox's sex-mad brother Ragnaglar. It is possible that Malia was already with them as a disease of the mind at this stage. Obviously they form the Unholy Trio and taint the Primal Plasma releasing Chaos into the world. Anyhow, goats are tied to Chaos in Glorantha, but there was likely a period before the release of Chaos where Ragnaglar and Thed produced the Broos as a non-chaotic race, in the period before Thed and Ragnaglar conspired with Malia. During this time, Broos were probably akin to Satyrs (who are half-deer, not half-goat in Glorantha), and therefore like other beast folk could claim kinship with Grandfather Mortal as much as a Minotaur or Baboon and thus with Daka Fal after Grandfather Mortal's death. The point is, I suppose, that everybody has ancestors, even Broos whose reproductive cycle resembles that of a wasp more than that of a mammal.

The Starter Set is quite an achievement. While cunningly reminiscent of the Basic D&D boxed set, it brings so much more to the gaming table. My favorite piece is the Battle of Dangerford Solo Quest, drawing on the Solo Quests of RQ2 of old, but doing it even better. It really brings home how much the pencil and paper RPG hobby has grown and developed, and why any player or GM who hasn't "been to Glorantha" needs to acquaint themselves with it ASAP. I hope it stuffed a few stockings this Sacred Time.