Nevermet

As someone who "only" got into Glorantha 17 years ago, and who for logistical reasons doesn't get to cons, I find the existence of rare texts... frustrating. EDIT: I do not say this as a criticism of Jeff's priorities, or how anyone here deals with them. It's just.... they exist, and at that point, no matter how people manage them, I'm probably going to grumble.

I cannot articulate my opinions very well at this point.

This is relevant to my dumb theories and ridiculous interests.

I love this. I'm... unsure I can organize a game around it, but I love it.

...You're making me root for Greymane.

That path would work, but problems include rapids, Beast Valley, and skirting the edge of the Shadow Plateau. Negotiating with Trolls may not always end well. Another option is take the Royal and Hendriki Roads from Welmskirk down to Karse, the primary port for good coming to & from Sartar. From there it's a simple boat ride to Nochet. The major issue with this route, depending on the year, is Lunar occupation.

I completely forgot she was dismembered - which source is that in? Dismembering powerful people is a rather significant event in Glorantha, to say the least. Arkat comes to mind.... it's not the most common thing though

You're not making me want a Shadowrun / Cyberpunk Glorantha less, you know.

Great post

Can I interest you in the pamphlet, Castelein the Traveller and his Journey Toward Ashara? It demonstrates convincingly that Law in our age is dependant on Change, Harmony, and Communication. Oh, you're interested? Lovely. Bidding starts at 5 clacks

Oh, I like that. As I understand it, Pelagius claimed that humans had all the capacities necessary to know God and do good works, no external grace necessary. That would fit very well with the type of moralism we see among the Rokari, where the single most important thing is following your caste rules and purity laws.

I understand the comparison between Rokar and the early Protestants such as Luther, Calvin, & Zwingli. Not only were they seeking a spiritual & moral rejuvenation, but they did so by generally removing things (fewer sacraments, rejecting various practices as going too far beyond what texts justify, etc). They also usually did so "from above" to a degree: the main figures in the early Reformation were generally well educated. Rokar, meanwhile, surgically removed all wrong doctrine from the Abiding Book using REASON!, trying to turn the clock back to a time before Hrestol put them on the wrong path. The analogy, however, falls apart for a few different reasons. First, while we don't really know much about the origins of Rokarism and its historical context, it's probably very different than the context of Europe that the Reformation emerged within. While I'm unsure if Rokarism was part of a national project since its inception, post-sundering Seshnela probably dis not have a highly centralized priesthood that various nobles wish to wrest power away from. Also, I'm very curious what the relationship is between Rokar and Yomili. Either way, however, Rokar was not a prophetic "cry from the wilderness". (I'm now wondering what a Peasant Malkioni rebellion religion would look like... it would likely be funky, especially if it didn't fall into paganism)

In general, this is a good thread for me because it's very easy for "inexplicably random" to end up being bad comedy. So, thanks. I also appreciate the idea that Newts are both "the slow ones" and also the idea that Newts are on a sort of forever-Heroquest. The latter point helps me understand how their behaviour can be inexplicable, but also sometimes stable. For example, Ryzel in Maniria currently has a long-standing trade relationship with the city of Jubal, where the city rulers do random, undignified things as outlined by the Newts, and then in return the Newts give them a rare dye. Also, while I don't have an immediate plan to use him in my Maniria HQG game, it's interesting to see how New Wymish is a "Bad Dragonewt" precisely because they are explicable to humans:

Eh, while I'm not a Grognard, I'm fine with long answers. I spent far too much time in grad school, but a positive effect of that is that I can follow Gloranthan Deep Dive posts pretty well 🤪 So, please, for me, pontificate away!

This is very helpful to me. Thank you!

What it says on the tin. From everything I've read, the Dragonewts are probably the most inhuman and alien of the major Elder Races. They are inscrutable and utterly confusing. Partly, this is because they do not fear death, as they are guaranteed to be reborn, and the act of rebirth is necessary for their spiritual development. It is also because their relationship with reality is qualitatively different than humanity's, beginning with their rejection of all elemental magic. Then there's the whole fact that they are a race of humanoid dragon-people, which probably makes one think differently about everything. At the same time, we also know from the texts that there have been times that communities of Newts have been relatively stable allies of human communities and even trading partners. So, I'm kind of at a loss: On the few times player characters deal with the Newts, how on earth should the GM run them? Some things are obvious: Newts don't really have the same self-preservation instinct as other species, so things like combat and danger will invoke different stimuli in them than other species. "They're weird and make no sense" isn't sufficient advice on how to actually RP them.

IIRC, there was a thread a few years back where someone (I forget who) wondered aloud about linking the Blood Sun to Spol for a lot of the reasons you say. I wish I remembered more, but I thought I should mention it.

Yeah, I'm willing to believe Rokar is a more sympathetic character than Theoblanc

*JoeyFromFriendsShockedFace.GIF*

This comparison is not making my like Rokar more.

Loved this post

I don't know enough to even ask questions, but I'm enjoying the discussion

Humour? In your RPG? It's more likely than you think!

That's all completely true. I still think that Rokarism moves toward the Brithini more than anyon other extant form of Malkionism. It rejects Hrestolism hard as Rokarism does in favor of law, caste, etc. I completely agree with the notion of Rokarism having a reactionary element to it, and they probably have a rhetoric about taking the "last teachings of Malkion" and applying it to modern day, ignoring all the Hrestolist heresies that caused so many problems. Put another way, since Rokar isn't starting with immortal humans, the law and order being promoted must be qualitatively different than what the Brithini maintain, though it will have more of a family resemblance than what's going on up in Loskalm.