m0n0cular

@David Scott Thanks for the clarification and source. The example spirit maps and fetishes you show in the post you linked to are really evocative too. The way they display the spirit world around physical places in Prax ties in (sorry!) so well with the thoughts of @Bill the barbarian and @g33k earlier in this thread, and other discourse about maps being weighted to what's important to a culture.

Praxian tribes don't need maps... reinforces nicely the importance of ancestral, handed down and oral traditions amongst the Praxians. It also becomes another big reason why being part of the tribe and following tradition is important. I wonder what the impact of imported Lunar spirits has upon the spirit landscapes of the Praxians?

Got to admit that in the spirit (ahem) of YGMV I'm going to stick with rope/string maps of the physical world too. But not amongst the tribes. Instead people like Issaries worshippers and other figures often at a remove from tribal life will use them. They also add variety to the maps sold by characters like Treasure Trove Hurbi: "Get yer real Praxian rope maps here!"  

@Joerg A mesh of knots was something I considered but also thought in general linear route maps are what these describe.

Although at The Paps there is a fantastic map of the Wastelands woven on Ernalda's Loom whose patchwork of bumps, shapes and shades can be read visually or by hand by those who know what it says. The  map is remade during the Sacred Time rituals every year.

Praxians use ceremonial knots to impart information and I seem to remember reference to or discussion of knotted ropes as maps.

I've adopted this in my Glorantha, so for instance a Praxian rope map of Caravan Alley would include a knot each for Day's Rest, Tourney Altar and Biggle Stone (and perhaps Hender's Ruins). The distance between knots indicates relative distance between locations. Each knot is then dyed a particular colour depending on the type, spiritual meaning or other important aspect relative to the tribe or person who made the map. Dye applied to the rope between knots can indicate the type of territory being travelled through. For instance a rope map of the Zola Fel may be dyed blue with the knots coloured differently. More information could be imbued magically.

Although most rope maps are actually linear route maps, the tying of many ropes together from a central point might indicate the relative distances of places from a central location like Pavis or the Block.

You can make these for player handouts out of string.

The full range of Lance and Laser Glorantha minis is listed at http://www.miniatures-workshop.com/lostminiswiki/index.php?title=HeroQuest

It's easy to cross reference with figures still available from the Armorcast range https://armorcast.com/miniatures/lance-laser/?sort=featured&page=1

I second that. Rapier's Glorantha miniatures are very good indeed.

I've recently been GMing a game in and around Alone in 1618. I used this small map of alone as the basis for a larger map I made: 

The map is on a Finnish site and includes the names of places published in Zin Letters #3, so I guess was something which didn't end up in that issue. From this shape and the snippets published about the city I created an initial map of 1611, before the sacking of Alone in the Righteous Wind Revolt. I then produced a 1618 map showing the footprint of buildings which were razed or have become derelict after the city was sacked and in some places where new things have been built since then:I

Lots of things happened in Alone and around about, and also between me and the players we added quite a bit of colour. Some things:

Elmali priest Urngar the Unready died on the Yelmalio High Holy Day finally tipping the scales of previously recalcitrant traditional Elmal worshippers towards acceptance of Yelmalio. Illustrated by dampening of the flame on Elmal's Platform and the increased light emanated even through the night from the same platform which Yelamlions call the Sun Disc.

A durulz village called High Pond has been founded in one of the high marshes on the boggy uplands. Refugees from the Duck Hunt have forged a new clan here and been accepted into the new Tres tribe. Their village is hidden in the Lost Woods.

The Far Point Roof Sharpeners Guild have annual games with competitors from Alone and Ironspike and all the villages in the area. The competition includes tossing a caber, but with a spike with one end.

@Cultist of Sooty High llamas, look no further: War Llama PRE-ORDER

I don’t really know what to say, I feel such a loss despite never meeting Greg. His creation Glorantha has been one of the enduring elements of my life since I was first introduced to it in 1980, and I have spent so much time enjoying myself there. I feel incredibly grateful to Greg for opening the window to that world. Not just that world though - Greg’s contribution has been so much more, for many of my interests and ways of thinking have been moulded and influenced by the ways of seeing which Runequest, his other games and his shamanic insight encouraged. What a wonderful legacy of enquiry, creativity and playfulness Greg leaves behind.

There's a really useful calendar with holy days on it at https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0J20AZXw-hDdUlDckFySUNvbXc/view

2 hours ago, Grievous said:

I have a map drawn which places a Black Fox Clan to the north of Emerald Sword, around Aroka Lake, where you have the Korolainn. Not exactly sure why I placed them there, but the Coming Storm does say that "[t]o the north of the Creek is the Fox clan of the Dinacoli tribe."

I've followed the map in the Coming Storm (p58) which indicates the Black Fox are north of the Emerald Sword, but southwest of Aroka Lake. I do extend their land to the lake, where in the Coming Storm it appears to end just shy of it.

Overlaying the territory of each clan on Argan Argar Atlas hexes indicates the Black Fox are the smallest clan of the Dinacoli, though like the Rain Blossom they share no borders with other tribes.

Aroka Lake is a meeting point of 4 Dinacoli clans: Emerald Sword, Black Fox, Rain Blossom and Korolain. It has great significance in maintaining coherence of the tribe, and there is a celebration there every year. The red tinge of Aroka's blood has in recent years been seen as an auspicious sign of Lunar benevolence, and Lunar priests are now invited to the ceremony.

@jajagappa The significance of Chalk Man and his importance in Kolating tradition is one of the big things which has led to Chalk Man Vale being such bitterly disputed territory. 

SC p271 tells us that Chalk Man Hill is in Tovtaros territory, which is on the northwest side of the valley above Loch Lake. The Tovtaros are in disarray following the failure of the Righteous Wind Rebellion (WF #15 p45). Just across their borders are the ascendant Vantaros, wealthy and powerful Dinacoli and new upstarts the Tres. All are vying for support from the powerful spirit of the Vale.

@Ian Cooper Thanks for the compliments, I shall put more work into it and pull together a submission. Are you at Schloss Neuhausen in a fortnight? Would be great to discuss there if you are.

On 4/15/2018 at 10:45 PM, Ian Cooper said:

Share yours, someone else might like to borrow them

OK, here are some initial thoughts on the other 3 clans of the Dinacoli.

Ian - one thing which really struck me about the 4 clan locations in the Coming Storm is that they leave an awful lot of Dinacoli land to be occupied by the remaining 3 clans. I've dealt with this by doing 4 things:

• Considered the Woods of the Dead to be claimed by a clan, but in reality they haven't cut a sod there since Brangbane took up residence.
• Thought a similar situation to be prevalent in the southwest lands which border the Dragonewt Wildlands. Occupation of the land there is considered valid, but it's largely hunting territory rather than occupied and cultivated land.
• Extended the Vanstach into that southwest corner, taking the reference to them as monopolising Theatre Tradethink Market in King of Sartar as my cue.
• Considered the extent of Dinacoli control in Chalk Man Vale and towards Alone to be questionable post-Righteous Wind Rebellion, and instead suggested bloody strife between tribes as control of those areas remains under dispute.

  Given those things, here's an idea of how it''s looking so far:

Donalf (Golden Plow)

The fertile lands between the Bone Hills and the Donalf Stream are home to the Donalf. Chief Vadkalarg Ruddycheeks resides at Journey's End, which got its name because many of those who first migrated here from Tarsh saw how rich the land was and decided they needed to travel no further.

Their belief proved auspicious, for only a generation later Carostar Cuts-the-land found the Golden Plow. Lodril is worshipped heavily, and the Donalf were first among the Dinacoli to recognise the Golden Spearman as Yelmalio. 

Well fed and settled, there are those who accuse the Donalfi of being slovenly and indulgent. They are certainly comfortable in their fertile lands, but the existence of Sword Hill in their land means there are many Humakti drawn from the clan, and the Bone Hills and dragonewt settlements within their lands have required significant magical resources to resolve.

Ixobri

The wealthy settlement of Herongreen is the seat of Ixobri Chief Eosardes Open-Arms, who has welcomed Lunar Imperial influence and the rule of Harvar Ironfist with alacrity. The Ixobri profit enormously from both. Herongreen's position at the junction of the Pavis Road and King's Road has seen its market increase massively and wayfarer's inns open in the land around it. Like Blue Boar Fort it is becoming a small town. The village is famed for the Heron Green Dancers, who dance on stilts.

Chalk Man Vale is a melting pot of tribes. Ixobri lands extend up its southeast flank as far as Loch Lake, with the Vantaros on the other side and the High Vale occupied by the Tovtaros. Since the Righteous Wind Rebellion the newly formed Tres have claimed part of the vale beyond the lake, a claim vigorously denied by the Ixobri. All four tribes wrestle over this area, and the disputes over its ownership become more bloody and intractable as the years move on.

Korolain

Occupying the dangerous territory between Aroka Lake and the Woods of the Dead, the Korolain are custodians of the Pavis Road between the Creek and Herongreen and defenders against the horrors of the Woods of the Dead. Though they claim the Woods of the Dead as clan lands no steads have been cut there since Brangbane's awful occupation. 

Chief Hoftar the Gruff leads this bloody clan, whose fierce countenance is conditioned by the ever present threat of Brangbane's ghouls. They are the most uncompromising of the Dinacoli, and hold to traditional Orlanthi ways in the beleaguered defence of their land. Extended families live in highly fortified stone steads, much like those in parts of the eastern Far Place. Hunting is important, for the depredations of the undead render agriculture and herding difficult. The high tariff they exact from those who seek aid through their lands helps to feed the clan.

Vanstach

Lands extend west of the Donalf stream. They have a monopoly at Theatre Tradethink Market where they trade foodstuffs, especially black-eye peas and beef from red cattle. Known for Dragon Bread which may be imbued with many qualities from the strange things which the dragonewts trade.

Other than the market there are few steads east of the Donalf Stream due to incursions of quakebeasts from the Dragonewt Wildlands.

Hi Simon,

I haven't got the Mirin's Cross or Pamaltela maps - I'm definitely interested in them.

Graeme 

Will do. I'll be sketching out some details of the clans too, I'll share those too when I've got beginning outlines of their characteristics.

Thanks all. WF#15 gives them 7 clans. Ian - thanks for doing the groundwork and making up the first four, I'll forge on and work on the remaining three to flesh out the tribe in my campaign.

Thanks Martin - I've realised that becomes clear once I cross reference the map on p58 Coming Storm with p47 Wyrms Footnotes. I wonder which clan is to the north of Aroka Lake?

What are the clans of the Dinacoli?

From the Coming Storm we have the Rain Blossom, Black Fox, Emerald Sword and Vanstach.

A Glorantha Digest post from 1999 mentions these: Boarhead, Brown Boar, Donalf, Emerald Sword, Fox 
& Rain Blossom.

I'm interested to know what the clans are northwest of those listed in The Coming Storm, particularly those in the areas of Blue Boar Fort, Herongreen and Chalk Man Vale. 

What about bound spirits in the bodies of hibernating animals? The binder can't stray too far from from their spirit or the bond is broken, so they pin themselves down to a tight geographical area during the periods of hibernation. What mythological precedents might there be for taking on such a restriction?

Here's something I put together four years back - a spreadsheet of which places, races and cults appear in various magazines, fanzines and other off-piste resources.

Correct up to 2013 based on the resources available to me at the time which I'd had the time to index.

I could definitely do with bringing it up to date, but anyway I hope it's useful in its partial completeness.

Places, races, cults

Thanks @Byll

It's not in the printed Collected or Complete Griselda, but I've found it on Oliver's Griselda site here http://www.griselda.org.uk/03MEET.html

A very timely discovery - I have a party due to arrive in Alone shortly, got some last minute things to write into it now.

@ByllGriselda's parents in Alone, I'd completely forgotten. Can you recall which stories they're in? 

Barbarian Town was featured in Pavic Tales #5-8 and possibly the final issue #9 too, but I don't have that one. Very non-canonical! I'll read through them and post anything that might tie in with what's now known about the place.

Ah Adari, a favourite place of mine too and one which I did quite a bit of work on a couple of years back for the campaign which I'm still running.

On 3/26/2017 at 5:55 PM, Iskallor said:

It's like a crazy Mad Max/Star Wars town for me.

Me too! I used Oliver Dickinson et al's piece in TotRM as the springboard, but added elements which attempted to situate it more firmly into the kind of Glorantha we know today - including additions to Oliver's history which lead to it being the desperate and dangerous frontier trading post it is today. This thread is giving me some great ideas for additions and modifications to the Adari I imagined, but also interesting is that some of the things which define my Adari tie really nicely with comments so far.

On 3/26/2017 at 5:39 PM, David Scott said:

It must of at some point had walls for defence.

Oliver Dickinson's stockade and its ramshackle troll settlement next door sits within the remains of a larger walled city. Almost nothing can be seen of the ancient walls or city - the TotRM map shows a remaining section of wall, and I've added another couple of very low remnants, a ruined gatehouse and some mounds suggestive of buried structures.

On 3/27/2017 at 1:35 AM, Jeff said:

Issaries is the patron god of the city, and the market and temple are the public center of the city.

The Issaries Temple is the only surviving intact building in my Adari from ancient times. I've described it as being covered in sculptures in which "human and troll forms dominate, but there are also carvings of elves, dragonewts, centaurs and herd beasts."

Although Issaries is the patron I also include Adari the Founder. But Adari died way back in the First Age, and is forgotten to history except by the name of the settlement he founded. The circumstances of his death are unknown, but the lack of a protecting founder is cited by many to be the reason for Adari's perpetual failure over the centuries. A large, headless statue of Adari stands in testament to his impotence and the rather hopefully named Magnificent Acolytes of Adari seek the Head of Adari and other artefacts which they believe will bring a resurgence in Adari's fortunes.

Hmm, leads me to wonder about the Pavis Plan: did Pavis understand more than anybody else the failure of Adari, and take some of its ideals away with him to found a new city?  

On 3/27/2017 at 1:35 AM, Jeff said:

However, I suspect Daka Fal is more widely worshiped in Adari than Issaries

I trace this to the 13th Century ST. With Dragon Pass closed to humans and Pavis sealed during Gerak Kag's dominance, Adari becomes isolated and is repeatedly sacked and rebuilt. Its surviving inhabitants take on a desperate fatalism and only the ancestors offer respite. Ty Kora Tek is also popular.

On 3/27/2017 at 1:59 PM, Tindalos said:

It may be built on the site of the Onetree exchange, where Issaries showed Orlanth and Genert how to deal with each-other peacefully.

Great idea. So that's why the Issaries Temple has weathered all storms so far, and also why despite all the sackings and depredations Adari has kept being stubbornly repopulated and remained a trade nexus.

On 3/27/2017 at 3:04 PM, Ali the Helering said:

The Genert connection could be the reason the Aldryans keep coming back

Links really nicely with an annual aldryami pilgrimage which I've never understood the reason for until now.

Great to have these all in one post. They're excellent, and now there's a duck in the party and they're heading to Sartar these definitely fit the bill