Akhôrahil

Good plot hook too, when your Ancestors demand that you go free the spirit of the deceased.

In general, yes, but you're looking for the exceptions. I wouldn't argue that they do. A Thanatar cult is bound to be a pit of vipers and treachery. Infighting probably does more to keep them in check than any outside policing.

I agree about this. What would it even mean to have your third arm concealed through Illumination?

I was mainly thinking about them doing it for their own benefit. This is true, but then, I don't picture wearing the heads at all time is a requirement? A nobleman doing it at his mansion, collecting the heads of slaves purchased for the purpose and perhaps the occasional traveller, could probably get away with it for a very long time. Ralzakark himself? I mean, one of the points about Illumination is that you achieve radical freedom. This includes the freedom to act in ways that the less enlightened would call "evil" (those deluded fools!). Since this isn't D&D, "evil" (unlike Chaos) isn't a supernatural force, but the overwhelming majority of people would presumably agree that Ralzakark, or Thanatari, are evil. If an Illuminated person decides that something is an Important Thing they need to strive for, there's a tendency among some to be lax about the tools to achieve it, like Arkat betraying most everyone to achieve his goal or the Nysaloreans spreading plague. Neither Arkat nor Argrath embraced Chaos to achieve theirs, but it doesn't seem far-fetched that some Lunars might, especially as the Red Goddess already is Chaotic and teaches them there's nothing wrong in principle about it. This does not mean that someone whispering to his heads would be a sane and balanced individual.

If you like, you could roll 1D100 for the percentage of limb lost, and apply that towards HP as well.

No, I'm saying Thanatar will be an interesting choice for a certain subsegment of the Illuminated. I'm sure there's the non-Illuminated kind as well. It's going to be hard to be a Thanatari and not act evil - if you weren't breaking bad already (Illuminated or not), you wouldn't go for Thanatar. And I'm sure we agree that Illuminated people can act evil, even systematiclly evil? Illumination has nothing to do with good and evil - in a way, that's the point, and you might as well ask how a good person could be known to be Illuminated. Illumination can be detected (that's an Illumination ability, isn't it? and I wouldn't be surprised if you could prove it to someone in an interview merely through philosophical understanding), and while it may be possible to be Illuminated for a while without realizing it (Oddi the Keen is a candidate), I believe this would be rare? So I'm not sure I even understand the question.

They seem to be a lot about infiltrating and corrupting society, although I'm less sure about the end goals. Krarsht is Hunger though, so maybe it's just hunger for power in a general sense? Clearly yes. Not all, of course (very likely not most), but without such capability we would not have Krarsht criminal networks, Ogres living in secret among humans for generations, or a Scorpionman kingdom. And that's before we get into Illumination.

Presumably the rules model the world, and both rules- and lore-wise, it can make sense for an Illuminant to join Thanatar for power, I would say. It’s certainly not a large cult, but I can very much see it getting subtly spread.

This strikes me as a clear case of Disorder instead of Chaos, agree.

I would think that while Orlanthi oppose Chaotic cults on principle, Lunars only do it for pragmatic reasons, and hence likely more weakly (perhaps only when something becomes a tangible problem). I'm sure the Lunars strongly disapprove of Krarshti infiltration into the tax administration, but not particularly more than they would non-Chaotics trying to take a cut of the taxes. It's not the Chaos, it's the crime and power-grab.

Isn't this kind of liberation the point of Lunar Illumination? Chaotics can still choose to be bad (indeed, I would assume most do), but Illumination makes it voluntary instead of a compulsion? Ralzakark isn't horrible because he's a Broo, he's horrible because he chooses to be? We know that Illuminated Broo are capable of maintaining Humakt and even Chalana Arroy cult rules.

I get the impression that Thanatar is a cult with a lot to offer, and is kept in check mostly by attempts at policing it from the LM cult. In the Lunar Empire, it's hard to see who would do that kind of holding it back, and if powergaming players drool over the opportunity to be an Illuminated Thanatar cultist, then... This doesn't mean you're allowed to decapitate freely. According to Lords of Terror, "The Imperial Bureau of Taxation in the Lunar Provinces is infiltrated by Krarshti. ... The Krarshti siphon cash from tax revenues into Krarsht coffers, which are in turn secretly recycled as personal loans to public figures in power. Once caught in debt and blackmailed, these public figures become subtle tools of Krarshti policy." Lords of Terror also states that the version of Thanatar in Shadows on the Borderlands is native to Carmania.

I would require very high stakes for the community, but that's far from impossible.

One of my players is looking for Odayla/Storm Bull. I can picture a full-on beary berserking being something to watch.

Bear’s Strength is pretty good, but the whole package is grossly overpriced. I houseruled them to be better and cheaper, and to allow the Transform spell to transform you into a non-magical animal of the right type.

Pretty sure every requirement for cult advancement is about permanent ratings, for skills, characteristics, runes, and passions. Otherwise you could make weird bids like pushing the ratings up temporarily to qualify for Rune Lord, then spam DI for characteristics increases to maintain yourself there. Increasing CHA through deeds is doable, but the rules are pretty clear it has to be about leadership. Save the community through a harsh winter, win the day by beating the enemy Champion, or lead the defence against Broos, that should work. It would be pretty reasonable if the GM replaced the CHA demand with something else, though - you are supposed to be anti-social and a loner.

Agree. Summon (Demon) would be like Summon (Animal) or Summon (Humanoid) - overly wide.

This isn’t actually true in Glorantha, but even so…

To a large extent, this is a matter of semantics. There’s interaction with a myth when you go full heroquesting to kill the Emperor, as well as when children play it as a game. There’s just vastly more of it in the first case. I don’t think we should discount yearly HQs too much though - the Red Cow HeroQuest certainly feels like a full (if small:ish) HQ to me, even though it isn’t creative or exploratory.

Maybe, maybe not - for whatever reason, they seem to our letters and pronounce them English-style, or else the whole "Empire of Wyrms' Friends = EWF = Youf" thing wouldn't work...

HW/HQ made the point that Orlanth hunters still come back to the stead every day or few, while Odaylans were "deep hunters", often gone for a season or longer. Mountain men and fur trappers, usually antisocial.

BoHM: "Odayla: God of Hunting in all its fashions: the chase from horseback, the stalk with bow and arrow, the stampede of herds over cliffs, the capture of great monsters in pits or with humble traplines and deadfalls."

A hail of Multimissile tends to be extremely deadly, though. 🙂 Makes a lot of holes in the fur or skin, though…

You should be able to pick up Odayla bow magic from a hero cult. (BoHM p. 181.)

To a point, but you have the advantage of being able to move your arm around behind the shield, especially if your weapon isn’t unwieldy. When both you and your opponent do it, and especially in a shield wall, attacking would become hard.