jeffjerwin

It is mentioned in several sources, but I can't seem to locate it. Presumably the seat of the Lunar Empire's Vampire Legion, which might be connected to the Vampire Legion of Tanisor?

Note: In TotRM 19 it is implied that the "Vampire Kingdom" borders the Lunar Empire in northern Peloria.

..and the Sourcebook says they are rumored to 'train in the mountains'. (the Pavis book for HeroQuest further states that they 'train in the mountains of Peloria').

I doubt if these are the Yolp Mountains or Blue Moon Plateau because they are troll country, which leaves the Western Reaches/Carmania, Doblian, the Jernalf Mountains (I think this one is unlikely because the Jernotians wouldn't stand for it), Ford, or maybe Imther (I am dubious about those). If there's a connection to Dorastor... maybe the Tobros Mountains?

Well, different clans might have different runic associations and social organisations. So Skalfara may have been the chieftain of a Earth clan. The tests or rules for the Duck tribe need only be not gender specific to work.

The Umath rune (which also looks a bit like a sea shell) for the Shell Ducks, for instance, on the amusing associations. The Slapfoots also have a rune that resembles a foot.

The names do have a certain dissonance with the new somewhat more serious Glorantha... Aleksandros might fit better than Alexander (the revival of classical names in the 17th-18th centuries, of course, is where all this comes from). But Ducks in general have a certain dissonance with epic adventuring, bringing it, err, down to earth, as it were.

Have you seen Jannell Jaquays' new system-less scenario Quack Keep? (https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/247210/Quack-Keep). I am considering stealing from it if my group ever gets to the Marsh.

Shouldn't the term be 'Spirit-squawker'?

The rune attribution are amusing. Presumably chosen for look rather than meaning?

These names - very 18th century English -  reminds me of Tolkien's hobbits. Is the Duck Tribe an Earth tribe, with queens, then?

20 minutes ago, Bohemond said:

Well, there is already a Light Earth deity for men with a woman's soul--Nandan. Presumably Nandani tend to the Earth/Harmony/Life combo that Ernalda has and thus are less likely to be warriors and more likely to pursue 'Another Way' solutions like Ernalda does. 

I like the idea of Barntar as the male parallel to Vinga (men with Earth souls) but there seems to be a sense that he's a Storm tribe member, not an Earth tribe member, and that his magic is Air not Earth. 

I think he's an Earth god. His head is a literal barley seed (unlike say Barntar, who is a plow-man). He's John Barleycorn, a little version of Flamal, the dying, sprouting and resurrecting god. He's also a bread, whiskey and beer god. He may therefore be compared with our Earth gods Mimir and Kvasir, who are gods of wisdom and inspiration. Recall that the loss of male Earth - Genert - was one of the primordial traumas of Genertela, one that might be repaired during the Hero Wars.

On 10/13/2018 at 8:02 PM, MOB said:

Greg's wife Suzanne and family have set the dates for memorial gatherings for Greg Stafford. They will take place on November 2-3 in Arcata, CA, and then on November 10 in Berkeley, CA. They are both open events, and Suzanne encourages anyone who wants to attend to do so. More details will follow.
#WeAreAllUs

Any news on this yet? I live near Berkeley and was planning on stopping by.

There's a strange set of bull gods/cultures in Genertela: KefTawar and his son Bisos (Pelanda/Carmania), and the Tawar Hsunchen in Fronela that suggests a northwestern bull-man cult that may have some connection to Storm Bull. 'Turos' and 'Tauros' are clearly related.

2 hours ago, Atgxtg said:

Tough to say, since you're mixing authors and universes. My initial though is that the Rogue Mistress is probably more maneuverable, and I think, better armed. At least I don't think the black galleys have anything like cannon or lasers. But the black galleys can sail from the Dream Lands to the Moon, so they must be pretty fast to cover approximately 240,000 miles in any sort of reasonable time. Do you have any idea how long it takes for a black galley to make that trip?

In a boarding action I figure the crew of the Rogue Mistress are probably outclassed matched physically, at least by the Moon-Beasts, but they do seem to be better skilled, and Moon-Beast and Men from Leng are some of the Lovecraft nasties that can be hurt by normal weapons. 

 

I'm pretty sure the Dreamlands Moon is not as distant (or necessarily as big) as the real one. After all, the Cats of Ulthar can jump to it.

My current plan - starting next year - is to run a campaign set around 1450-70 in Dragon Pass. This is an interesting time (Sartar and many other heroes are out and about). It's a pity that Pavis is still closed and Thieves' Town doesn't yet exist, but maybe I'll massage that date for my purposes.

21 minutes ago, Sir_Godspeed said:

It was my impression from the Guide that the Mostali just straight up invented iron, and create it much like we would create a synthetic substance IRL (well, not the same methods, but you know). "Natural" veins around the world might be God Time deposits lost by the dwarves, I don't know.

It status as the metal of death is interesting when combined with the idea of it as a synthetic substance and the story of death as a late Golden age innovation.

Mostal himself is a dead god. They may be mining ('recycling') *him*. Of course there's nothing very different in that from how dwarves treat their dead worker units.

1 hour ago, Jeff said:

I use Argrath a lot in our games. My players either fear and distrust him or are fanatically loyal to him  - or both. He's a dangerous charismatic trickster with thousands of killers, many of whom worship him as a demigod. He's a strange foreigner with disturbing ideas, who is at the same time clearly favoured by Orlanth. He's surrounded by sorcerers, madmen, Praxians, tricksters, Wolf Pirates, foreigners, and monsters. His behaviour often seems mad, his goals even madder. And yet, he's the most successful opponent against the Lunar Empire the world has seen since Sheng Seleris. 

In short, he's a GM delight. 

Sort of a cross between Merlin (mad and given to sinister insight) and Arthur (charismatic and innovative)?

8 hours ago, Crel said:

This is the direction I'm kind of leaning. The problem I have with Argrath, as a GM, is that for me he has come across as boring. I've read King of Sartar and his sections of the Glorantha Sourcebook, and in trying to make him mysterious and powerful he just seems bland, without emotion. That's why I'm considering nicking odds and ends of Conan for how to play him interacting with the players. (It's worth pointing out that the Conan of The Scarlet Citadel is far, far away from being an impulsive brute. He's a just king and clever strategist, while retaining barbarian instinct and lust for life.) My hunch is that it'll make him a more compelling and memorable (non-player) character.

I'd model him on Greg myself.

He spends a lot of time listening. Occasionally he interjects. At the end of the conversation he throws something out there that makes you re-evaluate the premise of the conversation. He chuckles. You meet him a year later. He still remembers the first conversation and brings it up again. He asks about your family, and remembers things about them.

There was once a Second Hand Illumination Town, but it was just a used lamp, lantern, and brazier depot.

3 minutes ago, Joerg said:

There is bound to be a whole lot of overlap or identity of these. Of course the daughter of the White Goddess would be the White Goddess for the next cycle (and I am fairly convinced that the Sunstop status of Yelm's reign was introduced only with Brigheye's rebellion, and that there was day and night prior to that massive betrayal and putsch.

There is night-time - perhaps not so dim as the later Night/Xentha - in the prehistoric portions of the Entekosiad myths. There are, for instance, day and night in the stories about the first appearance of people and the differentiation of men and women. So I think I agree with you.

Compare Yaranaths to Yara Aranis...

Yara Natha, Yara Aranis

12 minutes ago, Thyrwyn said:

Argrath, it is strongly implied, is an illuminate. He would be much more intentional and deliberate than any Conan. He is beyond motivations like revenge, though others might see his motivations that way. He is careful, deliberate, and mindful. He is a mystic in his own right, with (literally) a unique perspective on worldly events and politics. He is not looking ahead to Sartar; he is looking ahead to the possible destruction of the Red Moon; Sartar is just something that will happen along the way. That is what the players should see: an otherworldly patience and sense of inevitability (to quote Agent Smith). Remember that Argrath isn’t trying to take on this or that group of people. He’s waging war against a Goddess, and he thinks he can win - and he’s got reason to believe he can.

It's interesting that in the end the saga is quite equivocal on whether he helps the Red Goddess turn into the White, or he destroys the Moon. I think the chief impediment to his mystic path is his pursuit of the Moon's destruction. In the end, he seems to 'help' the Moon transform, thus fulfilling his vow without being consumed by its original purpose and youthful rage. This may already be forming in his mind/destiny - after all he weds a descendant of Sedenya and the Emperor and allies with aspects of the Red Goddess against Sheng Seleris.

BTW, the Bat has to be retrieved from the Underworld each time it dies - a hero quest - not from the Moon, which is were it is 'stabled'. Though perhaps it emerges from the underworld on the moon... however - as in the First Battle of Chaos - here we find it alighting on the Surface at Torang.

Since the First Battle of Chaos was also at Torang, the use of the term Third Battle of Chaos may indicate some Lunar propagandizing. Not that the defeat of 'Dranz Goloi' isn't significant, but the First Battle had even more existential stakes for the Empire.

Edit: also the Bat is pretty much around during the Dragon Pass/White Bear Red Moon boardgame period (c.1625-1634+)

There's also the prefix Tar- found in many Theyalan names, viz. Tar-Umath, High Storm. I think it means the 'high country'.

Edit: Tarena clouds are also the highest clouds in the sky...

21 hours ago, Alensin said:

I'm wondering if there's any equivalent to the Sartar clan questionnaire in preparation for RQ? If not, maybe something fan-made could be produced?

My experience is that the clan questionnaire still works well for RQG. The various clan runes and abilities are more background info than anything mechanical for the game, but they're rather informative for filling out the local color.

46 minutes ago, Joerg said:

I  think we have to discern between the Red Goddess as the current (nathic) incarnation of the Lunar Goddess, and Sedenya herself as the principle from which the Lunar Goddess in all her incarnations emanates. The White Goddess, celestial ruler before Brighteye, predates the five planetary sons of Yelm that all are some form of emanation of Sedenya (Verithurus/Jernedeus, Deumalos, Zator/Zaytenaras/Buserian, Derdurnus, Falsoretus/Zayteneras, probably not Ghevengus/Makestina, likely not Reladiva/us/Kargzant, definitely not Shargash/Tolat/Jagrekriand). So are non-planetary ones like Rashoran(a)/Nysalor/Gbaji.

I disagree with the notion that Sedenya did in some way inherit Illusion. The Lunar Glamour appears to be something else, a reality formed under the influence of the moonlight and having some form of permanence within the Silver Shadow and its extensions (the Glowline). Solidified moonglow, so to say.

Veldara and the Artmali descending from her had a similar selenic power in the Storm Age.

 

The undead blue moon is part and parcel of the Annilla cult in RQ3 Troll Gods, tied to her Elder Giants connections.

Both her blue moon and the Mernitan blue moon and the Artmali Veldara/Serartamal blue moon appear to have been the same celestial body.

 

The westerners know Annilla and Tolat (i.e. Verithurus(a) and Shargash) as twins, as celestial as underworld deities.

 

Is it possible that the cognate sons of Yelm represent figures intruded into the same portfolio/office as the daughters of the White Goddess?

Zaytenera is the goddess of curiosity and Zaytenerus/Buserian the god of cataloging. The latter seems to be a static interpretation of Zaytenera's ambit, which is closely tied to movement.

Of course, as the White Goddess was supplanted by her consort the Red King (dying Sun), they may share some children.

If Annilla is connected to the Giants, could she be connected to the titanic entities that appear to 'utuma' the moon, including Too Big to Be Seen?

There seems also to be a link between the Wanes and the Moon goddess' aspect in that Wane.

2 hours ago, scott-martin said:

I like the crystal nuances here so close to "hard earth" and his death (poor old Stone) . . . I wonder whether Whitewall might've originally been "white" with newly cut lime and the name stuck even though the walls have weathered. 

While Belintar might've been reluctant to restore the defenses of a particularly recalcitrant Sixth he probably did have elemental magic to regrow the carbonate  (!) if motivated. "Behold thy city, white in wall in fact as well as in name! Thus is my promise kept!"

He does have a certain association with walls, and the 'guardians' he deployed to prevent a new Hendriki king are (my intuition says) most likely a magically strengthened form of the traditional testing spirits used to prove kingship... One of these testing spirits could be the stone itself, a 'glittering rock bone serpent' defender slain and bound into the site after Worcha Rage?

The only caveat I can come up with regarding the geology of Whitewall is that it is very close to a Gimpy's called the Cave Inn, and that the Worcha Rage legend is associated with waves crashing against the fortress... (and hence, perhaps, fossil remnants of the piscine army?)

Also Jeff Richards wrote it was limestone here: http://glorantha.temppeli.org/digest/heroquest-rpg/2006.01/29537.html. The non-canon stories by John Hughes also assume limestone.

This rather suggests karst to me.

Issaries holy days? (Wildday/Movement)

Local fairs would follow or precede the harvest and plowing. Historically, fairs followed the quarter days, which were Lady Day, Midsummer, Michaelmas, and Christmas. These should correspond to the solstices and equinoxes in Sacred Time (spring equinox), Earth (autumn equinox), Fire Season (midsummer solstice), Dark Season (winter solstice), or in this case, the Movement/Wildday closest if Issaries is the trading cult.

12 hours ago, Akhôrahil said:

Similarly, farmers there might well find ways - self-defence only, naturally! - to use farming implements that absolutely do not count as weapons, honest.

In Peloria there's a whole bunch of secret Lodrilli combat arts...

I think it's more accurate to say that the universe does not acknowledge these ideas as some sort of immutable thing... indeed, neither Good nor Evil appear among the Gloranthan runes. Individual actions can be subjectively good or evil, often overwhelmingly so. In some ways the Illuminate is empowered to approach morality philosophically, rather than dogmatically, which means their decisions are both more nuanced and more considered than someone using the strictures of a cult or sect.

'Doing whatever I like without impunity' is still occlusion. We have to live with the consequences of our actions, even without the religious rules.

I can't agree with that.

It starts with the premise that chaos is inherently evil. The ways that chaos entered Glorantha appear to be evil - at least after the Storm Age, but there is, in the end, no difference between Chaos and the emergence of life and variety in the Green Age.

The violence and horror of the chaos of the Great Darkness is something that was imposed upon it by the non-chaotic entities that loosed it. None of the Unholy Trio were chaotic at first. Their violence and horror, sadly, emerged quite naturally from the troubles of the Storm Age.

'Destroy the World' = make something new we can't comprehend. The self-preserving instinct that fights this is entirely a reasonable reaction, but it's only moral quality is in that people have a right to live and be autonomous.

Look at the Aldryami, who don't recognise the existence of Chaos per se at all: they have Grower, Maker, and Taker, and chaos can be any of these. If Arachne Solara hadn't consumed and rebirthed entropy, the universe would have ended, right then and there. AS offered a different solution: mitigation, repair, and acceptance, that in the end, is only thing that keeps the bubble of Glorantha unextinguished in the roiling sea of endless Chaos.

Edit: calling for the extirpation of all illumination means destroying the Universal Spirit, the spider, and that means the end of existence: and it's consumption by Chaos! I'm not sure how that end can be seen as anything but nihilistic.