jeffjerwin

Now, of course in the Celestial/Light/Sky pantheon they have their own dance goddess, Silonia, who was the mistress of Polaris/Rigsdal. [B of Heortling Mythology]. And of course nearly every Ernaldan ritual is accompanied by dance. Ernalda of course according to the CC learned this magic from Donandar... In Pelanda the dance god is Vanolti, 'an aspect of Idovanus', the supreme god of Carmania.

If I were to expand the associated cult list I'd probably bring in some Pelorian or Ralian gods since the cult is found there as well - and the Manirian and Kerofinelan gods may not be so common. Or perhaps I should down-grade some others to spirit magic provisioning. What we do know based on the puppeteer troop is they also were able to travel in Dragon Pass even after the fall of the EWF and retain mystic secrets. They also seem to have good relations with trolls, but also with other non-humans. They hang out in haunted and dangerous places. 13th Age says : "Minor god who was formerly in the Puppeteer Troupe but left to try to find a way to deal with Chaos. He’s a bardic god and the god of entertainers." It also says "Eurmal"! was a founding member. Both the House of Sartar and the Red Emperor patronize the troop/troupe... (!) Further reading on the troupe in the 13th Age book indicates they can do teleportation, invisibility, steal powers (thief!) from people, cause laughter, confuse, distract with banter, and deflect damage onto their opponents' friends. However the Glorantha Sourcebook makes it clear the troop/troupe worships Donandar still.... So perhaps I should develop this further as a hero band.

Specifically, the connection to Orlanth is through Drogarsi (war dancer and poet), a brother/subcult; to Kyger Litor through Molamin (who appears to be an 'elegant' singing subculture), and to Chalana Arroy through Donandar directly distracting chaos things while she healed Dogarsi. 'Skovari' is described as the 'earthy and moving dancer' who is connected to the 'common people' - I read this as perhaps connecting directly to the Earth cults' folk dancing (the goose dance, for example). Cults Compendium, pp.231-4. Drogarsi of course is critical in the creation of Orlanth's Ring.

Deleting Peace... and Invigorate. Considering the others. Invisibility I'm keeping for now as Donandar is also the god of stage magic/sleight of hand (and turning, I think, puppeteers invisible), according to my reading. Keep in mind that priests are very rare.

Kyger Litor, Chalana Arroy, and Orlanth all have direct (and positive) connections to Donandar according to the description in CC. Maran Gor uses dancing in her worship, so that was a bit more of a stretch.

I've made some corrections... thank you

I suppose Dogarsi should provide Fearless...

I'm trying to throw together Donandar for the new rules. This is my current draft: Donandar, God of Music Illusion, Harmony, Movement Holy Days Waterday, Illusion week, Sea Season Fireday, Illusion week, Fire Season Clayday, Illusion week, Earth Season Freezeday, Illusion week, Dark season High Holy Day: Windsday, Harmony week, Storm season [See Cults Compendium, p.232] Initiate Membership Requirements Standard Cult Skills Act, Charm, Cult Lore (Donandar), Dance, Disguise, Dodge, Insight, Orate, Play Instrument, Sing, Worship (Donandar) Favored PassionsLove (any), Loyalty (troupe) Spirit Magic n/a Rune Magic Common Rune Magic Command Cult Spirit, Extension, Find Enemy, Multispell, Sanctify, Warding Special Rune Magic Charisma, Group Laughter, Harmonize, Illusory Motion, Illusory Sight, Illusory Sound, Invisibility, Switch Places [see Cults Compendium] Enchantments Binding Enchantment Rune Priest RequirementsThe candidate must have 90% skill in two of the following skills: Act, Dance, Play Instrument, Sing, or Sleight. Must lead a troupe (troop). Associated/Friendly Cults (spirit magic only, except Eurmal) Chalana Arroy provides Heal (spirit magic) Ernalda provides Heal (spirit magic) Eurmal provides Clever Tongue or Become [other shape] at appropriate shrines. Befuddle or Glamour is taught at any shrine. Heler provides Shimmer Kyger Litor and her son the drumming god provide Demoralize Orlanth provides Bladesharp (or Mobility?) Issaries provides Detect Enemies (spirit magic) Yelm provides Coordination Comments I’ve substituted in a few things like Spirit Magic that are absent in the CC write-up. As a god of music and dance, Donandar has a natural affinity to the performative aspects of shamanism, and the god’s half-brothers are probably best defined as greater spirits, if not Donandar himself.

Jaldon is a dentist, I think.

In the stories themselves, Conan wore armor whenever he could, probably like most penniless adventurers. After becoming more successful - a chieftain and king - he covered himself in it... though no doubt he was a little slower and older by then.

Note that the Earth mysteries include the secret of parthenogenesis. If you want to bear a child, I'm sure it can be done. Hermaphrodites might even be more sacred in Esrolia, as they encapsulate the primordial Mother that is also Father.

Well, my head canon is that Geo's Bouncer was a Nandan Babeester Gor initiate... I tend to interpret Geo's as a refuge for non-standard/normative people. Geo was a male cook and hospitality priest, after all.

I assume that would be weird to non-Heortlings, not to the Heortlings, based on real world societies that have more than two genders (like, increasingly, our own). Helerings are more likely not interested in warrior/'masculine' skills as their main activity. Still, something like 85% of Heortlings are M or F, I'd estimate. Which means if you really want to hang with multiple people of your gender or orientation (if its not M of F or heterosexual), you either have to move to the city/big town, or form a hero band, much like in our society.

That settles it... it would awfully lopsided to have Vinga without Nandan. Question: we have quite a few genders now for Heortlings. But how many genders does the Lunar Way accept? Or is the answer "we don't really care"? I think the Dara Happans probably only have two or three.

What about Nandan's folk? I'm pretty sure they become Crones when they get old.

The Mistress Race was the leader and obviously just being a Mistress Race is Winning. As one can imagine, people watched them with mixture of fear and curiosity. We were on an endless hero quest against Chaos.

There are the Star-Captain ancestors who one could be a descendant/initiate of, I think, as well as Rigsdal. Elmalhara "beloved Elmal" (among the Dolutha) may be another aspect of Elmal that is connected to lovers. Hara is a genderless word, interestingly.

There are pre-Time barrows and tombs in Sen Senrenen (the hills around Whitewall) and near the Print. This means that the proto-Heortlings practiced burial rather than urn-fields. I believe the burning of the bodies was something introduced with Heort.

Good plan.

I was in a party as a Zebra-rider shaman of Rainbow Girl along with a Great and a Mistress Troll and a Magisaur of Lhankor Mhy, but I think you have me beat.

I'm working on something for KAP now. I've adapted KAP to swashbuckling myself. I had to significantly reduce damage dice. Of course, KAP is somewhat abstracted, and each combat dice contest covers a fair bit of moving about. Proper swashbuckling has to be both fast (simple rules) and yet also cover a lot of mobility and clever tricks. Various attempts at it tend to fall apart when the rules are too percise and thus slower - and also have trouble with complex maneuvering around multiple opponents. I like Lace and Steel myself but the rules have trouble with the latter problem. En Garde was very detailed but had little RPing - and that's the true heart of a Dumas novel. Characters in KAP are supposed to be knights and sometimes ladies and their opponents ought to be the same - with a few giants, monsters, and enchantresses for good measure. Peasants and Saxons are only interesting when they're clever or formidable. Which means the classic emphasis on the war over Britain in the game, a carryover from the "Historical Arthur" tends to clash significantly with the core themes of "fine amour" and chivalry. There's a conflict between creating competent warriors and "perfect knights" - the latter spending a lot more time writing poetry and pining away. However, this is destined to change...

A ritual year-marriage is the focus of the Garhound adventure in Sun County. Note that Orlanth wins Ernalda by promises and contests, and even if completely ritualized, this ought to be the pattern. Usually the opposition is perfunctory and symbolic, not real, but there should be always a space for a rival suitor to cause trouble. The husband impresses the bride and the bride chooses their favorite. This acknowledges both roles.

I find the wiki very useful for keeping close to canon and as an _accurate_ index of sources. If it was truly a work of dozens, the weeding necessary to eliminate non-canon, uncertain canon, and fanon would be much worse. I second the idea of a Fan-based wiki with art, speculation, and adventure hooks as opposed to dry indexing. They serve different roles, and Metcalf's is really important if you want to write or research something, err... arcane, like my focus on Darkness Age proto-Heortlings.

She could also be a widow (or other survivor) who became connected to death via some tragedy, and had to learn the rites of death for Earth-folk in the absence of other candidates. Perhaps she chose that path instead of Babeester Gor or dyeing her hair with henna. There is always a need for Ty Kora Tek as every time Ernalda enters the underworld someone has to tell the secret of death to the people, and 'crone' need not be a strictly age-based judgment. But this association does mean, as Metcalph states above, barrenness.

The Widow's Tale and Eurhol's Vale are excellent and totally unavailable. I think they would be new to a lot of new and returning Glorantha-fans.