pachristian

I like the RQ4 version mentioned above. Thank you

The primary issues aren't technological - they're social. Remember that the people living in this pseudo-iron age world have their own lifestyle and traditions, and most important those lifestyle and traditions work for them. Nobody is found of a bunch of people, of any age, suddenly showing up and telling them they're doing things wrong. For an extraordinary character in a fantasy world, check out Gordon R. Dickson's The Dragon and the George series. In this series, Jim Eckert is sent back to a magical medieval world. He's a medievalist and knows his history and mythology extremely well. He can work powerful magic. He has good friends and allies. And he's still often overwhelmed by the different values and mores of the world. For a more cynical look, check out Robert Plunkett's A California Dreamer in King Henry's Court. On the technological issue, everyone always wants to focus on gunpowder. That ain't squat. The real revolutions came from canning (which allowed food to be preserved for long periods of time), high-speed long distance communication (i.e. telegraph), and mass production (the art of making parts with such precision that they were interchangeable). Medieval and Ancient worlds had "factories" where they produced in volume, but Eli Whitney's genius was to make all the parts interchangeable, so that if you had a surplus of springs, you could use them on the next batch of locks, and so on. Oh yes, and the moveable type printing press, which allowed inexpensive production of multiple copies of books - starting with the Bible, but including scientific treatises and popular fiction. This in turn lead to a revolution in reading and writing. Looking at popular "modern person in a savage world" books, I notice that the characters all seem to be athletes and outdoorsmen and fighters, and often someone who "doesn't fit in the modern era". Where that's not the case, they invariably have a protective ring of powerful friends (i.e. NPC's) to cover for them until they make their extraordinary contribution to the fantasy world.

I've had games where the players hyper-focused on their cults, advancement therein, and cult likes and dislikes. I've had games where the players ignored the whole thing except as trivial background.Figure out how your players want to do it, and go from there.

You have to be careful with this sort of thing in a role-playing game: Remember that every time you define a skill, you define a group of people who don't have that skill. If you need a different Peaceful Cut for every animal, then you've just told every Waha follower in your game that he must buy 5-6 different skills, none of which will have a direct impact on adventuring. If he doesn't buy those skills, he commits heresy every time he slaughters a herd beast from a herd type other than his own. That's a big point commitment for a player. Despite the magical component - and every craft has a magical component, I know this from watching friends knit - I treat Peaceful Cut as a craft skill, and a part of butchering. One skill (for game purposes). Saying something has a magical component in Glorantha is akin to saying something has a "use technology" component in our world - it's ubiquitous. And no, nit-pickers, I did NOT just say that magic is the technology of Glorantha. I said it is interwoven into every skill and aspect of life, and is consequently indistinguishable from those skills and aspects of life.

I had always assumed that herding = herding dogs. But then I was reading up on the Mongols and learned that they didn't use herding dogs. Nor were herding dogs part of the American cattle drive tradition. Apparently, herding dogs become part of herding tradition when you have a home to go back to, instead of are continuously on the move.

I just read an interesting entry in Wikipedia: Given the scarcity of resources on Prax, I wonder if the animal nomads would do something similar? Anyone out there with serious experience as a butcher have any suggestions?

Am I correct in assuming that the Earth Rune for Basmol is due to the Pamaltian origins of the cult? Also - do we have an ETA for Riders of the Storm? (yes, I know, 1971. But I'm asking about your book, not Jim Morrison's.)

Well, that's one way to annoy the spider!

There is also the little 90% time commitment to your cult. No, you cannot be rune level in more than one cult.

Immmm - I already had everything?

I use a 20mm hex grid for my Mythras games battlemat: at miniature figure scale, 20mm = 1 meter. most of the miniatures bases overlap the hex edges, but it's still a valuable tool for measuring distance on the battlefield.

I wasn't originally a big fan of the folk magic spells, but I've come around. They're actually fun and colorful, without overpowering the game.

Given the land around it, the Zola Fell would have a wind blowing inland almost every day. You have a similar situation with the Sacramento River in California. The current carries you downstream but the wind can blow you right back up - especially in the narrow straights (i.e. where the canyon walls are close to the river). So sailing at least part way up the river is a viable option. Once you get further inland, and the wind is less reliable, the old Californians would use oxen; Literally, they would run a tow line to shore and have oxen plod upriver, towing the boat behind them. You'd use the rudder (pretty good steerageway against the current) to avoid running into banks. It was very slow (10 miles a day was great speed) but it was reliable. I could easily picture Sun County making some extra money towing boats up to Pavis. The Keelboat, used on midwestern rivers, was propelled by having a gang of men on each side of the deck. The man in front would push his long pole into the river bottom, and then walk aft, literally pushing the boat with him, at the back, he would lift his pole out of the water and walk back up front. He was followed by the next man, and so on. With a practiced crew, they could make decent speed. It's worth mentioning that in the keelboat era, river transportation cost six times as much per mile to go upstream as to go down; not just for the extra time taken, but for the cost of the extra men. On the Zola Fel, the keelboat technique would work best in late Fire Season, or after the crops have come in and before the rains. You'd have a large, partially idle population, and goods to transport to the city; keelboating would be a good seasonal job. For player characters it would also give characters from the Pavis area an excuse to have boating skill, knowledge of the river valley, and friends in the Zola Fel cult.

I used a Mindelheim cavalry sword as the model for the sword my character caries (learned swordsmanship with the Bison tribe). Those of you not familiar with www.bronze-age-swords.com, do yourselves a favor and check out Neil Burridge's amazing work.

Frozen Fire Description: A carved piece of "Ice" that looks like a flame. Red to orange to yellow coloring. Usually about fist-sized. Often mistaken for glass. Cool to the touch. Cults: Invisible God Knowledge: Known to some travelers to Valind's Glacier. Popular item in folklore in northeast Fronela and Carmania. History: "Frozen Fire" is said to have been invented by the God-Learners, as a way of transporting fire in northern lands. Procedure: There is a Grimoire The Book of Opposites said to contain the sorcerous spell for creating frozen fire. Powers: Frozen fire can be transported in a backpack or pouch. Investing 1 magic point into it 'unfreezes' the fire. At that point is expands to the size of a large campfire and begins burning normally. If no fuel is provided, the frozen fire will burn for about 5 minutes, then go out. Placed on flammable materials, it will ignite them, just like a normal fire would. Each time frozen fire is used, roll a d6. On a 1 or 2, the fire is consumed. On any other number, a person can expend one magic point, and 'refreeze' the fire. Value: About 1/2 the value of a 1-point matrix.

No, it gets you exactly what you are given...

VERY interested. As you're the artist, I 100% support the idea of either (a) putting it up on the "Downloads" page here or (b) posting it on Drivethrurpg for a reasonable price. Either one. I'll still contact you, as requested.

Thank you I'll see if I can find a copy.

I'm looking at running a set of adventures based in the Tarsh. I'll use Furthest as the primary "go-to" city of the game. Is there an 'official' map or description of the place? If not, does anyone have any suggestions?

I todja so! but the key point remains that mortals trying to exploit a sequence of events in god time, and relate it to the flow of time in the world, is Rules-lawyering on an epic scale. Reminds me of a player, long ago, who was trying to sell me on something he wanted his Humakti character to get away with. He quoted "by the rules...' and "if this then, logically, that...' for some time. Finally I said to him: "Go ahead, play semantics games with the god of death. See where that gets you."

Is there any other kind?

May I know your source of information sir? I've been trying to find information on Mycenaean era mythologies, and so far have come up with a blank.

I think we're still trying to impose our own linear thinking into godtime. Concepts like "before" and "after" don't matter. Think of it as being like a pre-Dallas American TV show, in an endless cycle of reruns: It doesn't matter which episode you watch or in what order, as everything begins and ends with the same situation. (Watch, now I will be jumped on by TV purists who will find episodes from their favorite show where one definitely followed the other...)

The Leaping Spear Description: A short spear, balanced for throwing. The head is (apparently) well-shaped flint. Tied just below the head are a pair of sky bull feathers. The haft is ash, lightly engraved with many runes and patterns; all venerate the Stormbrothers, and the gods of war and mobility. The butt-spike is of cast air-metal. Cults: Orlanth, particularly in Lankst Knowledge: Orlanth History: Savaric the Leaper was a locally well-known hero. He was particularly famous for his skill with a thrown spear, and the numerous heroic tricks he could perform with the javelin (throwing two at once at different opponents, and so on). His most celebrated - and unlikely - ability was his ability to throw a spear, leap onto it, guide it to it's target with his feet, and leap off to resume the fight. Before his death, he took his favorite spear - The Leaping Spear - and threw it as far into the Eastern Wilds as he could. Savaric proclaimed that "one who is worthy will find it". Since his time, several heroes have found, and used, the Leaping Spear but none have managed to retain it. Procedure: Find the original, or go on a suitable hero quest to gain similar abilities as Savaric. The spear must be attuned. Powers: On throwing the spear, the attuned character may expend a magic point, and attempt a Jump roll (Athletics in Nash-Whittaker RQ). If the role is made, the character successfully leaps atop his spear, and is carried for the full distance of it's flight. Guiding the spear is done with a Drive Chariot (Drive) roll. If made, the character may either roll hit location on his original target twice, and choose the preferred location, or change targets (causing the spear to swerve in flight). At the end of the flight, the character leaps off the spear, and ends up standing next to the spear's target. If the GM feels like it, the character may have to make a second Jump roll to remain standing at the end of the flight. The spear may be thrown multiple times per day, but each successive throw costs double the previous throw's magic points (1 for the first, 2 for the second, 4 for the third, and so on). And, yes, the wielder can use the spear for actions like crossing a chasm or river, by throwing the spear and riding it. The spear-thrower can carry as much weight as the GM feels like letting them carry. Without moralizing too much, the spear is meant for the use of a wind lord of Orlanth Adventurous. The spear will continue to function as long as the individual using it shows the six great virtues of Orlanth (Courage, Wisdom, Generosity, Justice, Honor, and Piety). It does not matter whether the individual is actually a member of the cult of Orlanth or not, as long as they live up to the virtues. If the spear owner fails in their Orlanthi virtues, the next time they throw the spear, it will fly high and far, and be lost again, only to be found by another warrior. Value: To the right warrior or chieftain, priceless. For game purposes, assume that the spear has the value of a 2 or 3 point matrix.

Reality in our world is magic as well. Go ahead, prove to me that the desertification of the north Sahara was not caused by humans failing to properly respect the land spirits. Prove to me that hurricane Matthew is not being caused by angry wind spirits.