Gallowglass

I'm running an RQG session in about 90 minutes. One of PC's will almost certainly use a chariot, and I just realized I don't know how many hit points chariots are supposed to have. What is reasonable??? Do they have armor??? Can't find this in the book.

4 hours ago, metcalph said:

SOUL SPEAR;  Err...

 

I think this is for Vangono, as an associated cult of Pamalt.

This might be better for the corrections thread, but I noticed that the rune spell Fleetfoot does the same thing as the spirit magic spell Mobility, minus the strike rank decrease. So this would make Fleetfoot kind of obsolete. Was this intentional?

I am starting up a new campaign concerned with the Locaem Tribe and it's unique political situation.  I'd like to develop their neighbors a bit more. Does anyone have any information or recommended sources on the Balmyr Clans? Also, do we know if they have a king as of 1626, or did their leader also get dragon-chomped? 

1 hour ago, Jeff said:

I really don't get why long casting times should be a hard pill to swallow. It just is what it is. Like complaining that Rune Points require sacrifices of points of POW.

I think it just comes down to immersion vs. what’s fun for the average player, especially if they’re coming into Runequest from D&D, like many new players are (and me). In general, I like how the design of RQG provides a deep simulation of how things work in Glorantha. Paying POW for rune points is fine for me, because magical power should have a cost. I just think a lot of people have trouble with the cost being time, meaning in-game time and the players’ actual time. 

If the long casting times are a hard pill to swallow, one solution that someone posed in the forums a while back was having a “quick-cast” house rule in place. This would mean that a sorcerer can can use INTx5 or POWx5 or something like that, and cast a basic, un-boosted version of a sorcery spell. I’ve been thinking of allowing this in my next game. 

I'm thinking of starting my next campaign among the Locaem Tribe. The political conflict taking place within the tribe seems like it's worth building a campaign around, plus you have Pegasus Plateau as a good starting point. I'm debating which clan to make the PC's "home clan." The Owl and Raven clans both seem interesting, but I have a lot of questions about their patron spirits, clan history, etc. 

I think the story from Pegasus Plateau is that Raven led the original settlers from the Locaem clans into their current lands. The Owl, Raven, Salvi, and Ulanding clans are considered the "original" clans. It's not clear if these were all just one clan at the time of their migration from Heortland. Anyway, Raven asked these settlers to kill the spirit of Bran Creek, for some reason, and they refused. It's not clear what happens next, but I think most or all of the settlers ask the spirit named Owl Lord to protect them from Raven's anger at being betrayed. What I don't understand is how we end up with a "Raven" clan that placates Raven, and hates owls. Were they just clan folk who stayed loyal to Raven? Or did they betray him, and then decide to placate him rather than worship Owl Lord? 

I'm also wondering about the nature of these bird spirits. Is Raven the same spirit worshiped in Prax and other places? And what about Owl Lord? What are his Runes and associations? I know Raven has a connection with Illusion, and maybe Darkness. I don't know much about owls in Glorantha. Looking at the wiki, they are associated with Lhankor Mhy I think? Pegasus Plateau also says that Owl Lord provides protection from Darkness, even though he is a night bird. So maybe Owl Lord has the Fire rune, and something else like Truth? That would put him in direct opposition to Raven. 

Does anyone have any more sources on this stuff, or any theories? 

I can’t find anything about this in the GtG, but I remember something about Chaos-corrupted Mostali mining for uranium in the Tunneled Hills. Am I just imagining this?

@Dreaming_Johnny I recently wrote up a spirit cult of Uncol, the Uncoling reindeer spirit, for RQG. I haven't play-tested it or anything but you might be interested. It's modeled somewhat after the Telmor cult from the bestiary. I tried to add rune magic that would make them effective in tundra warfare, and also lean towards being magic specialists. 

Uncol (Beast)

Initiate Membership

- Anyone born to Uncoling parents is automatically an initiate of the cult. Outsiders must be adopted into a clan or family to join.

- Cult Skills: 1H Spear, Self Bow, Cult Lore (Uncol), Dance, Meditate, Sing, Survival, Spirit Combat, Worship (Uncol)

- Starting Skills: Cult Lore (Uncol) +15%, Sing +10%, Spirit Combat +20%, Survival +15%, Worship (Uncol) +20%

- Spirit Magic: All

- Favored Passions: Love (family), Loyalty (shaman)

Rune Magic

- Common Rune Magic: Divination, Extension 1, Multispell 1, Sanctify, Spirit Block

- Special Rune Magic: Reindeer Hide, Reindeer Running, Spirit Antlers

- Enchantments:  Ban, Binding Enchantment, Magic Point Enchantment, Matrix Creation, Spirit Armor Enchantment

Shamans

- Standard, shamans also serve as priests. Reindeer spirits are always friendly to Uncoling shamans. Other animals spirits are usually neutral, while wolf spirits are always hostile.

- Special rune magic: Axis Mundi

Associated Cults

- Hykim and Mikyh – Provides Transform Self

- Herd Mother - Provides Understand Herd Beasts (Reindeer). This is Uncol’s mate who provides magic to reindeer herders similar to Eiritha.

- Foundchild - Provides no spells, but is commonly worshiped by Uncoling hunters.

- Helpwoman - Provides no spells, but is commonly worshiped by Uncoling wise women.

- Brother Dog - Provides no spells, but is commonly worshiped by Uncoling hunters.

Rune Magic

Reindeer Hide (Beast) – 2 RP

Touch, Temporal, Nonstackable

- This spell causes the caster to sprout a coat of thick fur, covering their body. The thick hide grants +4 armor to all hit locations. The warm, thick fur also grants protection of 10 against hit point damage lost due to cold exposure (see p. 161 RQG rulebook). This spell can only be cast on an Uncol initiate.

Reindeer Running (Beast) – 2 RP

Touch, Temporal, Nonstackable

- This spell transforms the caster’s legs into long reindeer limbs, with hooves. The caster’s arms remain human. SIZ characteristic increases by +4, the caster’s movement rate increases to 12, and they can run through heavy snow with no penalties. This spell can only be cast on an Uncol initiate.

Spirit Antlers (Beast) – 3 RP

Touch, Temporal, Nonstackable

- This spell causes the target to sprout a pair of magical reindeer antlers from their forehead, granting protection from hostile spirits and spells. This has the combined effect of a Spirit Block spell granting 6 points of protection in spirit combat, and also provides 6 points of Countermagic. If the target is also fully transformed into a reindeer, they can make a gore attack as an elk (p. 144 RQ Bestiary). This spell can only be cast on an Uncol initiate.

I would love to see northern Pamaltela as well! I also really loved that small supplement you did on Gloranthan architecture. Something more expansive, maybe focusing on cities or temples could be really cool.

I wonder if whoever wrote the conversation between Oddi and Paulis was inspired by the Bhagavad Gita. There is the same basic message that you have to do your duty and play your part, even when greater awareness makes it all seem meaningless. Granted, Arjuna’s reason for not wanting to fight are different. Actually, while I’m at it, Ralzakark reminds me a lot of Ravana from the Ramayana. He’s an enlightened monster who terrifies the world, and draws his power from mystical knowledge. 

Kyger Litor has a shamanic tradition. If your player’s character is from the Torkani tribe in Sartar, they could plausibly worship her as Deloradella. I can’t think of anything else that is already written up in RQG.

Edit: I’m pretty sure in the RGQ Bestiary it says Kyger Litor initiates can become priestesses and/or shamans. 

30 minutes ago, Nick Underwood said:

Ooh, interesting. It seems that this is covered in Wyrm's Footneote #15. Need to make a purchase.

They don’t go into a lot of detail on this, but WF #15 is still a great read. It’s the best source on the Dragon Pass Sun Dome Temple.

I hope that the Kitori get some detailed coverage in a future supplement, hopefully as an option for making player characters and running campaigns. Also aren’t the Torkani and Bachad tribes supposed to be descended from Kitori? 

Your answers to question 9 and 10 are really helpful. I always allowed my shaman PC to scout with her fetch, or other spirits. But this seemed overpowered to me. I like those limitations. 

I think you have a plausible theory there. To clear up the Malkioni vs. Brithini question, the Brithini are immortals who adhere to strict caste laws, and don’t recognize gods as worthy of worship. 
 

“Malkioni” is more of an umbrella term for all Westerners in Glorantha, including the Brithini. They recognize the Invisible God over all others, and practice some kind of caste system. They are all technically human, but the Brithini are so weird and ancient that they seem inhuman to others. 

6 hours ago, Akhôrahil said:

 

I’m very concerned about stuff like Sleep spells with virtually always 95% chance of success in the future, when a PC qualifies for shaman.

 

This was pretty much the story of my life while I was running my last campaign. And for the record I think shamans are supposed to have two POW scores for attack and defense, with rules as written. Our shaman was a powerhouse, although when she went into the spirit world alone, it was a different story. Those were the times when I could really make her player sweat. 

19 hours ago, jajagappa said:

From the recent notes by Jeff on the Holy Country posted over in the RuneQuest forum, Heortland is not tribal (though Volsaxiland is).  Esrolia works through its Enfranchised Houses, which are "noble" clans that have many other client clans - so not tribal in the manner of Sartar.

That post was what got me thinking about this. I wrote up a bunch of tribes for Oranor a while ago, more than 20, but now I'm wondering if it makes sense to have that many. The thing is, as far as worldbuilding goes tribes are a nice way to organize things. Every tribe kind of has their own "thing." Then you pick a tribe that's interesting and make up clans. But increasingly Sartar is looking like an unusual case, with so many tribes compared to smaller numbers of clans. 

51 minutes ago, Joerg said:

Giving the tribal kings some land claim to house tenants on and some pasture and herds to take their income from is fine, and may have been pooled up upon forming (or belatedly joining) the tribe. But I would have expected the clans only to grant usage of land to the tribe.

 

I think some clans are inextricable from tribal kingship. At least that's how I imagine these things happening. Like how the Ernaldori are really the biggest and most influential of the Colymar clans. There seem to be clans who basically control towns or other important resources. I would imagine that these tribal resources start there. 

1 hour ago, Sir_Godspeed said:

Apart from the political angle, I'd suspect population density to be the main factor for tribal formation. The denser the population, the more likelihood for large-scale political organization. 

 

This makes sense. But it's interesting that Sartar has a comparatively low population (roughly 125,000), but has so many tribes. Oranor in comparison has almost three times as many people, so again, I don't think they just go in clans.  

It's worth mentioning that the Guide mentions a few Orlanthi peoples who specifically don't form tribes, on p. 31. Oranor, Nimistor, Brolia, Keanos, Surkorian, and Basim. For the record, I don't agree with Oranor. They have cities and are described as having a king of some kind, so I think it takes greater political organization for that to happen. Otherwise I think what these people have in common is that they live in remote areas, and don't have any serious existential threats nearby. 

There are also several Orlanthi regions that are dominated by powerful overlords, so it seems like that would discourage the formation of tribes or kings. All the kingdoms under the control of the Lunar Empire for example would probably have small, weak tribes, if they have any at all. I remember the Unspoken Word #1 goes into this a little bit on Tarsh, but I forget how it works specifically. Other examples I can think of that probably have weak or nonexistent tribes would be Jonatela, Heortland (especially during Belintar's reign), maybe even Esrolia. 

There are a lot of "Orlanthi" people in Glorantha, but the ones we've gotten the closest look at are the Sartarites. Within a relatively small region, they have organized into 20+ tribes, with kings and everything that goes with it (I'm including the Far Place tribes). Up until recently I think I've allowed that model to dominate my perception of how Orlanthi people organize themselves socially. But lately I've been wondering how common the Sartar model is (lots of tribes, each with anywhere from 3,000-10,000 population) when compared to other Orlanthi around the lozenge.

I'm also curious about Orlanthi that don't use the Orlanth Rex cult as the basis for creating and maintaining tribes. I think it was introduced by Alakoring in the Second Age, so I would think this is a thing in Ralios, and further south. But what about Peloria, where Orlanth worship is suppressed? Or more distant places like Fronela or Umathela? 

1 hour ago, M Helsdon said:

Second attempt and I am not satisfied with it. A comment that has appeared several times on Armies & Enemies is that the art isn't up to Chaosium's standard, but I'm an amateur, and if I don't draw the sketches, there won't be any illustrations; this is making me very conscious of flaws

I’m not an art expert, but I really appreciate your illustrations, not to mention the research you’re doing, and the willingness to explore parts of the setting that Chaosium won’t get to for years. Also, it’s kind of ridiculous that anyone would criticize the art in a Jonstown Compendium work, in my opinion. 

I’m gonna plug Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner for a good depiction of shamans and spirit hijinks, also plenty of action and drama. It’s a bit long though. +1 for Ten Canoes as well.

Hello, I am currently preparing to run a play-by-post campaign set in Esrolia. I was thinking of using the excellent Esrolian House questionnaire created by @jajagappa, and I was wondering if he (or anyone else) has it posted somewhere in a completed form or document? I have been looking over the questionnaire on the RPGGeek forum, but it would be easier if I had the questions all together somewhere to consult. The forum also doesn't mention what the "rewards" are for each possible choice, presumably because it was being shared with players.