Gallowglass

The question of the Talastarings' origin is interesting to me, because I've been trying to understand the historical/mythic roots of the Orlanthi peoples in Fronela. From what I understand, they all descend from Talastaring clans that gradually migrated north and west in the Dawn Age, and formed their own kingdoms. First there was Somaria (modern-day Anadikki and Brolia), then Talsardia (modern-day Charg). It's interesting to consider that in addition to all the other weird crap that Fronelan Orlanthi do like riding bulls and worshiping some Pelorian/Pelandan gods, they may have different core traditions as well that set them apart from the Heortlings.

I thought of including Devise, but it didn’t seem appropriate for a Stone Age people. In retrospect though, traps and snares are still Stone Age technology, so, sure.

How 'bout this? With the Mask effect, it feels like Invisibility and Lie are somewhat unnecessary. Lotara (Raccoon - Beast, Illusion, Disorder) Raccoon Tail (Body, doubles DEX for duration of spell) Mask (Head, similar to Become [other shape], take the shape of any human, takes an hour to cast while studying a target) Clever Hands (Limbs, doubles skill percentage in Search and Sleight) Clever Tongue

Sure, all I've done so far is lay out which Rune spells each totem spirit would grant. I think each of them probably would teach some unique spirit magic too, but I'm not there yet. All the totem spirits would grant the following common Rune spells: Divination, Extension 2, Multispell 2, Sanctify, Soul Sight, Spirit Block 2. All totem spirits also grant Speak to (totem animal). So Rathori can speak to bears, Uncolings speak to reindeer, etc. Finally, each spirit has access to the spell Transform Self from Hykim and Mikyh. Bear Spirits (same spells as Odayla, plus the following) Irgar (Beast) - Command Bear Irdag (Beast, Darkness) - Dark Walk Orenrar (Beast, Moon) - Madness Uncoli (Reindeer - Beast) Antlers (Provides a spirit block+countermagic effect, extra attack when stacked with Transform Self) Reindeer Legs (Increased speed/agility skills) Reindeer Hide (natural armor+resistance to cold) Kloisar (Badger - Beast, Earth) Badger Head (Bite attack) Burrowing Claws (Claw attacks, allows rapid burrowing) Badger Musk (Store use of 1 spirit magic spell in a location marked with scent glands or urine. This is why they cover themselves in piss ) Zonat (Porcupine - Beast) Identify Scent Claws Quills (Provides natural armor, successful parry with Grapple skill deals damage to attacker) Shoot Quills (Must be stacked with Quills, grants a short ranged attack skill) Sabadar (Wolverine - Beast) Wolverine Head (Bite attack) Claws Wolverine Hide (Natural armor+cold resistance) Berserker Rinkon (Bobcat - Beast, Air) Catseye Charisma (Body) Claws (Limbs) Identify Scent (Head) Lotara (Raccoon - Beast, Illusion, Disorder) Invisibility (Body) Catseye (Head) Strike (Limbs) Lie Akkar (Skunk - Beast, Fertility) Musk Spray (Short ranged attack, nauseate enemies with your stench!) Identify Scent (Head) Charisma (Body) Claws (Limbs) Flara (Black Owl - Beast, Darkness) Wings (Body, grants a fly skill) Catseye (Head) Dark Walk Talons (Limbs, similar to claws but it affects the feet, and uses Kick skill) Hogar (Mammoth - Beast, Earth) Mammoth Tusks (Head, extra attack) Mammoth Hide (Natural armor+SIZ, resistance to cold) Stomp (Limbs, similar to Shake Earth spell)

I believe the Rathori people also worship lesser bear spirits, including Irgar (brown bear), Irdag (black bear) and Orenrar (blue bear). In the White Bear’s absence, these spirits may have taken on more importance. Or maybe Rathor was a more distant spirit in the first place, and the other bear spirits were closer to their worshippers. Everything I’ve seen on beast spirit cults in previous editions makes me think this is the case. I’ve written up some sample cults for the Fronelan Hsunchen in RQG, and I used Odayla as a model.

Fair enough. I don't expect my players will meet any Malkioni sorcerers in our current game in Dragon Pass, unless they decide to go down to the Holy Country. Lunar sorcerers on the other hand...

My original post touched on the idea of (someday) running a campaign in the West, specifically Loskalm. This sort of campaign is what I had in mind when I raised the topic. I feel like sorcery is part of what makes the Western culture unique, so it's a little disappointing to hear the official line that "pure" sorcerers aren't supposed to be playable as adventurers. Lots of folks have shared great ideas about creating homebrew sorcery rules, (thank you!) and I think that's the direction I'm moving in. My Glorantha may have to vary in this case. I am still curious if Jeff has any insight about what kind of magic a Loskalmi Man-of-All uses in battle. If the Seshnelan horali and talars potentially have access to Rune magic, and supportive spells from their zzaburi, that would balance them very well against their enemies (Ralians I guess). Do the Loskalmi have Rune magic as well?

Last time, the party arrived in Pavis, and learned about a valuable suit of armor that once belonged to their tribe's great hero, Derik Pol-Joni. The armor had been stolen by it's original creator, a mad dwarf named Vorlokk. The heroes decided to follow the thief's trail into the Big Rubble. On the Trail of a Thief First the group was joined again by He Who Spits at the Devil. After a few days of carousing at the Storm Bull temple, he stumbled into Gimpy's in the middle of the night, ready to rejoin his kinfolk and kill things. The next morning everyone met with the Rubble Tracker, Chain Song. He offered the use of some "secret" tunnels beneath Dwarftown to get into the Rubble, as long as everyone put on blindfolds. According to Ginkizzie, other iron-crafted items were stolen from the human community in Manside, and the Loricek troll clan. HWSAD held great respect for the Zorak Zoran cult, and proposed speaking with the trolls as "brothers in the fight against Chaos." Garkar was opposed to dealing with trolls in any capacity, and everyone else felt that it would be dangerous to approach them, so the decision was made to visit the humans in Manside. Everyone followed Chain Song to Dwarftown, and down into the tunnels. The journey was uncomfortable and bewildering, and seemed to go much faster than the distance should have allowed. Soon enough, the party climbed up a staircase into the ruined streets of Old Pavis. To give everyone the feel for these ruins, I asked the players to imagine the towering structures of Rome or Constantinople, with people and livestock going their own way through the shattered streets. Compared to New Pavis, these old structures were more taller, more ornate, and more ambitious in their original design. (The image below is a bit too medieval-looking for Glorantha, but still captures the feel of the Manside ruins nicely.) Chain Song led everyone through the streets to an impressive temple. It was a stepped pyramid, built from some kind of crystalline substance. It had no doors or windows to speak of, but many people came and went around the base of the structure. Their dwarf guide introduced the party to a group of Zebra Riders, now the local constabulary. Erindros used all his charms to ingratiate himself to the captain of the riders, and explained that they were hunting a thief. The captain warmed to him and explained that a shield had been stolen from the museum nearby, and the Pavic guards had been hunting the thief as well. When Erindros shared their information on the trolls, the captain remarked that he had seen a large band of Loricek trolls returning from the Griffin Gate area the previous night. Garkar proposed visiting Griffin Gate and searching for Vorlokk's lair themselves. Everyone else decided it would be a better idea to follow up with the Loricek trolls, and determine if the raiding party was theirs. Garkar was greatly displeased by this plan. The Zebra Riders asked Erindros to share any new information, and to return the shield should they find it. Erindros swore to do so. The captain then gave him an emissary's banner marked with the runes of Argan Argar. He had used it when parleying with the trolls, and he claimed that they had "usually" respected its use in the past. The party then traveled out of Manside into the Huntlands. Here the ruins of the old city were little more than foundations, and most of the area was wild and overgrown. Before getting any closer to troll territory, Chain Song explained that he would stay behind and rendezvous with the PC's when (and if) they returned. He did not want to risk being surrounded by hungry trolls with a taste for dwarf flesh. Trolls of the Big Rubble Upon entering the Troll Stronglands, everything became noticeably more barren. Trollkin sentries watched from the shadows, and HWSAD kept the emissary banner visible at all times. They were soon confronted by two well-armed dark trolls, and a gang of vicious-looking trollkin. Erindros asked to see the leader of their gang, and pointed to the banner, saying that he represented the humans of New Pavis and the Big Rubble. He also mentioned that they were hunting a thief who had taken something from the Loricek clan. The trolls thankfully spoke Tradetalk, and agreed to take them to see their war leader, a Death Lord named Kozkal. The trolls led them deeper into the Riverside section of the troll ruins. These had been transformed over the centuries into the squalid, dilapidated mess that trolls love to squat in. Everywhere was discarded bones, filth, and the smell of Uz. They were led to a partially collapsed building, decorated with skulls, dried blood, and the runes of Zorak Zoran. There was the sound of beating drums, and soon the party was surrounded by angry-looking trolls, annoyed that their day-time rest had been interrupted. The Death Lord Kozkal appeared with two great trolls at his side. He was a hulking brute with many disfiguring scars on his snout. He gave acknowledgement of the party's status as emissaries, and then coldly explained that they would still need a good reason for coming into his home, otherwise they would be torn apart and eaten. HWSAD stepped in and gave praise to trolls and Zorak Zoran for being mighty foes of Chaos. It wasn't clear if this had any effect or not, so he passed the mic to Erindros. The silver-tongued merchant was straightforward with Kozkal. He said that many people knew that the Loricek trolls had been robbed by a dwarf, and lost something valuable to them. He also took a chance and voiced his theory that the trolls knew of Vorlokk's whereabouts. At first Kozkal was belligerent and threatening, but then admitted that Vorlokk had stolen an enchanted iron sword from him. He had sent a group of trollkin scouts the previous night to Griffin Gate, looking for the dwarf. They were attacked by Vorlokk, but one of the trollkin followed him back to a well-hidden basement. Kozkal had been preparing to attack the dwarf once night had fallen again, with greater numbers. Erindros offered to kill or capture Vorlokk for them instead, and return the iron sword, if the trolls could guide them to the hideout. He also promised to bring back Vorlokk's body as a "gourmet's gift" for Kozkal to enjoy. The war leader eventually agreed, on the condition that he send one of his trusted lieutenants to make sure the PC's stayed true to their word. He also demanded to seal the deal with a "traditional Loricek ritual", wherein Erindros would have to place his head in Kozkal's mouth for about 10 seconds. Erindros reluctantly agreed. After the count of ten Kozkal and the others started bellowing with laughter, and he realized that trolls did in fact have a sense of humor. An obese dark troll named Azgog made ready to accompany them to Griffin Gate, dragging half a dozen trollkin scouts with him. The Thief's Lair The party marched back north to the ruins around Griffin Gate. As they approached, someone called to Erindros from the shadows. It was Chain Song. He expressed his alarm that the party was cooperating with a group of trolls, and said he would not be able to help them apprehend Vorlokk. Instead he planned to bring in more Rubble Trackers, to ensure that the trolls wouldn't steal anything that "didn't belong to them." Erindros accepted this, seeing as he had little choice in the matter. The trollkin guided everyone deeper into the claustrophobic ruins around Griffin Gate. They soon came to a courtyard, but before they entered, HWSAD's Chaos sense began tingling. Egajia sent forth her fetch to see what enemies were lurking. She spotted three scorpion men in the courtyard, feasting on a human corpse. One of these was covered with unusually thick, horny plates of chitin. He Who Spits wasted no time, and charged the trio, calling on the Bull's rage. The scorpion men shrieked and advanced on him. Garkar flung lightning, and then javelins. He scorched one of the two smaller of the creatures, but did not seriously wound it. Erindros tried to protect HWSAD as he charged in, but this didn't prove necessary. Egajia brought all of her new powers as a shaman to bear, casting a barrage of sleep and demoralize spells, and also summoning her bound wraith. HWSAD succeeded in crushing the head of the largest scorpion man. The other two were put to sleep, and he finished them off in his usual gory fashion. Throughout the fight, Azgog and the trollkin hung back. When it was over, they appeared again and dug through some rubble. He revealed a hidden staircase leading into a basement. Azgog warned the party that dwarfs are notorious for setting traps. His preferred tactic was to march the trollkin in one-by-one, and allow them to reveal anything deadly by walking straight into it. HWSAD felt pity for the miserable trollkin, and offered to lead the way in. He climbed down into a brick passageway, and almost immediately tripped over some wires. This triggered a loud, groaning sound further away, followed by the sound of small footsteps. Garkar then took point, having a much better Scan rating. He discovered a hidden pitfall, opening into a shaft with wooden stakes. Everyone skirted around the edge. When they reached the other side, the sound of footsteps grew louder. Egajia sent out her fetch again to scout past the bend of the passageway. She saw something odd. Three tiny creatures, humanoid and no more than a foot tall, were marching toward them, carrying small wooden casks on their backs. The passage suddenly filled with a burning, sulfurous smell. Egajia cast Disruption on one of them, which dismembered it completely. When it dropped it's cask, the side broke open, and a deafening explosion followed. The passage was suddenly filled with dust and falling bricks. Everyone prepared to run, but the creatures also picked up their pace. They appeared around the bend, and ran at the confused party. Garkar threw a javelin at one of them, which nearly took out it's leg. But the creature was determined to die heroically, and threw itself forward with the exploding keg. Everyone was knocked off their feet by this explosion, and one side of the passageway collapsed. Egajia managed to Disrupt the last creature, and no-one was harmed by the final blast. When everyone recovered from the attack, and dug themselves out of the rubble, Egajia sent her fetch out the explore the rest of the hideout. She found more of the strange creatures in other rooms, packing up weapons and artifacts, or just wandering around aimlessly. One room was guarded by a large earth elemental, which she avoided. Finally, at the end of another hallway, she saw that another pit trap had been triggered. On the other side was a frantic looking dwarf in heavy armor, ramming powder into a strange black tube. The PC's discussed their next course of action. They expected more traps, and perhaps strange dwarf magic as Vorlokk defended himself. Everyone decided that they would need to regain the element of surprise. Erindros proposed casting Flight on He Who Spits to get over the pit. Egajia then called an ancestor to cover his approach with Darkwall. HWSAD prepared himself by gripping his maul in both hands, gripping a torch in his teeth, and then casting Fanaticism. First Vorlokk saw an encroaching wall of darkness. From the shadows then sprang a flying barbarian with a large hammer, and his beard partially aflame. The dwarf fired his strange tubular device at He Who Spits, but misfired and fell backwards. HWSAD succeeded at yet another called shot, and knocked the thief out with one blow to the head. As the trolls approached to apprehend him, HWSAD finished the dwarf off, knowing that the trolls might not care if he was alive or dead. Everyone else began searching for hidden doors or passages. Egajia found a well-hidden door that led into Vorlokk's workshop. Connected to that was another hidden room, which contained all the stolen artifacts that the party sought, including the Zebra Riders' shield, an iron sword inscribed with Death Runes, and an ornate breastplate and helm that could only have been Pol-Joni's armor. They took the armor, and entrusted the sword to Azgog. They warned him not to take anything else, as the Pavis dwarfs were coming to secure their secrets. The troll thanked everyone for staying true to their word, and then hoisted Vorlokk's corpse onto his shoulders, licking his lips. When they climbed back out with their prize, they met again with Chain Song, followed by several more dwarfs. They parted peacefully, although not on the friendliest of terms. With their prize won, the party made ready to leave Pavis, and return to Sartar before the end of Sea Season. They visited the cattle pens north of the city to claim Argrath's gift for the Dundealos Tribe. Between that and Pol-Joni's armor, they would have gifts aplenty for their tribe and clan both! Thanks for reading! Next time we move on to Fire Season, 1626. My players and I all have a lot going on these next few weeks, so we'll be taking a break until the middle of September. Until then!

This seems like an elegant solution. There are some sorcery spells that would be very useful even at their lowest intensity, like Mend Flesh or Finger of Fire.

Kind of how I feel actually. If the official word is mixed spirit and rune magic, so be it. But I think it would be interesting to see new things done with the sorcery rules. The idea I've put the most thought into is running a Loskalm campaign in the style of King Arthur Pendragon, stretching over many years. While such a campaign wouldn't be all about hack'n'slash, the main antagonists would be the rune-magic using Kingdom of War, which is why I've spent so much time thinking about sorcerers vs. theists. That's an interesting idea. I remember reading somewhere that the Jrusteli had lots of iron weapons and armor for their soldiers, which I guess could partially explain their success against gods-fearing folk.

I wouldn't say that RQG's sorcery rules are incomplete, they just don't have as many spells compared to spirit and rune magic. I would think the basics, including the long casting times, will still carry over into any other supplements. What I imagine we would be getting rules-wise is character creation rules, maybe some of this Westerner spirit or rune magic Mr. Metcalph is talking about.

What is the source of their rune magic? The Ascended Masters? And do you envision something similar for the Rokari in Seshnela?

The discussion in this thread has touched on what I see as a problem in the current rule system. If I wanted to set a campaign in the West of Glorantha, including Loskalm, Seshnela, or Ralios, I feel like I should be able to make a character who only uses sorcery as their main form of magic. I feel like the Guide implies that this is how many Westerners practice magic, including zzaburi wizards, Loskalmi Men-of-All, and definitely the Brithini (although I don't think they would make good PC's). I could accept that not all Westerners exclusively use sorcery as their main source of magic. Commoners and soldiers probably practice spirit magic. But the idea of a true blue Malkioni using Rune magic doesn't feel right to me. Here's the problem though. A character using only spirit magic or sorcery would be very unbalanced against an enemy with access to Rune magic. Rune spells are generally more powerful, and much faster. A sorcerer takes at least a full round to get one of their spells off, and if the spell is actually going to do anything impressive, it would probably take 2 or 3 rounds. When I first read the sorcery rules months ago, I didn't think much of this. But now that I've been running an RQG game for a while, I've found that most fights tend to be over in less than 5 rounds. Not much fun for a sorcerer. It seems where sorcery really shines is when you have plenty of time to pull off a big ritual, before the fight begins. But that doesn't seem... very fun somehow? Imagine your players are a group of Loskalmi Men-of-All, they've given up spirit magic for sorcery. They're about to go fight some raiders from the Kingdom of War, so they spend a whole day casting big spells on each other, then ride off to battle. They're probably buffed enough to stand up to the KoW guys, who have Rune magic from gods like Humak,t, Storm Bull, whatever. But what if they miscalculate, and didn't cast strong enough spells? Or what if the raiders know they're coming, and just go hide until the spells wear off? A system of magic that isn't usable during combat just doesn't click for me. I'm curious to hear other people's thoughts on this, especially people who have played sorcerers before, or run games with them. Also, how could the rules be tweaked to make a pure sorcerer more feasible? I could see changing the rules to make sorcery spells go off faster, like spirit magic. Or maybe using a system where you can sacrifice POW to make "quickened" spells or spell matrices that could go off faster.

The back-and-forth between metcalph and Joerg is making me very uncomfortable, so I'd rather not participate in this discussion anymore. I'm planning to start a thread in the Runequest forum about how feasible a pure sorcery-using character would be in the current rule system. I feel like it is implied in the Guide that this is what advanced Loskalmi warriors would use in combat, but I also accept the sorcery rules make them better for long rituals, rather than in the thick of battle.

I'd love to see someone put together a "Malkioni inspirational reading list." Occasionally I try to find an accessible book on Gnosticism, Manichaeism, or Neoplatonism, but so much of it is new-agey weirdness, or written for Christian audiences. At some point I guess I should try to read Plato if I'm ever going to run a Loskalm campaign. The Guide says that every Loskalmi starts working in the fields, then those that show "spiritual virtue and ability" are chosen to be trained as Guardians. It doesn't specify when this training begins, but I would guess around 12-14 years of age. Then promising Guardians are inducted into the Men-of-All, and from there it's wizards or First Brothers, then potentially nobles. A big part of learning sorcery involves becoming literate, which could happen during childhood. And even though Guardians don't use sorcery in combat, it doesn't explicitly say that they can't begin learning it during their training. If you become a Man-of-All by 18, which is not unreasonable, at 21 you could have mastered at least one Rune and one Technique, and learned something like 1-3 spells. I'm thinking that the basic sorcerous course of study is from the canon texts from p. 203 of the Guide, by Tomaris, Snodal, Siglat, and Talor. After that, a Man-of-All or wizard could specialize in whatever Ascended Master they please.

Something I am still confused by is when the idea of "Solace" and the "Invisible God" became a thing, and how that fits in with the major traditions in the Third Age. In Revealed Mythologies, which I realize is not totally canon, Solace is described as an "Ice Age" development. I thought that all the Malkioni during this period were actually Brithini, who don't even recognize or worship the Invisible God. So at some point in this mythic period, a few people on Brithos got it into their heads that there was a transcendent being, probably embodied by Malkion in his various forms, and that there was a way they could join with it after death. Is this why some Brithini left the island to found colonies in Genertela? Where did this idea come from? It seems to be something Malkion himself may have taught during the Fifth Action. Quote from Revealed Mythologies, p. 12, "The Sacrifice of Malkion brings contact with Solace for the mortals who have been suffering. This is the start of the return to Godhead of the Malkioni." What's weird about this to me is that all of Malkion's followers were seemingly killed (except the Brithini/Enrolvalini), and New Malkonwal destroyed. How did these teachings about Solace survive, and spread among the Brithini later on? Then there's the Invisible God as a concept. I am totally tripped up at this point on the difference between Malkion, the Invisible God, Makan, Irensaval, and others. The term "Invisible God" seems to have been introduced with the God Learners and their Abiding Book. What is actually revealed in the Abiding Book that differs from earlier Hrestol or Brithini traditions? Did it just have lots of cool new spells in it!? And how does the Invisible God relate to the greater mythological narrative? Does it represent Malkion in a specific Action? Revealed Mythologies conveniently links many of these concepts with each Action. Solace=Kiona, Second Action. Joy=Ferbrith, First Action. Not sure what the Invisible God is in connection with this larger system. Sorry I'm asking a lot of barely coherent questions, I'm probably reading too much into the Revealed Mythologies stuff.

Maybe this is a better question for the Runequest forum, but I'm still very confused about what kind of magic you're allowed to use if you're Rokari, and not in the zzaburi caste. I got the impression that the other castes can't cast any kind of magic, just receive sorcerous benefits from their wizards. If you were playing RQG, this seems like a huge disadvantage, compared to what the average theist character receives.

I can definitely understand this take. I'm curious which Malkioni sect or culture you think is the most "playable." I've put a lot of thought into how I would potentially build a campaign in each region featuring the Western culture, namely Seshnela, Loskalm, and Safelster. Despite what the GtG says, I think the Rokari Seshnelans are probably the least playable next to the Brithini, who are unplayable for lots of reasons. There's the Vadeli too I guess, but I don't really consider them part of the club. In Seshnela, if you're a horali or a dronar, you pretty much have to do whatever the talars and zzaburi tell you to do, right? It would make a mixed-caste party of Seshnelan characters a bit difficult to manage. The status of women in Seshnela is also quite depressing. Every other religion in Glorantha seems to have some kind of escape valve cult for non-conforming women (Vinga, shamanism, basically the entire Lunar Way), but I don't see that among the Rokari. Loskalm on the other hand has rejected caste restrictions, and apparently grants women the same status as men. Their religion is a bit grim, yet they still celebrate the human body through art, athletics, etc. I'm not totally clear on their attitudes to sex. Probably somewhere between, "All flesh is evil" and "the body is a reflection of the unknowable divine." I think it's also notable that there seems to be acceptance of same-sex relationships there, based on the relationship between Meriatan and Gundreken. I could see playing a Loskalmi character being more interesting too, because they can choose to study and worship different Ascended Masters, kind of like a theist character has their choice of cult. Sounds like Safelster is your place! Weird cults and occult knife fights. I would run a campaign there in a heartbeat if I just had me some good heroquesting rules, and an Arkat cult writeup.

Thank you for the encouraging words!

Our last session was a short one, partly because HWSAD had to bow out for the evening. Still, we covered many exciting events, and the party finally arrived in Pavis. Leaving the Paps There were still a few loose ends to tie up at the Paps, including worship rolls and a traditional celebration for Egajia. Erindros also decided to buy some copper to sell in Pavis. When all this was taken care of, Mok bade farewell to his protege, and wished the rest of the party well. The caravan then set off again for the dusty plains. The plan was to take a day for travelling around Eiritha's Sacred Hills, as no-one wanted to offend any devout Praxian khans just for the sake of taking a shortcut. The party then crossed the Long Dry over a period of roughly four days. Everyone loaded up the mules with extra water and rations, and because it was still Sea Season, the weather was only slightly blistering. Our heroes reached the Zola Fel River Valley after another day, and stopped to rest at a small farming village with an inn. The next day they reached the famous city of Pavis! New Pavis Given that information about New Pavis in 1625 is somewhat lacking, I had to add a few details of my own. I decided that the biggest visible difference is that the walls around the South Gate have been pulverized, and what was once the Farmer's Quarter has now effectively become the Nomad's Quarter. The tight streets and alleyways of the city have become even more cramped with Praxian herd beasts and nomad warriors strutting around as they please. Several large nomad camps also cluster along the southern side of the walls. This was the direction that the caravan entered, and thankfully no-one gave them any trouble. Argrath, the "King of Pavis," had occupied the Count's Palace for his court (I wasn't sure if it was there or the Temple of Pavis, but the former was more convenient, for reasons which will eventually be made clear). He Who Spits at the Devil decided to stay at the temple of Storm Bull, and drink himself into a stupor for the next few days (this is how we explained his player's absence). Erindros set up his market stall in Founder's Market, and stored the caravan's goods near the temple of Issaries with the baboons to guard them. Garkar and Egajia were both present at the liberation of Pavis, and had spent some time there before their exile. They both recommended staying at Gimpy's for the good food, reasonable rates, and fine entertainment. Many of those already staying at the inn were warriors from Sartar, looking to join up with Argrath's army. They passed the night uneventfully in a shared room. The next morning in the common room, Garkar saw a familiar face. In his days as a bandit in Sartar, he had often crossed paths with Orstalor Spearlord, one of the most prominent rebels during the occupation. Orstalor and his band, Miki's Mudhens (mentioned in the Coming Storm) raided the empire in the northern parts of the kingdom, and Garkar aided them on several occasions. The former rebel had now joined Argrath's band of heroes and was helping to organize his army. Just as a note, I wasn't sure if this particular NPC had even joined up with Argrath yet. Looking back on it, it almost seems more likely that this would have happened after the Battle of Sword Hill, but out of all the Sartarites connected to Argrath, Orstalor seemed to be the most likely person that any of the PC's would have met previously. Orstalor told everyone that word had gotten back to the King that a caravan from the Dundealos Tribe had come to the city. As a representative pf Argrath, he hoped to offer gifts to the king of their tribe, and asked Erindros if he would be willing to see these gifts safely back to Fort Jaldonkill. He offered goods, silver, and a herd of 50 cows, 20 horses, and for the bird-loving Bardori clan specifically, 10 rare riding ostriches! Erindros was trained in ostrich riding, but so far had failed to find a proper steed in any Sartar market. Thus he was thrilled by this offer. Still, he and the others were somewhat suspicious at Argrath's generosity, and questioned Orstalor as to why he sought the favor of the tribe. Orstalor said only that the King was looking to build alliances and encourage more trade with Sartar, and that he had sent gifts to many tribes already. When asked about the many warriors, nomads, and adventurers gathering in Pavis, Orstalor said that the city couldn't support them for long, and that he would be "back in his old stomping grounds soon enough." Everyone found this a bit disturbing. Before he left, Orstalor also shared a rumor that he thought the party would find interesting. During the city's occupation, the Lunars had supposedly gotten their hands on a suit of iron armor that belonged to none other than Derik Pol-Joni, the Dundealos Tribe's greatest hero. After Pavis was liberated however, the armor went missing from the vaults at the Count's Palace. Not long after that, a group of dwarfs from the city's Flintnail cult presented Argrath with another, entirely different suit of armor as a gift. Orstalor pointed out that dwarfs rarely give gifts to anyone, and when they do it is often more than simple generosity. He suggested they speak with the leader of the dwarfs, Ginkizzie, at Dwarftown, about the missing armor. Finding it and presenting it to the Dundealos tribal ring would be even more impressive than showing up with lots of cows. Dwarf Problems For the rest of that day, Erindros sold many of the goods he had purchased in Sartar and Prax at a decent profit. Egajia went among the Pol-Joni camp outside the city, and offered her shaman skills to help fight off disease spirits infecting the camp. Later everyone went to Dwarftown to speak with Ginkizzie. Speaking with any of the local dwarfs proved difficult, as they were all very caught up in their routines. Speaking with head dwarf seemed impossible, until Erindros mentioned that someone from Argrath's band had sent them. After that, Ginkizzie appeared at the front office within minutes. None of the PC's (or the players) knew about Ginkizzie's unusual heritage, but it was clear that he looked a bit different from the other dwarfs. His features were more human-like and symmetrical, and he also had a pale, greenish cast to his skin. Otherwise he dressed like a gold dwarf, ostentatiously. When asked about Pol-Joni's armor, the head dwarf only said that whoever had stolen it from the Lunars' vaults was likely hiding in the Big Rubble, and that they should search for it there. Garkar noticed that their presence and questions were making him uncomfortable, and he pressed the dwarf for more information. Ginkizzie relented, and invited everyone into a private office. He explained that the disappearance of Pol-Joni's armor was because of a local dwarf. Argrath knew this somehow, and so Ginkizzie had offered him a different suit of enchanted armor to placate him. Meanwhile, he and the other members of the Flintnail cult had been searching for the rogue dwarf who stole the original armor. His name was Vorlokk, an iron dwarf and expert blacksmith. Ginkizzie explained that Vorlokk had been acting strangely over the last few seasons. Some dwarfs fall prey to a strange illness, in which they become obsessed with recovering items that they have made and lost (or given away). Vorlokk was the original creator of Pol-Joni's armor, and gave it to him when they met at Dwarf Knoll in Prax, centuries ago. Vorlokk disappeared from Dwarftown not long after Pavis was liberated. Since then, the humans in Manside, and the Loricek troll clan have also been robbed of artifacts that Vorlokk had originally made. Ginkizzie is certain these events are connected to Vorlokk, and now considers him to be an apostate from the Pavis community of dwarfs for his reckless actions. He asked the party if they would be willing to lend their efforts in bringing Vorlokk to justice. In return, they would be allowed to claim the armor for their tribe, but would have to swear that the dwarfs could reclaim the other stolen goods and any dwarf secrets. He also asked that they keep the entire matter a secret from other interested parties. The PC's agreed, and so Ginkizzie introduced them to one of the renowned Rubble Trackers, another iron dwarf named Chain Song. He would assist them in following leads in the Big Rubble. We ended the session with the party debating the best place to start looking in the Big Rubble for Vorlokk and the stolen armor: the human community in Manside, or the trolls of the Loricek clan. That's all, thank you for reading this rather exposition-heavy recap! Until next time!

Note: Up until this point, I have been getting the name of "He Who Spits at Chaos" totally wrong, it's actually "He Who Spits at the Devil." So, from this point onward, HWSAC will be HWSAD. In our last session, the party traveled on from the Block to the Paps, with a brief stop at Tourney Altar. Before leaving the Block, HWSAD took part in Storm Bull's seasonal holy day ceremonies. He entered the Eternal Battle, and witnessed the Bull grappling with the Devil himself. I debated whether or not this should involve a Battle roll or something, but I decided against it. The party then pushed on, leaving their insane young friend Argwaha behind. The journey to the Paps took three days. I wondered if I should be rolling up more random encounters for the travel between locations, but again it seemed inappropriate. Sea Season is one of the only "peaceful" times on the plains of Prax due to the calving season celebrations, so any nomads that the caravan saw in the distance were not interested in raiding. When they arrived at the Paps, they immediately noticed the landscape becoming more green. Dust and chaparral were replaced with palm trees and cool springs. The temple complex itself was vast, and thronging with pilgrims of various sorts, including Praxians, merchants from Sartar and Esrolia, and even a party of Aldryami. I couldn't find any illustrations of the Paps temple itself, so to give my players a good visual, I showed them some pictures of the rock-cut Kailasa Temple. They were unable to enter the temple itself, due to the terrifying Babeester Gor initiates guarding the entrance, but there were numerous shrines around the oasis to be visited. As it was Windsday, Garkar tried to find a shrine to Orlanth in which to pray. He found one as part of Ernalda's lineup of Husband-Protectors, but was unable to reach his god due to a rhino wandering into the worship space (explanation for a bad roll). As he left, he noticed the group of Aldryami watching him, but they were uninterested in talking. Their great height, reddish skin, and needle-brush hair suggested that they were from the Redwood Forest to the north. Egajia was nowhere to be seen at the temple or oasis. Instead the party was greeted by her shaman teacher, Mok. Her mentor has often been mentioned in previous sessions, but this was the first time the rest of the party had met him. Egajia's player decided Mok should be an eccentric, stern Llama Rider who had been somehow "magically enlarged" in the past. He was over twelve feet tall, and did not have a riding beast. He simply ran across the plains like an Agimori. He lead the party further up into the hills, to a narrow canyon littered with broken statues. Here, Egajia was found meditating inside the shattered stone head of an ancient, nameless goddess. She had been fasting and preparing for her journey into the Spirit World for many days, and was in no state to greet her comrades. Mok explained that she would pass into the Spirit World in a few days, to undergo her shaman trials. During this time her physical body would be vulnerable, and her enemies could potentially be drawn to her. As her kin and comrades, it was the duty of the party to defend her, until she either returned or died on her journey. Mok himself could not stay to help. Even though he was also Egajia's kinsman (uncle actually), he was not allowed to interfere with any part of her initiation directly. Before he left, he gave Garkar a spirit charm to use, a simple painted stick. He claimed that it contained a fragment of Oakfed, the Great Wildfire, and that it would follow the instructions of whoever broke it. Mok then left by scrambling up the rock walls. Defending Egajia The canyon in which Egajia was meditating was easily defended. The rocks on either side were insurmountable, and she was well protected inside the stone goddess head, which mostly blocked the side facing the hills. Everyone in the party knew that worship rituals, heroquests, and other gatherings were often disrupted by enemies, and so they expected trouble. HWSAD used his maul to knock down a few statues, to serve as extra cover. Garkar hid himself among the boulders further away from the stone head. Erindros went about instructing the baboons on how to properly defend a confined space. Before long, one of the baboons spotted a group creeping up the hills toward the canyon. Garkar recognized them as the same Aldryami he had seen at the Paps, and counted six of them. Their leader introduced himself as Onakal, and said that his brothers and sisters had come to bring Egajia to justice for crimes that she had committed. He explained that years ago, she had led a group of llama riders into the Redwood Forest on a raid, and burned many trees and elves. The PC's knew that Egajia hated elves for killing her father, but not that she had feuded with them on other occasions. HWSAD attempted to appeal to their sense of honor, asking for them to wait until she returned from the Spirit World, but his words fell on deaf ears. They prepared to attack. The Spirit World Egajia had discorporated a few hours before the elves showed up. She entered the border regions of the Spirit World, and saw the landscape around her come alive with genius loci spirits, and other strange beings. She wandered for a short time, until she saw a huge man, as big as her mentor. His skin was covered with swirling runes and patterns, and a large pair of bison horns grew from his head. She knew him to be the Horned Man. They greeted each other as if they were old friends. He gestured for her to follow him, and she did so. They traveled through the Spirit World (I described it as combination of stumbling, flying, and dreaming), and arrived at the edge of a new place. There was a vast oasis, surrounded by desert and scrub land. In the distance was an enormous mountain, big enough to warp the horizon itself, the Spike. The Horned Man stopped, and asked Egajia if she was ready and willing to give him her gift. She said she was. She reached into her own chest, and pulled out her heart. The heart turned black, and crystallized into something resembling obsidian. With a gaping hole in her chest, she gave the Horned Man her heart, a sacrifice of 15 POW! He accepted it gratefully, and in return gave her a set of chimes, carved from human bones. He left, telling her that she must find her own way to the place she sought. She turned and walked to the oasis, where she saw many people and herds gathered. Meanwhile, at the Alamo Everyone on both sides took cover behind the rubble, and began casting protective spells like Shield and Protection. It was six against five (counting the baboons), so Garkar wasted no time in breaking the magic stick over his knee. Immediately, a huge fire elemental flowed out of the charm (medium-sized), and stood ready to fight. HWSAD also summoned his air elemental to join them. Four of the elves drew swords and spears, and each cast Aldrya's spell Chameleon on themselves. They immediately became very hard to spot. Onakal and another elf stood back and cast Arrow Trance, becoming stiff and focused. Initially everyone stayed behind the boulders, as the Arrow Tranced elves used multimissile to blacken the sky with arrows. The elves with melee weapons quickly moved up the canyon to close in, hoping their stealth magic would protect them. Unfortunately for them, Garkar had very sharp eyes, and a high Scan skill. He directed the fire elemental at them while they were close together. It closed in for a fiery embrace, and two of the elves were incinerated at once. Two more managed to make it past the elemental, but were confronted with Erindros, HWSAD, and the baboons. They proved very difficult to hit, due to the Chameleon spell. No one was able to scratch them until Garkar ran back with his broadsword in hand, and slashed one across the belly for a crippling blow. As soon as he left his cover however, he was hit in the neck with an arrow. His helmet thankfully saved his life. Eventually He Who Spits also landed a hit, crushing the the remaining elf's leg. Before the fight began, HWSAD had built a bonfire near the stone head, thinking that Aldryami were weak against fire. He then asked his air elemental to pick up the burning embers and drop them on the archers. It did so, and managed to badly wound one of them. The fire elemental took care of the rest. Two elves still survived but were badly wounded. They yielded and asked for mercy, and the PC's allowed them to live. The elementals then dissipated. Back to the Spirit World Egajia came to the oasis, where she found the spirits of her ancestors, and their herds, all gathered around the watering hole to rest. She met kinfolk that she had summoned in the past, including kindly Uncle Dimalag, Aunt Sadesh, and Cousin Abjal (who everyone hates). The Founder and Protectress of her tribe were there as well, but she couldn't get close enough to speak to them. Suddenly a strange figure rode up to her. He was thin, almost skeletal, with dry leathery skin. He had golden teeth and bulging eyes, and rode a strange animal that Egajia had never seen before. He wielded a spear, and a dagger-axe that looked more like a scythe. She had seen him before at the Battle of Hender's Ruins, where he was last killed (at least in my version of the timeline). It was Jaldon Goldentooth. He asked her, "Who are you? A Praxian, or a Sartarite foreigner? You are caught between two worlds, and I cannot decide if I should kill you, or embrace you as my kin." Egajia's answer, "I am a Praxian woman of Sartar. If you wish to cut me in half with your blade, do so. One half shall stay here, the other will hop to the Cave on one foot." Jaldon seemed very satisfied with this response, and let her go. He pointed to the spirit of a strangely dressed woman before he left. Egajia went to speak with her. It was her grandmother Sebayok (the one we created in her Family History). She was a philosopher from Pavis, and an initiate of the city cult. She died before Egajia was born, but her own people told her stories about how she died valiantly at the Battle of Grizzly Peak. Sebayok embraced her granddaughter, and they chatted for awhile. She then showed Egajia a vision of her comrades fighting off the Aldryami. She asked- "What do your companions mean to you? Would you lay down your own life for them?" Her answer, "They are my friends and kin, thus they are a part of me. I would have no choice but to sacrifice my life for them, for in losing them I would already have lost myself." She was pleased with the answer. She then pointed to another spirit, this one very familiar. It was a man of the High Llama Tribe, tall and thin, and riddled with arrows. This was Egajia's father Harjoon. He had been killed by elves only a year before the start of the campaign. He praised his daughter, and she gave him honor. He then asked her- "What would you sacrifice to see your enemies defeated? Your life? Your friends and family? The world itself?" Her answer, "They are my enemies alone, and so I could only sacrifice myself to see them destroyed." He nodded, and at last pointed to the base of the Spike. There, among tumbled rocks, Egajia saw the Cave. She bade her ancestors farewell and walked toward it. The Cave When she entered, at first there was only darkness. Egajia's player then described the Cave as having it's own light. It was made up of narrow rock passageways that spiraled and fed into each other. It was a labyrinth. Eventually, she came to an open chamber. Here, she felt the open wound in her chest throb, and something felt as if it was trying to escape from inside her. She vomited out a white, smoky substance, and felt as if what remained of her soul was escaping her. She performed a Spirit Dance, attempting to contain the power leaking out of her, and it formed into something more solid. Her fetch, when it finally materialized, appeared as a large snake, wearing a wooden mask. Finally feeling complete, she continued on through the Cave. As she felt her way through one of the tunnels, she noticed that the walls became increasingly tight. Soon she was trapped, and the light of the Cave faded into total darkness again. She became aware of another, malevolent presence nearby. Someone grabbed her arm roughly, and dragged her through an opening into another chamber. This figure was a living shadow, human-shaped. It's only distinguishing feature were it's red, bloodshot eyes. Bad Man then pulled her into a private hell of his own creation. Spirit combat with Bad Man lasted for four rounds. Each round, he pulled her into another vision, and tormented her by making her live out her worst fears. Her spirit combat skill was 125%, and Bad Man's was 175%. This was adjusted to 50% vs. 150%. In the first round, Egajia was with her old Praxian clan, surrounded by elders including her father and brothers (now dead). They accused her of betraying the clan's traditions, of turning her back on the gods and consorting with foreigners. They condemned her to exile, and severed her spiritual connection with her people. She was unable to say anything for herself, as Bad Man had stolen her voice. Bad Man wins, taboo: Never eat Bison meat. In the next round, Egajia is trapped in a burning forest of redwood trees. They fall and crash around her. A giant Aldryami, at least 50 feet tall, appears and chases her. She calls on her fetch, who coils around the giant elf, and crawls into it's mouth and nostrils to destroy it from within. Egajia wins, shaman ability: To be determined later. Next, Bad Man takes her back to the Battle of Hender's Ruins, where Lunar magic and demons are tearing her comrades apart. She runs from the carnage, only to be confronted by the pulsing glow of the Moon itself. It fills up her vision, and she is forced to relive the temporary madness that consumed her during the battle. Bad Man wins, Taboo: Sleep outdoors once a week. Egajia finds herself back outside the entrance to the Cave. Suddenly, a giant version of Bad Man appears from behind the Spike. A horde of Chaos monsters follows in his footsteps. He directs the horde to attack Egajia's ancestors. She stands helpless as her ancestors are devoured, and their souls annihilated by Chaos. The Spike implodes, leaving only a gaping hole in the earth, and she is sucked into the blackness. Bad Man wins, taboo: Make a pilgrimage to Daka Fal's Fire once per season. Finally, Egajia reappeared by the real entrance to the Cave, still in the Spirit World. Bad Man was gone, but Horned Man was waiting for her. He accompanied her back to her body, and she and her fetch returned to the mundane world. She awoke, and left the broken statue to see her comrades, standing over two terrified looking elves. They explained to her what happened, and she both thanked them and apologized for putting them in harm's way. The party went back to the temple complex at the Paps, where Mok awaited them for a celebration. Next time, the party will finally reach Pavis! Thanks for reading.

Hello, I'm also a relative newcomer to Glorantha. I wouldn't really recommend my method for learning the setting, which was just to plow through a pdf of the Guide to Glorantha. But some more accessible products that I would like to second include- King of Dragon Pass for PC or mobile devices - Kind of challenging at first but really fun, and relevant to the RQG setting and timeline. The sequel, Six Ages, is also excellent. I actually prefer it to KoDP, but it's set in the mythological period waaay before the default starting date, focusing on a totally different region and culture. Prince of Sartar webcomic - Incomplete, but still really good and does a great job at establishing the Bronze Age feel of Glorantha. If you're interested in Esrolia, there are some really cool depictions of Nochet, and the Esrolian noble houses. Also going to champion this blog series on Chaosium by Ellie and Scott Akers, Selkana's Saga. It might not help you learn the setting, but it's great for seeing what a game of RQ:G can actually look like. It also stars some interesting and diverse characters that hail from Esrolia. I would actually hesitate to recommend the Glorantha Sourcebook as a starting point. It's really more of a companion piece to the Guide, and it expands on stuff that is not as well-developed from that book, specifically Dragon Pass, major pantheons, and the history of the Lunar Empire. I loved reading it in the same way that I loved reading the Guide. It made my head spin, in a pleasant way. I'm only somewhat familiar with Discord, and I haven't heard of anyone using it for Runequest or Heroquest. Would you want to run or play in a campaign on Discord, or just sound out your questions and ideas with other folks?

Preparing for the Expedition For this session, we played without Egajia. Because everyone was heading into Prax again, and she was ready for her shaman initiation, we explained this by saying she had ventured out early to meet with her mentor and prepare. The other three party members would organize the caravan, and meet with Egajia at the Paps. Here is the route that everyone decided on for reaching Pavis. The party divided up their loot from the raid on Ft. Enstala, and made some purchases. They gave a portion of the goods and silver they found to the Togarth clan, another portion to the Bardori, and some for personal use. The rest they put aside to purchase trade goods, supplies, pack animals and steeds. I allowed them to purchase animals on loan from various sellers around the valley, so they ended up with three pack mules, two bison, and a sable antelope at a discount price. The heroes had achieved a small measure of fame for successfully looting the ruined fort, but their chances of returning alive from Prax were still seen as not good by the clan's elders. They set off on their journey with little fanfare. As they passed through the neighboring Hyaling clan's territory, He Who Spits decided the caravan needed more hired guards, and grew very excited at the prospect of hiring some "real native baboons." There happened to be a mercenary troop camped near the household of the Hyaling chieftain. HWSAC continued the party tradition of botching Communication skill rolls while negotiating for rates. The alpha baboon would only offer the services of two green recruits, but Erindros still managed a good price for their services. Thus, baboons Kurruk and Garr joined the caravan. Day's Rest and the Block After roughly three days of travel, the party arrived again at Day's Rest. The oasis had changed somewhat since their visit back in Earth Season 1625. There was a great mustering of Praxian warriors, several hundred in all, from four different tribes. Erindros learned that most of them were riding to Pavis, where Argrath White Bull was gathering his new army. He saw a familiar face among the Bison Riders, the very same Storm Bull warriors who rode with them to hunt the wicked shaman (see the second blog entry). Their leader, Mokwar, greeted them as friends. He and his band were also traveling to Pavis to join the White Bull's army. Before they did so, they planned to travel to the Block with a young member of their clan, a boy of 16 named Argwaha. The young lad was preparing to initiate into the Storm Bull cul t, but before he did so, he needed to visit the Devil's Marsh and kill a creature of Chaos. Erindros and the rest of the party were undecided on whether they wanted to make a detour to the Block. Mokwar told them that he would consider it a favor if they could accompany young Argwaha, and act as witnesses for his initiation trial. He also offered to give them the name of his cousin, an Issaries trader at the Block, who was known to trade in precious Truestone. The party agreed, and Mokwar and his Storm Bulls left immediately for Pavis. Argwaha proved to be something of a handful. His desire to kill a creature of Chaos was somewhat unsettling, and he saw enemies in every shadow. The journey to the Block took a day and a half, and when they arrived, they didn't have time for sightseeing. Argwaha immediately dismounted his bison, and ran off screaming in the direction of the Devil's Marsh. The PC's followed in hot pursuit. HWSAC had been to the Devil's Marsh on several occasions before. Although he had also shown little restraint around Chaos creatures in the past, now he was cautious, having seen many good men lose their lives to the Marsh. He encouraged Argwaha to show caution as well, but the boy was scornful and bellowed challenges to any creature who could hear him. After a few hours of mud, quicksand, leeches and mosquitoes, the landscape of the marsh took a more Chaotic turn. Soon there were tentacled trees, whispering puddles and frogs that shrieked in human voices. Argwaha finally blundered into a broo hunting for its dinner. The broo defended itself against his attack, while secretly it's mate lay hidden in the bushes from all eyes present. Everyone else initially stayed out of the fight, only casting protective magic on Argwaha. But then the hidden broo threw a javelin, piercing the boy in his side. The first broo took advantage of this and drove it's own spear into his leg, impaling him. Argwaha fell to the ground, but stayed conscious. Garkar flew at the hidden broo, trying to drive it off. Erindros healed Argwaha in time, and HWSAC "shared" a portion of the Bull's rage by casting Fanaticism on the young warrior. Argwaha rose up and then struck a mighty blow in the broo's most vulnerable location (you know the one), killing it at once. Garkar crippled the other broo's leg, and allowed the boy to finish it off as well. With two bloody broo heads to bring back for the Bull priests, the young Praxian had succeeded. He thanked the party for their help, and apologized for his rash behavior earlier. Upon returning to the Block, everyone found that a raucous celebration was beginning. This was no great surprise, as people were always getting drunk and celebrating there, and there was no particular reason for it other than surviving another day. When the Praxians there learned of Argwaha's success, the party grew more wild still, and everyone broke out the bison kumis. Erindros managed to drink a seasoned Storm Bull warrior under the table (he has unusually high CON), while HWSAC was doomed to suffer a hangover the likes of which he had never experienced before. The next day, the party located Mokwar's cousin, and presented a token that he gave to them. The trader revealed his hidden wares, several shards of valuable truestone. He drove a hard bargain for it, but Erindros managed to drive the price down slightly, and purchased three good-sized shards. Argwaha planned to stay and complete his initiation rites, and the party was free to venture on to their next stop, the Paps. Next time, I will have finally caught up to the present session! The party will reunite with Egajia at the Paps, and she will attempt her shaman initiation rite. Thanks for reading!

I agree, I think medieval Russia is a helpful visual for imagining the Fronelan west. Although the designers have specifically stated that Jonatela and other places are definitely not medieval Eastern Europe, I think a GM could still borrow architectural ideas to paint a clearer picture. And Fronela has a lot of timber to make use of, so I could see their temples looking more like these Russian wooden cathedrals-

I've been struggling to get a good visual sense of what Western cities actually look like. We have some excellent pieces of art from the GtG showing some background structures for cities in Seshnela and Safelster, and also Sog City, but these offer only tantalizing glimpses. I was initially thinking of all Malkioni as being way more Greek/Byzantine with style of dress and architecture, but the more I look into images of ancient Indian cities, temples, costume, etc. the more I can see that influence. Here's a good image I recently discovered on Wikipedia that could easily be a city in Seshnela or Ralios, minus the elephants. For me this fits with the cities depicted in the Guide, a mix of stone and timber, stylized roofs in an apsidal structure, or lots of domes and spires. The only thing I'm noticing about ancient Indian architecture is that the pillars, walls and so forth are absolutely crammed with reliefs, statues, and depictions of gods, heroes and so forth. In Safelster I would bet this is also the case, but in places like Seshnela or Loskalm, I would think the decorations would be more abstract, favoring geometric principles. The description of temples to the Invisible God on p. 53 in the Guide kind of backs that up.