RHW

Of course, my Kralorelans like big band music, so clearly YGMV:

You can say its not properly Bronze Age, but this is what I played when my players met Harrek: And of course this is the national anthem of Sartar: Now Whitewall plays a different tune:

For what it's worth, when I've run hero quests, generally causality works in the context of that quest. Things move forward, the things that happen in one encounter effect the next. Any one individual Godtime story is internally consistent. They're just rarely consistent with each other. But if you're inside a story, it all makes sense. I do like to remind the players that time and space don't make sense to them though. "Seconds later, or was it a century, you cover the ten thousand miles between the city gate and the palace. When you look back, it seems only a few feet away."

"The next time you meet an Uroxi, call him a "Son of a Broo" and he'll be your friend forever."

"Cragspider would totally help you out with that."

Mhorrhys started as an NPC, and yes, he existed purely as a plot device for in-game info dumps and it worked very well. But then I ended up playing him as my own character when someone else GMed. Because the campaign was combat heavy, he turned into a badass swordsage, but it was still his job to Explain Things to Morons (a skill he had at mastery) even when I was a player. His final stats and skills, around the time of the Dragonrise, are here: The Treefell Clan has a Lightbringer Ring, so Chalana Arroy is a bit more important than her to them. For a different clan, I'd definitely put much more emphasis on Ernalda. Note that like Engazi they do maintain a temple to her though. Hence the ** by her name.

Here's my intro for my Sartarite campaign, which had some players new to Glorantha. (NOTE: Starting date about 1620) An Introduction to Sartar Q: What is Sartar? A: Sartar is a mountainous kingdom situated on the eastern edge of Dragon Pass, a strategically important crossroads in the world of Glorantha. Sartar is the homeland of the players in my upcoming UsQuest campaign (currently in playtesting). Sartar is peopled by hill tribes which have a Norse/Celtic feel and who worship a storm god named Orlanth. Sartar’s capital is Boldhome. Most of the PCs will come from the Treefell clan of the Balmyr tribe. The kingdom was founded about 100 years ago and since its birth has been involved in a conflict with a powerful northern empire called The Empire of the Red Moon (aka the Lunar Empire aka the Redcloaks aka the fucking Lunars). Here’s a good map of Sartar: http://www.glorantha.com/new/fan/MapDragonPass.jpg There’s also a political map of Sartar here: http://www.stempest.demon.co.uk/glorantha/dptribes.html It’s a bit inaccurate, especially in the area you’re from. Some stupid Lunar must’ve made it. Q: How did we do in this war? A: You lost. The Lunars kicked your ass in 1602, sacked Boldhome, and installed a puppet king (and eventually a Lunar governor-general). Sartar has risen up in three major rebellions since them. 1611, 1613 (Starbrow’s Rebellion, the big one), and 1618. The Sartarites lost every time. It’s now 1620. The PCs are all in their early 20s, so, assuming they fought in the previous uprisings, they were raw recruits in 1611 and 1613, hardened vets in 1618. They’ve never really known freedom or victory. Most of your fathers died in 1602. Many of your relatives and friends have died in one or more of these uprisings. For the Lunar point of view on the current state of affairs, go here: http://www.etyries.com/journeys/liberate.htm Again, not quite accurate, in that it lists the Balmyr (your tribe) as “liberated.” Suckers. Q: How bad do we hate the Lunars? A: A lot. Not only do they march around in their hobnailed sandals and red cloaks wherever they’d like, they tax people (boo), crucify people they don’t like (double boo) and they worship an evil chaos tainted moon goddess (triple boo). Oh, and they want to kill your god, Orlanth. And they don’t speak the language. And they smell like vinegar. And they like having sex with little boys (instead of women or transvestites like real men). You can actually take a Communication skill called Hatred of Lunars if you’d like to really, really hate them. It’s kind of like having a ranger’s favored enemy feat. Q: What can we do about this outrageous occupation? A: Damn good question. Rumor has it Kallyr Starbrow, Queen of the neighboring Kheldon tribe and hot poster girl of rebellion, is still alive and is leading a new effort to overthrow the Lunars. Some of your clanmates claim to have actually met her. Maybe you should talk to them. Q: I want to kick ass and take names. How do I do that? A: You might want to start by becoming an initiate of a war god. Sartar has lots and lots and lots of them. Their names follow. A * by the name means your clan has at least a shrine to this god. A ** means your clan maintains a full temple. - Orlanth. ** King of the Storm Gods. Slayer of the Sun. Resurrector of the Sun, Lightbringer, Father of Time. Worship of Orlanth is illegal. 75% of Sartarite men worship Orlanth. Very powerful Orlanth worshippers can fly, shoot lighting bolts, teleport, summon and control air elementals, and generally kick ass and take names. Runic Associations: Storm, Movement, Mastery - Humakt. * God of Death and Truth. And Death. And Swords. And War. And Death. Humakt is Orlanth’s older brother. He’s a grim kinda guy. Humakt initiates cannot be resurrected if killed. Very powerful Humakti can kill people just by looking at them. They take gifts and geas to make them more like their god. They can also go Berserk in combat, do huge amounts of damage, and die gloriously. Think Celtic samurai. Or Tyr. The guy Tuesday is named after. Freakishly, Humakt has a large following among Sartar’s sentient, bipedal, flightless Ducks. Runic Associations: Death, Truth, Death. (Did we mention Death?) - Urox the Storm Bull. * God of Chaos Fighters, slayer of the Devil. The Lunars are Chaotic, sort of. Storm Bull and his followers are generally slovenly, ill-tempered berserkers without the mollifying discipline of Humaktis. They can sense the presence of Chaos. They wear horned helmets. Strangely the Lunars have not made worship of Storm Bull illegal yet. Probably a bureaucratic oversight. Most Storm Bull worshippers are like your drunken idiot redneck cousin. Annoying, but good to have around in a fight. Storm Bull is also a popular god among the Praxian nomads to the east. Runic Associations: Storm, Beast, Death. - Yelmalio. A cult of light worshipping spear using mercenaries. Yelmalio may be the son of the Sun God, Yelm. Some clans used to worship Yelmalio as Elmal, Orlanth’s loyal campguard. In the past 100 years, this cult has gone through many schisms. Now most Yelmalians are carefully neutral in the war between Orlanth and the Lunars (and the Lunars’ allies, the Sun-worshipping Dara Happans), though some (especially in the north) have taken the Lunar side. Yelmalio is friendly to elves and excels in kicking troll ass. They have two large communities of their own, called Sun Dome Temples. One is to the south, the other is to the east near the city of Pavis. Runic Associations: Light. Truth. - Vinga. * The red haired goddess of war. Spearwoman. Defender of the innocent. Pissed-off, childless Sartarite widows will sometimes give up worshipping their nice mommy goddesses, dye their hair red, and follow Vinga to kick ass and take names just like their dead husbands used to. These days, lots of young Sartarite women are skipping the widow stage and just going right to Vinga, following in the footsteps of their heroine and role model, Kallyr Starbrow. High level Vingans can throw spears for miles, run across the treetops, and dodge arrows. Runic Associations: Movement, Death, Storm - Other Asskickers: Zorak Zoran, the Troll War God (like Storm Bull but with even worse manners, Humakti and Yelmalians both hate him). Kyger Litor, the Troll Goddess (Mommy Goddess of Tough Love). Pretty much any troll god. Aldraya, the Goddess of Elves (your tribe has issues with elves, see below). Rigsdal, * the Night Watchman (kind of like Heimdal). Mastakos, the Charioteer. Valind, God of Winter. Babeestor Gor, the Earth Avenger, ax-wielding female war goddess from Tarsh (worshippers are exclusively female and mostly psychotic), Lodril, the volcano god (popular to the south in Esrolia). Q: I’m a lover, not a fighter. How can I help? A: You can also become an initiate of one of Sartar’s important, non-war gods. Sartar has a few of those, too. They are: - Chalana Arroy. ** The healing goddess. Chalanans takes a vow of pacifism. They may never use a weapon, not even in self-defense (except against undead). Chalana Arroy is the source of all healing magic in the world. CA is a Lightbringer, one of Orlanth’s closest allies. Most civilized people will not hurt a Chalanan under any circumstances. Chalanans wear distinctive clothing to make themselves easily identifiable. Chalana Arroy is the only reliable source of Resurrection in the world. Runic Associations: Life, Harmony - Eurmal. ** The trickster god. The god of masks. Social outcast. Lightbringer. Tricksters are outside the law. They can do anything they want and there is no legal punishment. However, they do not get the protection of law. You can kill a Trickster for fun and no one will care. Tricksters can do all kinds of humorous and annoying things. They can lie with impunity, they can turn cows purple, they can eat rocks. In order to survive, most Tricksters use the Suck Up to the Boss technique. They ally themselves with a powerful local figure (usually the clan chief) and act as his or her jester, spy, and sneak thief in return for a measure of social protection. A Trickster without a protector is a short-lived Trickster. Runic Associations: Illusion, Disorder. FuCk u Azhol! eUrMAL iZ D KING uV d Godz!!!111!1 TriksT3rz r00l! Evry1 3ls3 dr00lz!11111!!!1!x50 - Issaries. * The God of Trade. Another Lightbringer. Issaries is the god of merchants and created the skill Bargain and the language Tradetalk. High level Issaries types can create sacred Marketplaces and buy and sell pretty much anything. Runic Associations: Harmony and Trade - Lhankor Mhy. * The God of Knowledge and Laws. Yet another Lightbringer. Mhorhys the Explainer, an NPC member of the party, follows this god. He knows a lot of stuff and is always willing to explain it to the less brilliant. High level Lhankor Mhys can read minds, force people to tell the truth, see recreations of past events in their minds, and analyze magic items. All Lhankor Mhys wear beards (female and non-human worshippers wear fake ones). Runic Associations: Truth and Law. - Donandar. * God of the Skalds. Donadar worshippers can inspire entire clans to great feats (using some as yet to be determined Rune Spells). They can also make people dance. Dance, monkey! Dance! Runic Associations: Harmony and Illusion. - Foundchild. * The Hunter God. God of the bow and the javelin and the sling. Foundchild worshippers usually hit what they’re aiming at. Good trackers. Runic Associations: Beast, Death, Mastery. - Yinkin. The God of Cats. Another hunting god. More sneak, less sniper. Accomplished Yinkini can move without a sound, grow magical claws, and disappear into shadows. Runic Associations: Beast, Illusion, Movement - Kolat. * The God of Wind Spirits and Ancestors. Kolat’s priests are actually shamans who excel in controlling the winds and windspirits. Kolat shamans also help your characters communicate with their dead ancestors and appease them with worship. Runic Associations: Storm, Spirit. - Other not so ass-kicking gods: Argan Argar, the Troll God of Trade (but he’s a Troll, so he can kick a little ass). Ernalda, ** the wife goddess (“Husband, go kick ass for me.”). Barntar, * the plowman (with the outlawing of Orlanth, most men pretend to be Barntar worshippers). Gustbran, the smith god. Esrola, * the grain goddess. Voria, the goddess of spring. Engezi the Sky Titan, ** the God of the Creekstream River. Q: Are there evil gods, too? A: Lots of them. Here’s a short list: - The Red Moon Goddess. Rufelza the Shepelkirt. Goddess of the Lunar Empire. She was once a peasant girl who was made into a Goddess by the Seven Mothers. You can see her in the sky. She’s the red orb up north. Her magic is cyclical, waxing and waning with the weekly phases of the moon. She is tainted by chaos and is evil, despite the empty reassurances of her deluded followers. Runic Associations: Moon, Chaos, Harmony - The Seven Mothers. The heroes turned gods who created the Red Moon. A twisted parody of our holy Lightbringers. Among them are: Yanafal Tarnils, god of war (like Humakt but with scimitars), Etyries, goddess of trade (traitorous daughter of Issaries). Danfive Xaron, the reformed criminal. Jakaleel the Witch, goddess of magic, madness and secrets who may or may not be a troll, and Irripi Ontor, a disgraced priest of Lhankor Mhy who tells lies instead of truths. They are worshipped both together and separately. Runic Associations: Life, Death, Moon - Yelm. The Imperial Sun God. Mostly worshipped by Dara Happans, who are part of the Lunar Empire. Orlanth killed this stuck-up tinpot dictator during God Time, ushering in the Storm Age. Then, when Orlanth realized without the sun, things were pretty fucked, he undertook the great Lightbringer Quest, went to hell and brought Yelm back to life as part of the Great Compromise which started Time. Despite this, Yelm has never gotten over the whole killing incident. Yelmalio may be his son. Your Yelmalio may vary. Runic Associations: Sun, Law, Stasis - Zorak Zoran. The Troll war god. Humaktis and Yelmalians particularly hate him. He’s a raider and an ambusher and a thug, so the only people who get along with him are Storm Bulls. Runic Associations: Death and Darkness. - The Chaos Gods: Gods so incredibly fucked up, they want to end the world. These are bad, bad, bad people. Only monsters and raving psychopathic lunatics worship them. They include: Thed, the broo goddess of rape and disease. Malia, the broo goddess of disease minus the rape. Bagog, the scorpion goddess. Krarsht, the goddess of greed and hunger, Vivamort, the god of the undead, Wakaboth, the devil (but he’s dead so no one worships him. Go Storm Bull!). Cacodeamon, the god of ogres. Gbaji (aka Nysalor), the god of corruption. Thanatar, the headhunter. And The Crimson Bat, the demonic steed of the Red Goddess and the Lunar Empire’s pet WMD. Of course, the Red Moon is a chaos goddess, too. She even admits it. But she pretends not to be destructive and evil. Don’t trust her! Q: Are there nonhumans? A: Yeah, lots of them, too. They include: - Trolls. Aka the “Uz.” Darkness loving, cave-dwelling, large, tough humanoids who can see in the dark and like maces. Selfish, greedy, hungry, brutal thugs who love children (both to hug and to eat) and music. There are several kinds of trolls, including the stunted and pathetic Trollkin, the average joe troll Dark Trolls, the walking siege machine Great Trolls, and the unbelievable powerful and extremely rare Mistress Race Trolls. There are also Cave Trolls, who have been corrupted by Chaos and can regenerate. - Elves. Aka Aldryami. Sentient bipedal plants who protect the forest. If you cut them, they don’t bleed. But they do leak sap. Your clan doesn’t get along well with elves - Ducks. Formally the Durulz. Bipedal, sentient waterfowl with hands instead of wings. Ducks helped Orlanth kill Yelm, so the Dara Happans don’t like them much. A duck’s head is worth one year of Lunar taxes. If you pay your taxes. Which you don’t if you can help it. Your tribe gets along well with the Ducks. - Broos. The worst. Chaos infested goatmen. They are foul, evil, bad. They reproduce by raping livestock (or people if they can manage it). There’s really nothing good to say about broos. Some of them serve in the Lunar army. - Scorpionmen. Like broos. Kill on sight. Chaotic scorpion centaurs. Trolls say that, unlike broos, you can actually eat scorpion men. So they have that going for them. - Beastmen. A collective term for centaurs, satyrs, baboons, newtlings, and other exotic creatures from the nearby Beast Valley. Technically, Ducks are also beastmen. - Dragonnewts. Weird freaking draconic humanoids who worship dragons and act in ways so alien as to be inexplicable. Your tribe secretly gets along very well with the Dragonnewts. - Dwarves. The Mostali. Short, tough, subterranean creatures created by Mostal. They are immortal and almost as hard to figure out as the Dragonnewts. They have a lot of iron. Trolls say they’re good eating once you get past the hard shell. Q: Who are our neighbors? A: Well, aside from the evil Lunars (boo, hiss), you’ve got: - Colymar. Technically part of Sartar, the Colymar (the tribe to the immediate west of your Balmyr tribe) have recently declared their independence. Their king, Blackmor the Rabid, has converted to the Lunar way. Your tribe and the Colymar never got along. This goes double now. Man, you hate those guys. On the upside, the local temple/brothel to Uleria, the goddess of love and prostitutes is in Apple Lane, a Colymar town. - Tarsh. A kingdom to the immediate north. Former allies of Sartar conquered by the Lunars. Tarsh has fully converted to the Lunar way (except for a small colony of Free Tarshites called the Earthshakers to the west). The northern parts of Sartar around Alone and Alda-Chur have been annexed into Tarsh. - Heortland. A collection of Orlanthi clans and kingdoms to the south. Theoretically part of the Holy Country, which is in political turmoil. Recently, the Lunars have begun to “liberate” Heortland. - The Holy Country. A collection of diverse nations along the seacoast to the southwest. The main part is Esrolia. Originally ruled by a troll demigod from the Troll Plateau called the Only Old One. The OOO was defeated by a hero called the Pharaoh, who ruled the Holy Country for decades from the City of Wonders. Recently the Pharaoh was assassinated and the Holy Country is in chaos. Here’s a good map of the Holy Country: http://www.glorantha.com/new/fan/hocmap.jpg - Prax. Windswept harsh wastelands to the east inhabited by Praxians, exotic nomadic humans who ride a variety of strange animals, including Bison, High Llamas, Rhinos, Zebras and Sable Antelopes. Most are violently anti-Lunar, though the Sableriders are pro-Lunar and the Zebrariders are neutral. Other tribes include the pygmy-sized Bolo Lizard Riders and the human-herding tapir-like Morocanths. - The Upland Marsh. A swamp to the west (downstream) infested by undead. Home of the necromancer Delecti. - The Dragon’s Eye. A dangerous land between Tarsh and Delecti’s Swamp ruled by capricious and deadly Dragonnewts. There’s also a Dragonnewt “City” not far from your home town. Your tribe has access to secret Dragonnewt secret stuff. - Other places. Mhorhys the Explainer knows about lots of other places too. The Grazelands, Dagori Inkarth, Pavis, the Stinking Forest, the Troll Woods. He even knows a little about the horrible chaos nests Snakepipe Hollow and the Footprint. He can go on and on and on. Buy him a beer and ask him if you want to know more. Q: Anything else I should know? A: Hmm, most of the characters are from the Balmyr tribe of Sartar, part of a confederation of tribes centered around the town of Wilm’s Church. (aka Wilmskirk) Your clan is the Treefell clan; your clan center is Prattsted. The Treefell clan is known for its woodworking skills, its fine wooden stockades, its isolation and independence, its poor relations with elves, and its unfortunate preponderance of Eurmal worshippers. Prattsted is the site of an annual Trickster festival that attracts Eurmali from all over the world. The locals tolerate it because it brings in a ton of money. (Prattsted is located about where the B is in Balmyr on the Sartar Map.) The Treefell clan and Prattsted have a few secrets: They are: - The Balmyr Tribe is not as pacified as the Lunars like to think. Suckers. Orlanth worship is still very active, though everyone swears they worship Barntar, the plow god (in a region with very little farming). - The Treefell Clan routinely underreports its population and underpays its taxes. Most of your clan lives in the upcountry far away from the Sted. There are four times as many Treefell clansmen as the Lunars think. - There’s a hidden shrine to Eurmal behind the local waterfall (Pratt’s Falls) which is one of the most important Trickster shrines in the world. - The Treefell clan can trace its lineage back to the Empire of the Wyrm Friends and keeps secret knowledge about Dragons and Dragonnewts. Especially favored locals have access to this knowledge (but you don’t). - Some of your ancestors survived the Dragonkill War (the Dragons did the killing btw). The Treefells have been in Dragon Pass longer than any other human clan. - If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it, it still makes noise. So there. Prattsted’s isolation has kept it relatively untouched by the Lunars, though, recently, thieves, probably backed by the Lunars, stole a clan treasure, Rosebud, a Chalana Arroy spirit who lives in a permanently blooming wreath of roses. The local chief, Varan Harmastsson, has sent out a party of local toughs (the PCs) to retrieve Rosebud. A previous attempt, led by Varan’s own son, Keener Varansson, disappeared without a trace. Varan has also asked the PCs to retrieve Keener or his body if they find it, though Rosebud is a higher priority.

Some of the Argan Argar subcults I worked up might be useful in a Kitori campaign, including Gultraz the Speaker, who provides SHAPECHANGE TO UZ.

For purposes of game play, I'd treat Kitori as either human or Uz (their base species) who belong to a culture with a Darkness rune affinity (sub for Storm in standard Orlanthi creation, uz are standard). The ability to change shape would be rune magic available via a cult to be written, for simplicity sake a hero cult that could be worshiped as an associate of pretty much any (culturally) Kitori deity. AA, ZZ, Ernalda, KL etc. DARK SHAPESHIFTING (3pt Temporal, self) The caster may change into an Uz, human, or dehori for the duration of the spell. Stats change appropriately. For example Humans gain +6 to their SIZ and STR when they become Uz, as well as gaining iron vulnerability, 1 pt skin, and darksense. Uz lose 6 SIZ and STR, lose 1 pt of skin and their dark sense, but are no longer vulnerable to iron.

A great Orate roll works for that. CHARISMA helps there. Or I'd still allow LIE to work even if the lie were mostly true.

Dark Stud Dark Stag (beetle) Dark Centipede Dark Consort Strong Club True Father Dark Sire Trueslinger Darkslinger Maulfather

^Korgo also bought every convincing fertility potion/charm/incantation he came across in his side gig as an Argan Argar merchant. But gods help you if he thought he was getting ripped off. Luckily for most grifters he met, he wasn't the smartest troll...

Becoming a "Dark Stallion" hero was pretty the life goal of my Kaarg Son PC, Korgo. Every heroquest he went on, that's what he was looking for. He did sire a dark troll right after his I Fought We Won quest, so maybe he was getting close before that particular campaign ended when the GM joined the Air Force.

Lies that have the benefit of being close enough to true that they are going to be hard to disprove: "Tatius the Bright is trying to make himself into a Yelmic Emperor! He must be stopped!" "Argrath is a reincarnation of Arkat the Destroyer! He will betray us all." "Your unit is scheduled to be fed to the Crimson Bat! Desert while you can." "Moonson is secretly an ogre who uses the Eternal Party to impregnate countless women with chaos spawn!"* "Kallyr has returned to life to claim the throne of Sartar." *Many Lunars won't care about this.

Once Uncle Bobo cast LIE on the PCs and told them they could get into the Hero Plane by climbing up the asshole of the giant Eurmal statue hidden behind Pratt's Falls.* They did it and they rolled really well and it worked. Eurmal shit them out on the slopes of the Spike. *The statue has a tube leading from its mouth to its asshole so the Tricksters can pour stuff** through it for "baptisms." **No, you do not want to know what sort of stuff.

I played a Chalana Arroy who was a former Sword of Humakt who'd turned against Death during a failed Heroquest (all backstory). He had amazing sword skills he couldn't (and wouldn't) use, any sword he wielded would shatter (a feature, not a bug!) and he was determined to battle Death in all its forms with his new Life magic. His various geases all still existed, but the GM ruled that since the penalty for breaking them was having his swords shatter, he could do what he wanted. He mostly still didn't lie, though he did drink to excess and he talked whenever he damn well pleased. I think a former Humakti could probably do whatever she wanted so long as she was willing to never touch a sword again. I suspect she would still be impossible (or at least extremely difficult) to resurrect though.

Here are my last bits and pieces for Lhankor Mhy. Note that I didn't do rules for LH sorcery since it wasn't really a thing when I wrote this. Less adventurous subcults: THE GRAY ONES One of Lhankor Mhy’s mainstream subcults. These are the dusty guys in the great libraries. They say Shhh a lot. CULT SKILLS: Craft Map, Memorize Details LITERACY RUNE SPELLS: Copy Text Perfectly, Draw Accurately, Dry Ink, Erase Error, Illuminate Text Beautifully SECRET: Show Me the Way ________________________________________________________________________ LHANKOR KNOWING The other mainstream Lhankor Mhy subcult. God of Judges and Lawspeaker and Lawyers. What do you call fifty Lhankor Knowing initiates at the bottom of the Marsh? A good start! Worth noting, Lhankor Knowing’s Secret makes people tell the truth whether they want to or not. Other than that? Lawyers, blech, who needs ‘em? ________________________________________________________________________ LHANKOR MHY HERO CULTS Lhankor Mhy has a handful of hero cults. The most well-known (to adventurers anyway) is: DILFAR DEEPSIGHTED REQUIREMENTS TO JOIN: Always charge 20s to cast Analyze Magic, even to your friends, your clan, your family or yourself (Since Priests tithe 90% of profits to the cult, pay 18s to the cult when you cast it for yourself). KNOWLEDGE RUNE MAGIC: Analyze Magic TRUTH RUNE MAGIC ANALYZE MAGIC (Rune Magic, Touch, Instant, Stackable, 1 pt.) This spell gives one true statement per point about the magical function of the touched magic item, entity, or substance. ________________________________________________________________________ LHANKOR MHY’S SPIRIT OF REPRISAL Lhankor Mhy’s Spirit of Reprisal is the Knowledge Eater. This is a spirit which attempts to possess the offender. If successful, the Knowledge Eater destroys 1 rank of a random Knowledge Skill known by the offender per day. This lost Knowledge cannot be restored, only relearned. The Knowledge Eater continues to destroy Knowledge until it is either exorcised, the offender repents and makes compensation, or it destroys all ranks of Knowledge skills known by the offender. The easiest ways to offend Lhankor Mhy are lying to fellow cultists or destroying knowledge. Some people theorize that Knowledge Eaters were used to destroy the God Learners’ Secret at the end of the Second Age.

The Bronze Age equivalent of pies are... pies. From wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pie "Early pies were in the form of flat, round or freeform crusty cakes called galettes, consisting of a crust of ground oats, wheat, rye, or barley containing honey inside. These galettes developed into a form of early sweet pastry or desserts, evidence of which can be found on the tomb walls of the Pharaoh Ramesses II, who ruled from 1304 to 1237 BC, located in the Valley of the Kings.[2] Sometime before 2000 BC, a recipe for chicken pie was written on a tablet in Sumer.[3] Ancient Greeks are believed to have originated pie pastry. In the plays of Aristophanes (5th century BC), there are mentions of sweetmeats including small pastries filled with fruit. Nothing is known of the actual pastry used, but the Greeks certainly recognized the trade of pastry-cook as distinct from that of baker."

According to older sources, Sartarites also raise pigs and geese. They'd have access to goose eggs (much bigger and gamier than hen's eggs). Pigs would provide salt pork and lard to flavor food. Salmon is available in season. I'd expect Sartarite children would fish, gather berries, catch crawfish, gather wild bird eggs, and kill and trap small game as part of their family responsibilities/play activities. I did the first three growing up in the 70s, my father did all five in the 40s. Wild and domestic honey would both be common. Woodland tea would be a fairly common beverage (made from juniper, spruce, fir, etc.) And of course, there's haggis. THERE MUST BE HAGGIS! Eels are probably a thing. Roasted and smoked. Native nuts gathered in season would include chestnuts and walnuts. Acorns and pine nuts would both be eaten. Food taboos in Sartar include (IMO) goats and snails. Depending on the tribe, nonsentient ducks might also be taboo out of respect for the Durulz. I doubt Sartarites eat horse or cats, but they happily kill and eat wild dogs when they find them (except Lismelder tribe).

TORVALD THE ALCHEMIST God of Alchemy. In order to join the subcult of Torvald, Lhankor Mhy initiates or Rune Levels must join the Alchemists Guild, which costs them 1000 sp. Outsiders may join the Alchemists’ Guild for 2000sp and the sacrifice of 1 POW. They are essentially initiates of Torvald but not of Lhankor Mhy. Members tithe the Guild 10% of all profits made by selling potions. Benefits of Membership: Can learn all the skills taught by Torvald. Can sacrifice for cult Rune Magic as per initiate. Master Alchemist: A Master Alchemist is a special devotee of Torvald. A Master Alchemist must know five of the following skills at 90%+, Brew Potion Base, Brew Poison, Brew Antidote, Brew Healing Potion, Plant Lore, Animal Lore, Mineral Lore, or Craft Alchemical Gear. Master Alchemists may learn all the cult spells (but not his Secret) as if she were a priest, but may not learn any other Lhankor Mhy magic. Professor of Potions: Requirements are as above, but the Alchemists must also be an initiate of Lhankor Mhy with no other subcult, have a POW of 15+ and Mythology of Lhankor Mhy at 50%+. A Professor of Potions is a Rune Lord of Lhankor Mhy with all the normal benefits and obligations and may sacrifice for all of Torvald's spells, including his secret. Grandmaster Alchemist: A Grandmaster Alchemist must be the head of an Alchemists Guild division. He must have at least 50 Alchemist followers. Grandmaster Alchemists can learn all of Torvald’s spells at normal cost, regardless of their cult affiliation. Grandmaster Alchemists may also learn Torvald’s Secret. CULT PERSONALITY SKILLS: Obsessive, Detached CULT SKILLS: Brew Potion Base, Brew Poison, Brew Antidote, Brew Healing Potion Brew Healing Potion (Manipulation Skill): Healing potions require special ingredients that can be gathered via Plant Lore. Potions heal Skill/15. Each additional potion made in the same batch (provided sufficient ingredients) reduces the potency by 1. EXAMPLE: Trix Dangerfoe has a skill of 85%, enough to make a Heal 6 potion. In one batch, he can make 1 Heal 6 potion, 2 x Heal 5 potions, 3 x Heal 4 potions, 5 x Heal 2 potions or 6 xHeal 1 potions. Brew Antidote (Manipulation Skill): Antidotes require special ingredients that can be gathered via Plant Lore or Animal Lore. Antidotes only work against the specific venom of the source ingredients. Antidotes include Scorpion (and Scorpionman) Antidote, Spider Antidote, Snake Antidote, Blade Venom Antidote, Elf Poison Arrow Antidote, etc. Antidotes have a potency = Skill/5. Each additional potion made in the same batch (provided sufficient ingredients) reduces the potency by 3. EXAMPLE: Trix has a skill of 75%, enough to make a potency 15 antidote. In one batch, he can make 1 Pot 15 antidote, 2 x Pot 12 antidotes, 3 x Pot 9s, etc. On a crafting fumble, the alchemist is exposed to the source poison. Brew Poison (Manipulation Skill): Poisons require special ingredients that can be gathered via Plant Lore or Animal Lore. Poisons have a potency = Skill/5. Each additional poison made in the same batch (provided sufficient ingredients) reduces the potency by 3, as per antidotes above. On a crafting fumble, the alchemist is exposed to the source poison. This creates an imbibable poison only. For contact poison (aka Blade Venom) see below. Brew Potion Base (Manipulation Skill) Allows the crafter to brew a potion base. Ingredients for Potions are rare and expensive, usually costing approximately 50s per point of potency. Once the potion base if finished, the Alchemist can imbue it with IMBUE POTION. See below. Max spell power = Skill/15. Each additional potion made in the same batch (provided sufficient ingredients) reduces the potency by 1. See Brew Healing Potion above. Each potion requires a separate casting of the spell, so brewing 3 Shimmer 4 potions cost 12 magic points and 600s. TRUTH RUNE MAGIC ENCHANT ALCHEMISTS STONE (Rune Magic, Ritual, One-Use, Stackable, 1 pt.) This 24 hour long ritual creates an Alchemist’s Stone. For each pt of the spell used, the resulting Stone adds +5% to all the Alchemist’s Brewing skills, so long as it is in her possession. Later castings can increase the strength of the Stone, so 1 pt of Enchant Alchemist’s Stone can be used to turn a +15% Stone into a +20% Stone. An Alchemist’s Stone is only usable by the Alchemist who created it. IMBUE SPELL POTION (Rune Magic, Ritual, 3 pts) This spell must be cast on a dose of Potion Base created by the Brew Potion Base skill. This allows the caster to imbue the Potion with a single spell, either Battle Magic or Divine, which is cast upon the drinker when the Potion is imbibed. The caster must either know the spell himself or have the assistance of someone who does. Magic points are spent normally and Divine spells are considered cast and must be recovered normally. One-Use Divine spells are consumed. If the spell is harmful, it only works on a resistance check of the base strength vs POW of the imbiber. For this reason, spell potions are usually beneficial. Examples: Shimmer, Vigor, Protection, Countermagic, etc. The Base must have a potency of 1 for every point of Battle Magic or Sorcery imbued, 2 for every point of Divine Magic imbued. IMBUE RESTORATIVE POTION (Rune Magic, Ritual, Stackable, 1 pt) This ritual takes an entire day. The caster casts this spell on a Potion Base, then spends MPs equal to the potency of the Potion Base. When drunk, the Restorative Potion will restore MPs equal to its potency. MPs expended to make the Potion are regained normally. The caster may imbue multiple potion bases created in the same batch per the batch rules above, with the MP cost equal to the total points on the batch. So 1 x MP Restoring 6 Potion costs 6 MP, but 3 x Restore 4 Potion cost 12 MP. Also, each additional potion costs 1 extra point of IMBUE RESTORATIVE POTION. REFINE BLADE VENOM (Rune Magic, Ritual, Stackable, 1 pt) This spell must be case on a single dose of poison and takes 24 hours to cast. It turns the poison into Blade Venom. Blade Venom may be applied to any weapon with cutting or puncturing surfaces (including spiked or phlanged maces or mauls). If the weapon strikes a living target and does damage, the Poison affects the target as if it had been ingested, with the same potency and delay (generally 1d4+1 rounds). Each extra point allows for the creation of an additional dose during the same ritual. TORVALD'S SECRET (Stasis Rune Magic) BREW ELIXER OF LIFE (Rune Magic, Ritual, One-Use, 3 pts) The Alchemist must have an Alchemist’s Stone to cast this spell. Through intense concentration and focus and over the course of an entire week, the Alchemist creates a potion that has two basic effects. If drunk by a living person, that person will not age for a number of seasons equal to the potency of the potion (potency = Alchemist’s Brew Potion Base skill/5). Alternatively, the Alchemist can pour the potion into the mouth of a recently dead person. So long as the person is only mostly dead (dead for less than the Elixer’s potency in hours and the body is relatively whole, head, chest and abdomen attached to each other and with at least 1 positive HP each), the person will return to life. If the corpse had negative HP, the revived target will have 1 total HP. If the caster fumbles his Brew Potion Base skill while casting this spell, he dies instantly and the spell fails and is lost. On a crit, the Elixer is created and the spell may be regained as if it were reusable, without additional POW sacrifice.

HEVDURAN THE SWORD SAGE The Fightin’ Lhankor Mhys! Seriously. Stop laughing, I mean it. You know that book, “50 Ways to Kill a Man with Your Hands?” Hevduran wrote that book. “History of Warfare in Central Genertela” That one, too. “The Variations in Tang and Hilt Embellishment Among the Grazelanders, with a Special Emphasis on Solar Symbolism” Not only did Hevduran write that, some of his followers have actually read it. When they have insomnia. Works like a charm. Rune level Hevduran subcultists are Rune Lords called Sword Sages. To qualify, they must have a POW of 15+, have any 1h Sword at 90%+, Mythology of Lhankor Mhy at 50%+, must be literate (50%+ Read/Write), have 2 Lore skills with a military application at 90%+ and have 2 additional skills at 90%+ from the following: Battle, Yet Another Lore Skill, (Enemy) Tactics, Tactics, Speak (Enemy Language), Read/Write (Enemy Language), Dodge, Any Parry, Brave. CULT PERSONALITY SKILL: Brave CULT SKILLS: Talk While Fighting, Tactics, (Enemy) Tactics Talk While Fighting (Communication Skill) This skill allows the character to use Fast Talk or Orate or another Communication Skill as a free action while fighting. The character’s communication skills are limited by the Talk While Fighting skill. CULT BATTLE MAGIC: Bladesharp, Protection, Shimmer. Bladesharp counts as a specialty spell for Hevduran worshippers. DEATH RUNE MAGIC: GREAT PARRY ARTFUL BLADE (Rune Magic, Self, 1 pt.) While under the influence of this spell, the Sword Sage may augment his sword or dagger damage with an appropriate Lore Skill/5 as a free action. (Human Lore for humans, Animal Lore for Animals, Plant Lore for giant sentient swamp moss monsters, etc.) This counts as an augment (stacks with Bladesharp, etc.) DISTRACT WITH WORDS (Rune Magic, Self, 1 pt.) While under the influence of this spell, the Sword Sage adds her Orate or Fast Talk/5 to her Dodge and Parry skills as a free action, so long as she can speak and her target can hear. This counts as an augment (stacks with Shimmer, etc.) FIND WEAKNESS (Rune Magic, Self, 1 pt.) While under the influence of this spell, the Sword Sage’s crit range and special hit range are doubled. SURPRISE ATTACKER (Rune Magic, Self, 1 pt.) As soon as she casts this spell, the Sword Sage can make move and an immediate melee attack against an enemy in movement range. Casting the spell, making the move, and making the attack are a single action. This attack may not be interrupted by held actions, etc. SECRET DEFEND KNOWLEDGE (Rune Masgic, Self, 2 pts) While defending a library, books, or any other source of knowledge and under the influence of this spell, the Sword Sage attacks and parries are raised to 150% of base. This counts as a morale effect and does not stack with Fanaticism, Morale, Berserk, or other similar spells or conditions.

CHERNAN THE SEEKER Oh they call him the Seeker, he’s been searching low and hiiiii-iiigh… This is the Lightbringer aspect of Lhankor Mhy. Following Chernan requires leaving the library and going into the field. Most Lhankor Mhy find this idea completely insane. CULT PERSONALITY SKILLS: Independent CULT SKILLS: Climb, Run, Dodge, Tumble, Balance, Jump CULT WEAPON SKILLS: Dexterous Whip. Whip Attack, Whip Parry Dexterous Whip: When wielding a whip, this skill can be used by Seekers to augment Climb, Tumble, and other Agility skills per normal augment rules, or to grab an object of ENC 1 or less within range (3m) or to entangle an opponent's weapon, shield, or hit location. On the next SR, the Seeker can attempt to disarm the opponent with a STR vs STR resistance roll or she can keep the weapon, shield, or hit location entangled in which case the whip is not usable to attack or parry, but the entangle weapon attacks and parries are halved. If a hit location is entangled, Dodges are halved, melee attacks and parries with the location are halved, and the target cannot move more than 3m away from the Seeker unless they make a successful STR vs STR roll in which case the location is freed. WHIP: Melee Weapon, SR 3, Range 3m, 1d6 slashing, 10 hp. On a special hit, entangles the location stuck or the parrying weapon. See Dexterous Whip. HARMONY RUNE MAGIC DODGE FALLING OBJECTS (Rune Magic, Self, 1 pt.) For the duration of this spell, the caster gets +100% to Dodge for the purpose of dodging naturally occurring falling objects (such as from a collapsing cave) or objects dropped by a trap. This does not protect the caster against projectiles fired by sentient beings or animals (anything using a Ranged Weapon skill), but it would protect against a boulder being rolled down a hill or similar situations. REMOVE DUST (Rune Magic, PBAoE=10m, Stackable, 1 pt.) This spell clears the AE of dust and old spider webs and soot and similar detritus. Each additional pt adds +10m to the radius. TRUTH RUNE MAGIC DARKVISION (Rune Magic, Touch, Duration = 6 hours, 1 pt.) Grants the target full vision even in complete or magical darkness. This spell does not cancel blindess or other negative sight modifiers from sources other than darkness. SENSE DANGER (Rune Magic, Ranged, Self, 2 pts.) This spell makes the caster instantly aware of any danger within the AE, including danger from traps, natural hazards, or enemies. The specific source of the danger is not indicated, but the caster is alerted, so she cannot be surprised. The caster is alerted as soon as the source is within range, which usually gives her a chance to make perception rolls, dodge, take cover, etc. STASIS RUNE MAGIC WATERPROOF PACK (Rune Magic, Ritual, Touch, Duration = Until dropped, 1 pt.) This spell makes a pack, pouch, sack, jar, or other container completely waterproof. It lasts until the caster drops the spell willingly. This spell cannot be renewed while it’s in effect. CHERNAN’S SECRET (TRUTH RUNE MAGIC) SEE HISTORY (Rune Magic, Ritual, Ranged, 2 pts.) This spell takes one hour to cast. At the conclusion of the ritual, the caster can see any the entire history of an object or location (within spell range). The spell puts the caster in a trance state and only he can see the history. The caster can speed up or slow down the pace of the replay, but the spell only lasts 15 minutes and the history starts at the very beginning. It can be difficult to assimilate the entire history of many objects and places in such a short time, however, if the caster is looking for a specific sequence of events, he has a reasonable chance of finding it. Make an appropriate Lore skill check to find specific information. A normal roll applies if the object or place has a short history, -20% if the history extends years, -30% if it extends decades, -40% if it extends centuries, 50% if it goes back to the beginning of Time, and 60% if it existed before Time began.

One of my Lhankor Mhy's favorite skills was Explain Things to Idiots. So much knowledge. So much (lightly) veiled condescension.

Lhankor Mhy came in second to Eurmal in my last poll, so let's do him next. Because there's a little truth in every great lie. LHANKOR MHY (God of Knowledge, Lightbringer) Another of the Seven Lighbringers, Lhankor Mhy is associated with the runes for Knowledge (Truth) and Stasis. Lhankor Mhys know things. Lots and lots and lots of thing. Lhankor Mhys vow never to lie to other Lhankor Mhys. They’re usually honest to other people, too. Just not as honest as Humakti. All Lhankor Mhys have beards. Female LM worshippers wear false ones. Most Lhankor Mhys spend their entire lives locked in vicious academic debates with their lifelong enemies… other Lhankor Mhys with opposing theories. Most Lhankor Mhy Rune Levels are Priests. Becoming a Priest in LM is very difficult. Priests must have 2 Lore Skills at 90%+, 90%+ in Read/Write (script), and must know Mythology of LM at 50%+, in addition to other requirements. Freakishly, the god of nerds also has a subcult that has Rune Lords (see Hevduran the Sword Sage, below). CULT PERSONALITY SKILLS: Exacting, Lawful, Studious, Truthful CULT SKILLS: Craft Writing Supplies, Talk For Hours, Academic Debate, Library Research, Mythology (Any God), Mythology (Lhankor Mhy), Mythology (Lightbringers), (Subject) Lore CULT SPIRIT SPELLS: Befuddle, Detect (Any), Farsee, Mindspeach, Insight. Lhankor Mhy’s specialty spell is Insight. Insight (Spirit Magic, Touch, Stackable, 1 pt.) Each point of Insight increases the target’s knowledge bonus by +5%. Insight also gives the target +5% to Resistance vs. Befuddle spells per point. COMMON RUNE MAGIC: All LHANKOR MHY’S COMMON RUNE MAGIC (available to all worshippers regardless of subcult) KNOWLEDGE RUNE MAGIC ANALYZE MAGIC, CLAIRVOYANCE, FIND (SUBSTANCE), MIND READ, RECONSTRUCTION, TRANSLATE, TRUTHSPEAK FIND OBSCURE FACT (Rune Magic, Self, Non-Stackable, 1 pt.) Gives the Caster +100% to his next use of any Lore or Research skill. SEARCH LIBRARY (Rune Magic, Ranged, 1 pt.) Gives the caster the range and distance of a specific book, text or document, so long as the caster knows the specific title. Can be used for the duration of the spell so long as the caster concentrates. TRANSLATE DOCUMENT (Rune Magic, Ritual, Touch, 1 pt.) This spell must be backed by MP. It gives the caster a perfect translation of a document (max pages = MP spent). The spell takes 1 minute to cast per page of the document. STASIS RUNE MAGIC DUPLICATE DOCUMENT (Rune Magic, Ritual, Touch, Stackable, 1 pt.) This spell must be backed by MP. This spell perfectly duplicates a document (max pages = MP spent). Each additional pt. creates one additional duplicate. The spell takes 1 minute per page copied to cast. RECONSTRUCT DOCUMENT (Rune Magic, Ritual, Touch, Stackable, 1 pt.) This spell reconstructs a single page of a document from fragments. Each pt. of the spell allows for reconstruction of 20% of the original. The caster must have at least 20% of the original document to cast the spell. The entire document can be reconstructed either through multiple castings (which could take weeks) or by stacking the spell. UNFADING LETTERS (Rune Magic, Ritual, Touch, 1 pt.) This spell must be backed by MP. This spell protects a document from fading or damage from moisture (but not immersion) or other effects of aging. Max pages = MP spent. The spell takes 1 minute to cast per page of the document.

Shrovetide football. Of course in Sartar the players are allowed to fly. BUT NO TELEPORTING! https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Shrovetide_Football