RHW

I get the instinct. I'm just saying that design decision has unintended consequences. In a combat oriented game, limiting Shield to a handful of cults doesn't mean less characters will have Shield. It just means that the characters will be strongly inclined to choose from one of those cults, resulting in less variety in the cults in play. Anecdotal evidence from 40+ years of RQ: In RQ2, Yelmalio was far and away one of the most popular cults for PCs in the many campaigns I played. Issaries was popular too. Lots of Kyger Litors and a fair amount of Argan Argars. RQ3 comes out and all those cults lose Shield. Guess what? They all pretty much vanish from play. In our house campaign at the time, the Argan Argar (a Kitori) and Yelmalio cultists both were immediately shelved, replaced by a Lodrili and a Humakti. Guess what both those cults have in RQ3? Yep. Shield. Oh, and no more troll PCs. No Shield for ZZ, KL, XU or AA? No takers. But lots of elves, because Aldraya gets Shield. Oh, and a fellow player's beloved Yelmalian elf PC? The one he'd been playing for 10 years in RQ2? Suddenly retconned to Aldraya. I wonder why? Or let's look at Valind. Great spell list. Should be very attractive to PCs. But... no Shield. So I've never seen a PC in Valind. What new RQ3 cults did our players try out? Let's see...Babeestor Gor, Gorgorma, Lodril, Yelm. Because Shield. The first thing a lot of players, in my experience, look at when considering a cult is DOES THIS CULT HAVE SHIELD? If Yes, keep reading. If No, move on. So it's my belief that lack of Shield suppresses cult variety and takes away from Maximum Game Fun. My suggestions: 1. Include a box somewhere in the upcoming Gods book: VARIANT RULE: Shield as Common Rune Magic. You may find that, especially in a combat heavy campaign, that your players aren't willing to play a character who doesn't have access to Shield. If that's the case, you may want to make Shield a Common Rune Spell available to all divine cults (except those with limited Rune Magic). 2. Consider being less stingy with Shield. Give it to, at a minimum, Yelmalio, ZZ, Valind, KL (Kaarg Son only) and other war gods that lacked it in RQ3. I'd also give it to all the Lightbringers (except maybe Eurmal, because screw him), the Red Goddess, and the Seven Mothers, both individually and as a collective. 3. In RQ3, the way spirit worshipers made up for the lack of Shield was Armor Enchantment and HP Enchantment. Those are gone. Give them back to Spirit Societies only (if you do this, you might not have to give Shield to KL). 4. Allow Countermagic, Protection, and Shimmer to be cast simultaneously with each other but DON'T allow any of them to stack with Shield. This nerfs Shield and buffs the Spirit Magic alternatives, leveling the playing field. If a high level character has Protection 6 and Countermagic 6, she won't need Shield.

Shargash in the lead! I’ll check final results in the morning.

Here's Gods of Sartar, my house rules conversion of HQ spells. Enjoy! This is one of several documents I made in this vein. If folks find it useful, I also have STRANGER GODS, CULTS OF THE RED MOON, and SPIRIT PRACTICES.

It's not hosted anywhere. Hmm. I guess I could put it up here, but it's written for house rules, not RQ. When I post the spells here, I convert them to RQ.

Yep. Soltakss and I both independently did conversions. His are different from mine, but also super cool and useful.

I'll definitely get to Hevduran the Sword Sage in my HQ->RQ rune magic posts here. But looks like Shargash is going to be next. Here's my version of DEFEND KNOWLEDGE: DEFEND KNOWLEDGE (Rune Magic, Self, 2 pts) While defending a library, books, or any other physical record of knowledge and under the influence of this spell, the Sword Sage attacks and parries at 150% of normal and is immune to Demoralize. This counts as a morale effect and does not stack with Fanaticism, Morale, or other similar spells or conditions.

Yelmalio isn't "inferior" though. His side WON the schism. Yelmalio came out on top in whatever magical struggle there was between the cults. Yelmalio was also a major war cult of the Empire of Light. And they're the ones with the phalanxes of hoplites to sell to the highest bidder. So all I'm saying is they shouldn't suck at the thing they're supposed to be really good at... close combat. In my opinion, what Yelmalio lost shouldn't be Shield... it should be FIRE. Elmal should still have Fireblade and Firespear and all that good stuff while Yelmalio has gifts, geases, more subcults, better military organization, etc. But both should have Shield IMO.

/begin rant One thing I didn't love about RQ3 that continues in RQG is that Shield is no longer a common spell. I suppose that makes sense for some gods who have no combat aspect, but it's a major downer for someone who wants to play a combat oriented member of a cult that lacks the spell. I noticed that this has been fixed in some cases in RQG. Yinkin, for example, now gets Shield through Orlanth, so that helps. But gods help you if you want to play a Sword Sage of Lhankor Mhy or a combat oriented Seven Mothers cultist who's not a High Priest. Argan Argar is supposed to support spear-wielding mercenaries but has absolutely no war magic at all. But the worst off is Yelmalio. Yelmalio is specifically a war cult, oriented toward heavy infantry. But without Shield, they don't have the staying power they need to go toe-to-toe with rune levels of any other war god. Similar problem: Yinkin and Odayla are supposed to be hunting cults, but they don't have any missile weapon Rune Magic at all. If you want to play a sniper/archer and you want Sureshot, it's Foundchild or nothing. Another example: Want to punch through that Shield? Well you'd better be in Babeestor Gor, because only she has a spell capable of countering high levels of Shield. (Slash is MUCH better than TrueWeapon) And her cult restrictions are pretty narrow so she's not a good choice for an awful lot of players. KL and ZZ will likely have Crush, so that's great, but they're also restrictive and if I remember right, neither has Shield. My issue with this is that is limits combat oriented characters to a handful of cults and it cuts down on Maximum Game Fun. I love variety and choice, but the rules define only a few truly excellent paths to being a combat god (Babeestor Gor by far #1, then Humakt (but don't die), with Storm Bull a distant third). Want to play a swashbuckling Issaries? Good luck with that. Want to mix it up with the big boys as a Yelmalio? You're gonna die, Light Son. I guess what I'm advocating is that as more cults are published and cults are expanded that the rules introduce more paths to combat glory (for players that want them, and my players always do). Shield for more gods (Argan Argar, Zorak Zoran, Kyger Litor, Yelmalio, Seven Mothers, Sword Sage subcult for Lhankor Mhy). Punch-through damage boosting magic for gods that don't have it (ORLANTH!, Humakt, STORM BULL!, Odayla, Yinkin, Yelmalio, etc.) In my Glorantha, all cults mentioned above have Shield except KL, who has access to Armor and HP Enchantment, and LM Sword Sages, who have Great Parry. I also created a fair number of punch-through spells, including Flickering Blade for Orlanth (Slash but for swords), Deep Cut for Humakt (next hit ignores all armor), and Wind Blow for Storm Bull (Slash again). Babeestor Gor and Humakt remain awesome because of Axe/Sword Trance, but that way many other types of PC at least get a hope of almost matching them if they specialize enough in combat. So yeah, think about it. /end rant.

Hopefully people are enjoying theses conversions. If so, let me know which god you'd like to see next. Vote in the poll!

I'd start with the Glorantha Sourcebook, see if you like the world, since I think that matters more than the ruleset. Grab the PDF. https://www.chaosium.com/the-glorantha-sourcebook-pdf/ I'd lean toward RQG if you like simulationist games. Runequest is very much in that camp and the new edition is really well done. I think the most played ruleset for Glorantha is some version of Runequest.

Final Humakti bits and pieces: HUMAKTI HERO CULTS Humakt has several hero cults which give access to either Rune Magic or battle magic to followers if their conditions are met. Here is a sample: YAN STARCERE Yan Starcere is a hero cult and may be worshiped by any Humakti so long as they follow the behavioral restrictions. It provides the Battle Magic spell Parry. CULT SPECIALTY BATTLE MAGIC: Parry DISADVANTAGES: Must pledge to protect the innocent. ADDITIONAL HUMAKT SUBCULT I didn't stat these up because it seemed unlikely any of my PCs would ever join these subcults: HIAA SWORDSMAN Worshiped only by the bodyguard of the Feathered Horse Queen. In other words, not you. Moving on. DEATH RUNE SPELLS: Cut Metal, Cut Stone, Cut Wood, Truesword, Unbreakable Blade, Fight to the Death, Slay Spirit INDRODAR GREYDOG Undead Fighter, a local subcult of the Lismelder Tribe of Sartar and of the Ducks. Probably too specialized for PCs. CULT PERSONALITY SKILLS: Dedicated, Hate Undead DEATH RUNE SPELLS: Crumble Bone, Decapitate Zombie, Rend Ghost INGINEW REDSON Swordsmith. The rare Humakti who survives to old age will often switch to this subcult. You won’t live that long. CULT SKILLS: Work Iron FIRE RUNE SPELLS: Enchant (Metal), Heat Forge, Imbue Sword with Magic, Strengthen Metal DEATH RUNE SPELL: Create Banesword LI PHANQUAN Vampire Killer from the East. Again, very specialized. CULT PERSONALITY SKILLS: Despise Vampires, Vampire Lore CULT BATTLE MAGIC: Detect Vampire DEATH RUNE SPELLS: Resist Vampiric Magic, Scatter Mist, Wound Vampire

RIGSDAL THE NIGHT WATCHMAN Rigsdal may be worshiped on his own or as a subcult of Humakt or Elmal. When worshiped on his own, he grants additional magic. The magic below is for Rigsdal as a subcult of Humakt. CULT PERSONALITY SKILLS: Alert FIRE RUNE MAGIC CATSEYE SHARPEYE (Rune Magic, Touch, Stackable, 1 pt) Each point of Sharpeye adds +20% to all visual skills (Scan, Search, Track). TRUESEE (Rune Magic, Ranged, Self, 2 pts.) Allows the caster to recognize illusions as such, see all invisible targets within Range, and see any unmanifested disembodied spirits. DEATH RUNE MAGIC ENDURE WOUND (Rune Magic, Touch, 1 pt) Cast on a single wound on a still living target. The targeted wound can be ignored for the duration of this spell. It does not count against total HP, injured or lost limbs are restored to function. Once the spell expires or is dispelled, the full effect of the wound returns. TRUTH RUNE MAGIC STAY AWAKE (Rune Magic, Touch, Stackable, 1 pt) Allows the target to go without sleep for a single night with no ill effects. Target automatically succeeds in any rolls to stay awake. Target cannot be put to sleep by magical means. Each additional point adds an additional target or lets the target go an additional night without sleep.

My version of Panache. Now with extra Savoir Faire. What will you do with all that extra Savoir Faire?

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls of all ages, I give you... PANACHE! The best unofficial RQ cult ever, adapted for my house campaign as a subcult of Humakt or a stand-alone. Panache in noncanonical and YGMV but my Glorantha is AWESOME! This cult includes a handful of special fighting styles we used in our house campaign. (Posted as both a subcult of Humakt and on his own thread because he can be worshiped independently.) PANACHE Panache was a heroic Second Age duelist from Maniria. His cult is found mainly in cities and he is worshiped either alone, as a subcult of Humakt, or as a special sect of St. Humct. When worshiped as a subcult of Humakt, members of the Panache subcult cannot learn Sever Spirit. They have their own secret, BLADE DANCE. When worshiped alone or as a sect of St. Humct, Panache worshipers are resurrectable. Panache Runelords are called Flynns. A Flynn of Panache must have must have a 15+ POW. They must also have 90%+ in Rapier, 90%+ in Panache, and 90%+ in any four of the following: Another Blade Attack, Any Other Weapon Attack, Florentine Fighting, Brave, Conceal, Tumble, Scan, Savoir Faire, Honorable, Orate, Run, Jump, Balance, or Lunge. CULT PERSONALITY SKILLS: Savoir Faire Savoir Faire (Passion) This skill allows a character to maintain a cool, controlled, superior, and slightly playful demeanor in the face of extreme stress. Badly outnumbered? Caught with your pants down with the Baron's wife? Accidentally challenged Jar-eel to a duel? You can face these situations without fear when you all that extra savoir faire! CULT SKILLS: Florentine Fighting, Lunge, Panache, Tumble Florentine Fencing (Agility skill): Invented by Flynn Florent of Malkonwal, a disciple of Panache. Taught by dueling schools in major cities, especially in the Holy Country. Requires skill in Rapier and Main Gauche. If wielding the Rapier and Main Gauche and able to move freely and use both arms, the fighter can add her Florentine Fencing Skill/20 to either her Damage rolls with Rapier and Main Gauche or her parrying AP of her Rapier and Main Gauche. AP only applies vs. melee damage. Choice of AP or Damage must be declared in Statement of Intent. When using Florentine Fencing in this manner, base attack skills and parry skills are limited to the skill or Florentine Fencing, whichever is lower. Magical enhancements still apply. EXAMPLE: Conner has Florentine Fencing at 75%, Rapier at 90% and Main Gauche Parry at 70%. While using Florentine Fencing, his Rapier attack is reduced to 75% and his Main Gauche Parry remains at 70%. He casts Bladesharp 4 on his Rapier, raising his skill to 95%. He declares he'll be enhancing his damage in his Statement. His Rapier Damage is at +70/20 = 3.5 rounds to +4. +4 for Bladesharp. Total +8. Lunge (Attack Skill): A special attack that allows the user to move up to Lunge/20 meters forward in a straight line and attack once in the same melee SR. Requires Lunge, Balance, and a primary Melee Weapon Attack using either a 1h or 2h Spear, 1h dagger, 1h sword, rapier, or a similar impaling weapon. Attack is resolved at the lowest of the three skills and cannot be interrupted by held actions. On a successful hit, he number of hexes moved is added to the damage. Many dueling schools teach this fairly common technique, especially in Peloria (where it’s taught with the scimitar) and in Heortland and Safelster (where the rapier is favored). The cult of Vinga claims Vinga invented this technique and teaches it with spears. Panache (Agility Skill) This skill allows the user to make especially fanciful attacks and defenses or perform agility skills with flair. The user may augment any melee combat or agility skill with Panache to achieve especially impressive results. Alternatively, the user may combine an attack, defense or agility skill with Panache as a free action. In this case the skill used looks especially impressive but is limited by the user’s Panache or the applicable skill, whichever is lower. MOBILITY RUNE MAGIC ARTFUL ATTACK (Rune Magic, Self, 1 pt.) While under the influence of this spell, the Flynn augments his Melee Damage with his Panache or Tumble skill/20. This damage stacks with bonuses from Florentine Fighting or Lunge. FIND WEAKNESS (Rune Magic, Self, 1 pts.) While under the influence of this spell, the Flynn’s chance to crit or impale is doubled. PARRY ATTACK (Rune Magic, Stackable, Self, 1 pt.) The Flynn must cast this spell on a functional shield or parrying weapon. The next successful parry with that weapon gets +20 AP and cannot be broken. Multiple points parry additional attacks. RAPIER WIT (Rune Magic, Self, 1 pt.) While under the influence of this spell, the Flynn adds his Savoir Faire, Fast Talk, Orate, or similar skill/5 to his Dodge and Parries (so long as he can speak). This counts as a skill augment. This bonus does not apply against opponents with fixed INT. SURPRISE ATTACK (Rune Magic, Self, 1 pt.) As soon as she casts this spell, the Flynn 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 magic action. PANACHE'S SECRET (When worshipped as a subcult of Humakt, this replaces Sever Spirit) BLADE DANCE (Rune Magic, Self, 3 pts) For the duration of this spell, the Flynn’s sword moves at blinding speed. Whenever he attacks with a sword or dagger, the Flynn gets a bonus second attack at the same skill level. The Flynn may attack the two different targets within reach or attack the same target twice.

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls of all ages, I give you... PANACHE! The best unofficial RQ cult ever, adapted for my house campaign as a subcult of Humakt or a stand-alone. Panache in noncanonical and YGMV but my Glorantha is AWESOME! This cult includes a handful of special fighting styles we used in our house campaign. PANACHE Panache was a heroic Second Age duelist from Maniria. His cult is found mainly in cities and he is worshiped either alone, as a subcult of Humakt, or as a special sect of St. Humct. When worshiped as a subcult of Humakt, members of the Panache subcult cannot learn Sever Spirit. They have their own secret, BLADE DANCE. When worshiped alone or as a sect of St. Humct, Panache worshipers are resurrectable. Panache Runelords are called Flynns. A Flynn of Panache must have must have a 15+ POW. They must also have 90%+ in Rapier, 90%+ in Panache, and 90%+ in any four of the following: Another Blade Attack, Any Other Weapon Attack, Florentine Fighting, Brave, Conceal, Tumble, Scan, Savoir Faire, Honorable, Orate, Run, Jump, Balance, or Lunge. CULT PERSONALITY SKILLS: Savoir Faire Savoir Faire (Passion) This skill allows a character to maintain a cool, controlled, superior, and slightly playful demeanor in the face of extreme stress. Badly outnumbered? Caught with your pants down with the Baron's wife? Accidentally challenged Jar-eel to a duel? You can face these situations without fear when you all that extra savoir faire! CULT SKILLS: Florentine Fighting, Lunge, Panache, Tumble Florentine Fencing (Agility skill): Invented by Flynn Florent of Malkonwal, a disciple of Panache. Taught by dueling schools in major cities, especially in the Holy Country. Requires skill in Rapier and Main Gauche. If wielding the Rapier and Main Gauche and able to move freely and use both arms, the fighter can add her Florentine Fencing Skill/20 to either her Damage rolls with Rapier and Main Gauche or her parrying AP of her Rapier and Main Gauche. AP only applies vs. melee damage. Choice of AP or Damage must be declared in Statement of Intent. When using Florentine Fencing in this manner, base attack skills and parry skills are limited to the skill or Florentine Fencing, whichever is lower. Magical enhancements still apply. EXAMPLE: Conner has Florentine Fencing at 75%, Rapier at 90% and Main Gauche Parry at 70%. While using Florentine Fencing, his Rapier attack is reduced to 75% and his Main Gauche Parry remains at 70%. He casts Bladesharp 4 on his Rapier, raising his skill to 95%. He declares he'll be enhancing his damage in his Statement. His Rapier Damage is at +70/20 = 3.5 rounds to +4. +4 for Bladesharp. Total +8. Lunge (Attack Skill): A special attack that allows the user to move up to Lunge/20 meters forward in a straight line and attack once in the same melee SR. Requires Lunge, Balance, and a primary Melee Weapon Attack using either a 1h or 2h Spear, 1h dagger, 1h sword, rapier, or a similar impaling weapon. Attack is resolved at the lowest of the three skills and cannot be interrupted by held actions. On a successful hit, he number of hexes moved is added to the damage. Many dueling schools teach this fairly common technique, especially in Peloria (where it’s taught with the scimitar) and in Heortland and Safelster (where the rapier is favored). The cult of Vinga claims Vinga invented this technique and teaches it with spears. Panache (Agility Skill) This skill allows the user to make especially fanciful attacks and defenses or perform agility skills with flair. The user may augment any melee combat or agility skill with Panache to achieve especially impressive results. Alternatively, the user may combine an attack, defense or agility skill with Panache as a free action. In this case the skill used looks especially impressive but is limited by the user’s Panache or the applicable skill, whichever is lower. MOBILITY RUNE MAGIC ARTFUL ATTACK (Rune Magic, Self, 1 pt.) While under the influence of this spell, the Flynn augments his Melee Damage with his Panache or Tumble skill/20. This damage stacks with bonuses from Florentine Fighting or Lunge. FIND WEAKNESS (Rune Magic, Self, 1 pts.) While under the influence of this spell, the Flynn’s chance to crit or impale is doubled. PARRY ATTACK (Rune Magic, Stackable, Self, 1 pt.) The Flynn must cast this spell on a functional shield or parrying weapon. The next successful parry with that weapon gets +20 AP and cannot be broken. Multiple points parry additional attacks. RAPIER WIT (Rune Magic, Self, 1 pt.) While under the influence of this spell, the Flynn adds his Savoir Faire, Fast Talk, Orate, or similar skill/5 to his Dodge and Parries (so long as he can speak). This counts as a skill augment. This bonus does not apply against opponents with fixed INT. SURPRISE ATTACK (Rune Magic, Self, 1 pt.) As soon as she casts this spell, the Flynn 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 magic action. PANACHE'S SECRET (When worshipped as a subcult of Humakt, this replaces Sever Spirit) BLADE DANCE (Rune Magic, Self, 3 pts) For the duration of this spell, the Flynn’s sword moves at blinding speed. Whenever he attacks with a sword or dagger, the Flynn gets a bonus second attack at the same skill level. The Flynn may attack the two different targets within reach or attack the same target twice.

MAKLA MANN (God of Bodyguards and Faithful Thanes) This hero represents unfailing loyalty. Makla Mann was Arkat’s swordthane and remained loyal to his master even when Arkat became a troll and betrayed the Orlanthi and Humakt. Still, Humakt respected Makla Mann’s refusal to break his own mighty oaths of loyalty to Arkat. DISADVANTAGES: Worshippers of Makla Mann receive no healing from Chalana Arroy worshippers. They must pledge themselves to a specific leader, whom they will follow to the death. CULT PERSONALITY SKILLS: Loyal DEATH RUNE SPELLS TAKE A BLOW FOR ANOTHER (Rune Magic, Instant, Free Action, Range = Adjacent, 1 pt.) This spell may be cast as a free action any time someone adjacent to the caster takes damage. The damage from that attack affects the caster instead. Only physical damage can be transferred in this way. TO THE DEATH (Rune Magic, One-Use, 2 pts.) While under the influence of this spell, the caster can fight and move normally despite any injuries he might take (though severed limbs are still gone). The caster is immune to unconsciousness or incapacitation and will not die until takes total HP damage equal to his CONx3. If the caster's head is severed, his body will continue to fight, though he may suffer penalties if he can't see his targets. When the spell ends, the caster dies. TRUTH RUNE SPELLS INSPIRE LOYALTY (Rune Magic, AE = 20m, 2 pts) All allied targets in the AE get a Loyalty to (Leader) or Loyal skill equal to the caster's as long as they are in the AE and not actively hostile to the caster or her leader. A target may resist this spell normally. SENSE DISLOYALTY (Rune Magic, Instant, AE = 20m, 1 pt.) The caster can sense if anyone in the area is disloyal either to him or to the caster’s chosen leader. STANDFAST (Rune Magic, Self, 1 pt.) This spell makes the Humakti immune to Fear and Demoralize effects.

Humakti as Judge Roy Bean or Judge Dee... or more likely Judge Dredd. Love it.

YGMV but my Praxians are very much influenced by Plains Tribes. Travois using, hide tent dwelling nomads with shamans and warpaint and coup-counting and all that. The Sun Dance, the Great Spirit, and human suspension rituals all have a home in my Prax. Raven and coyote etc etc. My Teshnos has a liberal dose of Mesoamerica sprinkled in to muddy up the South Asia of it all. Cocoa as currency, step pyramids, Jaguar Warriors, man-corn, all that good stuff. Solf is basically Huitzilopochtli. My Hsunchen also have lots of Native American influences. Rathori are Salish with a dash of Inuit. My Harrak looks more like Tamo Penikett than Arnold Schwartenegger. Telmori are Huron/Mohawk/Seneca/Shawnee with plenty of Last of the Mohicans badassery, tomahawks, hide canoes, war paint, Mohawks. Tecumsah and the Prophet would feel right at home with the Telmori. My Hot Lake people from Pent are pretty much straight-up Incas with a bit of Tibet thrown in. Sofali - Tongva Sabadari - Apache/Utes Etc.

New Pavis rumor: For an exorbitant fee, the Black Fang cult will not only murder a chosen victim, they will burn the body and scatter the ashes in the Dead Place where the remains will never be found, not even by magic or divination. (T)

Wrote this for my house campaign several years ago. Figured some might find it useful. NOTES ON RESURRECTION DIFFICULTIES OF RESURRECTION: The target’s corpse must be fully healed and reasonably intact and the head must be attached to the body. Any missing limbs may be regrown after the Resurrection. Similarly, lost stat points can later be restored with Restore (Stat). And finally, the caster must know the target’s name, lineage, and cultic affiliations (so the caster can find the target in the afterlife). Resurrection is not an easy spell to cast and is not used lightly. It brings considerable risk to the caster. Catastrophic failure in the summoning or spirit combat portion of the ritual can cripple or even kill the caster. Chalana Arroy is one of the only gods in the world with access to Resurrection and no other cult has reusable Resurrection. COST OF RESURRECTION: Traditionally, targets of Resurrection gift Chalana Arroy with 50% of their cash assets (cows, silver, gold) and tithe to Chalana Arroy for one year. Failing to do so makes it highly unlikely that Chalanans will every help you again. NEGATIVE SIDE EFFECTS: Some people who have especially difficult Resurrections (summoning barely succeeded, spirit combat was very dicey) get a condition called the Death Sickness. Other’s get Death Aversion. People with the Death Sickness become fatalistic and self-destructive, often converting to the worship of Humakt. People with Death Aversion fear battle or violence and often join Chalana Arroy. Still others just go crazy. (NOTE: PCs will not contract these conditions unless the player agrees.) WAYS TO (MOSTLY) PREVENT RESURRECTION: There are a few ways to prevent Resurrection. Note however that all of these techniques can be countered with equally rare and/or difficult counter-rituals or spells. In the worst case scenario, the famous Lightbringer Quest can bring back virtually anyone from the dead. The Lightbringer Quest has been performed successfully only a handful of times in all of history. Ways to prevent or complicate Resurrection include: - Remove and destroy the head of the corpse. - Destroy the entire body utterly. Burning it or eating it works nicely. - Erase the victim’s true name and lineage from history. (Extremely difficult. Usually requires murdering lots and lots of people.) - Kill the victim through a long and complicated ritual such as Crucifixion. - Kill the victim in an area with magic that prevents Resurrection. - Summon and bind the ghost of the victim. (The ghost must be laid to rest before the ritual can succeed.) - Trap the victim in a special, inaccessible hell. (The Lunars did this to their greatest enemy, the Pentian shaman Sheng Solaris.) - Turn the victim’s corpse into an Undead creature (makes the corpse harder to recover) - Kill the victim in the presence of a power artifact (such as a Lead Cross) which prevents Resurrection. - Utterly destroy the victim’s POW (usually the result of the sorcery spell Tap, a powerful Disease, or from a disastrous Divine Intervention)

KARGAN TOR Kargan Tor is an old god, the god of conflict who predates and was superseded by Humakt. When Humakt defeated his old master, Kargan Tor’s cult was absorbed into Humakt’s. Kargan Tor worshipers are much less obsessed with truth and swords than other Humakti. In certain distant lands, Kargan Tor worshippers can be resurrected. Where this is the case, their Sever Spirit is One-Use. CULT PERSONALITY SKILLS: Boastful, Independent, Intimidate DEATH RUNE SPELLS (NOTE: Kargan Tor's weapon enhancing spells work on any weapon, not just swords) DESTROY SHIELD (Rune Magic, Ranged, Instant, 2 pts.) This spell shatters a targeted shield. If the Shield is inhabited by a spirit, the caster must overcome the spirit’s POW. If there is more than one spirit bound into the shield, each additional spirit adds +1 effective POW to the shield’s resistance. Each enchantment on the shield also adds +1 POW to the resistance. If a shield has no bound spirits but is enchanted, the total number of enchantments act as the shield’s POW.DISARM FOE (Rune Magic, Ranged, Stackable, 1 pt) If the caster succeeds in a POW vs STR check against his target, the target’s weapon flies out of his hands, landing 1m away in a random direction. Each additional pt adds +5 to the caster's effective POW for the resistance roll or targets one additional weapon. If the target has more weapons than the caster can target, the caster chooses the weapons to disarm. GREAT BLOW (Rune Magic, Touch, Stackable, 1 pt) The next attack with the targeted weapon receives a +100% to hit modifier. Additional points effect subsequent attacks or additional weapons. TERRIFYING AURA (Rune Magic, Ranged for Effect, Self, 2 pts.) Anyone who targets the Humakti with an attack or offensive spell is automatically targeted by a Demoralize spell cast with the Humakti’s POW. The Demoralize spell does not cost any MP or SR to cast. TERRIFYING FURY (Rune Magic, Self, 2 pts) The Humakti is horrible to behold in his fury. Anyone the Humakti attacks or who attacks the Humakti receives a penalty of the Humakti’s Intimidate/5 to all attacks, parries and dodges against the Humakti. This effect does not stack with the Song effect from Death Song Berserk. TRUE (WEAPON) (Rune Magic, Touch, Duration, 2 pts) Available as Truespear, Truemace, Trueflail, True (Natural Weapon), Trueaxe, etc. The targeted melee weapon of the appropriate class does double weapon damage for the duration of the spell. UNBREAKABLE WEAPON (Rune Magic, Touch, Instant, 1 pt) The targeted weapon cannot be broken for the duration of this spell.

Mhorhys the Explainer, Sword Sage of Lhankor Mhy, met Efrodar on the Hero Plane (in Humakt's Camp) and persuaded him to teach him the secrets of leadership. In exchange, Mhorhys became unressurectable and took Humakti gifts and gears. He used Efrodar's spells to great effect. Here is his stanza in Keener's Saga: We know Mhorhys the Explainer, who could’ve explained all this much better than me, but not in such a way as you’d understand a damn word of it. Mhorry knew a powerful lot of things. He knew the ways of the World, though he couldn’t recognize his own wife when she wore a beard. He knew how to swing a sword almost as sharp as his tongue, but he didn’t know how to stop himself from bleeding. He knew how to lecture on almost anything, but he never knew when to shut up. Mhorhys drank from the Well of Wisdom, and argued Law before the Gods at Castle Blue, and invented the Lightning War, and held the Sword of Truth. But the best thing he learned was this: When the Devil took the Throne of the North and the young men came to Mhorhys in his old age and said “Be our general,” Mhorhys refused. Because he’d finally learned to quit while he was ahead.

EFRODAR BLACKHANDS Efrodar was a great Humakti general who served under Arkat in the campaign against Gbaji. CULT PERSONALITY SKILLS: Born Leader, Disciplined TRUTH RUNE SPELLS HOLD THE LINE (Rune Magic, PBAE = 50 meters, 2 pts.) This spell targets members of a military unit, hero band, or fyrd who are pledged to follow the caster. All followers within range of the caster receive a bonus of caster’s Tactics, Born Leader or other applicable Skill/5 to all Parries. If a target moves during the round (except to fill in a slot in the unit’s formation), bonuses to Parry are lost for that round. Spell can be resisted if the target chooses to do so. ORDERLY MANEUVER (Rune Magic, PBAE = 50 meters, 2 pts.) This spell targets members of a military unit, hero band, or fyrd who are pledged to follow the caster. All followers within range of the caster move in synch with the caster, moving in the same general direction at the same speed. They can move at the caster’s move rate even if it’s higher than their own. They are immune to tripping, falling or any spell that hinders movement so long as the caster is not affected by such spells or conditions. If a follower moves outside the range of the spell, these bonuses are lost. (NOTE: For purpose of statement of intent, the caster’s move statements override and replace any stated actions by the targets. When the caster moves, the caster moves all targets under the influence of this spell. Spell can be resisted if the target chooses to do so. REMOVE FEAR (Rune Magic, Ranged, Stackable, 1 pt.) Removes all Fear and Demoralize or other negative morale effects from the target. Additional pts double the number of targets (so long as they are in spell range.) UNBREAKABLE FORMATION (Rune Magic, PBAE = 50 meters, 3 pts.) This spell targets members of a military unit, hero band, or fyrd who are pledged to follow the caster. Caster may take a magic action every round to give all followers within range of the caster a bonus of caster’s Tactics, Born Leader or other applicable Skill/20 to their AP. If a target moves more than one hex during the round, bonuses to AP are lost. VOICE OF COMMAND (Rune Magic, Self, Stackable, 1 pt.) Adds +50m to the radius of the caster’s Hold the Line, Orderly Maneuver, and Unbreakable Formation spells per point.

This is excellent!