Shiningbrow

Tolkien did it... You can learn to speak Quenya or Sindarin. Star Trek did it. And people do speak Klingon. I imagine also Vulcan and Romulan. And, of course, Navi from Avatar. Do people complain about how easy it is to mix them up? (Probably, but if you're a fan, it's not an issue).

Absolutely!!! I'm sure this has been said (probably many times before), and often forgotten/ignored, but.... Glorantha is a very Euro-centric land. The main materials written so far centre around a Dragon Pass and environs that mimics various European (with some middle eastern influence) earth history. To the east is the mystical, forbidden Empire of the Drago, where foreigners ate killed on sight, have "mandarins", and mimics some fantasy China (from a European/America perspective, as @davecakewrote above). Further east and south are apparently analogues of Japan and south east Asia. On the southern continent are the Pamaltelans... Analogous to sub-Saharan Africa. To the north is Valind's Glacier, reindeer people, etc. If, for some reason, they decided to add an Australian aboriginal or Maori type, I'd expect them to show up on an island far off in the south, far to the east of Pamaltela.. just because! Glorantha, being a fantasy world with *every* decision being arbitrary, could have made the world completely different... But didn't.

I read at least two logical fallacies here... Firstly, confusing "skin colour" with "culture" or history. Secondly, ignoring the effects of cultural racism with active and direct racism. Now, as I recall, when the team started writing about shamans, a LOT of time was spent trying to get it right and.not be offensive or disrespectful. How is @JonL saying anything different?

I wrote a long piece about this elsewhere... It ignores so many other sources of modifiers... Plus for Bless, plus for Bears Strength, plus for feats, plus for a whole slew of other things...when I tried D&D recently, I was always forgetting one modifier or another. The counter to that was "but you always have to check a table"... Statistically, that's likely to be required only about 5% of the time if you don't have it written down. (5%, because some numbers are obvious! Like 01, 02, 99, 00... It's only required when the math isn't straightforward)

I'm not disagreeing with the content, but I do with the context. I think it would be extremely difficult to find anyone who is not a devoted scholar on the subject to help out with a bronze age China. Modern Chinese are as far from "Kralorela" as most of us are from our very distant ancestors. Experts should be experts... For bronze age material, I don't think anyone from the modern era has any advantage by nationality over any other.

Ummm... I'm going to the same page with both links...

"Complete bodily involvement acts of dedication"

However, it does mimic the "Mandate from Heaven" idea that's been around for a while... You are right in the mundane and historical sense, but the myth is still basically the same.

Actually not true... It just may not have been voiced. I'm sure if a thread was started, you'd hear a few gripes (mine included... But I honestly don't know much about the actual cultures to comment intelligently. Sure, that's never stopped me before, but... :p)

I have to vehemently disagree with this statement! It presumes that unless one has the blood and ancestry, one cannot understand history, myths, culture, etc. This has been time and again shown to be false... Just as it is not true that everyone of a particular people (culture, ethnicity, etc) always knows everything about said culture etc. This is easily demonstrable... Ask anyone, anything! What we really need is someone well-versed in the history, myths, tales, etc.

What if you special or crit the rolls?

Nice. But I just thought I'd point out that your arbitrary "10 points of sorcery per Enc" means that the most likely spell to.be cast on it is stuck in a limbo... Boon of Kargan Tor gets damage increases at 1, 4, 8, and 12... 10 wastes 2 points. Just an observation!!

Harrek's Silky-Lacey Underwear (an extension from the Lie spell thread...) There are a number of these matching sets of fashionable (and incredibly comfortable) combinations of silk and lace knickers and negligee in existence, all owned by Harrek (and, partly, Gunda). They come in different colours and designs, but the same size - Harrek's. (Gunda has her own sets, of course!) Cults N/A Knowledge Secret - only Harrek and Gunda know of these (oh, and now Argrath - see below). Gunda has, of course, sworn an oath to keep the secret. The Wolf Pirates on Harrek's personal ship suspect (know), but the "They're all Gunda's girly things" in reference to the clothes line hasn't convinced most of them, given the size difference between the two of them... and Harrek's mood swings on washing day. If someone were to find out about this secret, and Harrek found out about that - you'd be dead! (part of the reason for all the travels and raids along the coasts...). History Gunda and Harrek found a deep kinship in their love of designing - and wearing - women's undergarments. It's what's kept them so close together all these years. It's t he other reason the Wolf Pirates have raided up and down the coasts - to look for better quality fabrics and materials, as well as designs (that's why they hang around the Land of 10,000 Goddesses the most!) Over the years, Harrek and Gunda have tried on different styles, and even designed a few of their own. Harrek has now found a combination he likes best (but still tries a couple of new ones now and then...). Procedure Ask Harrek... if you dare! Powers Unknown. Harrek has never actually been out and about without his silk and lace undergarments, and so no-one truly knows if his formidible powers come from within, or from the garments themselves... The White Bear isn't about to tell anyone. These garments have, though, unwittingly become the inspiration for the SMU - Sartar Magical Union. One day, Gunda couldn't keep it a secret any longer (hence her nickname!), and told Argrath... just as Harrek walked in. Harrek: What did I just hear you two talking about? Argrath and Gunda (together): No, no... nothing. Nothing at all... H: I thought I heard something about..... silk??? A:No, no.... G: Nope, nothing like that... A&G (together): A: Shamans.... G: Sorcery... A: yeah... shamans... and and and sorcerers... together..... yah, shamans and sorcerers together.... working together.... H: didn't you say "different laces"? A: Whaaaa??? Noooo.... that was, ah... Races! Yeah, Races... damn my pronunciation... that trip to Kralorela must have washed off on me.... ha ha... (H: thinking to himself - "Odd, I thought the L/R shift only happened on middle and final positions, not initial...) A: so, yeah... ah, races... you know, trolls, elves, baboons, etc etc... H: And this "putting them on together is a great magical union"? I heard you Gunda! G: Yes! Absolutely.. ummm..... they work... ummm... welll.... together...... Argrath? A: Yes, a Great.. ummm Magical Union... of, ummm... trolls, and baboons, and everyone...with different magics... yes.... shamans.. and sorcerers... coming together.... H: Hmmm... Jar-eel would like the look of that, I suppose! A & G: <Cough> yes, yes... the *magical* union... yes. She would! H: So, when are you going to do it? A: WHaaaaa...???? Oh, ummmm... soon, real soon..... (thinks to himself: Oh crap... now I'm going to have to make this happen, or I'll never hear the end of it!) G: <phew>.... Not the brightest is old Harrek. Value To Harrek, and arm and a leg (literally... yours, of course, not his. If he's in a good mood, he'll even give you the chance to select which side - he's fair like that!)

I did that. He said no, but the look on Gunda's face makes me think he was lying! (He probably has the spell as well!) I'm pretty sure that their mutual love of lingerie design is what forged the tight bonds between Harrek and Gunda in the first place... that feel of sheer silk and soft lace would drive anyone berserk if you have to go back to ... hession! (Edit - Harrek comes from the Rathori, an area famous for their... 'lumberjacks'. Just sayin'...)

Don't the magics of Glorantha change all of that?

The Bull's Nose (aka, The Bull Knows) Description: There are two types - the personal and the community. The personal is usually a pendant of a bull's head worn around the neck, although can be done in other ways as commissioned. The Community version is usually similar to warding sticks/poles with bull's heads atop, looking out. Cults Associated: Stormbull Enemy: All Chaos cults, but in particular Cacodemon, as it frustrates their attempts to infiltrate local communities. Friendly: All Lightbringer and Praxian cults. Also popular with other Chaos-hating cults (eg, Uz). Hostile: Lunars Knowledge Automatic; Famous (?maybe only Common.. depends where you live!) HIstory Sadricka the Wise was a Lhankor Mhy God-Talker in Sartar, who had a brother, Embullio (the not so wise), who was a Khan of Stormbull. Sadricka, loving the peace and quiet of study and reading, was constantly annoyed his brother's near-endless rants against impending Chaos and Embullio flying off on tantrums at the merest hint of something that could be considered Chaotic...or when farmers and herders ran into the house crying about the latest illness or woe caused by some Chaos thing... and usually wasn't! Too many times, Sadricka had to go with his brother to discover the real reason for something happening that wasn't really Chaotic. So, he convinced his brother to come up with a sure-fire way to help others around the stead to detect the forcers of Chaos without him personally being there. So, he helped him devise these Bull's Nose pendants, and later, the warding posts. Procedure Both require a Storm Khan with Sense Chaos at mastery level. A simple pendant needs to be made out of a Rune Metal (yeah, virtually anything!), and a Divine Intervention is cast, asking the Bull to bless the pendant, costing just 1 POW. The warding posts are similar, but also require sufficient Rune Points for the equivalent sized Warding, and a ritual must be done on the site where they will be planted. Power Acts as a permanent Detect Chaos spell - detects Chaos automatically at a range up to 50m. For the Warding Posts, they activate when something Chaotic crosses the boundary. The pendant starts to radiate a feeling of sickness in the wearer, while the warding posts do the same for the legal owner of the land the posts are planted in (or the tenant, if the owner so wishes) - no matter how far away the owner is. The owner knows exactly which property has the Chaos on it if they have more than one. The owner (and tenant, if required) must be present during the setup ritual. Some have suggested that they also have the power to keep Stormbull cultists away, but some contradict this, as Stormbull Priests don't always trust those wily Chaotic beasts, and hence check up on their wards regularly. It's certainly had the power to stop farmers complaining ... as often. (Turns out, Sadricka wasn't as wise as he hoped.... ) Value These are not-surprisingly cheap, as Stormbull takes a very active stance against Chaos, so make these readily available. Most go for about 50L. However, Thanes, chieftans and bar owners would be willing to pay more just to keep the Stormbullies out of their bar/steads.

Agreed (although not sure about "racist". However, given the cure climate here, I'm sure Weibo would have a field day, and Globally Times would lap it up into a frenzy). Absolutely agree! With the main protagonists and antagonists, there are arguments about who it represents more... Kralorela is wholesale and indisputablely some variant of an imagined China.

If it's for a specific person, I'd be considering their personal Runic Affinity/ies, and possibly cult interests, rather than merely generic.

Are you sure that's a lie?

So, if food trollkin are only eating... And the trolls are eating the food trollkin...... That means.........

Hmmm.... Yeah, fair call! I suppose if the Restore Health is working, it'd be worth it!

Honestly, why bind when you can just put them in a low POW storage crystal? I'm not going to waste my perfectly good POW just for that! I'm waaaayyyy too much of a munchkin!

Very important question!! "We set an ambush... I wait until one of the troll/kins goes into the bushes to crap, then silently kill him". 6 hours later... "Oh come on!!!!!!! One of you...!!!" (*yes, I know Uz wouldn't care about where they do it.... especially in the woods!)

Firstly, apologies for the resurrection (who knew threads had HQ/Shamanic abilities???), but in talking about the GaGoG, I was linked to here... So - what's to stop an Elmali from getting the Sunspear spell if the gods are actually the same? They could be going to the Yelmalian temple (out of curiosity?? To replenish RPs), having a chat with the local priest who tries to convert them, and being told of the awesome powers that Yelmalio/Elmal has, and you should have a try... I'd see this situation of not having the spell more as "I didn't know I could get it" rather than "It's absolutely not available". If we take the getting of Rune Spells to be a mini-HQ, then all it should take would be to know of it, and then performing it. The Elmali could then return home and tell everyone that - yes, the gods are still different, but somehow we've forgotten that he still has that power (ie, Sunspear). I'd presume that the gifts/geases are a similar deal... we didn't know we could get them! The lack of Fireblade and Ignite in Yelmalio's cult is purely cultural (or could be argued as 'aspects'). Similarly, I can't see why an Orlanth Adventurous can't get the same spells as Orlanth Thunderous...if the god is actually the same.... (I can live with "isn't usually available, because we don't know those myths"). My perspective on this whole debate is fairly pragmatic... if Elmal was killed or trapped, would Yelmalians (and others involved in this argument) also lose all their powers? What happened to the other Air deities when Orlanth was 'killed' by the Lunars? Lastly, when will someone realise that Monrogh was Lied to by a Trickster?

You enter the room quietly. Unfortunately, you've been seen. As you peer into the gloom, you see - and hear - a huge barbarian charging towards you. He roars as he throws at you... A really bad pun! Roll to dodge.