Squaredeal Sten

So what is Krarshti policy? Are chaotic folks even capable of executing a long term policy?

We have speculated about what is necessary to create a NEW holy spot (shrine or temple) in other threads. ( besides a congregation and permission of the cult.) The hypotheses that appeal most to me include a heroquest with that goal, Or a big ceremony using magic that is not in the Red Book, not combat oriented but known to the cults - it is just outside the scope of most adventures and a matterfor High Priests. But a GM might reveal it. Oh yes and you need a wyter at the time you get your congregation together. And of course there are old holy spots where a god did something significant like eating lunch (Larnste's Table), or perhaps a Hero's tomb for a hero cult, or where the hero is associated with a god. Or possession of a relic could be sufficient. This really appeals to me for a mobile shrine. In the end this would be a nice subject for the forthcoming GM book. Meanwhile it is a fit subject for a Jonstown Compendium piece if you have an appropriate revelation. As for a lot more suitable relics wandering around - I suspect they would be most desired by large rich temples which would stop them from wandering. And they won't grow on trees. Unless they are Aldryami relics of course. But your Glorantha might be big enough to have one or two little known. newly discovered relics, enough to power some adventures. Look around in the corners of your mind where they might be hidden and forgotten. What I wonder about is what permanently sanctified the run down Issaries shrine in Apple Lane, which appears to be a big boulder with graffiti. I sure would like an explanation of that canon edge case.

But a shrine is a permanently sanctified place. Not "anywhere". Now if the shaman wants to cast Sanctify they can worship there, but it's not permanent.

Jex, I am curious: How are you going to scale this demon summoning sorcery? I notice that your bespoke demon probably qualifies as a small demon, with 12 POW. What if your sorceror wants to summon a large demon, one with POW = armor protection that no weapon is likely to penetrate until the thing can be provoked into using its magic points, or some MP draining magic overcomes its POW?

I am in favor of the bespoke demon. Let your adventure have a unique twist, let the demon give your adventurer a unique twist. One possibility is that one man's demon is another man's Elemental or cult spirit. If they are on the other side they are demons. Broyan gets offed and his friends say it was a Lunar demon. The Lunars say it was an Elemental(Lune) that drove his friends insane and in a berserk rage one of them killed Broyan. Are demons incomplete creatures? That looks reasonable. They can be more malign that way. You don't have to make a back story about their abused childhoods, or leave a possibility that they will decide to join Chalana Arroy like a certain broo. In any case they appear to manifest as very embodied spirits.

Well OK that's sort of a charitable foundation. Which doesn't prevent it also being a front for the empire.

It came up in my campaign too, with two adventurers. And I asked questions here in the forum too, because I hadn't studied the sorcery rules chapter enough to understand let alone to play it. I don't think a Sorcerous Potential skill is needed, it would just add complexity. RAW, INT is your sorcerous potential. The rules as written are hard enough. For an adventurer to learn sorcery in play they will have to take many seasons off to study, preferably with a mentor in Jonstown as David Scott described. One rune and one technique won't cut it, either. To be competitive magic users they need more, and then they need to learn or research specific spells. Lots of skill increases are needed. They will study each skill in accord with the general learning rules. Mastering each rune and each technique is a separate course. Researching from scratch is just too hard and long, they need that mentor and library. Since that amounts to retiring the character for an extended period, they have not followed up on it. The characters have responsibilities.

As I read the RQiG section on rune points, Sanctify plus a holy day is the minimum you need to regain RP. A shrine or temple lets you regain without having to cast Sanctify, and gives you a bonus on the roll. As I read the RQiG section on temples, a temple or shrine is usable to regain rune points even without a congregation present. The congregation is necessary to establish a temple, and only implicitly to keep it a temple. (I also deduce that making a temple additionally needs a wyter, and probably requires a heroquest, discussed in an older thread. At least a big and long ceremony such as the consecration of the Temple of the Reaching Moon. Maybe the forthcoming GM book will clarify this. The RQiG book seems oriented toward newer characters and starting a campaign, while establishing a temple would be for much more experienced Adventurers with enough game history to gather a congregation and to politic with a High Priest .) Though it is not specified how long it stays a temple if the congregation is absent, I judge that is at least a season because of the seasonal holy day function for regaining Rune Points. YGMV. The example of the baboons and Hender's Ruin would indicate to me that temple status degrades VERY slowly. So, back to the original mobile temple topic: while the Mobile Orlanth temple may just be a cart and the priest's Sanctify, I can easily believe that with a temple's holy relic in the cart and a congregation, it can at least be a shrine. And discussion of the Praxian tribes in another thread, argues that the Praxian clans must also have portable shrines, because otherwise the nomads are going to have a hard time.

My personal choice would be to take Jeff's map which is on line now, and which he revealed recently. That seems to me to be the better indication of what may be in the eventual Sartar book, so your adventure is more likely to match canon in the future. Ten years ago... could be rationalized by noting that clan borders can have changed between the 1615 ST and 1625 ST base dates.

A couple of decades ago i demonstrated my musket and bayonet to my mother in law. Stabbed her ceiling when i went to right shoulder shift. Thee bayonet went right in, despite being a piece of Indian-made repro which bends in the sheath when i sit down. Since then I have been more careful indoors.

I never seen evidence of charitable foundations in the Gloranthan literature. But anyway, none of the spirits of reprisal possess the offender to reverse their behavior. They all seem to me to be designed to make the offenders' lives unpleasant so that they will voluntarily change (though under duress), or alternatively end the career of a player character. that's a broad brush, and some of them don't seem very rough, while some like Mallia's will kill quickly. We are getting pretty far off the original topic of mobile shrines.

No breakaway sect, but instead this would be heretics and cheats punished by tbe God and possessed by the spirit of Raw Greed.

You are right, definitely not a Lunar, that would be anachronistic. Even a Sartarite Guilder would be from Time. We are probably looking for a much older lump of silver. Wasn't Issaries the inventor of money? We must consult a Lhankor Mhy about this.

Regarding Issaries, if I recall correctly any Issaries market is also a temple according to Cults of Prax. So not a mobile shrine per se, but for your Make Market rune spell you get a buy one, get one free deal. And four carved staves are pretty portable. Of course I can't know now how the new gods book will treat that. Of course that does not preclude also having a mobile shrine, if you have an Issaries holy artifact or relic. What would an Issaries artifact/ relic be like? How about - Issaries' First Lunar? Like the first dollar you will see framed at some businesses? If not Issaries then one of his sons? - A pot traded in the first trade described in Cults of Prax? Or even a shard thereof?

Does anyone know of any detail written up about Zatarn lake? This body of water shows in the Argan Argar Atlas, located east north east of Whitewall and west of the Troll woods. It may be the headwaters of the Marzeel River. There is nothing about it in the Guide to Glorantha index..

I don't consider such basic world building issues, but instead work with Glorantha as presented. But if those magical defenses do work, this presents a problem because they are handled in terms of magic points. Basically two points of counter magic = 2 pts of spirit magic or 1 pt of rune magic. But the draconic effects don't have such values attached as written. So if they work then how do I make them work?

All this dwarf lore and technique / interaction of the rules indicates to me that there is reason to write a Dwarfpack. Not necessarily oriented toward Mostali PCs, but as a GM aid and sourcebook. I currently feel that I am out of my depth running Mostali. At least for more than a casual encounter as my players pass by Dwarf Run, which is the only Mostali encounter I have run. 1. Mostali history, mythology, and factions. 2. Mostali types, and stats. 3. Mostali psychology and behavior, a section oriented toward their interaction with Adventurers. 4. Mostali technology and how and how much to present to the players. As I understand it this is steampunk mixed with sorcery, and the dwarfs don't let much out and do take it back. Aggressively. 5. Mostali in combat. Not only weapon preference and stats and the discussion of armor above, and a gunpowder section, but tactics including the discussion of sorcery above. Plus the Cannon Cult, which is a Mostali thing even though it's human cannoneers. I have a vision of a Mostali military intervention using pike and shot tactics. Which does not exclude crossbows and war hammers. The Swiss in the 1300s-1400s used crossbows and pole arms, and pike and shot is just a logical development of that. Is this anachronistic for "bronze age" setting? Yes but Glorantha..... is not all bronze age. 6. Mostal magic (Clearly their sorcery goes beyond the Lhankor Mhy oriented intro in the RQiG rules.) 7. Mostali places with map and descriptions. At least one city submap, which should have layers for the 3D nature of its layout. 8. Mostali encounters. Sure, some of this is scattered through the Bestiary and the 4.5 pages in the Glorantha Souurcebook, and the Guide to Glorantha. But much of the discussion above is not. And there is value in bringing the pieces together and explaining how to work them.

That's exactly my problem with it, or one of my problems anyway. At high levels the linear relationship gives effects that challenge the suspension of disbelief. At more or less human level, say 20 vs 10, the formula essentially says that with a 2:1 rato you have a lock on whatever you are doing. But at high levels a much smaller ratio between opponents will give equally certain results. And if as Rodney Dangerduck indicates 5% is always a success, then in extremity a duck has a 5% chance of knocking an allosaurus down. Not a bad tactic if you are in the situation of going hand to hand with one, as it would essentially be an enhancement to the Divine Intervention that should come next.

What do you do when you have a roll on the resistance table and one side (or both sides) has a value over 21? Examples, ● Calculating the knockback roll for two large opponents in accord with the written formula on p, RQiG page 224: STR + SIZ vs. STR + DEX. For example an adventurer STR 17 SIZ 15 , total 32 vs. an NPC STR 11 DEX 11, total 22. I have a problem applying this to very high values, where it seems to have exaggerated and disproportionate effects - see examples below. ● An Adventurer with POW 18 tries to cast Disruption or Befuddle… on a Dream Dragon which may have POW as high as 24, or on a Dryad whose POW can be as high as 28. Or a shaman whose effective (corporate) POW including his fetch might be as high as 42, maybe higher. I can see three ways of adjusting to get onto the table: Adapt to the table by subtraction or division, or apply the written formula. I am not happy with taking the method most beneficial to the adventurer, because I want to apply a method consistently across situations. Sometimes the higher POW will belong to a friend, sometimes to an enemy. Which method do you use? Or do you use a different method that I have not thought of? Examples: Method A: Follow the written formula on RQiG page 145. and use 50% - the difference between active and passive values x 5%? Given the Adventurer knockback attempt above, 32 vs. 22, the stronger and larger larger adventurer has a success chance of 50% + 160% - 110% = 100% chance of success. Given Adventurer POW attempt above, 18 vs. Dryad 28, the formula for chance of success would be 50%+ 18x5% - 28x5% = 50%+90%-140% = 0% chance to succeed. This seems to me to have exaggerated knockback effects when applied to two entities that are much higher than 21 in the particular characteristic. For example between two dinosaurs of average size for their species, (Bestiary pages 110-111), one Allosaur (active) STR 86 SIZ 50 and one Brontosaur STR 62 DEX 4, the balance is in favor of an attacking Allosaur, 136 vs. 66, the difference is 70 and the chance of the Allosaur’s success is 50%+ 680% - 330%= 400%. even though the Brontosur is larger, SIZ 72. I can’t visualize this tackle – but apparently Rules As Written, it’s a winning tactic for the Allosaur. But if the Brontosaur manages to try knockback first (admittedly unlikely given the DEX difference) the stats are Brontosaur (active) 62+72= 134 vs.. Allosaur 86+13 = 99. Now the shoe is on the other foot and the Brontosaur has a 50%+ 670% - 495% = 225% chance of success. Definitely the Brontosaur should tackle. But due to the listed Strike Ranks, given 5 SR for the downed one to stand up, it seems unlikely to ever get to trample, just to continue knocking the Allosaur down. Method B: Subtract the difference between the higher characteristic and 21, from both sides. So Given Adventurer 32 vs. 22, you subtract 11 to get 21 vs. 11, a 100% chance of success. Given Adventurer 18 vs. Dryad 28, you subtract 7 to get Adventurer 14 vs. Dryad 21, a 15% chance. Method 😄 Divide both characteristics by a number. Given Adventurer 32 vs. 22, divide by 2 to get 16 vs. 11, a 75% of success. Given Adventurer 18 vs. Dryad 28, divide both by 2, to get Adventurer 9 vs. Dryad 14, a 25% chance. Which method do you use? Or do you use a different method that I have not thought of?

The Bestiary section on Dragonewts, pages 42-43 , informs us about Draconic magic. “Effects” Soul Blast and Terrify are not given an equivalent to spirit magic MPs or Rune magic points. And on p.42, it says in a different context (“casting”) that Effects in general “are not spells”. Question: Are magical defenses such as countermagic or Shield effective defenses against Soul Blast and / or Terrify?

Death is not freedom. Slave revolts may be Deathly, but dead slaves don't found an ongoing cult. How about Movement? Slavery is not compatible with freedom of movement. And it's great for running an Underground Railroad. If you want to open shackles then how about a cult skill rather than a spell? if you want to free the imprisoned, give Create Fissure for a rune spell. Passage for another rune spell. Possibly Scram. If chaotic then Sweat Acid would remove manacles. But back to skills, picking a lock might work unless they are riveted on, and then a sacred cult enchanted iron rat-tailed file or an enchanted iron hacksaw blade would do wonders. I don't see Beat-Pot as a freedom cult figure. He would be more likely to tell you that Freedom is Slavery.

Obsidian spearhead. FIREDAY, yes that sounds believable. Is there a legend about the origin of the black spear? It might be a Lodril thing. I'm just ideating. What are Lodril's holy days? Putting the wyter into it may have just been a later event than obtaining the spear, using it as a suitable magical object. Presumably the Colymar tribe formed before they crossed the deathline into Dragon Pass. If you were going to take a big step like that, wouldn't you make your Mayflower Compact (sacrifice to the wyter) beforehand rather than afterward? That would indicate you can use a previous Fireday.

It seems unlikely to me that such an old hand at heriquesting as Kallyr would not have known they were going to awaken the Dragon. And she was an old hand at Celestial heroquesting too. Shown by the star in her forehead. It is possible that Olaront proposed further use of the Dragon. And that seemed to Kallyr to be a bridge too far. A dragon would seem a risky thing to "use". As demonstrated by the friendly casualties in the first round, Minaryth Purple and the Feathered Horse Queen and presumably more un named minor NPCs. Olaront, given his own draconic orientation, might have argued too hard, angered Kallyr, perhaps saying "All that we have done for Sartar, now you are throwing it away by not using the Dragon to finish the Lunars off! One sight of the Dragon and your guts turned to water! At this rate you will never light the flame of Sartar!" Or words to that effect.

I missed the change in step from thr OP's topic, which was RQG.

Are you referring to skill% gain during character generation, or during play? I ask because during play occupational and cult skill% gain is seasonal. Not annual. And during character generation it is all in one lump, not in annual increments.