Squaredeal Sten

And finally about storage jars: the only jar type that W&E quotes is the amphora. A tall jar with a narrower neck, pointed bottom, and handles. The examples of this in our local art museum are all artistic creations for display, too pretty to get bumped around, not the larger shipping amphora which are retrieved from Bronze Age shipwrecks. Whose handles probably allowed use of a block and tackle to lift them into the ship's hull. But we tend to just call these "pottery" or 'jars". When people relied more on pottery for all kinds of uses, the various kinds of jars had names. For example this style of storage jar without handles is called a "Pithos". The one in the picture is Mycenaean, firmly in the bronze age. It was decorated, you can see traces - but it was never close to being as good artistically as the Athenian redware. So here is a look at an actual Bronze Age storage jar, about three feet tall:

Some Bronze Age things from this week's visit to the San Antonio museum of Art: A Yinkin image? From the Baboons' temple in Monkey Ruins: Check this out for high quality trade goods!

Per RBOM page 45 it is for "a time of mortal or existential peril". And allows drawing one POW plus 1d8 Magic Points. To me most times of mortal peril won't provide the leisure to pray her magic points back. And the single POW would not provide the 3 rune points she needs to immediately do it again. If she invokes Earthpower when she is not actually in peril she may expect no answer from the god.

In addition, something I was told decades ago: Don't proofread on a screen. Proofread in hard copy. You will find more of the errors. I don't know why that is true, some subtlety of the way humans work. But it does seem to be true. Got this from a training session at work. Not just someone's bull session.

[@Scotty] Think about writing that up and publishing via Jonstown Compendium, so that other people can benefit from what you have learned about adventures for very young players. You have revealed something that is not obvious.

Random Number is right: Once you begin seeing what you think is on the page, a new pair of eyes is needed.

Re. What happens if the image is not destroyed: Then the summoners have unleashed a magical monster in the community. This is not good. It might even get them % in the Chaos rune. As for exactly what is summoned, that is up to the Gamemaster (GM). If the summoner uses an effigy then the effigy should usually be animated. But on a fumble or if they use no effigy then it is the GM's option. Do you want to let them execute their plan? Or is there some reason you think it should go wrong? There is no particular die roll indicated for those decisions. Bear in mind that MGF does not indicate killing the whole party.

This article (my hardcopy magazine came today) reports finding an alpine rock crystal mine used for a period that at least ended in the bronze age. Though the tools found don't include any such high tech. We should think about Hsunchen also mining rock crystals. https://www.archaeology.org/issues/482-2209/digs/10770-digs-switzerland-mesolithic-tools

A different take on Esrolian Ernaldans: Who expect to boss men, "for their own good," using persuasion and culture and yes, sex - rather than force. As a different sex role expectation, matriarchalism instead of patiarchalism. But when the times require it they are perfectly willing to use force also.

IMHO that should motivate players who don't like that tradition to take up some of the other cults in Prax. The whole population is not Waha and Eiritha cultists.

Early on on my Gloranthan reading I read two things that do seem to contradict that: First. That in Glorantha two myths about the same event can differ, and both can be true. Hard to reference? Look at the examples of the myth about the killing of Yelm written from the Dara Happan viewpoint and the Aldryami viewpoint. Second, that heroquesting can actually change myth or the accepted version of a myth. There is a lot of that in discussion about what the God Learners did. And if you also accept that heroquesting is easier to do with community support. then the larger community has more ability to change a myth or to make its own version the dominant version.

Something like that was a piece of the background for Squaredeal Sten the Esrolian trader, as a character in play not just a forum handle. In the Nochet militia his company commander was female. Remember in Esrolia men are considered too emotional for great responsibility. Sten saved her life at Pennel Ford and her recommendation got him a job as caravan guard, so entry to the Issaries cult.

Foreign Language and Area Studies doesn't make sense. Family Life Association of Swaziland?

FLA? Old abbreviation for Florida? Fair Labor Association?

Let's remember RQ's oft discussed crunchiess. Or realism. I have been reading a political biography of Abraham Lincoln. Which, I know, is not Gloranthan. So I'll get to the point: Lincoln did not become President on the basis of critting one speech. He spent years as one of the builders of the Republican coalition. That's after he was a leading Illinois Whig. While he frequently demonstrated Orate at 100% or more, he also knew and worked with an awful lot of people. Intrigue at a master level and U.S. lore, too. Insight (human). That coalition combined former Know-Nothings (nativist conspiracy theorists) with self righteous Free Soilers such as Senator Sumner, and former Whigs and Democrats. Can you imagine the stress on his Harmony rune? So I recommend crunch: Orate is not enough. Your players should have to demonstrate all of those skills ( Sartar lore. Not U.S. lore) with several tribal leader NPCs and roll well on their Harmony runes too, before they can become kingmakers - or in this case Prince makers. Now I'll bet they signed up to be warriors a lot more than to be politicians.

I suggest you play it straight from King of Sartar in Boldhome. It is the other tribal kings who block Leika becoming Prince. They also block burning Kallyr for weeks. Some of them will also have high Orate skills. And their own agendas. Whatever choice was made on the Queens battlefid, that's just for a war leader. And it doesn't bind kings or tribes who were not there. Let your players try to get into high level Sartarite politics. But give high ranking NPCs a Reputation. And remember the reductions outside your own clan etc. The competing kings will have much better Rep augmentation than most adventurers. Emphasize how people say "who is this nobody who all of a sudden wants to run the politics of Sartar?" No second chance to speak, booed down. Go on to burn Kallyr's body. Leika and your Adventurers leave and on to Black Spear. OR if they crit a few more times you have a massive YGMV.

Not except in environment: Both prefer to be underground. Krarsht is chaotic and Kyger Litor is emphatically not chaotic. It's not a common ancestor. Krarsht runes are movement, Chaos, stasis. Kygeritor. Mother of the Uz, is Darkness and Man runes. I think it's just a game design thing, that hunger motivates both to eat folks who would rather not be eaten.

Now that's in interesting point. Why is it that the only place we have heard of Uz with boats is Crabtown? Did the upland marsh cut off Uz river trade with the Shadow Plateau? Or did they just never use boats much?

Seems to me from the consensus about strong currents from the New River south, that a cargo portage at New Crystal City makes trade on the Creek Stream river system practical. The boats don't have to be ported. You trans ship to different boats. But the downstream trade will be suitable for heavy and bulky cargoes while up Stream is not. This makes Dragon Pass a source of bulky raw materials for Esrolia, while trade up Stream will be much less bulky finished goods and exotic imports from distant places. So Sartar will export raw wool and lumber to Esrolia by water. If the lumber rafts are banged up in the cataracts that's not a big loss. Meanwhile the up Stream cargo is Esrolian fashion clothing, Pamaltelan spices, Kralorelan silk. None of which cause the boats to sink deep. And it is very seasonal going upstream. Esrolian traders will leave for Sartar in Fire season and either stay or go back south in Earth season. Anyone using this route from Dark through Sea seasons will do more walking and riding than boating. I am interested by Joerg's discussion of Reed boats. Are these usually pulled out of the water and dried periodically? From the little I recall about Heyerdahl's Ra, it seemed to me that his reed boat builders were used to making much smaller fishing boats, and Ra was the biggest reed craft they ever made. Heyerdahl knew it could be done because of the ancient Egyptian pictures.

There are no trolls at Smithstonr. It's Volsaxi country. Belintar is dead. As for the what if are the Uz all united so they only have to cut one deal? If so it looks like a eat adventure hook.

There's no detail about how those Egyptians prospected, but I suspect someone broke rocks open until he saw quartz crystals. And as the video says, amethyst is just colored quartz- so once you start making crystal necklaces sooner or later you will hit amethyst.

Jeff has answered affirmatively for Kralorela and Teshnos. As for Pamaltela, that appears to be a great opportunity to write adventures. I don't think there is anything published yet. When the seas were closed there was no communication with Pamaltela, maybe exceptions for divination or teleportation but no cargo carriers. Now that the seas are open it's still unusually risky and very seasonal. If you get into the wrong current you go down Magasta's Pool. The eastbound route is known to be full of pirates. I would think it's an Issaries heroquest to go there and find goods that will sell well enough to make the trip profitable and worth the risk And what goods do you take south?

Well the guide to Glorantha is canonical, isn't it? From page 258, "Monros (small city): This city, named after a Second Age king, is located at the junction of two important roads and a ferry across the Lyksos River. A rich sanctuary of the goddess Ernalda and her warrior daughter Vinga is outside the city walls, surrounded by citrus orchards. In 1620, the goddesses confronted the Feathered Horse Queen and forced her army to retreat from Esrolia." So your mythology may vary - but at least in Esrolia Vinga is not a product of Orlanth's parthenogenesis, but has Ernalda for a parent too.

So there is trade by a somewhat circuitous route. Questionable how much through Beast Valley but the Grazers have a pack train route south to Esrolia. The Grazers do also seem to have some routes through to Sartar, despite the Upland Marsh.

I consulted the Guide to Glorantha, and Pages 257-258 "Lyksos River: The Lyksos River drains northern Esrolia and empties out with its mouth at Nochet. The river gained tremendously in prestige and power after Belintar cut the New River to divert the Creek-Stream River to flow into the Lyksos. It is the main arterial for waterborne traffic between Dragon Pass and the Holy Country." So, canon - there must be some waterborne traffic. Whether it's just by ducks or whether Beast Valley lets humans through on the river is another question of course. And I did find the entries for those three cities, Page 257 Monros (small city): This city, named after a Second Age king, is located at the junction of two important roads and a ferry across the Lyksos River. A rich sanctuary of the goddess Ernalda and her warrior daughter Vinga is outside the city walls, surrounded by citrus orchards. In 1620, the goddesses confronted the Feathered Horse Queen and forced her army to retreat from Esrolia. New Crystal City (small city): This city near the ruins of lost Elmalvo was constructed by Belintar from a fragment of the Gift of the Sun Crystal. With the aid of the gods of Kethaela, Belintar grew the fragment into a huge crystalline building with spires of green, blue, yellow, red, and white. New River: Belintar dug a deep canyon to divert the Creek-Stream River into the Lyksos River. It has steep cliffs, hundreds of feet high, and is nearly impossible to cross. Page 259: Valadon (large city): Also called Willford, this city in the North March of Esrolia is the lowest fordable place on the Lyksos River. Valadon is best known for its annual harvest festival celebrating Esrola and Argan Argar. So from north to south:- No mention of trade in conjunction with New Crystal city. But if there are people there they need to have some reason to be there. Is being a local / regional market enough? Is the tourist traffic to see the crystal building enough? it's next to the canyon, rapids- so not a river port. but maybe a portage route, so traders would unload the duck boats and cart the cargo past the canyon? Valadon: "the lowest fordable place" so it will be the northern limit of navigation for large watercraft. But not necessarily a barrier for ducks boats or rafts or any purpose built shallow draft boat. No ships north (up river) of there, but that doesn't mean no cargo on the river. Monros; A road junction and ferry, as well as a 'rich' temple. The river here is clearly navigable.