Squaredeal Sten

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.

Thanks, that is food for thought. I can see the difficulty with upstream traffic, with the rapids, with the Uz on the south bank. Seems to me that New Crystal would have a good location for trade if the Beast men let it through. If not then New Crystal is a backwater.

At this point the clearest map I have is inside the cover of Glorantha Bestiary. Or, wait, the Argan Argar Atlas - The Creek-Stream river flows into a marsh east of New Cryatal city, so i take it that's the Dammed Marsh. Is there a navigable route through the marsh or past its edge? After that the river turns west, apparently through a canyon (new River), to be or to merge with the Runnel River, and around the Building Wall it becomes the Lyskos River. All the time on the edge of the Shadow Plateau. I don't see an indication of rapids in the Atlas map, unless that's the five white lines in the canyon. Yes the map key says rapids or waterfalls. Yes that would indicate a portage. Or maybe a carry by cart or mule to reach larger river craft west of the rapids and canyon. I have never seen much about new Crystal, Valadon, or Monros cities..

Just how hard is it for merchants to trade by water along the Creek-Stream rive route from Colymar lands (basically from Duck Point) to Nochet? In a previous thread today, From other discussion i got the idea that the Ducks used to handle river traffic on this route, mostly using reed duck boats. I haven't seen much discussion of the river passage through Best Valley (do the Beasts interfere? How do they feel about humans floating through?), nor discussion of what happens when you go past the western edge of the Shadow Plateau. What happened to this river traffic when the Duck Hunt was active? When the Lunars invaded Esrolia? Seems to me that if you as a trader get to Esrolia post-Dragonrise, you may be able to breathe safely. But do the queens in Nochet really exert control throughout Esrolia? What happened when Belintar went down?

Maybe we can have another thread on the Creek-Stream River route from Colymar lands to Nochet. I'll do that. But back to the Boldhome-Heortland route: IMHO it's bad for business when that friendly Orlantghi prince is controlled by the Lunars, rebels either extort from or attack the caravans, then the prince is assassinated, while all during the early 1620s the Lunars actively create anarchy over the part of the trade route south of Sartar? Then we have a couple of years of war zone anarchy reminiscent of RW Somalia, barely interrupted by Kallyr's regime which was still working on exerting control and never lit the flame of Sartar. Then more anarchy until Argrath shows up. And Argrath's focus has to be to the north, on the Lunar threat.

From time to time people have posted archaeological information in these forums as insights into what 'bronze age' really means - This YouTube lecture is an interesting window into the Real World (RW) bronze age, and to what was involved in obtaining precious materials. Amythest was a precious stone, not sem-precious, four or five thousand years ago. There are many cool things to observe here: 1) Prospecting for precious things in the desert was a thing. Not just in California in 1849, but in the Bronze Age. Why not put some of this in RQ adventures? 2) But BIG royal mining expeditions were also a thing. 1500 people! Many of them working the logistics and security, not the actual miners. Think of the logistics. Think of the adventure hooks! 3) Interesting settlement maps here. 4) Locally made stone mining tools. 5) How the mining work was actually done... Heat treating the stones. Which involved cutting the sparse local trees - which must have contributed to desertification. Thought: We ought to think more often of Issaries traders trading on behalf of monarchs - (as well as on behalf of clans, which is already part of the RQG background). It seems to me from the little i have read that the modern model of private traders is not a good picture of RW Bronze Age long-distance trade, especially early bronze age. Your Glorantha and mine do vary from that. But let's think again about issaries who are not working with their own capital.

As far as I recall, the only modules meant to work One On One are things like the Soloquest classic collection, or the Starter set solo quest which is also on line from Chaosiumm. They are really meant for solitaire play But those will occupy you for a while. A lot of modules are meant for parties of three or four. You can try scaling the opposition in these. Fighting one wolf instead of the pack. But when you reach the Big Bad, as written - then a lone starting character adventurer is likely to get eaten. Also many are designed for Adventurers with a mix of skills. You would lose that. Also the social flavor of play. So one adventurer adventures are certainly doable. But most that you can buy don't fit that. If you are GMing the question is how fast can you write your own material.

That faith in "the market" doesn't fit the situation because we have been told there is only one road route into Heortland. The alternative is by water via The Creek Stream river route to Nochet and then by sea across Choralinthor Bay. That's very circuitous if you start out in Boldhome. Maybe not too bad if you start in Clearwine. But the sea crossing is now subject to piracy by the Wolf Pirates, see Jajagappa's description in this thread. So there are not many competing routes. It is not a competitive market situation at the macro level. Only at the merchant level. There is actually a historical situation that matches my pessimistic model. That is medieval Europe. As I understand it in France the local nobility burdened trade with tolls. It lasted centuries. Even without a single clear choke point on the map. Even the rise of the monarchy did not totally erase it, and the monarchy did grant monopolies. Intra country free trade did not completely come true until the Revolotion. Perhaps one of the French participants on the forum will correct or affirm my impression. Another historical example: Why are there many picturesque castles on the Rhine? No the medieval petit monarchs were not building to enhance modern tourism. Each castle was a point at which they could charge tolls.

I believe you mistook what I wrote about monopoly. if only one trader has lower tolls then he or she has a de facto monopoly, without anyone "granting" one. His competitors will not be competitive, because they won't be able to match his prices. So no piece of paper with the word "monopoly" on it is needed.