Squaredeal Sten

As i understand it from this [preview of Boldhome, https://wellofdaliath.chaosium.com/home/catalogue/websites/facebook/runequest-on-facebook-july-2021-highlights-2/#ib-toc-anchor-31 "The Bronze Workers Guild of Boldhome smelts bronze out of copper by alloying it with tin (both of which are mainly brought to Boldhome by caravans from Esrolia or Tarsh " Their Tarsh source is going to be on the other side of enemy lines after the Dragonrise, and war means more demand for bronze. So I'd expect the price of bronze in Sartar to go up. And the Holy Country is falling into anarchy post-Belintar, so that source becomes problematic too.

I have been thinking about that. And the incentive structure may be wrong. It's a multi-player game and the first who reduces his tolls (or his banditry) on a major road will reduce his own take substantially, but most of the benefit will accrue to the other players (clans, kings, bandit leaders and also of course the merchants). To get everyone to do it would require an overall ruler or a confederation that might act as a group or perhaps an Issaries heroquest. So it may be Issaries Goldentongue traders as a class ( with a few Argan Argar ) trying to restore a lower level of tolls . By diplomacy assisted by magic and maybe violence or threats? Problem is there is no Issaries pope. So one major temple might take the lead - or not. Looks to me like an opportunity for heroic leadership. On the other hand an Individusl Issaries who acquired some leverage over a clan might negotiate lower tolls for himself only, to acquire a monopoly over the route. Looks to me like an opportunity for heroic feats but with a different goal than benefitting everyone with free trade. Which will the players choose?

Translate, a rune spell, would give the user the equivalent of a Rosetta Stone for any written language. Anyway, if you can suspend disbelief enough to believe in an intelligent (awakened) snake, why choke on it being able to talk? Folk tales and at least one bronze age legend I recall, have talking animals. Now, I would be tempted to play little awakened animals with a little squeaky voice.

I have heard of that. Just my personal taste as a GM - charging money would make it feel like work. As it is GMing Runequest is something I wanted to do for more than 30 years, and although it may take work, it's not work.

Do you habitually give a weather report for each game day? If not. How often would you say you have weather in your games? I ask because I started out religiously giving date and weather, and rolled weather in accord with regional seasonal weather tables. I gradually stopped that except when the scenario demanded it. But I am now thinking that's a mistake because a sudden weather report may telegraph an event.

Only a heroquest from King of Dragon Pass. So it's Gloranthan background, but a transition from an electronic game system.

Did anyone ever name who Broyan's lieutenants were, or detail the Olontongi clan/tribe? I ask because my adventurers are headed that way. Although they are headed to Smithstone to buy bronze, so Newtown and Whitewall are just on the way. And I intend to encourage them not to stay at Whitewall long, between the ghosts and the chaos. Though ghosts have stopped bothering this group much: Last Friday they squeezed a spirit spell out of one like squeezing a lemon.

While in my campaign the adventurers had a shift on guard duty at Kallyr's bier. They knew Leika's position and desires. They had decided to give their loyalty to her and not Kallyr. So they lit the pyre. It was sort of a "will no one rid me of this troublesome priest" event: Leika didn't tell them to light it but she sure implied it. Deniability. She could truthfully say she didn't order it, even (especially) under Lankhor Mhy truth magic. . But my adventurers are pretty sure that Leika is pretty sure she owes them. And can rely on them. This is much better than just writing a Loyalty(Leika) % on the character sheet.

I have an opening In my RQG game conducted on Zoom. It began as a Six Seasons in Sartar game, with detours into other material. It's not for a fixed period. Began a couple of years ago. We play Fridays at 7PM U.S. central time.

Gonna Orta lives where giants like to live. And people with strong magic come to him to trade magic. He sits between Prax and Balazar, and his "castle" blocks a rare pass. So it is not a trade route for everyone, just for Gonn Orta. As for where he gets it, he tends to take two in trade for each one he gives. And he is an Issaries with an early history in Peloria. Presumably that is where he first made his stake.

In a sub-episode in The Seven Tailed Wolf, there is a reference to trade with the Dragonewts. Around Tink as I recall. But not exclusively there. What would Dragonewts have that humans want? What would humans have that Dragonewts want? I'm thinking that dragonewts don't wear clothes so won't want cloth. They use obsidian blades so won't have as much use for bronze as the other intelligent races do. They hunt and eat, so food is OK. Their motivations are hard fior people to understand. So ?? What can you imagine they will trade for? Now what do they have that humans want? Obsidian makes very sharp knapped blades, but they also have the disadvantages of other knapped blades in accord with W&E. Magic? The dracgon magic in the Bestiary doesn't refer to enchantment but they do enchant, shown by the Dragonewt roads. What would they produce?

I am thinking that nearby villages / clan seats on the trade road north or south may compete to be the new regional market town and place where you can find services such as scribes. Healers. It seems to me that there is a competitive safety advantage for both merchants at a market and scribes etc: Neither activity benefits from being just down hill of a place where gorps may spawn. Why run risks? Whittewall in next to a river whose headwaters seem to be half way to Wilmskirk. But I judge it is not navigable by anything deeper than a raft or a canoe, at least until it gets closer to the Marzeel River. Or was Whitewall the northern limit of navigation? I don't see anything that appears to be a river port on the earlier map which David Scott provided. Alynx landing might sound like it. But looks small. I am not sure what other chaos besides gorp might pop up in Whitewall. Krarshtkids? IMHO broos would not generate spontaneously. Scorpion men might come from the Footprint but not teleport in.

So no one is staying at Geo's these days (i.e. 1625-1627 ST). There is an inn in Newtown according to the map key. Newtown will be a very new settlement, few amenities. But a local market for the surrounding clans. It would seem to make sense for periodic priestly visits to the Orlanth temple, perhaps with an escort of Humakti, to gradually clear the ghosts from the priests' path in. It would seem to me that other spots on the trade road would begin to take over Whitewall's economic functions. Not having to be taxed by a major city's king and Earth temple, their people might even end up more prosperous. If they can get beyond the anarchy left in the wake of the Lunars. Being in Heortland rather than in Sartar, they will not have the benefit of whatever stabilization might come from Kallyr's and then Argrath's governments.

The Guide to Glorantha would appear to fit that description, and it's already available. https://www.chaosium.com/the-guide-to-glorantha-slipcase-set/

Thanks. Looks like Geo's inn was not destroyed. Serious damage in the hilltop citadel, many buildings destroyed, both palace and ordinsry houses. Less danage in the "new town ". Walls and gates breached but not razed. Some temples still standing. Open questions: what is the state of the population? And of their housing? Surrounding farming clans? So did New Town not exist in 1618?

What is the status of Whitewall in 1627ST? It is 5-6 years after the Fall of Whitewall. And before that there were years of Lunar seige. Presumably the inhabitants were driven away or enslaved, including the farmers who osed to feed the city. The temples desecrated, the walls broken and perhaps razed. The Crimson Bat even visited. All this would Indicate to me that there is no reason to visit the place unless you are studying ghosts. But it has been five complete years since the fall, two since the Dragonrise. I would think the surrounding clans would come back to their land. The Lunars might even have encouraged them to come back and pay taxes. As for the city itself, deserted? Haunted by the ghosts of those lucky enough not to have been eaten by the Bat? Or populated but a shadow of itself? Did the Lunars erect their own temples there? Is there a population of Lunar converts, now at odds with their neighbors? Or is it still considereal Orlanthi sacred ground? Would Broyan have tried to restore it in his brief time after Nochet? That seems to me something a king might do in peace. But Broyan really didn't have any peace.

IMHO a question is how much you want the players to be immersed in Glorantha. In Glorantha assuming a bargained-for obligation to sacrifice is a big deal. It would reflect on both INT and Honor if forgotten. In the RW sacrifice is an ancient fiction. Easily ignored. My bias would be toward making it a big deal. Yes to dreams and then apparitions. INT and also Honor rolls flashback if you want to be nice.

No, completely wrong. It was the healer, all right. Who healed both his body (that was the easy part) and his mind (which was the YGMV part). And then they summoned him for Leika.

Oh a stoned stupor is not necessarily "bad thoughts". It's Spoiler alert The personal hell part and the chaos incursion that qualify as that. And if you remove all that, what track is he on? And yes, the future history is written so much according to the great man theory of history, that I think it will very likely change. Given the interpretation of Argrath in Black Spear.

Well Nick's adventure hypothesizes that the root of his probles is a result of childhood trauma. At least as I read it. We're talking about a fictional character here, the original author has passed away, and YGMV. But since I ran that adventure consistency indicates I should not ignore it. I'm interested in Nick's thought that a sane Argrath would be more dangerous.

Board of nails removes "bad thoughts". I have treated it as generally restoring sanity. For instance after madness rune magic, or after fear shock.

I just had a massive Your Glorantha May Vary (YGMV) event: I was running Black Spear. and along about page 136, the party's healer used the Board of Nails (acquired about a RW year ago in a minor heroquest drawn from King of Dragon Pass, considerably earlier in my campaign) This not only short circuited most of the rest of the adventure, but also implies serious changes to the future history of Glorantha.. Does anyone else have an unplanned YGMV story that tops this one? Do you agree that it implies serious changes to the future history of Glorantha?

I have not seen references to ancient long distance trade in beer, but there is plenty of proof of long distance trade in wine. Beer was and is cheaper and a natural product of a grain growing society. I have even seen a hypothesis that the first grain growing was for alcohol rater than for bread. I'm not sure how you would test that hypothesis. But I have read that archaeology in recent decades has detected remnants of flavorings in beer residues, and these could include both plants (like hops for us Europezn oriented moderns) and things such as honey. Maybe cheap beer wouldn't have them, the oldest analyses of beer that I have seen reflect pretty flat stuff. But flavor is a step up, that's what makes luxury goods and trade. So thanks for the discussion of that class of trade goods.

Orlkarth may just be reminded of legend, Orlanth's wooing of Ernalda and give her a gift. Not all the gods' benefits to worshippers need to be rune magic. Being a better Orlanthi may be its own reward. Initiates of any cult should be oriented that way.

Your clan sure is strict. When I was a kid EVERYONE played Bandits and Housecarls.