John Biles

The Thrice-Blessed The Thrice-Blessed are Reindeer Hsunchen who live east of Charg and north of several provinces of the Empire. Almost everyone is Hsunchen, unlike the rest of the Empire; conversely, there is no central government; the Thrice-Blessed pay fealty to Little Sister, sending her an annual tribute and supplying her with the Thunder Delta Slingers, their main imperial military unit. You might expect the Red Claws to be strong here, but in fact, they are weakest here - the Thrice-Blessed basically focus their violence on the animals they hunt and have little interest in fighting each other or other groups. They worship the Blue Moon, but see her as the spirit of the Blue Moon, not as a *person*. They basically reject most gods in favor of spirits of natural features. The Thrice-Blessed trade hides, salt, and flint to the rest of the empire, mostly to get workable metal. They sometimes export meat as well, especially when called on during times of famine. They get on poorly with the Charg, who they hate more than any other group. A common theme of Wind Novels is some naive Thrice-Blessed person who comes into the Empire and turns everything upside down because they don't accept the normal way things happen in the Empire.

The Ice-Breaking Quest Every year, the Empire mounts an expedition to defeat Valind and strengthen the god who holds up the northern end of the Sky Dome. This is led by the cult of Kalikos, who possesses the Red Spear of Kalikos and the Red Rock. Normally kept in the temple of Kalikos in Keravero, the cult loads them and eight heroes and heroines into a great boat, which sails north each year for a dangerous heroquest. The Hollri are the ice demon children of Himile, god of cold; every year, they build a fortress, then perform dark rites to try to freeze over the great giant who holds up the sky. The eight heroes (representing the Seven Sailors + Kalikos) sail north and assault the fortreess. The Hollri confront them and try to scare them into turning back as they sail north; they must bear the ice rocks and taunts, keeping the Red Rock from being damaged. Kalikos' champion repels as many of the rocks as possible with the Red Spear. Once they come to the Rock of Landing, they tether the boat and carry the Red Rock on a sled across the ice, riding reindeer. The cunning of Danfive Xeron will show them a subtle way to sneak up close to the fortress of the Hollri. But the Hollri are cunning too, and they ambush the heroes; the strength of Yanafal Tarnils and Kalikos leads the team to victory over the Hollri, breaking them into flakes which melt at the fire Kalikos commands. Then comes the pursuit, chasing them across the ice, as they flee into their fortress. Irippi Ontor leads them in building catapults out of ice to hammer the fortress... which retaliates by trying to charge over them! They would all die, but She Who Eats saves them by taking them into a secret cave. When Jakaleel determines the moment is right, they emerge from the cave and counter-attack; now they are *inside* the fortress, and they lay waste to its defenders; the fortress flees into the wilderness. They chase it until Teelo Nori says they have done enough, then they use their magics to warm the guardian of the dome and Deezola heals him. The ice on the dome melts and he can hold it up for another year. They then return, and something unexpected usually happens here if not before. Peloria will stay warm for another year. Twists: No Heroquest ever goes 100% according to plan. Some past problems which might happen again: During the attack on the ship, Hanala the Ice Temptress tries to seduce Yanafal Tarnils to let the attack succeed. Danfive Xeron's hidden way initally leads into Fronela and some problem ensues. She Who Eats' hidden cave is now an ice troll colony and they want the quest to fail. The Fortress has a White Star which must be defeated. Jakaleel choses the wrong moment and you emerge right into the middle of your enemies. Chasing the Fortress leads right to the Fortress of VALIND. Admittedly, if you win, you get *several* warm years. (This was inspired by my adventures in Texas Winter Hell.)

Law Enforcement in the Empire There is no broad-purpose national law enforcement; certain national agencies, such as the Bureau of Righteous Thought focus on specific issues, like heresy or rooting out Chaos cults. Several branches of the Arteries have police powers within their area of interest - taxes and tribute collection. Satraps have a group of law enforcement agents known as Hands. They engage in a mixture of spying and espionage. Non-Hsunchen lands have a variety of forms of law enforcement, usually stronger inside the cities. Hsunchen are governed by their own laws, usually enforced by the chief's armed men and by custom; a mix of revenge and compensation tend to be the way that legal disputes between clans are settled; this sometimes gets messy and the Empire had to crack down. The Dara Happan Cities and Pelandan Cities have the most developed legal systems. The Red Emperor, in his role as Emperor of Dara Happa, appoints judges for ten year terms of service who conduct and resolve trials. Personal influence and reputation is pretty critical here. Pelandan judges are boards of five, chosen by lot, who serve for a year. They make decisions by majority vote. Their trials involve endless debate and arcane points of the law. This discourages petty use of the court system. Cities typically have a city watch which maintains order and deals with crimes in progress, but it's up to you or a hired thief taker to investigate other crimes and drag the accused to court. Fines and body punishment, up to and including being trapped in animal form without speech or a variety of hideous death penalties are the usual result of conviction in the court. Only debtors go to prison, though those accused of crimes are held in a jail until tried. The national court system involves a panel of seven judges, appointed by the Moonson, who serve for seven years. This enables them to invoke the wisdom of the Goddess to guide them. Any member of the Changing Way can appeal to the national courts from a local decision. They may or may not take the appeal. Cases can be appealed from the satrapy level national courts to the Highest Court, but it rarely takes appeals, as it is presided over by the Moonson himself.

Thirteenth Age Glorantha has an Esrolian Shield-Based Martial Arts group: Square Round Monastery was originally based in the huge Esrolian metropolis of Nochet, the largest city in the world. All manner of strange mystery cults exist in its alleys and palaces. Square Round Monastery started as a consequence of a gift of a shield between Yelm (or perhaps Yelmalio) and Ernalda. The gift of the shield appears to have gone back and forth several times. The Square Round Monastery reveres a golden square within a golden circle, a symbol that represents both the shield the Sun gave the Earth, but also the cosmos itself. Like a mandala, it is used for focusing attention and as a tool for spiritual guidance. --Thirteenth Age Glorantha, p. 178. Round Shield monks serve Yelmalio; Square Shield monks serve Ernalda.

Broyan gets killed by the Lunars within a year of the fall of the City of Wonders.

Warrior Societies Warrior societies are one of the important ties keeping the Hsunchen half of the Empire from exploding into a self-destructive orgy of blood and death. Groups of martial spirits invite warriors from many different clans to learn secrets together to aid them in battle. Because each society is made up of people from many different clans, they form a source of cross-links between clans which can help to mitigate clan feuds. They're also a source of mercenaries whose clans won't be blamed for what they do acting as a warrior society. War Clans especially encourage every warrior to join one. Warrior Societies typically revolve around a particular weapon or tactic, a kind of terrain's spirits, or elemental spirits. Certain societies teach unarmed combat methods, but most focus on weapon combat of various kinds. Some are open to non-Hsunchen; others are Hsunchen only. The Silver Spear The Silver Spear was born when the gods and spirits made war, then slumbered until the birth of the Changing Way. A Hsunchen in Doblian, during Sheng Seleris' invasion, found the Silver Spear and awakened it; it had long slept in a deep cavern. It taught him and his allies the secrets to fight against Celestial magics. (And against the Fire Rune in general). It also teaches secrets of how to fight with spears, especially against cavalry, commanding the secret of the Hedgehog. Though born in Doblian, this society is most common in Oraya and First Blessing. The Silver Spear admits anyone who isn't Pentan. The Thunder Sisters The Thunder Sisters are storm spirits; they admit any woman but not men. They call to women especially from the Lodrilli peasantry, who gain the power to command wind, storm, and lightning, to protect the farmers from their enemies. Some Thunder Sisters end up as criminals in the eyes of the Empire but the society is too popular to ban. The Lions of Carmania Many Carmanian Lion spirits are affiliated with Lion Hsunchen, but some seek to bring the strength and nobility of the Lion to other groups, so the society is open to any Hsunchen. (Non-Hsunchen are too civilized for the Lion's way.) They teach secrets of how to go from rest to pouncing on someone swiftly, how to bowl foes over, and then rip them apart; they teach unarmed and claw combat methods. Lions hit hard, but need to take foes down fast before they get tired. The Avian Society of Couriers Open to any Hsunchen but dominated by Bird Hsunchen, they teach secrets of navigation, swift flight, and memorization of messages. They also teach how to fight in the air, though members normally act as couriers and envoys between tribes. The Stout Oak Society Born in the southern hilly forests of First Blessed, the Stout Oaks learn the secrets of perseverance, able to endure extreme heat and cold, rain and snow, exhaustion and hunger, all preserved by their secrets. Stout Oaks learn defensive warfare, how to form shield walls and hold the line. The Stout Oaks take anyone who can handle their brutal initiations. The Osilir Walkers The Osilir River's children teach their secrets, mainly to Dara Happans, whether they have become Hsunchen or not, so long as they have the Water Rune. They can command any water connected to the Osilir and its tributaries and can breathe underwater or walk on it. They cannot be poisoned by any liquid. They are noted for creating whips of water to smite and bind foes. The Black Thorn The Black Thorn teaches secrets of how to pluck branches and turn them into poisonous arrows and other weapons, so you are always armed in the forest. It also teaches stealth and how to survive in a forest and how to survive poisons. It is normally Hsunchen only but the spirits are open to the few Elves of the Empire joining.

Pretty awesome!

Pardon the pause. I spent several days doing my RL job and compiling everything I have written in this thread so far into some files on my computer. (146 pages of text, to my shock!) More stuff later, maybe Sunday, probably Monday, as Sunday, Dad goes to MD Anderson for immunizing.

And another stronghold in the South East in the swamp on an artificial hill with a vast underground complex inside the hill.

It is not on DriveThruRPG or possibly the search choked on it. (Searching for Glorantha only yields 10 items and one of them is Volo's Guide to Waterdeep)

The Kingdom of Tarsh What is now Tarsh was laid waste by the Dragonkill. For a century and half, no one dared enter, until the desperate Aram the Pauper defied his own ancestors to enter the land, court Sorana Tor, and establish a Kingdom that still stands today. Their descendents founded the Twin Dynasty, a series of brother-sister marriages where the brother handled temporal affairs and the sister handled spiritual and magical issues. At the Battle of Rocks Fall, Everyone Dies in 1362, the Satrap of Sylila attempted to raise the armies of the dependent kingdoms and force Tarsh into the same relationship. Instead, a storm of rocks, reminiscent of the Moonfalls, plummeted from the sky, crushing the Imperial army. For a time, Tarsh impinged on those kingdoms, seizing lands from Holay and Aggar, only to eventually be defeated by Sheng Seleris' forces and pushed back to the old borders. This culminated in the Battle of Lost Memories, so called because both sides were wiped out and no one remembered how or why. After the defeat of Sheng Seleris, Hon-Eel, one of the Inspirations of Moonson, turned her attention to Tarsh, where she pioneered the use of the Harmony rune to kill people. She seduced the Brother-King, convinced him to sacrifice his sister to make the corn grow and married her. This triggered a civil war. Hon-Eel no longer needed the King now that she had a baby by him and he soon 'ascended to a higher plane'. Aided by Imperial forces, she trampled the loyal Tarshites underfoot and made her son Phoronestes the King. Part of the Kingdom remained essentially in rebellion and Hon-Eel moved on. He ruled for many years, then was probably poisoned (unless he got unlucky and ate the only Death Cherries in Tarsh.) What ensued was endless civil war, murder, coming back from the dead, being murdered again, refusing to stay dead, having your ashes scattered across four provinces, somehow rising out of a volcano... you know the drill. Eventually, the Tarshite Rebels against the Hon-Eel dynasty were defeated at Grizzly Peak. King Moirades (1579-1610) was the son of the Feathered Horse Queen and the Pro-Imperial King of Tarsh, Phargentes, He was thus King of Dragon Pass and of Tarsh, though only late in his reign was Sartar forced to submit. However, since his main goal was personal enlightenment, he basically used the Kingdom's resources to seek mystic illumination. He did manage to spawn the current King by his first wife, but increasingly pursued enlightenment with his second wife, Jar-Eel. Who followed the family tradition by killing him once she got pregnant by him. Allegedly, he 'achieved enlightenment' at the moment of conception. Sure he did. King Pharandos is more interested in expanding his kingdom and ending the rebellion in Sartar than he is in getting seduced and murdered and thus has been a fairly successful king, though Sartar is turning into a quagmire. He has three sons to inherit the throne, but everyone has their eyes on Jar-Eel's young son, Phargentes the Younger. Inspirations of Moonson don't kill kings and make babies by them for nothing. Right now, he's a creepy prophetic young boy who knows everything about you just by looking at you and his voice echoes in your head. In theory, he's too young to be initiated, but he seems to have somehow initiated himself when he was left alone for a few hours and is now an Alynx Hsunchen. Jar-Eel insists she's not going to chop Pharandos into hamburger and put her child on the throne. But you can't blame Pharandos for paranoia. As the war in Sartar gets messier, he gets angrier and harder to deal with. Tarsh is home to Orlanthi; many have adopted the Changing Way; in the tribes which have not, Ernalda worship is now banned and Orlanth is generally seen as married to one of her handmaidens. (Or to Mahome.) Tarshites in the countryside live in clans grouped into tribes whose leaders are appointed by the King; in cities, guilds have largely taken the place of clans. The Tarshite Exiles, who are formally in Sartar's lands, live as traditional Orlanthi, barely holding on in dangerous mountain lands. Bagnot: This was the original capital and it remains a major sacred center. It also remains haunted by Queen Essher, who was sacrificed to make the corn grow and who is *re-sacrificed* every year in a holy ceremony featuring a convicted criminal and the bound ghost of Queen Essher. This is accompanied by Games and a huge festival and a lot of nightmares. Borni's Landing: After the sack of the EWF city of Jeron during the Dragonkill, this location remained empty until the rise of Tarsh; Borni led his clan to found a hall here which has grown into a market-town/bridge toll collector. Local Hsunchen bring animals for sale, some of them monsters, and people come from the whole Empire to buy strange creatures at the Monster Market, once a year during Earth Season. There is a temple of Monster Man, but he is a strange version of Issaries or Argan Argar here, an Earth god who presides over traffic in monsters. Dunstop: A focus of rebel resistance to the Hon-Eel Dynasty, this city is fortified on an island in the middle of a lake, making it hard to assail. Now it is just a market town noted for its production of high quality fish, preserved with magic so you can have *fresh* fish that isn't salted, smoked, or dried. Ever-New-Glory: A Sun Dome, loyal to the Empire, full of people who are determined to be the MOST glorious of all Sun Domes. They eagerly serve the Empire to try to achieve that glory. They also get in endless brawls with Elmal Horsefriend Cultists over who is Yelm's real favorite son. Furthest: So-named by Hon-Eel, who moved the capital here after murdering her husband and starting a civil war. This vibrant city flourishes on the river trade and by being a depot for goods being sent south so that rebels can steal them... I mean so that the glorious Imperial army can use them. Several Lanbril gangs duke it out here over whether the underworld here will serve the Empire or oppose it or just MAKE MONEY FAST. The city contains a temple of Hon-Eel, a temple to the Seven Sailors, and a temple to the Blue Moon herself. Due to misunderstanding of Orlanthi custom, the city is organized in seven concentric rings with the palace at the middle, split by the river flowing through the city. Goldedge: Also a Sun Dome temple; they have a long rivalry with Ever-New-Glory in which they shout about how great they are and Ever-New-Glory acts like they are deaf. But they also loyally serve the Empire. Heruvernalda: Once the greatest temple of Ernalda north of Esrolia, Hon-Eel turned it into a burned out ruins occupied by ghosts, the hungry dead, and sometimes Chaos creatures. There are treasures to be found if you don't die horribly. Slavewall: This market town handles local produce, but it also handles the trade in slaves from Sartar, Prax, the Holy Country, and Balazar. It is so named because of the ritual in which slaves were bricked up inside the walls of the city, creating a magic that prevents revolts or escape inside the city. When people hear weird noises at night, banging and moaning, they say it's just another slave in the wall. Stones Over Souls: A small community of Dragonewts dwells here under the authority of the Inhuman King of Dragon Pass. They silently attend every funeral in a fifty mile radius, though they don't intervene; they just watch. No one is sure what they're looking for. 'Sun Wheel Ruin: Once home to the Gold Wheel Dancers, now a long abandoned ruins; people find strange artifacts here sometimes. Talfort: Built n the First Age from huge, tall stones, it was abandoned during the Dragonkill but now is once again a bustling market town, marked by the strange blue stones it is built from. These stones seem to strengthen the Water Rune inside the city, so it's Temple of the Seven Sailors has become a very powerful place. Tarshford: This quiet market town is noted for the lone Humakti always present at the ford, who challenges random strangers to duels; those who refuse are cursed. Those who win will return from the grave the next time they die. Those who lose usually die. When the challenger gets old, he is replaced by someone new. This has been going on for over a century, but only the Humakti know why. Adventure Seeds: The Best Fish: Several towns compete for the title of best source of fish, but Dunstop is high on that list and your patron wants you to travel from (some far away place) and pick up some fresh fish for him. Body Double: Phargentes the Younger keeps showing up in two places at once. Does he have a secret twin? Can he teleport or project an image of himself? Are people doing stupid rumors? Is it some Eurmali long-con? When questioned, he spews metaphysics, so we need you to find out. Before he shows up in Prince Temertain's harem and critiques his sexual methods again. Earth Temple Ruins: You need cash; the ruins of Heruvernalda is full of treasure. And horrible monsters and a curse from Hon-Eel and there's probably some place where Phargentes the Younger has covered the walls with madness inducing prophecies. But think of the treasure! God-Child's Mission: You're minding your own business when Phargentes the Younger walks up to you, delivers a prophecy, tells you to fulfill it, then gets in trouble for stealing scones and is dragged away by his minders. Do you do it? Hoop Snake Attack: Caravans are being attacked by fifty-foot long golden serpents who swallow their own tails and just run over things. They seem to be especially enraged by the Grazelanders and other Solar folk. Then they retreat into the Hydra Mountains. Is this connected to the mystery of the Gold Wheel Dancers? Invasion of the Bodysnatchers: The Dragonnewts of Stones over Souls have finally acted - they stole the dead body of a chief before the funeral could be finished. You need to recover the body and find out WHY they're doing this. The Mystery Egg: It's the size of a troll and it has golden-bronze scales all over it but the Dragonewts say it is not a Dragon or Dragonnewt Egg. It was found in a crater in Balazar. Did it fall from the sky? Bidding is going to be intense in the Monster Market this year at Borni's Landing.

I have to note that Glorantha is riddled with Twin heroes/heroines/gods/goddesses who might be figured into this, like the sibling deities of Caladraland or the Twin Dynasty of Tarsh (admittedly dead, but the grave is no bar to the call in Glorantha.)

I do have to note that in King of Sartar, one of the stages of the Lunar Empire is the *Monster Empire*. While this is probably meant to be 'rule by Chaos', I like the idea of King Ghidorah-expy as Emperor of Dara Happa and the Lunars.

Eh, if the PCs of a game can't change anything, they might as well just kill themselves. This is an RPG, not a novel. But let me point out a few things. Harrek is not the 'have a big network of agents in the area' kind of Pirate King. He's more of a 'Viking who comes out of nowhere, slaughters you, moves on' kind of figure. Harrek doesn't get away with what he does through intelligence operations. He shows up and is an unstoppable killing machine. Also, the Holy Country is not the Caribbean, it's not overrun with pirates normally, and the whole social context is rather different. Also, whatever spies Blackbeard had failed to save him *from being hunted and killed*. Secondly, you really think Esrolians are going to all spy for Harrek? Harrek is everything the nation of Esrolia hates. No one in the Holy Country actually likes Harrek save his men and many Argath. Thirdly, this is a conspiracy of four PCs. It can't be infiltrated. From reading the actual thread of their plan, anyone who DID spy on them would think they were some sort of Trickster lunatics not worth caring about. Fourthly, a warband disintegrating on the death of its heroic leader is pretty much plugged into the tropes about these kinds of warbands and leaders. But also, anyone who can kill a Superhero normally is the kind of person who will go through ordinary wolf pirates like Bruce Lee fighting unnamed mooks. Fifthly, given their plan (which I am guessing you didn't read the thread), Harrek is going to be seriously weakened by all this if it works, as he will lose his control of the Bear God. He may well get resurrected, but it's a setback. But finally, this is a thread which presumes it's possible to kill Harrek, so what happens, not a thread for asserting that the OP is wrong-bad-fun.

It's your Glorantha and you can do what you want The Battle of Heroes is outside Esrolia, so you can easily jigger it around.

The True Dragon needs to be played by King Ghidorah, then (If Dragonnewts mistake the eggs for Dragon Eggs, they could deliver them to the Dragonrise Dragon, giving a good readon for them to fight each other)

Suggestion - Gojira's eggs were held hostage in the City to keep it under control and providing its magic to the city; Harrek's people stole the eggs and now the Wolf Pirates have them without realizing what they are. (Further twist - Nysalorian Lunars think these are *more of the kinds of eggs used to make Nysalor* and are after the eggs.) So Gojira is rampaging to find the eggs.

Talastar Talastar is the problem child of the Empire... the other problem child. Another problem child. Talastar is, in theory, under the control of the Kingdom of Lakrene and is one of the allies of the Empire. In practice, msot of Talastar is made up of Orlanthi clans and renegade Hsunchen of various degrees of murder frenzy. Because Talastar protects the Empire from Dorastor... because it's in the way... The Empire hasn't pressed things too hard. The Talastari were brought to the ways of Orlanth by Theyalan missionaries. They seem to have mainly learned 'Violence is always an option' and not much else, though the First and Second Councils were able to channel their aggression into slaughtering Solar horsemen. The Bright Empire changed everything, settling them down and they were well on their way to becoming civilized folk when Arkat showed up and burned most of the cities and forced everyone to go psycho or go home, where home is the grave. The cities of what is now Lakrene survived because Arkat was on the verge of taking Dorastor down and ignored them in favor of turning Dorastor into hell. Lakrene has survived ever since, unable to reunite Talastar, but managing to avoid the wars of the Second Age for the most part. The rise of the Empire brought the Changing Way to Talastar - many tribes embraced it, but rejected the Empire in favor of continuing to fight each other in endless feuds. The rise of Sheng put this problem on the backburner; later, in the 1590s, Igneous led forces into the area to ensure it would not cause trouble during his invasion of Sartar. He forced the tribes to submit to the Kingdom of Lakrene as the Kingdom of Talastar. Once he was murdered, the Talastari rose up and threw off Imperial rule, reducing Lakrene to a small area which was saved by the Satrap of Sylila. The locals have spent the reign of Catticus stabbing each other. About half of the Talastari are Orlanthi, who defiantly worship the wicked Ernalda, who encourages them to murder each other in order to get sex. The other half have adopted the Changing Way but still worship Orlanth, seeing him as the husband of the Blue Moon and they basically rampage together. There is no real King, just local monarchs. No satrap. Only anarchy and death. Yet, still better than Dorastor. Anadiki: A land of rivers, gorges, sheep, goats, cows, and pigs who all have the misfortune to live with rival tribes - one tribe is mostly Alynx Hsunchen and the other are traditional Orlanthi. Both are locked in a battle for this land; it's rather like watching two rats fight over cheese someone threw up. Bilini Kingdom: Ruled by defiant traditionalist Orlanthi who are basically tainted by the legacy of Arkat, right down to their king's sword, Ironbreaker, which calls on Arkat's tainted power. This is probably why they ignited the civil war that destroyed the Kingdom of Talastar. Brolia: Laid waste by Arkat and his madmen, this area supports only scrub-brush and grass. The Orlanthi here herd sheep and cattle who can live off it and somehow get water. They kill each other over what few resources there are. IF your choices are to go to Brolia or be dragged behind a chariot, chose the dragging. Copper Forest: Imagine a forest where all the trees are made of copper due to being cursed long ago. At times, you see elves permanently turned into statues. Why is it all still here? Because it's full of horrors from Dorastor, that's why. The Bilini lay claim to it and prove they are brave, yet stupid, by hunting here. Endeel: Founded in the First Age, this city is heavily fortified and is surrounded by rich farmland. Storms arise when the city is attacked, for it is home to a great collective shrine of the Thunder Brothers. It also has a less major temple of Garzeen and special sluices that the Erinflarth flows through; these extract various chemicals used by the many apothecaries of the city to make various drugs. It also ensures healthy water for those downstream. The Hold: Guarded by Elmal during the Great Darkness, this ancient hold has never fallen save to starvation. When one of Sheng Seleris' raiding parties reached it, Elmal came forth and slaughtered them all. Their remains are buried in a cursed field. Even Arkat went around The Hold. It serves as the 'capital' of the Bilini, mainly meaning the King lives here and there are major temples of Orlanth, Ernalda, Elmal, and Humakt. About once a year, cursed armies of the dead attack the Hold and get slaughtered. By now, everyone is more annoyed by it than scared. Lingsting Sun Dome: This area is controlled by Yelmalio cultists. They regard Talastar as a madhouse but this is their Sun Dome. They were born here and will probably die here. They are usually allied with Lakrene, which at least tries to be civilized. They stage an annual pilgrimage to the Hill of Gold; due to the dangers of this land, it can be hard to tell the difference between the pilgrimage and the usual murder-hordes of the land, save for being more golden. Mount Matu: A sacred mountain to the local Orlanthi, sacred to Orlanth's father Umath. It is generally believed that the Lingsting Sun Dome would like to blow it up but have no way to do so. Old Wolf Fort: If you feel suicidal, you can go here and the locals will help you go die in Dorastor. They keep watch for chaos raiders; there are temples of Storm Bull and Humakt here, along with an Argan Argar outpost for the somewhat lunatic trading expeditions which go into Dorastor. Oxhead, City of Peace: Ironically, this city founded by Storm Bulls has evolved into a place of peacemaking, dominated by Ernalda and Issaries and shielded by the power of Chalanna Arroy. All can send envoys here to make peace. Relain: Old Relain burned at the hands of Sheng Seleris but the new city is well fortified and acts as a market town for local goods and trades with the Bilini. The city is a major center of wool processing and smells like sheep year round. An unusually large shrine of Rigsdal the Night Watchman has flourished since the time of Sheng, warning the city of raids by the Skanthi and Bilini. Rockwood Mountains: These mountains are notable for having an abandoned dwarven complex under them, in which people are still finding interesting things and sometimes surviving the discoveries. There are rumors that Postikar cultists are now in the ruins, looting it. Skanthi: Another tribe of Orlanthi, who are renegade members of the Changing Way, whose land is terrible, who cope with it by robbing and killing each other and their neighbors. The usual. However, their land is haunted by the restless dead due to Argath carving a highway of destruction through it. Thunder Mountain: One of the sacred mountains of Orlanth, though most Orlanthi can't get past the murderous giant storm ram which slaughters them when they try to go here. They kill it about twice an age, then it comes back and murders lots of Orlanth. Why a ram that hates Orlanth is living on one of Orlanth's sacred mountains remains a mystery. I personally commend it for its good taste (scribal note). Top of the World Mountain: So tall that much of it is frozen over. You'd expect to find Vadrus, but no, it's also sacred to Orlanth but you can actually visit Orlanth if the ice doesn't kill you first. Voranel: The capital of Lakrene, home to King Anastar, who has a star on his brow since his initiation. He has fire magic, unusually for an Orlanthi. This is a peaceful, but armed market town, most notable for the star that shines over the city and *can only be seen* from inside the city. There is a star tower, like those of Yuthuppa, manned by a priest of Buserian; the star is itself called Voranel and the King wields its power. The star drove off Sheng's forces when they came. Adventure Seeds: Brolian Trade Mission: The Brolians need weapons, clothing, and other thngs they can't make in their terrible land; they have lots of cows, pigs, sheep, etc, to offer in return. Escort this trade mission while rival clans try to steal everything and kill you. Copper Cull: I need twelve trees from the Copper Forest and will pay well. Watch out for earth creatures and horrors from Dorastor. Now get to it! The Hog Slaughterer: It's a traditional story for Anadiki - one clan's pigs escape and another clan catches and eats them, then refuses to pay weregild for pigs, so everyone's going to kill each other. It's traditionalist vs Hsunchen to make things messier. Choose a side and make peace or make people into pieces. Mission to the Skanthi: The Skanthi follow the Changing Way but reject the Empire in favor of continuing to murder each other for nothing. You have been chosen to bring them to the light, or at least to get them to be less murderous. Night of the Living Dead: You probably should have made sure you didn't cut through Skanthi on the *anniversary* of Arkat slaughtering his way through it. Now the dead are after you but maybe you can hold out in this abandoned hill fort, though this raises the question of why it was abandoned... Planetary Reconciliation: A scholar at the Imperial University has discovered that Heortlings see the Blue Planet as one of the Thunder Brothers, Mastagos, God of Motion, while the Dara Happans believe the Blue Planet is Uleria. He wants you to go to Endeel and perform a Heroquest to test if Uleria and Mastagos are *somehow* masks of the same diety and if so, what is the *True* identity of said god/goddess. Nice and simple, right? Recruit the Ram: The Empire wants that giant ram on its side; find out what it wants and how to get it to join the Changing Way.

Argenteus is the Moonson, the Emperor of the Lunar Empire. Imagine if Old Elvis was Emperor. Big Sister is... hard to explain but basically acts as the counterbalance to the Emperor. Igenus is the previous Moonson, who got hacked to hamburger by Harrek in 1607. He's the guy who conquered Sartar.

Suggestion: When Harrek dies, the most powerful people he's killed in the past are now able to escape the Underworld. So instead of Argenteus being killed by Big Sister, as in the canon, Emperor Igneus returns and has a civil war with him. (This might require a Heroquest, but I can totally see Illuminated Argath going to the effort to bring back Igeneus and turn him loose in the Empire to make a mess.)

And of course, the giant Yelmalio ruffles that make you look like the Sun, they say., Or maybe just a Sunflower.

The Kingdom of Vanch Like many areas in the Southern Empire, it has been the destiny of Vanch to be a punching bag, controlled at times by the Bright Empire, the EWF, the Dara Happans, Imther, Elves of uncertain origin, a mercenary band of Ducks, more Dara Happans, Jalaring Dog People, and the mysterious Blue King who exploded for no clear reason the year the Blue Moon goddess was reborn. The explosion of the Blue King transformed the nobles of Vanch into the Blue Deer Princes, who followed a twisted version of the Changing Way; this eventually led them to confront the Conquering Daughter, who turned them into a fine set of hides. The Changing Way spread quickly... but not loyalty to the empire. The Bison Kings then challenged the Conquering Daughter, who fired them out of a catapult, one by one, during a siege. One of her Elemental Knights then became Queen of Vanch; the country has practiced eldest child succession of any gender ever since. Vanch was heavily damaged by Sheng Seleris, but its strong trading position ensured they soon recovered. Vanch is a mixture of Orlanthi, Pelorians, Dara Happans, and Hsunchen of various kinds. A small branch of the Jalaring Dog People dwell here, a remnant of their time of ruling Vanch. They have flourished since the Blue Goddess came. Queen Millenia of Vanch (Water, Disorder, Truth) is unusual among rulers for having the Disorder Rune - this is because she sees herself as a bringer of change, someone who will bring Vanch into a new age. It's not exactly clear what this New Age is going to be, but it's quite clear she will inaugurate it.... somehow... and change Vanch forever... somehow. That is to say, she is a Messiah in search of a cause. But her Truth rune revealed this to her, so it has to be right. Bikhy, City of the Phoenix: During the Bright Empire, Dara Happans founded this city with the hope it would become an 11th city of the Empire. Instead, Arkat sacked the city, slaughtered everyone and burned it. The next dawn, the city was restored intact. Arkat burned it five times, then gave up and moved on. The EWF burned it. The Dara Happans burned it again. One of its city leaders snapped and burned it in an attempt to eat everyone's souls and become a Dragon. The Dara Happans burned it again. The EWF burned it again. The Golden Horde burned it, just to be sure. The Conquering Daughter burned it to see if it would come back. One of Sheng Seleris' generals killed himself in frustration after ten destructions in a row failed. The city just explodes and reforms the next dawn. You can conquer it but not kill it. It now serves as the capital, home to a huge temple to Phoenix, the goddess of the city, and others to Yemalio, The Blue Moon Goddess, the Seven Sailors, Argan Argar, the Conquering Daughter, and 'Frozz', a diety of uncertain gender, species, and purpose, but whose temple has been here as long as anyone remembers and no one is sure why. (Frozz is definitely an Air diety and probably also holds the Illusion rune, maybe. Frozz is known to desire ornate pants, various kinds of incense, and pork as sacrifices.) Everyone perceives Frozz as a being like themselves. Hill of Gold: This is the holiest site of Yelmalio, where he got his ass beaten down and was stripped of his strongest powers, but proved to be too tough to die. Different Yelmalio sects identify different attackers, including Orlanth, Zorak Zoran, Sheng Seleris, Zzabur, merpeople, Elmal, Ernalda, seven different ice goddesses, Anterius, Yu-Kargazant, Waha, Bisos, Navaria (who tried to sacrifice him as a Corn King and bungled it), and Odalya (who mistook him for a deer somehow). One myth cycle claims he somehow attacked himself. This brings a steady tide of pilgrims to the base of the Hill to pray and carry out Heroquests. This is also believed by Orlanthi to be where Elmal met Orlanth. That also brings pilgrims. A group of Zistorites, the Legion of Gold, briefly seized the Hill during the Second Age, but were basically mobbed by Sun Domers. New Lolon: Old Lolon guarded its inhabitants through the Great Darkness. It was guarded by Yelmalio and his wife Aldrya the Green Woman, during the Great Darkness. But when Yelm returned, he was summoned home and then the city was sacked by Arkat and had to be rebuilt as New Lolon. The city remains dominated by Yelmalio cultists and provides a powerful phalanx to the royal military. Noastor: The Dwarves of the Jord Mountains trade with the humans of Vanch here; it is said their great food machines were destroyed during the Elder Race wars of the Second Age and now they trade metal and rock and various creations for food and drink. Noastor flourishes from this trade and the market is open to all comers but the Queen gets the first pick of all trade goods. Adventure Seeds: Duckfest: When the Ducks briefly ruled Vanch, they instituted a yearly festival at the end of Sea Season, which was pretty much a big 'get drunk and party' festival. Now everyone dresses up as Ducks for two days and gets drunk and wild. The most important thing is boating contests, which people bet a lot of money on. Hill of Gold: How can you come to Vanch and not do one of the 3 billion heroquests linked to the Hill of Gold? The Legion Returns: Some moron managed to resurrect the Legion of Gold during a heroquest at the Hill of Gold. Now Zistorites have taken control and are trying to resurrect Zistor. Time to put an end to this. (Twist: Postikar cultists are now in command of the Legion and plan to use it to reconquer Sylila.) The New Lolon Gospel: A prophet in New Lolon has proclaimed that Frozz and Yelmalio are the same god. The Yelmalions put him to the test, which is to say, they tied him to a pole and burned him alive. The next day, he came back to life. Every time they kill him, he returns. They will pay a tidy sum to anyone who can get him to GO AWAY. Marriage Alliance: Elements of the Queen's court want to see her marry the King of Imther; they believe she could bear an heir to the line and the kingdom would grow and control *two* areas of Dwarf Trade. The problem is that the Queen is not interested in marrying a man who is close to three times her age. Surely such great heroes can make her see reason without getting executed for impertinence. Return of the Elves: The Elves of unknown origin have shown up again, this time at New Lolon; they wish to perform a year long rite to the Green Lady, Aldrya. However, their rites are offensive to the Yelmalions and trouble is building; please settle this conflict and find out where they keep coming from! Spice Trade: A local merchant, Marchar, believes the Dwarves of Noastor would pay well for spices to improve their food if he can only find the RIGHT one. He will pay well if you travel around the Empire collecting spices for him.

Heh.

The thing that complicates this is that different communities may have fairly different takes on the same God; there's a kind of continuum from 'The Blue Sails think Elmal loves cheese but the Green Tigers think he hates it' to 'Orlanth is the King of the Gods and everything a man should be (SartarI vs 'Orlanth is basically worthless because he's male but Ernalda needs a body shield' (Esrolia) to 'This light in the sky is Elmal. No, he's Yelmalio.' to what is probably the same God but they're pretty different, like Torang and Shargash. In one community, Humakt stabbed Orlanth to death in a drunken brawl and that's true for them, but in another, he's not dead. Gods exist whether worshipped or not, but Gods can't act in the world except through their worshippers or through whatever phenomenon they're tied to (but that phenomenon tie is more like the way the earth exerts gravity in the real world.) Because the same god has different masks/faces/aspects, you may think you created a god when instead, you just accidentally latched onto one.

She does? I thought after their showdown, she stayed dead and he just kind of wanders off the board to Pamaltela.