John Biles

The whole essence of what Arkat did revolved around him getting initiated, then running off and doing whatever he wanted, namely murder. The Arkati aren't all-present and if they were, they would kill people like Argath, which they don't. Rather, they're a broken shell, divided into quarreling groups that hate each other too. And cults don't have telephones and the internet. Even if you're well known in one town, you won't be in another. Illuminates are no longer bound by society and cults. That's the whole point of illumination. They can still be literally hunted down and killed but pretty much all the illuminates we see as major figures in Glorantha go where they want and do what they want and kick the gods down the stairs. Then they typically get some stupid idea in their heads that gets them killed after they make a huge mess.

The 'Is Orlanth's LBQ a failure' thread made my brain think about the world where the quest is actually Orlanth's BBQ, where he makes food so good, it brings Yelm and Ernalda back to life because they can smell it in the underworld. I suppose Orlanthi favor a more vinegary barbeque sauce while Pelorians want a sweeter one.

That pretty much never worked to stop any notable illuminate from doing what they want. Once you're illuminated, the cult really can't do much to you. You're free to do what you want, which is the whole point of illumination. Also, Arkat would just eat the priest.

Being the Emperor of Dara Happa requires you to pass the Ten Tests; this isn't the same as being Red Emperor, though it's one of the things the Red Emperor does to prove himself. A Dragon once passed the Ten Tests.

IF you're illuminated, you no longer need the cult and can do whatever you want. Define your life however you want.

So you're saying that we need to put her and Argath in a scale, and if they weigh the same, he's a witch, so we have to burn him?

In Glorantha, your god expects various things of you and sends spirits to punish you if you violate those laws. This puts limits on how many gods you can worship. Yelm and Red Goddess worship didn't seem very compatible to me, especially since Yelm worship says women's job is to be subordinate and get kicked down the stairs. People's general answer seems to mostly be 'Yelm worship is just a sham now, which illumination lets you get away with'. So be it.

I think that the Lightbringer's Quest would definitely suffice to summon Taylor. "That damn dirty Arkat! He blew it all up!"

Barntar's secret power is nitrogen-fixing; he draws down the chemicals needed to renew the land from the sky. I would note that an option for a tribe which was female-led / male hostile would be cultivation of fruit trees. No plowing required, gives fruit every year, also a source of wood for you to some degree.Fruit trees would probably be mainly tended by women, as they would be seen as the gift of Ernalda. Ditto for berry bushes.

Variable, but most people, I suspect, won't actually notice if you don't shove it in their face. Edit: It depends on the town. Jonstown - some Lhankor Mhy notices it, asks you curiously about your position on Argath to add to his compendium. Boldhome - someone thinks it is a Lunar tattoo, you almost get lynched for the wrong reason Dangerford - Priests of Humakt study you, determine you are not undead, they cease to care. Wilmskirk - It is used as an excuse to sell you to the Praxians Svenstown - They assume it's some weird Praxian tattoo and run to get people to kill you but then they realize you don't look Praxian so you probably don't die.

IE, not an honorable man. But being an illuminate basically means you're a sociopath. You do whatever it takes to get what you want and nothing holds you back. This is why illuminates in Glorantha who don't go live in a monastery and seek further enlightenment typically end up blood-soaked killers. (Like Argath and Sor-Eel) Probably the best argument against the Lunar Empire is the large scale illumination it carried out, since that opened the doors to everything else bad.

Orlanth brought back the Sun and ended the Great Darkness. He definitely succeeded.

Steering back towards the original topic. Whether or not you agree with Argath or the Lunars, the apocalyptic ending of the Third Age is the perfect example of how I think Glorantha's mortality works. During the good parts of an age, population booms, swelling in size, then much of the population dies horribly in an apocalypse. In certain places, like Dragon Pass, the continual state of low level war probably keeps the population in check. Any society with regular raiding loses a lot of people over time. This is why people died by violence more in Earth's past despite our better weapons for killing. Certainly, playing King of Dragon Pass, or Six Ages, my population dies in droves.

You probably have drunk gangs of Praxians who roam the streets, beating up locals, in order to get revenge for past offenses, real and imaginary. The connection between Geo's Inns is probably being exploited by Argath to spy in Dragon Pass. You should ask yourself what kind of law code is being enforced now in Pavis. And how many Argaths your game has, which will influence how he rules.

The PC group in Heroquest Glorantha, who perform this quest off stage, are a Priestess of Ernalda, an Orlanthi warrior thane, a Humakti, a Praxian shaman, a Lhankor Mhy scribe, and a renegade Lunar. I like your idea of Valind being the villain here; given it's about rescuing a King, it strikes me as something where Ernalda organizes a rescue of her husband, with the aid of Humakt, Kolat, and Lhankor Mhy and some hangers on (Elmal probably stays behind to run things while Ernalda is in the field)

This presumes Argath actually cares if these people live or die; he strikes me as someone who throws you away the second you're no longer useful. To be fair to Argath, most of the time, he is in total crisis mode and doesn't have a lot of free time to raise people from the dead. (And we don't have an objective, clear-cut record to indicate if he did or didn't try to resurrect fallen companions. Maybe he did)

I'm pretty sure Jaldon is Willy Wonka's father.

My own suspicion is that Glorantha has bigger population growth in the short term than the real world, but then has periodic apocalypses which basically negate a lot of that growth. The end of the first and second age heavily trimmed a lot of populations. But it also flows differently - you don't have to pump out 8 kids to ensure 3 of them make it to adulthood and you have birth control, so you invest more in fewer kids but end up with the same results.

And the last remnant of the Stygian Empire: Biscuit Baron, found all the way from Seshnela to Dragon Pass and Peloria, wherever Arkat's empire went. Don't ask where the bacon is made or how. Just enjoy it.

I think it's a lot harder to do the level of great deeds a Hero should do if you are mainly focused on mundane skills, though of course, the Brave Little Tailor is a counter-example of exactly that from real life myth. But also, if someone is really a Hero, they probably are going to outgrow the village they started in. Someone with 450% Tend Herd who is a Hero is going to end up doing things like saving the kingdom's cattle from a plague. Not sticking around some village.

You may remember from many years ago that someone did this 'Bert is Evil' page, which included a picture showing Bert talking to Osama Bin Laden that some foolish Jihadi *made into a flag*. I'm now imagining Bert riding with Arkat (or possibly that Arkat IS Bert) Also, reading about the Grotarons... wow, they are ludicrous. They remind me of some of those lunatic creatures from old medieval texts about the rest of the world. Which is probably deliberate.

Jar-Eel is a person who looked at the Harmony rune and asked 'how do I use this to murder'. Though she's unlike Cersei in that she's a lot better at binding people to her will. That being said, Phargentes the Younger is way too competent to be Joffrey. Some of that might be possession by the Red Emperor, but he: retakes Arrolia takes tribute from Sog City and reaches the Neliomi Sea Burns down the Reforestation in some part of Peloria Takes Boldhome and erects a bragging Stelae So this is a man of accomplishments (and certainly a step forward from Argenteus. Admittedly, a random murder hobo would probably improve on Argenteus.

Starting when they do pretty much means the PCs are going to be low-powered through a lot of stuff until they can catch up, yes. By the time Argath lights the Flame of Sartar, a bunch of big things are happening. But starting there is like starting a Pendragon game right as the Grail Quest starts. You'd have an easier time in 13th Age Glorantha.

When Argath tries to get Kaethela to make him King, they could do something like bringing back Belintar or the Great Old One, so it doesn't bow to him. When Argath gets mad at Harrek for sacking Black Horse Country, they could recruit Harrek to fight Argath on the side of the Lunars. That would probably result in Argath being crushed at the Battle of Heroes.

I am dubious that solar hero is Sheng Seleris because there's nothing to indicate he went to Kralorela and the Kralorelans *hate his guts*. Can Shu and the Blood Son are connected to the Kingdom of Ignorance and Sheng reborn is focused on murdering Pelorians. And Argath had no connection we know of to the Kingdom of Ignorance.