Fonrit resources?

[Harrek]

Hello,

we are about to finish our 10-year old campaign in Pavis. The next campaign will be set in Fonrit and around (Loral, maybe Kumanku). Almost everything else is still unclear. We know however, that the next campaign will have  elements like boats and seafaring , pirates, social dilemmas, scheming and backstabbing, slavery and expeditions. After a very heroic campaign in Pavis, we have planned to keep the next one on quite a low level. I have found/purchased the following Fonrit resources already:

- Guide to Glorantha and Argan Argar Atlas 

- Tradetalk #14 

- the excellent Mythras Encounter Generator with plenty of Fonrit related content, and tools for GM's from Notes of Pavis site 

- this forum with all it's Fonrit related topics

I know that there will be a Fonrit book by Chaosium at some point, but I doubt that we'll see it in time before we start our campaign (It's not the first in pipe, right?). So, I'm interested about all kinds of material related to Fonrit and Loral, at least. Meaning maps, cult writeups, place descriptions, session seeds, herobands/organizations, npcs etc. The material doesn't have to be Gloranthan even, if it has the "Fonritan vibe" from your point of view. Meaning inspirational art, harbour maps from real world, building concept art etc.

Have you run a campaign set in Fonrit? It would be nice to hear what kind of story line have you created?

Thank you in advance. 

[jajagappa]

3 hours ago, Harrek said:

So, I'm interested about all kinds of material related to Fonrit and Loral, at least. Meaning maps, cult writeups, place descriptions, session seeds, herobands/organizations, npcs etc.

The AH Heroes magazine, vol 1, #6 was where the Fonrit material first appeared.  It also has a scenario by Sandy Petersen set in Fonrit. I'm not sure whether it's available online anywhere though.

As for Loral, I believe it was the basis for Mythras' Monster Island which you can get here: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/116267/Monster-Island

Edited March 10, 2020 by jajagappa

[7Tigers]

+ fanzine Enclosure #2
https://index.rpg.net/display-entry.phtml?mainid=11268

Extract:
https://www.pensee.com/dunham/glorantha/fonrit/1page.html

 

 

[jajagappa]

36 minutes ago, 7Tigers said:

Extract:
https://www.pensee.com/dunham/glorantha/fonrit/1page.html

Also as noted on David's page, there may be useful bits in the Stafford Library contents for Revealed Mythologies  (available as pdf from Chaosium).

[Sir_Godspeed]

Read up on West African history for some inspiration. The Mali Empire, Ghana Empire, Songhai, etc (Basically everything along the Niger river, and westwards). While there is quite a lot of differences, these are the main inspirations for the region. 

Revealed Mythologies was mentioned already (although it's probably pretty scarce). I'm not sure if Middle Sea Empire has anything on them, someone might know. The Guide does have a section on Fonrit, of course, but I'm guessing you've already looked through that. 

 

Edited March 11, 2020 by Sir_Godspeed

[davecake]

Revealed Mythologies is essential, really, as is the Guide. RM has the information about the mythology of Garangordos and Glorious Ones, which is the foundation of Fonrit. 
None of the other material is essential.

There are a few other snippets here and there ( a few pages in Men of the Sea for Hero Wars, for example) but really, those two sources have almost everything. 

There were plans for a Fonrit product for HeroQuest, but I do not believe it is anywhere near completion. 
 

I have plenty of ideas of my own - especially about the horrors of the Forest of Disease nearby in Laskal. 
There are loads of great plot ideas in Fonrit. 

I think a campaign around the themes of freedom and slavery would be great. 

I particularly liked-

The pirate king and Jann of Thieves Jeren  Darow ruling over Sarro a once great city now half ruined and full of ghouls - that’s a glorious antagonist and setting for adventure. 

Vontabu the gone but never forgotten nation of freed slaves - a nice thematic motivator and historical plot hook. 

The Pure Doctrine Freedomists, excellent foils - purist Doraddi types trying to reverse all the evils of Fonrit, but too dogmatic and rigid to be good allies. 
 

It would be a great area for people to explore via the Johnstown Compendium. 
 

[Harrek]

Thanks for the replies so far. I have both Enclosure #2 and Heroes v1 #6, but I didn't remember that these volumes contain information about Fonrit. I just bought the Revealed Mythologies and Monster Island pdfs, so that is covered also. 

Any more ideas? 

Edited March 11, 2020 by Harrek

[Harrek]

I have few more questions about Fonrit:

- What is the difference between the cults of Ompalam and Garangordos? Ompalam is the great god of Fonritan pantheon, so I guess he provides more magic (three runes: chaos, master, harmony). Garangordos is the cultural hero, more like hero cult with maybe one or two rune spells? Who is allowed to worship these deities? Only masarins of course, but how is the worship divided between these two seemingly quite similar cults? What is the role of Tentacule, who is yet another god of slavery? 

- Who is Um-Oradin the Corsair God exactly? Are his runes movement, air and water (as suggested in Glorantha cult one pagers by hkokko)? What is his mythical background? There are not too many sources about this god. At least not with my googlefu skills. Among whom is he primarily worshipped? All along the Fonritan coast?

Edited March 15, 2020 by Harrek

[metcalph]

18 minutes ago, Harrek said:

- What is the difference between the cults of Ompalam and Garangordos? Ompalam is the great god of Fonritan pantheon, so I guess he provides more magic (three runes: chaos, master, harmony).

Ompalam may be a bigger god than Garangordos but his interest in providing magic is likely to be less.  The other gods make people worship Omapalm without compensation because both the gods and worshippers are his slaves.

 

24 minutes ago, Harrek said:

Garangordos is the cultural hero, more like hero cult with maybe one or two rune spells? Who is allowed to worship these deities? Only masarins of course, but how is the worship divided between these two seemingly quite similar cults? What is the role of Tentacule, who is yet another god of slavery? 

I think the Masarin are worshippers of Garangordos, wielding Omapalm's magic for the good (don't laugh) of the community.  

Tentacule is, I think, the ideal servant.  

Other gods in the same vein would be Varama (like Yelmalio but with a lot more geases).

 

 

 

[Sir_Godspeed]

3 hours ago, Harrek said:

- Who is Um-Oradin the Corsair God exactly? Are his runes movement, air and water (as suggested in Glorantha cult one pagers by hkokko)? What is his mythical background? There are not too many sources about this god. At least not with my googlefu skills. Among whom is he primarily worshipped? All along the Fonritan coast?

He sounds like a Fonritan Ygg, or rough equivalent thereof. Will probably provide similar spells.

A Corsair is a raider, pirate or privateer, so probably not worshipped by your standard fisherman or merchant captain.

[Harrek]

3 hours ago, metcalph said:

Ompalam may be a bigger god than Garangordos but his interest in providing magic is likely to be less.

So, I'll treat him as the god learnerish Invisible God variant he is (in play terms).

 

26 minutes ago, Sir_Godspeed said:

He sounds like a Fonritan Ygg, or rough equivalent thereof. Will probably provide similar spells.

That's a good idea to steal some magic from various Ygg cult writeups. Any ideas about Um-Oradin's mythical deeds or background? Is he actually Ygg?

26 minutes ago, Sir_Godspeed said:

A Corsair is a raider, pirate or privateer, so probably not worshipped by your standard fisherman or merchant captain.

That's true for sure😁 What I meant was that how farspread is his cult along the Fonritan coast? Is he the primary pirate god? Or Baraku?

Edited March 15, 2020 by Harrek

[Sir_Godspeed]

2 hours ago, Harrek said:

That's a good idea to steal some magic from various Ygg cult writeups. Any ideas about Um-Oradin's mythical deeds or background? Is he actually Ygg?

 

No idea. I couldn't find anything about him in Revealed Mythologies either.

2 hours ago, Harrek said:

That's true for sure😁 What I meant was that how farspread is his cult along the Fonritan coast? Is he the primary pirate god? Or Baraku?

Oh, sorry! Yeah, no idea there either. 😕

[hkokko]

I have a Fonritan campaign - mostly on isles. You might find tools.notesfrompavis.com and notesfrompavis.com have material that can be twisted for your campaign...

[jajagappa]

6 hours ago, Harrek said:

Who is Um-Oradin the Corsair God exactly?

Since he's not noted in the Guide, I wouldn't overly worry about him.  

However, if you think it's an interesting figure to include, I'd use either 1) Ygg (since Ygg will be in the Gods of Glorantha book) and likely is embodied in the form of Harrek; 2) Wachaza (although more likely to be the god of the hostile malasp); or if you have access to old RQ3 Cults Book 3) Tskanth (as his connection with pirates and barracuda seem relevant).

[davecake]

Um-Oradin is an invention of Simon Bray, from way back in 1997, and I don't think has ever occurred in official material, but his material was widely used by fans. I'm sure Simon will be happy to see some of his really old Fonrit stuff re-appearing. I think it may have made its way into some Mongoose era stuff as well, with some variations (like a 'Scalding Hail' spell).

Quote

Um-Oradin - Overseer of the winds.
  He is the master of the winds, he is an unpredicatable god, restless and
vengeful. He holds in his ivory coffer the goddesses Baras, the Sea Spout Witch
and Keruan the typhoon who he can unleash on his enemies. Outsiders equate this
god with Orlanth, his main center of worship is the city of Sarro.

Usually Baraku is regarded as the Pamaltelan analogue of Orlanth, but Orlanth and Fonrit are both complex, he can have two names, or sub-cults and such. 

Whatever you call him, Orlanth as a Pirate god worshipped in Sarro the home of the pirate king and Jann of Thieves sounds good. 

Sea spouts in Heortling myth are the children of Magasta and Brastalos, so Baras would be Brastalos - while not associated with Orlanth in Genertela, she is part of the Air tribe, so could easily be associated elsewhere. She is only written up as an associated god of Magasta, but that's all you need, as she grants him a waterspout spell. Keruan is a variant or typo for Keraun, best known as an air goddess of the Doraddi - she is regarded as benevolent by them, but thats because the storms that will lash the Fonrit coast as typhoons give rise to desirable inland rains by the time they hit the Kothar plains.

[davecake]

7 hours ago, metcalph said:

I think the Masarin are worshippers of Garangordos, wielding Omapalm's magic for the good (don't laugh) of the community.  

Yes. I think direct initiation to the various deities of the Glorious Ones is restricted by occupation (though that occupation can include 'priest' or 'temple slave' which is much the same thing) and occupations correspond to class. 

Garangordos is the god worshipped by masarins, and is the god of rulership. Most of the Glorious Ones are deities of a few specific occupations, and are essentially guilds with religious monopolies, most of the yad (slaves who may own slaves) class. Abdamedric the Warrior god is a main god of the slave soldier class. The kaddam class, the lowest rank of slaves that form the bulk of the population, are mostly blueskins and while they are forced to worship the Garangordites they are not generally allowed membership. 

The kaddam slaves instead worship all manner of other gods, including The Hungry Goddess, Ernamola the millet goddess, etc. 

Edited March 15, 2020 by davecake

[scott-martin]

20 minutes ago, davecake said:

masarins

This is really great stuff.

[Runeblogger]

I'm currently playing a pirate campaign in the Edrenlin Islands, north of the coast of Elamle. 😄

(But I'd like to read the chronicle of your Pavis campaign)

Edited March 15, 2020 by Runeblogger

[davecake]

Probably anyone can initiate to Ompalam who owns a slave, or at least Ompalam has magic that can only be cast on your slaves (or slaves of your slave, probably), so there is little point in the kaddam slaves worshipping him, other than as forced to by their masters. 

[Harrek]

1 hour ago, jajagappa said:

However, if you think it's an interesting figure to include, I'd use either 1) Ygg (since Ygg will be in the Gods of Glorantha book) and likely is embodied in the form of Harrek; 2) Wachaza (although more likely to be the god of the hostile malasp); or if you have access to old RQ3 Cults Book 3) Tskanth (as his connection with pirates and barracuda seem relevant).

I thought Wachaza and Tsankth also, but actually after a second thought, I kind of like the idea that Um-Oradin is Ygg more. Um-Oradin is not canon, but I like the idea, so it doesn't matter. Maybe Baraku was the leader of the rebel gods invading Pamaltela, but Um-Oradin aka Ygg (no need for sail through ice feats in Pamaltela, that's why those feats are not present) was one of his fiercest captains (because YGMW).

1 hour ago, davecake said:

Um-Oradin - Overseer of the winds.
  He is the master of the winds, he is an unpredicatable god, restless and
vengeful. He holds in his ivory coffer the goddesses Baras, the Sea Spout Witch
and Keruan the typhoon who he can unleash on his enemies. Outsiders equate this
god with Orlanth, his main center of worship is the city of Sarro.

Thanks for this davecake. I'll use this for sure.

20 minutes ago, Runeblogger said:

I'm currently playing a pirate campaign in the Edrenlin Islands, north of the coast of Elamle. 😄

It would be nice to hear some of your session seeds, if only with few words. 

21 minutes ago, Runeblogger said:

(But I'd like to read the chronicle of your Pavis campaign)

Well, it would be quite a job to write it all down. I have almost every session described as an email in finnish, but constructing 250-300 sessions to somehow publishable shape would be too much. Basically we started small, and ended up to very heroic campaign. We kind of played through Hero Wars in Prax. It's time to start a very, very different campaign now😁

[davecake]

3 minutes ago, Harrek said:

Thanks for this davecake

I'm quoting Simon Bray, from over 20 years ago, so thank Simon, I'm just good at searching archives. 

[hkokko]

2 hours ago, Harrek said:

I thought Wachaza and Tsankth also, but actually after a second thought, I kind of like the idea that Um-Oradin is Ygg more. Um-Oradin is not canon, but I like the idea, so it doesn't matter. Maybe Baraku was the leader of the rebel gods invading Pamaltela, but Um-Oradin aka Ygg (no need for sail through ice feats in Pamaltela, that's why those feats are not present) was one of his fiercest captains (because YGMW).

Thanks for this davecake. I'll use this for sure.

It would be nice to hear some of your session seeds, if only with few words. 

Well, it would be quite a job to write it all down. I have almost every session described as an email in finnish, but constructing 250-300 sessions to somehow publishable shape would be too much. Basically we started small, and ended up to very heroic campaign. We kind of played through Hero Wars in Prax. It's time to start a very, very different campaign now😁

Another Finn here - great. That is one very long campaign. 

[MasterGollum]

4 hours ago, Harrek said:

It would be nice to hear some of your session seeds, if only with few words.

I'm the one who is running the Edrenlin campaign. I have several articles explaining details of it and some sessions are already "novelized". Here you can find all the details:

http://www.mastergollum.com/tanuki/tag/edrenlin

In short: after the the doldrum season, the pirates of Red Port (a small Maslan pirate settlement in Edrenlin Islands) started their raids. Returning to the city to sell the plunder, a Elamle merchant tried to sell a treasure map.  It fell to the ground broken in pieces (it was a clay map) and the several crews managed to retrieve pieces of it. After exchange some of them, they all have a partial map of the treasure, so it will start a race to hunt it. The treasure is a priceless mythical item: the Lulanguvu.

The players are the key members of the a balangay crew (captain, helmsman, rower chief, copper and bow lookout).

[Sir_Godspeed]

55 minutes ago, MasterGollum said:

Lulanguvu

Sounds intriguing, do they know what this thing is? Google didn't yield any immediate results beyond your own pages.

[MasterGollum]

8 hours ago, Sir_Godspeed said:

Sounds intriguing, do they know what this thing is? Google didn't yield any immediate results beyond your own pages.

That's normal, I created the word. I know what it is, but I can't tell it yet, I have a player listening here =D

Edited March 16, 2020 by MasterGollum
grammar