Your Dumbest Theory

[Bill the barbarian]

On 6/14/2022 at 12:39 AM, JRE said:

All Ducks have funny voices.

Halcyon Var Enkorth has a funny voice and is illuminated.

Halcyon Var Enkorth is a duck!

Burn him!

[John Biles]

17 hours ago, Erol of Backford said:

So many old D&D modules could fit with modifications of course, I mean who doesn't convert all sorts of old scenarios?

Tomb of Horrors might be fun... maybe the lich in there is one of the two named colleagues of Delecti from Remakerela?

That's a cool idea.  Or you discover what is left of Nysalor is trapped in one of the Lich's soul gems.

or both!  You can have both!

(Arkat would 100% have wanted the Hand and Eye of Vecna.)

The Forbidden City is a natural to put in Pamaltela.  (Or Seshnela because of the Yuan-ti, but the geography is wrong for Seshnela)

White Plume Mountain was the former home of a God-Learner who fled their fall into some other realm, leaving his trapped home in a volcano behind.

 

[Erol of Backford]

I think the voice/mouth/larynx of Nysalor is Speaking Wheel and is being sat on by Orta... but we will not know until he gets up. 

[mfbrandi]

13 hours ago, Erol of Backford said:

I think the voice/mouth/larynx of Nysalor is Speaking Wheel

But the body parts of Nysalor are just dead flesh with no special powers, right? Old canon leads us to think that, so it must be true … Umm, is there somewhere I can hide?

[mfbrandi]

Quote

The faithful and beautiful wife of Emperor Yelm is the paragon of uxorial virtue. With magnificent pride and skill she commands her heaven-full of servants, and her sergeants carry out every task to prepare for the Emperor’s needs, yet Dendara still beams happily in the radiant presence of her husband. — WoD

Dendara is the patron deity of Stepford wives. Clearly, “she” is a Mostali construct. What are they up to?

[radmonger]

1 hour ago, mfbrandi said:

Dendara is the patron deity of Stepford wives. Clearly, “she” is a Mostali construct. What are they up to?

Yelm sulking after Ernalda left him was causing an unsustainable level of critical systems failures. Crafting him a replacement was simply a logically necessary part of the solar repair process.

The bestiary description of dwarven castes has, alongside the material-based occupational castes, a description of the 'clay' caste based on origin (biological versus divine) that actually applies to 99.9% of the members of the other castes. So who actually are the clay caste?

Given dwarven squeamishness about such things , the thing they are clearly hiding is that the clay caste are those who make sustenance and reproduction their occupation. So foodstuff manufacturers, life support maintenance engineers, and  reproductive technicians. Consequently, their caste magic is associated with fertility and life.

Though few outsiders know, Dwarven mastery of those techniques is as complete as is that of ironworking or alchemy. Hence Dendara is of surpassing beauty and unquestionable faithfulness because the Mostali designed her to be that way. And she never speaks because the dwarf forming the matrix core of the mythomagical construct doesn't know Dara Happan. 

 

[jajagappa]

1 hour ago, radmonger said:

Hence Dendara is of surpassing beauty and unquestionable faithfulness because the Mostali designed her to be that way. And she never speaks because the dwarf forming the matrix core of the mythomagical construct doesn't know Dara Happan. 

Of course, the Mostali in charge of the project forgot about the shadow, hence Gorgorma caught them completely by surprise (and much to their horror)!  Many Mostali were sacked as a consequence, and those responsible for the sacking were also sacked. 

[mfbrandi]

3 hours ago, jajagappa said:

Of course, the Mostali in charge of the project forgot about the shadow, hence Gorgorma caught them completely by surprise

Well, if Dendara is a replacement — in true Stepford fashion — maybe, but if Dendara was a Mostali project from the get-go (I mean, let’s keep it light, people), then maybe Gorgorma is theirs, too. If you are going to lean into the misogynistic tropes, then call in Giger and fill your biomechanoid boots. Indeed, maybe Gorgorma was the main project and Dendara just cover or a bit of a sick joke on the side. The chess playing is the Mostali tipping us the wink that we are dealing with machines — or “machines”.

Next up: the Mostali Shaper–Mechanist civil war. With the Mechanists insisting that true Mostali are robots — all the while refusing to look at the poor saps calling themselves “elves” while bleeding all-too-human blood. Remember what who was inside Huey, Dewey, and Louie.

Are the “elder races” eradicated in the Fourth Age, or is there nothing like an apocalypse to make people cease larping and face facts? Not species but barriers — of costume and ideology — are eliminated. Forget Argrath’s Lord of the Swastika posturing (covering badly for having been had), it is people, rather than humankind who own the future.

Thinning as coming down, and it was quite a trip. “I saw their starved lips in the gloam, with horrid warning gapèd wide, and I awoke and found me here, on the cold hill’s side.” — JK

 

[Erol of Backford]

5 hours ago, jajagappa said:

Many Mostali were sacked as a consequence, and those responsible for the sacking were also sacked. 

 

Curious do Glorantian Dwarves have elastic waistband pants?

Did Dwarves develop Velcro for Werebears?

Are there picture shows in Glorantha? I suppose a Trickster could make them with illusions easy enough... but would dwarves also have some sort of contraption with nimerlings running on a small treadmill and say a light spell, either option would be much better than some silly puppet show, IMO.

[jajagappa]

2 minutes ago, Erol of Backford said:

I suppose a Trickster could make them with illusions easy enough... but would dwarves also have some sort of contraption with nimerlings running on a small treadmill and say a light spell, either option would be much better than some silly puppet show, IMO.

One of my dwarf-related scenarios has a similar contraption (no nilmergs involved though). Hopefully I will get that published with some of my planned Imther material.

[Erol of Backford]

I would theories that material published on the Heortland would sell like hotcakes... with all the detail that has been drafted I assume someone has a book in the making!? Anyone?

[jajagappa]

1 hour ago, Erol of Backford said:

I would theories that material published on the Heortland would sell like hotcakes... with all the detail that has been drafted I assume someone has a book in the making!? Anyone?

Yes, it's already been written for Chaosium and is in their queue. (It's noted in the Upcoming Glorantha Publications thread.)

Edited March 1, 2023 by jajagappa

[mfbrandi]

On 3/1/2023 at 12:07 AM, Erol of Backford said:

Did Dwarves develop Velcro for Werebears?

So you can stick them safely on the wall and they will fall off when they change back to human form? 😉

[mfbrandi]

Sheng Seleris is a failed mystic because although he thinks he is Yu-Kargzant, actually he is only Kargzant. However, this seems to work just fine for him.

[Qizilbashwoman]

20 hours ago, mfbrandi said:

Sheng Seleris is a failed mystic because although he thinks he is Yu-Kargzant, actually he is only Kargzant. However, this seems to work just fine for him.

if he is Kargzant, who is his Darkness and who is the second actor?

(The dangers of being a god is that there are very specific ways of fighting them)

[jajagappa]

1 hour ago, Qizilbashwoman said:

who is his Darkness and who is the second actor?

The Red Goddess is Sheng's Other/Shadow (just as he is hers), although there's clearly a relationship with Godunya too.

[mfbrandi]

2 hours ago, Qizilbashwoman said:

if he is Kargzant, who is his Darkness and who is the second actor?

I was prompted by the Elmal/Yelmalio thread, and in my mind (which is an odd place, sometimes) the only important wrestler with OY (although everyone likes to beat on him) is his forbidden love, Zorak Zoran. So that gives us Dark/Light, Hot/Cold, Illuminate/Failed Illuminate.

But who would be a good Third-Age ZZ stand in? I dunno. Maybe someone whose fully achieved illumination didn’t exactly agree with them. Remember the thread we’re in and barf forth ideas.

[jajagappa]

14 minutes ago, mfbrandi said:

But who would be a good Third-Age ZZ stand in? I dunno. Maybe someone whose fully achieved illumination didn’t exactly agree with them.

Can Shu in the Kingdom of Ignorance?

[mfbrandi]

 

12 hours ago, Joerg said:

Things may have a temporary existence only. This form of non-permanent reality is called "illusion"

Quote

The Puppeteer Troupe, the major cult of the Father of Illusion, always claimed that this was the First Rune, for without Illusion, there would be none of us to think we ever were. They refuse to explain further. — RQ2, p. 58

All existence is temporary, and if there were no temporary things, there would be no things, at all. This granted, the Puppeteer Troupe’s claim seems to call for no further explanation.

But this is a reassuring lie. While agreeing that all is illusion, another tradition holds that illusions have no reality at all: there are none of us to think we ever were. Who wants to tell Yelmalio? Zorak Zoran has that look in all three of their eyes.

[metcalph]

7 hours ago, Qizilbashwoman said:

if he is Kargzant, who is his Darkness and who is the second actor?

(The dangers of being a god is that there are very specific ways of fighting them)

Darkness:  Zorak Zoran/Yara Aranis

Storm:  Orlanth/Red Emperor

Cold:  Inora/??

[mfbrandi]

4 hours ago, jajagappa said:

Can Shu in the Kingdom of Ignorance?

Hmm … maybe, but if Can Shu is the Black Sun, the shadow of Yelm, and Sheng is not in fact Yelm, maybe that is why …

Spoiler

… although the Black Sun runes — — are perfect for an anti-Yelmalio, so maybe everyone is barking up the wrong Yggdrasil, and “Yelm” is just that resting actor found loitering in Hell, after all.

Edited March 4, 2023 by mfbrandi

[Eff]

The reason Chalana Arroy is Neutral towards the Crimson Bat, it is said, is because the Bat is capable of being healed. Chalana Arroy is Hostile towards the Red Goddess. This, some might say, is because the Red Goddess is beyond any healing, irredeemable, CA has muttered "unforgivable" in Japanese in response to some Red Goddess antics before, etc., but there is another answer. 

The Red Goddess is incapable of being healed because she has a clean bill of health. Chalana Arroy hates healthy people who have no need for her services. All the gods CA has good or neutral relationships with are perpetually injured, and those she disdains are hale and hearty. 

[Erol of Backford]

38 minutes ago, Eff said:

The reason Chalana Arroy is Neutral towards the Crimson Bat, it is said, is because the Bat is capable of being healed.

So are broo who would turn around and do interesting things to "her". I thought the healers could use offensive magic against Chaos and would do so without hesitation? Per Gods of Gloranth, how is that neutral?

Foes incapacitated by a healer’s action (usually through the use of Befuddle or Sleep) are under her protection. They may not be harmed in any way, though they may be disarmed and captured. Chaotic foes are exempt from this protection.

[Eff]

17 minutes ago, Erol of Backford said:

So are broo who would turn around and do interesting things to "her". I thought the healers could use offensive magic against Chaos and would do so without hesitation? Per Gods of Gloranth, how is that neutral?

Foes incapacitated by a healer’s action (usually through the use of Befuddle or Sleep) are under her protection. They may not be harmed in any way, though they may be disarmed and captured. Chaotic foes are exempt from this protection.

Yeah, it is a puzzle, isn't it? Some of this is because the neutrality is from Cults of Terror's cult compatibility chart, of course, and Gods of Glorantha was written later. But if you want to take my little idea seriously, then go ahead and work out a reconciliation!

(In that chart, Chalana Arroy is neutral to Bagog, Krarsht, Thed, and Nysalor as well, while being hostile to Zorak Zoran and Thanatar and an enemy towards Primal Chaos, Mallia, and Vivamort. It's fairly easy to see a pattern here- Chalana Arroy in Cults of Terror will heal scorpionfolk, krarshtkids, and broo in need, along with illuminates, but disdain the two murder cults and oppose vampires, sickness, and primal chaos. The outlier is the recent revelation that CA is hostile to Red Goddess.)

[John Biles]

2 hours ago, metcalph said:

Darkness:  Zorak Zoran/Yara Aranis

Storm:  Orlanth/Red Emperor

Cold:  Inora/??

Yelmalio, given what happens at the Hill of Gold.