Your heretical Gloranthas

[Baron Wulfraed]

Since sound requires the transmission of waves in some media (usually air), it is difficult to envision it as anything Rune related.

Fire makes sound... The wind (air) makes sound... Water waves on the shore make sound... Falling rocks (earth) makes sound. So four of the six Elemental Runes have an association with sound.

You can maybe stretch it as a Condition Rune, though that opens up the need to create/modify cults (the rulebook states that Condition Runes reflect an /aspect/ of Elemental Rune that a cult focuses upon.

[jajagappa]

1 hour ago, Sir_Godspeed said:

But then sound would have been important in the Underworld

Hombobobom! Think she's already got you covered!

Edited August 6, 2021 by jajagappa
correction

[jajagappa]

11 minutes ago, Baron Wulfraed said:

Falling rocks (earth)

And earthquakes!  Can't forget Maran Gor stomping about and getting into rhythm with her quakebeasts.

[Sir_Godspeed]

19 minutes ago, Baron Wulfraed said:

Since sound requires the transmission of waves in some media (usually air), it is difficult to envision it as anything Rune related.

I'm not entirely sure what you mean by this, but if "cold" and "dark" can be runes (even though in RW physics these aren't anything at all), I'm sure we'll figure something out. 

[Qizilbashwoman]

14 minutes ago, jajagappa said:

Hombobobom! Think he's already got you covered!

Hombobobom is a female deity

[Eff]

1 hour ago, Sir_Godspeed said:

I've been considering making up a deity of sound. Either sound as an element in itself, or maybe as a condition rune or something, I don't really pay too much attention to the runes, tbh. 

The question would be where they come into being (much like air, sound may have always been around, just not personified). My initial thought was to have them spawn off Umath's birth roar. But then sound would have been important in the Underworld, I'm guessing, so maybe that's their true origin. Maybe Umath pulled them up from the Underworld? 

As for worldly impact... A deity involved in the eventual creation of spoken language, and song and music, as well as having a hand in thunderclaps and animals roars and wave crashing, and whatnot. Sort of a sideline-yet-everywhere kinda deity-archetype, maybe a bit like the Talking God or the Knowing God, or the White Lady, etc. 

Also a fun way to introduce some sound-based shenanigans from the Elder Scrolls (tonal architecture, thu'um, etc.)

The theistic understanding of the origin of the universe is that of a primal Silence disrupted by the first sound. So a deity of sound could be primordial indeed, quite possibly something which predates separation into runes or anything like that. The draconic OUROBOUROS mantra seems relevant here as well- sounds growing more complex, swelling in a kind of sine wave in length and possibly in amplitude. Perhaps one could borrow from the primordial generation of Muses in Greek mythology- Aoide (tune or song), Mneme (memory), and Melete (practice or contemplation), who were born from the moment when Ouranous and Gaia touched, a recapitulation of the interpretation that Kaos/Void's birthing of the primordial gods was a process of differentiation.

And so as such our Aoide, or Aoidos, or possibly even Aoidimo, would be representative of that moment of contact, of the awareness of Runic collapse as the potential state of Life-Death or Harmony-Disorder or Truth-Illusion collapses down into awareness of life and death, or harmony and disorder, or truth and illusion. Differentiation into multiples of things. Octaves, perhaps.

[Joerg]

5 hours ago, Sir_Godspeed said:

I've been considering making up a deity of sound. Either sound as an element in itself, or maybe as a condition rune or something, I don't really pay too much attention to the runes, tbh. 

The question would be where they come into being (much like air, sound may have always been around, just not personified). My initial thought was to have them spawn off Umath's birth roar. But then sound would have been important in the Underworld, I'm guessing, so maybe that's their true origin. Maybe Umath pulled them up from the Underworld? 

Ratslaff is the Cosmic Fart. You don't get much earlier in Creation than the Celestial Court deities.

[soltakss]

On 8/4/2021 at 11:39 PM, jajagappa said:

The ruling god of the True Glorantha is Gestetner

I bought a copy of Different Worlds just for the cult of Gestetner. It took a few weeks to arrive, shipped from the Chaosium in the States. When I opened it up, I found a cult of printers with "funny" spells.

It still burns.

 

[AlHazred]

11 hours ago, soltakss said:

I bought a copy of Different Worlds just for the cult of Gestetner. It took a few weeks to arrive, shipped from the Chaosium in the States. When I opened it up, I found a cult of printers with "funny" spells.

It still burns.

 

I would like to say, every issue of Different Worlds I bought had something in it I found a use for.

Unfortunately, I think the only thing I used from that issue was the Insanity Table, and that's, like 2 pages.

Edited August 7, 2021 by AlHazred

[AlHazred]

And for those who haven't seen it and want to see what Gestetner is all about, Greg Costikyan (the author) has put it on the Internet for you: http://www.costik.com/gestetner.html

[jajagappa]

9 hours ago, AlHazred said:

And for those who haven't seen it and want to see what Gestetner is all about

In hindsight we can now recognize it as an obscure Mostali project, probably devised by the Quicksilver caste with the aid of the Tin caste to restore to life the ancient Mostali Gestetner.

[Baron Wulfraed]

13 hours ago, AlHazred said:

And for those who haven't seen it and want to see what Gestetner is all about, Greg Costikyan (the author) has put it on the Internet for you: http://www.costik.com/gestetner.html

Seems to me that a Spirit Duplicator (aka "Ditto" machine) make more sense for a cult... or maybe a shaman😁,

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirit_duplicator

vs the silk-screen process used by Mimeograph (okay, the stencil material isn't silk -- but since the ink is pressed /through/ the fabric of the stencil it seems to apply)

[AlHazred]

Gestetner
With apologies to Greg Costikyan
"In elder days, no rags were offset
and Lord Mimeo reigned supreme.
Prozine was then a dirty word;
Urf Durfal... still a pleasant dream.

"Yet abysmal worlds spawned forth a horror!
OFFSET, challenging mimeo's rule.
Clear printing, yes, but what price glory?
Dare we abandon our god-sent tool?

"Arise ye men of mildewed minds!
Destroy yon evil process offset.
There is no god but GREAT GESTETNER,
and Costikyan is his only prophet."

-- from The Neopublicon, by Unamit Ahazredit

Some say it is an order created by the Dwarf of Dragon Pass to spread the influence of the Way of Mostal among men. Other say it is a remnant of an obscure part of the God Time, remembered by few and whispered of only in the darkest halls of Knowledge Temples. Still others express confusion and dismay. But the cult of Gestetner appears to have been given new life by the approach of the Hero Wars.
    The black-robed members of the cult are somber. Some say that prospective members are flayed of two handspans’ length of skin to make paper. The cult’s indoctrination methods emphasize submission to authority, lengthy conditioning to eliminate members’ initiative and free will, and extensive educational systems to encourage literacy.
    Member rank is rated in “Pages.” The student is enlisted at “Page 1” and may progress through subsequent Pages to leadership. A particular cell may consist of 6, 12, 24 and 36 Pages. Progress past Page 3 requires adept levels of skill in cult abilities.
    The Cult is fairly visible, driving a caravan across the countryside, including a wagon containing the image of their god, an imposing black machine belching smoke and emitting a terrifying sequence of clanks when in use. They are much in demand as mercenary magicians, where their ability to quickly duplicate troops for engagements can turn the tide of battle. The Portal of Power created by members of the cult is the Inky Void.

Entry Requirements: Papermaking 17.
Abilities: Brew Ditto Fluid, Create Portal of Power, Know Gestetner, Read [Language], Repair Mimeograph, Rule of Gestetner, Symbolic Sight, Write [Language].
Relationships: Page of the Cult of Gestetner.
Virtues: Authoritarian, Hidebound, Traditional.
Grimoire:
[Law]    The Neopublicon (Command Blotch, Duplicate Creature, Flay Dead Body for Vellum, Strain Ditto Fluid, Summon Blotch ritual).
Other Side: Gestetner’s Monolith is a node on the Spell Plane. Located in a desolate and mostly-deserted part of the plane, it is easily overlooked and thankfully forgotten. It connects to no other nodes. Some say there are secret connections from Gestetner's Monolith to the Tin Dipper and the Quicksilver Alembic nodes.
Disadvantages: Members of the Cult of Gestetner are seen as obsessively insane by others. It is a fair assessment.
Notes: Ditto fluid is both a healing fluid and an intoxicant. Blotches are elemental essences, similar to undines, formed of mimeograph ink; their potent smell and caustic nature make them dangerous antagonists to the unready. 
        Duplicates created by the magic of Gestetner are animated from monochromatic vellum and paper, and are much weaker than the originals (abilities are copied only to a maximum rating of 13). Duplicates always obey their originals. Due to ancient cult enmities with the sea gods, duplicates are destroyed if they get wet. Also, they fade away in a matter of hours if left in direct sunlight due to the radiating power of Truth which erodes the duplicating magic.

Blotch
Magical Abilities: Be Liquid 5/cubic yard, Spread Rapidly over Surface 15, Caustic Burn 6/yard, Resist Damage 3/cubic yard, Resist Summoning 6/cubic yard.
Tactics: Blotches are mindless, and act only when commanded by their summoner. The blotch automatically ignores any command that would have it act against its nature, such as a command to stop staining.

Edited August 8, 2021 by AlHazred
Added more details that came to me.

[AlHazred]

Now I'm picturing them as a White Bear & Red Moon mercenary unit, like the Cannon Cult, except they can duplicate units. The duplicates are less effective (maybe with a score of 1 for each factor?) and duplicate units are destroyed if they fight any water rune units?

[Sir_Godspeed]

Lieutenant Columbo was an Illuminate Riddler. "Just one more thing..." is a traditional Nysalorean phrase.

[Ali the Helering]

16 hours ago, AlHazred said:

Now I'm picturing them as a White Bear & Red Moon mercenary unit, like the Cannon Cult, except they can duplicate units. The duplicates are less effective (maybe with a score of 1 for each factor?) and duplicate units are destroyed if they fight any water rune units?

Some of the counters are slightly smeared, though...

[Squaredeal Sten]

On 8/7/2021 at 11:07 AM, AlHazred said:

Gestetner
With apologies to Greg Costikyan
"....
    The Cult is fairly visible, driving a caravan across the countryside, including a wagon containing the image of their god, an imposing black machine belching smoke and emitting a terrifying sequence of clacks when in use. They are much in demand as mercenary magicians, where their ability to quickly duplicate troops for engagements can turn the tide of battle. The Portal of Power created by members of the cult is the Inky Void.  .....

 

Let's not confuse mimeo and ditto.  They are different tachnologies!

The subcult of Mimeo would take more time to prepare, and more skill to make Mimeo Masters - but also be capable of duplicating many more units.  With ditto you have a pretty hard limit of about 300 pages duplicated.

And - smoke belching?  No, both can be hand cranked.  The cult of mimeo could use extensive gangs of slaves to drive their machines.

 

[Baron Wulfraed]

On 8/7/2021 at 12:07 PM, AlHazred said:

    The Cult is fairly visible, driving a caravan across the countryside, including a wagon containing the image of their god, an imposing black machine belching smoke and emitting a terrifying sequence of clacks when in use.

The machine is spitting out money? Copper "clacks"... That's going to ruin the economy!

[AlHazred]

2 hours ago, Squaredeal Sten said:

Let's not confuse mimeo and ditto.  They are different tachnologies!

Don't blame me! It's that way in Greg Costikyan's original!

2 hours ago, Squaredeal Sten said:

And - smoke belching?  No, both can be hand cranked.  The cult of mimeo could use extensive gangs of slaves to drive their machines.

Sure, but I'm liking the visual! And they're supposed to be sinister anyway!

1 hour ago, Baron Wulfraed said:

The machine is spitting out money? Copper "clacks"... That's going to ruin the economy!

Right, "clanking" it is, then. Hopefully nobody confuses it with the city of the same name...

[Sir_Godspeed]

8 hours ago, Sir_Godspeed said:

Lieutenant Columbo was an Illuminate Riddler. "Just one more thing..." is a traditional Nysalorean phrase.

Woops, just realized I posted this in your heretical gloranthas and not the dumbest theory thread. Oh well, works both places!

[Zit]

On 8/6/2021 at 1:07 AM, Baron Wulfraed said:

Since sound requires the transmission of waves in some media (usually air), it is difficult to envision it as anything Rune related.

If there is a rune for light, why not for sound, indeed ? It may be related to Communication or even Movement. In Glorantha, does sound really need any medium to propagate ?

[coffeemancer]

On 8/11/2021 at 7:47 AM, Zit said:

If there is a rune for light, why not for sound, indeed ? It may be related to Communication or even Movement. In Glorantha, does sound really need any medium to propagate ?

a sound elemental is experienced as the sound of a guy screaming and rolling past you in a shopping cart

[AlHazred]

Inspired by the current Elmal/Yelmalio thread, my next game that has long-term Gloranthaphiles in it will have a Sartarite religious zealot rise from obscurity, proclaiming that Arkat is Orlanth. And he'll magically prove it, too.

[Eff]

4 minutes ago, AlHazred said:

Inspired by the current Elmal/Yelmalio thread, my next game that has long-term Gloranthaphiles in it will have a Sartarite religious zealot rise from obscurity, proclaiming that Arkat is Orlanth. And he'll magically prove it, too.

Arkat is Orlanth? Try "the Red Goddess is the second Arkat" on for size, guaranteed to baffle, disgust, and enrage all right-thinking people of Dragon Pass (and amuse Illuminates!)

[scott-martin]

27 minutes ago, AlHazred said:

Inspired by the current Elmal/Yelmalio thread, my next game that has long-term Gloranthaphiles in it will have a Sartarite religious zealot rise from obscurity, proclaiming that Arkat is Orlanth. And he'll magically prove it, too.

Now there's a thrill factor. Sure. Anyone outraged over What Monrogh Did can always learn from the experience and do it again.

A sufficiently vast POW pool is all the proof anyone needs to enforce their own canon until the cosmic-magical tide turns again. Layer enough duration on that and the tide becomes someone else's problem. 

This is what we call illusion magic or "glamour." 

So Arkat was Orlanth. OK. 

Is Orlanth Arkat?