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On Redeemed Broo


dumuzid

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The first major arc of the campaign I'm currently running revolved around seeking one of the more unique characters in Gloranthan lore: the Cleansed One, demigod of the Zola Fel River.

The story goes that the Cleansed One was a conventional broo of the Praxian wastes, who somehow became aware of the horror of their Chaotic condition.  Rather than take out their self-loathing on the world like many other self-aware Chaos entities, this unnamed broo sought to drown himself in the waters of the Zola Fel to end their existence.  Rather than drown him though, the river showed mercy: Zola Fel allowed the broo to breathe his waters, and walk on his riverbed.  The broo followed Zola Fel's course to the ocean, and from there followed the river's current into the deeps, where by some mysterious agency of the Water powers he was purified of Chaos.  He returned to the river a whole, unmutated broo, either as his kind were before they were cruelly changed by the Unholy Trio, or as something new.  In my campaign I've also portayed him as an illuminate, but there's no textual evidence to back that directly that I'm aware of.

Are there any other known broo who've overcome their condition the way the Cleansed One has?  There's a discussion active on the RuneQuest board as a right this that mentioned a broo having the capacity, if not the motivation or self-control usually, to worship Chalana Arroy.  Are there any known broo in Glorantha who've done such a thing?  Does anyone have thoughts on methods a broo might take to purify themselves as the Cleansed One has?

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The Cleansed One subcult had a lot of discussion in the RQ3 River of Cradles supplement, as it was a major thread of all of the adventures in the book. I'm not sure how much non-chaotic broo were featured elsewhere, although the Wild Healer of the Rockwoods is a Chalana Arroy-worshipping broo, and there are Sword Broos of Humakt in Ralzakark's service in the RQ3 Dorastor. AFAIK none of the material on those well-known broos mentions whether or not they're still tainted by chaos; it is strongly implied that the Wild Healer of the Rockwoods is still chaotic, though.

Edited by AlHazred
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ROLAND VOLZ

Running: nothing | Playing: Battletech Hero, CoC 7th Edition, Blades in the Dark | Planning: D&D 5E Home Game, Operation: Sprechenhaltestelle, HeroQuest 1E Sartarite Campaign

D&D is an elf from Tolkien, a barbarian from Howard, and a mage from Vance fighting monsters from Lovecraft in a room that looks like it might have been designed by Wells and Giger. - TiaNadiezja

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35 minutes ago, AlHazred said:

The Cleansed One subcult had a lot of discussion in the RQ3 River of Cradles supplement, as it was a major thread of all of the adventures in the book. I'm not sure how much non-chaotic broo were featured elsewhere, although the Wild Healer of the Rockwoods is a Chalana Arroy-worshipping broo, and there are Sword Broos of Humakt in Ralzakark's service in the RQ3 Dorastor. AFAIK none of the material on those well-known broos mentions whether or not they're still tainted by chaos; it is strongly implied that the Wild Healer of the Rockwoods is still chaotic, though.

The Wild Healer must be a really weird outlier since he is male, given the mighty reproductive urges of male broo. I agree he is near-certainly Chaotic. Perhaps he is Illuminated?

Notably all the other "unusual cult" Broo are of cults that can accept Chaos-rune cultists. Humakt doesn't care, CA doesn't care. I believe strongly they are in fact all still just normal broo.

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25 minutes ago, Qizilbashwoman said:

The Wild Healer must be a really weird outlier since he is male, given the mighty reproductive urges of male broo. I agree he is near-certainly Chaotic. Perhaps he is Illuminated?

That was always the "easy answer" back in the message boards days, but as I get older I feel it's a better character if they're not Illuminated, as an exemplar of the axiom that Life is a daily struggle to do what is Right when what is Wrong is easier. That seems more fitting for Chalana Arroy, anyway.

As far as Ralzakark's Sword Broos, agreed that they're just likely regular broos (Ralzakark Guard to Storm Bull: "Hey, Humakt is Ragnaglar's brother, right? So we're practically family! *nyuk nyuk") On the other hand, I think there was a mention of a Pure Broo in the Dorastor book, maybe as a rumor of a pure white broo? Who was supposed to be untainted by Chaos?

Edited by AlHazred
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ROLAND VOLZ

Running: nothing | Playing: Battletech Hero, CoC 7th Edition, Blades in the Dark | Planning: D&D 5E Home Game, Operation: Sprechenhaltestelle, HeroQuest 1E Sartarite Campaign

D&D is an elf from Tolkien, a barbarian from Howard, and a mage from Vance fighting monsters from Lovecraft in a room that looks like it might have been designed by Wells and Giger. - TiaNadiezja

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13 minutes ago, Qizilbashwoman said:

interesting, but why on earth would they stay in Dorastor

When you're a broo, where else are you going to go?

ROLAND VOLZ

Running: nothing | Playing: Battletech Hero, CoC 7th Edition, Blades in the Dark | Planning: D&D 5E Home Game, Operation: Sprechenhaltestelle, HeroQuest 1E Sartarite Campaign

D&D is an elf from Tolkien, a barbarian from Howard, and a mage from Vance fighting monsters from Lovecraft in a room that looks like it might have been designed by Wells and Giger. - TiaNadiezja

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40 minutes ago, Qizilbashwoman said:

anywhere in the Lunar Empire

Are you kidding? They have the Crimson Bat! I'm staying here in Dorastor, where it's safe...

ROLAND VOLZ

Running: nothing | Playing: Battletech Hero, CoC 7th Edition, Blades in the Dark | Planning: D&D 5E Home Game, Operation: Sprechenhaltestelle, HeroQuest 1E Sartarite Campaign

D&D is an elf from Tolkien, a barbarian from Howard, and a mage from Vance fighting monsters from Lovecraft in a room that looks like it might have been designed by Wells and Giger. - TiaNadiezja

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2 hours ago, AlHazred said:

That was always the "easy answer" back in the message boards days, but as I get older I feel it's a better character if they're not Illuminated, as an exemplar of the axiom that Life is a daily struggle to do what is Right when what is Wrong is easier. That seems more fitting for Chalana Arroy, anyway.

I don't see why illumination in any way reduces the willpower necessary for a broo to overcome that aspect of their nature. It's not like a geas, those are easy to break. Illumination is all about avoiding the backlash, not gaining the strength to break a rule. It's easy to put on a piece of armour or eat an egg.

I don't even see illumination as an easy way out of anything. I think becoming illuminated and staying anything close to sane is an extraordinarily difficult and challenging process which should not be dismissed as an easy option.

Edited by PhilHibbs
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I've always read the Wild Healer as Illuminated enough to not be tormented by Thed for daring to escape mommy's dictates, but still mutated and visibly Chaotic. Which I think is probably a straightforward way to read broo who don't behave like the cannon fodder bestial monsters they're divinely abused into being- they've become enlightened enough to escape that cycle of violence in some fashion. 

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Though a Lunar through and through, she is also a human being.

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IMG the Cleansed One was not just some boring average broo but rather was a major player in the Chaos army of Wakboth et al., even killing/mortally wounding Seolinthur. He was called Jajakan (a name of an otherwise uninteresting foe in a published Heroquest heroquest; foe of Zola Fel). In the 3rd Age no one remembers this/it has been suppressed but heroes can quest and find it out, much to their chagrin especially if they are River Voices. It worked well IMG. 

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The thing with the Wild Healer is, over there in a chaos infested forest surrounded by other Broo or worse, who's he healing all day every day? When some chaotics raid a stead nearby and some of them get wounded, who is it that patches them up so they can come over raiding again? Time for an expedition to sort this one out, who's in?

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16 hours ago, PhilHibbs said:

... I think becoming illuminated and staying anything close to sane is an extraordinarily difficult and challenging process which should not be dismissed as an easy option.

Having said that, I'm sure that there are plenty of games where illumination has been used as exactly that, no more than another item on the character sheet and some awesome powers.

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19 hours ago, Qizilbashwoman said:

The Wild Healer must be a really weird outlier since he is male, given the mighty reproductive urges of male broo. I agree he is near-certainly Chaotic. Perhaps he is Illuminated?

Someone clarified this, somewhere, on one fo the forums.

The Wild Broo Healer is, apparently, chaotic and not Illuminated.

I can't remember who mentioned this and where, but it has stuck in my mind ever since.

 

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Simon Phipp - Caldmore Chameleon - Wallowing in my elitism since 1982. Many Systems, One Family. Just a fanboy. 

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1 hour ago, soltakss said:

Someone clarified this, somewhere, on one fo the forums.

The Wild Broo Healer is, apparently, chaotic and not Illuminated.

I can't remember who mentioned this and where, but it has stuck in my mind ever since.

 

I remember the same, I saw it somewhere in this forum. But I have in my memory a "warning" about this information : "Is it a canon, or the statement of one member ?"

 

 

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2 hours ago, soltakss said:

The Wild Broo Healer is, apparently, chaotic and not Illuminated.

Not sure if it still canonical:

https://wellofdaliath.chaosium.com/home/gloranthan-documents/greg-sez/chaos-taints-qa/

Quote

The few individuals who have achieved it [i.e. being cleansed of a chaos taint] (like that lonely broo up in the Rockwoods) have not shared it with others-their own race don’t want to know, and the other races don’t believe them if they tell it!

 

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On 9/2/2021 at 8:01 PM, AlHazred said:

AFAIK none of the material on those well-known broos mentions whether or not they're still tainted by chaos

Dorastor implies that it's the Illumination that allows Ralzakark's Humakti (and by extension, any Chalana Arroy) cultists to function, whether this is because they can avoid cult restrictions or because they can now choose to control their chaotic urges. An Illuminated Chalana Arroy "healer" who uses her magic and knowledge for evil would be pretty terrifying.

(Lords of Terror also has a Humakti Scorpion-Man Queen who uses Illumination to bend her geases.)

Edited by Akhôrahil
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On 9/2/2021 at 1:40 PM, Qizilbashwoman said:

The Wild Healer must be a really weird outlier since he is male, given the mighty reproductive urges of male broo. I agree he is near-certainly Chaotic. Perhaps he is Illuminated?

 

Perhaps the Wild Healer's Chaotic Feature is that it is asexual, born without genitals, sterile, or in some other way free from the species' normal reproductive drive. 

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On 9/3/2021 at 2:25 PM, Akhôrahil said:

Dorastor implies that it's the Illumination that allows Ralzakark's Humakti (and by extension, any Chalana Arroy) cultists to function, whether this is because they can avoid cult restrictions or because they can now choose to control their chaotic urges. An Illuminated Chalana Arroy "healer" who uses her magic and knowledge for evil would be pretty terrifying.

(Lords of Terror also has a Humakti Scorpion-Man Queen who uses Illumination to bend her geases.)

there are no parts of those cults that Chaos is banned from. they just need to obey the rules. those cults can tolerate Chaos rune individuals, unlike the majority of other cults in the world, which is why they probably exist in Dorastor. Humakt doesn't care if you are Chaos, nor does Chalana Arroy, so long as you obey the strictures.

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2 hours ago, Qizilbashwoman said:

there are no parts of those cults that Chaos is banned from. they just need to obey the rules. those cults can tolerate Chaos rune individuals, unlike the majority of other cults in the world, which is why they probably exist in Dorastor. Humakt doesn't care if you are Chaos, nor does Chalana Arroy, so long as you obey the strictures.

While true, their Chaotic nature means it would be rare to impossible for non-Illuminated Broo to manage to keep the rules. They have uncontrollable urges that act in opposition. Illumination can help here either to make it possible to follow the rules, or allowing to break them.

Edited by Akhôrahil
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8 hours ago, Akhôrahil said:

While true, their Chaotic nature means it would be rare to impossible for non-Illuminated Broo to manage to keep the rules. They have uncontrollable urges that act in opposition. Illumination can help here either to make it possible to follow the rules, or allowing to break them.

I think Humaktis can Sever Chaos as well.

There are three CA healer broo in Dorastor, Land of Doom (p. 82): White (for Ralzakark the Unicorn Broo), Bloodrock (for Shrike), and Namyed (for Manslime). Bloodrock is female. The cult workup of the Unicorn Emperor in this old document says 30 of his 300 lay cult initiates are Chalana Arroy worshippers.

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10 minutes ago, Akhôrahil said:

Also, Ralzakark wants to rule, and ruling chaotics is super annoying. Much easier if they go for cults where they have to behave.

he also has his top broo cured of disease-causing so they can function around strangers, and Shrike is a Nysalorean enlightener - he is an active riddler. It's a strong motivator for those who want to be Best Broo, for which there is a competition held among the chieftains.

Also uh some of those gotta be female Broo. I know Malia is the go-to when Thed says "you have tits, get out" but Ralzakark wants those CA healers.

Edited by Qizilbashwoman
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