Nysalor/Empire of Light information?

[Scorus]

Where can I find Empire of Light/Nysalor cultural information? My party has found an entrapped creature in an EoL and then Arkat ruin. I'm thinking it is some kind of light/fire imp, basically. A Nysalorean ready to get back to the business of spreading Nysalor's philosophy and illumination. Possibly related to Antirius somehow. Any recommendations for sources, or facts that confirm or deny this concept, much appreciated.

[metcalph]

The Guide to Glorantha, Fortunate Succession (Stafford library) and Dorastor Land of Doom (Avalon Hill) are the best sources of information about it.  Be warned: there's no detailed description of the Empire, just scattered nuggets throughout. 

[EricW]

Dorastor's chaotic leader Ralzakark claims to have been born in the Emprire of Light, but somehow survived Arkat's purge, until he was awakened in the second age (Dorastor - Land of Doom).

I suspect there is a high chance any other powerful survivors of the Empire of Light would be similarly horrifying and perverse, and likely extremely dangerous - but very illuminated. So they wouldn't necessarily look dangerous.

Edited August 4, 2022 by EricW

[AndrewTBP]

Insert Paranoia quotes, substituting Ralzakark for Friend Computer. 😉

[soltakss]

10 hours ago, Scorus said:

My party has found an entrapped creature in an EoL and then Arkat ruin. I'm thinking it is some kind of light/fire imp, basically. A Nysalorean ready to get back to the business of spreading Nysalor's philosophy and illumination. Possibly related to Antirius somehow. Any recommendations for sources, or facts that confirm or deny this concept, much appreciated.

You can pretty much play with this idea however you want.

Someone who was in Nysalor's Inner Circle would be very Illuminated. However, just a citizen would probably be Illuminated but no more than someone alive today. They might have some Illumination abilities that have been lost, so could teach that to other Illuminates.

What does Ralzakark think of the newly found Illuminate? Does he welcome them as a fellow disciple of Nysalor or does he reject them as a rival?

Does the imp Illuminate the Adventurers? If so, do they gain new Illumination abilities?

Does the imp have an agenda? Do they want to reform the Bright Empire? Did they serve Gbaji rather than Nysalor?

[JRE]

The Arkati purged all they could about the Bright Empire, and then the God Learners stole all they could from the Arkati and erased the rest. Finally the Gift Carriers killed anyone who knew the Secret, and also most other secrets as well. The Red Moon used some Nysalorian tricks and her empire is trying to recover as much as it can about Nysalor, including how to avoid the Gbaji effect.

Those are the kind of places, besides delving in Dorastor and asking one of the Ralzakarks directly, where you could find some information. Arkati secret societies; Jrusteli ruins and spirits; Lunar Examinators and other secret organizations.

At this level of secrecy, you need to do it yourself, as it is unlikely that will be officially published, though we will have  information on Illumination in the expected Gods books.

[davecake]

You might want to take a look at Middle Sea Empire, which won’t tell you much about the Bright Empire directly, but will give a good example of what can happen when you discover a magical imp from the Nysalor eta. 

[Qizilbashwoman]

17 hours ago, metcalph said:

Dorastor Land of Doom

isn't there a jonstown update that isn't Avalon Hill? Does it not contain the same material?

[jajagappa]

1 hour ago, Qizilbashwoman said:

isn't there a jonstown update that isn't Avalon Hill? Does it not contain the same material?

That's Simon Phipp's personal Dorastor campaign material.  As the RQ3 content is copyright, at most Simon might have included short quotes if he was granted permission.  @soltakss can confirm what he did include and how much he aligned to the original RQ source.

[Scorus]

10 hours ago, soltakss said:

Someone who was in Nysalor's Inner Circle would be very Illuminated. However, just a citizen would probably be Illuminated but no more than someone alive today. They might have some Illumination abilities that have been lost, so could teach that to other Illuminates.

...Does the imp Illuminate the Adventurers? If so, do they gain new Illumination abilities?

I'm thinking a spirit/demon in impish form, not "Inner Circle" level but one who spread the good word, possibly via Faustian-style bargains, in an effort to illuminate the adventures and perhaps others through them.

What would illumination abilities be like? I'm only familiar with the state of illumination and what comes from it from RQ2. Would these be similar to draconic abilities, with a Nysalor light theme?

[jajagappa]

20 minutes ago, Scorus said:

What would illumination abilities be like? I'm only familiar with the state of illumination and what comes from it from RQ2.

They would be the ones noted in RQ2 Cults of Terror.

[soltakss]

3 hours ago, Qizilbashwoman said:

20 hours ago, metcalph said:

Dorastor Land of Doom

isn't there a jonstown update that isn't Avalon Hill? Does it not contain the same material?

Secrets of Dorastor is basically a writeup of my Dorastor Campaign, on steroids with a hefty dash of acid.

Half of it was written before Dorastor Land of Doom came out, so differs from that quite a bit.

I used very little from Dorastor Land of Doom, except when describing a very select group of Places.

It is on 500 sales at the moment, so 1 more sale makes it a Gold Seller.

If you liked Dorastor Land of Doom, you'll probably like Secrets of Dorastor.

If you like gonzo, over the top Glorantha, you'll probably like Secrets of Dorastor.

1 hour ago, Scorus said:

What would illumination abilities be like? I'm only familiar with the state of illumination and what comes from it from RQ2. Would these be similar to draconic abilities, with a Nysalor light theme?

I cover them unofficially in the excellent, and very nearly Gold Selling, Secrets of Dorastor.

Chaosium's take on them is likely to be different but fairly similar.

Personally, I think the Illumination Abilities from Cults of Terror are OK, but don't lend themselves to different Schools of Illumination teaching different things.

In Secrets of Dorastor, I have the following Illumination Abilities.

Common Abilities:

• Ability to Learn Nysaloran Riddles
• Ability to Sense Illumination
• Immune to Cult Spirits of Reprisal
• Immune to Sense/Detect Chaos/Law
• Secret Knowledge

Special Abilities:

• Combine Runes
• Conquer Nature
• Escape HeroQuest Consequence
• Hide Passion
• Hide Rune
• Ignore Cult Restriction
• Immune to Sense/Detect
• Learn Special Magic
• Mystical Defense

[Akhôrahil]

If you can find it, The Broken Council Guidebook, I would think (I don't have it).

[Akhôrahil]

19 hours ago, EricW said:

I suspect there is a high chance any other powerful survivors of the Empire of Light would be similarly horrifying and perverse, and likely extremely dangerous - but very illuminated. So they wouldn't necessarily look dangerous.

If you're in Dorastor and something doesn't look dangerous, that just means it's even more dangerous. It probably has the Appears Harmless Chaos gift!

[Joerg]

7 hours ago, Akhôrahil said:

If you can find it, The Broken Council Guidebook, I would think (I don't have it).

The Broken Council was providing background information for a freeform, which makes using it for canon intrinsically problematic. Details in the Guidebook contradict official information, like getting Darkness or dragons replaced for the God Project.

[Desert Wind]

On 8/4/2022 at 3:10 PM, soltakss said:

Secrets of Dorastor is basically a writeup of my Dorastor Campaign, on steroids with a hefty dash of acid.

Half of it was written before Dorastor Land of Doom came out, so differs from that quite a bit.

I used very little from Dorastor Land of Doom, except when describing a very select group of Places.

It is on 500 sales at the moment, so 1 more sale makes it a Gold Seller.

If you liked Dorastor Land of Doom, you'll probably like Secrets of Dorastor.

If you like gonzo, over the top Glorantha, you'll probably like Secrets of Dorastor.

I cover them unofficially in the excellent, and very nearly Gold Selling, Secrets of Dorastor.

Chaosium's take on them is likely to be different but fairly similar.

Personally, I think the Illumination Abilities from Cults of Terror are OK, but don't lend themselves to different Schools of Illumination teaching different things.

In Secrets of Dorastor, I have the following Illumination Abilities.

Common Abilities:

• Ability to Learn Nysaloran Riddles
• Ability to Sense Illumination
• Immune to Cult Spirits of Reprisal
• Immune to Sense/Detect Chaos/Law
• Secret Knowledge

Special Abilities:

• Combine Runes
• Conquer Nature
• Escape HeroQuest Consequence
• Hide Passion
• Hide Rune
• Ignore Cult Restriction
• Immune to Sense/Detect
• Learn Special Magic
• Mystical Defense

Secrets of Dorastor is one of the best books that have bought. Dorastor is the place for action but there are also many hooks you can use for a long campaign. 
 

There are opportunities for orlanthi, members of the lunar caravan, lots of playtime for uroxi and the possible remnants of Nysalorian and Arkati secrets. 
 

All in all a great place for the holidays. 😈

[Jeff]

On 8/3/2022 at 2:58 PM, Scorus said:

Where can I find Empire of Light/Nysalor cultural information? My party has found an entrapped creature in an EoL and then Arkat ruin. I'm thinking it is some kind of light/fire imp, basically. A Nysalorean ready to get back to the business of spreading Nysalor's philosophy and illumination. Possibly related to Antirius somehow. Any recommendations for sources, or facts that confirm or deny this concept, much appreciated.

Best source on the Broken Council/Golden Empire is the Guide to Glorantha. Particularly the appendixes. 

Beyond that, Greg and I played around with that era a LOT. It was a time of limitless opportunities, and Illumination opened wildly fantastic new vistas. New revelations and insights nearly overwhelmed the old, and seemingly impossible contradictions were laughed at. At least that is how those around Nysalor saw it. Further afield, the ambitious saw Nysalor as a vehicle to power and personal gratification. And beyond that, were those who "never got any spells, magic, insight, or especially good wages." At the beginning, it was filled with optimistic possibility; but as time, resentful cynicism became increasingly common. 

[Jeff]

1 hour ago, Jeff said:

Best source on the Broken Council/Golden Empire is the Guide to Glorantha. Particularly the appendixes. 

Beyond that, Greg and I played around with that era a LOT. It was a time of limitless opportunities, and Illumination opened wildly fantastic new vistas. New revelations and insights nearly overwhelmed the old, and seemingly impossible contradictions were laughed at. At least that is how those around Nysalor saw it. Further afield, the ambitious saw Nysalor as a vehicle to power and personal gratification. And beyond that, were those who "never got any spells, magic, insight, or especially good wages." At the beginning, it was filled with optimistic possibility; but as time, resentful cynicism became increasingly common. 

Dorastor is where all the broken dreams of the Broken Council remain, turned into nightmares. All the hope and possibilities are now trapped in a prison of despair.

[scott-martin]

22 minutes ago, Jeff said:

Dorastor is where all the broken dreams of the Broken Council remain, turned into nightmares. All the hope and possibilities are now trapped in a prison of despair.

Gruesome when any proximate holy realm crashes and fails its sacred time reboot. Probably a lot of these "realms of beauty [now] lost" scattered around the lozenge . . . at the bottom of mountain lakes, in desolate gullies, poison forests, waste lands. Chaos nests. Lucky the Holy Country has avoided that one so far.

[Jeff]

11 minutes ago, scott-martin said:

Gruesome when any proximate holy realm crashes and fails its sacred time reboot. Probably a lot of these "realms of beauty [now] lost" scattered around the lozenge . . . at the bottom of mountain lakes, in desolate gullies, poison forests, waste lands. Chaos nests. Lucky the Holy Country has avoided that one so far.

At least until 1624, when the City of Wonders was sacked and ruined.....

[Jeff]

One of the more interesting early maps is this political map of Central Genertela circa 410 ST. Note that Heortland (aka Dragon Pass and Esrolia), Saird, Delela, Slontos, and Saird are all marked as subjects. The Harandings and the Dwarfs are allies, as are Tandoor and Korion. Arolanit, the Enjorelli Tribes, Lankst, and Seshnela are all outside of the the High Council's domination, as are the Trolls.

[scott-martin]

25 minutes ago, Jeff said:

circa 410 ST

It is interesting to see free Enjoreli at that relatively late date and a proto-Halikiv so early. The latter in particular must have been a real PITA for the Council to work around . . . I forget, which uz community adopted Arkat, do we remember?

The forests seem to be taking their time as well. Or maybe they've already made up their mind and only Rist and the Elf Sea communities are left to complete the purge.

[metcalph]

9 minutes ago, scott-martin said:

It is interesting to see free Enjoreli at that relatively late date and a proto-Halikiv so early. The latter in particular must have been a real PITA for the Council to work around . . . I forget, which uz community adopted Arkat, do we remember?

Redstone in Dagori Inkarth.

[soltakss]

On 8/9/2022 at 7:37 PM, Franky Umathsson said:

Secrets of Dorastor is one of the best books that have bought. Dorastor is the place for action but there are also many hooks you can use for a long campaign. 
 

There are opportunities for orlanthi, members of the lunar caravan, lots of playtime for uroxi and the possible remnants of Nysalorian and Arkati secrets. 
 

All in all a great place for the holidays. 😈

Thanks, I appreciate the praise.