Any information on Ten Spear (village in Sartar)?

[Jex]

So, I'm participating in the Chaosium path of the Write Your First Adventure workshop, and I'm planning to write a RuneQuest adventure for publication through the Jonstown Compendium.  I was trying to figure out where to set the adventure; ideally I wanted to find a settlement in Sartar that hadn't been developed much, in or near the Colymar territory, not near any major roads.  On the map in the Starter Set, I found a village called Ten Spear, just southeast of the Upland Marsh, that looks like a good candidate (if I'm reading the map right it's actually in the territory of the Lismelder tribe, but close enough).

What I wanted to ask is, is there any established information about this village I should know about?  Aside from its appearance on the map, I couldn't find it mentioned anywhere, but it's possible I missed something, or that it was described in a previous edition.  (This webpage says it's the main village of the Lonendi clan, but that site doesn't seem to be affiliated with Chaosium, so I don't know if that's canonically true or just something the people behind that site made up.)  If there is no information on the village, that's fine—in fact, that's probably best, since it means I can develop it how I want—but if there is any existing canon about the village I'd like to know about it so I don't contradict it.

Thanks.

[metcalph]

Just now, Jex said:

(This webpage says it's the main village of the Lonendi clan, but that site doesn't seem to be affiliated with Chaosium, so I don't know if that's canonically true or just something the people behind that site made up.) 

The Well of Daliath is a Chaosium resource.  The association of Tenspear with the Lonendi (also called the Londendi) is also shown on a map in Wyrms Foornotes p15 (about the Upland Marsh) but that's about it.

[Jex]

Ah, didn't realize that site was officially connected to Chaosium.  (Also didn't know about the Wyrms Footnotes reference.)  Thanks.

(Also, I belatedly realize I should have posted this in the Glorantha forum, not the RuneQuest forum... I hadn't noticed there was a separate forum for Glorantha.  Oops.)

[Bill the barbarian]

6 hours ago, Jex said:

(Also, I belatedly realize I should have posted this in the Glorantha forum, not the RuneQuest forum... I hadn't noticed there was a separate forum for Glorantha.  Oops.)

A call to the moderators... perhaps@David Scottor @Trifletraxor might help to solve this problem... oh welcome to BRP Jex! Good luck in your writing.

Edited November 12, 2022 by Bill the barbarian

[Scotty]

The great thing about most of these clans is that there is often little known about them, make the Lonendi your own. There's little official material other than a few maps and this in the RQ Screen Pack adventures book:

Lonendi: This clan is located near the Upland Marsh and is often troubled by the forces of Delecti the Necromancer.

so you can just develop it yourself. That's the whole idea behind the JC. I'm going to ping @Nick Brooke here as he's involved with not only the WYFA, but is also familiar with the area...

Another alternative is to make your own clan and shoehorn it into the map! I did this when running my Lismelder campaign (note that I'm also @David Scott) this way you don't really have to change much except the clan boundaries:

and https://basicroleplaying.org/topic/10716-heroquest-glorantha-starting-setting/page/2/#comment-159688

 

Looking at the Clan Map of Central Sartar, wedged it in here:

 

[Nick Brooke]

Hi, @Jex - just posting to confirm everything David says. I’m a Greydog Clan member, we are next-door neighbours of the Lonendi, and I have absolutely no idea what goes on in Ten Spears Village. Even if I did, I’d repurpose it for my own scenarios like a shot: that’s what we all did when we were creating RQ stuff back in the day. (I can’t remember which clan Steve Thomas used for his vampire scenario in Tales, maybe someone can check? Whichever it was, the only things we “know” about them are the things he made up for his scenario. That’s how it works)

Also, clans can have multiple names, so if you say that’s the Raccoon Clan and I say they’re the Lonendi we could both be right. Tribes might have more or fewer clans than you read in any given census: this stuff changes rapidly (just look at the Colymar history in the GM Screen Pack Adventure Book). The “twenty-four tribes of Sartar” today aren't the same ones they were a few years ago. Finally, the most detailed clan of the Colymar Tribe is the Haraborn, and they’re explicitly fictional!

tl/dr: write something cool, and we’ll love it! There isn’t a vast mass of Lonendi Lore you’ll be trampling on, and we want to see your stuff.

[Erol of Backford]

4 hours ago, Nick Brooke said:

Steve Thomas used for his vampire scenario in Tales

Anyone know which Tales this is in?

[Nick Brooke]

From memory, issue 18 or 19. Greydog Special or Upland Marsh Special. It’s dead good!

[Erol of Backford]

Thank you Mr. Brooke, I forgot how good that issue was!

[Jex]

Thanks for all the replies!  This has been very helpful.  Aside from its troubles with the undead (which I can definitely work into the adventure), sounds like there's little enough defined about Ten Spear that I can have a more or less free hand in developing it however I want.  Thanks again.

[Darius West]

On 11/14/2022 at 8:30 AM, Erol of Backford said:

Thank you Mr. Brooke, I forgot how good that issue was!

Yes, TORM was all pretty good but those were stand-outs.  Think of it as a Gloranthan souls-like... 

UPLAND MARSH: Prepare to drown...

 

[Erol of Backford]

On 11/13/2022 at 9:18 PM, Jex said:

there's little enough defined about Ten Spear that I can have a more or less free hand in developing it however I want.

Once you develop it pass on the NPC's and any village you care to share, we'll integrate them! I hate undead and the Backford Campaign, which we are working on diligently needs allies (besides ducks) against Delecti. 

Have you seen the old setting Dead Reckoning, (I have it as a PDF but am not sure where it comes from) the Howling Tower also has some info, there was a Heroquest item with a subterranean Earth Goddess imprisoned which gave some powers to undead fighters... I don't recall the name but the Upland Marsh Heroquests thread had some more info. Good on you Jex!

[Ludo Bagman]

1 hour ago, Erol of Backford said:

Have you seen the old setting Dead Reckoning, (I have it as a PDF but am not sure where it comes from) ...

 

[Erol of Backford]

Oh, Mr. Dangerduck had pointed out another scenario related to Upland Marsh:

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/315517

I have not obtained it yet but I think it would also add to any campaign based near the marsh maybe even linked to Dead Reckoning?

Oh, 10 Spear located on Howling Tower map...

[Erol of Backford]

The last Province, issue 5 August/September ‘93 - Dead Reckoning - A RuneQuest scenario by Andrew Cowie, It was a UK publication. (Thanks Mr. Bagman.) I have no idea where I got the PDF as its only the related pages. Its not great but any good GM could spin it to the moon I am sure.

[Jex]

4 hours ago, Erol of Backford said:

Once you develop it pass on the NPC's and any village you care to share, we'll integrate them! I hate undead and the Backford Campaign, which we are working on diligently needs allies (besides ducks) against Delecti.

I'll share more when I've got more written, but I've (tentatively) finished the introduction of the adventure, which includes a brief history of the Lismelder Tribe and the Lonendi Clan in particular.  (I've managed to get my hands on Tales of the Reaching Moon #19 and Wyrm's Footprints #15 (the latter, of course, I just bought from the Chaosium store), and I've looked through them for any relevant information.)  The history of the Lismelder Tribe related in the adventure is basically all paraphrased from existing sources, but since there didn't seem to be anything on the history of the Lonendi Clan or Ten Spear I made that part up myself.  Here's what I have written about that (still subject to change, so if there's anything here that doesn't make sense or conflicts with existing information by all means let me know):

 

Quote

The Lonendi clan and the village of Ten Spear have their origin in the year 1412.  Word came to the Lismelder leaders that the undead were about to encroach upon an old centaur burial ground between the Sword and Crescent Rivers.  If the undead took over this area, not only would this be a great insult to the centaurs and their ancestors, but the reanimated centaur remains could be potent new recruits for Delecti the Necromancer.  Both to cement the Lismelder’s alliance with the Beast Men and to prevent the strengthening of the undead legions, a young Lismelder warrior named Lonendi volunteered to lead a small group to establish a presence near the centaur burial grounds and protect it from the walking dead.

              Despite the proximity of the swamp, the area turned out to be pleasant and fruitful, with fresh springs, blackberry bushes, and copses of oak, willow, and chestnut trees.  But almost no sooner did Lonendi and his companions build a fort there than an army of undead was upon them.  There were not only zombies and skeletons, and unique stitched horrors of the Necromancer’s depraved design, but Dancers of Darkness carrying twisted magical spears.  The Lismelder had seen those spears in action before, and knew what they represented: at the end of a powerful terpsichorean ritual, the Dancers would plant the spears in the ground, and the land around the spears would swiftly flood and become a part of the Marsh.  Clearly the centaurs’ fears had been justified—Delecti the Necromancer had every intention of adding this area to his domain.

It was a hard battle, and much life was lost, but Lonendi and his comrades in arms managed to fight back the undead hordes and prevent the annexation of the burial grounds into the Marsh.  In the wake of the battle, the inhabitants of the fortress gathered the magical spears of the defeated Dancers of Darkness, and, after suitable purification rituals to ensure that no taint of Delecti’s evil magic remained within them, they erected the spears as trophies to show their defiance of the Necromancer.  Ten spears were recovered in total, and so the stockade came to be called Ten Spear Fort—and as later more Lismelder settled in the area, Ten Spear became the name of the village that grew around it.  The hero Lonendi, as the commander of the warriors who had repelled the undead onslaught, was given the epithet Lonendi Tenspear.  Those who made their home in Ten Spear now looked to Lonendi as their guide and leader, and so he became the founder and chieftain of a new clan.  The clan initially took the name of the Willow Clan, after the trees that were so numerous in their home village, but more commonly was called after its chieftain: the Lonendi Clan.

Today, the old Ten Spear Fort still stands, still decorated with the captured and cleansed spears of the Dancers of Darkness, but it’s at the center of a thriving village.  (The centaurs are unbothered by humans living on their old burial grounds as long as the place doesn’t fall under the Necromancer’s control.)  The rotting horrors of Delecti the Necromancer are still a serious concern, but the village is well fortified against them, and its people manage to live their lives in the shadow of the dread Marsh.

Oh, one thing regarding the Crescent River mentioned in the first paragraph... I couldn't find a name anywhere for the short river southwest of Ten Spear on the 7E maps, so I made one up.  (As far as I can tell, it doesn't appear on the maps of the Upland Marsh in earlier editions, but one could assume that could be because it's too minor a river to be always worth showing.)  I chose the name "Crescent River" because there's a building on or near the river called Crescent Manor, and I decided in the absence of any other explanation for the manor's name maybe it was named after the river.  (Though admittedly, since Crescent Manor was built by Lunars, it could easily be named after the crescent moon...)  If there is an existing name for this river somewhere that I missed, though, I'd appreciate having it pointed out.

(The magical spears that the Dancers of Darkness use to expand the Upland Marsh are described in Tales of the Reaching Moon #19... the opportunity to connect those to the origin of the name of the village of Ten Spear seemed too good to pass up.)

Anyway, I'm going to be describing the village in more detail later; although I keep referring to what I'm working on as an "adventure" (because originally that's what I'd intended it to be), at this point I'm projecting that about half the document is going to be a detailed description of Ten Spear, and the other half will be the adventure scenario.  The goal is to have it finished by the end of the month, or by December 8 at the very latest; I'll definitely put a link here when it's done if anyone's interested.

Edited November 18, 2022 by Jex

[Erol of Backford]

18 minutes ago, Jex said:

(The magical spears that the Dancers of Darkness use to expand the Upland Marsh are described in Tales of the Reaching Moon #19... the opportunity to connect those to the origin of the name of the village of Ten Spear seemed too good to pass up.)

This is great stuff!

[Erol of Backford]

I'll keep looking at the numerous maps in this area but not seeing a name on the one by the manor... hills are sort of like a croissant?

  

     

[Jex]

Well... dang.  Turns out there is more information available on the Lonendi and Ten Spear, in Tales of the Reaching Moon #18.  And it does relate how the village got its name.  Oh, heck, wait... it's in #19, too, I just didn't see it when I skimmed it.  Heck.  I kind of liked my story behind the origin of the name better, but oh well.  Should have read the sources more carefully before I started writing.

[Bill the barbarian]

3 hours ago, Jex said:

Well... dang.  Turns out there is more information available on the Lonendi and Ten Spear, in Tales of the Reaching Moon #18.  And it does relate how the village got its name.  Oh, heck, wait... it's in #19, too, I just didn't see it when I skimmed it.  Heck.  I kind of liked my story behind the origin of the name better, but oh well.  Should have read the sources more carefully before I started writing.

As great as the TotRM were/are I wonder if you have to slavishly follow articles that many will not have access to. They are not canon. Just excellent and well thought out. That said, I think many of the early RQ authors might like to read your take on the tale rather than your rehash of theirs. Of course, many of the authors are around here and might welcome a ping or a PM to answer that for themselves. 

cheers

 

[Jex]

Oh!  I had missed that Tales from the Reaching Moon was an unofficial fanzine.  Thanks for pointing that out.

Hm... that kind of complicates things.  On the one hand, I do want to acknowledge and build on previous creations, and I'd feel bad just ignoring the articles in TftRM and all the work that went into them.  On the other hand, if TftRM wasn't officially a Chaosium publication, that means the copyright on the content remains with the creators and I couldn't use that material even if I wanted to, at least not without contacting the original authors for permission.  (Besides, like I said, I kind of like my version of the history of Ten Spear better.)

I guess for now I'll stick with my version of the history of the Lonendi tribe, but I'll keep thinking about this.  Thanks again for your advice and information.

[Bill the barbarian]

12 minutes ago, Jex said:

I guess for now I'll stick with my version of the history of the Lonendi tribe, but I'll keep thinking about this.  Thanks again for your advice and information.

That is one good possibility, contacting the author is another (if the author is on this site, even better).

Best of luck to you!

[Jex]

Oh... oh dear.  It seems contacting the author of the adventure in TotRM #19 isn't a possibility.

On the other hand, the authors of the Lismelder article in TotRM #18 that briefly limned that account of the Lonendi history, David Hall and Jon Quaife, may still be around, but if so I have no idea how to contact them (or whether they'd even want to be contacted).  @Nick Brooke, though, was apparently a player in the original Greydog campaign that inspired that article, so maybe I can reach out to him for advice...

 

[Bill the barbarian]

He is oft here, and folk say he is very helpful.

[Erol of Backford]

1 hour ago, Jex said:

I'll stick with my version of the history of the Lonendi tribe

Keep with it Jex, I have so many things that were not deemed canon that I liked which were in TotRM but we will use in our Backford Campaign regardless, YGMV!