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Erol of Backford

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On 3/8/2023 at 6:18 PM, Erol of Backford said:

I like this as it would have any PC's from Kralorela speaking in some foreign tongue and arousing suspicions as to that PC's motives... mumbling under their breath, insulting those near them indirectly, the typical xenophobia which the Orlanthi and especially the Yelmelians would surely cry foul if anyone suggested they were so...

Here are some more ideas I have for Kralorelans and other peoples that right and proper Orlanthi might be suspicious of or dislike:

 

Kralorela has fairly complex etiquette, both inside court and outside of it. A peasant is expected to refer to himself in deprecating fashion when talking to someone who is superior to him in rank. There are different ways of speaking you need to use around superiors and inferiors, and there is practically an entirely different dialect used by inferiors to speak to superiors, and worshipers to gods. Saying "can I have permission to leave?" is straightforward in both Pelorian and Orlanthi cultures (though in Peloria you'd say something like "can I have permission to leave, O Eminence, thou who art like Yelm in wisdom?"), but for a Kralorelan it would translate into "can your most humble servant, who is as an insect before you, obtain permission to leave your august presence?". Mechanically I'd have this as a different knowledge skill, something like 'Formal Kralori', and something all Kralorelans would have at least 30% in.

In practical terms, the Kralori version of that question would only be a few words in that language. The response would also be something to the effect of "I, whose radiance is great and whose strength is as a foundation, grant you my vassal permission to leave my great presence". This is effectively a change in etiquette from ancient China, where one had different words to display humility when speaking; the liege is expected to act arrogant and imperious toward his vassal, and act humble and meek before his own liege. Likewise, displays of submission are different depending on rank as well; as an example, a peasant meeting a marquis will only need to bow before him, and won't need to perform proskynesis unless he wanted to demonstrate his loyalty and base nature before him. But that marquis will need to kneel and bow before his lord, and his lord will need to perform increasingly demeaning displays of submission until you kòutóu before the Emperor and his top vassals.

In an Orlanthi society, a Kralorelan noblemen expecting Orlanthi to perform proskynesis before him, or to kòutóu to a messenger of the Emperor, would lead to a lot of conflict. At the very least it's weird and demeaning, and at the very most it's demanding absolute submission from a people whose guiding principal is that no one can make them do anything. Likewise, the different ways of speaking would be strange, even alien, and might make an Orlanthi assume they are a servile people or an arrogant one. In either case he'd be sorely mistaken. Some Orlanthi could even make a connection between these displays of submission and those shown to Dara Happan Emperors, and assume that the Kralorelans are Yelmites in fact if not in name.

Before battle, Kralorelans have ritual duels - this isn't out of the ordinary anywhere in Genertela. I have these duels occur as a matter of course unless both sides really hate each other, there's an ambush, or the other side knows it will lose the duel and doesn't want to risk a blow to morale. In Kralorela, the duelists and their commanders meet in the middle of the field, where the two warriors declare how many bouts they will take to defeat their enemy (a bout occurs when two enemies on horseback clash with their weapons. If a horseman leaves the clash, that's one bout). Both warriors fight from horseback, with the aim to either kill, maim, or force the enemy to surrender. The two commanders also determine whether the duel's outcome will decide the battle, and they declare how much they will give their champions if they win the duel. This can lead to bidding wars where each commander attempts to one-up the other in showing how generous he is.

If the duel goes past the number of bouts each combatant declared it usually ends in a draw. Sometimes, however, the combatants keep fighting until one of them loses. Deciding to end it or keep fighting is not considered dishonorable, but it can be considered foolish, rash, or stupid. This concept could be used both to illustrate how different peoples treat dueling and how this might be perceived in other societies.

 

Names

Kralorelans have four to five sets of names: the courtesy name, the generation name, the art name and the milk name are those whose precedents are found in real life. The rune name, on the other hand, is different: as each day, week, season, and god has an associated rune, the rune name is a combination of the runes on someone's day of birth. Here is an example:

Han-ts'ao was born on Godday, Stasis Week, Earth Season. Let's assume that Godunya has a holy day that week too. His rune name would therefore be written as :20-condition-fate::20-power-stasis::20-element-earth::20-god-Godunya:, and would be placed next to his name on official censuses and family records. If we assume he was born in 1600, on official and household records that number would be next to his rune name. When he introduces himself to you, you can ask his rune name and you now know what day, week, season, and holy day he was born. This is helpful for rituals, religious ceremonies, and other interactions. If Han-ts'ao was a trader and went to far Esrolia, he might ask a merchant there what her rune name is out of the assumption that everyone else does it.

It becomes more complicated if Han-ts'ao's birthday was also the holy day of another deity. Obviously Godunya will take precedent, so we might record his name as :20-condition-fate::20-power-stasis::20-element-earth::20-god-Godunya::20-form-man: (the Man Rune standing in for the personal rune of that god), or we could leave out :20-form-man:, as that simplifies matters. Certainly if his clan liked that god, though, it would stay in. If we assume something really out of the ordinary, like four or more deities having that as a holy day, the rune name could be pretty long, especially if it isn't cut down to just :20-god-Godunya:.

The rune name is important in determining what days are auspicious for activities, and depending on clan, could inform someone's career. Han-ts'ao could find himself earmarked for a career as a priest because his birth coincided with the holy day of Godunya, even if he wanted to be a trader. Likewise, if he were a trader, he'd try to conduct business at least on every Godday, and would organize the most important deals to occur on his birthday. But his birth isn't as auspicious for that as it could be; if he were instead born on Movement Week, Wildday of that same season and year, and his clan either worshiped Issaries or their equivalent to him had that day as a holy day, then he obviously must conduct all important business on that day.

In Genertela, Han-ts'ao's insistence on conducting his most important business on that day would be strange, but understandable; after all, you don't want to carry out your deals in Illusion Week, Wildday of that year; that's Eurmal's holy day, and is the best time to deceive or play tricks on people. Conversely, in the Lunar Empire, that's actually a good time to organize it because the Seven Mothers have that as a holy day. This gets even more complicated with Orlanthi in the Lunar Empire; now you have to decide if it's bad luck because it's Eurmal's day, or if it's good luck because it's the day of the Seven Mothers. Does the good luck and bad luck cancel each other out? Some clans certainly think so. But I would refrain from conducting all important business that day, unless it dealt with the Seven Mothers cult.

Finally, Han-ts'ao would be able to consult the rune names of his ancestors, and would have vast records of all the ancestors of his clan. So his clan would treat with the ancestors on their birthdays, too, because it is auspicious to do so. Even if someone was born in Disorder Week, Wildday, Dark Season. Though if we assumed that was the holy day of some anti-god or even a Chaos god, perhaps the ancestor would be summoned on a different day. It may even be the case that, in the official records, this ancestor was born at a more pleasant time, like Fertility Week, Clayday of that same season.

 

Conclusion

I try to make use of all of this stuff in my own games, but as my players already have a hard enough time adapting to Glorantha's mythology, it's mostly relegated to the activities of NPCs or as flavor. Certainly if they encountered a Kralorelan, depending on the interaction, the rune name and the system of duels could be introduced. This immediately sets up Kralorela as a place that is very different from Genertela, even if it is only a side encounter or an NPC for flavor. The considerations for auspicious days is something I just handle for them. If they want to do a ritual or activity, I suggest the day that's most auspicious for them. It's only when time is a factor that they'll have to worry about whether it's auspicious or not.

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On 3/6/2023 at 3:34 AM, John Biles said:

However, he and Heler also have a rivalry over the hand of Esrola, who they both want.

I see the Heler/Elmal/Esrola relationship as a Young Adult love triangle, with all of them continually falling for each other and then falling out with each other, repeatedly.

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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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12 hours ago, Yēlm-ašarēd said:

Before battle, Kralorelans have ritual duels - this isn't out of the ordinary anywhere in Genertela. I have these duels occur as a matter of course unless both sides really hate each other, there's an ambush, or the other side knows it will lose the duel and doesn't want to risk a blow to morale.

I like this but see it as more Gloranthian Western than something the Orlanthi would do, hillsmen, like to ambush, raid rather than being honorable, just my take on Orlanthi barbarians... makes me laugh a little. I do  like the challenge aspect and will probably use it for the Heortland Campaign we are slowly working up.

12 hours ago, Yēlm-ašarēd said:

Orlanthi might be suspicious of or dislike

Yes indeed the Orlanthi will be! But as the majority of the PC's are foreigners (not from Sartar or the Holy Country) they'll need to stick together to survive.

12 hours ago, Yēlm-ašarēd said:

Kralorelans have four to five sets of names: the courtesy name, the generation name, the art name and the milk name are those whose precedents are found in real life. The rune name, on the other hand, is different: as each day, week, season, and god has an associated rune, the rune name is a combination of the runes on someone's day of birth. Here is an example:

Just yesterday I was trying to decide on a name for a female Kralorian. I was going to go with Guo Jingjing, 郭晶晶 a diver as I was lacking any creativity but now maybe I'll have to refigure as you've inspired me?!

image.png.6c65bf79a9dcd4b833223fc236e64bac.png

12 hours ago, Yēlm-ašarēd said:

Finally, Han-ts'ao would be able to consult the rune names of his ancestors

In real world life the grandparents are often consulted as to names in some East Asian countries. I know this firsthand though I am Western European personally. In lieu of using Bob Jr. or Bob the III they take a portion of the name, one or more of the characters and use them to make the descendant's name.

I suppose the typical Bob form Pittsburg could easily have a last name added for more game depth. Easy enough and recommended in Glorantha from the character development information. 

I am not sure as to travellers in another region expecting persons to grovel at their feet as unless you have a sizable retinue or are a Zatoichi swordsman you'd end up dead in Glorantha?

Thanks for the input Mr. Yelm.

 

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Some notes on my own image of Kralorela

Hum Chang has a somewhat different culture than the mainland; this is the fruit of climate differences, having a huge access to the ocean and, well, problems with merpeople.

The inhabitants of Hum Chang have a recurring problem with killing and eating merfolk, who understandablly respond by trying to kill everyone on the island every so often, unleashing sea monsters, etc.   Why is it a problem?  It's a sin.  A huge sin.  A soul-damning sin.

A soul-damning sin that done right, gives you magical power.  Lots of it.  And the God-Learners went somewhat crazy on this because, well, that's how they roll.  And now it's impossible to permanently root out - telling people not to do it just insures some people do it.  Do it too much and you eventually become a horrible monster, then have to be killed.  But how much is too much?

Now the island is at war with the sea.  The Suam Chow is safe most of the time, but the other side of the island has stern enough problems that one of the Exarchs is the General of the War Against the Sea.  This became a more urgent problem when the Emperor took up residence on the island, though thankfully on the Suam Chow side.

Women and Men on Hum Chang paint their faces white if they can afford it, because air dominates over water.  Many take the Oath of Denial of Water, drinking only heated drinks, bathing only in heated water, and so on.  (Water dominates fire, but heated water is water losing that battle, showing it cannot defeat those most vulnerable to it.)  Those born in Water Season must take the Oath of Denial of Water or are thrown into the ocean on fear they will betray everyone.

Potatoes:  One of the eight sins of the Kingdom of Ignorance.  Potatoes and Mushrooms (another one of the eight sins) are seen as children of the Dark Sun, growing outside the direct light of the sun and thus tainted by evil.  So of course, everyone who wants to be a rebel eats black market potatoes and mushrooms and both are popular in Black Lantern establishments.

Black Lantern:  Black Lantern districts are where people go to do all the things Kralorelan society forbids, from eating potatoes and mushrooms to prostitution to drugs to reading forbidden literature.  The light of the black lantern can only be seen by those with the Darkness Rune or by those who have been initiated.  (First time visitors will need a mentor.)  Officially, these districts are crushed as soon as possible.  In practice as long as what happens under the Black Lantern stays under the Black Lantern, little is done, because without them, discontent and stress builds up and things like riots, conspiracies and rebellions explode.  This functions as Bread and Circuses for Kralorela.  A God=Learner might observe that the Veiled Mistress of Pleasure who the districts serve rather resembles Uleria, though some stories about her sound more like Eurmal.

Poster Campaigns:  An ancient tradition of Kralorela is when local Archons or the Exarchs declare a poster campaign, a contest to create art which expresses some kind of idea; winning posters are copied and plastered everywhere.  They are designed so even the illiterate can get the gist.  Poster campaigns may range in scale from a neighborhood to a province to the entire nation, though anything beyond a single city is not common and anything above a province is something remembered for decades.   Discontent is often expressed in this manner when suddenly dozens to hundreds of posters on a theme appear to protest against some Archon or Exarch's actions.

 

 

 

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In my Glorantha, the more magical power you accumulate, the more weirdness you draw to you, including other people and creatures with magical power, for good or ill. And the more you're drawn toward them.

Think of it as like gravity. Powerful PCs distort the world, the same way big massive objects distort space-time, and that's why they're always running into Beanpot. Eventually everyone who's anyone in Glorantha meets Beanpot. If you're lucky, he'll just get really drunk and moan about his relationship with Jar-Eel. If you're not, he'll chop you to little bits with his cleavers. Sometimes he'll do both! Then cook you a nice dinner.

It's also basically inevitable that powerful people will meet Argrath(s), which is even worse.

Pretty much no one knows this is true except maybe some crazy God Learner remnants and/or a few paranoid Lhankor Mhys and they use this knowledge to carefully avoid anyone powerful. 

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Less esoteric:

Lunars drink djinn.

Carmanians drink wodka.

Cocktail parties are a regular part of upper class Lunar culture, including in the officers' tents, even when deployed. Every Lunar unit hauls around a fully stocked and deployable cocktail bar for the senior staff, including appropriate glasswear. There is a fierce debate between Carmanian and Dara Happan officers on whether a proper martinet is made with wodka or djinn. Duels to the death have been fought over this issue. The amount of wormwine and other garnishes to add is also up for debate, though this is more an individual than cultural taste.

Traditional Orlanthi mostly drink beer, but on special occasions, they indulge in uiskey or brandevin. They believe that clear liquors are an evil Gbaji trick. The Minlinster cult pastes up posters of Beer Street and Gin Lane in Boldhome and other Orlanthi cities. Lunars have imposed a special tax on uiskey, which is one of the major causes of the Rebellion. Lunars smash stills whenever they find them, and Orlanthi raiders will spill out wodka and especially djinn if they capture it.

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T

35 minutes ago, RHW said:

Every Lunar unit hauls around a fully stocked and deployable cocktail bar for the senior staff, including appropriate glasswear.

These guys are called perfumed princes in modern times, especially by one Retired Army Col David Hackworth. He'd say about 1/3 the Lunar army is protecting the officer's tents...

Not many of the Orlanthi would see these opulences I imagine.

I wonder what Wideread's encampment would look like? Better take a look at the Armies book...

image.png.77aefc9862c3144ef955e66224e130d0.png image.png.8a91965440f26c0ce966244798f9e5f3.png

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3 hours ago, RHW said:

In my Glorantha, the more magical power you accumulate, the more weirdness you draw to you, including other people and creatures with magical power, for good or ill. And the more you're drawn toward them.

 

I like this!

 

1 hour ago, RHW said:

Less esoteric:

Lunars drink djinn.

Carmanians drink wodka.

But no less weird? Odd that.

🙂

 

... remember, with a TARDIS, one is never late for breakfast!

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11 hours ago, Erol of Backford said:

I like this but see it as more Gloranthian Western than something the Orlanthi would do, hillsmen, like to ambush, raid rather than being honorable, just my take on Orlanthi barbarians... makes me laugh a little. I do  like the challenge aspect and will probably use it for the Heortland Campaign we are slowly working up.

I definitely associate duels with Heortlings the most, but I think Orlanthi hillmen would do it a lot too, if only between each other. After all, Orlanth duels his fair share of gods. One thing I do to differentiate the different Orlanthi duels is think about how willing they are to perform abuscades and when an ambush can be declared dishonorable. Orlanthi fighting against Lunar occupation in Tarsh and further afield are, at least in my view, far more willing to perform silent ambushes than Orlanthi in Heortland or Sartar, who blow horns and make a lot of noise immediately before the charge, which has the added effect of demoralizing the enemy. Either way, I think any Western army led by Men-of-All is going to have a lot of duels before fighting, and I'd place them as the people who love doing it the most in my Glorantha.

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Yes indeed the Orlanthi will be! But as the majority of the PC's are foreigners (not from Sartar or the Holy Country) they'll need to stick together to survive.

It's a similar situation with my player characters; the Orlanthi of the party don't really mind their foreigner compatriots (though one of them does not like the troll), but they have to deal with other Orlanthi who aren't so open-minded.

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Just yesterday I was trying to decide on a name for a female Kralorian. I was going to go with Guo Jingjing, 郭晶晶 a diver as I was lacking any creativity but now maybe I'll have to refigure as you've inspired me?!

I'm glad I could inspire you.

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In real world life the grandparents are often consulted as to names in some East Asian countries. I know this firsthand though I am Western European personally. In lieu of using Bob Jr. or Bob the III they take a portion of the name, one or more of the characters and use them to make the descendant's name.

I suppose the typical Bob form Pittsburg could easily have a last name added for more game depth. Easy enough and recommended in Glorantha from the character development information.

There are also generation names which I used for inspiration for part of my Dara Happan naming scheme. My Kralorelans take the name of their clan as a surname, and there are registries of all recognized surnames in the empire. So if our Han-ts'ao from earlier is part of the Chi'en clan, he can rest assured that another Chi'en is related to him in some fashion, and that he can rely on some measure of hospitality from that distant part of the clan.

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I am not sure as to travellers in another region expecting persons to grovel at their feet as unless you have a sizable retinue or are a Zatoichi swordsman you'd end up dead in Glorantha?

If you are far along the Path of Immanent Mastery and can turn into a draconic humanoid, you'd fear very few men. In any case, I'd imagine that any Kralorelan demanding due obeisance from Orlanthi has a fair sized retinue. These sorts of diplomatic blunders can go any number of ways, from Kralorelan merchants and traveling nobles refraining from imposing their expectations on the Orlanthi to strained meetings, arguments, or open fights. The reverse of it is true too - there would be plenty of opportunities for Orlanthi to antagonize Kralorelan merchants by imposing their own cultural values or traditions on them.

 

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14 minutes ago, Yēlm-ašarēd said:

Orlanthi fighting against Lunar occupation in Tarsh and further afield are, at least in my view, far more willing to perform silent ambushes than Orlanthi in Heortland or Sartar

Exactly.

14 minutes ago, Yēlm-ašarēd said:

any Western army led by Men-of-All is going to have a lot of duels before fighting

seems right but the Lunars might be right there with them, I have not read enough or seem references to this but they leads itself to boasting and then sending someone else to fight, LOL.

17 minutes ago, Yēlm-ašarēd said:

My Kralorelans take the name of their clan as a surname

How would the nobility be differentiated? Sort of like Matsudaira versus Tokugawa? Do they get some sort of name over or beyond any clan name then?

20 minutes ago, Yēlm-ašarēd said:

there would be plenty of opportunities for Orlanthi to antagonize Kralorelan merchants by imposing their own cultural values or traditions on them

When in Rome.

Thanks Mr. Yelm.

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On 3/11/2023 at 7:20 AM, Erol of Backford said:

seems right but the Lunars might be right there with them, I have not read enough or seem references to this but they leads itself to boasting and then sending someone else to fight, LOL.

 

The Lunars as I see them are very interested in duels. The empires they have the most similarities to (Babylon, Achaemenid Persia, Rome) all had great duelist traditions. A Yelmite noble might duel himself, but usually he'll have a champion who worships Shargash, Polestar, or another war god in service to Yelm to fight on his behalf. For Alkothi this is probably ritualized where a Yelmite noble calls upon his Alkothi champion to fight on his behalf as Shargash did for Yelm against Umath, complete with painting his champion red (with either blood or paints) and presenting him with darts, a mace, and a spear to kill his enemy with.

Most generals in the bronze and iron age did not duel each other and instead sent champions, but when you read heroic literature like the Romance of the Three Kingdoms or the Iliad it becomes the case that a lot of generals, or at least commanding officers, fight each other in duels. Glorantha tends to follow this model with how many people get killed in single combat, so I follow suit and have a lot of commanding officers fight heroically. Even a Yelmite who likes to delegate may have to get his hands dirty at some point, but if someone is meant to be cowardly, bookish, or more of a behind the scenes threat he'll have a horde of champions to throw at his enemies while he makes his retreat.

I tend to keep these latter characters at the top of the Lunar command staff, though, and phase them out as the Lunar Empire loses to Argrath or anyone who replaces him. The people closer to the troops are more formidable, while high ranking officers are usually simultaneously both decadent and potent fighters. If a political appointee is too incompetent or too cowardly, he might find himself eating a surfeit of eels or participating in the time honored tradition of his soldiers killing him in camp and replacing him with someone else.

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How would the nobility be differentiated? Sort of like Matsudaira versus Tokugawa? Do they get some sort of name over or beyond any clan name then?

Kralorela has a pretty strict caste system in Guide to Glorantha (in general I think there's a lot of interesting things going on with the worldbuilding there), but in my Glorantha there is some degree of caste mobility. Noblemen belong to noble clans which may have members across the empire. These nobles have lands given to them and taken away based on their merits, abilities, and the positions they hold in the imperial court or hereditary titles rarely given out by the Emperor and his magistrates. All of them are literate, and literacy is probably a prerequisite to holding noble status.

Noble clans adopt others into them through sacred rituals, but are mainly expanded through marriages and births. A farmer who manages to be ennobled will usually be adopted into an existing clan, but these fortunate few sometimes found their own clans, or in rare cases retain their old clan name by adding the noble prefix to it. For example, if Han-ts'ao were not a noble but became one, he might decide to retain his clan name and call it 'Noble Chi'en' or something else, like 'Fortuitous', 'Uplifted', and so on. In their writing system this translates to adding a new character to the name, but since English doesn't have that feature it's more wordy for us.

So you can always tell a noble from his or her clan name, because they don't share clans with commoners. If a noble is demoted to commoner status, he's ejected from the clan and either has to be adopted into a new one or found his own. There are probably a few ex-noble clans that retain close contact with their noble kindred and functionally act as an extended clan. Additionally, every noble clan of great standing has its own character associated with it, so even if you can't read or if you're semi-literate you'll be able to recognize it.

 

Edited by Yēlm-ašarēd
Poor formatting in my post
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In my Glorantha Praxians have a system of Bride Price, paid in animals on the hoof.  Marriages are negotiated between the different tribes and more rarely between the clans of a single tribe.  The neutrality of the Sacred Place and its fertility links serve as the perfect place for marriage broking.

Next, there is a fast growing leafy plant that is soft and downy on one side.  This plant is called "Old Friend" and is widely used as toilet paper across Genertela.  This plant should not be confused with the similar looking but slightly purple veined plant which is surprisingly hot, and is known as "Eurmal's Cabbage".

 

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7 hours ago, Yēlm-ašarēd said:

in my Glorantha there is some degree of caste mobility

We have assumed this also in the Heortland Plateau even its not canon. The ability to move from farmer to crafter to soldier to wizard is OK in our Glorantha.

It leaves it open like it was back in the 80's any PC could pursue anything to their heart's content.

Everybody is happy!

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3 hours ago, Erol of Backford said:

We have assumed this also in the Heortland Plateau even its not canon.

Definitely not canon for the Aeolians. But what is different for them is that beside nobles and priests (wizards), there is only one commoner class (warriors and workers grouped together). Additionally, the commoners can actively worship (most) deities as well as performing their obligations to the Invisible God. Thus they aren't much different from the neighboring (and more populous) Heortlings.

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My West still has knights, bishops and saints as in the end these are all just translations of whatever actual terms the Gloranthans use and I prefer those terms.

My Lunar Empire is still as described in Life of Moonson.

My Orlanthi are still as described in King of Dragon Pass - all those chitons and hats in the new art are just summer wear and as Dark Season approaches the tartan kilts and plaids and trousers and furs come out again.

And my Hero Wars will carry on into the 1700s as per original King of Sartar rather than being telescoped into just one generation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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In my Glorantha (largely shared with Tindalos) the deities are as per Hero Wars, converted to present powers etc as needed.  Subcults abound (see our Heort's Legacy and Alakoring's Legacy for examples) making, in our opinion, life not only more interesting but also closer to RW religions.  We also feel it tends towards MGF.

The Monomyth, while it works to a more or less limited degree, is not an accurate depiction of the ecology of the Gloranthan spiritual world.  

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19 hours ago, jajagappa said:

Definitely not canon for the Aeolians. But what is different for them is that beside nobles and priests (wizards), there is only one commoner class (warriors and workers grouped together).

For my Malkioni, the question is not whether caste mobility happens; it is whether it is considered a good thing.

Most social ills can be framed as a matter of caste violation. Banditry is warriors taking on the roles of lords. Killing the innocent is treating a non-warrior as a warrior. Dabbling in wizardry, rather than being tutored from birth (or perhaps before) is fraud. Trying to find the isolated examples where a caste violation is morally ok is a fool's game best left to the Hrestoli idealists.

Aeolians classify Orlanth as wizard caste (zzaburi). So it is perfectly righteous for him to instruct anyone in magic. This means rune priest is not a strictly hereditary role, as it is Orlanth doing the teaching. The priest is merely a functionary. 

The fact that Orlanth freely mixes the teaching of warrior and farmer magic is ok, as those aren't actually, despite what some foreigners believe,  distinct castes. You can tell this by the fact that Orlanth does this and maintains righteousness. Of course, he does retain strict adherence to the hereditary principle for the noble caste, as governed by the Orlanth Rex subcult. Temertain would hardly have been Prince of Sartar otherwise...

With farming, war and sovereignty magic handled by orlanth rune priests, the relatively few Aeolian zzaburi sorcerors are free to dedicate themselves to the role of alchemists, tutors, and advisors to nobles.

 

 

Edited by radmonger
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In my Dara Happa, the nobles are formed into Noble Clans, each descended from a Yelm, or a descendant of Yelm. Each Clan knows its relative place in the system, whether it outranks or is outranked by another Clan. The people in the Clan also have a hierarchy with the Head of the Clan outranking the others, but various people in the Clan might have a different ranking within the Clan. So, the Clan Warlord might outrank the Clan Scholar in times of strife but not in times of peace. The children of the Head of the Clan might outrank those on the periphery of the Clan, no matter what their position in the Clan. The head of one Clan might be subservient to the Head of a higher-ranking Clan but might also outrank the lower members of the higher-ranking Clan, although people in similar positions in a lower-ranking Clan will be lower-ranked than people in the higher-ranking Clan. Similarly, an Initiate of Yelm in a higher-ranking Clan might be lower rank than a Priest of Yelm in a lower-ranking Clan, but it depends on how far apart the Clans are. A Yelm Priest in a very low ranking Clan might be lower-ranking than a normal person in a very high-ranking clan. Also, the degrees of separation between the person and the Red Emperor is important, with those closest in generations to the Red Emperor being considered higher-ranked. So, very old families might not have the same prestige as newer families that count the Red Emperor as a grandfather, for example.

This is why Lore (Dara Happan Nobility) is an important skill for Dara Happan nobles.

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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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Jonstown Compendium author. Find my contributions here

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On 3/11/2023 at 1:43 AM, RHW said:

Less esoteric:

Lunars drink djinn.

Cocktail parties are a regular part of upper class Lunar culture, including in the officers' tents, even when deployed. Every Lunar unit hauls around a fully stocked and deployable cocktail bar for the senior staff, including appropriate glasswear. There is a fierce debate between Carmanian and Dara Happan officers on whether a proper martinet is made with wodka or djinn. Duels to the death have been fought over this issue. The amount of wormwine and other garnishes to add is also up for debate, though this is more an individual than cultural taste.

 

Presumably this  one......


 

hendricks_lunar_ss.jpg

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On 3/17/2023 at 11:22 PM, Agentorange said:

Presumably this  one......

Made by the Hendriki on the Heortland Plateau and exported to the Hartland through Sartar, for its 1, 2, 3 shots you're out at the old gin mill... actually we are headed to Edinburgh in early April so we'll look fo it!

We have lots of local taverns and some chains like Geo's or Thunderbreath's but what about larger breweries or wineries? 

Are there famous ones, like Clearwine and would all these be run by Issaries cult members?

Looking for ones on the Heortland Plateau and Sartar. We might think about Imtherian wine to go with the cheeses but less likely to send it as far as say Mt. Passant?

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In My Glorantha the Veldang of northern Pamaltela had a similar relationship with their neighboring aldryami as has been achieved in Elamle.  The Veldang lived on the coasts and the edges of the jungle, trading their produce for forest goods from the elves, steadfastly avoiding the ruins of the Artmali and Vadeli cities the elf jungles covered over after the Dawn.

When Garangordos came to the land with his Glorious Ones and set to conquering the post-urban, pacifist Veldang, their elf neighbors interceded on their behalf.  The first Veldang slave-soldiers of Garangordos were forced to fight the aldryami defenders of their still free kin.  The aldryami burned in the fires of the Chained Sun of the Gargandites, but Garangordos had a worse fate in mind for the dryads and their shanassee trees.  These trees still stand at the hearts of the oldest Fonritian cities, with their trunks wrapped in ceremonial iron chains.  They and their dryads are the property of the cities' janns, their magic used to augment the fecundity of each city's agriculture.  The power of the dryads makes the gardens of the janns some of the most magnificent in the world outside of free elf forests, but their use and enjoyment is of course confined to the slaver lords and their favorites.

The other elf forests of Pamaltela are well aware of the fate of the Fonritian dryads.  Though the different jungles of Pamaltela are as competitive as Aldryan forest-kingdoms anywhere else on Glorantha, one force that can unite them is their hatred for the Fonritian slavers.  This has helped motivate their role in the Season Wars of Umathela, and may lead them to support the Veldang Revolution quite forcefully during the Hero Wars.

Edited by dumuzid
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