Out Now - Cults of RuneQuest: The Prosopaedia

[jajagappa]

15 hours ago, Steve said:

The book is not intended to be read from front to back (any more than an encyclopedia is), but rather it is intended to let you take a meandering tour of Glorantha's cosmology. Start with a favorite god and then jump around.

I definitely did the meandering tour, but particularly to see Katrin's wonderful artwork! And then to explore interesting text bits near the art... The jumping around from god to god is fun too. 🙂 

[Dragon]

Very useful reference. The artwork is great.

[Joerg]

On 7/18/2023 at 10:06 AM, Steve said:

Jeff wrote:

This gave me an opportunity to do some God Learner mythic synthesis to the RQ canon.

Which explains why RQ canon gets so condensed. 

I do wonder whether synthesis of cult entities needs to boil down to one synthesized deity, or whether one cult can synthesize two distinct deities as a single entity. An entity who can be equally well identified say as Orlanth and as Zorak Zoran. Ot as Humakt as well as Tolat.

This happened in the past, resulting in the many Lightfores.

 

On 7/18/2023 at 10:06 AM, Steve said:

The book assumes the reality of these deities - they are real parts of the cosmos and not simply cultural constructs. Naming conventions were simplified - it doesn't really help to throw out a lot of First Age local names we now in the Third Age have a standard name for. So no Lanatum, Doburdun, Orlanatus, etc - Orlanth covers all of that.

Do the RuneQuest cults describe the entirety of the deities that are real parts of the cosmos? I doubt that is possible.

 

 

[Richard S.]

3 hours ago, Joerg said:

Do the RuneQuest cults describe the entirety of the deities that are real parts of the cosmos? I doubt that is possible.

The other half of that post, from https://wellofdaliath.chaosium.com/about-the-new-prosopaedia/:

With over 600 entries the book helps show the breadth of Glorantha’s mythology without going down an endless rabbit hole of local variant names and local sub cults.

"Wasn’t there a raccoon god?" At the Dawn, there was a people called the Tunalorings who among others worshiped a Racoon God. They and their cult didn’t survive into the Second Age.

Note that the Prosopaedia isn’t just edited for space but for relevance. The Prosopaedia is not intended to define everything that is, but if it isn’t in the Prosopaedia, it probably is of very limited relevance.

So among those 600 some entries, let’s say maybe 300 or so are obvious. Of course Orlanth, Godunya, Malkion, Pamalt, Babeester Gor, and Vivamort are going to get included – they have cults that at some point will be published or they are significant references within those cults.

The other half were chosen because they were relevant or useful in my opinion. Sometimes an alternate name or localised manifestation was included because I thought it was useful – eg., Kargzant, Veskarthan, Jagrekriand, etc. But many others were not, because I did not find it so. If one of your favourite local manifestations didn’t make the cult, c’est la vie.

Some very minor cults made it because they have a long tradition in RuneQuest games – Black Fang Brotherhood, Frog Woman, etc. Others did not. There are probably thousands of minor gods and spirits that did not make the grade, and so there is room to plenty of such minor deities into your Glorantha.

[Joerg]

6 hours ago, Richard S. said:

The other half of that post, from https://wellofdaliath.chaosium.com/about-the-new-prosopaedia/:

Thanks. but that's not what I meant.

Even the best researched cult may not cover the full real-in-Godtime entity.

[Richard S.]

15 minutes ago, Joerg said:

Thanks. but that's not what I meant.

Even the best researched cult may not cover the full real-in-Godtime entity.

Ah, my bad. I agree with that - the gods are just too big for mortals to fully grasp imo. The cults books I think are best thought of as how Gloranthan mortals understand the gods as of the third age. That may not make their interpretations of the truth the absolute truth forever, but after 1600 years of exploration and worship (and the God Learners) I think they probably have a pretty good grasp on the basics, such as which powers are truly separate and which are just different names for the same being.

[Joerg]

1 hour ago, Richard S. said:

Ah, my bad. I agree with that - the gods are just too big for mortals to fully grasp imo. The cults books I think are best thought of as how Gloranthan mortals understand the gods as of the third age. That may not make their interpretations of the truth the absolute truth forever, but after 1600 years of exploration and worship (and the God Learners) I think they probably have a pretty good grasp on the basics, such as which powers are truly separate and which are just different names for the same being.

They have explored their own bias bubble to the fullest, and the God Learners did a certain amount of transfer from other perspectives, but it is obvious that they missed a lot by missing out on the cultural context.

And cultural context has been lost - both in the Gods War and since the Dawn.

[Byll]

Interesting that the God Learners are not quoted as noting a mystic synthesis between Arira and Voria, Naveria/Lesilla and Ernalda or Koveria and Asrelia. Perhaps they thought it went without saying, or being Malkioni they never thought about it at all

[radmonger]

Cults are like cities.

Almost everyone in Sartar knows what all the major cities of Sartar are. Only the very drunk will argue about  'does boldhome _really_ exist?', or 'is jonstown just another name for wilmskirk?'. There is a less definitive take on distant lands. There may well be sizable cities, not connected to the major worldwide trade routes, that noone in Sartar has ever heard of.

New cities  can be founded,but there are material and magical constraints on how, where and why.   Some hypothetical cities would break those constraints.  This would play out in any attempt to found such a city failing.

Some of those failures would be easily predictable, others less so.

 

[metcalph]

33 minutes ago, Byll said:

Interesting that the God Learners are not quoted as noting a mystic synthesis between Arira and Voria, Naveria/Lesilla and Ernalda or Koveria and Asrelia. Perhaps they thought it went without saying, or being Malkioni they never thought about it at all

Or because those are Pelorian Goddesses where they never ventured.  

[Steve]

As soon as the cover art is available on a Red Bubble t-shirt, I will be buying it.

 

[M Helsdon]

6 hours ago, Byll said:

Interesting that the God Learners are not quoted as noting a mystic synthesis between Arira and Voria, Naveria/Lesilla and Ernalda or Koveria and Asrelia. Perhaps they thought it went without saying, or being Malkioni they never thought about it at all

God Learner contact with Peloria was limited by their enemies, the EWF, sitting astride the main route north.

[EMH]

On 7/14/2023 at 7:20 AM, metcalph said:

Shipping not available in Oz.  *Grump*

The Southern Continent is overlooked again! That's just Genertelacentric chauvinism! 😉

[Nick Brooke]

On 7/20/2023 at 5:44 PM, M Helsdon said:

God Learner contact with Peloria was limited by their enemies, the EWF, sitting astride the main route north.

Elder Secrets, Secrets Book (1988):

Quote

The Pelorian mystical geography was almost virgin territory since the area was never actively part of the God Learners' conspiracy...

 

[Lordabdul]

In case @Crel's review wasn't enough and you're still on the fence about getting the book, here's my review on the God Learners' website! I hope it's useful and/or insightful! It features a good boy, and some footnotes, so you know it's serious.

Edited July 26, 2023 by Lordabdul

[Squaredeal Sten]

On 7/17/2023 at 10:26 AM, David Scott said:

They will be in the Cults of RuneQuest Supplementary Volume 2: Lists of Esrolian Goddesses You Never need to run a game (Volume 1 is Adding complexity to RuneQuest with Fiddly Hero Wars cults no one cares about).

I always thought that most of the 10,000 goddesses of Nochet were Genius Loci and house or guild wyters, most with a single street corner shrine.  And never expected a list.  

[brionl]

On 7/18/2023 at 12:04 AM, Jeff said:

Incorrect David. Doburdan is simply a local name for Orlanth Thunderous, associated with the Entekos cult. Derdromus is an old Darsenite name for Deshkorgos, who shows up on page 29.

And for sanity sake I did not include the name of every river god, or every alternate name of a god known in one language or another.

 

 

For some reason I read that as "Orlanth Thundercats".

Now I want that cult. 

[French Desperate WindChild]

12 hours ago, brionl said:

 

For some reason I read that as "Orlanth Thundercats".

Now I want that cult. 

You already have: Yinkin is a subcult of Orlanth in Sartar !

[g33k]

18 hours ago, brionl said:

For some reason I read that as "Orlanth Thundercats".

Now I want that cult. 

6 hours ago, French Desperate WindChild said:

You already have: Yinkin is a subcult of Orlanth in Sartar !

You bastards!
You have forced my hand, with my next PC...

🤣

[jajagappa]

On 7/26/2023 at 9:56 PM, Squaredeal Sten said:

I always thought that most of the 10,000 goddesses of Nochet were Genius Loci and house or guild wyters, most with a single street corner shrine.  And never expected a list.

I think that is likely accurate.

 

[metcalph]

Hardcover now available for Oz.

Edited July 30, 2023 by metcalph

[DucksMustDie]

A truly great & quality product 💙Can hardly wait for the rest 🙂 

[ingot]

Frustrating that the first two cult books will be out in a fortnight and the physical Prosopaedia isn't available from the Australian warehouse yet.  I guess it'll take a while further for the physical cult books to be available in Australia.

[Rodney Dangerduck]

On 7/28/2023 at 12:27 AM, French Desperate WindChild said:

You already have: Yinkin is a subcult of Orlanth in Sartar !

I sincerely hope not.  It means the effective elimination of Yinkin as a cult.  No PC will join Yinkin when they can get all the benefits from joining Orlanth and paying the appropriate POW points.

[French Desperate WindChild]

17 minutes ago, Rodney Dangerduck said:

I sincerely hope not.  It means the effective elimination of Yinkin as a cult.  No PC will join Yinkin when they can get all the benefits from joining Orlanth and paying the appropriate POW points.

what I understand is that Yinkin the Orlanth subcult is like Yinkin the cult : there are not the  Orlanth spells shared by Thunderous/Adventurous/Vinga

However I see few difference :

- you are known by the priests so if you want to join another subcult it may be easier (not img, ok for the reputation - but being in the community is enough for reputation so not a change with a full cult - , but you have to prove why you(character) want to join the other subcult

- if it is a subcult it is the same runepool.

 

My answer was a semi joke, I hope it is but I fully agree, if being initiate of Yinkin the cult provides less spells than being initiate of Orlanth Yinkin, that's sad (same for Heler, etc..)