Korola-ator - Arrow Bushes - Copper Amazons

[Erol of Backford]

Was looking at amazon entries in the GtG and came across Korola-ator. And yet another really cool rabbit hole:

In Korola-ator arrow bushes are grown in a magical orchard. Therein also dwells a regiment of copper-clad amazons which are called the Copper Girls.

As YGWV we'll come up with better title for these feisty warrior women... Maybe a name is just something simple, associated with copper such as the Eternal Cohort or the Korola-ator Cuprum Cohort? Seems more in line with renown Lunar names like the Marble Phalanx?

With copper being their color/metal and the fact that they are growing magical arrows gives me the impression that there might be elves afoot possibly the commander of the cohort is a female elf and they all have bows rather than javelins or a good number of them do?

Also within the city is an important market with the Eolian tribes of Thrice Blessed. What is being traded in the far north end of the Glowline, furs, Batbrew?

Does the Cohort Prefect request a crafted suit of armor of Heortland copper fashioned by Isidilian's armorers? (I know eleves are good at crafting copper but the commander is vain and a noble of sorts so she needs something that is imported and flashy, expensive...)

In 1600, the PC's travel to Dwarf Run with the copper for mines in the Heortland (we'll find a mine there or make one up) along with other luxury items, spices, silks, clearwine, etc. They do some adventuring while it is fabricated. Miskander's Tower anyone or the Snake Pipe Hollow adventure from RQA 05? Yes the dates get adjusted... 

Do they travel with Joh to Slavewall who is heading to Elkoi and on to Balazar as he doesn't yet know of the pass near Door Mountain? 

They meet Ismail Akritas' and sail with him from say Slavewall, he tries to swindle them as part of this journey. TofRM 16 p.22 There will of course be language mishaps, the PC's try to say something complimentary but Oh dogfart is spoken... fun roleplaying.

The PC's eventually reach Korola-ator and need to conduct a quest to be granted some arrow bush saplings or seeds in addition to the armor being delivered and the trade goods they have brought... extensive bargaining follows, maybe even Biturian Varosh is with them long before he goes to Prax? Its a stretch but it is 1600 so Joh and Biturian are much younger and more adventurous. (yes they might be too young but what a fews years of game age for NPC's)

Maybe an air elemental is sent into the orchard to fetch some seeds and the PC's are blamed, maybe they sent the Sylph?

Or possibly the PC's need to quest to recover something the regiment lost long ago? Visions of the dude in the bubble at the top of some famous mountain in ancient armor comes to mind. It could be something like that? Inside the bubble is a corpse. It looks freshly dead, but the armor and clothing are ancient.

Does a lost Lhankor Mhy document turn up while the PC's are researching the rumored arrow bushes and the settlement that grew around them known as Berthestead.. while doing the research it gives them a lead similar to An Inquiry Upon Lost Treasures that Lucien the Diviner penned?

I should go to my old zines like the New Lolon Goepel and others that have all things Lunar in them. I may even have to crack the piggy bank and get Jaja's Edge of Empire to help fill in the blanks between Slavewall and Mirin's Cross: 

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/421314/Edge-of-Empire-RuneQuest?src=by_author_of_product

The return trip has the vessel loaded with kegs of Batbrew (does this translate to guwano slurry) and other trade goods from near Korola-ator as well as the saplings or seeds for the arrow bushes. https://glorantha.steff.in/digests/ImmoderateGloranthaQuest/3767.html

So we have long distance caravan from Sartar with and an amazon from Trowjang, a few merchants with a half elven to act as gardener from the Pavis Garden all going on a long journey into and through the Lunar Heartlands. 5 of the 8 PC's are female so they might actually get along well with the Amazons if they can manage to learn some New Pelorian on their journey?

The PC's are able to get an overview of the peoples and culture they will be dealing with in the very near future... the rituals and bloodletting at Alkoth should be interesting for the PC's to see and avoid...

It's about a 1440km odyssey one way or there abouts, hexes on the AAA estimated.

Further below is the journey rough route. From Backford to Whitewall, Wilmskirk, Dwarf Mine, Slavewall, Mirin's Cross, Alkoth, etc. to Korola-ator.

I like the last pic the most, a copper clad amazon with spear and shield, happens to have an elvish look like plants but not plant-like (sorry no bark skin, our glorantha does very).

Next topic, where does a tree similar to the taxus baccata grow in north central glorantha?

 

       

 

Edited August 15, 2023 by Erol of Backford

[mfbrandi]

6 hours ago, Erol of Backford said:

where does a tree similar to the taxus baccata grow in north central glorantha?

Obvious, boring answer: graveyards. But there is a certain poetry to growing weapons in graveyards, no?

[Qizilbashwoman]

36 minutes ago, mfbrandi said:

Obvious, boring answer: graveyards. But there is a certain poetry to growing weapons in graveyards, no?

or old battlefields! poppies and yew, honestly

[jajagappa]

8 hours ago, Erol of Backford said:

armor of Heortland copper fashioned by Isidilian's armorers? (I know eleves are good at crafting copper but the commander is vain and a noble of sorts so she needs something that is imported and flashy, expensive...)

In 1600, the PC's travel to Dwarf Run with the copper for mines in the Heortland (we'll find a mine there or make one up)

No copper in Heortland - you need to go to Esrolia or the Copper Hills of Tarsh. This is Storm territory after all - bit of native bronze is what you'll find there.

[Erol of Backford]

10 hours ago, mfbrandi said:

Obvious, boring answer: graveyards. But there is a certain poetry to growing weapons in graveyards, no?

Actually it was noted that the trees from which the British longbows were made were grown especially in the churchyards?

I can't find the citation where I read it... so yes graveyards!

Not boring but exciting...

[Erol of Backford]

9 hours ago, jajagappa said:

No copper in Heortland

Ok, so cross the Bay get copper in Esrolia, then to Sky Reach Springs (TotRM 04 p.04) pass along Dragon Spine Ridge, take some weapons to the Tarsh Exiles and then on to Dwarf Mine, etc. 

[Erol of Backford]

On 8/15/2023 at 6:56 AM, jajagappa said:

No copper in Heortland - you need to go to Esrolia or the Copper Hills of Tarsh.

From GtG p.470... imports versus exports. So we need to locate the copper mines. It also lists artifacts so maybe small numbers of stone creatures/fossils are taken and exported. Likely the Urox of Bullpen (YGWV) don't wish for the Stonewood to be weakened and try to stop the removal of artifacts from there? 

Possibly the twisted-off head of the storwalk mountain god slain by St. Urox is actually copper and not bronze?

We were looking for a reason to justify a mine not far from Stonewood where the head was thrown and embedded into the side of the Syphon Valley, where the red arrow in the clip is.

They mine the copper via some Dwarvish consulting fend off bandits, trolls and more likely scorpionmen! 

[jajagappa]

1 hour ago, Erol of Backford said:

Possibly the twisted-off head of the storwalk mountain god slain by St. Urox is actually copper and not bronze?

The head would be stone. But could have copper skull/jaws/teeth within.

1 hour ago, Erol of Backford said:

They mine the copper via some Dwarvish consulting fend off bandits, trolls and more likely scorpionmen! 

Don't forget patrols from the Stone Wood guarding its borders. Anything with a Movement Rune is likely considered a disruption to the powers of Stasis within. (Also, in my vision of Heortland, as you get closer to the Stone Wood, and definitely within, Time changes and slows. What feels like minutes is hours, days, or even weeks - hence one of the reasons Chaos can't easily come spewing down the Syphon valley. It affects anyone venturing in from the other side too.)

Gargoyles are a definite presence. Earth creatures that can turn one into stone may also be present (though likely within the wood itself). But if you encounter stone statues... (gargoyles? humans transformed???). 😉 

I would fully expect that Dwarfs do not touch (and may also oppose) intervention in the Stone Woods as it: 1) is a "living" part of Stone, Mostal's brother; 2) is one of the few places that has retained the true nature of Stone; 3) it keeps Chaos at bay.