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The main problem with Adari as a settlement is water supply.  While the Adari river is nearby, it is seasonal; your typical Praxian serpent, even if it isn't technically in Prax.  It is in a valley surrounded on all sides by mountains, and that makes for a very arid place due to raid shadow.  On the up-side, the formation of the land and the river suggests that there should be a decent supply of ground water all year round, but it will never be enough for the population to grow much.  While farming will be possible, it will rely on ground water such as dams and wells, which in turn will rely on muscle power,as there are no agricultural windmills powering archimedes screws to draw it.  Control of dams and wells will be contested by the local gangs, as well as the Praxians who graze the area and will water their animals in the dams or wells without regard for crops that get trampled.  Similarly trolls and trollkin will have little regard for fields and crops, but trade of edibles with the nearby Munchrooms will likely supplement the local diet.  Dry crops like wheat, oats, and corn will be possible, but the whole business of raising such crops will be a tenuous proposition with or without magic.

Lyrics from Sweet Nebraska Land by Roger Welsch

Ah, Adari-land, sweet Adari-land ! Upon thy burning soil I stand. And I look away, cross the Bison plains, And I wonder why it never rains.

We've reached the land of desert sweet, Where nothing grows for man to eat. And the Bull he blows with feverish heat, Across those plains so hard to beat.

That's Adari-land, sweet Adari-land  ! Upon thy burning soil I stand. And I look away, cross the Bison plains, And I wonder why it never rains.

We have no wheat, we have no oats, We have no corn to feed our shoats. Our chickens are so very poor, They beg for crumbs outside our door.

In Adari-land, sweet Adari-land ! Upon thy burning soil I stand. And I look away, cross the Bison plains, And I wonder why it never rains.

Our horses are Pol Joni race, Starvation stares them in the face. We do not live we only stay, Cause we're too poor to move away.

From Adari-land, sweet Adari-land ! Upon thy burning soil I stand. And I look away, cross the Bison plains, And I wonder why it never rains.

Edited by Darius West
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Adari is built over several great natural cisterns. It was one of the reasons that the trade centre was set up there. A benevolent water spirit resides within the dark waters, revered by Trolls and Humans alike. Some say it was a product of a Dehori spirit and a local water Nymph, others via the magical meddling of Pavis' father.

I think here are many madmen here, drawn by the magics of days gone by. Fallen shamans, Tada dreamers, Darkness seekers and Mushroom eaters.

Perhaps the Issaries Temple has a local hero cult, which deals with Elves and Trolls.

Edited by Iskallor
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1 hour ago, Iskallor said:

Adari is built over several great natural cisterns. It was one of the reasons that the trade centre was set up there. A benevolent water spirit resides within the dark waters, revered by Trolls and Humans alike. Some say it was a product of a Dehori spirit and a local water Nymph, others via the magical meddling of Pavis' father

And that's as good an explanation as any. I don't think Adari has serious water problems due to the number of people it's supporting. It's close to the hills and mountains so run off will be good. Most disappears before it reaches Prax. Heler is active here as is orlanth thunderous. I'm unsure of what the rainfall here would be, but @Jeff likely can say. I don't think there's any rain shadow here. The adjoining Praxian area is good for the pol Joni and they have orlanth thunderous priests. 

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On 3/26/2017 at 9:55 AM, Iskallor said:

It's like a crazy Mad Max/Star Wars town for me.

 

On 3/27/2017 at 4:41 AM, Mankcam said:

I just love this, it's kinda how I always envisioned it. 

 

I thought of it as an even more primitive Deadwood, but now i have the cantina song running through my head and it...won't...go...away.  Thanks for that. :)

(Great series, btw, even if it was pruned before its time.)

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Ah Adari, a favourite place of mine too and one which I did quite a bit of work on a couple of years back for the campaign which I'm still running.

On 3/26/2017 at 5:55 PM, Iskallor said:

It's like a crazy Mad Max/Star Wars town for me.

Me too! I used Oliver Dickinson et al's piece in TotRM as the springboard, but added elements which attempted to situate it more firmly into the kind of Glorantha we know today - including additions to Oliver's history which lead to it being the desperate and dangerous frontier trading post it is today. This thread is giving me some great ideas for additions and modifications to the Adari I imagined, but also interesting is that some of the things which define my Adari tie really nicely with comments so far.

On 3/26/2017 at 5:39 PM, David Scott said:

It must of at some point had walls for defence.

Oliver Dickinson's stockade and its ramshackle troll settlement next door sits within the remains of a larger walled city. Almost nothing can be seen of the ancient walls or city - the TotRM map shows a remaining section of wall, and I've added another couple of very low remnants, a ruined gatehouse and some mounds suggestive of buried structures.

On 3/27/2017 at 1:35 AM, Jeff said:

Issaries is the patron god of the city, and the market and temple are the public center of the city.

The Issaries Temple is the only surviving intact building in my Adari from ancient times. I've described it as being covered in sculptures in which "human and troll forms dominate, but there are also carvings of elves, dragonewts, centaurs and herd beasts."

Although Issaries is the patron I also include Adari the Founder. But Adari died way back in the First Age, and is forgotten to history except by the name of the settlement he founded. The circumstances of his death are unknown, but the lack of a protecting founder is cited by many to be the reason for Adari's perpetual failure over the centuries. A large, headless statue of Adari stands in testament to his impotence and the rather hopefully named Magnificent Acolytes of Adari seek the Head of Adari and other artefacts which they believe will bring a resurgence in Adari's fortunes.

Hmm, leads me to wonder about the Pavis Plan: did Pavis understand more than anybody else the failure of Adari, and take some of its ideals away with him to found a new city?  

On 3/27/2017 at 1:35 AM, Jeff said:

However, I suspect Daka Fal is more widely worshiped in Adari than Issaries

I trace this to the 13th Century ST. With Dragon Pass closed to humans and Pavis sealed during Gerak Kag's dominance, Adari becomes isolated and is repeatedly sacked and rebuilt. Its surviving inhabitants take on a desperate fatalism and only the ancestors offer respite. Ty Kora Tek is also popular.

On 3/27/2017 at 1:59 PM, Tindalos said:

It may be built on the site of the Onetree exchange, where Issaries showed Orlanth and Genert how to deal with each-other peacefully.

Great idea. So that's why the Issaries Temple has weathered all storms so far, and also why despite all the sackings and depredations Adari has kept being stubbornly repopulated and remained a trade nexus.

On 3/27/2017 at 3:04 PM, Ali the Helering said:

The Genert connection could be the reason the Aldryans keep coming back

Links really nicely with an annual aldryami pilgrimage which I've never understood the reason for until now.

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14 hours ago, m0n0cular said:
On 27/03/2017 at 1:35 AM, Jeff said:

However, I suspect Daka Fal is more widely worshiped in Adari than Issaries

I trace this to the 13th Century ST. With Dragon Pass closed to humans and Pavis sealed during Gerak Kag's dominance, Adari becomes isolated and is repeatedly sacked and rebuilt. Its surviving inhabitants take on a desperate fatalism and only the ancestors offer respite. Ty Kora Tek is also popular.

I suspect that this more to do with the idea that ancestor worship is much more common amongst the Orlanthi than we used to think.

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On 27.3.2017 at 4:04 PM, Ali the Helering said:

The petrified tree might be at the heart of the temple, with chips used to hold a specific temple magic. The Genert connection could be the reason the Aldryans keep coming back...

Wouldn't make it a great temple, goal for pilgrimage, while it is supposed to be a minor one only ?

Wind on the Steppes, role playing among the steppe Nomads. The  running campaign and the blog

 

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3 hours ago, Zit said:

Wouldn't make it a great temple, goal for pilgrimage, while it is supposed to be a minor one only ?

It might be a very disappointing "petrified tree" - maybe just a hole in the ground, where the tree used to be, or a few bits of stone with tree-rings barely visible in them. Aldryami could sense the residual power, but anyone else would think they are nuts... (hehe pun only half intended)

Remember that trolls have been there all along, and any obvious or easily removed source of "elf power" would have been stolen or desecrated by now.

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So... Adari and the Lunar presence in Prax... Given the Empire can be bothered with a squalid dump like Corflu, what is the attitude towards Adari?  Do they bother to maintain a presence?  Etyries merchants only? Patrols?  Missionaries?  No go area?  Full Occupation (doubtful)?  What policy direction do people think the various Lunar administration will take regarding Adari ?  Adari has to be on their minds to some degree.  It isn't obvious that they have a good reason to regard it as neutral.  Do the Lunars see it as a means to potentially missionize the Trolls and Elves of Shadows Dance?  Is it a hold out of bandit scum and Sartar rebels that they simply haven't gotten around to pacifying?  Does Adari send tribute to the Lunars in New Pavis as a way of saying "please oh please leave us be".  When Biturian Varosh went there in 1615 it seems to have been a place that had no small number of Sartarites.  The Imperial Census of 1617 by Jaxarte Whyded doesn't include Adari.  Am I imagining that JW went to Adari?

It is worth pointing out that Adari has a population of 3000 while New Pavis is only 4500, so while it is a drop in the ocean by standards of the Empire, it is very important by the standards of Prax.

Edited by Darius West
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I am increasingly liking my own off-the-cuff thought that a pretty deep, and rather profoundly subtle, mythical effect occurs at Adari...

  • Despite its small (absolute) size and repeated sacking, there's a sizable population of native(!) people (from antiquity?!) still resident.
  • It has more open mixing of species (and racial enemies, at that!) than most places; certainly moreso than such a backwater would -- or "should" -- support.
  • It gets much less Official Attention than it merits on paper (given its presumable regional significance).
  • Despite being part of the Pavic Origin, it gets little Serious Attention from those Seriously Interested in Pavis.

There's just (IMHO) too much of interest, to account for the "stinking backwater" reputation the place has.  So I think there must be another explanation (YGMV).

 

C'es ne pas un .sig

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47 minutes ago, g33k said:

I am increasingly liking my own off-the-cuff thought that a pretty deep, and rather profoundly subtle, mythical effect occurs at Adari...

  • Despite its small (absolute) size and repeated sacking, there's a sizable population of native(!) people (from antiquity?!) still resident.
  • It has more open mixing of species (and racial enemies, at that!) than most places; certainly moreso than such a backwater would -- or "should" -- support.
  • It gets much less Official Attention than it merits on paper (given its presumable regional significance).
  • Despite being part of the Pavic Origin, it gets little Serious Attention from those Seriously Interested in Pavis.

There's just (IMHO) too much of interest, to account for the "stinking backwater" reputation the place has.  So I think there must be another explanation (YGMV).

 

It seems there are some not-so-mythical reasons.  First, it's off the beaten path unless you're a troll or Bison Rider; the only nearby road runs between the Castle of Lead and Pairing Stone.  No river traffic, either. There doesn't seem to be a lot of movement from or to Pavis (or Dragon Pass, for that matter).  Humans appear to be mostly outlaws, the indigent, traders who are willing to hazard the less-than-hospitable lands, or Bison tribe grazing nearby.

Add to that a vulnerability to and history of attacks from just about every quarter, and that it's a fleabag of a town.  It might be worth a small detachment, but not a serious commitment of forces.

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Originally the family are from Pavis (which is how she actually is Wolfhead's distant cousin) but the ring run by her parents is based in Alone and that's where she ends up after going on the run from Argrath. Elsa is from Adari and takes Olaf there eventually

Edited by Byll
Afterthought about Elsa, + Spellchecker though Arbroath was Arbroath
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3 minutes ago, m0n0cular said:

@ByllGriselda's parents in Alone, I'd completely forgotten. Can you recall which stories they're in? 

"Meet the Parents" I believe it's called. It's shoehorned into my printed-off PDF Complete Griselda between "The Love Business" and "Serious Money" so I am just going from the gloss I pencilled into the contents. Griselda's brother Ferdie, uncle Brand and cousin Belladonna appear in "All in the family", but I don't remember if it says where they are from other than Aunt Gunnevara stayed 'at home' and they have to cross 'the wilds' in Dark Season to get back when they skip town.

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