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Guide to Glorantha Group Read Week 3 - Kralori


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Kralori Section discussion!

Main thread: https://basicroleplaying.org/topic/6492-guide-to-glorantha-group-read-week-3/

Week 3 errors: https://basicroleplaying.org/topic/6432-guide-to-glorantha-group-read-week-3-errors/

Here's one of the sketches for the Kralori illustration by Jeff Laubenstein

5963b02255e62_Kralorelan-Sketch.thumb.jpg.ebcaae4c7ed4eeb01dcdbfc904d40892.jpg

Original art direction not available.

Edited by David Scott

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p54 the three Archexarchs and their areas of responsibility is curious.  The Archexarch of War was already known but the Archexarchs over the masses and the Archexarchs of Work I find curiously named and their division of responsibility rather ad hoc (one appoints the mandarins, the other disciplines them, one looks after the imperial finances, the other spends it in the form of public works etc).  I get the impression that Godunya has set up two parallel competing bureaucracies to root out corruption and maladminstration).  I'm fine with the general concept but the details as is seem somewhat colorless.

p54 the sidebar on the Kralorelan Seals gives me much better feel for the diverse nature of Kralori bureaucracy

p57 the huge weapon that the Kralori warrior has is a horse chopper.  The Kralori still do not like Pentans.  Are horse-choppers an actual RW thing because a quick google indicates only fantasy descriptions.

p57  Huocheng is described as a minister whereas Kralori have exarchs and archexarchs.  A possibility is that Ministers were a rank of official in Metsyla's empire.

 

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1 hour ago, metcalph said:

p57 the huge weapon that the Kralori warrior has is a horse chopper.  The Kralori still do not like Pentans.  Are horse-choppers an actual RW thing because a quick google indicates only fantasy descriptions.

Closely resembles a Green Dragon Crescent Blade, a type of guandao. There may be a closer historical blade, but I am not well versed in Chinese weapons.

Shanxi_1.jpg

Edited by M Helsdon
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Wandering swordspeople are among the lowest regarded, whereas martial mystics receive the utmost respect. How do the Kralori determine the difference?

Telling how it is excessive verbis

 

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17 hours ago, Joerg said:

Wandering swordspeople are among the lowest regarded, whereas martial mystics receive the utmost respect. How do the Kralori determine the difference?

I assume the swordpeople are the ones with swords. 

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2 hours ago, David Scott said:

I assume the swordpeople are the ones with swords. 

So you are one of those people who confuse "martial arts" with "unarmed combat"?

Musashi was a martial artist. The Kralori ones wield weapons, too, check the illustrations on pages 265 and 266.

Edited by Joerg

Telling how it is excessive verbis

 

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I suspect that was a joke. 

The difference would lie in the lack or presence of "mystical practice", while both "swordspeople" and "martial mystics" could sometimes use swords.

In a pop culture parallel - The Bride was a swordsperson, Pai Mei was a martial mystic. Or in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon - Jen Yu is a wandering swordsperson who will demolish your inn if you look at her funny, Li Mu Bai is a martial mystic who will make you tea and talk about not using swords to become the best at using swords.

Basically - an armed wanderer could be all kinds of trouble, whereas a martial arts mystic is probably respectable. (even if potentially evil. Hey now, he might be an evil sorcerer who massacred our entire clan! But he spent decades studying that Empty Massacring Fist, you gotta respect that!)

Edited by JanPospisil
more words to make better speak. Ug ug.
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8 hours ago, Joerg said:

So you are one of those people who confuse "martial arts" with "unarmed combat"?

No I just said that I assume the swordpeople are the ones with swords.

Personally I did some kendo in my youth. So I probably have a little idea of what martial arts can cover.

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More new stuff for me here. Kralorela was just a word for me and I was vaguely aware it was in the east of Genertela. So much good info here, and so different to my Dragon-Pass-oriented experience of Glorantha. Now we're exploring a whole world, not just a "country".

 

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Also completely new stuff for me. There are some bits and pieces from Kralorela description in the Genertela Book of the RuneQuest III box Genertela, Crucible of the Hero Wars, but overall its completely new - and not enough ;).

I'm aware, that its wrong probably to associate Kralorela with ancient China, but there are to many things, which simply trigger some associations. Again some immediate campaign ideas: something like the Water Margin (rebels against bureaucracy and corruption, Chinese Robin Hood story). Would become even more interesting with a real Dragon Emperor and some Dragon Magic on the side of the bureaucrats ...

Or The Journey to the West. Although I do not have any idea, what the Monkey King would be in Glorantha ... and being a search for illumination (?) the story may also be too high powered. More on HeroQuest than on normal adventure level ... But anyway a good inspiration for stories/scenarios.

On the Eastern Culture distribution map there is a blue spot (Kralorelan influence) north of Dragon Pass (Balazar). What does this mean?

Draconic mysticism - another topic, that I would like to explore more ...

Lots of things, that simply pique my interest, and are explained or at least detailed later in the Guide hopefully ...

Edited by Oracle
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15 minutes ago, Oracle said:

On the Eastern Culture distribution map there is a blue spot (Kralorelan influence) north of Dragon Pass (Balazar). What does this mean?

Kralori influence from the Lunar Caravans.  Considering where they travel to, the people are more likely to be Ignorants rather than actual Kralori

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14 hours ago, Oracle said:

On the Eastern Culture distribution map there is a blue spot (Kralorelan influence) north of Dragon Pass (Balazar). What does this mean?

It's the Redlands (likely specifically the Red Hair Place), not Balazar. Hence the Red-Haired Tribe and Eastern influence through that route.

Edited by Akhôrahil
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13 hours ago, metcalph said:

Kralori influence from the Lunar Caravans.  Considering where they travel to, the people are more likely to be Ignorants rather than actual Kralori

I'm reading ahead here (p. 302):

"Alanthore: This  Seer  and  Prophet  has  been roaming around the Redlands and the lower Arcos River, spreading his new cult of the Red Sun. The Red Sun  encourages  human  sacrifice,  and  protects  those cities which set up temples from Pentan raiders."

Blood sacrifice and suns of non-standard colour? This certainly sounds like Ignorance.

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  • 3 years later...
On 7/16/2017 at 4:52 AM, Akhôrahil said:

I'm reading ahead here (p. 302):

"Alanthore: This  Seer  and  Prophet  has  been roaming around the Redlands and the lower Arcos River, spreading his new cult of the Red Sun. The Red Sun  encourages  human  sacrifice,  and  protects  those cities which set up temples from Pentan raiders."

Blood sacrifice and suns of non-standard colour? This certainly sounds like Ignorance.

I'm reading around here too and I found a couple of interesting tidbits.

"Livia Tarinda, Bloodheart High Priestess,...from Lunar Empire...has become the high priestess for Bloodheart, the name given to the goddess from her homeland....taught to Andins...Livia Tarinda also teaches otheres how to set up an altar and make the sacrifices to keep the Andins away.  "

That isn't Ignorance, that's Lunar.

And the other thing?  "Dech Oru sends Modu and Solumdar...sail around the East Isles...setting up altar's to Bloodheart where ever they go."

But get this:  In Revealed Mythologies it says the same thing almost verbatim with one tiny difference:  "Dech Oru sends Modu and Solumdar...setting up altar's to the Red Sun everywhere they go.

The Red Sun is definitively the Red Moon, the Red Goddess.

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  • 2 months later...
On 7/11/2017 at 1:39 PM, Joerg said:

Wandering swordspeople are among the lowest regarded, whereas martial mystics receive the utmost respect. How do the Kralori determine the difference?

The former are outside the social order (parallel the Chinese concept of the wu lin), while the latter get bucketed in the top tier with the scholars.

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