Shaman assisting Lanbril Cultists?

[jajagappa]

20 minutes ago, jholen said:

there will be obviously a high shaman of the Short Fang Spirit Society

Probably just a shaman (singular).  She or he (and Nochet on all levels is quite matriarchal except in the Sartarite district, and even there it is present) will lead the group.  Likely some strong apprentice, but the group will still focus on the will and direction of the shaman.  The shaman likely has some agenda - but the question is whether it is directed by the shaman or the spirit of Short Fang?  

13 minutes ago, g33k said:

Unless the Short Fang are actively pro-disease, pro-death, pro-Chaos, etc, I'd be surprised to see Chalana Arroy as actively hostile. 

In a city such as Nochet, even under the guidance of Ernalda and her appointed leaders, disease and disease spirits are common.  Disruption of city harmony is offensive to many goddesses and gods - under the powers of Disorder, they may withdraw their protections from the city and its citizens until proper rituals and sacrifices occur.  Disease spirits may find entry into a city after a riot or violent feud, where garbage piles up, where disorderly acts occur, or even with the failure to properly perform important rituals.  An increase in rats is likely a sign that Disorder is rising and Harmony disrupted.  Chalana Arroy healers are adept at recognizing such signs and will act to see the return of Harmony.  So the healers aren't "actively hostile" but they will be on the lookout for disorderly conduct or events and seek divinations on how to heal the city, and then direct others to investigate or take action (though there is no police force or city watch per se - the city militia mostly mans the walls and provides guards for the markets, so its the local or great Houses who will enforce things in their neighborhood as best they can).

 

[jholen]

31 minutes ago, g33k said:

Unless the Short Fang are actively pro-disease, pro-death, pro-Chaos, etc, I'd be surprised to see Chalana Arroy as actively hostile.   She is stunningly accepting of others less-than-ideal outlooks.   Of course, YGMV!

 

Probably more apt to say, "Opposed," rather than Hostile. I could see the confusion. Good call.

[jholen]

17 minutes ago, jajagappa said:

Probably just a shaman (singular).  She or he (and Nochet on all levels is quite matriarchal except in the Sartarite district, and even there it is present) will lead the group.  Likely some strong apprentice, but the group will still focus on the will and direction of the shaman.  The shaman likely has some agenda - but the question is whether it is directed by the shaman or the spirit of Short Fang?  

Got it. I'll work on fleshing those characters out.

17 minutes ago, jajagappa said:

In a city such as Nochet, even under the guidance of Ernalda and her appointed leaders, disease and disease spirits are common.  Disruption of city harmony is offensive to many goddesses and gods - under the powers of Disorder, they may withdraw their protections from the city and its citizens until proper rituals and sacrifices occur.  Disease spirits may find entry into a city after a riot or violent feud, where garbage piles up, where disorderly acts occur, or even with the failure to properly perform important rituals.  An increase in rats is likely a sign that Disorder is rising and Harmony disrupted.  Chalana Arroy healers are adept at recognizing such signs and will act to see the return of Harmony.  So the healers aren't "actively hostile" but they will be on the lookout for disorderly conduct or events and seek divinations on how to heal the city, and then direct others to investigate or take action (though there is no police force or city watch per se - the city militia mostly mans the walls and provides guards for the markets, so its the local or great Houses who will enforce things in their neighborhood as best they can).

 

Good stuff. Nice to know regarding no city watch. Makes sense about the houses, I'll have to grab all those details you had about the various houses.

How'd the spirits look? Sound plausible? I like the Rat King spirit as possibly, more of an overarching (or just very high intensity) spirit with as you said, intertwined motives with the shaman of Short Fang. 

 

[jajagappa]

1 hour ago, jholen said:

Makes sense about the houses, I'll have to grab all those details you had about the various houses.

If you think of the Houses as a kind of cross between mafia-type families and Bedouin clans, headed by their respective Grandmothers (i.e. the Godmother), you'll have a good feel for how neighborhoods are run without any real centralized authority (the Queen being more High Priestess who renders decisions when other day-to-day processes can't resolve them).

 

1 hour ago, jholen said:

How'd the spirits look? Sound plausible?

Oh yes, most seemed very plausible.  The only one less sure of was the spirits of Excrement: (disorder) has ability to apply/cast poison.  Quite likely exist, though rats tend to be rather fastidious themselves.  On the other hand, rat excrement is pretty nasty too (as I can attest from cleaning out the cage of pet rats we had once upon a time).  They also can be mean and vicious, which might be another type of spirit to consider, particularly for a group of outsiders at the fringes of society - useful for certain Houses to hire when they want certain work done but don't want their House directly involved.  

[jholen]

I like that thought about the houses. Definitely going to incorporate that. 

14 hours ago, jajagappa said:

Oh yes, most seemed very plausible.  The only one less sure of was the spirits of Excrement: (disorder) has ability to apply/cast poison.  Quite likely exist, though rats tend to be rather fastidious themselves.  On the other hand, rat excrement is pretty nasty too (as I can attest from cleaning out the cage of pet rats we had once upon a time).  They also can be mean and vicious, which might be another type of spirit to consider, particularly for a group of outsiders at the fringes of society - useful for certain Houses to hire when they want certain work done but don't want their House directly involved.  

I was trying to tap into the disease aspect, so maybe simply stick to that...

Spirits of Pestilence: sickness spirit that inflicts victim with symptoms ranging from joint pain, nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, fever, chills, fatigue. Carried by infected rat's urine and similar to modern day Well's disease. 

And maybe a nature spirit, rat king probably, that can possibly allow domination of all rats within the area to swarm. Could lead to some interesting options as possibly offensive or simply to create diversions. Think it'd be a naturally high intensity spirit though. 

 

[jajagappa]

6 hours ago, jholen said:

Carried by infected rat's urine and similar to modern day Well's disease. 

Disease in Glorantha is not caused by things carried in the body such as bacteria or viruses, but by the appearance of disease spirits.  These spirits might travel with rat packs/spirits.  Or more likely the blighted conditions caused by rats are a sign of disorder, which then creates an 'entry' for the disease spirit into the mundane world.

Otherwise, going with Spirits of Pestilence seems fine.

[jholen]

1 hour ago, jajagappa said:

Disease in Glorantha is not caused by things carried in the body such as bacteria or viruses, but by the appearance of disease spirits.  These spirits might travel with rat packs/spirits.  Or more likely the blighted conditions caused by rats are a sign of disorder, which then creates an 'entry' for the disease spirit into the mundane world.

Otherwise, going with Spirits of Pestilence seems fine.

Good stuff! Corrected the write-up. I recall reading what you pointed out on diseases. Thanks.

[jholen]

Here's what I've come up with thus far. Again, open to any and all feedback.

 

Edit: Apologies, somehow the formatting didn't transfer over too well from Word

 

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Short Fang Spirit Society

(Spirit)(Darkness)(Disorder)

 

Minor spirit society established by Ormargarg “Garg” the Twisted, the lone shaman of the society.

Ormargarg “Garg” the Twisted, Shaman of Short Fang Spirit Society

(Spirit)(Darkness)(Disorder)

Garg was born with a twisted left leg and thus was marked to be set aside from birth, in both appearance and social standing. His mother died during childbirth and due to her being part of the dregs of society, she had no real connections and or contacts with whom the child could be raised with, and so Garg was abandoned. No one really knows who raised him and rumors are that he was raised by a giant rat, though this is denied by Garg himself, who remains silent on the subject. In fact the very slightest hinting of the topic will result in receiving Garg’s direct ire. One of the first things that is taught to any new initiate or person interested in becoming part of the spirit society is just that -- don’t ask about his upbringing!

What is known is that due to his crippled condition others often tried to take advantage of him throughout his life. This led to Garg learning to stick to the shadows as well as embrace a life founded on darkness, deceit, and disorder in order to make ends meet. Garg is oft heard talking about how divisive and cut-throat society is and how despite all the niceties people are only truly out for themselves and their respective cults and or houses. Harmony is something that is the polar opposite of Garg -- and in turn, Short Fang.

Similar to his upbringing, the specifics of the formation of the spirit society is clouded in darkness. Garg simply says that he credits the spirits with saving his life and sustaining him thus far.

Associated Spirits:

• Allied & Friendly Spirits: Ancestors (Dregs of Society), Beast (Rat), Earth (Foundations of Nochet)
• Neutral Spirits: Serdrodosa (The Earth Witch), Disease, Disorder
• Hostile & Opposed Spirits: Earth (Societal Rule), Beast (Alynx/Birds/Snake), Harmony (Chalana Arroy)
   

Known Spirits:

• Spirit of Nooks & Crannies: (darkness) nature spirit augments user's stealth -- Typically takes the form of charm composed of rat fur or whiskers.
  • Taboo: Never rest in the open.
• Spirit of Small Fingers: (disorder) nature spirit augments user's sleight -- Typically takes the form of charm composed of rat claws.
  • Taboo: Never steal from your spirit society.
• Spirit of Cunning: (disorder) has ability to augment user's deceit -- Typically takes the form of charm composed of rat teeth.
  • Taboo: Never lie to your spirit society.
• Spirit of Scrounging: (darkness) has ability to cast "Find/Locate."
  • Taboo: Never throw anything away.
• Spirit of Pestilence: (disorder) sickness spirit that inflicts victim with symptoms ranging from joint pain, nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, fever, chills, fatigue.
  • Taboo: Never deal with Chalana Arroy cultists.
     

Allied Cults:

• Kordios -- Lanbril Ring of Nochet

 

Edited March 8, 2018 by jholen
Formatting