> Could somebody give me a quick summary of the events of
> "King of Sartar", just enough so I can understand what
> you guys are talking about? Thanks.
It would be a start if *anyone* knew what they were talking about - King of Sartar is intentionally confusing, incomplete and open to wide (and wild) interpretation. Bring back the good old days of truthful information packs.
Michael Raaterova talks about Magical Places:
> There are quite a few magical places like this [Skyfall Lake]in Glorantha
that we know
> of, like hidden castles, disappearing lands and weird spots in general.
IMG
> these are places where the mundane world and the otherworld weren't
fully,
> or at all, separated; the boundaries between the worlds are diffused or
> softer there. There are also dead places where the worlds are totally
> separated, like the Dead Place in Prax.
Spot on.
Magical Places like these are where two or more planes interact rather than being separate. Mostly the Mundane and Spirit Planes interact but occasionaly the HeroPlane and GodPlanes coincide - these are not good places to be unless you know where you are.
A similar effect is produced in Temples on Holy Days where the Mundane and God Planes interact and people are whisked off into a little HeroQuest/GodTime encounter.
Cragsipder's Castle at Cliffhome is the place to go - never mind Skyfall Lake. At the basement you coincide with the Mundane and Hero Planes as you descend into Hell. At the Spires you again coincide with the Mundane and Hero Planes as you enter the Sky. In the bowels of the Castle you enter both the Hero Plane and God Plane as at the heart of the Towers. Throughout you can walk on the Spirit and Mundane Planes and right at the Heart of the Web, where Her Bloated Highness sits, you can be in the Mundane, Spirit, Hero and God Planes all at once. Don't go there - you thought that Dorastor was a BAD PLACE, wait till you see Craggy's Castle.
Rich Ohlson
> Somebody was mentioning that Most horses in Glorantha are little more
> than ponies.
Apart from those of the Black Horse Troop, Grazelander Goldeneye, Pentian Flesh-Eaters ...
> One thing I figured I should point out is that with the
> ridiculous amount of Sorcery available in the west, even the most
> pathetic pony can become a warhorse with enough enhance size, enhance
> str. Wouldn't the Wizards Champion have a signifigant advantage?
Yes of course, if the righteous prayers of the Wizards are said in a just cause then the Knights will be made stronger and blessed with Victory over the Heathen and their mounts shall be made mighty and the Heathen shall be smitten, yea, and crushed beneath the Righteous Hooves of Iron.
Robert McArthur asked about Kygerliths:
They are immense statues of Kyger Litor, generally chewed from a single piece of Rock brought back from WonderHome.
When a Great Temple is blessed (although it probably is not every Great Temple) the KygerLith is invoked and a protion of Kyger Litor herself comes to dwell within the Statue.
This has several advantages -
1. The Temple has a Massive Guardian in times of real emergency (imagine a
40 foot statue moving around smashing and rending).
2. The Goddess dwells with you and can be seen moving around - none of this "Unapproachable" nonsense from the Kyger Litor cult.
3. Prayers can be answered more quickly and easily as you are communicating directly with the Goddess.
4. HeroQuests can be started and finished at the KygerLith as a Sacred Item.
> I can assume some things... eg. you can more easily contact Kyger Litor
at one
for ceremonies and prayer);
Yup.
> they are not easy to establish/create or they
would be common;
No, you go to WonderHome, pick up a forty foot tall piece of Magical Stone, untouched by Light, carry it back to the Surface, keep it in a State of Bliss and Darkness, Chew it into shape, making sure that you do not make a single error in the carving, then Summon your Goddess and persuade her that it is an acceptable Dwelling Place and hoping that she does not eat you. It's easy really.
> being at one or touching one while not associated with KL or
other darkness deity is probably bad for your health.
Ever tried touching Kyger Litor - that's how bad it is. It's OK if you are Questing as a friend or are powerful enough to meet her as an enemy or know how to trick her, but apart from that you're screwed.
Robert McArthur:
> OK, another question while I'm here: in the defunct Trollpack, it says
that
> Eristi met [grandfather mortal] who was the first to die. "The next
stranger
> who came...was Yelm, the second being to die..." Is it generally
accepted
> that Yelm was the second to die? I thought he was a bit further down in
the
> list... In this case, we have death passing (in Orlanthi mythos):
> Humakt -> Eurmal -> Orlanth -> Eurmal ... pretty much everyone else!
> So the greater darkness came immediately after Humakt got death (and
after he
> had played around with it for a bit offing Grandad.
As far as I remember, not having the source books to hand, here, Humakt gained Death and used the Power of Severing to destroy its resting place (I think, but this is a half-remembered fact). He then found Grandgather Mortal who had turned down a few powers (Mirror Polishing and Toenail Picking, or something similar) and asked him if he wsanted a go. "OK, what harm can it do?" and whallop! Then Orlanth saw the Shiny Thing and wanted it, but Humakt, being Tight Fisted said no, so Orlanth got his mate Eurmal to steal it for him. He then met Yelm who was standing in his Papier Mache Armour with his splendid paper shield and rubber-tipped arrows looking at himself in the Sky and challenged him to Scrap. "OK, what harm can it do?" and whallop! Then things got messy.
The funny thing is that when Yelm died and went to Hell, many of his entourage went with him as Companions. Now, did they go voluntarily or did Orlanth start waving his chopper around and bump off all of Yelm's mates? I think he probably did. After all, Storm Gods are not known for their restraint when wielding a sword.
Well that's all for now.
By the way, there is a Bar here (in Moscow) called "The Hungry Duck" and the barstaff have these T-Shirts which have a picture of, you guessed it, a Hungry Duck on the back. They are the best examples of a Gloranthan Duck that I have ever seen - better even than the Illustrations on Duck Pond/Duck Tower. So the Duck has Teeth, but let's not quibble. I'm going to have to buy a couple. If anyone else wants one and doesn't fancy a trip to Moscow, let me know.
Simon
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