I had wondered about the bridges a couple of days ago -- they didn't seem to be the same level of contribution as, say, Vayobi's unified language or the Grey Age Emperor's becoming the Sun.
Congratulations to Nils for figuring out the purpose of the Bridges, and of Godunya's intended contribution to the Mystic Splendour of Kralorela!
Nick on Marcher Barons
>This way we could keep your explanation ("the Barons didn't realize
>until too late that there was little point in it..."), while retaining
>the fairly general consensus that the Fort was actually built in the God
>Learner period, and has since been occupied on and off by many different
>groups
This was more or less my intent, to have the Trader Barons come to Kethaela, and then eventually get the idea to continue on into and through Prax. My guess would be that they disbelieved the local old wives' tale about how vast and inhospitable Prax and the Wastes were, and how dangerous the nomads were, and started construction while they sent their knights out to scout the land. When 1 knight out of a group of 20 knights and 50 footmen returned 2 seasons later, after having escaped from the Praxians as the sole survivor of the expedition, with tales of Leagues and Leagues of Praxian- and chaos-infested wasteland, then they realized their folly. But the expense was too great to just give up, so they completed the castle and then offered their services to the local Kethaelans as a buffer, and as mercenaries.
Is this something like your idea for the place?
I wonder what the name of the martyred knight (for he of course died soon after from wounds, exhaustion, and dehydration) was?
Praxian cult distributions, Richard Develyn:
>d) With this in mind, cross referencing BoDR p.15 "Clan and Tribe" and
>p. 67 "Cult Distributions" I'm wondering how some of the minor clan
>cults ever get enough initiates to support even a minor temple (e.g.
>Impala clan of 300 will have about 30+ Storm Bull worshippers). Possible
>explanations I can think of:
>
>d1) Clans meet up into tribes fairly regularly to renew Rune spells.
>d2) Worshippers of same cult of different tribes meet up.
>d3) Clans use little Rune Magic.
Do you mean minor clans like the Ostrich Clan, or small clans of the great tribes?
For the great tribes, remember that with them, as among the Orlanthi, many Praxian "fringe deities" are worshiped primarily by one clan within the tribe. Thus, the Storm Impala clan (mentioned in Cults of Prax) is known to have a higher concentration of Storm Bull worshipers, and I believe they also have some members who specifically worship both Gagarth and Orlanth. Thus, this clan serves as the focus for Storm Bull worship within the tribe -- clans with fewer Storm Bulls might try to meet up with the Storm Clan on holy days to take advantage of their larger temple size.
Similar situations would exist within other tribes, especially the Sables: given the fact each sable clan is said to use different weapons and different battle magic spells, I think each of the unusual deities worshiped by the Sables is concentrated into a single one of their clans (or multiple clans, where the percentage is high). Except for Storm Bull, who probably has a fairly uniform (and, currently low) membership in most or all of the clans.
Thus, a few Sable Clans have "converted" to worship of the Seven Mothers cult (though they retain their ties to Waha), and the rest of the clans, mostly those in the Wastes, have no Seven Mothers worshipers at all (or at least very few).
For the lesser clans, keep in mind that each of them is a fairly distinct and tightly-knit unit, who probably worship _all_ of these spirits with some frequency, at least once per year each. Just to keep the spirit's friendship strong. Also, with many of the lesser peoples, the links to these spirits are not just of friendship, but of strong kinship and mythical bonds. Thus, the baboons can probably worship Monkey King with fewer baboons present than the Praxians would need to gain his favor. Same would be true of the Unicorn Maidens and the star spirits, since their goddess, Yelorna the Sun Daughter, can command the star spirits to aid them. So, again, they would get an advantage as well.
>- --- I think I've understood this correctly. If someone wants some
>particular spirit/rune spell, they're going to have to rendezvous with
>their clan, or a friend's clan, possibly at some specific spot. I like
>the idea of this - it'll make the PCs realise that magic isn't an easy
>thing to get hold of (which seems in keeping with the spirit (oops -
>pun) given in RQ3).
Not exactly. As I see it, most Spirit Cult worship in Prax is done specifically by the Waha shamans -- that is one of their two main jobs, and since they have lost their pre-eminent role against chaos to Storm Bull, this is their more important job.
Thus, every time a clan comes across a holy spot, the entire clan will stay there for a day or three, and the Waha shaman will lead them in a worship ceremony to one spirit or another. Of course, it is always going to be best to try to contact one of the spirits who is known to favor this place (IMG, I would say that you do not need to possess the normal Spirit Cult fetish to contact them, though in the case of the River Horses I would say that you still do, so remove them from the list which I posted). But, if what you really need is protection from the particularly hot summer sun, you are going to try to contact Thunder Bird even if you are at Cam's Well.
I would love to try to incorporate the randomness inherent in the Nomad Gods rules into this process (that is, you have no control over which spirit or demon is going to come when you call), but I don't have a good and workable way to do this. Ideas are welcome.
>"Raising An Ancient Cradle" (the most expensive campaign ever written)
>
>Before I move on, though, I'm still desperately after any indications
>about how things will change in the RofC/SC area *after* the cradle
>wafts by. Given that I'm starting before 1621, I can use all published
>material for the area (thank goodness, though I did think only Lunar
>Coders would be affected), though I need to know what's happening
>afterwards.
One idea is to have this long-lost Cradle's magical defenses activated when The Cradle floats down the river. Many people see the magic glows and hear the strange sounds, but most are too scared to investigate.
Simultaneously, shamans in a number of nearby Praxian tribes receive visions of various kinds, and convince the khans to send someone (the PC's!) to investigate. One clan might think they will get treasure out of it, another is trying to contact a new spirit remnant, another to stop the End of the World from coming, etc. The visions show the tribesmen sent being met along the way by others who will aid them. Thus, each group has a reason to join with the other group. Of course, each PC will also be convinced that THEY should be the leader, because their shaman told them that these others were there to aid THEM, not the other way around.
Does this help your rationale any?
Stephen Martin
ilium_at_juno.com
- -----------------------------------------------The Book of Drastic Resolutions
End of The Glorantha Digest V5 #392
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