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Subject: RuneQuest Daily, Wed, 13 Jul 1994, part 1
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X-RQ-ID: Intro
This is the RuneQuest Daily Bulletin, a mailing list on
the subjects of Avalon Hill's RPG and Greg Stafford's
world of Glorantha. It is sent out once per day in digest
format.
More details on the RuneQuest Daily and Digest can be found
after the last message in this digest.
---------------------
From: PMichaels@aol.com
Subject: Only a heartbeat away...
Message-ID: <9407122351.tn341138@aol.com>
Date: 13 Jul 94 03:51:09 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 5132
Greetings all! Well, I've decided to post
an idea that I've had for a while, after
prompts from Nick Brooke and Martin
Crim.
This was written in an attempt to try to
think about how the worshipers of
Humakt can all behave so differently,
and how various regions interpret
Humakt in different ways. In short, it is
an attempt to help put the behavior of
Humakti into a cultural context. As
Martin pointed out to me, these Hearts
help reveal the dichotomies which the
culture considers important. They help
show the structure of the ethical beliefs
held by the culture where the Humakti
worship. To quote Martin, "...if you
know that a Sartarite Humakti wonders
whether he should sacrifice his heart of
x, you know that x is an important
question in Sartar."
This is still very much a work in
progress. I'm not sure how much of the
below is *the way things are* in
Glorantha, but to me this was an
exercise in thinking about the cultural
differences which _might_ manifest in
the worship of a cult found in many
different regions. I think it's also an
exercise in considering the role of the
warrior in the various Gloranthan
cultures. Those of you who have given
thought to and/or played in the regions
I identify are asked to please let me
know if the values associated with the
Hearts seem to fit the Humakti in that
region for you.
It should be noted that I think the
differences between the various
temples of Humakt are only _partially_
explained by the idea below. We know
from TOTRM#5 that the gifts and geasa
vary within the Humakt cult between
temples and between regions. Perhaps
the geasa are somehow linked to the
Hearts, or perhaps they are connected to
whatever causes the Hearts to vary
from temple to temple, and region to
region.
I originally chose the heart metaphor
out of my own cultural context. I think
the actual metaphorical organ used in
Glorantha may well be different,
depending upon how the Gloranthan
culture thinks about the body. Perhaps
the Humakti trolls speak of the Liver or
Stomach of Innocence, etc...
Also, I have not yet come up with a
game mechanic for this concept. One
obvious game mechanic is to link it in
some way to the use of personality
traits, but this will only work in a
campaign already using such traits (like
Pendragon Pass), and will not work in a
standard RQ game. Anybody with a
good idea for a game mechanic is
encouraged to please speak up.
______
The Heart of the Matter
For followers of Humakt and Yanafal
Tarnils, the Heart has great ritual
significance. These cults believe that
people actually have several hearts, and
that these hearts can be sacrificed to
bring them closer to their respective
god. Actually, it is not the sacrificing
which is significant, but the absence of
the specific type of Heart for the
worshiper of Death. The importance of
not having these parts is often only
apparent when a Humakti is on a
Heroquest.
It is interesting that different temples
recognize different Hearts, and that
some temples try to protect certain
Hearts in their warriors. These
differences appear primarily cultural,
but may also have great mystical
significance.
THE SACRED HEARTS OF HUMAKT
______________________________
All worshipers of Humakt and Yanafal
Tarnils recognize the Heart of Life. It is
both the physical heart within the
worshiper's physical body and part of
the spiritual heart in the worshiper's
soul. It is what keeps him or her alive
in their body. All worshipers pledge
their Heart of Life to their god on
initiation, swearing that they will not
interfere with their own death and will
seek a "good death". This pledge is part
of what prevents Humakti and Yanafal
Tarnils worshipers bodies from being
turned into skeletons and zombies, and
brings their extreme hatred (and
subsequent vengeance) if turned into
mummies or vampires. For Humakti
worshipers this pledge also results in
their proscriptions against resurrection,
and sometimes even against magical
healing. Exactly what is considered a
"good death" is culturally defined. For
Sartar Humakti, the only good death is
to die with a sword in your hand from
wounds obtained in combat. In
Jonatela, a good death might include
dying from disease provided the
Humakti was infected while fighting
Chaos. Among the Yanafal Tarnils
worshipers, any death is a good death so
long as the person dying has properly
prepared themselves via the Lunar
Way. (The Lunar process of dying is
officially described in "The Lunar Book
of the Dead.")
All Humakti and Yanafal Tarnils temples
also recognize the Heart of Innocence. It
is also called the Heart of the Child or
the Heart of Youth. This Heart must also
be sacrificed on initiation into the cult of
Humakt or Yanafal Tarnils. The
individual who has lost his innocence
will be hardened, and will not find
death distressing, no matter how
grotesquely someone may have died.
This loss of innocence does not impair
someone's ability to grieve.
All Humakti and Yanafal Tarnils temples
recognize the Heart of Joy. This Heart is
sacrificed on becoming a Sword of
Humakt or Scimitar of Yanafal Tarnils.
The individual who had lost this part of
himself can still be happy, cheerful, and
satisfied, but not joyful. (ex. The spell
Erotocomatose Lucidity will still make a
Sword feel good, but will lack the
ecstatic quality often desired.) The
experience of incarnating Death has an
effect on the degree to which a person
can feel alive. The moments of feeling
transcendentally alive, of ecstasy, are
lost to a person so closely bound to
Death. After losing that capacity, some
people gradually become sullen and
dour. This may take longer for some
than others, and certainly does not
happen to everyone. The Yanafal
Tarnils cult claim that their Scimitars
also sacrifice the Heart of Joy, but
receive the Blessing of Thanks from the
Red Goddess and people of the Lunar
Empire, causing the Heart of Joy to
return tenfold to the Scimitar.
(Sartarite Ulerians are often surprised
by the enjoyment known Scimitars
express on receiving their services.)
The old Carmanian Humakti had a ritual
to mutilate the Heart of Joy. This ritual,
called Summoning the Heart of Talor,
allowed warriors to feel ecstasy when in
the presence of death. The amount of
ecstatic bliss felt was in direct
proportion to the amount of death near
a warrior. This sometimes led to
Carmanian Humakti killing large
numbers of (usually non-Carmanian)
people indiscriminately to attain and
maintain their highest rapture. This
ritual is considered heretical in all Third
Age Humakti temples, with the possible
exception of the Kingdom of War.
The Heart of Charity is also known as
the Heart of Sympathy, Heart of Giving,
or Heart of Generosity. It is recognized
by Praxian, Sartar, Heortland, Esrolia,
and Ralios Humakti. This Heart is
always protected by the Praxian
Humakti, where it is second only to the
Heart of Bravery. All other Humakti
cults take no official stand on whether
to protect this Heart or not. Most
temples teach their warriors to sacrifice
it as worthless, but a few regularly
protect it. The Yanafal Tarnils cult also
recognizes this Heart, but almost all
Scimitars sacrifice it saying that
sympathy is the province of the Teelo
Norri cult and not of a warrior.
Individuals who have sacrificed this
Heart generally become uncharitable
and selfish. The old Carmanian Humakti
temples regularly sacrificed this Heart.
The Heart of Graciousness is recognized
in Jonatela and Ralios. This Heart is
highly protected by Jonating Humakti.
In Ralios the cult takes no official stand
on whether to protect this Heart or not.
Most temples teach their warriors to
protect it, but a few regularly sacrifice it
as worthless. To be gracious is to have
courteous manners and proper decorum.
It is required for an individual to be
considered chivalrous. To be chivalrous
is to be civilized (and thus Malkioni).
Those who sacrifice this Heart are
considered churlish boors or barbarians.
Jonating Humakti knights often believe
that all non-Malkioni have lost this
heart. In the early history of the
Carmanian Empire, this Heart was
always protected. Later the cult in
Carmania took no official stand
regarding this Heart. The Yanafal
Tarnils cult in Lunar Carmania claims
that that all the old Carmanian Humakti
who possessed this Heart joined
together to sacrificed it in a massive
ceremony just prior to the Battle of
Dolebury in 0/21 (S.T. 1268).
The Heart of Honor is recognized in Prax
(Pol Joni only), Sartar, Heortland, and
Esrolia. It is considered the most
important Heart for Pol Joni and Sartar
Humakti, and is highly protected. In
Heortland and Esrolia the cult takes no
official stand on whether to protect this
Heart or not. Most temples teach their
warriors to protect it, but a few sacrifice
it as useless. It is required for an
individual to be considered honorable.
This means to be painstakingly honest,
to keep both the letter and the intent of
one's word (whether under an oath or
not), and to follow the Code of Humakt.
Those who sacrifice this Heart risk
becoming untrustworthy and unreliable.
The Heart of Bravery is recognized only
in Prax, where it is the most highly
protected Heart. It is required for an
individual to be considered a Brave (i.e.
a Warrior). All Praxian Humakti believe
other Praxian warriors also have this
heart. Those who sacrifice this Heart
are considered cowards or <> (I'm
unsure of the Praxian word, but it
means "becoming a woman").
The Heart of Compassion (also known as
the Heart of Forgiveness) is recognized
by the cult of Yanafal Tarnils and the
Humakti cults in Esrolia, Heortland,
Sartar, Prax, Pent, and Jonatela. Loss of
this Heart often results in an
indifference to the suffering of the
living and an inability to grieve or
mourn. Sometimes a person will
become unforgiving and vengeful. The
various cults of Humakt, and Yanafal
Tarnils, take no official stand on
whether to protect this Heart or not.
Some temples teach their warriors to
sacrifice it as worthless, while others
regularly protect it. Those Lunars who
sacrifice this Heart often say that
forgiveness is the province of Danfive
Xaron.
In First Century Manaria a Humakti
Heroquest which required the sacrifice
of this Heart was discovered. This
ritual, called the Lead Cross Quest,
allowed for the creation or summoning
of a powerful magical item which
promoted the sanctity of death over life.
This sometimes led to Humakti Lead
Cross worshipers killing Chalana Arroy
healers to prove their devotion to death.
This ritual is believed lost to the Third
Age Humakti temples, who consider this
quest heretical. The old Carmanian
Humakti temples regularly sacrificed
this Heart, and they may have known
the Lead Cross Quest ritual.
The sacrifice of the Heart of Mercy (also
known as the Heart of Kindness in
Sartar, the Heart of Clemency in
Jonatela, and the Heart of Tolerance in
the Lunar Empire) generally leads to an
individual becoming cruel and
intolerant. The Jonating, Praxian,
Pentan, Sartar, Heortland, Esrolian, and
Ralios cults of Humakt, and the cult of
Yanafal Tarnils, take no official stand on
whether to protect this Heart or not.
Some temples teach their warriors to
protect it, while others regularly
sacrifice it as unworthy of a warrior.
Those Lunars who sacrifice this Heart
often say that mercy is the province of
Deezola. The old Carmanian Humakti
temples regularly sacrificed this Heart.
The Heart of Justice is recognized in
Jonatela, the Lunar Empire, Sartar,
Heortland, Esrolia, and Ralios. This
Heart is protected by Sartar Humakti,
where it is considered second only to
the Heart of Honor. It is also valued by
the cult of Yanafal Tarnils. The Jonating,
Heortland, Esrolia, and Ralios cults of
Humakt takes no official stand on
whether to protect this Heart or not.
Some temples teach their warriors to
protect it, while others regularly
sacrifice it as useless. Most Ralios and
Jonating Humakti knights sacrifice this
Heart, saying that the decision of what
is just and what is not belongs to their
Lord. Those who have lost their sense
of justice risk making arbitrary
decisions concerning reward and
punishment. Note that issues of justice
are different from issues of legality and
morality. The old Carmanian Humakti
temples regularly sacrificed this Heart.
Humakti in the Kingdom of War
recognize all these Hearts, plus several
others, and they are said to sacrifice
them all. They consider describing a
warrior as having no heart to be an
accolade, and "Heartless" is one of the
titles of Lord Death on a Horse. Most
Jonating Humakti believe that the
Kingdom of War Humakti have some
connection to the old Carmanian
Humakti.
Uz Humakti worshipers, such as those in
Ralios, Sartar, and Heortland, pledge
their Heart of Life and sacrifice their
Hearts of Innocence and Joy just as do
all other temples of Humakt. All troll
Humakti temples were founded with
some initial learning and interaction
from human Humakti. Most trolls
happily sacrifice their Hearts of Charity,
Compassion, and Mercy, as they do not
understand these human concepts
anyway. (Most humans say Uz never
have these traits to begin with.) All Uz
Humakti temples recognize the Heart of
Justice and protect it. Some, such as the
Sazdorf Humakti, also recognize and
protect the Heart of Honor, binding
themselves to the Orlanthi Code of
Humakt thereby.
Since the Godswar, a few Aldryami have
worshipped a cult which seems to have
similarities to both the human cults of
Humakt and Yelmalio. This worship
does not seem to have been influenced
by the human cults, and the mythic
connections are unclear. It appears that
these Aldryami worshipers of pledge
their Hearts of Life and sacrifice their
Hearts of Innocence and Joy just as do
the temples of Humakt. They recognize
the Heart of Justice,which they always
protect. They also recognize something
they call the Heart of Growth, which
seems to have some similarity to both
the human Hearts of Charity and
Compassion, but also has some major
differences. No other Hearts are
recognized, as elves do not comprehend
such human concepts as mercy,
chivalry, or honor.
__________
"I left my heart in....."
(the Hearts by region):
Jonatela
Pledge: Life
Sacrifice: Innocence, Joy
Protect: Graciousness
No Clear Cult Position: Compassion,
Mercy, Justice
Old Carmania (now extinct)
Pledge: Life
Sacrifice: Innocence, Joy (special),
Compassion, Mercy, Justice
No Clear Cult Position: Graciousness
Peloria (Yanafal Tarnils)
Pledge: Life
Sacrifice: Innocence, Joy (special)
Protect: Justice
No Clear Cult Position: Charity
(generally sacrificed), Compassion, Mercy
Pent - Storm tribes only
Pledge: Life
Sacrifice: Innocence, Joy
No Clear Cult Position: Charity,
Compassion, Mercy
Prax - mostly Pol Joni and Zebra tribes
Pledge: Life
Sacrifice: Innocence, Joy
Protect: Bravery, Charity, Honor (Pol
Joni only)
No Clear Cult Position: Compassion,
Mercy
(I think the Praxians invert the names
of the Hearts, so that it is the Life Heart,
the Child's Heart, the Happy Heart, the
Brave Heart, the Giving Heart, etc...)
Sartar
Pledge: Life
Sacrifice: Innocence, Joy
Protect: Honor, Justice
No Clear Cult Position: Charity,
Compassion, Mercy
Heortland
Pledge: Life
Sacrifice: Innocence, Joy
Protect: Honor
No Clear Cult Position: Charity,
Compassion, Mercy, Justice
Esrolia
Pledge: Life
Sacrifice: Innocence, Joy
No Clear Cult Position: Charity,
Compassion, Mercy, Honor, Justice
Ralios
Pledge: Life
Sacrifice: Innocence, Joy
No Clear Cult Position: Charity,
Mercy, Graciousness, Justice
(generally sacrificed)
Uz - Ralios, Heortland, and Sartar
(human influenced)
Pledge: Life
Sacrifice: Innocence, Joy, Charity,
Compassion, Mercy
Protect: Justice, Honor (in Sartar &
Heortland only)
Aldryami (not human influenced)
Pledge: Life
Sacrifice: Innocence, Joy
Protect: Growth, Justice
_________
Well, please let me know what you think.
Peace,
Peter
---------------------
From: henkl@aft-ms (Henk Langeveld - Sun Nederland)
Subject: Re: RuneQuest Daily, Tue, 12 Jul 1994, part 1
Message-ID: <9407120725.AA14987@yelm.Holland.Sun.COM>
Date: 12 Jul 94 08:25:23 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 5117
> From RuneQuest-Request@glorantha Tue Jul 12 09:17 MET 1994
> Date: Tue, 12 Jul 94 09:15:21 +0200
> Message-Id: <9407120715.AA18935@glorantha.Holland.Sun.COM>
> From: RuneQuest-Request@Glorantha.Holland.Sun.COM (RQ Digest Maintainer)
> To: RuneQuest@Glorantha.Holland.Sun.COM (Daily automated RQ-Digest)
> Reply-To: RuneQuest@Glorantha.Holland.Sun.COM (RuneQuest Daily)
> Subject: RuneQuest Daily, Tue, 12 Jul 1994, part 1
> Sender: Henk.Langeveld@Holland
>
> X-RQ-ID: Intro
>
> [July,11: I've combined Saturday and Monday into
> one large issue... -HL]
>
And that referred to yesterday, of course...
Hopefully, we'll back to our normal schedule
tomorrow.
---------------------
From: henkl@aft-ms (Henk Langeveld - Sun Nederland)
Subject: Re: RQ-list
Message-ID: <9407120813.AA15444@yelm.Holland.Sun.COM>
Date: 12 Jul 94 09:13:38 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 5118
>There have been several references to the RQ-4 list recently. Can
>someone tell me how I should do to get onto it. I have some postings
>I would like to make that might be better suited for that list, since
>people in general don't seem to want to discuss rules on the daily.
>Thank You,
>Jesper
I don't mind the ocassional foray into rules.
If you really have a contribution to the RQ:AiG playtest,
send it to rq-playtest@marketing.wharton.upenn.edu.
Subscribe at listserv@marketing.wharton.upenn.edu.
--
Henk | Henk.Langeveld@Sun.COM - Disclaimer: I don't speak for Sun.
oK[] | Single Point of Change, Multiple Points of Reference
---------------------
From: joe@sartar.toppoint.de (Joerg Baumgartner)
Subject: Heortland Lemon Curry
Message-ID:
Date: 12 Jul 94 13:45:15 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 5119
Martin Crim in X-RQ-ID: 5093
> Joerg on my Heortland piece in the Orlanthi national character thing:
> I wrote this before (long before) I ever heard of the Aeolian
> church (and I still haven't seen it...).
I had hopes that Henk wold send it out last weekend. Instead, his
mailer striked...
> >I think that the Temple of Black Arkat mentioned on p.24 in
> >Troll Cults is located closer to Kitori lands, and that it is
> >seen as a remnant of the troll dominance rather than a
> >state-bearing organ among the Hendriki.
> As somebody else said, floor wax/dessert topping. I don't doubt
> that the TBA is popular in the Kitori tribe, but Malkionism (for
> all intents and purposes) came to present-day Heortland with
> Arkat. And nobody denies that Arkat became a troll. I can't
> imagine an Aeolian church without a prominent role for Arkat. He
> is for Heortlander Malkioni what Bodhidharma is for Chinese
> Buddhists.
> "What is the meaning of Bodhidharma coming from the west?"
> "The cypress tree in the garden."
> --Zen koan
> Generally speaking, I agree with what Joerg had to say about
> Heortland. Wish I'd known that stuff when I was roleplaying the
> king of that land...
Where and when did you do that?
> Pretty soon we'll have enough
> for an encyclopedia article. We have major exports, sports,
> economics, history, cat breeds, weapons, geology, folklore...
> Anybody want to flesh out architecture or dance (damn hard to
> research)?
I might tackle architecture, but dance is beyond me. However: I still
plan to write a campaign set for Heortland,
> Joerg specifically asks, re: my comment--
>>> The Hendreiki Lightbringers' Circle is not very important ...
>> Do you have evidence for this?
> To paraphrase MOB at the RQ Con, I took it from the same source
> that Greg Stafford uses--I made it up. But see below, where I
> agree with you.
> I hadn't known that yet. Cool idea. Can I be the trickster
> bishop?
Sort of. One of my ideas is to have seven distinct schools of Aeolian
wizardry, one specialising in illusion and similar stuff called
the mocking wind school, and generally the one with a disreputable
air around it. They claim always to look on the bright side of life...
You'd have to be competent in the magic department, anyway, but a
good trickster will prepare a gag meticulously over several years.
To embarrass the council is well worth an apprenticeship, isn't it?
--
-- Joerg Baumgartner joe@sartar.toppoint.de