> In the meantime, I've gotten the first two players to make characters
> after I left them with a brief 3-page summary of the Dragon Pass and
> Holy Country region to choose from.
> Being players, they have of course presented me with unexpected ideas.
> They want a Lunar occupied city, thinking the more direct presence will
> be more fun. So my bustling port with access to great knowledge, political
> intrigue that also acts as a hive of scum and villany seems to be Karse,
> post the Lunar invasion. (If I understand it, a largely bloodless
conquest, which
> at this time (c.1619) is used as a staging ground for the conquest of
Heortland
> by the Lunars, who should be disposing of Rikard about this time, and
beginning
> the siege of Whitewall.
In that case, I recommend you check out the collection of Karse links at
Lokarnos:
http://lokarnos.com/article.pl?sid=03/10/07/1224254&mode=thread
For mad sorcerers, the city of Refuge would be a good alternative.
> The First has made a merchant of the city. He's established, a player, and
> manipulative. But here's the interesting bit. He wants to be of Sartarite
> extraction, more specifically, he wants a link with Kallyr. While as a
> merchant in a cosmopolitan city he claims to not be unnecessarily
> tied down by Orlanthi traditions, he can't escape his culture growing up.
> So while he doesn't really believe in the rebellion (trade is trade, he
> can trade anywhere, with anyone who has money) he also can't
> turn his back on Kallyr, so finds himself supporting her covertly.
This character concept actually describes a couple of NPCs and PCs I have encountered in playing in or discussing Karse.
> Does that work? I'm not going to have her show up directly much (she'll be
> pretty occupied through Whitewall, but it gives me a great big hook to
pull on
> him.)
That's not too dissimilar from my own character concept (although I chose a Pelaskite who turned out as Hevduran apprentice who was drawn into adventuring for family reasons). Back in 1997, Jeff Richard and I used the character Gunnar Halfstead from the Chaosium Carse supplement as expatriate Sartarite.
> The other issue he is having trouble with is his magic. Logically, he
> should have been initiated into Issaries or one of the children
> thereof. But other options that fit the character are to keep him with
> common magic, picking up whatever is useful, and he
> has also been intrigued by Argan Argar, seeing as the Shadow Plateau is
> right there.
Turning towards Argan Argar would be very cosmopolitan for a character of standard Sartarite background (there are a few clans plus the entire Torkani tribe with Darkness ties through AA, but Kallyr's won't be among those).
When did the character leave Sartar? If before his initiation, everything is possible in Karse - you just have to find the right mentors.
> The Second has presented me with another problem. He went Moorcockian on
> me. He's created an island of Sorcerers still bound by the closing.
> In fact, their rulers claim they brought the Closing down to hide from the
> evil of the GodLearners, who were destroying the world and themselves.
> As he rose through the ranks, he had the secret of the ruling
> wizards revealed to him, they use vile, chaotic magics. Although his
> culture always accepted chaos, it was in the way of most Lunars,
> with an idea chaos was controlled and the more violent aspects
> rejected. He found this not true. He rebelled, and was cast
> out into the sea. Where a ship found him.
Sounds like Slontan dissidents (if you want a Malkioni background). Malkioni with Chaos ties include the Boristi of inland Ralios (who received a RQ write-up in Tradetalk), the lost Vampire Kings of Tanisor from the early Gbaji Wars, and the results of the God Learner meddling in Slontos e.g. in Ramalia (who make the Tanisorans look not so lost).
> So now he has discovered the world was not destroyed, and the ship's
> captain has told him of Lunars, who seem to be the same as the lying
> rulers of his isle. But in Holy Country he hears echoes of the legendary
> powers that could slay the evil rulers of his land and free his people.
Like in the Machine Wars? Kethaela united vs. vile sorcery...
> This player is a very prolific writer, so he should have no trouble coming
> up with his own myths and legends, which I will then tweak to offer him
> ways. He has brought some of his Chaotic sorcery with him, and is
> seeking some way to destroy Chaos, both facts should make him of
> interest to many sides in the struggles going on in the area. The biggest
> problem I have with him is determining how to do Sorcery that taps into
> Chaos.
You might have spells that could borrow a specific chaos feature for a limited time, which would require a handy source of this chaos at the ready. Regeneration would be a munchkin's choice since you could take any tame cave troll as the source...
> So, anyone got some ideas on whether Karse is a good place to put this,
The only choice for a Lunar-occupied port city in 1619, and even after the 1620 conquest of Heortland (adding Leskos, Vizel and Refuge to that list) the best choice, Refuge as some competition, though.
> the feasiblity of the Kallyr link, and Chaos sorcery? I'm looking more
for fitting into
> Glorantha than rules here.
With the sorcerers, you'll have to decide whether to make them Malkioni in origin (changed by the God Learners into something not quite Malkioni) or different. Non-Malkioni sorcery probably would come from the East or the dwarves.
Another option is to make that character one of the isolated Waertagi (as in "Aftal the Waertagi", a fragment of a novel by Greg Stafford, printed in Missing Lands) of the anchored city-ship complexes which fooled the Closing by remaining immobile. Here we have sorcerers with deep secrets. There are chaotic beings of the deep, too, and what we know of the Waertagi gone down to Magasta's Pool and returning as hell demons in the Hero Wars, it is quite possible that one of these city-ship places went for chaotic support.
Such a sorcerer would have spells from the Debaldan School and from the hidden chaotic sources in the character background.
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