Did Ammas have to be reborn as a Troll to go far in Zorak Zoran? Wouldn't Zorak Zoran take any non-Chaotic with the, er, right attitude?
If it was ever more than a Gloranthan 'urban myth', surely it makes more sense for ritual rebirth as a Troll to be a Kyger Litor rite rather than a Zorak Zoran one -- because Kyger Litor is the Ancestress of the Trolls. Moreover wasn't Arkat "reborn as a Troll" during his Kyger Litor phase? So he already was a Troll when he joined Zorak Zoran?
Did Sog City ever have a Lich? If not, the 'Lich Gate' in Sog City might have its mundane RW meaning instead -- a term in church architecture describing "A roofed gateway to a churchyard used originally as a resting place for a bier before burial" (There used to be quite a famous one at Worcester Cathedral, for example). Would Malkioni funeral rites need such a place anyway? (I miss the section on funerary customs in cult write-ups that you found in Cults of Prax andCults of Terror)
Moving back to Liches generally, is there any offiicial (or unofficial but plausible) idea of what a Gloranthan Lich can do?
I cite no official source for this whatsoever, but in my Glorantha 'Lich' would be an inexact 'in-character' term to describe a powerful, sentient undead being which (probably) isn't a vampire -- few people get close enough to one to find out. Ammas, the ex-Shah of Carmania, could certainly qualify.
I wouldn't object to a Gloranthan calling Delecti a Lich either -- even if this infamous undying sorceror is technically a sort of vampire. (I thought Delecti started out as a vampire (and a Vivamort 'Hero') in Cults of Prax/Cults of Terror, but are either of those things still true today?) Apart from being more Baron Frankenstein than Dracula, what is Delecti these days?
A Lich would need some connection with necromantic magic -- but they need not be Chaotic. A Zorak Zoran Lich would certainly be a possibility in my Glorantha. (IIRC there was a Zorak Zoran mummy in the original Griffin Mountain, so why not have something a bit more bespoke?)
>From what little I understand of Heroquest, the game lends itself quite well to making unique creatures -- come up with a strong concept and the right keywords etc. and the rest sort-of falls into place.
A creature like this should probably be unique. In Runequest game terms I would probably use something like a powerful Mummy (an intelligent zombie with non-regenerable POW/Magic Points like a vampire), a Wraith, or maybe a Draugr as a base. (Draugr were the powerful undead created by the Urain cult, as written up in either Lords of Terror or the Book of Drastic Resolutions volume about Chaos-- can't remember which).
I am pretty ignorant of what Liches can do in D & D (in any edition), but if the 'standard' D & D Lich (or your other favourite undead horror in some other fantasy/horror RPG) has some kewl powerz that fit, why not add some or all of these to the Lich's abilities too?
The creature will also retain some of the magic they knew in life -- though learning new Divine Magic and/or finding the Magic Points to fuel large-scale spell-casting might be quite challenging. Sorcery might work better.
Though it is a bit of a dungeon-crawling cliche, Liches probably have quite a few guards and other minions around it, most of which are probably also undead.
Lichers should not be two a penny either -- an individual Lich should be at least a major 'guest villain' for a scenario, if not a 'series villain'.
Richard Hayes
From: Keith <keith.nellist_at_tTf7rYHv7QPg9dSIYjA8ZOaVnuXtKeNk5PHwPB2YGHS5nDtVreavcMs6wN8jzcrYk3ObfSz3BazxGW0AlUL-tZ_mY9Y.yahoo.invalid>
To: WorldofGlorantha_at_yahoogroups.com
Sent: Friday, 7 October 2011, 11:36
Subject: Re: Lich in Glorantha
In my game Asacar the Black was a cruel and brutal warlord before he became Shah. Once he was Shah he got involved in darkness demons and his son even more so, following the example of the Poet-Death Lord Great Garabang, who returned to the University of Ajaak for his lost compilation of Uz Poems.
There is a theory that Zorak Zoran Death Lords become gradually more lich-like so MY theory on Ammas would be that he turned into a troll, joined the Zorak Zoran cult and became a Zombie Death Lord.
Keith
>
> Hi all
>
> Is there any precise definition of a "lich" in Gloranthan terms?
>
> 1) The Gloranthan wiki has the following:
>
> Ammas
> Shah of Carmania
>
> * Son of Asacar
> * Called "the Black" as his father.
> * Born in 834 ST
> * Became Shah in 873 ST
> * Allied with the inhumans of the Grey Mountains.
> * Driven from power by his own subjects in 879 ST.
> * Said to become a powerful "Lich" haunting the Yolp Mountains.
>
> Sources: Fortunate Succession, Champions of the Reaching Moon
>
> 2) There is a Lich Gate in Sog City.
>
> I haven't been able to find any other mentions of "lich".
>
> cheers,
> Gianni
>
Yahoo! Groups Links
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]