The game is set in Balazar. I have taken the liberty of creating another citadel and playing around with the region. The new citadel is in the Brothers Hills on the East plains for those who own Griffon Mountain. You could put it any where you like for those who own Griffon Island. The citadel is called Tyrnoi. It is not unlike the others as far as pigs to people to priest ratios. However, it has contacts with the Uz to the north; this does distinguish it form the others.
There is a headhunting tribe in the area marked "Tuno's Cradle". I think that somewhere it has been written that there are turtle Hsunschen there. Well, not in my game. Maybe the headhunters came in and killed off the turle Hsunschen, I don't know. The headhunters tribe is called Thano's Cradle. They are mean and associated with darkness. They are not strictly Chaotic, just damned evil from the point of view of their neighbors. They are nocturnal too. They use darklight and create head rituals from the Thanatar write-up in ROC.
The Two Stone tribe have been moved up into Ron's Wood. Their lands are marked by two menhirs that roughly coincide with the northwest and soouthwest spurs of the Brothers Hills. This tribe is loosly allied with King Zac the Powerful of Tyrnoi. (Who knows what epithet Zac will get after he is dead. While he is alive no one dare call him anything else. At least to his face or anyone else who has his ear.)
I have inserted a plains/hill dwelling tribe called Sunchildren. The are xenophobic heliophiles who regard the Uz associations to be uber bad. They used to be the tribe which ruled Dykene. They have been settled where they are for three generations now.
As another theme of the campaign I wanted people to be motivated by their "human" motives as much as their religious ones. Just because someone is a member of your cult doesn't mean you are going to like them much less love them. The result from this is that the Lightbringers are not a happy family.
The story of the Shrine begins with a Sartari Storm Voice named Medb Stormfollower. She had a substantive and serious disagreement with the other light bringers, most likely one in particular. It is not certain because she doesn't talk about it.
She took "her share" of the treasury of the temple. She left Trilus at night along with her most trusted (two body guards and two servants) and fled through the Oakwood. She guessed rightly that she was not followed by the Lightbringers of Trilus. Her route took her into the Thano lands. She did not know that her flight was while there were Thano Holy days. Her group were anbushed at night by Thano braves seeking captives to make holiday heads. Only Medb and her bodyguard Cyneric the Red escaped onto the East Plain.
Upon reaching Tyrnoi she put on her Windsday best clothes and sought an audience with the king. He was impressed by her foretelling of the weather. He took her on as a retainer over the protests of the Elmali priests. Her role as royal meteorologist is of huge economic importance to Tyrnoi. She tells the king when to make hay; as in "make hay while the sun shines". Because the Balazar economy is so marginal a few days good hay-making makes all the difference between keeping all of your sows fed till sacred time and the alternative of having to slaughter not only all the meat pigs but some of the sows as well in late Earthseason.
Shortly after the first of the Hay days, which is when new inititates are brought into the fold. She divined that spirits of her companions lost in Oakwood were not feasting with Orlanth's einherjar. Orlanth was not able to fetch their spirits as he does for those who die in foreign lands. By offering to teach Orlanthi magics she summoned a group to go to the Thano forest. Through craft, guile and judicious force she liberated the heads/souls of her companions from the clutches of the Thano. Call it a hero quest, Lightbringer reenactment or just a thumping adventure, it doesn't matter.
Medb brought the three skulls back. Orlanth will go and free souls of those who die in foreign lands; the faithful will arrive in the land of the dead. This shrine is a testament to this precept. Their souls are the guardians of the temple. They will be the first spirits which will ally with those Orlanth deems worthy. They teach spirit magics.
Location
The shrine is at the end of a ridge of hills 3 hours climb/walk from the
citadel of Tyrnoi. The travelling will carry you closer to the lands of
the Sun Children.If travelling to a service, the three hours count as
climbing research. This research amounts to 36 hours per year if all six
ceremonies are attended.
The shrine is located on the west face of a mountain. The peak is tall and catches the winds well. There is a cave with a shelf around it. At the back of the cave the three skulls are enshrined. The spirits of the skulls can see the weather and clouds from their vantage point. They are consulted for divination and spell secrets.
Congregation
There are 25 worshipers of this temple. They worship seasonally and on
holidays. These are in Movement week of every season. There are also the
Hay Days in Death or Fertility week Earth season. The high holy times
are storm season and sacred time.
The tithes contributed to the temple by the worshippers amounts to 7 silvers a day. This is an abstraction, based upon Sandy's recent post. On top of this contribution Medb receives a ham a week as stipend from the Zac the Keeper of Balazar's Flame. The congregation also helps out every year around the Hay Days. Each person spends four weeks at the outbuilding too. This makes for two people all year round. They can always sleep at the outbuilding. However,if you are staying you are expected to work.
Rulesy stuff about why it is active when: The shrine is not continuously magically active. It is too small to have the attention of the god at all times. When ever there is a service the shrine is "active" on the day of the ceremony. It is also active on the day after. This allows up to two points of divine magic to be meditated upon and regained. On the Hay Days the shrine is active for the day before, the day of and five days after. This allows seven days time in which divine spells can be learned, new people initiated or magics renewed. It is holy for two weeks after the high holy day and all of sacred time.
As the number of people increase the periods of potency will increase. Once this reaches the rq3 magic book number of 100 the shrine will be active at all times. The shrine is so active because there is a full priest and an acolyte attending it. Once there are fifty people here I would say that it will be active all Storm season and for a week around each seasonal holyday. For four weeks around Hay days and Sacred time. At seventy five people it would be active for Storm, Earth and Sea seasons.
What format would this stuff be most useful in?
What is missing?
Where is there "too much detail" ie what could be left out?
Why's for answers to the above what's and where would be most
appreciated.
I included all of the background stuff because it is what I like to read on the digest - Marginalia.
Justin
End of Glorantha Digest V4 #323
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