What, you think any sensible female troll would go leaping over the walls of human fortifications into near certain death? Sounds like Gerak Kag was famous for exactly the sort of fighting that you make someone expendable do....
>Does every god and goddess have a unique set of Runes?
>
No. But there don't seem to be many notable overlaps, though.
>If they did, would that have a serious effect on Glorantha Theology?
>
Yes, for a start it would imply the objectivist position was true - because if two gods were similar enough to have the same runes, then they would have to be the same.
>If not, how do gods with matching runes get along?
>
Generally, they occupy very similar cultural roles. This could mean they compete (ie Lodril and Turos at one point), or merge (ie several minor Lodril cults, like Breath Within and Perakosus), or eventually learn to get along, generally meaning accepting that the gods are in some way the same, or brothers, or something (Lodril and Turos). Rareq
>Does the number of Runes associated with a particular god/goddess relate
>to that beings power?
>
Not causally, but indirectly. I don't think the god with more runes is always the toughest. But having lots of runes implies quite a complex cult, with many aspects - which implies either a cult that is very large and well developed, or has a complex history.
The things that do indicate a cult that is particulary powerful in
some ways are
a) the infinity rune - I think this implies a cult is in some way
universal, with a power beyond its numbers due to being intimately
connected to some aspect of the world. It seems to indicate gods that were
the original holders of a particular rune, and still hold it, and have a
deep and intimate relationship with that power. It doesn't necessarily
indicate that the cult is powerful in any conventional sense. Examples are
Flamal and Uleria
b) a rune that appears twice indicates that the deity is the 'owner' of
that rune. This doesn't necessarily mean that they are incredibly major
religions, but a lot of them are. And it does indicate that they have a
good magical control over than power.
c) holding opposed power runes is a sign that the deity has managed to
accomplish the impossible and simultaneously incarnate opposing powers.
This, again, doesn't mean raw power, but it does indicate something
normally impossible. Actually, it may well mean that such a deity is
illuminated - the only two I know of are the Lunar religion, and Yelm, both
of whom have both life and death and are known to be illuminates. Krarsht
used to hold movement and mobility, but not in the current writeup.
>I have seen heroquesting that involved more "Non Gloranthan" worlds than
>actual Gloranthan myths/recreations. Is this common, or just a
>signature mark of the campaigns I've played in? (The Heroplane seems to
>be a way to get to alternate worlds/dimensions.)
It was mentioned in an old WF RuneQuestions column that travelling to other worlds would be done by travelling to the heroplane directly, and then exiting into a different universe. But this is not what most people mean by a heroquest - and for the record, Greg has said that he regrets having allowed travellers from other worlds into Glorantha (apparently Redbird was one?).
They mentioned a few pecific places where you could travel on to the heroplane physically - a list that is well out of date, but for interest sake, I think the list included the Puzzle Canal, under Dagori Inkarth, Glamour, the Hidden Greens, and others.
Cheers
David
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