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, Sat, 30 Apr 1994, part 1 Sender: Henk.Langeveld@Holland.Sun.COM Content-Return: Prohibited Precedence: junk 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: devinc@aol.com Subject: Some Praxian Plunder Message-ID: <9404292044.tn14313@aol.com> Date: 30 Apr 94 00:44:05 GMT X-RQ-ID: 3856 Devin Cutler here: While I do appreciate the various discussions on various esoterica, I do miss the great "practical" stuff that used to be posted to this Daily (you know, cults, magic items, creatures, etc.). Here are two of my submissions for Praxian Plunder. I welcome comments. GENERT'S TEARS DESCRIPTION A brownish piece of translucent hardened material much like amber, but with blue veins running through the surface and the interior. Such pieces are usually no larger than thumb-sized. CULTS Associated - Waha, Eiritha Friendly - Issaries Hostile - Chaos Cults KNOWLEDGE Common; Few HISTORY When Genert fought his tragic and desperate battles against Wakboth the Devil and the other forces of Chaos amid the lands that made up his garden, he had to make great sacrifices and had to bear witness to the destruction of everything he held dear. He was forced to turn his beloved followers into slivers of copper, so that the gods of air could whip them into a stinging fury that would delay the encroaching chaos. Even worse for the god, he watched helplessly as the centre of his being, his great garden, was slowly wrenched apart and made unwholesome by the advancing evil. Finally, Genert himself was overcome, and the god of the northern continent of Glorantha was slain, his paradise become the Wasteland that now stretches from Sartar to Kralorela. During his travails, Genert shed many tears. Within these tears were locked the very essence of the god's despair -- hopelessness, futility, desperation, and rage, but also were contained bits of the vitality, sensitivity, dauntless courage, and vigour that made up the best qualities of the now dead earth god. These tears hardened and crystallized into the amber-like substance that can be found currently. Genert's Tears are rare and wondrous items, found mostly in the centre of Genert's Wastes, especially at those places where great tragedy occurred. Such places include Genert's Garden (now a marsh in the Wastes) and the Copper Sands. Less often, such tears are found throughout all of the Wastes and Prax, although most of those shed in populated areas are likely to have been found. Certainly, since they can only be used once, the frequency of discovering tears has declined over time. PROCEDURE A Genert's Tear is utilized by swallowing it. First, the Tear must be softened with the expenditure of 1 MP. This gives the Tear the consistency of very thick sap for 5 minutes. If the Tear is then swallowed while soft, it will activate. If allowed to re harden, the Tear may be softened again at any time. POWERS Once swallowed, the user undergoes a surrogate experience of Genert's travails. If he survives the experience, he then gains a piece of Genert's strength and vitality. Each Tear has a POT of from 1 to 4. For all characteristic rolls, a POT of 1 requires a characteristic roll x5%. For POT 2 the roll is x4%, POT 3 x3% and POT 4 x2%. The Travails: The instant the Tear is swallowed, the user begins to experience the travails of Genert. He is incapable of any action other than to sit still and stare and perhaps moan or scream from time to time. The travail takes 3D6 minutes, and the user may experience, in addition to moaning softly and screaming occasionally, frothing at the mouth, crying jags, self mutilation (e.g. clawing at one's face, pulling out hair, etc.). During the Travail, the user must undergo the following characteristic rolls, with penalties for failure given therewith. CONSTITUTION Having succumbed to the pain of Genert, the user must subtract D20 from CON. If the result brings the user to 0 or less, then the user will have died of despair. Otherwise, CON will be regained at the rate of 1 per week. INTELLIGENCE Having fallen to the horrors that Genert witnessed, the user will go insane for D20 days. Treat as the effects of the Madness spell or make up an appropriate Insanity POWER Having surrendered to the despair that Genert felt, the user will become fatalistic and demoralized, acting as if under the effects of a Demoralize spell for D20 seasons. The Benefits: Should the user survive the ordeal, he may receive some benefits of the good qualities of Genert's essence. For each of the three Travails failed, subtract 1 from the POT of the Tear when figuring benefits. Thus, if a POT 1 Tear is swallowed, then all three Travails must be passed or no benefit is gained. VIGOUR The user has been imbued with the vitality and stamina of Genert, and may cast a Vigour spell equal in points to the POT of the Tear once per day at no cost in MP. RAGE The user has been imbued with the rage of Genert and may fall under a type of fanaticism wherein for each POT of the Tear, 5% is added to all melee attack percentages, but 5% is subtracted from all parries and dodges. This ability may be invoked once per day. Against an obvious creature of Chaos, the bonus to attack is doubled, without a corresponding doubling of penalties. COURAGE The user has been imbued with the courage of Genert, and may at all times add the POT of the Tear to any statistic involved in resisting Demoralization, Fear, Fearshock, etc. For example, a user with 13 MP and a POT 4 Tear would resist Demoralization as if his MP were 17. FERTILITY The user has been invested with the life giving aura of Genert and may cast a Heal spell equal to the POT of the Tear once per day at no MP cost. Vigour and Rage effects last 15 minutes once invoked. None of the powers may be invoked until any lingering effects of the Travail have been lifted. Any creature tainted by Chaos who imbibes one of the Tears will suffer extreme pain and will undergo all of the Travails with no chance of gaining any of the Benefits. VALUE At least 2,500L per POT. NOTE Chaos creatures are known to sometimes use these as a means of punishing others of their ilk by forcing them to swallow a Tear. Nevertheless, most devotees of Chaos will seek to destroy the Tears. When hard, the Tears have the hardness of Amber and can be destroyed by repeated blows. Designer's Notes: I wanted to create an item that centred around what is really the defining moment in all of Prax --the death of Genert, an event that I feel has really been under emphasized by RQ and Gloranthan scholars. I designed the item to be a sort of heroquest in miniature. In other words, the user follows in the path of the god Genert, and if he survives, he can gain some of Genert's powers and essence. This seems to be a very Gloranthan concept. As you can tell from my writeup, I consider Genert's death to be a tragic but heroic resistance on his part, probably to delay the encroaching Chaos long enough to allow for later victories, such as the I-Fought-We-Won Battle and/or Stormbull's victory. Certainly, the writeup of the Copper Sands in Genertela - Crucible of the Hero Wars supports this view. I certainly hope that the official Gloranthan view is not that Genert was a coward and such, or else the premise of the Tears becomes fairly worthless. PRAXIAN BULLROARERS DESCRIPTION A small piece of bone, pierced with holes and covered with runes, attached to a sturdy leather thong about 1m in length. CULTS Associated - Eiritha Friendly - Stormbull, Waha, Chalanna Arroy Hostile - Tribal Enemies KNOWLEDGE Cult Secret, Few HISTORY The Animal Riders of Prax believe that the making of these items were taught to certain favoured members of the tribes of Prax and the Wastes by Eiritha in order to help sustain them against enemies. Within the clan, the knowledge is usually held by the elderly women, although male shamans sometimes also acquire the knowledge. Although called a bullroarer, since these items are most favoured by the Bison Tribe, the other Tribes of Prax employ these items, and when this is the case, they are known by other names, such as Impala Screamers, Llama Shriekers, etc. Only a few clans in each tribe have the knowledge of the creation of these items, and they tend to jealously guard the secret of their ritual, even from other tribesmen. It is known that bullroarers are also used by the Agimori of Jolar in the continent of Pamaltela, and this similarity has caused some scholars to speculate that the means of creating of these items may have been brought to Genertela by the Agimori who crossed over from Pamaltela in ancient times. This would explain why only certain clans were given the knowledge of the Create Bullroarer Ritual, as the Agimori would have only passed such knowledge to favoured clans. It is certain, however, from the rather specific functions of some of the Bullroarers, that the Praxians have adapted them to their own uses. PROCEDURE The Bullroarer is created by way of a Ritual Enchantment, which is usually passed down amongst Eiritha Priestesses of the Clan. There are many different types of Bullroarers, the most common of which are given here. Each requires a leather thong made from the hide of the Clan's sacred animal. This thong is then tied to a piece of bone, usually palm sized, which has been pierced by many small holes and grooves, and into which have been carved the runes of enchantment. The type of bone used depends upon the type of Bullroarer being created. CREATE BULLROARER Divine Enchantment Ritual, Reusable 2 POW When this ritual is performed, a Bullroarer of the appropriate type is created. The ritual itself takes a full day to complete, and must be performed on a seasonal holy day of Eiritha. As the various grooves and holes must be made in a precise fashion in order for the Bullroarer to function effectively, the ritual is very exacting and difficult, requiring both a Craft Bone skill roll to be made as well as an Enchant Roll at -25%. Because of the difficulties involved in making the enchantment, only the very skilled are taught the ritual...usually elderly Eiritha Priestesses. The most common types of Bullroarers that may be created and the required bones are listed below. SPIRIT BULLROARER Part of the skull of the clan's sacred animal which had a POW of 15 or more at the time of its death STORM BULLROARER Part of the skull of a creature of Chaos WAR BULLROARER Part of the skull of an enemy clan's sacred animal HEALING BULLROARER Part of the rib of the clan's sacred animal GODS' BULLROARER Part of the jawbone of the clan's sacred animal COURAGE BULLROARER Part of the spine of the clan's sacred animal POWERS When the Bullroarer is grasped by the end of the thong which is opposite the piece of bone and is spun in the air in a wide circle, a loud, eerie sound is produced. The sound varies from Bullroarer type to Bullroarer type and from Tribe to Tribe. Each Bullroarer (except for the God's Bullroarer) acts as a sort of spell matrix which produces an effect. The effects last as long as the Bullroarer is spun. No single person or being can ever be affected by more than one Bullroarer at a time. If two Bullroarers are being spun simultaneously and both could affect a single individual, then the Bullroarer that was activated first takes precedence until such time as it stops spinning. When the Bullroarer stops spinning, even for a second, the effect is lost and must be reactivated. It requires the expenditure of one Fatigue per melee round to activate any of the Bullroarers except for the God's Bullroarer. If Fatigue becomes negative, allow a percentage chance equal to the amount of negative Fatigue each round that the user will become too tired to keep spinning and must rest until Fatigue becomes positive again. If not using Fatigue, then allow a user to spin the Bullroarer for twice Constitution in melee rounds and then require a Con x10% roll on the next round, a Con x 9% roll on the following round, and so on until the roll is failed. Once the Con roll fails, the user has grown too tired and stops spinning. The effects of the various Bullroarers are: SPIRIT BULLROARER Creates a sound that resonates on the Spirit Plane and attacks spirits. All spirits within 200m of the Bullroarer will be attacked by the sound as if they were engaged in Spirit Combat. The Bullroarer does not distinguish between friendly or enemy spirits, but only disembodied spirits who are Visible will be affected. Fetches are specifically not affected. For each MP put into the Bullroarer at the beginning of its spin, the Bullroarer will generate an attack strength of 2 MP versus spirits. STORM BULLROARER This Bullroarer creates a sound that demoralizes any creature tainted by Chaos. For each MP placed into the Bullroarer at the beginning of a spin, the Bullroarer will Demoralize all creatures of Chaos who can hear within a 100m radius as if the spell had been cast using 3 MP. Thus, a Bullroarer charged with 6MP Demoralizes using a MP vs MP base of 18 MP. The Demoralization stops when the spinning stops. This Demoralization cannot be dispelled or countermagicked, but may be negated with mind-affecting spells like fanaticism. WAR BULLROARER This Bullroarer creates a sound which demoralizes all fixed-Intelligence animals of the same species as that from which the Bullroarer bone has been made. Only War Bullroarers affecting Waha herd animals are thought possible, although rumours persist of Horse-affecting Bullroarers. For each MP placed into the Bullroarer at the beginning of a spin, the Bullroarer will Demoralize all such herd beasts who can hear within a 100m radius as if the spell had been cast using 3 MP. Thus, a Bullroarer charged with 6MP Demoralizes using a MP vs MP base of 18 MP. The Demoralization stops when the spinning stops. This Demoralization cannot be dispelled or countermagicked, but may be negated with mind-affecting spells like fanaticism. HEALING BULLROARER For each MP placed into the Bullroarer when spun, 5% is added to the chances of performing First Aid or Treat Poison on a victim. The effect works for all such persons using the skills who can hear the Bullroarer, are members of the tribe represented by the animal bone, and are within a 50m radius. The Bullroarer must be spinning during the entire duration of the skill being used. GODS' BULLROARER Unlike other Bullroarers, this one, when spun, invokes a sound which resonates on the Godplane and places all who hear into harmony with their deity. The effect of this is that all Ceremonies performed within 25m of such a spinning Bullroarer have their chance to succeed increased by 3D6%. If used for Ceremony affecting the casting of spirit magic spells, then the spinning must be continuous and affects Fatigue as outlined above. If affecting a Ritual Ceremony, then the spinning only occurs at intermittent periods during the ceremony, and takes no Fatigue to use. However, if used for Ritual Ceremonies, the Bullroarer must be used almost as a musical instrument, to produce sounds in accordance with the mystical rhythms of the ceremony. In this case, a successful Play Instrument (Bullroarer) skill roll must be made or the Bullroarerhas no effect on that ceremony. A Special Play Bullroarer doubles the % added to the Ceremony skill, while a Critical triples the % added. This Bullroarer only works upon rituals of Waha, Chalanna Arroy, Eiritha, or Stormbull cast by clans members who revere the animal used to make the Bullroarer. COURAGE The sound of this Bullroarer imparts Courage upon those BULLROARER who are members of the tribe which reveres the animals from which the Bullroarer bone was made. For each MP placed into theBullroarer as it is spun, all those affected who can hear the sound and are within 200m of the Bullroarer will gain a phantom MP (or phantom point of some other characteristic if applicable) which resists against all Demoralization attacks and from Fear-type effects. VALUE Value of the Bullroarer will depend upon its type and usability by the buyer. Certainly, a Bullroar is worth much to the tribe that made it, perhaps as much as 3,000L in goods or training. The more universal types, such as the STORM BULLROARER or SPIRIT BULLROARER would sell for perhaps 3,000L to 4,500L. NOTE Aside from their magical uses here, Bullroarers can, in the hands of a skilled user, convey beautiful music and can be used to communicate over long distances. Therefore, there are two skills connected with Bullroarers: Play Instrument (Bullroarer) - Allows the user to play music with the Bullroarer. Pitch is adjusted by increasing or decreasing the rate of spin Communicate with Bullroarer - This skill is similar to Play Instrument, but allows the user to communicate basic ideas (e.g. Danger from the South, Good Hunting nearby, etc.) to anyone who also has this skill. Regards, Devin Cutler devinc@aol.com --------------------- From: joe@sartar.toppoint.de (Joerg Baumgartner) Subject: Invisible God and Arachne Solara Message-ID:Date: 29 Apr 94 07:43:19 GMT X-RQ-ID: 3844 Graeme Lindsell in X-RQ-ID: 3832 > A few weeks ago, there was a discussion about whether the Invisible God > really existed or not, with some posters pointing out how little he (or > she it) gives to its worshippers. One point I would make in reply is > that the major sorcerous cultures we've had described (the Malkioni and > the Mostali) both believe in a single unifying concept behind Gloranthan > reality (the IG and the World Machine respectively). I'm not sure that > this proves anything but it would seem a unified world view is > helpful for sorcerers (as it is for scientists). As for whether the IG > gives anything else, its lack of response could demonstrate it's extreme > power, given the Gloranthan inverse relationship between power and free > will. Arachne Solara does not give anything to her worshippers: do you > doubt she exists. > (Aside: I've often wondered whether the Invisible God and Arachne Solara > are one and the same) At least some Stygian Malkioni (to wit: the Aeolians as I view them) say that the Invisible God has three aspects, one for each corner of his Rune (Law): The Creator, the Spirit, and the Incarnation (or inspiration) in the world. The spirit is generally equated with the spirit of the world, or Glorantha/Arachne Solara. Those with Lightbringer background often throw in Ginna Jar. The Incarnation varies with the sect; the orthodox sects would adhering to this philosophy use Malkion the Prophet, henotheists would use their main deity. The difference between Mostali and Malkioni ideas of the unifying principle seems to be the nature of it: The Mostali World Machine is the Creation, the Invisible God is the Creator. -- -- Joerg Baumgartner joe@sartar.toppoint.de --------------------- From: joe@sartar.toppoint.de (Joerg Baumgartner) Subject: Lies and truths Message-ID: Date: 29 Apr 94 07:43:38 GMT X-RQ-ID: 3845 Scott Schneider in X-RQ-ID: 3827 > More Damnable Lies!! At least we are warned. > The true story of Little Brother, the Stick and the Lariat is told > in the secret story of "Why Little Brother Don't Come to My Home > No More", known by all who have fought with Him in the Eternal > Battle. As is known to all us kumiss drinkers, it explains the > deceitful and compl- complicat- uh, difficult tricks used by > Little Brother So Big Brute Bull Storm did what the rightful heir of the universe wanted him to do, right? > in order to get Big Brother Bull Storm to save his > ass, after losing Fralar's son Yinkin. It also explains the origin > of Storm Bull's Secret Bad Wind power, the creation of the Secret > Spray Oasis, and the great anti-Chaos Finger Magic. These powers > are revealed to all good Storm Berserkers during their > initiations, and may actually be acquired through questing. An all of them thanks to Orlanth, who made his brother acquire these powers. This shows how grateful these drunkards are, doesn't it? -- -- Joerg Baumgartner joe@sartar.toppoint.de --------------------- From: jdegon@vega.iii.com (Jim DeGon) Subject: Carmania Message-ID: <9404290841.AA17397@enrico> Date: 28 Apr 94 18:41:35 GMT X-RQ-ID: 3846 Jim DeGon here Sandy P. brought up the subject of Carmania again. It occurred to me this morning that another analogue for this culture might be the feudal era of India, in which the warrior caste dominated affairs for several centuries until they died out from too much fighting. This would not be a direct analogue to European Feudalism due to the widely divergent religious base. It _feels_ better for Humaktis. I believe the dominant caste was Ksatriya, but it was called the Rajput era. The dominant theme was definitely death or glory. The caste aspect is prevalent in both cultures. This is all that I can remember, as my amateur interest in this era waned several years ago. I am almost sure that others on this list would know of it, however. Hindu history actually seems like an excellent source to draw upon for analogues for much of Gloranthan religion, since at various times and in various locations, divine dominance and individual god's aspects varied quite a bit.