Bell Digest v940528p1

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, 28 May 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: jonas.schiott@vinga.hum.gu.se (Jonas Schiott)
Subject: East Wilds History
Message-ID: <9405271355.AA04203@vinga.hum.gu.se>
Date: 27 May 94 17:55:12 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 4212

OK, a couple of people have said that this is a good idea, so here goes...

The following history only covers the first age, because:
a. It's long enough anyway.
b. The first age is the one that is best documented (a mixed blessing - it
means more info to work with, but also greater confusion).
c. We only have the bare bones written down for the other two ages - it
needs to be fleshed out a good deal more before we hang it out for public
display.

Most of this is either from published sources (including, but not limited
to, Cults of Terror, Trollpak, the Glorantha box, Dorastor and King of
Sartar) or our own twisted minds (Sten Ahrman, Dag Olausson and myself). A
few exceptions:
The term "Udrai" for otter hsunchen is from Martin Crim's Hykimi write-up.
Calling the Galanini sun-god "Ehilm" is something I've picked up from
several people here on the net. Not really sure what to make of it yet...

The text is a rough draft in the sense that I haven't cleaned it up
stylistically. Hope you can put up with it anyway.

******

HISTORY

Note that throughout this section, geographical regions are, for
simplicityUs sake, referred to by their third age names - in earlier times,
regions either had no special name at all (hsunchen tend not to see the
point), or were referred to by the name of the people who lived there.

First Age

At the Dawn the East WildsU eastern part was dominated by Halikiv trolls,
and the rest of the lands were populated by various kinds of hsunchen. The
great hsunchen tribes were Basmoli, Galanini and Telmori. The Basmoli were
located in the parts of theWilds that later would became Keanos and
southern Saug (they also populated southern Safelster, Basim, Seshnela and
Tanisor). The horse people, Galanini, roamed northern Saug and Delela
(non-East Wilds lands controlled by them were Otkorion, Naskorion, south
Vustria and northern Safelster). They kept a watchful eye on the lion folk,
as the legendary birthplace of Galanin was located on the border to Basmoli
territory. The Telmori ruled Telmoria, Ormsland and north Vustria. Beside
the great hsunchens there were some major hsunchen tribes: Damali (deer
people) in the west of Delela, Pralori (elk people) in southern Saug,
Rathori (bear people) in southern Delela and northern Saug, Jarvi
(wolverine people) in northern Delela and southern Vustria and Velori (puma
people) in northern Keanos. Eastern Ralios was also inhabitated by a large
number of minor tribes and clans of hsunchens including: Aleci (moose
people) in east Delela, Lotari (raccoon people) in northern Saug, Udrai
(otter people) throughout the rivers, Falani (beaver people) along the
Allspring and its tributaries, Barathori (horned bear people) in northeast
Saug, Flari (red owl people) in Corolaland and Caroni (mountain goat
people) in the Mislari mountain range. A major tribe of hsunchens
neighboring the East Wilds was the Bisami, the muskrat people of Naskorion.
Another tribe, not very large but still notable for mythical reasons, were
the Loon people living around Lake Felster.
During the whole period the Basmoli were constantly at war with the
Malkioni, a war they were losing step by step. Their cultural and religious
identity was also declining during this war and the Basmoli (along with
some minor tribes) populating the Safelster region were eventually
converted into westerner beliefs(though most of these converts later
rebelled against Seshnela again). The Basmoli in Basim, Keanos and southern
Saug stuck to their hsunchen ways. Due to the pressure on the Basmoli the
Velori succeded in overtaking the lands of Keanos from them. The Galanini
and the Telmori lived in relative peace during the first hundred years. 
In 104 ST Narnarra the Greater, a Theyalan missionary and Storm Voice
arrived in the East Wilds from Maniria. She began a legendary mission that
resulted in the conversion of Velori(105), Falani(108), Lothari(112),
Damali(119) and Aleci(122) to the orlanthi way of living. Her first success
was the most complete: every single Velori converted, leaving none to carry
on the old traditions. The Pralori resisted the conversions but were forced
to emigrate to Maniria(106-112). Narnarra tried to spread the new way of
living to the Galanini, but was slain by Niar the Blessed, the High Horse
of Galan.
A collegue of Narnarra, Stolle Muskrat converted all the Bisami people of
Naskorion in 117 ST.
Some twenty years after Narnarra the GreaterUs death a granddaughter of
hers, Narnarra the Lesser, converted the entire tribe of Rathori (140) but
failed with the Jarvi and was killed by them (146). The Jarvi started a war
against the Theyalans, but the Theyalans were led by Sakanim Jarvikiller, a
Windlord of great reputation; he was the main reason for the defeat of the
Jarvi and their (reputed) extinction some years later (167).
By the end of the second century most hsunchens in East Ralios except the
Galanini and a few lesser peoples had adopted the orlanthi culture. The
Galanini were able to hold on to some of their old lands, but the others
mostly faded away from sight - some, like the Barathori, becoming extinct
of natural causes.
In 150 ST the Kivitti, the strange bipedal elephant people of Karia,
successfully stopped explorations from Dorastor. The reason for this was
that they did not like the way the theyalans treated their opponents, like
the Jarvi. Humans were bad news for the elder species.
The main problem for the new orlanthi in East Wilds was farming, they had
no specific regional crop to grow. But the great hero Nikur of Blackburn
quested for a new grain and returned in 160 with the wheat of Ralia. 
Only interrupted by some minor warfare with the trolls of Halikiv, the
orlanthi of the East Wilds lived in relative peace during the rest of the
century. In 162 the Dangan Confederacy was formed and Sakanim Jarvikiller
was appointed High Councillor. 173 Sakanim dissapeared and his nephew Tobis
Sheepbraineater was elected new High Councillor; after a few year of power,
Tobis appointed himself as King of the Dangans in 176. The Dangan chiefs
were not at all happy about this, and the seed of discord was sown. The
succesor of Tobis, Othar Loudbreath was killed in 191 by Gogalim Duskmask,
a renegade chief of disputed origin. The Dangan confederacy ceased to exist
and leadership devolved to lower levels, new tribes instinctively forming
on the basis of hsunchen origin. These tribes to a surprisingly large
extent resemble the tribes still in existance today.
Despite the antagonism between the tribes, no war broke out, though raiding
was frequent. When the High Council of the Land of Genertela in Dorastor
(200) was formed, almost all the tribes tried unsuccesfully to get the
upper hand over each other by bribing the Council, they didnUt know that
the Council already had an agreement with the Galanini. In 216 Yalamor the
Purple Father, a high ranking leader of the Council, arrived at Karia and
managed to bribe his way through the KivittiUs lands. Later the same year
he arrived at the Horse KingUs camp, where he recruited a large horde of
Galanini braves. In 218 these braves left the land of their forefathers to
fight the horse barbarians of Peloria.
In 230 ST the Galanini mercenaries and Prax nomads crushed the horse
barbarians at Argentium TriUile. The Galanini where rewarded by landgrants
in Peloria and they formed families in their new land. These young braves
where overwhelmed by the power and glory of the Solar worship in Dara
Happan and adopted that religion and some of its culture. But they made a
fatal mistake in supressing their new subjects. Some fifteen years later
the Galanini and their Dara Happan wives where forced to leave Peloria due
to a peasant rebellion. Again they joined the Council as mercenaries (with
their families in the wain) and fought and defeated the Kivitti at Karia in
246. 
As now nobody stopped the Council at Kartolin Pass, a large emigration
began, and major parts of the Doskior river were settled by
Dorasta-worshipping maize-agriculturing peasants. This colonization lasted
a decade or so and was accompanied by constant raiding from the local
orlanthi.
In 248, the Sun-worshipping Galanini overtook the leadership of the
Galanini tribe in Otkorion, South Vustria and northern Safelster, they
introduced the Ehilm cult to the whole tribe and the social and religious
pattern that still exits today was formed. A few years later they left
northern Safelster for settlers from Dorastor, as agreed in a contract
established between the former mercenaries and their patrons.
In 259 Kork the Rider of Winds managed to unite several orlanthi tribes in
an open war against the Council and their colonizers. The Galanini were
reluctant to help either side in this war and the Council hired Dragonewts
to act as protectors for the settlers, even some clans of trolls were hired
for the job. The trollUs bargain was the taxation of the trade route
between Kartolin pass and the Doskior river, Istakahixa was their
headquarters. In 263 Kork the Rider of Winds recreated the Dangan
Confederacy.
Some years after their arrival the dragonewts found the ruins of a
Dragoncity in Ormsland and some of them, helped by dragon magic, defeated
the Telmori living there.
In 280 the colonisation of Safelster reached its peak with the defeat of
the Seshnegi in the southern parts. The Council still craved expansion and
the orlanthi and Galanini lands of Otkorion seemed a sound choice. 
At the beginning of the fourth century the relationship between the Council
in East Ralios and the Dangan Confederacy became more relaxed, but in
Otkorion the relations between orlanthi and the Council tensed. In 320
these tensions resulted in a great war. Nobody won, but the expansion of
the Council was halted. The same year a treaty between the Dangans and the
Council made it possible to end all warfare in the East Wilds. The
dragonewts where discharged and retired to Ormsland, the trolls kept the
administration of the trade route.
The Ralia cult was reestablished and superseded Dorasta worship, maize
cultivation became an obscure curiosity.
In 333 the grandson of Kork, Dorg Walks-on-Water built Sweetweed Castle
with the help of the newtling hero Kilwin Stoneheart. The new Dangans
decided to found a capital located on the mainland south of Sweetweed
Castle. This city was completed in 345 and had over 3000 citizens. 
The Dorastor settlers around Felster lake revolted against the Council in
350 and proclaimed their independence, calling themselves the Dari
Alliance. The Ralia cult replaced Dorasta worship in these lands too. 
In 365 the Council decided to create the ultimate god, this new direction
made the trolls and dragonewts leave the Council, leaving a broken council
behind. The Halikiv trolls abandoned their presence in east Delela and Saug
and left Corolaland, the trade route (including Istakahixa) was deserted.
The dragonewts of Ormsland lost contact with their cousins in Dragon Pass
and began a slow process of degeneration, eventually becoming the
UbarbarianU dragonewts of today.
The Galanini, thrilled by the possibilities of a living god of light,
joined the Broken Council.
Weakened by the withdrawal of the trolls and dragonewts the Broken
CouncilUs godcreating efforts were reignited by the Dara Happans joining
the council, in 370.
With the help of Dorastor, the Dangans decided to build Istakax (370) as an
outpost towards the trolls. Istakax became one of the links in the chain of
strongholds along the trade route between the heartlands of Ralios and
Dorastor. Istakax was planned to be finished in time for the birth of the
new god, but this goal was not acheived.
In the year 374 the sun stopped and the Bright One was born. Great
festivities where held in Kilwin and the unfinished city of Istakax and all
around Delela and Saug. The worship of Nysalor or Osentalka as he was
called in Ralios, was rapidly adopted by the Dangans of the East Wilds.
Lots of sacred monuments were erected for his glorification and with
unnatural speed the orlanthi way of living was forgotten, only the cult of
Ralia was untouched by the new religious outlook.
The Dangans lived happily under the reign of Osentalka and did not see his
dark sides as the westerners did. They cheered the trollkin curse and
enslavement of the treacherous dragonewts, they enjoyed raiding deep into
Halikiv and killing many trolls. Some of the unconverted hsunchen resisted
the Osentalka worship and became more reclusive. In 378 the Dangans
discovered a small surviving population of Jarvi and delightedly
slaughtered them even though they were the last of their kind.
In 380 the Dari Alliance was attracted by the power of Nysalor and joined
forces with him, they became as staunch worshippers of him as the Dangans.
Most of the Telmori people did the same.
Tanisor adopted the Nysalor cult in 385, but was overwhelmed by the dark
sides of him, being a perverted people. Tanisor attacked Brithos and the
Seshnegi in 400 and defeated them, one of the Brithini soldiers was the
young Arkat. Ten years later, in 410, Tanisor was conquered by Arkat,
leading an army from Seshnela. Tanisor recieved no help from the rest of
the Nysalor-worshipping areas, due to research done by them in 407 where
outrageous secrets were revealed about the Tanisor kingdomUs corruption.
In 417 Arkat was appointed Grand Marshal of the Seshnelan Grand Crusade
against Chaos, and advanced into Ralios. He was helped by orlanthi from
Otkorion to conquer the Dari Alliance in 419. But eventually his forces
where weakened and exhausted and he was repelled by the Dangans near
Kilwin.
In 420 Arkat left his army to heroquest, and returned in 424 with new
powers. During that time a status quo was established between his army on
one side and the Dangans and Galanini on the other. When he came back,
Arkat decided on a lightning attack at Karia from the north. He conquered
Karia, leaving a ruined Vustria behind as a result of his efforts, but was
stopped at Kartolin Pass He then decided to leave one army in Karia and try
another way to Dorastor. Before leaving Ralios in 425 he defeated the
Nysalor-converted Telmori, who fled to Fronela. The pure ones withdrew into
central Telmoria.
Not all of the former orlanthi were satisfied with the cult of Osentalka.
There were those who longed for the stormy old days. In particular, the
Berenneth tribe, which had been formed by colonists of the recently
troll-free Corolaland, was a hotbed of reactionary feelings. They went so
far as too reintroduce Orlanth worship, initiating their young men into the
banned mysteries. For this crime, large portions of the tribe were exiled,
including a young farmer named Harmast. The remainder of the Berenneth were
either absorbed by other tribes or destroyed in the next wave of trollish
expansion. HarmastUs role in rescuing Arkat, and thus aiding NysalorUs
downfall, went unnoticed by the Dangans, who were busy fighting a holding
action against the enemy forces left.
A Zorak Zorani force helped by the Arkat army stormed Istakax in 440, and
that marks the real beginning of troll dominance in the East Wilds.
In 449 Nysalor died, leaving the East Wilds an empty shell, as the Dangan
Confederacy dissolved, easy to conquer by Arkat when he returned a year
later, founding his infamous Dark Empire. Arkat donated Guhan to his troll
allies in 450 and established a dynasty of his own in the unpopulated land
of Lankst. During the rest of the first age Arkat consolidated his domains.

******

This account attempts to acheive some sort of objectivity. Nobody alive in
1620 knows the full story, as it is related here. Contemporary orlanthi are
often unaware of their descent from hsunchen, and would be sorely offended
if someone were to claim that their ancestors once abandoned Orlanth in
favor of a Chaos god. Stories tell of a bygone age of peace and plenty,
when a benevolent deity of Light was worshipped _together_ with Orlanth;
this Good God was slain by that Demon of Darkness, Arkat, and since then
the people of the East Wilds (a term arising in the 2nd age, BTW) have had
to fight for their very existance more often than not.

I'd appreciate comments on this, either here on the daily or through
e-mail. We believe that we've managed to cram in all the published facts,
but there is of course a possibility that we've missed something.

[P.S. Gary, I'll get back to you about your henotheist stuff when I've had
time to study it thoroughly. D.S.]

[P.P.S. Sandy, this doesn't answer much of your question about what's there
_now_, does it? But if nobody stops me, I'll probably post some more
contemporary info later. D.D.S.]


(      Jonas Schiott                                   )
(      Institutionen for Ide- och lardomshistoria      )
(      Goteborgs Universitet                           )


---------------------

From: carlsonp@wdni.com (Carlson, Pam)
Subject: RE: RuneQuest Daily, Thu, 26 May 1994, part 3
Message-ID: <2DE50226@itlab.wtc.weyer.com>
Date: 26 May 94 17:05:00 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 4206



Neil Robinson says:

P.S. Has anyone considered an international gaming directory for
RuneQuest?  Outside of my group, it seems like the nearest other
RQ gamer is David Dunham in Seattle.  I hope that isn't the case.

(Actually, there are seven of us out here in Latte Land.  Kinda pathetic for 
a metropolis of 2 million).

Not a bad idea! As Sandy has pointed out, gamers move around quite a bit, 
but they do retain tenuous contact with old friends.  I have several friends 
in other cities who can't find any RQ'ers, or don't have E-mail.  In fact, 
one of them is moving to Chicago this month... does anybody out there game 
in Chicago?

Maybe we should compile a directory.

 ---------------------

Sandy Petersen defending Cloud Call:

        In the end, you have LOTS of extra rain over any Orlanthi
territory. Magic ecology at its finest..... The Orlanthi get plenty of 
rainfall, and
their crops grow well even in the comparatively poor upland area, and
so they are a force to be reckoned with.

Hey!  An example of magic ecology in Glorantha!  I like it.  And, likewise, 
 the Yelmites in Dara Happa could do the same with Cloud Clear to get plenty 
of sunshine.
With less rain, the D. Happans must be pretty good at irrigation - and they 
must be quite fond of their river.

>From Alex:

However, "Fever-brained Gbaji-riddling son of a she-broo" is a tried and
tested standby for Lunars of all shapes, sizes, and illuminations.

Sounds like that will get your taxes raised, for sure!

Pam

<^==@
   /\   /\




---------------------

From: joe@sartar.toppoint.de (Joerg Baumgartner)
Subject: RQ organisations
Message-ID: 
Date: 27 May 94 07:45:33 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 4207

Sandy Petersen in X-RQ-ID: 4169

First, I want to take back my comment about 53 lightnings and a 
true dragon.

>> BTW, where does the name [Aeolian Heresy] come from?
> 	It comes from me. I made it up. I did base it on the name  
> Aeolus, using the logic that it should be similar to the name  
> Stygian. 

See? They're not entirely my fault!

> 	I've always felt that spirit magic and sorcery looked very  
> different. Not only in the postures and words spoken by the caster,  
> but also in the visible & audible effects of the spell. 

Speaking of which: what visible and audible effects does magic have in 
your campaign? There has been a long and fruitless debate about this in 
RQ4-list a few months ago.

> Joerg comments on the lack of a US RQ org.
>>I don't know why you don't get organized then in your respective  
>>home 

>	We don't get government funding for our "youth  
> organizations". Also, our country is far vaster in size, and much  
> more sparsely populated. It's physically hard for a band of RQers in  
> one part of the country to contact those in another. 

Germany may have smaller distances, but we actually meet only if some 
of us chance to visit another's home city, or at the annual convention. 
The US with its great, "everyone's there" conventions would be as good 
a breeding ground for such a society as Germany where net to noone really 
leaves his city of birth.

Nor do we profit much from being a "youth organization". We aren't 
heavily taxed, but that's about it. And a society with an average 
membership age of about 23 years isn't much of a youth organisation 
anyway.

> 	I feel that any Malkioni who attempt to include CA as a saint  
> are considered heretics.

Who isn't in Malkioni religion? 

> In speaking of the destruction of bronze in Glorantha:
>>The geological upheavals have accelerated geology and geochemistry  
>>in Glorantha to such an extent, especially because of >the  magic  
>>around, that the short period of time is evened out, IMO.
> 	Yeah, but the period is SO much shorter (only 1600 years)  
> that, IF YOU WANT, you can claim it hasn't had too much effect. Also,  
> a lot of the Godtime deaths happened after the geological upheavals,  
> though of course plenty happened before. 

Fine. We have a "Do what you want" situation. Now let's do so.

Although the geology minor in me still wants to know how long the ice 
age held Glorantha in sway before the Dawning.

> 	If I'm not allowed to go to Kralorela, or talk out loud to a  
> Malkioni, or if I've got to stay in the foreigners' section of town,  
> this certainly doesn't make my world more interesting and quirky. 

All (85%) strangers are forbidden to enter Kralorela. Does this work for 
you? Those who aren't have got (or forged) a special dispensation. Wasn't 
entry into China (and Nippon) forbidden to Westerners as well, for a long 
time?

Did your PCs enter the Brithini library in Sog City/Fronela? Or did 
the Brithini upper city remain closed to them, and mysterious, and 
dangerous?

I think there's nothing wrong in forbidding access to some areas. No 
edict remains unbroken as long as there is a single trickster left.
-- 
--  Joerg Baumgartner   joe@sartar.toppoint.de