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, Mon, 11 Jul 1994, part 3
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From: ddunham@radiomail.net (David Dunham)
Subject: Hill o' Gold; hsunchen; Methe the Traveller
Message-ID: <199407090047.AA14046@radiomail.net>
Date: 9 Jul 94 00:47:26 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 5092
Matt Thale asked
>I've always thought that The Hill of Gold was somewhere
>in Peloria
Vanch.
I have a picky question Sandy might be able to answer: is "hsunchen"
capitalized or not?
And now, something from my Ralios campaign.
I am Methe, daughter of Erdern Wing-Wind, and I sit on the Ring of the
Belovaking clan. I call upon you, Talking God, as you told me to do. I call
on you, Lord of Tongues, to fill my mouth with stories of foreign lands. I
won't talk of obvious things like how people from Keanos talk funny, or how
in Saug they carve Mastakos's wheel backwards. I will speak about many
unusual things I have seen in my travels.
East Ralios
Kolmast Rivermaster, King of the Pranute, is not an initiate of
Orlanth Rex! Instead, he worships Doskior. The wrongness of this is proved
by the fact that instead of gaining generous favors from Orlanth, he has to
humbly beg Doskior not to flood his miserable flat lands.
There is one tale I will not tell tonight, since there are men
present. The story of Red Woman's love magic is for women only.
Hsunchen
All of the hsunchen tribes worship their totem animal. Their god
provides magic to turn into that animal, but it's difficult to cast, and
they usually do it only once a year. Sometimes the transformation isn't
complete -- I had a hard time not laughing when I saw one of the Aleci
walking around with the body of a man but the antlered head and four long
legs of a moose.
The hsunchen live in large tents shaped much like our own houses.
They paint them with magic designs. Birkiska Leaves-No-Tracks, chief of the
Raccoon People, owns a huge tent all of us here could fit in. It's made
from a single skin, though I couldn't tell what animal it was from.
Among the Deer People, shamans wear the clothing of the opposite
gender. One of them told me that dressed as a woman, he was able to seduce
the more powerful spirits, or fool the weaker spirits so they didn't flee
when they spotted him. His wife took a bow and hunted to help with the
ruse.
The Galanini are the only hsunchen I visited who worship gods
besides their totem and the Hunter. They worship the sun Ehilm, who their
queen once wooed and married. Only certain people are allowed to worship
Ehilm. The queen's sons worshipped their father after he returned to the
sky, and so did the sons of her daughters. Only sons of women who trace
their mothers back to the queen can worship him. These men hold themselves
above others of the tribe. Eurgan made this verse:
"Goldenhaired Godspawn rules Galanin's herds,
ever since their queen rose from Ehilm's embrace"
Safelster
I never saw anyone eat a baby or sacrifice an alynx while I was in
Naskorion, but they were probably all on their best behavior. The Naskori
know the Greeting, but they don't worship Orlanth properly. For one thing,
their temples are square and have roofs. Their farmers are not allowed to
worship, nor can they own horses.
The city of Estali is made entirely from red clay bricks. Even the
streets are paved with bricks. Some of the houses tower like sheer cliffs,
three floors tall. They have windows which are filled with clear, flat
glass.
In Safelster, people use silver trade tokens called danars. Those
from Tara are noteworthy. They all show the queen on one side, but no two
are alike on the opposite side. They show such things as winged horses,
flaming trees, couples making love, warriors smiting dragons, dragons
devouring armies, children playing, and any number of other designs. A
young, healthy cow is worth over a hundred of these small silver pieces.
Many people in Safelster actually worship Arkat! I swear this is
true. They are otherwise good people, considerate and kind to their wives
and children, but they pray to the Destroyer.
Vesmonstran
The warriors of Vesmonstran do not take the heads of brave enemies
they kill, and they burn their dead instead of returning them to Mother
Ralia. They carry turquoise stones as charms against being wounded in
battle.
There are temples where the Talking God is scarcely worshipped, and
crass merchants have set up shop, haggling over grain and chicken eggs, and
using the Create Moot spell to hold weekly markets.
Instead of keeping knowledge alive in their heads, priests of the
Knowing God try to record it by making black marks on scraped sheep skins.
This is like trying to get milk out of a cowhide.
---------------------
From: Argrath@aol.com
Subject: Lemon curry?
Message-ID: <9407082153.tn178048@aol.com>
Date: 9 Jul 94 01:53:44 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 5093
Joerg on my Heortland piece in the Orlanthi national character thing:
I wrote this before (long before) I ever heard of the Aeolian
church (and I still haven't seen it...). As for being Southern,
my reference to the "War of Northern Aggression" in X-RQ-ID: 4820
might have been a bit of a give-away. Also known as the War
between the States. Also known as the American Civil War.
I see a great variety in Orlanthi culture. They're not all
Arkansas Hillbillies, all whoop and holler. They also include
people like upstate New York (and New England) Yankees, some of
whom don't talk to ANYBODY. They're not all Babblin' Bjorni by
any means, but you can always spot the southern Orlanthi in a
crowd of Skanthi, and the friction always remains.
>I think that the Temple of Black Arkat mentioned on p.24 in
>Troll Cults is located closer to Kitori lands, and that it is
>seen as a remnant of the troll dominance rather than a
>state-bearing organ among the Hendriki.
As somebody else said, floor wax/dessert topping. I don't doubt
that the TBA is popular in the Kitori tribe, but Malkionism (for
all intents and purposes) came to present-day Heortland with
Arkat. And nobody denies that Arkat became a troll. I can't
imagine an Aeolian church without a prominent role for Arkat. He
is for Heortlander Malkioni what Bodhidharma is for Chinese
Buddhists.
"What is the meaning of Bodhidharma coming from the west?"
"The cypress tree in the garden."
--Zen koan
Generally speaking, I agree with what Joerg had to say about
Heortland. Wish I'd known that stuff when I was roleplaying the
king of that land... Pretty soon we'll have enough
for an encyclopedia article. We have major exports, sports,
economics, history, cat breeds, weapons, geology, folklore...
Anybody want to flesh out architecture or dance (damn hard to
research)?
Joerg specifically asks, re: my comment--
>> The Hendreiki Lightbringers' Circle is not very important ...
>Do you have evidence for this?
To paraphrase MOB at the RQ Con, I took it from the same source
that Greg Stafford uses--I made it up. But see below, where I
agree with you.
I said:
>> the [Hendreiki] king has western-style advisors and servants,
>> such as seneschal, constable, butler, and marshall.
And Joerg replied:
>Certainly true. Include Malkioni bishops. However, the
>companions of Orlanthi kings have _very_ similar roles, and
>you'll find a deity for each of these in Orlanth's court.
I hadn't known that yet. Cool idea. Can I be the trickster
bishop?
Bryan J. Maloney on Gods and free will:
Bloody brilliant (especially the naturalist perspective).
Guy Hoyle:
Another note on Anne Bonney was that she had a lesbian
affair with a fellow pirate (which makes at least two lesbians on
the list).
The number of women who fought disguised as men will never
be known. Quite a few were discovered through being killed or
wounded on battlefields in every war since the Civil, er, the War
for Southern Independence. How many were undiscovered? Do we
dare to extrapolate backwards into history? Probably not, if
we're writing history, but definitely yes if we're doing hist.
fict., and absolutely if we're doing fantasy.
Thanks for the compliments for Codex #2. I haven't seen
mine yet...
--Martin
---------------------
From: fletcher@u.washington.edu (Brent Krupp)
Subject: Priest POW and POW gain rolls...
Message-ID:
Date: 9 Jul 94 00:50:44 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 5094
On Sat, 9 Jul 1994, alex@dcs.gla.ac.uk (alex)
>
> Devin Cutler, and his berserk .signature:
>
> > There is no reason under RQ3 for a Priest to keep his POW at 18. Better
> > spent on Divine Magic AND better kept at around 13 so that POW gain
> > rolls occur about 60% of the time.
>
> But you're a follower of the True Religion of RQ2, Devin, aren't you? ;-)
> Certainly I recall you making statements such as "priests making their DI
> roll about 18% of the time".
>
I hate to bring up a rules-based question like this on the Digest, but
Devin and Alex's exchange makes it seem appropriate: am I the only person
who remembers that in RQ2 priests had a maximum POW (for gain rolls) of 25?
All this debate about how Priests should have a high POW (18 or so) in
RQ3, and how then that means very few POW gains and thus few Resurrections
or whatever, ignores that in RQ2 an 18 POW still meant a 35% of gaining
POW with a roll, and that RQ3 (broken as it is) in dropping the POW max to
21, and removing the POW minimum *must* expect RQ3 priests to keep their
POW below 18.
To bring this back to a Digest-like topic, I think under RQ3 or RQ:AiG
rules, it is plain *wrong* to say that priests keep their POW up at 18.
They will keep it lower, they will get POW more often than 15%, and so
Resurrections or whatever divine spell is being argued over, will be more
available than otherwise.
Brent Krupp (fletcher@u.washington.edu)
---------------------
From: CryptoMatt@aol.com
Subject: Re: Hill of Gold
Message-ID: <9407091151.tn192673@aol.com>
Date: 9 Jul 94 15:51:23 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 5095
Harald, thanks for the information about the Hill of
Gold. I have a party of adventurers heading that way
on a pilgrimage. I assumed that the hill was somewhere
in southern Peloria, but I wasn't exactly sure where
to find it. Perhaps I'll post the saga of my poor
pilgrims...
-Matt Thale
---------------------
From: sandyp@idcube.idsoftware.com (Sandy Petersen)
Subject: Re: RuneQuest Daily, Sat, 09 Jul 1994
Message-ID: <9407091817.AA15967@idcube.idsoftware.com>
Date: 9 Jul 94 06:18:07 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 5096
Alex sez:
>At a push, the separate Deezola cult may have a reusable R.,
>but I doubt it.
In RQ II, the Lunars had reusable Resurrection, and were the
only group in the world, aside from Chalana Arroy, to do so. I have
not yet decided whether or not they deserve to continue possessing
this power, though I tend towards them having it. This wouldn't
increase the total number of Resurrections available in the Empire of
course -- each person that joins Deezola as a healer is one less
person to join Chalana Arroy as a healer.
How many priests are there in the country?
The general RQ III theory, which I naturally adhere to, is
that 2% of the adult population, on the average, is a priest or other
official. In the original Pavis Pack, for instance, you'll find that
the number of Swords, Priests, etc. is about that number. I can make
no excuses for RQ supplements that appeared after I left Chaosium,
because clearly Chaosium stopped looking for picky things like that.
Nils Weinander:
>With the famous lethargy, Teshnos should be a sitting duck for
>raiders and invaders
To some extent, it is. The problem is that the only potential
invaders are: the Praxian Nomads, the Kralori, the Hsunchen, and the
Amazons. Even the rather sedentary Technan military is able to hold
off or absorb the primitive jungle Hsunchen, and the Kralori hold
little interest in expansion. All that's left to present opposition
are the Amazons and the Nomads, neither of which is capable of making
a conquest. The Amazons can't leave their island longer than a year,
so are restricted to raids, and the Animal Nomads are equally inept
at permanent conquest. Plus= their beasts get sick and die in the
moist Teshnos country. They call Teshnos the land of "fever trees".
If Vormain ever gets interested in foreign meddling, I
predict Teshnos will be easy meat. Basically, I view Teshnos as one
of the great Sitting Ducks of Gloranthan history, and I don't think
they have any special cultural or social defenses against such an
assault. They're a disaster in the making. The famous duke who's
hostile to the current King senses this, I think, and it's a blessing
to Teshnos that his lands are offshore, because any invader will have
to come through him first, and he might actually be able to put up a
fight.
>Who is Theya?
Theya is the Goddess of the Dawn. She rules the Citadel of
Dawn, greeting the newly-resurrected Yelm every morning. Unlike
Rausa, she is regarded as wholly beneficent. Note that the Theyalan
culture named itself after her.
---------------------
From: HAZEN@sonoma.edu
Subject: RE: RuneQuest Daily, Tue, 05 Jul 1994, part 2
Message-ID: <940709131703.23805195@sonoma.edu>
Date: 9 Jul 94 06:17:03 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 5097
unsubscribe, please.
---------------------
From: joe@sartar.toppoint.de (Joerg Baumgartner)
Subject: Runors
Message-ID:
Date: 9 Jul 94 21:23:28 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 5098
Nils Weinander in X-RQ-ID: 5074
> Excerpt from the textbook on history and myth which Red Tiger wrote
> for the school master Master Two Brush:
[further excerpted]
> More difficult are the Moving Forces {This word is diffcult to
> translate. It could also be interpreted as agents of tension. These
> are the combined powers.} The Moving Forces were formed from the
> emotions of the Cosmic Dragon.
An unexpected twist to name the paired powers after emotions.
> I'm not entirely happy with the names of the Forces, especially
> Temperance. Any suggestion to improve these things are appreciated.
Hmm. Hard problem.
Fertility Death Passion
I like this.
Illusion Truth Conscience
Mind?
Stasis Movement Ambition
I'm not sure about this. Ambition implies more change than stasis.
Body?
Harmony Disorder Temperance
These are IMO the social powers, but I fail to provide a snappy expression.
Luck Fate Hope
Soul?
> Bottomline, is this Good, Bad or just Ugly?
A fair idea.
Joerg the ASCII artist strikes again:
Infinity might be a sub-rune of Godunya's Dragon Rune? Take
it twice, horizontal meaning Infinity, and vertically meaning Time:
\ ^ / -
\ / - - ( )
< X > = ( X ) + X
/ \ - - ( )
/ v \ -
Mastery is somewhat enigmatic to me. It consists of Harmony and a defining
lower line. Slavery is hinted at as the same rune with the line on top.
Maybe Mastery is really the harmony above (something), or the Harmony
with yourself to enforce something, and Slavery is enforced Harmony. If
Communication had three vertical bars, I'd make it the middle way.
As it is now, Mastery and Slavery put together result in an inverted
Communication Rune (I added a frame for reference):
+-----+ +-----+
|#####| | |
|# # #| | # # |
|# # #| | # # |
| | -> |#####|
|# # #| | # # |
|# # #| | # # |
|#####| | |
+-----+ +-----+
The implications of this triple of Runes I will leave to the philosophers,
but it is the first "explanation" I have found for teh lack of an opposite
to Communication.
The Magic Rune is somewhat a disappointment: It is a Spirit Rune halved,
with an added vertical bar.
What makes it interesting again is the fact that the Pamalt/Power Rune is
related to this:
/\ |\ /|\
/ \ | \ / | \
\ / | / |
>< |< |
/ \ | \ |
/ \ | \ |
Which leads to a root Rune and more derivatives, one of which turns (b)
out to be Fate turned by 90 degrees:
/|\ /| |
/ | \ / | \ | / | \ /
\ | / \ | \ | / | \ /
>|< >| >|< /|\ |
/ | \ / | / | \ / | \ |
/ | \ / | / | \ / | \ |
root a) b) c) d)
The root Rune might mean Otherworld, the Rune a) might mean sacrifice,
b) could be another version of fate (destiny?), c) is another division
along the Pamalt Rune scheme, and d) is known as Truth.
Undead is a variation of the Fertility/Death combination that's obvious,
although it isn't too different from b) either.
This leaves Law and Chaos.
With Law all the interpretations have been discussed in recent Malkioni
discussion. Chaos is both a horned head, and the sphere of Creation
leaking out into the Void, or Darkness combined with the missing half of
Stasis.
Another Runic oddity Nick pointed me to is the similarity between the
Brithini Pentagram and the Man Rune:
/\ /-\
/ \ \ /
---------- ---------
'./ \.' |
/ '..' \ .---.
/.' '.\ / \
Just a few lines added or twisted...
Alternatively picture Man inside central pentacle, and the element
Runes in the five triangles, and I think you have the symbol for
the Kingdom of Logic, and the Brithini symbol for Creation as well.
The Pentagram can also be viewed as a fivefold Magic Rune, slightly
twisted. What does all this tell about Kingdom of Logic-originated
Sorcery? Magic taken away from the spirits and twisted to fit man?
All these Runic musings make me think that a lot more Runes are of
draconic origin. Really of Western origin is Man, and the not commonly
used Pentagram. The Kingdom of Logic acknowledged the five elements, and
will have used symbols for these which the theists shared.
Reactions, please.
--
-- Joerg Baumgartner joe@sartar.toppoint.de
---------------------
From: Urox@aol.com
Subject: virgins
Message-ID: <9407100111.tn212607@aol.com>
Date: 10 Jul 94 05:11:51 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 5099
Martin sez
>I thought I'd go ahead and back you up on the question of how >Megaera can
be a virgin when she was gang-raped back in >childhood.
Megaera herself thought to avoid the Quest on this rather crucial point. But
the wise Tarshite Earth Priestess outwitted her:
Puddles continues:
Since we had to have the mounts back to get out of the Empire safely, Megeara
proclaimed she would lift the curse. "How is it done," she asked. "Show me
this Hare and I will wring his neck."
"You will undertake this Quest?" said the headman.
Before I could stop her, she had pledged us to a HeroQuest to find March
Hare.
But that night when we were being instructed in our roles for the ceremony,
the village Earth Priestess informed us that the only formal role to be
played by our group was that of Voria herself.
"She must go forth barefoot, with garlands of flowers, as did Voria on the
first Day," said the priestess.
Several jaws dropped as the full implications of this Myth hit home.
"What are you all staring at me for," growled Megaera, "I'll poke your eyes
out." Most of the men quickly turned away, but several had to leave the hut
to avoid laughing.
"You, of course, are the only one suitable to play Voria, Dear," said the
Earth Priestess.
"What?!" she cried. "You can't be serious."
Looking around frantically, her eyes fell upon me. "Puddles would be much
more suitable," she said, thrusting me forward.
"I'm sorry dear, but Voria must be a human and have connection with the
Earth," said the old woman calmly.
"Quack!!" I said, ruffling my feathers.
"But I'm not a virgin," said Megaera brightly. "You'll have to get one of
the girls from the village."
"You are the one who pledged the Quest. You must be the one to undertake
it."
"But I thought we'd just go out, find some big bunny, and hack it to bits.
How can I do that with flowers in my hair?" said Megaera frantically.
"That is not exactly the purpose of this Quest," said the old woman
amusedly.
"You say you are not a virgin, have you then known the pleasures of a man?"
she asked.
"I'd hardly call it pleasure," she replied, scowling darkly and gripping her
axe. "The only pleasure I took was in the slow, painful deaths of the scum
who raped me. That first and only time I was but 12, there were three of them
and I was taken by force."
"That which is not given