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, Tue, 09 Aug 1994, part 7 Sender: Henk.Langeveld@Holland.Sun.COM Content-Return: Prohibited Precedence: junk --------------------- From: DevinC@aol.com Subject: Cult of Baroshi Message-ID: <9408081840.tn804199@aol.com> Date: 8 Aug 94 22:40:24 GMT X-RQ-ID: 5556 Devin Cutler here: Remember Baroshi? The baby godling who was in Snake Pipe Hollow when Termain Osboropo attacked with the Chaos Maggot? Well, my players listened to Nurse and freed the godling, who then went to send the Maggot howling back into the void and thence to reestablish his place in the godplane. Now, the cult of Baroshi is growing larger (he was freed about 4 years ago Gloranthan time) abd establishing its unique niche in the Earth pantheon. A preliminary draft of the cult writeup is hereinbelow. Suffice to say that it is to the Earth pantheon what Vinga is to the Storm Pantheon and/or what Yelorna is to the Solar Pantheon...in other words, it is a cult for male earth warriors. The cult is only called upon to serve two functions: 1) Fight Chaos...for which it is recognized that Baroshi had great powers 2) To come to the aid of the Earth during crises so large that the female warriors need more manpower (or person power). The history of the godling is sparse, but that is to be expected for a godling who performed a single act or two before becoming trapped within Time. I will probably create more info on Veralz and Enori for inclusion in the writeup. Why am I presenting a writeup of Baroshi? 1) I think male warriors have a place within the Earth pantheon 2) Surely others must have freed Baroshi in their campaigns 3) Since there is no history on this guy, I can pretty much do what I please without risk of being Gregged or someone-elsed. THE CULT OF BAROSHI (envisioned after about 5-10 years after his release) Mythic History: Baroshi was a godling born of two gods of the Earth, King Verlaz and Queen Enori. These gods dwelt in the land of the Snakepipe Dancers, in what is now Snakepipe Hollow, and were worshipped by a variety of local inhabitants. When Chaos invaded the world, the home of the King and Queen was attacked by a Chaos Demon named Termain Osboropo, who brought with him a giant Chaos maggot which chewed its corruption into the Earth. At the time, Enori was pregnant with child, and when King Verlaz went to combat the invasion and was slain, Enori gave birth to the godling Baroshi, and then went to her doom fighting the Chaos fiends. It was then that Baroshi himself lept up from his cradle, bade goodbye to his Nurse, and went to fight the Chaos. Queen Enori had done well with Baroshi, for while he formed and grew within her divine womb, she saw the approaching onslaught of Chaos and began to reshape the embryonic Baroshi from a peaceful deity of Earth into a potent fighter of Chaos. In this, she was aided by her companion and friend, Babeester Gor, who saw that the fight against Chaos to protect the Earth would be a desparate one and would even need the help of men. It is also said, amongst the High Initiates of the cult, that Stormbull also lent his aid to the godling, allowing Enori to imbue Baroshi with some of the essence of the Bull. WHile it is certain that the Stormbull did give Enori some form of his own powers and skill, many believe this transfer was carnal in nature, a speculation not appreciated by adherents of the cult. Thus imbued, Baroshi met and slew Termain. He then fought with the Maggot, and drove it away from what remained of the palace of the King and Queen. Unfortunately for the godling, just as this task was completed, Time was born, and he became trapped within TIme and was lost to the world. Recent History: Baroshi was found and rescued by [fill in the name(s) of whomever rescued him], who had been enjoined to rescue the godling by the local Ernalda Temple at Glasswall. With the aid of magic from the ghost of Baroshi's Nurse, the godling was healed of his temporal stasis and was reborn. The godling immediately lept to finish his attack upon the Chaos Maggot, which still chewed through the Earth. After a struggle, the godling sent the Maggot streaming back into the void, and the Snakepipe Hollow Temple was cleansed. Once he had completed his deed, Baroshi fought his way outside of Time, so that he might take his place amongst the gods and goddesses of the Compromise. After his "re-apotheosis", a cult dedicated to his worship began to develop amongst the males who worshipped or lived among the worshippers of the Earth goddesses. The formation of the cult was encouraged by the local Earth Priestesses, and the cult is very small but growing. Recently, Baroshi worshipping missionaries have appeared in Esrolia, speaking to the men of that land. Holy Days and Runes: The Runes of Baroshi are Earth, Law, and Mastery Holy Days commemerate his birth and his release within Time. Of these, his birth is the High Holy Day, being in Earth Season, Fertility Week, Godsday. Holy sites to the Cult include the Earth Temple in Snakepipe Hollow. Initiate Membership: Initiates of Baroshi are expected to defend the Earth against Chaos. Most of the Earth Cult hierarchy considers the followers of Baroshi to be fairly useless in all other matters of Earthly import, but recognizes the importance of this male-oriented cult in times of dire emergency and against Chaos, when even men must be called to the fore. The cult only accepts males. They must have exhibited a sincere love of the Earth and a hatred of Chaos. In addition, they must pass three out of five tests involving the following skills: Ceremony, Weapon Attack, Shield Parry, Scan, Dodge Spriti Magic: Strength, Shimmer, Disrupt, Vigour, Protectiion, Detect Chaos Special Spirit Magic: DETECT CHAOS 3 point Temporal, Active, Instant, Ranged This spell works like the Stormbull skill, except that the Chaos must be in contact with the Earth in order to be detected. However, no amount of Earth will block this spell. Due to the unpredictability of Chaos, this spell does not always function accurately. The chance of the caster to successfully detect Chaos is Pow x3%. If this roll is failed, no information is gained but if it is fumbled, then false information is given. In any case, only a general uneasiness will occur. The spell will not pin point the exact location of the Chaos nor tell how many sources of Chaos are within its range. Earth Fighter Membership: This is the pinnacle of the cult, being masters of fighting Chaos in defense of the Earth. The position requires a 90% skill in Weapon Attack and Shield Parry, and three of the following at 90%: Ceremony, Dodge, Scan, or Search They must have a POW of 15 and know the spell of Detect Chaos. Earth Fighters are required to always give aid to any Earth Cultist in response to a call to fight Chaos. This is their overwhelming passion, although they are not beserkers like the Stormbulls. Earth Fighters are expected to obey all Priestesses of Ernalda, Grain Goddesses, and all Runelevels of Babeester Gor, and to aid or protect them when the need arises. Earth Fighters must devote 50% of their time and income to the cult, but htey must always heed a call during emergencies. They may use cult spells reusably, but only DI on a D00 roll. Divine Magic: Common - Heal Wounds, Worship Baroshi, Dismiss Magic, Spellteaching Special - Shield, Enchant Amber, Earthburn, Defend Against Chaos Enchant Amber 1POW ritual Enchant, reusable, stackable This spell must be cast upon a piece of Amber. Once performed, the piece of Amber may be wielded properly only by the Enchanter. The amber sparks and sputters continuously, and looks quite dangerous. Anyone but the Enchanter who touches the Amber with bare skin will lose 1 Str and 1 Con per MR. Such drain is temporary, regained at 1 point of each per day. When used as a weapon by the Enchanter, the amber is wielded at the user's Fist attack skill. The piece of amber itself does D4 damage (like a rock) plus strength bonus. If any amount of damage actually penetrates armour and contacts the skin of the target, then 1 Strength and 1 Con are drained from the victim. This characteristic drain is regained at a rate of 1 point for each characteristic per day. Note that contact with skin is all that is required in order to drain characteristics. Even if an opponent has armouring enchantment upon his skin or scales (like a dragon), the characteristic drain will still work. Only actual armour, or protective magics like Shield, Protection, or Damage Reiststance will stop the draining effects. If the Amber strikes a being of Chaos, however, it activates with a huge flash of sparks and a smell of burnt earth. The amber will cause 2D4 damage (plus strength bonus) and, if it contacts skin, it will drain D3 Strength and D3 Constitution from that foe. If the wielder sends MP into the enchanted amber, then for each MP placed into the amber, add D3 damage to the amount of damage done, and, if characteristic drain occurs, ad +1 to the amount of Strength and the amount of Constitution drained. Any MP placed into the amber will be retained by the amber for 25MR before dissipating. When the amber contacts a being of Chaos, the MP are dissipated anyways in the flash. The maximum MP that can charge the amber is determined at the time of enchantment (see below). Opponents drained to 0 Str or 0 Con collapse and cannot move until Str or Con reaches 1. The enchantment used to create the amber is stackable. That is, for each POW stacked into the casting at the time of creation, 1 MP may be placed into the amber to charge it. The enchantment requires a piece of amber hand sized, upon which the proper runes are engraved and over which the blood of a thing of Chaos is smeared. Earthburn 1POW Temporal, Ranged, Reusable, Stackable This spell causes the Earth to burn anything of Chaos which touches it. This burning is not heat or fire, but a painful rejection by the Earth and a lashing out of Earthpower. Each point of this spell causes a patch of Earth (not worked stone) to burn things of Chaos which are in contact with it. This contact need not be fleshy contact. Each patch measures 3x3 meters. If another point is stacked with the spell, this area may be cubed, and so on. Thus, a 3POW Earth burn would cover an area 9x9 meters. Earthburn does D3 damage to general hit points. The spell must overcome the MP of the Chaos in order to affect it, but since the effect si being powerd by the earth itself, the spell attacks with a POW of 30. For each additonal point stacked in the spell which is not used to increase the area, the spell will do an extra D3 of damage. Thus, if Molokki the Earth Fighter casts a 6 point Earthburn, he could do 6D3 in a 3x3m area, or 3D3 over a 9x9m area. Countermagic will protect against this damage if matched against the points in the spell that apply to increased damage. Associated Cults: The following cults are associated and grant Divine Magics: Ernalda provides Command Gnome (but not Summon or Bind Gnome), Command Snake, and Earthpower Babeester Gor provides Earthshield (i.e. Great Parry) *** If anyone else has had any ideas on Baroshi, please post them or email them to me. Also, I would like to see posted anyone's full writeup of Firshala. Regards, Devin Cutler devinc@aol.com --------------------- From: rowe@glorantha.berkeley.edu (Eric Rowe) Subject: RuneQuest Con 2 Registration! Message-ID: <2e389ec8.glorantha@glorantha.Berkeley.EDU> Date: 29 Jul 94 06:16:39 GMT X-RQ-ID: 5527 Here is the basic information needed to registrer for RQCon2, please read it thoroughly. Registration will not be accepted through e-mail. You must copy the form at the end of this mailing and send it in. The american distribution of Tales will also have copies of this form. Please copy this lots and invite your friends. Runequest Con 2 January 13-16, 1995 San Francisco Clarion Hotel Guests of honor: Greg Stafford, Sandy Peterson, Ken Rolston and the original authors of RQ, Steve Perrin, Ray Turney, Steve Henderson and Warren James Live-Action Gloranthan Role-playing in The Broken Council and How the West was One, as well as other special live-action role-playing events. Role Playing Events: Runequest, Ars-Magica, Skyrealms of Jorune, Call of Cthulhu, Pendragon, Elric!, Nephilim and more. Boardgames and Miniatures: Dragon Pass, Nomad Gods, Pantheons and Miniatures. Special Events: Trollball, Orlanthi Storytelling, Eat at Geo's, Costumes, Auction and lots of seminars by our guests on RQ, Glorantha and the other fine game worlds. Our Feature events are the following two live-action games... How the West was One: The year is 1625 and it is time for the Seventh Ecclesiastical Council of Malkion at the University of Sog City. The prophet Notslor has called this council to try and unite the splintered factions of Malkionism. You play the part of an member of the council hoping to prove your version of Malkionism, avoid civil strife and further your own career, all while the gathering clouds upon the horizon portend the growing evil of the nearby Kingdom of War. Will the West be One? (9 hours, 68 players) The Broken Council: Participate in the most important event of the first age of Glorantha, the creation of Osentalka, the perfect god who will herald the return of the Golden Age. From political infighting to terrible battles, the fate of Glorantha rests in the hands of the representatives to the Second Council in Dorastor. Players will be the great figures of Glorantha's past as they struggle to shape the future in the image of their personal beliefs. This is your chance to help create a god. (7 hours, 46 players) Important Note: It is very important to pre-register for this convention. Space in the two centerpiece live-actions is limited. Participation in the two LARPs will be determined by a random drawing to be held on Sept. 15. If there are still more spaces available afterwards, they will be given on a first come basis. Even if you do not want in one of the live-actions, after we get your registration we will send you the Convention packet in two to three weeks. It contains hotel information, events, gamemastering, volunteering and a questionnaire. By pre-registering you will be able to make sure we will be holding the events and seminars you want to attend. For more information or questions please contact us at... RuneQuest Con 2 rqcon@erzo.berkeley.edu 2520 Hillegas Ave #101 (510) 649-8601 (Eric) Berkeley, CA 94704 (510) 649-7467 (Shannon) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ RunQuest Con 2 membership form. Make your check or money order payable to Eric Rowe. Do not send cash. ___ Full Membership $30 ___ One Day (Sat. or Sun.) Membership $15 ___ Featured LARP $15. List which one here ___________________. If I do not get into the LARP of my choice I would like to be in the other _______[yes or no]. ___ Total enclosed. Volunteers, gamemasters and those not getting into a LARP will get refunds at the convention. Mail this form to: RuneQuest Con 2, 2520 Hillegas Ave #101, Berkeley, CA 94704 Name:________________________________ Phone (_____) ______________ Address:______________________________ e-mail _____________________ City:___________________________State:______ Zip:__________________ --------------------- From: henkl@aft-ms (Henk Langeveld - Sun Nederland) Subject: Runes and the Eye in the Pyramid... Message-ID: <9408080822.AA11258@yelm.Holland.Sun.COM> Date: 8 Aug 94 12:22:28 GMT X-RQ-ID: 5528 At convulsion we had some discussion about Runes and there being hundreds of them, sometimes different runes standing for the same thing, sometimes the same rune representing different things. So for some people the Sun rune is the "eye" rune. This prompted me to wonder what the "eye in the pyramid" stands for. Ideas? Only as I write this, I realise it is the same as "Sun in Law" --------------------- From: jiml@falcon.teleride.on.ca (Jim Lai) Subject: Belated response Message-ID:Date: 8 Aug 94 00:23:00 GMT X-RQ-ID: 5529 joe@sartar.toppoint.de (Joerg Baumgartner) writes a few days back: >The (very nice) story about the humming-bird and its cause (butterflies >being insects, being creatures of Darkness) made me think about Insects >in Glorantha. I came to the conclusion that insects have their origin >as creatures of the darkness, but they go through a life cycle which >brings (at least some of them) through the other elements. >Gorakiki is a deity of many faces, and while (s)he stems from darkness, >(s)he learned to transform into other stages. Would this mean that Gorakiki has a secret rune-level Rebirth spell available? And what's all this nonsense about a Humaktbird? John Strauss : >But note those sneaky lunar missionaries, over in the Teelo Noori >soup kitchen. Free food for all lay members! But first, let's say >grace, and thank Teelo Noori and all the Seven Mothers for the food >that is set before us...... Here's a nasty rumor/thought: rune soup with noodles shaped like runes in hopes that combinations will randomly form a fragment of a Nysalor Riddle. Nils Weinander writes: >I think this one pf the points where Kralorela is very different from RW >China. Kralorelans in good standing do not remain in accessible spirit >form after death. The spirit leaves for Vithela, and thence to worlds >unknown when the emperor dies. Thus any human spirit encountered is >really disreputable, perhaps even a deceased Hsunchen (ptoi!). I was thinking about rescues of the Anguished Dead who spread into the world between the reigns of the two true Emperors. One would possibly defeat them and then inform them that they could go home now and make their way to Vithela. GoG wasn't clear on the nature of the Tortured Dead. Did they find peace once Godunya ascended the throne, or are they still wandering the world? Also, how to City Gods fit in the Kralorian way of thinking? Perhaps the orthodox view is that these ancestors may have gone to Vithela, but they still lend a helping hand to those left behind. (Obligations tying one to the world even after death. It's a rather Dragonewt conception, which is a bonus here.) Now that I think about it, the sorcerer-martial artist could be the sorcerous analogous to the rune lord (battle-priest). As to the Eastern times of night: theft, murder, curse, cannibal, monster, torture, and spark-in-the-sky... could these correspond to Godtime events in the Lesser and Greater Darknesses? Might the spark-in-the-sky be the destruction of the Spire of Law? Monster time could be tied with the influx of chaos. Cannibal time would be the result of starvation during the sleep of Ernalda/the Grain Goddesses. Torture time might have a connection with the Tortured Dead: the spirits of those who were warped by chaos? GrimJim --------------------- From: mcarthur@fit.qut.edu.au (Robert McArthur) Subject: Strangers in Prax... did I miss the announcement? Message-ID: <199408080850.SAA26074@ocean.fit.qut.edu.au> Date: 9 Aug 94 04:50:37 GMT X-RQ-ID: 5530 Having seen some people talking about having played with it, have I missed the announcement and the inevitable (and awaited) comments on it? Or has my memory flipped its lid and SiP actually came out 3 years ago and is sitting at the bottom of my closet under my tennis racquet? Robert --------------------- From: DevinC@aol.com Subject: Re: RuneQuest Daily, Mon, 08 Aug 1994, part 2 Message-ID: <9408080530.tn776632@aol.com> Date: 8 Aug 94 09:30:30 GMT X-RQ-ID: 5531 Devin Cutler here: John Medway asks: "How well are usenet newsgroups gatewayed (obviously not the correct form of the infinitive "to gateway", but whatever) to CI$, AOL, and the other online services?" AOL has full access to all newsgroups. Curtis wries: " While I really liked the idea of the Evergone I'd like to suggest a slight modification. I had a place in old campaign that acted in a similar fashion. The memories of the person came to life. But the simulacra thus created were crafted soley from the mind of the person involved." I thought about that approach, but really wanted to have the Evergone hooked into the Gloranthan Collective memory. That makes it a bit more fantastical (my word), jibes with its origin, and besides, I love the idea of collective consciousness (on earth and in Glorantha). Regards, Devin Cutler devinc@aol.com --------------------- From: henkl@aft-ms (Henk Langeveld - Sun Nederland) Subject: Prax, fire, fuel Message-ID: <9408080945.AA11573@yelm.Holland.Sun.COM> Date: 8 Aug 94 10:45:58 GMT X-RQ-ID: 5532 I'm thinking of starting a campaing in the Wastes/Prax, starting characters out as a couple of beast riders. First get them through a couple of 'mundane' adventures (initiation, raiding, broo-bashing... should give me at least one scenario each) and was wondering about some of the everyday aspects of living in the wastes... Question: Do the riders use fire? (chasing wild animals at night, staying warm - alternative: cuddle up with the herd... cooking ...) If so, what would they burn, considering the scarcity of wood? Hmmm, dung of course... This prompted me to discover: Woodgrass - a native growth of the plains, which is too hard to actually provide any nutrition to the herds. A common task of the tribes is to cut down the swaths of grass and mix it with dung for fuel. Hmmm, think I've answered my own questions again... --------------------- From: henkl@aft-ms (Henk Langeveld - Sun Nederland) Subject: Re: yeast, microscopes... Message-ID: <9408081014.AA11674@yelm.Holland.Sun.COM> Date: 8 Aug 94 11:14:35 GMT X-RQ-ID: 5533 Martin Crim writes: > Oh, and the reason that the Rheinheitsgebot doesn't mention >yeast is that no one knew what it was when the law was written. >This foam just appeared on the wort. Either it was airborne (as >is still practiced with Belgium's Kriek) or it was transferred >from the last batch through dosing it (as with yogurt or >sourdough bread starter today) or through using tools covered >with the stuff from the last batch. Before microscopes, nobody >really understood it. Some brewers called it "God is Great." Well, like disease in Glorantha is not transferred through germs, but through spirits(?), there is no yeast in Glorantha, only the 'ale spirit'. It does have a physical manifestation though, very much like yeast :-) What's so special about things you can't see but exist nonetheless? We know there's something there. You burn everything touched by a Broo, and you invite the spirits into your brewing kettles... IMO, people in olden times did not *need* microscopes. Fun things for scholars, though... So now you know it consists of tiny little bits, so what? Want to discuss the number of angels that will fit on the head of a nail? -- Henk | Henk.Langeveld@Sun.COM - Disclaimer: I don't speak for Sun. oK[] | Single Point of Change, Multiple Points of Reference