CJ:
> Any suggestions for potential allies, enemies, and which cults might
be
> active in town? I saw this as a way of trying out ILH 1 & 2 and
exploring
> Kostaddi.
I know nowt myself of Ulgoth, but Martin Laurie's Lunar army spreadsheets do suggest that it neither possesses nor is allowed any indigenous forces, being garrisoned all year 'round by the OPPRESSIVE BASTARD sable riders.
If "Kostaddi + wine" is the theme, then Oroypsus and the Ovosto dynasty should certainly be one of the first ports of call for potential ideas. The Ovosto dynasty was quite simply the best set of emperors Dara Happa ever had, and it all went to pot after them. Anaxial was such a twerp, and had something to do with roosters, or some such. These fine fellows are mentioned (passim) in The Glorious Reascent of Yelm and The Fortunate Succession, if you hadn't encountered them already.
On goatish Kostaddi in general, there will be a teensy bit more in print soon. The following is taken from Moon Design's imminent Mexican wrestling homage ¡LOS CAMPEONES DE LA LUNA ROJA!
(I'm pretty sure I understood all that stuff about the Red Emperor's masks correctly.)
The Goat Daimones and Demigods of Gerendethelia
These children of Gerendetho are sacred in Kostaddi. They are free to wander where they will, across thresholds or fields, and their passing a sign of great fortune. Kostaddi love them as their children, garnering their horns with garlands and gold, massaging their luxuriant coats in dark beer, fragranced with the sweet mountain flowers of the Jords, and feeding them a nourishing barley porridge laced with finest Oroypsian wine, `Senkana's Supper.'
They preside over ceremonies of initiation, when young sons shape their first spear and are Given the Horn, and daughters dance the goatleaping bibasis to the refrain of corpulent Ovostan Belly Howlers. They rule over the Ruttings and Buttings of the Ten Firelit Feasts of the Caprinalia, and the Orogoric Ovation, where lads prove their Manhood, and the daughters of Senkana are gifted with the Scything Horn of threshing and Straight Horn of power for when the menfolk are away.
Their lineages are many, from the veegu, fighting ibex, truculent offspring of Butt-Drunk Veego, to the duuru: hot-hoofed and longbearded princes much admired for their speed, and eagerly sought by the charioteering heroes of Gerendethelia. The most famous of these racers are the Scorched Earth Charioteering League of Raibanthi House Ytrior. Larresh once raced for their brown and gold colors, and as a youth quested for his six steeds* among the heroic wilds. The greatest duuru are daimones, but even their demigod children are prized as studanimals across Peloria and Dragon Pass.
The Sable Riders care nothing for the Three Laws and outrageously demand sacred goats in tribute—sacrifices in honor of Jaquat for their barbaric rites. Bands of otherwise frivolous, fecund folk gather in the wilds to fight a guerilla war against their oppressors, roasting sable meat in rebellious exultation. Many of them are former soldiers of the Wirrup Ridge-Runners, a Gerendethi regiment disbanded at the Satrap's insistence. Who or what is the mysterious Thirteenth Horn of Jolnu that leads them, and what is its relation to Larresh?
Stu.
P.S. Don't forget the bouzouki music!
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