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> > I do have a pdf of 'Stafford Library - Esrolia: Land Of A Thousand Goddesses' by Greg Stafford & Jeff Richard; it is a great resource but not alot of artwork involved. The pic of a priestess resembles a Mycenaen/Minoan a little, so that's why I based some of the culture off Mycenae. I'm not sure if I'm going down a wrong tangent though. I don't know if any of the fanzines have fleshed Esrolia out more, so perhaps someone can shed some light on the Esrolit for me.
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> I have an internal document I use in my role of Glorantha Line Editor called "Quick Summaries of Gloranthan Cultures". Here's the Dragon Pass/Holy Country Orlanthi section:
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> Orlanthi
> The Orlanthi are one of the four Major Cultures of Genertela (along with Westerner, Pelorian, and Vithelan). All Orlanthi share a few common features: 1. the clan (an extended kinship group based on actual or claimed descent from a common ancestor) is the basic unit of social organization; 2. Orlanth is acknowledged as a Storm King and Lightbringer (although not necessarily the most locally important god); 3. Ernalda is worshipped as a senior Earth Goddess (although not necessarily the most locally important goddess); 4. both are tightly (if sometimes seemingly inexplicably) linked; 5. the Orlanthi pantheon is worshipped, give or take some members: 6. Sacred Time is is a period of constant ritual and magic; and 7. literacy exists, but is typically confined to a priestly sect. Beyond these 6 common features, there is room for significant diversity within the Orlanthi culture.
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> In general, most Orlanthi cultures can be compared to a mish-mash of Late Bronze Age, early Iron Age historical cultures. Combine heroic Mycenaean Greeks with Hallstatt Celts and pre-Roman Italians, and add some Hittite influences and some bits from the Rigveda, and add some flying, thunder and lightning wielding, warrior-magicians and you won't be far off.
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> What the Orlanthi are not: British Celts with spiky hair, Scottish Highlanders, or Vikings.
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> Dragon Pass: Think Switzerland or the Tirol inhabited by feuding Afghan tribes and you won't be far off. The Storm Gods are very powerful here, and as a result, the weather is often exaggerated, with sunny summer days that end in terrible thunder storms, and snowy and cold winters that are chased of with lots of rain. The defining geographical feature is Kero Fin: take Mount Rainier, put another Mount Rainier on top of it, then put another on that - a gigantic icicle some 40,000 feet tall. On a sunny day, you can see it from anywhere until air visibility blurs it out (remember Glorantha is flat).
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> Tarsh: most of the farmers are Orlanthi, but the rulers are Lunars or imitate Lunar ways. The city of Furthest is a Lunar colony, where New Pelorian is spoken and alien gods worshiped. Think Gallo-Roman Lyons or Romano-German Cologne. Furthest is the very end of Lunar civilization - beyond it, here be monsters! Outside of the Lunar settlements, life goes on for most Orlanthi as before, although Orlanth is largely pushed behind the scenes in favor of celebrating Barntar and his mother Ernalda.
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> Tarsh Exiles: Very traditionalist, old-school Orlanthi who fight off the Lunars with their bloody Earthquake Goddess Maran Gor. They live in rugged mountains around Kero Fin and have maintained their independence at a great price.
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> Sartarites and Hendriki: Filled with fanatical Orlanthi who will die for their right to sacrifice cows and sheep for their beloved Storm King. Despite this, there is a surprisingly urban culture in Sartar, with three significant market towns, and the capital Boldhome is large city high in the mountains held in common by all the tribes. The Hendrikings are the same people as the Sartarites, but look to their sacred temple-fortress of Whitewall instead of Boldhome.
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> Malkonwal: This is an Orlanthi land ruled by a Western wizard-warrior adventurer who installed himself as King with the aid of a bunch of Westernized Orlanthi (or is it Orlanthized Westerners?). The ruler is personally powerful, but doesn't have any deep popular support and his kingdom lasts about three years. Something like William Walker (who briefly conquered Nicaragua with 160 mercenaries from the States and about 170 locals) or Roussel de Bailleul (who briefly carved out an independent state in Galatia with the aid of mercenaries) or a less successful King Conan of Aquilonia!
> What this is not: Malkonwal is not a Rokari holy war against paganism - Rikard is not even Rokari (he's from the Castle Coast)!
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> Esrolia: This is a rich and powerful Orlanthi land ruled by the Grandmothers of the clans, who usurped the authority of the Sons of Orlanth in the Great Darkness in order to survive: the Grandmothers fear and dread the return of an heir to the ancient kings (think the Stewards of Gondor but with more fear). The title "Grandmother" refers to the head of an Esrolian matrilineal family or clan. The Grandmothers have absolute authority over the members of their family. Cities are ruled by queens elected by the grandmothers. However, traditional Orlanthi masculine roles are maintained: men work in the fields and defend their farms and familes, women raise children and run the household.
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> A shockingly rich profusion of Earth deities can be found here and Ernalda is revered as the Queen of the Universe - the femine powers of the world are celebrated with great enthusiasm. Orlanth is acknowledged but his cult is downplayed by the Grandmothers (but Esrolia is still revered by the Orlanth cult of surrounding lands). Nochet is the center of the Grandmothers' power; the temple-city of Ezel (the home of Ernalda) is ruled by the Ernalda priestesses. Put the Knossos of Sir Arthur Evans in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur or Lombardy and you won't be far off.
> What Esrolia is not: A dystopian gynocracy with eunuchs, and sacrificial Year Kings.
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> Caladraland: This is a volcanic land with jungles and volcano priests. They *are* Orlanthi, but their primary religion is appeasing the Volcano God Veskarthan and his brood. So they are Fire (but not Sky) worshipping Orlanthi who live in a sub-tropical climate - and probably stretch the definition of Orlanthi as broadly as you possibly can. Barntar is the agricultural god in the northern river valleys of Vinavale and Porthameka, but in the jungles they do it differently (slash and burn with a hoe). They have surprisingly good weapons, armor, and other crafts thanks to their ancient friendly relationship with the dwarfs of Gemborg.
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Wow, thanks for the prompt reply Jeff, I certainly appreciate your response to my query on the Esrolit.
'Knossos in Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur?' Well that certainly evokes some Mycenaen imagry for me, at least in the architecture. Great setting for Notchet City, it sounds scenic. I guess if the Esrolit are Theylan/Orlanthi then there are some similarities in dress to that of the Sartarites, or do they dress more 'ancient/classical' or even Hittite...hmmm; just trying to get flavour here.
It sounds like I kinda had some steps on the right path for the Esrolit - Mycenaens with European Barbarian influences...
In any case, thank you for your response, I never thought one of the Moon Design staff would directly respond to my post, you just made my day.
Greatly appreciated!