Skip to content
The Well of Daliath
Menu
Menu

A Sense of Scale III

Posted on April 8, 2025

Something that is easily over looked is the scale of Glorantha.

The Sky Dome is about 12,000 km in diameter at its base, and its apex is about 6,000 km above the center of the Homeward Ocean. That means the Red Moon, which is about 40 km in diameter, hovers about 3,000 km above the Crater.

The Red Moon appears about half again larger in the sky than our terrestrial moon, as is the Sun (Yelm). Yelm has the same apparent magnitude as our own sun. Because the Red Moon is stationary, it is a point of reference for peoples – it is directly above in Glamour, it is high in the sky in Dragon Pass, but it is actually smaller than our moon, much dimmer and lower in the sky in Fonrit or Umathela.

Genertela is about 5,000 km long and about 1,770 km wide (or high). It is about 2,200 km from the southern coast of Genertela to the northern coast of Pamaltela. Travel between these continents is more comparable to the ancient trade across the Indian Ocean (although it is shorter distances) than to either the Mediterranean or the Atlantic travels.

See also

A Sense of Scale I
A Sense of Scale II

Here’s another way to think about it. Genertela is about a third larger than the area covered in any detail by Ptolemy’s Geographia. Places like the northern coast of Pamaltela, the Jrusteli Islands, Teleos, and the East Isles, are little more than names except for a few scholars and long-distance travellers (merchants, sailors, Wolf Pirates, and Argrath).

So Genertela is about the size of the world known reasonably well to the Greco-Romans. Which also makes sense – an educated person in Dragon Pass likely knows not only of Peloria, Kethaela, Prax, and Maniria, but of the existence of the Genert Wastes, Pent, Ralios, Seshnela, Fronela, and even Kralorela and Teshnos (even if their knowledge of details is nearly non-existent or wildly wrong). The further away, the sketchier their knowledge is – but you can always go to a Lhankor Mhy temple and find the Gloranthan equivalent of Geographia. The entires in Pamaltela might read little more than, “Mostly Harmless” or “Really Dangerous” though.

This means that for even an educated or well-traveled Genertelan, places like Pamaltela, the East Isles, the Jrusteli Isles, etc., will be completely wrapped in mystery. A few places might be known – merchants in Nochet certainly know of Afadjann and Kareeshtu, and perhaps some of the city states on the Umathelan coast, but what they know is from the Issaries Goldentongue cultists who deal with the markets there. Beyond that it is likely wildly inaccurate or entirely absent. Sailors and the few Fonritians in Nochet might spread wild tales of spices, monsters, and even stranger customs. The Vadeli are rumoured to be baby-eating demons, and the coastal cities of Umathela are described like something out of Clark Ashton Smith.

And those are the people who know the most. Inside the Lunar Empire, even less is known.


Jeff Richard

Next
Previous
Genertela, Glamour (metropolis), Homeward Ocean, Red Moon, scale, Sky Dome

Sections

  • Search Tips
  • Current RuneQuest Glorantha Publications
  • RuneQuest Glorantha Corrections and Q&A
  • Catalogue
  • References for Glorantha
    • Gloranthan Canon
  • Gloranthan Documents
  • RPG Systems & Versions
  • Gallery
  • About This Site
  • Get involved!

Latest Posts

  • Thog the Giant

    In 870, Thog the giant appeared with an army of …
  • The Nine Good Giant Mountains

    The Nine Good Giant Mountains are about 60 km or …
  • Why Most Sartarites Hate the Lunar Empire

    From time to time it is worth reminding people why …
  • Suntown and the Eiskolli

    Suntown has always been in the hands of the Sun …
  • A Few Notes on the Grantlands

    To the south of Sun County are the former Grantlands, …
  • Sartar Cities

    Sartar can be thought of a confederation of small cities …
  • Catalogue of the Gods revisited

    This piece from the Mythology book is among my absolute …
  • Thunderbolts in Art

    One of the things that really got me down the …
  • RuneQuest Art

    So let’s talk RQ art for a moment. For the …

Links

  • Chaosium
  • Chaosium’s RuneQuest RPG Wiki
  • Glorantha on BRP Central
  • RuneQuest on BRP Central
  • RuneQuest on Discord
  • Prince of Sartar Webcomic
  • Glorantha G+ Archives on Tapatalk
  • Search mailing list archive

Latest from BRP Central

  • Babeester Gor Initiation Heroquest
  • Request of information: spying from above
  • Now on sale in Jonstown Compendium: Dine 'n Dash in Dragon Pass
  • RuneQuest Warlords. A Youtube Test
  • Whatever happened to William Church ?
  • Slonta is not in the Prosopaedia?
  • MORE RHINOS! [Come on, you love this stuff too...]
  • More Heroforge
  • Copy of the Guide to Glorantha for sale on eBay
  • Gender in Glorantha

Popular Tags

Boldhome (large city) Chaosium Colymar (Sartar tribe) Contents Cult demographics Cults of Runequest (preview) Ernalda Esrolia (homeland) FRA Furthest (large city) G+ post Genealogies Gods Wall Greg Stafford Guide to Glorantha (preview) Humakt Jar-eel Lunar Empire Lunar Pantheon Magazine Malkioni pantheon Map Michael O’Brien Mongoose MRQ1 New Pavis (small city) Old Glorantha Q&A Orlanth Orlanthi pantheon Photo reference Population demographics Prax (homeland) RQ3 RQG Sandy Petersen Sartar (homeland) Spirit Cult Star Subcult Tarsh (homeland & Lunar province) Troll Pantheon Yelm Yelmalio Yelm Pantheon Youtube

Recently added or updated

  • Yanioth Work in Progress

  • CHA4034 Red Book of Magic – Chapter 02 Rune Magic Spells Q&A (N-Z)

  • CHA4037 Dragon Pass – Q&A

  • Erenava Chan

  • Vasana & Yanioth’s Apprenticeship

  • Reconstructing Slontos – 2nd Age

  • The Discovery of Glorantha

  • The Lunar Satrapy of Sylila

  • Ygg

  • Yinkin

  • Wakboth the Devil

  • Waha

  • Voria

  • Vingkot

  • Valind

  • Vinga

  • Everina

  • Grain Goddesses

  • The Grain Goddesses art preview

  • Slonta

©2025 The Well of Daliath | Design: Newspaperly WordPress Theme