So what happened to Heortland? Heortland has almost three times the population of Sartar, in approximately the same area. With over 100k Orlanth initiates, it is one core Orlanthi areas in the…
Author: Jeff Richard
Creative Director
The Death of Prince Temertain
Prince Temertain was the great-great grandson of Sartar. His Telmori bodyguards were led Goram Whitefang, son of the Telmori King and a great-great grandson of Sartar through Saronil and Onelisin. In late…
Casting Rune Magic
When an initiate or Rune Master casts a Rune spell, the god is manifest in the mundane world – the caster experiences the god. This experience is greater than abstract belief or…
Imagining the Yelmalio cult
One of the difficulties people have in imagining the Yelmalio cult is that the best described temple is the one in Prax, aka Sun County. Sun County, if you all recall was…
Notes on Clans in the Grazelands
As we know there are about 18,000 Pure Horse People in Dragon Pass. They all belong to one tribal group – with Yelm Sun Lords as the tribal leaders, aided by Yelm…
Temples in Sartar
In most of Sartar, your clan has a minor temple to Orlanth and Ernalda, and maybe a shrine to one other deity. Your tribe has at least a minor temple to Orlanth…
Notes on Humakt
Humakt is a favorite player character cult in RuneQuest and no wonder! The cult is for the professional warrior, the mercenary, the holy killer, but is also tempered by a strict code…
A Few Rules of Thumb
Most to all adults are initiates of a cult, regardless of culture, and around 2% of initiates are Rune levels. Many people are lay members of one or more other cults. These…
The Average Sartarite Clan
There are 157 clans in Sartar (not including the Telmori and Pol-Joni), with an average population of about 900 people per clan. About 600 are adults, and about 300 are children. The…
Gloranthan Inspiration from the American West
Given how traditionally ingrained medieval Europe (and to a lesser extent the Roman Empire) is in our conception of fantasy, from time to time it is worth looking elsewhere for our images…
Some thoughts on Gloranthan religion:
The Gloranthan deities fulfill psychological or cosmic needs, if they are to be worshiped. Even Zorak Zoran and Storm Bull has their place in the cosmos and in the needs of their…
Military Might in 1625
In 1625, the most powerful military in Glorantha is the Lunar Army. A handful of fast and powerful units offered a strong advance fighting force, and careful timing gave the empire almost…
War Gods in the Lunar Empire
The most important war god in the Lunar Empire is Yanafal Tarnils. All soldiers in the Lunar Army are lay members and probably a quarter of the Lunar Army are initiates of…
Gloranthan events in a historical context
From time to time I try to put Gloranthan events in historical context, to help get a feel for “how long ago” something was. So here’s a history of Dragon Pass with…
Air Gods in the Lunar Heartland
In the Lunar Heartlands, several Air gods are recognized. First of course is Orlanth, the Thunder God who slew Yelm and plunged the world into the Lesser Darkness. He is acknowledged as…
Theyalan Celestial Gods
Throughout much of the Theyalan Belt, people recognize several major celestial gods: First is of course Yelm, the Sun. The Sun travels across the Sky Dome each day, only to die and…
Glimpses of Dragon Pass
A few glimpses from Dragon Pass as we drove in Wyoming today.
Notes on the Lunar Empire 1639-1648
One of the most interesting periods of the Hero Wars is the Lunar decade of 1639-1648. A new mask, Invictus, becomes emperor after the set backs and defeats of Argenteus, Kazkurtum, and…
The Second Lunar Occupation of Dragon Pass
Jotting down a few notes for my RQ and Cthulhu games I’ll be running at Chaosium Con, and had a crazy idea of doing an RQ short campaign set around 1645, during…
Notes on Beast People
There are some 25,000 Beast People and another 10,000 Ducks in Dragon Pass. The Beast Men include centaurs, ducks, minotaurs, satyrs, manticores, tiger-men, bird women, fox women, bug heads, and often many…
Riverfolk in the Lunar Heartlands
The Diros or Yestendos boats used by the Riverfolk and Weeders of the Lunar Heartlands are mainly reed or wooden in construction, with curved bows and sterns. Although we often associate that…
Lightfore and the Sun
To me, one of the more interesting celestial phenomena in Glorantha is the relationship between Lightfore and the Sun. Lightfore rises each dusk in the east, and sets each dawn in the…