To really understand Gloranthan cosmology, keep two things in mind: 1. The world is created by the conflict/dance of the five elements – Air, Darkness, Earth, Fire, and Water. This interaction is…
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Orlanth Subcult Membership
In Sartar, more than a third (35%) of all Orlanth initiates belong to the Orlanth Adventurous subcult. A little less than two thirds (62%) belong to the Orlanth Thunderous subcult. And a…
Rune Masters
So why is there variation in cult Rune Masters, some have only Rune Lords or Rune Priests, while others have both? Good question. So Rune Priests are the most common way that…
The Syncretism of Elmal and Yelmalio
If you start from the position that these are “two divinities” you are always going to run into problems. So start with this proposition – “two names”. At the Dawn, the Orlanthi…
Oldest notes on Orlanth
I’m going through some files and found some of Greg’s oldest notes on Orlanth (from about 1977): The council of gods in Dragon Pass is made of several major deities. Orlanth is…
What are the Hero Wars?
As the books repeatedly say, the backdrop for RuneQuest is the Hero Wars. But what the heck is that? The Hero Wars has at its core the conflict between Orlanth and the…
Exploring Glorantha
RuneQuest operates on many levels. It is a fantasy RPG where we can have fantasy adventures in a mythic Bronze Age world of tribes and empires, with gods, cults, and spirits. You…
Otherworld Home
So in every cult description, there’s an entry called Otherworld Home. That is where the cult members experience the god during holy day ceremonies and other important rituals. From there, there may…
Heroquesting beyond Holy Day Ceremonies
Each cult performs holy day ceremonies that reinforce the link between the cult members and the deity. These links can mechanically be described as the cult’s available Rune spells. These ceremonies fit…
Running a Heroquest
So let’s think about how to run a heroquest in a game session, based on the ideas in my previous posts. Couple of ground rules: Let’s set the scene. The community or…
Untangling Heroquesting
Let me try to untangle a few things. Let’s start with what a heroquest is: it is the direct interaction between the eternal God Time and mortal beings. Now that may sound…
Shamans in other cults
Are Shaman only in certain cults (Daka Fal/ Waha) or do all cults, specifically Orlanth, have them too? It depends. In many cases, a shaman is initiated outside of the main structure….
Notes on The Invisible God II
The Invisible God is the Hidden Mover, the Ultimate Reality which can be known. From the Invisible God came everything. And once the Invisible God viewed everything, we could have the One…
Werewolves in Sartar
Sartar has one of the – if not the – highest percentages of werewolves of any civilized kingdom. Some 2% of the population are werewolves! The Prince is defended by werewolves and…
Kallyr Starbrow and the Dragonrise
It may come to some surprise, but Kallyr Starbrow likely had no idea that her intervention at the New Lunar Temple ceremony would result in the Dragonrise. Let’s start with what was…
RuneQuest has Dragons
As we know, RuneQuest has dragons. And True Dragons are huge entities so powerful their thoughts and emotions can manifest and develop lives of their own. But at the same time, they…
Original Horse People
In the Grey Age, there were two main groups of horse people in Peloria. One was west of the Hungry Plateau/Jord Mountains in what is now Saird (Vanch, Terarir, and Holay). These…
An Ancient Dawn Age document from Brithos
The following is an ancient Dawn Age document from Brithos. It predates the Gbaji Wars, and likely dates to the time of the Serpent Kings. It is some of Greg’s oldest writings….
Notes on the Enerali
Before the Gods War, Galinin the son of Pure Horse (aka Ehilm) begat a son upon InUlei, daughter of Ralia, and that son was named Eneral. With his father’s permission and aid,…
Notes on the Old Gods
As the Mythology book details, the primordial gods consisted of a group of archetypes that were the sources of Powers, both spiritual and physical, in the universe. These primordial gods dwelt on…
After the Spike
The Spike is the central pillar that holds up the sky and unites Sky, Air, Earth, Water, and Darkness. It extends from the deepest depths of the Underworld to the City atop…
Notes on Armor and Helmets
We know from RQG that closed or open helmets are most common for nobles and warriors (Light Infantry is associated with composite helmets). So let’s think about styles, starting with Kethaela. Remember…
Notes on Filichet II
So it is only about 70 km from Furthest to Filichet, at least as the vrok hawk flies. That’s not very far – that’s less than the distance between London and Oxford,…
Ancient Bird Mother
As we all know, Vrimak (one of the Parts of Yelm) is the father of all avian life. His daughter-wife Avarnia is the Bird Mother, goddess of small birds, including quails, chickens,…
Top 10 Lunar Heartland Cults
The ten most popular cults in the Lunar Heartlands are: