When we think of Esrolia, we need to remember that unlike Sartar or even Pavis, it is an ancient land. Esrolia has a consistent history of being a settled and civilized land…
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The Three Main Types of Magic
Lets think for a minute about the three main types of magic used by mortals in Glorantha and what they might mean. Arguably the oldest is Rune Magic, whereby mortals can wield…
Notes on Dendara
In history, Dendara’s cult has remained important as the primary Pelorian and Pentan women’s goddess. She was revered by the Suns of the Son and the Pure Horse People, and called La-ungariant,…
Pavis and Prax circa 1625-1626
A few thoughts on Pavis and Prax circa 1625-1626. As we all know, New Pavis now has a king – Argrath Whitebull – who is backed up by the White Bull cult,…
History of Gloranthan Art, Part V – The Lunar Empire
But, in Peloria, things are different. The EWF style are gone. And we have a long dark age. The Carmanians embrace a formal brutalism style. Them and their gods triumphing atop piles…
Thinking About Heroquests
When thinking about heroquests, I strongly recommend reading Jung’s “Red Book” aka the Liber Novus. That and “Inanna’s Descent into the Underworld“. And Gene Wolfe’s “Soldier of the Mist.” Those three books…
History of Gloranthan Art, Part IV
Belintar tries to recreate that very spread out and universal First Age Style. And of course this just goes nuts with the Opening. Because the Holy Country is now stupid rich. Now…
History of Gloranthan Art, Part III – Third Age – Holy Country
And then comes a long period of war that culminates in the Dragonkill War. Which divides the world into Kethaela and Peloria.Kethaela starts with that late Second Age Esrolian style. Sensuous and…
A History of Gloranthan Art, Part II – Second Age
This unified culture collapses in the Gbaji Wars at the end of the First Age. War and poverty. A collapse, which in turn leads to reduction in complexity in artwork. A Dark…
History of Gloranthan Art, Part I – Dawn Age
At the Dawn, there were basically two cultural centers – Dragon Pass (also known as the Theyalans or the Unity Council) and the Peloria lowlands ruled by the Horse Lords.The Theyalans had…
Windstop
During the Windstop, initiates of Orlanth and Ernalda within the affected area could not use their Rune Point pools to those gods and subcults of those gods. That includes Orlanth Adventurous, Rex,…
The Grazelanders
So when thinking about the Grazelanders, it is perhaps best to think of them as a duopoly headed by the Feathered Horse Queen. That means two groups: Semi-nomadic horse herders. These folk call…
Understanding Mythology
Here’s a snippet from what I consider to be one of the most important essays in the Cults Book. Readers will see that many of these stories in these volumes seem to…
Heroquesting and the Hero Wars
Here’s a snippet from a discussion I am having elsewhere that I think is of broad general interest: I think for almost everyone heroquesting falls into one of two categories: 1. We do…
Cities
Glorantha has many famed cities that predate the Dawn – Alkoth, Raibanth, Yuthuppa, Nochet, etc. But founding your own city is also a path to godhood as shown by such demigods as…
The Resettlement of Dragon Pass from 1250-1490
Humans returned to Dragon Pass around 1250 ST. These were the remnants of the Pure Horse People of Prax. Bands of Pure Horse People and their horses wandered about Dragon Pass, although…
Yanioth Work in Progress
Some first glimpses of the character turn for Yanioth.
Kallyr’s Short Lightbringers Quest 1625 – III
From the Glorantha Sourcebook: In Sacred Time, Kallyr Starbrow rallied her kingdom behind her to perform the Lightbringers’ Quest, a complicated heroquest that usually provided new life and health to everyone participating….
The Lunar Religion and Chaos
One of the clear distinctions made in the Compromise is that Chaos is not of this world. The deities and powers of the world had touched it, and were still afraid of…
Theyalan Terms for Rulers
I recently reposted the Pelorian terms for rulers, and realized it might be useful to repost the Theyalan terms. So here it is again! Chief Theyalan. Literally means “Great One; Most Important;…
Pelorian Terms for Rulers
I’ve posted this before, but find it useful to repeat: Emperor Dara Happan/New Pelorian. Term literally means “universal ruler.” Only one legitimate emperor can exist in the world at a time, although…
The Lunar Heartlands
The Lunar Heartlands are about 10 times the area of Sartar, with 25 times as many people. To the south of the Lunar Heartlands are the Lunar Provinces, a series of client…
Heroquesting sheet sketch
Here’s another sneak peak of what I have been playing around with. I’m not going to explain it or answer questions about how it works – just showing it off because it…
Allocating Your Unconscious Life II
Yesterday I posted some thoughts on thinking about the unconscious existence of characters. Now it is important to note that this is not something that underpins any game mechanics at this point….
Allocating Your Unconscious Life I
Runequest distinguishes three basic levels of spiritual participation in a cult – lay member (casual), initiate (dedicated), Rune Master (professional). Another way of thinking about it is how much of our Unconscious…