Skip to content
The Well of Daliath
Menu
Menu

Lunar Provincial Population Groups

Posted on July 3, 2022

Throughout the Lunar Provinces, much of the ruling class and urban population is Lunar, while much of the rural population is “barbarian” (I am using that term from a Lunar Heartland perspective). The Lunar population in the Provinces fall into roughly two groups:

Lunar colonists. The Lunar Empire settled several colonies in South Peloria. Although Furthest (founded in 1492) is the most important and impressive, several other cities were founded or refounded by settlers from the Lunar Heartlands including Mirin’s Cross (refounded by Hwarin Dalthippa in 1347) and Filichet (also refounded by Hwarin Dalthippa in 1347). Holay Fort was founded by Lunar settlers after the Battle of Falling Hills (1362).

Most of the early settlers came from Dara Happa or Sylila. The later settlers (especially Hon-eel’s settlements) came from Doblian, Silver Shadow, and Sylila. These Lunars considered themselves Heartlanders for generations, despite slowly adopting some “barbarian” trappings, such as tattoos as part of cultic initiations, religious exchanges including adoption of local cults such as Ernalda and other earth deities, and those Lightbringers who are at least neutral towards the Lunar religion, and intermarriage with prominent local barbarian families. Because few of the settlers were ruling caste Dara Happans, the Yelm cult is fairly small and Yelmalio has taken on many of Yelm’s duties.

After a century or more, the Lunar colonies speak New Pelorian, but also Tradetalk and the local barbarian dialect. The Seven Mothers, Hwarin Dalthippa, and Hon-eel are revered deities, and Dara Happan gods such as Yelm, Lodril, Oria, and Oslira are worshiped alongside barbarian deities such as Ernalda, Yelmalio, and Barntar.

A few of the richest provincial aristocrats were educated within the Lunar Heartlands (especially Glamour), and are culturally from the Heartlands. But even prominent Lunar nobles such as Fazzur Wideread were raised in the Provinces. Fazzur for example, is the uncle of Pharandros (who is a member of the imperial Eel-ariash clan) and owns property in Tarsh and Sylila, but he was raised in Furthest and Dunstop, not Glamour.

Examples: Phargentes, Moirades, Pharandros, Fazzur Wideread, Jomes Wolf.

Lunarized barbarians. Many of the traditional local ruling families in the Lunar Provinces have embraced the Lunar religion for reasons of self-preservation, ambition, or spiritual awakening. Many have adopted trappings of Heartland culture, but remain culturally “barbarian” at least from the perspective of the Lunar Heartlanders. Tattoos, clan structure, adulthood initiation rites, etc., all might be more or less the same as they were before their family embraced the Lunar Way.

These Lunarized barbarians make up much of the Provincial Army. Heartland troops sneer at the Native Furthest Corps for their thinly disguised invocations of traditional war gods, including Humakt, Babeester Gor, and even Orlanth! However, they are initiated into Lunar cults such as the Seven Mothers, Hwarin Dalthippa, Hon-eel, Etyries, and even Yanafal Tarnils.

Examples: Gordius Silverus, Jorad Sideburn, Kangharl.

Fazzur Wideread WIP by Anna Orlova

Jeff Richard

Next
Previous
1347 ST, 1362 ST, 1492 ST, Babeester Gor, Barntar, Battle of Falling Hills 1362 ST, Dunstop (small city), Ernalda, Etyries, Fazzur, Filichet, Furthest (large city), Gordius Silverus, Holay Fort, Hon-eel, Humakt, Hwarin Dalthippa, Jomes Wulf, Jorad Sideburn, Lodril, Oria, Orlanth, Oslira, Pharandros, Phargentes, Seven Mothers, Yanafal Tarnils, Yelm, Yelmalio

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
  • Role-playing in Glorantha
  • About This Site
  • Get involved!

Latest Posts

  • Battle of Heroes Campaign

    So as part of several projects I am working on, …
  • Current Reading for RQ

    Some of the light work reading for the projects I …
  • Notes on the Holy Country IV

    So the Holy Country is a little smaller than Dragon …
  • Notes on Harrek the Berserk II

    By the time of the Dragonrise (1625), I suspect Harrek …
  • Notes on Belintar II

    In the Holy Country, Belintar largely let the locals rule …
  • Hendrikiland or “South Sartar”

    There are about 175000 humans in the lands between the …
  • The Greatway

    Yesterday we were up around the Greatway, looking at the …
  • History of Orlanthi Cities

    If we think about the history of the Orlanthi, their …
  • Rural Sartar / Urban Sartar

    Thanks to King of Dragon Pass and the old HW …

Links

  • Chaosium
  • Glorantha on BRP Central
  • RuneQuest on BRP Central
  • RuneQuest Glorantha on MeWe
  • Glorantha Wiki on Fandom
  • Prince of Sartar Webcomic
  • Glorantha G+ Archives on Tapatalk
  • Search mailing list archive

Latest from BRP Central

  • Rune Magic by Associated Cult - C is missing?
  • Rune priests, previous cults and rune points
  • Replenishing Rune Points while Rune spell is running
  • Size difference between Glorantha Classics Vol 1 and 4.
  • Healing trance use-case ...?
  • Volcanoes in Pamaltela
  • Daka Fal Walked The World
  • Ancestors — Real & Imagined
  • Furthest - Crown Jewel of Tarsh
  • Wyverns

Popular Tags

Avalon Hill Boldhome (large city) Chaosium Cult demographics Cults of Runequest (preview) Ernalda Esrolia (homeland) Fonritian pantheon FR G+ post Greg Stafford Guide to Glorantha (preview) Humakt Issaries Jar-eel Kralorelan pantheon Lhankor Mhy Lunar Empire Lunar Pantheon Magazine Malkioni pantheon Map Maps Michael O’Brien Mongoose Nochet (metropolis) Nomad Gods Orlanth Orlanthi pantheon Photo reference Population demographics Prax (homeland) Praxian pantheon RQ3 RQG Sandy Petersen Sartar (homeland) Spirit Cult Subcult Tales of the Reaching Moon Troll Pantheon Yelm Yelmalio Yelm Pantheon Youtube

Recently added or updated

  • Rune Magic by Cult and Associate Cult – C

  • Rune Magic by Cult and Associate Cult – W

  • Rune Magic by Cult and Associate Cult – V

  • Rune Magic by Cult and Associate Cult – U

  • Battle of Heroes Campaign

  • Current Reading for RQ

  • Rune Magic by Cult and Associate Cult – T

  • Rune Magic by Cult and Associate Cult – R

  • Eiritha

  • The Forty-eight Old Ones

  • Holy Country Alcohol

  • The Lunar Army in the Holy Country

  • Notes on the Holy Country II

  • The Sixes in the Holy Country

  • Notes on the Holy Country IV

  • Notes on The Holy Country III

  • Notes on the Holy Country I

  • Rune Magic by Cult and Associate Cult – S

  • Rune Magic by Cult and Associate Cult

  • Notes on Harrek the Berserk II

©2023 The Well of Daliath | Design: Newspaperly WordPress Theme