Beards go in and out of fashion in Glorantha, just as they do in the real world. Let’s start with a few basics – few cults have rules for beards. With the exception of Lhankor Mhy (all sages must have beards!) and Hwarin Dalthippa (no beards or mustaches!), I can’t think of any religious restrictions or requirements for facial hair.
In traditionalist Dara Happa, the gods are usually depicted with beards. To a lesser extent, the same is true in Theyalan art. This makes gods easier to distinguish from goddesses, and is an aid to less skilled artists. But I’ve seen clean-shaven Orlanths and Yelms, especially when the artist is able to show off other aspects of the divine iconography. Other artistic conventions is clean-shaven often signifies youth, beard often signifies maturity and experience.
In the late Fifth and Sixth Wanes, it became a popular fashion among many Lunar aristocrats to go beardless, especially among the Eel-ariash and their many branches. For example, the Tarshite kings are always depicted beardless, at least from Phoronestes on. The Red Emperor is wildly inconsistent in his fashions, as is his prerogative.
Among the Sartarites fashions go back and forth. Esrolian men are often clean-shaven and that certainly has influenced Sartarite fashions – for example Saronil and Terasarin are often depicted as clean-shaven, as are Sarotar and Dorasar. Tarkalor is almost always depicted as bearded, as were Eonistaran and Temertain (but both were sages). Argrath is depicted clean-shaven, at least from 1624 on.
