Credits and Contents 1 Contents Credits & Contents & Credits to Glorantha Welcome Empires The Two 1 2 Major Cultures Major Races Gazetteer 15 World Campaign Setting: 32 Cities of Intrigue Safelster, 125 Index 82 65 158 cant characters, names, places, items, art and Publications Manager Ian Belcher Production Director Fennell Alexander Proofreading Brian Leech Special Thanks & Greg Richard Ford Ian Barstow, Stafford Interior Illustrations Cram, Mike Craig Brasco, Bob Cram, Jeff Hibbetts, Tim Hamlett, Rick Hershey, Scholes, Tom Koch, Jeffrey Dan Howard, Throm Joe Slucher & Colin Copyright Information Credits Author text herein are copyrighted by Mongoose Publishing. herein are copyrighted text form without written may be reproduced in any This game product contains no Open Game Content. No portion of this work learn more about the Open Game License, please go to www.mongoosepublishing.com. To permission. similarity to Any ction. of fi This product is a work of the United Kingdom. laws This material is protected under the copyright is purely coincidental. places or events actual people, organisations, Printed in China. All rights reserved. RuneQuest is a trademark (TM) of Issaries, Inc. Produced under license from Issaries. ©2006 Mongoose Publishing. All rights reserved. Reproduction of of this work by any means by any Reproduction of of this work All rights reserved. Glorantha – The ©2006 Mongoose Publishing. Second Age All signifi forbidden. without the written permission of the publisher is expressly Maps Curtis Keith RuneQuest Logo Anne Stokes Cover Design & Bob Cram, Dan Howard Koch Jeff Cover Art Parker Tony Robin D Laws Editor Ian Belcher WELCOME TO GLORANTHA his book contains everything a roleplayer needs return with wondrous new abilities. Those who fail these to launch an epic RuneQuest campaign set in the daunting tests may be diminished, destroyed or eternally Tclassic setting of Glorantha, a world of mythic lost in the mythic realms. adventure. Glorantha puts its own distinctive spin on the classic themes and images of the fantasy genre. Explorers, adventurers and kings are not the only ones This chapter gives both the Games Master and players who wield magical power here. Ordinary people practice a grounding in Glorantha’s essential concepts, cultures, their own spells and charms, helping them to feed, clothe races and history. and shelter themselves in what would otherwise be a hostile environment.
Myth and Adventure Glorantha is a world of clashing cultures, where good Glorantha is a world permeated by magic and shaped by and evil are not always easy to sort out. Though cursed myth. Its heroes achieve power by questing for runes, with more than its share of tyrants, monsters and villains, physical manifestations of the eternal abstract forces that no single one of its cultures maintains a monopoly on shape its destiny. Eventually they graduate to even more virtue. Two warring cultures can be, from their own point powerful magics, learning to gain power by emulating of view, equally right — or equally ruthless and brutal. the deeds of the gods, mastering the arcane formulae Cultures differ on the correct way to live, the true events Welcome to Glorantha of the sorcerous arts, allying with spirits, or achieving of myth and history, and the very purpose of existence. meditative awareness of life’s unknowable secrets. And that is just the humans: Glorantha’s inhuman races In doing so, they draw on one or more of the mythic follow their own alien agendas, as laid out from the Otherworlds surrounding their everyday material world. beginning of time. With the right magic, they can travel to the realms of the gods, become participants in their ancestral myths and In its glorious Second Age, Glorantha is the prize of warring Empires. Two Empires, more similar than they would like to admit, vie for ultimate dominance. The God Learner Empire seeks to crack open and lay bare A Classic Setting, Revisited the very secrets of the gods, manipulating them to their Greg Stafford’s world of Glorantha has been own ends. The Empire of Wyrm’s Friends works to thrilling and inspiring gamers since 1974, with the appearance of the board game White Bear and transform its land and people into a gigantic, mystical Red Moon. RuneQuest, the original Glorantha dragon, which will take fl ight and reshape the entire roleplaying game, debuted in 1978, published fi rst world. by Chaosium and later by Avalon Hill. Since then legions of fans have plumbed Glorantha’s depths The Second Age is a time of unprecedented discovery and and puzzled over its secrets. It supports a thriving convention scene and robust Internet presence. exploration. For the fi rst time, trade and travel allows the Subsequent Gloranthan games include the King interaction of far-fl ung cultures. Both Empires innovate of Dragon Pass computer game and HeroQuest feverishly, unveiling new forms of magic, new devices, roleplaying game. new modes of perception. The new Mongoose Publishing edition of RuneQuest is the fi rst to lift the veil on Glorantha’s Against this backdrop of unfettered progress, dark omens Second Age, which has previously been presented gather. Men have pushed the Glorantha’s eternal laws of as a murky past of wonder and mystery. myth and magic to the breaking point. How long will it be before the world strikes back at them, punishing their unprecedented hubris? 2 Welcome to Glorantha 3 nite sea, at. They are serves as home base to the serves to it. xed rmly affi rmly The Dragon is everything. Soon, everything will is everything. Soon, The Dragon be the Dragon. Wyrmfriend Priest — Ervaling Scalemaker, Always keep in mind, though, that these resemblances mind, though, that these resemblances in keep Always is a place cial, if not coincidental. Glorantha are superfi Vegetation physics. of magic, not laws by the governed there, back in because gods put those plants patterns exist and men mingled in the everyday the time when deities action. by divine shaped terrain was The world’s world. of magic decree that they because the laws Objects fall should. the like dangerous. Unlike This can sometimes prove of science, the rules governing reliable, repeatable laws And when they magic are mutable and can change. is up for grabs. change, everything absolutely correct. is a globe spinning in space, orbiting around Our world stars. Glorantha a sun, which is part of a galaxy of other oating on an infi is an enormous earthen cube, fl so slightly exposed. ever with only one of its surfaces is a surface Swirling in the centre of this exposed Pool, which continually whirlpool, Magasta’s devouring into it. down water the world’s draws Attached to the is literally a dome. overhead The sky stars. Other celestial bodies, dome are Glorantha’s are around the dome but sun, move including Glorantha’s not fi of Other supernatural realms surround the material world Beneath the cube World. Glorantha, also called the Inner sea is a realm of Darkness. and its enveloping major land masses are the temperate, heavily The world’s populated continent of Genertela and the tropical, less ,hospitable land of Pamaltela where grass does not grow. A major island called Jrustela less sweeping civilisations God Learner Empire. Other, . Brithos and Vithela are found on smaller islands like Geography is fl that the world Gloranthans believe A Moonless Sky Age, Glorantha has only one During the Second seen, moon, the Blue Moon, which is hardly ever be can through the sky though its movements by marking the action of the plotted indirectly, days, as a blue six y appears every tides. It briefl Pool. streak dropping into Magasta’s Players this in mind during night adventures. Keep via moonlight hoping their characters can navigate there is none must be reminded that in this world, to be found. spirit can become temporarily powerful but courts but powerful spirit can become temporarily ultimate disaster. cruel. and devastating The and clan. for family ce, of love communal sacrifi aggression grand sweep of history is fuelled by greed, and pride. and prospers. People becomes catastrophe, recovers forces, proud and complacent, tampering with cosmic rises The world visiting catastrophe upon themselves. from the ashes of catastrophe… The World of Glorantha seems to be much rst glance, the world At fi There ocean. masses rise from a vast Land our own. like and streams. lakes, rivers, are mountains and valleys, Coniferous The sun rises in the east and sets in the west. jungles and deserts its colder expanses; forests cover to the ground when you carpet its hot zones. Objects fall When not otherwise stated, assume that the drop them. of humdrum reality are the same in Glorantha basic facts are in our world. as they Gloranthan Themes Gloranthan 2. Myth is real. 1. is is magical. Everything 2. Myth 3. The past shapes the present. 4. in its contradictions. Myth is true, even 5. you killed. Number 4 can get Forgetting 6. is a matter of perspective. Truth 7. of the who embraces materialism at the expense He 8. always is be heroic and glorious but can War 9. sustained by the idealism of are Ordinary lives 10. rises from the ashes of The world History is cyclical. Calendar Magasta’s Pool Before the rise of the God Learners, most cultures of Glorantha used their own calendars or no calendars at all. The God Learners chose the most popular calendar, that of a First Age culture called the Theyalans, and have popularised it throughout the world. Anybody who does business with the Jrusteli, even their enemies, knows how to use their calendar of choice.
Each week is seven days long. The days of the week are, in order, Freezeday, Waterday, Clayday, Windsday, Fireday, Wildday and Godday (in areas where more than one god is venerated, the last day is called Godsday). The Old Ways Theist cultures access their higher magic through Eight weeks make up a season. The seasons are named after emulation of multiple gods. Though priests may the elements of Sea, Fire, Earth, Dark and Storm. These dedicate themselves to a single deity, these cultures are correspond to climactic changes: roughly speaking, Sea pantheistic, deriving benefi ts from their adherence to an Season is like our spring; Fire Season is summer; Earth entire pantheon. Season is fall; Dark Season is like winter. Think of Storm Welcome to Glorantha Season as an especially lengthy and turbulent transition Orlanthi, Worshippers of the Storm Tribe between winter and spring. After Storm Season comes a Orlanthi people worship the tumultuous gods of the two-week period outside the seasonal boundaries called Storm Tribe, led by the warrior deity Orlanth and his Sacred Time, where ceremonies of rebirth are performed wife, the earth mother Ernalda. The popular image of and the level of magical energy runs high. an Orlanthi is that of a cattle-herding hill barbarian who lives in a clan-based society. Although pure Orlanthi are Cultures and Peoples likelier to be found in a few remote, hardscrabble areas, Glorantha has always been a place of clashing peoples, plenty of Storm worshippers can be found in towns and where differences in belief and spiritual practice lead cities, practicing an urbanised version of this boisterous, to confrontation on the battlefi eld. The Second Age is a freedom-loving creed. Orlanth’s myths describe him as a time of cultural cross-pollination and consolidation. Both violent, wandering troublemaker who is somewhat tamed major Empires attempt to fuse previously incompatible by his bountiful, nurturing wife, whom he stole from the beliefs into a new political and commercial unity. As Sky Gods. traditionalists and innovators clash, old enemies have become new allies. He and others of his rowdy, uncompromising pantheon remain highly popular with adventurers. His divine allies include Issaries the trader, Lhankor Mhy the scholar, Humakt the slayer, Yinkin the cat and Chalana Arroy, Me and my adventuring comrades call Sacred Time the healer. Followers of Orlanth’s even more violent ‘Trouble Time’, on account of there’s so many ways brother, Urox the storm bull, are hard to fi nd these days. to get into trouble during it. Take my advice. Go to a Urox was famed as a fi ghter of the dread corrupting force nice peaceful ceremony somewhere, or stay home and pull the covers up over your head. known as Chaos, but Chaos is not much in evidence in the current Age of Empires. — Gurek Runespear, Mercenary of Safelster Orlanthi will fi ght nearly anyone, counting trolls, dragons and Chaos creatures among their roster of foes. Those 4 Welcome to Glorantha 5 hot- , Yelmalio , who Kargzant Horse Nomads the aloof star god Oslira. ung Jrusteli seafaring Oria, God Learners as the Middle Sea Empire, Though properly known most people simply call the far-fl New Empires been of the theist cultures have The simmering revolts disturbingly innovative of two by the growth stoked as much about the threat posed Empires. Neither worries do about each other. by their beleaguered subjects as they see Friends Wyrm’s The God Learners and Empire of supremacy. in a battle for world as locked themselves , god of trade and travel; and , god of trade and travel; Lokarnos tempered warrior and defender of the faith. Other deities and defender of the faith. tempered warrior import to lesser but of great importance to their society, consort, Yelm’s are adventurers, goddess Dayzatar and the fertile river include the God worshippers Other Sky the steppes to the of These fearsome warriors . of Pent a sun god called east of Peloria worship lead. they is as harsh and uncompromising as the lives Currency copper and gold, silver, Age uses in the Second While Glorantha the coinages are referred to differently. lead in their currencies, referred to simply as gold or sometimes Gold ducats are instead to simply pieces are more commonly referred gold pieces. Silver pennies are called coppers or occasionally Copper as silver. are mostly only used by the uz (trolls) copper clacks. Lead coins lead bolg. and are referred to as Metals Gloranthan this is the standard metal of of tin and copper, An alloy Bronze: penalties. c bonuses or no specifi Glorantha and grants Every spellcasting ability. a bearer’s Iron interferes with Iron: his Magic Point ENC point of iron carried by a bearer reduces is considered POW maximum by one. In essence, the bearer’s than normal, for the purposes of determining maximum lower Points only. Magic Magic Points and regaining weapon against aldryami or uz damage dealt by an iron Any creatures normally is doubled. Iron weapons will also affect by non-magical weapons. unaffected only soft to be formed into a sharp edge or tip, Too Silver: made from silver. crushing or bludgeoning weapons can be by non- creatures normally unaffected weapons will affect Silver magical weapons. . They . They rank Yelm nd themselves with nd themselves Lodril, lusty god of the common man; The blows we have struck so far against the accursed wyrmfriends will seem but a prelude. Wait until we unleash the destructive power of the dread god Shargash! — Varustori Gold-Beard, Exiled Noble of Dara Happa ery warriors and staunch attendants. These include: and staunch attendants. ery warriors Pelorian adventurers do not derive their power directly their power do not derive Pelorian adventurers from the pantheon’s from the imperial god of the sun, but fi the volcanic Pelorians, native to the land of Dara Happa, to the land of Dara Pelorians, native the sun god, worship to Dara Happans consider their Emperor Yelm’s carrier of be a divinely-inspired when a world Things are right in the mantle. sits on the Dara Happan Yelm descendant of wrong on those few throne and woefully are they Now occasions when the lineage is broken. Wyrm’s of conquered and a dragon from the Empire throne! Once Friends shockingly occupies the Emperor’s to the south, disdainful of the rude Orlanthi barbarians a harrying them to wage united with covertly have they against their draconic occupiers. insurgency Pelorians, Worshippers of the Pelorians, Worshippers Sky Gods hierarchical society, in a strictly themselves farmer in which all people, from the lowliest l the roles to the Emperor himself, fulfi to them by their stern paternal handed down place the they An urbanised people, deity. the clan. above family more in common with haughty Pelorians more in common with wyrmfriends. than the weird, dragon-loving these beleaguered theists have Together, the banner of the Old joined forces under to bring determined Traditionalists, Day blasphemous and the oppressive down Friends. Wyrm’s Empire of of central Genertela have always warred warred always Genertela have of central call they Pelorians, whose gods against the conservative Nowadays, Tribe. the Fire fi Orlanthi of these parts Empire the ‘God Learners Empire’. The Jrusteli follow on like wildfi re, transforming local Orlanthi society the Malkioni religion, a monotheist faith venerating the within a generation. Followers of the new wyrmish way Invisible God. The faith is named after Malkion, the persecuted conservatives determined to cling to the time- great deity’s defi ning prophet. Malkioni accept that other tested traditions. gods, like Orlanth and Yelm, exist, but see them as lesser beings, or even demons. The mystic sect quickly transmogrifi ed into a political movement, declaring itself an Empire over three hundred The Invisible God grants little magic to his followers. years ago. Along the way, they have weathered repeated They must secure their own supernatural powers, through incursions from the God Learners, who are intent on logic and scholarship. Expert practitioners of Sorcery, the capturing the secrets of dragon magic for themselves. Jrusteli discovered a secret called RuneQuest Sight, a Riding into battle on the backs of dinosaurs, they have means of perception allowing them to detect the fl ow expanded militarily, conquering their neighbours, of magic and belief. It allows users to see connections including the proud Dara Happan lands. These between the myths and practices of unrelated cultures occupations serve their fi nal goal: they want to transform and, by venturing into the magical Otherworld called the land and people into a new form of dragon, bigger the Hero Plane, to change the details of those primal than any ever seen before on Glorantha. This is no minor stories. These changes then radiate to the material world ambition, given that existing Gloranthan dragons can be of Glorantha. For example, half a century ago, the God as big as mountain ranges. Learners went so far as to switch the grain goddess of two different cultures. Dragonewts Dragonewts are reptilian humanoids who progress The second prong of the God Learners’ power lies in through a series of forms as they hone their state their defeat of the seafaring Waertagi people nearly two of mystical attunement with their draconic natures. centuries ago. Until that day, the Waertagi controlled all This transformation occurs via reincarnation. When a Welcome to Glorantha sea traffi c in the world. The Jrusteli rapidly fi lled the dragonewt dies, its soul migrates into a new egg. If it has gap and now control cities and outposts throughout the progressed spiritually, its new form is more dragon-like world’s coastal regions. than the one before it. It begins as a scout, or crested dragonewt, onward to the warrior (beaked dragonewt), Wyrmfriends noble (tailed priest) and fi nally the ruler (full priest). Central Genertela used to be the cradle of theism but Although their motivations and perceptions are thoroughly has now given birth to a new blend of old-style worship and dragon magic. The Empire of Wyrm’s Friends, or EWF, are former Orlanthi who have An Immanent Master of Kralorela formed a mystical sect devoted to the pursuit of dragon wisdom. They owe their origins to their rivals, the God Learners, who stole the secret of dragon speech and began to teach it in the central Genertelan city of Nochet. Those who learned the language called Auld Wyrmish were able to communicate with dragonewts, a cryptic race of reptilian humanoids related to true dragons. From them they learned a new mode of mystic worship. It caught 6 Welcome to Glorantha 7 ercely help them Aldrya the , god of survival, Waha , following ways of spirit knowledge handed of spirit knowledge ways Prax, following The inhuman or elder races claim a much longer ancestry The inhuman or elder races claim a much remembers an in Glorantha than mere humans do. Each to their primal natures and seek to age more favourable return to it. Aldryami (Elfs) so-called elfs, who refer to themselves Glorantha’s beings in as aldryami, are mobile, intelligent plant with only humanoid form. Some appear quite human, Others are for hair. vines feature, like the odd vegetable with bark or thorns. Each elf is the human-like covered there are birch manifestation of a particular type of tree: elfs spring from elfs, oak elfs, ash elfs and so on. Brown are found in coniferous elfs deciduous forests. Green elfs, in jungles. forests; yellow with the woods of mystic harmony a sense enjoy They and jungles around them. In place of gods and goddesses, life forces found within the commune with several they notably the lovely most Woods, Song of the Chaos Creatures and corrupting force of Chaos, a terrible The destructive of time that threat originating from before the dawn Age, is today in deep retreat. Chaos terrorised the First has been beaten back to the most haunted corners of the encounter earth. Only the most determined explorers be the diseased, whether they its monstrous exponents, creeping , or more exotic mutant goat men called the broo men. walktapi or scorpion things like Nomads of the Waste Nomads of lie and Kralorela fertile lands of Maniria Between the and hungry desert. Only fi a vast Wastes, The The shamans there. peoples survive independent nomadic of to them by the down herd surprising array of They to bond with their mounts. sable to bison to rhinos and zebras. riding animals, from Pamaltelans much of the dominating On the grassless savannah aid their people shamans Pamaltela, southern continent of of the great giants and heroes by contacting the spirits the stalked of the original paradisiacal days before death good are the to their survival more essential land. Even earth and water. graces of local spirits of vegetation, Races Inhuman The . Grower the ce. sublime Kingdom of ashier tradition, Path of Immanent Path ning meditative techniques and mixing incompatible techniques and mixing incompatible ning meditative god of fi re and war. re and war. , god of fi and Karkal bowman Many routes lead to Durapdur, all of them established by routes lead to Durapdur, Many include the by adventurers Those favoured gods. various paths of Kabalt, patron of martial artists, Hensavara In Vithela, or the Eastern Isles, magic derives from Isles, magic derives or the Eastern Vithela, In ascetic mysticism, a process of denial and self-sacrifi is an illusion world that the everyday believe Vithelans meant to disguise a true, more perfect reality of spiritual comforts and pleasures, themselves oneness. By denying austere monks attempt Vithela’s sensory stimulation, reject the Refusal, in which they to emulate the Great the blissful state of Durapdur. illusion, achieving Vithelans cosmologies. Most of these paths partake of cosmologies. Most of these paths partake mysticism, in which the practitioner seeks to perfect God Learner of reincarnation. cycles many himself over which speeded this improvements, greatly insights have during a single lifetime and are often place take can now sip Multi-armed warriors effect. outlandish in outward The beasts of the and charlatans. chai tea with thieves consciousness. In the mystic third-eye jungle achieve all has become possible. Teshnos, hothouse that is Teshnans ¸ dozens of mystical In the tropical land of Teshnos Questers. traditions compete for the attention of spiritual with God Learner scholars, Seers and yogis congregate refi Kraloreli third occupies the eastern The Empire of Kralorela large, The people of this of the Genertelan continent. less nation used to practice an older, populated heavily mysticism than that promulgated form of dragon overt teach that dragons created the world They by the EWF. is to goal of worship and that the ultimate and heavens, fl a new, Now become a dragon oneself. alien to the average Gloranthan, mastery of their language mastery of their Gloranthan, average alien to the not does dragonewt The one to understand them. allows of its language speaker human – instead, the seem more becomes more alien. God Learners, has upended the imported from the Called the of order. sense Empire’s Mastery, it rapidly accelerates the process of draconic original draconic of the transformation. Followers ed to the benighted fl mysticism have Immanent ShangHsa, a long-lived Ignorance, leaving to rule Kralorela. Master, Hsunchen (Beast Men) the end of the First Age, a Chaos demigod of struck them with a dread curse. As a result, the vast majority of uz Hordes of Gloranthans dwell between the state of man children are stunted wretches called enlo (trollkin). and animal. Hsunchen are disparate tribes of hunter- gatherers worshipping a totemic ancestor, who can switch Uz are known for their affi nity with worms, insects and form between beast and man. They include the Telmori other crawling things. wolf men of Ralios, the bat people of the Fethlon Jungle and the Basmoli lion men, found both in the Waste and in Pamaltela. Gods and Heroes The confl icts of the Second Age are fought using magic, Other beast men remain permanently in one state, mixing for magical reasons. As the God Learners and EWF grows sapient and animalistic features. These include centaurs, more powerful, the rules of magic continue to change. minotaurs and the militant duck warriors. All magic comes from higher realms of being surrounding Mostali (Dwarfs) the world, most notably a place of continually enacted The stout, broad-shouldered humanoids who call myth called the Hero Plane. Eventually the battle for the themselves mostali are creatures of stone and stasis. destiny of the Second Age will be fought there, too. They dwell underground and eschew emotion and personal identity to pay homage to their stony creator Runes (Common Magic) god, Mostal. Masters of technology, they cast a jealous The objects of magical essence called runes, from eye on the bizarre devices of the innovative God Learner which adventurers wring their Rune Magic, are physical Empire. They view Glorantha as a broken machine manifestations of the True Runes, symbols of cosmic running amok and aim to fi x it by hammering away all of power. All beings capable of dispensing magic are tied its distressingly unpredictable moving parts. to one or more of these cosmic forces, whether they be Welcome to Glorantha gods, demigods or great spirits. Timinits (Insect Men) The wonders of the Second Age have brought a previously The current techniques for using runes, to gain powers obscure race of inhuman beings to the forefront. Carried and learn spells (also called common or battle magic) about the world by God Learner ships, the timinits, or were codifi ed by the God Learners about 200 years ago. Insect Men, have won fame as explorers, warriors and sorcerers. Bizarrely diverse in form, timinits blend Some say that their disruptive explorations of the Hero humanoid morphology with various features of the insect Plane have caused a dramatic increase in the quantity of kingdom, from antennae and mandibles to chitinous rune objects leaking through into Glorantha. If the God natural armour. Some live the attenuated lifespans of Learners fail, or their techniques stop working, it is likely ordinary insects, while others carry on long after their that adventurers of future ages will have go back to older, human friends have succumbed to old age. Though most more diffi cult methods of acquiring common magic. exhibit fi erce devotion to the God Learner agenda, a schism in their native Pamaltela has led others to rebel, Folk Magic hoping to establish a civilisation of their own. Magic in Glorantha is not confi ned to the fl ashy, martial spells adventurers favour. Nearly everybody has access to Uz (Trolls) a little bit of magic, used to aid in everyday life. Users of Uz, or trolls, are tusked, bestial humanoids feared for their folk magic may gain these powers as part of a community warlike behaviour and insatiable appetites. Uz break the of worshippers, receive them from their sorcerous masters world into two categories: that which can be eaten and or gain them by propitiating local spirits. These effects are that which cannot. Almost nothing falls into the second economic or survival-oriented. Folk magic blesses crops, category. Creatures of darkness, they mourn the light that mends broken items, ensures fertility, eases childbirth returned to the world as history began. They have paid a and predicts the weather. It is simple, undramatic and heavy price for their dedicated opposition to Chaos. At does more for people than the thunderous magic of a thousand freebooters and troublemakers. 8 Welcome to Glorantha 9 owing from the Otherworlds to practitioners of other from the Otherworlds owing Sorcery (Book Magic) the God Popular in the west, most especially among rote from the its power Learners, Sorcery derives through repetition of pre-established formulae, presented These objects. speech, gesture and the manipulation of , so that are recorded in magical tomes, called grimoires them, too. others of the same school can later learn who does not give God, Sorcery is the gift of the Invisible instead grants them the magic directly but his followers the underlying powers can discover tool of logic, so they of the cosmos for themselves. on the power God Learner magic is parasitic; it draws fl purposes, to its own forms. It twists these energies landscape. changing the Otherworldly sometimes even though God Learner Sorcery is only one style of Sorcery, harmlessly from the power other schools draw – many Runes without hijacking it from other sources. True Mystic Magic by establishing into the world power Mystic magic draws between awareness a connection of inexpressible Although it can wreathe a cosmos. and individual re or guide an arrow fi st in devouring fi martial artist’s true masters of mysticism claim to an impossible target, Spirit Magic supernatural directly from minor power Shamans derive abstract These beings embody spirits. entities called elements of nature. Spirits give concepts, usually in place they to use, which shamans particular powers Being a shaman means learning, charms and fetishes. and sometimes bitter experience, often through direct to a given of approach one must take c means the specifi , or magic after being propitiated spirit. Most spirits give of food, the form ces may take These sacrifi gifts. given shaman A pleas. or sincere value, performance, items of the spirit in question. He may for affection feel needn’t to stop them from doing bad propitiate fearsome entities things. and Certain shamanic traditions are aggressive the spirit, binding it The shaman defeats dominating. must then supply magical The bound spirit to his will. services on demand. So you can twist a man’s innards up or wreathe a twist a man’s innards So you can protect mother fire. But can you blade in cleansing in the birthing hut? Now and child when she lies is useful magic. that, proud adventurer, Talking Woman of the Blue — Kenna Harthstaling, Bull Clan Theists who come to doubt their relationship with their This is a rare gods may lose access to their magic. making occurrence; these people spend their entire lives their or whoever Yelmalio Orlanth, more like themselves patron might be. Divine Magic world into the power Magic draw Practitioners of Divine re-enact they through ritual. In performing these rituals practice To the great deeds of their patron gods or heroes. in the great myths steep themselves must magic they their can think and act like of their culture, so that they Although theist priests may speak of communing patrons. by them, these with their gods, or being granted powers statements must be seen as poetic, not literal. It is the act of mythic imitation that brings the magic. All higher forms of magic also draw on the True Runes, True on the All higher forms of magic also draw to directly into them, without having can tap though they nd and attune to essence objects. fi The Second Age changes all that. Now new forms of new Age changes all that. Now The Second or crazy enough to grasp magic are open, to those brave together and are raided, altered, mixed Traditions them. spit back out again. Higher Magic Higher called common magic because Rune Magic is sometimes these basic beyond move To can do it. adventurer any magic. For spells, one must embark on a form of higher majority of Gloranthans, the form of higher magic the vast You of culture. open to them is not a matter of choice but him before father did and his father’s do what your father magics are powerful (or mother and grandmother – many matriarchal in nature). that these worldly effects are a by-product, or stepping stone, to the true goal of personal transformation. Worse, See that cowled fellow, huddling and drooling they may be a trap, a test to see who is truly capable of by the university steps? He was once the greatest separating himself from material distractions. That said, sorcerer of us all. Then he went to the Essence many mystics are perfectly content to stop at the fi ery World. fi sts and inerrant arrows. — Vanstigos Evermead, Tutor of Umathela Mystic techniques have been established by great yogis or seers of the past but they are cryptic and puzzling. The practitioner must use them as tools in an individualised inner quest, to fi nd the truth hidden between the lines. The Sky World is overhead and can be reached by going up through the Dome and into a place where massive, The Otherworlds marvellous beings exist. They are generally hostile to A number of magical dimensions called Otherworlds outsiders but not always. surround, overlap and permeate Glorantha’s Inner World. They are where magic comes from. Characters may draw The Underworld is beneath everything and can be magic from the Otherworlds, or travel to them, to gather reached by going up down through Magasta’s Pool or even greater power. The fi ve primary Otherworlds are as other holes in the world, into a place where gigantic follows: and terrible beings exist. They are always hostile to outsiders.
The God World, also called the God The Saint Plane Plane, is the realm of divine beings. There exists the stead of Orlanth and his storm Welcome to Glorantha tribe, the blinding throne of Yelm and the homes of every other being receiving theistic worship.
The Spirit World resembles a foggy negative image of the mortal world. Glowing spirits caper and prowl there, watching the mortal world as through a shroud. Shamans travel there to fi nd, propitiate, transact with and battle spirits. It exists in pockets between the various tableaux of the Saint, Hero and Magic Planes.
The Essence World is a place of pure energy, where forces underlying the True Runes interact in their constant state of cosmic balance. Sorcerers draw on its power but rarely go there, because it is hard to navigate or even perceive. The Essence World is subdivided:
D The Magic Plane is a more accessible manifestation of the Essence World. Sorcerers travel there to test and perfect new spells. 10 Welcome to Glorantha 11 cult and Arkat, one of gure named named gure The God Learners have discovered that they can go they that discovered Learners have The God history to rst person in The fi myths. peoples’ into other fi a mysterious was HeroQuest History in a Nutshell According to the Dara Happans and Kraloreli, history have ago and they a hundred thousand years started over that else knows it. Everybody the documents to prove . Real time began period of prehistory as Mythic Time that Glorantha nine centuries ago and before just over in a timeless and immeasurable era of myth. existed the great heroes (or perhaps villains) of the First Age. He villains) of the First the great heroes (or perhaps his and enhance into the Otherworld to travel learned how secretly preserved After his death, his followers powers. in mighty heroes follow only a few his methods, allowing and fearfully. did so exactly They his footsteps. conquered Ralios, home to When the God Learners the seized him, they Arkat left behind the dark Empire his HeroQuesting methodology. documents laying out his HeroQuests of their own simply copied rst they At fi in their usual bold and heedless Malkioni religion. But able to forcibly soon found themselves they inquiry, myths of the enter the myths of the theists, going onto They found connections between traditions. They Gods. the beaten path, moving could step off they discovered could and so found they from one myth to the next, In the the mythic world. gather great magic from all over their notorious developed course of these inquiries they God Learners’ RuneQuest Sight and stumbled across the . Secret is that nothing can be brought out of HeroQuesting A law Thus if the what is brought in. except of the Otherworlds must be of myth, a sword object is to get a great sword the Otherworld, brought on the quest and transformed, in brought back have The God Learners to the magical one. that the Otherworld abilities from strange new so many had to master the art of HeroQuesting other cultures have up with them. But none are as skilled. to keep the diffi should leave adventurers Novice hands. dangerous art of HeroQuesting in mightier are too green to go to the when they even However, will continue to be their world Hero Plane themselves, transformed by it. The , or Gods War, is the prehistoric War, Plane, or Gods Hero Many Worlds, Many Terms Many Many Worlds, is Plane’ parlance, the term ‘Hero In common or all of the Otherworlds. used to describe any might mean just ‘I went to the Hero Plane’ a trip to the Saint that, or it could describe the God among Jrusteli, even or, World World. call the Hero Plane the Some theist scholars the various More poetically, War’. ‘Gods called the Other are sometimes Otherworlds is World the Spirit Side. In this conception, boundary zone, between the real or a veil, In other and the higher Otherworlds. world for referring to you can be forgiven words, as the the whole collection of Otherworlds do. Hero Plane. Most adventurers heroes of monotheism eternally repeat their great heroes of monotheism eternally repeat their and proving smiting unbelievers deeds of piety, theist-style holiness. Malkioni priests, who receive there travel magic from these historical intercessors, to pray for additional powers. The where mythological actions occurred. world . World Saint Plane is part of the Essence The They travel to their god’s home in the Gods World, then World, home in the Gods to their god’s travel They then re- They through that and onto the Hero Plane. enact a myth from their religion. Each Quest is made in which the god up of stations, or stages of the story, cult test. If the a diffi (represented by the Quester) faces he gains a power all of the obstacles, Quester overcomes instance, a corresponding to the nature of the myth. For re-enactment of a myth in which Orlanth ends a drought to use against you a sword by slaying a dragon might give to bring rain. Myths about power or the dragonewts allow groups of gods are the best to recreate, as they the tests together. multiple Questers to face These began as theist religious rites. In a typical religious as theist These began a challenging ceremony undergo HeroQuest, worshippers to acquire magical powers. in the Otherworld HeroQuesting of the God Learners lies in their mastery of The power by which adventurers This is a procedure HeroQuesting. interact with into the Otherworlds, transport themselves for themselves. powers the great myths and claim new D D Prehistory (The God Time)
Theists know prehistory as the God Time. During this Our brave god, Orlanth, inadvertently started the Storm Age, when he rashly struck period, gods and people walked the earth together. the haughty sun, Yelm, with the new weapon Cultures disagree on the details, but if you look at their called Death. myths together, as the God Learners are doing, it is possible to sketch out a general monomyth tracing the — Enlirath Gasting, God Talker of the Brown events of Prehistory. Deer Clan
First, there was the Creation Age. The Prime Runes, Yelm was never slain. Especially not by a the most central of the True Runes, come into being. rude and dirty barbarian deity. When the sun These gain consciousness and become the original gods. fell, it was his Yelm’s grandson, Khorventos, A central pillar of earthly existence, the Spike, forms and who died, killed by corrupt rivals within the the world coalesces around it. Sky Pantheon. — Thestravhentum, Sun Priest Then follows the Green Age, in which life as we know it appears, populating the world.
It precedes the Golden Age, one of civilisation and back into the sky, reigns for its fi rst few decades. Then order. the disparate human cultures fall to fi ghting among themselves. Not long after that, the elder races resume The Storm Age, or Lesser Darkness, an era of war and their ancient feuds. death, begins when the sun falls from the sky. The Waertagi, a green-skinned, sea-faring people Welcome to Glorantha Chaos enters the world. It brings the Age of Terror, descended from the prophet Malkion, rise to power also called the Greater Darkness. Misery reigns. through their monopoly over ocean travel. Dread gods of evil and entropy, Wakboth (also called the Devil) and Kajabor, attempt to destroy Glorantha, In the West, the seer Prince Hrestol experiences nearly succeeding. The surviving gods rally to fi ght them, joyful revelations of the Invisible God, establishing winning victory at great cost. the New Malkioni Church. The institution spreads quickly, superseding more dour and oppressive forms of In the mortal realm, all of the world’s cultures unite to monotheist belief. combat the forces of Chaos, in the battle called I Fought We Won. Eastern cultures retreat into themselves, quietly rebuilding their ruined civilisations. The era of gods ends upon the striking of a Great Compromise, creating Time and constraining their In central Genertela, elder races and theist cultures ability to intercede in the mortal world. Gods retreat to form the World Council of Friends, which sends out the eternity of the Gods Realm, leaving mortals to forge missionaries to spread their secrets of survival to lands a new world as the sun returns to the sky and the Dawn still shattered by the Great Darkness. They stay unifi ed Age begins. for a century and a half; then the elder races and other allies begin to desert them. The First Age: Recovery and Catastrophe In the year 350, their heirs, the Second Council, perform world-shaking experimental magic, creating a new god, Glorantha’s First Age, also called the Dawn Age, lasts Nysalor, who is not bound by the Great Compromise and for fi ve hundred years. A spirit of cooperation, fostered can therefore walk among mortals. His creation coincides by the unifi ed battle against Chaos that brought the sun with an event known as the Sunstop , wherein the sun
12 Welcome to Glorantha 13 ces required of the people to create the great dragon Aided by God Learner magic and carried across the sea by Aided by God Learner magic and carried across the Jrusteli colonise portions of Pamaltela. Waertagi, the turn against the they in 718, More than a century later, of A wave on the seas. breaking their hold Waertagi, their West, The Jrusteli conquer the conquests follows. strongholds ancestral homeland, and establish ports and declare In 789 they along the coasts of the entire world. Sea Empire. the Middle themselves immortals, and In 823, the Empire attacks Brithos, isle of repulsed. is devastatingly into Friends expands Wyrm’s Meanwhile, the Empire of conquer They much of central and northern Genertela. lands of land of Dara Happa, then the savage the vast Pent beyond. clash over In 842, they Empires go to war. The two Plateau, to the control of a troll land called the Shadow south of Dragon Pass. As the A greater threat to the EWF rises from within. sacrifi gain Traditionalists Way escalate, the reactionary Old theist heartland. Priests popular support in the Empire’s band together against mystics. Discontent rumbles in the Middle Sea Empire too, as of supernatural scholars quietly publish papers warning catastrophe, if the God Learners continue their heedless The God Learners’ Secret The God Sight have gifted with RuneQuest God Learners them to punch back allowing perfected techniques permanently World, into the God through the Hero Plane pulled they This is how nd there. fi changing what they Goddess Switch. the notorious off World. change the Gods It is the ability to permanently Theist Otherworld go into the The God Learners can consequences in the ordinary and do things that have lately they little things, but Normally these are world. can do more they Switch, proving the Goddess effected as well. things powerful certain that these changes are good, permanent are They are wrong but They no subsequent effects. and have this for a long time yet to come. will not discover Arkat; Depending on in Stygian Empire . Gbaji the Deceiver To end the Dawn Age with the so-called apotheosis To end the Dawn Age with the so-called apotheosis it of the traitor Arkat is absurd. We should reckon of as ending in 450, with the woeful slaughter beautiful Nysalor. of the — Pormodor of Raint, Archivist, Cult Shuttered Eye rst God Learner study groups. Recognising the power the power rst God Learner study groups. Recognising On the island of Jrustela, Malkioni magicians found the fi gods, they unleashed by Nysalor/Gbaji and other false of accessing and manipulating their might. research ways learn to conduct spirit raids, attacks on foreign They instead of treasure. cults that steal magical knowledge A cult of Orlanthi dragon mystics arises in Dragon Pass. learn to speak to the draconic tongue and then how They Wyrm’s establish the Empire of They to become them. to be hostile to the themselves Friends and quickly prove Jrusteli. Two interconnected revelations of the Sixth Century drive of the Sixth Century drive interconnected revelations Two the history of Glorantha to the present day. The Modern Age: Empire and Adventure the land of Ralios. He ascends to the God World World the land of Ralios. He ascends to the God around the year 500, ending the Dawn somewhere Age. It is the era of Arkat, founds the The victor, halted its position in the sky. Throughout the world, Throughout the world, in the sky. halted its position simultaneous metaphysical undergo other cultures this to explain nds a local reason Each fi upheavals. cataclysmic event. Nysalor transforms into the who you ask, either is who Gbaji the Deceiver, monstrous Chaos god hero and innovative by the brave laid low identity-shifting Arkat becomes a traitorous or The murders Nysalor. magician, who eventually central and rages across War Gbaji devastating with climactic hand-to- western Genertela, ending demon and hero in the year hand combat between 450. Dara Happa Stirs Murmurs of rebellion against the wyrmfriends circulate A Quick Note on most strongly in the Pelorian land of Dara Happa, home Pronunciation to the hierarchical solar culture. Leading its Old Ways Most Gloranthan names are simple and easy to faction is a bold, handsome and fast-thinking young pronounce. As long as you and your group are man named Karvanyar . He claims to be the son of the pronouncing each name in the same way, it does not really matter if you conform to an offi cial deposed Yelmite Emperor Urvanyar, whose heart and pronunciation. That said, when in doubt, Gloranthan eyes were taken by the Golden Dragon who sits on the words, unlike English ones, tend to place the Solar Throne. emphasis on the penultimate syllable of a word. So Issaries is Iss-AR-ees, not ISS-ar-ees. Ernalda is Er- To combat the growing alienation of the people from their NAHL-dah. rightful draconic Emperor, a contest of adventurous deeds has been announced, for the hand of a wondrous being, the Daughter of the Golden Dragon. Adventurers from tampering with the Otherworlds. Rebellion begins across the land line up to claim this prize. in distant lands. By 901 the God Learners have lost their holdings in Pamaltela, as rebellion destroys their Assault on the Clanking City vassal, the Six-Legged Empire, and the United Fonrit A massive siege has begun against a God Learner city, Alliance and the Umathelan Confederation seize their Zistorwal, located in God Forgot, in the heavily contested independence. land of Kethaela. This massive edifi ce, known by its enemies as the Clanking City or Machine City, is ruled Current Events: Year 908 by a steaming, clattering hybrid entity of fl esh and metal It is now the Year 908, when the strain of imperial called Zistor the Machine God. His city is considered expansion begins to chip at the facades of God Learners an abomination and a threat to the Compromise because Welcome to Glorantha and EWF alike. it mass produces items of magical power. Dwarfs lead the assault, but others, including trolls, Old Way The Two-Year Winter Traditionalists and even champions of the EWF, have Dragon Pass is now well into its second year of a terrible also joined the struggle. winter. Some blame the God Learners; others, the heavy cost of the Great Dragon Project. Famine threatens Dread Omens on the Sea the land. EWF leaders have ordered massive transfers On the seas, Jrusteli sailors increasingly note signs of of grain and other foodstuffs from the provinces, turbulence and supernatural trouble. They return to port stoking discontent in its occupied territories. Old Way with tales of inexplicable waterspouts, sea dragons and Traditionalists avoid attacking food caravans while ghost ships. Increasing numbers of God Learner vessels escalating raids against other imperial institutions. fail to return at all or are found derelict, their crews Rancour between ruling factions grows, as debate rages vanished without trace. Of all the setbacks facing the God over the correct response to the traditionalist threat. The Learner Emperor, this is the most worrisome of all. If it fearsome War Dragons militate for a scorched-earth loses its hold on the sea, the Empire will surely fall. policy. The Above and Beyonds loftily dismiss the seriousness of the rebellion. The idealistic Converters sacrifi ce their own purity to engage with the people and attempt to alleviate the suffering.
14 The Two Empires 15 Behave as if you have all the answers. as if you have Behave traditions of other Pretend to respect the as them regarding cultures while in fact treasures to be plundered. to meddle in the Accept that the ability is your birthright traditions of others of the only true religion, as a follower gods, gods are false Malkionism. Foreign so there is nothing wrong with changing their myths around or taking their powers from them. that leads to experiment that every Believe is a good thing. knowledge Dismiss possible ill consequences of no heed to Pay magical experiments. gloomy doomsayers! How To Act Like A God How Learner D D D D D off to the highest bidder. Some, but not all, members of a but Some, to the highest bidder. off Quester groups Band (as Knowledge typical Knowledge magic. are called) are practitioners of God Learner to adventurers God Learner patrons may also hire against their enterprises, war their commercial safeguard their political agendas. political enemies or advance enemy for an excellent The Middle Sea Empire makes against the theist blaspheme They party. an adventuring traditions and happily steal the sacred secrets of all and Arrogant, avaricious traditions other than their own. they disorder wherever sow heedless of boundaries, they them and adventurers A cosmic comeuppance awaits go. a can take against tyranny a blow who wish to strike righteous, violent hand in bringing it about. A Short History of the Empire The Jrusteli people hail originally from the land of At the end of the Dawn Seshnela, in western Genertela. his Age, after the destruction of Gbaji the Deceiver, Arkat, established in neighbouring Ralios a dread slayer, called the Stygian Empire. It exploits trollish regime state. Seshnela as a vassal
THE TWO EMPIRES TWO THE his chapter takes a closer look at the two hungry closer look at the two a his chapter takes Age: the Gloranthan Second Empires carving up and the God Friends Wyrm’s the Empire of The Middle Sea Empire
The God Learners them parties, or rewards No one hires more adventuring and Well-funded than the God Learners. more lavishly, the of perennially anxious to increase their knowledge huge sums each year to pay mysteries, they world’s called Knowledge These groups, mercenary bands. obscure reaches and provide world’s the Questers, explore About detailed reports to their scholarly underwriters. full-time Quester groups work half of all Knowledge Others freelance, or God Learner order. for a university missions on a contract basis. Others work picking up new and then auctioning them nding treasures fi speculatively, T Learner Empire. Whether the Player Characters are for Whether the Player Characters are for Learner Empire. switching sides as shifting or avidly them, against them, will powers to these vast winds dictate, their relationships their destinies. determine or even undoubtedly affect By 580, the colonies on Jrustela are so settled that a new The blasphemous Arkat did much damage to generation of restless seekers decides to plant their feet Seshnela but never reduced it to vassalage. When on a new frontier. Again with Waertagi help, they sail to King Nralar launched his victorious war against the Pamaltela, setting up colonies in the land of Umathela. Stygians in 578, it was because their autarch refused to pay him tribute! Religious fervour sweeps the island in the late 640s. Although there is only one Invisible God, revealed by a — Ombast Slope-Treader, Pedant of New Frowal sole prophet, Malkion, various sects disagree fervently on the practical applications of the prophecies to everyday life. Theological dispute becomes political grievance, then boils over into sectarian violence. During the Fifth and Sixth centuries, refugees from the Seshnela migrate, with the aid of Waertagi sailors, to the These tensions instantly dissipate upon the miraculous island of Jrustela. The fi rst waves seek political freedom appearance of the Abiding Book, a volume of theological and the right to practice their Malkioni faith free of what guidance written directly by the hand of the Invisible God they see as Arkat’s meddling strictures. They discover the (see page 45 for more details on the Abiding Book). timinits, the insect races, and generally work with them peacefully. They are alarmed to discover other humans The clear and certain revelation of religious truth there and seek more immigrants, who are delayed by fosters a renewed spirit of unity. In 650, the colonies of more interesting opportunities. Jrustela offi cially bind themselves together as the Jrusteli Confederation. On the mainland, Seshnela wages successful war on the
The Two Empires heirs of Arkat, stealing the secrets of HeroQuesting and A generation later, the certitude of Jrusteli, armed with sharing them with scholars in Jrustela. The migration their Abiding Book, turns outward. Devout Malkioni recommences soon afterwards, as defeated factions in create the Return to Rightness movement, meant to a Seshnegi war of succession depart, vainly hoping to spread the single valid orthodoxy to other Malkioni defuse a looming civil war. lands. It fi nds a martial vanguard in the Order of the New Iron Staff, a squad of militant missionaries equipped with In the original Jrustelan settlement, Hredmorinos, the powerful combat magic. The urge to proselytise sparks pioneers establish a republic where all free men vote for territorial ambitions but they are frustrated when the their leader. At fi rst the settlers work together for mutual Waertagi refuse to go along with them and carry armies survival. Schisms erupt, as they always seem to do. abroad. Factions fi ght one another and fi nally split off to found other settlements. As these new places prosper, tempers Jrustela now wishes to be an Empire. To accomplish this, cool and reconciliation binds the burgeoning cities into it must turn to its God Learner sorcerers. The island’s a new nation. Included in this new political unity are the Sorcery schools are given the task of fi nding a weapon to pre-existing colonies settled during the Dawn Age by use against the Waertagi, so that the Jrusteli can sail the migrants from Slontos. seas unmolested.
The logic-minded Jrusteli value scholarship above all other pursuits and encourage the creation of various schools of magical inquiry. They remember the story The term ‘God Learner’ arose three and a half of the dreaded Arkat, who accrued enormous personal centuries after the work of the early researchers they claim as the progenitors of their movement. power by discovering the technique of HeroQuesting. He who uses it to describe sorcerous schools prior They work to understand this power, so they can one day to 849 engages in forgivable simplification. defeat those who might use it against them in the future. Thus the fi rst God Learner study groups are founded, — Toranalt the Abider, Sage of the Segurane around the year 500. Knowledge Market
16 The Two Empires 17 nancial cially into When lost and starving in the canyons of Kong When lost and starving in the canyons of and ate Jian, the mad hero Gillam D’estau severed his own left arm. Then he re-grew it as a dragon there arm and used it to slay those who’d left him to die. of — Songling Hu, Annalist of the Temple Immanence, Ting Shui nally destroy the last of the long-hated Cult of Arkat. Cult of the last of the long-hated nally destroy In 789 the Middle Sea Empire comes offi In 789 the Middle Sea Empire comes of its fi being and immediately reaches the height In 740, the Jrusteli defeat the Stygian army and the Stygian army Jrusteli defeat In 740, the fi the God reside only with secrets now HeroQuesting Learners. are conquered and occupied. Islands across the oceans ports The few are overtaken. The outposts in Pamaltela In 768, through its sponsorship of Slontos are conquered. D’estau, creator Gillam of the crazed adventurer-mystic Empire the nascent of Immanent Mastery, of the Path adventurism Kralorela. D’estau’s captures control of vast ShangHsa, on the Kralori Emperor, places a Jrusteli puppet old leadership into self-imposed throne, sending the practitioner, ShangHsa, an Immanent Mastery exile. Other Eastern outposts remains on the throne to this day. eet comes into as the Jrusteli commercial fl soon follow, dominant economic power. as the world’s its own Arolanit In 818, the formerly Brithini land of prosperity. this period the becomes a duchy of the Empire. During annexed. rest of the land of Slontos is also slowly The EWF The pendulum swings against the Empire. sends hurricanes to lash Slontos, wreaking devastation there from 818 to 825. In 823, after the immortals of an attempt to establish a worldwide Brithos rebuff orthodoxy of Malkioni belief, Emperor Miglos launches attempt against their island nation. a gigantic invasion Brithos remains eet and army are destroyed. The whole fl further into the Empire expands free. Licking its wounds, between the various in warfare intervening Pamaltela, city states of Fonrit. of Kethaela, the trollish Shadowlands In 842 it invades full-scale, head-on warfare rst time waging for the fi Dragons range the skies and some even against the EWF. upon distant Seshnela and Jrustela. fall es the oating mountains oating allies refuse to help, so in 725 the cult and natural Expelled from Pamaltela Their navy, dubbed the Free Men of the Sea, bears dubbed the Free Their navy, A the seas. righteous soldiers over liberating armies of carried out in victories follows, rapid series of military on fall They to Rightness Crusade. the name of Return heathens and heretics. out the invaders, Seshnela to drive It is diffi of Loskalm. Jrusteli conquer the western coastal kingdom desired their most fervently achieve Nine years later they of Seshnela goal, liberating their ancestral homeland defi Saval, leader, The Jrustelan from barbarians. In 718, decades of research come to fruition. Jrusteli to fruition. Jrusteli of research come In 718, decades ships in their little wooden forth bravely sailors set Then the dragonships. kilometre-sized against the fl Firebergs, sorcerers ignite the waters! the and destroy waters ame, boil the briny of elemental fl the victory to the This secret weapon gives Waertagi. Victory. Tanian’s of Jrusteli at the Battle king of democratic principles of Jrustela and becomes Annmak the Peacemaker his son Seshnela; later that year, the leadership succeeds him. From this point onward, and purposes of Jrustela and Seshnela is for all intents of Seshnela. combined under the ancient crown In 849 the various magical schools we’ve been calling In 901, the current Emperor, Ilotos, ascends the throne. God Learners formally congregate under that title. Four Before the paint has dried on his ceremonial seals, the years later, they perform the infamous Goddess Switch Empire loses all of its Pamaltelan holdings. Umathela (see page 21). revolts and the Pamaltelan hero Hon Hoolbiktu drives the Six-Legged Empire from Jolar. Expeditionary forces sent Over the next 20 years, Zistorites, an order devoted to to recapture it are lost. the mass manufacture of magical and technological items, spreads throughout the Empire. The Pamaltelan Ilotos responds by sending survivors of the southern war region of Jolar becomes the subject of a lengthy, draining to depose the rebellious dukes of Arolanit and Ralios, occupation. There, Knowledge Questers seek a legendary placing those lands under his direct control. City of Iron, where deep secrets of surpassing interest to the Zistorites would supposedly be found. The Jrusteli In 908, the Empire faces an assault on the Zistorite introduce horses and cavalry tactics to the region for the Clanking City of Kethaela and growing omens of disaster fi rst time. At fi rst thinking that horse and rider are the on the high seas. same terrible creature, the central Pamaltelans dub their conquerors the Six-Legged Empire. However, no grass What God Learners Do grows in Pamaltela and the horses are short-lived and the The God Learner’s Empire exists by fulfi lling multiple advantages of cavalry are lost. agendas. They usually complement one another, cementing alliances between disparate power groups, but The end of the Ninth Century is a time of magical sometimes come into confl ict. experimentation on a mass scale. God Learners perform the Four Dukes Folly, a disastrous incantation that Its most famous agenda is magical: its sorcerers wish to
The Two Empires accidentally lays waste to an entire neighbourhood in a expand their knowledge and power through exploration Loskalmi city. But they acquit themselves spectacularly into, and exploitation of, the so-called pagan religions with other experiments, most notably the Green Waves, of Glorantha. The God Learner Sorcery schools and the Slag Movement and Erastis’ Poison Vapour. Zistorites pursue this aim.
Despite their notoriety, sorcerers compose only a fraction of the Empire. For most ordinary people, its central Ducal Wars goal is religious. Its duty is to continue the work of the Ilotos’ need to re-conquer territories bordering Rightness Army, to promote the orthodox practice of Seshnela from his own supposed vassals reveals Malkionism and to stamp out heresy. his present state of weakness. Emboldened by his failures in Pamaltela and themselves pressed by For the Empire’s growing mercantile class, the Empire’s EWF mountain raiders, the dukes of Arolanit and Ralios withhold portions of the tribute owed to central goal is the expansion and protection of trade. Ilotos. This loss of revenue would be galling at any time but represents a special burden when Ilotos Its noble classes seek military glory; for its high-born must rebuild his army and navies. His forces, war leaders, any of the above agendas are fi ne and good, infl amed by accusations of pagan tendencies on the so long as they provide opportunities to win distinction part of the rebel dukes, lay waste to their fortresses and put their militias to rout. However, especially in combat. Fortunately, all of them do. If given a choice in Ralios, where the deposed dukes had ingratiated between wars, landless nobles militate for territorial themselves to the local populace, grumblings expansion. They hope their conquests will win them persist. The most popular of the dukes, Vamargach duchies or lesser vassalages, as their ranks demand. The the Red, has gone underground in Vesmonstran, middle classes may honourably trade their way to riches where he is sheltered by malcontent clan leaders. Some say that he intends to launch a challenge but for the high-born, land is the only fi tting route to to the Imperial throne. Others claim he has gone wealth. native and will lead a fi ght for Vesmonstran’s independence.
18 The Two Empires 19 Century, so that Century, th Abiding Book, which conclusively settled all doctrinal disputes active at that all doctrinal disputes active settled conclusively on one must do nothing say, they error, avoid To time. in the form of a pray for revelation except the matter, Doctrine of This is the chapter of the Abiding Book. new . are the Delayers Inerrant Delay; its exponents it might have been addressed by the been addressed by the it might have instead give thanks that one was lucky enough to be born enough lucky one was thanks that instead give This Solace. for God’s and thus be eligible a Malkioni are its exponents of Inherent Selection; is the doctrine . called Inherents of fence-sitters who lament that Finally there is a school not current in the 7 was this controversy the agendas, the one providing four driving Of the Empire’s is the accumulation greatest opportunity for adventurers for The God Learners hunger of magical knowledge. traditions information about pagan gods, mystical The Invisible God to resolve this controversy in a this controversy God to resolve The Invisible Mass conversion will never work and is not worth and is not worth work will never Mass conversion Religious proselytising? Trade? Military Dominance? Magical exploration? The pagans must be converted immediately. Missionaries: The pagans must be converted not now. – but The pagans must be converted Postponers: Realists: trying. the pagans to remain mired in ignorance. God wants Inherents: Delayers: time and manner of his choosing. Until then, let us not rush to judgment. D D D ict between sorcerers confl Also decide where your sympathies lie in the The schools of thought on this issue are as follows: and missionaries. D D D What’s Your Faction? Sea Empire, decide which When playing a character from the Middle can pick more than one You in. of its agendas you are most involved will be pulled in the more choices you select, the your character but Are you mostly interested in: multiple directions. D D D Even if you believe in no doctrine beyond your own immediate self- your own in no doctrine beyond if you believe Even interest, you probably pretend to a sympathy for one or the other of great power, any up appearances. Like cations, just to keep these justifi to are expected they but the Middle Sea Empire abounds with cynics, When in doubt, the Doctrine of pay lip service to some sort of piety. a safe choice. Inerrant Delay is always As Sorcery is the gift of the Invisible God, it is is the gift of the Invisible As Sorcery Missionary and possible to be both eminently and a God Learner sorcerer. To be a Missionary so comfortable a fit. sorcerer, now that is not of Pombric — Brother Aran, Monk Yet another doctrine has it that Yet pagans are cursed by the Invisible his light. God and do not deserve them is attempt to convert To his will. One should to disobey Other sorcerers argue that, while that, Other sorcerers argue is ideal in wholesale conversion principle, the pagans are so truculent beliefs that and mired in their false the goal is unrealistic in practice. to bring One should instead work and receptive good light to the few souls among the pagan horde and so perdition they the rest the allow Those who espouse seek. fervently this school of thought are called the Realists. Some sorcerers concede that the – but pagans ought to be converted been only after their secrets have false The thoroughly plumbed. God’s gods are part of the Invisible creation and he must surely intend use of to make for his followers their gifts before eradicating their This is the Doctrine of worship. Judicious Use; its proponents are . nicknamed Postponers This agenda confl icts with the interests of God Learner icts with the interests of God This agenda confl en masse, sorcerers. If the pagans were to be converted and, with it, the source of the God Realm might go away been perfecting for centuries. have the magic they Some religious orders seek the wholesale conversion of seek the wholesale conversion Some religious orders subscribe to They to the Malkioni way. pagan worshippers are called Missionaries. and the Doctrine of Conversion Faith and Magic: A Conflict of Interest Faith and and shamanic practices. As far as they are concerned, of experimental HeroQuesting; Arkat did it before them. knowledge is treasure. This pertains especially to the Their innovation lies in creating new hybrid stories where myths of pagan cultures. To the God Learners, stories are none existed before. Once a new story is established, they power. send in HeroQuesters, armed with RuneQuest Sight and the God Learner’s Secret, to repeat it over and over. Thus they cement their new tale as part of the God Realm. The myths become permanent, changing not only a temporary Zistorite sorcerers pay handsomely for previously unknown magical artefacts, even when you can’t Hero Plane, but the God’s Realm itself. When the stories tell what in Malkion’s name they’re supposed to change, so do the gods. In the material world, the people do. who worship the altered god accept the alterations, eventually coming to believe in the newly established — Gurek Runespear, Mercenary of Safelster myth.
God Learners have collected the major myths of the largest Looting the World of Myth cultures but it is in the minor stories known to only a few communities that they have the greatest freedom to move If the Otherworlds are the ultimate source of power, freely through the Otherworld. Adventurers bringing back myths are their treasure maps. In the theist tradition, useful new myths will be fulsomely rewarded as if they when you go on a HeroQuest, you venture into a well- had found fi stfuls of gems or ancient crowns of gold. known myth of your culture. You always encounter surprises, which may give you new insight into your Politics gods, but the essential outline of the experience is pre- As an old Seshnegi proverb says, ‘the troubles of kings
The Two Empires established. You become part of the story, with yourself are a boon to swordmakers’. Work opportunities abound in the role of the god you worship. You are tested as the for adventurers in times of political unrest. The Emperor’s god was tested in the original tale. If the story tells you ill luck has emboldened his foes to intrigue against him. that your god fi rst fought a troll, then an ill-wind, and His enemies within the Empire include: then bedded a mysterious woman, before fi nally battling the dragon, you expect to do the same when you enter D The deposed dukes of Ralios and Arolanit, and their the Hero Plane. If you do all of these things successfully supporters. and in the proper way, you win a great reward, either for D The Emperor’s erstwhile allies in Ralios, who now yourself or your community. You might come back with recoil at the oppressive taxation he has levied on a magic sword, gain a Divine Magic spell, end a drought them, to pay for the cost of their own conquest. or increase your clan’s birth rate. D Noble families whose sons were lost, or reputations tarnished, by the stunning defeats in Pamaltela. If you fail to overcome an obstacle, you are in big trouble. D Certain Zistorites, who feel he has not sent enough If you are lucky, you will simply be injured or diminished support to lift the siege against the Clanking City of in some way and then get ejected from the Hero Plane, God Forgot. Others remain touchingly hopeful that back to the place of ritual where you entered the divine their pleas at court will eventually be heard. realm. If you are unlucky, you will get lost in a world of D Nobles of Jrustela, under the banner of the Back to myth. You might encounter other gods of your pantheon, Glory movement, who seek to wrest the imperial engaged in activities you are familiar with from their throne from hidebound Seshnegi kings back into the stories. If you know enough of their stories, you may be hands of a Jrustelan. able to enter one of them and improvise your way to a proper conclusion, safely exiting from the Otherworld. Otherwise you may be destroyed or trapped forever. In Safelster, they’ve got a new nickname for the Emperor: ‘Ilotos the Unlucky’. He’d better hope it don’t stick. God Learners enter the Other Side to win magical powers for themselves but often do it by moving from one myth — Gurek Runespear, Mercenary of Safelster to another. They are not the fi rst to engage in this sort 20 The Two Empires 21 eld general. eld nding two pagan deities of separate nding two The High Sorcerer is usually also head of the God The High Sorcerer is Learners Alliance. the Malkioni of is pontiff The High Ecclesiast Church. League is generally The Head of the Mercantilist’s Treasurer. made Lord traditionally a Jrusteli is Admiral of the Navy The nobleman. noble with past is a Seshnegi War The Minister of as a fi experience up the rest of the council. make leaders Regional of Loskalm and the Arch-Duke These include the Positions Affairs. Vithelan Ministers for Kralori and Aralonit and of Arch-Dukes formerly held by the brothers, although lled by Ilotos’ fi Ralios are now administer those territories. do not actually they Umathela and Jolar Chairs for the Duchies of Fonrit, pending the re-conquest of those remain empty, territories. impudent Pamaltelan appoints them, is an essential prerequisite, candidates prerequisite, candidates is an essential appoints them, on represent groups they triumph within the must also the Council: D D D D D D owers stopped blooming in each place, but so what? Then the crops failed. Inica’s Inica’s Then the crops failed. so what? stopped blooming in each place, but owers cultures who had similar myths. They also needed low-powered deities who were incapable of retaliation. also needed low-powered They cultures who had similar myths. Inica, goddess of wild rice and Einkorn, and Slontos: Wenelia Grain Goddesses of chose the respective They grazing and foraging who blended in with the wild Their adventurers, the goddess of grassland wheat. Bounty Einkorn’s and ‘How similar myths: ‘Inica Feeds the People’ peoples of both lands, learned two into these myths, playing the roles of the goddesses’ Filled the Land’. Squads of HeroQuesters journeyed were drawn Inica and Einkorn nally altered the stories, until fi slowly iterations, they many attendants. Over resistant and were slain during this process. Eventually, minor deities proved A few into the same story. had admit that they prompted by HeroQuesters with RuneQuest Sight, the grain goddesses were forced to a off goddesses, to stave story in which the two Then the sorcerers enacted a new to be long-lost sisters. traded husbands. famine, world-eating grain goddess, as did those of visions of their new of the Slontan gatherers experienced The god-talkers from the old ones. myths, which were not so much different learned new In their dreams, they Wenelia. and essentially that the pagan gods were false rst the switch appeared to be a great success, proving At fi interchangeable. A few fl and blighted in damp grass-wheat was in Slontos and Einkorn’s delicate grain could not be cultivated and in Slontos no marriage lasted for more than a year. Wenelia in Fruit stopped growing Wenelia. affected, and to the cultures of Pythos University In 908 these changes are apparent to the experimenters from entering the travellers mercenaries prevent has yet to spread across the Empire. Battalions of word but Assassins are dispatched to silence those who try to tell the tale. areas. worst-hit The Goddess Switch myth creation is clearly the Goddess Switch. God Learner in new greatest achievement The Empire’s years of research to fi many devoted sorcerers of Pythos University Courtiers lobby ferociously for coveted appointments to Courtiers lobby ferociously for coveted who to the Emperor, Although loyalty the High Council. The Jrusteli-based Back to Glory movement schemes to The Jrusteli-based Back to Glory movement members of the High Council, so they quietly win over On the other elect someone other than his son, Daros. young man, hand, Daros is a dynamic and charismatic than his father. arousing greater personal loyalty Legally, possession of the imperial throne is not hereditary. is not hereditary. of the imperial throne possession Legally, privilege. a Seshnegi to be exclusively Nor is it supposed that thought it was Sea Empire formed, When the Middle The High region. to from region pass the throne would of religious and secular advisors to Council, a collection death or abdication, gathers after the Emperor’s the crown, have In practice, the Emperors ruler. to select the new to stack the High Council with allies been able always die. for their sons when they vote and cronies, who will throne has yet to leave formation, the Since the Empire’s rankles the Jrusteli, who This increasingly family. Ilotos’ intellectual inspiration as the Empire’s see themselves be things would liberators. Maybe and as Seshnela’s inspiring leader. if Ilotos were a successful or different How Do I Scheme? God Learner politics might draw the Player Characters into the following adventures:
D Destroying damaging evidence against a patron or a patron’s political ally. D Recovering damaging evidence against a patron’s rival. D Gaining a treasure or myth to win the friendship of a desired ally. D Couriering sensitive communications between political allies. D Rescuing a political fi gure held by enemies. D Assassinating enemies. D Investigating assassinations of allies. D Temporarily kidnapping rival politicians to prevent them from taking undesirable action. D Negotiating an alliance between political fi gures. D Raiding rivals’ lands, draining them of operating resources. D Protecting allies’ lands from raids. How Do I Trade? Commercially-oriented groups may wish to set up trading Empires of their own. To start, they will need to acquire a ship. They might inherit a derelict vessel during an adventure or win a ship as reward from a grateful patron. More likely, they can lease a barely seaworthy knorr for 2,000 to 3,000 silver per season and a 20% share of revenues, calculated before profi t. If they go this route, an expendable lackey of the ship’s owner accompanies them on their journeys, tallying up their transactions.
Adventurers are more likely to get involved in trade-based exploits on a one-off basis. They might serve as ship or caravan guards, launch raids against pirate ships or outposts, explore new potential trade routes or broker The Two Empires trade deals between imperial merchants and isolated cultures.
Commerce not reestablish their credentials. In addition to its role The Empire’s seafaring mercantilists conduct a bustling in anti-piracy efforts, the league represents commercial trade throughout Glorantha. Even their sworn rivals, the interests to the Emperor, controlling a seat on the High EWF, benefi t from their movement of goods across the Council. world. Jrusteli trading houses dominate trade, benefi ting from their early start in the establishment of shipping War fl eets. Other colonies and outposts play catch-up, building The nobility’s demand for land and glory necessitates their own competing fl eets. constant war. Although the Empire maintains its own standing army and navy, and is augmented by volunteer Where treasure-laden ships fi ll the ocean, piracy follows. forces such as the religiously-motivated Rightness Pirates from the Eastern Isles and the northern coast of Army, it never has as many men under arms as it wants. Pamaltela grow increasingly bold. The Imperial Navy Mercenaries fi ll the gap, travelling to areas of confl ict to allocates a small number of ships to the battle against sign on with the highest bidder. piracy. Other anti-pirate operations are staffed and underwritten by the Mercantilist’s League. Adventurers Although few Player Characters want to join armies and and mercenaries, including many ex-pirates seeking a fi ght in mass engagements whose results they have little steadier income, man these fast, cheaply-built and highly control over, they can fi nd gainful employment in support expendable vessels. or mop-up operations. Martial-themed adventures might include: Any trader, whether based on land or sea, can join the Mercantilist’s League, provided that he can present D Bandit suppression in backwater areas. invoices showing at least 10,000 gold pieces of business D Sabotage or reconnaissance missions. conducted in the past year. Once eligible, members need D Military espionage. 22 The Two Empires 23 rst- ce as chairs the was, was, Kenthiliu , High Lurghalos . A fi Vesharios Sylark Who Do I Fight? Who Do I of the Empire ghting on behalf fi Adventurers selection of fascinating the widest possible enjoy EWF forces; These include: and deadly enemies. Brithini; internal people; Arolaniti backwoods mostali; Loskalmi insurgents; rebels; Kralori exiles; pirates; trolls Pamaltelans; Orlanthi traditionalists; remnants. and Waertagi old lie in carousing, brawling and cementing his alliances and cementing old lie in carousing, brawling up his court. nobles who will make with the Seshnegi magician is most famous The Empire’s Alliance. Moody Sorcerer and head of the God Learner a good match for Ilotos, who and capricious, he makes gained A scar across his lip, all others. trusts him above blemishes his coldly during a magical experiment, Colleagues whisper of his over-fondness beautiful face. rages that arise from it. for brandy and the drunken y concerns himself with the chiefl These days Lurghalos ill effects. concealment of the Goddess Switch’s intimidating Heading the Malkioni Church is a bold and cousin to Ilotos, the High Ecclesiast inside out class intellect, he can recite the Abiding Book passage from the viewpoint the meaning of any and argue In the matter school of theological interpretation. of every is a hard-headed Realist. Vesharios of pagan conversion, Council with a other members of the High He bullies body mixture of wit, agile sophistry and confrontational of hot-headed language. His primary goal is the diversion not threaten Missionaries to harmless pursuits which will the Empire in time of crisis. The unassuming, chameleonic the High Council as Lord League and serves Mercantilist’s Good-looking in a generic and unremarkable Treasurer. skill of this Jrusteli-born trader has mastered the way, on the seeming to be all things to all people. Everyone for their council thinks he agrees with them and works He wants interests, when really he cares only for his own. efforts. spent on anti-piracy more money self-doubting cousin long-faced, Sylark’s to offi recently elevated urging, at the treasurer’s Though successful in his youth in Admiral of the Navy. had withdrawn Kenthiliu sallies against piracy, several Ilotos, cers and ing them in and out . His ill political fortunes . His ill political fortunes , contrasts sharply with his ill-humoured , contrasts sharply with his ill-humoured Daros Ilotos, Emperor of the Land and Sea Ilotos, Emperor of the Land and Stealing myths and secrets from rival powers. rival and secrets from Stealing myths for parties working other adventuring Thwarting whether their objectives foreign powers, rebels or commercial or military. are magical, political, Notables notables must start with A list of God Learner His son, D D of the Land and Sea Emperor for shuffl functionaries. He is notorious Ilotos vindictively provocation. of their posts at the least temporary gratitude only and shows punishes his enemies his rule through fear; his to his friends. He maintains Ralios Arolanit and of sudden action against the dukes foes. pause to other would-be given have he is Handsome, athletic and naturally charming, father. generation of next surrounded himself with the Empire’s advice, he took part Against his father’s political leaders. Jolari possessions defence of the Empire’s in the failed military leaders to acquit himself one of the few and was of this lusty 25 year The main interests honourably there. have turned him into a beleaguered, short-tempered turned him into a beleaguered, have distrusts his courtiers, offi man. He petulantly anxious to shut the whole discipline down, once and for all. God Learner Tolerance Despite its fervent monotheism, the Middle Sea Empire His niece, Vissala, is sweet on the Emperor’s son, shows a surprising degree of tolerance for practitioners Daros, and believes she has a shot at becoming of other faiths. While you cannot say that the God his empress. Pompalic encourages her to pursue Learners respect theist, mystical or shamanic ways, this dream, hoping to infl uence his unformed they are anxious to discover more about them and gain ideology. from their secrets. Traders encourage contact with other cultures, who provide both products and markets. While non-Malkioni cannot rise into positions of high Empire of Wyrm’s authority, neither are they harassed while going about their daily business. Especially in occupations open to Friends adventurers, the vast majority of employers care more Where the God Learners control the coasts and about a person’s capabilities than his beliefs. much of western Genertela, the Empire of Wyrm’s Friends has expanded up and into the continent Especially conservative Malkioni may insult or from their base in Maniria. condescend to pagans. When times get bad, riots may break out. Unbelievers may be chased, roughed up or The EWF is both more and less inclusive than their even slain. Such occasions are rare, especially in ports rival Empire. As a relatively new transformative and major centres. A Malkioni heretic, who is expected religious movement, they are willing to accept to know better, faces much greater prejudice and risk of anyone who embraces their mystical dragon way.
The Two Empires harm than a mere pagan. Adventurers of any culture can come to the EWF and fi nd a path from their old worship to the revealed draconic insights. On the other hand, the from political life to serve in a monastery at New Froalar. EWF expects everyone within its borders to join He wants to please both the Emperor and his cousin but is the cause and become part of the Great Dragon To Come. mostly afraid he will humiliate himself and bring shame They harshly repress the old faiths and only grudgingly on the family name. tolerate the long-term presence of foreign unbelievers. Adventurers can visit it from time to time without Filling the position of Minister of War and High provoking pressure to conform. Those who put down roots Commander of the Middle Sea Army is the darkly here must appear to follow the draconic versions of their brooding Gaskaros , famed for his epic poetry, his swift core faiths, or face confi scations, physical intimidation or and ruthless victories against the former Duke of Ralios, exile. Open and unregenerate agitation for the old ways and his sword, Even-Hand. Once drawn, this legendary can get you killed. blade cannot be sheathed until it kills an even number of victims. The wyrmfriends may not hire as many adventurers as the God Learners but adventurers still fi nd opportunity Everyone agrees that most infl uential individual outside galore within EWF borders. Adventurers favourable to the High Council is Pompalic, who heads the Rightness the Empire can: Army, a volunteer force of warriors and sorcerers who fi ght alongside imperial forces wherever the Malkioni D Fight the reactionary forces of the Old Ways faith is threatened. An annoying thorn in the side of traditionalists. High Ecclesiast Vesharios, he foments passions on the D Aid the Empire’s efforts to transform the landscape streets, urging crusades against heretics. A vociferous into a living dragon. Missionary, he advocates forced baptism of pagans. He D Put down local rebellions. has secretly allied himself with sorcerer critics of the D Suppress banditry. God Learner project, who argue that it has gone too far D Quest for artefacts of draconic transformation. and will bring disaster upon the Empire. Pompalic feels D Battle the magic-stealing raiders of the God Learner that God Learnerism smacks of crypto-paganism and is Empire. 24 The Two Empires 25 The human mystics of the wyrmfriend way seem very sure that they know it all. But I see the dragonewts look at them, doubt pooling in their reptilian eyes. — Jorudanth Silverhand, Trader of Janstown created the world. They gave men the potential to perfect the potential to perfect world. They gave men created the This to complete creation. and at the same time, themselves of the when all the people will occur final act of completion and also create the conditions Empire perfect themselves into the greatest dragon of for the land itself to transform then be transformed, too, into the all. All of the people will of this new dragon. Thus will they collective consciousness as the world emerges from its egg to achieve eternal bliss, perfected form. finally achieve its ultimate, for perfection will be long and Although the struggle its rewards along the way. It grants difficult, it is not without magics to use against its enemies, both its adherents powerful Some people cling stubbornly to from within and without. which were their imperfections, to the old forms of worship These must meant only as stepping stones to transcendence. eyes opened. be shown the way of truth, to have their third transition Sadly, some are incapable of making the essential prevent and must be snuffed out, lest their imperfections misery to the blissful attainment for everyone else. To bring only a necessary miserable is not a good or righteous action, sacrifice one. Those who perform these acts of oppression and violence. greatly, marring their souls with hate, greed state. Some of They must fast and meditate to return to a pure This these will be corrupted and must also be extinguished. of the ordinary is sad, but sadness is also a trap, as are all around us, human emotions. They bind us to the reality our Ultimate which is false, and prevent us from perceiving inscrutable, yet Dragon Natures, which are cold, analytical, sort of human partaking of a higher joy than any ordinary happiness can prepare one to understand. will gain most Those who participated first in the revelations you will be from the shared energies. If you join us now, bring in others, more powerful than if you do it later. If you you will gain from that, and then gain again when they do the same. This higher, mystic joy is worth all the hard spiritual work required to attain it. If we suffer deprivation, sorrow, war and doubt, it is only to fulfil cosmic destiny. explains ooth explains The Dragon Sun The Dragon Harry, rob and assassinate blasphemous EWF rob and assassinate blasphemous EWF Harry, oppressors. Rescue captured heroes of the resistance. Sabotage draconic installations. from Intrigue to separate the human dragon mystics helpers. their increasingly distrustful dragonewt hostile Establish alliances between otherwise cultures under EWF control. Hunt for magical secrets to counter draconic dominance. Followers of Orlanth the Dragon and the other new of Orlanth the Dragon and the other new Followers created by was that the world religions of the EWF know passage from the Hunting The following draconic forces. Dagger-T of Sikaranth Scroll Waltzing and Misery, hunger, confusion and desire are part of the world because it isn’t perfect yet. The violence and treachery of the human condition can also be attributed to this lack of perfection. The dragons made a cure for this when they What Wyrmfriends Know to potential converts: the wyrmfriend faith D D D D D D Adventurers opposed to the Empire can: opposed Adventurers A Short History of the EWF For 300 years, the EWF slowly progresses toward its goal of building the Great Dragon, weathering occasional The Empire of Wyrm’s Friends begins in Dragon Pass, raids from God Learners intent on stealing their secrets. in central Genertela, a place where the dragonewts have Later incursions prove less successful than the strike lived since before the beginning of time. Before this time, that took Auld Wyrmish from the Drolgardi. The new the dragonewts, or people of the dragon, had always been wyrmfriend belief is suffi ciently alien to the God Learner diffi cult to interact with. Their actions are peculiar and no mindset that their secrets prove diffi cult to integrate with one except for the followers of an Orlanthi hero named HeroQuest-based Sorcery. Drolgard can speak or understand their hissing, trilling language. Misunderstandings often result in deaths on Forming the unstoppable dragon armies, aided by both sides. dragonewts and dinosaurs, the Empire expands. Through a mixture of conquest and Hunting and Waltzing A new school opens in populous Nochet. There they are conversion, it encompasses Prax (fi rst incursions in 620), teaching Auld Wyrmish to whomever wants to learn. Pent (675), Dara Happa (780) and Fronela (852). In 875, Knowledge quickly spreads outside the school, spreading it reinforces Ormsland, a dragonewt-inhabited region with the rapidity of a disease. Those who learn it are of northern Ralios, against incursion by God Learner transformed by it. To speak the language is to receive forces. mystic insight. Dara Happa falls completely to the Empire in 878, when But everyone who learns has a different personal a dragon, known alternately as the Dragon Sun or Golden experience. Factions spring up throughout Esrolia and Dragon, ascends its throne. This action eventually Hendrikiland, enveloping ordinary people into violent triggers an unforeseen alliance between traditional
The Two Empires metaphysical dispute. 573 is a year of severe unrest. enemies, the Yelmite sun worshippers of Dara Happa and the unreconstructed Orlanthi of Dragon Pass. Their Vistikos Left-Eye, an Orlanthi convert to Malkionism, alliance revitalises the Old Way Traditionalist insurgent learns Auld Wyrmish directly from the school at Nochet, movement, which grows steadily bolder as the dawn and achieves a conclusive understanding that eventually of the tenth century approaches. They preach the Last brings peace to the competing factions. He does this by Chance, a doctrine which states that the theist peoples gaining an audience with a mystical entity called the must unite immediately or witness the end of the world Cosmic Dragon and then asking the right questions. when the Great Dragon ascends. Ambushes and guerrilla Equipped with these revelations, he forms the Hunting raids fl are in the borderlands. and Waltzing Bands, groups of missionaries who use dance, drama and fasting to convert infl uential fi gures to the new mystic way. This is the start of the new, organised The Dragon Sun should not have been able to pass draconic religion. Vistikos and his swelling coterie the ten tests that make a Solar Emperor. But, woe of followers works from the top down, winning over of woes, even though it had no hands, it magically political leaders, who command their people to follow. grasped the divine regalia! Other ordinary people rise suddenly to prominence. — Varustori Gold-Beard, Exiled Noble of Dara Society in Dragon Pass is quickly reorganised along Happa draconic lines. Those who openly resist the effort to infuse their old religions with dragon symbolism are exiled or killed. Others take the original worship underground, pretending to be sympathetic to wyrmfriendism EWF leaders, increasingly attuned with the realm of while forming the roots of the Old Way Traditionalist mystic consciousness and cut off from the everyday movement. needs of the people, react to the insurgents with cold brutality. Their tactics, sweeping in friend with foe, drive In 578 the Empire of Wyrm’s Friends establishes itself as more people into the Old Ways camp. a formal political entity. 26 The Two Empires 27 Initiations Required Draconic Powers temporary often centre around Draconic powers include: gaining They personal transformation. strength, speed or weaponry hide, dragon-like command tail or horns); the ability to (claws, perception; extrasensory reptiles and dinosaurs; instilling fear; causing resisting/dispelling magic; detection and rapid self- avoiding earthquakes; healing. gure is, the more an EWF fi The more powerful these outward to exercise reluctant he becomes so is to bind oneself to the do To abilities. retarding transcendent progress. mundane world, dragon mystics seem beautiful, Highly advanced and serene and magnetic to wyrmfriend believers creepily distant and alien to outsiders. Wyrm’s Face Believers may still gain magic from Believers Face Wyrm’s has been that their worship other theist cults, provided A draconised cult replaces traditional draconised. the myths as symbols with dragon images and interprets mystical parables of ascendance. Believer Face Wyrm’s the rank of above Dragonspeakers Magic. may practice only Rune Magic and Dragon up a rank, a candidate must not only achieve move To for a certain earn responsibility inner perfection but others one has number of initiations. Initiations made by total own one’s initiated into the cult count both toward the nature of the pyramid, initiate. Given and that of one’s impossible to ascend to its highest two all but it is now ranks. Rank Wyrm’s Eye Ascendant Wyrm’s Tongue Master Wyrm’s Hand 100,000 Triumphant Wyrm’s 10,000 Claw Initiate 1,000 Believer Face Wyrm’s 100 Self rst to join the dragonspeaker cult gain power from cult gain power to join the dragonspeaker rst Now the EWF heartland is well into its second year is well into its second EWF heartland the Now the famine, alleviate To looms. Starvation of winter. food to export provinces forces the outlying leadership these blame They spreading discontent. to Dragon Pass, freezing a hungry, Learners but hardships on the God too much devoted have that they populace grumbles to the Great Dragon project and too magic and worship little to ordinary survival. Wyrm’s Face Believers are like lay members. Their lay members. are like Believers Face Wyrm’s cooperation is needed to secure the ascension of the Great no receive to the hierarchy but power give They Dragon. magic in return. Below them, mustering small quantities of draconic them, mustering Below Initiates. Claw Wyrm’s are power, The third rank of draconic accomplishment, usually held cials and functionaries, is that of leaders, offi by local war This is the dragonspeaker Triumphant. Hand Wyrm’s the of Runelord or Runepriest status. equivalent The second generation of dragonspeaker mystics, The second generation of dragonspeaker rst attendants, companions and fi as the who served comprise the political Twelve, bodyguards of the Original mightier with entity called the Guiding Council. Each is God Runelord or individual than any draconic power Wyrm’s hold the mystical rank of They Learner sorcerer. Masters. Tongue everyone they recruit and everyone those people recruit, recruit and everyone they everyone of the rst members Thus the fi and so on and so forth. Bands who arose in the Waltzing original Hunting and of cult and as the leaders today, sixth century still live Left- Vistikos Empire. Under the ultimate leadership of a self-generated serpentine castle at dwell in Eye, they Inhuman King. home of the dragonewt Eye, Dragon’s rarely which is Each has amassed great personal power, great wonders could work cared to, they If they expended. the course of at will, felling entire forests, changing of enemies with a or obliterating entire platoons rivers Eye Wyrm’s are the They third eye. blink of an invisible are referred to they Ascendants. In their political capacity, In typical confusing dragonfriend Twelve. as the Original a dozen. exceed far their numbers now fashion, Magic scheme. pyramid magical as a vast The EWF project works The fi Building the Dragon Wyrmfriends claim that the Great Dragon will arise in both the physical and spiritual planes. Its physical manifestation will ascend from the earth, the core element of draconic nature. The dragonspeaker cult has incised an outline of this dragon in the earth, starting in a place they call the Imminence Valley. As the Empire expands, they increase the boundaries of the outline, which now extends far into Dara Happa. Entire troops of guardians patrol the outline, which is often the target of sabotage by Old Ways insurgents. Ultimately the dragon outline will On the next step of the pyramid stands the Guiding extend all the way to Ice Bay, in northern Dara Happa. Council. These second-generation leaders have mostly
The Two Empires The Oslir River is its spine; the Rockwood Mountains, crossed over into the realm of metaphysical contemplation its wings, and the volcanoes of Caladraland represent its but still run the Empire, distractedly, through assistants crested head and fi ery breath. and functionaries. They make policy and delegate the details to underlings. Dragon Secrets As their Empire frays at the edges, the Guiding Council It is this third group, unknown to the people and sealed has come to suspect that the dragonewts are holding out off from their complaints, who act on their superiors’ on them. The Inhuman King resists further inquiries. demands for a quick and ruthless to the Old Ways Vistikos Left-Eye’s recent attempts to contact the Cosmic rebellion. They call themselves the Throne Hands. Dragon for needed clarifi cations have gone unanswered. As the Two Year Winter continues, dissension builds To fi ll the gap, the hierarchy seeks old draconic artefacts, within the Throne Hands group. The military leaders especially those with writing on them. They hope that among them, known as the War Dragons, advocate these will contain insights hastening the completion rule through terror and the display of devastating force. of the Great Dragon project. Adventurers who secure They currently enjoy the favour of the Guiding Council. them are generously rewarded. The wyrmfriends do not A second group, consisting mostly of administrators, personally quest for such items, in fear of offending the bureaucrats and trade offi cials, argues for inaction. dragonewts. If mercenaries unaffi liated with them burst Called the Above and Beyonds, this faction believes into and desecrate hidden dragonewt temples, the EWF that the rebels are mere vermin, who are best ignored. can hardly be blamed for that, can they? Effort spent combating them will attach the Empire to material falseness, when it should be speeding up its leap Politics into universal transcendence. Finally, a group called the The Original Twelve rule the Empire as detached Converters maintains that the leaders have a duty to and disinterested fi gures of authority. Completely go out and personally alleviate human suffering. This disinterested in governance, they spend their waking group arises from the Empire’s missionary arm, who days and sleepless nights in meditative contemplation, maintain the closest contact with the people. Their stance staring into the transcendent dragon heart. is unpopular, because of the toll it demands from the leaders. If they use their powers in the mundane world, 28 The Two Empires 29 ghting them ghting ghting again. Existing ghting again. Existing ght off enemy invasions and to conquer new and to conquer new enemy invasions ght off uence they have to protect the status quo. Money the status quo. Money to protect have uence they bridges built between cultures, generally support the generally support between cultures, bridges built stability. for its continued EWF and hope as a dire traditionalists Ways Old Most of them treat the trade caravans. raids often target insurgent Their threat. will break ung imperial provinces win, the far-fl If they again. Rebels of into constituent nations once away as allies may think of themselves incompatible cultures victory will set them to fi but now use what political Traders trade routes will crumble. infl if the Empire does not care even cares about the Empire, about it. War bands big and small to combat elds war The Empire fi fi insurgents, is primarily territories. Politically the military faction in the fanatically Dragons, who believe War made up of ruthless suppression of dissent. among the As their harsh measures feed a backlash the Clean Cutters, generation of warriors, people, a new application of armed for a more careful has arisen to argue ce ed the eld and local leaders. Lobby tribal leaders to abandon draconised cult trappings and return to the old ways. Lobby tribal leaders to abandon draconised against one another. EWF factions Set rival their mystical truth. that the wyrmfriends are perverting dragonewts Convince groups in other occupied lands. to insurgent Act as envoys groups. insurgent ght or subvert Find, fi factions. of rival Curb the power mounts. Protect supply trains as famine dragon secrets. Seek out undiscovered magic. Waltzing outlying peoples with Hunting and Convert How Do I Trade? opportunities for copious Friends provides Wyrm’s trading campaign set in the Empire of An overland either fi trade routes; suppressing banditry; dealing with insurgents, establishing new adventure: or striking deals for safe passage; transporting draconic artefacts; fi nding new food sources for a starving nding new fi or striking deals for safe passage; transporting draconic artefacts; local products which will fetch high prices heartland and getting those goods to hungry mouths; discovering in the Empire. elsewhere How Do I Scheme? Throne Hands or between within the between the three factions Political intrigue within the EWF plays out The Man to rebels sticking it scrappy Roleplayers typically prefer the role of and government. insurgents These groups can: occupier. that of oppressive over D D D D struggling to protect the Empire from its foes and from destructive Or groups can play dragonspeakers, can: They internal forces. D D D D D Lower down on the pyramid are the fi on the pyramid down Lower of the Guiding Council Merchants see the indifference care passionately about They to trade as a good thing. in those religion and magic and so interfere strongly ourishes without their careful realms of life. Commerce fl and on innovation who thrive Traders, management. are as potent a trap as hate and violence. a trap as hate and are as potent administrators. missionaries and include warriors, They sellers and transporters of importance of the makers, draconised local trader gods, most goods. Following build they importantly the Orlanthi deity Issaries, throughout the greater Empire. In commercial networks relationships between previously cement so doing, they disparate peoples. Though EWF leadership takes little interest in worldly little interest in worldly takes Though EWF leadership must still feed, clothe and equip matters, its people for the Great Dragon to rise. wait as they themselves has merely intensifi in Dragon Pass Famine Commerce even for a good cause, they become embroiled again in become embroiled for a good cause, they even sacrifi of altruism and The emotions reality. its false force. They ally with local tribal leaders, gather intelligence and seek to infi ltrate and suborn Old Ways groups. Some are more EWF Thunderer underhanded than virtuous. They stoke anger against traditionalists by committing atrocities in their name.
While the Empire used to restrict the use of mercenaries to mass-scale engagements in the outlands, they have lately come to rely on them as anti-insurgent forces. Paid foreigners are less likely to become double agents than supposedly draconised locals. Adventurers with a taste for blood will fi nd a lifetime of employment as contractors for the War Dragons.
The War Dragons evoke quaking terror on the battlefi eld, thanks to their draconic troops. In addition to fi elding platoons of dragonewts, they employ a variety of dinosaur shock troops. Crushers (brontosaurs) knock
The Two Empires down walls and topple towers. Thunderers (triceratops) stomp through enemy lines, goring soldiers on their sharpened horns. Renders (velociraptors), guided with precision by wyrm magic, leap into foes with bloody tooth and claw. Death kings (tyrannosaurs), screaming for mouthfuls of fl esh, take a huge bite out of enemy morale before they Notables even reach the frontlines. EWF forces dominate the sky, The Original Twelve, who interact not at all with the with wyrms, dream dragons and pterosaurs, piloted by common people, are now chiefl y known only as names. trollkin slaves. Chief among them is Vistikos Left-Eye, who once was known as a quick-witted, brilliant and restless man but is The EWF also fi elds a variety of beast man units, now an eerily contented shell of a man. His body remains including centaurs, durulz and tusk riders. but his consciousness has gone elsewhere. It is said that if he ever left his fortress at Dragon’s Eye, that the earth would transform itself under his feet, to a perfect representation of itself.
Who Do I Fight? The Chief of the Guiding Council is Arene Whisper- Enemies of the EWF include: God Learners; Old Way rebels (Pelorians, Orlanthi, Pentans); elfs, Hush, who was a lowly indentured sheep-herder when who object to their transformation of the land; the dragon eye awakened to her in 587. Famed for her Kralori, who oppose their perversion of draconic humility and the skill with which she uses it to silence mysticism; trolls, who used to rule Dragon Pass and intimidate others, she heads the Above and Beyond and want it back (though other uz may be EWF faction. She wants stability above all else and does not allies). care which faction delivers it.
Whether under the sun or illuminated by lanterns, Inganna Willowhair attracts light wherever she goes. 30 The Two Empires 31 Man of is the Dara Happan’s is the Dara Happan’s Karvanyar Karvanyar leads the insurgency in Fronela. He in Fronela. leads the insurgency of Hendrikiland has re-established open n n is a hearty, back-slapping leader, generous back-slapping leader, n is a hearty, I count no man dead until he is also torn limb from dead until he is also I count no man limb. — Varankol the Mangler Fogarth Fogarth Toothaxe Malkioni nobles exiled Wood, the leads his Knights of combat by Orlanthi guerrillas from schooled in hit and run for once famed Some say Fogarth, distant Hendrikiland. has become more barbaric than his poetry and erudition, his barbarian mentors. Friends are former dragon mystics Dijaar and his Five to their childhood traditions as Pentan returned who have Kargzant barbarians. Each has mustered a troop of fervent is as the Sun Scorcher, also known Dijaar, worshippers. for burning Dragon. He is infamous War as brutal as any captured enemies alive. The golden-haired hero shining hope. Claiming to be the son of the deposed shining hope. Claiming to be the son he has surrounded commoner, Emperor and the lowliest of fearsome network himself with an underground been Attempts to arrest him have followers. Yelmalio awaits a 10,000 gold piece reward repeatedly thwarted; who brings him to EWF justice, dead or adventurer any alive. King Androfi worship of an Orlanth shorn of draconic symbology. of an Orlanth shorn of draconic symbology. worship , a priestess of The earth magics of his wife Shordala Year Two his people fed despite the kept Ernalda, have The rebel king proclaims the chill as a gift from Winter. He also opposes the God Valind. frosty brother, Orlanth’s of the Clanking sent troops to the siege Learners, having Androfi City. with both gold and compliments. weirdest foe is the Perhaps the wyrmfriends’ A self-taught Stones, from the Pelorian hinterland. Five protects him as mystic of the wilderness, his nakedness enemies hear only When he speaks, his no armour could. that infuse friends hear exhortations where his growls, He is raising an army of power. them with Otherworldly wild men to attack the Empire. Tarkala Tarkala c suggests, conqueror of Pent and slayer of conqueror of Pent and senior offi cial among the Throne Hands. Throne Hands. cial among the senior offi n, whom he one day hopes to do the honour icts do not steal focus from the Empire’s true foes. true icts do not steal focus from the Empire’s The shadowy Old Ways insurgency continually throws continually throws insurgency Ways Old The shadowy the Empire. Some enemies to bedevil internal up new may be more rumour than reality. Enemies of the EWF heads a War Dragon band Dragon War the Mangler heads a Varankol dedicated to the destruction of the God Learners, whose wife and children. He leads the EWF his sorcerers slew While there he has of Zistorwal. contingent at the siege admiration for the rebel Orlanthi a perverse developed King Androfi As his honorifi of personally dismembering. ferocity. he attacks his opponents with savage , a Malkioni convert to the Dragon , a Malkioni convert Delecti the Inquirer to the as consultant on western affairs serves Way, to perfect he works A mighty sorcerer, Guiding Council. so that the his western magic in a draconised fashion, to the materialistic God Learners might be awakened led him to experiment These inquiries have great truth. He with sorcerous form alteration and hybridisation. perfect forms of life which will aims to create new, already fully come into being with mystical awareness and then perform West the These can convert attained. the Great nal rituals required to activate the mysterious fi Dragon. Though scarcely charismatic, she is a master of behind- Though scarcely charismatic, she is a master she hatched the-scenes manipulation. Rumour has it that from an egg. Hargrath Hargrath , Golden-Scale headed by is of government The real work she wearily and ink-stained administrator, A grey-faced so that internal tries to balance the three factions, confl She is the Guiding Council’s most eloquent Converter Converter most eloquent Guiding Council’s She is the among the resign to walk has threatened to and as such them them and returning them, nurturing people, healing to the true draconic path. Beast, heads the Guiding Council’s the Zistorite Shovel a Inganna, he is considering Like faction. Dragon War to routines of his meditative temporary abandonment In his case, this is role in EWF affairs. reassume an active capturing traditionalists, Ways Old the so he can destroy them to unprecedented their leaders and subjecting might be properly instructed. tortures, so that the masses , Wyrmsdottr MAJOR CULTURES
hether you want to play a passionate Orlanthi These cultural descriptions are written from the point barbarian, a logic-driven Malkioni sorcerer, of view of a so-called typical member of each culture. Wa haughty Dara Happan noble, or any other Attitudes may vary by locality or be infl uenced by the human character, this chapter is for you. Use these culture proximity of other faiths. For instance, a draconised write-ups to immerse yourself in your character’s myths, Orlanthi will tell many of the same stories as the baseline history, magic and reasons for adventure. Orlanthi narrator but will use them to illustrate the virtues of EWF mysticism. Remember that a person who adheres to all of the stereotypical qualities of his culture is just as much an oddball as the eccentric outsider. Most people fi t some Kraloreli of the traits commonly associated with their nations and We are the Kraloreli, heirs to a hundred thousand years of faiths, while departing from that standard image in other sublime tradition. We dwell in the Kingdom of Splendour. ways. Glorantha claims its full share of effete, urbanised For most of our history, we have isolated ourselves from Orlanthi, wildly emotional Malkioni spellcasters and outsiders, pursuing our perfection without looking to touchingly humble Dara Happan nobles. backward foreigners. Now we have been changed by the outside world, which has brought our ancient wisdom back to us, in a new form. Some of us have embraced Major Cultures it. Others – your humble correspondent among them Kraloreli – have fl ed in horror from this insane innovation, taking to the hills, to preserve our time-honoured traditions from outside taint. My Myths There is a time before our land existed but that is not interesting. There were entities that were bigger than gods but without inner understanding, for they were too simple to have an outside and an inside. They just were. Wild Man The fi rst of these entities changed when she developed pity. She was All Encompassing She of the Before, who the peasants call Empress Earth. She saw the mortal being called Wild Man roaming across the rocky face of her then-infertile earth. He had been created by the other gods, perhaps as a sort of jest, or as an ineffable expression of their collective nature. It does not matter.
Wild Man’s nature was to pair with whatever he saw. He mated with stone and metal, and made dwarfs. He mated with plants and foliage, and produced elfs. With animals, he made the hsunchen races. With sea monsters, he sired the undersea races. All of his couplings were unsuitable and brought him dissatisfaction and suffering. So Empress earth took pity on him and made the serene goddess Allgiver. 32 Major Cultures 33 rst ces The perfection of our civilisation was disrupted and all disrupted and all was The perfection of our civilisation of grotesque monsters from by the invasion destroyed but by the were heralded They the west and from the sea. the tides upon of death, which came like sudden arrival Thalurzni, the Emperor, away. did not fall the rocks but The Mystic Gods The Emperor a god, out of respect for made the First they Aptanance and Daruda. and appointed an heaven constructed Second they left the Then they Kaii, to rule it. Tanchun archexarch, understood men task of making human gods to him, as he better than they. the fi From his thoughts he made Han Majang, boons from the gods. to whom men petition for minister, From his need for sustenance he made Miyo, the farming created an goddess. From his sternness the archexarch of Hell. the archexarch inferior opposite, Udam Bagur, sentencing them to cleansing He judges the wicked, belief tells us that he is Folk torment performed by devils. sacrifi often burn susceptible to bribery and the living by their to him to lessen the course of misery suffered dead relatives. Foreign Monsters Invade Dragons the and the wise found learned of the dragons The people within themselves. of these celestial beings ections refl the Sea, , the Blue Dragon of Thrunhin Da There was she who as deep as the ocean. It was whose wisdom runs her serenity as a gift for the Rice Mother, Unyamor gave or wrathful, Thrunhin Da can be bountiful and cleverness. her. wisely one approaches depending on how called , the Night Dragon, also Smor-Eel Also there was held the nightmares that mirrored the Helldragon, who fears. people’s Azba Gar, the Earth Dragon, who And there was might that they perfected the hills around Kralorela, so a cosmic harmony. express more. But people had trouble Also there were many gods, who understanding them, so the dragons invented were more capable had dragon wisdom within them but that made sense to human in ways matters of expressing ears. All pre-Time mythologies display chronological All pre-Time mythologies display chronological This is variance from one account to the next. makes especially true of the Kralori mythos, which less effort to arrange itself into an over-arching central narrative than the equivalent cycles of Genertela. — Vanstigos Evermead, Tutor of Umathela So Shavaya sent out his clever daughter Unyamor, who daughter Unyamor, sent out his clever So Shavaya and she found a solution, in nding things, good at fi was the generous one, and she fed the the form of Rice Mother, forever. people. Prosperity reigned for what seemed like The fi rst Emperor who was not a god was Shavaya, Shavaya, not a god was rst Emperor who was The fi not until his ascension that It was Emperor of Splendour. plans were realised, for a mortal had always Apantance’s Immediately ruler. as the eventual been envisioned and felt what a god could not: that bureaucracy Shavaya inner dragons and calligraphy were all well and good, terrible suffered ordinary people needed food, or they but pangs. The Perfect Age The Aptanance saw this as another absence in his plan and this Aptanance saw of dragons and so Daruda came, bearing the knowledge Aptanance placed him on his empty their inner magic. Daruda for such a worthy. throne, which had been waiting so he could inscribe the secrets of calligraphy, invented that would draconic transformation for the Emperors come after him. While creating civilisation, Aptanance needed light Aptanance needed While creating civilisation, upon him, and shone down Metsyla came by. to work (the God Learners tell us the world brightly illuminating it but Yelm also be the foreign god that this entity must came from a foreign good ever cannot be so, for nothing lacked bright and true and clear but place). Metsyla was wisdom and inner searching. Allgiver tamed Wild Man. Their fi Aptanance rst child was Their fi Man. Wild tamed Allgiver – and soon came along after When other people the Sage. for them, as ready – he was many very there were very, for them to a perfect civilisation he had already created organised correctly Kralorela. It was This was interact in. from the imperial throne to the from top to bottom, craftsmen and peasantry. to the bureaucrats Aptanance the Sage Aptanance Return to Splendour The horrors ended when Voyabi arose from centuries of Ascended Gods contemplation under the tutelage of the Blue Dragon and During the Perfection Era, the lines between gods and mortals could be blurred. Especially evolved transformed himself into the War Dragon. He went to the individuals began as humans and ascended to Winter Heaven, where the gods and god-Emperors had heaven as deities. hidden themselves from Sekever. He shone new insight into the hearts of the gods, which had been infected by Thalurzni was one of these. His wife, Halisayan, Sekever’s furious despair. Released from inner bondage, is another. Her humility so impressed Thalurzni that he married her and gifted her with the Pill of they returned to fi ght: Immortality. She epitomises the good and dutiful woman. Mothers pray that their daughters will be Daruda brought true dragon wisdom back to the people. like her. Thalurzni drove the Gang of Four into the Kingdom of Her sister, Bodkartu, became Goddess of Secrets and Forbidden Lore. She protects her sister, which Ignorance, returning balance to the elements. is necessary, but employs alarming means (such as assassination, poisoning, disease and strangulation), Voyabi mustered armies, scoured Kralorela of Sekever’s so in normal times her worship must be tightly forces and entered into personal combat with the enemy, restricted. Her sinister adherents spearhead the secret dragon versus anti-dragon. The dragon won and then fi ght against the so-called Immanent Masters. ascended.
The Emperor Mikaday saw that Sekever had burned all created Calm Waiting Beyond Light and Waters, a place the law books and rewrote them from memory. Mikaday Major Cultures for the dead, where they would wait until his demise. It ascended, making way for Vashanti, whose practical was fi rst called Winter Heaven, for only the leaderless wisdom matched Mikaday’s theoretical weight. confused souls were there. Then he would guide them into the beyond. He waged war to expand the imperial The Emperor Vashanti completed their victory by boundaries and fi lled this afterlife with loyal soldiers. weaving together the broken elements of governance. When he completed the last of the banners necessary Thalurzni battled the quartet of monsters remembered as to proclaim the return of splendour, Metsyla returned to the Gang of Four: the Shadow Eater, the Earth Eater, the the sky. Vashanti ascended. What the foreign devils call Star Permutator and the Secret Waters. They slew him history began. and he ascended to the Winter Heaven, taking the fi rst crop of dead souls with him. My History The fi rst and only rightful Emperor of post-Time Kralorela He was replaced as Emperor by Vayobi, whose origins is Yanoor, whose inner light shines from his throne like were humble. Not long after his triumphant investiture a mirror refl ecting Metsyla. He rules at the dawn, wisely came the worst of all invaders, Sekever the Anti-Dragon. putting into practice the precepts of society laid down by She was beautiful and serene and did not seem like a Mikaday and Vashanti. A new Age of Splendour begins. monster at fi rst, until she devoured the sun, striking So successful is Yanoor’s early reign that historians are Metsyla from the sky. Then she overthrew Vayobi and left with little to write about. No greater tribute can be took the throne for herself. paid to a leader than to say that the Kralori are dull and contented. A hundred spiritual schools fl ourish, each The Perfect Time ended and the Worst Time began. Its seeking draconic transcendence in its own way. horrors are best not dwelt upon. But this is when order was upended, rice stole nourishment from those that ate it In 350, Yanoor’s state of meditation on the Dragon’s Eye and anyone who wrote in the accepted way burned from reaches such a state of sublime insight that the sun halts the inside out. And it continued for a very long time. in the sky, waiting for his conclusion. Foreigners say this had something to do with the creation of a barbarian devil-god but naturally this is nonsense. 34 Major Cultures 35 rst against the lment through the deceptively quick lment through the deceptively Contemplate carefully before acting. Contemplate of all foreign thought. value the Deny as barbarians or foreign Refer to outlanders if they are barbarians, even All of them devils. than yours. come from cities larger Speak in poetic aphorisms. Defer to rightful authority. respect from respect to elders; expect Give juniors. tradition is challenged React with dismay when or altered. if at all. indirectly, Refer to dismaying events How To Play A Kraloreli How To Play D D D D D D D D mercenary marauder from the municipal palace. Dark mercenary marauder from the municipal western masters allow intrigues by the accursed one’s Tsai earns its grim the ogre to remain in place. Chang nickname as Cannibal City. years ago, in the Fire Season of 906, a string of Two foreign poison murders fells nearly a dozen of ShangHsa’s conspirators. He announces reprisals, fi and later against presumed killers, the Bodkartu Society, and monasteries all sages who oppose him. He invades All books and libraries throughout the kingdom. private dragon path ancient, recording any scrolls, no matter how The outrages are piled up and burned. other than his own, continue… My Life My in Kralorela An outsider might think that little has changed Kingdom of ee to the since superior men were forced to fl lines our land can see the fault who know We Ignorance. a destroy cracks which mar and will eventually form, like beauty. of sublime vase understood that individualism When we ruled, everyone was is an empty and dangerous creed. Social harmony illusion. lment, a disruptive blessed; personal fulfi length. Leaders sought to were held at arm’s Foreigners nement, manners and subtlety. establish their refi of Immanent Mastery preaches base, the School Now fulfi outward Spiritually untrained attainment of magical power. do they ush with draconic powers fl men and women, The humble ght for personal glory. not understand, fi Riots break out at the slightest become avaricious. have to high position by Persons are elevated provocation. ght its growth but are but ght its growth rst whisperings of a dangerous new rst whisperings of a dangerous new ltration unmolested. ltration In 862, a God Learner ally, the Ogre King, uses his Legion the Ogre King, uses his Legion In 862, a God Learner ally, Tsai. of Red Bones to conquer the metropolis of Chang this ShangHsa initially objects and sends forces to expel The cult rapidly spreads. Followers of the Mikaday school, The cult rapidly spreads. Followers fi then the dread Bodkartu Society, ShangHsa marches on the forbidden palace in 768 and Thousands of good people commit Yanoor. murders cials of his The offi their distress. suicide to express ee to the benighted Kingdom of fl beheaded government years Emperor two Ignorance. ShangHsa becomes false later. cult circulate through the southern part of our land. The our land. cult circulate through the southern part of contact with the to achieve Darudic monk ShangHsa fails whisperings Cosmic Dragon, distracted by the frenzied Cham Dao of the masses. So, aided by the foreign devil unspeakable tongue) (called Gillam D’estau in his own wrong course of dragon mysticism he designs a new, Its to master. quick progression from novice allowing features of dragons but practitioners assume the outward progress. cripple their true spiritual irreversibly The common man loses his bearings and overwhelmed. seeks easy dragon transcendence. By 766 the Immanent ghters near the armies of draconised fi Masters deploy Ming. Hua and Sha Wah cities of From 739 to 741, they come each spring to bombard From 739 to 741, they their humming ships. re from our coasts with green fi a banner refuting their Six responds by writing Yanoor of celebration are held to note Festivals Effronteries. outposts continue their The God Learner this triumph. infi In the year 762 the fi From 727 onwards we are subjected to the depredations From 727 onwards call They One God Believers. of the foul-smelling freebooters invading their the God Learners but themselves by low even is godly, traders do little that and exploitative set up coastal outposts in They dogs. standards of foreign settlements are time their Every our land, as if it is theirs. back in greater come forces, they by imperial destroyed magics. numbers, with stronger The next four centuries are occasionally marred by occasionally marred four centuries are The next always Yanoor disturbances, which and civil invasions of force precise degree serenity and only the settles with Vormain These include periodic incursions from required. and Teshnos. caprice or on the demonstration of new dragon powers. Orlanthi They vie with one another to show who among them is the greediest, mightiest and most brutal. I am of the Storm Tribe. I follow Orlanth, God of Kings. He is the storm who shelters me from foes, striking them The Empire still has 15 provinces, whose institutions are down with electric bolts from a blackened sky. I follow still ruled over by offi cials called Xia Ko, or exarchs. True Ernalda, Queen of the Earth. She fattens our cattle, exarchs have spiritually progressed to dragon status but strengthens our grain and makes our children grow up rarely manifest as such, as it retards their transcendence. strong and bold. ShangHsa’s so-called exarchs are his false dragon masters, who parade around in their reptilian hides. Some We fi ght as Orlanth did, against sterile authority, against are, unbelievable as it is, foul foreigners! the forces of Chaos, against those who would steal our freedom. We delight in the stories of his victories. Yet it A well-ordered society maintains itself as follows. is in the tales of his failures, his overreaching, that the Exarchs guide the wisdom of mandarins, the sages of true measure of a man is found. Anybody can win all the peace who rise to administer public offi ces by passing time. Greatness is tested when you act foolishly and ruin the ancient exams handed down by Daruda himself. things, and then must make matters right. Martial artists, the sages of confl ict, protect us from our enemies. Patricians own land or large urban businesses My Myths but are too unwise to rule. Beneath them are the peasants Creation: Orlanth was not the fi rst god. There were many and workers, and then the soldiers who man our army. At others before him. First came the goddess Glorantha. the lowest level are delinquents. Anyone else is outside She birthed other gods, who are big and distant. These the system, from the beast men of the hills, to devils, to early, rigid gods made up the Celestial Court. Then came Major Cultures foreigners. another generation of gods, including Yelm the Emperor. The distant gods made a range of perfect plants, animals Now Immanent Masters pose as exarchs, anybody can and people. The Young Gods made copies of them and be anything, all as ShangHsa and his dog Cham Dao they populated the world we know. The fi rst person like decree. us was Grandfather Mortal. Orlanth didn’t make him, either. He didn’t exist yet. My Magic Our magic is mystical. It comes from long contemplation Umath, Father of Orlanth: Into the peaceful but of the true dragon secrets. Inner transformation begets stifl ing world came Umath, the fi rst storm, his entrance outer transmutation. Those of greatest accomplishment announced by thunder and hailstorms. He went to pay are least likely to show base outward manifestations, as respects to Emperor Yelm, who dismissed him like he these tie them to the falseness of the world. Immanent was nothing, because he did not fi t the rules they had Mastery falls into precisely this trap. It is mysticism back then. So Umath seized divine territory for himself practiced with the impatience and materialism of a foreign and jealous Yelm did not like this. When he invented the devil. All other magic is foreign and thus unworthy of laws of hospitality, which we still use today, Yelm said contemplation. his rules bound kings as well as men and were therefore out of order. Even when Umath saved the gods from Why I Adventure A wise man does not adventure. A good servant of Kralorela may selfl essly struggle to defeat enemies or The brothers of Orlanth were Kolat the Big Wind, gain wealth or information of benefi t to all of society. Urox the Hot Bull Wind, Vadrus the Violent Wind Troublemakers and rebels use their abilities for personal and Humakt, who later wielded the sword called aggrandisement, seeking status in the world of martial Death, making it part of his nature. arts. — Enlirath Gasting, God Talker of the Brown Deer Clan
36 Major Cultures 37 gods of Chaos, especially ght against the corrupt Eurmal, who can be useful but always in a troublesome in a always can be useful but Eurmal, who Death and when thing called a new was sword This way. then the sun And died. Yelm with it, Yelm Orlanth struck went out. good this time was Age: As the name suggests, The Storm and stormy. grey The skies were always for our people. Elmal, a lit by was sky the Yelm, Instead of imperious who pledged Tribe Fire hero from the Emperor’s brave At this time Orlanth and to Orlanth. unbounded loyalty big adventures. of his tribe had many the other heroic gods the Aroka, ending a drought by pulling a dragon, He slew of from its gullet. He tussled with gods rain god, Heler, And gods to troll gods. to dwarf all kinds, from elf gods against all of them. of course he won Orlanth rescued the beautiful Ernalda Most importantly, imprisoned. been palace, where she’d from the Emperor’s was Yelm place before it takes this sounds like Yes, then, allowing did not exist Time slain. Remember that about this. It worry Don’t the stories to jumble together. without getting means that each story tells the right lesson This is the difference by unneeded detail. sidetracked at the tell down between a myth and an ordinary tale you ale-house. tasks. him many Ernalda tested Orlanth, giving Anyway, had to learn her most of all he He passed them all but an option’. is always ‘Violence lesson. His lesson was: these Together another way’. ‘There is always Hers was: life. Peace and war big rules of Orlanthi up the two make and each is only used when it should in harmony exist be. Orlanth learned to make Armed with this knowledge, And he and Ernalda made babies, starting with justice. god of farmers. Barntar, Age gave the Storm day, Darkness: One awful The Great the Great Darkness. Orlanth Age of Horror, to the way led the fi beaten, never though he was Even the Devil. Wakboth killed Ernalda, They everything. destroyed slowly they and the grain goddesses, and the animal and Barntar, nearly died. The world starved. mothers. Everybody not stand, so Quest: This would The Lightbringer’s to bring Ernalda back. Orlanth entered the Underworld thanes, to help him He accepted gifts from his surviving him weapons and on his quest. Heler the rain god gave ght nally fell. nally Orlanthi The fi nal contest was of weapons and now Orlanth was Orlanth was of weapons and now nal contest was The fi from the crazy trickster, he accepted a sword So angry. destruction by the fi rst enemies, the Predark Demons, destruction by the fi Umath fought the enemies until turned up his nose. Yelm and fi tired and wounded, he was his position Orlanth wanted Yelm: Orlanth Challenges and Yelm and so went to hero would recognised, as any danced, They challenged him to a series of contests. Yelm performed magic, and played music. Each time did the old boring thing, as his rules required. Orlanth each time. He did a war- fresh and innovative was the magic of change and played on a whoop, unveiled things and The old gods hated these new instrument. new each time. Yelm the challenge to blindly awarded Umath’s fi ve sons took over the fi sons took over ve fi Umath’s Orlanth the Hero: Orlanth. of these was The youngest and cleverest for him. and Orlanth won, they them but Other gods attacked the them into a ring, like made them stronger by forging ring of elders that runs our tribes today. the decisive one called I Fought We Won, fought near Dragon Pass. All the cultures tell the story of the world’s plunge into darkness and say it was their own gods who Our people took part in the First Council. We were called finally brought an end to it. This is the monomyth. the Theyalans then. We took the lessons Orlanth had When we God Learners merge it into just one given us and went out into the world looking for people story, all the might of the Otherworld will be harnessed. still suffering the effects of the Darkness. We taught them the skills they’d lost. They learned to plant and to raise —Vanstigos Evermead, Tutor of Umathela herds. Also we told them of our Orlanth stories and these were embraced. The weak gods who’d failed to help them were discarded.
armour. Elmal the Loyal Sun gave him a fi ery mirrored shield, to light his way. Mastakos the speeding god gave Traditionalist Orlanthi hate us God Learners, but him a chariot. in the Dawn Age no one did more to spread the monomyth than their missionaries. He journeyed for a long time. He met friends, like Lhankor Mhy the Knowing God and his friendly rival, Issaries, the —Vanstigos Evermead, Tutor of Umathela silver-tongued Talking God. He fought many terrible foes along the way. More allies joined him: Chalana Arroy, the healer and Flesh Man, a mortal who’d been driven mad by all the death he’d seen. When they found Eurmal Orlanthi have always taken risks and created new things. Major Cultures the trickster in trouble, Flesh Man begged Orlanth to So, to our shame, many of us participated in the creation save him, which he did, reluctantly. This turned the tide, of the riddling god, Nysalor, who turned out to be Gbaji, because the trickster could lead them where they needed a Chaos god in disguise. So then the Orlanthi who hadn’t to go. Finally they met Ginna Jar, and if you know who been driven mad by his strange worship rose up and she is, you are privy to an eternal mystery and shouldn’t fought him. tell the God Learners about it. Arkat, the hero who destroyed Gbaji, was an Orlanthi, They journeyed across the world, where the sorcerers too, sort of. He accumulated power by joining one cult, and immortals were, and then descended into the land then another, changing his identity each time. He was of the dead. They wandered for a long time there, until like the God Learners in that way and it is no surprise unreliable Eurmal guided them to the Hall of the Dead, that their blasphemous raiding of the divine realms is where Ernalda and Humakt and Barntar and all the others based on his secrets. As wrong as he was, he was for were. There was Yelm, also. And Orlanth saw what he some time a follower of Orlanth’s brother, Humakt. Also had to do. He had to atone for what he had done and save he was helped considerably by a great hero of our people, the Bright Emperor, too. They tested each other again and a man named Harmast, who was the fi rst to complete the fi nally were reconciled. entire Lightbringer’s Journey as a HeroQuest. As such we can take credit for the destruction of Gbaji, whenever the Their new cooperation spawned the last rightful god ever time for a boasting contest comes. to be born, Arachne Solara, the spider. She wove a net, which was the Great Compromise. It started Time and Again our love of innovation proved our undoing in the separated gods from mortals. Second Age, when good people were beguiled by the dragon and worshipped an imaginary god called Orlanth The Great Darkness was ended. Orlanth saved the the Dragon. Those who spoke up were killed or driven world. off.
My History We will bring down both the God Learners, who loot Orlanthi took an important role in the unity battles our myths like we raid each other’s cattle and the that drove off Chaos when the world began, including wyrmtalkers, who think that you can worship anything, 38 Major Cultures 39 prosperity, valuing a full belly above all else. These are all else. a full belly above valuing prosperity, success seeks by warriors clans. One staffed called peace clans. as war and are known and conquest through tribute ground. If a ring includes a Most clans seek a middle trickster god, Eurmal, count of the crazy outlaw follower potent and unpredictable. on its magic to be both and power gods, we gain knowledge Though we worship the The most important is our clan spirit, from spirits, too. when our ancestors and gain magic revere also We wyter. did, back when the as they we honour them by behaving clans therefore this reason older For founded. clan was than magic, including folk magic, more powerful have ones. newer dozen several Each clan is made up of a half dozen to In most bloodlines, households of close blood relatives. single-room houses together in large live places they called steads. for mutual A tribe is a group of clans gathered together leaders are called kings, Tribal prosperity and protection. settle disputes They and are advised by tribal rings. a moot. Clans between clans in a judicial process called against each other — not go to war of the same tribe don’t to break up the tribe. want unless they or crazy When Orlanthi are not battling foreigners fortify our lands We ght each other. oppressors, we fi to raids and arm ourselves against our neighbours’ Raiding for cattle is not conduct raids of our own. of life. Orlanth it is a normal way considered warfare; ordains that clans a king and a thief before he was was to lose them to who cannot protect their cattle deserve bolder neighbours. cleverer, eld is called its fyrd. a clan can fi The number of warriors not just its This includes all able-bodied individuals, priests. great heroes and war can break out between clans, usually as a Serious wars If a person a people of honour. are We result of feuds. injuries to go unchallenged, he shames insults or allows Though it is possible to too. his family not only himself but peace and lay feuds to rest, often with the payment make them with Orlanth’s of us prefer to solve of gifts, many go out and do harm to the We tool, violence. favoured This one who wronged us, or one of his bloodline or clan. can escalate, because these acts of redress are themselves duty to remind men subject to reprisal. It is a woman’s ed hostile king Magasta, , god of evil and Thed, goddess Ragnaglar, god of evil , known to the Orlanthi as the God to the Zorak Zoran, known Orlanthi recognise the existence of gods other than of gods the existence Orlanthi recognise them are not deluded, follow Those who their own. beliefs about the may harbour false though they the pre-Time t into fi they gods and how Tribe Storm really happened. Certain Orlanthi stories as they from other pantheons: gods are considered defectors and Heler from the Tribe Fire Elmal came from the Tribe. Water other cultures appear in Orlanthi The gods of many of the adversaries often as enemies or mythology, include: the uz warrior They Storm King himself. god of Hate; the elf mother spirit Aldyra, personifi god, as a primal forest goddess; Dayzatar, the sky Lodril, the consuming Tribe; high priest of the Fire Tribe; god of the Fire volcano Foreign Gods of rape. . god, Telmor the werewolf and Tribe Water of the c to Orlanthi mythology. Other enemy gods are specifi These include Daga, god of drought, as well as the of malign deities: Mallia, goddess of Trio Unholy disease, You can tell much about a clan from the nature of its ring. can tell much about You lled with priestesses of grain and cattle seeks A ring fi We organise ourselves into bloodlines, then clans, then into bloodlines, ourselves organise We tribes, then kingdoms. Of these associations the most pieces important is the clan. Clans control their own by chiefs, who may be are governed They of territory. male or female. Each chief appoints a ring, a council chosen Wisely advice. who provide worthies of seven of the various rings are balanced between worshippers on life’s Orlanthi deities, so that their counsel draws spheres. many Traditional Orlanthi life occurs in good grazing land, Orlanthi Traditional herd We too. where it is possible to do a little planting, raise horses and consider them a We cattle and sheep. varieties grains, the exact harvest We precious commodity. are best Wheat and barley depending on local conditions. to settle for wilder grasses. in some places we have but supplement our larders with game and forage. We My Life My even a crawling snake, so long as you call it Orlanth. We We so long as you call it Orlanth. snake, a crawling even are a people We things. new are not just people who make ght for what is right. who fi I am here in the city, making my way as a petty adventurer, because I fled my clan, to avoid a An Orlanthi Tula feud. I brought dishonour on myself but no one cares about that here. And back home, my friends are still alive.
— Tarnvarth Fleetfoot, Freebooter of Lustria
of their honour and to encourage the shedding of blood for it.
Unlike other people, like the arrogant Dara Happans, we know that men and women are equally important. Men fi ght and women egg them on. Women attend to the fertility of the land and the safety of children and men protect them. We allow people to make exceptions for themselves. If a man wants to devote himself to fertility magic, he can do it. He worships Nandan, the housekeeper god. Women drawn to the sword and spear devote themselves to the Major Cultures martial goddesses. These include Vinga, Orlanth’s red- headed daughter; Maran Gor, mother of earthquakes and the dread axe avenger Babeester Gor.
The Imperial Age is a time of travels and of prosperous cities. Many of our brothers have left their clan lands to live in those cities or traverse the world in search of the hated Blue Deer clan, than to trust a foreign sorcerer fortune and trouble. or dragon mystic. In the towns we must restrain our sense of honour. Foreigners cannot take away our honour, City Orlanthi still value their clans. Assuming they have because they have none of their own. So while you can not been outlawed, they return to their ancestral lands threaten to strike them with your sword, which is often a when they can. Most go at Sacred Time, to participate in satisfying thing to do, such actions occur by choice, not ceremonies and renew their ancestral connections. obligation.
All of us hold generosity as a cardinal virtue. City After generations in the city, ties to the old clans may Orlanthi show their generosity by bringing home gifts of fade. Cityfolk of the same tribe associate together in silver and trade goods. Their welcoming brothers cannot organisations called far-halls. Each maintains a drinking be outdone and shower them with food, ale and the other signs of hospitality, even when they cannot afford it.
In the hill country, the word of chief and ring governs the At the Adyrli far-hall, I met my great friend Baravalos, who can drain a keg before another behaviour of individuals. They maintain little practical man can tap it. He has promised to introduce me infl uence over their citifi ed brethren. A city Orlanthi to his daughter, for it is about time I wed. If I am must answer to the local authorities, who may also be lucky, the girl resembles her mother. of the Storm Faith, but it is not the same. They must fi nd their own way, like Orlanth did when he was free and — Tarnvarth Fleetfoot, Freebooter of Lustria journeying. Old clan rivalries fall away in the city. It is better to embrace a fellow Orlanthi, even if he hails from 40 Major Cultures 41 Draconised Orlanthi extreme Draconised Orlanthi will tell you that the feel distrust and loathing their traditional brothers The EWF does for them is entirely misplaced. adds not stop you from being Orlanthi. It merely belief. Draconised to pre-existing revelations new from Orlanth, their powers Orlanthi still derive theist Ernalda and all the rest, in the old-fashioned — just with tell the same myths even They way. hidden dragon elements pointed the previously Orlanth out. It is simply a matter of interpretation. dragon ections of the universal and Ernalda are refl can complete its to us so they their power and give brings you earthly representation. Mystic revelation are part of the closer to your gods, because they you to access not only the And that allows dragon. their esoteric granted by the gods but powers overt draconic gifts, too. normally one would It is certainly true that the power to the ancestors or clan wyter is instead gifted give There is no shame in this, the to the Great Project. of Orlanth the Good followers wyrmfriends say. to the Dragon understand the need to donate energy a mystic is nothing but worship project. Old-way that power shly keeps It selfi form of tax evasion. it to the should go to the Great Dragon, diverting wyter and ancestors. which is scarcely And that is the only real difference, all this fuss and rebellion. Or so the dragon worth Orlanthi say. We get a little bit of magic from spirits, especially bit of magic from get a little We use to is not much clan, but ts a that benefi folk magic on their draw Clans or adventurers. warriors individual Also, one of Orlanth’s ancestors. wyter spirits and their An Orlanthi spirits. is master of wind brothers, Kolat, is a shaman, not a priest. his path who walks that not will tell you Wizards evil. Sorcery is very the Learners, who seek to cut off all of them are God believe us and our deities. Don’t connections between all of them than to be fooled by them. Better to distrust a single one. he Age Orlanthi about mysticism, a Dawn If you asked what you were shrug his shoulders and wonder would and to hate this word learned we have talking about. Now the wyrmfriends use because it is what all it stands for, Gbaji, the Chaos our worship. to suppress and pervert It is the universal Orlanthi dread of Sorcery, Orlanthi dread It is the universal propensity for than his innate more so even forever as a superstitious violence, that marks him primitive. Dean of Pythos — Spolorfal the Arranger, University Our truly powerful magics are divine, gained in the theist magics are divine, Our truly powerful way. My Magic My it as know We can practice Rune Magic. we anyone, Like who says otherwise is just Anyone a gift from Orlanth. for gain it by going out and raiding You fooling himself. it, so it must be from him. Adventurers like Orlanthi gods because they were Orlanthi gods because they like Adventurers useful to and therefore grant powers wayfarers It is not mercenaries, freebooters and fortune seekers. insincere to join us for these reasons. It means that thunder beats in your chest, and that your feet are as restless as those of our god. Orlanth has always brought in strays and exiles and, when exiles brought in strays and Orlanth has always them full status in his tribe. given their value, proved they Elmal was Tribe. Water Heler brought the rain from the Ernalda Even Tribe. once a member of the enemy Fire this reason of another people, that of the Earth. For was accepted. Orlanth and Ernalda are always to converts their path may ancestors to lend them magic, Without made it up as But Orlanth himself always cult. be diffi to have he went along and for us it is more important old a list of musty the storm in your heart than to follow to be careful that a have These days, though, you rules. before sharing your rituals and secrets. is sincere convert to swindle He might just be a God Learner agent trying Orlanthi have We obscure myths. you out of your clan’s – we call it stupidity. for ‘blind faith’ another word house, often reminiscent of a homeland clan hall. house, often reminiscent help each other out with business Members of a far-hall most importantly, magic and, connections, knowledge, worthwhile, comradeship. None of these gifts, however by a chief and ring substitutes for the guidance provided ancestors. or the soulful feeling of solidarity with one’s god that walked the earth and called itself Nysalor, also had suspiciously mystical qualities. Mystics of other traditions may be acceptable but why risk contaminating Simple people must understand this story in a simple way. To them, I say: ‘God made the world. yourself? God made you. Obey God. I will tell you how’.
Why I Adventure — Brother Aran, Monk of Pombric Orlanthi went out into the world to take what riches awaited him, so we do it, too. Treasure is a good thing, especially when it benefi ts the community. The same holds true for magical abilities. Many of his Storm Tribe God into a new state of being. God became Malkion, an companions also went out to face the dangers of the world, entity mortals can perceive and relate to. During the First making it a better place. So by hitting the adventurer’s Action, He was Malkion the Creator. trail, we emulate the divine actions of our gods. Then He had to transform himself again, to give shape and regularity to His creation. So He became Malkion Malkioni the Law. We Malkioni worship the Invisible God. All other gods are false. We believe in logic and scholarship; these are the Malkion the Law made space, to contain the world. Then tools he gave us to make our way in a hostile world. The He placed necessary limits on it, writing the physical false gods hook their benighted followers on improper rules that make life consistent from one day to the worship by doling out spells and charms. The Invisible next. Thanks to these rules, water is always wet, air is God is not so vulgar. With the discipline of logic, we can consistently breathable, and objects fall down, not in a Major Cultures fi gure out magic for ourselves. By applying its precepts, random direction, when we drop them. He made lifeless along with the divine principles outlined in the Abiding matter into useful shapes. He took formless energy and Book, we can govern all aspects of our daily lives in the transformed it into the animating principles behind correct and holy manner. existence. My Myths The Second Action: Manifestation and Through recent scholarship we have refi ned our Perception knowledge of prehistory, breaking it into the following By mixing His pure thought form with shapes and eras. principles, Malkion remade himself again, into Malkion the Seer. He left his Palace of Intellect, perceiving the world, altering it through his perceptions. Thus were I object most strenuously to the categorisation of the abstract shapes, principles and runes translated into Malkion’s sacred narrative as ‘myth’. Pagans have concrete forms. First He made the elements: Earth, myths. We have only truths. then the Sun, then Water and Air. His thoughts became the Power Runes: Harmony, Disorder, Fertility, Death, — Ombast Slope-Treader, Pedant of New Frowal Stasis, Movement, Truth and Illusion. His presence became the Form Runes: Plant, Beast, Man and Spirit (later Form Runes were a corruption of His original, like Chaos, or are not really Form Runes at all, like the foolish The First Action: Creation Dragonewt rune). The Invisible God is everything and has always existed. Before there was logic, or anything that we mortals could The Third Action: Multiplication and understand, the Invisible God existed in an ineffable state Identification of One Mind. When One Mind perceived everything, The Forms and Powers mixed. Beasts and plants appeared everything came into being. Thus occurred the act of and fl ourished. The original animal was a unicorn; the Primal Creation that began the world as we know it. primal plant was a tree with roots spreading invisibly The act of creating everything transformed the Invisible throughout the world, in emulation of the breath of God. 42 Major Cultures 43 nding out what it was. Rediscovery of this Rediscovery nding out what it was. Malkioni revelations and reformed themselves as he demanded. and reformed themselves revelations story of this glorious day. Each culture retains its own mired in The bad, ignorant and wilful peoples remained god worship. false prophet were Those who accepted Malkion as their his peoples into He divided his holy social order. given This period is the same commoners, soldiers and leaders. The land of the Age recognised by theists. as the Golden Age is called Danmalastan. Malkioni Golden Then a Great Error arose among the people who so bad that we are no longer Malkion. It was worshipped been an act of physical It may have sure what it was. of thinking. Our scholars are sh way immorality or a selfi fi hard at work of God essential truth will doubtless increase the potency Learner magic. led to the it was, whatever rate, the Great Error, At any disastrous era. next, rst of rst the runes. These rebels became the fi the runes. rst everyone was a Malkioni. But some a Malkioni. But some was rst everyone No treasure is more avidly sought by God No treasure is more avidly sought by would Learners than Zzabur’s Bronze Book. We give anything for just one page of it. It is probably in Brithos; our desire for it inspired our ill-fated to invasion against that island. It is important a vile distinguish it from Zzabur’s Blue Book, tome inscribed on the skins of his enemies. — Spolorfal the Arranger, Dean of Pythos University Malkion went to each of these peoples to inform them The good peoples welcomed his new of the truth. Reason changed everything, making the world more making the world Reason changed everything, They from one another. complicated. Peoples split off Them. Elder races became into Us and themselves divided Action distinct from ordinary humans. It is in the Fourth to form. era that the cultures we recognise today began Malkion could no longer stand still as the false gods the false Malkion could no longer stand still as So He deluded good people with fraudulent worship. called the Castle of Logic, and in so left his refuge, now of understanding the way Reason, a new doing invented the gods of their use this to convince He would world. and bring them back to honour him. falsity The Fourth Action: Duplication and Fourth Action: Duplication The Preservation The First People were created. These were the original These were People were created. The First At Malkioni. fi used Malkion’s They content or worshipful. were not seizing the runes for themselves. way, logic in a perverted created the runes. Later they only claimed they First they were said they many False Gods. They built their own home in imitation their own built They Gods. False many went with them. Most palace. Some people of Malkion’s little about worrying properly, Malkion stayed to worship to Malkion but Gods. One who remained true the False the sorcerer Zzabur the mighty was fought their power and wrote their secrets in a bronze Sage. He studied them book. Zzabur established the Kingdom of Logic, to protect his established the Kingdom of Logic, Zzabur All that Gods. from contamination by the False followers where Zzabur remains of it today is the island of Brithos, slumbers in his tower. The Fifth Action Era: Decay and Doom Vadel was so horrified by the sight of Malkion’s death that As the effects of the Error radiated through Danmalastan, he went mad and turned to torture and evil. Zzabur was life grew increasingly worse for the good people. They shameless. He picked up Malkion’s mantle and wore it, were attacked by their foes. False gods fought each other, saying that His death was right and necessary. Malkion had but also invaded Danmalastan. Devils were born, and to die, so that Death could come into the world, allowing the haunted the land. completion of creation.
To prove He was the only god, Malkion did what no false The death of Malkion brought on the Great Darkness. Zzabur, god could do. He made himself a man. He walked among his murderer, led the fight for Danmalastan. He fought false the people, healing and giving guidance and providing gods. He fought against other Malkioni, who split off from concrete proof of his superior divinity. At this time he each other and blamed each other for Old Malkion’s murder. was called Old Malkion, or Malkion the Man. Mad Vadel turned his people to organised depravity. Floods buffeted Danmalastan. The grinding glacier Valind came from the north to crush it. The miracles of Old Malkion were many. He misled enemies with the Hollow Stone, drowned Zzabur proved the supremacy of Sorcery over divine unbelievers in the Emerald Lake, told the Roaring power. He humbled gods, beating them in tests and battles. Bridge to cast off pursuing lion men and sliced his He motivated the supporters of the sun god, Ehilm, to tormentors in the River of Blades. slay their own master. The world got darker then but this was a necessary step to bring about an eventual return to — Brother Aran, Monk of Pombric light. Zzabur destroyed the Devil and exiled the wind god, Worlath, to the Ultimate Resting Place. He sank the lands of Major Cultures Vadel’s depraved people. Then Malkion was murdered. There are many stories explaining how. The version in the most reliable source, Finally he ended what he started, atoning in part for his the Abiding Book is maddeningly cryptic, saying only that careless murder of Old Malkion. He gathered with all the he was torn apart by enemy gods, including Zzabur. We world’s puissant sorcerers to work a ritual of unprecedented Jrusteli scholars have concluded that the more detailed scope. Even practitioners of other magics, from cultures that truth is as follows: were usually enemies, contributed support from afar. This ritual ended the Ice Age, bringing a Tamed Sun back to the Old Malkion was killed not by the purposeful actions of his sky. Thus the Dawn Age began. foes but an unforgivable transgression on the part of his friends. His followers Vadel and Zzabur travelled with him My History one day, urging him to settle an argument. Vadel said that At the Dawn, worship of Malkion is still not right. The the false gods existed to serve the good people and should Brithini, led by Zzabur, insist on a sterile, uncompromising have their energies extracted from them. Zzabur said that worship which exists mainly to extract obedience from only his methods for extracting obedience from the false people. ‘All men must stay in their places’ is the chief gods could be deemed theologically correct and that all rule of Zzaburism. Most everybody else has fallen into others would lead inevitably to corruption. The two proud the sin of henotheism. demigods could not constrain their dispute and rather than wait for fragile Old Malkion to tell them what was true, they fought. Vadeli used energies he’d tapped from the Henotheists recognise the Invisible God as gods, while Zzabur summoned several of their number to the ultimate divinity but treat false gods as His wage his battle for him. Zzabur tossed a stray bolt of Blue intermediaries, drawing Divine Magic from them. Perdition, which struck Malkion the Man, wounding him. They must be pitied but also firmly suppressed, The other enemy gods seized their opportunity and broke for the good of all. away from Zzabur, tearing Malkion to pieces. — Brother Aran, Monk of Pombric
44 Major Cultures 45 rst a liated with school Ekozite Barmalan school practice combat school derives its power from its power Furlandan school derives , who work Sorcery through Zendamalthans, who work of power, stopping Ehilm the Sun God in the sky. This in the sky. the Sun God stopping Ehilm of power, But not long afterwards, the pagans. cows seemingly Gbaji, to wreak vengeance. a chaotic god, create they Arkat, at fi to Gbajism. converts West Much of the damns later ghts the Gbaji heresies, but good Malkioni, fi trollishness. and even to paganism himself by converting interesting and are experiments Still, his HeroQuesting in a holier manner. emulating, albeit worth The Abiding Book Abiding The is a hotbed of sectarian dispute. In the late 640s, Jrustela of Prince Hrestol at the beginning Since the revelations faiths, Age, a multiplicity of Malkioni of the Dawn A scholarly sprung up. have of them contradictory, many to reconcile conference in the city of Erandinthanos, meant sectarian and heresies instead provokes offshoots various is supposedly violence when an image of Saint Dromol ght in the fi as factions desecrated. Bloodshed follows, With theologies. streets to defend the truth of their own Second Erandinthanos pitch, the tensions reaching a fever Conference is held in 646. , who specialise in defensive magics and the , who specialise in defensive Malvonians rst learn spells assisting them in exploration. As masters of learn spells assisting them in exploration. Telendarians are masters of water magic. Their school is unaffi magic. Debaldans are masters of water The now-dominant God Learner schools arose from several branches of God Learner schools arose from several The now-dominant of these schools are still extant, All Age. Sorcery practiced during the Dawn hew by the wielders of RuneQuest Sight. Many been eclipsed have though they and the truth of Hrestol innovations the code, denying to the harsh Zzaburite of the Abiding Book. The Sorcery Schools of the Dawn Age territorial expansion, they are one of the few old schools to prosper in the new to prosper in the new old schools are one of the few they territorial expansion, Empire. of the eld, sorcerers Fearsome on the battlefi any church and arose with the Waertagi. As associates of the vanquished sea of the vanquished As associates Waertagi. church and arose with the any are up to something big. suggest that they are in retreat. Rumours people, they The impurities, especially contact must avoid they retain their powers To magic. of in veils wreathe themselves They with spilled blood, including their own. contamination. force to prevent the during warfare, Also invaluable the domination of spirits, especially those that lend combat magic. Other schools include the application of pure will, gaining formidable mental powers; the application of pure will, gaining formidable mental powers; air magicians. Orgethite of Alchemists; the of In the late fourth century, In the late fourth century, god worshippers the false try to upset the balance of pagans and between power by creating a new believers, The earthly god, Nysalor. band West sorcerers of the together for a demonstration The Sunstop, Gbaji and Arkat The Hrestoli doctrine’s The Hrestoli doctrine’s emphasis on personal its allows revelation in a adherents to go off directions hundred different of his martyrdom. in the wake generations, countless Within sprung up, each sects have idiosyncratic with its own dogmas. A year after the First Dawn, Hrestol, heir to the fi Hrestol, heir to the First Dawn, A year after Hrestol renounces his claims to Armed with this truth, He and his converts a missionary. the throne to become They of Solace. the west, spreading news through travel technique a worship Touch, demonstrate this with the Joy in congregants. them to initiate momentary Joy allowing wins out against faith of the personalised version His new belief. Hrestol both henotheism and harsh Zzabur-style the reality of saints, heroes of Malkionism acknowledges He aid when petitioned with prayer. who can provide caste, also creates a new the knight, which combines and elements of the warrior An offended the leader. has him murdered in Zzabur the year 33. Prince Hrestol He a religious vision. king, experiences Seshnelan Joy called Ferbrith, who reveals encounters an angel is a momentary contact with the and Solace to him. Joy Solace is the permanent experiencing. as he is now divine, The souls of of this, which occurs after death. version in reside forever Solace, where they good Malkioni go to contact those who to for the living bliss. It is impossible for a life is eternal, an ultimate reward it reside there but sin. without lived how to worship and what to believe. It reconciles heresies and separates truth from false conjecture. The Abiding Book Return to Rightness Top members of the Dolphin Guild prostrate themselves at Serozos’ feet. His doctrine has been objectively proven. Now that it is no longer a heresy but a rediscovered form of Fourth Action worship, they resolve to assist in spreading it wherever Malkioni dwell in lamentable ignorance. The Dolphin Guild restyles itself the Rightness Army, the spearhead of the Return to Rightness movement. In tandem with the God Learners, many of whom are also members of the former Dolphin Guild, they spread both the Malkioni new orthodoxy and God Learner magic, building an Empire in the process.
The One-Godders claim that all of the answers are in their Abiding Book. If that is true, why do they still argue with each other?
— Ervaling Scalemaker, Wyrmfriend Priest Major Cultures
My Life The demands of Empire have taken us far away from our caste-bound roots. In our hearts, we still believe in the social order as laid down by Malkion the Seer in the The most controversial of these unreconciled faiths is Fourth Action. To be practical, we must acknowledge the that of the visionary priest Serozos. He claims to have need for many other classes of people, if we’re to retain contacted an entity called Makan, reaching him through the prosperity we’ve won for ourselves over the last extended prayer. This turns out to be an expression of the centuries. The God Learners have taught us that fl exibility One God. Serozos introduces a practice called veneration, is a virtue, even in the spreading of an omnipresent and in which ordinary worshippers give their energy to God infallible faith. via their priests, in an organised ceremony. It does not supersede the obedience of Zzabur or the personal quest for Most people are still commoners working on farms. They Solace of Hrestol but adds to it. The Dolphin Guild, a local toil on plots of land belonging to the nobility. Agreements conference of sorcerers, captures Serozos. After trying and of indenture bind them to their land. They must provide failing to break him with torture and interrogation spells, specifi ed amounts of produce to their lords. After that, the guild drags him before the Second Erandinthanos they may keep what is left. In turn the landlords must Conference to answer to the theologians there. provide for their security and fairly administer the law. Commoners may be pressed to fi ght in militias, though Conference attendees, later celebrated as the Church more often they face extra taxes in time of war, to pay for Witnesses, look on as a hand materialises from nowhere. knights and mercenaries. A pen appears in the hand. The command ‘Write’ is issued by a disembodied voice. At a pace both feverish The cities are full of commoners, too. They toil in their and stately, on indestructible paper, the hand proceeds to own way. Some are menial labourers. Others fi ll their write the entirety of the Abiding Book. This is the guiding purses as practitioners of specialised professions. They volume of the Malkioni people, telling them how to live, are artisans, craftsmen and offi cials. 46 Major Cultures 47 ed ces his eld. He may fi ght in eld. He may fi ced her own life and soul to save her life and soul to save ced her own Adventurers who fi ght for Malkioni societies may fi who Adventurers The knight class be appointed to the knighthood. of by Prince Hrestol as a way originally invented was and talent in an otherwise stratifi initiative rewarding it is no longer necessary to win formal Now society. to go around the world knighthood to be allowed accomplishing great deeds. Knight status is still coveted only to though, as certain magical abilities are available ordained wearers of the Hrestoli garter. the traditional life of the Malkioni still follow Many A good adventurers. though these do not make soldier, who is either commands of a leader, the soldier follows a landlord or a commander in the fi The holiest soldier the army or sail in the imperial navy. without question, and sacrifi is one who obeys name. Some soldiers grow in Malkion’s life joyfully, uential Chaos and pagan magic. and cast spells that thwart swords aming people from a plague known as the Black Swelling. Afterwards she was redeemed and carried to Solace by redeemed and carried she was Afterwards as the Black Swelling. people from a plague known practice prodigious healing magic. Hrestol. Her followers and withstood torture. His display veneration The Jrusteli scholar Serozos discovered the Revealer: St. Serozos, prompted the manifestation of the Abiding Book. He is the patron saint of scholars, sages, theologians of faith and holy perception. of knowledge gifts and librarians, providing prior to the primary tormentor, Serozos’ headed the Dolphin Guild and was the Righteous: Volanc Volanc St. to Army, a changed man, and founded the Rightness appearance of the Abiding Book. Subsequent to this, he was holy are missionaries, inquisitors and followers Volanc’s to Malkioni everywhere. word revealed bring the newly heretics. virtue, smite sinners and expose His magics reveal warriors. RuneQuest Sight and founded the Jrusteli school of Sorcery that discovered Bender: Hwaros the St. Hwaros said an unneeded word, gure, he never An ascetic, close-mouthed fi laid the foundation for God Learnerism. gain by sorcerers, who of his communications. He is venerated depending on curt hand gestures for the bulk to manipulate theist magic. additional powers In Fronela, the forces of Gbaji were hewn down by the Laughing Warrior, Talor. A sensitive A sensitive Talor. Warrior, by the Laughing down of Gbaji were hewn the Mad: In Fronela, the forces Talor St. tears times and wept joyful cried at happy so that he lost his sanity, Talor of war, by the brutality soul buffeted ways. eld in sudden, surprising about the battlefi his patronage move who accept Warriors of death. in the face dangerous friends. are useful but they their crazy saint, Laughing like of responsibilities to spread the word his earthly off St. Xemela the Healer: When Prince Hrestol shucked to holy pursuits. She sacrifi Solace, his gracious mother dedicated her life It was Prince Hrestol, at the Dawn, who taught us pray to saints, who intercede on our behalf with the Invisible the Invisible saints, who intercede on our behalf with who taught us pray to Dawn, Prince Hrestol, at the It was if we possess the grace and fortitude of Malkionism, whose deeds grant us magic, These are the holy heroes God. to emulate them. the holy warrior Arkat, but not the accursed was it say, St. Gerlant, the Flame King: Contrary to what the pagans Arkat fell side until Arkat fought side by Gerlant and the Chaos god, Gbaji the Deceiver. Saint Gerlant, who slew wield fl followers Gerlant’s into error. Malkioni Saints It used to be that sorcerers came exclusively from the It used to be that sorcerers came exclusively God Learner schools welcome anyone noble classes, but educated enough to demonstrate promise as a student. As plunder of the Hero Plane continues, good sorcerers their monasteries and Within needed. are urgently it is accomplishment as a magician that wins universities, Caste counts for little. fellows. the respect of one’s than nobles. Those who wish to attend the Emperor at than nobles. are nothing court in Seshnela must recognise that they through gain these They without ties to an ancient title. intermarriage, wedding their children to the scions of nobility. impoverished In these times of unprecedented opportunity, ambitious In these times of unprecedented opportunity, as traders. commoners can rise quickly to prominence those Members of the great trading houses, especially be wealthier and more infl of Jrustela, may now a fat purse or a sharp sword can silence all manner of The Jrusteli are freer of castes and classes than critics. Even the crusading Rightness Army counts female their Seshnegi brothers. In Hredmorinos, men knights among its most fanatical warriors. are not indentured to the land. Every man is a freeman, even if he works a farm. My Magic Appeals to faith magic are foolhardy. Simple logic shows — Vayalin Calf-Skinner, Councilor of us that Sorcery is the best form of magic. And why would Hredmorinos we use anything but the superior form?
Sorcery is better than all other types of magic because it alone can be used to dissect, pre-empt, dominate and disenchanted with their lot as followers and go off and control the all of the others. God Learner Sorcery allows become solitary knights, swinging their swords in pursuit us to steal back Malkion’s power from the false gods, to of their own individual destinies. Lately it has become bind spirits and command their obedience and even to more common to promote soldiers into leadership render effi cient and streamlined the muzzy-minded ways positions, especially during battles. Very traditional of mysticism. priests consider this a blasphemy but the Empire retorts with its famous slogan: ‘Competence is holy’. Why I Adventure When Malkion made the world he made it for us, his Atop the ideal pyramid of Malkioni life are the leaders. believers. Everything that the monsters and false god In old Seshnela and environs, leadership has always been worshippers have is rightfully ours. We must spread out hereditary. If you cannot trace your lineage back before through Glorantha in tribute to the glory of God and take Major Cultures the Dawn, your family line is unworthy of rule. Jrusteli back what belongs to Him. Everything we do to enrich cities were founded on more egalitarian lines, where ourselves or to steal power from the pagans is a kind of leaders were chosen by the people, based on merit. Many prayer. And let me tell you, we of the Middle Sea Empire thus elevated were knights. But then they started lineages pray fervently and often. of their own and it is hard to rise to the top in Jrustela now if you cannot trace your family line back to the early settlement days. Nomads of the Waste We are the nomads of the Waste, the vast desert between Malkion teaches us that man is master and woman is Dragon Pass and the eastern kingdoms of Teshnos and his helpmate. How stringently this principle is enforced Kralorela. Our lives are the harshest in the world. We varies by location. In Seshnela, women who seek power survive through the bounty of Waha, who taught us to must work through men, scheming at court and behind bind ourselves to the spirits of the animals we ride: sable, the throne. In Jrustela, Umathela and the various outposts antelope, bison, camels and others. of the Middle Sea Empire, the spirit of expansion and experimentation allows competent women to step into the My Myths roles of leader and knight. They may still face prejudice, Our land was a paradise once. Giants ruled it. Food was especially from the hidebound, but generally fi nd that plentiful. There was no death.
That lasted for a long time, well into the time of people. The Malks say our gods are false and our ways of When Death fi rst came, it slew one of us. His name was calling magic from them superstitious and blind. Daka Fal. He is the ancestor of ancestors, who helps us But they call on their threadbare saints for magic. gain magic from our ghostly forefathers. That was bad, You tell me how that is different. but before long we accepted Death as a part of Life.
— Enlirath Gasting, God Talker of the Brown The gods fought each other. Storm Bull fought the fi re Deer Clan god, Oakfed, chasing him to Prax. We gave him forests to eat, so he would not burn us. This made the elfs angry with us. 48 Major Cultures 49 sh help, sh ght, too. ght, A history by the scruffy raiders of Prax! How by the scruffy raiders A history a chronicle might as well present amusing! One the point of view of its of Gloranthan life from ants. Wyrmfriend Priest — Ervaling Scalemaker, The God Learners build another town, Robcradle, to another town, build The God Learners this. not like does Waha of giants. better loot the secrets He goes to the giant Paragua The giants are his friends. us tribes all of Waha, ght with fi We and proposes a war. giants fi The happens. hardly ever which together, the God Learners. off drive They smash Robcradle. They the Pentans. off drive They a human later, No feud stays settled for long. 30 years who wielded elf magic, leads a battle hero called Pavis, Robcradle. His weapon is a giant stone statue to retake ghts the statue; it fi Waha he brings to life in troll country. A dragonfriend and slashes his tendons. beats him down hurts him with wrongful Nopor, Varajiia magician, magics. him. and heals Waha comes to then declares victory, Pavis to retreat him as a son and agrees acknowledges Waha We years before. other gods did 800 like from the world, on his magic and assures us we can still draw Waha weep. his laws. protection, so long as we follow dwarfi With for the wyrmfriends. rules Prax Pavis ruins and greedily he erects a bigger city on Robcradle’s raid its caravans. We names it for himself. retires permanently to his palace. He selects In 860, Pavis it’s all know We Dynasty to run the city. Arrowsmith the We behind the scenes. really the wyrmfriends in charge, raid their caravans. too potent and about eight years ago Our raiding grows the wyrms send more Horse People to put us all down us. Our fury sustains run now. are on the We again. the feuds will again turn in our favour. Eventually king is the next of the desert. One day’s It is the way slave. day’s ght for the World Council from 230 onwards. Council from 230 World ght for the lled cradles giants use to sent their babies downstream use to sent their babies downstream lled cradles giants Our raids against the Horse People grow so strong that Our raids against the Horse People grow defeat to send dragons against us. In 740, they have they us. Our anger festers. In 720, God Learners show up, looking for the magic- In 720, God Learners show fi and others Traders Feroda. found a town, They to the sea. get it because they The Horse People like come here. it only because we raid the traders. like We rich. The despised Pure Horse People invade us in 620. They They us in 620. The despised Pure Horse People invade Dragon Pass, are Pentans, sent by the wyrmfriends of The horse people who hate us because we raid them. we are but win They become the biggest tribe in Prax. not destroyed. For over 200 years, we are left alone by our neighbours. 200 years, we are left alone by our neighbours. over For raid each other and We Our land is too scorched to covet. is too our martial prowess are raided in turn. Eventually as mercenaries. great to be ignored, and outsiders hire us We fi and we do not care, god a new Council makes World The Gbaji, a god becomes The new so long as we are paid. The his coin. stay to take Chaos creature. Only outlaws is killed, far rest of us retreat to our homeland. Gbaji from us, in 450. away My History My When other gods retreat at the is no ordinary god. Waha his dusty he continues to oversee of the time, beginning land as a great spirit. He was too hot and harsh to help people directly, so he harsh to help people directly, too hot and He was the Cow to do it. He freed Eiritha, Waha, sent his son, to ways He taught us new of fertility. the goddess Mother, mortal bloodlines and herds of animals. He sired off live, made he’d When the land of Chaos remnants. scourged from its sun emerged yellow-bellied safe, the the world place and shone on us again. cowering The great god Storm Bull blew across the land and across Bull blew The great god Storm a great column pinning him beneath defeated the devil, The Block. of stone called Then the devil came and destroyed our land, killing the our land, came and destroyed Then the devil foolish giants. My Life
Our lives are lived in concert with the animals we ride. Morokanth Nomad of the Waste They are our mounts. We feed from their blood and milk. When it is time, we butcher them, according to Waha’s laws. He invented the Peaceful Cut, which allows the animal’s soul to detach painlessly from its body and return to the great spirit herd. From there it will be reborn to us, perhaps as early as the next calving time.
Animals can have their spirits awakened inside their bodies. They become as intelligent as you or I. They can cast spells and obey complex instructions. They are like family to us. You do not butcher an awakened animal, just as you would not butcher your son or brother.
Each tribe feuds with the others. We are all Waha’s children but he wants us to be strong, and to be strong, you have to be willing to take food to fi ll your bellies.
Men are men and women are women. To mix roles is against Waha’s commands. Women are life keepers. They Major Cultures own the basic herds, cooking implements, tents, and household tools. They tend herds, heal people and raise children. Men are death keepers. We get to own only The Bison people are bluff and surly. They are the the beasts we capture from others. We run the herds and opposite of the Sables, always getting into trouble with perform the butchering, raiding and defensive fi ghting. whoever’s in power.
Waha arranged us into families. Families travel together We High Llamas are said to be arrogant and, like our as clans. All the clans of a single herd animal constitute a animals, prone to spit on those beneath them. We say, it tribe. When in doubt, favour your family over your clan is hard to spit and not hit an inferior. and your clan over your tribe. You may raid other clans of the same tribe but should expect to be ill treated if you The Impala riders are pygmies who swarm their foes. steal from other families of your clan. They are demanding and obstreperous. It’s plain to see that they’re making up for their minute stature. The leader of the clan is the khan. His wife is the queen. The tribal leaders are High Khan and High Queen. Everybody hates the blunt, unsentimental Morokanth. They are not human but plump quadrupedal animals Waha decrees a terrible punishment for wrongdoers. with fat, in-curving snouts. When Waha held the fi rst They are banished from their tribes. They may no longer lottery to see who would ride and who would be ridden, gain nourishment from the meat of their tribal animal and the Morokanth cheated. Thus they marshal a herd of are left alone in the desert to shift for themselves. Only unintelligent humans. You can tell it is wrong, because the toughest survive banishment. they can’t ride the humans and must walk beside them.
You can know much about a Praxian by the animal he There are smaller, oddball tribes: the plodding, short- rides: sighted Rhino; the fl eet, elusive Zebra; the female-only Unicorn tribe. The Bolo riders herd bipedal dinosaurs. Sable riders are political and opportunistic. They make The Ostrich riders are the most foul tempered of any of overtures to the God Learners and wyrmfriends alike. us. And that is quite the statement to make. Their only true ally is themselves. 50 Major Cultures 51 rst and best of these was Pamalt, who was brave, kindly brave, who was Pamalt, of these was rst and best Earthmaker got tired after a while, with all his making. while, with all his making. got tired after a Earthmaker The for him. the world giant spirits to shape So he made fi the land his job to keep It’s He is our ancestor. and clever. of t from this, benefi We job to help him. and our alive life. to preserve joy it is our course, but do the best. He’d was lived The time when Earthmaker a cooling lake him. If you wanted you asked anything reach down, drink, he would where the animals could A the hole and there you were. scoop it out, spit into he then got tired of eating boar, If you cooling lake. too. antelope, make would a to create made of him was ever The best request Pamalt did it. that, Earthmaker And just like family. mother, Pamalt’s like Aleshmara, who was There was birth did not give and made afterwards although she was the keeping the matriarch of his family, to him. She’s what to do, when goddesses in line and telling Pamalt he needs it. and she is the made Faranar, his wife, Earthmaker For the realm, owning She rules the domestic wife of wives. Her most quarters, containers, tools and ovens. living important job is in looking after the babies. provided with wisdom, Earthmaker aid Pamalt To of the track His job is to keep Cronisper the Rememberer. roots. He songs, the paints and the location of the wisdom uncle. Pamalt’s like was more importantly strength, but Pamalt give To made Balumbasta, who is very comradeship, Earthmaker himself a range of strong, so strong that he could make Pamalt’s not so smart. He is like but mountains overnight, being smart doesn’t us how youngest brother and shows matter so much if you are good-hearted. Rasout, the hunter. youngest brother was next Pamalt’s and bring to chase animals across the veldt His job was him from being too proud, keep To them back as food. Rasout could created the Runthing, the prey Earthmaker see this at least once in their catch. His worshippers never catch it, either. never They lives. the Vangono, was to Pamalt The oldest brother next said his job Earthmaker master of the spear. warrior, come later. would Some shamans say that Waha could still be Some shamans say would have to do is destroy brought back. All we into its depths to slay its the city of Pavis, rooting Waha’s pledge to him founder. With Pavis dead, would be nullified. High Khan of the Impala — Ozar Peltbread, Tribe My Myths My can tell that from his You made the world. Earthmaker tell that by can You in it. name. He made everything looking around you, smelling the goodness of the earth but There are terrifying things in the world and the plants. came after. They are not his fault. they Pamaltelan Who Agimori. In our language, this means ‘We are the We the are the people of Pamalt, We Again’. Die and Come when the Chaos monsters came. He god who did not fall protected our tropical continent. Its lands were ravaged We quickly. could not recover not so badly that they but more blessed than the northern peoples count ourselves in the live We for his strength. and are grateful to Pamalt at the centre of the continent. idyllic grassless savannah The banished often leave Prax entirely, seeking their way seeking their way Prax entirely, The banished often leave often They lands. as mercenaries or freebooters in far-off been forever secretly yearn for the home clans they’ve from. severed Sometimes we go a long way to raid. Favourite targets targets to raid. Favourite Sometimes we go a long way troll land of Dagori and the Teshnos are Dragon Pass, left behind after a disastrous raid may A Praxian Inkarth. before coming back. continue to wander Why I Adventure are uniquely suited to our inhospitable Our spirit powers in search of wealth for our it is When we wander, land. people. Waha does not give us magic. He teaches us to get magic teaches us to get magic us magic. He does not give Waha else, but everyone do Rune Magic, like We from spirits. are spirit summonings. our great workings My Magic My Much later Bolongo took a knife and slit his throat. He did not mean to kill him. He didn’t even know what death Pamaltela’s Non-Pamaltelans was. No one did. Earthmaker’s was the fi rst death. After This land is Pamalt’s but not all who live there that death could not be kept from the world and we all worship him as we do. The cities of Fonrit worship die, when our time comes. Ompalam, the god of slavery. These people call themselves the Torav and are blue-skinned. A few of them rule the others, reducing them to abject As he died, Earthmaker’s last words were to Vangono: subjugation. The God Learners conquered them. ‘Now you and Naruma will see what your jobs are.’ Their common people were better off than under their own leaders. But a few years ago, they revolted Earthmaker’s death emboldened the bad beings at the against the God Learners and drove them out. They are hard to understand! They say that their god is edge of the world, who had always wanted in but were all-powerful and rules all the others but he does not afraid to cross him. Now they poured in and made war rule Pamalt, this is for certain. on Pamalt and his people. Vangono took up his spear and found he could now breathe three types of fi re. He leapt In the north, there are elfs in the forests and trolls, on the monsters, slaying them. But many more came. untamed by Pamalt, in the mountains. We live amid all manner of bug men or timinits. The worst of these was Vovisibor, the fi lth that walks. God Learners live in the cities of Umathela. They Each of the giants tried in turn to beat him. Finally Pamalt are fi ghting some sort of war with each other. The explained that they had to fi ght all at the same time, under locals have kicked out their distant rulers. But his direction. They did this, forming Pamalt’s Necklace, they’re all the same exploiting Malkioni, who’ve killed off many ancient races here. We do not care and the awful Vovisibor was torn back out of the world, to make sense of this. banished to wherever he belonged. Major Cultures
‘I thought I would contribute by doing my job,’ said Naruma ‘but I was not required. I see ghosts all around Also Earthmaker made Naruma, who could see something me, wandering and sad.’ that didn’t exist at the time. Nobody knew what his job was but Naruma and he wasn’t saying yet. ‘That is your job,’ said Pamalt, ‘to see the dead. Now lead me to Earthmaker.’ When he was done, Earthmaker sat down on a tussock of soft vines, tired out. He farted and out came Bolongo the So they journeyed through the deepest, sharpest foliage, Fool. He was Pamalt’s cousin, who could never remember which they’d never tried to penetrate before. Naruma the difference between right and wrong. showed the path and Pamalt made it, stomping it down. He threatened the thorn trees and the grab-bushes, making Seeing him, Vangono said, ‘He is stupid. Stupid people them promise never to block the path again. They found get you killed. Earthmaker, let me pierce him with my where Earthmaker was, now that he was dead. spear.’ The path was still too long, though, so later Naruma But Earthmaker went to sleep, saying that even wrongness made new, shorter paths, connecting people to the spirits had a purpose. of their dead relatives. The spirits could talk to their living families, then carry messages back to Earthmaker. Eventually no one alive could remember Earthmaker, except from stories. They stopped sending messages to Of all the pagan myths, it is the stories of the him, but kept in touch with their dead relatives. Pamaltelan Agimori that give me the greatest pleasure. It is almost a shame to reshape them. My History Aided by our memory canes, marked off with notches, — Vanstigos Evermead, Tutor of Umathela we remember elaborate histories of our families. These tell of food supplies, of carvings made, of births and stomping songs sung. 52 Major Cultures 53 ces to the termite My Life My tribes: the belong to three We and Arbennan, the Doraddi . the Tarints the All of us spring from by live We same wise roots. rules, which ensure Pamalt’s families that our extended tranquillity. in happy live this courtesy extend We and are welcoming outward, to strangers. Arbennan The Arbennan are We the Agimori of the Jolar Plain. Hon We Hoolbiktu is one of us. roam and hunt. Our cousins, the Doraddi, call us the People. Our plain Walking is mild all year round and well populated with beasts with meat, us which provide hides and bones to make The into ceremonial tools. metal tools made elsewhere are better for ordinary use and we try to trade for them The Six-Legged Empire tested our cordiality to others but our spirit-talkers say we lose our magic without it, so we warily persist in it. — Kiwamka Kisho, Family Matriarch of Jolar whenever we can. On those rare occasions when we need we can. On those rare occasions whenever mud, in imitation of houses of hardened we build shelter, sacrifi the termite. Each time we make spirit, Gawala, and promise to knock down the huts after and promise to knock down spirit, Gawala, 14 days. with settle disputes between tribes or families We where the winners are the best stompers shouting wars, and yellers. ght ed. the Spicy People, because their pleasant smell People, because their Hobintam the Spicy . They are animal men but the God Learners removed their the God Learners removed are animal men but They Grinel. , or Grape People, had soft green skins, like those of grapes, , or Grape People, had soft green skins, like Pernosi . Their skins are dark like ours but they are less than a metre tall. they ours but Their skins are dark like . Jolosi announced them from a thousand metres away. They would come to rub our would They announced them from a thousand metres away. pay them with a portion. and we would it taste better, food for us, to make who communicated with Tenpor, called paid homage to a giant spirit They ‘Help and motto was Tenpor’s off. gave them by changing the scents they be helped’. The and are friends with the weapons made from solid honey with strike They sharp. bees. Jolosi teeth are very The striped and are eyes, big yellow have They totem animals from the world. old ones say that their totem animals The very wear antlers on their heads. antelope. were carnivorous The and walk were big enough to inside soft plant pods until they and grew used to kidnap their We were friends with elfs. were not elfs but They talk. were nursing, to get drunk on their milk. when they women called the We D D D The God Learners have ruined several peoples we used to co-exist with, peoples we used to co-exist ruined several The God Learners have in the Other did this by meddling They gods and magic. stripping them of their because although from this, by and large, been protected Agimori have We Side. our most of his family, and our stories of Pamalt from we learn about the world spirits. magic comes from local the veldt, wandering survivors, the few see You Others were not so fortunate. seek murderous and they of their souls are missing now Parts bereft and bitter. The blame them. cannot We this. on the God Learners for doing revenge peoples include: destroyed D The Destroyed Peoples Destroyed The We feel no joy in this deadly accomplishment but they they in this deadly accomplishment but feel no joy We life and were hurting us in this They were Bad Strangers. rounded up our ancestor spirits to use as They the next. hard-hearted Vangono’s in So we armed ourselves slaves. fl wisdom and killed until they them. With his magical manoeuvres, he made their heavy he made their heavy his magical manoeuvres, With them. horses into impediments. armour and fast Peace had reigned for dozens of generations when we Peace had reigned for dozens of generations our invaded were disturbed by the God Learners, who heard its name wrong and called it land of Jolar (they Empire to rule the Six-Legged established They Kolar). years A few of men on horseback. us, with the power horse and rider them out again, piercing ago we drove with the tips of our spears. Our hero Hon Hoolbiktu alike to fi ways nding surprising new fi led us in this war, We do not imagine you are interested in any of that. Are Are of that. interested in any do not imagine you are We you? They settle disputes by sending out their wisest women to compete in lore contests. Plant spirits ask them questions; Pamaltela the fi rst to miss an answer must yield to the other.
In addition to plant spirits, the Doraddi gain magic from the rivers and the earth. The Tarint We call the Tarint, who live in the arid and diffi cult west, the Thirsty People. Their land is dry, without many rivers, and inhabited by giant animals, who emerge every year from caves there, trampling everything in sight. The west has no ordinary animals to hunt, so every attempt to gain some meat requires combat with a huge and deadly beast. Worse, the Tarint are hard pressed by reptile men called slarges, who hide a lost civilisation inside the earth. They treat the Tarint as game animals, hunting them with magic and strange devices.
It is shocking to say it but the Tarint wage genuine war on each other, fi ghting for food and wives. There the spirit talkers of Cronisper are strong and those of Aleshmara Major Cultures are weak. Descent is traced down through the male line. To become a man, one must participate in the slaying of a giant beast, a slarge or an Agimori from an ancestral enemy family.
The Tarint take what they can from whatever spirits they We trace our descent through the female line. During the fi nd. They are as likely to capture an enemy’s ancestor as bad times, Aleshmara hid our women by turning them into to gain the peaceful cooperation of a nature spirit. pools of clean drinking water. So each of us returns during the ceremonial days to our ancestral pool. Our spirits are My Magic those of the drinking pools and of the blowing seeds that Pamalt and his family show us how to live. Smaller spirits fl y through the air and of the wandering beasts. aid our survival, by giving us our higher magic. They are our ancestors or the local spirits. We also practice Rune The Doraddi Magic. Runes can be found all over Pamaltela, if you The Doraddi live in the eastern lands of Kolar. We know how to look. And we do. Arbennan call them the Staying People. They stay put in villages along the life-giving rivers fl owing toward Why I Adventure the continent’s interior. Some of them never stray more Most of us care only about feeding and protecting our than a few miles from their homes. They hunt a little but families. A so-called life of adventure does neither of cultivate more. Their houses are clay cylinders wearing these jobs. rich wigs of living ivy. A few of us get infected by the wandering sickness, Doraddi families are matrilineal. Each traces its ancestry which impels us to go far from our homes to gain foreign back to one of the Original Women, who, when the knowledge and see distant places. We call these people fi lth monsters came, protected themselves by becoming mwalish. These are the Agimori who go out into the world plants. Each family is thereby related by blood to a to do great or risky deeds. When the sickness leaves them, particular food plant and is especially skilled at planting they come back to us, bringing odd treasures and telling and harvesting it. all sorts of entertaining lies. 54 Major Cultures 55 The original Ten Tests of Empire were: 1) The original Ten Tests creatures; 2) feeding souls defeating man-eating humbling the tall birds of as well as bellies; 3) herd of 38 animals evenly Rinliddi; 4) dividing a between two sons; 5) the invention of record- keeping; 6) forbidding polygamy; 7) solving a dispute by building a bridge; 8) inventing marriage; 9) knowing which way Truth pointed the and 10) correctly identifying and handling secret regalia. Dara — Varustori Gold-Beard, Exiled Noble of Happa ooded and creatures and people were saved from the ooded and creatures and people were saved Yelm’s order was too perfect and beautiful to last. Various Various to last. too perfect and beautiful order was Yelm’s gods came before him and suddenly some of them new god, an evil Eventually refused to submit to his grandeur. and the Yelm on came and made war Terminus, Rebellus him barbarian worship The bad-smelling Solar Court. They god. as the god Orlanth and say that he is a good slain by him him, then, that Muharzarm was cannot know for the loss to the core. Sorrowing stricken was Yelm and rst victim of a shocking new the fi of his son, who was He shattered into disintegrated. Yelm force called Death, All-Seeing, which the Vrimak the parts, including many as a separate foolish bird people of Rinliddi still worship entity. ght for Dara Happa as left to fi Antirius was son Yelm’s scoured by monsters. Bad went dark and was the world was The world Emperors. solar courtiers reigned as false fl Anaxial the Sailor, by by a great boat, built raging waters descendant of Muharzarm. Antirius, but for a while, protected by Emperors lived he fell, too. Only the most violent of solar eventually was The world were left. and Kargzant, gods, Shargash across The god called Son of Evil held sway dead. all but Yelm could not personally contest with the thing, because the thing, because personally contest with could not Yelm son Muharzarm, it was too great. Finally was his purity who stepped goddess Dendara, and the mother Yelm of by giving him rewarded Yelm it. and defeated forward When he completed Empire to perform. of Tests Ten him of Men, just Emperor now told him that he was Yelm this, ruled And Muharzarm Emperor of Gods. was Yelm as Dara Happa. rst One day an icy snake monster came down from the north. monster came down snake One day an icy The thundering god of violence, Lodril could not defeat it. and had to run. Naturally overwhelmed was Shargash, Yelm ruled atop a fi ve-tiered ziggurat, on top of which ve-tiered ruled atop a fi Yelm the persisted; it was his golden throne. Harmony was Age. perfect Golden Yelm did not create the world, nor was he among the fi nor was did not create the world, Yelm created and was gods of the Celestial Court. But the world ruled They then the Celestial Gods formed spontaneously. change from could not prevent together for a time but and brightest of coming. Change demanded that the best throne appointed to sit on a heavenly gods be the newer that was Yelm it and of course it was and rule all below chosen. His brothers went out to attend him. His older and He became the sky went above. Dayzatar, brother, him. where no one can worship retreated to the heavens, He touched went below. Lodril, younger brother, Yelm’s into it. the earth, became dirty and gross, and burrowed The important myths of our culture are therefore known known The important myths of our culture are therefore of the upper classes are reluctant to We only to nobles. that the wyrmfriends pollute them talk of our myths, now to steal want with dragon nonsense and the God Learners not Try it is. them outright. But truth must be told, so here to be blinded by it. My Myths My is an Emperor, Yelm Because Yelm. Our culture worships tting that only Emperors and nobles may worship it is fi status, gods of lower him. Other lesser sorts may worship members. and family attendants Yelm’s such as But that will not last for long… Dara Happa is in eclipse now, conquered by dragon conquered by now, Dara Happa is in eclipse perches upon our throne, a dragon, ruler, A false people. grasping the regalia. We are the people of the Peloria, the Dara Happans, of the Peloria, the are the people We the sun. Yelm, only important god, of the worshippers god is Our else’s. than anyone Our history is longer for a He has ruled us anyone’s. higher and brighter than obedience and order. value We hundred thousand years. and can Yelm is a descendant of Our earthly Emperor the ten tests and handling the imperial it by passing prove without damage to himself. regalia Pelorians the land. He passed the Ten Tests and befouled the sacred In 375, Emperor Khorzanelm participates in the God ziggurat with blood and fi lth. Project, which results in the creation of the new deity Nysalor. Yelm stops in the sky to gaze in wonder at this It was a man called Avivath, outwardly humble, badly new transcendent being. At fi rst all is well and for nearly maimed, but with the lost imperial drumbeat thrumming half a century Nysalor’s teachings aid the Empire’s in his veins, who found the last trace of Yelm’s power growing prosperity. But then a dread creature escapes — a shaft of gold called the Sunspear. This he used to from Nysalor’s shadow. This is the Chaos deity Gbaji. In slay the Son of Evil, after purifying himself so that he 423, the Empire’s greatest hero, Palangio the Iron Vrok, was not really killing the legally ordained Emperor but casts him into a deep hell. In 440, Gbaji comes back and instead passing his own Ten Tests. eats him. He then proceeds to the land of Dorastor, cursing it with Chaos and, in 450, destroys beautiful Nysalor.
It is the precedent established by Avivath when Dara Happa recovers quickly from this debacle. Relative he felled the Son of Evil, that will allow Karvanyar peace and prosperity continue until the seventh century, to slay the Sun Dragon, even though it passed when internal rebellions fl ourish and the Empire battles the the Ten Tests and is in some technical sense our Spolites, an underground movement of darkness opposed rightful Emperor. to the light of the sun. In 690, the Spolites are defeated, then superseded as a foe by the Carmanian dualists, who — Varustori Gold-Beard, Exiled Noble of Dara conquer Dara Happa in 725. The Carmanians are driven Happa out in the 760s but by this time the wyrmfriend cult has begun its insidious spread throughout Peloria.
Major Cultures In 772 the Emperor Elmexdros the Conqueror welcomes With this action, Avivath laid the way for the Glorious the Golden Dragon Society. Through alliance with the Reascent of Yelm. After more tribulations and more EWF he hopes to expand the shrunken borders of Dara improper Emperors, the blessed hero Khordavu, who Happa throughout greater Peloria, as they were in the had shown signs of greatness since childhood, passed the glory days. The wyrmfriends respond to his invitation Ten Tests and could not be stopped by his horse-riding by subverting Dara Happa from within. They become enemies. Finally Yelm’s scattered parts were reintegrated. a powerful shadow government. In 850, they murder Khordavu became Emperor. Emperor Dismatryan. For the next 28 years, the EWF makes war on Dara Happa from within and without, until The other gods who make daily life possible in Peloria a dragon passes the Ten Tests and ascends the throne in were reawakened by the righteous rays of the sun. First 878. to recover was Lokarnos, the wagon god, who invented the wheel and is the patron of traders. He went out and gathered the others in his cart. The last one waiting for him was Oslira, goddess of the River Oslir. She was Under the Old Sun, I was a lowly tenant farmer tamed by Muharzarm to feeds the people with her rice and doomed to toil forever in obscurity. Under paddies. She made the rice return and with it, our great the Dragon Sun, I have grown mighty, both in civilisation could fl ourish again. The Dawn Age began. spirit and in fame. My History — Snospolin Redworm, Sun-Scale of Jillaro At the Dawn, Khordavu unites the Dara Happan people and expels the Pentan nomads who have overrun Peloria. Contacts with the Theyalan Orlanthi people to the south lead to a sharing of lore. The Dara Happans lend My Life their wisdom to the First Council. Over the next three Clan ties are primitive. We are better than our neighbours, centuries, Dara Happa slowly reclaims and subjugates because we believe in the family, which is sacred and right the regions of Peloria. and more advanced. Each family is led by a Patriarch. His authority derives from Yelm, whose blood runs through 56 Major Cultures 57 dently ourish here, ourish Women are chattel, though are chattel, Women to do not like we would without them. cities before anyone had We better else, and our cities were that exist back then than any how Our rulers know today. to rule cities. Our bureaucrats, how know Tenths, called the Our to administer them. to live how commoners know in them. Dara Happan cities are of architecture, wonders dominated by straight reaching confi towers We bright sky. Yelm’s into strongly desire symmetry. possible, our city Wherever streets are designed as series of concentric rings, moving into the centre, forward ever and where the main families are buildings governmental located. Administrators are called tenths, short for the Administrators are called tenths, short for Ten Sons and Servants, the name given to Yelm’s original courtiers. When all was right in the Empire, they collected taxes for redistribution to the nobility. In exchange we gave them the powerful magic needed for their jobs. — Varustori Gold-Beard, Exiled Noble of Dara Happa ghting in tight formation. Our commanders are called ghting in tight Our military might is well known. We are masters at We Our military might is well known. fi their magic of striking and smiting Polemarches and draw from the pole star. Our ultimate goal as a people is to bring back the Golden and his people ruled all of Peloria in Yelm Age, when This is why the and shining perfection. a state of warm originally permitted to fl Golden Dragon was ride giant birds, paying homage to a pantheon headed ride giant birds, paying homage to a pantheon pantheon of seven high gods is headed by Jernotius the high gods is headed pantheon of seven , on Peloria’s western edge, bears the stamp of western edge, bears the stamp of Carmania, on Peloria’s Rinliddi worship a pantheon headed by the great goddess SurEnslib, who a pantheon headed worship Pelandan Pelandan Darjini Liberator, who is alternately male and female and preaches the necessity of who is alternately male and female Liberator, and their six- are notable for their art production cosmic balance. His people tiered class structure. The culture of class structure and its patriarchal Malkioni religion, with its emphasis on by two are governed that events outlook. Carmanians are dualists, believing the good god, engages in eternal God. Idovanus, entities created by the Invisible god, Ganesatarus the Deceiver. battle with the evil The people of by an avian deity, Vrimak the All Seeing. Vrimak the deity, by an avian penetrated by EWF mysticism. degree been to some All of these cultures have of Jernotius the dragon, scholars So there are draconised dualist, worshippers and so on. who identify SurEnslib with mystical principles manifests as a heron. They offend the staunch, repressed Yelmites with their Yelmites the staunch, repressed offend They manifests as a heron. supposedly is which everyone culture, in and their egalitarian worship orgiastic a noble. The The Dara Happans have dominated Peloria for most of its history but there history but dominated Peloria for most of its The Dara Happans have gods who worship rough borders within the region’s are other subject cultures solar pantheon. Yelm’s outside The Other Pelorian Cultures Pelorian Other Hierarchy is a blessing from Yelm. When everyone knows knows When everyone Yelm. Hierarchy is a blessing from his place and does his job, life is golden. Our nobles dozen great families A few himself. Yelm descend from Professions are wealth and power. control our nation’s inherited. likewise To be truly Dara Happan, one must belong to a family. be truly Dara Happan, one must belong to a family. To patrilineal Eligibility depends on the ability to prove descent within four generations to the ancestors of a this, you are not a Dara If you cannot prove Patriarch. are just a rustic You a commoner. Happan, not even Lodril should go worship You peasant, a mere Pelorian. and tug at yourself and roll around in the dirt, as he does. his veins. He rules over his own family with benevolent with benevolent family his own over He rules his veins. transgress, he may punish them as When they rigidity. designates The Patriarch t, including by death. he sees fi He chooses which his heir among the men of his family. no guarantee of rst-born enjoys son succeeds him; the fi favour. Peloria How To Play A Yelmite Noble D Straighten your spine, balance your shoulders and stick out your chin. D Speak in bold, declarative sentences. D Never admit to uncertainty. D Be offended. D When in doubt as to what to be offended by, select any of the following: insults to the Sky gods, darkness magic, sexual license, disrespect for tradition, presumptuous women, irreverence toward rightful authority, the Orlanthi ‘Lightbringers Quest’ story. D Fight bravely for what you believe in. D Obey rightful authority. D Think rigidly.
We do engage in acts of legendary heroism, however. These are all waged in protection of the Empire and its proven righteousness. He who does not follow a patriarch or commander is a fi lthy outlaw and not to be trusted.
Exiles may travel about the rest of the world seeking Major Cultures trouble. They tell themselves they’re toughening themselves for the day when they come home, subjugate themselves to their patriarchs and reassume their seemly positions in life. I suppose what they tell themselves is because the Emperor thought it would drive away the even true, on occasion. Spolite darkness witches and assist in rebuilding our glory. But the Dragon turns out to be a deceiver and a betrayer of our principles and sacred magics, so we must Teshnan rise up to destroy it. All traces of its infl uence within our We yearn to see the celestial fl ame. We are the people of peoples’ hearts must be burned away, with the light of Teshnos, the steamy jungle land to the south of Kralorela. wisdom. Lifetimes are nothing to us; we achieve spiritual perfection through cycles of reincarnation. We live, learn, progress, My Magic die, are born again and continue to perfect ourselves. We Only the highest, the Emperor and top-ranking will still be doing this long after your so-called Empires patriarchs, may directly worship Yelm. All others commit have vanished into half-forgotten history. effrontery by even considering it. The sorts of people you might actually meet draw magic from his relatives and intermediaries, such as his martial son, Yelmalio, the great defender Antirius, or the rebuilding Emperor, It is difficult to get a Teshnan to tell you whether he Khordavu. believes in his myths at all or views them merely as parables. Their imprecision is maddening. In my darker moments I suspect it is a plot to thwart Why I Adventure our inquiries. Dara Happans do not adventure. This sounds disreputable if not outright criminal. We would not sully ourselves — Spolorfal the Arranger, Dean of Pythos with it. University
58 Major Cultures 59 rst delity and ows into Calz’s kin, into Calz’s ows avour to foods and strength to swords. avour Of all the foreign invaders, the most vicious, foreign invaders, the Of all the touch of of the cleansing the most deserving are the Pentan horse our five flaming weapons, mutual; they have sworn people. The feeling is followers of the Sankusan the annihilation of all teachings. Sword of Sankusa — Kothitlian Wall-Leaper, cord. Teshnan warrior prowess is often mocked but but is often mocked prowess warrior Teshnan cord. are our fi They not in the presence of Sankusites. line of defence against invaders. meditate, re. His devotees , the primal fi Argon Zitro do not make but themselves and sometimes burn fast ces to him. sacrifi Somash is the Sun, the mightiest of the gods. His fi to purity, adherents dedicate themselves poets, healers and administrators Warriors, truth. him. follow in domed kilns, re. He burns Calyz is the friendly fi into cooking our food and heating metal for shaping useful forms. His volcano. Solf is the decadent, burnt-out through themselves seek to destroy worshippers must apply for a him, one follow To dissipation. people license from the king. Otherwise too many no and have his path, die all at once take would bodies to reincarnate back into. re. She is the funeral fi Furalor is the destroying things, including souls, on which all worldly pyre may then be recreated. so that they are burnt, She is the force of Huand, the cooling water. moderation, into which Somash dips each night, lest his people. so bright as to burn re burn his fi She fl Dakkad, the infusing air. adding fl The most recognised gods, by the teachings of Chal, Zon, The most recognised gods, by the teachings Jrudai and others, are: D D D D D in balance Some schools recognise other gods who work re gods. Others proclaim such recognition as with the fi The best calling these entities half-gods. error, wasteful are: half-gods known D D nd the ame by Chal. His teachings are: , of the Four Tough Survival Teachings. His Teachings. Survival Tough Elat, of the Four and fi woodsmen as naked begin followers ame within the aldryami song. fl He tells us that Teachings. Mask Zon, of the Ivory re is a mask, behind the mask there is a behind the fi soul and behind the soul, there is us. His followers Teachings. Jrudai, of the Gold in Fire dispose with enormous wealth and must slowly begin now. are few They multiple incarnations. of it over His Teachings. Weapon Sankusa of the Five closer to the fl come ever martial followers the course of multiple weapons over ve mastering fi and strangling sword bow, incarnations: knife, spear, At the heart of everything there is there At the heart of everything the First: Teaching incarnations several must live learn this, one To ame. fl or herdsman. as a farmer ame is not the Second: The individual life-fl Teaching ery form itself. the fi in a form but that burns re a fi more lifetimes as a red-robed learn this, one lives To ces to a chosen god. priest, making sacrifi ery forms is one of the fi Third: Each the Teaching in Here one has become a noble, living re. celestial fi and layered in smothered in jewels opulent luxury, silk. D D D A Seer’s teachings usually consist of a few simple usually consist of a few teachings A Seer’s with meaning that they These are so packed sentences. The god stories lifetimes to fully understand. several take the tools to understand the teachings. For tell provide they instance, one great teacher is D The greatest of zitrs propound their own system of propound their own The greatest of zitrs Seers. Each tells different are called They enlightenment. gods than Some recognise different stories of the gods. because the matter too much, details don’t The others. The magic teach us. to only as exemplars, gods exist the gods teach us in what not within the gods but exists about themselves. D D D of Teaching Third When one has fully assimilated the Other Seers are: Chal, one becomes a zitr. Those of us who have seen the celestial fl ame are revered the celestial fl seen who have Those of us There are called the zitrs. They as teachers and leaders. densely populated hundred zitrs in our are only a few land. My Myths My This god was too far from the new land, so it invested the god Somash with a Other Peoples of Teshnos solar halo and sent him spinning into Amid the Teshnans live several sub-cultures who regard the celestial heaven. fl ame with profound indifference. They are known collectively as the unfl amed, although they have little else in common. The people were cold and hungry, so he Babadi are beardless, dark-skinned dwarfs. Their status as variant made Calyz for them. mostali have made them an object of fascination for the God Learners, who hope to crack Mostal’s secrets by exploring their myths. They The world became too full of ignorant are artisans, making devices of mystical import, from spinning prayer wheels to fl oating daggers. They won’t touch iron or diamonds and people who lacked interior ambition, so know nothing of explosives or gears. Furalor decreed herself the destroyer and laid waste to them. Fethloni are yellow elfs from the jungle depths. Their jungle priesthood maintains close ties with the Teshnan government, Solf joined her campaign, because it especially those of the Elatian Teachings. They steer the hungry forest spirits toward the mutual enemies of the two peoples. looked like fun to him. In his selfishness he perverted what was hallowed Goondas are naked, orange-haired tree dwellers notorious for and necessary about destruction and rowdiness, vandalism and drunken excess. in so doing invited in the demoness Makbonella. She was both destruction Thoskali hunter-gatherers co-exist with the Fethloni elfs, emerging occasionally from the jungle to perform unclean tasks for the without purpose and creation without Teshnans, including tanning and the preparation of corpses for the restraint. Makbonella polluted exuberant pyre. In exchange they receive the fruits of civilisation, most notably young Solf and knocked Somash from Major Cultures beer. the sky.
Only the people were left to find the flame again and so then the first zitrs D Umalon , the fruitful earth. When Furalor has generated themselves from their memories of the gods. They destroyed something, she plants it in her daughter’s were Chal, Elat, Zon, Jrudai and the others. They fought the infi nite womb. Umalon births it back into the world, monsters of Makbonella’s horde not with swords, but with adding a fresh element each time. the magic of their thoughts – Sankusa’s thoughts were like D Arshmolod , the bringer of death. Furalor’s pale knives and cut through her ropy hide as if aflame. daughter appears to the dying, to conduct their souls to the consuming fi re. Her belly is round and swollen; Eventually the competing zitrs agreed to harmonise their her pregnancy represents the dying individual’s next philosophies into the One Thought. This was not sustainable, incarnation. because it contained everything, but while it existed it was enough to exalt Somash back into the sky and free Furalor Here is a parable of creation and devolution. After many from her prison inside Umalon. She came out of the prison lifetimes you will know which parts of it burn true. Do and visited Makbonella’s own destruction upon her. not tell it to the God Learners, or they’ll use it against Umalon rebirthed the monster queen as the self-devouring us. jungle which surrounds our land. Now she serves us, by consuming foreigners who come to conquer us. Chal taught First there was nothing. Then there was the celestial flame. us to tame her spirits. It could not burn forever without something to consume. So it let parts of itself fly out and these made the gods, followed My History by their land, and then people, followed by their land. Our history is of little interest to outsiders and this is how Diminished but at the same time fuelled, the Celestial Flame we like it. Our change is inward-directed, manifesting became Zitro Argon. hardly at all in the realm of mere politics. Encased by
60 Major Cultures 61 icts. Although icts. ve main gods teach us to manifest mystical powers main gods teach us to manifest mystical powers ve I have travelled for many years searching for a worthy enemy to test myself against. I have yet to locate a foe that proves my mastery in even one of the five of the sacred weapons. Though I enjoyed defeating a God Learner arch-duke, he was hardly a challenge worthy of my skills. — Kothitlian Wall-Leaper, Sword of Sankusa not afraid of outsiders, as the Kralori are. We invite any to any invite We are. outsiders, as the Kralori not afraid of who pay us the Those ways. our holy observe come and with our fearsome of disrespect will contend cold coin jungle spirits. Why I Adventure is a adventure Most teachings tell us that the desire for a outer variety, spiritual trap. It speaks of a desire for Such purity. as a distraction from the need for inner incarnation temptations retard progress through your cycle. mastery achieve To on this point. The Sankusans differ and weapons, one must go out into the world ve of the fi enemies. Sankusans sometimes wander locate worthy and wide in search of appropriate confl far care to enlist only take they sake, ghting’s ght for fi fi they and a fall in ethical causes. Otherwise one risks pollution into accidental Solf worship. My Life My Kingship rotates ruled by the Pentapartite Dynasty. are We Seers who brought back the the Five between adherents of When one king Elat and Sankusa. sun: Chal, Zon, Jrudai, tradition go forth among the people dies, the zitrs of that whose soul has been reincarnated looking for an orphan are ruled by King we Today into the desired tradition. of Sankusa. Flames follower Kasinslian, a highly evolved his imperious eyes. leap in the pupils of Magic My Our fi in all of re that burns to the celestial fi by looking inward Rune Magic and folk magic to us. Other deities provide lives. the people who need these for their everyday Teshnan Teshnan We traded little with the outside world before the God traded little with the outside world We come to us on Learners rose. Sometimes goods would and mahogany ship out ivory ships and we would Waertagi us to buy The God Learners want for them. in exchange more from them, to become accustomed to their trade as are We hope to learn from us. They a drunkard is to ale. Our history recounts many raids by Praxians, Pentans, Our history recounts many These scarcely Trowjang. hsunchen or amazons from the mentioning. and are barely worth qualify as invasions re weapons, burning dealt with them with Sankusan fi We payment of tribute. and the strategic magic from the sky On occasion we invade Kralorela. Mostly this happens Kralorela. Mostly this happens On occasion we invade mountain pass, when one of our in a snowy symbolically, elephants contends with one of their serpents. great war The winner gets good luck for a year. haunted jungles full of cooperatively fi erce spirits, we fi haunted jungles full of cooperatively no one. Please do and bothered to ourselves kept have nd us fascinating. not fi Vithelan saw that another, poorer version of life was about to commence and so departed with his two wives to We are the people of Vithela, also known as the Eastern dwell as far east as it is possible to go. Isles. These were once a great land mass, greater even D Gebkeran is the Dark Mother, who birthed the anti- than Genertela, but the land was shattered into thousands gods, along with hordes of inhumans, from mermen of pieces during the great disaster that preceded the dawn. to demons, who cannot attain Durapdur. Because of We follow the ancient path of mystical knowledge, which this, they are angry and seek our destruction. She originated here and only later migrated to the Kraloreli lives in Vith’s secluded palace and also moves deep and Teshnans, who corrupted it with misunderstandings. in the ocean waters. D Laraloori , the Bright Mother birthed other gods, Many nations span our scattered islands. There are the who are all immortal. She lives in the sky and her seafaring Haragalans, the demon-fi ghting Hanfarador thoughts can be seen in the stars. During the High and the cheerful cannibals of Homago. Most famous Gods Age, Laraloori birthed many gods. Foremost of all, since so little is known about them, are the ever- among these were Yothenara , Goddess of Love, mysterious Vormaino. Inhuman races also fl ourish here. giver of life; Karkal , Lord of Burning, a popular war god and patron of mankind; Hensavara the Although local customs vary, in matters of faith we are Bowman, warrior protector of his divine race and much the same: practitioners of the only true mysticism, Kabalt, the Liberating Bolt, the bringer of sudden that of the great refusal. mystical enlightenment.
The children of the High Gods in turn produced many Vithelans know that theirs is the true mysticism, more offspring. These are the Little Gods, of whom there Major Cultures because of all of these confounding modes of are hundreds. Their worship is localised to particular religious thought, theirs is the most impenetrably islands or peoples. Some are unremarkable national baffling. I recommend study of their faith only gods; others seem bizarre to all but their adherents. They to students with a limitless appetite for self- include: punishment. D Lumavoxoran , patron of the Haragalan people, who — Spolorfal the Arranger, Dean of Pythos honour him by keeping a bowl of his sacred water University aboard their boats at all times. D Hobimarong , god of jewelled Mokato, whose priests proclaim his infallibility. A voluble god, he pays My Myths close heed to the activities of his people, relaying unusually precise instructions to them. Hobimarong First there was the Great Beyond, the primal state. Every steadfastly opposes the God Learners. instance of creation that followed was a bitter estrangement D Saliligor , the cannibal god, who spurs the people from this ideal condition. We strive to refute creation and of Homago to raid their neighbours for victims to return to harmony with the Great Beyond, which is still devour in his rites of gluttony. reachable through fasting, meditation and self-denial. A mortal who achieves this oneness with the Beyond has The children of the High Gods also made people, along reached the ineffably blissful state called Durapdur. This with other beings like the duck-folk and mermen. is what all great mystics aspire to. Humans created such a cacophony, with their chattering and jostling, that the High Gods retreated to the edge The fi rst instance of creation brought into being the High of the world. Lacking wisdom and mired close to the Gods and that was not so bad, for they were just one step ground, the people caused controversies and instigated removed from the ultimate. They were: wars. At fi rst their Little God patrons were dragged into their confl icts, then the bigger gods, too. Thus began the D Vith , the Highest God, the Original Father. He ruled fi rst of the fi ve cosmic wars that destroyed the original wisely until the end of the High Gods Age. Then he paradisiacal continent of Vithela. 62 Major Cultures 63 Vithelan Vithelan are They rst years do not speak of our spiritual side. Vithela is rife with inhuman peoples: the Arandinni Vithela is rife with inhuman peoples: the Arandinni Ratuki demon folk, the Keetish fowl men and the shark hsunchen of the northeastern isles. — Balthar Broaddeck, Malkioni Missionary The fi a time of jostling and conquest. Strong peoples dominate, the weak. assimilate or destroy The Mokatans, whose island is a ruined city of the gods, can only approach a fraction of its it but try to rebuild splendour. divine that their discover The humans of the Hanfarador the Arandinni. So begin neighbours are demon-folk, the that continue to this day. raiding wars a people who Vormaino, All attempts to contact the during the from the rest of us even secluded themselves the Second Age, when we see what we have in common. Age, when we see what we have the Second of the same the same gods and practice some know We that there are mystical philosophies. Until we discover none of this, we take who believe others in the world these commonalities for granted. nd it. nd shness. They They shness. Mashunashan founded orthodox mysticism. His Unrealisation; one neither seeks nor method was to seek Durapdur. fails founded the unorthodox mysticism Nenduren principles. Stillness is his technique. Nendurenite their way mystics mediate with a series of entities on to Durapdur. is Immotion; his technique ’s Hasamador Larn ones fi The lucky seek Nothing. followers , the Evil One, creator of Sorcery and Chaos. Ezran, the Evil One, creator who sends ghosts of the drowned, Hesezjagu, keeper and misguided prayers. out to answer vague Andin race. King Bandan, leader of the demonic antigoddess of sea animals benevolent Venperesha, and patroness of sailors. My History My share Vithelans Isolated on our separate islands, we we develop At the Dawn, no sense of joint history. It is only when the Malkioni come, well into separately. D D D Victory came in the end through the embrace of mysticism. came in the end through Victory with born in harmony The great teacher Darja Danad was nding the techniques in fi its principles. His triumph was pupils, each of to teach them to others. He had three great ways: whom approached his thought in different D D D were fought between gods and The last four cosmic wars ght for mankind. Hensavara antigods. Karkal led the fi defeated and was who blotted out the sky, Akorgat, battled into humiliation. by him and cast down D The distractions of war prevented the gods from the prevented of war The distractions are beings Antigods the birth of the anti-gods. observing Most are insight. accompanying without power of divine violence, pain and selfi entities of darkness, or help others to reach it. Some cannot reach Durapdur little gods are like as great gods. Others are as powerful sometimes are also spawned The races they or heroes. Their names include: called antigods. studied under Darja Danad and learned how Hensavara When Oorsu Sara, the out of the sky. Akorgat to cast came for Mashunashan, his meditation Destroyer, World summoned up Kabalt, the great bolt, which destroyed Nenduren, At the same time, it attacked the arch-demon. ed it utterly. whose profundity of understanding nullifi the dawn fragments but into tiny broken The land was had come. fi ve cosmic wars, are greeted with death. No one who In 763 the fi rst God Learners arrive. They are missionaries, goes there ever comes back. explorers, traders and myth-stealers. The Mokatans welcome them at fi rst, until their god designates them In the second century some of us sail out into the greater as implacable foes of Vithelan thought. Their Zistorites ocean in search of a wider world. We are attacked by launch spirit raids, plundering the secrets of magical ship the green-skinned Waertagi people, who claim to own making. the seas. They destroy every large boat any of us make. Most affronted by this are the Tamanjary, ambitious Other islands embrace their goods and magic. The shipbuilders who dwell on a large island and eat no fl esh Haragalans, previously obscure, tether their boats to the except that of marsupials. God Learner cause. Malkioni belief spreads through the islands. The Haragalan sage Saburang undergoes a vision Only in tiny vessels do our explorers reach the shores and announces his discovery of the Invisible Vith. He of Teshnos and Kralorela. They discover that wrong identifi es this as the higher form uniting the Malkioni and mystical beliefs are already present in these places. Vithelan gods, and shows how to achieve Durapdur by Fragments of our philosophies had arrived there during meditating upon Invisible Vith, in the Nendurenite path. the disaster, borne by refugees from the cosmic war. The jungle and city peoples had both taken the seeds of true My Life mysticism, and grown them into strange and twisted trees For every culture there is a different way of life. You of harmful practice. When we try to correct them, they do will have to come here to learn them all. The Hanfarador not listen. When we remain silent, they come to take our have a queen, who decrees what the people will wear. secrets by force. The Mokatans are ruled directly by their god. Homago’s cannibals govern by consensus. Who knows what the Major Cultures Because the Vormaino are the most secretive of us, the Vormaino do? Kralori Emperor decide they must have the best mystical techniques and send fl eets to penetrate their mist-swathed My Magic isle. These are all destroyed, by means unknown. The gods can be worshipped in two ways: high and low. Low worship is like that practiced elsewhere in the world, In the fourth century, the Vormaino respond by by people of limited mystical perception. They join cults, conquering all the islands around them. They call these pray to these gods and receive magic in return. the Hinter Islands. Their proud warriors subjugate the natives of these places, treating even the kings as To worship in the high manner, one seeks mystical wretched commoners. On the Hinter Islands they build oneness with them. When they offer powers in the low naval outposts to intercept any new invasions. After way, the practitioner must refuse. Otherwise he sacrifi ces losing several fl eets the Kralori give up. Afterwards they ultimate awareness for fl eeting power. As you refuse send only solitary heroes and explorer bands. These all them, you gain mystical magic, unlike the theist magic die, too. received by low worshippers.
In the seventh century, the Mokato god Hobimarong Kabalt, as patron of mystics, can only be approached orders his people to ally with the Tamanjary to defeat the through mystical techniques. As he seems to offer Waertagi, breaking their hold on the sea. He tells them nothing, no ordinary person would pray to him. how to make ships made of pure mystical energy, which they use to shatter many Waertagi ships. In 716, the One can also pursue mystic awareness without reference Waertagi ally with the Vormaino, contacting them on the to gods, as do followers of Mashunashan and Larn Hinter Islands. Together they launch a devastating assault Hasamador. on Tamanjary, sinking it below the waves, killing almost everyone. They are about to do the same to Mokato when Why I Adventure the God Learners strike against the Waertagi in 718. The Every one of us lives in a tiny nation. To escape our Waertagi withdraw to deal with — and be defeated by island borders, we ply the seas, seeking knowledge and — this bigger threat. The Vormaino give up and leave the wealth to feed our people. Mokato alone. 64 Major Races 65 With conditions so prepared, Grower himself grew into a himself grew so prepared, Grower conditions With Falamal, This was seed, then as a tree. rst as a being, fi new From Falamal centre of everything. the great tree at the the and Seyotel, Aldrya, our greatest mother, sprouted song that forms our spirits. it for us, and in a way the ideal time think this was You’d roots dug deep no balance. Grower’s there was but was, threatened to break it apart, as there and into the world his expansion. nothing to stop was the world came into Bebester, Taker, So naturally the All green things became brown. to counter these faults. and the air whipped dried up, stone crumbled Water the papery-dry trees. re, burning it caught fi around so fast no balance. This was destroyed. was Nearly everything by sending Taker ed could not stand it and defi Grower and the defenders, Bergara These were out more shoots. fought They swift. angry and he was Vronkal. She was with forcing Bebester into balance Taker, back against Trigora. spawned Taker of submission, By way Grower. earth where the She became the dark place beneath the this time, most of us were already inside At dead go. her. Veratha, sister, responded by making Bengara’s Grower She kissed the the utter purity of fresh growth. who was We Aldrya herself. including Trigora, aldryami inside seeds, germinated and our sprouts appeared formed new again by a returned the ground, to be warmed above Halamalao. who were Taker, of the creatures Our armies overran were created by doomed by their intrinsic paradox: they a destroyer. We we participated in the I Fought In Dragon Pass, Oakheart. Our usual battle, led by the hero Fwalfa Won and we us joy gave The harmony enemies were our allies. last. prayed that it would entirely was be regrown One part of us that could never local goddesses, up into many Gata. She had been broken were but were rich and fruitful They one for each land. ection of what Gata had been. only a refl t MAJOR RACES MAJOR
ere we survey the inhuman races, looking at ere we survey and attitude magic, outlook their myths, history, point of from their own adventuring toward This is not the real story at all. Aldrya is better understood as a pagan god than as some vague and slippery half-spirit entity. Flamal and Ernalda gave birth to Aldrya. The trickster discovered Death and gave it to the elfs, who used it to kill dwarfs. Then the troll death god, Zorak Zoran, took it and used it to slay Flamal. A modified Lightbringer’s Quest brings him back. — Spolorfal the Arranger, Dean of Pythos University
view. Both players and Games Masters alike can use this Both players and Games Masters alike view. c Player or Non-Player specifi chapter to help delineate Characters. To abet his fecundity, Grower grew allies. There was There was allies. grew Grower abet his fecundity, To we drank from, Gata, the earth we Eron, the waters shone into our rooted in, and Halamalao, the sun who life. giving leaves, The song starts with Grower. He made everything green He made everything The song starts with Grower. and spread across the entire world. them into the stories of foreign gods, adding Ernalda and them into the stories of foreign gods, adding cut it up and what they They Eurmal and others to them. Here is the real song. burn. they do not care for, My Myths My hear them as song, We Our stories are not told in words. The God Learners try to fi we are in the forest. whenever
Aldryami (Elfs) Aldryami Aldrya. from the seeds of the plant people, grown are We We the sap in our veins. Her song runs through us like choppers and the ght the burners, protect the forests and fi in all too many bringers of disease, of whom there are Humans call us elfs. this world. H Still, the dawn had come. The Green Age was long gone but we had much growing to do, if we were to reclaim the world. Errinoru ruled until 60 years ago, when he asked to be planted in the earth. 11 new kinds of healing My History plant sprouted where he lay. At the Dawn, the earth is barren and in need of our — Ilionafar, Yellow Elf of the Errinoru Jungle growth. In most places we retreat to our ancestral places. In Dragon Pass, inspired by the I Fought We Won battle, we help found the Unity Council. We cooperate with our ancient foes, the trolls who want to eat us and the dwarfs In the Second Age, humans start their insupportable who want to chop us down and turn us into buildings. expansions, in both the west and centre. Throughout the world our forests are under threat. Both of the major After many seasons it becomes apparent that we have an Empires are like infestations of chewing bugs. opportunity to reconcile the world and oblivion, just as Grower and Taker were brought into harmony, bringing The God Learners come to Pamaltela and try to take over about the Dawn. Thus can we all return to a better version our jungles there. Certain of their minions, the timinits, of our favourite ages. It would be like the Green Age for are literally wood-chewing bugs! We repulse their us, the Dark Age for trolls and the Stasis Age for dwarfs. onslaught but they are persistent and must be pushed With reconciliation, our different requirements would not back constantly. harm each other. The trolls and dragonewts balk. This is sad; the improved world would be slightly less ideal In the eighth century, the elf hero Errinoru founds a Major Races without their seeds in the garden. mighty Empire in Pamaltela, battling God Learner lumber cutters with fi rst weather magic, then disease The god Nysalor is born, shining his nourishing White and fi nally an animal army. When his successes there are Light on the world. The trolls hate him and declare war. solidly rooted, he allies with the seafaring Triolini and Nysalor burns the troll king, Ezkankekko, nurturing his sails to Genertela. Errinoru razes several God Learner hate. The devouring trolls make the Gbaji to fi ght him. ports, in retaliation for their deforestation campaigns on Eventually they get their wish; Nysalor and Gbaji fi ght the northern continent. His point made, he sails the best each other in the west and are both taken. Neither will of his fl eet into the Underworld itself. He and his sailors reseed. emerge years later, strengthened and strange.
The death of Nysalor emboldens the dwarfs and trolls, In central Genertela, the wyrmfriends are so hypnotised who set about punishing us by attacking our forests. by their envisioned next world that they heedlessly expend resources in this one. Their attempt to summon a Great Dragon from the earth will destroy many forests, if allowed to happen. How To Act Like An Aldryami D Unfocus your eyes; look off into the distance, We sharpen our thorns and exude our poisons, to protect past the person you’re talking to. the wood. D Talk so quietly others must strain to listen. D Bring a few dried leaves to the game session in a plastic bag; occasionally take them out and My Life rustle them. Each of us is closely related to a particular sort of tree. D Speak in plant metaphors. We can live for hundreds of years. For this reason we are D Tremble with quiet fury when the woods are threatened. more cautious than our short-lived foes. When we go into D Have your character detour to forests. Once battle, we have more to lose. there, it lingers, listening to the song of Seyotel. Require sustained prompting from other Player As we age, we gradually become more treelike. Our Characters before you move or pay attention to elders gradually lose their mobility, putting permanent pressing matters at hand. roots down into the soil. 66 Major Races 67 Ever notice that nearly every adventurer you Ever notice that nearly his people? Why, it’s as meet is an outcast from people and taking their if the profession of killing or something! Who stuff has fallen into disrepute more fun, anyhow! cares? Renegades have — Mavlen Madthing, Elf Mercenary of Ralios Dragonewts most of time you humans For are the dragonewts. We you can to understand our speech. Now been unable have We choose to listen. do not always hear what we say but learned to have We all of our secrets here. will not reveal about that. be wary Myths My you will understand. I will try to say this in a way the dragon biting its tail, was nite Dragon The Infi Ourobouros. that It became the Cosmic Dragon, which is everything as there is because as soon a devolution, This was is. that that is, there is its opposite, everything everything Orxili, the six-legged This opposite force was is not. disruptor of meditations. its limbs and made The Cosmic Dragon tamed it, tore off Dragon Ancestral The Grand it into the Cosmic Egg. Why I Adventure Why I learned to aldryami have we experience Through bitter in harmony humans live A few mistrust most other races. We insatiable termites. of them are like most with us but forests are safe but when our own go out into the world others are threatened. A tiny fraction of us suffer a severance from our home a severance us suffer fraction of A tiny often They the rootless. These pitiful souls are forests. to ease the who go out adventuring become renegades, think of We song. Aldrya’s pain of their separation from with adventure those of you who them as maniacal but may or may They nd them usefully violent. them might fi to protect the not continue to uphold the sacred duty woods. to do it. When away When away to do it. rst time. rst Aldryami Aldryami My Magic My Aldyra is a goddess or a spirit Ask a God Learner whether disquisition through a hair-splitting suffer and you’ll that she is neither or both at the same time. explaining The short answer is that the magic she grants works a spirit encounter to the feels like Magic but Divine like aldryami. We have no need for rulers or government. The song of no need for rulers or government. have We of the aldryami of a forest to make enables all Seyotel God Learners decisions by harmonising with one another. to have would You it is not so. call this a group mind, but are individuals, We feel the song inside you to understand. our trees. None of us are forced to with personalities like want We do what the song tells us. Some of us are only male and must pollinate with tree Some of us are only male and must pollinate female. spirits, called dryads, who are always from the forest, we are on our own. The sudden, crashing from the forest, we are on our own. dispiriting, especially when silence can be powerfully for the fi suffered When fi rst born, the True Dragons were full of life yet bereft of ultimate perception. They mated too early and Dragonewt myths are more abstract expressions from their eggs we dragonewts hatched. Thus we were than stories. This is why we God Learners can incomplete at birth. The Ancestral Dragons explained that barely exert power over them. we would have to fi nish our souls over many incarnations — Spolorfal the Arranger, Dean of Pythos and laid the receptacle eggs. Our souls migrate into University them at death and we are reborn. If we have progressed in the previous incarnation, we are born at a new stage of physical development. More often we have evolved slightly since the last form. At the end we can become hatched from it and made the knowable world and also True Dragons, too. six offspring. They were the guardians of silence, secrets, being, experience, thought and spirit – the Ancestral Our civilisation thrived during what you call the Green Dragons. Age. But we were unwary. To progress spiritually, we turned away from the world. Outsiders came and ate our Orxili’s missing limbs came back as Chaos and attacked. eggs. We were ruined. The Grand Ancestral Dragon used its own disorder against it, driving it back. The by-product of this interaction was Darkness and the beings that live in it. Dragonewt Existence The dragonewt stages are, from lowest to highest: crested, beaked, Major Races Once the darkness element existed tailed priest and full priest. Outsiders call these scout, warrior, noble and ruler. the devolution had to continue, so that its inevitable counterparts would be Crested dragonewts are the most common of us. This shows how created. The Grand Ancestral Dragon hard it is to achieve spiritual progress. Crested dragonewts perform committed utuma, the ritual self- the labours and do back-up duty in battle. They build, repair, gather slaughter of making. From its loins and toil. A natural reluctance shields them from undue contact with humans. spilled the liquids, the waters and the beings that live in it. From its belly The hides of warriors gain thickness and detail over many incarnations, came earth and its beings. From its until the become beaked dragonewts. They are the heroes of the head came fi re powers and creatures. battlefi eld. They are bold but over-ready to engage with the ordinary world. They face constant spiritual peril. The Ancestral Dragons met in Dragon Tailed priests lose the armoured padding of the warrior in exchange Pass to dance and mate. When these for brightly coloured ruffs and frills. They confi ne their interactions eggs hatched, they were the True with humans, even wyrmfriends, to a minimum. Their potential for Dragons. These are the highest dragons transcendence is too precious to risk. Full priests sometimes force that exist in the material world. They them to interact but provide them with strict scripts governing the possible discourse. Thus neither full priest nor tailed priest is really are as big as mountain ranges. When a enmeshing himself too deeply in the world. human or elder race myth mentions a fi ght between a god and a dragon, it is Full priests gain massive wings and can work truly miraculous outer a True Dragon that is referred to. magic – but risk spiritual stasis or even devolution if they use any of it. When True Dragons dream, their Dragonewts live in oddly constructed settlements called nests. The projected thoughts reverberate in largest of these are as big as human cities. Their architectural forms distant hills and valleys, manifesting as are baffl ing to the untrained human eye but make spiritual sense to Dream Dragons. These are the dragons wyrmfriends. The cities are made from stone, including a form of we can meet. Sometimes you humans crystalline jade grown in vats and carved to specifi c shapes. try to fi ght them.
68 Major Races 69 Dragonewt Dragon Pass, our homeland, is a different matter. There matter. is a different our homeland, Dragon Pass, help must We the world. to shape all want other peoples shaped. shape or be In the year 34, an Orlanthi An intermediary is required. to us and returns a fragment of named Drolgard comes stolen during the rune, which had been the Dragonewt Friends. World the Council of He is from Time. Chaos which him with the secret of our real speech, entrust We with smells, tongue and teeth, but is made not only with him to speak allow To feelings. gestures and projected we must Wyrmish, Auld you call in this tongue, which and secret. Drolgard is trustworthy him a magical give When he dies, the secret to no one. respectful and teaches his spirit to transmit it to others of a similarly he allows responsible bent. Through to shape the First Council fail. Our efforts heirs, we tell them that their plans to create Drolgard’s the reality but earthly god will mire them in false a new withdraw We do not listen. and Sun worshippers Wind and, god anyway create the new They from the council. them, it is a Deceiver. as we warned In the First Age, the human place that hurts us least is In the First Kralorela. Because of what we taught them in the Chaos people there retain a form of dragon wisdom Time, understandable by human minds. Sometimes we have mutual needs and interaction is mutual needs and interaction is Sometimes we have required. In the old days, if we tried to speak directly into confusion suffering stagger away, your minds, you would and bruised souls. You humans have always been poisonous to us. The other to us. been poisonous always humans have You us alone, more or less. But you cannot elder races leave tried to get inside us, always abide a mystery and have are so tied to the You weasels breaking into an egg. like interaction with material and practical realms that every souls to this plane. It to cement our you is an invitation It is simply that is not that you mean ill. Not necessarily. of thinking and being are incompatible. our ways My History My die. do not We we call existence. What you call history, Our souls eshly forms wear out and expire. our fl Yes, we gestate and are reborn. If we and migrate to eggs we hatch in a higher form. spiritually, progressed have lifetimes to progress from one stage to many It can take we Teshnos, the human reincarnators of Unlike the other. incarnations at all retain full memories of our previous could answer We ancient past is our memory. Your times. past – if we were murky your peoples’ questions of many in your terms. capable of understanding the world Chaos came back into the world. This was a threat; it a This was the world. Chaos came back into Kralorela, dragon beings commanded shape us. In would In Dragon survive. to them how the mortals, teaching assisted the other Weakness Heart of the dragonewt Pass, battle. Won We beings, joining in the I Fought The dragonewt hero Falling Forward decreed the doctrine decreed Forward hero Falling The dragonewt to shape the world would We Participation. of Limited again it from to prevent necessary, extent the minimum paid the ultimate price Forward shaping us. Falling he As he performed his feats of protection, us. to save to form. He fell from highest dragonewt in devolved nally to a green- and fi then to a mere earthshaker, lowest, he committed Backward, called Fallen human. Now eyed him. Nothing good to slay not have utuma so we would came from his belly. We stay out of the fi ght between the identity-shifting hero Why I Adventure Arkat and the Deceiver, so as not to be shaped by them. Dragonewts who become irreparably enmeshed with the In 571 the God Learners raid Drolgard’s temple and steal concerns of other races face exile. Most of us see this his secret. They do what we cannot: teach our language coming and voluntarily separate from our nests, lest we to humans. All across Dragon Pass, people come to us for retard the spiritual purity of our fellows. These are the answers. They seek draconic ascendance with apparent eccentric loners who tend to join mixed adventuring sincerity. We are shaken by controversy. On one hand, bands. They seek diversion, an outlet for their frustration we do not wish to be shaped. On the other, our wisdom and an end to loneliness. Many look for alternate religious has aided the Kraloreli, without ill effect. Also, we have practices, joining the few outsider cults that will accept already shaped these spiritual Questers with our language, them. For that reason there are a surprising number of wittingly or not. Surely we are duty-bound to control the Malkioni dragonewts, mostly crested, working for the nature of that reshaping as best we can. God Learners. They will act as traders and mercenaries but refuse to aid Hwarosian or Zistorite sorcerers in penetrating dragon secrets. When I first gazed upon the leathery visage of the Inhuman King, my knees gave way beneath me. We also adventure together, or with dragon-friendly Tears of joy obscured my vision. For the first time allies, to shape the world in a spiritually favourable in a lonely, wayward life, I was whole. manner. We fi ght for the EWF and against the Immanent Mastery movement in Kralorela. — Ervaling Scalemaker, Wyrmfriend Priest Major Races Mostali (Dwarfs) We are the mostali, the people of the Primal Stone. We So we give the answers. Our leader in Dragon Pass, the dwell in mountains, make ingenious devices and keep Inhuman King, shows Vistikos Left-Eye how to commune their secrets from the rest of you. The world is a machine, with the Cosmic Dragon. which once worked perfectly by doing nothing at all. Our goal is to repair it so that all the broken, uncontrolled The Orlanthi are reshaped by us. They go forth and pieces stop doing what they’re doing and come to a reshape the world. We fi ght alongside them, sending our complete and fi nal halt. wyrmlings and dinosaurs, too. A good mostali follows orders, gets the job done, does Every 33 years we gather in secret colloquy to ask not ask questions and – most of all – gives no answers. ourselves: are we the shapers or the shaped? The next colloquy is due two years from now. I shouldn’t be telling you any of this. My Magic There are two magics: inner and outer. Outer magics shape the world and are gross and visible in form. Rune Most races claim their gods came before all others. Magic is a kind of outer magic. Inner magics shape the In this case, we know for certain fact that Mostal self, making it more like a True Dragon. descends from the Celestial Court deities Acos the Law and Gata the Earth. The more outer magic you work, the harder it becomes to work inner magic. Even so, it is at times necessary to — Spolorfal the Arranger, Dean of Pythos work outer magic to resist even greater changes being University forced on you by other beings in the world.
70 Major Races 71 rst we withdrew from rst we withdrew Also at this time Mostal honed Truestone until it Also at this time Mostal honed Truestone became the mythical metal Adamant. Nidan — Sofancort, Golden Tutor of the Decamony his nonsense, which hurt our minds. His band of vandal band of vandal his nonsense, which hurt our minds. His from ripped the sky They were only emboldened. outlaws The bowl its proper place, making it a thing of turbulence. Machine groaned, shrieked, World The tilted. of heaven spit out gears and belts, and shuddered to a smoking halt. It had been broken. gods Until the outlaw this reason we went to war. For no point repairing the were brought to heel, there was machine. Mostal Dies Their goddess as foes then. themselves The elfs revealed fouling it on the slopes of the Spike, lived had always her gross fecundity Now growth. with her unchecked The Breaking of the World Machine Breaking of the World The for laid the groundwork The disorder god Ratslaff nose as our maker destruction. He tickled Mostal’s Thanks deep into the layers of reality. pounded the Spike appeared in the to this mindless prank, a hairline crack god, outlaw a new emerged aw fl structure. From this tiny winds, he aimed his howling With Umath the destroyer. At fi the world. down only to blow The Spike The greatest are not Mostal’s as we might be, we As useful ideally the The Spike, be That would creation. magical substance ce of the legendary symmetrical edifi the physical then and was alive It was Truestone. called together. the world held The Spike manifestation of Law. a nail, the middle of reality like Mostal pounded it into a distance it looked From binding its layers together. it be you went, whether Wherever a huge mountain. like the was there primal ocean or Underworld, earth, sky, Each of the original gods received for all to see. Spike, within it. Of foremost interest was an appropriate palace where at this time all mostali laboratory, own Mostal’s dwelt. rst rst, scooping The fi rst mostali to emerge from each container became rst mostali to emerge The fi as the might think of them You its permanent guardian. metals. gods of their respective They built the Copper Kettle, and made the Copper the Copper Kettle, built They Tin from which the Dipper, Tin Mostali, who made the These in turn constructed the Cauldron Mostali emerged. of Brass, producing the Brass Mostali, who made the Mostali issued. the Silver from whence of Silver, Pan made the Ewer of Gold and thus the Gold Mostali. They And the Gold Mostali made no others, as the task was complete. Lead Mostali were more sensitive than their Rock co- Lead Mostali were more sensitive could help Mostal mould the Quicksilver so they workers, Mostali. made the Quicksilver Alembic. In this they They made the Leaden Pot. Into its molten womb they they Pot. Into its molten womb made the Leaden They Lead Mostali came out, cooling. materials. poured raw were longer hot to the touch, they were no When they ready to work. stone into a container, the Rock Bowl. It tumbled until It tumbled the Rock Bowl. stone into a container, came out sound and They and formed. were smooth they ready to help him. Mostal constructed the Rock Mostali fi Mostal constructed the Rock Mostali Mostali Origins Mostal made things. That was his function and purpose. his function and purpose. That was Mostal made things. the fi that he was it follows If he made things, logically material, As a Stone. (and brother) was His co-worker today: nitely superior to that known infi Primal Stone was pliable, ductile, beautiful, ever-changing. Myths are just that. Stories. Gods are not real. We talk We are not real. just that. Stories. Gods Myths are of an abstract cation he is a personifi about Mostal but the this up front: know So just toward. quality we work cannot get a hold of us and shake accursed Zistorite scum it is all just parable. mythologies, because us by our own rst tool. He made the nine mostali the fi He made Helper, the central hub of made the Spike, races. Most of all, he Machine. the World My Myths My else. for thereafter he made everything entity, worsened, till every good stone was covered by The struggle was long and terrible but we survived within smothering fronds and tendrils. our impregnable fortresses. As expedience dictated, we even allied with trolls and elfs to stamp out Chaos. In the early engagements of the Gods War, our armies distinguished themselves with superior numbers, unfl agging discipline and surprising weapons which burst With the deaths of most of the Original Dwarfs, onto the battlefi eld, felling foes in great numbers. the Clay Mostali took on their roles. The warriors styled themselves as Iron Mostali, the loremasters One weapon we did not make. It was Death and it turned as Gold Mostali, the sorcerers as Silver Mostali the tide against us. What it broke was irreparable. The elfs and so on. got hold of it and used it to slaughter us. Their war leader, High King Elf, burst into Mostal’s place, murdering both — Sofancort, Golden Tutor of the Nidan Mostal and Stone. Decamony Iron, Clay and Diamond Next came the invasion of the trolls, who bubbled up from below to capture us. They boiled us down and drank us. This bought us time to effectuate the Temporary Repair. The most broken parts of the World Machine were So we returned to the sacred containers and made another restored. Our fi xes were aesthetically displeasing and not one, the Crucible of Iron. We devised this new metal to meant to last but they worked well enough to hoist the be especially hurtful to our enemies, the trolls and elfs. Great Worklight back into the sky and restore a modicum Major Races They armed themselves with axes, swords, shields and of order to the world. We installed the Clock Dial in the helmets. machine. This innovation was strong enough to bar the meddlesome gods from poking their fi ngers into the We rallied, but they killed more of us faster than we could machine, ever again. quickly replace. So our ruling council formed the Tenth Container, the Clay Jar, from which the Clay Mostali With stability achieved, we could work toward a clambered. These were lesser in every way than the other permanent renovation of the machine. What we did not mostali types but were easy to produce. They were armed reckon on was the spread of heresy. and sent to battle. My History The lowest of us were now made but we needed the After the Clock Dial starts ticking, the malfunction of highest, to replace murdered Mostal. So our council Openhandism spreads. Mostali in Dragon Pass had fought gathered to sing the most puissant mathematical formulae alongside trolls, elfs and men, and were infected by a and made the Last Container, the Diamond Goblet. From destructive spirit of comradeship. Openhandist dwarfs it emerged the regal Diamond Mostali, who wielded our believe in the sharing of our secrets with others, in hopes magic and served as our leaders. of bending them to our way of thought. Orthodox mostali know this is folly. Return from Chaos The Diamond Mostali made the Decamony, the structure The Openhandists join the First Council. They help of authority we subscribe to still. They allied with gods spread the knowledge of survival to all who need it. The when necessary, guided our military engagements with Decamony censures them and, in 182, fi nally expels them calculating wisdom and hunkered down as prudence entirely. Persisting in error, they join the Second Council demanded. and participate in the creation of the new god Nysalor. They are so dedicated to this challenge to the integrity They saved us even when the lowest point came and of the Clock Dial that they make war on the trolls when Chaos came to explode the Spike. Most of the old mostali they leave the council. Their own break with it comes were inside it at the time, which is why all but the Clay only when elfs assassinate their leader and the heretics Mostali are rare now. fall into factional fi ghting. 72 Major Races 73 ned to those The Decamony was slow to react at first to the was slow to react The Decamony unwisdom. We by Chark’s threat represented our struggle against the were distracted by Learner Empire and their Zistorites of the God These we opposed as obscene Machine God. soon as we heard of them. Tutor of the Nidan — Sofancort, Golden Decamony Individualists leave the community to seek their fortunes the community to seek their fortunes leave Individualists minds about the purpose of up their own and make become disreputable adventurers. Many existence. years later it Two them. expels In 850 the Decamony leaders of on the Individualist launches a successful war the Iron Mountains in northern Seshnela. the Imperial Openhandism is generally unpopular in God Learners Age, as mostali bristle at attempts by the The Greatway and EWF to encroach on their secrets. is an exception. Pass, near Dragon community of Balazar, their anti- The attack on the Iron Mountains reawakens Decamonic fervour. Decamony, force from the an invasion Shortly thereafter, attacks the tacitly supported by the Middle Sea Emperor, During its march, it is harassed by trolls and Greatway. it so that it is routed on arrival. weakening dragonewts, a quandary. faces the Decamony In the present day, to the lay siege and heretic dwarfs wyrmfriends Trolls, in God Forgot. blasphemous Clanking City of Zistorwal decide whether to join roils them as they Controversy foe. worse their longtime enemies against an even Why I Adventure rightly confi is a suspect activity, Adventuring These units infected by the malfunction of individualism. My Magic My learn it We Our magic is that of alchemy and technology. by Mostal. Humans from the ancient formulae laid down would We it is better than that. but think of it as Sorcery, to kill you. have then we would tell you more but Mostali In 700 a worse malfunction fl ourishes. Chark the ourishes. malfunction fl In 700 a worse formed before the Clock Dial ticked, who was Liberator, nd Mostal. Instead he quests into the Hero Plane to fi The meeting convinces Arkat there. encounters a young aside from his has inherent value him that a single dwarf souls, Chark have We group. to the work contribution death. after claims, and retain identity even Early in the Second Age, the minor heresy of Octamonism Age, the minor Early in the Second that only This ultra-orthodox doctrine holds develops. Mostal of the Eight Minerals knew the original mostali political achieves to rule. It never and are thus equipped gains small pockets community but mostali in any power of adherents in each. In the West, orthodox mostali see Gbaji for the Chaos Gbaji for the Chaos orthodox mostali see West, In the ally with They ghting it. fi it is and join in manifestation purpose. hidden but furtherance of a noble Arkat in to return its hope they Dragon Pass, invade As they ends The mission doctrine. malfunctionists to established are not so much redeemed as in bitterness; the heretics destroyed. Many of us have embraced their prophet, Malkion. The gift of logic is Mostali Models already natural to us. We are used to Mostali come in nine distinct models. These are Clay Mostali counting out our brief and dwindling emulating the original dwarfs of the Nine Ancient Minerals: days, and when hunger necessitates, D Rock dwarfs are stoneworkers, miners, and architects. eat of one another’s bodies without D Lead dwarfs are locksmiths, glassblowers, and plumbers. They sentimentality. make wards to keep out intruders. D Quicksilver dwarfs are alchemists, pyrotechnicians and My Myths manufacturers of food products. (Dwarfs prefer their food Most timinits you meet will have given tinned.) Other cultures covet their secret of gunpowder. D Copper dwarfs make tools, containers, and certain weapons. up their old spirit-chasing ways to Their energy conduits conduct magical forces throughout a cloak themselves in the glorious mantle well-stocked laboratory. of the all-wise Invisible God. I dare say D Tin dwarfs manufacture tools and containers, as well as an that we love him even more than you array of animate constructs, such as the nilmergs and jolanti. men do, for we still remember when D Brass dwarfs are metallurgists and experts in high heat technology. we were little better than animals. We D Silver dwarfs specialise in enchantments and multi-generational credit his magic and teachings with our magical workings. salvation. Still, it is not good to entirely D Gold dwarfs are teachers, scholars, archivists and logicians. lose track of one’s past and so we still D Iron dwarfs are blacksmiths, armourers and warriors. tell the tales of our old, false gods as Diamondwarf is not a model but a rank of high achievement. A pleasant fables. They while away a Major Races supremely skilled mostali of any model can become one. long night on a ship’s deck or on guard outside a lonely trading outpost.
The world began as an egg and in mostali traverse the world in search of new experiences, that state it was nourished and perfect, so far as that to reinforce a false sense of identity. Some are also went. But then the egg divided, becoming twin siblings, Openhandists, willing to share with non-mostali. Phermaphor and Paskadala. Phermaphor was the masculine principle of warring and roaming. Paskadala Agents of the Decamony undertake discrete assignments embodied the feminine nature of breeding and eating. to stamp out mostali heresies and enemies, and to recover Life was good and the insect men existed in innocence, stolen secrets and technologies. without knowing of others. Each spring and summer Phermaphor would scour the land for food, growing fat, while his sister-wife would starve. He would return and Timinits (Insect Men) wiggle the Courting Dance and she would be pleased We are the timinits. You fl esh men call us the bug people, and eat his head and belly. Thus fed, she would allow or insect men. We are the most varied of the races, hundreds of eggs to wriggle from her abdomen and each manifesting in as many forms as there are days in the hot year one of these would be Phermaphor, reborn. And the season. The timinits come from the land of Pamaltela, cycle would repeat, forever. dwelling in its jungles, on its coastlines and upon its idyllic, grassless prairies. We are also the newest of Then came the giants and they smashed the eggs and ate the races to rise to prominence. Once a backward and the egglings. This upset the balance, for Phermaphor’s ignorant folk, we owe our vast strides in matters of trade hunting and Paskadala’s birthing were not great enough and magic to the Jrusteli. They awakened us from our to feed both our people and the heedless giants. So we state of ignorance and taught us their secrets of Sorcery. warred with them and out of their spite and our righteous Some of us are indebted to their spells of transformation rage arose the awful Bong-Ga-Log, who ate all the eggs for the changes in bodily structure that allow us to move and the sun besides. Timinits joined with the giant’s about in a dangerous world. If the Middle Sea Empire smaller kin, the fi re people, and one day they found the were to dwindle or die, so would we. We would revert to biggest egg of all, which Paskadala had hidden deep a misbegotten existence in our steamy homeland. within the loamy soil. And she was inside it and she burst 74 Major Races 75 ne ercely as warriors, instinctively knowing knowing instinctively as warriors, ercely ght fi ght ercely, in accordance with their provocations. Others, in accordance with their provocations. ercely, misery arose in Fonrit; we ate leaves and mice and each we ate leaves misery arose in Fonrit; spread giants, Agimori, sons of the destructive The other. were ours told them that our eggs We across the plains. webs and them with sticky ght fi to eat and that we’d encroached on us. Sometimes slashing forearms if they them. Or did encroach and then myrmidons slew they As the It does not much matter. were slain themselves. told us: ‘I can always Earthen Egg Mother Paskadala more of you’. make when the Jrusteli But in at the end of the sixth century, if there was appeared on our shores, wondering thing happened. nourishment for them too, a funny so we acted us as monsters and some of them saw Yes, fi used They God. to us of their Invisible though, spoke our must like the system of Cascading Logic, which was ner merchants. We clothe our spindly forms in luxurious silks and drink deep of aphid forms in luxurious silks and drink deep clothe our spindly We ner merchants. , lithe and elegant. We of the Spider Assembly are the most learned and thoughtful Assembly are the most learned and thoughtful of the Spider We arachan, lithe and elegant. , strike many as vile, for they have learned to lengthen their otherwise equally learned to lengthen their otherwise have as vile, for they many , strike cerebresites are the most melancholy and poetic of our kind. They reach maturity at the age of two maturity at the age of two reach They kind. are the most melancholy and poetic of our are similarly slim and seemingly breakable, yet fi are similarly slim and rmity encroaches, they alter their host’s anatomy, so that, whether male, female or hermaphrodite, so that, whether male, female anatomy, alter their host’s rmity encroaches, they rst eggs of Paskadala, back before the back before the of Paskadala, rst eggs are glossy black beetle creatures who root about in rotting logs. These intelligent but slow-witted slow-witted but These intelligent about in rotting logs. are glossy black beetle creatures who root ephemerae what is best for the whole at any moment. Different colourations of myrmidon abound; they used to go to war used to go to war they colourations of myrmidon abound; moment. Different at any what is best for the whole ll the frightening ranks of Jrusteli armies. fi now with one another but Lucans middling success recruiting them as guards and enjoyed have We protect their territories viciously. herbivores stock of timber. them content requires a never-ending keep To sergeants. The weeks, achieve a sorrowful philosophy by the age of one month and are dead within a year. They travel travel They philosophy by the age of one month and are dead within a year. a sorrowful weeks, achieve expire. can before they all they in a frenzy to experience peripatetically, Their cousins, the brief lifespans through parasitism. They occupy the forms of dozens of other insect men over their decades of their decades the forms of dozens of other insect men over occupy They brief lifespans through parasitism. it out after nine months to a burn they occupy, body they No matter which other timinit existence. acquisitive As year. infi into the brains of this egg insert sharpened pedipalps, they With egg. produce a pearlescent, soft-skinned they and the cerebresite gains new The host loses volition is transferred instantly. hosts. Consciousness their next to a drooling cerebresite, myself over give to not want Although I would life and locomotion for another year. transcendence. as bearers of spiritual the egg-gifters little and perceive their lives who value there are many here on their shortened lives for the entirety of ceaseless Hrestoli Joy Some claim that the hosts experience Solace. to Malkion’s Glorantha and are then transported instantly The pink men think of us as all one race but our forms are extremely varied. Until recently, we viewed one we viewed Until recently, varied. our forms are extremely us as all one race but The pink men think of seen the that we’ve Only now one another. from quite different and thought ourselves another with hostility shall name only some of our questing commonalities become apparent. I do our insectoid rest of the world horde. I am proud to be an fi make We and eloquent. are honeyed drip with poison, our words Though our mandibles of the timinits. Types of Insect Men Types of Insect fi sorcerers and even wine. Myrmidons eshed men to their own devices. A civilisation of A civilisation devices. eshed men to their own My History My the leaving to ourselves, Age, we kept During the First soft-fl As you can tell, it is a charming story, but not one to but As you can tell, it is a charming story, among urbane people and in, if you wish to walk believe and accomplishments. impress them with your jewels bad times started. These were released again when the bad times started. (shamans draw beginning Biggest Egg opened at time’s those are the other spirits but from or propitiate power important ones). The spirits the ancient-ways timinit shamans cling to are The spirits the ancient-ways of the fi the spawn forth with food for us again, although she was weakened weakened was forth with food for us again, although she world. and could not return with mortals to the ordinary belief in the Necessity of Cause and Action. The words of Malkion made sense to us. The stories of their saints were fi lled with glory and sacrifi ce, and we liked that. We How To Act Like A Timinit D Regard death and loss with an inhuman prayed for their intercession and were repaid with power detachment. and soul-solace. D Staunchly admire Jrusteli civilisation. D Seek outward signs of success. When the Jrusteli established their colleges in Umathela, D Become agitated and vaguely ashamed of we insisted on being invited. By debate and mastery timinits who adhere to the old ways. D Show a wide-eyed fascination with Sorcery of cascading logic we proved our worthiness and were and a greedy desire to prove your mastery of admitted. The sorcerers told us of other lands and we it. yearned to see them. When they put down the Waertagi D Favour motion over stillness and exploration and opened the seas, we were eager to sail. Once over speculation. indifferent to coin, now we love it above all other things, D Prattle on endlessly about the joys of sea travel. as a hard-and-fast symbol of earthly accomplishment. D Move jerkily. Even more vital is the mastery of the rigid yet ineffable D Make clicking noises. laws of magic. Love of Malkion’s deeds is more crucial still. In 729 came the wind that made the myrmidons smarter Not everyone went along with the new life we were than before. It blew in from the coast and was a trick sent offered. We called the recalcitrant ones the Mouldy by dragons to divide us. The Myrmidon Rebellion cost Sticks. They stuck to their spirits and the evanescent thousands of lives, fl eshy and chitinous alike, and made Major Races bounties of Paskadala’s ever-bursting egg. This was it hard for even the most fervent Jrusteli friends to prove no tragedy. Let them do what they want, our ancestors themselves. said. We were busy. Because Paskadala’s realms were so simple and polluted by few other gods, they 862 brought a wave of attacks against us, when the proved an ideal haven for early God Learner inquiries Gleaming Syndicate, a merchant league dominated by into the Questing Lands. cerebresites, cornered the Slontos grain market. Word of our supposed perfi dy spread throughout the trading But then the Moldy Sticks called us the Mammal Eaters coasts and even timinits who had nothing to do with it and ambushed us and sent crawling spirits to infest our were chased by rioters. God Realm sojourns. This left us no choice but to battle them. In 674 came the Battle of Fruit Reef, where we At about this time the Umathelan settlers began to squirm landed on them in great numbers during their spirit under the yoke of their Seshnegi kings. The Umathelans journeys to counsel the dead. Many on both sides died were of original Jrusteli stock, adventurous, independent and human sorcerers too. By mistake Paskadala’s egg and questing. It was they we admired. The Seshnegi was scorched. Though it recovered decades later, right were related to them but lacked their spirit. They then there was famine and it was at least half our fault. imposed heavy taxes on enterprise. These measures were We tried to make peace but bitter war fl ared among the prejudicial against us. The Seshnegi also said we should timinits for scores of years. have fewer spots in the Umathelan universities, even when our merit warranted as many chairs as they could offer. So we joined with the Umathelan rebels in pulling away from the overseas kings. For the fi rst time the rebels It is shameful that there has always been so much war within the Insect Tribe. Trolls don’t fight each offered us equality with fl eshy men if we would lend our other. Nor do elfs. The dwarfs hardly do, either. It Sorcery to their cause. This caused another schism, as is a dishonour we share with the humans. some of us were now more attached to the greater Empire than to Umathela. The Trade Everywhere faction sent — Yuthomban Crystalweb, Arachan Alchemist scourging spells against those of us who marched under the Freedom Is For Here banner.
76 Major Races 77 Why I Adventure for the following adventure Timinits or nd the solutions to vexing reasons: to fi illogical mysteries; to adorn themselves with objects of wealth and status; to exalt God; to broaden the glory of the Invisible their horizons; to put their mathematical conduct God Learner experiments. Even Even conduct God Learner experiments. other timinits who are God Learners in good standing consider this radical and rash, of the Scorching, the horrible mistake given in 674. The so-called Mouldy Stick traditionalists wilderness still follow of the Pamaltelan hundred timinits A few the shamanic paths. defected to the EWF and pursue have the mystical truth behind their passing are full- They similarities to dragonewts. mystics. blown Timinits Timinits Attitudes toward other Inhumans is food. us, loose vegetation To fought the elfs. always have We do not hate We or something. it is their eggs treat it like They despise us for pursuing the They simply need to eat. We them. necessity of survival. should rule think they The trolls look at us, see we are insects and Also, herd. they and worms rule the blind idiot bugs us, as they about say think we are good to eat – the same thing they they Argar, Argan the trader god, trolls who follow like We everybody. are crude, violent and stupid. the rest but Mostali are an enemy of the Empire, opposed especially against trade goods. valuable so many the Zistorites who manufacture Those who wish the Empire loathe the dwarfs. who love Timinits it ill may look kindly on them. our enemies, as they are usually all of the EWF, like Dragonewts, are for all God Learners. It is sad, because in temperament they Although it must be other creature. us than any are more like are clot-heated mystics, where we are hard-headed said that they logical sorcerers. Don’t get me wrong. Some of my best comrades Don’t get me wrong. you got to admit, even at have been bug men. But your life, they’re still the moment they’re saving just so… creepy. — Gurek Runespear, Mercenary of Safelster My Magic My in a Maybe one Most modern timinits practice Sorcery. up his shamanic propitiation hundred continues to keep and their spirit spawn of Phermaphor and Paskadala spells from grimoires. Half of these while also working The rest continue oddballs do this out of sincere respect. as an ideal place to to see their discarded myth-world In 901 the Umathelan Coalition formally drove out the formally drove Umathelan Coalition In 901 the other Pamaltelan The Empire lost its masters. Seshnegi Here Is For The Freedom this time, also. holdings around to reconcile want We them out. party helped to shove taken have they people but Everywhere Trade with the not to mention a knife cutting into it as a personal insult, their purses. We love the night and hate the light. You maybe have heard that it hurts uz. It doesn’t. Well, it hurts enlo and We show our esteem for our Jrusteli friends by romal, but who cares about them? taking names like theirs. Except their names often end in –os, –am and –yl, where ours end in –ik Uz herd insects, spiders, worms and other squirming or –it, or both. animals of the dark. Some of these beasts are very big in size. —Svalikit the Scrivener, Archivist of Garzanz My Myths Darkness is not nothing. It is everything. So it had to come into being. It was Nakala, the primal darkness. At this minds to good use, in the honest exchange of trade goods; time the other elements were personifying themselves as to prove the value of their people to doubting outsiders; gods and even though Nakala was suspicious of it, it did to atone for the regrettable scorching of Paskadala’s egg; it too. Nakala became Subere, who you could talk to and (cerebresites only) to fi nd suitable new hosts. get help from.
Uz (Trolls) God Learners identify Subere with Dame We are the uz. Uz are the darkness people. The westerners Darkness, who is depicted as a lithe ebon woman call us trolls. The easterners call us dozaki. The nasty sun covered in a swirling cloak of night. But everyone river people, what you call Pelorians, name us digijelm.
Major Races knows how stupid they are. Call us what you want. We are uz. — Zoralak Kogan, Lorespeaker of the We are big and muscly and our teeth are bigger than yours, Shadowlands too. Tusks, you might say. All the better to eat you with. Or eat anything, nearabouts. Uz are very hungry and our gods made everything on this world for us to eat. Subere seized the Man rune from the other gods who’d Things that are not so good to eat: droppings, rocks and been messing with it. She dipped it in darkness and air. Uz will eat everything else before we eat those. it became Kyger Litor, our greatest spirit. She bore Korasting, mother of many, who gave birth to most of the All of us used to be big and strong and fat. So magically early great uz heroes. Without any men getting involved, powerful were we that we could slay you with a sniff of Kyger Litor and Korasting kept on birthing until they’d our great snouts. These were the uzuz, the Mistress Race brought the Seven Sacred Ancestors into the world. We trolls, who hardly exist now. We have suffered over time count Korasting as one of the them. The others were: and now there are spindly, stunted or stupid sub-types all around. D Karrg , master of weapons, valiant protector, the fi rst male. He is the good son, loyal to his mother and an Ordinary uz, like me, are what you call dark trolls or example to all men. man trolls. There are bigger, dumber uz: the uzdo (great D Vaneekara , called the Hurler, after her skill at trolls) and the bestial, cave-dwelling Romal. Most of our throwing, is the fi rst daughter, an example to all litters these days are small scuttling, nearly worthless women. individuals called enlo or trollkin. This is because we D Jakaboom , Dancer in the Shadows, the fi rst shaman, were cursed by the awful Chaos god, Gbaji. taught us to deal with spirits. D Jeset , the ferryman, takes the spirits of the fallen We hate Chaos. We also hate light magic. We will eat across the river Adzurana, which leads to the land of elfs, dwarfs, timinits, humans – you name it – but that the dead. does not mean we hate them. It is our favourite joke to D Hombobobom , the great drum, invented our sacred say we like them very much, especially with greens on sounds and accompanies us in dancing. the side. 78 Major Races 79 ne’, thinking we would get Wonderhome back. But we Wonderhome get ne’, thinking we would ght but the women command. They go out into the go They command. the women ght but Argan Argar, who was an uz, showed us how to live on the to live how us an uz, showed who was Argar, Argan and languages He taught us the customs world. surface to them in non- of the other peoples, so we could relate eating ways. Chaos, could not eat was ght but The one foe we could fi corrupted us inside if we consumed have which would He became the it. Boztakang found his purpose then. says, battling the who did what his name Chaos Killer, from the us even who tried to scourge Arquong, hosts of sorry that And his brothers and sisters were Hurtplace. him. had mocked they came to us and said: The elfs, humans and dwarfs the sun back up to the sky’. ‘Please, please, let us take nothing a trick, because there was And we thought it was out bright eye more than to get the burning we wanted said: They us. made them beg So we Wonderhome. of sure it comes out only half ‘Please, please, we will make The night goddess Xentha will put a blanket the time. or thereabouts’. So we said 12 hours, his head every over ‘fi nd another. nd Uz Life and husbands. to be good sons strive rule uz. Men Women fi They the merchandise. own the women to trade, but world up about is a proper uz, we make Although one in ten births the enlo That is because a quarter of a troll community. last so long. don’t them slave make We deserve. they treat enlo bad, like We there are always wear out from overwork, for us. If they we eat hungry, extra When we are more to replace them. betray us to our enemies. worms them. Sometimes the little worse. them even Maybe we should treat dig well We are good places to live. and burrows Caves do. It is dwarfs solid rock the way mine through don’t but Deep dark there. place and live a dwarf over good to take huts from and you can carve pretty fungal forests are very you just When you get hungry, the giant mushrooms there. When you run out of house, you eat more of your house. fi Gorakiki (not , the unformed. His brothers and His brothers and , the unformed. Boztakang he said: ‘Just him a layabout but sisters called a purpose and nd One day I will fi you wait. me.’ mocked all be sorry you you’ll We learned to befriend new great spirits. Xentha (not an learned to befriend new We the goddess of night, was a force upon the world) uz, but who made the Hurtplace good for half the time, anyway. which us winter, gave a snowstorm) Himile (not an uz, but our which is good. It buries chases our enemies away, for that; uz are good diggers. can be excused food but In this awful land we struggled to eat and survive. We We we struggled to eat and survive. land In this awful Aldrya Also the fought and ate the Orlanth wind people. plant people. Plus especially the Mostal stone people, fought and ate We some of whom are the tastiest of all. them all. Disaster came when the sun fell from your sky and your sky Disaster came when the sun fell from It crippled our Wonderhome. deep into burrowed into Wonderhome ancestresses and forced us from the call it Komor, We world. what you call the surface Hurtplace. Zorak Zoran was a frightening uz, nearly as Zorak Zoran was and He took up Death Litor. as Kyger powerful also friends. He ght not only enemies but used it to fi re and raising undead. taboos, wielding fi many broke Then Death came into the world. Subere created Then Death came into the world. children might be lost Litor’s it so that Kyger terrible. necessary but It was returned to her. D of a place Wonderhome, dwelt in they Together was everything And for a long time total darkness. bad, which shows it was good. Other races said Other great spirits came know. you what they showed of prey, , stalker along to aid uz: Zong shadow) a (not an uz but to hunt; Dehore us how spirits, who Jakaboom contains all of the darkness command; Xiola Umbar taught us to cajole and hurt and healed us when we were and eat her an insect) let us tame, ride an uz but others for are for riding, Some bugs giant bugs. eating. were cheated. We had to live in Hurtplace still and suffer Our fi rst fi ghts go very bad. We have yet to heal from the nasty half of each day when the Bright Eye was not them. We send the great spirit Black Eater against him. covered in a blanket. Gbaji erases the Black Eater from existence, then curses the wombs of all our mothers. After that, nine out of ten You call it the Dawn. We call it the Permanent Harm. uz births are not proper uz but litters of lousy enlo. Except we will fi ght to undo it somehow and make everything Wonderhome again. A legendary hero walks among us to lead the crusade. He is Arkat Kortagi. He tricks the elfs, the storm people and then the Sorcery humans, leading each in turn to think he is one of them. He takes their powers, combined Another useless version. A much more efficacious with uz magic, and slays Gbaji. Then he sets up the story is as follows: Zorak Zoran steals Death from Stygian Empire in Ralios. Uz are honoured there and Humakt and uses it to slay Flamal, the primal elf have amazing food to eat. In the centre of the continent, god. Meanwhile, Yelm has fallen into the troll Underworld, burning the trolls and robbing Ezkankekko rules from his Castle of Lead. Korasting of fertility. In the year 500, Arkat goes away on a quest for — Spolorfal the Arranger, Dean of Pythos Wonderhome. His departure ends the First Age. University
Arkat will come back one day to show uz the way back home. It has been 400 years since he left. Uz Major Races My History will wait 400 more if need be. Throughout Glorantha we try to make the best of the new half-dark, half-lit world. Although uz have been cheated, — Zoralak Kogan we still cooperate with the elfs and humans, joining the Unity Council in Dragon Pass. Uz help them bring the secrets of living back to the starving, scattered, huddling In the east, uz live in the kingdom of Ignorance. We fi ght people hiding in the corners of the world. Our leader is the dragon humans there. Stupid dwarfs are our allies the brave and wise Ezkankekko, who is the son of Argan and they let us down. We get beat and must retreat to Argar. mountains, where food is less plentiful. This happens in 550. Among these are the sun people, the Dara Happans, who we loathe. The human Orlanth people don’t like them In the west, the Stygian Empire gets slowly weaker. We much, either. Uz join in many good wars against the sun fi ght for it even though the sons of Arkat are more like folk. But humans can’t be trusted and before too long the humans than uz, on the inside as well as on the inside. sun and wind people have joined up against us. In the centre, sun worshippers and then windfolk rebel The Unity Council becomes the First Council. They think against Ezkankekko’s rule. Stupid enlo traitors help them up something stupid. They want to bring a new god into out, because human healing women treat them good. The the world. It stinks bad to uz. We can tell it will be a god humans get free of us and soon after convert to crazy of nasty light and we leave the First Council, so that it dragonewt worship. They start up the Empire of Wyrm’s becomes the Broken Council. The dragon men see that Friends. They invite us to join but uz take no part of it. we are right and they leave, too. Dragons are trouble.
The stupid humans go ahead and make their god, and Ezkankekko’s territory is reduced to the Shadow Plateau, sure enough, Nysalor is not only a god of illumination, in Kethaela. They say it is theirs, uz say it is ours and but of Chaos, also! It is twice as bad as we fi gured! Uz that is that. name it Gbaji. We fi ght it wherever it goes. In 732, a Mistress Race troll called Cragspider, who lives in Dragon Pass and is left alone even by the wyrmfriends, 80 Major Races 81 nd it, you will be remembered Why I Adventure Why I out to to eat, if you go is full of good things The world get gold. Do not eat this, for you get them. Or you can eat it if you really Well, more food. can trade it in for even to. want will eliminate the out there is the secret that Somewhere Curse. If you fi Womb-Biter Arkat. like forever, usher day to back any Arkat, he could come Speaking of go look for Maybe uz should Wonderhome. us back to trapped or Could be he’s sooner. it happen him to make something and needs our help. ee to ght to Uz The real answer is, some gods give The real answer is, some gods give and some give Magic us Divine us And some give us spirit magic. both. My Magic My gods God Learners ask us: ‘Your gods and sort of are sort of like spirits. Please, please, please, like they know We tell us which it is’. can steal this so they to know want more of our magic. So we say: ‘In are spirits. they the winter and fall, are gods’. The rest of the time they And then the God Learners go and look all and write this down serious and we laugh and imagine them hanging on hooks in the meat-curing hut. In 842, the God Learners attack The EWF us in the Shadowlands. sends humans and dragonewts to help us beat them back. It is a lose. once we do not For big war. there. is still in power Ezkankekko Lately he is called the Only Old he dates One, a name that shows past further than the so-called Dawn. We are, in 742, among the bitter-enders who fi who in 742, among the bitter-enders are, We out of of Kralorela are driven In 768, the dragon people by the God Learners and their their comfortable pagodas pushed us storm into the place they They friends. tricky into, the Kingdom of Ignorance. into further, Uz are dispersed even the coldest, tallest mountains. attempts a great experiment. She HeroQuests to end the She HeroQuests to great experiment. attempts a Instead she learns laid on us by Gbaji. Curse Womb-Biter They dumb. are big but who Trolls, Great make to how anyhow. are better than enlo, Empire from God the last remnants of the Stygian save weird Sorcery interferes with our Their Learner invaders. from Zorak stolen powers have they ancient magics, as if to fl have get beat again and We Zoran and others. caves. WORLD GAZETTEER Jrustela As his term of offi ce nears its end, Norlantos campaigns for re-election. He faces a renewed challenge from Valarger, The glittering isle of Jrustela gave birth to the God Duke of Eradinthanos, the city where reformist rhetoric Learner movement. Sorcerous advances developed here runs hottest. High-strung and easily rattled, Valarger lacks still form the backbone of the Empire’s power. The the current Arch-Duke’s smooth, manipulative instincts political centre of the Empire may have shifted back to but makes up for his lack of fi nesse with sincerity and Seshnela, ancestral homeland of the Jrusteli, but those passion. wishing to master – or unravel – its magical techniques must come here. Commerce: After Jrustela broke the Waertagi hold on the seas, its traders boldly fanned out across the world, Geography: A large volcanic island, Jrustela thrusts establishing an unprecedented commercial Empire. Its regally from the cerulean waters of the Dashomo Sea, greatest merchant houses are all located here, in their about 300 kilometres from the northwestern coast of original home cities, as are its banking and fi nancial Pamaltela. Sharp peaks dominate its western half; at institutions. Anyone seeking audience with the true many points the western coastline is a sheer cliff face masters of global commerce must seek them in Jrustela. dropping into the sea. The isle’s central basin comprises They maintain branch operations in Seshnela but the true a lush sub-tropical forest, rising to shallower peaks along wealth remains here. The money men of Jrustela resent its eastern coastline. undue taxation by distant Emperors and lend support to
World Gazetteer the reformist tendency. Politics: Seshnegi migrants fi rst settled the island around 250 years ago. Their city-states found unity as a Confederation, led by a prince (later styled a king) who After he lost Pamaltela, the Emperor came to was considered fi rst among equals. Their descendants us for money. We said: ‘Win them back with returned to Seshnela in 740 to free their land from the reform’. He took neither our money nor our grip of the Stygian Empire. King Annmak united the advice. Instead he made war on his own nearby crowns of Jrustela and Seshnela. His successors ruled possessions of Ralios and Arolanit, to divert their from Seshnela and over time came to identify more with taxes to his treasury. its traditionalist class structure. Jrustela was allowed to carry on in its questioning, semi-democratic spirit, under — Valarger, Duke of Eradinthanos a traditionalist veneer. The city-lords of the various cities were made dukes of the Empire. Together they formed the Jrusteli Alliance, which gathers in conclave every Magic: Jrustela originated the schools of mythic studies four years to elect an Arch-Duke from among their that later converged as the God Learner Alliance. The number. They may re-elect the present Arch-Duke or Abiding Book manifested itself here. No sorcerer may replace him. call himself great until he has tested himself against the scholars of Jrustela, either in debate or in a duel of spells. The current Arch-Duke is Norlantos of Jalanswal. He The top universities are located in Eradithanos, Piskotol traces his descent through the fi rst Jrusteli settlers all and Irenstos. the way back to Nralar the Old, a great Seshnegi king from the end of the fi rst age. He narrowly won his seat Cities of Jrustela three and a half years ago, after a fi erce lobbying effort Though other cities exist, the largest are the surviving underwritten by Emperor Ilotos. Norlantos attempts 12 colonies which comprised the original Jrusteli to tamp down resentment against the Emperor by Confederation and now send their Dukes as electors to reformist Jrusteli who feel that he is too hidebound and choose the Arch-Duke. insuffi ciently appreciative of the role the green isle plays in maintaining imperial power. 82 World Gazetteer 83 ocked to ocked nancial capital and wellspring nancial rst leaders warred against the island’s against the island’s rst leaders warred Duke Miskos strives to build the highest to build strives Miskos Duke Tindryza the Geologist, a scholar-warrior a scholar-warrior the Geologist, Tindryza nd patrons hiring for operations in furtherance of the for operations in nd patrons hiring Intrigue-seeking adventurers can adventurers Intrigue-seeking come here: Reasons to fi reformist cause. Hredmorinos agitate Ruled by a parliament, the people of Hredmorinos commitment for reform measures out of a long-standing Its fi to democracy. the city gates. timinits, who refuse to pass the through by the ghosts of their screaming say it is haunted They ancestors. Leadership: and mostali technology, in earth mythologies expert to press the by promising the dukedom recently won to Seshnela. reformist case all the way of Hredmorinos The University Reasons to come here: and mythologies of the elder specialises in the artefacts races, including timinits. Irenstos original inhabitants were Phola, Irenstos’ Arshu Like them to allowed Their proximity to a river Slontan. It also encouraged assimilation with that city. outgrow of Jrustelan immigration. Under the the later wave its people fl charismatic early scholar Darangor, eventually His institutions the sorcerous study movement. a prestigious school that University, into Irenstos grew of Piskosol. with the University maintains a bitter rivalry Hathinelthor a disease ideals runs like of perverted The cynicism a fi through Hathinelthor, of this city rule for Dukes of underhanded doings. council of nobles an elector’s life. Upon their demise, who may not be related to choose a successor, convenes corruption, the lord. Intended to prevent to the previous and ladies the duke between affairs rule encourages covert to succeed the sons illegitimate of the court, to produce present ruler. Leadership: in all of Jrustela, ignoring safety concerns in this tower chronically wind-swept city. Political mysteries often lead to Reasons to come here: change hands under purses where bulging Hathinelthor, tables. tavern darkened rst Jrusteli, ed political turmoil ve-year ve-year When term. The stoic Duke Garolan maintains a tight Garolan maintains a tight Duke The stoic Beels, a melancholy knight, postponed his Duke Valarger. Duke intended suicide when fate chose him to rule the city. He chose him to rule the city. intended suicide when fate has three years left at the end of his term, after which his on his sword. friends fear he will go ahead and fall Leadership: Ilotos tried to appoint a permanent Duke of Evrowal of Evrowal Ilotos tried to appoint a permanent Duke out in the streets, prompting years ago, riots broke seven an embarrassing withdrawal. Evrowal north Located on a balmy promontory on the island’s According to is a bastion of reformism. coast, Evrowal is chosen by lot from its coterie long tradition, its Duke for a fi of eligible nobles and serves For its repositories of religious its repositories For Reasons to come here: and magical knowledge. Leadership: Eradinthanos home of the Eradinthanos claims eternal glory as the of God Learner Explorers, the founders original Seven and as the site of the Abiding Book manifestation. inquiry, who attempt to This is a city of priests and sorcerers, A succeed. do not always but maintain mutual harmony stands as the most of Eradinthanos seat at the University Pilgrims come from all post in western Sorcery. coveted Cathedral awesome to visit the the Malkioni world over of the Book. Reasons to come here: Looking for a theist priest to Reasons to come here: cluster here, They spiritual guidance? magic or provide and sometimes where their traditions are respected of Malkionism. carried on under a thin veil rein on public order and tax revenues. and tax revenues. rein on public order The people of Arshu Phola descend not from Seshnegi but but Seshnegi descend not from Arshu Phola of The people of before the end Waertagi here by the Slontans brought here and taken were enslaved rst age. Some say they the fi fl that they against their will; others, Leadership: Arshu Phola by the fi When discovered in their homeland. with the warred They were assumed to be natives. they harmony. then achieved rst but fi original migrants at roots can be seen in the symbology Their barbarian theist worship. and ritual of their Malkioni World Gazetteer
Leadership: Duke Yuthelmag the Hobbled rules by right and eagerly clasp new arrivals from Seshnela to their of his seniority in an unbroken dynasty of city lords collective bosom. Imperial offi cials cluster here, as the dating back to the original migration. city is the current Arch-Ducal seat.
Reasons to come here: Irenstos is a centre of trade for Leadership: Arch-Duke Norlantos. the entire island and houses a substantial Pamaltelan population. Reasons to come here: To do business with imperial offi cials. Jalanswal The arch-conservative citizens of Jalanswal take New Frowal overweening pride in the ancient, royal Seshnegi blood New Frowal clings to its status as the fi rst Seshnegi- fl owing through their veins. They cling to Seshnegi ways settled city, despite its eclipse in wealth, knowledge and 84 World Gazetteer 85 nd lling Duke Shordone returned in disgrace to Duke The vacillating Duke Paptalor wreathes Paptalor Duke The vacillating As a citizen of Seshnela, I find Jalanswal an odd of Seshnela, I find Jalanswal As a citizen misremembered They’ve set slightly place to visit. in concrete and tell us visions of our traditions than we are. they are more Seshnegi Dean of Pythos — Spolorfal the Arranger, University Piskosol rst Jrustelan prince, Piskosol as home of the fi Once famed The island’s City’. y as ‘Timinit chiefl known is now descended on the city en masse, fi insect people have They and factories. guild halls, taverns, its universities, that Jrusteli, whatever to be more Jrusteli than the strive means. selects an elector to Each neighbourhood, or ward, six ce every rmed in offi who is reaffi choose the duke, of various all curried the favour have years. Recent dukes insect factions. Leadership: himself in black pearls and is attended by a retinue of arachan monks. the timinits involving Adventures Reasons to come here: pass through or end in Piskosol. begin, nearly always Peresk a place for cities, Peresk won Another of the Old Slontan by force of arms. Its young itself in the Confederation Battle cadres as warriors. themselves to prove men strive to the lords of other cities to quell out hire themselves ung ambitions set sail Those with further-fl internal strife. troops. Its for other imperial territories in need of fervent in martial spells. specialises Sorcery college Leadership: He revolt. in the Pamaltelan Peresk after losing a legion judgment led has since soured on the Emperor whose bad to his humiliation. fi at loose ends can Warriors Reasons to come here: in its mercenary hiring halls. employment Leaning of Leaning of Duke LoyalistReformistReformist Loyalist Reformist Loyalist Loyalist Loyalist LoyalistReformistLoyalist Reformist Reformist Loyalist ReformistReformist Loyalist Reformist Reformist Swing vote LoyalistReformist Swing vote Reformist Leaning of Leaning of Populace eet. The pious Duke Kontharan is scholar, is scholar, Kontharan Duke The pious In his wild younger days, Duke Bauratos Duke In his wild younger days, uence by later settlements. Famously touchy, the touchy, uence by later settlements. Famously Leadership: sailing into or out of Adventurers Reasons to come here: Jrustela most often pass through Orphalsketkal. Orphalsketkal (New Orphalsket) the Empire’s The drydocks of this northern city turn out The universities and most splendid ships. largest fastest, turn out sorcerers of a practical bent, of Orphalsketkal adventurer. particularly those useful in maritime of the ships the wondrous sylphs power Their captive fl Orphalsketkal if the heir apparent fails Ducal authority is hereditary but to the passes the dukedom Tests, Three Sailing to pass its eligible male in the ruling dynasty. next the East Isles. on preying captained a pirate vessel Other Jrusteli suspect that New Other Jrusteli suspect that New Reasons to come here: to hires adventurers Union covertly proud Civic Frowal’s projects. and public works sabotage their festivals Leadership: into one. On magician and holy man, wrapped the off levitating Godday he must concentrate to avoid cobblestones. infl its nickname, ‘the City of warrant Frowal people of New Resentment’. Hathinelthor Hredmorinos Irenstos Jalanswal Frowal New Piskosol Shenilstos Orphalsketkal Peresk Arshu Phola Eradinthanos Evrowal City Allegiances of Jrustela Allegiances and more colourful than anywhere else in the world. No blue is deeper than that of its fragrant summer skies. Ill Svalwal, The Shattered City weather scarcely troubles its shores. The Imperial Palace Destroyed in a 665 tidal wave sent by the sits on a hillside overlooking the city, folding out in two Waertagi, the city of Svalwal remains a swamped sections resembling the Abiding Book. Other cities of and shattered ruin. Hostile marine spirits roam its sunken, canal-like streets, preventing attempts nearly equivalent splendour include: at resettlement. Adventurers report a high concentration of runes here, particularly Water D Arkwal , a city of warriors. Built around a black runes. fortress established by Arkat during his war of liberation against Gbaji, it served as a capital during the Stygian dominance of Seshnela. Ruined during Shenilstos the Jrusteli liberation, it has been reconstructed as a garrison town. Mercenaries fl ock here seeking This Slontan city maintains an old rivalry with Irenstos places in the Empire’s various foreign legions. It over trading territory. Where the Irensti sought to tolerates a high degree of disorder from high-spirited assimilate with the Jrusteli, the Shenilstosites stuck to their troublemakers and serves as a gathering place for barbarian faith. Their dedication lasted until the miracle war bands in need of fresh blood. of the Abiding Book, at which point they converted in D Damolsten , named for its founder, a First Age hero. great numbers. Imbued with the unique fervour of fresh Its most famous landmark is the Hanging Tower, converts, they formed the core of the Rightness Army. The which descends from above instead of ascending Order of the New Iron Staff headquarters here, wielding from the ground (Brithini sneer that it is but a pale the Malkioni magic of smiting and retribution. imitation of the original, found in their capital
World Gazetteer city). Indentured mostali, their wills sapped by the Leadership: The implacable Duke Sableros commands Unbendable Staff of Damolstan, toil on behalf of an elite unit of the Rightness Army. wealthy Seshnegi masters. D Estan , a university town reinvigorated by the God Reasons to come here: Dealings with the Rightness Learners. The last few years it has been plagued by Crusade invariably lead to Shenilstos. intermittent rains of squid and octopi, surely the result of an experiment gone wrong. Seshnela Seshnela is the heart of the God Learner Empire. It stood as a beacon of civilisation even during the Darkness. Emperor Ilotos’ Palace, Seshnela It fl owered early in the First Age, only to be subjugated by Arkat’s Stygian Empire in the era’s fading years. Refugees from Seshnela founded the fabulous cities of Jrusteli, liberating their homeland from the Stygians many generations later. Since then Seshnela rapidly entered a golden age, leading an Empire dedicated to trade, conquest and sorcerous inquiry.
Its capital, Frowal , sends soaring spires of bizarre God Learner architecture high into its sky. Its sunsets are brighter
86 World Gazetteer 87 , a thriving port. Its Duke, Nelos V, V, Nelos port. Its Duke, Neleswal, a thriving attracting the world’s encourages cultural expression, masques best actors and dancers to perform at lavish ock to Neleswal’s held at his estates. Pilgrims fl display imposing cathedral, where ornate reliquaries founders. the bones of the city’s , a port on the mouth of the Irier River. Orphalsket of the most fabulous It boasts three marketplaces, which, the Banquet of the Gods, is accessible only the dukes There by dispensation of the Emperor. and nobles of Seshnela stroll from booth to booth, Some are dining on incredible magical foodstuffs. others are merely augmented by culinary Sorcery but the spoils of Other Side raids or made with recipes heathen hearth gods. liberated from various , a south coast seaport. Its religious orders Pasos austerity and resistance to the for their are known of The Duke of the God Learner sorcerers. primacy an impatient man named Ilondin, must forever Pasos, The most mollify its popular religious leaders. D D D , the wealthiest port of Seshnela, which Genertsket rich. Its courtiers advocate it extraordinarily makes the opposing a program of peace and prosperity, Army alike. and Rightness of God Learners excesses lost the having decline now, are in political They by trying to counsel him against goodwill Emperor’s Wars. the Ducal , a vibrant settlement celebrating free Hrestolket Castigated by thinking and sorcerous innovation. its cathedral contains as Heresy City, conservatives the Great Prophet relics of its namesake, many Hrestol. Laurmal, a settlement dedicated to trade and Guild has mastered craftsmanship. Its Ironworkers cult metal, making that diffi the art of working weapons and implements in demand throughout the mistreatment in the Despite their brother’s world. city of Damolsten, mostali come here to trade with cities clash at from both Delegations the Seshnegi. the dwarfs. relations with the imperial court over D D D infl uential and troublesome is the monk Oriaba, who Arolanit has maintained an uncomfortable squatting position ever since the days of his youth. He is carried to Local powers have always fought bitterly to control the meetings on a strange thorny chair. coastal territory of Arolanit, to the north of Seshnela. D Segurane , an old fortress and river port. Several Known as the breadbasket of the west, the richness of its stirring poems celebrate its virtues as a point of harvests outstrips even Tanisor. God Learner sorcerers, defence against the Stygian Empire of Ralios. using fertility secrets gleaned from their study of the The sages of its knowledge market are famed for earth pantheon, have wrenched further bounty from its their speedy responses and high prices, if not their fi elds, fi lling the tables of Seshnela’s ever-increasing punctilious accuracy. population.
Around the cities lie various duchies, assigned by the Haughty local dukes, enriched by its bursting grain Emperor to favoured courtiers. The dukes enjoyed bushels, aroused the wrath of Emperor Ilotos, who considerable infl uence until late, granting lands to stripped them of their lands in the recent Ducal Wars. subservient lords and withholding monies from the Unlike Ralios, a new order was quickly re-established imperial treasuries. The Emperor’s move to strip the here, with Ilotos’ favoured courtiers fi lling old ducal dukes of Aronalit and Ralios of their holdings has seats and pliantly answering his demands for increased chastened them dramatically. revenues.
The richest of the duchies is Tanisor, a bowl of fertile land The people of Arolanit speak a different dialect than surrounding the lower Tanier River. Its people descend their Seshnegi neighbours. They revere Prince Hrestol from the Pendali, an ancient race of lion men, but long and his mother, merciful Xemela, above all other saints.
World Gazetteer ago abandoned their hsunchen ways. Their comparatively Their worship ceremonies are noted for their ebullience, dark complexions distinguish them from the pale-skinned joyous music and ordinary congregants’ spontaneous Seshnegi. Rumours of an ancient vampire cult that haunts outbursts of giddy sermonising. The Arolaniti peasants, Tanisor by night are greatly exaggerated. Arkat fought who consider scowling and pessimism as dreadful sins, a vampire legion in Tanisor hundreds of years ago but are known as the Happy People. now the activities of its nocturnal blood-drinkers are almost entirely curtailed. Just ask the Duke of Tanisor, Langila, whose unearthly pallor is in no way connected Brithos to vampirism. His recent expeditions to the remnants of The grey and craggy isle of Brithos is home to a culture Tanewal, a shattered city also called the Red Ruin, are of isolationist, immortal sorcerers. Through unwavering doubtless motivated by the purest of academic motives. obedience to a strict, caste-based social structure, they achieve immortality. Among the Brithini there is no room Jorestel’s Forest, a lush tree belt on the northern coast for error. Any instance of non-compliance, innovation or of the Seshnegi peninsula, attests to an alliance with the questioning of authority, no matter how minor, can begin local aldryami dating back to the Dawn. Every year the an inexorable and irreversible aging process. In matters Emperor and King Elf Jorestel meet to reaffi rm their of faith, they worship no one and nothing but revere the mutual vow to protect the trees of Seshnela. impersonal forces of the universe. They live forever but have no afterlife.
They hold the highest respect for Zzabur, a quasi-divine Friendship with the elfs is one thing but the immortal prehuman who slumbers in a vast mist-shrouded Seshnegi royal family takes it all a step too far. They and the aldryami sometimes intermarry! I tower in the middle of the island. The Brithini attribute the don’t know how that is even possible! invention of Sorcery to him and claim him as a brother of Malkion himself. He also participated in – some say — Brother Aran, Monk of Pombric masterminded – the death of Malkion the Prophet.
88 World Gazetteer 89 miraculous engines of war, comprises the miraculous engines of war, barracks for the military caste. It encircles where leaders and Circle, Talar the Behind a canal and work. administrators live where of molten metal rise four towers, wizardly orders are quartered. In the middle himself; of Zzabur of these looms the tower on Brithos. it can be seen from anywhere is the centre of a compass, the If Sesupwal four great cities are arranged around it at Talarswal to its four cardinal points. Each is devoted (sorcerers), Zaaburket (soldiers) and Gwymirwal a caste: (leaders), city, A women’s (farmers). Dromalwal for birthing and other allows Urusvensket, to necessary female activities unseemly but from the gaze of men. occur far It used is the Brithini port city. Waertagswal that the eet. Now fl Waertagi to house the been that, the Brithini have Jrusteli destroyed inferior armada, their own forced to build survivors. Waertagi by staffed heavily ciency rules the Brithini economy. Necessities rules the Brithini economy. ciency Brithini do not age or contract ordinary diseases but are ordinary diseases but not age or contract Brithini do usual drop their They to death by injury. susceptible ritualised become lengthy, at funerals, which reserve of inconsolable grief. explosions visitors to their land with The Brithini greet uninvited there who travel adventurers Few ciency. harsh effi of a Brithini lord or wizard return without the patronage report new citizens Vigilant intact. with mind and body moments of their appearance on Brithini within arrivals borderlands. litter the island’s and alarms Traps shores. faith their own authorised visitors may not practice Even while on the island. Self-suffi What cannot be made here are produced by the Dronars. or done without. naturally is synthesised via Sorcery, import collectibles, occasionally and Zzaburs Talars Waertagi A handful of books or magical implements. for them. traders discreetly conduct this business of Sesupwal, the City of Circles, located in the centre capital. Its outer circle the island’s as Brithos, serves circle, guarded by houses the labouring caste. Its next (sorcerers) cers), Holar (soldiers), Zzaburs The death of Malkion the Prophet culminated of Malkion the Prophet The death states. In progression of supernal a necessary I performed an essential facilitating its fruition, the eventual emergence action, without which not have occurred. from Darkness could Brithos — Zzabur, Immortal of Children are all but absent from Brithos. Births are rare absent from Brithos. Children are all but sorcerous rituals to imbue and accompanied by extensive with the capacity for immortality. the newborn Women belong to a quasi-caste of their own and may not of their own belong to a quasi-caste Women the view uence. Both men and women wield public infl contact with shuddering revulsion, prospect of sexual engaging in it only when ordered to reproduce. and Dronars (farmers and artisans). Each speaks a and Dronars (farmers specialised dialect of the Brithini tongue. Hierarchy embeds itself deeply in the Brithini psyche. Hierarchy embeds itself his place in the chain of authority, person knows Every castes are The four for guidance. reporting to a superior (offi the Talars Reasons to come here: The Brithini are deadly enemies God Learner magics have intensifi ed the region’s farming of the God Learner Empire, who hire expendable yields. Loskalmi commoners submit to their rule with adventurers to conduct intelligence and sabotage missions apparent resignation. Hidden beneath Loskalm’s placid against them. face, rebellion brews. Most Loskalmi knights are now under God Learner lords. A few notables have maintained Hostilities between the two powers date at least as far their ancient independence and perform great deeds under back as 823, when the overreaching God Learner Emperor the gauzy ideals of a utopia to come. Idealists remain in launched a disastrous invasion attempt against the grey the outlands, living like robber barons and resisting the isle. Ever since then the Brithini have schemed behind Loskalmi God Learners. the scenes to undermine the Middle Sea Empire. Reasons to come here: Adventurers can participate in the political turmoil to come, either for or against the Fronela Empire. The region of Fronela, north of Seshnela and Ralios, hangs in an uneasy balance between the two great Empires. The Notables God Learners control the Malkioni kingdom of Loskalm, Hernies, the Ivory Knight, rides through the countryside while the EWF encroaches into the area’s eastern half. righting wrongs on the back of his silver steed, named They confi ne military confl ict to the occasional skirmish. Virtue. An eloquent advocate of utopia, he declines to Despite its mundane riches, both Emperor Ilotos and criticise current leaders by name. Even more troubling to the Guiding Council regard Fronela as an afterthought. local authorities are the regular thrashings he delivers to Neither wants to open a new front here. overzealous tax collectors. Wary of any action that might make a martyr of him, Loskalm’s dukes hire operators to
World Gazetteer Loskalm tar his reputation with scandal, real or invented. Loskalm was the fi rst Genertelan territory fully conquered by the Jrusteli after they broke the Waertagi The sorcerer Merasch has recently retreated to his tower, fl eet (they began the retaking of their Seshnegi homeland where he says he will complete the Ultimate Thesis, fi rst but that war took longer to complete). Since Prince which will categorise every being and entity on Glorantha Hrestol’s fi rst visits here in the fi rst century, Loskalm has in a tree of relationship. Adventurers who come across withered under the infl uence of a dreamy utopianism. weird or uncategorisable creatures can sell them to him. Its people, from kings and philosophers to criminals They are best advised to go during the daytime, when and mud-diggers, all subscribe to a notion of God- Merasch sleeps, and conduct the transaction with the given egalitarianism. Throughout history they have wizard’s steward, Ithionius. At night, Merasch’s valley tried to make all men equal in rights and property. Each echoes with unearthly screams and cackles. dynasty of kings achieves power by proposing a new methodology to achieve this noble aim. These plans have During Dark Season the Loskalmi fear no name more merely served to render Loskalm unstable and vulnerable than that of Begotha, the mummifi ed leader of an to outside infl uence. For centuries it laboured as a vassal undead bandit gang. Each member of Begotha’s gang is to the Stygian Empire. They had shaken off its infl uence an unliving revenant of Loskalm’s wars on the Janube only to fall again into disarray, allowing their conquest by Valley. They repeat the acts of cruelty and rapine visited the God Learners. on them and their families but now with Loskalmi as their victims. On the day preceding an attack, the cold clacking Prince Ullmal, ruler of Jrustela at the time, divided of Begotha’s teeth echo through the countryside. its territory between cooperative locals and favoured sorcerers, whose descendants rule Loskalm as its dukes Janube Valley and grand dukes. They proceeded to conquer the lands This fertile region is of competing city-states. Loskalmi to the east, subjugating the western Janube Valley. The God Learners subject most western cities to their punitive utopian locals proved savage in warfare, razing enemy rule, with some outposts father east. Some cities are city states and putting their citizens to the sword. independent, ruled by exiled Hrestoli idealists. EWF missionaries have infl uenced many cities. Carmanian lords rule yet others and their knights have been making 90 World Gazetteer 91 ock Golaros Lowlands Sog City the borderland city sits on largest The region’s Valley and its Janube between Loskalm proper Learner sorcerers fl possessions. God the of Pure Logic, where to its University Malkioni magic higher principles underlying The school’s else. are elucidated as nowhere renounced the aging Brithini Caseltenar, founder, theories to the masses. immortality to bring his port and centre a bustling Aside from its status as as an ancestral best known of trade, Sog City is it under the who founded Waertagi, home of the God The city’s name of Sogzanjio Malakumb. ne its remaining green- confi Learner overlords heavily quarter, skinned population to their own guarded and surrounded by unscalable walls. elds are farmed by two Orlanthi tribes, the Kerseni and Orlanthi tribes, the Kerseni by two farmed elds are seek autonomy from the knights of Idovanus. Occupying Occupying seek autonomy from the knights of Idovanus. by Brast the northern hills is the Karnisi tribe, overseen still promotes voice Thrush, whose unearthly singing the the dragon way. a offered God Learners have Reasons to come here: dances, Snake bounty for reliable reports of the Ernalda by Maran which are carried on in secret huts and guarded squadrons. Gor earthshaker God Learners fund periodic expeditions to these frigid God Learners fund periodic expeditions of the Grotarons. legends rm or deny peaks, to confi three arms, the third of which These bizarre titans have on the back of each hand. replaces their head; and an eye The of the in the shadow and the Janube, Between Charg Its rich, dark Nidan Mountains, lie the Golaros Lowlands. fi renounced raiding to strengthen their Spral, who have the converted fertility magics. EWF missionaries have The two friends among the Kerseni. made few Spral but by the crop-trampling incursions ght off tribes unite to fi Galininni horse folk, the remnants of a nomadic Ralian times. tribe dating back to the Dawn with connections Adventurers Reasons to come here: to Golaros, conspire trade journeys in Lankst may make against the EWF or join to suppress the horse nomads. Maidstone Mountains ery wards. ery When I fought Begotha, he rode a skeletal stag Begotha, he rode When I fought My skin still burned like red coals. whose eyes me. If only someone feels dead, where it licked weapons are useless had warned me that impaling have saved me months of against him, it would convalescing. of Safelster — Gurek Runespear, Mercenary , where draconised Orlanthi successfully Mahan, where draconised Orlanthi successfully of pre-Hrestoli proselytise disenchanted followers Malkionism. , a city ruled by ghosts, who conduct eerie Ikankos of the Dead. debate in their echoing Parliament slander ne but a fi , where murder warrants Frastoreal is a crime punishable by death. Galstar, an ancient city where Malkioni and Orlanthi their oaths of peace reinforced by in harmony, exist fi Many of the old tribes have dissolved, leaving confused, leaving dissolved, of the old tribes have Many Two feuds. dispirited clans to resume long-buried hit-and-run resistance to their new remain, each offering ruled by the defensively-minded Vosi, The overlords. the southern reaches of Charg. Manoros the Old, occupy to see the end of the wyrmfriends but are happy They Formerly draconised Orlanthi live in the hilly region of in the hilly region Orlanthi live draconised Formerly occupied by the nascent Empire which is now Charg, the rituals of Carmania. Here EWF mystics developed boosting the fertility of fallow of Ernalda the Snake, pastures. Until their forcible liberation by dualist knights, under state-mandated, priest-run the barbarians lived them old-style worship allow the Carmanians tribes. Now while forcibly forbidding draconic ceremonies. Charg D D D D Cities destroyed by Loskalmi God Learners during their Cities destroyed of the mid-eighth century include the violent expansion The cities of Kaldal. and razed ruins of Ulicho, Paval Loskalmi rule. under Perfe, Salisor and Einpor rebuilt uenced settlements include: EWF-infl exploratory raids throughout this area. The powerful The powerful raids throughout this area. exploratory The locals have here. to expand kingdom surely intends to fear them as occupiers or welcome not decided whether them as liberators. World Gazetteer
One large yellow eye sits atop a gasping, snaggletoothed mouth, both planted in the middle of the creature’s torso. Armed with gigantic composite bows, they hunt the spirit Rathori Bear Shaman creature known as the mountain mammoth. Rathorela The Rathori Bear People, a nomadic hsunchen tribe, prowl this coniferous forest under the protection of their Great Spirit, the White Bear. It allows them to remain active even when the winter sends other animals to slumber underground. Their other gift, a longbow that can shoot an arrow through the trunk of a thick tree, comes from their aldryami allies from the land of Erigia. The elfs climb under the earth into protective seed pods when winter envelops the land.
Reasons to come here: When the snow hides their food supply, the Rathori take prisoners from Charg and the Janube to exchange for cows and pigs. The locals hire adventurers to drive them off. Tastalor This tundra zone is sparsely inhabited and then only by hsunchen. The Uncoling reindeer people drive their 92 World Gazetteer 93 shing serves as a base of the imperial navy. Its of the imperial navy. as a base serves eets guard the coastal waters of Caladraland and eets guard the coastal waters I would not trouble myself to hunt the Sea I would not trouble The one-eyed seaman Devourer of Rothor. that he will kill the Ullansaf has announced who beats him to it. And creature or anyone else with I once saw him split a man nearly in twain the hard edge of his left hand. Cobra — Ots Toderau, Chronicler of the Green War Band , a trade and fi shing port. Lately its fi shing port. Lately its fi Rothor, a trade and devouring by a long-necked, been beset have vessels past victims the screams of its Allegedly sea-beast. Authorities in its gullet. can still be heard echoing Wyrm’s here on the Empire of blame its appearance Guild has posted a reward Fisherman’s The Friends. of their with a bonus if any for its killing or capture, alive. eaten members are recovered Eenlor fl EWF the Rightarm Isles and launch raids against the base’s outposts accessible from the sea. Herable, admiral, has thoroughly gluttonous, greasy-faced and rules Eenlor as his intimidated the local duke men, as well as of his own efdom. Many personal fi D D The Sea Devourer of Rothor oversee this large this large oversee If this text were a proper geography, as opposed If this text were a proper geography, as opposed would to a travelogue for ragged freebooters, it devote a chapter to the pivotal region of Slontos and naught but a footnote to Kethaela. — Brother Aran, Monk of Pombric eastern peninsula of rugged hills. encourage eccentricity and They to havens offering experimentation, unorthodox God Learner schools. sheltered harbours deep and Its few shipping industry. support a robust Its notable cities are: Independent-minded barons who yearn for a return to their former autonomy Wenela Slontos of Slontos wields populated region and heavily The large Learner uence within the God infl undoubted economic ruled by inherited nobles, arch-dukedom An Empire. The of anxiety. Slontos presently labours under a cloud Arolanit and Ralios of against the dukes wars Emperor’s ruling class carefully tempering its left its proud have usual belligerent streak. Slontos consists of three main Ramalia and Wenela, regions, Maniria, and is adjoined by the border territory of ungovernable Kotorsland. God Learner scholars interested God Learner scholars Reasons to come here: to do the magic hire adventurers in hsunchen myths and also interested in rumours are They dangerous research. people. of an aldryami lichen reindeer in a vast annual migration. In Sea and Earth migration. In Sea and annual a vast reindeer in tent settlements. in massive congregate seasons they and Telmori them, including on people prey Other animal folk. the Sabadari wolverine his wyrmfriend adversaries, would pay to see him D Veakmal , an island base of the imperial navy. dead. Independent until the God Learner invasion, its D Narilor, once a busy port frequented by the Waertagi, headstrong natives are now outnumbered by foreign is now a largely deserted ghost town, where only sailors. Brawls between locals and seamen comprise pirates, smugglers and hardscrabble fi shermen dare the island’s most popular off-duty pastime. Mostali to launch their boats. When the Waertagi fl eets were fund raids against its drydocks, on the grounds that shattered, the ghosts of their dead washed up here and Jrusteli magical ships use secrets stolen from them. have haunted the place ever since. Waertagi survivors D Soster, a thriving city in amid a fertile belt of sometimes pull up here, perhaps to commune with farmland. Known as the Sleeping City, its pleasant the spirits of their slain ancestors. meadow scent and lackadaisical household spirits sap D Thanor , the provincial capital. Hilly but fertile the ambition and martial fervour of all who tarry here. land surrounds it. Known as the City of Tricksters, High offi cials exile potential rivals to administrative it houses Vilblane College, a God Learner-affi liated posts here, blunting their sharp edges. school specialising in the study of the various pagan D Wesluk , an unloading point for river trade. Its fool and troublemaker deities. As its founders should spectacularly palatial villas have tempted thieves perhaps have anticipated, it has become a magnet throughout the generations, prompting the foundation for events both surreal and inexplicable. Thanor is of the Trap Maker’s Guild, a confederation of artisans a prime spot to capture runes and madness spirits, guided by a fugitive Openhandist dwarf named especially during one of the city’s sudden Food Duenge Erro. Rains. D Ravin , a shabby port bordering on the Tarinwood, which trades chiefl y with the aldryami. The elfs of Ramalia Tarinwood show an unusual appetite for human trade
World Gazetteer The fertile western plains of Ramalia feed its peasants goods, including fripperies and luxury items. God and enrich its noble landowners. Learner specialists in aldryami culture want to know why; the Ravin Merchant’s Association is anxious to divert any troublesome inquiries that might upset Though now we owe vassalage to the Seshnegi, their profi table applecart. we were once the site of mighty kingdoms. Oh, the songs I could sing to you of the glorious wars Maniria between Sish, Soster and Wesluk, which were The wild northern reaches of Maniria challenge the always lit by sunset and firelight! dominance of its fi gurehead barons. Orlanth-worshipping — Etrose de Vekmail, Troubadour of Ramalia former hsunchen battle outsiders and each other, fi ercely resisting tribes and rebuffi ng EWF missionary incursions. God Learner sorcerers are despised here, due to their catastrophic meddling in womens’ magic. The region’s grain goddess was one of the objects of the notorious Its important settlements are: Goddess Switch. Despite barbarian hostility to both Empires, their thanes sometimes assemble mercenary D Annor, the only good deepwater port along bands to fi ght for the Arch-Duke. These melt back into hundreds of miles of coastland. Its underground the hills at the fi rst whiff of non-payment. Three largish Ashen Cathedral houses the relics of St. Domb, cities were once states unto themselves: who allowed all of his bones to be broken, rather than denounce a wretched heathen tribe he sought D Guglar , the westernmost Manirian city, sits on the to convert. Unrest swirls around their disposition: banks of the upper Noshain River, where it serves the new baron, Vorell, has ordered them moved to as break of bulk point for caravans headed overland his private chapel in the surrounding countryside. through the nearby wilds. Nomadic deer people Though of a local lineage, Vorell spent most of his wander its surrounding territories. An otherwise life in the Seshnegi capital and is unpopular here. He nameless mystic called the Denier prowls both blames his younger brother, Sogcros, for whipping woods and city, robbing imperial offi cials of their up discontent against him. 94 World Gazetteer 95 ercely uphold Malkion’s earned fame for earned fame Kaxtorplose a competing centre of shipbuilding. High a competing centre of shipbuilding. , Herolal from Esrolia. attest to a history of invasion walls by that nation of Because it has so long been attacked the men of Herolal fi women, may not Women proclamations of male superiority. or bright colours. Nor with jewels adorn themselves During hide their identities with veils. may they female priestesses Herolali Festival, each summer’s as at the stake and burned risk being hunted down witches. The smaller centre of Arkat until holding out against the Gbaji invaders shrines, came to rescue them. Its weird hexagonal any Arkat, reinforce the magic of to attributed or style of magic. no matter what his faith worshipper, God Learner attempts to dismantle them for study ercely resisted by proud descendants of been fi have historic warriors. Kaxtorplose’s D D lled Bejance, baron of Bemelor, is notorious for his addle-headed leniency. He will cancel nearly any imperial warrant for an outlaw’s arrest, so long as the defendant executes a whimsical task, such as the climbing of an oil-slicked wall or the disarming of a trapped cabinet. — Ots Toderau, Chronicler of the Green Cobra War Band the city hoping to steal the plans for this new engine, the city hoping to steal the plans for this new it is. whatever greatest skills. Several adventuring parties have tried parties have adventuring greatest skills. Several to claim the bounty for his (or her) head. and failed Its Bemelor, a seaport and centre of shipbuilding. marine announced a new Guild have Shipwright’s than the captive better propulsion system even fi Spies have sylphs used in the imperial navy. D Kotorsland EWF adventurers and missionaries infi ltrated Spol, disrupting their rituals. There they found the Spolites This fallow abandoned region between Maniria and the troubled by a new internal foe, calling themselves the Kethaealan land of Esrolia, provides a proving ground Carmanians. They approached Syranthir’s grandson, for the opposing forces of the God Learner and EWF Surandar the Warleader, seeking alliance. Their offers of Empires. a new path to mystic awareness fell on deaf ears. A new dualistic faith founded by Surandar’s father, Carmanos, had already taken strong root among his people. Carmania Carmanos, a warrior-visionary whose mother was the Extremes of temperature buffet the hills and plains of mysterious local lake goddess Charmain, had returned Carmania, a nation in northwestern Peloria which is fast from her legendary Castle Blue bearing stone tablets of becoming an Empire to rival the EWF. Its people combine revelation. These outlined the laws governing the new the pride of Dara Happans with the theological certitude dualistic faith of Idovanus. of westerners. Landed men of infl uence are either knights or wizards. Lesser nobles bind themselves to superiors Wyrmfriend priests tried to compete with these wonders through vows of vassalage. Hardcore adherents of the by offering up draconic secrets, but were greeted with dualistic Carmanian faith have set aside a long-running stern disinterest. Even so, the warriors of the two cultures internal feud to focus their hatred on the wyrmfriends, found a common zest for battle against the Spolites. who once aided them against the region’s previous Several War Dragon detachments stayed on to support overlords. Surandar as he conquered the Spolites, who by this time had been weakened by their failed invasion into Dara Carmanian lords rule over the Pelandan peasants of the Happa.
World Gazetteer Orinin Valley. These artisans, craftsmen and farmers worship Jernotius, who oversees a cosmic balance of After the fall of the Spolites in 780, Carmania’s War forces. The gods of his pantheon correspond to common Dragon allies melted back to Dara Happa, certain they occupations and their positions in the six-tier Pelandan had secured their interests in Peloria. class structure. The Carmanians approve these deities as acceptable for worship, though of course not for themselves. The assistance of the wyrms against the darkness witches was not entirely useless. During this The Carmanians heavily fortify their capital, Kitor, a time, we learned the location of the dragon’s forbidding city of walls and towers. The region of Spol, mystic underbelly, which we used to fashion our home of the darkness witches, sits north of Carmania like first secret of dragonslaying. a choking cloud. — Sir Polasoran, Knight of Storal An Empire in the Making The Carmanian religion and nation are both comparatively new. Carmanians descend from Malkioni who fl ed 50 years later, the Carmanians were invading Dara Happa, Loskalm after its conquest by God Learners in 725. Led taking special pleasure in attacking units fi elded by by a charismatic knight named Syranthir the Wanderer, draconic secret societies. Under their Black Shah, Asacar, they migrated east, to what is now Carmania but was Carmanian armies earned a reputation for ruthlessness, then the Empire of Gloom, a nation ruled by the Spolite using terror tactics and atrocities to strike fear into Dara darkness witches. Syranthir carved out a portion of its Happan hearts. territory for his people, called the Pasture. In 864, the warlike Asacar was murdered by rebellious At this time, the Spolite Empire threatened the Dara generals, who replaced him as shah with his half-brother, Happans, forcing them to recruit allies in defence. Among Carmandar the White, ushering in a period of schismatic those allies were the wyrmfriend cultists of Dragon Pass. jockeying between the two halves of Carmania’s royal They sent War Dragon detachments to fi ght alongside family. The White dynasty descends from Carshandar, Dara Happan infantry. son of Surandar, and a priestess of Darjin. It embraces 96 World Gazetteer 97 ying Orlanthi Though the loss of Mathaktakarsk, Zitaral’lalkep loss of Mathaktakarsk, Though the it must be rends our hearts, and Watha’oaglio not True Dragons, as the noted that they were were merely dream Carmanians boast. They size. dragons of exceptional Wyrmfriend Priest —Ervaling Scalemaker, of anti-dragon Sorcery, which requires that a special which of anti-dragon Sorcery, Three dragon target. for each spell be developed new series of military engagements near years ago, during a the dragons Darjin, he used three of these spells, slaying Watha’oaglio. and Mathaktakarsk, Zitaral’lalkep Talastar resisted wyrmfriendism Talastar The hill barbarians of until about 75 years ago, when their fl of Chaos manifestations noticed a resurgence warriors then took to it They in neighbouring Dorastor. a offer would thinking its powers enthusiastically, threat. Since then, however, against the emerging bulwark War been reluctant to assign top cials have imperial offi Brolia and is rocky The terrain of this scrub-forested region Acidic soils prevent in sight. at surface steep, with nary a fl only the hardiest of weeds and most agriculture, allowing by survive twisted of trees. It wild Orlanthi hill peoples rebuff they foraging and raiding. Fiercely conservative, Missionaries. Waltzing all entreaties from Hunting and led them to Their white-hot loathing of the EWF has knights. reluctantly accept the protection of Carmanian at the but, Carmania claims Brolia as a subjugated territory Survilstar Dragonslayer, brother, insistence of the Shah’s of on them. Several its laws or imposes neither taxes heroes, including the sardonic windwalker great Brolia’s the Terla Circlemark and the disturbingly alluring Vensor Cat, belong to his personal retinue. band of apostate a desperate The One-Tongues, of their wyrmfriends, gathers here to plot the destruction former Empire. Led by a blind dissident named Ingorlm, desperate place after being cast out to this trekked they of distant Esrolia, who traditionalists Ways by the Old taxes heavy did not trust them. Carmanian patrols exact The population of their camps has swelled from them. years. the past two dramatically over ghting uences. Knight of Carmania Knight The current Shah is Samandar, a cautious man who The current Shah is Samandar, decisions in the tent than ride onto sooner make would His half- of a regiment. eld of battle at the head the fi brother Survilstar Dragonslayer eclipses him in bravery is more interested in fi and accomplishment but Saman proceeded to wage war against the EWF, which against the EWF, war Saman proceeded to wage by 875 had crept up its eastern borders. In 900 he was Dragons. War slain in battle against the than ruling. It is Survilstar who found the old secrets left day. behind by the EWF missionaries back in Surandar’s a technique he discovered Armed with their knowledge, Since 880, the White Dynasty has ruled Carmania. Its Since 880, the Shah, Saman the Lion, introduced a series of previous by the serenely brilliant religious reforms advocated of laws These scoured the sacred Alijiyah. prophet Carmania of both darkness and draconic infl light magic and seeks alliance with Dara Happa. The Happa. light magic and seeks alliance with Dara and a Spolite Black dynasty descends from Carshandar darkness priestess, hates Dara Happa and practices Sorcery. Dragon platoons to Chaos-fi ghting detail. Instead they The capital is Raibanth , birthplace of Raiba, a First paid adventurers and mercenaries to bolster the war Age son of Yelm. The city is divided in three quarters, parties of local chieftains. separated by the confl uence of the Joat and Oslir rivers. Great spanning bridges connect the quarters. The 20 years ago, knights of the Carmanian shah claimed wyrmfriends have covered them in golden scales. Talastar and undertook to suppress the spread of wyrmish religion in their new territory. Local chieftains, whose Yuthuppa, a towered metropolis whose city god is allegiance to the wyrm was always a matter of pragmatism, Yuthu, a Dawn Age grandson of Yelm. Fires are harder proffered only token resistance. Now they cheerily call on to quench here than in other places but will not burn the the knights of Idovanus to smite Ganesatarus by leading property of good Dara Happans without permission. the defence against the Chaos creatures of Dorastor. In exchange for the blood and toil of the Carmanian knights, Elz Ast is a city of boat builders and river traders. Its they pronounce themselves willing to pay them the same people are known for putting pragmatism over pride, an tribute they once gave to the wyrmfriends. unusual quality in Dara Happa. Darjin Peloria Many Oslir tributaries feed the loamy marshes of Darjin. Encompassing north-central Genertela, Peloria is the Villages sit on reed-covered hilltops, overlooking rice civilised heartland of theist practice in Glorantha. Now paddies below. The locals worship SurEnslib, the heron dominated by the EWF, its competing cultures have goddess. Their earthy fertility rites disgust the Dara known many conquerors throughout the centuries, mostly Happans, who have consistently suppressed attempts by from within their own ranks. the Darjini to assert themselves. World Gazetteer Dara Happan territory comprises the Oslir river and its The city of Dorkath is the Darjini capital, where the Sex banks. Other Pelorian regions cluster around it. Hunt, the annual three-day orgiastic worship ceremony, takes place. Other settlements include Manithi , Dara Happa stronghold of anti-troll magic and Massos , an ancient Home to the Golden Empire of the Yelmite solar citadel. worshippers, Dara Happa is a series of highly developed cities, supported by lush farmlands worked by toiling, rustic peasants. These cluster along the Oslir River. Its noble class, conditioned to rule, has adjusted fi tfully Darjini Clans to EWF dominance. Some accept the legitimacy of the Clans defi ne a Darjinis’ lot in life. Golden Dragon who sits upon their imperial throne. Following the Star Dragon cult, the EWF fusion of their Clan Name Economic Role sky worship and draconic mysticism, they continue Weeders Barge-dwelling rice farmers to administer the cities, as they have always done. Walkers Woodland hunters Others hew to the traditional solar deities and wait for Highfi sts Hill-dwelling townsfolk this blasphemy to pass. Some do it passively or divert Stickmen Lodrili farmers (an outsider caste) themselves fi ghting trolls in Halikiv. Others risk all to join the insurgent forces of the Old Ways traditionalists. The ruling clan of Darjin is the ancient Manimati. The EWF allows them to rule Darjin under the Golden Dragon’s banner, so long as they force the The major cities of Dara Happa are as follows, from people to attend one wyrmfriend ceremony per south to north: week, donating their worship energy to the Great Project. The imposing metropolis of Alkoth pays homage to its city god, Alkor, a son of Yelm from the Golden Age. It is home to Shargash, the Dara Happan god of death and destruction, who, once released, kills all of your foes and many of your friends. 98 World Gazetteer 99 Rinliddi Winged Patriot Rinliddi The Guiding Council has initiated an action in The Guiding Council has initiated an action the higher realms, called the Common Hatching, which will effectuate our dominion over Rinliddi, without the need for war. — Ervaling Scalemaker, Wyrmfriend Priest When the EWF took over Dara Happa, they intended to they Dara Happa, When the EWF took over seize control of Rinliddi as well, through their agents of announced the Revelation They on the ground there. a mythic connection between the Common Egg, proving the birds of Rinliddi and the dragons and dinosaurs. By this time certain nests of Rinliddi had already embraced with the Revelation These spread draconic worship. The majority of Rinliddi optimistic missionary zeal. opposed them because the EWF controlled Dara Happa lead to Rinliddi’s and an alliance with them would reabsorption into the Empire. persisted for a generation as pro- war civil Low-level supporters Patriots, Winged dragon nests clashed with the eeing EWF North of Rinliddi lie the territories of Korer and North of Rinliddi lie the territories of Korer The Unconquered as by EWF leaders known Velthil, Lands. the city of includes the hinterland around Korer and their Dara Happan The wyrmfriends Ast. Elz not in the city but and order subjects maintain law in or out in the surrounding countryside. Caravans under the protection of formidable of the city travel mercenary bands, who are often hiring new Competing petty nobles of Rinliddi adventurers. descent engage in brigandage and assert taxation which amount to the same travellers, rights over predatory a Tholm the Hawk, worship They thing. Vrimak. deity related to as er bandits proclaim themselves scruffi Even come through here, caravans Few Velthil. kings in so its self-proclaimed nobles raid into Rinliddi, When not fl Garsting and Kosaddi. are running from the hungry trolls of patrols, they the nearby Blue Moon Plateau or the vicious land raiders of Pent. Unconquered Lands In 825, Rinliddi revolted against the Dara Happan Empire, against the Dara Happan Empire, In 825, Rinliddi revolted solar The weakened forces of the EWF. aided by covert on his with encroachment faced Karmexdros, Emperor, his former province. western borders, declined to retake his right to tax them, as He issued a decree withdrawing a gift of imperial if granting the successful insurgents largesse. The Dara Happan cities of Yuthuppa and Elz Ast dominate Ast and Elz Yuthuppa of The Dara Happan cities ungovernable trade and politics. Other cities include the a ruin centred around Birin and Diavizzi, of pirate enclave to revive. a magical spring, which EWF priests intend The Rinliddi live around the Arcos River, which empties which River, Arcos the around live The Rinliddi descend from the bird god They into the Sea of Ice. Vrimak, they Along with Yelm. of Vrimak, an emanation enjoy They deities. of other avian a number worship educated scribes and falconers reputations as expert mounted on troops for their avilry, are best known but The Rinliddi ightless birds. fl enormous, two-legged, nests, clans called extended into themselves organise order under the guidance of establishing a pecking wyrmfriend priests. Rinliddi of continued political independence. Defeated and they adopted Dara Happan traditions. They fl irted with subject to violent harassment, Common Egg nests either the Spolites and now embrace the solar version of the renounced their wyrmfriend affi liations or went into exile wyrmfriend cult. Undercover God Learners have to dig to in Dragon Pass. There they bonded with War Dragon fi nd their true native traditions, which involve an unlikely commanders and seek to prove themselves as among the billy-goat deity called Gerendetho. They fear the nearby Empire’s most fearsome special troops. Dara Happan city of Alkoth; when its hellgate opens to loose the dread god Shargash, it is always they who bear Despite their urging, the Guiding Council has yet to the fi rst brunt of his indiscriminate killing. mount a full campaign to subjugate Rinliddi. Draconic Dara Happans administer the main Kostadi Kostadi city, the sleepy and sprawling Darlap. Kostadi is a great belt of rich farmland overshadowed by the howling steppe of the Hungry Plateau. Its people Sylila are humble agriculturalists with a history of bending Scourging winter winds rake the deeply forested hills to foreign ways. When the Dara Happans were strong, and valleys of Sylila but religious controversy heats World Gazetteer
100 World Gazetteer 101 ts of es her ght the South of Balazar the heretic mostali community of mostali community Balazar the heretic South of the past half mountains. Over in the lives Greatway to withdraw had have of Greatway dwarfs century the the local trolls to defend from their battle against dwarfs The Greatway kind. against their own themselves in sharing the benefi believe are Openhandists, who are Although their artefacts with others. their knowledge of the with the mystical mindset incompatible largely them in dialogue. persist in engaging wyrmfriends, they consider this Nidan Decamony The authorities of the Their against them in 852. a war treason and launched them to mostali expect the Greatway but failed efforts them with providing Adventurers time. try again at any and intentions of the Nidan intelligence on the movements of lore and technology. rewards can expect Decamony Elder Wilds rendered the green with other races have Constant warfare ruthless in battle and Wilds (coniferous) elfs of the Elder asked allied with the EWF until they They in peace. wary wyrmfriends the drove They as gods. to be worshipped and battle their human, dwarf from their forest and now Their bloody-handed troll allies in Balazar and Garsting. Winds the That Bends In the Pine Tolarin, champion is Breaks. Spirits of the hardiest trees teach them But Never magic and to toughen their skins to resist weather how against the stings of serpents. Garsting rocky This land of gloomy forests and mist-hugged, who fi hills has become a stronghold for trolls, of Balazar and the elfs of the Elder humans and dwarfs accept aid from Some tribes of eastern Garsting Wilds. kind, protecting the the wyrmfriends to battle their own Their leader is dwarfs. barbarians and Greatway Votanki mask. matriarch who wears a wooden a clever Vol, Voxa it is said changes constantly but expression The mask’s is frozen with paralysis. She justifi that her own hand that feeds is a good ‘Any by saying: allegiance hand’. the matriarch Gatha Her main enemy is her sister, the blessing of Far her warriors gives Vak Gatha Vak. great distances them to travel which allows Walking, walk. eat while they they to rest, provided without having betrayals, she spares what little Vol’s Voxa Infuriated by to hound her wealth she can gather to pay mercenaries sister to her grave. ercest critics and staunchest supporters of draconic supporters of draconic and staunchest ercest critics Balazar as a battleground The rugged borderlands of Balazar serve centuries a For for battling members of the elder races. prospered by playing have Votanki human tribe called the against one another. elfs and dwarfs the local trolls, off of In the eighth century their king made himself a vassal with carts laden returning from Dragon Pass the EWF, secured the allegiance They with weapons and silver. of the elfs by promising to aid them in their continual come struggle against the trolls. Lately EWF priests have demanding more worship Wilds to Balazar and the Elder as men do, The aldryami, who do not worship energy. raid frequently from now They rebelled against them. stage regular Votanki The into Balazar. Wilds the Elder bands to adventuring reprisal attacks. Both sides employ for them. do their dirty work Half a century ago, a horde of cursed Telmori wolf people wolf Telmori Half a century ago, a horde of cursed Telmoria. migrated here from Dorastor was a sprawling land and centre of civilisation land and centre of civilisation a sprawling Dorastor was The First Age. during the later centuries of the First capital, from there to establish a new Council moved After the birth of which to launch the God Project. made it a foul, churning Nysalor a long, long war The destruction wellspring of Chaos manifestations. but the world of Gbaji suppressed Chaos throughout is by God Learners and now awakened Dorastor was once-beautiful valleys tainted by it again. Its irreversibly into which and ruined cities comprise a maze of horrors, tread. Its broo the heroes of neither Empire care to Ralios, trailed armies send raiders into Bilini and eastern other obscene by a hopping, suppurating multitude of monsters. Dorastor Sylila encompasses the border regions of Aggar, a wild Aggar, of the border regions Sylila encompasses care to dwell, people and outlaws land where only crazy between civilised zone buffer and Bilini, a barbarian of Dorastor. Peloria and the horrors its politics. This barbarian homeland houses both the homeland This barbarian its politics. fi of a mystical adherents Tarumathi, The Orlanthi faith. improve embrace and even approach to storm worship, tribes chafe under wyrmfriend EWF practices. Other send their young men to join the dominance and covertly traditionalists. Old Ways Redlands
This region of windswept sandstone ridges gets its Caladraland name from the rivers of blood spilled here over the centuries. As a borderland separating Pent and Peloria, it is the site of frequent battles between the fearsome raiders of the steppes and their civilised neighbours. War Dragon detachments patrol the region, mimicking their vanquished Pentan foes by keeping continually on the prowl, living out of tents. The Guiding Council seasons its earthshaker units by rotating them in and out of Pent. If they can survive Pent and hold the battlefi eld against Pentan horse nomads, they can fi nd anyone, anywhere.
One commander, Orsarik Cloudviper, resists reassignment out of the Redlands. He knows the Pentans better than anyone and maintains close ties with their vanquished tribes who worship their great spirit, Kargzant, in the draconic manner. At his elbow stands Sarkosa Ripplewing, a cryptic, reserved wyrmfriend priestess who visits vassal tribes to ensure that they worship in the right way. The affair between Orsarik and Sarkosa is
World Gazetteer common knowledge in the Redlands but news of it never seems to make its way back to Dragon Pass.
Kethaela breath scorches the air for miles around. Dedicated to Kethaela, a culturally diverse coastal region in south him is an aboriginal people who live, fi ght and play on his central Genertela, consists of fi ve territories: volcanic enormous slopes. In Fire Season they conduct ritualised Caladraland, matriarchal Esrolia, barbarian Hendrikiland, wars; the losers are fed to him as sacrifi ces. Aurelion can the Rightarm Isles archipelago and the trollish Shadow rain his molten contents on invaders but when the God Plateau. From the dawn to the rise of the great Empires, Learners came to conquer the land, he stayed silent. They all of it was ruled by Ezkankekko, an uz demigod, also have reunited him with his twin sister, a goddess named known as the Only Old One. From his Obsidian Tower in Caladra from across the world. Enemies of the God the Shadowlands, he allowed the peoples under his domain Learners would kill to understand the ultimate import of to run their own affairs and worship as they pleased, so this metaphysical scheme. long as they paid him tribute. Imperial encroachment robbed him of his former possessions. The God Learners Esrolia, Land of Women control the Rightarm Isles and Caladraland, along with Esrolia reveres the Earth Pantheon. Its people recognise some coastal outposts in Esrolia. They even attacked the Imarja, the ruler of many other ancient female deities Shadow Plateau itself. By this time, Ezkankekko had and treat Orlanth as merely one of a number of useful forged an alliance with the EWF, who defended it as if it but subservient husbands. A council of queens, each were their own. They found common cause even though heading a clan devoted to a different earth entity, rules Hendrikiland rebelled. The wyrmfriends still pay him their matriarchal society. Rich agricultural lands support token tribute, as if he willingly ceded it to them. a thriving urban economy. Several Esrolian clans partake of EWF practices, while others shun them. The queens Caladraland, Realm of Volcanoes claim to have consented to God Learner domination of Amid a range of active volcanoes, one fi ery massive and their coastal settlements, including the scholarly centre fi ery peak surges further into the sky than any other. This of Nochet. is Aurelion, who is both mountain and god, and whose 102 World Gazetteer 103 ated prices) t from the construction of the Clanking City and God Forgot been archipelago have of this tide-buffeted The natives when their nameless true atheists since before the Dawn, with their replaced his worship They slain. god was to the mastery of blind devoted brand of Sorcery, own dismiss The God Forgotters chance and contingency. entities as useless pretenders, as victim all other divine by God Learner Overrun as they. to the whims of fate casinos, continue to run their famous conquerors, they profi moment when smugness the inevitable with quiet await They wheel turns against their arrogant masters. fortune’s with Zistorwal of enemies to besiege greet the arrival supplying them (at infl covertly equanimity, and issuing sincere invitations to commiserate around the and issuing sincere invitations gaming table. n the ant. Two years ago, he reinstated traditional worship. years ago, he reinstated traditional worship. Two ant. ght back against imperial patrols. EWF pressure on Hendrikiland may now be easing, as EWF pressure on Hendrikiland may now Orlanthi and wyrmfriends unite to lay siege both old way This truce can only be temporary. to the Clanking City. His warriors have courageously resisted forays into his have His warriors domain by EWF forces, who still intend to knock him from the throne and force the locals to dedicate their unfriendly to Adventurers to the wyrm. energies worship are willing they here, provided nd a haven the EWF will fi to fi Defi Hendrikiland Hendrikiland has proven An archetypal Orlanthi territory, have They traditionalists. Ways itself a refuge of Old Its tribes recognise free, by hiding and dodging. survived, Androfi is the authority of a king, who at present Orlanth. Her shadow is dimmer now, as this bowl of Esvularings fertile land between two mountain ranges is now the Andorfi n acknowledges an uneasy truce with the primal core of the dragon Empire. Esvularings, a group of ancient Malkioni who have lived here since the Dawn. They subscribe to a local form of the henotheist heresy, which states Dragon Pass is also a notch in the Dragonspine that all of the pagan gods are creatures of Malkion and that one can still be a good Malkioni while Hills, affording the easiest access to Peloria, to deriving magic from Orlanth and his kin. They the north. These hills were once the dragon had been subjects of the God Forgotters but broke Sh’hakarzeel, who was slain here by Orlanth. away when they saw the horror of the Clanking The notch is the spot where he hit it. But try saying City being assembled. that these days in wyrmfriend territory and you’ll find yourself up on sedition charges. The Clanking City — Enlirath Gasting, God Talker of the Brown Deer Clan Zistorwal is an enormous edifi ce of twisted metal rising from an island in God Forgot. Its gleaming foundations extend past the island’s footprint into the sea. Twisting ducts and vents climb up its surface like throbbing veins. Dragon Pass is heavily populated as never before. The infernal hiss and clang of steam engines issues from EWF magic has turned already verdant hills into highly its high walls. Inside dwells Zistor, a titanic, shrieking productive farmlands. These support ever-expanding demigod combining the qualities of man and machine, cities of draconic mystery. and his sorcerous servants, the Zistorites. Among other
World Gazetteer projects, they manufacture magic weapons on a mass scale. Their foes, an unlikely alliance of old ways Orlanthi, wyrmfriend, troll and mostali, slowly encircle Draconic Agriculture them in a sea borne siege. In normal years, weird magic sustains the food belt of Dragon Pass. Strange hybrid beasts, like Shadow Plateau sheep and cows but with odd reptilian features, browse the pastures of Dragon Pass, fattening The troll demigod Ezkankekko rules this uz stronghold themselves on quick-growing weeds and grasses. from his towering Obsidian Tower, more imposing and Massive plough oxen drive deep furrows into the majestic than even that of Halikiv. Once the ruler of all fi elds. New grains, such as vell and kreet, sprout Kethaela, he has been reduced in status to a client of tenaciously, grow speedily and, once milled, bake up into fat, bulging loaves. Their seeds dissolve the EWF. They defended the Shadowlands against God into slime when taken across the Empire’s Learner attack in the fi rst massive clash between the two boundaries. powers, in 842. Ezkankekko rules over the plateau’s clan matriarchs by his divine right as a son of the travelling At the moment, though, the region trembles in deity Argan Argar. He supports the fi ght against the the grip of an unending winter. Herd animals die of starvation. Hard caps of icy snow cover the Clanking City but does what he can to ensure that the fi elds. Ordinary people wait hungrily for their two Empires cripple each other, allowing him to reassert wyrmfriend priests to pull a mystical solution control over the region. Trollkin live on the glassy plateau, from the air – yet no relief comes. while uz dwell in the tunnels of the great Castleof Lead beneath it.
Unlike the quickly-constructed dragon cities of Dragon Pass Ormsgone, the original wyrmish cities of Dragon Pass In the First Age, Dragon Pass was also known as generate themselves through a combination of ordinary Kerofi nela. It takes this name from Mount Kero Fin, a building techniques and mystical self-propagation. snow-capped peak that rises both majestically and gently They become living things, apparently empowered by from the Dragonspine range, in the region’s northwestern the dragon Sh’hakarzeel that was turned into rock and quadrant. Kero Fin is also a goddess and mother to 104 World Gazetteer 105 Visitors Visitors takes new new takes rst). City of the Dragon’s Tongue, serves as the serves Tongue, City of the Dragon’s When my cousin Enarsen returned from Salor, he no longer took comfort in the touch of his wife or the laughter of his daughters. Six months later, he sawed off his right hand with a serrated blade. In a cool tone, blood soaking his bandages, he told me that it had ‘gone snaky on him’. — Jorudanth Silverhand, Trader of Janstown City of the First Eye, perches on the City of the First Banjarn, of the at the headwaters south end of Liorn Island, Cyclic Rising educates Its School of Oslir River. trains missionaries. and outstanding recent converts inquiry practices spiritual Its Leaping Faculty and claims responsibility through bodily contortion, more recent animating the Empire’s of for several structure Consulate of the Egg, an ovoid The insights. headquarters the sweeping gates, on by the city’s draconic name The city’s corps. diplomatic Empire’s or ‘Draconic Learning for the is Orfanmangostobos, Middle Education Classes of Spiritual Opulence’. , City of the Reaching Claw, Nevelmarkan their initial orientation in Orin Jistrel. after converts Dragons maintain training centres here, War The Riders drill Wyrm Corps and the Wyvern where the and garrison. In draconic, it is Markanbandaranstos, and Love ‘Insightful Centre of Relaxation between Hate’. Salor, Local merchants trade hub. commercial Empire’s from foreign and with caravans among themselves lands (who must stop at Orin Jistrel fi of Illusion, care not to stray into the Market must take is but which resembles the ordinary marketplace parable of mystic consciousness. actually a living cost them products for coins that Customers buy return food that in pieces of their souls and receive cut and does not nourish, weapons which will not who turn luxuries that instil discomfort. Believers back their soul into insight receive the experience the left them but parts in better condition than they In spiritually undistinguished can be harmed forever. converts and outsiders alike are directed to their ultimate are directed alike and outsiders converts draconic The city’s may be. these whatever destinations, Hidden Soul of or ‘Great name is Darmislangastrofey, Dragons’. Lesser cities include: Knowable D D D of draconic cities nd navigation The sagacious missionary does not attempt The sagacious missionary does not attempt his work through persistence or obvious own persuasion. He lets his subject develops his their insights, which will be all the stronger for independent generation. — Ervaling Scalemaker, Wyrmfriend Priest , City of the Mouth. Its education centres Orin Jistrel Their residents move realms. uctuations from the higher Each city possesses two names, a draconic name which Each city possesses two cult to render into normal, one-tongued speech and is diffi is easier to a name in the local Orlanthi language which pronounce. confusing at best and literally maddening at worst. Their literally maddening at worst. confusing at best and once sages and drooling beggars, thresholds abound with lands, who arrogantly tried to wend of foreign warriors without the necessary adjustment of into them their way schooled in the wyrmfriend Those psychic viewpoint. their worship to devoting or at least accustomed way, way their the Great Dragon Project, can make to energy streets easily enough. However, through their winding to shift tendency must accept their cities’ they even about, as if in response to esoteric boundaries and move fl between about not by remembering spatial relationships feeling the city’s by landmarks and destinations but attunement. present state of meditative The magically unaware fi The magically unaware became a dead thing. Boundaries between categories blur. blur. between categories thing. Boundaries became a dead abstraction to be a verbal moment may seem What one to be a physical manifestation, itself prove can the next plaza. pool or a wall, like The largest city, where newcomers and foreigners are sent, where newcomers city, The largest is Each missionary organisation cultists. welcome new centres, and seeing to it that their converts is own staffs Although such jostling go to the right processing station. is unseemly and metaphysically damaging, certain rival groups nonetheless attempt to poach one another’s Diplomats and traders who do not at present converts. to to the wyrmfriend path are diverted intend to convert with prayer are provided orientation stations, where they them to move, aphorisms allowing beads and protective guidance, between authorised points in with experienced orientation, achieved have Once they cities. the various World Gazetteer
Auld Wyrmish, the city is Kermalanaladeen, ‘Process D Orostaban provides second-stage education to the Barracks of the Right to Left Hand’. masses. Its ever-ringing chimes allow converts to D Olorost , City of the Third Eye, is the city of separate themselves from their ordinary desires, government and administration. The Guiding burning away the need to possess, love or achieve Council, when it deigns to convene in physical grandeur. Unwary visitors may completely lose form, meets here. The Throne Hands convene in the their ambition and goals here, without acquiring the spiralling Hall of Anonymity, which only they and mystical attunement sought by knowing students of their retinues can ever fi nd and which preserves the the wyrmfriend path. Draconic speakers call the city illusion that it is the Guiding Council that directly Markarastanarbos, which means ‘Insightful Centre manages the Empire’s day-to-day affairs. Retired of Emotional Suppression for Delight’. Outsiders generals and heroes while away their contemplative fi nd its nickname, the Cavernous Throat of the days in magnifi cent piazzas, whose splendour is only Soul, confusing, expecting it to consist of a series of visible to their peers. Others see austere structures underground passageways or at least a labyrinth of of abiding humility. Known in Auld Wyrmish as some sort. Forstobordar, ‘Magnifi cent Centre of High Luxury’, D Dragon’s Eye, the City Before All Else, is the original Olorost is also nicknamed the Fort of the Outer dragonewt city, from which all the other cities are Brain. bizarre humanoid elaborations. Missionaries claim
106 World Gazetteer 107 Wall of the Inner Brain, is encircled Wall Banamabar, which doubles back in by a serpentine, curving wall places, intersects with other on itself and, in several the same point in structures, so that both occupy violent physical space. Unschooled visitors receive touch these points of intersection; shocks when they one into a multi-year can throw do not kill but they wish may decide whether they The truly aware sleep. The choice of or building. to interact with either wall certain the other unpredictably forecloses one over double-domed In a vast choices in their future lives. the Banambarites manage a huge language building, D down with only physical prowess and common magic. Trophies are proudly displayed at the hunt camp, are proudly Trophies and common magic. with only physical prowess down is a violation of the pride in accomplishment Olorost (to show then smuggled back to their lordly manors in indulgence). of this trivial the fruits deserve Throne Hands feel they the mystic ethic of non-attachment but can where they of admission to the Lordly Forests, cials dream not of enlightenment but Ambitious offi topmost pinnacles. to rise them to the authority’s associate with those empowered The Lordly Forests The Lordly members of the EWF’s More active Throne most ruling class, including in the deep woods Hands, congregate to hunt Lordly Forests as the known monstrous These the Beasts of Falsity. insect body animals combine six-legged features structures with mammalian and the warm-bloodedness such as fur, The Lordly Forests birth. capacity for live that are dangerous contain only creatures hunt. challenging to or enjoyably These beasts are emanations from misguided spiritual questing, brought fear doubt, by the mystic’s into existence or imperfect understanding. Specially trained Discretion Squadrons quietly collect them throughout Dragon Pass’ teams, armed with advanced These cities. mystical magic of refutation, disperse the physical essences of the misshapen or uninteresting emanations and gather the erce ones to be released to promisingly fi the Lordly Forests. it as a point of The hunters take their sportsmanship that no one employs mystical abilities of dissolution against bring them the creatures. Instead they that is both more and less disorienting to the untutored Although the visitor than the constructed cities. for meaning of this statement is left as an exercise it can be said that the dimensions of the the reader, to the human frame and that city are less forgiving and intelligent most of its inhabitants are dragonewts high-ranking human practitioners of dinosaurs. Even may be set upon and torn to pieces by the dragon way its reptilian inhabitants, for infractions as obscure as The wyrmish name for are undoubtedly grave. they literally translates as ‘Great Darfostalabos, the city, Leadership in Luxurious Education of the Mind’. school. Initiates come here to undergo a ceremony The Wastelands in which their brains and tongues are split, enabling them to speak Auld Wyrmish. Depending on their A vast and inhospitable swath of scrubland, plagued course of study, this may happen early on in their by equally by cold winds and scorching heat, occupies spiritual development or near its climax. Afterwards, eastern central Genertela. Its comparatively liveable they may correctly pronounce the city’s name as corner is called Prax and borders Kethaela and Dragon Orfandarobordar, which means ‘Draconic Learning Pass. Prax exists under the indirect control of the EWF but of Liberation of the Great Luxury’. the rest of the Wastelands have never been conquered. D Pald , City of the Snout’s Tip, is mainly a centre for the redistribution of agricultural produce throughout Only the Animal Nomads and a few other odd species the Empire. It is most famous for its Round Temple, like the anthropomorphic baboon people, know how to a school for curious, respectful outsiders who wish to survive in the Wastelands proper. They battle fi ercely for learn about dragons without joining the wyrmfriend control of its few oases. Notable tribes of the Wastelands religion. It is covered in iridescent blue ceramic tiles, include the Sable Riders, the Bison Riders, the Llama and constructed in the shape of a snake eating its Riders, the Impala Riders, the inhuman Morokanth who tail. They say that what you learn here depends on herd degenerate humans, the Rhino Riders, the Zebra what door you go in. Its graduates never learn the Riders, the Unicorn Riders, the Bolo Lizard Riders and city’s true name: Ingyastrobos or ‘Foreign Teachings the Ostrich People. Useful without Extravagance’. D Bevjarn , City of the Second Eye, houses a school for Pent advanced studies which looks like it is situated atop a The grassy steppes of Pent wilt under the summer sun hill during the day and at the bottom of a deep gully and quiver beneath the wintry blasts from the adjoining,
World Gazetteer at night. Its meditative scholars explore their dreams, trackless tundra on its northern boundary. Here ride the learning the so-called Walking Method, which allows fearsome Pentan horse nomads, who worship the great them to access both their personal dreamlands and sun spirit Kargzant. Their fortunes are presently on the the ordinary senses of the waking world at the same wane, as fast-moving velociraptor units of the EWF time. Bevjarn also garrisons the bulk of EWF troops War Dragons suppress their raiding efforts. Vanquished in the pass, from traditional infantry and cavalry clans submit to wyrmfriend priests, who imbue Kargzant to units augmented by dinosaurs and Rinliddi worship with serpentine rites to tax their worship energy. warbirds valley. Its deep name is Ingforslanabordar, Nomads who join their Horse Dragon cult take part in the which translates to ‘Foreigner Education Basic subjugation of rival tribes. War Dragon leaders condone to Greatness’. This may seem puzzling, until one raids into God Learner territory, prompting the Pentans remembers that the Guiding Council perceives its to conduct their usual whirlwind attacks on Kralorela thundering war legions as their most reliable tool for and southern Teshnos. They may also attack the animal the education of incorrigibly stubborn foreigners. nomads in the Wastelands, though not in Prax.
Pent’s tribes are alliances of family lineages. Pentans follow their leaders fanatically and expect gruesome Bevjarn’s full of the right kind of wyrmfriend. Not death if they betray them. However, when a leader dies, a the kind who looks through you and whispers tribe’s lineages may either remain together or split apart nonsense like it’s wisdom. No, I mean the kind to be absorbed by other tribes. Successful war leaders whose guts are ready to bust, that’s how much gather large tribes. Right now the tribes of Pent are weak they yearn to loose their savage fury on the foes of our sweet Empire. and numerous. The most notable of them are:
— Varankol the Mangler D The Otniza , who are despised for submitting to the War Dragons and then aiding the foreigners against the other tribes. They are led by Lughteg Erdeneg,
108 World Gazetteer 109 ll Genertela’s at, well-irrigated plains fi at, well-irrigated plains , guardians of the Hellcrack. This great This , guardians of the Hellcrack. Bokesth Pentan Nomad Pentan ssure in the earth leads to the mythic Underworld. Underworld. ssure in the earth leads to the mythic against both War Dragons and other tribes who War against both Although their leading reject their legitimacy. appear to embrace the prospect of death, warriors visits itself it frequently eludes them. Instead doom Grupartho on their enemies, especially when the tribe are wildly outnumbered by them. Orathorn’s them on raids, groups to join adventuring allows join their elite ranks. will permanently hoping they The fi After out of it from time to time. Monsters still crawl in the brain wounded was Yeke, Tegus their leader, Dragons. War by a hellbeast, he submitted to the creatures, out to kill Underworld he sends them Now by fever while he remains in his tent, wracked dreams. D Kralorela fl Wide, The land population. eastern coast, feeding its large from coast hillier as one moves progressively grows The Shan Shan mountains contain its to mountain. protecting the lush land from the deprivations splendour, to its west. and Pent, Wastes of the re
ning who was wearing a hat. a wearing was who , which in Pentan means ‘invented Grupartho, which in Pentan means ‘invented , who confi ne their raids to Teshnos. Their Teshnos. ne their raids to Ube, who confi , known as the Beseechers, for their habit Qutu, known , the strongest of the unvanquished tribes. Burilgi, the strongest of the unvanquished When we fought the Ube, I took off my helmet and he attacked my mates instead. — Gurek Runespear, Mercenary of Safelster Technically, Dosvene Dolamen wears the hat of the last person he slew, The biggest War Dragon in Pent is Orsarik War Dragon in The biggest from the back of a Cloudviper, who strikes beast. His lance galloping armoured earthshaker fangs into your flesh or can sink poisonous your bones. entangle you and crush Wyrmfriend Priest — Ervaling Scalemaker, leader, Dosvene Dolamen, always wears the hat of Dolamen, always Dosvene leader, often he is most Accordingly, the last person he slew. seen in a turban. known by the Otniza as Lughteg the Wise and by his and Wise the by the Otniza as Lughteg known seen always He is Windshifter. enemies as Lughteg leading Trene, boar, his waddling of in the company others to whisper that he is really a pig hsunchen. The daring raids Cherel Bayaris, launches Their leader, Dragon encampments. He has sworn War against his last breath he will hoist the that before he takes gold. head of Orsarik Cloudviper on a lance of The fi as they of chanting to the Sun God, Kargzant, not submitted to the have They in battle. their arrows confi defy them either, do not Dragons but War Apisho, Tolui leader, Their their raiding to Kralorela. a mail shirt as the richest Pentan. He owns is famed this display piece made of golden links. He keeps ceremonial in the encampment, wearing it only on occasions. The The tribe’. Led by an apostate Malkioni sorcerer named been are half-foreigners who have Orathorn, they viciously war They adopted by Pentan bloodlines. D D D D Emperor ShangHsa rearranged the traditional provincial D Hsin Yin, City of Cleanliness, where people high boundaries of Kralorela in 783, 20 years after his and low compete to refl ect their spiritual purity with ascension to power, as part of his bloody Purge of a fanatical hatred for dirt, especially that which arises Antiquated Thinking. Governmental offi cials who from, or attaches itself to, the human body. Frequent resisted his changes were gathered together and buried executions for sneezing, scratching or giving off an alive. Others kept quiet at that time but fl ed north to the ill odour are woefully necessary, especially during Kingdom of Ignorance as soon as they could. the summer months. D Tzu Lung, City of Beauty. Kralori mercenary bands Each of the provinces is named after a principle of earn generous stipends by escorting the coveted Immanent Mastery. The renaming altered the personalities brides of Tzu Lung to destinations throughout the of the common people who dwell there, as was the plan. Empire. Naturally, they must arrive with purity The provinces were divided so that each (except for the intact. The provincial governor, Chi Ying, has dug a central province) would contain three major cities, though new palace for himself underground. By remaining not all sectors are equally prosperous. Each is now ruled beneath the earth, he claims he will evolve into a by a governor appointed by ShangHsa, who is also an new Immanent state, freeing his people forever from advanced student of Immanent Mastery. hunger and want. Continual Ascendance Green Contemplation The people of Continual Ascendance are strivers, never Residents of Green Contemplation seek harmony with content with the depth of their service to the Empire. nature, as represented by the brilliant emerald hills of They compete with one another to fulfi l the letter and the countryside, and the lush aldryami forests to the spirit of ShangHsa’s proclamations, and to inform on south. Certain unlucky monks, contemplating the Great
World Gazetteer those of their neighbours who fail to measure up. The Dragon, accidentally make themselves like the Great province’s main cities are: Tree. Depending on need, they are either converted to an ever-burning fuel or planted in the earth, to yield crops of D Chang Tsai, the Cannibal City. Conquered over 40 nutritious nuts. Its cities are: years ago by a sadistic Chaos champion called the Ogre King, it is now the subject of a rapprochement D An Kwan Dai, City of Persuasion, where anyone between Emperor and interloper, brokered by God can be made to believe anything, at least for the Learner sorcerers. The Ogre King acknowledges space of a few hours. For enjoyment, nobles and ShangHsa’s primacy and the Emperor in turn allows merchants stroll through the lantern-lit Promenade his Legion of Red Bones to devour both those who of Folly, where, to everyone’s delight, sages spout fl out his laws and they who die of natural causes. nonsensical yet rigorously constructed theories. Prisoners rescued from the Red Bones Legion may None dares contradict the doctrines of ShangHsa, legally escape their ordained punishment by crossing however. Certain sages can talk you into instantly the provincial boundary into Truthful Exhalation. rematerialising in particular locations elsewhere in Those who try to escape by sea remain outlawed and Glorantha. Known sites of verbal transport include must be bound over for death if caught elsewhere. the Slontan city of Thanor and the Umathelan Psychic Zoo. D Guiching , City of Palaces, where the richest Kralori live in unbelievable splendour, surrounded by Ordinary people of this province seek forever to prove their harmony with the principle of neighbourhoods of stunning wretchedness. Rebels Continual Ascendance. The Red Bones Legion against ShangHsa covertly gather in its slums, yet advances no such philosophy, save perhaps for also infect the minds of the pampered, salon-dwelling Continual Aggression. youth. D Shi Mai, City of Permeability, where the monks feed — Songling Hu, Annalist of the Temple of themselves through the pores, bathing in nourishing Immanence, Ting Shui liquids harvested from the God Plane, by their Jrusteli allies. Several God Learner colleges cooperate to 110 World Gazetteer 111 nd further ghting style, in which the combatant appears to visitation, which is overdue, with a mixture of dread with a mixture visitation, which is overdue, rm the rightness of the he affi Will and anticipation. of it from the or scour all vestiges Immanent Path of the earth? face , the Lingering City, where any fast fast where any , the Lingering City, Laonan Tao wins in all endeavours. and slowness action fails Petal perfected the Falling Its martial artists have fi Inner Retreat other shun visitors, even The people of this province to prefer speech to action and thought They Kralori. and fi speech. It is their duty to look inward improvements to the Immanent Path. Cities are: to the Immanent Path. improvements D cence. A large western enclave western enclave A large cence. with the cooperation of here, eet is built maintain a celestial sled, which permits celestial sled, which maintain a Other into the eastern easy launching Side myths. aldryami craftsmen, who persuade the aldryami craftsmen, who persuade the The into hulls. trees to form themselves lumberyards fetches a dear price of its living wood is always other nautical city in Glorantha but in any for cannot be purchased, only stolen. spoken At the centre of Court. Shui, the Dragon’s Ting shining city lies a vast, this hushed and reverent stones are a curious mixture courtyard whose paving There, at three separate occasions of metal and brick. Dragon has descended August the since the Dawn, to grant audience to people. It dispenses from the sky granting justice to all who submit to an interview, to the wronged and devouring relief from grievance past appearances The dragon’s the unrighteous. reign. ShangHsa’s Yanoor’s all occurred during greet the prospect of a new friends and foes alike , City of Immanence, where the , City of Immanence, Chi Ting Masters dwell, Emperor and his Dragon in gold-scaled pagodas of ascending magnifi The ambient surrounds their compound. prevents contentedness of the province distaste for people from expressing odd they the foreigners, no matter how business Those with government smell. to conduct must come here, where all cials are found. offi the truly powerful an ShangHsa has recently conceived and seeks to make interest in silkworms, them as compliant as his people. where Hua, City of Calligraphy, Wan and the best invented writing was who cannot cials brushes are made. Offi poorly here, a rare write beautifully fare is Gloranthan city where nearly everyone literate. The Kralori Willows. Bu Dao, Port of Ting fl D D D D Here the mystic atmosphere requires one to Here the mystic atmosphere optimism and a certitude maintain a sense of thoughts may Dolorous of future splendour. of In the province only in whispers. be spoken rotten food tastes like even Hopeful Certainty, Cities are: nest delicacy. the fi Hopeful Centrality Hopeful It houses the School of Withheld Affi rmation, an Immanent Path offshoot which promises to grant Dragonewt Colonies the powers not of dragons but of gods themselves. Kralorela houses four dragonewt colonies: one west of Chi Ting, another to its northeast, another ShangHsa grudgingly allows it, only because his near Guiching and the largest in the forest of mentor Gillam D’estau has declared it a fascinating Fethlon. This last colony, known as Fanzai, is avenue of exploration. Other God Learners are ruled by an Inhuman King. anxious to pry into its secrets, even before D’estau is ready to reveal them. Sha Ming is also known for its Unlike the dragonewts of Dragon Pass and Ormsland, he and his fellow lizard men maintain perennial lateness in paying taxes, a practice which the traditional separation between wyrm and long predates the reign of ShangHsa. humankind. As always, the humans of Kralorela maintain an affi nity with draconic principles but Respectful Welcome do not presume to insert themselves into the affairs The port cities of Respectful Welcome open their hearts of dragonkin. The motto ‘two paths to the same destination’, seeks to explain ShangHsa’s hands- to outsiders of the God Learner persuasion and are off policy toward the dragonewts. A sentence of reservedly friendly to other foreigners. They follow death awaits any Kralori who violates it. the motto: ‘Absorb what is best about others, so that it becomes yours’. The exiles of the old regime say that the dragonewts will one day rise to strike down accursed ShangHsa and Cham Dao for their blasphemy but so far they D Hui Jang, City of Seawomen, staffs entire trading have shown no inclination to smite anyone. vessels with female merchants. They drive hard bargains and fi ght off pirates with their Spinning Crane fi ghting style. Women adventurers wishing to
World Gazetteer be accepted in Kralori society perform favours for be barely moving, even as he tosses his hapless Spinning Crane nuns, winning the right to paint the opponent across the courtyard. Laonan Tao’s trainers Kralori character for ‘Valour’ on their foreheads. can improve any fi ghter’s technique, even if he is a D Shiji Mori, City of Perfection, celebrates its benighted westerner. craftsmen, who produce simple objects notable for D Tung Shui An, City of Nourishment, where everyone their fl awlessness. The humbler the beauty they prepares his own food. To eat food prepared by attain, the more valuable their objects become. Shiji another without payment risks stomach cramps. Food Mori crafts fetch high prices wherever the wealthy cooked for payment is toxic. Restaurants exist as seek luxury and status. social locations, to which one brings packed meals. D Yumo Dao, City of Dreams, where one may People wishing to speak to dead comrades can do so at place a bowl of rice wine under one’s bed, using the city’s Pool of Resurrection. Ghosts of all cultures the intoxicating liquid as a medium to record can be contacted there, except for observant Hrestoli one’s perambulations through the lands of dream. Malkioni. Believers in reincarnation sometimes fi nd Professional dream-seekers lace fi ne wines with themselves talking to living incarnations of their vistas of unearthly wonder and offer them for sale. dead friends. These infusions are valued throughout Glorantha. D Sha Ming, City of Refusal, where any question which can be answered in the negative will be. Truthful Exhalation In Truthful Exhalation those who speak honestly of their love for Immanent Mastery feel full and light, as if the purest air animates their lungs. Those who despicably Only those who die violently may be contacted lie and say that it is a false or dangerous doctrine or at the Pool of Resurrection. It is frequented by warriors and adventurers, not by good and that ShangHsa is less than benevolent, fi nd themselves ordinary folk. perpetually winded and short of breath. They sicken easily and must often take to their beds for days at a time. — Songling Hu To avoid this effect, secret critics of the regime migrate either to other provinces or to the Kingdom of Ignorance. Offi cials whose loyalty of questionable loyalty are sent 112 World Gazetteer 113 cials of cials may not touch their feet or shoes directly may not touch their feet or shoes directly cials The drinking straws of Hsiang Wan’s wealthiest The drinking straws of Hsiang Wan’s wealthiest jade merchants are made from gold, ivory or and are delicately carved or salted with jewels. in Certain thieves of my acquaintance specialise their acquisition and sale. — Songling Hu regeneration. When they wake up, they ring a silver ring a silver up, they wake When they regeneration. to dig them surface on the workmen bell, alerting emotional and physical with all emerge They up. and ready to from them, fresh scrubbed away fatigue Horned guardians of animate again. the world face the slumber mounds, to ceramic material guard were stone buildings Lokow’s kidnappings. prevent the immortal that hatched made from the eggshell settles on No dust ever Allgiver. a son of Wi, Luy them. where each social class Taboos, , City of Hsiang Wan a common element or object. is forbidden to touch Offi must be carried from place to to outdoor ground and only a few when moving place in palanquins, even artisans paces across a courtyard. Merchants and liquids to touch their lips, and must may not allow Commoners born on the city’s drink through straws. where those east side may not touch clay vessels, Each from the west are forbidden glass containers. The origin goddess, despises the other as unworthy. born here; Encompassing Before, was All She of the while others to her, some say the taboos are a tribute out of monsters from pouring down keep say they the mountains. D Kuchawn, City of Exemption When ShangHsa marched on the imperial palace in 768, to account, the offi Yanoor to call the Emperor Kuchawn were the fi rst city governors to announce governors rst city were the fi Kuchawn granted was Kuchawn As a reward, support for him. ascension to the throne. special status upon ShangHsa’s rule and thus to the odd It is independent of provincial It pays taxes each province. ambient magics that affect only to the Emperor and need not support a provincial summer palace lies outside The Emperor’s bureaucracy. the city nestled in the rolling Shan Shan foothills, and subject to a cooling wind. Despite his seasonal proximity, secret societies opposed to his rule gather here, to covertly plot his downfall. City of Radiant Perfection, whose cial and priestly classes are not permitted to use cial and priestly classes are not permitted Kraloreli Emissary of ShangHsa Kraloreli any object which is cracked, blemished, chipped is cracked, object which any undermine Rivals or improperly manufactured. to place one another by hiring stealthy operatives display damaged or ill-made items in their enemies’ Wall The ceramic tile murals of Fuknama’s cabinets. District are so stunningly beautiful that hardened men weep when forced to depart from them. , City of Rest, whose chief industry is sleep. Lokow Kralori come from across the Empire to Wealthy use of its luxurious clay sleeping chambers. make are then which climb into these vessels, They into pits in the earth. mortared shut and lowered clay beds, their encompassing As dirt is piled over They surpassingly deep slumber. into a fall they days from a few remain unconscious for anywhere to months, depending on their need for spiritual Fuknama, offi D D Conversely, only those certain of their affection for the certain of their affection only those Conversely, here. Its cities, Emperor and his doctrine tend to move deserted a melancholy, lately taken all of whom have are as follows: quality, here as a test; those who fall ill are demoted or, in the ill are demoted or, here as a test; those who fall case of those of lofty rank, executed. Kuchawn’s tallest structure is its observatory, which boasts the world’s longest uninterrupted set of celestial recordings. Fethlon The dense forest region of Fethlon, ruled by Churn Durel, The Kingdom of aldryami and dragonewts, lies between Kralorela and Teshnos. Its elfs have traditionally been Ignorance hostile to the Kralori and friendly to the Teshnans. Throughout Kralorelan history the ruling class of that The God Learners make a sustained effort to win great Empire has looked with loathing and revulsion on over the Fethloni elfs. Delegations from Seshnela, Churn Durel, the Kingdom of Ignorance. Now, having headed by nobles who have grown up with the elfs of that nation’s Jorestel Forest, patiently state and fl ed their own once-perfect nation, they languish in exile, restate the case for an alliance. They have even in this most hated of places. Its natives are the Ignorants, brought the elfs of Jorestel along with them on who wear tanned hides and avoid metal implements, occasion. money, abstract thought and literacy. They worship Zerel Fan, god of ignorance. This four-faced solar entity is now Their peace efforts have led to war within rival aldryami tribes, who have split over the wisdom mostly known in his aspect as the Black Sun, thanks to the of an alliance. The brown elfs of the north are efforts of the local uz, who used to rule over the humans more favourably disposed to the God Learners here. Churn Durel is a craggy hill country covered in than the yellow elfs of the south and interior, twisted forests, many of them overgrown by fungus. but the battle-lines in this internal feud shift unpredictably. Leader of the anti-Jrusteli forces Shan Shan Mountains is Daranor, an imperious bamboo elf. Her main foe is Tanelos, whose vegetable traits are those A range of sharp-edged mountains, the Shan Shan, of an ever-spreading Tree of Heaven. As spilled overlooks Kralorela, taunting its rulers, who have never sap soaks the Fethlon forest fl oor, the elfs of
World Gazetteer conquered it. The eastern hsunchen tribes dwell here, Seshnela petition Emperor Ilotos to stop what his feeding on its sparse vegetation and preying on one delegations started. Power and infl uence awaits the God Learner in good standing who can put an another. They include: end to the Leaf Wars of Fethlon.
D The peaceful Damali Deer People, who attempt to bring harmony and mutual prosperity to their fellow hsunchen. D The burly Lo-Fak Yak People, who, like the Teshnos wasteland nomads, subsist on their herds and The fi re mystics of Teshnos build ornate cities on the supplement their larders with raids. savanna and carve settlements from sweltering jungles. D The warlike Hsa Tiger People, who attack all The land’s major port, Dombain, has been signifi cantly non-hsunchen humans on sight and their beastfolk expanded by the God Learners, who lease it from King neighbours, as hunger warrants. Kasinslian in a favourable deal executed under duress. D The aloof, predatory Qa-Ying Eagle People, who They also occupy the small city of Gio, a place of live in the northern mountains and raid into Pent. religious contention, where adherents of various mystic D The comparatively complaisant Ri-Si Woodpecker paths debate to prove their surpassing sublimity. The People, who disclaim raiding in favour of hunting, Jrusteli built Tigonidar, city of cages, as a prison colony, trapping and foraging. mostly for heretics and enemies from elsewhere. The D The elusive Chen-Ga Snow Leopard People, who forest of Fethlon is a yellow elf redoubt; its plant people live so high in the mountains that many Kralori think favour the Teshnans but dislike the Jrusteli interlopers. they can fl y. Trowjang Verenela Under the rainforest canopies of this tropical isle dwell The region of Verenela encompasses the peninsula of the Marazi, a tribe of civilised human women, and their Teshnos and a network of islands, most prominently mates, a race of red-skinned demigods called the Tolati, Trowjang and Melib. Sofali turtle people dwell on many after their father, Tolat. Practicing a mystic tradition of the smaller islands. imparted to them on the breath of their ruddy god- husbands, the women oversee a city-state famous for its 114 World Gazetteer 115 eet eet. awless edicts. awless Mokato Mokato is all that remains of a ruined city of the Jeweled crystalline spires of divine gods. Its people dwell below hardened into resplendent peaks. which have manufacture god, in the direct rule of their infallible proudly bask They called stewards of governor-priests A staff Hobimarong. carry out his fl before even Waertagi on the Hobimarong declared war a wondrous deployed They the God Learners did. a fl weapon against the green-skinned seafarers: of ships seeming composed of pure magical essence, without physical components. Despite these so-called neighbours expected of Mokato’s essence ships, few against the sailors of the dragon ships. them to prevail the people of the a Mokatan ally, destroyed Waertagi The islands, and were about to turn their might on Tamanjary their fl Mokato when the Jrusteli destroyed Arandinni Islands Arandinni Andin men called the horned race of demon The scaled, political unity in enjoy but Vithela are found throughout and lack in speed they What island chain. this eponymous and determination. up for in size, strength make wit they Gebkeran. and the dark mother, Vith worship They are Varsard, sorcerer led by the outlaw Jrusteli renegades, display for which they Sorcery, war teaching them busily Usta, has announced his Beg Their leader, talent. a native it in the of Malkion and excrete intention to eat the soul form of a cloak-fastener. of Haragala Arch-Duchy Islands The once-wretched mercenaries of the Haragalan thoroughly to the by attaching themselves prospered have vassals made themselves Their leaders voluntarily Jrusteli. Malkioni outwardly adopted an of the Emperor and even sayings religious practice – albeit one in which Malkion’s the Liberating suspiciously resemble those of Kabalt, to perfect with God Learner sorcerers work They Bolt. intervene the art of magical ship-making. Haragalans to by auctioning their sleek navy wars Vithelan in other Chartam, boasts a Their main city, the highest bidder. for cathedral dome that illuminates the night sky glowing miles around. as further proof of his Hobimarong decreed this event the omniscience and decreed that his people should rebuff to establish quickly moved They God Learners overtures. eet. The Confederation of Hanfarador fi ghts a constant battle fi The Confederation of Hanfarador against the demonic inhabitants of a nearby island chain, and Laraloori and Vith worship They Arandinni. the the female line in pay homage to monarchs who favour the Vithela, in determining succession. Upon their arrival trade concessions extract now Jrusteli allied with them, but support needed against the by threatening to withdraw bounties for the heads offer The Hanfaradori Arandinni. Valuable Aradinnini enemies. (where applicable) of their each year at its spice competition, in prizes can be won pepper dishes of various which eaters compete to survive tongue-stripping intensity. Hanfarador Islands Most peoples of Vithela range across a number of islands. Vithela Most peoples of include the Major groups of interest to adventurers following. Isles) ourish in the fl Dozens of disparate mini-civilisations a mighty which once was Vithela, eastern islands of disaster sundered continent unto itself, before a pre-Time here is mystical in Worship it into countless pieces. nature. Vithela (The Eastern Vithela (The Eastern Melib initial push into the seas, the A generation after their base a major merchant-naval God Learners established dominated it island and have on this pleasant tropical as the City of , it is known Sivestarm since. Called ever on its eastern side is building as every Symmetry, False of a counterpart on the west copy an imperfect reverse yam-eating ethnic groups, the striving, native Two side. Ashurtans, compete for the piratical Gachi and uneasy, The God Learners favour of their Jrusteli masters. favour rewarding the latter group for their boundless servility, in their trading fl them with work music, food, poetry and decorative art. The demigods The demigods art. poetry and decorative music, food, clay shrines, visited in anthill-shaped dwell in seclusion intermediaries who act as their wives, many only by their God Learner visitors are tolerated, so to the wider world. The of their ways. may be schooled in the error that they female foreigners any and keep Marani disdain the men where their husbands from the clay shrine-homes away far dwell. naval hegemony over southeastern Vithela, declaring this the god’s will. Keet Man-Bird Their essence ships patrol southeastern Vithela, taking tribute from the populations of its islands. Mokato styles this new territory as the East Isles Empire.
Clashes between the bronze, magic-powered leviathan ships of the God Learners and the blinding essence vessels of the Mokatans have been rare and inconclusive. The most dramatic contest, between the God Learner ship Xemela and the Mokatan glowsloop Amsurelas resulted in the sinking of both vessels, with great loss of life on both sides. Since that battle, a hundred years ago, confrontations between the two sides have centred on brinksmanship over battle.
When the God Learners were on their way here, Hobimarong’s stewards produced a poetic Keetslands account of his origins called The Mokatiad, This island chain serves as primary nesting site to the intended strictly for prying foreign eyes. It is World Gazetteer anthropomorphic waterfowl known as the keets, who are an entertaining but entirely fictitious account, designed to lead the God Learners into traps in also resident as minorities elsewhere in Vithela. They the Other Side. include not only humanoid ducks but also other man-birds including albatross, penguins and puffi ns. Considered — Yaragrair, Knot-Maker of Mokato ill-tempered by others, the keets insist that it was their efforts during the shattering of Vithela that preserved life in the East Isles, and that everyone else is ungrateful and forgetful. Many Keets are affl icted by wanderlust and Reasons to come here: The God Learners have offered often join adventuring bands in order to prove themselves a legendarily fat bounty for the secrets of essence vessel and get away from their overcrowded nesting sites. They construction. Mokatans also hire adventurers to deliver defend themselves aggressively but would rather migrate plans of God Learner ships. to other islands as permanent residents than take them by force. Homago Upon arrival in Vithela, the Jrusteli performed a gesture Vormain of goodwill by imposing a blockade on the cannibals of The mysterious island of Vormain tantalises the God Homago. Though unfailingly polite, the Homagoans eat Learners, as it once did the Kralori and Teshnans, with its distant relatives – that is, other East Islanders – in sacred famous impenetrability. To keep others away from their rites dedicated to their god, Saliligor the Devourer. After a home soil, the Vormaino conquered the surrounding isles, century of active repression, the God Learners authorised calling them the Hinter Islands. One may occasionally the resumption of Saliligor worship, in exchange for encounter a true Vormaino offi cer, who, having polluted a map to his home on the God Plane. Since then the himself through contact with outsiders, faces eternal self- Homagoans have resumed their human hunting but only exile. Adventurers are far more likely to meet up with against targets authorised by the ranking offi cer of the their vicious proxies, the Ratuki shark hsunchen. Jrusteli island’s naval installation. Fear of the Homagoan Eating scholars offer generous bounties to anyone who can Battalion quells rebellious tendencies among Vithelans come back with a description of the island, or, better yet, of all persuasions. information on their guiding myths. 116 World Gazetteer 117 uenced by nding their The Undiscovered Heresy The The Mari Mountain mostali are so isolated from that the depths of their heresy has their fellows by the mainline dwarfs yet to be discovered God Learner of Slon or the Nidan Decamony. scholars are in contact with them, fi inquiries promising, if misguidedly mechanistic. In his zeal for success, Skathdarajanagna has data with set aside his aloofness to exchange a presumptuous Trimeiros, the human wizards. University, Hrestolket New dean of Umathela’s it upon himself to act as liaison to the has taken Missingpartists and to conceal their existence He periodically hires from mostali elsewhere. and eliminate nosy to track down adventurers interlopers and Missingpartist defectors. Mostali heretics occupy the central Mari Mountains. central Mari Mountains. the occupy Mostali heretics have and Slon, they their kin in Genertela Isolated from called the Revelation orthodoxy of their own, created an infl Missingpartists, of the Missing Part. the attribute shamanic worship, pervasive Pamaltela’s to Machine repair efforts World of previous failure Before it can be restored a crucial error of omission. and reinstall nd must fi they order, to proper working Their prophet, spirit. – Mostal’s a crucial component set out a plan of study to tackle this Skathdarajanagna, has for which centuries of cold rationalism problem, vexing The Missingpartists ill-prepared. has left his people Ghost Engines called devices create whirring, steaming spirits the howling dissect and replicate to entrap, study, Once Skathdarajanagna and of the peaks and snowcaps. spirit, they colleagues learn to fully recreate a destroyed When that goal is one from scratch. will attempt to make on to their ultimate aim: will move accomplished, they matching the one inside spirit exactly a new fabricating destroyed. Mostal when he was The Interior The of the regions the various Agimori peoples occupy Arbennan In the central Jolar plain, the interior. continent’s hero, Hon people celebrate the victory of their great Empire established by Hoolbiktu, against the Six-Legged to establish the God Learners to rule them. He struggles A spirit guide warned golden age for his people. a new can bring. He him of the madness that sudden victory spreading a doctrine of non- this doom by to avoid strives to bring the violence. Hon Hoolbiktu also campaigns Doraddi and to the passive Arbennan way fruits of the desperate Tarint. aldryami on either side by vast anked God Learner explorers set up a network of outposts in the set up a network God Learner explorers Here their naturalists found eastern range, the Palarkri. entire catalogues of bizarre entities and animals, extinct world. in the elsewhere The western range is the Tormo, occupied by the Jakaraki Tormo, The western range is the These are the descendants of the wise uz who did not uz. and therefore retain the strength of original battle Pamalt, trolls of the uz, weakened pity the Moorgarki They trolls. length. at arm’s them keep rest of the continent, but The Northern Mountains The into three A spectacular mountain chain, broken placing a fragments, cuts laterally across the continent, of the coast barrier between the forests and civilisations and the idyllic interior. Fonrit between result from interbreeding The humans of Fonrit race and their ancient conquerors. a blue-skinned slave once ruled by the warring Each of its 17 cities was When Gargangordos. descendants of the original invader, aided some of the cities against the Jrusteli came, they by taking the others, then completed their hegemony imposed They victors as well. from the exhausted over (who and peace on the Fonritans of tolerance a regime in lived who had previously Torvavs), call themselves pulled down They a climate of fear and degradation. god, Ompalam. slave-holding temples of the oppressive rose up, demanding their Torvavs Eight years ago the the surprised and drove They and lashes back. yokes on embarked complacent God Learners out and are now face uence. Foreigners infl of all Jrusteli a bloody purge dare of adventurers Only the bravest danger. extreme of sectarian slaughter left by into the maelstrom venture the Jrusteli defeat. following vacuum the power The human kingdom of Fonrit occupies the north central occupies of Fonrit The human kingdom coast of the island, fl The southern continent of Pamaltela has just shrugged has just shrugged continent of Pamaltela The southern the kingdom Even its ties to the Middle Sea Empire. off of culturally Jrusteli settlers, has of Umathela, made up opted for autonomy. Pamaltela plain. centre of the continent is a grassless The forests. to tropical. Climate is subtropical Elf Coasts to erode and eventually replace the enfranchisement system. Ilotos’ attempt, shortly after his coronation, to The aldryami kingdom of Errinoru girds itself against personally appoint new dukes sparked a rebellion. This a God Learner attempt to retake Pamaltela. It is named left Umathela as a nation of God Learners politically after its great and ancient hero and ruler, who back in opposed to their own Empire, because they think it has the 8th Century sacked God Learner cities halfway across betrayed its original principles. the world. After that he journeyed to the Underworld and came back here, powerful and strange. A rare seafaring The current Consul, Cerori D’korrein, makes uneasy elf, he oversees the construction of a fl eet of vessels peace with King Goranerno and the Agimori hero Hon with giant leaves for sails. Each hull is carved from the Hoolbiktu, knowing that one day their interests will wood of a massive oyup-nut, grown specifi cally for the diverge. His people must cut trees to survive and they purpose. still want access to the myths of the interior.
Errinoru aims to keep the God Learners out of Pamaltela In the meantime, Umathela has become a meeting place forever but for the moment seems willing to consider for independent-minded Malkioni sorcerers who want to an alliance with the breakaway cities of Umathela. His operate without interference from a faraway Emperor. delegations also maintain contacts with Hon Hoolbiktu Joining them are employable outlaws and troublemakers to coordinate future efforts against the hated Empire of of all imaginable affi liations. tree-cutters. Cities of Umathela The seven great God Learner cities of Umathela are: Errinoru says that when his work in the world is done, he will have cuttings taken from his limbs World Gazetteer and these will be planted in the richest soil, each D Arstranwal , a city on a high crag. Its tallest point to grow a new kind of healing vine. houses the Soul Net Observatory, a domed structure created in imitation of the sky, dedicated to the — Jijimue, Yellow Elf of Errinoru plumbing of its secrets. Glowing nets of magical power drift out from the top of the dome to ensnare sylphs and other insubstantial beings of the air. The new friendship between man and plant-man does not D Korreinwal , a port city. Favourable currents extend to the various weird remnant cultures who infest make it the easiest city to reach from Jrustela. Its the elf coasts. These include the fearful, superstitious university is a small, select institution specialising Thinobutans and the malign, psychically potent Gorgers. in the relationship between theist magic and political The aldryami hope to gain Umathelan consent for a mass power. Korreinwal has elected more Consuls than migration of these people to the Kingdom of Learning. any two other cities combined. Its tea houses buzz with trade opportunities and political gossip. Umathela, Kingdom of Learning D New Hrestolket, celebrated for its university, which Jrusteli settlers, who came here as early as 580, carved the graduates more God Learner HeroQuesters per year seven shining cities of Umathela from the surrounding than any other. Umathelans from all the other cities aldryami jungles. The cities became centres of learning fi ll its inns and taverns during the annual summertime and Sorcery, their populations determined to take the early Festival of Disaffi rmation. Drinking and merriment governmental experiments of the Jrusteli cities one step accompany this great debating contest, in which further. They enacted a meritocracy, in which all citizens entrants vie to prove their rhetorical powers by capable of passing a comprehensive academic test were convincingly denying obvious and incontrovertible enfranchised to elect their city lords. The lords then select facts. one of their number to serve as Consul for all Umathela. D Noarn , known for its advanced sewage system, dug Deans, tutors and professors are disproportionately for the God Learners by cooperative Mari Mountain represented in the Umathelan leadership rolls. mostali. A tribe of loyal Ludoch guard its exit points to the sea, rewarded by a potion granting them As the Middle Sea Empire grew increasingly powerful ecstatic visions of their gods. – and Seshnegi in character – its Emperors attempted 118 World Gazetteer 119 n, eet patrols eet ce. There are two kinds of triolini, or merfolk: the There are two kinds of triolini, or merfolk: These mammalian cetoi and the fishy piscoi. subdivide further into other types. Cetoi include the quasi-humanoid ludoch and the walrus-like and oouri. Notable piscoi are the sinister malasp the enormous, spiny ysabbau. New — Ombast Slope-Treader, Pedant of Frowal at stone seafaring vessels of the mostali have been of the mostali have vessels at stone seafaring eet of Brithos, the Hudaro remains off-limits even to the to even eet of Brithos, the Hudaro remains off-limits between Life and Death. Castaways dwell there, forlorn dwell there, and Death. Castaways between Life boredom and their own coping glumly with and ageless, lies the mythic the bottom of the whirlpool At each other. inhabited only by the ocean, depths of the ocean beyond spirits. marine gods and great on occasion rescued important have God Learner vessels have Island, though several from Nowhere explorers the past decades, the attempt. Over in been destroyed the fl the weight of a massive, groaning under spotted nearby, disassembled iron edifi it against incursions from Brithini and Waertagi ships. Waertagi it against incursions from Brithini and Neliomi Sea spears of rock pepper the sea immediately Tiny These are the last surrounding the isle of Brithos. shards of Danmalastan, the mythic continent shattered of which Brithos is the only viable by prehistoric wars, Banthe Sea and freezing The currents of this gelid sea send icebergs currents past the northern tip of Jrustela. Full of life, it Enormous sh, and walrus. teems with crustaceans, ice fi sea birds, including the marine dodo and giant puffi The Middle Sea fl islands. on its rocky squawk Western Waters Western ranging from cool to frigid characterise the Temperatures of western Glorantha. waters Hudaro Ocean posing a perennial sails this chill sea, eet of icebergs A fl Oouri merfolk the nimblest sailing vessels. hazard to all but patrolled by the implacable war Vigilantly call it home. fl God Learners. icker icker , a smoky city surrounded by felled city surrounded , a smoky Tarstargawal through the night, clank factories forests. Zistorite and replica mostali magic weapons turning out leaders resisted the rebellion The city’s artefacts. and were forcibly deposed by against the Empire They consent of the other cities. the Consul, with the When their loyalist house arrest. here under live Cerori D’korrein Consul restive, supporters grow to the elfs, who wish to over threatens to turn them their crimes against the forest. put them on trial for the Imperial last won , whose university Varanswal by the God Learner four years every Cup, awarded A in mythic understanding. Alliance for advances Anaut Cernos, dean, team led by the university’s and imported Jogrampur, ctitious deity, a fi invented they Slowly Agimori to their city. Tarint a clan of of hapless subjects to the worship these converted creating a fl succeeded in Jogrampur and even the God Plane. Cernos believes in of its existence clan, he that, through the sincere beliefs of his pet He power. greater can infuse Jogrampur with even to the day when he personally controls looks forward who will grant him magic and perform a tame deity, missions against for him in the Otherworld. Psychic Zoo, , home to the world-famous Yoranday in their creatures kept a menagerie of Otherworld system of sorcerous unearthly habitats by a powerful offered The elf king of Errinoru has allegedly wards. band able to penetrate adventuring to any a reward and disable the wards. defences the zoo’s Magasta’s Pool 200 kilometres wide at its mouth, the Cosmic Over at the centre of the world, Whirlpool swirls inexorably Ocean. Sailors unfortunate surrounded by the Homeward on this stretch of whirling, nd themselves enough to fi the pool. toward glassine sea can see it tilt downward Once caught in its unrelenting current, only God Learner engines are powerful equipped with magic-driven vessels All other ships and escape. themselves enough to reverse one chance to save caught in it are doomed. Sailors have This Island. by leaping to safety on Nowhere themselves, patch of barren ground, suspended large deceptively eternally in the churning pool, sits on the boundary The Oceans The requires to the next from one place of adventure Travel may yield dangerous waters Glorantha’s a sea journey. as the Player Characters as much trouble and excitement destinations. nd at their various will fi D D D of particulate plant life, and its visible, craggy bottom, fi lled by lifeless, detritus-covered reefs. Weedy sargassos Fate of the Waertagi cover vast swathes of its surface, sheltering an ecosystem The Waertagi are a human race whose pale of bizarre and frequently predatory marine creatures. complexions display a tint of blue or green. Some exhibit webbed toes or fi ngers, or vestigial gill- slits along the throat. They grow weak if forced Swermela Sea to spend more than a few days inland. They ruled Seeping between the southern landmasses of Slon and the seas, riding vast ships carved from the bodies Pamaltela is the Sea of Worms. Both of its shores are of dragons, from prehistory to the early eighth marshy and brackish. Its muddy fl oor births swarms of century. Then the God Learners destroyed their fl eet, scattering them into wretched exile. Jrusteli leeches, some of them gigantic, which attach themselves imprison or kill them whenever they can. to whales, ichthyosaurs, krakens and passing vessels. The Swermela also provides a home to mammoth crocodiles Most fl ed to Brithos, to the arms of their and the diminutive, malign so-called merfolk known as perennial allies. Like the Brithini, they are old- the Dwerulan. style Malkioni sorcerers who adhere fervently to a restrictive caste structure. Some take refuge in Sog City, in Fronela. I can confidently announce that the Dwerulan Others stubbornly ply the seas on rickety vessels, aren’t Triolini at all, but are aquatic aldryami, who overcoming the limits of their leaky makeshift ships via their innate nautical skill. One day, they I have dubbed the blue elfs. You may examine tell themselves, they will rise again, consigning them in my capture tank but take care – they bite. their Jrusteli oppressors to history’s ash-heap. — Ombast Slope-Treader, Pedant of New
World Gazetteer Frowal
remnant. The Neliomi is a dark and limpid sea, as clear and cold as the heart of Zzabur. The ever-growing Brithini navy, augmented by vengeful Waertagi seamen, Keniryan Sea bars all foreign shipping, especially that of the Middle This frigid body of water, also called the White Sea, Sea Empire. slices down into Peloria. A subglacial waterway connects it to Glorantha’s other seas. A few hardy Oouri merfolk Vadeli Islands swim between its ice fl oes, living amid narwhals, seals South of Brithos and west of Seshnela lurk the tiny Vadeli and snow-snakes. Islands, home to the remnants of an evil Empire from before the dawn of time. Once a tripartite race with red Eastern Waters and blue-skinned members, the present-day Vadeli are all The warm waters of Glorantha move into the world from brown-skinned survivors of the lowest, most numerous the east. caste. Fierce opponents of Malkion and his people, the Vadeli launched a war that destroyed the primal continent Sshorg Sea of Danmalastan. They were fi nally defeated by the On the fl oor of this warm and turbulent sea the gods Brithini; those few who weren’t killed were exiled to Endaralath and Ermanthiver eternally battle, sending this stark and windswept island cluster. Now they fear periodic tsunamis coursing toward either Vithela or not only the Brithini but also God Learner sorcerers who Teshnos and Kralorela. Sailors fear its notorious doom seek to imprison and interrogate them to learn the secrets currents, which can drag a ship instantly below apparently of early prehistory. No tears are shed for their wretched placid waters. The remnants of fi ve drowned Empires lie state. To maintain their immortality, they reproduce by below it, prompting God Learner expeditions to explore incest and then dine on their offspring. it, equipped with water-breathing spells. Kereneth Sea Teleos The shallow, turbulent waters of the Kereneth are known The mountainous jungle island of Teleos rises from the as the Brown Sea, both because of its high concentration middle of the Sshorg Sea. Six tribes of humans live here, 120 World Gazetteer 121 at, the edges of its maps do not at, the edges of its maps do not sh. Only the zabdamar males exhibit bestial features. Only the zabdamar males exhibit bestial features. and Their women are surpassingly lovely snot- supremely devoted to the men, despite their snouted ugliness. New — Ombast Slope-Treader, Pedant of Frowal meet. Instead they give way to mythic borderlands where way give meet. Instead they These are accessible only by humans dare not tread. superhuman effort. Togaro Ocean Togaro, oceans is the The most blistering of Glorantha’s of steam, Storms Terror. as the Ocean of also known whirl across its capable of scalding a man to the bone, may suddenly boil without of its waters Patches surface. be lest they overboard, Sailors fear to fall warning. an armoured, main predator, by the ocean’s devoured fi carnivorous Ludoch mermen dwell in its outer reaches, while their at its roiling core. vicious ysabbau counterparts live Edges Of the World The Because Glorantha is fl Dashomo Dashomo Sea cruel Dashomo teems with sh, the full of fi Placid and secured their The God Learners malasp merfolk. by holding hostage their fealty, obedience, if not are they of communication. Now H’hjarich, their deity and Umathelan rebels, loyalists torn between imperial the ability to torture demonstrated both of whom have Plane prison. H’hjarich in his God Kahar Sea of Kralorela, and east Vithela of The Kahar Sea, north its waters fog, rendering roils with a thick, billowing the most skilled of sailors. Sailors only by navigable zabdamar merfolk, a curious The call it the Sea of Fog. both beneath disport Triolini, species of manatee-faced and in the fog itself, controlling the movements the waves test a variety of the dangerous mists. God Learner vessels mists, with variable of magics against their moveable success. Slon the world’s in land mass, tucked This obscure largest houses the world’s southwest corner, the surface beneath live They population of mostali. peninsula. Over northern of Slon, on its snout-like hardpan ground, toil a their heads, on its cracked who believe human slaves population of deluded at least, capable to be mostali – or, themselves of environmental of becoming such. Centuries rendered the land completely have degradation humans to subsist on a infertile, forcing the canned nutrient sludge. salted with traps and its interior A high wall, separates the mostali ballista emplacements, These portion of Slon from its wild southlands. the are populated by fearsome dinosaurs and them as gods. benighted tribesmen who worship of these beasts into Giants used to ride the largest not these have the mostali of Slon but against war Age. been seen since early in the Dawn Dinisso Sea merfolk, Triolini of the Ludoch, the most human-like of eastern Pamaltela. populate the tepid coastal waters was the once-quiescent King Kuchoswen, Their leader, by poisoning by a poultice provided rescued from slow youth infused with new the militant elfs of Errinoru. Now and zeal, he supports their cause by sabotaging ships from professes a blithe the Middle Sea Empire. Kuchoswen of the Empire proper inability to distinguish the vessels Umathelan allies, the breakaway from those of Errinoru’s Coalition. God Learner scholars fi nd the Teleosans maddeningly Teleosans nd the God Learner scholars fi are infrequently illogical. Studies of their mythways abandoned. launched and invariably each with a skin colour of a different, bright rainbow hue. bright rainbow each with a skin colour of a different, the same culture, gods and customs, share Although they all of the others with loudly expressed each tribe regards explaining narrative a different Each provides revulsion. As vehement the fundamental uncleanliness of the others. expressed are always as their prejudices might be, they only marry within their skin Teleosans peacefully. colour, can be of any Their children, however, colour. that the islanders deal with through a distressing fact are traded for where their progeny annual child swaps, adoptees of the correct complexion. Sakum, the Burning Regions South of Pamaltela, past 4,000 kilometres Ysabbau of the Togaro Ocean of the scorching Nargan Desert, a place of punishing heat, poison clouds and uniquely horrible Chaos creatures, a few legendary shamans have reached Sakum, the Burning Regions. They remained there for only a few hours before their protective spirit shields burned away and they were forced to retreat back to the Nargan. There, most of them died. But when they got reincarnated, a few of them remembered a bit about Sakum, which is all that is known.
It is a land of living fi re, where only those plants descended from gods can survive. Its quasi-divine people, the Agitani, are the people who, when Pamalt gave them the choice between living forever and making children, chose the former. Altinela, Beyond the Glaciers They guard the sacred, blackened Enmal
World Gazetteer Mountains, through which one must plunge to fi nd Um, To the north lies Altinela, a frosty land of Chaos-fi ghting home of the Pamaltelan gods. demigods, known only through visions and dreams. No human has ever been there and returned to report on it. Luathela, Land of Sunset On the slopes of frosty mountains a legion of primal Far to the west rise the blood-red gates of sunset, where uz, unaffected by the Gbaji curse, conduct hardscrabble the sun returns each night, to temporarily close its warfare against rushing ice demon hordes. These peaks blinding eye. eventually part to expose a land beyond the glaciers, dominated by the cyclopean Palace of Valind, home of Non-Malkioni regard the Sunset Gate as identical to the the winter god. Made of a vibrant, unearthly stone that portal to the Underworld, the land of death. Its violet- repels cold, it is home to the Altinae, beautiful demigods skinned inhabitants, the immortal Luathans, serve as of a blond, pale aspect. Their eternal duty is to ward off escorts to the dead and irredeemably hostile enemies incursions of Chaos from a rent in the world’s fabric, to any living souls foolish enough to venture here, past which exists even further north than Valind’s palace. its legions of slicing and rending monsters. Five metres tall, with beautiful visages, the Luathans sing rather Theyala, Land of Dawn than speak and respond to questioning with fl ashing, Only a handful of Vithelan mystics have gone past the threatening grimaces. eastern isles, navigating the treacherous Ferezed Deeps to arrive at Theyala, the Land of Dawn. The Dawnsgate Hrestoli Malkioni know the Sunset Gate as the Black sits on a dappled hill atop its golden city of morning Pit of Introspection, an eternal spiritual trap which good light. This is the gate through which the sun is released worshippers bypass, going to Solace. every morning to begin its warming trek across the sky. Its people are faceless, golden-skinned immortals who constantly sing, to keep the universe alive.
122 World Gazetteer 123 eld of xed xed in while the south in summer, rst rises in the The Visible Sky The Visible of the fi Dome, consists Sky or Sky, Visible The one can see with the bodies constellations and heavenly the with synonymous It is by looking upward. eye, naked On this brother. Yelm’s who is god Dayzatar, aloof sky God’s during the blackened largely dome, which was theist entities celestial representations of other War, gods, of with a great many The sun, associated appear. day. across the dome each course travels with the Storm Gods is called A circle of stars associated erratically, and moves Ring. It is of odd colours Orlanth’s at the central star, to disappear sky spiralling across the up the dome and start its then reappear later halfway again. journey central solar Most stars and constellations, including the Arraz and Ourania, remain fi entities of Polaris, stars, including Pamalt’s unruly barbarian A few place. about as the seasons move Glacier, Valind’s Spear and progress. The fi latter ascends in the north in winter. Higher Realms to the material which are not attached higher realities exist Other, get there only through profound magic, or in can You at all. world more profound act of dying. some cases, the even resting place of Hrestoli-based Malkionism, Solace, the eternal joyful Once a soul is in Solace, it lies outside the system of Otherworlds. you to penetrate allows remains there. No amount of HeroQuesting When go there, too. Saints it in search of your dear departed mother. are not contacting them from saints, they power Malkioni derive from contemplating their deeds or handling power deriving directly but left behind. have the relics they Mystic high realms are as numerous as competing eastern philosophies. which is not a realm pursue the realm of Dura Pradur, Vithelans Many simultaneous and harmonious combination of being and a at all but non-being. something outside but Chaos is not a realm at all, higher or lower, in to poison and disrupt it. If you of creation that occasionally bursts were completely mad, you could presumably enter it through the tear Altinela. in reality north of Supposedly the demigod peoples of the world’s Supposedly the demigod dirty edges never set their perfect feet in the skiff realms of Man. If so, why did a Gachi trade year? spot a Luathan aboard a Brithini galleon last — Toranalt the Abider, Sage of the Segurane Knowledge Market We will not truly deserve the name ‘God not truly deserve We will explored and mapped Learners’ until we have cataloguing its inhabitants the edges of the world, absolute truths behind the and learning the real, monomyth. Dean of Pythos — Spolorfal the Arranger, University Attached to the world but not part but Attached to the world the of it are three Otherworlds: and the Realms Heaven Sky, Visible Each contains a portion of Below. the Hero Plane, the magical reality to take to which mortals can travel part in the great myths. If you know the right magic, you can physically from the ends of the earth to travel That said, one of these Hero Planes. easier to move it is almost always into the Hero Plane from your safe and comfortable comparatively by means of magic. home region, Otherworldly Realms Whatever you believe, the Sunset Gate is unquestionably the Sunset you believe, Whatever it to beings make living Few world. from this the exit come To Luatha and remain so. is to back from the Underworld join the ranks of legend, forever Harmast or as a great hero like Errinoru. The Visible Sky World Gazetteer
The Sky World comprised of many realms, meaning different things to various peoples. There are gloomy realms of the dead, The Sky World, or Heaven, houses the pure celestial where the souls of shamans, theists and mystics dwell gods. Here they appear in incarnate form, as opposed to eternally or await transport to their fi nal destinations, their astrological refl ections in the Sky Dome. Dayzatar ranging from earthly reincarnation to an eternal bliss rules this place. Yelm, tainted by nightly descent into the of mystic oneness. Some realms of the dead are hells, Underworld, may not come here. where the souls of transgressors suffer unending torture for misdeeds committed in life. The Realms Below Beneath the world is the earth, and beneath that, the This used to be Wonderhome, the original realm of the Underworld. First there is the mundane crust of the world, uz. Its unity and harmony were destroyed when the sun through which mostali miners dig. Then you come to the was knocked from its perch in the sky, down into the Underearth, where you can interact with the earthen gods realms below, at the beginning of the Storm Age. It now and demigods. Below this is the Underworld, which is exists only in the deepest parts.
124 Campaign Setting 125 Other places you go, the name ‘Arkat’ is an Other places you go, out when you stub your expletive, like you yell furtive toe. Say it here and you get a look of reverence. — Gurek Runespear, Mercenary of Safelster Azilos Azilos has always rife with internal tensions, A town the rising and adapted its uniquely vicious politics to noble families, of the Empires around it. Its two falling Tzurkal are the Rangran and before the Dawn, active but the other, clans. Each perpetually tries to destroy quite succeed. neither ever which Azilos knows citizen of From an early age, every maintain neutrality sides he is on. Few of the two The Rangran crest bears a rampant boar; the for long. that they those so lowly Azilosians, even Tzurkal, a stag. get to glance at a member of either family, will never the as either boars or stags. Even refer to themselves most innocuous of social occasions can erupt into rioting Boars and stags are ancestral factions. between the two it easier to see by neighbourhood, making segregated each other as enemies in need of a good beating. demands of God Learner civilisation. As Emperor Ilotos demands of God Learner civilisation. sedition, useful becomes increasingly concerned about freer for the looser, departed upriver have troublemakers hiring halls, its many Within atmosphere of Safelster. magicians God Learner recruiters seek out professional for hire, for missions near and far. and warriors from page 136 is detailed extensively The city of Kustria and is an ideal starting point for adventurers. onwards The other cities of Safelster are as follows. SAFELSTER,
afelster occupies the urbanised lowland of Ralios, urbanised lowland afelster occupies the of Genertela. Once in the northern continent mysterious Stygian Empire, home to the grim and CITIES OF INTRIGUE CITIES CAMPAIGN SETTING: CAMPAIGN S River traffi heart c from Seshnela connects Safelster to the traffi River and sellswords mercenaries, Adventurers, of the Empire. Here all manner of rank among its primary exports. rst become acclimated to the wild and violent people fi They claim that Arkat was unjustly maligned. According unjustly maligned. Arkat was claim that They to Safelsteri, the harsh measures he and his successors sometimes undertook against enemies and traitorous ed, if occasionally unpleasant in subjects were justifi who The history books of the victorious Seshnegi, detail. a Autarchy over of the the dwindling vestiges destroyed century and a half ago, dwell on the atrocities and leave Arkat fostered. out the justice and prosperity Safelster’s ambitious, enterprising people remember a Safelster’s After the brooding hero Ralios. ruled time when they Chaos god Gbaji in 450, he retired the evil Arkat slew else Everyone to this area to establish a government. locals but remembers it as the terrifying Stygian Empire Autarchy. fondly recall it as the Though the God Learners lay claim to all of Ralios, Though the God Learners lay claim to and Outlaws portions of it remain ungovernable. large rights of person able to defend their own troublemakers in a life for themselves make and property can always might be they out of favour these places, no matter how authorities. with the putative Ralios is now a possession of the God Learner Empire. Ralios is now of who, as vassals ruled by dukes years it was many For the imperial and soldiers to revenues owed the Emperor, by the waged still reels from a war The region treasury. and viscounts, who he accused Emperor against his dukes imperial functionaries administer the of rebellion. Now fuelling local resentment. area directly, sorcerous technique of Tapping. They work a spell that allegedly shrives individuals of any lingering Chaos taint The Rangran and Tzurkal families have feuded that may have attached itself to their souls. The Borists since before there was Death. A local legend says then take this Chaos energy into their own bodies, gaining they made Death to fight each other, and that the a range of horrible yet concealable mutations. Rumour gods only got hold of it afterwards. has it that they also create independent Chaos creatures, — Gurek Runespear, Mercenary of Safelster which they command with charm spells.
Dalectian Tzurkal was Viscount of Azilos until the Standard Tapping, in which the sorcerer takes life energy from others to power his spells, is Emperor’s campaign against the dukes of Ralios. He has bad enough. The so-called ‘shriving’ of the now been supplanted by clueless Seshnegi offi cials, in Chaos monks compounds the crime with gross consultation with Torfain Rangran. Torfain runs rings recklessness and blasphemy. around his supposed bosses and now really runs the city. He uses the offi cials to oppress the hated stags. — Suranos Silvermask, Interim Administrator of Belstos Stags and boars agree on only one thing: that Arkat was unquestionably a hero, a good knight fi ghting for the Malkioni people. A chapel in his honour celebrates him as St. Arkat. Some Azilosians pray to him for martial They claim to be good Malkioni, using the powers of magic. Chaos for the greater glory of the Invisible God. Other
Campaign Setting monotheists have always shunned and persecuted them. Reasons to come here: Both families routinely hire The Autarchy tried to root them out, to no avail. Now it is adventurers to conduct covert missions against their the God Learners’ turn to try to extirpate this infamously rival. tenacious and resilient cult. The deposed viscount did Belstos Suranos Silvermask, universally acknowledged as the best of Ilotos’ Suspension of the Counties Prior to the Emperor’s war on his own dukes and viscounts, Safelster was new offi cials in Ralios, has been divided into a number of counties. Each generally encompassed the natural assigned the region’s most diffi cult trade and farm area around one of the major cities. Ilotos has temporarily task. suspended the county system, pending a top-to-bottom accounting of the area. His offi cials have begun the heroic task of cataloguing all lands, businesses and revenue-generating entities in Safelster. When this is The city of Belstos, otherwise a concluded, imperial courtiers will redraw the boundaries and appoint sleepy city serving as a transhipment new viscounts. No one doubts that the courtiers themselves will be the point for grain and cattle, has long viscounts and that the county lines will be redrawn to the advantage of been a hotbed of Chaos heresy. the most infl uential of them. Any of its podgy, bland-faced This confusion redounds to the great benefi t of troublemakers and merchants could be hiding his true outlaws. Each viscount used to maintain a staff of sheriffs to maintain nature as a member of the Guild of order within his country boundaries. Imperial offi cials keep a more or Chaos Monks. less tight reign on the cities but exert little authority outside their walls. Banditry has reached epidemic proportions. Some of the worst offenders These secretive cultists follow the are former sheriffs fi red by the transitional regime. sinister creed of the Black Saint, Adventurers can gain from this either by taking advantage of lawlessness Bor, who claimed it was not only to perform their own shady deeds unencumbered by the law. More honest possible, but holy, to manipulate sorts can earn the coin of hard-pressed farmers by signing on for anti- the forces of Chaos with god-given bandit duty. Sorcery. Initiates into the Borist cult learn a variant of the dread 126 Campaign Setting 127 ated prices. ated Ordinary residents of Belstos? There is no such of Belstos? There Ordinary residents one voluntarily to live here, thing. By choosing of a pitiless Chaos cult. My accepts the covert rule to see this. naïve successor refuses Ex-Viscount — Aribert D’belstos, Col Col sits in a lush recently as the City of Exiles, Known a Over by vineyards. covered its slopes green valley, the wineries, and nuns work dozen orders of monks throughout the Empire. producing vintages coveted for a The same cloistered holy folk are also responsible chief industry ne cheeses. Col’s of stunningly fi variety it a and food stalls make markets Its is food export. from all point of pilgrimage for wealthy gourmands cater to taverns inns and The city’s around the world. often Clack-pinching adventurers them extravagantly. complain about the infl cers, disgraced courtiers and exiled Defeated military offi to a ll the monasteries of Col. By withdrawing nobles fi signal their surrender to the they cloistered existence, or assassination. Dozens execution avoiding Emperor, Wars during the Ducal of leaders toppled from power abbeys. life in its various seek the contemplative now from affairs not all of them are sincerely retired However, robes, sit in their monks’ they of state. In quiet taverns gossip and bitterly scheming ne wine, swapping sipping fi comeuppance. for Ilotos’ Aribert Notables of Col include the openly vituperative years Two D’belstos, the deposed viscount of that city. named after St. monastic order, ago he founded a new martyred after speaking out against the Prades, who was The Knights of St. Prades Autarchy. corruption of the in as a government unsubtly established themselves have exile. beleaguered administrator is Guarand the Ebullient, Col’s cousin of the Emperor who wishes gregarious a jowly, his cheese and wine. only to be left alone to enjoy may be targeted Indiscreet exiles Reasons to come here: may be Adventurers for kidnapping or assassination. or hired on either side of the equation, as executioners bodyguards. Chaos Monk of Belstos Chaos Monk Reasons to come here: Suranos is hiring replacements Reasons to come here: for his lost anti-cultist squadrons. Honest merchants and seek protection from both Borist extortionists current attracted by the city’s criminals garden variety lawlessness. The countryside surrounding Belstos is one of the few The countryside surrounding Belstos is one of the few Age where Chaos creatures are still areas in the Second commonly encountered. Members of cults and orders pilgrimages here to test make with anti-Chaos powers Wakboth. of against the foul spawn themselves a good job of suppressing them, exposing several cells several a good job of suppressing them, exposing the and putting their members to death. Unfortunately them breathing space and in the allowed Wars Ducal a comeback. Nearly a years the cult has staged ve past fi been slain have anti-Borist operatives dozen of Suranos’ are afraid or assassinated. Ordinary residents of Belstos its streets at night. Broo and scorpion men have to walk decaying slum districts. been spotted in the city’s Campaign Setting
Anyone seeking political intelligence will fi nd it in Col. their way to the site, fi lling local coffers. Flocking to The hard part is sorting truths from fi ctions. minister to them is a missionary sect led by the caustic and uncompromising Fluilea Gencourt. His thunder and Dangk brimstone style alienates more theists than it converts, but A rambling, low-slung city situated on the southern edge Fluilea’s supporters are fervent. They are quick to arrange of a vast marshland, Dangk has become a hotbed of God a demonstration whenever his prerogatives are threatened. Learner activity and religious fervour. Dangk is about 25 kilometres away from the mysterious ruin of Hrelar The interim administrator is a chronic temporiser called Amali. This ancient holy place served as a centre of theist Esclafr, nicknamed the Crumbler. He works hard to worship early in the First Age, before Malkionism arrived balance the competing demands of Bruyant, who wishes in Ralios. Its vast, half-toppled stones glow at night and to study the interaction of worshipper and holy site, and take on a curious shadowy resonance during the day. Fluilea, who wants the blasphemous ancient temple sealed off to unauthorised personnel. A God Learner study group, led by the breathlessly enthusiastic Bruyant Openwing, has established control Reasons to come here: EWF and mostali operatives have of Hrelar Amali. They have covering the ruins with placed bounties on the God Learner equipment at Hrelar scaffolding supporting a bewildering array of sorcerous Amali. Adventurers earn more if they bring back pieces measuring devices. Every few months Openwing hints at relatively intact, but sabotage has its rewards, too. a stunning announcement which never quite comes. Theist worshippers sometimes gain instant POW For as long as anyone can remember, theist worshippers refreshes or useful visions at the site. Rumour has it that from all around the region have fl ocked to Hrelar Amali special runes materialise here on a regular basis, which to perform sacrifi ces and rituals. They stay in Dangk on are only usable by theists. 128 Campaign Setting 129 ngers of ngers ow ow with ltrators of Hardguin broke my nose once but I forgive him, Hardguin broke my nose once but I forgive to a on account of he changed the Estali anthem rude drinking song. — Gurek Runespear, Mercenary of Safelster the Society can expect generous compensation from local generous compensation the Society can expect God Learners. Adventurers headed for the EWF headed for the EWF Adventurers come here: Reasons to out by hiring themselves way along the money can make work for strong-arm guards. Opportunities as caravan Ancient ict between the of the confl abound on both sides Infi for Decency. Force Beast Society and the Estali city of Estali requires possession of an the Rule over the Purple Sceptre of Serpent ancient implement called Arch- been styled an has traditionally Sentience. Its owner fi wrested from the dying was artefact The Duke. The soldier Wars. during the Ducal owner its previous named Hardguin, who grabbed it, an uneducated sergeant The city grip. has since been unable to release it from his Hardguin, a gruff has chosen him as its replacement ruler. against man of simple pleasures, found himself elevated He has his will to the position of interim administrator. the fertile its wealth from which derives turned this city, for warriors, into a haven lands of the Estal River, farming season Every mercenaries and hard-drinking layabouts. with lucrative or arena free-for-all, with a joust climaxes healing for the prizes for the winners and copious free Garbage may rot fragrantly in the streets and vanquished. without laneways Estali’s may not be safe to walk women as only to Kustria it has become second a bodyguard, but adventurers. a magnet for recruiters of mercenaries and Beneath the smell of ale-breath that wafts ceaselessly Beneath the smell of ale-breath that wafts Drom, Estali is through Estali is an animal musk. Like Ancient Beast Society. also a stronghold of the overfl taverns Estali’s Reasons to come here: Ne’er- missions to adventurers. shady characters offering can luxuriate do-wells who get into trouble elsewhere enforcement. Its frequent notoriously lax law in Estali’s opportunities for quick riches and easy tournaments offer glory. We of the Beast Society are sometimes called We of the Beast Society begin our ceremonies with ‘Loons’, because we an invocation to Grandfather Loon. Though meant as an insult, we refuse to take it as such. — Arna Footstomper, Rug Merchant Drom is a stronghold of the Ancient Beast Society, an Society, Ancient Beast stronghold of the Drom is a their inner totem worship animist cult whose members descendants of hsunchen are the urbanised They animals. many place over religious ceremonies take Their tribes. the celebrants drum and dance long hours, in which As the into a state of ecstatic acceptance. themselves the totem spirits inhabit intensity, ritual reaches a feverish fortunate participants. the bodies of the most Drom The statue of a forgotten horse-headed deity looms over horse-headed deity looms over The statue of a forgotten slaying attackers front gate. It protects the city, Drom’s with its staring eyes. Drom’s interim administrator is Adelgon the Filter, so Adelgon the Filter, interim administrator is Drom’s which please named for his ability to remember only facts is, in the hands rests where the money him. Real power As head of the Drom Mercantile of Brarden the Exacting. to shield wealthiest man, he works League and the city’s extremists. Ancient Beast Society from the Decency the assumes he is himself a Loon, although he has Everyone at their ceremonies. been observed never Drom also serves as a gathering point for caravans as a gathering point for caravans Drom also serves are at Empires Although the two trading with Maniria. considerable trade still occurs between them, to the war, mercantile class. t of Drom’s immense profi Malkioni authorities have outlawed all activities all activities outlawed Malkioni authorities have of the An offshoot associated with the Beast Society. patrols the for Decency, Force the Army, Rightness in out a ceremony sniff When they city on holy nights. in to attack the celebrants with burst the making, they suppression arouses the This draconian truncheons. to get like chagrin of God Learner sorcerers, who would useful secrets it might be inside the cult and rob it of any harbouring. Galin The city’s rigorously grid layout reveals it as a recent city, designed from the ground up. The roofs of Jorgablan This city is famed as the birthplace of the ancient horse are of gleaming bronze, brass and copper. Weird towers god of the same name. Though not now the recipient of rise improbably from narrow bases. Arrays of sorcerous open theist worship, Galin was the region’s important measuring instruments jut out from them like bristles. human deity at the Dawn and for a century and a half A continual fl uting noise, created by the famous Chime afterwards. First Council missionaries largely redirected Machine of Xenja Xorl, echoes throughout the city, theist worship to Orlanth. The local Orlanthi identify exerting a calming effect on the populace. Galin as a brother to their sun god, Elmal, who is also patron to horses. If only every Malkioni city was as open and The city that bears his name is still renowned for the tolerant as Jorgablan, I might reconsider my quality of its horse breeding operations. Breeders and decision to worship the Invisible God without country folk pay homage to him as St. Galin, who lent ever darkening the doors of a cathedral. his horse to Malkion the Seer, so that the prophet could spread his word more quickly to those who needed it. — Ermes Guillor, Translator for Hire, Jorgablan The ultra-devout wrinkle their noses at this, smacking as it does of henotheism. The compromise seems to work, however, and the superior horses Galin’s magic brings Ralians seeking a member of a distant or obscure are a linchpin of the municipal economy. culture know that Jorgablan is the place to go. Its largely immigrant population includes miniature communities Unusually, the city’s interim administrator is a local, the representing every place the Middle Sea Empire
Campaign Setting horse breeding magnate Lant Lantiet. Hale and jolly, has touched. Among the large Jrusteli and Seshnegi he is cleverer than he lets on. Like any businessman, he population huddle communities of Kralori, Teshnans, wants peace and prosperity to rule Ralios. He maintains Vithelans and Agimori. There is even a duck enclave. discreet contacts with the Orlanthi tribes of Lankst, who While representatives of the elder races are rare, an entire buy horses from him. A relentlessly practical man, he quarter of the city, Webtown, crawls with timinits. has little use for either crazed religionists or interfering sorcerers. For an embodiment of Jorgablanese cosmopolitanism, look no further than the city’s interim administrator, a Reasons to come here: Orlanthi who need to visit a Kralori convert to Malkionism called Zhang Mei. As if in city come here, where they can go about their business compensation for his outsider status, he works too hard to unmolested. Adventurers can sign on to transport please, attempting to satisfy all factions in any dispute. expensive horses through danger-infested wilderness to their fi nal purchasers. Reasons to come here: In Jorgablan, Player Characters from oddball cultures can fi nd advice, comradeship, Jorgablan community worship, even marriage prospects, among Among Safelster’s youngest cities is Jorgablan, their own kind. constructed by the God Learners as a safe haven during their initial foray into the region. As their power became Marost well entrenched, sects of St. Hwaros moved many of The city of Marost was founded by Arkat in celebration their operations to the area’s unoffi cial capital, Kustria. of his military victories. 100 swords, taken from creature Still, the libraries and laboratories of Jorgablan are well- he had slain in battle, were built into this walls. Their equipped and its magical accoutrement shops are second magic ensures that the city can never be taken by siege. to none. Street merchants, many of them of Seshnegi extraction, sell Zistorite magic items at market stalls.
130 Campaign Setting 131 predominantly in the old manner of Seshnegi architecture. architecture. of Seshnegi in the old manner predominantly panes of High and sails, towers the metallic eschew They purity of monumental design for the simple God Learner vaults drip from Partan’s gargoyles dark stone. Saints and sins are committed in their presence, When and domes. scream. gargoyles the saints weep and the Rengère Engoss, is in Partan The nominal authority time from his duties as who steals fellow a reclusive to complete his scholarly thesis interim administrator It is the imposing calendar. Theyalan on the roots of the in policy who really dictates Wimplefold abbess Guiva Abbess Berthoma Her partner in holiness is the Partan. Guiva to be her half-sister. Glassfold, who happens on trolls, while Berthoma focuses her missionary efforts care of the hsunchen descendants. takes Partan Cathedrals, chapels and churches dominate Its structures are the cityscape of Partan. The ring of hammers and chisels marks the The ring of hammers and chisels marks newest ongoing construction of Safelster’s Helby, near the shores of Lake located city, between Drom and Galin. Constructed under mother, devout the patronage of the Emperor’s Although station. as a spiritual way exists Partan of the its primary mission is the conversion Beast Society people, missionaries of all stripes out through all fan They gather and pray here. among the Orlanthi. of Ralios, seeking converts sect, the Order of St. Berisse, even One brave to the trolls of attempts to bring the true faith Halikiv. Partan Others will likely want to move in and out of the to move want Others will likely as their missions dictate. EWF or city quickly, bands may conduct acts of sabotage or theist war could be hired espionage. Freelance adventurers prisoners for rescue missions, to spirit away gibbet. destined for Hugueli’s Dedicated, well- Reasons to come here: disciplined agents of the God Learner Empire base of if dour, nd Marost a safe, will fi operations. Those merchants willing to live under curfew and extreme and extreme curfew under Those merchants willing to live living a lucrative rules of personal conduct make and supplying the troops with food, weapons sundry necessities. Unlike Estali, this is no place for stray adventurers. is no place for stray adventurers. Estali, this Unlike the commandant of local interim administrator is Marost’s disciplinarian This grim-faced forces, General Hugueli. gibbets Conveniently-placed city. brooks no trouble in his for disorder tolerance to his low attest on the city walls his tightly who disobey adventurers Lucky and thuggery. More the army. may merely be pressed into enforced laws has it will be sentenced to the gibbet. Legend they likely, eld Sorcery is strengthened every battlefi that Hugueli’s a deserving wrongdoer. time he executes Marost’s martial magic stands it in good stead as a stands it in good martial magic Marost’s Empire rest of the Middle Sea Legions garrison town. EWF battle with here in their ongoing and resupply northern Ormsland region. the forces over perfection required for certain alchemical containers and implements. Sorcerers come here to personally oversee St. Berisse was martyred in 741, when she their creation. Even dwarfs come here to buy choice attempted to bring the word of the Abiding Book to the troll king, Gohando of Guhan. They sent pieces of Syranese glass, which is a compliment indeed. her bones home in a box. If you want to chat with a mostali without risking a trip to dwarfi sh home turf, Syran is the place. — Guiva Wimplefold, Abbess of Our Lady of Forbearance, Partan Tarasdal Tarasdal is called the Seshnegi City. Two generations ago, Our loretalkers remember this incident. First, uz a devastating plague struck the craftsmen and farmers of do not have kings. Second, the robed woman’s the city and surrounding countryside. Entire families delicate flavour was much remarked upon, which were wiped out. is why we did her the big honour of returning the precious marrow to her kin. The viscount, an absentee landlord, repopulated his land — Zoga Llorg, Argan Argar Trader of Guhan with eager immigrants from Seshnela, poaching the best serfs from the domains of his aristocratic brothers. Now one in seven Tarasdalites is of Seshnegi extraction. As is typical of immigrants, they display an exaggerated Reasons to come here: Appalled locals hire adventurers loyalty to their former homeland. Their memories of the to recover their sons and daughters when they fall prey place have been burnished by distance and nostalgia. to excessive religious fervour and join a cloistered order They cultivate a pronounced Seshnegi accent, celebrate in Partan. Campaign Setting Syran The quiet city of Syran is famed Arkat: Slain Devil or Martyred Hero? 400 years after his apotheosis, Arkat’s fame in Safelster burns as bright for its glassblowing. It exports as ever. Adventurers active here may be quizzed, subtly or otherwise, its products to the world. Syran’s on their attitudes toward this enigmatic anti-hero. Their answers may well-fed burghers detest any determine whether they are welcomed as friends or suddenly ambushed disturbance. The municipal motto in a dark alley. Attitudes toward Arkat fall into the following camps: is: ‘Don’t break the glass’. It is D Arkat the Devil: Arkat betrayed everyone he set out to help, illegal here to shout, curse or to eventually becoming the monster he promised to destroy. He is ‘engage in behaviour not conducive Arkat Gbaji, the Chaos Deceiver. Proof of this lies in the secret to trade’. These edicts are enforced tombs of the Borist Monks, who derive Chaos magic from him. by the infamous Syranese spirits. D Arkat the Just King: Arkat’s great achievement was the founding of the Autarchy, a government that made Ralios strong for 250 These are the ghosts of past years. He was as wise and just as our Seshnegi overlords are greedy criminals, executed for breaking and overreaching. Those who would lead us to freedom can prove it the peace. Denied Solace, they by receiving the magic of kingship from him. engage in lethal spirit combat D Arkat the Knight: Arkat was a righteous knight, fi ghting in the against wrongdoers. The spirits name of the Invisible God and under the banner of the Seshnegi king. To follow in his footsteps is neither disloyal nor disreputable. believe they will attain Solace We can prove this by praying to him as a saint and receiving combat after performing an undetermined magic. number of righteous slayings. They D Arkat the Martyr: Arkat was dismembered and nailed to a scaffold, are kept in beautiful, irregularly- yet came back to life. The bad things said about him now are a shaped glass globes which dangle second mortifi cation, which we must redeem through suffering. We can prove this because when we scourge ourselves, we gain helping from light posts of burnished jade, magic. imported from Kralorela. D Arkat the Troll: Arkat betrayed humanity by becoming a troll. I can prove this by showing you the uz shrines to him in Guhan. They Reasons to come here: Only pray to him and receive the magic of battlefi eld trickery. Syranese glassblowers can maintain the degree of material 132 Campaign Setting 133 administrator sh oils, candles and ceramics. Its interim liated with the Rightness Army or other Malkioni the Rightness liated with nd other ways out of the Gods Realm or experimental out of the Gods Realm or experimental nd other ways administrator Gais the Unmoving, a sharp-minded a sharp-minded Gais the Unmoving, administrator any has decreed that staggering corpulence, politician of will be harshly punished. of the procession disruptions to remain on the good wanting God Learner sorcerers, more can uncover they Arkat sympathisers so side of Gais back home. Religious Stygian mysteries, support ouster. cials lobby for his offi Tinaros approaches but Time escalate as Sacred Tensions commerce. to river city devoted is otherwise a peaceful within Safelster for travellers It is the last major centre barbarians come Orlanthi Vesmonstran. headed north to led by emissaries in delegations here to engage in trade, God, Issaries. Talking of their hires Gais the Unmoving Reasons to come here: deputies in the run-up to the as temporary adventurers God to be carefully screened). (expect Arkat Festival Adventurers Learners send sorcerers to bolster security. affi purist groups might be sent to disrupt proceedings. Tiskos Arkat as a city of learning. It established by was Tiskos here that he left his HeroQuesting journals in the was to preserving his priesthood dedicated care of a secretive Autarchic leaders. techniques for future generations of Safelster in 740, their When the God Learners took over His Arkat. of Archive sorcerers rushed headlong to the documents, priests were forced to surrender the ancient became the They which the God Learners plundered. HeroQuesting. basis of God Learner experimental of God Learner remains a centre Tiskos this day, To Arkat The courtyard of the Plane. into the Hero ventures into a ceremonial launching has been converted Archive access to the Hero Plane. It is heavily easy pad allowing theist sabotage. On occasion, guarded, to prevent the line of guards to leap through burst have adventurers come ever randomly into the Hero Plane. None have Either they Tiskos. back, at least not via the portal of fi says it is. HeroQuesting is just as dangerous as everyone for is famous Tiskos Aside from its magical importance, its fi is Namusta Gird, a sorcerer turned politician. His uncle He places the the imperial High Sorcerer. is Lurghalos, all others. needs of sorcerers above The plague was sent against us by the was sent against The plague elfs, who used Some say it was the wyrmfriends. They’re wrong. I disease against us in Pamaltela. stink in the gnarled bones can still feel the dragon of my rotten knees. of Old Tarasdal — Bodo Bent-back, Serf ght in defence of the Emperor and the Seshnegi values values defence of the Emperor and the Seshnegi ght in Tinaros noted for its docks and city, riverside In this large Arkat is still revered. the name of shipping facilities, an enormous pageant is staged here. Time Each Sacred Its procession includes a parade through city streets masque held on a series of barges. and a waterborne a passion play is enacted, At the climax of festivities, Arkat to the God Plane in the recreating the ascension of Attempts by Malkioni zealots to suppress the year 500. resulted in widespread rioting. Interim have ceremony Wealthy patrons hire adventurers patrons hire adventurers Wealthy Reasons to come here: heretics exiles, to lead their militias on raids against Turgaros and other symbolic enemies of the Empire. prices on their heads, and his knights all have Postbreaker of Col. payable by the exiles The city’s unusual personal loyalty to the Emperor made to the Emperor personal loyalty unusual The city’s forces during it an ideal base of operation for Ilotos’ viscount, the ostentatiously Its loyalist Wars. the Ducal battles decisive led several Postbreaker, Turgaros athletic The nobles he helped to depose under the imperial banner. four separate He has survived despise him as a traitor. Wars. Ducal assassination attempts since the end of the Prominent citizens vie for status by forming militias to Prominent citizens vie for status by forming fi are composed primarily of they he represents. Ironically, or is to gold, not Seshnela mercenaries whose devotion of their time bulk bands spend the These war its Emperor. plague survivors the minority of ethnic Ralian bullying who staff On occasion, the adventurers within the city. to launch a dramatic raid the initiative these militias take of Seshnelan purity. opponents against real or perceived Seshnegi holidays and pugnaciously defend the Emperor holidays and pugnaciously defend Seshnegi slight. how against insult, no matter Reasons to come here: The Portal of Tiskos is The Carmanians brought wealth and skills with them an irresistible magnet for saboteurs and would-be to Uton, reviving a moribund city languishing between HeroQuesters. A variety of priceless artefacts are housed a stinking marsh and the more prosperous centre of in the archive and in a dozen associated institutions of Kustria. They now represent 30% of its population and God Learner inquiry. their success gives them an infl uence belied by their numbers. Even Utonese of Ralian ancestry have come to Tortun adopt Carmanian fashions, fi gures of speech and articles In addition to its boatyards, timber mills and distinctively of faith. colourful rugs, the city of Tortun is known for its rumoured manifestations of Arkat. In times of crisis, Inquisitors of the Rightness Army pressured the former a dark fi gure who could only be Arkat himself is seen viscount to suppress the Carmanian heresy. In response, wandering through the streets late at night. The fi gure the Carmanians and their new Ralian friends modifi ed appears melancholy and wracked with sorrow. He has the outward appearance of their faith. Now, instead of been spotted three times in the last year alone. Idovanus and Ganestarus, the Utonese refer to the Right and Left Hand of the Invisible God. They say the name Cultists of all stripes fl ock to Tortun in search of a ‘Malkion’ when in their hearts they mean ‘Carmanos’. personal encounter with the deifi ed hero. The city’s hard- pressed watchmen report confrontations with reverent knights, self-mortifying fl agellants, Autarchy revivalists, Borist Monks and even trolls. Wags suggest that the We are not fooled by the Carmanians’ attempt Innkeeper’s Guild started these rumours to drum up trade to mask their heretic faith under a cloak of Malkionism. When our Emperor loses interest in but the cultic intrigue has only accelerated as Safelster’s them, we will drive them forcefully onto the path Campaign Setting brewing disorder seems to herald a reappearance of the of righteousness. great hero. — Guiva Wimplefold, Abbess of Our Lady of The last interim administrator fl ed for parts unknown Forbearance, Partan a few months ago. His new replacement is an avid but anxious fl edgling bureaucrat named Fabiach. The odds given in Tortun’s wagering houses have him resigning within a year. Like many exile cities, Uton has become a haven for intrigue against a foreign power. Here enemies of the Reasons to come here: Fabiabos offers lucrative EWF gather to plan sabotage missions and God Learner contracts to experienced warriors willing to sign on as faith raids against the wyrmfriends who have overrun deputies of the public peace. Peloria. Representatives of other Pelorian theists, from Darjini to Rinliddi, have shown up to ally themselves Uton with the foes of their foes. Old Ways traditionalists, Over the past 30 years, thanks to an invitation extended considered as much a threat to the God Learners as to the by a sympathetic former viscount, Uton has become a EWF, are made distinctly unwelcome here. haven for refugees from the Empire of Wyrm’s Friends. The vast majority of these hail from the Pelorian region Reasons to come here: Adventurers plotting hostile of Carmania, which has long cultural ties to the west. action against the EWF can fi nd allies, information and Its people practice a dualistic variant of Malkionism, support in Uton. proposing that two equally powerful entities, Idovanus, Lord of Truth, and Ganestarus the Deceiver, vie for control Valantia of human affairs. Each was created by the Invisible God. When the Ducal Wars concluded, both the local populace Carmanians do not accept the prophet Malkion, instead and the ambitious courtiers of Seshnela expected new ascribing the revelation of ultimate wisdom to the prophet ducal assignments to be handed out within the year. The Carmanos. process of assembling complete new taxation rolls for
134 Campaign Setting 135 Malieros cloaks himself in the skin of a giant wolf, as do the howling halberdiers of his personal retinue. — Aure Inkwrist, Tax Assessor of Ralios Seshnegi bureaucrats may hire them as investigators or hire them as investigators may bureaucrats Seshnegi bodyguards. Wolfblood city of Safelster is the secluded The best-defended of high hills into a ring Tucked Wolfblood. community of its invaders, only a single approach to potential offering blessed by sorcerous spells woven are and walls keep of these protects The most famous Age. back in the Dawn with the blood of mixed was whose mortar its keep, ferocity to its defenders. This spell grants special wolves. to Wolfblood or around ghting within All combatants fi gains a magical boost to invasion protect the city from ghting abilities for the fi and defensive their offensive duration of the battle. Malieros the interim administrator, implacable The city’s a prominent general before he secured this Compass, was looked or evidently seen the city posting. He had never Apparently the name led him at its position on the map. a raiding base against was Wolfblood to conclude that since has hated werewolves family Malieros’ Telmoria. men were slaughtered an entire troop of his grandfather’s assault on the Shadowlands by them during the Empire’s in 842. is on the opposite Wolfblood that Undeterred by the fact the Malieros has devoted Telmoria, side of Ralios from tax rolls, to an ongoing of his time and the city’s bulk His admirers credit him Telmori. campaign against the out men the wolf plan: he intends to draw with a clever Wolfblood. to attack impregnable territory, of their own did to his them, as they He will then trap and exterminate troop 60 years ago. grandfather’s looking for Malieros is always Reasons to come here: north. up to help him kill werewolves good men a few or hostages, or artefacts Telmori He pays handsomely for him want Telmori The reliable maps of their region. even who do the adventurers mightily reward dead and would deed for them. (or fabricate) nd ve years now, with with years now, ve Half of the Seedlings are legitimate and consistently Half of the Seedlings are legitimate and consistently refer stupider than those born out of wedlock. We to the former as the Saplings. — Aure Inkwrist, Tax Assessor of Ralios The moving force in sustaining this quagmire is the force in sustaining this The moving interim administrator Jachinos tenaciously clever the city his rule over aims to make who Fecundator, frustrated permanent. He has covertly Valantia of years, tax assessors for of the Empire’s the activities them from prevent up obstacle after obstacle to throwing him in this scheme are his Aiding completing their work. the Seedlings. as collectively 12 sons, known Ralios has dragged on for nearly fi dragged on for nearly Ralios has as so-called serve who bureaucrats The sight. no end in by vacuum responded to the have interim administrators power. entrenching their own The Seedlings pay adventurers The Seedlings pay adventurers Reasons to come here: against the tax assessors. to do their dirty work Although the area’s farmers and businessmen are already and businessmen farmers Although the area’s assessment are sure that the eventual they taxed, heavily the regard they Accordingly, deeper. will bite even against the greedy Seedlings as folk heroes striking blows imperial tax man. Newcomers question how Jachinos can work his schemes Jachinos can work question how Newcomers The answer lies in another so blatantly without reprisal. Seshnegi rival two plot. He has separately convinced Valantia the ducal throne of courtiers that he is keeping When authorities takeover. for their eventual warm one of his duped against them, he plays threaten to move pull strings and the They the other. against patrons off further. assessments are pushed back even The Seedlings travel after the assessors, fi The Seedlings travel forcing them to and challenge their accuracy, mistakes arranged for assessors have They from scratch. start over ransom. Some to be kidnapped by bandits and held for disappeared entirely; others are anxious assessors have acceptance through the cooperative to protect themselves with assessors of bribes. Jachino and sons interfere will not be chosen until dukes New throughout Safelster. territory. the project has been completed for the entire Kustria Since the Dawn, Kustria has been the largest, Depiction of St. Kus wealthiest and busiest city of Ralios. Founded by the wizard Kus the Binder in the fi rst century, it served as a place of trade and peaceful colloquy between early Hrestoli missionaries and Galininni horse people. It did the same when the peoples of the First Council came to Ralios to spread the worship of Orlanth.
As horse people turned away from their equine deity to worship the
Campaign Setting Invisible God, they became a people of towns. They settled fi rst in Kustria and then in other towns around Felster Lake. The towns became cities.
When St. Gerlant joined Arkat in his fi ght against Gbaji, It is now as spectacular a city as any in the world. Whether he garrisoned his armies in Kustria. Arkat and Gerlant you seek fame, money, safety, wonder or danger, it is the became friends within its walls and later enemies. Arkat place for you. retook the city after he slew Gbaji. Kustria became the capital of the Autarchy. Tiskos was where he worked his St. Kus the Binder magic. In Tortun, he bedded his women. In Azilos, he Kustria was founded by a fi rst-century saint. He grants executed his foes. the magic of civic cooperation to dedicated offi cials and long-time residents. Kus is the patron saint of prosperity In Kustria, he wrote his laws and laid the groundwork through peaceful dialogue. His chapels dot the city, for Empire. Kustria swelled in size as the Autarchy either as free-standing structures or shrines within larger prospered. When times were bad, it was the last city to Malkioni cathedrals. Those who go to one of them and suffer. ask the priest to tell you St. Kus’ story, will hear the following tale: Kustria was overrun by the Seshnegi in 740. Once they had conquered Ralios, they accepted its status as the Myth of the Founding region’s natural capital. God Learners transformed it St. Kus was one of the first wizards to accept Prince Hrestol’s with their lofting towers and vast, singing machines. revelations as true. He performed the Irrefutable Proof for They built the Tower of Xud, a mile-high edifi ce erected everyone who sought to deny it and they were converted with the aid of powerful Sorcery. instantly. He went into Ralios to spread Joy and the news of 136 Campaign Setting 137 nding a nding c address. c Naturally, Malkioni accounts of the civilisation of Naturally, Malkioni accounts of the civilisation to Ralios overemphasise their own contribution the effort and downplay the pivotal role played by the Orlanthi of the Theyalan First Council. Row, — Othon, Lhankor Mhy Priest, Church Kustria cult even for the seasoned urban dweller. Residents for the seasoned urban dweller. cult even Some of their people ran away, frightened, because it was frightened, because people ran away, Some of their that was patient. He knew change for them. Kus too great a the in the souls of all had made would bring this city he It would bring souls to Solace people of Ralios, eventually. He showed the wild people how to long after he was dead. ovens for bread, and establish markets build walls and make to trade in. to take Joy elsewhere. But he left a Then he left the city, piece of it behind. the people. ‘Who will lead us?’ cried yourself. That is what a city is for.’ ‘You must decide that who belonged He was killed on the road, by an animal man had made and to no tribe. His soul returned to the place he and as the pool manifested as the flowers in the public square immediately of clear water they surrounded. Kus’ people friend. understood what had happened to their hallowed it Kustria. They wept and named the city after him, calling of Kustria. ‘We live in the heart of a saint.’ said the people And this was True. Districts navigation winding streets make densely packed, Kustria’s diffi outside their immediate neighbourhoods must travelling to rely on directions from others. City maps, which expect of course must be inscribed by hand, are rare, expensive, The addition of a and inaccurate, sometimes wildly so. people to to the city landscape allows mile-high tower fi This helps in in relation to it. orient themselves not a street or specifi particular district but Safelsteri do not put numbers on their homes or shops. in pictographic signs, carved Businesses use large, relief from oak panels and colourfully painted, to attract Kus saw this and said ‘I have a God who wants all of you to worship him together. You do not have to do violence to each other. Instead you may honour him with mutual friendship, which will reap mutual reward.’ And Kus touched the foreheads of each tribal king in turn and they experienced Joy. The people growled at each other. Each had gods who told them that they were the enemies of the others. ‘It is not supposed to be,’ Kus answered ‘that which is ‘It is not supposed to be,’ Kus answered must struggle to valuable is never gained without effort. You resolve differences with swords, not words. If you do this, you’ll be blessed forever and so will your descendants.’ ‘This will not be easy.’ ‘Only if you love one another, the way you love these ‘Only if you love one another, the way stones.’ ‘Can we live here forever?’ they asked him. And when the animal people came in to devour Kus and And when the animal people came in to horseback, they the Galininni came in to spear him from They fell came through the archways and were changed. and beauty of to their knees, dumbstruck by the simplicity sense that there his miraculous construction. They could only see its was a future for them here, even if they could outlines. These people fought each other all the time. There was so These people fought that they could not receive Joy. much blood in their mouths riverbank and walked a square. Each So Kus went to a fertile foot became a stone. The square place he set his sandaled It rose and became a vast and shining of stones spread out. another, until there were four walls wall. Then another, and On each all told, each of them connecting at the corners. a gate without wall, in each direction, there was an archway, barriers, welcoming all to come in. Solace. There he found people living like animals. The horse like animals. The he found people living Solace. There also of the lot. There were the most elevated people were bears like lions, wolves, and those who lived raven people eastarki, which was later wiped out and the animal called much like beasts that the Irrefutable by Gbaji. They were so to them. A different validation was Proof meant nothing required. customers. Armourers hang wooden swords and shields onto a group of perceived troublemakers, provided they over their windows; butcher’s signs depict choice cuts of do not look unduly tough or heroic. Some are imbued meat. Any oddball sign must represent a tavern. with superhuman strength and endurance through their veneration of St. Beaud, patron of labourers. Docklands Kustria’s shipping district is a tight conglomeration of God Learner magic keeps the harbour well-dredged. A piers and warehouses jutting out into Felster Lake. It working in the God Plane performed 70 years ago locked dominates river commerce from Vesmonstran to the north two minor local goddesses into a continual re-enactment and Seshnela to the south. of a mythic struggle. The lake goddess Fel perpetually attacks the shoreline goddess, Mola. Detritus swept up Sodden, rotting wooden structures lean shambolically by this churning current is deposited on the opposite end against gleaming, metallic new structures in the fanciful of the lake, at Estali, much to the annoyance of residents God Learner architectural style. The air echoes with the there. low bellows of longshoremen, the lap of waves against boat hulls, and the plaintive shrieks of hungry gulls. Guildertown The city’s merchant district, commonly known as Dock workers adopt a brusque and preoccupied Guildertown but also called Swagwood, Pennylost or demeanour. They answer questions as tersely as Rugmarch, adjoins the Docklands and spreads liberally possible, then get back to hauling crates and pushing into the heart of the city. Outdoor stalls and an everyday carts. Adventurers without obvious business to conduct open-air market form a buffer against the poor district, here are assumed to be reconnoitring for a robbery. The the Scrubs. Fashionable shops create a barrier of luxury longshoremen enjoy a good scrap and are quick to pile between Guildertown and the nobles’ district, Manor Hill.
Campaign Setting Sellers of tomes and curios cluster near Marvelmaze.
Merchants live where they do business, or nearby. Kustrian Longshoreman Prosperous members of the middle class dwell in a more ostentatious version of Manor Hill, called Newcoin. Its oversized homes burst with the latest ornaments and gewgaws invented by God Learner architects. Metallic siding catches the sun. Pyramids turn slowly on silvered pylons. Magical weathervanes measure the movement of invisible winds. Automated chimes ring out the time or harmoniously tinkle out the Middle Sea anthem. The Scrubs The city’s working class and destitute huddle in deteriorating wooden structures ranging from multi-story tenements to makeshift hovels slapped together from scrapyard refuse. The Scrubs houses Kustria’s roughest taverns and provides a haven to its criminal element.
To hear the good burghers of Guildertown tell it, the district’s entire population is composed of shiftless human detritus who deserve their squalid conditions. In fact, the Scrubs boasts more shrines and chapels per square mile than any other Kustrian district. Its people are among its most fervent Malkioni. Worship here centres on the forgiving doctrines of Prince Hrestol. His self-sacrifi cing mother, St. Xemela, is especially revered here. 138 Campaign Setting 139 agstones ces. Fire elementals heat its austere hallways austere hallways elementals heat its sylphs blow in Sea and Storm Season; during Fire cool air through its corridors Season. square of exact The plaza itself is an them also perfectly perfect stone, each of signs of wear; show never They square. how them, no matter to remove efforts fruitless. prove inevitably extraordinary, the original has it that this was Legend square miraculously brought into being he founded the city. when by St. Kus ledge surrounds the Although a low plaza on all sides, the original walls can no longer be seen. and archways by early Supposedly these were removed to accommodate Kustria’s city fathers records suggest that Early expansion. of out a number were moved the walls times, presumably after a mission to the blessing. Saint Plane to garner Kus’s up Where their components wound The God Learners remains a mystery. are loathe to mess with the fl posted a have of the square itself but for the missing pieces generous reward and archways. walls of Kus’ The square is often the site of Imperial offi cials tore down historic old historic tore down cials Imperial offi a modern room for to make structures offi of bureaucratic warren demonstrations by the city’s various factions and interest factions various demonstrations by the city’s violent as their intentions may be when As groups. nd that protests held in the square fi set out, they they into peaceful protest. Because rioting devolve always learned to stage their is impossible here, agitators have clamours elsewhere. Church Row can be found throughout shrines and chapels Temples, theist a select few Most are Malkioni but Kustria. institutions are permitted, by rights of ancient charter. The biggest and most spectacular cathedrals line Church uential go to pray and be seen. infl where the city’s Row, his name to posterity Safelsteri leader anxious to leave Any and a new attempts to outdo his predecessors by building Why do the downtrodden of the Scrubs not revolt? Because their saint, Xemela, tells them it is good to be meek. They should worship Orlanth and know that it is good to fight back! — Enlirath Gasting, God Talker of the Brown Deer Clan The Square comprises the city’s central plaza and several central plaza and several The Square comprises the city’s The Ducal around it. buildings rings of governmental use. Arkat himself, for his own by built was Palace The Square The more imposing cathedral. Churches credited to Hrestol, so that divine and spirit effects are severely hampered Gerlant, Arkat, various archons of the Autarchy and the within the city limits. So far this ability has been tested Seshnegi kings Annmak and Miglos lean aggressively only on an experimental basis; its exact effects remain into the broad central avenue, vying for attention. a matter of speculation among all but a few elite God Learner sorcerers. The abundance of magisterial church architecture leaves the pews of many of these edifi ces largely empty, even on Manor Hill Godday. Many a conspiracy has been hashed out in the In contrast to the pretentious homes of the nouveau relative privacy of an empty, echoing cathedral. riche and the surreal constructions of the sorcerers, the low-slung villas of the entrenched nobility appear Marvelmaze comparatively modest on the outside. On the inside, Although its founders prefer to call it the District of however, their interiors boast of a tasteful and abiding Inquiry, this labyrinthine monument to God Learner opulence. ambitions is more commonly known as Marvelmaze. Fanciful metal-shod structures sprawl across the ground, penetrate deep into the earth or unfold like titanic fl owers The Ducal Wars seemed like bad news to the in the sky. Peculiar resounding musical notes thrum landowning class, and indeed, many of us suffered rhythmically throughout the day and buzz lowly at terribly during the actual struggle. But now that night. At night, the structures light up, casting rainbow the tax rolls have been suspended pending a full illumination across the district and up into the sky. assessment, we’ve found many ways to tuck away additional coin for a stormy day. Marvelmaze’s bizarrely circuitous streets buzz with — Alakelm the Monologist, Landowner of Campaign Setting activity 24 hours a day. Robed sorcerers hustle from Kustria experiment to lecture to symposium, dodging dewy- eyed apprentices, shuffl ing servants, blasé builders, fulminating clerics and visiting gawpers. Fashions range from the austere to the outrageous, with a A City Without Walls defi nite emphasis on the latter. An Kustria famously lacks any but symbolic fortifi cation. Its boundaries outside observer might be forgiven have expanded far beyond its original walls. There are no gates and no for concluding that the God gatekeepers. The Ducal Palace can serve as a retreat in times of attack. Learners here devote the bulk of Stone walls surround Manor Hill; access to it is sternly monitored by their researches to the construction private guards sponsored by a consortium of wealthy residents. of ever more elaborate and gravity- In times of invasion, the rest of the city may elect to defend itself with defying headgear. quickly erected barricades. The people of Kus are highly adept at tearing up their paving stones and converting available materials into makeshift The district’s centrepiece is fortifi cations. the mile-high tower of Xud, an The city’s primary defence lies in the prevailing magic of St. Kus. Under observation tower used by God its infl uence, invaders may sack the city and occupy its structures but Learner sorcerers to peer into the cannot muster the will to do physical harm to any person who does not portion of the divine Otherworld attempt to resist them. Because they have little to fear from occupiers, atop the mundane sky. Other no matter how ill-willed, political leaders fi nd it hard to rally the people structures emanate magical to fi ght for them. vibrations which support the use Kus’ magic ensures bloodless changes of regime. Time and again, most of sorcerous magic and retard recently during the Ducal Wars, invading forces have entered the city, to the effi cacy of divine and spirit be greeted with yawns and shrugs. As the Seshnegi king Annmak once spells. These normally operate at observed: ‘Kustria is a bedevilling city – easy to take and diffi cult to barely detectable levels but can be hold’. cranked up during emergencies, 140 Campaign Setting 141 ghts that nancially sh types. His furniture This tenement teeters precariously This tenement teeters I have to laugh when Rufus whinges on and on I have to laugh when Rufus whinges on and why over profiteering in the church. If you knew why he got kicked out as a bishop, you’ll wonder they didn’t burn him alive. — Gurek Runespear, Mercenary of Safelster on its foundations and is quiet during the day and on its foundations and includes not only bargain- noisy at night. Its clientele and minstrels. rat hsunchen but conscious adventurers after returning into the evening The latter play long Its proprietress is called busking. day’s from a busy seems Mad Maud. She is deaf and something always piled high to be scurrying in the frizzy mass of hair on her head. is Loup the Butcher, Its proprietor, atop an abattoir. fi notoriously soft-hearted, and will allow their back lodgings off embarrassed clients to work in his slaughterhouse. Place is run in the Docklands, Rufus’ warehouse The Rufus D’granton. ex-bishop by the defrocked some customers clean but furnishings are spare but after being subjected to the prefer to go elsewhere corruption in the unstinting rants about owner’s priesthood. performers but was recently inherited by the original recently inherited was performers but son, Huguelm the Ignorant. Huguelm proprietor’s ery passion and has sent despises minstrels with a fi clientele. them packing to attract an adventuring from tolerating misbehaviour He plays favourites, him with anecdotes, mercenaries who stop to regale while trying to cheat standoffi the scars of the fi shows but new is fairly frequently break out here. infested cottages on the far outskirts of the Scrubs. of the Scrubs. outskirts on the far infested cottages discretion; the only for its absolute Recommended greasy-skinned hunchback named a proprietor, Watch torn out by the City Nrabelg, had his tongue in The fugitive a client. when he refused to identify paid his lodging fee for the question had not even week. 3. is a series of dank, reeking rooms Red Inn Loup’s 4. from a establishment converted new A relatively 5. for street as a haven and Cup Inn began Ape The 1. lice- nest of interconnected, A Rest. The Laggard’s Horn. Brass 2. The History and geography are all well and good. History and geography are all well and What I want to know is, where are the swords? Where is the ale? — Gurek Runespear, Mercenary of Safelster Prices given are for group lodgings suitable for a party of Prices given staying in cheaper When four to six, on a weekly basis. bedroll, own establishments, it is wise to sleep in one’s torment of the supplied the bedbug-infested avoiding beds and mattresses. Lodgings status as a trading city requires it to welcome Kustria’s inns, a handful numbers. Of its many in large travellers tolerate the idiosyncrasies of professional adventurers. The ten establishments listed here, in ascending order by race price, accept potentially violent freebooters of any while on themselves behave or culture, so long as they the premises. Kustria’s adventuring population supports an entire mini- population supports an entire adventuring Kustria’s bartenders, blacksmiths and industry of shopkeepers, researchers. Resources is the most hospitable Kustria Of all the cities of Safelster, throughout the Recruiters come from to adventurers. the Unlike competent mercenaries. nd brave, Empire to fi are less interested in and sorcerers, they clerics Empire’s a and culture than in his ability to swing faith a hireling’s or cast a spell. sword The streets and laneways of Manor Hill seem abandoned. of Manor The streets and laneways by accompanied y, outside only briefl Nobles venture borne in litters, by sweating are Often they retinues. large inside ornate away themselves dogsbodies, or hide will who does not seem to belong here Anyone carriages. area groups hired by watch private be challenged by the nobles. All of the villas cling to a U-shaped range of hills U-shaped range of villas cling to a All of the the city below. overlooking Lodgings Savagos, is himself a seasoned adventurer who Hostel Location Price (bed quit the freebooting life to offer a vital service to & meal) his erstwhile colleagues. He carries himself with a The Laggard’s Rest The Scrubs 3 copper military bearing and occasionally makes the mistake The Brass Horn The Scrubs 5 copper of barking orders at his guests as if they are soldiers Loup’s Red Inn On the edge of 15 copper under his command. the Scrubs and 9. Seekers of luxury make their way to the Velvet Inn, Docklands a converted vicarage overlooking Church Row. It Rufus’ Place Docklands 2 silver caters to visiting ecclesiasts and scholars as well The Ape and Cup Inn Guildertown 4 silver as well-heeled adventurers. Proprietor Yonzeni The Quicksilver Inn Marvelmaze 7 silver Ayon, a sly ex-nun disowned by aristocratic parents, expects absolute discretion and polite conduct from The Red Brick House Guildertown 14 silver all clients. Those who make a fuss of any sort are Iron Courtyard Guildertown 28 silver quietly asked to depart. From its gilded fi xtures to Velvet Inn Church Row 5 gold its magically comfortable mattresses, the Velvet Inn The Picos Gaide Manor Hill, 25 to 125 makes comfort a holy mission. Agency Newcoin gold per day 10. Guests looking for complete privacy book the rental of an entire Manor Hill chateau from The Picos 6. The Quicksilver Inn, located in southern Gaide Agency. The unfl appably servile Picos, a Marvelmaze, occupies the former alchemical bald and rotund man who favours fl owing robes of laboratory of its proprietor, Renyl the Admixer. A colourful silk, connects cash-poor nobles and down- friendly, chatty fellow, he runs the inn ably despite on-their-luck trade magnates with wealthy clients
Campaign Setting the loss of both hands in a lab accident. His pretty wanting to rent their homes. He supplies a full staff young daughter Orance discourages the guests from of servants and, most of all, saves the renters from asking questions about the incident. the crushing indignity of ever interacting with the 7. The Red Brick House, tucked in a quiet corner of guests. Guildertown, caters to recruiters as well as the adventurers they hire. Its capacious tavern serves as an informal hiring hall. Mercenaries looking for advance word of Mad Maud, Proprietress of the best assignments pay a premium to the Brass Horn stay here. Content to rest on its reputation, its perennially itchy proprietor Orvisvo Redskin offers merely average amenities. 8. Clients of the Iron Courtyard pay more for guaranteed security. This large squat structure, painted to look like it is been clad in iron, requires a password to leave its lobby and move up to the guest rooms. Beefy guards man a portcullis in the foyer. A staff of semi-retired but still able warriors remains on call at all times, to intervene in case of attack. Guests sign contracts agreeing to disburse combat pay to the guards if they are forced to enter into melee on their behalf. This includes compensation to their families should they be killed in action. The innkeeper, known only as Scalemail 142 Campaign Setting 143 ash their badges to ash their badges in good standing need merely fl need merely in good standing the bar reads: above A prominent banner gain entry. ignore this The patrons would . TALK NO SHOP not mostly illiterate. were if they supposed rule even back, relax and share old war This is a place to kick out here are usually that break brawls The stories. Carousers are martial prowess. good-natured tests of Upper The furniture. broken to pay for any expected The Square. near Floor is located in Guildertown, clients. Located on and prospective for adventurers lined laneway a broad Plum Lane in Guildertown, The travellers, lodgings for foreign with expensive On fame. from excessive Man in the Red Hat suffers to get a most nights, the number of tourists hoping outnumber hero far glimpse of a real life legendary this reason, its For employers. the legitimate Audin, Aliet the smoothly businesslike proprietor, backroom where known has introduced an exclusive patrons who hire them can meet and the adventurers composure is disturbed Aliet’s in discreet privacy. in the red only by people asking him if he is the man to barely hat, a question that reliably reduces him contained, sputtering fury. and complain about their lot in life at The Hub and overlooking , a surprisingly dingy tavern Spoke Jehable, has proprietress, The Square. Its buxom them into and allows a soft spot for adventurers she can trust her pub in small quantities, provided dress nd that if they fi their discretion. Often they postures adopting their slovenly bureaucrats, like can they complexions, and simulating their chalky at about affairs of useful scuttlebutt bushels harvest to adventurers cials also invite Offi the Ducal Palace. need to hire sword- when they the Hub and Spoke wielders and spell-casters. and traders, burghers Lost Clack caters to the city’s through wafts The coppery smell of money hustlers. and the air here, as deals are proposed, negotiated table. Men of trade in need of ordinary sealed at every guards will hire them through an agent. caravan When unusual circumstances demand a more direct here to discuss the approach, mercenaries are invited trading their own who manage Adventurers details. hole. The Lost Clack an ideal watering nd routes fi Beustan, once controlled the entire Its proprietor, Wars the Ducal from here to Istakar but grain market 5. as a meeting place The Man in the Red Hat serves 6. rumours gather to swap Bureaucrats and politicians 7. peaceful, The relatively and noisy but Cavernous ailing (Marvelmaze) to (Marvelmaze) (The Scrubs) attracts a criminal element and is a good place to go for criminal gossip. element and is a good place to go for criminal as mugging ghts technically begin of its fi Many spread inwards attempts outside its threshold but The Bent Elbow as the victims defend themselves. among the drinking (or the ‘Elb’, as it is known Big- Wigidai by the outlaw cognoscenti) is owned thug Aimos, a towering Ayon Breath and operated by the blood of a great troll rushing rumoured to have through his veins. Wormwood not expect you would ghts per week. in fi the Bent Elbow rank just below Their secret lies in the unpredictably hallucinogenic by up and served cooked alchemical beverages His brews, proprietor Gaidenam the Segmenter. as centipede ingredients which include such active the even poison and sylph essence, can reduce apprentice scholar to a shrieking, fl meekest customers stick to Wise menace to the social order. occur are-ups when they the fl the ale and wine, enjoy their ears open for the latest gossip from and keep God Learner community. the city’s catering to tourists and traders, is an exclusive gain To are welcome. joint where only adventurers for by a current admission, you must be vouched the exactingly cer, The admissions offi member. may quiz you for details surly Namach the Broiler, to be assured that you are not some of your exploits, on true dilettante or slummer hoping to eavesdrop run under the auspices The Upper Floor is warriors. Guild. Guild members Freebooter’s of the Kustrian longshoremen and freebooters, always a volatile a volatile freebooters, always longshoremen and primarily as a place mixture. It is recommended Homynos ght. Its proprietor, fi to get into a rousing customer to break a bottle any Thickskull, will allow fazed pieces. He is never his head for 10 silver over by this. 3. scholarly clientele, its primarily sorcerous and Given tavern a barn-like Floor, located above Upper 4. The 2. The Bent Elbow Elbow Bent 2. The 1. to (Docklands) caters and Crown The Crone With bar fi hazard of the adventurer’s ghts an occupational bar fi With quicker even taverns PCs tend to run through existence, drinking establishments of The top ten do inns. than they freebooters are as mercenaries and interest to Kustrian cater to primarily to groups adventurers Many follows. by are ranked They with. business to conduct might want from most to least violent. rowdiness, Taverns 9. Quibblers may assert that, given that it serves only water and fruit juices, that the fellowship hall in the City of Demonstrations basement of the St. Kus Cathedral in Church Row Kustria’s would-be rulers have always is not technically a pub. It does, however, serve as a commented on its people’s unusual sense of social hub of the most zealous of the city’s Malkioni. entitlement, which outstrips even the egalitarian pioneer communities of Jrustela. The city’s Dignifi ed ecclesiasts break bread and trade theories competing interest groups are quick to express of heterodox doctrine with hard-handed bullies of the their displeasure with their rulers and each other. Rightness Army. Whether you are seeking a clerical They do this by taking to the streets, waving appointment or hoping to arrange a demonstration pictographic banners, shaking their fi sts and against vice, the St. Kus Fellowship Hall is the place shouting out their demands. They blare out on trumpets and pound thundering drums until they for you. are promised some form of redress. Violence 10. Visitors to the city are surprised to fi nd that its most breaks out surprisingly rarely. The magic of Kus peaceful pub is located in the fringe of the city, where protects the citizens from authorities’ attempts The Scrubs are at their bleakest. Ber’s Pub is an to suppress them by force. outsider’s joint, frequented by foreigners, hsunchen A strong Kustrian ruler ignores demonstrations, and inhumans. Its proprietor is an articulate great even as they grow to a fever pitch. The interim troll named Ber. He serves drinks all night long. administrator, Dardais, does the opposite. He His human partner, Begothos, takes the day shift. attempts to placate every protesting group, in Begothos speaks tersely and reveals nothing about a symbolic fashion if nothing else. This does the sequence of events that turned a Humakti Death not reduce the number of demonstrations but at least it ensures that a fresh group will be up in Lord into tavern help. Both Ber and Begothos are arms on any given day. so convincingly terrifying that no one dares to so
Campaign Setting much as break a chair. The few fools who have tried anything are now represented by their desiccated hands, which are nailed in a neat row above the bar. reduced him to the status of a mere taverner. Word In addition to its sternly enforced peace, clients come has it that he maintains connections to the exiles to Ber’s for the wide range of exotic intoxicants, of Col, who have promised him a return to glory if especially those geared for non-human physiologies. they are reinstated in their old positions. Rumours Whether you are an aldryami looking for fermented aside, the clientele of The Lost Clack remains sap or a mostali seeking a mercury fi zz, Ber’s has the staunchly apolitical, supporting whichever leaders rare drink of your distant homeland. For this reason will be best for business. Look for it in the heart of it is an ideal place to catch up on inhuman affairs. Guildertown. 8. Nobles who wish to meet with adventurers Supplies invite them to The Gilded Frame, a small, quiet In smaller centres, adventurers are lucky to fi nd a single establishment in northern Guildertown, noted for its general store able to meet their material needs. Kustria fi ne brandies and selections of Colite cheeses. Player provides a home to so many freebooters that a host of Characters of noble Seshnegi birth can come here by specialist shops have sprung up to compete for their themselves or with well-behaved guests. Commoners business. Lodgings may be expensive here but equipment will be politely refused entry by the spectrally thin, can generally be purchased for prices 10 to 15% lower offi cious proprietor, Flondon. He may admit foreign than given in RuneQuest (if you are using the RuneQuest nobles, especially those who convincingly claim a Companion, Kustria has large city prices). royal connection. The Gilded Frame’s reputation as a peaceful hideaway for the elite suffered a blow last Successful suppliers add extra value, with a gimmick, year when an entire table of Kustrian landowners convivial atmosphere or guarantees. Some pay the was poisoned, apparently by a Kraloreli assassin proprietors of the Upper Floor or Man in the Red Hat posing as a serving wench. to recommend them. Current favourites among the freebooting class, all located in Guildertown, are as follows. 144 Campaign Setting 145 eld ed enemy, the weapon’s the weapon’s ed enemy, weeks for delivery. Adhémar bows are the frequent are the bows Adhémar delivery. weeks for attempts. object of theft he blood from an enemy, with a litre of fresh Drede a blade that deals certain damage will use it to forge In the case compatriots. against all of that enemy’s of the all members affects of inhumans, the weapon comes from a human enemy, same race. If the blood its distinctions by nationality, the weapon makes Kralori Pelorians, Seshnegi, damaging all Ralians, Against the specifi and so on. increased by one increment. base damage dice are damage and a ict 1D6+1 infl Thus a dagger would ict 1D10+1 damage (they infl would sword war of version are greater weapons with a restricted if you are using the RuneQuest the Baleful effect, short daggers, knives, Companion). Drede forges The process and rapiers only. swords war swords, 2 to 8 weeks and cost three times the normal takes catch: There is an additional RuneQuest price. him be Drede insists that all communications with does not conducted in rhyming couplets. He himself of grunts, nods and in a variety speak in poetry but to group Expect members of the targeted growls. of your special weapon treat you unkindly as word spreads. on the customer betrays a lack of detailed information When this gnarled, woolly- the history of weapons. of martial expertise, man hears a mistake eyebrowed Tactics) he will engage in an opposed Lore (Military the hapless client with his superior test to browbeat and Only if the customer backs down knowledge. Gahansaf’s deeper grasp on the fi acknowledges will he proceed with the sale. rates. Unlike Kustrian types at the usual bargain he rivals, of his more studiously craftsmanlike many on hand a deep stock of ready-made swords keeps when main objective for immediate sale. Guidour’s conducting a transaction is to talk the adventurers’ latest political speculations. He with his ears off fearful of the EWF and is sure that is obsessively secretly engineered by them. were Wars the Ducal Whether the Emperor and local administrators were in on the plot or are its unwitting victims depends on which day of the week it is. at the same time. He will undercut and whiny abusive 2. maker sword shifty-eyed you supply the moody, If 3. if with the prickly Gahansaf go awry Transactions weapons of all Questioner makes the 4. Guidour 5. Prard manages to be both maker sword The bony is a Naisvok, cer, Hernouc and Nepurda Hernouc gives a month’s supply of dried supply a month’s Gillar gives uence bonus when conversing with other archers when conversing uence bonus who do not own a bow of at least exquisite quality. quality. of at least exquisite a bow who do not own times the normal RuneQuest price cost six His bows relevant and grant a +10% bonus to the wielder’s with bows are exquisite used (they skill when Bow if you are using the effect, Warrior’s the double a quiet, reserved Adhémar, RuneQuest Companion). his stunning craftsmanship speak who lets fellow He short, long and nomad bows. for itself, makes 4 to 10 produces them to order; customers must wait equipment. His bows are so exquisitely balanced and are so exquisitely equipment. His bows one confers a +10% intrinsically beautiful that owning Infl sausages with every full set of armour he makes. sausages with every in wife team, often covered are a lusty husband and are perhaps the best They scratches and bite marks. stand the lusty if you can town, in armour makers from cannot stop themselves winks and nudges they continually exchanging. AP rather 6 helmets that have exceptional fashions are greater helmets with the than the usual 5 (they if you are using the RuneQuest effect, Bulwark helmet costs 300 silver. A Milhablos Companion). and his generous credit terms. quality of his wares item and for any him 75 now can pay Adventurers the remainder with six monthly payments of pay off 5% each. His chief repossession offi Zoran. human cultist of the trollish death god, Zorak debtors wish to bear the brunt of Naisvok’s Few cruelty. legendary and amputated his foot, out his right eye poked He offers adventurer. ending his career as an active who brings him a 25% one-time discount to anyone cultist. Vivamort the head of a anyone who can best him in a belching contest, as a belching contest, who can best him in anyone He of the Upper Floor tavern. judged by the patrons to lose. known been has never , who only makes archery , who only makes Curvemaker 1. Adhémar 3. The talented armourers talented 3. The training school, from Zistorite 4. Milhablos, a washout for the indifferent is known Deferrer the 5. Savans who Benaldir passionately hates vampires, 6. Vivis Weapons a notoriously eccentric and are weapon makers Kustria’s of them are: The most famous lot. cranky Armour to a 10% discount gives Younger the 1. Fromonnos portly 2. The any other rival blade maker of Kustria by 2%, while 3. The premises of Bervier are clean, well-organised subjecting you to a stream of hysterical complaint. and a paragon of professionalism and service. A porcine gentleman with slicked-back hair plastered across his generous skull, he sells items at 5% What? You want my blades for less, still? Why less than usual. Bervier offers customers a special don’t you cut out my liver? Why don’t you feast confi dentiality plan. For 5 silvers a season, he will on my heart? promise not to gossip about the adventurers to anyone. To prove his point, he happily spills the — Prard, Swordmaker of Kustria beans on any customers who failed to pay his service fee. 4. Esperna Toulque advertises her shop as the offi cial 6. Ren the Vagrant will make you a sword of superior supplier of the Imperial Army. She sells items at durability, if you can fi nd him. To atone for past and the usual price, backing them up with a money- future deaths his weapons will infl ict, he took a vow back guarantee and a four-week refund period. This of poverty, dedicating himself to St. Kus. He travels dignifi ed widow can secure Zistorite magic items on through the Scrubs, dressed in rags, aiding others by a special order basis. repairing their hovels and household items. When he makes a sword, he borrows Drede’s forge; the two are Services childhood friends. Ren’s blades all have +6 hit points Adventurers in Kustria may wish to take advantage of (they are marvellous weapons with a treble Enduring services offered by the following organisations. effect, if you are using the RuneQuest Companion). To get him to make you a sword, you must disburse The Kustrian Freebooter’s Guild is not a proper guild,
Campaign Setting its standard value as alms to the poor. You must also in that it is unable to establish rules for the profession personally perform a good deed for the poor of the or prevent non-members from engaging in it. It is more city, which Ren may specify. He might ask you to aptly characterised as a lobbying group, meant to protect protect tenants from a rapacious landlord, intimidate the collective prerogatives of the freebooting community members of a criminal gang or call in political from local authorities intent on reigning them in. They favours from a patron. The humility of Ren’s vows stage demonstrations and lobby government offi cials. have not rendered him especially pleasant; he has a Within the community, they pressure their colleagues bad habit of frankly reminding interlocutors of their to act in a dignifi ed manner befi tting their time- glaring character fl aws. honoured profession. They quickly distance themselves from adventurers who commit crimes or otherwise Equipment attract infamy. Their leader is the blandly enthusiastic 1. Amiert’s Shop, in the Scrubs, sells used and battered Huin Greenbeard, who goes on one caravan guarding equipment, along with shining new goods of dubious expedition a year but otherwise devotes all of his time to provenance. A cheerful, self-admitted scoundrel, the expansion of the Guild. He is a kindly, approachable Amiert pays the City Watch not too look closely at individual who will provide information on the city’s his wares. Prices are 25% lower than usual but items political situation but deftly avoids exchanging gossip on are all sold on an ‘as is’ basis. An adventurer who fellow adventurers. bought a distinctively embossed leather pack from Amiert was recently slain by a man who claimed that Guild membership costs a hefty 10 silver pieces a year. it had been looted from his brother’s corpse. Aside from automatic admission to the popular adventurer 2. Pongile’s Shop, where the Scrubs meets tavern the Upper Floor, the benefi ts of membership are Guildertown, offers prices 20% lower than usual but largely intangible. customers must be willing to paw through unsorted piles of merchandise to fi nd what they want. Pongile The Messengers of St. Beaud are a youth organisation is a dedicated loafer who rarely takes his feet off named after the patron saint of labourers. When Beaud the front counter. A frequent habitué of the mind- was young, he was a lawless ruffi an, without parents bending Marvelmaze tavern Wormwood, he is well to guide him. He encountered a righteous priest, who briefed on all the latest sorcerous scuttlebutt. whipped him until he saw the light of Malkion. His 146 Campaign Setting 147 liation, ght for punishment of Malkioni zealots who Occasionally a band of Chalana Arroy healers Occasionally a band of Chalana Arroy healers up as from up Vesmonstran way sets themselves healers to Kustria’s theist population. The Xemelan Sisters see to it that no backwoods pagan goddess outshines their blessed saint. — Gurek Runespear, Mercenary of Safelster the priest. Customers may choose between a switch and a between a switch Customers may choose the priest. to are expected Boys about 1 cm in diameter. rod wooden refuse, the beating; if they the customer after apologise to The spiritual comply. until they are beaten further, they of St. Beaud is widely the fathers service performed by lauded. out The healing seek in need of emergency Adventurers oaths of . Nuns of this order swear Sisters of St. Xemela charge They honesty and help for all. celibacy, modesty, healing magic. and well-to-do clients for their adventurers and to support themselves The sisters use the proceeds poor and destitute. free medical aid to the city’s to offer of religious affi regardless will help anyone, They patients, even dentiality for their and maintain strict confi advice Any wounds. up with suspicious show when they are phrased or admonishments the sisters choose to offer cannily They gentleness and tact. with extraordinary means. price their services according to the recipient’s squeeze out of their wealthy patients copper they Every the truly needy. means more medicines and bandages for stations in the Scrubs, three The sisters maintain four way and one where in Guildertown in the Docklands, two meets Marvelmaze. Church Row Theists facing persecution for practicing their faiths can persecution for practicing their faiths Theists facing enlist the Mutuality League to intercede on their behalf. Billed as an alliance of pagan and monotheist religious is in truth a God Learner front. leaders, the organisation easy access to, want God Learner sorcerers Kustria’s can theists, so they and good relations with, the area’s political use their They pump them for myths and secrets. theists from legal connections back home to extricate trouble and to fi Their current leader is Nalmanos harass or attack them. a glib young sorcerer related by marriage the Permeator, to Interim Administrator Dardais. A worn-out follower Hendrick Honeystealer named Adventurous of Orlanth Although gurehead co-councilor to Nalmanos. acts as fi The Mutuality League will also the need seldom arises, defend mystics and shamans. ed Messenger of St, Beaud Messenger rst job after that was as a messenger boy. Today the the Today boy. as a messenger rst job after that was male, can be identifi are exclusively and ten and ve other or the message to an employee nd him. Delivering fi by thrashing priests of St. Beaud pay homage to him street urchins generations of Kustrian new successive members of good and productive become until they Beaudite messengers, who range in age between society. fi by the jangling necklace of whistles they wear around by the jangling necklace of whistles they carry one of the whistles they provide They their necks. just step a messenger, summon To who asks. to anyone A sharply on the whistle. street and blow into a busy one clack, appears within 15 minutes. For messenger boy destination message to any a verbal will convey they The customer must be able to describe within the city. the messenger to cient detail to allow the recipient in suffi fi of suitable intermediary counts as a successful discharge no refunds or guarantees. The service offers their duties. the message in a correct to deliver fails That said, if a boy the customer may complain to one of and timely manner, was the Beaudite priests. Should he conclude that the boy in error – and he usually does – the customer may beat the errant child a dozen times with an implement supplied by Notables Characters using Kustria as a base of operations will Maushion the Exemptor eventually cross paths with the city’s prominent citizens, or their intermediaries. Patrons Though some mercenary war bands follow an agenda of their own and can always fi nd their own interesting trouble, many prefer to act as hirelings. The following patrons often hire adventuring parties, often on a one- off basis. Few are widely known; many maintain secret loyalties. Parties may work for them for months without ever learning whose interests they truly serve.
Aberos Pureblood hires on behalf of the local God Learners. He sends adventurers out to steal artefacts, learn myths of remote sub-cultures and to bodyguard God Learner sorcerers doing the same. On occasion he requires operatives to counter enemy groups. These include rivals within the Empire, like the most intolerant zealots of the Rightness Army, as well as violated pagan
Campaign Setting cultists hoping to wreak vengeance for God Learner interference in their myths and ceremonies. Aberos, a proud scion of one of Seshnela’s oldest families, nearly succeeds in concealing the revulsion and disdain he feels for unwashed, uncouth mercenaries. When Interim Administrator Dardais needs the services Maushion the Exemptor acts as intermediary when the of an adventuring band, he turns to his fretful right-hand Rightness Army hires war bands. He sends them out to man, Juliner Lack-Coin. As the son of an impoverished attack the foes of righteousness, to act as bodyguards Seshnegi noble, Juliner grew up with worry in his bones. for Malkioni missionaries or to rescue them when they Throughout any encounter, he fi dgets, bites his lower lip are taken prisoner. Although his bosses are among the and mops sweat from his brow with a perfumed lace cloth. staunchest of believers, Maushion’s own attitudes are As uncomfortable as it may seem, Juliner’s chronic dread surprisingly pliable. Although trained as a priest, he now allows him to see every angle of a scenario, anticipating devotes himself exclusively to the business of the church, and avoiding its pitfalls. He hires adventurers for jobs too in this and other matters. His nickname comes from his sensitive for the administration’s own guard to openly skill at winning indulgences for paying clients, allowing perform. Juliner considers only mercenaries who have them to conduct themselves in an outwardly sinful way in demonstrated utmost competence and discretion for exchange for donations to the Rightness Army. other patrons. He gets his recommendations from allies such as Aberos Pureblood, Huilon Berabloin and Meipala D’hredmorinos. Contrary to his cognomen, he has Maushion’s superiors don’t much like him and amassed a tidy fortune for himself in the last few years. his loose ways. But every time they’ve demoted This does not stop him from dressing like a threadbare him, his replacement messed things up so bad student. they had to go to him on bended knee, pleading for him to take his old job back. Ance the Expounder, steward for Solofos, the former Duke of Kustria, appears to be reactionary blowhard who — Gurek Runespear, Mercenary of Safelster despises his former boss and worships the Emperor. His actual loyalties are completely reversed, as rebellious- 148 Campaign Setting 149 nd Huilon Berabloin hires I didn’t like Ermendir Girar so much but it’s a I didn’t like Ermendir to him. Whatever that may shame what happened have been. — Gurek Runespear, Mercenary of Safelster rapidly but strangely. Now he is the victim of a sort of the victim of a sort he is Now strangely. rapidly but can commit who encounters him amnesia: no one reverse create a riot He could to long-term memory. the meeting cathedral Arkat’s of the aisle down by striding naked recall and by that night no one would during High Service through Working to spark it. quite what had happened Service, he hires desperate and the St. Beaud Messenger of to perform missions adventurers down-on-their-luck for the EWF. sabotage and subversion The saturnine merchant prince Meipala D’hredmorinos Jrusteli by has one interest: Meipala D’hredmorinos. youth. He rose birth, Meipala came to Ralios in his personal fortune. largest to the region’s from poverty and most of the strangest many built company Meipala’s He cuts timber elaborate structures of Marvelmaze. imports it and mines metals throughout Ralios, then In the process, he for construction projects in Kustria. He hires alike. with elfs and dwarfs has crossed swords his mines and timber mills, to crack to protect adventurers and to fi the heads of recalcitrant indentured workers Although his interests are materials. sources of raw new he tries to stay aligned with the God Learner sorcerers, constructs and out of politics as much as he can. He also him good reason to stay on furnishes cathedrals, giving In person, clerical rivals. the good side of the sorcerers’ who plies his fellow gregarious he is an aggressively delicacies. partners with exotic conversational The gaunt and mournful the interests of for missions advancing adventurers This group, an alliance Guild. Trader’s the Kustrian aims to suppress importers and exporters, of the city’s on goods. It agitates in banditry and oppose taxes of guild rules licensing the professions. It limits favour competition within a trade and between professions. Meipala like opposes businessmen Guild Trader’s The D’hredmorinos, who produces goods, ships them and According then uses them in his construction projects. should perform separate businessmen to guild ideology, all three transactions. Meipala is guilty of excessive out or legislated competition and should be boycotted When the Player Characters have alienated everyone alienated everyone When the Player Characters have nd their careers revived may fi they else in the city, by a curious message in the outstretched hand of a from trembling urchin. Ermendir Girar vanished that does not stop somehow three years ago but Kustria for dangerous missions of him from hiring adventurers cryptic import. Before his disappearance, the aloof and mercenary an infamous Ermendir was uncommunicative to he secretly converted In his last years here, adventurer. the wyrmfriend religion. Combining its beliefs with the he advanced techniques of the Immanent Mastery Path, maintains a façade as a The blacksmith Baranwulf maintains a façade he numbers safely urbanised Orlanthi, so genteel that circle of his large God Learner sorcerers among several on he is the leader of a rebel cell intent friends. In reality, sorcerer in every and putting Marvelmaze bringing down He hires only groups predominantly made it to the sword. he prefers warriors Ideally, up of Orlanthi worshippers. who he can check up on Vesmonstran, from his native will tolerate a by consulting his contacts up there. He trusted oddballs within an otherwise reliably theist few trusts sorcerers. Baranwulf prefers never band but war who pay their own with committed subversives to work for less sensitive occasionally hires adventurers but way sabotage, the kidnapping These include acts of missions. disruption of or assassination of God Learner sorcerers, and and the planting of false their magical experiments are encouraged to act as Adventurers misleading myths. for the double agents, pretending to complete missions to destabilise them. God Learners while really working Army agent Maushion the Exempter He and the Rightness the exploring alliance, recently established a tentative together against their mutual foe. possibility of working his true face self is a genial joke-teller; Baranwulf’s false erce and bloody-minded. is fi seeming adventurers learn, should they win his trust. win should they learn, seeming adventurers discreet of Col. He hires for the exiles Ance works missions against Dardais bands on espionage mercenary tax collectors. cials, especially Ilotos’ and other local offi and banditry to acts of raiding He also sanctions various administration by making it seem embarrass the interim hired to Adventurers local order. incapable of maintaining The exiles of violence. their level conduct must restrain be all and demand that their noble rivals are nobles above will be kidnapped and held They treated with kid gloves. Commoners may be murdered, for ransom, not killed. or farmers are not valuable so long as they if necessary, craftsmen. of business. The Guild denies that it funds sabotage Apparently considering him a useful idiot, representatives operation against Meipala’s far-fl ung interests but Huilon of the Decamony cultivated him as a contact among the Berabloin’s hirelings know the real story. God Learners. He hires adventurers to recover stolen mostali technology, to pilfer plans for God Learner technological items and to strike against the Zistorites. Excessive competition is ungodly. By obeying Guild Rules, one works neither so much that one Fluvand the Muffl er is so named for the voluminous becomes idle (and thus sinful), nor so much that multi-coloured scarf he wears around his neck. No matter one cannot attend Church or send one’s thoughts what the weather, Fluvand complains of chills. He also to the Invisible God. wears white gloves to protect his delicate hands. He is an organist at the Annmak Cathedral and a fervent devotee of — Guiva Wimplefold, Abbess of Our Lady of Hrestoli Malkionism. An avid roof gardener, he believes Forbearance, Partan the plant world is a profound expression of the Invisible God’s will. He helps the aldryami, in hopes that they will one day experience Joy and Solace. They use him to hire Arneus Grics is a wealthy collector of curios. He made his adventurers. Missions include vengeance against wood money importing fabrics from Teshnos and Kralorela and cutters and God Learner exploiters of aldryami secrets. sold his business to his brother when taxes got too high. He is accompanied wherever he goes by Nrart, the sylph Now he spends his time in the libraries of Marvelmaze, who powers the bellows of his church organ. She has which he treats as a vast and dusty catalogue. When he a crush on Fluvand and will interfere with any female fi nds evidence of a magical artefact or lost art object adventurers who seem overly familiar with him. that strikes his fancy, he dispatches a messenger to fi nd
Campaign Setting one of his favourite adventuring band to get it for him. Technicalities, such as the item’s present owner or the fatalities that might result from an attempt to wrest it from him, do not trouble the blithely covetous ex-trader. He will try to get adventurers to sign a contract, especially if Huddux Urgug they are illiterate. These documents inevitably attempt to cheat his hirelings and should never be signed under any circumstances.
Aided by a small network of human sympathisers, the troll Huddux Urgug travels into the city at night to hire adventuring teams to conduct missions against the enemies of his people. Huddux, an Argan Argar trader once friendly to the God Learners, now works to undermine them and their effort to penetrate uz mysteries. He speaks the local tongue in an elaborate, fl owery manner and is generally at pains to prove himself as knowledgeable and civilised as anyone. His human accomplices are mostly Spolites, members of a darkness cult that fl ourished briefl y in Peloria before the wyrmfriends took over. When Huddux wants to hire mercenaries without letting them know they are working for trolls, he uses them as intermediaries.
The sculptor Casch, who makes his living carving saints and gargoyles for cathedrals, acts as an agent for mostali interests. An obliging fellow who talks more than he listens, Casch fell in love with all things dwarfi sh during a sojourn to the Nidan Mountains many years ago. 150 Campaign Setting 151 drips with uential citizens in the cers and deputies maintain stations cers and deputies maintain is an Orlanthi devotee of the female Mad Dog Harda is an Orlanthi devotee a spear through the once threw She Vinga. god warrior cathedral, during a pro-theist demonstration. Arkat side of her with the no one dared charge This started a riot but violent, she crime. Quick to anger and unrepentantly fear about both ordinary people embodies everything She went to the Hero Plane barbarians and adventurers. if she Strike: and found the secret of the Reverberating surviving kills a person with her bare hands, the victim’s heart attacks. Harda and fatal immediate parents suffer interest in Orlanthi politics; she wants any disavows under and thinks the pickings are fatter and glory, money Vesmonstrani be if the would the God Learners than they them out. rebels drove Army champion Gerieus The Rightness them celebrating a heathen slain by his each of jewels, He wears his hair in an elaborately layered holy Sorcery. and lacquered arrangement, reminiscent of the court ladies of Kralorela. Gerieus delights in battling pagans The City Watch Watch. the City belongs to order in Kustria public The job of keeping This renders been born in the city itself. have must Members of the watch can They magic against invaders. protective Kus’ them immune to St. as necessary. manhandle city residents does not patrol the streets Watch the City a modern police force, Unlike look for trouble. Its offi or proactively deputies will be lauded for acting as de facto of their duties, they discharge will be treated as person, they hurt the wrong If they Watch. of the City criminals. in Docklands, Marvelmaze and Guildertown. When crimes are reported When crimes and Guildertown. in Docklands, Marvelmaze en masse when muster They send a team out to investigate. to them, they time spend most of their They administrator. commanded by the interim do not get out of seeing to it that they riding herd on demonstrations, hand. of dealing with can muster a mere handful of units capable Watch The of serious opposition, the vast In the face adventurers. Master-level to do anything inexperienced majority of its deputies are too ill-paid and run. but They to protect them. bodyguards it pays private who can afford Anyone against them and even crimes rely on their personal guards to investigate watch. to the and turn them over to capture the offenders to do what the adventurers Those lacking permanent guard details hire harming innocent or infl avoid will not. If they Watch cult rst-class assassin and poisoner, who disposed who rst-class assassin and poisoner, A hero is a murderer you admire. — Gurek Runespear, Mercenary of Safelster rm, nattering old man was in rm, nattering old man was Heroes aspire to the status of its edgling adventurers fl Kustria’s them a wide sensible person gives Any heroes. legendary berth. his day a fi in private public face, Although Ponceli is still Dardais’ is done by his childhood friend, Juliner most of the work Lack-Coin. , Greybreeks Ponceli His steward, in the same the old Duke served suspect that this Few capacity. infi Haunted by enemies with quiet aplomb. of the Duke’s attempts to redeem himself through his misdeeds, he now of Col fear that he will openly repent, The exiles prayer. on their behalf when confessing to murders undertaken were in power. they assignment of keeping the peace assignment of keeping Duke while a new in Kustria does not is appointed. Dardais city or make to rule the want to wants changes to it. He simply crises present ride out whatever without making any themselves his As mistakes. career-ending out, the tenure here has stretched groups, sensing power various the fundamental weakness of his gains tried to make position, have Dardais expense. at each other’s understands that this is going the keep on and tries to covertly in roughly the of Kustria factions were when same balance as they bold action he Any he started. will be covert. takes Dardais Interim administrator second- himself an able proved Sylark, treasurer, hand to Ilotos’ diffi thus winning the Authorities and personally slays any heretic he comes across in the lawless wilderness. His harsh, barking voice complements the maniacal glimmer in his eye. The Effigy of Thrang Tuarardos the Jester affects motley garb and a multi- capped felt hat festooned with platinum bells. A master of God Learner magic, he lost his left hand in the Hero Plane and went back later to replace it with a six-fi ngered version. He argues that true understanding of the pagan myths lies in its nature as a cosmic joke. Tuarardos responds to attacks with capering, juggling, laughter and cold, soul-eating fi re.
Yon the Wrestler styles himself as the peoples’ hero. Born a slum-dweller, he was rescued by the fathers of St. Beaud, who beat into him a quiet reverence for the Invisible God. By praying to his saint, Yon became a mammoth man of muscle. A cheerfully boastful fellow, he loudly claims to have personally fought all nine of the Sinful Errors, headlocking all but one of them into submission. He ruefully admits that the Sixth Error, gluttony, defeated him soundly. Yon most often says this
Campaign Setting as he tucks into a mountainous pile of crispy chicken parts. Up in Ormsland last year, he knocked down an entire platoon of Dara Happan hoplites with a single punch, directed into the ground beneath their feet. mute in its presence. It lives in a tower overlooking Felster Lake; at night the sound of its weeping echoes across the water. Presumably Yon’s literal confrontation with the Nine Sinful Errors took place on the Saint Plane. Religious Leaders The top cleric in town is Jehard, Archbishop of Kustria. — Raberi D’tanisor, Chief Officer, Kustrian God Learner Alliance He inspires his congregation with stoic forbearance in the face of an awful wasting disease which palsies his limbs and weakens his voice. The illness, widely believed to The Effi gy of Thrang was recovered by the God Learners have been sent by agents of the EWF, has resisted the from the Hero Plane. Though some might argue it is more efforts of all healers who have tried to cure it. Jehard object than hero, this 45 centimetre automaton of brass, must be borne through the streets on a litter. To preserve silver and living wood speaks, thinks and is capable of his strength, he keeps his meetings short. Beneath the independent motivation. An unswerving supporter of the veneer of infi rmity lies a canny politician who uses his God Learner project, it advises Marvelmaze leaders on limitations to best advantage. Jehard, an intelligent and political and military strategy, as well as on their Other urbane man, favours the church’s moderate side. Aside Side forays. On the battlefi eld, soldiers carry the Effi gy from his all-important work as a spiritual exemplar, his on a litter. When they throw open its doors, terrible primary purpose is keeping the city’s many bumptious energies course through the enemy lines, scorching religious factions from overreaching. Even zealots who skin and liquefying internal organs. The Effi gy appears wish he was as fi ery as they are cannot help but genufl ect in the dreams of God Learner foes, demoralising them before his obvious suffering. During those rare moments and stealing their memories. It speaks in a high, whining when the fl ock is at peace, Jehard provides wise and voice and is attended by twin virgins, who must remain cautious counsel to interim administrator Dardais.
152 Campaign Setting 153 ce and rmly pressed Gordangara Rockstaff ercely protective of her eight ercely protective , Learner chaplain, Eliasch Gald The God intentions and true Thyerna’s out has sniffed harm by his cadre from seeks to immunise and Witty with Jehard. ingratiating himself is a talented card companionable, Eliasch and taster of vintage brandies expert player, scandalous jokes. delightful teller of mildly a complete While laughingly professing of or controversies disinterest in politics his ear fi doctrine, he keeps eruption in Kustrian to the ground. If an Eliasch will church politics is imminent, about if before it happens. know Where Eliasch goes, Heriganth This behind. is not far Eaglespeaker as Bishop of Pagans, Orlanthi priest serves an odd position created by the God Learners disputed by the Rightness – and vehemently the local is to keep job Heriganth’s Army. for Orlanthi quiet and obedient, in exchange grudging tolerance of their heathen religious practices. During his tenure, Heriganth his has become thoroughly infected by taste for cards, brandy and friend Eliasch’s ed collaborator. ed , who is famous for never using a for never Raberi D’tanisor, who is famous witticisms. He has also become quite fond of Archbishop of witticisms. He has also become quite fond appreciate the Jehard. Some urbanised Orlanthi political connections. by Heriganth’s protection afforded mock him as a Vesmonstran More recent émigrés from dandifi toward These types gravitate An Ernaldan priestess who makes for spiritual guidance. in the Scrubs, she says as a washerwoman her living from the little about her reasons for coming to Kustria barbarian north. She refers often to an apparently dead advice When giving an Orlanthi priest. husband, who was Venaharal, to men, she phrases it as what her husband, Gordangara is fi say. would Somebody once heard her say Alakoring. year old son, and will of his great destiny that the dragonfriends know get the chance. kill him if they Sorcerers Alliance the God Learner ranking member of Kustria’s is will instead ideally suffi when many single word uential is its paragon of scourging is its paragon of scourging st, Thyerna earned his nickname st, Under normal circumstances all criminal and civil cases would be would cases all criminal and civil Under normal circumstances nearly all of them delegate would who adjudicated by the Duke, cases the interim administrator adjudicates Now to a steward. including murder to the public order, serious offences involving minor cases to one of three deputies. and delegates of criminal conviction: are possible in the event sentences Four to have A noble would nes, banishment or execution. fi discharge, execution. brutality to warrant commit a crime of extraordinary return, then they are banished from Safelster (if they Instead, they for petty can be executed Commoners are subject to execution). theft. monetary compensation cases, the adjudicator may award In civil damages token award claim but grant the plaintiff’s to the plaintiff, or dismiss the claim. without concern for A strong leader could dispense justice between infl political consequence. Dardais hates lawsuits Legal System persons, as they guarantee that he will alienate somebody he’d he will alienate somebody he’d guarantee that persons, as they He has adopted delay as a standard tactic and now sooner mollify. to deal with. backlog of cases he just does not want has a year’s If Jehard is the city’s voice of religious moderation, voice If Jehard is the city’s Whale-Eater Thyerna the Army, He is the local general of the Rightness faith. militia responsible for countless imperial faith-driven uncompromising, single-minded man with An victories. a hardened fi like a face from the circumstances surrounding his rededication from the circumstances surrounding his he was navy, to Malkion. Once a sailor in the imperial island. Starving, he Vithelan on a tiny shipwrecked himself up to to give promising prayed for deliverance, on Thyerna was enemies. Just as the destruction of God’s the brink of death, a mammoth whale beached itself on the shore. He nourished himself on the sea beast until rescue he questions his promise to came. Since then, whenever ay heretics and heathens, he pats his stomach and fl burn current Thyerna’s him. and remembers the gift God gave xation is the EWF; he seeks authorisation fi avowed from his superiors back in Seshnela to declare a pogrom This project is a smokescreen. against its local minions. God Learners of heathen In truth, he suspects Kustria’s the lot of them to have sympathies and seeks evidence burned. Girans Malos heads the Kustrian branch of the Zistorite Order. Four (Affordable) Sages of Kustria This diminutive, wizened man is Alfant Hart is a hungry young student, son of local farmers, determined to famous for his ability to disguise make a name for himself as a God Learner. When he runs low on drinking himself as a Clay Mostali. He money, he sleeps on the steps of the Xuralion Crystal Library, hoping to speaks their tongue, knows their intercept an adventurer in need of research assistance. He is cheerful and customs and allegedly served for diligent, though some mercenaries feel he takes too specifi c an interest in the motives behind their inquiries. two years as a dogsbody in the dwarf community of the Nidan The portly Beufouid Sugartooth must usually be roused from a table Mountains. When asked about at his favourite drinking establishment, a student pub called the Fallen the 10,000 silver bounty they Acorn. Though well into middle age, he has stalled at the initiate level in have placed on his head, Girans his sorcerous order. His research results are a little sloppy but, to his credit, is completely disinterested in his clients’ activities. is dismissive: ‘Those cheap whoresons! They know I’m Rain or shine, the sage Brunema can be found working her musty-smelling worth ten times that!’. Right now stall at the Knowledge Market. With a hooded robe and dishevelled hair, he is busily attempting to recruit she affects a crone-like appearance, although people who’ve seen her in battalions to break the siege of her off-hours report an elegantly dressed and neatly groomed woman of obvious means. She specialises in brief and snappy answers, and will also the Clanking City in God Forgot. perform card readings and other auguries. She fends off accusations of Few takers have lined up to join witchcraft by salting her readings with calls for saintly intercession and him. quotations from the Abiding Book. Pre-God Learner Sorcery The bent and wizened Hastaval Old-Clan is a senior member of the city’s Campaign Setting intelligentsia who has fallen into dotage. His memory for facts is clear as schools also practice in Kustria. a bell in the hours after dawn. By night time he confi dently spouts utter Their leading exponent is the rubbish. His fellow Lhankor Mhy sages take good care of him, knowing physically and socially awkward that he has forgotten more than they will ever know. Gillanc Triori. This lanky, guffawing fellow looks the part of a cretinous rustic but is an accomplished practitioner of who is equally notorious for his never-ending sentences, the Telendarian school. In his which never seem to require him to pause for breath younger days, he parlayed its exploration-oriented spells and are uniquely phrased to ward off interruption. He into a career as Kustria’s richest adventurer. Now he uses works to expand Marvelmaze and to increase the share of his fortune, and a small private militia, to agitate for the imperial funds going to the God Learners of Ralios. His rights of traditionalist sorcerers. own journeys to into the pagan mythworlds of the Other Side have granted him a peculiar, echoing laugh and an Agitators infallible ability to predict the weather. The city’s offi cial leaders must contend with the ceaseless agitation waged by dozens of professional troublemakers. They cultivate groups of supporters to donate money Raberi comes from the Seshnelan duchy of to their various causes and march in demonstrations. Tanisor, where Gbaji once made men into Kustria’s ordinary folk are notoriously susceptible to vampires. Come to think of it, I cut my finger in engineered hysteria. They might be swept into an anti- front of him once and he all of a sudden looked God Learner march one day and then riot with equal awful hungry. fervour for the God Learners the next.
— Gurek Runespear, Mercenary of Safelster Kustria’s agitators rise and fall like leaves in the wind. The most successful of the present moment are as follows.
154 Campaign Setting 155 , Silverhelm Thamaneu the The Moderation League, composed of avowed Delayers, Delayers, of avowed League, composed The Moderation marches against and Realists, occasionally Postponers It preaches for calm groups. Abelam and Godemar’s both underlining the point with and thoughtful discourse, thought to widely Their leader, hurled rocks and debris. Gald, is Nainvaros be in the pay of Eilasch uses league funds who son of the old duke an illegitimate debts. gambling his always-crushing to offset to the streets whenever Autarchy take of the old Loyalists Stygian Empire are Arkat or the the reputations of Autarchy parade on the The Sons of the publicly sullied. Their demonstrations national holidays. old Empire’s rampages. Once considered often collapse into drunken mostly the preserve is now this organisation subversive, release of social of nostalgic drunkards. Because they in an effective tensions which might otherwise be directed are tacitly manner against the authorities its festivals doddering permitted. Its current head is a white-haired, old crank named Engral, who says he can out drink any man alive. by the provoked Autarchy are regularly The Sons of the ciously titled assemblage Anti-Gbaji Conference, an offi the enigmatic Some, like Arkat haters. of year, Educer, who changes his name at the end of every teachings of purport a connection to the long-forgotten Malkioni Others are fervent god Nysalor. the invented Arkat for his embrace of the trolls. who condemn Outlaws Vadrus runs the Big-Breath Wigadai Orlanthi outlaw most feared criminal gangs. Runners, one of the city’s section of the He struts with impunity through his has paid hefty Scrubs, leading most to assume that he Since being cast out by his clan, Watch. bribes to the City of Orlanth’s he has rededicated himself to the worship his men go honour, In this god’s Vadrus. brutal brother Time. Sacred on a rampage of senseless violence every nes his fury to the Scrubs, the authorities Because he confi bother him. never gang operating in the The Renunciators are a rival northern Scrubs. Members must swear an oath against ally with the They Malkion during their initiation rites. Godemar nd common ery The sacred urn Geoffros carries was blessed The sacred urn Geoffros carries was blessed to by St. Xemela. Some ruffian adventurer tried steal it last year and his son was badly wounded. Rumour has it that Arneus Grics sent them. — Beufouid Sugartooth, Sage of the Fallen Acorn Tavern Geoffros of the Sacred Urn Urn of the Sacred Geoffros wild-eyed The ragged, mother visions from St. Xemela, sacred claims to receive him that the warns she to Geoffros, According to Hrestol. of the universe. the fabric God Learners are wounding Sorcery will sink are stopped, their wicked Unless they plunge the rest into darkness and half the Empire and many followers, and his vociferous superstition. Geoffros walk from sorcerous universities, of whom are rejects Annoyingly, bells. tolling warning through the streets up time to do this is at sunrise. He whips their favourite to the Rivals scandal rocks Marvelmaze. riots whenever though even ll his alms bucket, fi God Learners secretly come outlandish predictions could never his know they to pass. Abelam clashes often with the equally fi Zealous anti-pagans and native Kustrians with an axe with an axe Kustrians Zealous anti-pagans and native fi to grind against their Orlanthi neighbours . This rail- cause under the banner of Abelam Archeri barbarians for thin, darkly insinuating man blames the to the death of his mother. from crop failure everything public or offends an Orlanthi commits a crime Whenever hit the Abelam and followers which is often, piety, of all from Kustria cobblestones to demand the expulsion to Malkionism. pagans who refuse to convert nicknamed for his habit of , waggishly Pavingstone tearing up the streets during demonstrations. He and his believe They people belong to the Missionary faction. that pagans are doomed to eternal perdition unless they be well-treated by insist that they embrace Malkion but will help them convert, them out won’t Driving the city. him allows muscular conception of faith it? Godemar’s who dispute his to guiltlessly crack the skulls of any authority. to death for one of the Marrow Taker’s murders. Months later, the killer struck again, in Partan. Victims are Ava, Leader of the Renunciators invariably prominent but have nothing else in common, suggesting that the assassin hires out to anyone who will pay his fee. A 5,000 silver award awaits anyone who apprehends him and turns him over to city authorities. Anyone fi guring out how his clients contact him would have a leg up in the race for this enticing bounty. Adventures in Kustria Before involving themselves in the affairs of the city’s heroes and power brokers, beginning adventuring parties can establish themselves on the Kustrian the missions provided below. Because players can read this book, they are presented as the party would learn about them. Games Masters should add complications and surprises as session pacing demands.
The Dozing Bureaucrat: Tax assessor Louquel Falbrak is in trouble. Last night, overcome by overwork and anxiety, he fell asleep in the middle of a meal at the Tavern of the Sublime Pen, near The Square. While he dozed,
Campaign Setting someone pilfered his folio of tax rolls, representing an entire season of alternately painstaking and dangerous work in the farm district surrounding the city. This morning an urchin of St. Beaud’s approached him with an anonymous message. The thief says he can have the wandering spirits of theists slain by Malkioni churchmen folio back in exchange for an extortionate sum. If he and missionaries, gaining shamanic magic from them. cooperates, none of his superiors will ever know of his Their present leader is a near-feral young woman simply fl agrant dereliction. He needs to recover the rolls without called Ava. She is infamous for biting out the throat of a his bosses fi nding out but can only afford a fraction of the City Watch deputy in a recent street fi ght. This happened ransom. Louquel approaches the adventurers to fi nd out during a reprisal raid for a previous injury against a who has the papers and get them back for him. City Watcher; after that, they have left the Renunciators alone. Demon Hunt: The timinit monk Orvisvo sits in chains, in a church dungeon beneath the Arkat Cathedral. Two Kustria’s most feared assassin is known only as the nights ago he tore a post from his bed and used it to Marrow Taker. Examinations of his victims indicate that beat his abbot, Miglonn, to death. Orvisvo says he was he killed them through sorcerous magic. They are found possessed by a demon, who compelled him to do it. This locked in positions of twisted agony. When the bodies is a valid defence under Malkioni law, provided that it are moved, the bones turn to powder, leaving the corpses can be independently corroborated. The church will horrifyingly limp and malleable. Because this is the work not pay to investigate his story but Suiccol, a timinit of a sorcerer, the Marrow Taker is widely imagined to be prominent in the Rug Seller’s Guild, will. He provides a culturally Malkioni man. Two years ago a Colite exile the adventurers with a compass which will light up when called Helinos was tried and, on scant evidence, sentenced within ten metres of the demon or someone possessed by
156 Campaign Setting 157 st. Despite st. The wealthy burgher Suidos hires the Suidos hires burgher The wealthy Everyone knows what Najurav will say at the Everyone knows what Najurav will say with conference: that mysticism is incompatible It is God Learner techniques and best left alone. the same old song the cross-legged meditationists always sing. — Spolorfal the Arranger, Dean of Pythos University nd out who is making it and prove that its manufacture that its manufacture nd out who is making it and prove The Brewer’s Guild is up in arms Guild is up The Brewer’s Brew: Wonder of an market the sudden entry into the Kustrian over It is especially incredibly popular ale called Blackbrew. Orlanthi residents. Some say it popular among the city’s physical powers. increases an Orlanth worshipper’s even rumours claim that its recipe came from the Other Wilder ale Side. Guild rules specify who in the city can make can and what the ingredients may be. If the Brewers fi can bring a to conform to established recipes, they fails suit before the interim administrator to put a halt to this to hire the adventurers They competition. blatantly unfair conduct their investigation. Raging Tide: Raging Tide: his prodigal son, Ulieu. some sense into group to scare to run has run off fteen year old fi truculent This surly, rising delinquent gang from the a Tide, with the Raging the group to kidnap Ulieu, posing Scrubs. Suidos wants the life of a terrifying how him and show gang, as a rival at all costs conceal their true must They criminal can be. nds out the lesson came from his if Suidos fi allegiance; ne’er-do- tighter to his bind himself even he will father, well friends. Teshnos, from an envoy Najurav, Sapphire: The Zitr’s participate in a where he will to Kustria, is on his way Telendarian sponsored by the symposium on mysticism zitr wears a turban This exalted of Sorcery. College fi containing a lucent sapphire as big as a man’s retinue wield, he and his powers re fi the array of exotic and lucrative be a legendary stealing that gem would achievement. Someone’s spreading rumours that Someone’s owered? Empire alongside uz from the Kingdom ght against the Poison Whispers: Poison heretic. If the young sorcerer Bralant is a henotheist career could dead-end his budding hold, they these take He hires the within his order. his elevation and prevent nd out who is behind the whispering to fi adventurers who he edged campaign. Is it his former friend Herneto, Amilman, the instructor who out for an important award? his incompetence? Or Bralant exposed red after got fi Suilinos, whose daughter he could it be the innkeeper, defl sorcerers of the year the Zistorite Puzzle Maze: Every of their trap- Queljang Institute stage a demonstration of all stripes are invited Adventurers making prowess. to compete against an obstacle course of sophisticated the traps the Queljang sorcerers mechanised traps. Unlike been rendered non-lethal. sell to their clients, these have them are held or to circumvent who fail Adventurers who gets through The individual rendered unconscious. prize. Even them in the shortest time wins a 2,500 silver compete heroes who do not need the money experienced learned that This year the Queljang have for the prestige. in a mostali agent has entered the contest as a ringer, to hire the Player Characters They order to sabotage it. him or her out. can smoke enter the contest too, so they Har Bau, an outlaw Kralori Har Bau, an outlaw Dragon in the Catacombs: Mastery to of Immanent the Path mystic, defected from fi a sorcerer of Viviel, captured by the of Ignorance. He was and brought here for interrogation. order, the Hwarosian Bau found a connection between that Har believes Viviel magic – one that the God Learners dragon and trollish could if only they uz and EWF, could use against both down custody, it from him. Har Bau escaped from extract where its beneath the city, into the ancient catacombs go to seeks adventurers Viviel Stygian kings are buried. Har Bau wants The EWF and capture him alive. down damaging occult secrets to dead, in case he does have see him as a hero and want The uz of Guhan reveal. the Player him rescued. Depending on their loyalties, patrons. of the above Characters could hire on with any it. According to Brother Orvisvo, it was named Carduku it was Orvisvo, According to Brother it. murders of Kustrian to instigate further and intended churchmen. Brolia 97 Dinisso Sea 121 First Action: Creation 42 Bronze 5 Divine Magic 9 First Age: Recovery and Burilgi 109 Doraddi 54 Catastrophe 12 INDEX Caladraland 102 Dorastor 101 Fogarth Toothaxe 31 Calendar 4 Dorkath 98 Folk Magic 8 Abiding Book, The 45 Calyz 59 Draconic Agriculture 104 Fonrit 117 Above and Beyonds 28 Carmania 57, 96 Draconic Powers 27 Foreign Gods 39 Adventures in Kustria 156 Cerebresites 75 Draconised Orlanthi 41 Fourth Action: Duplication Age of Terror 12 Chal 59 Dragon’s Eye 106 and Preservation 43 Aldryami (Elfs) 7, 65 Chalana Arroy 4 Dragonewts 6, 67 Four (Affordable) Sages of Aldrya the Grower 7 Chang Tsai 110 Dragonewt Colonies 112 Kustria 154 Aldryami History 66 Chaos 7 Dragonewt Existence 68 Frastoreal 91 Aldryami Life 66 Charg 91 Dragonewt History 69 Fronela 90 Aldryami Magic 67 Chen-Ga Snow Leopard Dragonewt Magic 70 Frowal 86 Aldryami Myths 65 People 114 Dragonewt Myths 67 Fuknama 113 Alkoth 98 Chi Ting 111 Dragons 33 Furalor 59 Allegiances of Jrustela 85 Church Row 139 Dragon Pass 104 Furlandan 45 Altinela, Beyond the Glaciers Churn Durel 114 Drom 129 Galin 130 122 Cities of Jrustela 82 Dromalwal 89 Galstar 91 Annor 94 Cities of Umathela 118 Ducal Wars 18 Garsting 101 An Kwan Dai 110 City of Demonstrations 144 Duke Bauratos 85 Gaskaros 24 Aptanance the Sage 33 Index City Without Walls 140 Duke Garolan 83 Gbaji the Deceiver 13 Arachan 75 Clanking City, The 14, 104 Duke Kontharan 85 Gebkeran 62 Arandinni Islands 115 Col 127 Duke Miskos 83 Genertsket 87 Arbennan 53 Commerce (EWF) 29 Duke Sableros 86 Geography 3 Arch-Duchy of Haragala 115 Commerce (God Learner) Duke Shordone 85 Gloranthan Metals 5 Arch-Duke Norlantos 84 22 Duke Valarger 83 Gloranthan Themes 3 Arene Whisper-Hush 30 Continual Ascendance 110 Duke Yuthelmag 84 God Forgot 103 Arkat 13 Converters 28 Eastern Waters 120 God Learners 5 Arkat: Slain Devil or Martyred Copper dwarfs 74 Edges Of the World 121 God Learners’ Secret, The Hero? 132 Creation Age 12 Eenlor 93 13 Arkwal 86 Cultures and Peoples 4 Ekozite 45 God Learners Empire 6 Arolanit 88 Currency 5 Elat 59 God Learner Empire 15 Arshmolod 60 Current Events: Year 908 14 Elder Wilds 101 God Learner Magic 19 Arshu Phola 83 Dakkad 59 Elf Coasts 118 God Learner Tolerance 24 Arstranwal 118 Damali Deer People 114 Elz Ast 98 God Time 12 Ascended Gods 34 Damolsten 86 Empire of Wyrm’s God World 10 Auld Wyrmish 6 Dangk 128 Friends (EWF) 6, 24 Golaros Lowlands 91 Azilos 125 Dara Happa 14, 98 Enemies of the EWF 31 Golden Age 12 Babadi 60 Darjin 98 Ephemerae 75 Gold dwarfs 74 Balazar 101 Darjini 57 Eradinthanos 83 Goondas 60 Banamabar 107 Darjini Clans 98 Ernalda 4 Great Compromise 12 Banjarn 105 Darlap 100 Esrolia 102 Green Age 12 Banthe Sea 119 Daros 23 Essence World 10 Green Contemplation 110 Barmalan 45 Dashomo Sea 121 Estali 129 Grinel 53 Beels 83 Daughter of the Golden Estan 86 Grupartho 109 Begotha 90 Dragon 14 Esvularings 104 Guglar 94 Belstos 126 Dawn Age 12 Evrowal 83 Guiching 110 Bemelor 95 Dayzatar 5 Ezran 63 Guildertown 138 Bevjarn 108 Debaldans 45 Faith and Magic (God Gwymirwal 89 Bokesth 109 Delecti the Inquirer 31 Learner) 19 Hanfarador Islands 115 Boztakang 79 Destroyed Peoples of Fate of the Waertagi 120 Hargrath Golden-Scale 31 Brass dwarfs 74 Pamaltela 53 Fethlon 114 Hathinelthor 83 Breaking of the World Machine Diamondwarf 74 Fethloni 60 Hendrikiland 103 71 Dijaar and his Five Friends Fifth Action Era: Decay Hensavara 62 Brithos 88 31 and Doom 44 Hernies 90 158 Index 159 Myth of the Founding of Founding Myth of the 136 Kustria Narilor 94 87 Neleswal Neliomi Sea 119 Nenduren 63 105 Nevelmarkan 84 Frowal New 118 Hrestolket New Noarn 118 7, 48 Waste Nomads of the History Waste Nomads of the 49 Life 50 Waste Nomads of the Magic Waste Nomads of the 51 Myths Waste Nomads of the 48 Northern Mountains 117 Notables (EWF) 30 Notables (God Learner) 23 Nysalor 12 Oceans 119 The 4 Old Ways, Olorost 106 45 Orgethite Oria 5 Orin Jistrel 105 Orlanth 4 Orlanthi 4, 36 Orlanthi History 38 Orlanthi Life 39 Orlanthi Magic 41 Orlanthi Myths 36 Orostaban 106 87 Orphalsket Orphal- (New Orphalsketkal 85 sket) Oslira 5 Realms 123 Otherworldly 10 The Otherworlds, Otniza 108 108 Pald 117 Pamaltela Non-Pamaltelans Pamaltela’s 52 51 Pamaltelan 7 Pamaltelans History 52 Pamaltelan Life 53 Pamaltelan Magic 54 Pamaltelan Myths 51 Pamaltelan 131 Partan 87 Pasos of Immanent Mastery 7 Path Pelandan 57 Kustria Taverns 143 Taverns Kustria 145 Weapons Kustria 111 Tao Laonan Laraloori 62 Larn Hasamador 63 Laurmal 87 74 Lead dwarfs Mhy 4 Lhankor 114 People Yak Lo-Fak Lodril 5 Lokarnos 5 113 Lokow of Myth World Looting the 20 107 Lordly Forests Loskalm 90 Luathela, Land of Sunset 122 Lucans 75 62 Lumavoxoran 23 Lurghalos Pool 119 Magasta’s Magic (EWF) 27 Magic Plane 10 Mahan 91 Maidstone Mountains 91 Malkioni 6, 42 Malkioni History 44 Malkioni Life 46 Malkioni Magic 48 Malkioni Myths 42 Malkioni Saints 47 45 Malvonians Maniria 94 Manithi 98 Manor Hill 140 Stones 31 Man of Five Marost 130 140 Marvelmaze Mashunashan 63 Massos 98 Melib 115 Merasch 90 Age: Empire and Modern 13 Adventure Mokato 115 8, 70 Mostali (Dwarfs) Mostali History 72 Mostali Magic 73 Mostali Models 74 Mostali Myths 71 Mostali Origins 71 Mostal Dies 71 Myrmidons 75 Mystic Gods 33 Mystic Magic 9 n 31 Jakaboom 78 Jakaboom 84 Jalanswal 90 Janube Valley Jeset 78 Jolosi 53 130 Jorgablan Jrudai 59 Jrustela 82 Kabalt 62 Kahar Sea 121 Kajabor 12 5 Kargzant Karkal 62 78 Karrg 14, 31 Karvanyar Kaxtorplose 95 116 Keetslands Sea 120 Keniryan 23 Kenthiliu Sea 120 Kereneth 102 Kethaela Kingdom of Ignorance 7 The Kingdom of Ignorance, 114 King Androfi King Bandan 63 118 Korreinwal 100 Kostadi 96 Kotorsland Kralorela 109 Kraloreli 7, 32 Kraloreli History 34 Kraloreli Life 35 Kraloreli Magic 36 Kraloreli Myths 32 113 Kuchawn 136 Kustria Agitators Kustria 154 Armour Kustria 145 Authorities Kustria 151 151 Watch City Kustria Districts 137 Kustria Docklands 138 Kustria Equipment 146 Kustria Heroes 151 Kustria System 153 Legal Kustria Lodgings 141 Kustria Notables 148 Kustria 155 Outlaws Kustria 148 Patrons Kustria Religious Leaders 152 Kustria Resources 141 Kustria Services 146 Kustria Sorcerers 153 Kustria Square 139 Kustria Supplies 144 Kustria Herolal 95 11 HeroQuesting 11 Hero Plane 63 Hesezjagu Higher Magic 9 Higher Realms 123 11 History in a Nutshell History of the EWF 26 Hobimarong 62 Hobintam 53 Homago 116 Hombobobom 78 Hopeful Centrality 111 5 Horse Nomads of Pent (EWF) Do I Scheme? How 29 Do I Scheme? (God How Learner) 22 (EWF) Trade? Do I How 29 (God Trade? Do I How Learner) 22 Act An Ald- Like How To ryami 66 Act A Like How To God Learner 15 Act A Like How To Timinit 76 A Kraloreli Play To How 35 Yelmite A Play To How Noble 58 Hredmorinos 83 87 Hrestolket People 114 Tiger Hsa 113 Hsiang Wan 110 Yin Hsin Hsunchen (Beast Men) 8 Huand 59 Hudaro Ocean 119 Hui Jang 112 Humakt 4 91 Ikankos Ilotos, Emperor of the Land and Sea 23 30 Inganna Willowhair The 7 Inhuman Races, The 117 Interior, The 6 God, Invisible Irenstos 83 Iron 5 Iron, Clay and Diamond 72 74 Iron dwarfs Issaries 4 12 Won We I Fought Peloria 98 Shadow Plateau 104 Teshnan History 60 Veakmal 94 Pelorians 5, 55 Shan Shan Mountains 114 Teshnan Life 61 Venperesha 63 Pelorian Cultures, Other Sha Ming 112 Teshnan Magic 61 Verenela 114 57 Shenilstos 86 Teshnan Myths 59 Vesharios 23 Pelorian History 56 Shiji Mori 112 Teshnos 114 Visible Sky, The 123 Pelorian Life 56 Shi Mai 110 Thanor 94 Vissala 24 Pelorian Magic 58 Silver 5 Theyala, Land of Dawn Vistikos Left-Eye 30 Pelorian Myths 55 Silver dwarfs 74 122 Vith 62 Pent 108 Sky World 10 The Goddess Switch 21 Vithelan 62 Peoples of Teshnos, Other Sky World, The 124 Third Action: Multiplica- Vithelans 7 60 Slon 121 tion and Identifi cation 42 Vithelan History 63 Peresk 85 Slontos 93 Thoskali 60 Vithelan Life 64 Perfect Age, The 33 Sog City 91 Timinits (Insect Men) Vithelan Magic 64 Pernosi 53 Solf 59 8, 74 Vithelan Myths 62 Piskosol 85 Somash 59 Timinit Attitudes toward Vithela (The Eastern Isles) Pompalic 24 Sorcery 9 other Inhumans 77 115 Prax 7 Sorcery Schools of the Dawn Timinit History 75 Vormain 116 Prehistory (The God Time) Age 45 Timinit Magic 77 Waertagswal 89 12 Soster 94 Timinit Myths 74 Waha 7 Prime Runes 12 Spike 12 Tinaros 133 Wakboth 12 Prince Hrestol 12, 45 Spike, The 71 Tindryza the Geologist Wan Hua 111
Index Pronunciation 14 Spirit Magic 9 83 War (EWF) 29 Qa-Ying Eagle People 114 Spirit World 10 Ting Bu Dao 111 War (God Learner) 22 Quicksilver dwarfs 74 Sshorg Sea 120 Ting Shui 111 War Dragons 28 Qutu 109 St. Gerlant 47 Tin dwarfs 74 Wastelands 108 Raibanth 98 St. Hwaros 47 Tiskos 133 Wenela 93 Ramalia 94 St. Kus 136 Togaro Ocean 121 Wesluk 94 Rathorela 92 St. Serozos 47 Tortun 134 Western Waters 119 Ravin 94 St. Talor 47 Trowjang 114 What’s Your Faction? (God Realms Below, The 124 St. Volanc 47 Truthful Exhalation 112 Learner) 19 Redlands 102 St. Xemela 47 Tung Shui An 112 What God Learners Do 18 Respectful Welcome 112 Storm Age 12 Two-Year Winter 14 What Wyrmfriends Know 25 Return from Chaos 72 Stygian Empire 13 Types of Insect Men 75 Who Do I Fight? (EWF) 30 Return to Splendour 34 sublime mysticism 7 Tzu Lung 110 Who Do I Fight? (God Ri-Si Woodpecker People Sunstop 12 Ube 109 Learner) 23 114 Suspension of the Counties Umalon 60 Wolfblood 135 Rinliddi 57, 99 126 Umathela 118 World of Glorantha 3 Rock dwarfs 74 Svalwal, The Shattered City Unconquered Lands 99 Wyrm’s Claw Initiate 27 Rothor 93 86 Underworld 10 Wyrm’s Eye Ascendant 27 RuneQuest Sight 6 Swermela Sea 120 Undiscovered Heresy Wyrm’s Face Believer 27 Runes 8 Sylark 23 117 Wyrm’s Hand Triumphant 27 Safelster 125 Sylila 100 Urox 4 Wyrm’s Tongue Master 27 Saint Plane 11 Syran 132 Urusvensket 89 Wyrmfriends 6 Sakum, the Burning Re- Talarswal 89 Uton 134 Yelm 5 gions 122 Talastar 97 Uz (Trolls) 8, 78 Yelmalio 5 Saliligor 62 Tarasdal 132 Uz History 80 Yinkin 4 Salor 105 Tarint 54 Uz Life 79 Yoranday 119 Sankusa 59 Tarkala Wyrmsdottr 31 Uz Magic 81 Yothenara 62 Scrubs, The 138 Tarstargawal 119 Uz Myths 78 Yumo Dao 112 Second Action: Manifesta- Tastalor 92 Vadeli Islands 120 Yuthuppa 98 tion and Perception 42 Telendarians 45 Valantia 134 Zaaburket 89 Second Council 12 Teleos 120 Vaneekara 78 Zendamalthans 45 Segurane 88 Teshnan 58 Varankol the Mangler 31 Zitro Argon 59 Seshnela 86 Teshnans 7 Varanswal 119 Zon 59 Zorak Zoran 79 160