Adventures in Ralios

[Uncle Dark]

Heya,

I'm planning a game set in Ralios, centered in along the Doskior River as it creates the border of Delia, Saug, and Vustria.  I have a vague idea about someone performing a Heroquest based on Arkat's life, and the ripples this sets off in the region.  Tying this in with the rise of Stygianism in neighboring Naskorion promises good (?) things.

I picked Ralios because, as much as I like Dragon Pass, DP seems overdone.  Everybody plays there, and there are reams of stuff about it in print.  I've read so much about Dragon Pass in all the rules material that I'm looking for something a bit fresher.

Anyway, while I'd appreciate any general ideas, my main question is this:  What is the history of the Orlanthi in Ralios?  I imagine they aren't exactly like their distant kin in Dragon Pass.  The Glorantha sourcebook mentions that the first Orlanthi invaded Ralios early in the Dawn Age.  But from where?  Did they come across the mountains from Dorastor, and were thus related to those who made Gbaji?  Or did they come up from the south, through Pralorela, making them more akin to the Orlanthi of Esrolia?

Lon

[Ian Cooper]

Hi,

First remember that its your game, so you should not feel bound by what annbody else says about any aras of Glorantha. That said I'll point in you the direction of the sites of a couple of people who have played Orlanthi games in Ralios. Note that there views were different, so your could be to.

David Dunham (one of the creative forces behind King of Dragon Pass) wanted celtic tribes so drew heavily on that anlogue when coming up with this version:

http://www.pensee.com/dunham/ralios/ralios.html

Jonas Schiott has a slightly differing view here:

http://hem.fyristorg.com/bolongo/eastwilds.html

It includes some specualtion as to their origins - they are similar to the Orlanthi presented in Thunder Rebels, but distant enough cousins that you can insert your own ideas or motifs.

Neither of these will really answer your questions, but they may give you ideas (note that they may refer to some very hard to obtain sources). Ralios does have the advantage of being fresher, and of course the corrseponding disadvantage that you have to do more work on the background yourself.

I agree that the Stygian Empire and Arkat are two big selling points - the Safelster city states were also great for GMs who want like intirgue and politics.

I'll do some reading and thinking to help you if you want - but it might be more interesting for you to field a few of your ideas.

[Uncle Dark]

Ian,

Thanks for the links.  I found David Dunham's on my own, and I look forward to trying the other one.

Mostly what I'm looking at, for backstory, is this:
There is unrest among the Hunschen and the Orlanthi in the East Wilds.  The spirits are restless and the clan magics have become unreliable.  Trolls have been spotted coming west, and creatures of chaos are returning.  The Archon of Naskorion is attempting to create an Arkat Heroquest, in hopes that assuming the mantle of Arkat's spiritual power will allow him to re-create the Autarchy (with himself as Autarch).  This is sending out spiritual ripples, warning those whom Arkat joined/betrayed that he (or some part of him) is rising again.  Humakti and Trolls, both those sympathetic to Arkat and those who wish vengance on him, are moving into position to aid or interfere with this Quest.  Whether they conciously realize this or not.

The reason why I ask about Orlanthi origins is that I want to make Orlanthi central to the story (I like the polytheist/monotheist conflict), but I don't want to make them exactly like Dragon Pass Orlanthi.

One of the main differences, I think, is that the Ralian Orlanthi have never had to deal with Lunar domination.  Oh, there have been the occasional Lunar missionaries come across from Dorastor, but the Empire cannot enter Ralios in force.

Another is that the Orlanthi of Ralios would not have had to deal with the changes and reformations in the Holy Country during and since the Imperial Age.

I suppose my more concrete question would be: How would Olanthi keywords be different, given this divergent history?

Lon

[Ian Cooper]

Caveat: I do some work for Issaries and Unspoken Word, but this is all off the top of my head so don't shoot me if either of them produce something different at some point.

would Olanthi keywords be different, given this divergent history?

I don't know that the cultural keyword would necessarily be that different, beyond swapping Ralian for Heortling a lot. For example I did not feel the need for many differences when creating cultural keywords for the Exiles in 'In Wintertop's Shadow' apart from preferred weapons and some cultural attitudes. I focused on additional occupations that there might be natively. If you follow David Dunham's view you might want to replace Ride with Drive Chariot. Dogs repalce alynx, though I doubt that the dog god in Ralios is Jagapappa so you might want to invent your own.

Another is that the Orlanthi of Ralios would not have had to deal with the changes and reformations in the Holy Country during and since the Imperial Age.

Remember that Alakoring came from Ralios and spread his influence to the northern resettlement of Dragon Pass. So the changes he made at the end of the Imperial Age to reduce the power of priests may have been drawn from Ralian tradition. If not the most likely difference is that the priesthood may be seperate from the ring and wield considerable authority.

Remember that the number of thralls may be greater - the Heortlings had an association with Larnste in Heortland that means they dislike human bondage, but the Ralians do not have this influence (of course slaves may be foriegners).

Again, as an example, when writing 'In Wintertop's Shadow' I tried to add a number of hero cults to flavour the worship of the Storm Tribe around Wintertop. This much further out you might even want to drop and add new subcults, or even aspects. Greg often emphasises that the picture in TR is localized. So you might want different aspects of Orlanth or different Thunder Brothers and different subcultsof Ernalda. You could also play with other members of the Storm Tribe. How about changing Lhankor Mhy who is too urbanized a god into something more druidic and tribal and dropping Odayla (who is Sylilan and probably has not crossed over the Rockwoods) and Yinkin (Ralians have dogs) and replacing them with a dog god hunter.

Ralian Orlanthi have never had to deal with Lunar domination. Oh, there have been the occasional Lunar missionaries come across from Dorastor, but the Empire cannot enter Ralios in force. [\quote]

The Lunar Empire has had less time to effect the Heortlings than their northern Alakoring cousins. However the DP Orlanthi have Vingkot as a primary cultural hero for fighting DH and kingship. He might not be know to the Ralians - you might wish to replace him with a Ralian hero. One of the main enemies in myth around Ralios was Serevus the Enchanter - mythic conflict with Hsunchen peoples would reflect myths about Severus. The Plundering of Aron could be a very rich myth here. Our Vingkot replacement may well have been the leader in the battles against Severus and have strong anti-Hsunchen magic.

While all cultures have a story of survival in the Great Darkness and a hero who led them through I Fough We Won, the Ralians are unlikey to have Heort - they may have heard of him, but they need a different hero, and probably not the one mentioned above.

The Archon of Naskorion is attempting to create an Arkat Heroquest, in hopes that assuming the mantle of Arkat's spiritual power will allow him to re-create the Autarchy (with himself as Autarch). [\quote]

Arkat == Argrath == liberator. The words all mean the same thing. And everyone has their own view on Arkat. It is possible that some of the Orlanthi might also see themselves as heirs to Arkat, but in a guise of a liberator. Having groups vying to establish their vision of Arkat might be an idea you want to throw into the mix. You could certianly draw on the Arkat as Westerner, Arkat as Humakti, Arkat as troll.

Seems like a start - feel free to reject, question, kibbutz, etc.

[Uncle Dark]

Ian,

Thanks.  That is exactly the sort of input I was looking for.  I may not use any of it directly, but you've certainly asked questions that help me think in new directions.  The bits of Orlanthi history were new to me, and especially interesting.

I planned to show the conflicts between various interpretaions of Arkat.  For example, I was thinking of giving the Archon a Humakti lieutennant, and having the other Humakti in the Wilds divided over whether ot not this guy was a traitor, based on their views of Arkat.

At the moment, the only Glorantha-related texts I own are an copy of 1st ed RuneQuest, the Hero Wars book, and the Glorantha: Guide to the Hero Wars book.  The Narrator's Book is on order.  Anyplace else I should look for Ralios myths and information (other than Glorantha.com and the links you listed earlier)?

I like the Dog God Hunter idea.  Sad about Yithkin, though.  I'm a cat person, you see...  Hurm.  I have a friend who has said he wants to breed Maine Coons (a breed of big, intelligent housecats with a tendancy toward polydactyly) for high intellegence and thumbs.  Maybe I could introduce a Yithkin missionary who has recently released alynxes into the wild...  Now there's a religious conflict in the making.

Lon

[Ian Cooper]

I like the Dog God Hunter idea. Sad about Yithkin, though. I'm a cat person, you see...

Its just an off the top of my head that cats are a Manirian thing - to make the Ralians a little different, but if you want them in Ralios it really is your call. David Dunham seems to have cats and Odayla (though his material is a older and Greg's views may have changed) - so choose whatever works for you.

First rule of playing in a setting like Glorantha - realise that although a lot of broad picture has been painted for you the details are up to you. Choose details you feel you want to tell stories for.

If you are running an Orlanthi game I would check out the Orlanthi section of the website http://www.glorantha.com/new/culture_storm.html. Thunder Rebels is great if you want a lot more detail on the Orlanthi, and the religions of Orlanth and Ernalda and Storm Tribe is great if you want a lot more detail on the other religions of the Storm Tribe. There is a lot of additional detail there. Don't be put off by that (I tend to review it as it becomes important to a story), just use the parts you like.  I use them a lot, YMMV.

King of Sartar is a good deep source for the Orlanthi - but its mainly useful for DP based games, it won't be as much use for your Ralian game. Pick it up if you want to see the timeline for Dragon Pass, otherwise most of what you need is in TR and ST.

I return again and again to three real world myths for inspiration in telling Orlanthi stories: The Tain, The Feast of Bricriu, and Beowulf. You can get most of these free on the web
http://www.yorku.ca/inpar/ is a good source. A lot of people like Norse sagas too.