SIX SEASONS IN SARTAR 1: INTRODUCING THE CAMPAIGN

INTRODUCTION

Six Seasons in Sartar began thirty years ago as a "classic" RuneQuestcampaign (RQ2). The player characters
were all to be exiled Sartarites working as mercenaries in and around the city of New Pavis. To give them a
unified backstory, Six Seasons was created as a sort of prelude "mini-campaign" in which we saw them years
earlier as young adults in Sartar, roleplaying through the tragic events that led to their exile. The campaign then
jumped ahead five years to Pavis.

It worked. It worked so well, in fact, that the players found Six Seasons more memorable than what came after
in Pavis. So a decade later, when Hero Warsappeared, I revived Six Seasons and ran it again for a new group of
players.

This new version of Six Seasons is written specifically for HeroQuest Glorantha, but could easily be adapted
to RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha or 13th Age Glorantha. The plan is to post each scenario--in full--here
on this blog after my group plays it, followed by a discussion of how it went down at the table. Along the way I
will include tips and suggestions for converting the scenario to any of HeroQuest's sister games.

THE BROAD STROKES

Six Seasons consists of seven episodes each covering--as you might have already guessed--a single season in
Sartar. It begins in Sea Season 1619 and concludes in Sea Season 1620. It is, to be blunt, a tragedy. It tells the
story of a Colymar clan's fall and eradication. The player characters begin the campaign as youths, ages 14 to
17. The sixth episode, "Rites of Passage," is actually a Heroquest that marks their transition into full Orlanthi
adulthood (it appeared in its original, more RuneQuest specific form here). After the clan Haraborn suffers its
tragic doom, the campaign will continue in a less scripted format, with the player characters who survive seeking
their way in the world in the aftermath.

Though the first scenario will be posted next week after we play it, what follows here is an introduction to the
setting. Again, some of this has been posted before in a more RQ specific format, but what follows has been
revised and rewritten.

THE HARABORN

This is the tale of a tragic dynasty;

a narrative of hatred, honor, courage,

of virtue, love, ideals and wickedness,

and of a war so terrible, it marked

the threshold between one age and the next.

The Mahabharata, Carole Satyamurti

HIGH IN THE MOUNTAINS of Sartar, a narrow, V-shaped vale stretches between Mounts Quivin and
Kargradus. Since the days of Heort this has been the tula of the Haraborn, the Clan of the Black Stag.

Mythos & History

Before men came to the Vale it was home only to Black Stag, son of Hykim Beast-Father and Kero Fin, his bride
the Running Doe, and their children. These were the albino Ghost Deer, known only in the Vale. In the Greater
Darkness, when Chaos laid waste to the world, a war band led by Jarstakos Forked Spear, son of Heort,
wandered hungry and tired into the Vale. Hidden by the magic of the Black Stag, Chaos had not come there
yet. The men were struck with wonder to find the Vale lush and teeming with game.

It was Jarstakos himself who loosed the fateful arrow. Hunting deer to fill the bellies of his men, he killed the
Martyr Faun. The wrath of the Black Stag was terrible, matched only by Running Doe’s grief. The Stag sealed
the Vale, and condemned the men to die for their transgression. “What evil can be done to a father more terrible
than the murder of his son? For you rob him not just of his child, but of eternity, of his name being passed on
down the generations.”

Jarstakos Heortsson pleaded for forgiveness, and pledged that he and his men would replace the son Black Stag
had lost. Henceforth they would dwell in the Vale and give honor and worship the the Stag and the Doe, bearing
their name. Never again would they hunt the sacred deer or let others hunt them. This is how they became
Haraborn, the Clan of the Black Stag.
Thus did they remain in the Vale, and there they lived still long after the First Dawn and the beginning of
History. For a thousand years it was so. Only as the coils of the Empire of the Wyrm Friends closed around
them did they falter. “You must go,” the Black Stag told his people. “For the Dragons stir in wrath and soon
there will be only doom.” Thus did the Haraborn pack up their belongings and flee into the lowlands of the
south, burning their homes behind them. When the Dragonkill fell, and every man, woman, and child in Dragon
Pass was slaughtered, the Haraborn were already departed.

In the days of Jarstakos, one of his war band had been the Dark Troll Ungbar Zak Bak. Since that time, some
among the Haraborn were born Dark-Touched, with the blackest hair and eye. The current chieftain, Jornun
Shadechaser, was one of these, so when he led his people to the court of Ezkhankekko, the Only Old One
recognized this bond and gave the Haraborn a place. For two centuries they served the Trolls as laborers and
soldiers, dreaming of the Vale and the home they had lost.

Then Belintar the Swimmer came ashore from the forbidden sea and declared himself the Pharaoh. When he
killed Ezkhankekko, the White Hart—a spirit son of Black Stag who had gone into exile with the Haraborn to
watch over and guide them—told the people it was time to go back. They no longer had the protection of their
patron. So the Haraborn again migrated, this time north into the haunted and empty Dragon Pass.

Returning to the ancient Vale they found it overrun by the Telmori Were-Wolves. The Black Stag was enslaved,
Running Doe in bondage, and the Ghost Deer hunted. Led by Barnor Grudsson, the Haraborn took up arms
against the Seven-Tailed Wolf and his pack. When they retook Stag Hill—the ancient barrow mound of
Jarstakos atop which stands the sarsen stones marking Orlanth’s shrine—Grudsson performed a heroquest,
walking the path of the Black Stag when he himself had first driven the Wolves from the Vale. It was
successful, and with the Stag and Doe liberated. the Haraborn drove the Telmori away. The Vale was again
theirs.

The Haraborn reclaimed their ancient lands and slowly rebuilt their homes. They made alliances with other
clans returning to the Pass and eventually joined the Colymar Tribe. When Sartar rose, they became Sartarites as
well. They lived in accordance with the ancient ways, honoring the gods and the Stag. All seemed well.

Yet Evil never sleeps. In the north there had risen baleful Shepelkirt, the Blood Red Moon. Hating anything that
lives free, she sent her legions into Sartar to take it. At the Battle of Grizzly Peak the Haraborn followed the
Colymar king Kenstrel against Lunar forces and lost their own chieftain, Kentrel Bargarson. It was a sign of the
doom to come. A generation later saw a Lunar puppet on the throne in Boldhome, and foul Lunar ways
spreading through the lowlands. In the years since, the Haraborn have grown more isolated as they cling to the
Old Ways under constant threat from the Lunar occupation.
The Land and People

AS OF 1619 ST the Haraborn are the 13th clan of the Colymar Tribe. They are one of the smaller clans, with
about 450 members, similar in this respect to the Varmandi and Anmangarn. Their lands are centered around
Black Stag Vale, some 15 kilometers from Boldhome, high in the mountains between Quivin Mount and
Kagradus Peak.

The Vale runs a length of nearly seven kilometers, stretching from the narrow southern opening where the
Haraborn maintain a fortified palisade, all the way to High Deer Falls at the northern end. It is seldom wider
than half a kilometer, and the mountains enclosing it are heavily forested and very steep. A creek known as Deer
Run flows south from the Falls, the entire length of the Vale.
To the north the Vale is bordered by the forbidden Dragonewt citadel of High Wyrm. The Antorlings and the
Enjossi, two fellow clans of the Colymar, border the Haraborn to the west. The eastern border consists of the
wilder and untamed Quivin Mountains in the north and the warlike Sambari to the south. These thrall holders
are famed for their ferocity and aggression, and a source of constant trouble for the Haraborn. The Telmori
Wolf-Folk, driven from the Vale, infrequently come down from the Quivins to raid as well.

About a dozen steads, each belonging to a single extended family, can be found spaced out along the banks of
Deer Run. These are the homes of the Carls, or “cattle men,” the middle-class of Orlanthi society. Families will
include paternal grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins, all living together in longhouses (and in the winter
with their cattle). Each nuclear family head (and there are on average 3 to 5 or these per longhouse) will have
his own team of oxen and a plow. Each is granted a “hide” from the clan, as much land as he can plow in two
seasons. Counting wives, children, and grandparents, each stead will have about 15 to 2o people and 30 to 40
cattle. They will have twice as many sheep, pigs, geese. While children, of course, know who their parents are,
it is traditional to refer to all aunts and all uncles as “mother” and “father.” Once they are old enough, they are
expected to help tend the livestock and the fields. All adult males also serve in the clan militia, or fyrd. The
head of each stead holds Thane, or “horse man” status, and is considered a community leader.

The names of the steads as are follows. Individuals will be known as “(X) (Y +sson/sdotr) of (Z stead). For
example, “Wulvann Skilfilsson of High Water Stead” or “Frania Veranisdotr of Riddle Watch Stead.”

The stead, running from south to north are;

Vale Gate

Twin Stone

Bear Fallen

Red Rock

Cliff Shield

Riddle Watch

Hill Base

River Bend

White Bark

Twice Blessed

Glass Cave

High Water

Between these steads are scattered two dozen cottages, usually in the hills at the base of the mountain
peaks. These are the homes of the Cottars, or “sheep men.” They are the lower class of Orlanthi society. Their
cottages are usually round, consisting of one room with a thatched roof, and home to one or two nuclear
families. Cottars have their own flocks of sheep and often pigs, and tend small gardens around the
cottage. Most are huntsmen who supplement their diet with rabbit, boar, or pheasant. It is forbidden for the
Haraborn to hunt deer. Naming conventions for Cottars are the same as for Carls, but they exclude the “stead”
portion of the name as sign of lower status.

The Village lies in the center of the Vale, spreading out beneath the Hall. It is a cluster of about 20 homes
around the Issaries market, the Redsmithy, and the community meeting hall.

The householders living in the Village hold Thane status. Six are members of the Clan Ring, including the Chief
Priest and Priestess, the Chief Weaponthane, Lawspeaker, Champion, and Skald. In addition to this is the trader
Lodar Mikarsson of Glass Cave, who ensures commerce between the Vale and the capital in Boldhome runs
smoothly, and Herdnor Hamtarsson of Hill Base, the master red smith. The remaining twelve are all
weaponthanes. The Villagers are supported by their families out in the steads, and by the chieftain in the
Hall.

The Chieftain’s Hall sits on a low, conical hill overlooking the village. It is protected by a wooden palisade with
simple watchtowers. The Chieftain and his or her family dwell here. The Clan Ring meets to advise the
Chieftain here as well.

Two other locations of note in the Vale must be mentioned; Stag Hill and the Riddle.

Stag Hill is a mound of earth 20 meters high and 70 meters in diameter. It is capped by a ring of seven standing
stones. This tumulus contains the ancient graves of Jarstakos Heortsson and the original war band that founded
the Haraborn. The worship of Orlanth and the Thunder Brothers was conducted from atop the Hill openly before
the Lunar Empire forbade the cult; all male rituals are still conducted there.

The Riddle is more of a mystery. A perfectly square entrance way is carved into the base of Kagradus, and dates
back before Orlanthi times, possibly back to the Green Age. Inside is a labyrinth, a maze in perpetual
blackness. Torches will not burn within. The women of the Haraborn are initiated here, taken shortly after their
first menstruation and led inside by the Earth priestesses. No man is allowed inside the Riddle (this does not
apply to the Nandan, who are taken inside the Riddle for initiation when their natures become clear and the
priestesses approve). When a woman of the clan passes, her body is carried inside the Riddle and left there.

On either side of the Riddle are shrines to Barntar and Uralda.

Not inside the Vale, but overlooking it from atop a cliff face rising some 600 meters, is the Royal’s Grove. The
Royal is the Son of the Black Stag; he is always a 12-branch Ghost Stag buck born silvery white rather than
albino. He is always sentient and always capable of speech. It is unclear if the Royal is the same stag, endlessly
reincarnated, or if it is a hereditary position passed on. The Royal is the Chieftain of the Beasts, the leader of all
animals in the Vale. He is considered a member of the Clan Ring. Aside from this duty he is also the leader of
the local shamanic tradition, the White Hart. Haraborn seeking to become shaman must do so with his
instruction and blessing. The Grove is a perfectly circular clearing in the woods under an massive, spreading
oak.

The Clan Ring

There are technically two Clan Rings, the “Outer” Ring composed of the dozen stead leaders, the
Issaries merchant Borkar Gudinnsson, and the master redsmith, Harvarr Horviksson, and the “Inner”
Ring composed of the following members. The Inner Ring generally has authority over internal clan
affairs, but any decisions must be approved by the chieftain. The Outer Ring advises the chieftain in all
decision-making, and focuses on external affairs.

Chieftain: Gordangar Kenstrelsson of Twice Blessed Noble/gWs is the clan chieftain, a shrewd survivor from a
powerful bloodline. He hates and fears the Lunars as his father was killed by the Lunar Army at the Battle of
Grizzly Peak. He is middle-aged, generous, and traditional. Gordangar pays lip service to the current Colymar
king Kangharl Kangradusson, even though he secretly despises him for selling out the tribe and bending his knee
to the Lunars, and is a supporter of Queen Keika Black Spear, now in exile. Likewise, like many chieftains he
knows that the Lunar puppet king Temertain is too weak to rule. He and his Ring are thus secretly sending
supplies and what aid they can offer to the Sons of Orlanth, a network of war bands scattered across Sartar
fighting a guerrilla war against the occupation.

Chief Weaponthane: Jorgunath Bladesong Formerly of Red RockWarrior/gty leads the chieftain’s weaponthanes.
He is a follower of Humakt, and adheres to a strict code of honor that colors his entire perception of the world.
He believes in truth, duty, and death before dishonor, and has little patience for anyone else who does not abide
by similar principles (Keladon Blue Eye is the primary target of his contempt).

Chief Priest: Savan Kentrelsson of Twice Blessed Priest/gsR is the clan’s full time priest and brother of
Gordangar. He is haunted by prophecies of the Hero Wars and believes that the doom of the gods and men is
rapidly approaching. He is a devotee of Orlanth and spends his life performing rituals to strengthen the storm
gods. Savan is a passionate defender of the Royal House of Sartar, which he believes truly lies in a prophesied
“Prince Who Shall Come.”

Chief Priestess: Morganeth Jarlarant of High Water Priestess/exl is the clan’s full time priestess and performs the
rites at Ernalda’s sanctuary. She has powerful healing magic. Morganeth was born to the Ernaldor clan and has
strong connections to the Colymar Earth Temple. She lost her eyesight when the Crimson Bat devoured
Runegate. She dislikes Humakti, distrusts Vingans, and despises Uroxings; but she is always generous with her
Healing magic to members of her clan and tribe.

Lawspeaker: Joddi White Hart of Riddle Watch Scribe/gsy is an elderly thane from a rival bloodline of the
chief‘s. He is wise and discerning, and knows every legal procedure and tactic. He was never a warrior and
knows little about fighting (but much about dying as his father, brother and two sons all died fighting the
Empire), but his advice to farmers is relied on by the more prudent carls of the clan.

Champion: Erinina Copperaxe of Bear Fallen Warrior/etW is the most ferocious warrior of the clan. A warrior
woman, half her head is shaved and the shoulder-length hair on the other side is dyed blood red. Her body is
adorned with tattoos and she carries a copper-bladed axe. Debate is not her strength: she relies on intimidation,
bluster, and her fearsome reputation to get her way. Erinina is jealous of any perceived rival for glory or
attention.
Skald: Keladon Blue Eye Skald/gji is the chief poet, which a prodigious memory for songs and ballads and a
sharp tongue that can instantly compose biting verse or flattering phrase. Born with one blue eye and one gray,
he is a Eurmali and Bonded Trickster sworn to Gordangar. He is not a Haraborn, but became a companion and
ally of Gorgandar from the days of the Lunar invasion. He is known to be a member of The Guide subcult…any
others are secrets he keeps.

Already mentioned, the clan’s chief Issaries merchant and Redsmith are as follows;

Master Merchant: Borkar Gudinnsson of Riddle Watch Merchant/ghs is Joddi White Hart’s middle-aged
nephew. As a devotee of Issaries, he leads the trade caravans from the Vale to Boldhome and surrounding tulas,
and regulates fair trades between the clan steads. There are persistent rumors that he has connections to the Eye
and the Ear, a pro-Free Sartar network of merchants providing the Sons of Orlanth with crucial intelligence.

Master Smith: Harvarr Horviksson of Cliff Shield Crafter/.s, is a taciturn, massively muscled giant, a head taller
than even the chieftain. He bears a long scar on the left half of his face, and wears a patch over his missing left
eye. This wound was received in his youth fighting for Boldhome. He is married to Affarr Dronnsson, a gentle
and loquacious Nandan who keeps his house in order. It is said after recovering from his injuries he camped
outside the gates of the Dwarf Mine for a year and a day, until Isidilian’s folk allowed him to enter. He studied
with them for three years. He himself will not comment on this tale, but his husband loves to repeat it. Harvarr
crafts and maintains the weapons for the clan’s thanes.

Finally, we must mention the Royal.

The Royal: This Talking Beast Shaman/gBb leads the animals of the Vale. It is uncertain if he is the same
Royal, reincarnating as a new fawn when the previous Royal dies, or if magical powers and sentience and
somehow transferred to fawn when need arises. Seldom seen by the humans of the Vale, when encountered he
commands all the deference owed the chieftain. The Royal is a massive, silvery stag with a mane of milk white
hair and twelve-branched antlers the color of bleached bone.

The Royal is the master shaman of the White Hart Tradition, created when the Haraborn fled from Dragon Pass
and the Black Stag sent his spirit-son White Hart to act as Wyter-in-Exile. Since the Haraborn returned to
Dragon Pass, the Black Stag no longer bestows magic directly; in creating White Hart he seems to have passed
that ability to his son. The Black Stag still receives some of the worship directed to the ancestors (he is consider
father of the Clan), but channels his power through the spirit society of his son.

Common Charms provided by the tradition are;

g: Bellow Like Thunder, Run Like the Wind, Dodge Arrow, Stag’s Great Leap

B: Speak to Deer, Sprout Antlers, Hide in Forest, Sense Predator

b: Awaken the Land, Speak With Ancestors, See What Deer Sees Feel What Deer Feels

SIX SEASONS IN SARTAR 2: THE SONS OF ORLANTH

NOTE: This is the first adventure of Six Seasons in Sartar. See the intro here. The scenario is presented in full,
with an "play report" at the end. GMs who use the scenario in other systems (RQG or 13G) will need to do some
adapting. Guidelines are presented for creating characters for those systems however.

Chapter One

THE SONS OF ORLANTH

“Reflect carefully on this, for it is so important that I can hardly lay too much stress on it. Fix your eyes
on the Crucified and nothing else will be of much importance to you.”

― Saint Teresa of Avila

The Player Characters

When Six Seasons in Sartar begins the characters are all children, ages 14 to 17. They have not yet passed
through the Adulthood rites. In HeroQuest, they all have the Heortling cultural keyword, and should select an
occupational keyword based on their father’s profession. Runes may be selected, but they are incapable of
magic until the Adulting. Any additional keywords and abilities should be selected “as you go.”

RQG characters follow all the character creation procedures outlined on p. 23 of the core rulebook, but omit
steps 3 and 6. Again Runes may be chosen, but will not be awakened yet and the young characters will have no
magic.

13G requires more work. This starts with the characters themselves. 13Gcharacters are FAR too powerful to be
boys undergoing the rites of manhood. I would recommend then using the idea of “Zero Level Characters” that
use the following guidelines;

The characters do not begin play with character classes yet. All characters are Gloranthan Humans with the
Heortling Cultural Trait (“Quick to Fight,” 13Gp. 42). Ignore the human bonus feat for now. Generate your
character’s abilities. Use the following to determine starting values;

Initiative: DEX mod

Armor: None (yet)

Weapons: Spear (1d8), Shortsword (1d6); possibly Bow (1d6, Atk -2)

Physical Defense: 10 + middle mod of STR/CON/DEX

Mental Defense: 10 + middle mod of INT/WIS/CHA

Hit Points: (5 + CON modifier) x 2

Recovery Dice: 1d4 + CON modifier

Recoveries: 3

Characters get 4 Background points. At least 1 must be spent in “Black Stag Clansman” and the rest in the
father’s occupation. They do not yet have any Runes, feats, or talents. They worship the Storm Tribe but don’t
have a single god yet. If they have a One Unique Thing in mind, it can be selected now. Otherwise, it can be
discovered later.

The Focus Character…

In the style of ensemble dramas, Six Seasons in Sartar employs “focus characters” each chapter. Obviously this
is a role-playing game, and all characters are free to make their own decisions and step into the spotlight at any
time, but each chapter will make one of them the engine driving the plot.

The focus character (hereafter just “Focus”) this week should be the son (or daughter) of a Warrior, one of the
clan chieftain’s housecarls. When you pick who will be the Focus, it should be someone who selected the
Warrior occupation keyword. If two or more characters qualify, the Focus is chosen at the GM’s discretion. If
none qualify, any character will do, though it may take explaining why the character is a Herder or Merchant if
his or her father is a Warrior.

…and the Subplot Character

A second character should be chosen for a longer range subplot. You can either do this ahead of time, before
play (the character is destined) or at random when the party reaches the Dragon Temple (the character is selected
by chance). In either case, at the temple the character is marked with the Dragonewt Rune (see below), and the
consequences of this will not become clear until episode 5, “Starbrow.”
Plot Plan: click to enlarge

glw1619 ST (Windsday, Harmony Week, Sea Season)

1. The Night Before

On the eve of Plow Blessing Day, a small band of six arrives in Black Stag Vale. They are Sartarite rebels, part
of an organized resistance called “The Sons of Orlanth.” These rebels encamp in the mountains and hills, always
on the move, keeping out of the reach of the Lunar occupying forces. With winter over, they have come down
into the Vale seeking food and supplies.

One of them, Korolmath, is the Focus character’s uncle. He spends the night in the character’s stead. As the
Focus falls asleep, his or her father and uncle stay up drinking and talking quietly;

“The Lunars wasted no time. As soon as the passes opened they were pouring into Heortland.”

“Do you think the Volsaxi can hold out against them?”

“Well, Broyan is King, and he bears the Sword and Helm of Vingkot.”

“And if they fall?”

“If they fall it is over. Look at bloody Sheplekirt. She has grown bloated and swollen year by year and the
winds grow calmed. This last Storm Season was the mildest we’ve seen. If Whitewall falls? I fear Orlanth shall
as well. We will all be the Red Bitch’s chattel.”

There is grim silence for awhile. Then;

“Are you still encamped at Grothrang’s Well?”

“Til the end of the Season. Then we must move on to avoid scouts. The Lunars have started employing those
traitorous...”

A woman clears her throat, and it is enough to silence all the men. It is old Daressa, the Mistress of the
Hearth. She glowers at the men. “Young pigs have long ears,” she says. “No more talk in front of the children.”

2. The Bull Sacrifice & the Blessing of the Seeds

It is the first truly warm day of the year. The sky is filled with haze and the earth thaws and releases the last of
winter’s frozen waters. The sun’s light is hotter, almost peach, pouring down thick and slow like molasses
through the haze. It is Plow Blessing Day, the High Holy Day of Barntar Orlanthsson. The day begins with the
Bull Sacrifice and the Blessing of the Seeds.

Men and boys proceed to Stag Hill, led by the clan chieftain, Gordangar Kenstrelsson, and his brother, Savan
Kentrelsson, the chief priest. They are leading Long Bellow, a prize winning bull selected in a competition
during Sacred Time. All the males in the clan follow behind, many beating sheepskin drums or playing
bagpipes. They climb the slopes of the Hill, with the chieftain and the priests leading the bull inside the circle of
seven sarsen stones. Each is carved with a sing Rune; Storm, Truth, Communication, Harmony, Man, Disorder,
and Fate. They represent the Lightbringers who rescued the world.

The rest of the men gather around the circle. Fathers hold younger sons on their shoulders so they can witness
the rite. As the priests chant prayers to Orlanth and Barntar, a wind rises. Scattered clouds pass over the face of
the sun. The bull becomes docile, as if lulled into sleep, and the chieftain slits its throat. The blood, as it pours
out, is collected in water-proofed sheepskin sacks, one for each stead. These will be taken to consecrate the
fields.

“Cattle are the life of the clan,” the Focus’s father whispers as they watch. “And a strong bull is most valuable
of all. We are sacrificing all the cow bellies he could fill with his seed in exchange for all the fields his blood
will awaken. It is a great sacrifice. A clan without cattle is no clan.”

Meanwhile the woman and girls march in absolute silence to the mouth of the Riddle. One of the girls has been
selected by the drawing of lots to play the role of Voria, the Spring Maiden (if some of the the player characters
are girls, select one of them, EVEN if her intention is to take the male Adulting rites and become a Vingan). She
is led up beside the chief priestess, the blind Morganeth Jarlarant, who stands amongst dozens of sacks of
seed. The assistant priestess place a crown of flowers on the girl’s head, and as Morganeth chants the the Seed
Blessing in Earthtongue, the girl is required to lay her hands on each of the sacks and whisper “wake.”

Now the entire clan gathers near the Village at First Field. men and woman converging together. A plow is
waiting and a team of oxen. As the crowd watches, the priestesses start spreading the blessed seeds. The plow is
anointed with bull’s blood and Gordangar begins to plow the entire patch of field himself. By the time he is
finished he is soaked with sweat. The Rite is completed, and the Games begin.
3. The Games

The rest of the day is for feasting and for games. The men will hold bull taming and wrestling competitions. For
children there are the foot races around the fields. For the unmarried men, unmarried women from the
neighboring Antorling and Enjossi clans are visiting, seeking husbands.

The main characters are all friends or perhaps even related (in the very least they all know each other; there are
currently only about 30 children in the Vale in the 14 to 17 age group). They gather together in the midst of all
the celebrations. Take whatever role-play opportunities your gaming table needs here, to introduce characters
and establish relationships. This should be set against the backdrops of the games themselves. The characters
should all be participating in the footraces. Have them run in pairs against each other (or an NPC if there is an
odd number), with the winners running against each other. This is a simple contest, meant to introduce a bit of
the system.

That evening there is more feasting, and the chieftain’s own skald, Keladon Blue-Eye, tells a story beside a
bonfire of the Black Stag and how he claimed this valley by challenging the Seven-Tailed Wolf, defeated his
pack and driving them out of the Vale and into the mountains.

Another Possible Subplot…

This one is optional. If it fits your group’s play style, one of the older male characters (16 or 17) ends up talking
with Esrala Kulvilsdotr. She is a year younger than the character, but already an initiated woman. Though the
player character is not yet officially an adult, and therefore not eligible for marriage, there is chemistry between
them. You can complicate this by having their conversation rudely interrupted by Darestan Varankosson of Cliff
Shield stead. This young man is four years older than the player character and an initiated adult. He clearly has
designs on Esrala himself and warns “the little boy” to go play with “the other children” where he belongs. If
you do engage this subplot, it will pick up again later in episode 3, “Harvest.”

4. A Goodbye

At the end of the evening, the Focus character is met by his uncle, and they walk together back to the family
home. Korolmath and the other Sons of Orlanth are leaving in the morning. It is too dangerous for the clan if
they are caught there (the Lunars do not look favorably upon giving aid and comfort to wanted “terrorists”).

As they walk, Korolmath asks if the character remembers the time if he (or she) remembers the time they went
salmon fishing up at Deer Falls. Encourage the player to improvise some light-hearted story of what happened
there that day. Korolmath smiles as they approach the house. “Those were good days.” Then he seems to
remember something. “Oh yes. I have something for you.” He removes a leather thong from around his neck,
and something like a long fang seems to be hanging from it.

“We found this last Storm Season up on old Kagradus. I thought you might like to have it. It’s a Dragonewt
tooth.” He puts it around the character’s neck and tousles his or her hair. “There, now you look like Orlanth
Arokaslayer.”
He laughs and they retire for the evening.

?sw1619 ST (Wildday, Movement Week, Sea Season)

5. Death and Taxes

FOUR WEEKS have passed since the festival, and they have been filled with days of backbreaking labor. The
youths have been helping the adults with the plowing, removing stones from the fields, planting seeds, watering
the animals. Repairs have needed doing to fences and buildings from the ravages of Dark and Storm Season. As
Fire Season approaches, the days lengthen and grow hotter. Working under the hot sun, the characters have all
turned quite brown.

It is in the middle of a particularly humid morning when the alarm goes up throughout the Vale. Horns are being
sounded in a chain from the palisade to the chieftain’s hall.

The characters will spot, from their various vantage points, a line of men marching up the trail from the Vale’s
entrance towards the Village and the Hall. A dozen of them are Lunar soldiers from their scarlet cloaks. They
follow a woman, a Tarshite from her auburn hair and clan markings. She is dressed like a simple soldier, in
leather armor and a crimson cloak, but something in her bearing says otherwise. Traveling alongside her are
three Sartarites; two are Sambari by the looks of them, but the third is Ernaldori. Five servants make up the
rear.

After the player characters watch them, they are gruffly ordered back to work.

An Act of Violence; an Optional Scene

Why is this scene optional?

To be blunt, it’s “railroady.” It doesn’t involve the player characters and is meant purely as exposition, setting
up the rest of the adventure. On the other hand it is a chance for the players—not their characters—to feel more
involved in the chain of events leading to the adventure. You know your group; some will enjoy the chance to
role-play this and some will resent being forced into an uncomfortable corner. Go with your gut on whether to
run it or skip it.

If you run it, the players will each assume the role (for the duration of this scene) of the clan chieftain and
members of his Ring. Let the players chose which member of the Ring they wish to portray. For ease, assume
values of 1W2 in Heortling, their Occupations, and their Runes.

Then begin the scene:

Inside the chieftain’s hall, the Ring hastily assembles. The visitor salutes the chieftain in Lunar fashion. “Voice
of the Haraborn, I salute you. I am Prefect Yolanva Saedrius of the Provincial Legions. On behalf of the
Governor General and his majesty, Temertain of Boldhome, I am honored to be received in the hall of your
people.”

She introduces the man accompanying her. He is Andrin Kulsson of Clearwine, representative of Colymar King
Kangharl Kargradusson. She does not introduce the soldiers standing in the back of the room (at least two would
have accompanied her inside as a honor guard) or the two Sambari there.

They have come on what she calls a “troubling matter.” It has come to the attention of the Provincial Office of
Tribute and Taxation that a “discrepancy” has been noted. According to the last Imperial census of the
Haraborn, the clan consists of 300 members, with 180 free adults That would require, under the Lunar Peace of
1613 ST, a tribute of 90 cattle each year from the Haraborn.

She praises the chieftain and the Ring for paying this tribute the last six years in a “timely” fashion. However,
the Lunar census office has been informed by “reliable sources” that the census is, in fact, off by a third…that
the Haraborn number at least 450, rather than 300, and that the tribute was off by at least 35 cattle per year. At
least 210 cattle are therefore owed.

She adds that the Provincial Government is not without mercy, and looks with fondness upon the client peoples
of Sartar. Because of this, they will settle for 150 cattle and consider the matter dismissed. She will point out
that they have “graciously waited” until the end of Sea Season to give the bulls “ample opportunity” to sire a
new generation of calves before coming to take them, but her orders are to leave the Vale with the cattle by the
end of the week.

Still, this is a devastating and humiliating blow. It is, on the other hand, all true. An isolated mountain tribe, it
has always been easy for the Haraborn to conceal their true numbers by fading into the hills when the census
takers come. The clan has been cheating the Lunars for six years, but only someone who truly knows their ways
would see through this. Thus the presence of the Sambari will probably be clear; they lost cattle to the Haraborn
in a raid last year and this is pay back. The Sambari must have gone to the Lunars and reported the
fraud. Andrin Kulsson is therefore here because King Kanghral is a Lunar bootlicker, but as King of the
Colymar the Haraborn are expected to obey him. By siding with the Lunars, he leaves the Haraborn little choice
but to surrender the cattle.

Roleplay this as long as you like. The Ring can debate it in private, but it should be clear there is no real way out
of this. It is possible, if the GM and players agree, to negotiate. Assume the Ring—all very experience
people—face a base value of 21, and convincing Saedrius to compromise has a High Difficulty, thus 27 or
7W1. With a failure or worse the tribute will not be altered. With a Success, the tribute is lowered to 125. With
a Critical, it is lowered to 100.

As the debate and negotiations come to an end, and Saedrius summoned back to the Hall (if she ever left),
tensions in the room are running high. One of the housecarls in the back of the room starts shouting at the
Sambari. “You did this! You did this to us you honorless dog!” He moves in as if to attack and a nearby Lunar
soldier draws his weapon. A second housecarl springs into action, attacking that soldier with a well placed knife
in the side of his leather armor. The soldier slumps to the ground…
This is disastrous. A fight breaking out will end badly for the clan, and is not what Saedrius wants either. She
immediately starts shouting at her men to stand down. Does the chieftain do the same?

There may be a temptation to just kill the visitors and be done with it. Remind the players that this will pit them
against a neighboring Tribe (the Sambari), the Lunar Provincial Army, and their own Tribal King. That’s an
impossible situation for the clan.

With the noise and the clamor more soldiers pour in from outside the room. Assuming the chieftain orders his
men to stand down, Saedrius will herself go to the fallen Lunar soldier to examine him. She stands and looks at
the housecarl who killed him. “He had a wife. She is with child.” Then she turns back to the chieftain.

“Honorable Voice of the Haraborn, this man has committed a serious offense.” She points at the housecarl
without looking at him. “An attack against one Imperial citizen is an attack against us all. I must ask that you
surrender him to me at once.”

Again, the Lunars hold all the cards here. The choice is surrendering one man to them or putting the entire clan
into danger. The terms of the Lunar Peace making harming any Lunar citizen a capital crime, and the Ring is
fairly certain King Kanghral will side with the Lunars on this. The Lysang, Zethnoring, and Namolding are all
neighboring examples of clans that went extinct facing Lunar wrath. The housecarl has to be surrendered.

The man in question is the Focus character’s father.

6. The Crucifixion

THE NEWS SPREADS like wildfire up and down the Vale. The Lunars have come to collect their tribute in
cattle and one of the housecarls has been surrendered to them for murder. It is a black day for the clan.

And blacker still for the Focus character.

Depending on the character’s relationship with his or her father, this could be intensely emotional or just a blow
to familial honor and pride. Still, it is nearly unbearable. The other player characters will immediately be
concerned for their friend. Play this out however you like.

By afternoon, though, cattle have been surrendered from each of the steads and led down towards the mouth of
the Vale in the south. It is there that Saedrius and the Lunars take their prisoner.

She is very official about this, impartial. She stands in front of the crowd assembled there (this includes the
chieftain and his Ring, as well as the Focus character’s entire stead and the other PCs) as the cross (erected in the
shape of the Death Rune) is prepared. As she reads her sentence, her eyes fall on the Focus character’s face
almost with a sadness in them. She will make it clear that the law is clear; for his murder of a Lunar citizen the
housecarl must die.
“He shall hang upon his cross until his spirit has fled his body. None shall provide him food, water, or
comfort. Those who render him aid or assistance, or who take him down from his cross still living, will
themselves be branded enemies of the Empire and face the same fate.”

How the player characters react is entirely up to them. They may attempt to persuade the chieftain to intercede
and save him. This is a very difficult task (assume Base + W or 14W. If the characters succeed, it will not
change the chieftain’s mind, but the Benefits of Victory bonus will apply to later attempts to saw the chieftain or
members of the clan (the characters were persuasive enough to make the listeners sympathetic, even if they were
in fact powerless to change the sentence). Likewise the players might appeal to Saedrius. Again, she will be
sympathetic, but already she is facing a clan that has willfully cheated the Empire of their tribute. She feels she
has been immensely generous already. The sentence will stand.

Let the characters do what they like. They may all remain as the Lunars lead their tribute out of the Vale and the
crowds break up. They may linger at the cross. They might try to speak with the father.

But as they struggle with what to do, a figure comes up behind them. It is Keladon Blue-Eye, the chieftain’s
skald and a member of the Ring. He is also a known Eurmali.

“A bitter fate for a warrior,” he says to no one in particular. “But the rules are the rules, aren’t they? And no
one expects the game to be fair.”

He turns and looks at the Focus character and his friends. “No one will take him down while he lives. After all,
to take him down is to share his sentence and become outlaws.”

He hums a bit of an old tune. “Unless of course, they were already outlaws.” saying nothing else he simply
walks away. But his meaning should be clear; Korolmath, the Focus character’s uncle and the condemned man’s
brother. If he and the other Sons of Orlanth could be found…

“Are you still encamped at Grothrang’s Well?”

“Til the end of the Season. Then we must move on to avoid scouts. The Lunars have started employing those
traitorous...”

They are still at Grothrang’s Well. If they could be found, and quickly…they might be able to liberate the
condemned before his body surrenders.

7. Preparing and Setting Out

FIRST, they need to find someone who knows what the Well is and where they can find it.
There are any number of people they could ask, but they need to exercise caution not to rouse suspicion in the
wrong people. One option is to ask Blue-Eye himself. This is the easiest option (he encouraged them to seek it
in the first place) and could be done even before the end of the last scene. Asking him is an automatic success.

The next logical choice would be one of the clan hunters, the Cottars living on the fringes of the Vale. If the
player character’s Occupation is Hunter, he or she could ask their own father. Otherwise, introduce the idea of
asking Beroth Borgorsson, an Odayla huntsman living on the northwest edge of the Vale between Glass Cave
and High Water steads. He is known to be the best hunter in the Vale. No one knows the surrounding
mountains better.

Unfortunately when they arrive he is already gone, out in the wilds on the hunt. His son (or possibly daughter,
see below) Ashart (or if a daughter, Ashala) is there at the cottage, however. Ashart is 14, roughly in the same
age group as the characters. If one of the characters is also a Cottar, they might be friendly.

Ashart knows where the Well is, but wants to know why the characters are asking. A quiet and often lonely boy,
he sees as this a chance to connect with his peers. Convincing him to help is Low Difficult (8). On a success or
better, he tells them Grothrang’s Well is in Ormsrest Gorge, high up the north slopes of Kagradus. It is in sight
of High Wyrm, the Dragonewt city. The Gorge itself was the resting place of a dragon before the Dragonkill
War, and the Well is a pool of water said to have been bored into the earth by its venom.

The larger problem with Ashart is that he doesn’t want to volunteer the way to the Well, he wants to lead them
there himself. Convincing him to just tell them is far more difficult (Base +6 or 20). If they confide in them
their plan he will insist he wants to help. If they don’t, he will insist that if they don’t tell him why they are
going he will just have to lead them. His agenda is not malicious…he just wants friends.

If they accept him, he becomes a temporary Companion to one of the characters.

Another Optional Subplot…

An alternative is that Ashart or Ashala actually has a crush on one of the characters and wants to accompany
them for that reason. The player may decide if this is requited or unrequited and go from there.

After learning the directions to the Well (or gaining a guide), the characters will need food and supplies and
probably weapons. This will all have to be stolen (especially the weapons, until initiation they are not
technically allowed to have them outside of training). Let the players plan how to obtain what they need and
play it out with simple contests. They should be able to get food with little difficulty (Low or even Very Low
Difficulty). Weapons are harder, but not impossible. They should be able to get their hands on spears, axes, and
round shields (typical fyrd armaments) from their fathers belongings at home. Sneaking them out of the cottages
and steads unseen and getting them to the edge of the Vale is tricky though (a High difficulty). Failure can
generate interesting complications (can they fast talk their way out of the situation?).

Assuming they get what they need, they meet on the edge of the Vale after midday and cross the threshold,
leaving the comparative safety of the Vale for the mountain wilds enclosing it.
8. The Ascent

CLIMBING THE SLOPES of Kagradus is challenging under normal circumstances. In general, the slopes on
the west side of the Vale are steeper and feature more cliffs and sheer drops than the eastern side. There path
takes them up alongside a small rushing stream that feeds into Deer Run in the Vale (see map). The stream
contains a series of waterfalls to be navigated. The characters will be scrabbling over carpets of slippery pine
needles, across loose shelves of shale, up wet and mossy banks of the stream, etc. To do it safely requires
practice, patience, and time.

None of which the player characters can afford.

There is no way of knowing how long a man can survive on the cross. The strongest can last a few days. But it
takes at least half a day to reach Grothrang’s Well, so to get there and back before the condemned dies means the
characters must hurry.

It is probably best to condense the first hurried stage of the ascent into a Simple Contest, saving the Extending
Contest for the Climax. For drama, space these out. For example, one character has to roll as they scurry up the
steep pine-needled slopes at the base of the mountain, the next a little higher as they all crawl across exposed
rock face, the next navigating loose and crumbling shale, scrabbling over protruding boulders, or even simple
exhaustion. Use your dramatic instincts. Failure will mean physical injury, strain, or fatigue, and that could
possibly slow the group down. Basically it comes down to each player character having to pass one ascent
simple contest, at a Moderate Difficulty (unless using Pass/Fail). When all have made their rolls, the first stage
of the climb is finished.

However, just before the last character is about to make their roll, tell them they have arrived at the cloud
line. This makes everything wet, damp, and cold around them. Visibility is limited in the cloud bank. As the
character prepares to roll, tell the players they hear the howling of a wolf somewhere behind them…and it is
answered by another call ahead of them…
9. The Dragon Temple

High above the tree line, amongst the mountain peaks, the Dragonewt settlement of High Wyrm rests. 1500
Dragonewts are said to lair here, and before Temertain, the Princes of Sartar traded with them.

The journey to Grothrang’s Well takes the characters well below High Wyrm, but the entire area is still
sacred to that Elder Race. Perhaps the characters are lost in the cloud bank, perhaps they have drifted
too far up the slopes, or perhaps it was simply hidden before…but as they race for the Gorge they
stumble across something unexpected. It is a ruin of the Empire of the Wyrm’s Friends. A temple of
some sort. If Ashart is with them he will be stunned. He has been this far out with his father before
and never saw this place. His father has never described anything like it either.

In the face of a sheer cliff, the shadowed entrance of the temple burrows into the rock face, five men
high and three men wide. A columned portico juts out of the cliff over the door, carven with entwining
dragons and the Dragonewt Rune.

It is entirely possible that the characters will want to push on, conscious of how precious time is. The
Dragon Temple triggers the Subplot Character’s story, however, marking him or her for an epic destiny
(this will become more clear in episode 5, “Starbrow”). It is not 100% necessary, so if you can’t get the
characters to enter the temple, don’t force them! The Temple can simply be revisited in episode 5.

Do try to encourage the player characters into the Temple, if you can! It might be a good place to rest
and eat and tend to the injured, or perhaps the howling of wolves is drawing nearer and the players
hope to find safety there. Even simple curiosity will work. If you have chosen to go with the idea of the
Subplot Character being destined for this, something about the Temple stirs something like deja vu in
them and they feel almost drawn to it. Just remember, don’t force it. If they don’t want to go in, just
continue with the next scene.

Inside the temple it is warmer than expected, chasing the chill of the mountain air from their
bones. The walls of the entranceway are intricately carved with the same motif of intertwined dragons
(most resembling dragon imagery from China or Persia in our world). There are dragons under the
sea, dragons beneath the mountains, dragons amongst the clouds, and even dragons wending their
way between the stars.

The entrance passage is high but not deep, extending straight forward for about five meters before
opening into a vast, cathedral-like room. Four great pillars, each with a stone dragon coiling all the
way up around it, hold up the ceiling. There is a massive bronze sheathed door set in the wall opposite
the entrance, also dragon carved (nothing they do can open this). In the four corners of the room,
vents in the floor hiss steam…there must be natural hot springs beneath this place.

In the very center of the room is an altar carved from a massive piece of milky green stone—the
Sartarites have not seen jade before, but you can tell the players what stone it is—with coiled dragons
on its four faces. At its corners are bronze statues of robed men kneeling in meditation or
prayer. Hovering over the altar, two feet above its smooth, glassy surface, is a ball just large enough to
fit in the palm of the hand. It seems to be made of gold. On each of the front and back hemispheres,
there is a raised Dragonewt Rune.
The object here is to have a player character grasp this golden ball. If the Subplot Character was
chosen by destiny, have them feel compelled to seize it. If you prefer to leave the choice random,
whatever character grasps it becomes the Subplot Character. And again, if no one wants to touch the
thing…that’s fine. It will be here waiting for them in episode 5.

The instant the ball is grasped there will be a flash of green fire, the stench of seared flesh, and a bolt of
burning plain in the character’s hand. The ball will disappear. Instead, a Dragonewt Rune is now
burned into that character’s palm. It heals before their eyes, painlessly, leaving only a scar…a
Dragonewt Rune scar.

The scar will not come into play until episode five, “Starbrow.” It is harmless to the character, but will
be critical to that story. If the character wants, they can even cement the Rune as one of their Abilities
and work out suitable powers conferred by it…

Once the scar is received, or when it is clear no player will grab for it, the entire temple begins to
shake. Dust, and chunks of rock fall from the ceiling. It is time to flee!

10. Prey

BEYOND THE TEMPLE they know they are growing close to Ormsrest Gorge. They can here the
rushing waters of the stream running through it echoing ahead. But night is closing in, and the fog
around them (the clouds) is thick. Meanwhile, the howling is getting closer…

Reaching the Gorge, there is a narrow path running down the side of the canyon wall descending into
it. They should be nearing the Well. It the bottom of the Gorge they can just make out flashes of white
from the water rushing over the stones in the stream bed. Following this, they reach the Well.

Grothrang’s Well is a bowl shaped pool. In the middle of the pool is a sort of secondary pool, a hole
bored deep into the stone. The Gorge encloses it like a kind of amphitheater. Looking around, even in
the darkness they can see signs of recent encampment here…but the fires have all gone cold. The
Gorge is empty. The Sons of Orlanth have already moved on!

Night has fallen and the entire journey, it seems, was for nothing. But there is no time to think about
this. The wolves that have been tracking them now emerge from the shadows of the Gorge. There are
several of them, equal to the number of player characters plus two. There eyes seem to glow in the dim
light, and the characters can make out their snapping jaws and barred teeth…

This is the climax and should be an Extended Group Contest. The Difficulty should be no more than
Moderate (14). Ashart can assist as a Companion, evening the odds just slightly. At the GMs
discretion is doesn’t need to be a fight to the death. If half the wolves are killed or defeated the other
half might break off in search of easier prey.
Defeating the wolves means more than just survival. These are the mythic rivals of the Black Stag, and
the Benefits of Victory bonus should be recorded on the character sheet for future interactions with the
Royal or in certain clan activities and circles (the players have a reputation as wolf-killers, all the more
impressive as they are still just children). The bonus earned here can also be used during the sixth
episode, “Rites of Passage,” as being able to fight is part of Orlanthi adulthood rites.

When the battle is over, ask the players to reflect on the moment. This is probably the first time they
have really fought—or killed—in their young lives outside of slaughtering livestock or perhaps
hunting. How has this changed them?

11. Homecoming

It would be reckless and dangerous to attempt the descent in the middle of the night, though the
players may still wish to attempt it. The more reasonable choice would be to camp here.

Either way, the clouds break and the vault of the sky opens to them. Shepelkirt, just past full, stares
down at them gloating, bathing the landscape in red. The characters must now decide what to do. Do
they simply return to the Vale and face the consequences of their actions? Do they go to the cross and
try to free him themselves, bringing the wrath of the Lunars down on the entire clan? These are the
decisions they now face.

It is probably best to let the return journey be uneventful. Likely they have suffered enough.

When they return to the Vale, they find it in an uproar. Even before they enter the valley proper, they
are discovered by a patrol of armed militia. Their disappearance seems to have caused a panic, and
everyone is out looking for them. They are disarmed and to their surprise, taken into custody, straight
to the chieftain’s hall. They men guarding them don’t seem relieved…they seem angry and concerned.

The youths are brought into the Hall where the Ring assembles. Their parents, and/or the heads of
their home steads have been summoned as well. Red-faced with fury, the chieftain is the very last to
arrive.

Like a raging storm he descends on the largest or oldest player character. His shadowcat—housing his
allied spirit—follows menacingly behind, staring at each of the characters in turn. Gordangar seizes the
character by his collar and lifts him into the air. “How dare you defy me! Do you understand what it is
you have done?!”

If Ashart was with them, Beroth will be there as well, two housecarls physically holding him back from
the characters if Ashart did not happen to make it back. If Ashart died or was injured during the
episode, they will have the hunter’s enmity for some time to come.
The chieftain drops the player character and stares furiously at the others. There is something else in
his eyes other than angry. There is fear.

Let the scene play out, but it soon becomes clear why the chieftain is so angry. Sometime in the night,
while the characters were up the slopes of Kagradus, the condemned man was freed from his
cross. The clan logically concluded that the player characters—also missing—liberated him against the
chieftain’s orders and helped him escape.

Roleplay the scene out however you like. It offers a chance for the players to interact with the Clan
Ring NPCs.

When dramatically appropriate—especially if the Ring is not convinced the characters are telling the
truth—the doors of the Hall swing open and Korolmath strides in, still armed and armored, his face
and bare arms painted with woad. “The youths are not to blame. The Sons of Orlanth liberated my
brother in the night.”

He strides to where the players stand and puts his hand on his nephew or niece’s shoulder. “What you
did was brave, and pig-headed.” There is a hint of pride in his features as he looks at the character’s
faces. Then he looks at the chieftain. “They have done no wrong. They acted as proper sons of
Orlanth should act. As we all should act. Inaction is why Shepelkirt looms.”

“There will be consequences. You know the law. They will come and perform their divinations and
when they do the clan will suffer.” Gordangar replies.

Give the players a chance to counter this if they like. If not, Korolmath answers. “Let them divine
answers from their filthy gods. When I became outlaw I was severed from my clan. Your own Sword
did that.” He points to the Humakti on the Ring, Jorgunath Bladesong. “So no member of this clan
can be said to have broken Lunar law. The Haraborn are blameless.”

“Besides, Gordangar, it was a member of your own Ring who sent the message to us what had befallen
my brother.” He looks at Keladon Blue-Eye.

This should come as some surprise to the characters, because it means he prodded them to go looking
for the rebels even though he had contacted them himself. Why did the Eurmali urge them to go then?

The sense of tension in the room slowly dissipates, and the characters are given over to their families
to be reprimanded and punished. If everyone—including Ashart—came back alive, the punishment
will not be so severe. If anyone was killed or severely injured, the consequences could last a much
longer time.
AND NOW, THE "AFTER PLAY" REPORT...

The campaign kicked off with four characters;

Beralor "Three-Father" Harvarrson (Keith)

With his real father killed in the struggle against the Lunar Occupation. Beralor has been raised by the
redsmith Harvarr Horviksson and his husband, the Nandan Affar Dronnsson. Beralor is now sixteen,
and has the Heortling, Crafter (Smith), and Black Stag Community keywords. His Runes are Air,
Motion, and Mastery.

Kalf "Lightfoot" Brogansson (David)

The son of a cottar sheepman (killed in Kallyr's rebellion), Kalf lives alone with his mother in a cottage
on the edge of the Vale. He is the oldest in the group, 17, having just missed the last Adult Initiation
ceremony four years ago by having been just a bit too young. He has the Heortling, Black Stag
Community, and Herdsman keywords. His Runes are Air, Stasis, and Beast.

Leika "the White" Faransdotr (Vicky)

The albino daughter of a cottar spirit-talker, Leika's condition renders her sensitive to sunlight and
slightly ostracized by some of her peers. She overcompensates with a forceful, "bossy"
personality. Leika is 14, and has the Heortling, Black Stag Community, and Spirit-Talker
keywords. Her Runes are Air, Motion, and Spirit.

Kalliva Kallessasdotr of Twin Stone (Ira)

The daughter of an Ernaldan carl in the prominent Twin Stone stead, the identity of her father has
never been divulged by her mother. Kalliva is torn between what her mother wants for her (marriage,
family) and following the path of her Vingan aunt (currently a rebel living in the hills and mountains
striking at the Lunars). She has a close relationship with her uncle Garnath, who is one of the
chieftain's housecarls. Kalliva has the Heortling, Black Stag Community, and Warrior keywords. Her
Runes are Air, Truth, and Mastery.

As the only Warrior in the party, Kalliva became this episode's Focus Character...with some minor
changes to the plot. Instead of her father being crucified, it was her uncle Garnath, and the
"Korolmath" character became her Vingan aunt, "Korolmara."

No Subplot Character was chosen. I decided on the spot to let Fate decide when they got the the
Dragon Temple.

The story went largely according to plan. Kalliva's aunt returns to the Vale with the other Sons of
Orlanth for supplies, re-awakening tension between Korolmara and her sister Kallessa, who is
determined her daughter not take the Vingan's path.
The Plow Blessing Day arrives and games are participated in. Kalf met and formed a bit of a
connection with Esrala, who despite being a year younger than him is an initiated woman while he is
still technically underage. He got an assist from his wing-man Beralor, who used his "Honey Tongued"
distinguishing characteristic to help Kalf make an impression. The conflict with Darestan came close
to blows, setting things up nicely for episode three down the road.

By happy coincidence, Kalliva receiving the Dragonewt tooth from her aunt became a kind of
foreshadowing, as later she would end up being the character bearing the Dragonewt mark.

The group played through the optional "An Act of Violence" scene. Keith later commented that he
found Lunar Prefect Yolanda Saedrius surprisingly likable. That was intentional; if you've
played HeroQuestor RuneQuest long enough you've all seen mustache-twirling Lunar bad guys
aplenty. I've always preferred the more epic Achilles/Hector or Yudhishthira/Duryodhana type
conflicts, where both sides are gifted and flawed. We'll see if he still likes her later in the campaign...

Also interesting was the way Ashart fit into the game. Rather than making him a love interest, he
became Kalf's companion. Both cottars, their family cottages are near each other and the younger
Ashart--an only child--looks up to Kalf as a sort of big brother figure. The boy, who was 12 here,
follows Kalf around like a cheerful puppy, chatting a mile a minute. I was pleased that during the wolf
fight the team--especially Kalf--became very protective of the boy.

It was surprisingly easy to get my players into the Dragon Temple ("What? Ominous dragon temple
appears out of nowhere? Let's go in!"). I was a bit surprised that Kalliva was the one to grab the
golden dragon orb and receive the mark. Writing the scenario, I hadn't wanted the Focus and Subplot
character to be the same, but in the end I think it might even have worked out better. It suggests that
Keladon Blue-Eye, who embodies Eurmal in his Guide aspect, suggested the player characters go up
the mountain expressly so Kalliva could receive the mark and begin her destiny.

Everyone survived the climactic fight, though two characters were Hurt. Everyone was able to stumble
back down into the Vale, where they were apprehended and brought straight to the chieftain's hall, the
clan believing they had been responsible for liberating Garnath. Korolmara returns to the hall and
explains the Sons of Orlanth saved Garnath, thus sparing any blame falling on the clan. She tells her
niece what she did was "foolish, pig-headed, and..." looking accusingly at the seated Ring "...exactly
what a true Son or Orlanth should do."

The youths had "borrowed" weapons from their fathers' weapon chests before climbing the
mountain. Kalliva has taken, appropriately, Garth's weapons including his sword. Korolmara tells her
niece the sword is hers now, something her mother was not terribly pleased with.

SIX SEASONS IN SARTAR 3: IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING

Chapter Two

IN SHEEP’S CLOTHING

For decades now, I have kept what I call “Templates.” These are little story blueprints, usually on one or two
pages long, that are meant to be adapted to whatever campaign I am running. I admit to stealing the idea
completely from Greg Stafford’s brilliant Prince Valiant game. Templates have no details, and often suggest
multiple alternatives. “A Courtship.” “The Talking Animal.” “A Cattle Raid.” At this point in my life I have
hundreds. They are meant to be dropped into campaigns either as full scenarios or little side quests
(subplots). This chapter of Six Seasons in Sartar is based on one, “The Ghost.”

What follows is the bare Template first, and then immediately after a fleshed out example of that
Template. Because I like to focus scenarios on the characters I have, the fleshed out version will mention them
by name. Hopefully there is enough here that you, gentle reader, can take the Template and adapt it however
you wish.

THE GHOST (Template)

Begin With: A ghost appears to one or more of the characters. Ideally, it will approach the character with the
strongest connection to the Spirit Rune. There are several ways to stage this. For starters, the GM should decide
whether it is obviously a ghost, or appears to be alive and mortal (a byproduct of the Illusion Rune; it is in fact
immaterial and invisible but appears solid and visible). Second, the ghost may or may not know that it is
dead. For example, the characters encounter a lost little boy in the forest who was murdered and buried in an
unmarked grave…he is not aware that he is dead, but wants the characters to help him get back home. If the
ghost knows that it is dead (like Hamlet’s father) it might ask the player character(s) to avenge it.

The Situation: Someone or something killed the ghost, and either because it was denied a proper burial, or it
seeks justice, it continues to wander the earth. The only way to give it peace is find its remains and convince the
ghost it is dead, or find its killer and avenge the ghost.

Characters: The Ghost. If the ghost is seeking vengeance, you will also need an Antagonist (the ghost’s
killer). This could be a genuinely cold-blooded “bad guy,” or perhaps someone who feels remorse for their
actions.

Short Term Goal: The Ghost is looking to finally rest in peace. The Antagonist wants to keep his or her crime
hidden, and/or to be forgiven.

Long Term Goal: To move on.

Scenes: The player characters encounter the Ghost, and may or may not initially realize they are communing
with the Dead. Once they do, they will need to need to find out what happened to the Ghost, where its remains
lie, and where the Antagonist is. This will require asking around. To make things more complex, you could
have the Antagonist hear the players poking around and might take steps to silence them before they learn his or
her identity…

Conclusion: Invariably in this sort of story, if and when the protagonists do confront the antagonist, the Ghost
itself appears, finally confronting its killer. The GM might wish to treat the Ghost as a Supporter (HeroQuest, p.
82). Winning the Ghost’s gratitude, the GM additionally might have it appear at a later date, perhaps appearing
to warn the players of danger or to assist them in some other time of crisis.
Chapter Two

IN SHEEP’S CLOTHING

This week’s Focus Character is Leika Faransdotr. There is also a Subplot Character, Kalf Brogansson. Kalf’s
subplot concerns the relationship he formed last time in The Sons of Orlanth with Ashart Berothsson.

Begin With: Water Day, Stasis Week, Fire Season 1619 ST. It is high summer, and Black Stag Vale is preparing
for the Feast of Sartar, the Founder. It has been hotter than usual, even here in the mountains. The winds seem
stifled and weak. Without a breeze, the midsummer sun is merciless. Many murmur this is a bad sign. Orlanth
is weakening.

With the planting done and the harvest still a season ahead, Fire Season is a lazier time. Leika has been sent into
the woods to gather herbs and roots her father, Faran Spirit-Talker, needs for his practice. She is not alone. She
has asked Kalliva Kellassasdotr to accompany her. The two have become increasingly friendly since the events
of the last chapter, and it is currently forbidden for children to go about the Vale alone.

Four weeks ago, Andrin Gurhasson of Cliff Shield Stead went missing. Two weeks ago, Keogor Tarnsson of
River Bend Stead vanished as well. Andrin disappeared while the young warriors of the Vale were south in
Sambari lands raiding cattle in revenge for their duplicity. When Keogor vanished, the Clan Ring forbade any
further raiding and put the Vale on alert. No youths are allowed to wander alone.

Back in the Vale, in the hills at the edge of the forest, Kalf and Ashart are together, lazily watching over a flock
of sheep. Since Beralor is the only player character not in the opening scenes, his player, Keith, will run Ashart
as an NPC for the duration of the scene.

Ashart Berothsson

Age: 12

Keywords: Heortling 13, Black Stag Clan 13, Hunter 13

Runes: Sun 1w, Movement 17, Beast 13 (note: as an uninitiated boy, these Runes only shape his personality, he
cannot use them yet

Personality Sketch: Animated, talkative, and wide-eyed. He looks up to Kalf as a surrogate big brother.

In the woods, the girls are approached by a boy of no more than 9 or 10. He looks dazed and frightened. There
are smudges of dirt on his face and leaves in his hair. His tunic is muddied and torn. He asks the girls for help
and says he is lost. He needs to find his way back home before his mother gets worried. Saying this, he starts to
weep. The boy cannot remember his name or where he lives, but he is clearly Haraborn.

It is possible they recognize him as Andrin Gurhasson (or do so with a Moderate Simple Contest).

Presumably they lead the boy back to the Vale. They will emerge from the forest not far from where Ashart and
Kalf are with the sheep. However, just as they reach the edge of the forest, the boy vanishes. Not before there
very eyes but in a moment when both have looked away. There is no sign of him. Seeing the girls, Kalf and
Ashart join them in this mystery.

Finding Answers

There are several investigatory options available to the players.

First, Leika might go to her father (who is, after all, a spirit-talker). Faran Born-Old (so named because he was
born with white hair; his skin and eyes have normal coloration unlike his albino daughter) is concerned, and not
only about Andrin. He is concerned that Leika—who has already awakened to womanhood but has not yet taken
adulthood initiation because she intends to take the male “Star Heart” initiation and thus refused the Ernaldan—
attracted the spirit because her magic is awakening but is as of yet untamed. He gives her a charm, a small
amulet to be worn about the neck. It is made of cow bone and graven with an antlered man sitting cross-legged
on the ground. Spirits gather around him but are held back. The effect of this Charm is Resist Magic1w. He
means it to dampen her own uncontrolled magical powers. So long as she wears it, Andrin WILL NOT appear
to her (so she very well might decide to disobey him and take it off). On the other hand, if she IS wearing it
when Drugalla strikes, she can resist Drugalla’s magic with it (see below).

Second, Andrin was the nephew of Harvarr Red Smith and Beralor’s cousin. He was living and working in the
Village and helping at the forge when he disappeared. Since they know Beralor, it makes sense to begin there
(this also brings Beralor into the game). All Harvarr and his husband Affarr know is that Andrin went home to
Cliff Stead on Wildday evening, to spend Godday and Freezeday with his family. He never arrived there.

In either case, once the youths have gone to the adults the incident will get them brought back to the Hall. The
disappearance of one child is bad enough, but two has the community worried and Gordangar has made
investigating a priority. Even worse, the Feast of Sartar is in two days and the Ring is hoping a feast will raise
spirits a little…tales of ghosts complicate that. It may also raise a few eyebrows around the Ring that the same
youths who themselves went missing last season (see Sons of Orlanth) are now in the thick of things again.

Savan the Seer has already performed divinations as a Priest of Orlanth. So has Morganeth. They know that
Andrin and Keogor “no longer take breath from the Lord of the Airs” but also that “Mother Earth has not
received their bones.” But since the player characters have seen Andrin, and they know a ghost is
afoot, Jorgunath Bladesong now gets involved. He is no Priest, but as a Sword of Humakt laying ghosts to rest
is his territory. The player characters are expected to lay off the investigating and leave it to the adults…but
since Andrin reached out once to Leika it is possible he might again. She is to report any further visitations
immediately.

The characters are now expected to go about their business and stop poking around. Let the adults take care of
it. Whether or not they obey is up to them.

A Fateful Encounter

As they leave the Hall, the player characters run into Gordangar’s young wife, the raven-haired Jorna
Songvoice. She is in the company of Savan’s wife, the elderly Korra Longfinger, and Issaries Priest Borkar
Gundinnson’s wife Drugalla. Korra—a bitter old crone—scowls at them. “Trouble. You four track in trouble
the way men track mud in on the floor.” Jorna, more sweet natured, defends them. “Now Grandmother, be not
so harsh. This sighting may lay the poor boy’s lost spirit to rest.” Drugalla says nothing, but she commits their
faces to memory.

Drugalla Applecheeks

Borkar married Drugalla Norsdotr in Earth Season of last year. She is Hiording, originally from Apple Lane
(though they met in Clearwine).

Except she isn’t. Drugalla is an Ogre. She is far older than she looks and was moved from clan to clan over the
years to feed her unnatural appetites. She settles for awhile and children begin to disappear, then she moves on.

Like most ogres, Drugalla is a secret worshipper of Cacodemon, a foul remnant of the Devil. As his initiate, she
has access to his Runes of Death, Chaos, and Disorder. These include certain powers favored by the cult. First
is False Form, which allows her to appear completely human, and to avoid powers that detect the presence of
Chaos. The second, Raise Skeleton, is why Morganeth’s divinations have not been able to find where the boys’
bones rest…they don’t. She ripped the flesh from the boys, eating them alive, and then reanimated the gnawed
and bloodstained skeletons to serve her. Her final, terrible power is Sever Spirit, the power of Death to cut the
link between body and spirit. She will only use this at the climax of the story, and the devastating spell uses
the Climactic Scene Victory Level table. Followers of Cacodemon can also Raise Ghosts. Drugalla did NOT
raise Andrin, but shewill raise Keogor to deliver a message for her (see The Festival below).

Fearing Andrin’s unquiet spirit might communicate with Leika again and give her away, Drugalla will try to turn
the tables and hunt the player characters instead. Though she is supernaturally strong, she will avoid direct
confrontation. She has another plan…

Drugalla the Ogre

Age: 78 (looks 30ish)

Keywords: Cunning, Strong, Sharp Toothed

Runes: Disorder, Chaos, Death

Personality Sketch: Voracious, sadistic, and ruthless.

The Other Boy

Divinations have revealed that Keogor Tarnsson is also dead, though his spirit did not reach out to Leika as
Andrin’s did. Still, the player characters may wish to go speak with his family.

River Bend Stead is on the opposite side of the Village from Cliff Shield. The boy is one of two twin children of
Tarn Sharp-Eyed and his wife Kiora. He leaves behind his sister, Keoara. Approaching the grieving parents is
tricky; they are not going to want to answer the questions of green, untried youths. A better approach might be
to try to speak to Keoara.

The girl is 11 and still deeply in pain over the loss of her twin. It will require sympathy, kindness, and a Simple
Contest to get her to open up. She does not know much. Keogor woke early and said he was going into the
Village. That was the last she saw of him. If the group expands their questioning to cover anything that might
have happened in the days leading up to that, she mentions that she and her brother had been in the Village a few
days earlier, with their father, at the Trading Post. Her brother had been quite taken with a set of soldier
figurines imported from the south, and didn’t stop talking about them for days. This is of course Borkar
Gudinnson’s market, and it is where Drugalla saw and selected her prey.

The Trading Post

Located in the Village, just across the road from Harvarr’s Smithy where Beralor lives, is the Issaries Trading
Post of Borkar Gudinnson. While it is highly unlikely the player characters have any reason to suspect Drugalla
at this stage, always expect highly intuitive leaps of logic from them! In this case, Andrin was staying across the
street from the Trading Post at the Smithy when he disappeared, and Keogor had just visited there. This might
be enough to bring the player characters there.

Borkar travels far and wide across Colymar lands and often to Boldhome, trading on behalf of the Haraborn for
whatever goods they cannot produce themselves. He and Harvarr Red Smith are quite friendly; the Smith is
gifted, and his forgings often fetch a good price outside the Vale. This means that Beralor will know the Trader
well. He will also know Drugalla. His impression of her is softness…her voice is softspoken, she is warm and
slightly plump, and bakes the most wonderful sweets.

Even though Drugalla lives here, she does not kill here. She keeps a cave in the hills for that (see below). There
is nothing to discover here then. If Leika is not wearing her amulet, however, Andrin will appear briefly to her
here…just a flash of him standing at the edge of the yard, staring.

For an idea of what sorts of goods are at the Trading Post, consult pages 237 and 238 of HeroQuest Glorantha.

The Festival
Sartar’s High Holy Day, the “Founder’s Feast,” is a bit like the 4th of July. Falling as it does in High Summer, it
is celebrated in the evening when the air cools a bit. Tables are laid out in the Fyrd practice fields between the
Village and the Hall, piled with food and drink. Bonfires are lit, and there is signing, piping, drumming, and
dancing. Gordangar and Savan make patriotic speeches. As is often the case, unmarried women from
neighboring clans often attend seeking husbands (Esrala Kulvilsdotr will be here, picking up her subplot with
Kalf; during the feast, Kalf will come across a rather drunken Darestan Varankosson making unwanted
advances upon Esrala. What does Kalf do?).

Keep the scene festive and lighthearted. Give the player characters to interact with other clansman. Take the
time for character building roleplay. Then…

Whether or not she is wearing the amulet, Leika will be approached by another ghost…this time
Keogor. Something about him is very different. Andrin appears as a normal flesh and blood boy, but this is a
horrible specter. He is gaunt and pale, his eye sockets are empty except for a hellish black fire. If she is wearing
the amulet, he keeps his distance. Other wise he appears beside her and touches her arm…this leaves a bruised
handprint where he touched her. In either case he speaks into her mind; Come to the woods where you first saw
Andrin. Come tonight. Do not bring any of the men with you or Ashart son of Beroth will suffer of it. Then he
vanishes.

This specter is Drugalla’s doing, using her Cacodemon magic to raise Keogor’s ghost as her
messenger. Undiscovered and unburied the boy’s spirit is lost and wandering, not yet safely in the
Underworld…easy for her to conjure.

Sure enough, if the characters go in search of Ashart, the boy is nowhere to be seen. As the Festival winds
down, Beroth will realize his son is missing, and panic will grip the Vale anew.

The Cave

The climax can go any number of ways, depending on the player character’s choices.

If they go to Beroth, or Jorgunath Bladesong, or any of their parents, Ashart will die. Drugalla’s cavern will be
discovered and her skeletons dispatched, but Drugalla will have vanished, leaving Ashart’s corpse behind
(uneaten, his throat slit). Drugalla becomes a subplot to devil the characters sometime in the future.

Leika might go alone. Obviously this is a very bad idea. Drugalla sees Leika and her visions of Andrin as a
loose end that must be tied off. Going alone means facing the ogre and her skeleton servants unaided.

Leika goes to her friends for help. After all, Drugalla only said do not bring any of the men. From a storytelling
perspective this is probably the best choice. Don’t force it though, let the players do as they will.

The rest of this scene will assume choice #3.

At the edge of the woods, Keogor will appear again, visible to any character present. He beckons them, and they
assumes the form of a will-o-wisp, a pale, bluish ball of flame bobbing through the trees. If they follow, he
eventually leads them to a rock face. Hidden by a variation of her False Form magic, Drugalla has concealed
the mouth of a narrow cave here. It will be unveiled as they approach and the wisp bobs inside.

The entrance tunnel extends about seven meters before opening into a larger cavern, roughly 40 meters long by
20 to 30 meters wide. There is another, narrow passage behind the effigy (see below) that Drugalla will escape
through if the player characters send the adults instead of them.

The first thing they see, in the flickering light of a few oil lamps, is Ashart suspended upside down over a blood-
stained earthenware vessel. He is unharmed. Drugalla slits the throats of her prey and drains them first, drinking
the blood as she devours the meat.

The next thing they see is a hideous effigy of Cacodemon. In the dim light it might at first look alive. She has
taken the mummified and mostly hairless corpse of a bear and mounted it with a mountain-goat skull. Great
wings have been fashioned behind it from tree branches and the flayed skin of her victims. The escape passage
is in the wall behind this monstrous thing.

Finally, they can see before the effigy two heaps of bloody, gnawed bones. Each is mounted by a skull. These
are the remains of Andrin and Keogor.

The player characters cannot at this stage be sure what Drugalla actually is, but if they ask for rolls to get some
idea make it a Moderate Simple Contest against the Heortling Keyword.

Drugalla is not the type of villain given over to monologuing or chit chat. Seeing her prey arrive she makes a
gesture in the air and the two heaps of bones rise as animated skeletons. She and her servants will
attack. Obviously, this is best played as an Extended (Group) Contest.

Things to bear in mind;

If Leika is wearing the amulet, the skeletons will not actually touch her. The magic in it keeps them at bay like a
cross with a vampire. Likewise, Leika can resist any spell Drugalla uses against her at 1w. It is purely
defensive.

If Leika is not wearing the amulet, Andrin will appear and fight as a supporter. Assume his enraged spirit also
has 1w. He cannot attack Drugalla but he can fight the skeletons, attacking the magic animating them.

Drugalla will attempt to use her Sever Spirit against whomever she thinks is the biggest threat.

Conclusion

If they defeat Drugalla and save Ashart, the player characters will be hailed as heroes. Yes, it was foolhardy and
stupid to rush in and fight Chaos as mere children…but that is exactly what Orlanth would have done. They
should each receive a Benefits of Victory bonus which can be used in the future for interactions with clansmen or
perhaps in their adulthood initiation rite (seeRites of Passage).

Ashart will naturally credit Kalf with rescuing him (if Leika came alone he will be connived Kalf “sent”
her). Beroth will see the player characters in a new light. The grudge he bore them from Sons of Orlanth will be
replaced with gratitude and respect.

If they fail and live, Drugalla will flee, exposed. If they fail and die, Drugalla will feed very well.

THE PLAY REPORT...

The scenario played out largely as written. After the ghost of Andrin appears to Leika and Kalliva, they join the
boys and go immediately to speak with Leika's father, the spirit-talker. Leika takes the charm, but as expected
removes it from time to time throughout the story so that Andrin's ghost can communicate with her.

They then head to the smithy, both the find Beralor and also to find out more about Andrin. There was a lot of
character building in this episode, both in introducing and fleshing out Leika's father and her relationship with
him and in detailing Beralor's two fathers--Harvarr and Afarr--more.After these scenes they are brought to the
Ring. Naturally the Chieftain wants the youths to stay out of it, and the Chief Weaponthane, a Sword of
Humakt, take special interest in laying this boy's spirit to rest. He makes Leika promise that if she sees the boy
again, she will come straight to him.

Afarr, however, knows Beralor and his friends will not let this lie. He tells his foster son that he sees greatness
in him, and encourages him to do the right thing here...so long as he is careful. Again, it was a character
building moment.

Leika removes the amulet intentionally and Andrin reappears. He speaks, but cannot recall what happened to
him. The youths go to Jorgunath to report this second sighting. He also encourages them to keep at it--despite
the Chieftain's orders. To his mind the boy is reaching out to them, they cannot refuse the obligation this puts on
them. He reminds them that Orlanth was himself a disobedient child.

After speaking to Keora, they head to the Trading Post suspicious of either the merchant or his wife. Drugalla is
charming and ends up making cakes with the characters in preparation for the Feast of Sartar.

At the festival we revisit Kalf's subplot, the budding romance with Esrala that began in Sons of Orlanth. This
time Kalf comes to Esrala's rescue as she is being hit by a very determined Darestan. Kalliva jumps in to assist
and they end up getting Esrala away. Later she dances with Kalf and hints that she will be willing to wait for
him, that he can court her when he has passed through his adulthood rites. He gives her a ring.
As planned, Keogor's ghost appears to Leika at the festival and lures her to Drugalla's gave. Of course she
recruits her friends for help. Kalliva uses her uncle's sword, won in the last chapter, and Beralor takes the other
to his father's forge to "borrow" some weapons. Afarr confronts his foster son there and is deeply
concerned...still he lets the boy go.

The climactic battle at the cave was planned out as an Extended Contest, with Drugalla unleashing her Sever
Spirit. However on the first roll Beralor scored a critical to the GM's fumble...instantly scoring five points
against the ogre and finishing the battle in a flash. No one seemed to mind; Beralor sweeps in and thrusts his
spear right through the ogre's heart.

They then rush to Jorgunath Bladesong to lay the ghosts to rest at last. He has high praise for the children.

SIX SEASONS IN SARTAR 5: STARBROW

New to Six Seasons in Sartar? Go back and start here.

Chapter Four

STARBROW

THE HERO (Template)

Begin With: With his or her entourage, a great Hero arrives in the area and sends for the characters
(alternatively, the Hero and the player characters might cross paths by chance). This is not merely some noble or
authority; it is a figure on the scale of Sir Lancelot, Gandalf, Elric, or Argrath. It is someone the player
characters have all heard of—perhaps all their lives—that they look up to and respect.

The Situation: The Hero needs or wants assistance from the characters. If they are established adventurer types,
maybe the Hero needs their skills. On the other hand, if they are unknowns—as Bilbo was when Gandalf sought
him out—it could all be part of the Hero’s long range, inscrutable plans. Depending on the campaign the
motivation could be magic, destiny, the will of the gods, or the Hero’s own intuition. Regardless, the Hero needs
their cooperation. The rest falls under the standard “Quest” type scenario. The Hero is seeking some
MacGuffin—a device, artifact, relic, or even individual—and needs the player characters along.

Characters: The Hero, plus one or more of the Hero’s usual entourage. Most of the player characters’
interactions will actually be with the entourage characters…not the Hero himself or herself. They will be
interacting with the Argonauts, not Jason. The Hero should be kept aloof and distant, except for the initial and
final scenes.

My inspiration for the portrayal of Heroes here comes in part from the Girl Genius web comic. Without going
into two much detail, Girl Genius is a Victorian “Gaslight Fantasy” setting where “Sparks” walk amongst
normal men and women. “Sparks” possess the “spark of genius.” They are mad scientists like Victor
Frankenstein, Captain Nemo, or Dr. Moreau. Because they think and act on a plane so much higher than the rest
of us, their actions often seem “mad.” At the same time their genius gives them immense charisma; they attract
worshippers, followers, henchmen. But because their eye is on something the rest of us cannot even see, they
often seem oblivious to the lives of those around them. Other inspirations are the Doctor, of Doctor Who fame,
especially at his most manipulative and callous (looking at you, Sylvester McCoy), Gandalf in The Lord of the
Rings, and Jim Gordon’s “he’s too big” speech to Yindel in The Dark Knight Returns.

Short Term Goal: The Hero is looking for the MacGuffin.

Long Term Goal: The MacGuffin is essential to a life-long goal. It will help the Hero defeat his or her
Archnemesis, liberate the kingdom, save the world, etc.

Scenes: The player characters encounter the Hero, by chance or by summons. They are informed the Hero needs
them to join the Quest. “Informed” is the key word; the Hero clearly expects them to comply (Heroes are not
used to hearing the word “no.”). This should lead to complications. The player characters have other
obligations, duties, a life to lead, etc that they cannot just drop and leave behind. The tension is that this is the
chance of a lifetime. Roleplay this decision making as much as you feel you need (or skip over it if you want to
get on with the action), but make time a crucial factor. They need to set out immediately.

Once the band sets out, include a scene that makes it clear the Hero has no intentions of “hanging” with the
player characters. They deal with the entourage instead. If the player characters want to communicate with the
Hero, someone in the entourage takes the message and returns with the response. Establish a sort of “wall”
around the Hero, a sense that he or she is different from mere humanity, existing on some higher plane. The
entourage almost act as priests interceding between the Hero and humanity.

Along the way, you will need a scene to show how badass the Hero is. There is a danger in this—a roleplaying
game is about the characters, not the NPCs—so keep the camera focused on the characters and their response to
the Hero’s badassesness. If the characters are weak and inexperienced, this could be a “stand back, I will take
care of this” moment. If they are more capable, the scene can play out more like the Mines of Moria in The
Fellowship of the Ring. The characters have lots of enemies to fight, but when the Balrog appears, the Hero
takes care of it. Once this dramatic struggle is over, the Hero goes back to not noticing the player characters
exist.

Eventually the party gets where it is going, and it is time for the player characters to “do their thing.” This is
Bilbo sneaking into Smaug’s lair, or Medea putting the dragon to sleep for Jason. Make sure the scene is
tailored to the player characters’ backgrounds and strengths; there must be a plausible reason why
only they could do this.

On the return journey a final scene should make the player characters all question their Hero worship. The Hero
has the MacGuffin, but the entourage encounters another group that puts possession of it in danger. This could
be someone sided with the Enemy…however if it is it should be someone the Hero clearly outclasses. The
Hero’s utter defeat of them should almost seem like bullying it is so unfair. Or it could be a random group of
innocent bystanders that the Hero decides to silence to keep the MacGuffin a secret. It could even be someone
that puts the player characters in danger or makes returning to their normal lives complicated (this is the
choice Starbrow follows below). The important thing is that the player characters emerge from the experience
with a very different perception of the Hero, or Heroes in general.
Conclusion: The goal of this episode is to shake the way the player characters look at Heroes, but it can also
make a good turning point in the campaign. Going on this journey can have long-term repercussions (Bilbo
falling under the spell of the Ring, Frodo never recovery from his Weathertop wound, etc) that make it difficult
or even impossible for things to go back to the way they were before. This again drives home the danger of the
Hero, that even encountering them disrupts lives and changes things forever.

Chapter Four

STARBROW

This week’s Focus Character is Kalliva Kalessasdotr, whose Dragon Mark is the center of the
story. The Subplot Character is Beralor Harvarrson, who learns something of his origin and possibly his fate.

The Situation: Queen Kallyr of Kheldon, the Starbrow, has come under the cover of darkness to Black Stag
Vale.

Begin With: Clay Day, Stasis Week, Dark Season, 1619. Winter has fallen on the Vale. The pale Sun,
flickering and weak, sails rapidly across the sky, each day shorter than the one before. Even at noon he barely
lights the sky; a dark blue that fades to black on the horizons, the stars faintly seen. The nights are bitter and
black, with howling storms that claw at the door and tear at roofs. Snow piles high. Few venture in or out of the
Vale, and never after sunset. The mood inside the cottages and longhouses is somber as men brood over the war
and women console crying children. The Crimson Bat has crossed Sartar leaving madness and terror in its
wake. They say it is now headed for Whitewall, where surely its awesome power will break the siege and
Broyan will fall.
In the weeks since the events of Harvest, the player characters have not seen each other, forbidden from doing
so;

Start with Kalf. He has been having re-occurring nightmares. They are always the same. He is having one
now. He sees his father, alongside hundreds of other men, on a battlefield. As he watches, helpless, the Lunar
legions advance upon them, their magicians raining down red meteorites from the sky like bombs. In sickening
close-up, he sees his father impaled on a Lunar pike, turning to look at Kalf while blood bursts from his mouth in
a river. But this time the dream is different; this time a hand falls on his shoulder and he turns to face a tall
woman. He cannot see her—she is just a black silhouette against the night sky—but in the center of her forehead
burns a white hot star so bright it sears his eyes…

He awakes, screaming. His mother there. What does he do next? Clearly he is seeing his father’s death in
Starbrow’s Rebellion, but why?

…skip to Leika Faransdotr. She also comes awake in the night, the wind howling around her father’s
cottage. She is not sure what woke her. The fire in the center of the room has gone almost cold, red embers
under gray ash. Her father sleeps on his mat in the corner. But…she realizes with a start he is standing right
there beside her, staring down wordlessly at her. And yet…something is different about him, wrong. The
tattoos on his skin are moving, slithering almost like snakes. His eyes are empty and black. He is holding his
hands out to her, holding a broken deer antler.

She realizes it is her father’s Fetch…but it is trying to communicate something to her, instead of him. This has
never happened before. It cannot speak to her—her connection to her Rune is not strong enough—and will
vanish shortly after. What does she do?

…and finally skip to Kalliva Kalessasdotr. It is now the morning of Clay Day. She is wordlessly washing
breaking of the fast dishes in a wooden barrel in the presence of her mother, who barely has said a word to her in
weeks. There is some commotion and voices at the entrance to the longhouse. The chieftain has sent four of his
weaponthanes, lead by chief weaponthane Jorgunath Bladesong, to collect Kalliva. She is to come to the
Hallimmediately.

The Hall

Kalliva has been in the Hall of Gordangar before under tense circumstances, but never before like this. She feels
it the moment she comes through the door—a charge in the atmosphere, an electricity. Gordangar and his entire
Ring are assembled at the table at the end of the hall. Kalliva can see her friends gathered before them. Yet
there are strangers here too…and though they are standing before the Ring it is somehow clear to Kalliva they
command greater authority. The Ring almost looks like nervous children before them.

Kalliva is brought before them, and the leader of this other group, a tall woman in a hooded, fur-trimmed cloak,
turns to look at her. She takes a few steps towards Kalliva, staring down at her. “This one has the Moon in her
eyes,” she says to no one in particular. Then to Kalliva; “Show me the Mark. Show me your hand.”
After seeing the Mark (or after Kalliva refuses to show it), the woman lowers her hood, and the star burning in
the center of her brow throws pale light across the Hall. All of the characters will know her. It is Kallyr. The
Starbrow.

Play out their reactions however you like. The tone this story tries to set, however, is something similar to Jesus
and his disciples entering the room, or Arthur and his Round Table. At this stage in history, Kallyr is widely
believed to be the “Argrath” or “Liberator” of prophecy, the one who will deliver Sartar from the Lunars.

Soon their parents will be brought to the Hall, and Starbrow will address the assembly.

She first introduces her companions.

First she introduces her Healer, Ernaldesta of the Elkenvale Clan. A head shorter than Kallyr, she is a priestess of
Ernalda the Binder, and the “glue” that holds Kallyr’s Companions together. Kallyr is the soul of the
Companions, and Ernaldesta the heart. This story also portrays her as Kallyr’s lover and closest confidant
(Kallyr has vowed not to marry, and Ernaldesta is content merely to provide the Starbrow with the strength and
support she needs in her struggles. Ernaldesta serves as the primary intermediary between the characters and
Kallyr in this tale.

The next to be introduced is her Porter, Orngerin Holdfast of the Greenhaft Clan. Orngerin is a Storm Voice of
Orlanth and the voice Kallyr listens to most in matters of campaigning, strategy, and planning. It is clear from
the way he looks at her that Orngerin is in love with Kallyr, and he is fiercely protective of her. If Ernaldesta is
the “Mary Magdalene” of the Companions, Orngerin is the “Peter.”

Next comes her Scout, Orlaront Dragonfriend of the Jerending Clan. He is unlike any Orlanthi the player
characters have seen. Lean and wiry, taller even than Kallyr, he wears no beard and his head is completely
shaven…even the eyebrows. Over his traditional clan and initiation tattoos he has added an intricate overlay of
slithering patterns and draconic symbols…these almost seem to move of their own volition. Most disturbing are
his eyes, which are the color of pale jade. Orlaront’s weird appearance his offset by his jovial and mirthful
nature (one of his titles is the “Laughing Singer”).

Next is her Watchman, Insterid Fire Eyes of the Black Rock Clan. Another Vingan, she gets her name from her
smoldering amber eyes which almost flicker with inner light. She is remarkably keen-eyed, and is always the
first to spot danger.

Next comes her Fireman, Randella Offirsdotr of the Black Rock Clan, her Waterman Elmalandti Wildstorm of
the Blue Spruce Clan (a Stormwalker and powerful shaman), her Cook Olende Endalsson of the Squat Oak Clan,
and her Singer, and her Singer, Oranda Laugh-or-cry of the White Oak Clan. These are more background
characters in the story, and will have less to do with the player characters.

Finally she introduces her Caster, Minaryth Purple of Jonstown. A Lhankor Mhy sage, he wears a long gray
beard, carefully braided, and is dressed in robes of deepest indigo. These were a gift from the Uz, and he is
counted as a Trollfriend. He bears a staff of white oak, extremely straight, and carved with Runes. This is the
Lawstaff he won at Arrowmound, giving him perfect authority to settle disputes.
Once the niceties of introductions have passed, Kallyr gets straight to business.

“THE LUNARS have sent the Crimson Bat to Whitewall. In its passage across the mountains of our land,
hundreds of our brethren died to feed its hunger.” She pauses, her gray eyes holding the gazes of the Clan Ring
and the player characters in turn. “There is no rest for those given to the Bat. There is no release. They do not
return to the Earth. They do not go to the Halls of Orlanth. They remain eternally damned in the belly of that
beast.”

She pauses again, the stone blazing in her head almost harsher and brighter with her rising fury. “This filth, this
abomination, is not the first or the last of the injustices Shepelkirt’s slaves have done unto us. Their false
missionaries and falser gods spread the stain of Gbaji among our people; they have extinguished the great flame
that was the heart of Sartar and put a puppet on the throne. Their granaries and coffers overflow with the wealth
our clans produce, taken in taxes meant to punish and demean. They rape our land. They rape our clans. They
rape our women.” As she says this last bit she has turned to stare at Kalliva.

“I will not have this.”

She holds Kalliva’s gaze a moment before turning back to the Ring. “I will no longer allow this. I will end
it.” She steps closer to the seated Ring. “I was there when Boldhome fell. You were there, Gordangar son of
Kenstrel. Youwere there, Jorgunath Bladesong. You were there, Harvarr son of Horvik.” She stares at each in
turn, Beralor’s father last. “So you will hear my words and you will understand their truth. That foul day the
Bat came against the city, and none of us would be here to remember it if not for one thing. One thing.”

She pauses again. “That day a Dragon came. A Dragon came and drove the Bat before it.”

After another pause she continues. “Orlanth is dying. You can feel it in the wind. You can smell it in the
air. This is Shepelkirt’s design. Five years ago her troops desecrated the Hill of Orlanth Victorious, and for that
I bathed it in their blood. I tried to liberate our people then. I…” she pauses, and looks at Kalf a moment,
“…failed. I failed because we do not consort with demons. I failed because we are not the slaves of a witch
goddess. I failed because, in order to liberate our people and pull bloody Shepelkirt screaming from the sky, we
need greater power. We need another Dragon.”

“After many, many heroquests and many sacrifices, I have managed to find us one. It slumbers and cannot be
woken yet…because it is missing three pieces of its soul. These were stolen by the Empire of Wyrm Friends and
those who turned from the Old Ways. I will find these pieces and return them to the Dragon. I will wake it. I
will turn it against the Empire.”

“One of those pieces lies locked away in a temple high on the slopes of Kagradus, just outside of this your
Vale. I have found this place…but it remains locked to me. Fortunately, we already have the Key. It has
already been found.”

At this point the eyes of Kallyr and all her companions turn to the player characters and Kalliva.
Kallyr explains now that she will take Kalliva and the other youths back to the Temple they discovered. The
mark on Kalliva’s hand will open the sealed door there. She doesn’t speak in “I thinks” or in polite “if you help
mes,” but rather in commands. The mark will open the door. I will take the children.

AN OPTIONAL ROLEPLAYING TWIST: Since the player characters are still youths, they have little say in the
mater, but by now they know the characters of their parents well enough. Ask each player to take on the role of
one of their parents for this scene. What do they say? Do they try to refuse?

In the end, of course, Kallyr is not the type who takes “no” for an answer…not when all that stands between her
and driving the Lunars from Sartar is a group of children. Role-play the scene out. The optimal result is for the
parents to agree. Gordangar cannot order them (No one can make you do anything), but he will lean heavily on
the parents to allow this.

If they refuse (leave the decision up to the players), Kallyr will literally abduct the children that night and take
them anyway.

The Forge

This scene has nothing to do with the main plot, but instead on Beralor’s character development.

That evening, in the middle of their meal, Harvarr looks up at Beralor. The pair have barely spoken since the
events of The Harvest, but Kallyr’s appearance has affected him deeply. He is clearly troubled. If it has been
agreed that the children will go with Kallyr, he is worried putting Beralor’s life into her hands.

“The woman is dangerous,” he says abruptly, setting down his eating knife. “I have seen this up close. She will
stop at nothing to free this kingdom, and others have a habit of dying for the sake of her cause.”

At this the smith rises from the meal in a fury and storms out of the house. “Let him go,” Affar says to his
son. “He is worried for you. He is always worried for you.”

Roleplay this out, but in essence, Affar has decided that it is finally time for the truth. “Of late I think his fear
for you is killing him. And I think it is time you know why. You know, of course, that you are not the son of
my body, nor of his…but you are Harvarr’s blood. His dearest blood. Your mother was his sister.”

Affar uncharacteristically opens a bottle of Clearwine and pours himself and Beralor a cup. “She was a beauty,
your mother. But a fragile creature. A sensitive girl. Your father was always her protector. He shielded her
from the world. But after Boldhome fell, something in your father was broken. His father had been a smith, but
Harvarr broke with him to become a warrior. That terrible day in Boldhome changed this. He put away his
sword and his spear and camped out on the doorstep of the Dwarf Mine, petitioning the smiths there to learn him
in their craft.”
“While he was gone, it happened. His sister—your mother—was raped. It left her mind shattered, that poor
girl. She couldn’t speak of her attacker, only humming and singing to herself. Harvarr returned
immediately. He sacrificed every cattle he had for divinations to unmask her attacker. He vowed to kill the
man. But the answer was always the same…the gods could not see. Could not see. At first Harvarr didn’t know
how such a thing was possible.”

“But Gordangar had brought home with him a Bonded Trickster, Keladon Blue-Eye. And if anyone could
commit such a deed and hide it from the gods it would surely be a Eurmali. Harvarr always suspected, but could
never prove. It still eats away at him.”

“Your mother took her own life after you were born, and we took you. Harvarr swore to raise you firm and
straight as a blade, fearing a Trickster’s blood might flow in you. He loved you, but didn’t want you to become
anything like the man he suspects is your father. He wanted to smother that part of you. This is why your
disobedience has shaken him so. To my mind, all boys your age must be disobedient. Orlanth is said to have
been. But he sees only the Trickster’s taint.”

What does Beralor do with this information? Play out the scene and then move on.

The Slopes of Kagradus

Before dawn the next day, Kallyr, the Companions, and the player characters are marching for the slopes of
Kagradus. Much of the tone of this will depend on the circumstances; are the PCs willing participants or
dragged along by force?

Kallyr will not speak with the characters. She is as aloof and distant as a star in the night sky. She has given
orders that the youths are to be armed, however, and armored. For the first time in their young lives they are
fitted with leather hauberks and skirts, with bronze greaves and vambraces. They have shields and
spears. Kalliva will have her uncle’s sword.

The Companions will be the ones they interact most with. Roleplay this as you see fit. Ernaldesta sticks closest
to them, making certain they are warm enough, checking to see if they need food or rest. In essence, mothering
them. Other interesting opportunities are;

Orlaront will wish to converse with Kalliva about the Mark, the temple, and why she reached for the gold key in
the first place. As someone steeped in Draconic mysticism, she might have questions to ask him as well.

Elmalandti and Leika might converse. Like her father he is a follower of the Kolating Tradition, but far more
more powerful. She may be curious about his craft and his magic.

Orngerin might speak with Kalf. He knows Kalf’s father fought and died in Starbrow’s Rebellion and might
even have known him a bit. This is a chance to sound out and role-play Kalf’s feelings about Starbrow. Does he
hold her responsible? It will contrast with Orngerin who clearly worships her and believes everything she does
is for a greater good.
If other combinations arise naturally, play them…but it is crucial they do not speak to Starbrow.

They are basically retracing their steps from the first episode, The Sons of Orlanth. The ascent this time is
harder, however. A blizzard lashes wind and snow into their faces as they fight their way up the frozen slopes,
and the dim light of the weak Sun provides little visibility. Have each character make a Simple Contest against a
Moderate Difficulty to see the effects the exhausting climb and brutal conditions has on them. After this roll,
night will fall and they will make camp.

The Hollri

The attack comes in the blackest depths of the night. It begins with a bitter wind lashing at the tents and lean-
tos, and a wave of cold that extinguishes all fires and turns the night as black as pitch. Insterid cries out
immediately and blows her horn to rouse everyone. “Something comes from the woods!”

There is the sound of trees snapping like twigs as the wind howls louder and louder. What emerges from the
dark is a towering horror like an animated block of ice. Its massive limbs end in razor-like icicles for claws, and
its eyes burn with frozen fire. “Ice Demon! Hollri!” Insterid shouts. The Companions immediately move
against it while Ernaldaldesta guards the children.

Unfortunately they cannot all be protected. With the Hollri have come a pack of winter spirits, swirling pillars of
blowing snow and ice. Each character will have one to fight while Ernaldesta aids them and holds off several of
her own. The winter spirits fight with lashing blasts of ice and snow, burning cold, and frozen air that sears the
lungs. They can be injured with physical weapons, however, by attacks made against their icy, hazy
bodies. Each should present the player a High Difficulty. This is not the climax, but is dramatic enough for
Extended Contests.

Meanwhile, the Companions tackle the Hollri. As their own combats end the player characters turn to see the
demon raise its massive arms and then bring them down into the earth, shaking the ground below their feet. An
avalanche comes roaring down the mountain swallowing the Companions up. The last thing they see is Kallyr
alone against the demon, the white star in her forehead burning brighter than the sun. As the snows come down
on the player characters, Ernaldesta raises her arms aloft and cries out the the goddess, raising a wall of stone out
of the mountainside to shield them.

The Dragon Temple Revisited

Partially buried, but saved by Ernaldesta’s magic, the player characters are rapidly dug out by Kallyr
and her Companions. She looks first to Ernaldesta, fiercely, and there is something in the exchange of
looks Beralor recognizes (it reminds him of his fathers). “I knew you would keep them safe,” is all she
says. Then she is off again as her Companions pull the children out.

When dawn arrives she insists on finishing the ascent. If the player characters are injured, Ernaldesta
will heal them.
Before noon, they arrive at the same temple the players discovered in the spring.

In the face of a sheer cliff, the shadowed entrance of the temple burrows into the rock face, five men
high and three men wide. A columned portico juts out of the cliff over the door, carven with entwining
dragons and the Dragonewt Rune.

Inside the temple it is warmer than expected, chasing the bitter cold of the mountain air from their
bones. The walls of the entranceway are intricately carved with the same motif of intertwined dragons
(most resembling dragon imagery from China or Persia in our world). There are dragons under the
sea, dragons beneath the mountains, dragons amongst the clouds, and even dragons wending their
way between the stars.

The entrance passage is high but not deep, extending straight forward for about five meters before
opening into a vast, cathedral-like room. Four great pillars, each with a stone dragon coiling all the
way up around it, hold up the ceiling. There is a massive bronze sheathed door set in the wall opposite
the entrance, also dragon carved. In the four corners of the room, vents in the floor hiss steam…there
must be natural hot springs beneath this place.

In the very center of the room is an altar carved from a massive piece of milky green stone. At its
corners are bronze statues of robed men kneeling in meditation or prayer. They will remember this as
where Kalliva grasped the Dragonewt Rune.

Kallyr will direct them in the direction of the bronze door against the back wall. “The Mark on your
hand will open it, Kalliva.” These are the first words she has spoken to the children since setting out.

By laying the palm of her hand on the door, Kalliva feels a great tremor run through it. There is a
grinding some, and the temple shakes. With a hiss the door begins to rise, sliding upwards into the
ceiling. As the shaking stops, a curious silence falls over the temple, a stillness.

Beyond the door is a smooth wall of polished black glass or obsidian...except it is not. As they all
watch, the surface of this wall ripples and flows as if some kind of liquid. Whatever it is, it drinks in all
the light. They cannot see the light from the entrance in it, nor their own reflections.

Undaunted, Kallyr strides forward and raises her hand to push through it. The moment her palm
touches the surface, however, it flares and angry red, and there is a roar like that of a great beast. She
withdraws, staring.

“Starbrow,” Orlaront says. “This is Dragon Magic. Let me try?”

She nods and Orlaront approaches the door, hissing and speaking words of Wyrmish. But when he
touches the surface, the same thing occurs. He jerks his hand back, narrowing his eyes. After a few
tense moments of silence. He begins to laugh.
“I fail to see the humor in this,” Starbrow says.

“Those who built this temple, and stole the Dragon’s soul, were mystics of the Auld Wyrmish
Imperium.” Orlaront answers, still staring at the inky blackness. Those who walk the Draconic Path
seek the Void...the timeless perfection beyond creation, beyond the world, beyond existence.”

“I do not need a lesson in the ways of the Wyrm’s Friends.” She answers.

He nods. “Forgive me, Starbrow. I only meant to say, that in order to pass beyond the world, they
practiced detachment. They renounced everything binding them to Glorantha. You and I are too
tightly bound to this world...bound to our vows, our nation, our gods, our Runes. We cannot pass. To
go beyond this barrier you must have a clean slate. You must have a state of purity...of
innocence. Bound to neither god nor Rune.” He turns and looks at the player
characters. “It always had to be them.”

Kallyr immediately turns her gaze on them, taken aback. She is not pleased to have to leave so critical
a stage of her HeroQuest in the hands of children. She will ask them if they understand what they
must do.

“You will pass beyond this barrier into the inner sanctum. There is a vessel there. It contains the first
piece of the Brown Dragon’s Soul. You will be tested there. You will not fail. You will bring the Breath
of the Dragon to me.”

The Inner Sanctum

As Orlaront suggested, the barrier allows the children to pass. They slip through it as easily as diving
into the surface of a lake.

Inside is a great round chamber, a row of columns along the walls supporting a domed ceiling. These
columns have stone dragons coiled around them. The floor is a mosaic map of Glorantha, surrounded
by an encircling sea. If they could read, they would see it shows the empires and kingdoms of the
Second Age, not the Third. Overhead the dome is painted like the night sky. This they can read, they
have been reading the stars all their lives. They notice two oddities. First, there is no Red
Moon. Second, the constellation of the Dragon stands out brighter than all others, and at its nose is
Orlanth’s Ring. But this Ring shows eleven stars, rather than the actual eight.

In the center of the room, on a slender pedestal, stands a crystalline cylinder, the size of a medium
sized amphora. Its ends are capped with a gray metal that tantalizingly might be iron. Inside the
vessel swirls a weird green-blue light. The radiance from this illuminates the room.

Kalliva realizes it is whispering to her.

Where the end meets the beginning

Where Ouroboros swallows its tail

Neither light nor darkness

Law nor Chaos

Knower or the Known

Here the Path of Right Action winds

After Fire meets Water

After Life meets Death

After Male meets Female

Comes the Silence

The mirror of the Void

Here the Path of Right Action winds

In that breath before

The Word is spoken

In that moment before

The Choice is Chosen

Here is the mirror of Infinity

Here the Path of Right Action winds

The player characters will each then be assaulted with visions. These are tailored to each character
and suggest hints of things to come. The correct option for each is to do nothing. At
least one character mustchose this option in order to win the Breath of the Dragon.

If they succeed, they bring the vessel to Kallyr and will become legends among the rebels of
Sartar. Consider it a Major Victory, and as their legend spreads they will receive a +6 bonus to
dealings with the rebels or Kallyr Starbrow.

If they fail, Kallyr’s fury will be cold and bitter as ice. She will continue on and eventually find another
way, but will not look favorably upon the characters if and when they cross paths again.

Either way move on to the final scene.

The tests are;

Kalliva: She sees before her two massive oval gateways or portals. They are mirrored and glassy, but
smolder with inner light. As she watches the portals, in the one to the right, a man begins to
appear. He is a Lunar officer, tall and fair. He seems somehow familiar to her. As she watches, she
sees her aunt, the Vingan rebel Korolmara enter the scene and embrace him passionately. They
kiss. Meanwhile, in the one to the left, another image plays. Here she seems Korolmara turning over
an infant to his sister, Kallessa. A voices hisses in her ears. Chose! Both portals now begin to close,
and she realizes they were never portals...they are the eyes of a massive dragon, and she stands before
them on the bridge of the monster’s nose. Before they close, does she chose left or right, or does she do
nothing and let them close?

Leika: Has the same experience. But in the right eye of the Dragon she sees herself soaring aloft in the
skies, born by wind spirits. She is raining lightning down on a Lunar army below here. Other
Orlanthi, riding the storm, are with her. In the left eye she sees a black wolf with golden eyes, running
at the head of a pack. Beside it runs a white wolf with blood red eyes. Lunar soldiers flee in terror
before the pack. Chose!

Kalf: In the right eye Kalf sees himself with Estrala. She is healed. They are are a fam together, and a
boy comes running towards them. Somehow Kalf knows this is his son. The sun is shining. The fields
are ripe. They look happy. In the left, he sees a barren desert. A caravan is crossing it. Strange men
lead a line of collared slaves through the dust. One of them stumbles and falls. It is Ashart. Chose!

Beralor: In the right he sees it...terrible, filling the sky. Its matted fur crawls with ticks the size of
sheep, its wings beat the air and cause the earth below to tremble. The Crimson Bat keens its hellsong,
throwing weird crimson radiance across the night. Then he sees inside the beast...in its belly Those it
has devoured suffer the torments of the damned. There he sees Harvarr, half digested but never dead,
screaming in endless agony. In the left, he sees bodies torn and bleeding in the desert dust. Foul
beings, hooved and furred, with the heads of beasts, paw over the goods of the Lunar merchant they
have murdered. They are the Broo. Nearby, other Broo lick and paw at two slaves they have taken
captive. One of them is Affar. Chose!

The Fury of the Starbrow

The journey down the mountain is uneventful. Use it to deal with the consequences of the previous
scene.

They return to the Vale, taking the children back to the Hall. Snow is falling, obscuring even Insterid’s
vision. This is why she sees too late. Before she can even cry “ambush” the Lunar garrison rises
around them, grossly outnumbering them.

“Kallyr of Kheldon, called also the Starbrow.” A voice comes out of the snow. As the figure emerges
they see it is Yolanva Saedrius, the officer from the first episode. “We had know, of course, that these
mountains were a hotbed of terrorist activity, but imagine our surprise on learning the famous exiled
Queen was headed here. I scarcely believed it. Reports had you in Whitewall.”
The Lunars have arrows, a hundred at least, trained on them.

“I will be in Whitewall by week’s end, defending it against you.” Starbrow replies.

“That strikes me as optimistic.” Saedrius answers. “I cannot imagine you would put the innocent
people of this valley at risk, Kallyr of Kheldon. Not so soon after misleading so many of your people to
their deaths. Surrender yourself and the artifact you carry, and there need be no bloodshed.”

“There shall ever be bloodshed,” Kallyr replies. “Until my people breathe free.”

She moves with superhuman speed, throwing off her cloak and drawing her blade. The jeweled star in
her forehead blazes. Arrows fly and the snow is stained red with blood.

Depending on the condition of the characters, and the needs of the group, you can make this a climatic
final battle or a simple contest. In the end Kallyr will win, moving like a whirlwind of destruction until
every single Lunar is slaughtered. How much the players want to participate in this victory, and prove
themselves in combat, it up to the group.

The Lunar legionaries should be a High Challenge for the player characters, as they are adults with
combat training and magics. Also if it Fire Day and the Red Moon is waxing towards Full. Normally
this would make the Difficulty impossible for the players, but assume the awe and terror inspired by
Kallyr and her Companions, and the magics they are using to defend against the Lunars, make things
easier for the group.

What is critical here is the aftermath.

250 Lunars lose their lives at the massacre of Black Stag Vale. True...it was the doing of Kallyr and her
“terrorist” band, but it will not go unnoticed by the Lunars that the Haraborn again seem to be
harboring criminals, and aiding the rebellion. Now a dangerous weapon of some kind has fallen into
rebel hands with the aid of children from this village.

An example might need to be made.

AFTER PLAY REPORT

Starbrow marks a shift in the Six Seasons in Sartar campaign. This is the last time we will see the
player characters as "children;" in the next chapter, Rites of Passage, the characters will undergo
initiation into adulthood. Because of this, the theme here was "loss of innocence," and it played out in
several ways.

With Kalf we explored the feelings of loss and anger he and his mother both feel over his father's death
in Starbrow's rebellion. When Starbrow comes to take the children with her, and the players took on
the role of their own character's parents, Kalf's player David had his mother say to Starbrow "you've
already taken my husband and now you are taking my son." He also played Kalf with a great deal of
antipathy towards Kallyr, the resentment that a son would naturally feel for the leader who got his
father killed.

With Kalliva there has always been tension between her and her "mother," Kallessa. In Starbrow, this
exploded. Kalliva has now discovered that her father was a Lunar officer...and that her "aunt,"
Korolmara, is actually her mother. This secret revealed gave Kallessa the excuse to wash her hands of
her adoptive daughter, who unfortunately is the focus and recipient of Kallessa's anger towards
Korolmara. At the end of the episode, after a final confrontation with Kallessa, Kalliva goes to stay
with Beralor and his family. For now, at least, the rift between her and Kallessa is too great.

Beralor enters Starbrow with a rift between Harvarr and himself, but the episode sees this
healed. Finding out that Keladon Blue-Eye is possibly his true father makes the Eurmali's interference
in his life more clear, and leaves Beralor wondered if he has "trickster blood." He wonders if this
somehow taints him.

Leika's arc meanwhile is a very different one; she doesn't have to deal with her past in Starbrow as
much as start thinking about her future. Her relationship with her father has been one that is more
"master" and "apprentice," and now she is finally coming into her power and trying to decide which
direction to take it in.

Starbrow returns the characters to the Dragon Temple from chapter one, and is the first major
milestone in the "dragon mark subplot." Kalliva is the one the dragons are speaking to, the "key"
Starbrow needs to open the door. Entering the inner sanctum, the four are all tested and three of
them--Beralor, Leika, and Kalf--all chose to "do nothing." Kalliva chose the vision of Korolmara
handing the child over to Kalessa (rather than the Lunar officer) and the repercussions of this choice
will play out later.

They succeeded in bringing the vessel out to Starbrow, and this weaves the characters into the greater
Hero Wars narrative. In six years Starbrow will waken the Brown Dragon and deal a devastating blow
to the Lunar Empire. The player characters are now part of that chain of events. Their reputation
among the rebels will now begin to spread, for better or for worse.

The massacre at the end of the tale casts the dice. The player characters did end up participating, and
so have now officially blooded themselves by killing Lunars. This in the end is the ultimate loss of
innocence. We have seen them fight wolves, an ogre, and winter spirits, but this is the first time they
have murdered men. They are not children any longer--they are warriors.

SIX SEASONS IN SARTAR SIX: RITES OF PASSAGE

Chapter Five

RITES OF PASSAGE

You’ll soon see what I’m made of, father, and I don’t think you’ll find me lacking...

Telemachus, in “The Odyssey”

Notes for this Edition

THE ORIGINAL version of Rites of Passage was written for “Classic RuneQuest” (RQ2) circa 1990. I
was nineteen at the time, and had been playing RQ for about seven years. There in university was
when I graduated from playing the game to actually running it, and I had the idea for kicking off my
first campaign with the characters being initiated into adulthood. I liked the idea. It started the
characters as roughly the same age as their players, and we were being initiated into our world as they
were into theirs.

A rewrite came along a decade later. King of Sartar had appeared in the interim, changing much of
what we thought we knew about the Orlanthi, and a new Gloranthan RPG, Hero Wars, was upon
us. As a result, the second version of Rites of Passage was a VERY different animal. The first version
had basically entailed the adolescent characters being painted blue with woad, drinking a mildly
hallucinogenic mead, and going out on a raid to bring something back of value to the clan. The second
version was more of a heroquest, a mythological exploration of Orlanth’s adventures and the
Lightbringer’s Quest. Two more revisions would appear over the next eighteen years, but these both
followed the path of the second version, the vision sharpening as Orlanthi mythos itself became more
clear to us all. The most recent version prior to this current one, appears in fullhere.

This version of Rites of Passage differs from all others in that for the first time it is not the
introductory episode, but rather the fifth chapter of Six Seasons in Sartar. As part of an ongoing story,
it is filled with references to the characters—both player and NPC—and events of that campaign. These
will have to be weeded out for adaptations to other campaigns.

Before running this current version, Gamemasters may find it useful to read both “Orlanthi Initiation
Rites” and “The Initiation of Orlanth” from Stafford’s The Book of Heortling Mythology (pp. 34-
35). This incarnation of Rites of Passage leans heavily on both. Aside from these, The Guide to
Glorantha (my bible for all things Gloranthan) volume 1 pp. 31 - 37 has a superb overview of Orlanthi
culture, and pp. 113 to 124 sets the mythological context nicely. Page 651 of volume 2 describes the
constellation Orlanth’s Ring, also important to this episode.

Andrew Logan Montgomery

Tokyo, 2019

Note to the Previous Edition

LITTLE IS KNOWN of Heortling ritual practices outside of the very broadest outlines. There are, of
course, several reasons for this. Aside from the immense antiquity of these ceremonies, and the fact
that they were in the main orally transmitted rather than written down, the cataclysmic violence of the
Hero Wars period brought an apocalyptic end to the era in which they were practiced. As a
consequence, most of what went on before the Wars was lost, and what little remains comes to us from
secondary sources, civilizations which rose from the ashes of Third Age Glorantha and wrote about
these matters from a great distance. Their authenticity must be taken with a grain of salt.

To the modern reader some of these ritual practices—meant to initiate adolescents into adulthood—
may seem brutal, even barbaric. We would do well to remind ourselves who the Orlanthi were and
what sort of world they lived in. This was a warrior culture, where every adult male was expected to be
able to kill with the same ease with which he might plow a field. Surrounded on all sides by hostile
tribes, inhuman forces, and the ever-present threat of Chaos, pacifism was not a luxury they could
afford…nor was innocence. If we bear this in mind, there is a certain nobility in these practices,
embedded with reminders that violence is not the only option, and imbued with a deep
spirituality. These rites helped breed a powerful race that would reshape the world.

Setting the Scene

Begin With: Sacred Time, before 1620.

In the Black Stag clanstead, the player characters are woken in the dead of night and pulled from their
beds. While the mothers look on, consoling younger children, masked men seize each character and
drag them out into the howling gale. Rain lashes their faces; lightning illuminates the scene in jagged
flashes. Monstrous figures stand assembled in the storm…Telmori wolfmen, dragonewts, goat-headed
broo…and the player characters are thrown in the mud at their feet. The monsters take them, bound
and blindfolded, and they are forced to stumble across the icy fields of the vale. They walk for hours,
tripping over tree roots and stones. Finally, the walking stops and the blindfolds are whipped off. The
characters stand in a spruce clearing, surrounded by four towering giants. In the flashes of lightning
they can barely make out the shaggy forms of these hulking monsters, but the night is filled with the
booming, earsplitting bellows they make...

The Situation: The player characters have been seized for the triennial initiation into manhood.

The word “manhood” here is a poor English translation of the actual Sartarite term, which means
rather “those who walk Orlanth’s path.” Orlanthi gender roles divide broadly into those who follow
Orlanth—plowing, fighting, raiding, doing heavy labor—and those who follow Ernalda—cooking,
healing, raising children, managing the household. Biological gender is irrelevant in these roles; more
important are the individual’s Runes. Those with the Air Rune tended to be called to Orlanth (as did
those rarer cases with the Fire/Sky Rune). Those with the Earth Rune tended to be called to
Ernalda. Darkness and Water were more obscure cases, and required divinations to assign the roles.

Rites of Passage describes Orlanthi initiation. This was done every few years and in groups. Ernaldan
initiation was a personal, individual process; girls usually underwent it immediately after their first
menstruation, while boys went through it annually during Sacred Time.

After passing through these rites the player characters will be full adults, magically awakened, with all
the privileges and responsibilities of grown Orlanthi. But this is not mere fraternity hazing; this is
Glorantha. The rite is a heroquest, sacred and time-honored. The danger is real and the ordeals are all
necessary. In order to rouse the Runes sleeping in their souls, their childhoods must be stripped
away. They must die as children and be reborn as adults.

Main NPCs: The Chieftain and his Ring—the male members at least—are present. That means
Chieftain and Wind Lord Gordangar Kenstrelsson, Chief Thane Jorgunath Bladesong, Wind Voice
Savan Kenstrelsson, Lawspeaker Jodi White Hart, and Skald Keladon Blue-Eye. Blue-Eye has a
critical role later in the episode. Many other men from across the tula are there as well; the boy’s
fathers, many of the thanes, and several of the prominent carls.

Short-Term Goals: As representatives of the Storm Tribe their goal is to rip away childhood from the
characters an awaken the adults sleeping inside them. The will draw on clan magic reserves to part the
veil and expose the characters to the Hero Plane.

Long-Term Goals: To preserve the continuity of the clan and welcome the characters as new members
into it.
Scene 1: Umath Makes Camp

ghos-ti-

Proto-Indo-European root meaning "stranger, guest, host," properly "someone with whom one has
reciprocal duties of hospitality," representing "a mutual exchange relationship highly important to
ancient Indo-European society" [Watkins]. But as strangers are potential enemies as well as guests,
the word has a forked path...

THE “MONSTERS” THAT DRAGGED the boys here start removing their masks and cloaks. They are
in fact weaponthanes of the clan, members of the clan ring, and prominent carls (landholders). The
boys watch them unmask, drenched and shaking in the rain.

Gordanger Kenstrelsson, the Black Stag chieftain, emerges from the darkness and walks towards the
center of the clearing, carrying a large runestone. He is painted with woad, looking mighty and
terrible. He places the stone in the center of the clearing. “I am Umath,” he says, “and I claim the
Middle Air.”

Thunder snarls across the sky.

He builds a fire near the stone and lights it by magic. The flames leap up in a shower of
sparks. Around him, ten men circle. The announce themselves as they form a ring around the stone
and the
fire. “Watcher.” “Porter.” “Scout.” “Fireman.” “Foodman.” “Waterman.” “Cook.” “Caster.” “Healer.
” “Singer.” Each lays a bedroll out around the fire.

Umath raises his hands skywards. “The Camp is made.”

Now many of the other men approach him, one by one. He addresses each. “Hail Stranger, who comes
this way? I am Umath, slayer of the Howling Void. Tell me your name. Are you friend or foe?”

Each in turn gives his name, and the name of his father, and declares their friendship. Umath then
says to each; “You are welcome here. I offer you the warmth of my fire and the protection of my
house. I offer you a blanket to sleep under, meat to fill your belly, and salt as a token of your
honor. This is a thing we offer only friends and kinsmen.”

And each responds; “I accept this with gratitude, and I will ever speak of your generosity.”
Umath then turns his gaze to the player characters. As the ritual has proceeded, the sky chieftain
seems to have grown physically larger…not painted with woad, but actually blue. Lightning flashes in
his eyes and ripples under his skin.

“Hail Strangers, who comes this way? I am Umath, Slayer of the Howling Void. Tell me your
names. Are you friends or foes?”

As each goes through the exchange with Umath, the world seems to grow even darker. The giants
guarding the clearing are larger and more terrifying. When all the characters have passed the greeting,
Umath presents them to the assembled company. “Friends, may I present to you the Sons of Umath.”

He introduces the boys as Urox, Vadrus, Humakt, and Orlanth. Kalf Lightfoot is named as Urox (his
Air and Beast Runes make him the best candidate); Leika the White is named as Vadrus; Kalliva
Kalessasdotr is named as Humakt (she has the Truth Rune); and Beralor Three-Fathers is named as
Orlanth (his Runes are identical to Orlanth’s). These assignments are for the purpose of the initiation
only…and are not meant to suggest the characters will join these cults.

There is another boy as well, and they get the impression it is Ashart. He seems in shadows, however,
and the air quivers around him. The more they try to identify him, the harder he is to see.

There is another terrific blast of lightning, so bright and deafening that the player characters are
dazed. Something seizes them…the giants?!? They are each hurled into a separate pit…

Scene 2: The Sons of Umath

Initiation means the journey inwards:

nothing is changed or can be changed;

but all is trulier understood with every step.

Aleister Crowley

THE CHARACTERS WILL NOW FACE separate trials, magic recreations of the tests faced by Orlanth
and his brothers when they became men. Each character is in his or her own separate pit, facing one
of the four “confrontations” below.

The walls and floor are slick with cold mud and slime. Roots jut from the walls. Heavy lids are placed
over the mouth of each pit, leaving the characters in total darkness. Above, they can dimly hear the
men chanting. This seems to last for hours. Alone, in each pit, each character will be tested. Ancient
magic ensures this.
For each of this, an Extended Contest is the best choice (despite this coming so early in the
episode). Each stage of the Initiation is a complete mini-Heroquest and the player characters can opt
to leave after each stage. For this reason, each stage—The Sons of Umath, The Star Heart, The Devil’s
Face, and The Void—should be played as climactic.

1. Confrontation with Ancestors

Myth: Vadrus and the Deep Well

LEIKA falls. Her plunge is broken by ice cold water. She has been tossed into a well.

Overhead she can see the lid close. There is the sound of rushing water as a deluge comes from above,
filling the well but pushing Leika under the water. There is a very real chance she will drown as the
struggles against the flood.

As she struggles to keep her head above water, she feels something brush her legs. Something grabs
her ankle. Something pulls her under. Despite the darkness, the creature below her is illuminated by
its own black radiance. It is an emaciated corpse, naked and female, flesh rotting off its bones. Its eyes
are missing and replaced by a deep indigo light. It is Leika’s dead mother, Anardera.

Below her, she can make out dozens of other corpses swimming upwards towards her. The tattoos all
seem to glow darkly on their skins. They are all members of her own clan…her own ancestors, come to
drag her down into the underworld with them. She can hear their voices in her head. Leika. Join
us. Stop fighting and sink. She realizes she can speak with them in her head.

This is a spirit combat. Failure means they drag Leika down into the depths. Success means she can
perhaps convince them to aid her, lifting her up to the lid of the well so that she can escape. Since her
Runes are not yet active, Leika may use her Spirit-talker ability for this.

2. Confrontation with the Devouring Monster

Myth: Urox and the Animal Corral

KALF lands facedown in the mud. As he gropes around his hand closes on the haft of a spear.

There is movement all around him. As his eyes adjust to the dark he sees he is in a large corral,
wooden fence enclosing a large pen. Around him is a herd of ghost deer. They are making frightened
noises, stamping in the mud.

There is a roar. The deer scatter in terror as a massive black boar charges through the pen goring them
on its tusks. It guts one and stops to feast on its entrails. Then it sees Kalf. The boar charges him.
He will need to fight. After the boar, a second animal attacks. A massive gray wolf leaps into the pen
and attacks. After the wolf, a brown bear enters the corral and attacks. These are three animals, but
run as one Extended Contest.

Assuming he wins, The panicked deer continue to buck and scream and pace nervously. There are
more roars in the distance coming closer and they cannot escape. Ideally, Kalf will help them by
smashing through the wooden fence. This will end the test.

3. Confrontation with Ancestral Enemies

Myth: Orlanth and the Strange Gods

BERALOR can hear something hissing in the darkness. This is punctuated by a strange trilling sound,
and a warbling like an exotic bird. There is a dry, slightly acidic smell in the pit, under the scent of the
mud. The character becomes aware of slightly luminous eyes watching him.

A sword is dropped into the pit, and lands blade first in the mud in front of him.

His eyes begin to adjust to the darkness and he can see the creature. It is a Warrior Stage
Dragonewt. It hisses at him, flaring the leathery ruff around its neck. It is not alone.

Another figure emerges from the shadows, a Dark Troll. It turns its beady eyes on Beralor and bellows.

A final figure appears. It is a Brown Elf warrior, tall and straight, with patches of bark on its skin and
leaves for hair.

This can turn into a four way fight, or Beralor can try and communicate with the three strangers and
get them to cooperate. This is, of course, the way to win the test. He can see now they are all in a pit,
but working together they might be able to climb out. Make this an Extended Test, either as a fight or
a conversation. Each round gets Beralor closer or farther from escape.

4. Confrontation with the Mirror Self

Myth: Humakt and the Fighting Pit

KALLIVA stands dazed in the center of a fighting ring, such as she has seen boxers use during her own
clan’s Game Days. It is a circle of bare earth marked by small stones.

Looking at herself…she realizes she is wearing armor and is armed. But the armor she wears and the
weapon she bears are those of a Lunar soldier. A curved sword hangs at her side and she is wrapped in
a crimson cloak.
Ahead of her, four figures enter the ring. She recognizes them; Leika, Kalf, and Beralor. But leading
them is a figure that leaves her surprised and confused. It is herself—her absolute twin—but dressed in
Heortling garb.

“You killed my father,” Kalf glares at her, gritting his teeth. He is armed with a spear. “You lied to us,”
Leika says. She is holding a bow. “My fathers are dead because of you,” Beralor says. He is armed
with a hammer. “You have to pay,” Kalliva tells her, armed with her own sword, Moonthresher.

The goal here is to persuade them not to fight (kinstrife would be a powerful argument here). This is
another Extended Contest in the form or an argument or debate. If it comes to blows and Kalliva
manages to win, the Contest still ends…but she is haunted by the image of murdering her own friends.

This should be the last fight. After it ends, the pit begins to fade around Kalliva and she is standing in
the clearing again with the other characters.

Scene 3: The Second Son

downwards I peered;

I took up the runes,

screaming I took them,

then I fell back from there

“Rúnatal,” The Hávamál

LIBERATED FROM THE PITS (with no clear memory of actually leaving them), the characters stand
dazed and blinking in the same clearing as before. Any weapons they had in the pits are gone. A storm
still rages, flashes of blue and purple in the heavens. The men have all vanished, but the giants remain,
watching over the clearing. If the characters go closer to investigate them, they will see the “giants” are
made of wood and wicker and woven branches. And yet, if the characters try to go around them to
escape the clearing, they creak to life and block the way.

The pits have been dug around the circumference of the clearing. They are empty now…all save
one. The lid of the pit is still closed, and the sounds coming from inside are disturbing. There is
movement down there, the sound of wet, smacking mud, and moaning sounds.

If the players do not make the connection, have the characters now suddenly recall the shadowy other
boy standing with them before…the one they thought was Ashart.
Rolling the lid back reveals horror. The walls of the pit are alive and writhing...dozens of naked bodies
are embedded in the wall, completely covered in the same slick black mud. The bodies are intwined,
touching, grouping, engaged in all manner of sex acts. But this pit has no bottom, and instead it is a
tunnel heading down deep into the earth. There is no sign of the mysterious boy.

It is possible that some of the characters are injured. In any case they are unarmed. But clearly the
only way forward is down the hideous tunnel. As they enter, one of the writhing figures in the wall
reaches out and clutches one of the characters just for a moment, hissing in his or her ear “This is the
sin that brought low the world.”

The stench of the tunnel is almost overpowering. It smells like rot and filth and untreated wounds. As
they continue down, there are no more bodies in the walls, and there is even the warm glimmer of
firelight ahead.

The Guide

The tunnel rounds a corner and widens somewhat. Here it is dry, and the awful smell is replaced by
the mouth-watering scent of fresh bread and roasted pork.

An old man is sitting near a campfire. He is clearly Heortling, but his garb is slightly strange. He
wears only gray, nearly the same shade as his long braided beard and hair. Nothing indicates his tribe
or clan. Despite his age, his build is powerful, and he has broad shoulders and strong hands. He has a
basket of bread and is turning a small wild boar on a spit over the fire.

“I am Hengall Vingkotsson,” he tells them, rising to his feet. “Who are you? Friend, or foe?”

With a Simple Contest they will recognize the name. Vingkot was the son of Orlanth and the founder
of their people. Before King Heort came during the Great Darkness, the people were called
Vingkotlings rather than Heortlings. This is literally Orlanth’s grandson.

Each should introduce themselves (as they did with Umath). Having done so he offers them the
hospitality of his fire, giving them food and drink. As they rest and eat and drink his fine mead, the
characters feel restored (and negative penalties from the tests are removed). At some point he will ask
them; “Do you know where you go and whom you seek?”

After they reply he will tell them; “When Umath yet lived and his sons were but boys, Umath’s own
giant brothers—Lodril, Magasta, Dehore, Genert, Kalt and some others—came upon the Sons of
Umath and seized them. The giants bore Umath a grudge, and wished to punish him by destroying his
children. They separated the brothers and put them each into a different pit. Vadrus they put in the
Deep Well, Urox into the Beast Pens, Humakt into the Fighting Pit, and Orlanth they in the Cell of
Strange Gods. The Other Brother, the one whose name we no longer mention, was put into the Sex
Pit. This was the sin that brought low the world.
Vadrus, Urox, Humakt, and Orlanth all overcame the challenges of their pits...but the Other Brother
succumbed. The brothers tried to save him. They formed the Brother’s Ring and chanted and
prayed. But what he saw in the Sex Pit, what he experienced, infected him, and he would forever after
inflict this same violence upon the world. He visited it first upon Thed, breaking her mind and siring
her monstrous get. Then the pair joined with dread Malia, and this Unholy Trio brought forth he of
whom Madness was his Father, Rape his Mother, and Pestilence his Midwife. The Devil came into the
world.”

He spits upon the ground before looking at the boys. “You are chasing Madness and entering into
Darkness. Ahead of you lies the Devil’s Face and ultimately the Void. I will lead you to the Threshold,
if courage fails you there, you may turn back and none shall judge against you. You will still be Men.”

They pack up the camp and Hengall leads them into a dark tunnel. As they plunge into shadow without
any torch they begin to notice that Hengall radiates faint light from his body, as if something luminous
was inside him, something that lights his way. He speaks as he leads them;

“There are things it is not good for children to know, and all lives must have a season of innocence. The
Giants tore innocence from the Other Brother and the result was an abomination...a creature with a
child’s hunger and adult appetites. This is why these rites exist, why there must be a line between what
is good for boys and what is good for men. But seasons change, and as Sea Season flows into Fire, the
time has come for you to cross the line and learn what is good for Men.”

The Rune Cavern

With this they step into a larger chamber of the cavern, and the characters realize there is faint light in
the room. The space is immense, with multiple stalagmites rising from the floor to support the ceiling
like pillars. Beyond this central space, the dark walls are embedded with luminescent stones that give
the impression of stars. Hengall moves towards the center of the stalagmite cluster, which form a
horseshoe-shaped circle of columns around the empty space.

“You have passed the test of the Pits,” he tells them. Now you are rewarded with the gifts given to all
men and women.” He then draws himself up, taller than even before…in fact he seems tall enough to
be a troll, or larger. “First there are the Laws; No one can make you do anything. Violence is always
an option. There is always another way. None of us can live alone.”

He seems even larger still, towering above them. “And then the gift that all men and women are
given.”

The cavern hums, the walls sing. Each stalagmite seems to vibrate at a different frequency, making
music like a choir. Now the characters can see carved into each stalagmite one of the Great
Runes. They realize in awe they are hearing the voices of the Runes themselves…and they feel
compelled to sing along. The entire cavern pulses with sound.

The player characters should all assign values to their Runes now, 1W, 17, and 13.
When the Runes are chosen, the characters now feel those same frequencies humming inside them,
their own personal song. It changes them. They feel stronger, fiercer, braver. They have thoughts and
feel yearnings they never had before.

“The Runes are the seeds from which all Glorantha has sprung. Gods possessed those seeds. And
giants. And Heroes. Now you possess those seeds too.” Hengall’s voice grows deeper and even more
powerful as he now towers so large his raised arms seem to support the dome of the cavern. He looks
down at the boys and there are flashes of blue under his skin and lightning in his eyes. Is he
Umath? Orlanth? He speaks with a voice like thunder.

“The seeds are now yours and is the way of men to sow. Sow your seeds in the soil to grow food for the
people. Sow your seeds in the flesh to grow new people for the Clan. Sow your seeds in the world to
change it. This power…this making…is the same possessed by the gods.”

The music fades, the vibration stops. The characters feel simultaneously exhausted and
exhilarated. New power runs through their muscles, their veins, their loins. They are adults now, with
the full magical and procreative powers that come with this.

Hengall—now no taller than any other man—steps out of the shadows. “In your blood and bone you
now have the Gifts all the full grown receive. This is enough; you may turn back now and return
home. Most men do. There is no shame in it. Go home and work the forge, go home and till the
soil. Go home and train in the fyrd to defend the land. What lies ahead is not for all. Chasing the
Devil is not for men but Heroes. Decide now, for soon we must part ways.”

The entire rest of the episode is OPTIONAL. It is entirely possible to leave the quest now and still
continue to play “Six Seasons in Sartar.” The stages ahead grow increasingly harder, more
dangerous, and potentially deadly. Overly ambitious initiates die in these rites of passage! That
having been said, neither RuneQuest nor HeroQuest is about playing “ordinary”
characters…completing the next two stages (The Star Heart and The Devil’s Face) will mark the
characters as potential Heroes. The final stage (The Void) is not meant to be completed now…it is
something the characters might come back to time and time again as the years progress. The GM
may wish to tell the players all this outright, or drop strong hints, depending on her style. If any of
these stages is skipped, skip ahead to the final scene, “The Feasting.”

Scene 4: The Star Heart

Be thou a new star

that to us portends,

Ends of much wonder,

and be thou those ends.

John Donne
“WHEN I WAS BORN,” Hengall tells them, “the Third Mother gave me a Star Heart. There is a further
secret but I cannot be the one to tell it to you.”

He is leading the characters up a winding tunnel now, away from the Rune Cavern. “I can tell you this
was in the time before Time, when the gods walked alongside men. Great and powerful are the gods,
wise and cunning. They set the patterns of the world and examples for mortals to follow. And yet they
bickered. They quarreled. They killed. The Elder Gods, the Giants, broke the mind of one of the
Younger, and he in turn brought the Devil into the world. He was not alone in this monstrous act;
even Orlanth played a role in bringing the Darkness to Glorantha.”

The sounds of screams, shouts, clashing swords echo faintly thought the tunnel as they walk. “But
Orlanth knew that it was right to accept responsibility for one’s misdeeds. He understood honor. So
he gathered the honorable gods—and some less so—to confront his nephew the Devil in Hell. Time
was born, gods and men were separated. The world was saved. Where did the King of the Gods find
such courage? Perhaps, if your spirit is strong enough, you will know.”

They reach the end of the tunnel. Terrifyingly, they can see the entire world of Glorantha spread out
far below them…the two great continents covered with cloud, the glittering oceans…Magasta’s great
maelstrom. They are standing at the edge of a hole in the Sky Dome itself. A narrow ribbon of
translucent light, light a rainbow of shifting colors, leads from this hole up and up towards the ceiling
of the dome, the Pole Star in the center of the sky.

Hengall stops, turning slowly to face the characters. “This is where I leave you. My place is here in the
shadowland, the place of initiation, the border between Boy and Man. What lies beyond is for you
alone. But first…I have gifts.”

He gestures behind them at sealed jars in an alcove there. There are spears and swords and shields
there as well. “Strip away all of your clothes. You must go ahead as naked on the day of your rebirth as
you did the day of your birth. The contents of those jars is all the protection you shall need.”

He turns to leave them, going back whence they came. Darkness closes in on them as his light
withdraws. “Remember what I said…ahead lies the Star Heart, the Devil’s Face, and the Void…do not
let foolhardiness be your undoing…go only as far as you dare…”

He is gone.

Inside the pots is blessed woad. It must be smeared over the entire body, and will act as armor until
washed off. When they have prepared themselves and are armed, the cavern flares with brilliant green
light. A burning green sphere floats past them, out of the portal, following the path of light towards
the Pole Star.

If the players do not make the connection, a Simple or perhaps Automatic Contest will illuminate what
is happening. It is a phenomenon they have been watching all their lives.
This portal, this hole in the Sky, is the Stormgate. On Windsday the eight stars of Orlanth’s ring
emerge from the Stormgate and for seven days march upwards towards the Pole Star. There the stars
enter the Underworld for seven more days until appearing at the Stormgate again. There are seven
orange stars, representing the Lightbringers, and the green star, the Head of the Dragon. The green
orb that burned past them is the Dragon Star, and they are meant to follow. They are the orange stars.

Behind them emerge three more figures, bringing their total number to seven. One is a veiled and
hooded woman, in black from head to toe. One is a smiling, naked man whom they have never seen
before, but somehow reminds them of every man they have ever seen. And the last…is Keladon Blue-
Eye.

Or is he Eurmal?

“Allow me to present Ginna Jar and Flesh Man,” Keladon tells them. “I assume I need no
introduction. Hurry! Time is wasting!” He leaps past them onto the thin path of light and starts to
follow the green star.

The scene if dizzying and terrifying. As they march the burning sun rises and falls seven times, sailing
across the sky. Stars burn around them, clouds and storms whirl below. After the first two passages of
the sun across the sky, the green star suddenly flares, belching out emerald flames that burn and
scorch the characters. Run this as an Extended Contest using the characters’ highest Rune
values. Failure results in the characters being burned and scorched and forced from the quest. If a
player “wins” the contest before the final secret is revealed, the fires of the stars simply have no effect
on them.

As the wave of fire washes over them, a voice speaks in their souls;There is a Mother that Births you, a
Mother that Delivers you, and a Mother that Blesses you…

The character(s) now choose to go on or turn back. If they go on, tell them they walk for what feels like
another few hours, but another day passes. As the sun sets, the green star flares again.

The voice speaks; As the Second is Midwife to the First, the Third was Midwife to the Mother of
Time…

The journey repeats, the Pole Star ever-so-slowly growing closer. Another blast of fire, and the
voice; She beheld the Secret that Devoured the Devil, and this she hid away in trust for you at the
moment of your birth…

The Pole Star grows closer still. Another day passes. Another blast. The voice says; The Devil cannot
corrupt it, the Predark cannot blacken it, it is the Secret the Storm Lord knew and that all his truest
sons keep…
Now the Pole Star burns directly ahead. They stand at the highest point of the world. As they entire
the fiery aura of the Pole Star, hovering there, breast high, are the most beautiful things the characters
have ever seen. The characters almost feel like falling to their knees, weeping at the beauty of it. They
are stars the size of a fist, burning brilliantly, each encased in a nimbus of the purest light. Each
character present knows by instinct which star is his. As they reach for their stars, the green star flares
again. Those who survive, intact, watch their breasts open and the star settle inside their chest
cavities. The light shines through him, the universe sings, and the voice whispers the Great Secret;

Only YOU can save the World.

Defeat means explosion from the quest. The character cannot complete the quest for the Star Heart at
this time…his or her soul is not yet ready.

Having attained the Star Heart, the character gains it as a new Ability, “Star Heart,” at 13. This is a
deep self assurance and conviction that the character is destined to be a Hero, that he or she has the
power to shape and remake the world. They understand it is the source of all Orlanthi magic, this
power of motion or willed “change.” They understand that it makes each of them a light in the
darkness, that no matter how black the night must shine. The Star Heart Ability can be used to
augment any rolls in fighting Chaos, or can be rolled against when courage is needed or to chase away
self-doubt. Similar uses can be devised. It is improved like any Ability.

If the character ever tries to communicate this mystery to another living soul, the words dry up in the
throat and fade from the mind. The secret cannot be shared, it bust be directly known.

Scene 5: The Devil’s Face

Human beings do not like being pushed about by gods.

They may seem to, on the surface, but somewhere on the inside,

underneath it all, they sense it, and resent it.

Neil Gaiman, Anansi Boys

GINNA JAR, FLESH MAN, and “Eurmal” now stand at the edge of the Pole Star, a burning hole in the
Sky. “The path ahead is not for everyone,” Keladon warns them. “You have accomplished much
already. Remember what Hengall told you! Ahead lies the Star Heart, the Devil’s Face, and the
Void. Do not let foolhardiness be your undoing…go only as far as you dare… Give them the chance
to abandon the quest here. If they accept, skip ahead to “The Feasting.”

If they enter the Pole Star…

…all the light suddenly fades, and a bitter, howling darkness falls upon them. The reek of decay hangs
in the frozen air, gagging. Howls and the clanging of swords echo around them. Screams rise and are
cut short. The weapons Hengall gave them radiate light in the darkness, but beyond this glow they can
see absolutely nothing. They have the sense of being in an immense cavern but there is little way of
knowing. There is a chance here, to return. They remember Hengall telling them this. If they decide to
press on, the way forward is to follow the screams.

The Road to Hell

The screams form a constant, undulating cry…scores of them, hundreds perhaps. Voices in agony,
horror, maybe madness. The sound pours in a constant stream from ahead. As the group heads in the
direction of the sounds, the light from their weapons begins to outline the shapes of massive pillars,
many of them fallen and shattered. If examined, they are carved with strange, unrecognizable shapes,
giant insects, and Trolls. Perhaps they are in the lightless halls of the Underworld?

Almost in answer…they begin catching glimpses of pale figures moving just beyond the edge of their
light. Just a flash of white at first, but then another…and another. If they investigate, turning aside for
a closer look, they start to see pin-points of green floating just beyond the edge of the light. These
lights bob up and down, always in matched pairs…. The characters realize it is the light of their own
weapons reflected in the eyes of the Dead. If they thrust the light closer they will see them...pale
zombies in various states of decay, eyes reflecting the light in an eerie green. They screech and flee
from the light.

Moving through the Underworld, their light is the only light in the unbroken darkness, and the Dead
are both drawn to it like moths to a flame and terrified of it. As they walk, more and more of the Dead
cluster in to follow alongside them.

The Dead will not attack unless attacked first, but don’t let the players know that. If the players are
foolish enough to launch an attack, the spell is broken and the Dead will start to swarm in. There are
scores at first, and hundreds later. The player characters cannot hope to win and will have to
flee. They are faster than the dead and their only hope is to outrun them.

These are the Dead of the Gods Age. They are those who fell in the Lesser Darkness and the Darkness
before Time. Thus, they did not have the relationships those born after Time developed with the gods
and therefore no afterlife other than this (how can their gods save them when the gods themselves are
in Hell?). The despair of the endless dark—and in many cases seeing the Devil and his armies—has
made them insane. Yet another reason to join a cult, and follow a god, is to avoid this fate...

Further ahead they come upon a pair of troll statues several meters high, showing six-breasted
females. The cold seems to intensify, and they can see their breath like steam. The woad seems to be
keeping them warm.

Beyond the troll statues the stench in the air grows worse, clawing at the inside of the nose and
throat. It takes strength not to retch. The characters start coming upon bodies...men and women,
trolls, animals...lying dead on the black stone floor. Their faces show agony and horror. All of them
have burst abdomens, entrails spilled out, and bloody trails crawling away from the bodies into the
darkness.

Some of the bodies are still twitching and steaming. Keladon/Eurmal whispers;

This is the sin that broke the world.

Images assault them, flashing unbidden in their minds. A child god in a pit. The writhing bodies in
the walls of the pit. The child screaming as they pull him into the walls with them...

The outlines of a massive Troll temple—or palace—emerge from the Darkness in front of them. The
Dead will not enter here. Massive pillars outline the entrance, and an impossibly wide flight of stairs
rising upwards. The steps are large, clearly not meant for human legs.

There is a growing sense of wrongness here. Oily black light shimmers over the steps and pillars. The
air feels sharp and prickly. It tastes acidic. Every instinct in the characters screams out against this;
they know, somehow instinctively, this is Chaos.

If the press on, at the top of the steps, the come to the source of the screams.

This is a great pillared hall, lit by the greenish yellow fires of burning bodies. There are prisoners
lashed to the pillars, naked, bellies swollen and distended. Men, women, children, other species...they
look pregnant and ready to burst. Some are screaming. Some have bitten their lips bloody. Some
foam at the mouths. If the characters watch long enough, they see one of the figures start screaming in
agony, only to have their belly rip open and burst. In a rush of blood and entrails, larval things slither
away in search of the shadows.

The Devil’s Father

This is the first time they see the Broo.

Armed Broo move amongst their captives, checking on them, making sure their bonds are tight. There
are too many of them, at least double the number of characters. Maybe more. It would be best not to
get noticed. There is also the question of where to go from here.

With a Simple Contest they can make out in the dark opposite them towering leaden doors, partially
ajar. They are able to spot the positions of the Broo guards as well. Getting to the doors is not as
difficult as it might seem...there are many pillars and the sickly yellow fires do not light much of the
dark.
If they make for the door, each character makes a Simple Contest check to elude the Broo and reach
the doors unnoticed. If a player character is spotted, the Broo will sound an alarm by blowing horns
and close in on him...

If a character is spotted, the Broo will attack. They will not kill the characters if they can help
it. Instead, they will take them alive and bring them before their master. Essentially this takes the
character where they want to go, but they will be disarmed and it is a far less comfortable way to get
there.

Assuming they reach the doors, or are brought there as captives, beyond them is a wide circular
chamber under a dome. There are statues of Mistress Race Troll queens in alcoves around the
circumference. A throne has been set up in the middle of the circle, and there are at least eight armed
Broo guards around it. Worse, crawling all around the throne are hundreds...maybe thousands...of
larval Broo infants.

Sitting upon the throne is a child, a boy of perhaps 12 years. At first they think it is Ashart…but then it
looks like a younger version of Darestan. He is beautiful to look upon, but his dark eyes burn with
madness. Goat-like horns spring from his curly black locks, and his legs are shaggy from the waist
down, ending in cloven hooves. Between his legs his is engorged, priapic. He notices the characters as
soon as they enter.

Beside his throne are two women. To his right stands a naked woman with a distended belly. Her
garments are torn, partially ripped from her body. To his left is a spindly, emaciated woman veiled
from head to toe. Flies and spirits buzz in the air around her.

“Ah! My brothers are come!” He claps his hands in delight and slaps the arms of his chair. Some of
the Broo around his throne immediately begin playing pipes and drums.

“Vadrus! Urox! Humakt! Oh and Orlanth too! Marvelous. I am so pleased.”

How you play all this depends on your group. If you have already associated the players with gods he
will address them as the gods you identified them with. Or you can leave it vague (he talks to his
brothers as if they were there amongst the players without looking at any one character specifically).

As Ragnaglar sits on his throne, the players also see him screaming in the Sex Pit, being pulled into the
walls and defiled. The two things seem to be happening at the same time. It is. Because the is before
Time, many things are simultaneously happening here;

Ragnaglar is still in the Sex Pit being driven mad

He has raped Thed and fathered the Broo

He has sired the Devil with Thed and Malia

Urox has killed the Devil and sent him to Hell

The characters should begin to have a sense of this...they are standing in Hell and the Broo have been
born...but at the same time have visions of themselves standing in a ring around the Sex Pit, singing
and chanting to liberate their brother. And yet all of these visions seem to lead to one unavoidable
point. All the myths and gods and people seem to converge on a single moment...the Devil in Hell...the
beginning of Time...

They are standing back at the Sex Pit, holding hands, chanting for their brother to be freed...

...they are in Hell, Ragnaglar is speaking. “Have you come to see Him? Have you come to see my
beautiful Child? I can take you before Him, my Son, my Vengeance. He is yours as much as mine, dear
brothers, my reply to the wicked gods who cast us into the pits. Those who tried to ruin us and destroy
us...behold how I have rewarded them...behold what I have done to them and their precious world...”

...they are standing in a ring around the pit...

Let the players know they have this chance. They can, right now, “jump out” of the myth by clinging to
the visions of themselves standing around the pit. Or they can chose to willingly go before the Devil.

Wakboth

If they chose to face the Devil, the characters find themselves firmly back in Hell. Ragnaglar is up and
off his throne, his eyes feverish with madness. “He is here, O my brothers, He is this way...”

He rushes down and grips them by the wrist (each perceives him gripping his or her own wrist no
matter how many are there). Immediately there is a black and howling wind that screeches in their
ears, the dizzying sensation of falling. The wind is bitter cold and biting but they feel hot and feverish
at the same time.

They plummet into a reeking bog. Each is completely alone, no sign of his or her companions. The
slime is thigh deep. It is black and thick as tar, but cold and stinking of rot and filth. Floating in the
tar are severed limbs, carcasses of all manner of beasts, faces, bones. They are standing thigh deep in
all the dead gods and beasts and mortals of the Greater Darkness, all rotting into the same muck...

The slime begins to rise, surging. Something massive is rising from the bog.

It explodes upwards, showering the character in filth. The thing in front of him towers higher and
higher...

Each character will perceive the Devil differently (at first), but each will see Him as a manifestation of
Chaos. The Devil might be...
...a gigantic Broo, it’s flesh covered with weeping sores and Chaos features...

...a massive Scorpion Man...

...a beautiful nude woman meters high (an ogre) with golden hair and alabaster skin...

...a towering column of iridescent slime (gorp)...

...a thing more mouth than anything else, with arachnid legs (krarshtkid)...

And so on. Keep track of what vision you show to each player, and if at all possible, later in the
campaign, make sure that Chaotic creature features prominently in the character’s life. The point here
is to emphasis the Devil as the embodiment of all the Chaos in the world, and to give the players a
prophetic vision of some Chaos that will “devil” them in the future. Then…

...then the visions starts to shift for all the characters. No matter what they saw before, the shape starts
to bloat and swell, ruddy and glowing, until before them they see the baleful Red Moon. It grows
larger and larger, crawling under their skin, clawing into their minds. They can feel the terrible weight
of it pressing down…

Seeing the face of the Devil is no small thing. The character must immediately roll a Simple Contest to
resist madness. This should be at least a Very High Difficulty, if not Nearly Impossible. On a failure,
the character is driven insane. They suffer the corresponding penalty on all social interactions until
the madness is cured.

If the he or she succeeds, the character has faced the Devil and lived. He or she is now immune to fear
or demoralize attempts caused by Chaotic features or powers (and ONLY Chaotic features or
powers). It doesn’t mean they could defeat the Crimson Bat, but they would be immune to the
madness and terror caused by its keening song.

Seeing the Devil’s Face is a prerequisite for the final stage of initiation, the encounter with the Void.

Scene 6: The Void

One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light,

but by making the darkness conscious…

Carl Jung, Psychology and Alchemy

Stepping out of the narration a moment, let us speak Gamemaster to Gamemaster.

Rites of Passage is written as a HeroQuest scenario. As a HeroQueststory, the encounter with the Void
ends with Illumination. This isn’t such a big deal in HeroQuest…characters can start with Illumination
as an ability (see HQG, p. 203). If you are running this in RQG, We don’t fully know yet how the game
will handle Illumination. And judging by how it was handled in RQ2, it seems likely to be a much
longer and more arduous process to attaining than in her sister game.

As with all the rest of this episode, this is all my interpretation of Orlanthi initiation rites, based on
what has been written on the subject. Naturally, Your Glorantha Will Vary. In the game, I am
presenting all this as how Black Stag initiation works, but I am of the opinion that allinitiation rituals
end in Illumination if the character goes deep enough (I’ve written two others, one for women and
Ernaldan characters calledThe Riddle and one for Lunars, that both end with the Void as well). In
other words, all the initiation rites in Glorantha lead to the same center (its the perennialist in me).

Given the dim view the Orlanthi take of Illumination, however, it explains the view that the Void
“dissolves the soul” of any who dare look upon it. Technically, an Illuminate isn’t really an Orlanthi
any more. So be cautious with players who wish to go “all the way” and gaze upon the Void. Again, we
must bear in mind that about 60% of the candidates of these rites turn back after gaining their Runes
(encountering the Second Son), and another 30% probably turn back after the Star Heart. Pushing on
to see the Devil, and further still to the Void, is not mandatory nor even suggested. Don’t feel the need
to run this episode to that conclusion!

All this being said, I suggest that HeroQuest players who go all the way to the Void enter play
illuminated. RuneQuest players and GMs might wish to be a bit more cautious (until we have
definitive rules on the subject). Until we get those rules, I recommend reading the cult of
Nysalor/Gbaji in the Cult Compendium (p. 319) and the details on Illumination. If the player and GM
are comfortable with an Illuminate, go ahead and have a character be illuminated after this scene. If
you wish it be a longer process, have the character partially illuminated. Roll a 3d10 and this is the
character’s Illumination percentage. He or she will have to seek out Nysalorian Riddles if the
character wishes to complete the Illumination.

Whatever you decide, remember…A KNOWN ILLUMINATE IS LIKELY A PARIAH IN ORLANTHI

VILLAGE SOCIETY. It is something the player character might wish to keep a closely guarded secret.

That said, let us begin.

THE RED MOON TURNS PALE until it is finally a bloodless white. There is the sound of thunder, a
tremendous flash of lighting that blinds. The moon shatters, and the fragments keep dissolving until
they are nothing but swirling dust. The Devil is gone.

But there is something ahead.

If the character walks forward the ground beneath his or her feet slowly becomes more solid, until it is
something like naked stone. The smell of rot and decay fades until there is no scent at all. The bitter
cold in the air warms until it feels neither hot nor cold. A sense of calm falls over the character, a sense
of equilibrium and peace.

Ahead, emerging from the darkness, there is a Crack in the World.

The character can see it…a massive fracture running from the horizon up several kilometers into the
sky. This feels like the very edge of the world, the dome that encloses Glorantha. That crack in the
blackness is blacker still, the deepest shade of black the character has ever seen. It is not merely the
absence of light but the non-existence of light.

The stillness is unearthly. All motion has ceased except for the character’s movements. Looking
around, he or she sees only this endless dark plane beneath a dark sky. Only the Crack, ahead, stands
out.

Moving forward the characters foot touches something. Looking down it is a mask. The visage it
depicts is horrible, fearsome. The Devil. But the Devil is just a mask. Moving forward, the character
begins to see other masks…the bearded visage of Lankhor Mhy, the beatific features of Chalana
Arroy. The character sees the leering features of Eurmal and even the proud, stern face of Orlanth. All
are just masks discarded on the ground. The character begins to wonder who wore the masks. The
character begins to wonder what is behind the masks…

The Crack looms, higher, impossibly high. It grows wider as the character nears it. The blackness
beyond it doesn’t seem fearful…itcalls to the character. As it gets closer, there are thousands upon
thousands of masks on the ground, all crumbling to dust. Only the Crack seems real.

Is this Chaos? Is this the Darkness? Is this where the Devil entered the World? But is is so peaceful…

This is the player’s last chance for the character to go back. After this, the character will be
Illuminated (or at least on the path to Illumination)…

The Crack now fills the character’s entire field of vision. Even though there is nothing but the blackest
blackness, the character has the sense of looking into forever, of falling into forever, of forever looking
into him…

The blackness is soon all encompassing. There is nothing any longer to look at, nothing to be
seen…and no one to do the looking.

Scene 7: The Feast

As for the primitive, I hark back to it because we are still very primitive. How many thousands of
years of culture, think you, have rubbed and polished at our raw edges? One probably; at the best, no
more than two. And that takes us back to screaming savagery, when, gross of body and deed, we
drank blood from the skulls of our enemies, and hailed as highest paradise the orgies and carnage of
Valhalla.

Jack London

THEY STAND AT THE BASE of an immense and craggy hill. It rises from a fertile plain of cultivated
fields. The characters can see acres of barley and oats, apple orchards, even a vineyard of white
grapes. Vast herds of cattle can be seen grazing on the hills in the distance. Overhead the sky is grey
and cloudy, strong gusts of wind blowing across the fields.

No matter what scene was their last, when a player character exits the quest he or she appears
here. More than that, even if other characters pushed ahead, everyone ends up here at the same
time, together.

At the base of the hill, the trail passes under a high wooden gate. A dragon skull is mounted at the top
of the gate and the posts are carved with Runes. There is a man waiting for them under the gate. He is
a warrior by his build, though unarmored. His hair and heavy, braided beard are golden red. He hails
the characters and steps towards them. “I am Jarstakos Heortsson, and I have been sent to welcome
you, my sons, the the Hall of Orlanth.”

Jarstakos is, of course, the founder of the Black Stag clan. He comes forward and embraces the
characters, one by one. He then leads them up the high hill.

Role play whatever conversation you like during the climb. As they reach the summit they climb up
though cloud until arriving at Orlanth’s Hall. It looks like the hall of their own chieftain, but far, far
larger and more grand. Here it seems to sit on an island in a sea of cloud tops. Overhead is the starry
night sky. Notably, there is no Red Moon.

As they reach the outer palisade wall and pass through the gates, a large crowd of men stands on either
side of the pathway. These are their ancestors...famed Black Stag heroes and warriors come to
welcome their new kin to manhood. They cheer and beat swords against their shields. Horns are
blown. Jarstakos leads them down the long path to the hall as the ancestors stand and cheer (if any
characters have lost a father, he is here to greet them). Finally they go within.

They will never clearly remember what they saw in the hall...it will come to them only in vivid
dreams. They will remember their wounds being tended and being healed. They will remember being
washed clean of the woad and led into a chamber where the tattooists went to work upon them, placing
the marks of the Colymar and the Black Stag on their skins. They will recall being clothed and led into
the feast hall, glimpsing the gods themselves sitting at the high table at the head of the hall. They will
recall sitting with their ancestors at a long table and feasting on the most succulent pork and beef,
eating the best bread, drinking the finest mead. They will recall the music, the cheering, the dancing...

...but all only dimly, like a half remembered dream.

They feast, and for the first time in their young lives they drink deeply. They drink so deeply their eyes
grow heavy and their vision blurs. Finally they pass out.

They will wake in the Black Stag clan hall in the village. They are hungover and sore (especially where
they have been tattooed). Already the memories of Orlanth’s great hall, and the faces of the gods, is
fading. If they received any injuries on the Other Side these wounds are healed, EXCEPT if one or
more was driven mad or killed (characters killed on the Other Side are dead).

For the rest of Sacred Time they remain guests of the chieftain, while the god-talkers and priests begin
to instruct them in politics, religion, sexuality, and their duties as men. If characters felt touched by a
god during the quest, they will be accepted as lay members now.

Childhood is behind them. At the turn of the new year, they will return to their homes as their own
masters.

THE AFTER PLAY REPORT

Moving Rites of Passage from the 1st scenario to the fifth actually made it stronger, in retrospect. The
first four episodes--as youths--allowed the characters to form attachments to the NPCs and the
community, making this transition more meaningful. If I ever end up running Six
Seasons again, Rites will remain towards the end rather than the beginning.

I think because they have had four episodes already, the players (all new to Glorantha prior to this
campaign) were much better prepared than they might have been if Rites had been introductory. They
caught on immediately to the importance of the ritual greetings in "Umath Makes Camp," and even
recognized the correspondence between the titles of people in his Ring ("Fireman," "Caster," "Healer,"
etc) and those of Kallyr Starbrow's Companions. In short they were thinking as Orlanthi. This came to
the fore in the first round of tests in the Pits. They made rolls against the Heortling Keywords to look
for a myth that paralleled their situation, and so I read them "The Initiation of Orlanth." Armed with
this, they could make guesses about how to face the challenges.

Ironically, Beralor thought he was in "Humakt in the Fighting Pit" rather than "Orlanth in the Pit of
Strange Gods," but despite this he acted exactly as Orlanth did to resolve the situation. This set up a
strong character arc for him in this episode; his Runes already match Orlanth, he thinks as Orlanth
thinks, and by the end he had decided to initiate to the cult of Orlanth.
I set the difficulty low for this first round of tests ("Low," or Base - 6). The Pits are the basic clan
initiation, after all. Most people pass them and need to in order to become adults. Things got
considerably harder the deeper into the rites they went.

Having beaten their trials, again like good Orlanthi they went into the Sex Pit after the Other
Brother without hesitation. They believed, I think, they were rescuing Ashart (despite the fact that at
13, he is still too young for these rites). But Ashart has become a favorite NPC among the players, a bit
of a little mascot, and it made sense that their characters would associate the Other Brother with him
at first.

The encounter with the Second Son and the awakening of their Runes went well. Then, for the first
time as actual adults, they faced the trial of the Star Heart.

This version of Rites of Passage is the first to tie the Star Heart quest directly to the constellation of
Orlanth's Ring. I went this way for several reasons. First, this version of Six Seasons is much more
connected to the bigger picture of Sartar Rising, and the Dragonrise and Orlanth's Ring is essential to
that. In the long run, bringing the Ring into focus early will make it more meaningful down the
road. Second, the characters have already become part of Starbrow's plans, and thus are themselves
connected to Orlanth's Ring and the Dragonrise. Third...well, embarrassingly in the 35+ years I have
been running in Glorantha, I have neglected the night sky!

It worked very well though, and because of the 7 orange stars in the Ring also tied into the
Lightbringer's Quest. This allowed me to bring Keladon Blue-Eye (the manipulative bonded Trickster
who might be Beralor's true father) back into the mix, appearing as Eurmal.

The Star Heart proved to be much harder (intentionally, I set the difficult at "High" or Base +6). This
made all the difference. All four managed to finish the trial successfully, but it was a near thing, and
until the very last stage of the quest remained uncertain. HeroQuestdoes dramatic pacing damn well.

Given the choice to turn back, the group decided to press on to "The Devil's Face." Their resources
were stretched a bit more thin here, but they went anyway. Leika started to show her shamanic stuff
by communicating with Darkness spirits for some guidance.

The revelation of the Other Brother--primal rapist Ragnaglar--as Darestan drew an "of course" from
Kalf's player, David. This was the effect I wanted. Again, having Rites of Passage appear later in the
campaign allowed me to bring in established allies and enemies in a sort of Wizard of Oz sort of
way. The initiation becomes part of a continuing story in this way.

Leika confronted the Devil as a Chaos-tainted werewolf; Beralor saw it as the ogress he killed; Kalf saw
it as a Scorpion Man (some foreshadowing here); and Kalliva saw it as her Lunar father (even more
foreshadowing). In the end all saw the mask fall away and the Devil assume the form of the Red
Moon...a perfect set-up for the next episode (the finale of Six Seasons).

The difficulty here was "Very High" (Base + 1 Mastery), but all managed to pass. They would indeed be
returning to the Vale as destined Heroes.

Only Kalliva was tempted by the Void...but the group decided against gazing into it just yet. They
returned instead to the Halls of Orlanth.

A surprise moment for me was when describing the assembled ancestors greeting them, David asked if
his character's father (who died in Starbrow's Rebellion) was there. He was. This allowed for a really
touching reunion, and further confused Kalf's feelings about Starbrow (his father was proud to follow
her and die fighting for Sartar's liberation, coloring somewhat the feeling that Kalf and his mother had
shared that Starbrow got his father killed).

By the end of Rites of Passage Beralor was certain he wanted to become and initiate of Orlanth, and
Kalliva--whose character arc has been a struggle between her aunt and her mother, one who wanted
her to be Ernaldan and one Vingan--decided to initiate to Vinga. Leika will probably continue looking
around for the right spirit tradition, and Kalf's path has yet to reveal itself (though I suspect soon
shall).

Chapter Six

THE TURNING

No hev oska lagt seg/The ashes have fallen

Verda er grå og grødelaus/The earth grey and barren

Spring spirar upp frå si grav/Sprouts spring from their grave

Spring dei sigrande upp/Victorious they spring

Til sin første dag/To their first day

Eg er ikkje stor/I may not be big

Men tida på jord/But my time on Earth

Vil eg nyttje og nå/I shall use and I shall reach

Opp til himmelen blå/Into the blue sky

Renn tårane strie/Tears fall freely

Tå glede og sorg/From joy and from sorrow

For alt som fekk plass/For all that took place

For alt som gav plass/For all that gave place

Wardruna; “Wunjo”
Begin With: (Fireday, Movement Week, Sea Season), 1620 ST. Spring has returned to Black Stag Vale,
and this time, the player characters greeted it as full adults. Most of the planting is now over, and the
clan starts looking towards the arrival of summer. It is the calm before the storm.

The Situation: Three full centuries of Lunar legionaries out of Bagnot (240 men), a Minor Class unit of
the Field School of Magic, and a unit of Sun Dome Templars are descending upon the Vale under the
command of Centurion Xerphon Hali. For tax avoidance, for arming and supporting local rebels, and
above all else for the massacre Starbrow unleashed last Dark Season, the Haraborn are to be made an
example of. The men are to be taken south to feed the Bat. The women and children are to be sold
into slavery and sent to the Grantlands in Prax. The clan wyter is to be killed.

A further complication is that the Lunar commander, Xerphon, is actually Kalliva’s father…

The Calm Before…

Scene 1: In the heat of the late spring afternoon Kalf is tending his sheep when a man in a yellow cloak
walks up the hill. His tattoos mark him as an Initiate of Issaries, and an Enjossi. “Safe journeys Kalf
Brogansson. I bring you greetings from the road,” he says in an amiable, traditionally Issaries
fashion. They have not met, but he looks familiar. The man is Dergandi Kulvilsson, Esrala’s older
brother. He was away on a trading mission last year when his sister was kidnapped, and never had the
chance to meet Kalf. He has come to the Vale on business, but having concluded that sought Kalf out
to convey his father’s greetings, news of Esrala’s continued recovery, her desire for Kalf to come and
see her, and his own personal thanks. As it is late in the day, he asks Kalf if he may shelter the evening
there with him. The cottage is Kalf’s now. After initiation, Kalf’s mother has turned it over to
him. “You are the man of the house now,” she told him. “Soon enough you will be wanting to start a
family of your own.” They still live together; she still cooks and looks after him, but the house and
what little they have is his.

Scene 2: Leika, meanwhile, has a secret. While gathering herbs for her father in the forest three weeks
ago, Three Bears—the Telmori youth she met last Earth Season—came to see her, always in the
company of his wolf brother Blackpaw. Since then they have met in secret several times. Let Leika’s
player describe the nature of the relationship (she has already added him as an Ally). Are they
friends? Lovers? The latter is dangerous; aside from the Romeo and Julietaspects (the Telmori and
the Haraborn are traditional enemies), Three Bears is technically a “non person,” with whom relations
of that sort are a crime. Play out a brief scene that establishes the relationship.

Scene 3: Beralor and Kalliva, in the meantime, are in the company of Harvarr at Grothrang’s
Well. Now that they are adults, Harvarr has confessed to them that, at the urging of Gordangar and
the Clan Ring, he has been supplying the Sons of Orlanth with arms. He wanted Beralor to help him
take weapons to them, and they would encamp a night with the rebels while Harvarr looked over their
armor and affected repairs. Kalliva has come along to confront the Vingan Korolmara, whom she
know knows to be her true mother. Starbrow has instructed some of the Sons to remain in Sartar,
while others are in Heortland facing the Lunar army. The idea is to continue to put pressure on the
Lunars stationed in Sartar and to harry the supply lines. She herself is in Heortland, and many believe
Whitewall.

Kalliva may wish to know the story of her birth. Korolmara, reluctantly, shares it. Against her families
wishes, Korolmara dyed her hair red, initiated to Vinga, and went to fight in Boldhome. They lost. She
was taken captive and because she was a woman in the Lunars’ eyes spared and sold into slavery. She
spent two years in the household of a Lunar officer. He had a son, Xerphon, who was kind to
her. Despite herself—to her shame—they became lovers. While Ernaldan women can generally control
conception, she lost those powers when she broke and pledged to Vinga. She became pregnant. She
did not want her child to be a Lunar, so she betrayed Xerphon—who trusted her and had removed her
slave collar—and escaped. She came back to the Vale and delivered Kalliva. Vingan, she was not
prepared or qualified to be a mother, so she surrendered her daughter to Kallessa. It was the hardest
thing she has ever done.

Scene 4: …the Storm

On the morning of Wildday, as Shepelkirt hangs bloated and red in the sky, the horn is sounded from
the palisade at the mouth of the Vale. It is carried up the Vale as others grab horns and sound the
alarm. Terror runs up the length of the valley. The fyrds are called to assemble. Every able-bodied
man is to take up arms.

The Lunars have come.

The legionaries storm through the gates, which are set magically ablaze. The men posted their
immediately slaughtered.
The order comes down from the Ring that all fyrds are to assemble at Red Rock as fast as
possible. One of the narrowest parts of the Vale, it is the best place to hold up a larger invading
force. All women and children, as well as the infirm and elderly, are to flee to the Hall.

Kalf and Dergandi hear the alarms just after breakfast. The Enjossi was planning to return home after
the meal. When a runner tells Kalf what is happening, and that he is called to take up arms in
his fyrd, Dergandi looks grimly at him. “I will fight alongside your people.” His mother, however,
collapses to her knees, pale as milk. “I lost him to this madness. Must I now risk you too?” She pleads
with Kalf to flee rather than fight, which of course he cannot do. Play it out.

Leika is assigned to a fyrd. Her father, however, heads immediately for the woods under orders from
the chieftain. “I am to summon help,” he tells her. He grips her by both shoulders. “If the battle goes
against us…promise me you will flee the field. You are too young for it to end here.”

Beralor, Kalliva, and Harvarr arrive an hour later. They find the Vale in a state of panic. Affar has
waited behind at the Forge and tells them where the fyrds have gathered and rush to get there on
time. Before leaving Affar tearfully kisses Beralor on the forehead and says goodbye to his husband.

“Come back to me,” Affar says.

“Always,” Harvarr replies.

Scene 5: The Battle of Red Rock Stead

The fyrds have assembled at Red Rock. There are about 140 men. Gordangar and his weapon thanes
ride down from the Hall, about 40 strong. Across the newly planted fields about 300 Lunars
wait. There are three centuria of 80 men each, all in leather and scale armor with spears and tall
rectangular shields. They wear standard issue, identical helmets. Beside them are the Sun Dome
Templars, a unit of 30 in leather and gold, and white. Behind these forces is a final unit, a terrifying
collection of men and women in scarlet wearing silver masks. These are the Lunar Field Magicians.

Gordangar sends a rider across the field to ask for parley. The size of the force makes it clear the
Lunars mean business but he is still hoping he can negotiate something. Xerphon Hali has no interest
in this, however. His orders are to enslave all the women and children, kill thewyter, and take the men
south to feed the Crimson Bat. He knows the Haraborn will never surrender under these
conditions. So as the rider is halfway across the field, he has his archers shoot the man down.

It is a clear signal to the Haraborn that the Lunars have come with the sole purpose to kill.

Running the Battle

The player characters are ordinary participants (HQG, p. 108) in this battle. It will be fought as a
Group Extended Contest.

The Difficulty is Very High (15W). Because the Lunars outnumber the Haraborn two to one, each
player character will therefore have two opponents. The second opponent triggers a -3 penalty. So the
match-ups will look like this;

Player Character Lunar Opponent (15W)

Lunar Opponent (15W) - 3

This is a very serious battle. Thus it is recommended to use the Climactic Consequence table at the
end to determine the player character’s fate.

Critical here is bringing the battle to life.

There is a long terrible lead-up to the actual battle. The Lunars start blowing their trumpets, the
Haraborn pipers play the bagpipes behind the fyrds. The sky begins to darken as the Haraborn
prepare their magics. Lightning flashes and thunder growls. The Red Moon refuses to be obscured by
cloud. Now full, her bloated face spills a tinge of reddish radiance over the battlefield.

The Lunars start marching forward broken into groups of men employing the tortoise formation. The
Haraborn rain arrows and lightning down on them as they approach, but their formations are
enhanced by protective spells from the Field Magicians.

In addition, in the center of the battlefield, the crimson light of the Red Moon concentrates and
coalesces as a massive lune is summoned. Beside it, the shadows gather and converge until a
large dehori has joined it.

The winds begin to blow.

The Haraborn beat their shields crying out taunts and challenges. Thunder growls. In a flash of
lightning, the clan wyter, the Black Stag itself, rises behind Gordangar and his Ring.

Then from the forests, the sound of beating hooves. The Royal appears, with Leika’s father on its
back. A herd of Ghost Deer stags charge behind them. Some of the Haraborn start sprouting antlers,
unleashing great bellows. Lightning crackles on their spearheads and swords.

Gordangar cries out Orlanth Victorious!!! The fords charge forward against the Lunar
formations. After several bloody exchanges, the formations break and the battle truly begins…
PC Deaths

The fate of the Haraborn is certain. The fate of the player characters and critical NPCs is not.

Given these odds it is extremely likely the player characters finish the battle Hurt, Impaired, or
Injured. It is even possible they might not survive. It only takes 8 or 9 combined Result Points against
a character to kill them. A GM is well within her rights to let the dice fall as they may on this one. “The
Turning,” like Martin’s “Red Wedding” in A Storm of Swords or the massacre at the Two Pines Chapel
in Kill Bill, is meant to be bitter. People have to die. If, however, the GM wants to ensure character
survival, she can use option two from the list below.

NPC Deaths

Several NPCs are required to die. Gordangar, Savan, Jorgunath, Erina, and Ashart’s father Beroth all
perish in the Battle of Red Rock. So too do a hundred other Haraborn men.

Four other key NPCs are eligible for death. The possibilities are;

Dergandi: As Kalf fights, he nearly trips over a body in the body. It is Esrala’s brother, Dergandi, eyes
wide and staring lifelessly at the sky.

Leika: As she fights for her life she spies her father far across the battlefield trying to engage the Lunar
Magicians. Faran is caught between the dehori and the lune. Watching in horror, she sees his spiritual
defenses collapse under the double onslaught. Both spirits fall upon him and his screams of madness
and terror are sickening. He falls to his knees, clawing at his own face, screaming and screaming…

Kalliva: Kalliva has no one to lose in this battle, but it is possible for her to lose her birth mother
Korolmara in Scene 8 below.

Beralor: Through the corner of his eye Beralor sees Harvarr swinging his great war hammer at two
Lunars in front of him…until suddenly a third springs up from behind and drives his spear through his
side. Almost immediately the hammer drops, and the Lunar in front of him drives his spear into
Harvarr’s chest. What does Harvarr do? Regardless, afterwards Harvarr is lying in the mud, blood
pouring from his nose and mouth. There is nothing Beralor can do; the man is dying. Gasping, he
grips Beralor’s face with bloody hands. “Don’t let them hurt…don’t let them hurt your father.” He dies
in Beralor’s arms.

There are three options in these deaths;

They all die. Muhahahahahaha.

They die instead of the player character dying. If a player character ends up with 8 or more result
points against them, lower the total to 5 (Impaired) and trigger the death above instead.

The fall of the dice. Roll a die for each. On a 1 to 12 the NPC lives. On a 13 to 20, they perish as above.

Scene 6: In Flames

With the chieftain, his weapon thanes, and much of the Ring killed, the Black Stag magically captured
and bound, the Royal killed and thefyrds wiped out, the battle ends in Lunar victory.

The survivors are rounded up and fitted with slave collars and shackles. The former makes it
impossible for the wearer to use magic and saps his will. By mid afternoon Lunar reinforcements have
arrived and the women and children in the Hall are forced to surrenders. They are also shackled. As
they are paraded past the male prisoners (now in cages), Kalf sees his mother and Ashart. Kalliva sees
Kalessa. Beralor sees Affar.

Xerphon arrives and reads his writ aloud to his prisoners. This is first first time Kalliva has seen his
face (he was helmeted on the battlefield), but this is the man both from her vision in the Dragon
Temple and later her initiation. When he introduces himself as Centurion Xerphon Hali there is no
doubt. The man who just destroyed her clan is her father.

As he reads, the men are sentenced to the Bat. The women and children to slavery. Already the Lunar
Magicians are hunting the clanwyter in the spirit world. The Black Stag will be dismembered and its
heart fed to a Lunar demon. The Haraborn no longer exist as a people.

As the sun sets on the Vale, the Hall, the Village, the steads are raided for anything of value and then
set alight. The night is lit red by massive fires up and down the valley. Throughout the night the
player characters watch their entire world burn.

Scene 7: Xerphon

At dawn, the prisoners are all roused and fed. The soldiers announce the women and children will be
taken east that morning, first to Boldhome and then Pimper’s Block. The men will be taken south to
Wilmskirk, then on to Whitewall and the Bat. Shortly after the announcement, however, two soldiers
come to the cage where the player characters are being kept with other prisoners and collect
Kalliva. “You. You are to come with us. The Commander wishes to see you.”

She is taken to the commander’s tent. In his presence, it is unmistakable…this is the man she saw in
her visions down to the scar in his left eyebrow. He is not, however, alone.

A woman (?) is with, tall but bent over, wearing tattered black robes and a hood that obscures her
face. Even her long-fingered hands are wrapped in black cloth, though she wear lead claws over her
fingertips, like long thimbles with sharp blades.
“Kalliva, daughter of Kallessa, I suppose you know why I have sent for you.”

There is ever possibility Kalliva will suspect he knows she is his daughter; the fact is, he does not. The
Lunars have been able to gather, through intelligence and magic, that Kallyr Starbrow is on a great
heroquest. They know this quest has something to do with draconic powers. And they know, through
divination, that Kallyr sought the aid “of children four, and the daughter of two mothers with the
Dragon’s mark upon her hand.” He knows Kalliva is that girl, because of the Jakaleel priestess there
with him. Ashagara Faceless discovered her.

Roleplay this out. Let Kalliva answer. Does she betray herself? If not, after a moment the witch will
glide forward and grab her hand by the wrist, turning it palm upwards to show Xerphon the
mark. “Here is the Daughter of Two Mothers, the Dragon-Marked. The shadows have spoken true to
me.”

It will now become clear that Xerphon is interested in her because of the mark. He tells the witch “find
her companions and have them brought her as well.” The witch then departs the tent.

Xerphon will try to get Kalliva to supply him with answers; what was Starbrow after? Where did they
take her? What did she need the children to do? If she refuses to speak he waves a hand
nonchalantly. “Eventually you will break. Whether or not that happens before your body or mind is
broken matters nothing to me.”

While Kalliva and the commander spoke the witch, accompanied by guards, walks in front of the
prisoner cages. As she does so, her shadow stretches out like a living thing, washing over each of the
prisoners. When it falls over the player characters they feel and icy chill touch their hearts. Moments
later the witch speaks to the guards and the other player characters are called out and brought to the
tent.

Note: If Kalliva is dead by this point, start the scene with the witch picking the remaining prisoners
out and have the commander interrogate them rather than her.

The scene ends with the commander telling the guards that the player characters will be traveling with
him to Boldhome for questioning. At a crossroads, still in shackles, they watch as the men are led away
south. Soon after, the women and children are brought out and led eastwards. They are able to watch
as friends and loved ones in both groups are dragged away to their fates.

Then they are dragged away to theirs.

Scene 8: Korolmara

Xerphon takes his prisoners, along with a contingent of 30 soldiers, to the Sambari power center of
Roundstone. Rivals and enemies of the Haraborn, these thrall-holding Sword Orlanthi have been
promised Haraborn lands in exchange for intelligence they gave the Lunars on their neighbors. Since
the events of Sons of Orlanth, the Sambari have been spying on the Haraborn for the
Empire. Xerphon will ceremonially transfer control of the Black Stag tula to King Rogvarth on his way
to Boldhome.

The ceremony takes place in Rogvarth’s Hall. It is a brief exercise. A box of soil from Black Stag Vale
is handed from Xerphon to Rogvarth while the player characters, kneeling in the center of the Hall, are
forced to watch. The symbolic message is clear; “The Empire has taken the land, its people are being
brought away in chains, and the land is now given to you.”

Xerphon then brings the player characters to a new Lunar villa within the walls of Roundstone
Fort. His own guards patrol and defend it. They are locked in a cell together to contemplate their
fates. In the morning they go to Boldhome.

In the middle of the night, things take an unexpected turn.

The player characters are awoken by the sound of Xerphon’s voice. “Unlock the cell and rouse the
prisoners. I have decided to have Asahgara begin their interrogation tonight.”

The guard does as commanded, and the prisoners are brought out before Xerphon. If Beralor is there,
he looks at Xerphon’s face and sees that one of his eyes is blue… If he is dead, another player
notices. This is not Xerphon. This is the trickster, Keladon Blue-Eye. We winks.

Xerphon and his guard lead the prisoners outside. There are two other figures waiting there in the
darkness. One is a bearded Orlanthi man. The other is Kalliva’s mother—her true mother—
Korolmara.

The man is Gangrath Rogvarthsson, youngest son of the Sambari king. Opposing his father’s policy of
Lunar cooperation and appeasement, he is a member of the Sons of Orlanth. Alongside Keladon,
Korolmara and a small group of the Sons, they have come (on Starbrow’s orders) to get the player
characters to safety.

The night suddenly flares red as the kitchens go up in flames. Gongs are rung in alarm. Urging speed,
Keladon, Korolmara and Gangrath escort the player characters outside and toward the villa
wall. Gangrath has arranged to get them out of the city.

Before they reach the wall, however, the darkness rises up before them like a barrier. It whispers,
hisses, and chills. Tendrils of shadow reach out from this mass of blackness towards them. Xerphon
and the Jakaleel witch Ashagara emerge from the shadows. “You see Commander? As I told
you. Escape.”
Xerphon, a devotee of Yanafal Tarnils, draws his silver sickle sword and a dagger. The witch gathers
her black powers.

Korolmara looks at Keladon and nods. Then she looks at Gangrath. “Get them to safety.” She steps
forward and throws back her hood so Xerphon can see her. “Hello Xerphon,” she says.

The shock on his face is apparent. “You!”

Korolmara locks eyes with Kalliva. “Live free, my daughter.” With a sudden leap and a flash of
lightning, Korolmara then attacks Xerphon with her spear. Keladon engages the witch. Gangrath
rushes the characters away.

A final Extended Contest ensues. After the crushing events of the Battle of Red Rock, set the Difficulty
at Low (9). With the Lunars in pursuit, the player characters need to scrabble over the villa wall and
race through the streets of the city for the southwestern gate. Their Gangrath has sympathizers who
will let them through. Horses wait outside. The Contest is a chase through the alleys and streets of
Roundstone. Each player needs to score 5 result points to escape. Failure means recapture.

If they escape, Gangrath will take them to a Sons of Orlanth encampment in the forests between
Roundstone and Wilmskirk. Six Seasons in Sartar has ended. The future awaits…

THE AFTER PLAY REPORT

This is the third campaign--and third game--that I have run with this current RPG group. The fourth
with me for some of the players. When I pitched it to them last year, offering them the choice
of either RQG orHQG, I told them that Glorantha was not like other game settings. That it gets into
your blood. Your soul.

Now they believe me.

The Turning turned out to be an emotional rollercoaster. This group has walked the ruins of the
Ninth World and fought Dracula in Europe, but seeing family and loved ones they have come to care
about endangered--and their absolute determination to save them--is to my mind what makes gaming
like this such a powerful exercise.

In previous iterations I decided which NPCs lived and died. This time not knowing who would survive
made it a more powerful experience as a GM. This is also what I love about gaming...these NPCs were
created in cooperation with the characters. I never knew Keith's character Beralor would have two
married fathers, but they became incredibly important to me. Ashart--meant to be a throwaway
character--became something of a mascot. I literally choked up describing the scene as the women and
children are being taken away in chains and Ashart is looking around wildly trying to get a last look at
the NPCs.

Everything played largely as written, but with a few unexpected bounces.

First of all, most of the major NPCs survived. I went with the option of letting a critical NPC die in
place of a character followed by a die roll to see who lived and who died, and only one--the new
character Dergandi--died. Leika's father lived but went missing after the battle. Beralor's fathers--
Harvarr and Affar--went in separate directions, one to the Bat and one to slavery. Kalf's mother and
Kalliva's, Korolmara, made it through as well. Though the story ends with the players fleeing the city
while Korolmara fights Xerphon, so her fate is technically uncertain.

The truly unexpected bounce was that the tale ends with Leika and Kalliva escaping with the rebels,
while Kalf and Beralor are recaptured making their escape. Six Seasons ends then a bit like The
Fellowship of the Ring; the party is broken. Discussing it after, we decided to begin the next chapter
with four new characters. We will play one session with Beralor and Kalf in captivity--while Ira and
Vicky play new characters imprisoned with them--and the next with Kalliva and Leika planning the
rescue of those being dragged to the Bat with Keith and David playing two new rebels. We will bounce
back and forth between the two story threads until the group is eventually reunited.

Six Seasons in Sartar is now over, but the story will begin with a new arc, a new cycle, and a new
name. Stay tuned.