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Dragon Pass
- Thread starter cjfodel
- Start date
SmegmaLord
Mongoose
I'm sure others will chip in, but the region of Glorantha (the world) is divided roughly into 2 continents (genertela and pamaltela). The northern continent of genertela is the main crucible for humanity, the elder races and the battles that RQ revolves around.
In the very southern centre of genertela lies a mountain pass between a range of mountains that laterally divides the continent nearly totally west to east.
To the North lies the militaristic Lunar empire, to the south lie the partially civilised lands of the barbarian animal herders.
This route forms the main conduit for invasion of the Lunar empire south and forms the basis for the HeroWars (or the third age of Glorantha).
MRQ has plumbed for the second age (of which I know very little) but revolve around the civilisation of the time warring with a cult of informationist called the god learners (named so as they vie to learn the very secrets of magic and creation).
Look on line, just type Glorantha and see what comes up, find on line maps to get a feel for the area of Dragon Pass (the breech in the mountain range) or look out for the board game Dragon Pass (or white bear red moon - if you can find that edition) on ebay or such!
Hope that answers more questions than it creates
CHRIS
In the very southern centre of genertela lies a mountain pass between a range of mountains that laterally divides the continent nearly totally west to east.
To the North lies the militaristic Lunar empire, to the south lie the partially civilised lands of the barbarian animal herders.
This route forms the main conduit for invasion of the Lunar empire south and forms the basis for the HeroWars (or the third age of Glorantha).
MRQ has plumbed for the second age (of which I know very little) but revolve around the civilisation of the time warring with a cult of informationist called the god learners (named so as they vie to learn the very secrets of magic and creation).
Look on line, just type Glorantha and see what comes up, find on line maps to get a feel for the area of Dragon Pass (the breech in the mountain range) or look out for the board game Dragon Pass (or white bear red moon - if you can find that edition) on ebay or such!
Hope that answers more questions than it creates
CHRIS
GbajiTheDeceiver
Mongoose
It's also so-called because it's the main ancestral home of the dragon species. If you're not familiar with DP can I also assume that you're not familiar with Gloranthan dragons and dragonkin?
True Dragons are BIG. By "big" I mean in terms of miles. There was a great illustration in one of the RQ3 supplements - "one of the more unusual hills in Ormsgone Vale (part of Dragon Pass)". It was basically a dragons head, with a small village built on it. They're more forces of nature than anything else.
They spend most of their time asleep (as dragons do) but lack the traditional fantasy dragon motivation of collecting wealth and eating adventurers. In fact, their motivations are completely alien and incomprehensible to other species. While asleep, their dreams take on the form of reality, usually reflecting baser elements of their nature, and these "Dream Dragons" are more close to what we know from elsewhere.
Anyway, slight digression over. DP itself is home to a lot of different species and cultures, including barbarian tribes, nomadic herdsmen, ducks, dragonewts, trolls, civilised Esrolians to the south, the afore-mentioned Lunar empire to the north, some Praxian elements to the east, and many more. So it's a nice cultural melting pot, in which you'll find lots of elements of Glorantha all coming together, as is natural from it being at the crossroads of the continent. It's also the place where you'll find Snakepipe Hollow (den of chaos) and Apple Lane (sleepy hamlet).
True Dragons are BIG. By "big" I mean in terms of miles. There was a great illustration in one of the RQ3 supplements - "one of the more unusual hills in Ormsgone Vale (part of Dragon Pass)". It was basically a dragons head, with a small village built on it. They're more forces of nature than anything else.
They spend most of their time asleep (as dragons do) but lack the traditional fantasy dragon motivation of collecting wealth and eating adventurers. In fact, their motivations are completely alien and incomprehensible to other species. While asleep, their dreams take on the form of reality, usually reflecting baser elements of their nature, and these "Dream Dragons" are more close to what we know from elsewhere.
Anyway, slight digression over. DP itself is home to a lot of different species and cultures, including barbarian tribes, nomadic herdsmen, ducks, dragonewts, trolls, civilised Esrolians to the south, the afore-mentioned Lunar empire to the north, some Praxian elements to the east, and many more. So it's a nice cultural melting pot, in which you'll find lots of elements of Glorantha all coming together, as is natural from it being at the crossroads of the continent. It's also the place where you'll find Snakepipe Hollow (den of chaos) and Apple Lane (sleepy hamlet).
Dragon Pass is also important as a central focus during the Hero Wars. THe HW are a time of great conflcit between heroes (you probasbly got that already with the term Hero Wars). In Dragon Pass this is highlighted with the conflict between the Lunar Empire and the Herotlings who reside in the area.
Essentially the Lunar Empire is a big, multicultural empire (think Ancient Rome for a quick idea. It isn't Ancient Rome, but it gives you an idea), bent on exapansion. The Heorlings are tribes (think Celts and Saxons) who don't want to be "absaobed" into the Lunar Empire. The Lunars invade, occupy the area, and the Orlanthi tribemen resist and rebel.
The area is also notable for all the strange races and powerful beings in the area-all of whom play a part in the Hero Wars.
All surrounded by sleeping dragons (mountain size).
In other words the area is a powerkeg, and everyone is trying to juggle torches...
Essentially the Lunar Empire is a big, multicultural empire (think Ancient Rome for a quick idea. It isn't Ancient Rome, but it gives you an idea), bent on exapansion. The Heorlings are tribes (think Celts and Saxons) who don't want to be "absaobed" into the Lunar Empire. The Lunars invade, occupy the area, and the Orlanthi tribemen resist and rebel.
The area is also notable for all the strange races and powerful beings in the area-all of whom play a part in the Hero Wars.
All surrounded by sleeping dragons (mountain size).
In other words the area is a powerkeg, and everyone is trying to juggle torches...
In the Second Age, Dragon Pass is the heartland of the Empire of the Wyrms Friends, an unspeakable fusion of human and draconic cultures that ends up going Horribly Wrong. The place is literally crawling with dragonewts, fork-tongued priests, awakened draconic entities, hill-tribe cultist dupes, and the like.cjfodel said:I keep on hearing about Dragon Pass, what could you tell me about it?
Cheers, Nick
moonbroth said:In the Second Age, Dragon Pass is the heartland of the Empire of the Wyrms Friends, an unspeakable fusion of human and draconic cultures that ends up going Horribly Wrong. The place is literally crawling with dragonewts, fork-tongued priests, awakened draconic entities, hill-tribe cultist dupes, and the like.cjfodel said:I keep on hearing about Dragon Pass, what could you tell me about it?
Cheers, Nick
Sssh. You'll scare away the tourists!
SmegmaLord
Mongoose
In some ways I found all the other regions of genertela (the northern continent) a little corny after the beautiful 'melting pot' of Dragon pass.
What with the 'japanese' clones to the east, and the mythic honoourable knights to the west (etc) it all seemed too stereotypical. So my circle of friends has never played anything other than DP stories or characters.
I must admit the more I hear about the Second age the more my interest is peaked.
By the third age, Dragons were asleep, and people hand to contend with their dreams made real, the Lunar were coming and the Dragon newts and their magic were well in decline.
The Lunars were attempting to destroy the sky/wind and thus destroy Orlanth (the main DP god of adventurers and the major thorn in the Lunars side) and bring the Earth closer to the Lunar goddess who existed in the form of a red moon. Hence the RED MOON in the game name white bear (who was a hero of DP called Arkat) red moon.
Anyway, most games degenerate into rounds of "What have the Lunars ever done for us, eh?.......The Aqueduct?"
CHRIS
What with the 'japanese' clones to the east, and the mythic honoourable knights to the west (etc) it all seemed too stereotypical. So my circle of friends has never played anything other than DP stories or characters.
I must admit the more I hear about the Second age the more my interest is peaked.
By the third age, Dragons were asleep, and people hand to contend with their dreams made real, the Lunar were coming and the Dragon newts and their magic were well in decline.
The Lunars were attempting to destroy the sky/wind and thus destroy Orlanth (the main DP god of adventurers and the major thorn in the Lunars side) and bring the Earth closer to the Lunar goddess who existed in the form of a red moon. Hence the RED MOON in the game name white bear (who was a hero of DP called Arkat) red moon.
Anyway, most games degenerate into rounds of "What have the Lunars ever done for us, eh?.......The Aqueduct?"
CHRIS
Well, that's Third Age Dragon Pass, Lunars, Apple Lane, Zombies and Ducks.
Second Age Dragon Pass is very different.
To the South are the Shadowlands, ruled by a Demigod, the Only Old One. To the North is Dagori Inkarth, ruled by trolls. To the East is Prax, a land of beastmen. To the West are mountains and further on are Peloria and Ralios, strange lands indeed.
In the middle of Dragon Pass in Dragon's Eye, a dragonewt centre. Scattered around Dragon pass are various dragonewt cities and some True Dragons. Three main rivers flow southwards through Dragon Pass and various cities lie on their banks.
Between Prax and Dagori Inkarth lies Battle Valley and the Six Sisters, spirit hills that are hostile to the EWF. In the North of Dragon Pass is Kero Fin, a mountain sacred to the Orlanthi and Earth cultists. Tusk Riders live around their Ivory Plinth. Elves live in the northern forests. To the South are the Storm Hills containing Stormwalk Mountain, sacred to Storm Bull, and Old Wind, a temple to the Storm Deities. Chaos Nests are found in Snakepipe Hollow in the North and The Footprint in the South.
Historically, Dragon Pass is important because the Storm Gods originally made their homes there, or thereabouts. It is also a centre for Dragons and Dragonewts, the most important outside Kralorela. It is a crossorads between north and south, east and west.
There are many inhumans in Dragon Pass. Trolls live to the North and South. Elves live in the northern forests and Vale of Flowers. Dragonewts have cities throughout Dragon Pass. True Dragons sleep beneath its hills and Dream Dragons fly around the land. Newtlings live along the rivers. Ducks serve as clowns and gladiators. Wind Children live high in the mountains. Giants come down from the mountains. Broos, Scorpionmen and all manner of chaos live in the Chaos Nests.
Dragon Pass is dominated by the Empire of the Wyrms Friends (EWF) that promotes draconic thinking and brotherhood. Many of the people worship Orlanth the Dragon and think like dragons. Most of the people are culturally Heortling and have their old gods. There is tension between traditionalist Heortlings and the EWF. The Middle Sea Empire (Jrusteli/God Learners) have a presence in the south and have tried to make inroads into the Shadowlands, but not with great success.
Most of Third Age Dragon Pass does not exist in the Second Age. So, the cities are almost all different, no Boldhome, Wilms Church, Duck Point, Stone Nest etc. The tribes are completely different as the Sartarite Tribes came after the Dragonkill. Indeed, there is no Sartar at all. The Grazelands do not exist, no Black Horse County, no Upland Marsh, although Delecti has a villa near the river. The Holy Country does not exist, there is no Pharoah, there are no Tarsh Exiles. It is a very different place to what we are used to.
Second Age Dragon Pass is very different.
To the South are the Shadowlands, ruled by a Demigod, the Only Old One. To the North is Dagori Inkarth, ruled by trolls. To the East is Prax, a land of beastmen. To the West are mountains and further on are Peloria and Ralios, strange lands indeed.
In the middle of Dragon Pass in Dragon's Eye, a dragonewt centre. Scattered around Dragon pass are various dragonewt cities and some True Dragons. Three main rivers flow southwards through Dragon Pass and various cities lie on their banks.
Between Prax and Dagori Inkarth lies Battle Valley and the Six Sisters, spirit hills that are hostile to the EWF. In the North of Dragon Pass is Kero Fin, a mountain sacred to the Orlanthi and Earth cultists. Tusk Riders live around their Ivory Plinth. Elves live in the northern forests. To the South are the Storm Hills containing Stormwalk Mountain, sacred to Storm Bull, and Old Wind, a temple to the Storm Deities. Chaos Nests are found in Snakepipe Hollow in the North and The Footprint in the South.
Historically, Dragon Pass is important because the Storm Gods originally made their homes there, or thereabouts. It is also a centre for Dragons and Dragonewts, the most important outside Kralorela. It is a crossorads between north and south, east and west.
There are many inhumans in Dragon Pass. Trolls live to the North and South. Elves live in the northern forests and Vale of Flowers. Dragonewts have cities throughout Dragon Pass. True Dragons sleep beneath its hills and Dream Dragons fly around the land. Newtlings live along the rivers. Ducks serve as clowns and gladiators. Wind Children live high in the mountains. Giants come down from the mountains. Broos, Scorpionmen and all manner of chaos live in the Chaos Nests.
Dragon Pass is dominated by the Empire of the Wyrms Friends (EWF) that promotes draconic thinking and brotherhood. Many of the people worship Orlanth the Dragon and think like dragons. Most of the people are culturally Heortling and have their old gods. There is tension between traditionalist Heortlings and the EWF. The Middle Sea Empire (Jrusteli/God Learners) have a presence in the south and have tried to make inroads into the Shadowlands, but not with great success.
Most of Third Age Dragon Pass does not exist in the Second Age. So, the cities are almost all different, no Boldhome, Wilms Church, Duck Point, Stone Nest etc. The tribes are completely different as the Sartarite Tribes came after the Dragonkill. Indeed, there is no Sartar at all. The Grazelands do not exist, no Black Horse County, no Upland Marsh, although Delecti has a villa near the river. The Holy Country does not exist, there is no Pharoah, there are no Tarsh Exiles. It is a very different place to what we are used to.
SmegmaLord
Mongoose
And then come the God Learners!!
Soltakss is right. Dragon Pass is the center of power for the EWF. The Lunar emprie in Peloria to the north Does Not Exist. Peloria is dominated by the Dara Happans, who at some point are conquered by the EWF for a while. I'm not sure if the MRQ era is set before, during or after this.
Sartar, the homeland of so many previous RQ adventurers, is a small mountainous area near Dragon Pass. It's probably inhabited by Olranthi, but they may be quite different from the Sartarites we know and love from the 3rd Age, who are actualy descendents of the 2nd Age Orlanthi in Heortland.
Pavis (Robcradle?) could be a very interesting place to visit in the 2nd Age, if it's been built yet.
Simon Hibbs
Sartar, the homeland of so many previous RQ adventurers, is a small mountainous area near Dragon Pass. It's probably inhabited by Olranthi, but they may be quite different from the Sartarites we know and love from the 3rd Age, who are actualy descendents of the 2nd Age Orlanthi in Heortland.
Pavis (Robcradle?) could be a very interesting place to visit in the 2nd Age, if it's been built yet.
Simon Hibbs
SmegmaLord
Mongoose
The more I think about it the less disappointed I actually feel about the era change!
CHRIS
CHRIS
I like it being a new era, as it makes the rule changes (many of which i like) easier to justify.
Oh and sorry cant help pedantry but
Not Arkat , but Harrek
Oh and sorry cant help pedantry but
Hence the RED MOON in the game name white bear (who was a hero of DP called Arkat) red moon.
Not Arkat , but Harrek
simonh said:Soltakss is right. Dragon Pass is the center of power for the EWF. The Lunar emprie in Peloria to the north Does Not Exist. Peloria is dominated by the Dara Happans, who at some point are conquered by the EWF for a while. I'm not sure if the MRQ era is set before, during or after this.
The map in the Ralios PDF clearly shows Dara Happa as part of the EWF, and the text supports this, so it is definately set during that time frame.
I am curious if it is set before or after the closing of the seas.
SmegmaLord
Mongoose
zanshin said:I like it being a new era, as it makes the rule changes (many of which i like) easier to justify.
Oh and sorry cant help pedantry but
Hence the RED MOON in the game name white bear (who was a hero of DP called Arkat) red moon.
Not Arkat , but Harrek
Was it...Ooops. I'll go and Befuddle myself right away. I knew I get something wrong in all that babble eventually!
CHRIS
Rurik said:I am curious if it is set before or after the closing of the seas.
Definitely before. They're bringing out seafaring rules, and one of the preview PDFs has stats for some sailing ships. Not much point in that if the closing is in effect.
Simon Hibbs
simonh said:Rurik said:I am curious if it is set before or after the closing of the seas.
Definitely before. They're bringing out seafaring rules, and one of the preview PDFs has stats for some sailing ships. Not much point in that if the closing is in effect.
Simon Hibbs
Except it's a generic rules system, so not every world will have the closing.
Vadrus
SmegmaLord said:In some ways I found all the other regions of genertela (the northern continent) a little corny after the beautiful 'melting pot' of Dragon pass.
What with the 'japanese' clones to the east, and the mythic honoourable knights to the west (etc) it all seemed too stereotypical. So my circle of friends has never played anything other than DP stories or characters.
CHRIS
I think that is becuase RQ never gave the detail for these other regions. If you look at the Glorantha write up of the Dragon Pass area, it doesn't look like much more than a "Gauls on the Roman border" copy.
I think that if Greg had put iuyt a sourcebook on any of the other regions they would look more interesting and less like a cut & paste job. It is just when you try to cover an entire, very detailed, world in one small set of books, you don't cover anything particularly well or detailed.
My big concern with second age, is just how much input Greg is going to have in his own world. Is Greg going to play a big part in shaping in like with the third age stuff, of is everyone "subcontracted" out, and nothing really fitting into Glonatha? THe whole setup makes it very easy to undue things-since we all know it will end badly.
duncan_disorderly
Mongoose
atgxtg said:My big concern with second age, is just how much input Greg is going to have in his own world. Is Greg going to play a big part in shaping in like with the third age stuff, of is everyone "subcontracted" out, and nothing really fitting into Glonatha? THe whole setup makes it very easy to undue things-since we all know it will end badly.
Greg said at Continuum that he found it very interesting to discover what he really cared about - Some things he has quite definite opinions on, other things he is more than happy for other people to make up.
He still has approval on everything published for Glorantha, and part of his input has resulted in the Unfinished Work "Middle Sea Empire" (coming soon from Tradetalk.de and (probably) warehouse.23 - we may see futher Unfinished works in future(?)
(For those who have not come across them before the Unfinished works are just that. Game Stat free material written by Greg (mostly) to provide a background to some aspect of Glorantha. They are generally low (physical) quality products as they are not aimed at the "mass" market - think of a spiral bound, photocopied book with little/no art and you are in the right general area )
duncan_disorderly said:atgxtg said:My big concern with second age, is just how much input Greg is going to have in his own world. Is Greg going to play a big part in shaping in like with the third age stuff, of is everyone "subcontracted" out, and nothing really fitting into Glonatha? THe whole setup makes it very easy to undue things-since we all know it will end badly.
Greg said at Continuum that he found it very interesting to discover what he really cared about - Some things he has quite definite opinions on, other things he is more than happy for other people to make up.
He still has approval on everything published for Glorantha, and part of his input has resulted in the Unfinished Work "Middle Sea Empire" (coming soon from Tradetalk.de and (probably) warehouse.23 - we may see futher Unfinished works in future(?)
Good. Considering how the second age turns out, I was worried that it was Gregs way of allowing for a "throwaway" Glorantha setting that would all be cirular filed when the end comes. Rather than "retconning" or "Gregging" anything, he could said, "Yup, it was like that-before the dragon ate it, now it's gone."
Good solid argmnent to remove practically anything from Glorantha.
(
atgxtg said:I think that if Greg had put iuyt a sourcebook on any of the other regions they would look more interesting and less like a cut & paste job. It is just when you try to cover an entire, very detailed, world in one small set of books, you don't cover anything particularly well or detailed.
That's true. If you get a chance to look at the pre-finished works or any of the Tales of the reaching Moon issues that featured specials on the West, Pamaltela, etc you'd see that there is an awful lot more to them than the 'kind of like medieval Europe' and 'kind of like Africa' short descriptions that have appeared in the main, commercialy published works. There's a ton of orriginal material hidden away in inaccessible fan publications bursting with adventure oportunities.
This is what realy excites me about MRQ - Mongoose's proven ability to realy flesh out a setting and turn it into gameable material that reaches the shelves in game shops.
Simon Hibbs
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