Spolite Witches in Fiesive

[Itto]

I'm just woundering about the Spolites in Fiesive, or just Spolites in general around the time 908 ST.

I've got The Imperial Lunar Handbook, Under the Red Moon and Rune Rites so have gleaned some background on them. Them being obsessed with Death, though not in a Humakti way :wink: They being more tied/use the Undead Rune rather then the Death rune, as it seems more to do with what goes on after someone has died rather than the act of dieing its self that drives them. There is an inferance to darkness to, but that might just be flavour rather than substence maybe?

I'm kinda guessing also that they may be more Shaman/Spirit than the divine.

I've found that Fiesive is a fine place to re introduce my players to Glorantha, what with all the "Culture" going on there. The Spolites would seem to a good group of NPCs to develope in the town for the PCs to work for and then maybe against.

So I'm just looking for some ideas for how to use them and describe how they act to the players.

Cheers

 

[Stormwalker]

Rob,

A quick Google on "Spolite" should turn up some good links, especially from the old Glorantha Digest Archive. There's also a Spolite Heroband here http://www.glorantha.com/support/fan/DawnDead.html that might give you some more ideas - maybe you could even retrofit them back to the Second Age?

 

[simonh]

I've got The Imperial Lunar Handbook, Under the Red Moon and Rune Rites so have gleaned some background on them. Them being obsessed with Death, though not in a Humakti way :wink: They being more tied/use the Undead Rune rather then the Death rune, as it seems more to do with what goes on after someone has died rather than the act of dieing its self that drives them. There is an inferance to darkness to, but that might just be flavour rather than substence maybe?

IMHO they're mainly darkness worshippers, with a sideline in undead magic perhaps. I see them as being a counter to the Dara Happan light worship. Remember that darkness has as much to do with concealment, secrets, terror, etc as it does the absence of light.

I'm kinda guessing also that they may be more Shaman/Spirit than the divine.

IMHO they're mainly divine. That's the impression I got from the source I've read, but it's not explicit other than a few mentions of the gods they worship.

I agree Fiesive is a great wild west style frontier settlement, with a lot of different elements all mixed in together. Ralios is an excellent setting with a lot of stuff to do and plenty of ways for the adventurers to really make their mark.

 

[soltakss]

They've also just been stuffed by the Carmanians (I think) so there will be a lot of simmering resentment and behind the scenes plotting.

But, secretive witches worshipping dark and evil gods, with hordes of undead guarding their temples.

What more could you want?

 

[ninthcouncil]

They've also just been stuffed by the Carmanians (I think) so there will be a lot of simmering resentment and behind the scenes plotting.

But, secretive witches worshipping dark and evil gods, with hordes of undead guarding their temples.

What more could you want?

Chocolate, a toy, and a surprise?

 

[Itto]

Cheers for the pointers on the Spolites.

I think that the Spolites in Fiesive aren’t able to be as overtly evil as they don't really have a solid power base. Nor have the reserve of magical power as they may have in other places.

But I am thinking that they might have killed/driven off any local Ty Kora Tek priests/initiates and muscled in on taking care of the dead. With Fiesive not having any law and made up of divided groups of different backgrounds, I can see that there maybe a call for a group that takes care of the fallout of violent action. Having ready access to the dead would help them with their magical prowess.

The local Dara Happan exiles have to accept them, as they aren’t so strong either. So lots of shady doings but trying to balance not having other groups having a reason for ganging up and seeing them off.

I'm thinking that I may have their magic Spirit based focusing on darkness with them maybe giving worship to some large Darkness Spirits and have enchantments for creating zombies and binding ghosts and shades.

The useful thing is that by the time the players get to go toe to toe or maybe joining them (my players are drawn more to the darkness than the light :twisted: ) I'll have my mits on CoG2 for the shaman spirit stuff.

 

[Voriof]

They've also just been stuffed by the Carmanians (I think) so there will be a lot of simmering resentment and behind the scenes plotting.

But, secretive witches worshipping dark and evil gods, with hordes of undead guarding their temples.

What more could you want?

Yeah. They're metioned in passing in the Carmanian material in CoG1 and 2 but they really deserve a few cults of their own. I was tempted to put in Deshkorgos - Master of Hell and Monsters - as he and similar gods are worshipped by Dara Happans and pretty much everyone else in that basin. Some of this worship is sanctioned as a part of religious practice but much is renegade - especially by the Spolites.

Jeff

 

[soltakss]

Yeah. They're metioned in passing in the Carmanian material in CoG1 and 2 but they really deserve a few cults of their own. I was tempted to put in Deshkorgos - Master of Hell and Monsters - as he and similar gods are worshipped by Dara Happans and pretty much everyone else in that basin. Some of this worship is sanctioned as a part of religious practice but much is renegade - especially by the Spolites.

Jeff

You see, that's the sort of stuff to make RQ different from HQ.

Deshkorgos - Master of Hell and Monsters - sounds a blast.

Lodril/Monster Man and Gorgorma are just as much fun, though.

Perhaps we can wait for Spolpack or Spolites - Heart of Darkness.

 

[Voriof]

Yeah. They're metioned in passing in the Carmanian material in CoG1 and 2 but they really deserve a few cults of their own. I was tempted to put in Deshkorgos - Master of Hell and Monsters - as he and similar gods are worshipped by Dara Happans and pretty much everyone else in that basin. Some of this worship is sanctioned as a part of religious practice but much is renegade - especially by the Spolites.

Jeff

You see, that's the sort of stuff to make RQ different from HQ.

Deshkorgos - Master of Hell and Monsters - sounds a blast.

You do realize that I stole him from HeroWars, yes? :roll:

Lodril/Monster Man and Gorgorma are just as much fun, though.

Perhaps we can wait for Spolpack or Spolites - Heart of Darkness.

Might be worth sending a proposal to Ian. Not sure how wide spread the appeal might be though.

Jeff

 

[duncan_disorderly]

Perhaps we can wait for Spolpack or Spolites - Heart of Darkness.

Might be worth sending a proposal to Ian. Not sure how wide spread the appeal might be though.

Jeff

I'd buy a copy!

 

[richaje]

Yeah. They're metioned in passing in the Carmanian material in CoG1 and 2 but they really deserve a few cults of their own. I was tempted to put in Deshkorgos - Master of Hell and Monsters - as he and similar gods are worshipped by Dara Happans and pretty much everyone else in that basin. Some of this worship is sanctioned as a part of religious practice but much is renegade - especially by the Spolites.

Jeff

Looking over some of my old stuff, here are some other Spolite gods and goddesses:

Azerlo - Goddess of the Underworld and Wife of Derdromus. No one can look at her face because it is so hideous that anyone would die to see it. Called Annara Gor by the Dara Happans.

Derdromus - Lord of the Underworld. The Bone Master, Monster Man, the Hungry One, the Keper of Monsters, the Final Winner, the Lord of the Dead. Called Deshkorgos by the Dara Happans.

Deshlotralas - Lord of the Underworld, Keeper of Death and Warden of Punishment.

Fronalako - the Devil Sorceror. Origin of corrupt sorcerous powers.

GanEstoro - God of Evil. Propitiated and not directly worshiped. GanEstoro was everything which Idovanus was not. Disobedience, evil, cruelty, darkness, ignorance, hunger, worship, death, and sin were his tools. GanEstoro corrupted everything which he could in the newly made world, and made many monstrous devotees to help him. Among those were YarGan the Devourer, Kazkurtum the Destroyer, and Fronalako the Devil Sorcerer.

Gerra - the Goddess of Grief and Sorrow. Gerra was once a great and powerful goddess, but through her own haughtiness brought terrible punishments upon herself. She insisted upon unspeakable things, and so was reproved with increasingly severe methods until she was subdued. She has several holy places in Spol. They are all gruesome, sacrificial pyramids where initiates mutilate themselves. Although many initiates die every year, many more volunteer and often come from hundreds of miles away to die here. Gerra is also called Our Mother the Shadow.

JagaNatha - the Goddess of Balance. Natha uses her powers to bring life or death, light or darkness, good or evil, into the world as necessary. Banished eons ago, returned to take a throne among the gods on Mount Jernotius. JagaNatha largely receives propitiatory sacrifice.

Otvestirr - a powerful spirit worshiped by the Spolites.

Ratakar - the God of Murder. A small and very secret cult that defends the peasants of Pelanda and Spol from nobles and anyone else who would wrong them. A vengeful god who learned to kill with his hands after GanEstoro stole his Death Dart.

Hope this helps a little.

Jeff