A RuneQuest scenario about Life, Glorantha and Everything
by Dag Olausson with a little help from Jonas Schiött
"Kilwin. Shit. We're still only in Kilwin."
This scenario is intended to enlighten both the players and their characters (and perhaps the Game Master as well) about the nature of Nysalor’s worldview. First, a series of encounters will undermine their naive beliefs about the way Glorantha works. Then, they will meet an NPC who argues eloquently for a relativistic position. If the GM can convince the players, we assume that their characters will be Illuminated as well. Note that this is very different from the procedure described in Cults of Terror.
Prerequisites are a party of unsophisticated (that is, monocultural) adventurers, of an Orlanthi (or at least Lightbringer) bent, who for some reason currently abide in Kilwin, a city in eastern Ralios (the region known as the East Wilds). We don’t provide much background on the Wilds; this scenario is explicitly designed to be self-contained. There are also no stats - the PCs aren’t likely to fight anything except trollkin, so make up your own or just use the standard set. The important point to be made in the fight scenes is that the Orlanthi slaughter the poor little buggers with sickening ease.
Our inspiration for this scenario comes from a book by Joseph
Conrad and a film by Francis Ford Coppola.
The player characters, who presumably are rootless, down-and-out
adventurers, or in other words expendable, are chosen for a suicidal mission.
They are to eliminate a renegade Wind Lord by the name of Kazar. The reasoning
behind this mission is unclear, as is the exact nature of Kazar’s crimes,
but off they go anyway. In fact, Kazar has been Illuminated. During their journey
the party will be exposed to events that are designed to make them unsure of
some previously unquestioned beliefs (like "Orlanth represents everything
that is good and true in the world", "Chaos is bad, wipe it right
out" and so on), and more amenable to Kazar’s argumentation later
on. When they reach their destination they will be taken prisoner, Kazar will
engage them in philosophical debate for a while and finally let them go. They
are then free to take whatever course of action they please. If they have been
persuaded to adopt Nysalor’s outlook they can either carry out their mission
anyway (since nothing really matters, why not?), or run off to become hermits
somewhere, or anything in between these extremes. If they have proved to be
exceptionally resistant to argument (or put another way, dense), they will quite
naturally rub out Kazar and pat themselves on the back for a job well done.
That’s OK, too. In keeping with the subject matter of this scenario, there
is no ’right’ or ’wrong’ way to finish it.
It is near the end of Sea Season. The weather is warm, with plenty of rain. Delela has just recently erupted with greenery again after the barren winter; the whole world seems new and fresh. There is, however, dirty work to do. Namely, the ’trollkin war’. This is not the official label for it, in fact there is no official recognition of any conflict at all. But ever since humans began expanding into Corolaland again, there has been trouble with wild tribes of trollkin. These creatures are useful as cheap labour, and sometimes even as trading partners; but within human territory all trollkin are forbidden to bear arms, and their less tame cousins don’t seem to understand why they should give up their land to the Orlanthi. Thus it is necessary to provide the colonists with experienced military advisers, so that the trollkin question can be speedily resolved.
The party stands before a Wind Voice of the Kilwin temple, his name is Beorlak and he occupies a medium-high position in the hierarchy. He starts to tell them about Kazar. "Kazar was the perfect Wind Lord before he went mad. He was on a special mission deep inside Corolaland, he and his troop were assigned to put an end to the wild trollkin hordes’ attacks on our settlements. But Kazar killed the other Orlanthi and started operating on his own, using decidedly unsound methods. He took control over a tribe of trollkin and uses them in a very brutal, but also very effective campaign against the raiding tribes. He has also made himself a god to his ’own’ tribe - they worship him devoutly. As Kazar still prays to Orlanth occasionally, we have picked up some of his statements through Divination: ’I see a snail crawling up the edge of a sharply honed sword, it crawls bravely all the way to death.’’What do you call it when those who murder accuse others of murder?’ Absolutely mad. It must be tempting for a lone human among these inferior creatures to become a god. You must terminate his activities, using any means necessary. Of course, officially this mission doesn’t exist."
Taking on a powerful Lord, one obviously capable of handling
the Spirits of Reprisal, might seem like a daunting task for a bunch of scruffy
adventurers, but they are given an edge: the temple lends them a triple Thunderbolt
matrix. This item can only be used by an Orlanth initiate, and the spells are
linked to fire all at once at the same target. The PCs are also given a boat
(with just enough room for them and their gear) with enough provisions to reach
Istakax and any other ordinary (and reasonable) equipment they might wish for.
If none of them can handle a boat, an NPC is assigned to this task. His name
is Maerlo and he’s of a rather gloomy and moody turn of mind. If they want
more information, some very general facts can be provided about the river, Istakax
and other phenomena within Delela. Dolrum’s existence can be explained,
but not much else about it. Regarding Kazar, they will be told that he’s
two metres tall and completely bald. He was noted for his mastery of Oratory
and the Javelin. Under no circumstances whatsoever will the temple admit their
suspicion that Kazar has gone Riddler.
Sailing is seldom possible on the Doskior river, so the party will have to row or pole their way upstream most of the time. Three days of hard work brings them to Istakax, the last settlement before the Corolaland border. Beyond the Istakahixa waterfall lies the war zone. They arrive on the evening of Wildday, Movement Week and are met by some Orlanthi from the local temple, who provide them with supplies for the trip up river and back to Istakax. At the moment, there is really only one topic of discussion among these initiates, and among everyone else in Istakax for that matter: the specially scheduled mud-wrestling match in the arena tonight, between two Dryads.
The party will have to spend the night in Istakax, unless they
wish to sleep in the boat. The Bronze Bell, a short distance from the centre
of town, can provide accommodations - the Orlanth temple is too small and the
other ’inn’, the Baths, is really only a tavern. Lots of tired soldiers
on leave and local farmers out for a good time fill the town; drinking, brawling
and betting on the fight. Guolo, the local shaman, has recently hit upon the
secret to cultivating those mushrooms that previously only the black elves could
supply. He is doing some research on their effects by providing them to the
populace for the price of one Clack per dose. If the PCs go to the arena they
will find a record-breaking crowd, the overwhelming majority of which is male.
Everyone is drunk, drugged or both, most are screaming themselves hoarse and
a group of troll drummers are adding to the noise with a very load and fast
beat. When the time for the main attraction comes around, though, the ladies
refuse to fight. Instead, they beckon the audience to come down and join them.
A wild riot ensues as about a hundred men in heat try to do just that, while
a small guard force desperately tries to hold them back. Finally, the Orlanth
priests are forced to airlift the Nymphs out, using a very large Sylph, and
cool the crowd down with some Rain.
The day after, priests from the temple lift the boat over the waterfall (with a Fly 10 spell, it’s a breeze). The adventurers continue up the river. As they push deeper into Corolaland, air humidity and the density of the vegetation gradually increases. On Freezeday, Illusion Week they come upon a small lake and spot a group of Orlanthi warriors (numbering 30 or so) attacking some trollkin hovels by the shore. Getting there in the boat takes only a minute.
As the PCs reach the battle, they can see that apart from the combatants, two Lhankor Mhy apprentices are wandering about. They are making observations of how deep wounds different weapons inflict, how long it takes a trollkin to bleed to death, what first aid techniques they use and why Healing doesn’t work as well on them as on humans. Some interviews with Orlanthi are also conducted: "How does it feel, killing a trollkin?""Is it any different from chopping up humans?" etc etc.
Leading the Orlanthi is a Lord called Goeran: dressed in a large hat with a feather stuck in it, a yellow scarf, high-legged boots and of course Iron armour, he stands completely calm and erect in a hail of slingstones from the few trollkin acting efficiently. He also spreads a lot of little wooden discs carved with air runes around the battle site. "So that everyone will know that Goeran was here!" Also going on in the middle of the fight is a ceremony with prayers for Orlanth to keep the winds blowing. "We musn't forget our duties."
The same night, there’s a party, and the adventurers are invited. They can’t continue their journey until the following day’s afternoon anyway; a short distance upstream there is a trollkin village that recently turned rebel. Goeran’s gang will attack it in the morning. During the party, the characters are warned not to leave their boat when they travel further into Corolaland, it’s much too dangerous inland. This is very good advice: if they choose to ignore it, they will be ambushed by a Sabretooth Cat. If they persist, hit them with more opponents in ever increasing numbers, until they turn back to the river.
Early next morning the assault on the village "In din
dop, I think the greyfarts call it." begins. Bagpipers lead the advance,
blowing for all their lungs are worth. "Scares the shit out of the little
bastards!" Observant PCs can see how children and elderly trollkin are
being evacuated into the forest on the opposite side of the village. Those left
try to organize a defense, but have little time before the attack hits them.
Wild carnage ensues. During the fight, a small trollkin girl walks up to an
Orlanthi with a bowl of water. When he hesitates, she throws the ’water’
- actually POT 10 acid - in his face. After witnessing this, the adventurers
can intervene if they wish. When the battle is nearly over, Killgore summons
the party to his side, he wants to show them something. He takes them to a clump
of trees just outside the village. It is approximately 50 m from the jungle’s
edge, from which trollkin are slinging stones at them. Killgore ignores this.
He insists on showing the party some rare trees that can be used to make valuable
furniture and other wooden knickknacks. "This is what separates us from
them - they have no culture, no refinement!" He then casts four Lightning
2 spells, in quick succession, at the trollkin. "Feel that smell? I love
the smell of ozone in the morning. It smells like...victory!"
After another day’s travelling, a rickety little trollkin
boat comes downstream towards the party. It holds three adults and one trollkin
child. They speak nothing but Darktongue. None of them are armed, but the child
holds a wicker basket with a lid on it in her lap. She refuses to let anyone
look inside. If the girl is threatened in any way, daddy trollkin tries to grapple
the PC in question. In the basket is a small white kitten.
Late next evening, on Windsday of Illusion Week, the party reaches the last Delelan outpost on the river. No one comes to greet them; if they explore the small compound they will find a collection of the most slovenly and apathetic warriors they have ever seen. Apart from the few houses, there is an extensive network of trenches in the clearing. The commanding officer’s quarters are empty, and nobody knows were he is, but his stressed-out aide can give the party a scroll with the commander’s seal on it. Like all Rune levels involved in the war, Goandi (the CO) was aware of the PC’s mission. Wisely considering that he might be out on patrol or something when the group arrived, he wrote down some instructions for them. In the letter, he warns them about the dangers of venturing into the jungle, notes that Kazar’s main base seems to be located by the river a few days’ travel up stream, and mentions in passing (it never occurred to Goandi that Beorlak might withhold this information) a Wind Lord by the name of Colban. This Colban stopped over in Dolrum last Dark Season, apparently on the same mission as the adventurers, and hasn’t been seen or heard from since.
By the time they’ve finished reading, darkness has fallen. Shortly after this, the outpost is assaulted. Slingstones start whistling overhead, a few giant insects lurch out of the jungle, the Orlanthi man the trenches and start returning fire. The night is lit up by sporadic flashes from Firearrows and Light spells that the trollkin Dispel. The aide hysterically exclaims that it’s like this every night, they have to suffer this hell on Glorantha just so the bigshots in Kilwin can claim the river is safe all the way to Dolrum. If attempts are made to find the commander, it will prove difficult to say the least. He’s actually dead, but no one here knows this or much of anything else. One Orlanthi will even respond to such questions with "I thought you were the commander...?". Finally someone will say that he thinks the commander is "on the hill over there". In a trench on the hill in question can be found two men with glassy stares. One of them has a bow, and they’re listening to a trollkin yelling dirty words out of the darkness (its foot is caught in a trap). The one without a bow asks: "Do you want a light?""No, he’s so close, real close..." The archer slowly lifts his bow and sends off an arrow with Multimissile 4 on it. The shouting stops. Nothing sensible can be gotten out of these guys, they’re so stoned they don’t even know their own names.
When the party leaves Dolrum some of the Delelans will try
to swim after them, screaming that they want to go home, they want to be taken
away from here etc. But there’s no room for them in the boat, and it’s
heading in the wrong direction anyway. They are easily outdistanced.
Two days later (Wildday, Illusion Week) a thick fog rises during the morning. Kazar is close at hand now, the characters feel the fog like his breath on their necks. The fog isn’t thick enough to hinder navigation: the current is slow, the river shallow with no real obstacles, the 10 metres or so they can see are sufficient. About midday, the boat is attacked by trollkin throwing javelins. They can be glimpsed on the left shore - all the javelins come from that side, at a rate of 4 per round and with a skill of 40%. The PCs can choose to pole over towards the right shore or to shoot back (with -50 percentiles). The trollkin break off their attack after suffering 3 losses or after 3 rounds of throwing javelins at a retreating boat.
Another hour later, the adventurers spot a score of crucified
trollkin and a couple of trolls in the same predicament. They have been dead
for several days. At their feet, piles of skulls can be dimly seen through the
fog. The skulls are mainly trollkin, but numerous other species are represented
as well: troll, broo, human, dragonewt, wolf, newtling etc.
Soon after, the fog lifts and the party is confronted with a large, ancient temple ground that has fallen into ruins (a Lhankor Mhy scholar could after some study decide that it belongs to the period of Osentalka’s Golden Empire). The jungle has encroached upon most of it, but a few buildings are surprisingly intact. On a slope leading up from the shore, amidst the worst decayed ruins, stand a hundred or so armed trollkin. Their attitude is not threatening, just watchful. Two male humans stand on the beach, one of them obviously a Wind Lord (but not 2 metres tall and bald), the other dressed as a Grey Sage. The later is waving cheerfully to the PCs - he seems to be beckoning them closer. Across the river, between these humans and the party’s boat, lie twenty canoes filled with unarmed trollkin. Their bodies are daubed white, their hair (what little they have) has also been treated with mud to stand straight out from their heads.
Two courses of action are open to the players: they can approach
the shore or flee. If they flee and try to approach the temple by land they
will be captured (use traps, trollkin, magic, whatever it takes). The only difference
will be that they get to hear Khoff’s soliloquy after being captured, instead
of before.
If the PCs continue forwards, the line of canoes will part to let them past. When they have come ashore the Lhankor Mhy Sage will greet them: "Khoff, at your service. You are here to see Kazar, of course. He is a remarkable man. He fights this war. He accomplishes more out here in a single day than the others do in an entire season. His poetry is great as well. He has a voice! Kazar is not a man you talk with - you listen to him. All that have met him agree. I am immensely grateful that I have had the honour of meeting this man. Oh, he has enlarged my mind."etc etc. Colban stands completely silent, he never speaks. Khoff explains that after hearing Kazar speak, he doesn’t feel that anything he could say would be of importance. When the party has walked further inland, the trollkin will surround them and they will be told to surrender their arms and magic items, "Just for the sake of security, I promise that you will get them back.", whereupon they will be bound and led onwards. If any are stupid enough to resist (we don’t care how tough they are, they can’t fight against odds of this magnitude), feel free to inflict any punishment you like on them. If you think your players are the type to resist at any odds, and you don’t want to kill their characters, our suggestion is that you disable them in stages. In playtesting, we’ve discovered that many players cheerfully hand over their weapons ("Haha, I’ve still got the matrix hidden up my sleeve"), then you can demand their magical goodies a little later, and finally they are without means to resist being bound.
Rain starts to fall; only a drizzle at first, but from now on till the scenario’s end, it rains constantly, gradually building up to full gale strength. The prisoners are taken to one of the best preserved temple buildings, where Kazar awaits. The room smells of slow death and is only lit by a few torches. Kazar, dressed in a simple white robe, looks much too weak and emaciated to be a powerful Rune Lord - he is obviously very sick, yet his eyes are as discerning and his voice as grave, profound and vibrating as ever. His lips barely seem to move, which is in keeping with his appearance, but he still emits an amazing volume of tone, which is not. He will begin by asking the PCs where they come from, what clan they belong to. If he gets any reply that places the person in question somewhere in Ralios, he will reminisce for a while about how lovely the flowers there smell at this time of year or some such trivia. He will then get started on the concept of freedom: "Real freedom, that is to be free of your beliefs. Think carefully upon this. You cannot call yourself free until your beliefs and opinions no longer burden you." After this, he starts to pay attention to what the adventurers are saying. "You are just errand boys, and expendable ones at that. You realize that, do you not?""Did they tell you why you were to kill me?""What did you expect of your journey?"
The PCs will be held captive for the next few days. Kazar will
visit them with food and water. He will also ply them with Illuminating debate
and poetry. The former is pretty sharp, but the later leaves something to be
desired (nobody’s perfect). Some examples are given in the appendices,
but don’t feel restricted by these. Try to adapt your arguments to what
your players know about Glorantha and how they’ve reacted to the previous
encounters. Your goal is to make them realize that Law and Chaos are not evaluative
terms, just descriptions of the two sides there must always be to existence,
and that if they wish to choose sides they should do so for their own reasons,
not because of their childhood indoctrination by some priest. Kazar, for instance,
has chosen to be true to his original assignment, but in his own way. If you
can’t convince them, so be it. The universe still doesn’t care.
On the night of Freezeday, Truth Week, the party will be released:
some trollkin will cut their ropes and leave their equipment in a pile outside
the door. No explanation will be offered (even if some PC knows Darktongue).
There is a storm raging; not much can be heard over the peals of thunder, but
all the inhabitants seem to be gathered in the main temple. Kazar is presiding
over some kind of religious ceremony. The main event is the sacrifice of a large
water buffalo. If the players decide to kill Kazar (for whatever reason) they
should succeed - time it so that the buffalo’s head is cut off in the same
instant. Kazar’ last words will be "The horror! The horror!"
- anyone looking at his eyes in that moment can see that they are staring far
beyond Death. It is a stare wide enough to encompass the entire universe, looking
straight into the heart of an immense Darkness.
"You have the right to kill me, but not the right to judge me. Who can say what is right and what is wrong? Can you?"
"Will the gods tell you what is right or wrong? But the gods do not care about human morality! All they want is your Power."
"Just look at the many different ways one god can be worshipped: are the Orlanth cultists in Delela and Naskorion in agreement about what their deity considers just?"
"There is no such thing as right or wrong. There is no objective good or objective evil. What is evil? Tell me that!"
"Why is for instance Chaos evil?"
"Is death evil? Death is needed to let the living live. If nothing died there would soon be no room for life."
"Destruction is necessary so that new things will have a place to grow. Without destruction, the world would soon stagnate. Is this wrong?"
"Chaos stands for destruction and Law for construction. Both are needed in the cosmos. In their inner being they are actually alike. What makes one more good than the other?"
"Take light and darkness, same thing there. At heart, they are one and the same. What do you see if you look into absolute Darkness? Nothing. What do you see if you look into absolute Light? Nothing."
"You must be rid of your fright and your hatred. If you do not befriend them, they become mighty enemies that will dominate your life. Why are you afraid of Chaos?"
"To lose one’s hatred is to become free. How can you be free when you let hatred rule over you?"
"You kill for money or for your god or lord. Chaos kills because it is forbidden. What is good or evil about any of these things?"
"If there is no good or evil, there is nothing that can be called sin either. What is sin?"
"If there is no sin, then there is no guilt. They tell you that you should not feel guilt unless you have sinned. So why should anyone feel guilt?"
"Chaos hates laws because it wants to feel free. But as no one can break all laws at once, creatures of Chaos are constantly frustrated and feel an abiding hatred of the laws they do not break. This hatred binds them as much as those who follow Law. Therefore even they have to realize the necessity of laws, or they can never be free of their all-consuming hatred. Can anything be freer than a being with no hate, fear, guilt or prejudice?"
"Just as Law and Chaos must exist side by side, so must all other ’opposites’. If there were no grief, how could we distinguish joy? If there were no pain, how would we notice pleasure?"
"Would you have anything worth saying as your last words?"
"You must let fear and moral terror be your friends, or they will devour you. In a human village I visited, some of the children had been playing in the woods, even though it was forbidden. There they had met some trollkin children and befriended them. When this became known, the entire village gathered together and the children were killed by their fathers. I cried when I saw the little pile of decapitated heads. But then realization hit me like a diamond hammerblow to the head: what genius, what will, what strength it took to do this. That men filled with love could do such a thing. They were moral, but with the strength to kill without judgement. They knew that if they did not do this, humans could never conquer Corolaland."
"I want you to take these papers to my family. I would wish for them to be told the truth. I hate lies." [the papers in question reiterate his worldview and describe his methods for setting trollkin against other trollkin]
"What a world we live in... We train our young boys to chop people into tiny bits, but the priests will not allow them to say ’fuck’, because it is indecent!"
"Regarding the trollkin here I only have one thing to
say: exterminate them all!"
starstrikes
and we can steer our steps
where we will
we walk a thousand islands that lay by
an anchored night
a thousand burning islands in an anchored night
can see wagon after wagon after wagon
run through us
throughcrossing us wagon after wagon
- - - - - -
all was dark mentioned words
as in a dream they never sprang from the hilt
as out of darkness a splinter an angle
as by a hand sealed struck out
- - - - - -
the resolution
a blind chewing
I think I already have
a weak remembrance wish to delay
sounds analogies perforators
a centimetre into my sleep
- - - - - -
stitches over my mouth
tightened to silence
and I believe it can be said
how you can encompass all
and still have everything left
sometimes you are always so many
The more tangible effects of Illumination are immunity to all manner of Detect Chaos/Law spells or skills, as well as cult Spirits of Reprisal. The former is easily explained - since a Riddler in fact is not aligned with either side, there is no reason for him/her to register as chaotic or lawful - but the later is somewhat trickier. Kazar provides the key in his argument about guilt: when normal (unenlightened) cultists break a rule, they are so deeply conditioned as to feel at least a subliminal twinge of guilt, no matter how unrepentant they claim to be. This feeling, this awareness of having done something wrong, is what the Spirits of Reprisal home in on and in some way ’feed’ on, generally being more effective against those with low self-confidence (POW). As an Illuminate knows that nothing you can do is really wrong in any metaphysical sense, the Spirits are simply unable to find him/her.
It is often claimed that the ’cult’ of Nysalor has a Dark Side and a Light Side. The Dark Illuminates are those who use their knowledge as an excuse to satisfy their base desires without regard for the consequences, while those who follow the Light realize that if the structure of the world doesn’t provide a grounding for any ethics, then people will have to provide it for themselves - morality is still necessary for human (or other sentient) life, even if it can never be objectively ’true’ or ’real’. This description is accurate as far as it goes, but it’s not the whole picture. The widespread acceptance of these definitions is partly due to the efforts of the Arkat cult (who regard themselves as the only genuine Light Siders, any other Riddler must be Dark), partly the result of an inclination among Gloranthans to fall back on dualism whenever in doubt. But in fact, many Illuminates don’t fit either mold: some seem to act entirely at random (being barely distinguishable from Tricksters), some refuse to involve themselves with the world at all, many choose a goal in life that can hardly be described as either Light or Dark (Kazar is one of these), and a few are just insane - though whether insanity is a result or cause of Illumination is moot (as is the question if Kazar belongs in this category as well). As any Riddler will tell you, there just aren’t any simple answers.