[Glorantha] A look at Glorantha: Second Age

The book at a hardbound 156 pages is rather attractively put together. Much of the material is a repetition of already existing material (world views of the Orlanthi etc) but most of it is new, making it worth having (even if my niggardly instincts felt the hardback was unnecessary).

There are a few errors (such as the description of Votankiland as "Balazar" - the hero of that name didn't arrive in the area until a century later) and some rather needless repetition of the old Glorantha:CotHW material (Yuthuppa is more famous for its star scribes than its fires and its city god is far older than the dawn age).

FUN STUFF:

• Vadrus is alive (G:tSA p155). Yay!
• The Timinits
• The Death Kings (G:tSA p30).

STARTLING STUFF:

• Gilam D'Estau is described as being an still living advisor to ShangHsa (G:tSA p35) rather than his dead father incarnated within himself.
• The Haragalans are part of the God Learner Empire and worship the Invisible Vith. Nothing is said about the Valkarians. The Eastern Seas Empire still exists but controls a smaller part of Vithela than previously stated.
• Loskalm is still under the control of the God Learners whereas it had revolted successfully several decades before (855-865 ST). I could understand it if the God Learners had invaded again but no mention is made.
• The heresy of the Mari Dwarves is not Vegetarianism but Missing Partism (Mostali Shamanism in other words). Vegetarians are not mentioned but probably are found in the Elf Empire.
• Galanini in what is now Jonatela.
• The EWF is active in Pent!
• Where is Sir Ethilrist?
• No Print in Hendrieikiland! I knew the Larnsti were good in hiding the secrets of their land from the God Learners but I didn't realize they were that good.
• The Utoni (those that worship the right and left hands of the Invisible God) are secretly Carmanians.
• The cult of Caladra and Aurelion has no assets of note described in either Slontos or Jrustela.
• The Rathori have access to the White Bear. I didn't think they had it that early.

ISSUES:

• The detail of treatment given to many places is uneven. Some places are described in detail out of proportion to their impact while others receive only scant attention. Kethaela, a major battleground between the EWF and the God Learners only receives two pages while Kralorela recieves despite it being far from the centres of power - it's about as prominent on the world stage as unmentioned Kalabar or the Elf Empire.
• The Zistorites are mentioned in many places that a description of them (and their technology) in the God Learner overview would have been useful.
• Bija (the ancestor of the Yggites) has been left out of the description of Fronela. Likewise Eastpoint, the easternmost extent of the God Learner Empire in Loskalm has been omitted.
• The text isn't quite aligned with the map in some places (the map of Brithos has several unexplained placenames while the Vent is described as Aurelion [sic] in the text and Veskarthen in the map).
• Arolanit is described without any mention of its Brithini inhabitants (although its Brithini past is mentioned elsewhere in the text). Where did the modern Brithini come from then?
• The Praxians and Agimori are given their overviews despite them having little influence in the current age. I think that the space devoted to them could have been replaced with treatments of the Fonritans and the Masloi as they are far more likely to interact with foreigners.
• The Safelstran writeup pays scant attention to the Arkati. For the guiding faith of the Autarchy and the leading conspirators of the God Learner doom, I would have expected them to be treated by a cross between the Mafia and Al-Qaida. As it is, there's only the Chaos Monks and nostalgiac drunkards (the Sons of the Autarchy G:tSA p155).
• EWF Factions: Where are the Here-and-Nows or the Forwards? Where for that matter is Isangdrang, Alakoring or Ingolf?
• EWF "Pyramid Scheme" (G:TSA p27). For the EWF to be a pyramid scheme, there has to be some element of unsustainability built in that will eventually crash the entire network. There isn't any and the result is that the EWF is no more a pyramid scheme than medieval europe. There is a pyramidial hierarchy but to describe this as a scheme carries the connotation of the EWF being fraudulent.
• The Elf overview only mentions Errinoru as a historical event without any impact that his empire or philosophy has on them. Errinoru's Empire is a major empire of the age, carrying the same flaws as the God Learners, the EWF or perhaps the Eastern Seas Empire.

--Peter Metcalfe Received on Sun 29 Oct 2006 - 07:46:40 EET