In Glorantha, the spirits of your ancestors still pay attention to your actions and exert great magical power. Though individually weak, they collectively wield power equivalent to a minor deity.
Your ancestors can bless you for acting in accordance with their values or curse you for doing the opposite.
Powerful ancestors—heroes of previous generations—are occasionally sometimes called on individually. And of course, some people claim descent from the gods, who are of course worshiped separately.
Foreigners have ancestors too. Even the trolls have to heed their ancestors' enmities or suffer their wrath.
Ride Like the Wind[]
Rider ancestors reside in the Story Tent... most of the time.
In Ride Like the Wind, your ancestors are an important force in your lives. Since you are Riders, your ancestors are commemorated in your story tent. They are deeply invested in your actions, and will reward you for continuing in their ways and striking out against their enemies, or punish you for doing the opposite. For example, if you chose to adopt people during the clan creation, your ancestors will expect you to also adopt people when possible.
Over the course of a game of Ride Like the Wind, one of your notables might receive the following vision:
| “ | The spirits of our ancestors, including <Venalor> the Sky Stepper and <Nasutia> the Sure, came to me in a vision. They were pleased that we were regaining our connection to the divine after the migration and said they would be watching after us more than usual for the next year. | ” |
Lights Going Out[]
With the gods dying, your ancestors have become even more important. You can now worship them from the Magic Screen, and some of your nobles will worship them instead of the gods or spirits.
When Redalda merged her clan with Beren's, she had to reconcile his Rider ancestors to the prospect of Ram descendants. She did so by promising to uphold a particular Rider virtue, chosen during clan creation.
In this terrible era, the ancestors care less about their ancient foes than they once did. Instead they focus on the Rider virtue that Redalda chose. And ancestors of King Vinglanth's generation naturally loathe the particular Chaos foe that slew him.
Worship[]
You can now build a shrine to them. Their two available blessings depend entirely on your choices in clan creation.
- Famous Event: People gain the skills our ancestors showed at the <famous event>.
- Rider Virtue: Has a different ability depending on the virtue Redalda chose to uphold.
Famous Event means all of your leaders will gain the skill related to the Famous Event you chose in Clan Creation at a significantly increased rate.
Rider Virtue can have five completely different effects:
| Virtue | Description | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Ferocity | Helps when we choose to fight fiercely | |
| Forward Movement | Helps when foraying outside clan lands, whether exploring or searching for something | |
| Finding the Truth | Provides an annual divination about our land | The divination is given on the Sacred Time screen, provided this blessing was active before that Sacred Time. |
| Avid Trading | Lets us have more trading partners | Allows one extra trade route. |
| Lusty Feasting | Allows an additional feast each year, if we have the food | Feast venture no longer counts towards venture limit; Feast Neighbors is possible. |
On the Ring[]
In Lights Going Out, you can also put ancestor worshipers on the clan ring. Again, the Sacred Time magic slot they offer depends on your Rider Virtue.
| Virtue | Magic Type |
|---|---|
| Ferocity | War |
| Forward Movement | Exploring |
| Finding the Truth | Ritual |
| Avid Trading | Crafts |
| Lusty Feasting | Harmony |
Both men and women may become Ancestor worshipers. They are the only ones whose admission to the ring allows you to put more magic into either Crafts or Exploring in Lights Going Out. If you have an Ancestor worshiper on the ring as well as the treasure Durev's Chisel you have access to even more Crafts magic during Sacred Time.
Myths & Rituals[]
Your ancestors factor into several myths, but the most pertinent one is How Horses Came to Orlanthstead, the latter part of which details the founding of your tribe.
Your ancestors do not have any rituals associated with them, but your tribe's ancestral founder King Beren can be contacted by traveling to a Gods War portal on the map, see Other Side: Beren's Court for the event kick-starting his event-chain.
Other Stories[]
For more on ancestor worship, see here on the Glorantha wiki or here on the King of Dragon Pass wiki.
Images[]
