PRALOR

THE ELK SPIRIT

CULT HISTORY

At the Dawn, the Pralori were a relatively powerful and numerous people, and held sway over much of western Slontos and Wenelia, exacting tribute from the farmer peoples there. They were expelled early in the second century by the World Council of Friends, and have not ventured from Pralorela in great numbers since.

ICONOGRAPHY

Pralor is never depicted directly in Pralori art, but is represented by intricate branching antler patterns on clothing or tatoos.

The runic affinities of Pralor are Beast and Harmony.

The runic classification of Pralor is Animist, Hsunchen, Elk.

ROLE IN SOCIETY

The Pralori are the least numerous of the ten major Hsunchen peoples of Genertela, although this still means that they have fared better than most other Hsunchen tribes. Pralor is the only god worshipped by the tribe, for he also teaches the skill of hunting so that there is no need to pray to a separate hunter deity as most Hsunchen must. His worship is however, combined with that of many lesser spirits from which a shaman can potentially gain a wide range of powerful magics.

Shamans are both spiritual and political leaders, although they share the latter task with chieftains who are nominally subordinate to them. The most experienced shaman becomes the leader of the herd, and is assisted by any younger shamans that the herd may have.

Almost every herd can be considered at least as a Minor Temple, with only the most desperate able to produce nothing larger than a Shrine. When groups of herds gather together in the autumn rut, a Major Temple is temporarily formed. Those few Shrines that do exist teach Antlers.

The holy days for the cult are Godsday of Harmony week, each season. The High Holy Day falls during the autumn rut, on Godsday, Life week, Earthseason.

INITIATE STATUS

All human Pralori automatically become initiates when they reach adulthood by sacrificing a point of POW. The requirements of the cult are identical with those of membership of the herd. Initiates may learn any spirit magic from the herd's shaman, the most popular being Bladesharp, Farsee, Heal, Mobility, Peaceful Cut, Protection and Vigour.

All adult elk are also considered initiates of Pralor.

PdP virtues: Chaste, Energetic, Generous, Proud, Prudent

HONOURED HUNTER (ACOLYTE) STATUS

REQUIREMENTS

The most skilled warriors and hunters of the tribe may become Honoured Hunters. Only men may do this, but the title is a necessary prerequisite to becoming cheiftain of the herd. A candidate must demonstrate sufficient ability in the skills listed below, have a healthy child, have brought back the best prey animal in a competitve hunt held annually for the purpose and must have taken full elk form at least once in his life.

Honoured Hunters gain reusable divine magic as if they were priests. In return, they lead hunting parties and take the front positions in combat.

SKILLS

RuneQuest: Animal Lore, Bow Attack, Ceremony, Riding, Scan

Pendragon Pass: Animal Lore, Awareness, Bow, Religion (Pralor), Riding

GURPS: Animal Handling, Bow, Ride Elk, Theology (Pralori), Tracking

SHAMAN STATUS

REQUIREMENTS

A candidate for shaman of Pralor must follow the usual requirements and rituals. Bad Man takes the form of a carnivore, most often a wolf, while the shade of Antler Man replaces Horned Man (stats remain the same). Pralori shamans are also priests.

Like other Hsunchen shamans, those of Pralor deal mostly with animal spirits. Spirits of cloven hooved animals, especially cervines (deer, elk etc.), are usually friendly, while those of other herbivores are generally neutral. Spirits of carnivores are neutral at best, and usually hostile. Plant spirits are always hostile, for they fear that the elk will eat them. Other non-animal spirits are either neutral or hostile and can generally not be convinced to give any aid to the shaman.

DIVINE MAGIC

Available Spells: Antlers, Elk Hooves, Sanctify, Speak With Elk, Staghide, Worship Pralor

Antlers (1 point)
touch, temporal, nonstackable, reusable

This spell turns the target's head into that of an elk. Despite the name, female Pralori (excluding shamans) do not sprout antlers when influenced by this spell. The target gains a Listen skill of 50% (or increases an existing Listen skill by +10%) and a Smell skill of 50%. Smell skill permits the distinguishing of various types of animal, even at a distance, to the same extent that a natural elk can. If the target sprouts antlers he may use them to attack, with the same damage as a natural elk and a beginning skill of 20%. He cannot attack with antlers in the same round as using another attack skill, although he can parry as normal.

PdP: Awareness skill 12 (or +3), smell as above (use Awareness skill), starting antler skill 5.
GURPS: Acute Hearing +3, Distinguishing Smell, antler skill P/A.

Elk Hooves (3 points)
touch, temporal, nonstackable, reusable

This spell turns the target's limbs into those of an elk, rendering them incapable of using any manipulation skills. The target's STR increases by +12, although he or she can no longer use weapons other than a kick for 1d4 base damage, or antlers (if he possesses any). The target's Move also increase to 11.

PdP: kick does half damage
GURPS: ST +12, kick 1d3 cr, Move 10

Staghide(2 points)
touch, temporal, nonstackable, reusable

This spell causes the target to sprout bay-coloured fur and become bulkier in build. They gain 1 point of natural armour, although their body is no longer correctly shaped to fit normal worn armour (although leather barding, for example, may not be out of the question). More significantly, their SIZ doubles, with all the bonuses that implies. Any damage taken affects the target in full when the spell expires, so healing magic is often required to prevent a severely injured target from dying when they regain human form.

GURPS: gain 1/1 PD/DR (not including any existing Toughness) and +5 HT, +5 hit points.

Hero Wars Magical Keywords

Pralori Herd Member

Emulate Elk: Acute Hearing, Elk Limbs, Elksize, Elkstrength, Fur, Run Fast, Scent Intruder, Sprout Antlers (men and shamans only)

Pralori Shaman

Traditional Spirits: Animal spirits, Pralorelan local spirits

• Spirit Allies: Cloven-hooved animal spirits
• Spirit Guardians: Spirit Elk

Secret: Embody Herd (allows the shaman to access powers from other herd members)

SUBSERVIENT CULTS

SPIRIT OF REPRISAL

Any Pralori who commits serious crimes, such as betraying his cult or people, will be expelled from the herd. The ritual of severing marks the afflicted person so that any Pralori shaman can tell that he or she is no longer a member of the people. If the crime is severe enough, the person will be executed immediately after the severing, but more commonly, they are simply outcast and left to survive as best they can on their own.

ASSOCIATE CULTS

MOTHER MAMMAL

The ancestress of all mammals gives Pralor the spell of Transform Self (see Dorastor: Land of Doom p122 for details, replacing terms with Pralori equivalents where necessary).

Notes: Much of this description is based on that of other Hsunchen cults described in Gods of Glorantha, Dorastor: Land of Doom and the Book of Drastic Resolutions: volume Prax. The central mythology of the cult is described in Anaxial's Roster. The mention of Pralori rule over Slontos and Wenelia comes from the Broken Council Guidebook. The holy days and runes of the cult are largely my own invention. I remain unconvinced that any significant number of people can 'join' Hsunchen cults unless they are born into them; the Pralori's tight family bonds render this particularly unlikely, so I have intentionally left out any details of how this might be achieved. The divine magic is my own creation, although a certain similarity with Martin Crim's ideas is unavoidable - where similarities exist he has precendence with regard to copyright issues.