The Old Arkat Kult Alliance

by Nicholas Effingham, based upon comments by Sandy Petersen in the Glorantha Con IV Compendium. Many references are made to my HeroQuest Rules, although conversion to other systems should be very easy.

I. Mythos and History

Arkat was one of the world's greatest HeroQuesters, sometimes referred to in the ancient texts as Arkat the First Hero. While he wrought necessary carnage and destruction upon the mundane world, he always treated the HeroPlane and the Land of the Gods with great reverence and respect. The world recovered quickly from the damage inflicted to it because its heart and soul, the land of myth, was unharmed.

Arkat taught to the people of the Dark Empire the nature of respect when dealing with the gods, of how easily abuse can lead to self-destruction. He instituted a great cult, part of which stood as guardians to the HeroPlane, protectors and servitors to the Gods and the Cosmic Welfare.

The respect shown by Arkat, however, was not shown by the God Learners. They did not honour the Sacred Rules, they never HeroQuested with reverence, to them the Land Of Myth was the Plunder World, nothing more than a collection of objects and powers to be torn from the rightful owners. Irreparable damage was inflicted by mortal men in some cases.

The Old Arkat Kult Alliance remained underground throughout the God Learner rule. Unable to prevent the HeroQuesters of the Empire from damaging the Sacred World, they only watched - idle and passive. Some adherents of the Kult claim that it was they who summoned the Gift Carriers, but most, even the most devote worshipper, do not believe it.

The coming of the Third Age brought freedom. The Arkati remained hidden, watching the pitiful remnants of the once great Empire attempt to recover their heritage. The Kult watched as people would take small pieces of the Empire's teachings and blindly follow them whilst forgetting the whole - they watched as small factions of Arkat formed, each of which understanding a small portion of Arkat, but none understanding them all.

Yet the Old Arkat Kult Alliance understood that they were still needed, more so perhaps after the fall of the God Learners. They still remain, guardians of the HeroWorld, even until the present day.

The cult is connected to the Runes of Mastery and Magic, with minor connections to Spirit, Infinity and Harmony.

II. Cult Ecology

The Arkat Kult is sure of one thing, the fragments of the one, true cult of Arkat, sundered by the God Learners, may have no true idea of the form of the original cult, but the Old Arkat Kult Alliance can be sure of one thing - the piece of the puzzle they know of is true and righteous. They have a variety of historical documents that show that one portion of the Dark Empire was dedicate to protecting the sanctity of the HeroPlane. It takes this very, very seriously.

It is, in fact, the only thing that the Alliance does, having no other aims or motives. They hide, waiting on the HeroPlane. Their continued existence is self perpetuated, the cult is self funded and self raised. The cult only appears when the HeroPlane's stability is being threatened - and the notion of "stability" might not be what the average HeroQuester would believe. For instance, the Kult has nothing against Chaotic HeroQuesters, they are just as much a part of the Lands of Myth as Lawful HeroQuesters. They have little against experimental HeroQuesters, merely enacting a Quest differently does not worry the Alliance. Instead they concentrate more on those people with access to either God Learner secrets or the God Learner methods of HeroQuesting, those people who seek to cause disorder across the entire HeroPlane, damaging the whole realm of legend. HeroQuesters from the Lunar Empire (known as Travel and Journeyers, or T&Jers) are those people most guilty of this sin. Unfortunately for the Alliance, the Lunar Empire fields powerful HeroQuesters, and even the Alliance is starting to believe that it is failing in its task. The Alliance believes it has no allies, none of the original cults that were associated with the Great Cult of Arkat in the First Age have any more knowledge of the true nature of Arkat than the other Arkati sects, and so the Alliance has not established any new ties with such cults (namely Kyger Litor, Orlanth etc...).

The Kult has no holy days, it does not worship Arkat for they do not believe Arkat is a god and never asked for, nor deserved, worship. Holy days and ceremonies are seen as a pitiful waste of resources.

III. The Cult In The World

While almost everybody in the Safelstran area has heard of the Old Arkat Kult Alliance, a scant few know of its true nature. The Alliance has members in the mundane world across most of Ralios, centring in the Safelstran area. While there are members in every city, the public only know that members exist in Azilos, Tortun and Uton. In each of these places there are almost three times the normal amount of Alliance members (normally, in any city, there are only fifty Kult members including those underlings know as the Blind - see below). The Alliance has a small membership within the mundane world. It has no cult centre, and no true hierarchy. By the nature of the cult, the only people who join are those who are willing to aid the cause, and the cause is so simple that there is never any dispute upon the best way of protecting the HeroPlane. Leadership has little meaning, the cult protects the HeroPlane by general consensus, and over the last five hundred years has never had any need for a leader (of course, with the insecurity of the sect in Azilos, and the advance of the Lunars, this may all change).

On the HeroPlane and Godplane, the Alliance members can be met almost anywhere, and this is why they have encountered the Lunars, Pentans, Kralorelans etc... Now, while many cultures still don't know about the fact that in certain places there are certain guardians, some do, although even fewer know that it is Arkati behind it. Only the Lunars, with their wide knowledge base, know the truth, and even they have not identified the Old Arkat Kult Alliance as being behind it all. Many more members exist on the HeroPlane than they do on the mundane world - members of the Reborn hiding for centuries, unaging on the HeroPlane, some barely even remember who they are, only what their mission is. If they were ever to return to the mundane plane they would most likely be unable to recontact the Alliance, so whilst the Alliance might, at first glance, appear as a mighty force of supernaturally old Heroes, their lack of internal coherence means that they are barely able to fufil their obligations in protecting the HeroPlane, let alone mount a war or have political motives.

The Kult has no temples, only highly secret temples and libraries containing their information on sorcery, Illumination, Arkat and their HeroQuest information. Over half of these temples are hidden away in the Otherworld, accessed by difficult, half known rituals known only to the Skinned and the Reborn.

IV. The Blind

Those who work unbeknownest even to themselves are known as the Blind. They are those who work for the good of the Kult, and may one day join, but do not have the true nature of the Alliance revealed to them. No-one outside the Kult knows of its true nature, except perhaps a handful of knowledgeable HeroQuesters and the Lunar Consortium for Travel and Journeying.

Membership is by invitation only. Strictly. Anyone who seeks out the Kult is considered to be a danger and either negotiations are carried out whereby the individual never joins, or the individual is murdered before they learn too much. The Blind are often Rune Lords and Rune Priests of other cults who understand that they are working for some higher force, some greater purpose, but generally have little idea as to its motives. Usually such individuals serve to give information to the Kult, acting as a spy network for unwanted activity. They also supply cult information, cult secrets, telling higher members of the cult the dangers present on certain HeroQuest paths so that the Kult can safely walk them - and thereby protect them. In return the Blind gain nothing other than the satisfaction that they are working for the greater good. Usually such members never progress beyond this stage and die without knowledge of the true reasons behind what they have done.

The other type of Blind member is that member being tested for actual membership in the Alliance. HeroQuesters are the only choice for this. The Alliance seeks out those who have HeroQuested a lot, treating the HeroPlane properly, and favour those who challenge people who seek to destroy and plunder the mythical landscape. After a period of observation, the candidate is invited into the Blind, and do a few favours for the Kult. Once the Kult is sure that the candidate is suitable, they have revealed to them the true nature of the Kult and can join as full members.

V. The Skinned

They are called the Skinned because they have had removed from them the shackles of their previous life and given the chance to redeem themselves by working in the path of Arkat for the good of the Cosmos. They are full members of the Kult and know of its nature, purpose and powers.

The Skinned generally find that all of their time becomes consumed by the Kult, and the Alliance generally organises for them to disappear into obscurity so that no-one suspects that they might be members of secret alliance. They are taught and tutored in the methods of HeroQuesting so that they might protect the HeroPlane and its sanctity. They must sacrifice 1 POW to the Kult. All members are quickly Illuminated, however most do not realise it and many never do. They are also taught sorcery - no member of the Skinned goes without such training. They are taught all of the basic Arts (Intensity, Multispell, Range and Duration if you use it) and four of the Secondary Arts, and at least five spells. They are taught to a reasonable percentage, about 40-60% depending upon how quickly the new member learns. As almost all members of the Skinned are already proficient HeroQuesters and high ranking members of at least one other cult, sometimes more, they become very powerful, very quickly.

All members of the Skinned must report to their leaders as often as possible, and are often sent on dangerous and deadly missions around Ralios and the world. Some members of the Skinned are infiltrating the Lunar Empire. Sometimes they are called upon to travel to the HeroPlane to right some great wrong or defeat a HeroQuester threatening either the Kult or its precepts. All members gain access to a larger number of HeroQuests, and more importantly the knowledge of how to use them. The Alliance has, in total, the largest recorded data on HeroQuesting that Glorantha has ever seen. They will teach you not only how to seduce the Beasts that need seducing, not only teach you the weak point of your HeroPlane foe, not only teach you which are the safest or most rewarding paths to take but also even more secret information. Such information may include what gifts to give to certain guardians on a HeroQuest to gain secret rewards, whereas a normal Quester would often ignore the Guardian completely, or just slay it. All members of the Alliance are also explorers, they have not catalogued the HeroPlane by any stretch of the imagination, and all members pool what they learn so that every time a new piece of knowledge is learned, the entire Kult may benefit. Needless to say, with access to such accurate information, the Alliance has powerful members, and it needs it. However, it never abuses its knowledge, calling upon it as it is needed. They are not willing to fall afoul of the God Learners mistakes.

Members, at a later level, also learn the secrets of Experimental HeroQuesting, but only after they have proved their worth to the Kult. The Kult has access to all normal sorcery, many rare sorceries in some cases, and special Kult sorcery described below.

Special Kult Sorcery: Arkati Blade Ritual, Boost < Rune >, Boost < Passion >, HeroHide, HeroQuesting Immunity, Kill, See HeroQuesting, Sever HeroQuesting, Summon < Hazard >, Worship Arkat.
Passions: Loyalty (Old Arkat Kult Alliance) 4, Hate (Disrespectful HeroQuesters) 5, Piety (Arkat) 2.
Runes: Mastery 5, Magic 5, Spirit 2, Harmony 2.

VI. The Reborn

The Reborn rank as some of the most powerful HeroQuesters of the Third Age, if their attention was not solely dedicated to the preservation of the HeroPlane then they would be a formidable force indeed. To this end, only those who have proven their worth to the Kult time and time again may join.

Under my House Rules you may only join the Reborn if your character has a Piety (Arkat) passion of 25 or higher. In other systems, something similar must be found to show that the character has total dedication to the cause of the Kult. All members of the Reborn must be at least Adepts. Then, at any point they wish they may ask to join the Reborn and join the ranks of those dedicated to protecting the HeroPlane.

The ritual to join the Reborn is abstracted as a POWx3 (modified by the Piety (Arkat) of the candidate if you use my House Rules). If it suceeds they effectively become "priests" of the Kult. One very important benefit of the ritual is unique in nature. The candidate spends one week being bathed in blood, spiked with an actual droplet of Arkats! At the end they are immune to "power stripping". This means that when on a HeroQuest, they cannot lose their powers by anything short of the Infinity Rune. A Zorak Zorani cannot eat their liver and gain power thereof, a Thanatari will find Head Magics useless. This is to ensure that the Kult keeps its secrets safe.

The Reborn dedicate all of their time and energy to the Alliance. They are not only the leaders (if such a word should be applied to a Kult dedicated so utterly to one purpose) but also the actual individuals met on the HeroPlane as protectors. They spend most of their time hiding on the HeroPlane, along well known and, sometimes not so well known, HeroPaths watching and waiting, prepared to defeat disrespectful HeroQuesters who try to divert the proper HeroPath. There are, in fact, more Reborn than Skinned. Many Reborn have been around hundreds of years (sometimes even nearly a thousand), never returning to the Mundane Plane, existing solely as a guardian of a HeroPath. If the Kult was ever to mass they would be the most destructive force known, but this would leave all other HeroPaths unprotected, which is absolutely against the ideals of the Alliance. When the Reborn are not on the HeroPlane they are organising the mundane affiars of the Alliance, an act that most Reborn find tedious as it draws their attention from their duties on the HeroPlane. All Kult members are willing to fight to the Death in order to protect the HeroPlane, make no mistakes.

The Reborn also gain access to esoteric Arkatism, and in some areas some powerful rituals, more powerful even then those described here. Immortality is a side benefit of being in the Reborn, being on the HeroPlane for such long periods of time where you do not age extends life spans greatly, and many Kult members know the Immortality ritual. If a member should die, HeroQuests are held to retrieve him. The Reborn are too valuable to lose.

VII. Special Kult Sorcery

Arkati Blade Ritual
Ritual (ceremony)
This spell can be cast on any weapon. It is cast before a member of the Alliance goes to the HeroPlane to hide in waiting as a Kult guardian, on the look out for foolish HeroQuesters who abuse the HeroPlane. It requires an intensity equal to the ENC of the weapon. Whilst under the effects of the spell, and whilst on the HeroPlane in the capacity of a guardian (and no other way), the weapon is Powered. In other words, any roll involving the weapon is increased by one success level, so a miss becomes a hit, a special becomes a critical etc...

Boost Rune
Ritual (ceremony), self only, temporal
This spell increases the runic links of the caster. If your HeroQuest system does not include Runic Ties then ignore this spell. As most systems (mine, Maurer, Sandy Petersens) rate runic links on a rating of one to one hundred, this spell should work the same for all HeroQuest rules. There is one specific spell for each type of rune, so you may have Boost Death Rune, or Boost Fertility Rune. Each point of intensity increases the Rune by one point.

Boost Passion
Ritual (ceremony), self only, temporal
This spell increases the passions/personality traits of the caster. If your HeroQuest system does not include personality traits, or anything similar, then ignore this spell. Under my system, there is one spell for most Passions other than Piety passions. So you may have Boost Hate Chaos, or Boost Loyalty Family. Each intensity increases the Passion by one.

Under systems using Personality Traits (such as those presented in Pendragon) there is one spell for each trait, so you have Boost Brave, or Boost Lust. Each intensity increases the trait by five, thereby decreasing the other by five. This assumes a rating of zero to a hundred in traits, if you use a different scale, adjust accordingly.

HeroHide
Ritual (ceremony)
This spell is used in conjunction with a HeroQuest spell to send the Arkati to the HeroPlane. It is used so that they can hide and await HeroQuesters who wish to abuse the HeroPlane, allowing them to act as the HeroPlane's protectors. If the ritual fails things can go wrong for the person as they are now on a HeroQuest! If the spell succeeds then the Arkati becomes like something in the Quest. For instance, using HeroHide for the Battle of Stormfall HeroQuest means that the target assumes the identity of one of the thanes. He is in no danger, and need merely sit there and wait, making sure no-one attempts to do anything against the Kult's beliefs. The target is undetectable under most circumstances whilst hiding in this fashion. However, as soon as they act - such as making an attack - the spell ends and they appear.

HeroQuesting Immunity
Ritual (ceremony), self only
This ritual makes it more difficult for someone to drag you into an involuntary HeroQuest. For instance, it is possible to force a Yelmalion to meet you onthe HeroPlane at the Hill of Gold if you are a Zorak Zorani, even though they have not cast the spell. Usually it requires a POW versus POW to succeed. This spell gives the caster two extra effective POW for resisting, per intensity used.

Kill
attack, ranged, instant
Normally on the HeroPlane, you do not die naturally unless someone uses the power of death upon you. Whilst many members of the Kult possess the power of death by HeroQuesting for it (HeroQuesting for a copy of death), this spell can even determine where you go when you die. It can only be cast on the HeroPlane. It may only be used on a target with less than zero hit points at time of casting. It requires a magic points versus magic points to work. At intensity one the target is dead, but the spirit is still tied to the body. A shaman can, by discorporating, lead the spirit back into the body. At intenisty 3, the target is dead and walks the Path of the Dead as you would normally expect them to. At intensity 7 the target is forced to Hell, and if they are Ressurected then in addition to the normal rules, a guardian (physical or spiritual) must be defeated to retrieve the soul. At intensity 12 the target is sent to a totally different Hell than the one he should go to! This means it takes a HeroQuest to recover the soul. At intensity 15 or higher, the soul is locked away in one of many secret places on the HeroPlane known only to the Alliance. It requires a very difficult HeroQuest to rescue him, even mroe difficult than first locating where the soul is hidden!

See HeroQuesting
self only, temporal
The Alliance equivalent of See Rune Magic. At intensity one it tells you if somebody is on a HeroQuest or not. At intensity 3 it tells you what runes and what passions they possess. At intensity 6 or higher it tells you what level the runes and passions are possessed at. At intensity 8 or higher it also gives details of the cult support of a HeroQuester. At intensity 10 or higher it even tells you what HeroPaths and heroQuests they have walked.

Sever HeroQuesting
attack, ranged, temporal
This spell requires a magic points versus magic points to work and is only effective on targets on a HeroQuest. It reduces all POW gained by cult support by the intensity of the spell, all runic ties by the intensity of the spell, and all Passions by the intensity of the spell. This effect lasts until the spell is lifted or dispelled.

Summon Hazard
Ritual (summon)
This spell summons one of the Hazards of the HeroPlane. There is a specific spell for each Hazard, so you may have Summon Hero Wind, Summon Astelkel Horse, Summon Beast of Dangin Pits and so on. The Kult, by far, does not know how to summon all of the Hazards of the HeroPlane. This spell does not allow them to control the Hazards. It is effective only on the HeroPlane. While it is a spell limited by Summon skill, it only takes 10 SR to cast. It requires 1 point of permanent POW. The Kult Alliance can summon various horrors and hazards. Notably it does not use chaotic hazards (too unnatural and unpredictable, better kept locked away on the HeroPlane where they are at the moment).

VIII. Notes

Notes on Illumination

As noted before, the Alliance Illuminates those who join the Skinned. As noted in Dorastor: Land of Doom, Illuminates can gain some, all or more than all of the powers described in its section on Illumination and Nysalor. The Alliance teaches Illuminates, they gain all of the normal powers except the ability to teach Riddles - many of those who join do not realise that they are even Illuminated, let alone have the ability to Illuminate others. Members of the Reborn usually then learn the skill to teach Riddles so that they might Illuminate others of the Kult. This teaching process is not blatant, the Alliance does not sit you in a room and ask you riddles, instead while the newly initiated Skinned is training, they are subjected to a variety of philosophical and mystical debates, questions and dilemmas. As each dilemma is resolved, the Skinned comes that bit closer to Illumination.

The Illumination however does have an additional power. The Illuminate can possess conflicting passions/traits. For instance, in my system they could have Hate (Orlanthi) and Piety (Orlanth) both at the same time, and could choose which one to choose on a given occasion. They must, however, be one or the other, they must either hate Orlanthi, or be pious towards Orlanth, not neither. This obviously makes members more flexible HeroQuesters. Under a personality trait system like Pendragon Pass the Illuminate can have ratings in their traits that add up to more than one hundred (or twenty if you use a scale of zero to twenty for Personality Traits), so you may have Lust 70 and Chaste 70 both at the same time. The Illuminate can choose which trait to use in a given situation.

Notes on Example HeroQuests

The Alliance has access to a large number of HeroQuests. It knows details for hundreds of HeroQuests, with a mass of information more extensive than that even of the cults the HeroQuests belong to! The Alliance is very interested in rare cults, especially cults not within the Ralian region as they now almost nothing of their HeroQuest paths. This is partly why the Lunars scare them so much, running around creating new HeroPaths that the Alliance is completely ignorant about it very unnerving. The Alliance is a conglomerate control freak.

Not only do they have larger access to HeroQuests and HeroQuest information, but they also have HeroQuests of their own, such as Arkat stealing the Blue Book of Zzabur, or the Tower of Dreams HeroQuest. The later is most dangerous, the ritual is cast, and the appointed target will be affected if the caster makes a successful POW versus POW. If this happens then the two will, over the course of the next week, find themselves drawn onto the HeroPlane to meet at the top of a Tower in one-on-one combat.

The Alliance in Daran

As described up to now it may seem odd that the Old Arkat Kult Alliance has allied itself with Daran, being a Kult so secretive and protective, so lacking in poltical aims, that such an alliance might seem very out of character. Simply put, the Alliance requires Daran for its very survival. Whilst the Alliance remains hidden and safe in most parts of Ralios, one of its centers of power in Azilos are under threat, Foyalfine the Count of Azilos is seeking to strip the Alliance of all of its powers and use them for his own, nefarious aims. Assassination attempts have been foiled, signalling that perhaps there is a turncoat in the Alliance working for the Count. In return for aiding Daran, the Alliance hopes to both find a newer safer home, and perhaps convince Daran top invade Azilos and take claim of the Counts position. With such devotion of resources to a battle in the mundane world, and the Reborn spending more and more time dealing with Daran than being on the HeroPlane, the Kult is weakening, and is not working as well as it could. Such a weakening of power might signal a fall of the Alliance, especially with Lunar T&Jers advancing across the HeroPlane like a parasite.

The Kult in game

As an author, while writing this Kult, I realized just how powerful I had made it. And that gave me satisfaction. The Alliance is the great protector of the HeroPlane, it is seriously powerful and only interested in the safety of the HeroPlane. Generally your PCs should not encounter the cult, and certainly not gain access to its magics. The Alliance is not a political force, the protection of the HeroPlane is far too important. Do not cheapen the Alliance by having every Tom, Dick and Argrath pop out every five minutes - the Alliance should remain virtually unknown, encountered rarely. It takes a lot to rouse their anger. The Kult seems to be a power gamers dream, but in reality for a PC it spells only the most perfect and Heroic retirement you could hope for. If you wish, allow the Kult to act as a "retirement home" for PCs grown too powerful for your campaign.

Of course, if you wished you could have a powerful campaign with Heroes in the Alliance wandering around the HeroPlane righting wrongs and combating the Lunars. Whether such a campaign would work or devolve into mindless, cheapend power play is debatable. The Alliance should be powerful and frightening, keep it that way.