Much like the Miskatonic Repository for Call of Cthulhu, Seventh Edition, the Jonstown Compendium is
a curated platform for user-made content, but for material set in Greg
Stafford’s mythic universe of Glorantha. It enables creators to sell
their own original content for RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha, 13th Age Glorantha, and HeroQuest Glorantha (Questworlds).
This can include original scenarios, background material, cults,
mythology, details of NPCs and monsters, and so on, but none of this
content should be considered to be ‘canon’, but rather fall under ‘Your
Glorantha Will Vary’. This means that there is still scope for the
authors to create interesting and useful content that others can bring
to their Glorantha-set campaigns. —oOo—
What is it?
The Six Paths is a supplement for use with RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha which
describes and discusses the six main Heortling genders and their roles in
society and the cults of Heler, Nandan, and Vinga.
Notes are provided to enable the content to be used with QuestWorlds (HeroQuest).
It is a twenty-nine page, full colour 4.89 MB PDF.
The layout is tidy and the artwork excellent.
Where is it set?
The content of The Six Paths is set primarily wherever Heortlings may be found.
Who do you play?
The content of The Six Paths is intended is designed to be used with the multiple genders and sexes recognised by Heortling culture and members of the Heler, Nandan, and Vinga cults.
What do you get?
The Six Paths explores how Heortling society recognises and accepts four sexes—female, male, neuter, and both, and at least six genders—female, male, vingan, nandan, helering, and none. It presents the myth of how Orlanth came to recognise these and explores the stereotypical identities and roles associated with them. For example, a vingan uses the female pronouns, keeps her hair short and dyed red, wears trews and skirt with tunic and arm rings, has the personality traits of passionate, violent, and proud, and is associated with the tasks of ploughing, carpentry, hunting, and smithing. Whereas a helering uses both male and female pronouns and neither, keeps their beard long or is cleanshaven, wears a skirt, and is adaptable, mercurial, and changeable. There are no specific tasks associated with helerings as they can turn their hands to anything. Whilst the patron gods are given for each of the genders, for example, Vinga for vingans and Heler for helerings, they do not necessarily join their actual cults, but their cults are given in The Six Paths (in which case, their worshippers are Vingans and Helerings.) As stereotypes, these are essentially the baseline to work from rather than play to.
Three cults—not presented so far for RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha—are detailed in The Six Paths. These are Heler the Rainmaker, Nandan the Housekeeper, and Vinga the Defender Storm. These are fully written up in the same format as in RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha including mythos and history, the cult’s beliefs on life after death, likes and dislikes, organisation, centre of power and holy places, and much more. Details are also provided for using the three cults in QuestWorlds (HeroQuest). Each cult is fully playable, adding interesting options in terms of character types, whether that is as a fierce follower of Ereltharol, the Black Ram, Heler’s brutal warrior child; a loyal Nandan housekeeper; or a fierce Vingan warrior. All three cults come with nicely done associated myths which context to each cult. The Vinga cult details also adds the Weather Lore skill.
In addition to four new spells listed in the appendix—Change Sex, Impregnate, Summon Cloud Spirit, and Summon Nephelae—The Six Paths presents six sample characters which the variety of genders and sexes to be found in Heortling society. They include Leikan, a vingan Initiate of Yelmalio, Frithorf, a neuter Initiate of Orlanth and assistant shaman with their gloriously blue dyed hair and beard, and Esarios, a helering initiate of Humakt. All six do showcase the range of possibilities that the mix of genders and sexes in Heortling society encourages, and they can be easily used as NPCs or sample Player Characters.
There is a wealth of detail and a great deal to like in The Six Paths. The cults are particularly well done, and the supplement in general is very written and full of flavour and detail that is easy to bring into a campaign.
However, The Six Paths is not without its potential controversaries.
Obviously, there is its subject matter, but there are difficulties with its
language too. The former is less of an issue because the fluidity of both
gender and sex written already written into the background of Glorantha and RuneQuest:
Roleplaying in Glorantha, but not every player or Game Master will necessarily
want to deal with or address this subject matter within their game. In which
case, their game will fall under the caveat that ‘Your Glorantha Will Vary’,
and so The Six Paths will not be for them. Nevertheless, the language is problematic
with the title of the spell, Impregnate, which carries with it the implication,
if not of force necessarily, then of a masculine act rather than the feminine act
of conception and its association with Ernalda, thereby negating her role and
purview. The spell Change Sex also has its own issues, not least of which is
that its use feels arbitrary rather than something special which might be
achieved through a lengthy and purposeful hero quest rather than just having a
spell cast. The power of both spells is implied by the number of Rune points
which need to be expended to cast them—three in either case, but both spells
feel underwritten in comparison to the two other spells listed alongside them
in the appendix.
When it comes to answering the question, “Are vingans and nandai transgender?”,
the phrasing in The Six Paths is potentially much more contentious. Its answer is
that, “It would be easy to assume that vingans are trans men, and nandani are
trans women. However, as gender and sex are separated in Heort’s Laws, there
would be no reason for this to be the case. The Heortlings are perfectly
capable of understanding someone who was born in a male body, but with a female
gender identity. This means that vingans and nandani are a separate gender
identity, seen as possessing different societal roles.” Now whilst vingans and
nandai have the benefit of growing up in Heort society which accepts them as
equals, by suggesting that vingans and nandai are not transgender (or might not
be), The Six Paths is excluding the fact that they could be and in doing so excluding
those who are. In effect, denying transgender players the characters and role
models within the setting of Glorantha with which they can self-identify. This
may not have been the authors’ intention and it may not be the case for every
individual who identifies as or is transgender, but there is very much scope here
for others of the transgender community to feel excluded.
Is it worth your time?
Yes—The Six Paths is an excellent exploration of gender, sex, and associated cults and spells for RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha, but some of its language may not be considered approriate.
No—The Six Paths is an exploration of a subject matter which not everyone is comfortable with as well as some of the language and terminology used in the supplement being contentious for others.
Maybe—The Six Paths is a potentially excellent exploration of gender, sex, and associated cults and spells for RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha, but arguably, its use of language and terminology may not be as inclusive as the authors intended. Address that and it becomes a much less difficult supplement.
Thanks for the review !
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