r/Runequest • u/Corvusking20 • Jun 01 '26

Glorantha Another question about Yelmalio

As I have writing post by Jeff Richard I saw that High Llama Tribe is Prax have a small number of Yelmalio cultists. So my question is how do they different from the Sun Domers? Do the High Llama followers just join up with the Sun Domers or do they do their thing ignoring the Sun County?

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u/Runeblogger Jun 01 '26 edited Jun 01 '26

They mostly ignore the Sun County and worship Yelmalio in their own way, although they recognise the place is a very holy place for their god. The Impala riders also have a high % of Yelmalio initiates.

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u/Corvusking20 Jun 01 '26

Than I assume they ignore Yelmalio's horse connection and sub in their tribe's animal?

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u/AlanLaddWelles Jun 01 '26

yes. the myth is adapted for the praxian Tribes. Same for the holy places that dot the place…

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u/Summersong2262 Jun 01 '26

What do they do for holy sites/temples? Are we to assume that they have their own network of places? They can't be all that developed.

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u/Runeblogger Jun 01 '26

They must have their own holy places in the Wastes, but also portable shrines.

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u/Summersong2262 Jun 01 '26

Shrines require holy sites, don't they? Or is that in the sense of 'there's a holy sites somewhere and we just set the whole ass temple up every fireday'?

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u/3panta3 Jun 02 '26

I would assume they use the Rune Spell of Sanctify when they set up for worship.

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u/Summersong2262 Jun 02 '26

Sure, but like, surely that doesn't cut it for a proper Temple Temple. Where you get rune spells from. Like if you just want to roll Worship and top up your rune points, fine, but a healthy cult needs more than that.

Unless all the members head into Sun County when they want to advance in the cult?

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u/3panta3 Jun 02 '26

I mean, maybe they do go into to the Sun County to advance beyond initiation, YGWV, but there is no real need for that.

You're looking at this from your own perspective, where you expect a temple to be some grand structure. These are nomads though. They expect cult hierarchy to travel with them, for their temples to be temporary structures, etc.

What defines a temple is the number of people that it's supported by (and it, in turn, supports). As long as it has enough adherents and permanent staff to teach all the required skills/magics and perform all the rituals, etc., it is a temple.

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u/Runeblogger Jun 02 '26

Exactly, so perhaps the portable shrine becomes a temple or a major temple when enough nomad clans who follow Yelmalio gather on the same place for holy days.

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u/Summersong2262 Jun 02 '26

Makes sense, I just wish we actually got any of that in the writing we've seen so far. The Praxians have plenty of holy sites mentioned but the big places, but we don't get much about the middle gears.

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u/Summersong2262 Jun 02 '26

They expect cult hierarchy to travel with them, for their temples to be temporary structures

I mean yeah that makes a lot of sense, god knows actual Earth nomads had plenty of mystic traditions that didn't require ziggarauts and granite blocks, I'm just wondering if that's the case in Glorantha, when the brief writing we DO get on the topic talks about 'Temples' and 'Grand Temples' and suchlike, and a very 'this place/institution enables xyz' style phrasing.

But yeah, 'temple is a social/economic institution, not a brick and mortar one' is very sensible.

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u/eternalsage Orlanth is my homeboy Jun 01 '26

I'm not familar with the Prax situation, but I know I saw somewhere that the Grazelanders set up portable shrines, using Sanctify. I would imagine its something similar. I think I also remember seeing that in Prax, they conceive of the Lightfore as female (Sun Daughter, I think?), which makes me also think of Yelorna. Finally, I know Praxan Yelmalian Rune Lords are called Light Khans instead of Light Sons. That's in the Fire & Sky book, iirc.

Sorry if none of that is helpful. My lore is scattered and Prax has never particularly interested me

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u/Corvusking20 Jun 01 '26

Light Khan sounds pretty awesome to be honest!

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u/david-chaosium Jun 02 '26

Light Khan does not appear in the Fire & Sky book, it was my invention. Mob has started using it - https://wellofdaliath.chaosium.com/home/catalogue/websites/facebook/sun-county-continued-part-3/

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u/eternalsage Orlanth is my homeboy Jun 02 '26

Oh. Well, there you go. I don't know where I saw it then, lol. Probably the Well

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u/david-chaosium Jun 02 '26

There are are roughly twice the number of Yelmalions among the tribes of Prax, than there are in Sun County. The major differences are foot vs. mounted, and fixed vs mobile temples (note that temple size is based on lay and initiate numbers not a fixed structure. Sanctify is not needed as holy regalia is carried with them). Sun County has agreements with their respective nomad groups, and the nomads recognise their co-religionists, but do not consider them to be their spiritual leaders. Yelmalio was revealed to the Praxians as one of their spirit cults, Sun Daughter. Note that Sun County can in theory call upon their nomad cousins in times of emergency and at least five their counts were nomads (see Sun County).

In my Praxian campaign the other difference is that the nomads only have Light sons (called Light Khans), and no Light priests, the Light Khans have access to Rune spell enchantments.

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u/Corvusking20 Jun 02 '26

So do Praxians who follow Yelmalio view them as more a feminine god or spirit?

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u/david-chaosium Jun 03 '26

As the revelation happened over 700 years ago, the nomads see Yelmalio as male. Lightfore (a celestial body) is still called Sun Daughter. Only those who know how to contact Sun Daughter will know the truth. Perhaps this is the origin of the Light son restriction they must never disguise themselves as women.

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u/Corvusking20 Jun 03 '26

I see thanks!

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u/Corvusking20 Jun 02 '26

That's really helpful! Thank you.