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Reaching Moon Megacorp's Life of Moonson

Makkrit-Oor

Sultan of Darjiin

Age: 29
Career: Sultan
Religion: Red Emperor
Culture: Dara Happan
Disposition: Immature, pleasure-seeking and reckless
The Red Moon
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You are the leader of the Wylua-oor clan, rulers of the Darjiin sultanate since 6/31 (1548) when the members of the last ruling clan fell to the blades of your family's assassins.

As sultan you wield enormous power and influence within the Sultanate, and within the Empire. This is good, since it allows you to lead the life you wish. Your days are filled with the thrill of the hunt, both game and wild animals, and also the more challenging slave hunting. Your evenings are spent carousing with your friends and in the company of beautiful women. You leave the day-to-day affairs to your loyal viziers and bureaucrats.

You have not always had such freedom. As a young teenager, and third son, you were pledged to marry the Queen of Holay, an ugly hag twice your age. You endured the marriage to her for only two years before you were able to denounce her as being barren (an important consideration in Holay). You heard later that she died as a result of the shame of being barren. This allowed you to return home to fair Darjiin, with its good hunting and plentiful young women.

A year later you found yourself the new sultan when both of your elder brothers were tragically killed in the Fall of Boldhome. Since then you have done what you pleased, and ignored the wishes of others unless they matched your own (or were the commands of the Red Emperor).

Unfortunately, your viziers cannot accomplish everything and recently you have been forced to get involved in the day-to-day running of the sultanate as the time for this year's Sacred Time celebrations gets ever nearer.

Your first problem is how to get together all the quotas from the Seven Year plan. You have too much grain and too little fish. Perhaps you should petition for the quotas to be changed?

Secondly, there are the famous magical Moonboats built in your capital Haranshold. The monopoly quota is no problem, but there is an issue around quality control. Recently there have been two moonboat crashes which your engineers suspect were down to a flaw in the design of the boats. News of this must not be allowed to leak since it might lead to your family's disgrace (and your execution), not to mention the chaos in the Empire if all boats were grounded

 

Background

The Dara Happan Tripolis

You are descended from the divine rulers of the antediluvian Dara Happan Tripolis. This state was founded by the Sun-God, Imperial Yelm, and has a continuous history stretching back over a hundred thousand years. The ancient ways of nobility and rulership are innate in you, and you won't let anybody forget it - especially not the parvenu commoners who now think to take a share in the government of the Empire!

Naturally, these new-fangled Lunars (whose religion is scarcely four hundred years old) depend on the accumulated wisdom and institutions of old Dara Happa. By displacing your adherence to the ancestral traditions, you prove yourself worthy to participate in the politics of Empire. All civilised values ultimately stem from old ways of the Sun-God.

Moonson Imperator

You are a devotee of the Red Emperor. Your right to rule comes from worshipping the founders of your family clan as a subcult of Moonson Imperator.

The cult worships the Red Emperor as the perfect embodiment of the Lunar Citizen. It does so by enforcing his Justice, supervising the actions of all other governing institutions in the Empire, and providing structures for all citizens to aspire to and achieve the highest rank. As such, it determines the basic social structure of the Empire, overlying the Empire's disparate cultures.

The Red Emperor leads his cult personally.

Sultan of Darjiin

Yours is one of the nine full sultanates of the Lunar Empire. Each is governed by a powerful ruling family responsible for extracting the emperor's taxes, protecting the people, assuring respect for the Red Goddess, and enforcing the emperor's personal commands. Your family holds large estates across the sultanate and commands a large private army.

However, you must always be on your guard since your family only holds this sultanate for as long as you have the power. You have many noble family rivals who wish to remove you in a Dart War and take your place.

As a sultan of the Empire you are eligible to sit on the Court of the Silver Gate.

 

 

Objectives

Personal

  1. Seduce as many women as possible, and then boast about it. Your conquests must sign their names in your pocket notebook as proof.

  2. Find opportunities to go hunting. The more challenging the prey the better!

  3. Raise a new Imperial Heartlands Corps regiment (the Darjiin Horse) so that you can command it in battle. You will need some recruits, the sponsorship of two army generals, and the Emperor's or Great Sister's blessing for the enterprise.

  4. Get invited to another of Moonson's parties.

  5. Enter your team for the chariot race and find a winning driver.

Career

  1. Remain as Sultan of Darjiin. Increase your power and prestige through being appointed to other offices, acquiring new monopolies, and by becoming the Emperor's favourite.

  2. Ensure that your Seven Year Plan quotas are met. Have the quotas reduced if you might be unable to meet them.

  3. Cover up the Moonboat defects in case it causes your family harm, and reduces your revenues from the moonboat monopoly. Ensure no news of this gets out.

Religious

  1. Serve the Red Emperor and the Red Goddess in that order. You are devoted to them.

  2. Get Red Moon illumination.

  3. Become a member of the prestigious Moonsword cult by getting Jar-eel or Beatpot Aelwrin to recommend you.

Who You Know

Personal Acquaintances

Commodus the Fair, Governor of the Redlands: this charming young man (and a favourite of Moonson) got you invited to one of Moonson's famous parties. It was incredible and you must go again, if only to try and get in Moonson's favour. Commodus also said that he knew Beatpot Aelwrin well and could introduce you (Beatpot controls the Moonsword cult).

Count Julan, Captain in the Imperial Bodyguard: A hunting acquaintance, and a fine and stalwart fellow. However, he is far too straightlaced with regards to having fun around the city. You will have to loosen him up a bit.

Phirgia, Queen of Holay: Just a spotty teenager when you last saw her. She was the niece of the Queen who you married. She became queen when you declared your wife barren. You hear that she is rather attractive these days.

Through your Career

Colonel Miriros Conradin, Black Army: This rude and rather scary fellow damn-near accused you of treachery when you bedded a young foreign wench and showed her around the Moonboat yards. He said the delightful young thing was a security risk! You must protest about his effrontery at the next Court of the Silver Gate or Senate meeting.

The Red Dancer of Power, Chief Missionary of the Lunar Way: This demideity heads the cult of Etyries, your patron deity. She also controls the Provincial Church of the Seven Mothers and oversees the Seven Year Plan, Imperial Monopolies and Economic Cycles. She is the official who collects your Moonboat quota.

Prince Pardidas, Satrap of Sylila: A fine fellow, who is a good huntsman and warrior like yourself. He and Raffha Khan are often in cahoots in the Court of the Silver Gate. Perhaps you should try and join their faction?

Through your Religion

Moonson Argenteus, the Red Emperor: The leader of your religion. You live to serve this man and the Empire he protects, especially since it allows you the freedom to do whatever you desire.

Geilbonus the Sycophant, Speaker of the Imperial Senate: This old man is from one of the more important families of Darjiin. As a result he is very respectful of you. However, the senate itself is actually almost completely powerless, regardless of what Geilbonus may mistakenly believe.

 

 

Other Knowledge

The Seven Year Plan is the mechanism by which the major food and raw material requirements of the Empire are centrally planned and provided for. At the beginning of each seven year period every sultanate and province agrees to quotas of important foodstuffs and other raw materials and goods which they must achieve over a seven year period.

A seven year plan has just ended and each of the sultanates and provinces will be audited this a sacred time on their results. Success is usually the route to promotion and Imperial favour, while failure is a sure road to political humiliation.

The Moonboats are magical aerial craft, propelled by the moonlight. Within the Empire, they are used for rapid transport of troops and supplies. Their use beyond the Glowline is more limited, as the cyclical phases of the Moon and the untamed forces of Storm can leave them grounded or even damaged.

You held the Darjiin Moonboats monopoly for the past seven year plan. You will be offered first refusal to buy it for the next plan, for 8 influence. You know that it will produce 1 card of Moonboats, which can be traded to the Red Dancer of Power for influence.

The Court of the Silver Gate is a council of Satraps of the Empire. It meets infrequently, and can have great influence in determining the course of the Empire's destiny. The members of the Court of the Silver Gate are:
· Gul-Taran, Satrap of First Blessed
· Haroun al-Rastari, Satrap of Karasal
· Moonson, Satrap of Silver Shadow
· Makkrit-Oor, Satrap of Darjiin
· Raffha Khan, Satrap of Kostaddi
· Var-Eel, Satrap of Oronin
· Prince Pardidas, Satrap of Sylila
· Queen Penelori, Satrap of Oraya
The Satrap of Doblian will also have a place on the council, when one is appointed. The last one was killed in a purge.

The Moonsword Cult is a special sub-cult for military heroes of the Empire. Candidates must be recommended by Jar-eel. Those who are accepted are given their steel Moonsword by Moonson himself.

 


Secrets

  • Makkrit-oor caused his ex-wife to kill herself by denouncing her as barren.

  • Makkrit-oor's ex-wife may or may not have been barren. He doesn't really know.

  • There is a quality control problem with Moonboats of Haranshold.

  • Makkrit-oor enjoys hunting. Human slaves make the most challenging prey.

Special Item

  • Fast Starboat. This experimental Moonboat model can take two passengers to the stars and beyond (or so your engineers tell you). Or it can be used for rapid transport across the Lunar Empire.

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Reaching Moon Megacorp's Life of Moonson was written by Nick Brooke, Chris Gidlow,David Hall and Kevin Jacklin, with Rick Meints and MOB. The lead author for Makkrit-Oor was David Hall.

Glorantha, HeroQuest, Hero Wars, and Issaries are trademarks of Issaries, Inc. The contents of this page are copyright by David Hall, 2001; any material derived from Greg Stafford's world of Glorantha is also copyright by Greg Stafford. Glorantha is the creation of Greg Stafford, and is used with his permission.

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