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One of the Criticisms of Hero Wars, when it was released about 12 Months ago was that it lacked the Gloranthan depth that people had come to expect from Runequest. The criticism was, to my mind, unfair. None of the editions of the RQ rules had contained a great deal of Gloranthan depth either - that had come from products like "Cults of Prax".

The releases of Thunder Rebels earlier this year and now Storm Tribe have re introduced much of those Gloranthan details into Hero Wars, and given us much that is new too.

Two thirds of the book is given over to full write ups of the 11 most common Cults worshipped by the Sartarite Heortlings outside of Orlanth and Ernalda (who were covered in Thunder Rebels. Some of these will be familiar to old Runequest players (Humakt, Chalana Arroy, Issaries, Lhankor Mhy) or players of King of Dragon Pass (Vinga, Elmal, Eurmal). Also in this section are Heler, the Rain God, Odayla and Yinkin, the Hunter gods and Urox, The Chaos killing Storm Bull as worshipped by the Orlanthi.

All these cults are presented with subcults and/or hero cults along with their place in heortling society, descriptions of their holy days and so on. Plenty to allow a player character to follow these gods.

There follows a further 16 "Lesser" Gods (some of whom may be much more important in other parts of Glorantha, and may be covered in more detail in future products...) - Again some of the names (Babeester Gor, Ty Kora Tek) may be familiar to Runequest players, others (Pelaskos - the Sea Fisher, Engizi - The Sky River Titan) are probably going to be new to most people. These dieties get a couple of pages each, split between a brief description of their place in myth/societiy, and the keywords required to play a worshipper in Hero Wars.

The book is rounded out with Myths (some of which are taken from King of Dragon Pass, Gloranthan Fragments, Rules for disciples, and a handful of Sample Orlanthi Hero Cults (including Sartar and Harmast Barefoot). Oh yes, and 12 pages of index!

It's hard to see why anyone playing a Hero Wars game with Orlanthi characters wouldn't want this book! I think there is probably enough new material here to make it worth a look for those people who still like Glorantha but don't want to use Hero Wars, although they will be on their own when it comes to converting the rules parts.

Storm Tribe - The Cults of Sartar
Storm Tribe - The Cults of Sartar Capsule Review by Tim Ellis on 25/05/01 Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 5 (Excellent!) It's hard to see why anyone playing a Hero Wars game with Orlanthi characters wouldn't want this book! Product: Storm Tribe - The Cults of Sartar Author: Greg Stafford and Friends Category: RPG Company/Publisher: Issaries, Inc. Line: Hero Wars Cost: Page count: 256 Year published: 2001 ISBN: 1-929052-10-3 SKU: ISS 1310 Comp copy?: no Capsule Review by Tim Ellis on 25/05/01 Genre tags: Fantasy	One of the Criticisms of Hero Wars, when it was released about 12 Months ago was that it lacked the Gloranthan depth that people had come to expect from Runequest. The criticism was, to my mind, unfair. None of the editions of the RQ rules had contained a great deal of Gloranthan depth either - that had come from products like "Cults of Prax". The releases of Thunder Rebels earlier this year and now Storm Tribe have re introduced much of those Gloranthan details into Hero Wars, and given us much that is new too. Two thirds of the book is given over to full write ups of the 11 most common Cults worshipped by the Sartarite Heortlings outside of Orlanth and Ernalda (who were covered in Thunder Rebels. Some of these will be familiar to old Runequest players (Humakt, Chalana Arroy, Issaries, Lhankor Mhy) or players of King of Dragon Pass (Vinga, Elmal, Eurmal). Also in this section are Heler, the Rain God, Odayla and Yinkin, the Hunter gods and Urox, The Chaos killing Storm Bull as worshipped by the Orlanthi. All these cults are presented with subcults and/or hero cults along with their place in heortling society, descriptions of their holy days and so on. Plenty to allow a player character to follow these gods. There follows a further 16 "Lesser" Gods (some of whom may be much more important in other parts of Glorantha, and may be covered in more detail in future products...) - Again some of the names (Babeester Gor, Ty Kora Tek) may be familiar to Runequest players, others (Pelaskos - the Sea Fisher, Engizi - The Sky River Titan) are probably going to be new to most people. These dieties get a couple of pages each, split between a brief description of their place in myth/societiy, and the keywords required to play a worshipper in Hero Wars. The book is rounded out with Myths (some of which are taken from King of Dragon Pass, Gloranthan Fragments, Rules for disciples, and a handful of Sample Orlanthi Hero Cults (including Sartar and Harmast Barefoot). Oh yes, and 12 pages of index! It's hard to see why anyone playing a Hero Wars game with Orlanthi characters wouldn't want this book! I think there is probably enough new material here to make it worth a look for those people who still like Glorantha but don't want to use Hero Wars, although they will be on their own when it comes to converting the rules parts.

Storm Tribe - The Cults of Sartar