When the winds of Dark Season howl, RuneQuest’s Wild Hunter rides reaping souls! But what about his loyal hounds, the wolves which ride beside him?

One of the new bestiary entries in my forthcoming Howl of the Wild Hunt describes these spirit-wolves which harry lost souls. Known properly as luparths, they’re suitable for campaigns set anywhere in Glorantha. Although naturally, there’s a descriptive emphasis on the core Dragon Pass region.

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Luparths

Spiritus lupi putridis

These slavering spirits manifest as unnaturally long wolves with six legs. Their fur is either stark white or pitch black, and never stained by dust or tears. They often bear savage wounds which do not hinder their movement. A luparth’s eyes burn red when hungry—and they’re almost always hungry. A luparth’s most distinctive feature is its eerie vertically split jaw, which oozes bile and phlegm instead of saliva.

Ecology

Luparths roam far and wide across the Spirit World. They prey upon spirits which are out of place in the natural spiritscape. Ghosts are most prominent, but any spirit separated from their path ordained by Arachne Solara is hounded. Even an allied spirit, on occasion, may catch a pack’s attention!

Typical packs have 1D6+6 spirits. When they scent prey after a powerful act of Separation, the pack’s baying terrifies lesser spirits which hear it. This fear acts as propitiatory worship which feeds the pack whether or not they catch their prey. Luparths also receive worship from the Middle World whenever howling wolves send shivers up a mortal’s spine.

A prey spirit savaged by luparths loses 1 point of POW per luparth in the pack after it is defeated in spirit combat. The pack will chase a spirit across the entire Spirit World, but not into the Underworld.

Though a type of embodied spirit, luparths rarely manifest into the Middle World. They are seen after terrible battles (when many spirits linger near their corpses) and when Gagarth calls a Wild Hunt.

Beliefs

The human cultures of central and eastern Genertela associate luparths with the Wild Hunter. He is called Gagarth by the Orlanthi and Praxians, East Sting Wind by the Pentans, and Jailbreak Mongrel by the Kralori. Each culture believes luparths hunt the spirit of the dead if it does not receive appropriate burial rites, or if it wanders off the Path of the Dead.

The Telmori believe luparths are the children of Telmor which chased the Sun and all the other gods into the Underworld after they were eaten by the Great Wolf. Their shamans teach that a luparth’s crimson eyes reflect the Sun’s glowing blood.

The enlo of Dagori Inkarth¹ call the Wild Hunter by the name Varix Umbar. They say he is a son of Xiola Umbar corrupted to sunblind ways by his uncle Zorak the Biter. This belief is tolerated as a joke by the uzko. No one knows what the uzuz think.

Dog-friends (such as Foundchild’s worshipers) loathe luparths. They are obligated to discorporate them when a luparth is embodied in the Middle World. Luparths do not appear to have special enmity toward canines.

Rites

The cult of Gagarth is the only cult which worships luparths frequently. A fumble when rolling to cast the spirit magic spells Summon Ghost or Summon Wolf Spirit has a POW×1 chance to summon a luparth instead. The luparth’s magic points must be less than the magic points spent to cast the Summon (entity) spell as usual (RBM 121). A luparth summoned this way behaves according to its nature (it is typically Malign).

In addition, worshipers of Telmor can summon a luparth with a 2-point casting of the Summon Cult Spirit common Rune spell. Telmori Rune magic cannot command a luparth.

Rarely, an individual with a Hate (individual) Passion of 90% or greater towards someone who had any Hate Passion toward them pursues this hatred after their enemy’s death. By breaking a magic item and making a successful Death Rune roll at the enemy’s grave the individual calls a pack of 2D6 luparths. The pack hounds the enemy from the Path of the Dead and attempts to drag their soul to the Wild Hunter. This ritual is a heinous evil (though not Chaotic), and must be performed within seven days of the enemy’s funeral.²

The Wild Hunt can be summoned by the Gagarth cult if they assemble sufficient worshipers for great temple during Disorder week of Dark Season (RQG 284). This orgy of human misery occurs, unfortunately, about once per generation. Gagarth’s Rune Priests paint gargantuan icons with innocent blood of luparths and of Hookwind, Gagarth’s eight-legged steed. Hundreds of worshipers scream and chant until the paintings peel themselves from the barren rock of the Wastes and consume the sacrifices. The festival’s High Priest peels off their own face, mounts Hookwind, and rides the winds for seven days. During this time the Wild Hunt chases down apostates, would-be heroes, and Rune Masters of enemy cults.

This rite summons one luparth for each victim offered to Gagarth.

When the Wild Hunt ends, the High Priest is transformed into a whirlvish with maximum characteristics. Even divine intervention can’t prevent the Hate Passion which drove them to summon the Wild Hunt from consuming their soul.

Luparths

A slavering spirit descends on you, its jaw split open to bite!

Characteristics		Average
STR	3D6+6	17
SIZ	POW×2	34
DEX	2D6+10	17
POW	3D6+6	17
CHA	2D6	7

DEX SR: 1 SIZ SR: 0 MOV: 10

Runes: Air 65%, Death 90%

Rune Points: 1D6–1

Rune Spells: A luparth with Rune magic knows one special Rune spell which it has sufficient Rune points to cast.

• Common: Extension (Any Rune, 1+ pts.), Find Enemy (Any Rune, 1 pt.)
• Special: Fear (Death, 1 pt.), Seal Wound (Death, 2 pts., RBM 77), or Windwalking (Air, 3 pts., RBM 104)

Spirit Abilities:

• Consume Essence: If a luparth reduces its target’s magic points to 0 in spirit combat, the target loses 1 point of POW and the luparth gains 1 point.
• Embodied: Luparths always manifest in the Middle World as embodied spirits (GB 176). They have neither hit points nor hit locations. Both magical and non-magical damage can reduce the luparth’s magic points.
• Relentless Hunter: If a luparth makes a successful Track Spirit roll, its pack automatically succeeds any Spirit Travel rolls needed to chase their quarry.
• Spirit Rending: A luparth’s Bite attack can deal damage to a spirit’s magic points as if attacking in spirit combat. Do not add the luparth’s damage bonus.
• Toss Victim: If a luparth’s Bite deals damage, it may immediately make a Grapple roll. On a success, the luparth latches onto its target. The next melee round, the luparth makes a STR resistance roll against the target’s SIZ. If it succeeds, the luparth throws its target meters into the air equal to its damage bonus (average 7 meters, 3D6 damage). The target takes falling damage when they land (RQG 156).

Spirit Magic (85%): Demoralize (2 pts.)

Passions: Hunger 90%

Skills: Bite POW×3 (51%), Dodge DEX×2 (34%), Grapple 20%, Listen 25%, Scan 35%, Scent 70%, Search 25%, Spirit Combat POW×5 (85%), Spirit Travel 40%, Track Spirit 80%

Languages: Understand Spiritspeech 20%, Understand Stormspeech 35%

Combat Abilities

Ability	%	Damage	SR
Bite	71	1D8+2D6*	5
Toss Victim	STR resistance roll	2D6 meters**	5
Spirit Combat†	95	1D6	12
Dodge	29	—	—
* If the Bite deals damage, the luparth immediately rolls Grapple 40% to use Toss Victim.
** On average, a 7-meter throw deals 3D6 falling damage (RQG 156).
† A luparth cannot engage spirit combat while embodied.

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New Skill: Track Spirit

Magic, Base 00%

This rare skill is inherent to some spirits of the hunt, such as hounds or lions. It is taught by esoteric spirit cults (such as the Roaring Hunger which roams the Wastelands) or outcast shamans who have learned the ability. Discorporate adventurers can use Track Spirit to follow an entity through the Spirit World, or to find evidence that a particular type of spirit passed nearby. The type of spirit is determined by its highest rating in a Rune affinity. For example, a cult spirit of Humakt might cause local plant spirits to wither, while a healing spirit would make them appear vibrant and healthy.

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1Dagori Inkarth is a troll-dominated land to the north of Sartar and Prax. The dark trolls who live there occasionally trade with the Orlanthi tribes of the Far Place.

2This ritual is the only known way that luparths can threaten a dead soul after it has received burial rites.

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