Friendship ended with Exalted, now Glorantha is my best friend

[Matthias]

I’ve started dipping my toes in the deep sea that is Glorantha and wow, this is great. If I run anything I’ll probably drop all the Campbell-Jung-Eliade drum circle stuff but really, I feel like a dumbass not having gotten into this earlier.

What weird bits of lore are especially worth going down a rabbit hole for?

 

[Lessa]

Take a look at these:

1. Voices of Glorantha

2. The Travels of Biturian Varosh

3. King of Dragon Pass

The first is a simple leaflet to introduce the various different cultures in a simple but effective way, the second is the short story that came with the old (and now legendary) supplement Cults of Prax. The later is the videogame released in the setting that mix siimulation, strategy, and roleplaying aspects and were written by Robin laws and Greg Stafford himself.

 

[philig]

I'll try to put my top four in a nutshell:

Griffin Mountain -- hex-crawling with Neolithic hunters, pub-crawling through Mycenaean citadels, trading for magic with giants.

Pavis -- a flea-bag Casablanca in the wastes, occupied by a colonizing empire, surrounded by mounted nomad tribes, where adventurers plot con-jobs, treasure hunts, and political rebellion.

Oliver Dickinson's Griselda stories -- Damon Runyon-esque tales set in the aforementioned Pavis.

Sun County -- "Paranoid Spartans on the frontier" (someone else's apt description) clinging desperately to their freedom and the questionable virtues of a puritanical culture.

When you know the lore, every place in Glorantha sits on the crust of a reservoir of myth, and from a fannish point of view every adventure trails a long shadow of cultural and religious conflict. You certainly don't need to incorporate all or even much of this, but it gives depth and meaning to even the simplest stories.

 

[zanshin]

Glorantha is amazing, my favourite gameworld.

Pavis/Big Rubble is a really great starting point for a campaign, an intersection point for so many cultures. Heartily endorse the recommendation for Griseldas Tales by Oliver Dickinson.

If you are not wedded to Runequest as the system to play in Glorantha then you might also want to look at 13th Age Glorantha, which is a really good treatment of the gameworld set at a more 'exalted' power level. There is also Heroquest, but I bounced hard off that.

There is so much stuff it is easy to get overwhelmed, but once the PCs have made their choices you only need to go as deep with them as you all want to, and introduce other aspects of the mythology as seems game appropriate.

Trollpak is also great, and there are some very fun scenarios related to interacting with this interesting species.

Look forward to hearing more of your journeys into Glorantha.

 

[CRKrueger]

I’ll probably drop all the Campbell-Jung-Eliade drum circle stuff

There’s something else to Glorantha?

As far as essential lore goes, there are two things you must know every single piece of Lore about, no matter how small or tangential.
1. The Crimson Bat
2. The Broo

If you ever encounter anything that, in any way, shape or form, intersects with the above mentioned topics, you RUN...FAR.

1. Will wind up with you dead, no exceptions.
2. Will wind up with you begging for death, but it won’t come soon enough.

 

[philig]

Trollpak is also great, and there are some very fun scenarios related to interacting with this interesting species.

My happiest memory as a GM was the night I got my players involved in troll drinking games at Skyfall Lake's Grog Shop.

 

[ffilz]

My suggestion is to pick up RuneQuest 2nd edition (or even 1st edition...) and Cults of Prax (or the Cult Compendium which includes Cults of Prax, Cults of Terror, and all the other cults from other sources). Find a nice map of Sartar Pass and Prax and go to town.

Of course if you want to go with the latest and greatest game, if you have patience, wait for the Starter Set it will be loaded with a set of rules, some background, some nice maps, some adventures, and a bunch of pregens, all for $30 plus shipping. Should be plenty of lore in there to get you started. If you don't have patience, go for the core book, it will have a decent set of lore and some maps. Pick up an adventure or two.

 

[Mankcam]

The upcoming RQG Starter Set looks great for Ground Zero, and may be the best recommendation for anyone new to RuneQuest.
I reckon that should do new folk until some more resources come out

The RQG Core Book, RQG Bestary, and RQG Game Master Pack are the next to dive into. The later includes a city setting and some scenarios.
We are still waiting on the RQG Cults books to be published, and that will be necessary for playing a wide range of characters in Glorantha.
In terms of game mechanics, Cults replace 'Class'. You can run a few Cults from the RQG corebook, but this is far too limiting for older RQ GMs who are aware of the wide range of Cults and Factions that make Glorantha tick.

There are some RQG scenario books published now as well, such as Smoking Ruins and Pegasus Plateau.
Being an old RQ fan I can use earlier Cults material if I want, but I would rather wait for the new Cult books before I embark on campaign play with RQG.

 

[TristramEvans]

I've always been kinda sad that my introduction to the RuneQuest system was the one edition that had cut ties with the Gorantha setting. How backwards compatible is RQ 6th/Mythras with the earlier Glorantha sourcebooks?

 

[Bilharzia]

I've always been kinda sad that my introduction to the RuneQuest system was the one edition that had cut ties with the Gorantha setting. How backwards compatible is RQ 6th/Mythras with the earlier Glorantha sourcebooks?

It's doable but there is a fair amount of work involved. RQ2 has no equivalent of the Culture/Career system in Mythras, the skill list is different, skills are calculated in a different way (based on characteristics in Mythras), combat styles don't exist in RQ2/3 (every weapon has its own attack & parry skill), armour and weapons are all slightly different, Mythras' Folk Magic re-worked the older Battle Magic found in RQ2/3 which is substantially different and generally more powerful. The way spirits are treated in Mythras is almost entirely new, spirits in RQ2/3 are largely spell-casting entities with sometimes special abilities. As an aside, despite being based on RQ2 RQG has quite an interesting and detailed treatment of shamanism and the spirit world (more detailed than Mythras) but disappointingly does nothing interesting or new with spirits themselves. The treatment of cults and Divine Magic/Miracles are probably closest between Mythras & RQ2/3 than anything else, so that stuff translates quite easily.

There are things which are redundant like the resistance table and strike rank, which can be ignored just because Mythras uses different mechanics but it is not something you have to especially convert. Mechanically RQ3 is the hardest if you actually wanted to *convert* something from a printed source, because RQ3 can be quite complex - like sorcery, which is different in Mythras, and body/weapon enchantments which do not exist in Mythras. Strangers in Prax is a good one if you want to give yourself nightmares.

 

[zanshin]

My experience with conversion is its best to take the idea of whatever the old material represented, and replace with your current version equivalents. So I have used RQ material for my 13th Age Glorantha campaign, just slotted in the threats from 13th Age rulebooks.

 

[ffilz]

My experience with conversion is its best to take the idea of whatever the old material represented, and replace with your current version equivalents. So I have used RQ material for my 13th Age Glorantha campaign, just slotted in the threats from 13th Age rulebooks.

Yep, that's what I do. Well, I have used very little non-RQ2 material in my RQ1 campaign (and RQ2 material is essentially usable as is for RQ1).

RQ1, RQ2, RQ3, and RQG all share enough that MOST stat blocks can be used as is for NPCs though you may find the skills high or low for your campaign depending on which rule system it's based on.

If using Mythras or any other "clone" system, you need to decide if you want to keep the RQ1/2/3/G spirit and rune magic or use your chosen system. Same for sorcery though if I were to actually use anything like sorcery I'd consider just using the closest thing native to the system I was using.

I see no reason you couldn't mix and match any combat system with any set of base rules, though there could be some magic interactions to consider, but since most spells either operate outside the realm of combat, or affect skill percentages, they will be trivial to handle.

 

[Bilharzia]

If using Mythras or any other "clone" system, you need to decide if you want to keep the RQ1/2/3/G spirit and rune magic or use your chosen system. Same for sorcery though if I were to actually use anything like sorcery I'd consider just using the closest thing native to the system I was using.

Mythras is not a clone of RQ, it is RQ6. Mythras' animism system represents the older forms of spirits within it, animism in Mythras is just much broader in comparison. Mythras sorcery represents RQ3 sorcery extremely close to the original, just in a form that is playable by human beings.

 

[ffilz]

Mythras is not a clone of RQ, it is RQ6. Mythras' animism system represents the older forms of spirits within it, animism in Mythras is just much broader in comparison. Mythras sorcery represents RQ3 sorcery extremely close to the original, just in a form that is playable by human beings.

I thought MRQ which is the ancestor of RQ was not exactly derived FROM the RQ rules...

 

[Mankcam]

RQG and Mythras are close cousins, but not a direct dynasty so to speak
We can trace it all back to RQ1 (even earlier), but after RQ3 the line forks to the MRQ line (which results in Mythras), and the other fork goes to RQG

(Actually as a system, BRP forks after RQ2 and goes to other settings, such as Call of Cthulhu, Elric, etc, but that's not the direct RQ line. The RQ fork starts after RQ3)

Personally I find Mythras the best set of crunchy BRP rules, and you can reasonably map gritty Gloranthan games to it very well, closer than any other system which doesn't call itself RQ. So if you have old RQ/HW material, then it's fine to do a port to Mythras for incidential sessions and such.

However if wanting to do long-term campaigns, it's probably best just to go with RQG. I find some of the mechanics a bit dated, but it has lot of good dials as well, and the core gutsy mechanics are more or less the same. The setting material is excellent as well, and you can also run earlier RQ2/3 with minimal conversion. Chaosium has the RQ2 back catalog available by print-on-demand, so that;s a great amount of material there if you want to use it.

But there is a high degree of compatability between any BRP games, it really doesn't take much to convert between the lines.

I only wish Chaosium had kept Loz & Pete involved for the core system adaption, essientially using RQ6/Mythras for the core system.

Regarding RQG, I do like the prominence of Runes & Passions, and the immersion from background timelines in character generation, it puts the characters firmly in Glorantha right from the start.

But Mythras just seems to come together better for me from a games mechanic perspective.
GMs of both systems can create hybrids of the two systems, BRP is modular that way, but I would only recommend that for experienced BRP GMs.

Otherwise I recommend going with RQG for Gloranthan campaign play, or Mythras (or OpenQuest, as a BRP-lite alternative) for incidential Gloranthan games or for other settings.

 

[Bilharzia]

 

[Matthias]

Took a look at "Voices of Glorantha" and feel like I'm boucing off a lot of the entries - many feel very one-note, although there are some standout exceptions (for instance, the Red Moon Priestess' theology is really neat, as are the trolls.)

Also went and got King of Sartar, which looks full of fun stuff.

RQG is such a gorgeous book, but it's a lot of scratch for something more rules-heavy than I could ever play. Realistically if I get a chance to run something it will be with some minimalist OSR thing (or even more realistically D&D 5e if it's a matter of minimzing how much of a sell it is to my IRL group!)

 

[Lessa]

Yeah, I was super excited by the new RQG at first, but gave up due to the system crunch. These days I only do light stuff.

About Voices, I find it great to contrast the different cultures values and beliefs, not so much to know their myths. For that, take a look at Cults of Prax.

 

[Nick J]

Took a look at "Voices of Glorantha" and feel like I'm boucing off a lot of the entries - many feel very one-note, although there are some standout exceptions (for instance, the Red Moon Priestess' theology is really neat, as are the trolls.)

Also went and got King of Sartar, which looks full of fun stuff.

RQG is such a gorgeous book, but it's a lot of scratch for something more rules-heavy than I could ever play. Realistically if I get a chance to run something it will be with some minimalist OSR thing (or even more realistically D&D 5e if it's a matter of minimzing how much of a sell it is to my IRL group!)

If you want all that great D100 flavor, but less-filling, I think it'd be pretty doable to use something like OpenQuest (the 3rd ed. should be dropping on the public consciousness in the next month or so, after KS backers get their physical goodies). You'd probably want to nick all of the specifics of cults and cult advancement from some other source, but the base game of OQ3 has Divine Magic, Sorcery, and Personal Magic (akin to Folk/Battle Magic). But you know your group best, maybe they like classes, levels and all that jazz?

 

[Baulderstone]

Took a look at "Voices of Glorantha" and feel like I'm boucing off a lot of the entries - many feel very one-note, although there are some standout exceptions (for instance, the Red Moon Priestess' theology is really neat, as are the trolls.)

Also went and got King of Sartar, which looks full of fun stuff.

RQG is such a gorgeous book, but it's a lot of scratch for something more rules-heavy than I could ever play. Realistically if I get a chance to run something it will be with some minimalist OSR thing (or even more realistically D&D 5e if it's a matter of minimzing how much of a sell it is to my IRL group!)

You may want to take a look at OpenQuest by Newt Newport of D101 Games. It's a lighter version of RuneQuest, with things like hit location taken out. It's roughly the same level of complexity as I remember Stormbringer being.

Just by coincidence, I received a copy of the third edition today.

If you want something mechanically closer to D&D, there is 13th Age Glorantha, although you need the core book to go with it.

 

[philig]

If you're looking for something more zippy than "Voices of Glorantha" I'd second Lessa's recommendation of "Travels of Biturian Varosh" aka the in-world fiction for Cults of Prax. It really is a good read.

On the graphic side, I also like the webcomic "Prince of Sartar," which narrates much of the lore you have in King of Sartar in a more digestible way.

 

[Raleel]

and, I should note the mythras/RQ6 Glorantha resources at https://notesfrompavis.blog/ from Hannu

 

[Trippy]

I've always been kinda sad that my introduction to the RuneQuest system was the one edition that had cut ties with the Gorantha setting. How backwards compatible is RQ 6th/Mythras with the earlier Glorantha sourcebooks?

3rd edition RuneQuest was already cutting ties with Glorantha decades before.

 

[Mankcam]

Yeah in many ways Mythras's 'Mythic Earth' line is the spiritual successor to RQ3's default 'Fantasy Earth' setting from the RQ3 core book.

 

[Atelerix]

I'll add that the RQ2 classic reprints from Chaosium are physically solid and nicely laid out (the books were rebuilt in modern DTP software, they're not just scans), and contain a lifetime's worth of gaming material that stands up even today.

At a minimum start, I'd say the core rules and Cults of Prax plus Borderlands. You can expand with Pavis, Big Rubble, Griffin Mountain (follows on directly from Borderlands if you wish). Trollpak is great fun, with brilliant scenarios, Cults of Terror is useful if fighting Chaos is your thing.

As of April this year (last time I bought anything on the Chaosium web store), you have to buy books labelled POD separately from anything else, as they go via Lulu. The site is... not smart... at telling you your order failed because you mixed them.

Mythras is a very solid ruleset - if I was to run a game tomorrow, I feel it's just smoother than the other branches of the rules lineage (although OpenQuest is good too).

The current RQG stuff from Chaosium is just beautiful - there's a surprising amount of material just in the core rules, but the bestiary and GM pack add so much. It just takes the game and setting in ways I'm not so fussed about - the RQ2 heritage, the Hero Wars, Rune-level characters taking on the passions of their gods, and so on.

 

[Atelerix]

Took a look at "Voices of Glorantha" and feel like I'm boucing off a lot of the entries - many feel very one-note, although there are some standout exceptions (for instance, the Red Moon Priestess' theology is really neat, as are the trolls.)

Also went and got King of Sartar, which looks full of fun stuff.

The Seven Mothers is really the equivalent of the whole Sartarite/ Lightbringer pantheon (and, I'm guessing, a deliberate mirror of it). Read individually, the Lightbringer cults can seem a little more like professions: leader, warrior, healer, scribe, trader etc.

Seven Mothers, the nomad pantheon, troll gods and Chaos gods all have a great mythological history, and reasons for the choices and lifestyles of their followers. Heck, even Thed the Broo goddess has a really solid background. Maybe look at the Biturian Varosh excerpts of some of the others for a little more depth?

Sartarite culture kind of started off as the default viewpoint of PCs, so it's a vaguely "modern American version of Greek city states" until the 1990s Hero Wars material, when it became a more full-on Bronze Age heroic, cattle-raiding culture with elemental magic worked into everyday life.

 

[Matthias]

If you're looking for something more zippy than "Voices of Glorantha" I'd second Lessa's recommendation of "Travels of Biturian Varosh" aka the in-world fiction for Cults of Prax. It really is a good read.

People mention Cults of Prax enough that it seems clear I should check it out, thanks! (Or maybe wait for the RQG cults book which is coming out?)

On the graphic side, I also like the webcomic "Prince of Sartar," which narrates much of the lore you have in King of Sartar in a more digestible way.

For me text is actually much more digestible - I find it a lot easier to forget that I'm reading a book than to forget that I'm reading a webcomic. Goes double when there's a good framing device for an in-universe text so when I'm reminded "you are reading a book" I'm not reminded "you are in the real world" - and King of Sartar starts off with my favorite framing device, which is "this is an in-universe text that has been subjected to censorship pressure, and no we're not telling you much about what those pressures might be."

 

[philig]

People mention Cults of Prax enough that it seems clear I should check it out, thanks! (Or maybe wait for the RQG cults book which is coming out?)

Cults of Prax was seminal. In 1979 it took Runequest from a fantasy combat simulator not much different from The Fantasy Trip to a way of running meaningful games with culture, religion, and history.

The cults it introduced became as basic to RQ2 as factions are to VtM: they defined how characters gained their powers, built careers, became individuals, and interacted with Glorantha. Before I read it I thought Cults of Prax was (in AD&D terms) RQ2's Deities and Demigods, but it's more like the Players Handbook plus The World of Greyhawk box set.

Whatever RQG cult supplements Chaosium has in the pipeline will build on Cults of Prax rather than replace it.

On the digestibility of text vs web comics, I hear you. I'm a hold-out for print books myself. I like Prince of Sartar because A) it tells the Dragon Pass / Hero Wars story by tracing one thread where King of Sartar is a kaleidoscope of subjective, contradictory narratives; and B) there are pretty pictures!

 

[Lessa]

M Matthias , if you're minimally into electronic games, dont forget King of Dragon Pass. It's on Steam and Apple store and is really an amazing experience.

Cults of Prax was seminal. In 1979 it took Runequest from a fantasy combat simulator not much different from The Fantasy Trip to a way of running meaningful games with culture, religion, and history.

Very well put!

 

[ffilz]

People mention Cults of Prax enough that it seems clear I should check it out, thanks! (Or maybe wait for the RQG cults book which is coming out?)

I'd get Cults of Prax now, and get the RQG stuff after you've had a chance to digest some RQ2 era stuff. Then you can pick up some RQG stuff and decide if you want the more free form, fill in the details yourself, culture of RQ2 or the cultural anthropology of RQG.

Also good point:

The current RQG stuff from Chaosium is just beautiful - there's a surprising amount of material just in the core rules, but the bestiary and GM pack add so much. It just takes the game and setting in ways I'm not so fussed about - the RQ2 heritage, the Hero Wars, Rune-level characters taking on the passions of their gods, and so on.

The bumped up power level and intensity of RQG is one of the things that turns me off from it. I like the Glorantha I've built up for myself over the decades, sure, it's a thin veneer of pseudo medieval and modern culture, that very much fits in the "D&D fantasy" genre, but I can absorb anything I like from any era of Glorantha publication and leave behind anything I don't like. Yet folks who have played in other Glorantha games don't stumble. Heck if they want their Sartarite to be a cattle raider, that will work just fine in my campaign. I just don't focus on that cultural aspect, and rather expect the PCs to be "adventurers".

 

[philig]

M Matthias , if you're minimally into electronic games, dont forget King of Dragon Pass. It's on Steam and Apple store and is really an amazing experience.


Very well put!

Thanks! (Blush) I'm a little surprised to find how passionate I feel about old Cults of Prax.

 

[zanshin]

Thanks! (Blush) I'm a little surprised to find how passionate I feel about old Cults of Prax.

It was my real gateway to Glorantha as well. Runequest was a cool system, and there is an early White Dwarf RQ adventure that treated it like it was D&D with different rules. Cults of Prax plus Apple Lane gave a whole different perspective.

I also really enjoyed the story commentary interwoven with Cults of Terror, it gave an emotional heft to illumination, as well as the fact that against Chaos even a Lunar noble and Orlanthi could be allied, regardless of the Red Goddesses more 'enlightened' take on it.

 

[ffilz]

It was my real gateway to Glorantha as well. Runequest was a cool system, and there is an early White Dwarf RQ adventure that treated it like it was D&D with different rules. Cults of Prax plus Apple Lane gave a whole different perspective.

I also really enjoyed the story commentary interwoven with Cults of Terror, it gave an emotional heft to illumination, as well as the fact that against Chaos even a Lunar noble and Orlanthi could be allied, regardless of the Red Goddesses more 'enlightened' take on it.

Oh, which White Dwarf adventure was that?

But yes, for me, Cults of Prax opened up a way to play RQ that makes it hard for me to separate RQ and Glorantha (though I am trying with my RQ/Thieves Guild campaign - but that DOES also allow for some cults to be ported in...). Now even with Cults of Prax, I didn't absorb all the culture represented in Biturian's travels, but the idea of "cults sort of as class" is definitely attractive to me. The way the cult special skills and spells work, the various discounts on spells and skills, the 4 levels of cult membership. Much of that was ruined in RQ3, and I'm afraid that RQG will have ruined it also, especially with everyone pretty much being initiates, and all the rune magic access initiates get. It sounds like the powerful healing rune magic is now a dime a dozen since initiates get to use it repeatedly rather than scrimping and saving up to justify sacrificing some POW for a single use of a single spell.

But I'll get the new cults book when it comes out. I will have to retrofit any cults it details that I don't have RQ2 cult write-ups for to better fit the RQ2 scheme if I really want to use them (so far I've never been inclined to do the same with any RQ3 cults...).

 

[zanshin]

Oh, which White Dwarf adventure was that?

But yes, for me, Cults of Prax opened up a way to play RQ that makes it hard for me to separate RQ and Glorantha (though I am trying with my RQ/Thieves Guild campaign - but that DOES also allow for some cults to be ported in...). Now even with Cults of Prax, I didn't absorb all the culture represented in Biturian's travels, but the idea of "cults sort of as class" is definitely attractive to me. The way the cult special skills and spells work, the various discounts on spells and skills, the 4 levels of cult membership. Much of that was ruined in RQ3, and I'm afraid that RQG will have ruined it also, especially with everyone pretty much being initiates, and all the rune magic access initiates get. It sounds like the powerful healing rune magic is now a dime a dozen since initiates get to use it repeatedly rather than scrimping and saving up to justify sacrificing some POW for a single use of a single spell.

But I'll get the new cults book when it comes out. I will have to retrofit any cults it details that I don't have RQ2 cult write-ups for to better fit the RQ2 scheme if I really want to use them (so far I've never been inclined to do the same with any RQ3 cults...).

White Dwarf 14 (sadly no longer in my possession) Lair of the White Wyrm - a real zoo dungeon; for me the standout in it was a Duck master of Quack Fu.

 

[ffilz]

White Dwarf 14 (sadly no longer in my possession) Lair of the White Wyrm - a real zoo dungeon; for me the standout in it was a Duck master of Quack Fu.

I suspected that was the one you were talking about... One of my favorite RQ adventures, and probably partly responsible for my love of ducks. When I ran it recently (placing it as the Wyrmghost Ruins...), it actually didn't feel like that much of a zoo to me, but some of that may have been the fact that we ran through it over several months (2 hour Roll20 sessions every other week). This time my PCs actually rescued the white wyrm and between one PC's leadership in that adventure AND his leadership of helping the newtlings in Rainbow Mounds has given that character some recognition among Newtlings and Dragonnewts as a "dragon friend". See, that's MY Glorantha... This is why I love RQ.

Oh, I also had forgotten to put something in my last post... When using Cults of Prax with a simpler system that doesn't have hit locations, you need to consider how the geases of Humakt and Yelmalio work when it comes to patchwork armor... With hit locations, those missing bits of armor have a well defined impact.

 

[zanshin]

I suspected that was the one you were talking about... One of my favorite RQ adventures, and probably partly responsible for my love of ducks. When I ran it recently (placing it as the Wyrmghost Ruins...), it actually didn't feel like that much of a zoo to me, but some of that may have been the fact that we ran through it over several months (2 hour Roll20 sessions every other week). This time my PCs actually rescued the white wyrm and between one PC's leadership in that adventure AND his leadership of helping the newtlings in Rainbow Mounds has given that character some recognition among Newtlings and Dragonnewts as a "dragon friend". See, that's MY Glorantha... This is why I love RQ.

Oh, I also had forgotten to put something in my last post... When using Cults of Prax with a simpler system that doesn't have hit locations, you need to consider how the geases of Humakt and Yelmalio work when it comes to patchwork armor... With hit locations, those missing bits of armor have a well defined impact.

Yes, I think it's your knowledge of and take on Glorantha which gave it that depth - I remember feeling it had no underlying theme to it- less so than Tizun Thane or Lichway, which were stellar WD adventures for AD&D.

 

[ffilz]

Yes, I think it's your knowledge of and take on Glorantha which gave it that depth - I remember feeling it had no underlying theme to it- less so than Tizun Thane or Lichway, which were stellar WD adventures for AD&D.

Maybe so, but I remember enjoying running it very much when it first came out, and back then I had much less of a vision of Glorantha. I would say that early run was actually a piece of my developing my vision of Glorantha. At the time it came out, what I had for RQ/Glorantha was: RuneQuest 1st edition, Cults of Prax, Apple Lane, Snakepipe Hollow, Balastor's Baracks, White Bear & Red Moon, Militia & Mercenaries, Trolls & Trollkin, and some small number of magazine articles and maybe some Wild Hunt submissions. I'm not sure what else was out by end of 1979.

But that's been one of my points all along, MY Glorantha started developing in the early years when there just wasn't much information. It is definitely informed by what is in RQ1, enhanced by Cults of Prax. Sure, the later stuff added depth, but by the time I was running Lair of the White Wyrm the first time, MY Glorantha was well on the way to being set. There WAS further development during my campaign in the 1990s (where I finally had access to Pavis but not Big Rubble yet) and the further colored by my campaign in the early 2000s where I had some players that were well connected to the Hero Wars/Hero Quest era, but I have backed off from much of the stuff from that era.

This is why I have encouraged folks to pick up RQ1 or RQ2 and Cults of Prax. Don't be intimidated by the Glorantha of today. Start small, and add bits on. Make it your own and don't become beholden to the cultural anthropology of today's Glorantha. Use some or all of that if you really want, but if you want a different sort of game world, make it so.

Certainly this attitude and comfort of mine makes it easy to pick and choose from all that is going on these days, and ignore the more absurd stuff while still appreciating, for example, all the detail Jeff is putting into Sartar on Facebook. I may ignore most of what's in the Sartar Box when it comes out, but I want that new map. And I want the information on Sartar so I CAN pick and choose from it.

 

[ffilz]

Here I'll share my manifesto in this thread: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gmUDJrNOoVAukmxyo4udFd_Qz1fW1LSoh7pomL3XKGs/edit?usp=sharing

If you want to comment on it, you can request comment access via Google Docs.

I should go back and update it with some of the stuff from this thread, particularly the preceding post...

 

[Mankcam]

What I did like back in RQ2 was how much a struggling dirtcrawler our characters started out as.
Many characters even began the first session with outstanding debts to the Guilds (which seemed to have more prominence that the Cults in the RQ2 core rulebook).

This kind of play faded with RQ3 and beyond, and very much doesn't exist with RQG.

I know RQG does have optional rules for less experienced starting characters, but I doubt they create the same kind of lowly survivor characters we kicked off the RQ2 sessions with.

 

[zanshin]

What I did like back in RQ2 was how much a struggling dirtcrawler our characters started out as.

Many characters even began the first session with outstanding debts to the Guilds (which seemed to have more prominence that the Cults in the RQ2 core rulebook).

This kind of play faded with RQ3 and beyond, and very much doesn't exist with RQG.

I know RQG does have optional rules for less experienced starting characters, but I doubt they create the same kind of lowly survivor characters we kicked off the RQ2 sessions with.

We always used the previous experience rules at the back of the RQ2 book except for one character who wanted to be an alchemist. That gave you a reasonable step up. I get frustrated in games where my best skills offer a less than 50% chance of success. Being a barbarian or a mercenary gave you at least one decent weapon skill and a smattering of other skills.