How faithful do you stick to the lore of premade settings?

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I’ve seriously considered it before, but I’ll explain why I, as a GM don’t:

I think Glorantha is a fascinating world. I enjoy reading about it. But, it is SO fleshed out, that if I were to run a game “in Glorantha”, I would start asking myself ‘what would Greg Stanford do?’ rather than what I would do. If I deviate too much, I run the risk of players claiming “but that’s not Glorantha!” and I would agree with them.

Some of the most epic moments my group has had while gaming came from spontaneous inspiration in the moment. I wouldn’t feel like I have that liberty if I’m playing in Glorantha, or the Forgotten Realms, etc. I’d have to fit to the world rather than the other way around, and I don’t really like that.

Instead, I take the vibe or features I really like from other settings and integrate them into my world: Elan. :happy:
I have a link, and sparse time...so here's the link:smile:.
 
I’ve seriously considered it before, but I’ll explain why I, as a GM don’t:

I think Glorantha is a fascinating world. I enjoy reading about it. But, it is SO fleshed out, that if I were to run a game “in Glorantha”, I would start asking myself ‘what would Greg Stanford do?’ rather than what I would do. If I deviate too much, I run the risk of players claiming “but that’s not Glorantha!” and I would agree with them.

Some of the most epic moments my group has had while gaming came from spontaneous inspiration in the moment. I wouldn’t feel like I have that liberty if I’m playing in Glorantha, or the Forgotten Realms, etc. I’d have to fit to the world rather than the other way around, and I don’t really like that.

Instead, I take the vibe or features I really like from other settings and integrate them into my world: Elan. :happy:
Oooh oooh ooh... You've mentioned my favorite pre-made setting...

Seriously man, don't sweat Glorantha. I have been running RQ/Glorantha since 1978. I don't care much what other folks are doing with it. There are bits I've latched onto, bits I purposefully ignore, and bits that just slip by and don't get used. I've had players from totally new to Glorantha up to players who at least at the time were "names" within the fan community and places in between. No one has ever given me crap for how I run Glorantha. And, yea, I've had fits of spontaneous inspiration that would contradict something somewhere in the reams of writing on Glorantha, but it only has to be consistent with Glorantha as I have presented it.

Now there are settings like Tekumel and Talislanta that just feel too alien to me and I've hesitated to really try and run them, though I have started Cold Iron campaigns in both settings.
 
I think Glorantha is a fascinating world. I enjoy reading about it. But, it is SO fleshed out, that if I were to run a game “in Glorantha”, I would start asking myself ‘what would Greg Stanford do?’ rather than what I would do. If I deviate too much, I run the risk of players claiming “but that’s not Glorantha!” and I would agree with them.
A risk -- mutatis mutandis -- in every game. Unless you reckon that putting <SETTING NAME> in the pitch means an expectation of 100% fidelity -- whatever that even means -- and "ma home-brew" means 0% expectations of any kind. Doesn't really work like that in practice! And is what Session Zeroes are for. Or whatever informal or mystical means you use to achieve the same "getting everyone more-or-less on the same page" objective.

Now there are settings like Tekumel and Talislanta that just feel too alien to me and I've hesitated to really try and run them, though I have started Cold Iron campaigns in both settings.
Tekumel doesn't really appeal to me as a setting anyway -- seems too fantasy for a SF game, and too SF for a fantasy game, for my own depraved tastes -- but I can more understand setting-nervousness about running it "correctly". With Glorantha, everyone has had their 2c in at this point to the extent that it ought to be pretty clear you can't ever be "definitively correct" in any way that would satisfy everyone. So that seems like a pretty big hint to relax into it, to whatever extent suits.
 
Well ... possibly my favorite part of the famous Viking Hat post is one I espouse myself: I am running my game, not three hundred pages of recycled paper and second-rate art. If I couldn't even run the published game setting I wrote straight (having had way too many female players to run a 100% male plucky 1790s English-adventuring milieu), I am airily indifferent to "But you're not doing 'it' right!" comments.
 
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