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A young Vingan runelord has stopped to ask the way from a settler of Sartarian heritage from Zola Fel valley.

A sneak peak of how Books and Scrolls get handled in the RQC! MAGIC BOOKS AND SCROLLS Mechanically, a book typically adds +1D4x5% to one or more skills. Some might also provide knowledge in one or more sorcerous Runes or Techniques and even provide knowledge of specific sorcery skills. A few special books can even raise a characteristic modifier or increase a characteristic. These books should be the object of quests in their own right. Give thought to their actual physical appearance, the proper bonuses (esp with Ian’s entries), who’d want it and where you might buy/sell it. Glorious Reascent of Yelm: Composed in the First Age, this text is a mythic cosmology and kings list of the Yelmic religion. It takes three seasons to study. With a successful Read Firespeech, it adds +20% to the reader’s Yelm Lore, +10% to Dara Happan Customs, and +5% to Celestial Lore. The Roads and Graves of the Makers: This text lists the first seven Sartarite kings, their main deeds, the roads they built, and where their graves are. There are many variations of this (often simply called “The Sartar Dynasty”). This text takes a hour to study and with a successful Read Theyalan it adds +5% to the reader’s Sartar Homeland Lore. The Orange Book or Theogony: This collection of God Learner texts from the Mythical Synthesis Movement is allegedly based on the Blue and Brown Books of Zzabur. It details the origins of the cosmos and the Runes, includes a series of genealogies of the different gods, arranged by elemental Rune, and describes the major events of the Gods War. This book consists of 84 orange-coloured sheets of vellum and takes three seasons to study. With a successful Read Theyalan roll it adds +15% to the reader’s base Cult Lore skill and +5% to the reader’s Magic modifier. Upon a successful INT+POW roll on a D100, the reader achieves intellectual mastery of the Summon Technique as per page 384 of the RuneQuest rules. Most versions of this book include 1D3 sorcery spells. The book is thought to be protected by a dangerous curse. Songs of the House of Sartar: This epic poem is based on oral tradition and details deeds and tragedies of the House of Sartar prior to the Lunar invasion of 1602. It is intended to be read aloud and was likely composed by a poet and only later recorded and refined by a Lhankor Mhy sage. The poem consists of 2400 stanzas divided into nine books. It takes about three hours to listen to the entire poem. With a successful Read Theyalan roll, it adds +10% to the reader’s Heortling Customs and +5% to their Sartar Homeland roll. If the reader succeeds with a Sing roll while reading the poem, those who listen to the full poem and succeed with a Speak Heortling get the same bonus. Six Chapters on Sword Fighting: This combat manual is thought to date back to the Second Age and is commonly attributed to Li Phanquan. The text takes a season to study and with a successful Read Theyalan skill roll it adds +10% to the reader’s Sword skill. Studying the palace records: A season spent studying the records of the local palace or temple combined with a successful Read skill in the language the records are written in adds +5% to both the reader’s Bureaucracy and (local) Customs. The Lives of Our Red Goddess: This didactic tract is an account of the birth of the Red Goddess by the Seven Mothers and of the Seven Steps of the Red Goddess to Hell and back. It is often illustrated. With a successful Read New Pelorian roll, the reader gains +10% in Seven Mothers Cult Lore and +2% to their chance of Illumination.

Having run a rather long campaign, I thought it might be helpful/fun for new GMs to see some of the collection of "new" monsters my players have encountered over the years. So as long as people care, I'll try to post one per Friday. Some might be particularly interesting one-offs in the great tradition of Chaos beasties scuttling, strutting, or slouching across the face of Glorantha. Others might be whole new species that aren't canon of course, but I find that leaving books and predictability behind is integral to keeping a campaign fresh. Mana Flies Known by many varied and colorful regional epithets across Glorantha, these in-a-way-harmless pests can prove devastating to the unprepared. Mana flies are a pestilential swarming insect that feeds directly on magic. They are nearly impossible to see until they've fed on mana, at which point they begin to glow faintly like insubstantial fireflies. Believed to originate on the spirit plane, they have long since found the material plane to be a comfortable (enough) hunting ground. They are often found near the scenes of past magical disasters, or wherever the barrier between the material and spirit realm is thinner than usual. They will not come out in direct sunlight and can be (temporarily) driven off with bright enough artificial light. They are unlikely to be found in populated regions, unless some recent magical event may have pulled some into our plane. Relatively fragile creatures, they are easily destroyed but in larger swarms it is hard to kill them quickly enough to avoid serious danger. A typical swarm will be 1d12+6 flies , but they can be attracted great distances by powerful magic like moths to flame. A large party of heavily-enchanted individuals regularly wielding potent spells could find themselves the subject of a 5d12+30 swarm or more, descending on their quiet campsite in the middle of a dark night. Once the population of a swarm is determined (and this generally should only vaguely be communicated to players) the swarm divides evenly across every mana-generating source in the group that currently has >0 MP. This includes beasts, pets, and even POW crystals (but not MP crystals). (Example: a swarm of 38 Mana Flies attacks a party of 4 characters, 2 pets, a mule, and one of the characters has 2 POW crystals - this would mean the swarm is divided by 9 total targets the first round - 4 to each target, with the extra 2 assigned randomly.) Each target is attacked each round by 1d6 flies of this cloud (up to the number attacking, of course) on the first SR and each fly drains 1mp at the end of that round. This attack cannot be parried or dodged and is unaffected by physical armor, although some magical defenses will stop them (see below). (Example: if 16 flies attack two characters, each have a 'cloud' of 8 flies attacking them. Only 1d6 of this cloud actually land on (attack) each character each round.) Once the round is complete, the remaining (total) number of mana flies in the swarm is re-divided across potential victims anew. (Example: using the original swarm of 38 mana flies above, at the end of the first round both POW crystals and one pet have been drained of MP entirely while unfortunately only 6 mana flies have been destroyed. At the start of round two there are now 32 mana flies divided across 6 targets - now each target has a cloud of at least 5 attacking.) Fortunately, they are easy to kill - using one hand, a Dex*5 success swats and kills one, a special success kills two, and a crit kills three flies (remember, this is out of the 1d6 actually landing on the character, not the total cloud of flies attacking the character). A fumbled slap is treated as a non-damage natural attack. Note that most humanoids can attack with each hand in a round if they do nothing else. Generally trying to move and swat them is less effective, reducing movement by half and making the attack Dex*4. Creatures not otherwise equipped with hands/limbs capable of swatting can still make one self-clearing attack each round by biting/scratching, etc. Note that prone creatures moving would generally be considered to be using their hands to move, and would normally only be allowed the default one swat/round. Any attack capable of affecting an area is very effective: consider each victim's cloud a single entity with 1hp vs AOE effects. Of course, the victim likely will also be subject to that attack as well. (Example: a massive swarm of 75 mana flies has attacked 3 characters. Each then will have a cloud of 25 flies. The duck happens to have a molotov handy, and smashes it on the floor. The GM rules that the pool of flaming liquid will only cover him and one other character. The 1d6 damage from the pool of flaming liquid affects each of the 2 characters, but is ALSO considered as an AOE effect against each of their 'clouds' of mana flies. It will do at least one point of damage, so their clouds are completely destroyed that round, before they can drain any MP. The third (uncovered) character suffers the normal attack from her cloud of 25, and the next round, those 25 remaining flies are divided across the 3 targets. If the 2 characters remain standing in their flaming pools, their 'clouds' will be again destroyed, leaving the 8-9 on the (still uncovered) third character as the only ones remaining for the following round.) Magical defenses are quite good against mana flies. Spirit/Divine spells behave slightly differently than sorcerous protection: Protection/Countermagic/Spirit Screen & comparable effects: total the number of mana flies landing on that target; if they exceed the defensive spell value, the defensive spell is completely dispelled. In any case, the attacking mana flies are destroyed and do not drain mana points at all. (Think: bug zapper.)* Sorcerous wardings (vs damage, magic, or spirits) are reduced directly 1:1 for each mana fly attacking, which is in turn destroyed. Wardings reduced to 0 are dispelled. Any excess mana flies still attacking after the warding is reduced attack the victim and drain MP normally.* *complicated bit: POW crystals on a victim's person are attacked as a distinct entity as described above, but benefit from the defenses of the person carrying them. (Example: a character carrying 2 POW crystals is attacked, she and the two crystals each by 1d6 mana flies. She has Protection 1 when attacked. As she and the POW crystals are all attacked simultaneously at the start of the round, the Protection 1 is considered a bubble around all three. The 3d6 mana flies 'land on the bubble' of the Prot 1, annihilating the Prot 1 but also all being destroyed in turn without draining anything. If she had instead a sorcerous warding of 10 points, the 3d6 mana flies would all attack THAT warding and if more than 10 flies land, the warding would be dispelled, with the remaining flies attacking normally, distributed evenly across the 3 targets - any remainder mana flies can be allocated according the the character's choice.) The swarms are only semi-physical, and are not affected by wind. The swarm has a flying move of 12, so some particularly fast-moving creatures might be able to outdistance them. Any victim brought to 0MP by mana flies immediately falls unconscious. If the swarm isn't dispelled, they'll simply hover on the target, eating any generated MP (before the character gets it, sadly) over time until either daylight drives them away or the target dies from all the sorts of things that will ultimately kill a person permanently sleeping on the ground. So mana flies can never actually directly kill anyone. Note that mana flies are considered delicious by a number of spirit plane life forms, and spirits (actual freely-moving spirits, not for example allied spirits in a beast or weapon) deployed to this effect can be quite effective to combat them. Any spirit commanded to attack a swam will destroy 1d6 flies on the first SR of each round automatically (gaining that many MP simultaneously as well) and will drive away another 1d6 (which are not actually destroyed, but will not re-concentrate anytime soon). The specific destroyed/driven-off flies may be selected by the character controlling the spirit, but must eliminate one victim's 'cloud' before moving to another (ie a spirit can't "shave" one fly off of multiple victim's clouds, for example). Of course, a spirit deployed like this is a POW-generating entity, and will also be targeted as such by the swarm as any other entity and my be brought to 0MP likewise, which will permanently dispel it. A fetch (uniquely) CAN be deployed in this role, but likewise then becomes vulnerable to the mana flies in turn, for the round in which it acts in that capacity. The presence of a hellion is terrifying to mana flies and will immediately disperse an entire swarm, regardless of size. They will not return while the hellion remains present. Note to GMs: this is a lot simpler to run than it seems. Generate the swarm, at the start of each round divide across targets. Destroy any clouds subject to existing AOE damage. From those clouds remaining on each target, 1d6 actually land. Victim defenses activate/are reduced. Victims each get to (hopefully) destroy some. Anything left sucks some MP. Next round, take what's left of the swarm, re-divide it across everything with MP left and repeat. Mana flies by themselves are generally just annoying considering at WORST they're only draining an average of 3.5 MP/round, with ample ways to reduce this. Even if a party is overwhelmed, assuming they don't get eaten/robbed/captured while sleeping, sunrise will drive the flies away, and the first regen'd MP will awaken the characters. The flies' nastiness is in their ability to burn defenses and chew down mana *particularly* if they are attacking during other combat. Note however that they don't take sides - two groups fighting when attacked by mana flies would be swarmed evenly by all the flies. Some rumors suggest that there may be magics that can summon or otherwise control them, but nobody is sure if that's true or terrifying/wishful thinking. Yeah, those two kids are ... screwed. Let me know if you have any questions.

It should probably be all random. Adjacent might be a carryover from shield parrying. I'll take a look and see if the matrix/table needs to be corrected. Again, this might be a carryover. These charts had a lot of editing and back-and-forth and could have used more. That's a legacy rule. Ignore it as you see fit. I intend to remove it from any future editions. You may not believe this, but our playtest GMs asked us to be quite explicit about whether an attack hits or not for every entry. It's the most basic question... "Did the attack hit?" and for various reasons people thought it wasn't always evident, even when the results discussed damage.

There are a number of interesting social conclusions you can draw from tables and math in the game. 1. Child mortality before age 15 is 54% under Free Living conditions. This seems fairly reasonable. It's 96% under Poor living conditions, which seems extreme. Even if you received a mere -5% to child survival from Poor living condition, child mortality would be 80%, which seems high. Children of Nobles are immortal. (Calculated from living standards text and child survival table.) 2. Women of Noble status and childbearing age bear 0.85 live children per year (who are then immortal as per the above). 47% (!!) of their children have a twin. (This rises to 1.25 and 57% for petty queens.) (Calculated from living standards text and childbirth table.) 3. A Free woman bears 0.55 living children per year. The combination of childbirths and child mortality means that demographic replacement rate is reached in 8 years of sexual activity, after 4.4 live childbirths. A Noble woman exceeds replacement rate in three years. This holds true even if the woman had only a single sexual encounter during that year. Poor women never achieve demographic replacement rate. This means that Heortling society must be systematically socially downwardly mobile, as people in Poor living conditions must be replaced from the higher social classes, which are in turn excessively fertile. 4. The GDP of a typical Heortling clan is 16000L/year. Public sector expenditure is 28% of GDP. GDP per household is 74L, per capita about 16L (assuming 1000 clan members). Assuming no stickpickers or thralls, the post-tax Gini coefficient of income equality in the clan, calculated on a household level, is an egalitarian 0.26. (Calculated from sample temple on p 406.) 5. Typical Return on Investment (assuming no extraordinary events) is 16% pre-tax, 12% post-tax. This drops to half if a non-family member has to be hired to perform the work (which results in a really reasonable 6% RoI post-tax when you have to hire workers). However, sheep have a better RoI than cows or land, at 26%/21% , as a flock of 100 sheep (300L) is as productive as a herd of 20 cows (500L) or a hide of land (also 500L). (Calculated from the value and income of cows, sheep, and land). A sheep probably should cost 5L, but until then, there's a great business opportunity here. 6. People need 88% in their professional skill (like Farm) in order to actually receive their expected income from their occupation. (Calculated from the income success outcomes on p. 422.) 7. I didn't do the math, because it gets complex, but you could calculate (or better, simulate) the expected lifetime until natural death from the aging rules on page 425.

An old version was sold last year at GenCon. It was MUCH smaller than the current version, and a lot has been revised even in the material that was included. Maybe - just maybe - I can be persuaded to sell a few of the current two-volume manuscript at GenCon, but there's need to be significant interest. Gods and Goddesses will take a while because it has a LOT of art, and it gets updated as I realise additional information is needed to support scenarios, etc. And of course the art. You think RQG looked good?

Glorantha-philes! Here's your chance to participate in the Great Gloranthan PLUNDER Competition! Submit your Gloranthan magical item for the glory of the Tribe! The rules are: 1. Use the format provided below. 2. Use the RQG rules only. 3. You grant Chaosium permission to edit and publish your submission if they decide it is Pure Gloranthan Gold. 4. You grant Chaosium and the rest of the world, the right to use your submission. Here's the format: Title Below the title is a description of the item’s physical appearance including any observable evidence of magical power. Occasionally an item will be known by more than one name. Cults This section lists the relation of the item (and its possessor) with various cults. · Associated: Members of these cults are the primary users and/or makers of the item. A member of an associated cult is likely to have heard of an item even if it is fairly obscure. · Enemy: Members of enemy cults will generally attack the user of an item on sight (unless the user is obviously too powerful). Frequently, enemy cults are those which were defeated, abused, or otherwise offended when the item was originally made. · Friendly: Members of a friendly cult have a presumed friendship with the possessor of an item. · Hostile: Members of hostile cults will have a strong tendency not to like users of the item. Hostility does not indicate that a battle will occur automatically, but the two parties will not get along together. Knowledge This section will list one or more words or phrases which have specifically defined meanings relating to the public knowledge of the item. · Automatic: The item’s powers work automatically for nearly everyone if the item is used in an obvious way. For example, Frog Masks will work for anyone intelligent enough to put it on. · Common: Nearly everyone has heard of the item and knows how to use it. An example of a common item would be a bronze sword with a Bladesharp matrix. · Cult Secret: The making and/or use of the item is known only to a particular cult or group of cults (usually those listed under associated cults). Use of such an item can only be obtained from the cult (though it might be possible to steal the necessary knowledge rather than gaining it otherwise.) · Famous: The item is well known, and its general powers are thought to be common knowledge. Such an item counts as a showy magic item for the purposes of adding +1 to CHA. This term will not be used in conjunction with common items. · Few: Only a limited and small number of these items exist. · One of a Kind: There is only one of these items in existence and it is not possible to make another (though on occasion, a difficult HeroQuest might allow the creation of a similar item). · Owner Only: Some or all of the item’s powers only can be used by its original owner (who is usually the creator of the item as well). History This section tells the history of an item. If the item is one which is normally made (rather than found), it will tell the story of the first person to make one of the items. If it is one which cannot be made, it will tell the story of how the item came to be. For items which are common, this section will frequently be left blank. Procedure This section explains the procedure for making the item. If there is no procedure which does not require hero-questing (or something even more difficult) this section will be left blank. Powers The items, powers and uses are explained along with details on who can or cannot make use of them. Value The value of the item on the open market is given here. This value is intended as the value player-characters could get when attempting to sell the item. It does not imply that anyone with the necessary amount of money could go out and buy the item. The items in this section are very rare and usually not for sale.

Next up is the Smoking Ruins, then the Pegasus Plateau, and then the Starter Set. The RuneQuest Campaign Book and the Gods and Goddesses of Glorantha - those are my special projects and will be done when I feel they are done. Both contain tons of new material and help move the game forward into new territory - but as a result, they are far more complex than campaign and scenario books.

Nah, I am done. But while adding the Starting As An Initiate of XXXX sections for each cult, I managed to unblock what I wanted to write about Yara Aranis. It also brings us to 100 cults and spirit cults.

The definitive list of cults and spirit cults in the Cults of Glorantha are: 1. Kyger Litor 2. Anilla 3. Aranea 4. Argan Argar 5. Gorakiki 6. Himile 7. Subere 8. Xentha 9. Xiola Umbar 10. Zorak Zoran 11. Magasta 12. Choralinthor 13. Dormal 14. Engizi 15. Oslira 16. Ernalda 17. Aldrya 18. Asrelia 19. Babeester Gor 20. Caladra & Aurelion 21. Donandar 22. Eiritha 23. Flamal 24. The Grain Goddesses 25. Hykim & Mykih 26. Maran Gor 27. Mostal 28. Ty Kora Tek 29. Uleria 30. Voria 31. Yelm 32. Dayzatar 33. Dendara 34. Gorgorma 35. Lodril 36. Lokarnos 37. The Lowfires 38. Polaris 39. Shargash 40. Yelmalio 41. Yelorna 42. Orlanth 43. Chalana Arroy 44. Eurmal 45. Issaries 46. Lhankor Mhy 47. Barntar 48. Daka Fal 49. Foundchild 50. Heler 51. Humakt 52. Lanbril 53. Mastakos 54. Odayla 55. Storm Bull 56. Valind 57. Waha 58. Ygg 59. Yinkin 60. Horned Man 61. Earth Witch 62. Evening Star 63. Frog Woman 64. Kolat 65. Morning Star 66. Rainbow Girl 67. Raven 68. Six Sisters 69. Sun Hawk 70. Thunder Bird 71. Traveling Stone 72. Twin Sisters 73. White Princess 74. Robber 75. Sky River Titan 76. Oakfed 77. Seven Mothers 78. Danfive Xaron 79. Deezola 80. Etyries 81. Hon-eel 82. Hwarin Dalthippa 83. Irrippi Ontor 84. Jakaleel 85. Nysalor 86. Red Goddess 87. Teelo Norri 88. Yanafal Tarnils 89. Yara Aranis 90. Primal Chaos 91. Bagog 92. Cacodemon 93. Crimson Bat 94. Krarsht 95. Krjalk 96. Mallia 97. Pocharngo 98. Thanatar 99. Thed 100. Vivamort

EoM

As an illustrator for RPGs, I am glad I've not had the honor of illustrating for RQ, after reading this thread. Wakboth forbid the curvature of a stressed spear in one of my pieces is wrong.

UGH!!! Stop it. I'd give you guys barfy-faces in response, but it's not an option. That said... That's part of the beauty of this painting. Not only does the Vingan warrior look like someone who could endure the hardships of combat (and that's a critique that can be applied to many depictions of male warriors, too), the generational connection to the game world is subtle, but powerful. !i!

Although from my HQG campaign, the duck shaman, Joseph Greenbeak, led the PC's into the Spirit Plane and brought them to the Assembly of Small Spirits to get a spirit ally to help in their fight against an invading vough. The spirits here were an assortment, though all had in common that they owed no allegiance to any spirit lord but each other. They gathered at the Little Rock, a place for independent-minded spirits, though they all desired to make spirit pacts with someone who would honor and remember them (they were rather lonely spirits in a sense and wanted to feel useful). They were small spirits (in RQG terms probably of 1D6+4 POW) and each knew one spirit magic. Each had a particular requirement that their ally had to fulfill (a taboo). If allied, they would enter a Charm that allowed a direct connection between the PC and the spirit. (I pictured this as perhaps different from a Spirit Binding enchantment at the time - more an object part of the Mundane World, part of the Spirit World through which the connection was maintained.) To ally them, you had to sing a simple song: Tell me your name, what do you do? What do you want me to do for you? These were some of the spirits that gathered at the Assembly of Small Spirits. Little Rock - Detect Spirit (never stack rocks) Fire toad - Ignite Leaf and Branch (never trust a frog) The Carved Pawn - Detect Aldryami (carve only pinewood) Rust Patch - Dullblade (never sharpen a knife) 6 Green Men - Counter Spell (never cast a Spell) Old Moss Face - Endurance (eat moss once per week) Copper Woman - Command Snake (never harm a snake) Shimmerwind (chosen by Dyrrkind) - Shimmerwind (never harm a Wind Child; shelter charm from raging storms of Storm Bull & the Wild Hunter) - was later devoured by a Hell Hound The Opposkunk (white with black stripes) - Perfumed Spray (challenge any skunk encountered to a duel) Flying Bluefin birds - Shoot True through Water or Shoot True through Air (like quarreling children - what one has, the other wants; feed them water and wind once per week) Burning Cattail (chosen by Aren) - Catch and Release the Sunflame (bathe charm daily in sun or fire) Firefeather Bird - Hurl Flames (rub in fresh ash daily) Starspark - Celestial Spark (never use a Lowfire) Giant beaver - Gnaw through Wood (chew wood daily) Long Hopper - Long Hop (never skip) Thorn Bird - Thorn Feathers (hate soft feathers) Earth Shaker - Quaking Step (never harm a quake beast) Shimmershell beast - Shimmershell (only eat meat of birds) Blinker - Dispel Magic (gained by Joseph) Notrd - Gnarly Root - Trip and Twine (carve runes on smooth bark daily) Some of them are depicted in this image.

As I see it, the major cults not appearing in this book are: Triolina (I really need to think far more about the Triolini before I tackle this cult) Godunya (already appearing in another book) Pamalt (will need to wait until I get to the South) Ompalam (see above) Seseine (see above) Invisible God (gets its own book) Arkat (needs Invisible God) Wachaza (needs to wait - his cult is right now confined largely to the Wachaza) There are numerous minor cults that will appear elsewhere - Pavis, Zola Fel, etc. They are purely local entities.

The beginnings of the Pendragon Resource site are now up. It's very "bare bones" for now, but I wanted the old Nocturnal Media forums available. Please ignore any "this site is insecure" warnings. It's on http not https for the time being, while some issues are sorted and there is no danger. http://greathall.chaosium.com You can find the old Nocturnal Media forums on the Archive page. Eventually they will be imported and all of the broken links removed and replaced. They can be browsed, but not searched at the moment. Trying to click Log in, View full site and Nocturnal Media forum will not work. If you've any questions please ask.

The Eye of the Half-Bird Description A perfectly spherical golden-yellow gemstone almost 6 cm in diameter with a large 3 cm black spot. The gemstone is semi-semi-transluscent. Cults Associated: Belintar. Friendly: Lightbringer cults. Knowledge Famous, One of a Kind. History The Half-Bird is a remarkable entity that exists half-alive, and half-dead. The Half-Bird is claimed by some to be a child of Androgeus; others claim it is suffers under a curse from that entity. Belintar stabilised the Half-Bird's condition so that half of the bird is alive, while the other half is now skeletal remains. The Eye is part of the mortal remnants of that remarkable entity. Powers By expending 1 magic point and looking through the Eye, a user in the Mundane World can peer into the Spirit World; with 2 magic points, the viewer can see into the Gods World that lies behind our own. The viewer can see otherworld entities and interact with them. The reverse is also true - and it enables discorporate spirits in the Spirit World to peer into and interact with the Mundane World. Value 2000 L or more to the right buyer. The Half.Bird greatly desires the return of its eye and offers invaluable knowledge and magical secrets for its return.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions, ideas, and so forth. In the end, here's what I came up with as a long-form write-up for use in my campaign. It probably still requires a lot of tweaking, particularly the powers table, so worth treating very much as a "Work-in-Progress." RQG PLUNDER – TRUE DRAGON'S BLOOD Description: The blood of a True Dragon has two different states: molten and solidified. Each state has its own set of powers. When shed the blood appears in substance to be like a thick liquid, glowing and radiating heat—similar to the pouring of smelted bronze. Despite this intense heat, spilt True Dragon's blood lights no fires. Rather, it causes the world around to become mutable, melting as if made of candle wax. No substance save truestone resists this entirely, although older things endure it better than younger. The more fixed into its shape a thing is, the better it will endure a True Dragon's essence. Deprived of the irreality—or perhaps hyperreality—of the True Dragon, the shed blood slowly cools over the course of a season. The process can be accelerated by mundane methods of dousing heat. Once the True Dragon's life leaves it, the hardened blood is smooth and glassy, typically affixed to another substance. It is brittle like obsidian, but of many iridescent colors rather than black. Often, extant pieces have been cut and shaped into jewelry by those who don't know their true value. Cults: Associated – Dragonewts; Friendly – Kralorelan mystics; Knowledge: Cult Secret; Few; History: The blood of a True Dragon is rare. While many of the gods fought against and alongside dragons in the God Time, it is more difficult to find their blood in the Middle World than to find the blood of gods. Further, the cooled substance is often mistaken for colored glass or an unusual rock, rather than the rarity it is (though it does detect as magic to appropriate spells). The substance's fragility (when compared with magic crystals) further adds to its scarcity. The largest known piece of True Dragon's blood was about the size of a big man's head, and shimmered ivory and aquamarine in daylight. It was kept in the treasury of Orlanth's temple in Whitewall, and said to be the blood of Aroka. This treasure disappeared after the city's fall in 1621. Procedure: Make a True Dragon bleed, or more realistically find a chunk of the cooled blood from some forgotten age. It may be possible to bring back molten True Dragon's blood from an appropriate God Plane heroquest (like Orlanth Slays Aroka) as a boon. Powers: Like a magic crystal, a True Dragon's blood has a variety of potential effects. The POW of the blood varies, depending on the size of the sample. Using the blood typically requires attunement, which is done in the same fashion as for magic crystals. It can also be used for alchemical purposes, as described following. An adventurer can only be attuned to one piece of True Dragon's blood at a time, and cannot be attuned to both True Dragon's blood and a typical magic crystal. Dragons are anathema to the gods and elements, creatures which see the Glorantha for the illusion it truly is. They are dispassionate and unattached to the Middle World. Any adventurer who attunes to a True Dragon's blood is consequently affected by this alien mindset. In addition to other consequences described below, any adventurer attuned to True Dragon's blood has a constant penalty to their Passions equal to the attuned piece's POWx5%. This penalty lasts for a full day after attunement ends. Table: Size and POW of True Dragon's Blood: Size: POW roll: Average POW: ENC: Tiny (the size of a coin) D6 3-4 0 Small (the size of one's palm) 2D6 7 (2) Large (the size of one's fist) 4D6 14 1 Enormous (Anything larger) 6D6+ 21+ 3+ Whether or not the adventurer succeeds at attuning the piece of True Dragon's blood, they lose 1D10% from their highest Elemental Rune as a result of magically tampering with draconic powers. While they remain attuned, their Elemental Runes cannot rise higher than 100 minus the blood's POW; if a Rune is already above, it remains locked at that value. In attuning hardened True Dragon's blood, an adventurer is borrowing a fragment of draconic power for him- or herself. Typically, this takes the form of providing the adventurer with a draconic effect. To randomly determine a fragment's ability, roll D100 and consult the table below depending on the piece's POW. Ability descriptions are following. This should not be treated as an exhaustive list of the powers of True Dragon's blood, but rather a collection of “most typical” abilities. Table: True Dragon's Blood Powers: Ability: // POW: 1-5: 6-10: 11-15: 16-20: 21-25: 26-30: Molten: Draconic Passion 01-20 01-15 01-10 01-05 01 ---- ---- Understand Auld Wyrmish 21-50 16-35 11-20 06-20 ---- 01-30 ---- Dragon Claw 51-65 36-45 21-30 21-30 02-15 ---- 01-05 Growth 66-75 46-55 31-40 31-35 ---- 31-35 ---- Shimmering Hide 76-80 56-65 41-50 36-40 ---- ---- 06-15 Draconic Blood 81-85 66-70 51-55 41-50 16-30 36-40 16-30 Rough Scales 86-90 71-80 56-65 51-55 ---- ---- 31-35 Dragonewt Roads 91-98 81-90 66-80 56-60 31-40 41-45 ---- Dragon Armor 99-00 91-97 81-85 61-65 41-50 46-60 36-40 Firebreath ---- 98 86-95 66-70 51-70 61-70 ---- Soul-blast ---- 99 96-99 71-80 71-85 71-80 41-55 Sprout Wings ---- ---- ---- 81-95 86-90 81-85 56-60 Call Dream Dragon ---- ---- ---- 96-99 91-98 86-95 61-70 Draconic Consciousness ---- ---- ---- ---- 99 96-99 71-00 Roll Twice ---- 00 00 00 00 00 ---- For pieces of True Dragon's blood which exceed 30 POW, roll once for a POW 30 portion, and then a second time for the remaining POW. The piece has all rolled abilities. Always re-roll duplicated abilities, whether for extremely high-POW pieces or for results of Roll Twice. Attuning a portion of still-molten True Dragon's blood is somewhat more complex. In attuning to this substance, the adventurer changes the substance of their being, becoming a little draconic. First, add an additional D6 to the rolled POW based on the portion's size. Then, have the adventurer roll to attune to the molten blood. If they overcome the blood's POW, they feel a strong compulsion to sacrifice POW equal to the blood's POW, which will bond the adventurer to it. In any case, the blood rapidly cools into a hardened state. If the adventurer sacrificed their POW to it, the piece's appearance is different to normal cooled True Dragon's blood; it shimmers and glitters, slowly changing colors; life is preserved within it. If the adventurer did not sacrifice, determine the piece's ability as usual for it's POW. For attuned pieces of molten True Dragon's blood, roll both on the appropriate POW column in the Powers table, and then again on the Molten column. Re-roll any duplicates; the piece has all rolled powers. The adventurer also permanently gains Draconic Passion. While they are attuned to the piece of blood, they gain access to all of its abilities. Any other person who attunes the piece will not gain access to the Molten ability. In addition, so long as the adventurer does not unattune the piece, it will act as a POW Yielding crystal, storing MP up to its own POW and generating that amount as if a living creature. If the adventurer ever unattunes the piece (whether by choice or involuntarily through death, etc) the piece “dies”. Reattuning can give the adventurer renewed access to the Molten ability, but the piece won't continue to yield MP. True Dragon's Blood Powers: Call Dream Dragon: The adventurer spends fifteen minutes focusing on the blood, and must succeed on a Meditate skill roll. If they do, a dream dragon is called from the surrounding area within the next hour, similar to the dragonewt effect. This does not, however, give the adventurer the supernatural ability to command the dragon. Call Dream Dragon does not cost magic points. Draconic Blood: While attuned to this piece of True Dragon's blood, the adventurer adds its POW to their own when resisting spells. However, they automatically resist all spells—including spells the adventurer casts on him- or herself. Additionally, the adventurer's blood changes color, typically to purple or green. Draconic Consciousness: In the process of attempting to attune the blood, the adventurer's mind is forcibly opened to the infinity which is OUROBOROS. The adventurer must succeed at a POWx1% roll, or else become insane. Roll on the Insanity table for the Madness Rune spell (RQG p.334) to determine the exact effects. If they succeed and manage to attune the blood, the adventurer has survived some form of Illumination. The exact effects are best determined by the GM of each individual campaign. Some examples might include: Losing 1D6% from the Beast and Man Runes, and gaining the Dragonewt Rune at the lost percentage. If the adventurer's Dragonewt Rune becomes dominant among the three (all adding to 100%), they transform into a beaked dragonewt. Gain the Charismatic Wisdom skill from RQ3 Gods of Glorantha and the ability to sacrifice POW for points in the Path of Immanent Wisdom's draconic magic. Realize Glorantha is but the dream of cosmic Ouroboros, and learn to sacrifice POW to shape it, per the magic of the cult of Godunya in RQ3 Gods of Glorantha. In any case, this effect is permanent. The adventurer may attempt other attunements as usual and behave as expected for their culture, but they know that the nature of reality is otherwise. The draconic attunement penalty to their Elemental Runes and Passions remains permanent, even while they are not attuned to a piece of True Dragon's blood. Draconic Passion: The adventurer gains a draconic Passion at the blood's POWx10%, feeling a proportionally strong compulsion to behave that way. These might include pervasive attitudes like Suspicion, Optimism, or Laziness. Consult the dragonewt entries in the Glorantha Bestiary p.39-41 for ideas. This passion remains so long as they are attuned, and for 24 hours afterward. It can increase and decrease as usual. If the Passion decreases to zero while the adventurer is still attuned, they immediately gain one POW and a new draconic Passion—usually one in some way opposed to the previous. The penalty to an adventurer's Passions while attuned to True Dragon's blood does not apply to this special Passion. Subject to GM's discretion, the adventurer could spend time researching this Passion as though it were a skill to reduce it, instead of increasing it. This process would involve meditation and focusing on the adventurer's emotions, with the goal of developing self-control and the ability to focus on Right Action. Dragon Armor: Invoking this ability costs the adventurer 1D10% from one of their Elemental Runes. Their skin changes slightly, being covered in shimmering, nearly-transparent scales. While this effect is active, damage is absorbed at a cost of magic points, at a rate of 1MP per point of damage. This happens after reduction from armor, protective spells, etc, and even mitigates damage from critical hits. The most damage this ability can absorb from a single blow is the piece of blood's POW. The magic points can be pulled from any source. Dragon Armor ends when the adventurer dismisses it, deattunes from the blood, or if they take a blow and do not have enough magic points to absorb it. All MP will be spent reducing the damage as far as possible, and then the effect ends. Dragon Claw: This ability can be invoked at the cost of 1D10% from one of the adventurer's Elemental Runes. It transforms their left hand into a dragon's claw, which has base damage of 2D6 + Damage Bonus, and a base skill of DEXx5% when used in combat. A successful parry blocks as if it had AP equal to the blood's POW. It can hold weapons and shields made by dragonewts, but handles other objects clumsily, reducing the adventurer's skill to half. Dragon Claw lasts until dismissed. It ends immediately if the adventurer unattunes. Dragonewt Roads: The adventurer can detect the nearest dragonewt road by concentrating on the piece of blood for a minute. It doesn't tell them the distance. They can enter a dragonewt road at suitable locations and travel it, bringing along a number of companions equal to the piece's POW. Entering the dragonewt road requires a successful POWx5 roll, and costs each traveler 1MP per hour on the road. Each hour on the road covers the distance of a day's travel by mundane means. Firebreath: Activating this ability costs the adventurer 1D10% from their highest Elemental Rune. They immediately spit a glob of fire at a target within the blood's POW in meters. This deals damage to each hit location of the target equal to the percentiles lost from the adventurer's Rune. Armor and magic protect as usual. Growth: Acting like a spell matrix this ability can be activated on POWx5 and costs MP, up to a maximum of the piece's POW. Each MP spent on Growth increases the adventurer's SIZ by one, and changes their HP, Damage Bonus, category modifiers, and so on accordingly. Growth lasts for minutes equal to the blood's POW. Rough Scales: This ability is activated on the adventurer's POWx5. It gives changes the adventurer's skin, making it rough and scaly. This provides one AP per MP spent on the effect, up to a max of the piece's POW. It lasts for minutes equal to the blood's POW. Shimmering Hide: This ability causes the adventurer to take on a mirage-like appearance. It is activated on POWx5. Each MP spent on this ability reduces chances to hit the adventurer by 5%, and adds 5% to the adventurer's Stealth skills, to a max of the piece's POW. Shimmering Hide lasts for minutes equal to the piece's POW. Soul-blast: Using this ability costs 4 MP, and requires a successful POWx5 to activate. If the adventurer overcomes the target's POW with their own, the target loses 2D6 MP. Soul-blast has a range equal to the blood's POW. Sprout Wings: Invoking this ability costs the adventurer 1D10% from one of their Elemental Runes. They sprout wings, which last until the effect is dismissed. The adventurer can use them with a Fly skill of DEXx5 and a MOV equal to the average of STR and the blood's POW. If the adventurer attempts to use this ability while wearing solid armor, they immediately take 1D6 damage to the chest and the ability fails. Understand Auld Wyrmish: The adventurer understands Auld Wyrmish at the blood's POWx5%. This does not give them the ability to speak it (although it certainly should accelerate the process if they can find a native speaker willing to teach). This does not let the adventurer learn to speak the language above 25% per RQG Core p.174-175. Alchemical Properties of True Dragon's Blood: Ground-up, hardened True Dragon's blood can be used in potions which restore magical essence. Due to the scarcity of this material, no cult teaches the recipe; an alchemist must discover it for him- or herself either through experimentation or by the Library Use skill in a library which might have the relevant documents. Properly prepared, a Tiny portion of True Dragon's blood can make one potion, which restores a D6 Magic Points per point of the piece's POW. This restoration happens at the end of the melee round the potion is drunk. The drinker takes a penalty to their Passions equal to the MP restored for the next 24 hours; this penalty is cumulative if multiple potions are drunk. Larger chunks of True Dragon's blood can be broken down into the powder needed for potions, making potential doses as noted on the table following. Each time a Tiny portion is broken off, roll that portion's POW, and reduce the larger chunk's POW by a full six (there is always some magic lost in the processing). Further, roll the initial piece's POWx5; only on a failure does the smaller fragment retain its magical potency. Table: Blood to Doses Conversion: Piece Size: Doses Possible: Small D3 Large D6 Enormous D10 Some adventurers may attempt to imbibe molten True Dragon's blood or bathe in it, and so on. This is generally suicidal. Making the attempt requires at least a full melee round. Coming into direct contact deals 1D6 to the relevant location. If the adventurer continues their foolhardy attempt, they must resist the blood's POW with their own, or take that POW in general Hit Point damage as it melts their very existence into a waxy puddle. Should the adventurer survive, that is their reward. Value: Molten True Dragon's blood is functionally priceless, if it could be transported or preserved in that state. Hardened blood's value varies depending on what power the piece bestows. At the very least, it should have a value of POWx100 Lunars, if the adventurers could possibly find someone with both the coin and the inclination to purchase.

The Gateway Bestiary PDF is also for sale now too. It wasn't part of the Kickstarter, but people were interested in getting an electronic copy of it.

I recently revisited my Lunar adventure book Red Sun Rising, after @AndreasDavour sent me a personal message about some of its inconsistencies, and reflected on the fact that it was written in the early 2000s using the information (both setting and rules) that was emerging like a butterfly from a cocoon at the time. This then led me to muse about HeroQuest's development and the 20 odd years worth of official and fan effort. Remember Unspoken Word's excellent adventures/setting material as well as the stuff that came out in the first five issues of Hearts in Glorantha/Gloranthan Adventures. 20 YEARS OF STUFF!! Then it hit me I've only scratched the surface of the later HQ material, that I never ran a full game of HQ G, or brought the power of what the Guide presents to my table. That in many ways I've been too quick to run off to pastures new to experience the new shiny of RQ G/13th Age (both of which I've dabbled in by running convention scenarios). I totally respect Chaosium's decision to focus on RuneQuest as their vehicle for exploring Glorantha, from both a creative and financial point of view, but I question my own decision to jump ship and abandon HQ which is now a very stable and mature system/setting. I must turn this navel-gazing into action

My god, Julian Lord, so much whining on some details about whether the Vingan warrior can or cannot carry that much weight on a single spear. So what!? What does it matter? Do you play the RQ game the same way you nitpick on that nicely made painting? In that case, you sir, are known as a rules lawyer and a royal pain in the a**. I would really think twice before having you in any playing group, in that case. Lighten up! The painting gives so much other marvelous feelings one can celebrate. And why not focus on those parts instead? I can think of at least a dozen fine things the picture conveys important and beautiful points to the viewer. And the most important part for me, is that this is a painting portraying a real woman fighter - totally free of the irritating tradition of boob plate! //Erik.

Lovely artwork by Ossi Hiekkala. It was posted over on the RQ Facebook page but deserves to be seen here as well! https://www.archipictor.com/blog/2019/6/27/the-vingan

Latest. May make some adjustments to shading... This one gave me the opportunity to draw a stone axe (the bronze-tipped spear was taken in a raid).

Duck-Skull Spaulders Description A set of bone shoulder-armour, fashioned from two duck skulls and secured by leather straps. Cults Hostile* – Humakt. *Ducks have a curiously potent relationship with the Death rune, and humiliating the Death God’s chosen servants can anger his worshippers. Roll a D6: on 1–5 there is no reaction from worshippers and they may even find it funny; on a 6 they are outraged. Knowledge Automatic. History Ducks are cursed and maligned creatures who are frequently blamed for Glorantha’s ills. Some make it a point of principle to display their hatred in physical form, making cloaks of ducks’ feathers or accoutrements of their bones. In the Hero Wars, many Runemasters consider it de rigueur to wear a set of duck-skull spaulders and flaunt their power. Procedure Don’t make me spell it out, you bastards. Powers Duck-skull spaulders grant 1 point of protection on the arms (ENC 1) for man-sized or smaller creatures, and can be worn in addition to non-plate arm armour. They bestow +2 CHA when interacting with cultures or beings that hate ducks, but -1 DEX (as the wearer is prone to getting stuck in doorways). Whenever a being wearing duck-skull spaulders encounters a duck, contest that being's combined SIZ + CHA versus the duck's POW on the Resistance Table. If the spaulder-wearer is successful, the duck acts as if afflicted by the Demoralise spell (and will usually flee). If the wearer fails, the duck acts as if under the Fanaticism spell (and will usually attack). Roll individually for any and all ducks present. Ducks add +1 to their POW for each additional duck present. Value Typically 50 L, but will drop in price when there’s a Duck Hunt on.

The final PDFs from the RuneQuest Classic Kickstarter are now available. All groundbreaking releases for the RPG art form in their day, and now easily compatible with the new edition of RuneQuest. —TROLLPAK - https://www.chaosium.com/trollpak-pdf—BIG RUBBLE - https://www.chaosium.com/big-rubble-pdf—PAVIS - https://www.chaosium.com/pavis-pdfAll fully-remastered PDF true to their original printing. The three final RQ Classic releases are now also available at DriveThruRPG. All fully-remastered PDF true to their original printing.—TROLLPAK : http://bit.ly/30oQVUU—BIG RUBBLE : http://bit.ly/2LOSZlc—PAVIS : http://bit.ly/2XFnwJs

I've recently been GMing a game in and around Alone in 1618. I used this small map of alone as the basis for a larger map I made: The map is on a Finnish site and includes the names of places published in Zin Letters #3, so I guess was something which didn't end up in that issue. From this shape and the snippets published about the city I created an initial map of 1611, before the sacking of Alone in the Righteous Wind Revolt. I then produced a 1618 map showing the footprint of buildings which were razed or have become derelict after the city was sacked and in some places where new things have been built since then:I Lots of things happened in Alone and around about, and also between me and the players we added quite a bit of colour. Some things: Elmali priest Urngar the Unready died on the Yelmalio High Holy Day finally tipping the scales of previously recalcitrant traditional Elmal worshippers towards acceptance of Yelmalio. Illustrated by dampening of the flame on Elmal's Platform and the increased light emanated even through the night from the same platform which Yelamlions call the Sun Disc. A durulz village called High Pond has been founded in one of the high marshes on the boggy uplands. Refugees from the Duck Hunt have forged a new clan here and been accepted into the new Tres tribe. Their village is hidden in the Lost Woods. The Far Point Roof Sharpeners Guild have annual games with competitors from Alone and Ironspike and all the villages in the area. The competition includes tossing a caber, but with a spike with one end.

It has been done I'm going to keep my trap shut for now since there's chunk of work that needs to be done before I can let slip any details, but expect some news on the HeroQuest Glorantha front from D101 soon

Thanks. Building Old Town out of Lego

I couple of things that have arisen from the recent rather heated discussion about the old MRQ SRD both here and elsewhere, that have mentioned the position of the OQ OGL that I feel need answering from me as the creator of OpenQuest (OQ). 1. OQ is in the process of moving to the Legend OGL, The bits of Chaosium IP that were in the original MRQ SRD as in names of Gloranthan beasties (Gorps, Broo etc) never made it into OQ even in its 1st version. Elsewhere someone has argued that Ducks, Elementals and Spirits are Chaosium IP, there certainly weren't depicted as such in OQ where they were more generic fantasy in their presentation. I've had discussions with Jeff Richard from Chaosium/Moon Design over the years on this Just to be 100% Which leads me to the 2nd point which has always underpinned OpenQuest's legality, which folk won't be aware of. 2. Before I released OpenQuest, in Sept 2009, I showed it to Greg Stafford who quickly consulted with Jeff and they okayed it. I didn't feel the need to make a great song and dance about this because I knew at the time the MRQ SRD OGL covered the work adequately and if anyone was to use OQ's own SRD that was the basis they had to use to keep it clear. I then contacted them again via Jeff when the MRO License was withdrawn, because by then I had quite a stable of OQ releases (OQ + adventures, River of Heaven, The Company), plus there was a growing number of credible commercial works built on OQ such as those put together by Cakebread & Walton and translations such as the French version of OQ. Again because I had asked before doing, acted respectfully OQ and all the works based on OQ are OK by Chaosium. And finally, because it seems that it needs pointing out, both here and because its the no1 question from the asked by the people who contact me via email about the OGL: 3. What isn't OK by Chaosium (and myself) is if you use the OQ SRD to make your own Call of Cthulhu or RuneQuest clone, or any other game that is based upon IP that you do not have written permission to use. its worth noting that even when OQ is clearly using the Legend OGL, you would still be breaking section 15 (which is in short, only use IP you have the rights to in your games). When OpenQuest 3 comes out you'll see this reflected in an updated OGL and also in a "How to use OpenQuest to make your own product" section, in both the book itself and the OQ 3 SRD. I'm not prepared to discuss the ins and outs of this here, so I'm disabling comments for this post. If you have a valid question about OQ and its OGL, drop me a line at newt@d101games.com.

Voting for the 2019 ENnie Awards is now live! THE GLORANTHA SOURCEBOOK and RUNEQUEST: ROLEPLAYING IN GLORANTHA and have booth been nominated, along with THE CALL OF CTHULHU STARTER SET, MASKS OF NYARLATHOTEP, TERROR AUSTRALIS and MISKATONIC UNIVERSITY: THE RESTRICTED COLLECTION. You can also vote for Chaosium is Fan Favourite Publisher. We'd love your support - from all the team at Chaosium:http://www.ennie-awards.com/vote/2019 How you can vote for Chaosium, Call of Cthulhu, and RuneQuest at the ENnies: 1. Go to the ENnies page: http://www.ennie-awards.com/vote/2019 2. Vote 1 for the Call of Cthulhu/Chaosium product in these categories: Best Adventure — Masks of Nyarlathotep, Chaosium Inc. Best Art, Cover — Call of Cthulhu – Terror Australis 2nd Edition, Chaosium Inc. Best Art, Interior — RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha Slipcase Set, Chaosium Inc. Best RPG Related Product — Miskatonic University: The Restricted Collection, Chaosium Inc Best Rules — Call of Cthulhu Starter Set, Chaosium Inc. Best Setting — Call of Cthulhu – Terror Australis 2nd Edition, Chaosium Inc. Best Supplement — The Glorantha Sourcebook, Chaosium Inc 3. Your second favourite gets a "2" vote, third favourite gets a “3”, and so on. Please also vote for our Mythos licensees, partners, and friends! PRODUCT OF THE YEAR — Masks of Nyarlathotep Gamer Prop Set, HPLHS Best Aid/Accessory – Non-Digital — Masks of Nyarlathotep Gamer Prop Set, HPLHS Best Electronic Book — Fear’s Sharp Little Needles, Stygian Fox Publishing Best Monster/Adversary — Sandy Petersen’s Cthulhu Mythos for 5e, Petersen Games; Hideous Creatures: A Bestiary of the Cthulhu Mythos, Pelgrane Press Best Online Content — Seth Skorkowsky, Seth Skorkowsky Best RPG Related Product — Dark Adventure Radio Theatre - Masks of Nyarlathotep, HPLHS Best Supplement — The 7th Edition Guide to Cthulhu Invictus, Golden Goblin Press 4. Choose Chaosium as your FAN FAVOURITE PUBLISHER - we'd be flattered! Like the Great Old One himself, Chaosium has arisen from the depths, and your support keep us above the waves. 5. Tell your friends who are Call of Cthulhu and Chaosium fans to submit their vote too! Congratulations to the many talented writers, artists, creators and fans world-wide involved in Chaosium's and Call of Cthulhu 7th Edition's continuing success, and the triumphant return of RuneQuest—these nominations are a testament to your talent, dedication, and support! Voting is live and runs until July 21, 2019 at 11:00pm EDT.

Bruvala's Armband This armband is made of verdigris stained copper and heavily inlaid with emeralds. It has been expertly crafted in the form of a glittering blue-green snake. It looks resplendent but otherwise perfectly mundane. If awakened Bruvala's Armband can move just like a living snake. Cults · Associated: The armband will only listen to followers of an earth goddess, and strongly prefers those who follow Ernalda. · Hostile: The snake will not awaken for anyone who does not follow a female earth deity. Knowledge Cult Secret, One of a Kind History Bruvala the Great, High Queen of Esrolia was given this emerald encrusted armband as a wedding gift. Rumors say she used it throughout her reign to spy on her rivals, though this has never been officially acknowledged. The armband became a House Norinel treasure and was worn by all Esrolian Queens of the Norinel line until it vanished upon the death of Queen Norina in 1551. While the armband is well known from historical records the ability for it to awaken is a deeply held secret. Powers When awakened Bruvala's Armband has the stats of a small earth elemental. Players should make a CHA resistance roll to attempt to awaken it. The armband has a passive resistance of 3 for Ernalda worshipers and 5 for the followers of all other cults. It will refuse to awaken for anyone who does not follow an earth goddess. Once awoken the armband will loyaly serve its new mistress and can complete many tasks such as stealing any object small enough to carry its mouth, spying on and repeating back conversations, and even suffocating the unsuspecting. These instructions must be successfully explained in earthtongue, and the snake can only be awakened for at most three hours a day. Value 1500L in gemstones. 3000L to a buyer that knows the use of this item. If House Norinel discovers someone has the armband they will stop at nothing, not even murder, to obtain it.

Sandy Petersen has a Youtube channel where he discusses scenario design, how to create horror in games and stories, and what is behind the creepiness of Lovecraft's stories: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVDIvzRZD39Rv9uR8mqfOBg The view numbers are astonishingly low... which I take it to mean that nobody around here has noticed the channel so far.

I've been running games since the late eighties, and I can't remember the last time I felt so excited about my biweekly session. From stone woman to a trip to Greydog lands to return the corpses before the seven days are up, to today's session where the party has committed to go with Vostor (the one player who decided to use a pregen) on a Humakt pilgrimage to break his bonds to the Seven Mothers. The Battle of the Queens looms on the horizon. 2 players are new to RPGs, the other four have varying degrees of experience. Every single session has been a joy for everyone involved. I'm not sure why I'm gushing long form here, but I guess I might as well post before the game high passes.

When I first started playing RQ our parties consisted of Dwarves, Elves, trolls and everything in between. This can still happen easily if folk want. Who cares if someone says they cant. Glorantha can be a totally unnecessary pain in the arse sometimes. Elves who leave their forests are probably insane, Dwarves who leave their homes outcasts and Uz probably just hungry. Sounds like a great bunch of adventurers to me, especially if it's a Baboon shaman keeping them all in line. There's far more bizarre stuff walking their world...

I’m very happy to announce that Elevation has been released today! Into the Unknown Elevation was a proud organisation of brave explorers, seeking new worlds and alien species. Now, 40 years later, its founder has been lost in space. Funds dwindle, outdated equipment falls apart and Elevation’s few remaining starships barely work. But a small team of die-hard explorers refuse to give up. The search for new aliens ready to join the galactic community is much too important to leave to greedy corporations and criminals. Elevation is a new setting for M-SPACE created by Michael Larrimore. It features new worlds, alien species, organisations and a three-part campaign. Book and PDF Release The book is 174 pages. The first half contains setting details while the second half presents a three part campaign - four parts, if you include The Triton Incident. Early reviews have been very positive: ‘Up front, let me say I like it and want more!’ Michael Beck ‘The setting is well thought out with lots of background information and story hooks. It feels easy to get into the world and start a campaign.’ Rickard Falk ‘Overall a very solid, and well written exploration adventure.’ Robert Graves 15% Launch Discount We have two versions available on DriveThruRPG: print and PDF. To buy them, just follow the links below. The discount lasts until Friday, so you need to be quick. Elevation Print $19 $16.15 PDF $10.95 $9.30 The Triton Incident Print $5 $4.25 PDF Free If you want to know more before committing, you can still download The Triton Incident as a free PDF (use the link above). And make sure you get the player’s kit as well - the link is in the PDF. Clarence Redd

Any chance of Chaosium printing these and selling dead tree versions of them some fine day?

Perhaps an adventurer party composed of Elder Races and a human could secretly be a God Plane manifestation of the I Fought We Won Battle. Maybe that's why, unbeknowst to every party member, they all get along so nicely. Even when their comrades who don't belong to the group disreard them as loonies. Maybe their secret wyter is an entity of that event before Time. That or the Green Age. Pavis himself was after some harmony-related magic like that. Perhaps that city god has secretly masterminded the group coming together...

The Cult of Immortality is one such false religion. From the description of Maculus the Monitor in Strangers in Prax: Maculus' background is the most unusual of the Coders. He was bom in Tarsh over 130 years ago, when the region first fell under Lunar sway. Although many in Tarsh resisted Lunar influence, Maculus found the preachings of the Lunar missionaries curiously attractive. But before he could take the plunge and join the Seven Mothers, he fell prey to another cult which had slunk into Tarsh riding on the tide of the Imperial missionary program. This cult was the Church of Immortality, an insidious false religion that claims to sell the secret of eternal life. The Church of Immortality is essentially a pyramid selling operation, where hapless converts transfer their youth and money to higher members, in exchange for greater standing in the cult. Maculus became an enthusiastic zealot, recruiting a huge number of converts to the banned cult. When Maculus finally reached the top of the pyramid, he discovered that the religion he had spent the last 85 years toiling for was an empty, hollow sham, and this prompted a complete nervous collapse.

I've been playing King of Dragon Pass this morning (it dropped to 3.70 USD ish on Steam, so I grabbed it.) It is really helping me to understand the basic culture of Glorantha and the varied nature of the decision-making. If you are a new player I think it is a great resource for scenario building and questing ideas.

Thats a big Duck...probably why the Vingan carries a larger then average cooking pot

Yes. Hence posting it here in the RQ forum too.

You can't possibly experience linguistic drift in Darktongue when the 1,000-year old Uzuz matron keeps correcting you on pain of being eaten.

Enjoy!

First two: Lesillan and Gerran Minor Class.

I think the answer could also be something along the lines of: "Kill whoever said this with fire."

I wouldn't read too much into that. I have found your posts to be insightful and interesting. It is good to hear from new players, to get their thoughts and insights about the game. There are things that old players just ignore, handwave or change and we are so used to doing it that we forget that new players might struggle with some of the rules that we ignore. So, please carry on posting and ignore the likes/sad faces and so on.

There are certainly differences within the LM cult regarding whether sorcery can/should be used. The LM Temple of Knowledge in Nochet (largest in the world now that the City of Wonders is gone) is largely divided into 6 "schools", each of which has differing opinions on what is allowed or not. These are a couple snippets that Jeff and I worked on for the in-process Nochet material: "The Black, Blue, Green, and Purple schools also maintain sorcerous traditions, and even the Grey Lords hold some of the Torvald Fragments and know the secrets of the Alien Combination Machine. The Charterists, on the other hand, maintain a strict doctrine forbidding sorcery to their initiates and take every opportunity to destroy such blasphemous writings (with such events often sparking one of the notable Scholarly Riots)!" "Because of their large Scriptorium, old palace associations, legal expertise, and study and involvement with the Charter of Nochet, the Charterists are the largest of the schools and train most of those who become scribes and lawspeakers among the houses of Nochet. The Grey Lords and Blue Philosophers have been particularly favored by merchant families due to their knowledge of other lands (the latter particularly by the sea captains). The Black Philosophers are skilled in understanding and dealing with the trolls …"

I shouldn't need to add that if you want to use Legend for a project, you need to make sure that your project does not otherwise violate someone else's IP. But given the amount of wilful ignorance out there nowadays, I think it is probably prudent to remind folk of that as well.