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I was rummaging through my old posts from this site (plus some other bits and bobs), and thought: why not find a way to share these with a wider audience? So, with many thanks to @MOB for a lightning-quick approvals process, here's a 58-page document I'm modestly and optimistically calling Nick Brooke's Gloranthan Manifesto - Volume One. It's yours for free, under Chaosium's Fan Material Policy (NB: some bits needed additional approval). Subjects covered include RuneQuest, heroquesting, inspirations for Gloranthan games, a miscellany of Sun County stuff (inc. maps and diagrams), Argrath vs.

There is work on Talastar-Dorastor going on, but no announcements beyond the fact that the work is being done.

All international shipping is messed up right now. We are still waiting for the book to arrive in our US warehouse.

By Jason Durall, RuneQuest creative director The Starter Set for RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha is coming! Between now and its release later this year, RuneQuest creative director Jason Durall's Design Diary will share insights about the development of this exciting new boxed set which will introduce the RuneQuest RPG and Greg Stafford's mythic world of Glorantha to all-new audiences. Diary #1: What to expect in the RQ Starter Set Diary #2: Cover Art reveal, and what's inside the box Diary #3: The new adventurers Diary #4: More about the new adventurers

The first one went down well, so as a small reward, here's Nick Brooke's Gloranthan Manifesto, Volume Two: The Moonson Apocrypha. Sixty more pages of miscellaneous, mostly-Lunar stuff, with about a dozen pages of Life of Moonson-related "Notes" at its core which Facebook (wisely?) decided nobody would ever want to find again. The personal end-bits this time are a selection from my #RPGaDay social media posts. As before, this is released free under Chaosium's generous Fan Material Policy, apart from a few longer quotes which I requested and received permission to include. If you've been f

Sea Season 1621 – When word came that the Lunars had failed to stop the Giant Cradle at Pavis, Count Solanthos of Sun County resolved to take the prize when it floated downriver to his lands. In the failed attempt to capture the Cradle at Harpoon, almost the entire military and magical resources of the Sun Dome Temple were mobilised. Afterwards, agriculture across all of Sun County suffered. Spring planting had been disrupted, and a lack of oxen meant many farmers now had to resort to pulling their own ploughs. Furthermore, despite the efforts of the priests, many of the rituals performed

Recently, a series of events in China Call of Cthulhu community inspired me to write about the development of COC RPG in China. I don't know if this is the right place to post such an article, pls kindly inform me if its the wrong place. So here is the outline i've prepared. My english is quite poor, so i'll do this step by step. Be there any other issue you wanna learn about, just let me know. 1. The Dynasty of DND 3E (2000-2010) 2. Rising of Cthulhu (2010-2015) 3. The Clash between Anime and Reality(2015-2021) 4. The Surge of Fan-made Content(2015-20

Continuing with what happened in Sun County after the Cradle debacle... A MEAGRE HARVEST - 1621 Shunned by Zola Fel and with prayers that ran flat, the farmers of Sun County brought in a meagre harvest that foretold a hungry winter. Count Solanthos ordered village headmen across the County to gather together all available grain, but the corn yield was further diminished by the widespread secret cultivation of the banned narcotic hazia. Although the Guardian of Sun County, Vega Goldbreath, led strenuous efforts to stamp out the illegal trade, hazia seemed to be the only crop

To properly recount your RuneQuest character's exploits and achievements we've added the Adventurer Reputation sheet to our RuneQuest Character Sheets page. Free downloads that can printed and freely used by you and your players. https://www.chaosium.com/runequest-character-sheets

The short answer is that all of the items you see in this picture will be part of a Call of Cthulhu Classic Kickstarter shortly. It will be a simple Kickstarter, with few stretch goals, and no bling items. The only thing not pictured is the dice.

The Unbreakable Sword is like Chekhov's Gun. You don't introduce an Unbreakable Sword into a story if you aren't going to break it in the third act.

The material on the Grazeland pantheon in King of Sartar largely predates the Feathered Horse Queens and the period of intense transmissions between the Grazelands and Sartar. To make it really easy, here's a cheat sheet of the main deities of the Grazelanders: Ernalda. She has many titles including La-ungariant, but she's Ernalda. She's the most important and powerful cult in the Grazelands. The Feathered Horse Queen is the incarnation of Ernalda and the leader of the cult. About 35% of the population. Yelm. A distant second, he is often called Yu-Kargzant, but he's Yelm. No I

THE LAST LIGHT HEROQUEST The Last Light heroquest emulates Yelmalio’s grim and tenacious survival in the Greater Darkness, and is only performed at times of the gravest existential peril. The Last Light has helped Sun County endure various trials and torments during the terrible Solitude of Testing period (1200 – 1575). The heroquest was last performed in the reign of Count Skindilli Longlegs (1439-1458), of whom the Light List says, “drove away Daga and made slaves of the Storm Bull men.” Although an entire community can take part, the lead participant must have completed

To test and strengthen their faith, Yelmalions who take a gift also take a geas. Yelmalio bestows these so that his people will serve him better, and to admonish and correct the wayward. Unfortunately, some of Yelmalio's geases make it difficult for those who receive them to continue serving in the line of battle, which relies on a uniformity of action and singularity of purpose. Templars whose collection of geases renders them incapable of joining the line are instead sent to a serve in a specialised unit at Harpoon, as are other templar misfits: inveterate left-handers, shirkers, a

And here’s the last of the three Yelmalio characters from Rune Masters, Vandar. Including an explanation for his very weird helmet... (all this, as always, YGMV) As the most prominent Sun Domer family in New Pavis, the Eiskollis adroitly survived the change from the Lunar occupation to Argrath as King of Pavis. Although their prestige and fortune remains largely intact in the new regime, they find themselves with conflicted loyalties in the Time of Two Counts. Formerly accommodating to the Lunars, those Eiskolli family members resident in New Pavis now tacitly accept “Count” Belvani’

If I were Chaosium, I would keep a Stafford Library extension low on the priority list as well, but maybe for slightly different utilitarian reasons. Then there will be a treat at the end of this post. Start with a review of how Unfinished Works functioned when Greg was alive. He was never 100% happy with them but it was a good way to monetize rough drafts when he needed the cash flow. He never got around to finishing them. As others have hinted, titles like Arkat's Saga exist in a more fragmentary / less "finished" state and I suspect that was a big reason he never pushed them out in the

Jomes Wulf was given Wulfsland as his own grant, while keeping his active command within the Provincial Army. After the Dragonrise, he and his soldiers fled to Alda-Chur. Along with Jorad Sideburn, Jomes now serves as one of Pharandros's senior field commanders.

We stopped using the term "saint" precisely because people understandable ported over Catholic saints part and parcel. Through the history of Malkionism there has been a tendency to create cults around various entities who are lesser than the Invisible God, but are nonetheless worthy of veneration and worship. Some even provide Rune magic! This goes back to before Dawn, when Malkion became a cult figure for those still devoted to the right way and Talar, Hrolar, and Dronar all became cult figures for their castes. Hrestol became a cult figure, followed by several of his pupils. Many

This is Call of Cthulhu Classic. It's all for second edition. Nothing updated to 7th.

[I posted this over on the RuneQuest Facebook group; posting here too, for ease of future retrieval] [Over on the RuneQuest Facebook group] Jeff recently talked about the challenges Yelmalio worshippers in Sartar face maintaining their distinct society among the dominant Orlanthi cultures of Dragon Pass. Of course, it was no picnic for the Sun Domers stuck out in the Mad Max II hellscape of Prax either. When Pavis fell in 1200 ST and civilisation as-they-knew-it thus ended on the River of Cradles, their struggle to survive and maintain their identity hinged on convincin

[I posted this over on the RuneQuest Facebook group; posting here too, for ease of future retrieval] As one of the co-authors of the 'Old Sun Dome' scenario in RQ3's Sun County, I was gratified to read @Andrew Logan Montgomery's remarks that the ancient vampire in that adventure has left an impression that has "stayed with him for decades".* Drew said he sees it as the vampire equivalent of Percy Shelly’s Ozymandius, "a terror made somehow sad and wasted by the desolation of centuries", and I think that's an excellent summation of this deathless horror that is so old it no longer r

Inspired by Chaosium, this forum and the Grognard files podcast I ran my first game of RQ in over 20 years today over Roll20 from Sydney for my former schoolmates back in Blighty. Neither of my players had used Roll20 before. As it turned out we had a few AV challenges which we solved by using Discord. This proved to be useful as one of our players was able to continue to participate verbally while he drove his teenage daughter into town. Life was so much more simple in 1982... Roll20 worked very well as a medium for RQG. The excellent character sheet makes ALL the difference by simplify

Latest addition posted on FB: the Red Goddess!

In the year 1765 BC, King Zimri-Lim of Mari emerged from a planning session with his aides and summoned his personal scribe. As he paced the courtyard in his palace in the city of Tuttul, he dictated a letter to the scribe, who used the cut end of a reed to press the message into a warm clay tablet. That letter, which was to be sent within the hour by speedy messenger, said:"To my wife, Šibtu, thus says Zimri-Lim: Ask the oracles in Mari questions about Hammurabi of Babylon. Will this man ever die? Does he speak with honesty? Will he bring war? Will he besiege my cities in Suhum while I campai

Come the end of the year and things only go from bad to catastrophically worse for the Sun Domers in the Great Winter... TERRORS AT SACRED TIME Worse was to come. During Sacred Time, the customary rituals to renew the world utterly failed. Perimides the Chaste, the aged high priest, collapsed at the Sun Dome's High Altar, spilling the sacred libation. He was carried away, raving about a red-clad seductress. As the shocked celebrants went to symbolically awaken the high earth priestess, Penta Goldbreath, they found she could not be roused. Meanwhile, a creeping rot spre

PS – BEEN HERE BEFORE? Written by Steve Perrin and Greg Stafford, 'The Rainbow Mounds' was one of the first adventures published for RuneQuest in 1979. The new Rainbow Mounds adventure in the forthcoming RuneQuest Starter Set updates that original publication considerably, with new and altered menaces, and all-new challenges. Players who have experienced the Rainbow Mounds in the past should still be able to enjoy this new version, and those who feel that they have an upper hand based on any prior knowledge soon find that they are mistaken. The original Rainbow Mounds adventure is av

From Andrin's Words - In shame I pronounce their crimes, for they sicken my breath as I speak. To murder in secret as a coward or an ogre; to murder a king in his sevens; to steal the breath of another that they die, or to curse in secret and to hide one's face, or to slay a guest in your house; to act as a broo with a woman, man, child, or beast; to speak that which is holy to those who are not; to betray or desecrate the true lands, the holy places, their buildings, or their temples; to kill or eat the flesh of a consecrated beast; to befoul oneself in consorting with the Predark; to br

Well perhaps the Unbreakable Sword was unbreakable only because it hadn't yet fullfilled its destiny, which was to kill Gbaji, so that's why it broke down in pieces right afterwards. The Sword was the oath that he would kill Gbaji.

In the end, we're currently taking the same approach that Greg Stafford generally used. We publish things when we feel they are ready for publication and worth the effort. As the print production manager, I know how much time, money, resources and similar go into getting something published. For a number of Greg's manuscripts, we don't feel it is worth it. On a fairly regular basis we get asked to reprint/pod/sell an out-of-print niche item, and Arkat's Saga, for example, is definitely a niche item. Unfortunately, when we have made a niche item available for sale the sales numbers are underwhe

I am not thrilled with the idea of published partially complete drafts of unpublished books. I think that only ends up making it far less likely that the books ever get completed. It also ends up with people speculating on the nature of the setting based on early drafts which Greg (or I) might cheerfully throw away, reject, or modify.

I have no interest in publishing more unfinished manuscripts that appeal to a handful of people. I'd much rather finish them and publish the finished product that appeals to a broader audience.

While we wait for the first episode of the God Learners podcast to drop (this should happen in a bit less than two weeks), we have resumed our Gloranthan news program -- now named "Journal of Runic Studies". The first one is out now! I hope you find it useful and informative -- we're open to suggestions and, of course, news tips. You can subscribe by email or RSS, follow our Twitter or Facebook accounts, or just wait and see if I'll post every week here (it may get old quick unless you people find it worthwhile, however). And just for kicks, here's a fake cover that has absolute

By Jason Durall, RuneQuest creative director The Starter Set for RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha is coming! Between now and its release later this year, RuneQuest creative director Jason Durall's Design Diary will share insights about the development of this exciting new boxed set which will introduce the RuneQuest RPG and Greg Stafford's mythic world of Glorantha to all-new audiences. Diary #1: What to expect in the RQ Starter Set Diary #2: Cover Art reveal, and what's inside the box Diary #3: The new adventurers Diary #4: More about the new adventurers

A similar thing happened to me. Hit by a chaotic spell, and a tentacle sprouts from my arm. Immediately dropped to my knees and said to the character next to me, "Kill me now." GM looked at me in shock, other character cuts off the arm. GM ruled that the chaos was localised to the arm and hadn't spread yet.

As I've previously noted a certain keyboard warrior's "welcome" to me on The RPG Site was to call my mother a whore and wish me dead at the hands of Islamic terrorists. All because we announced we weren't continuing with his favourite edition, and it was my role to communicate that news (lucky me). I don't have an issue with robust discussion, but nerd-rage abuse like that seems to be pretty much textbook cyberbullying, yet the moderators there let that stand, so that was enough for me.

By Jason Durall, RuneQuest creative director The Starter Set for RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha is coming! Between now and its release later this year, RuneQuest creative director Jason Durall's Design Diary will share insights about the development of this exciting new boxed set which will introduce the RuneQuest RPG and Greg Stafford's mythic world of Glorantha to all-new audiences. Diary #1: What to expect in the RQ Starter Set Diary #2: Cover Art reveal, and what's inside the box Diary #3: The new adventurers Diary #4: More about the new adventurers

We said "dumbest theory", not "canon"

Without trying to sound weird, frustrated or angry, the last few replies have sort of derailed this thread. The Call of Cthulhu Classic Kickstarter is about reprinting material from the 1980s. That material is only available at collector prices, often costing hundreds of $$$. This reprint project is separate from any efforts being made by the current 7th edition team and the books they produce. This isn't slowing down or stopping any of their ongoing efforts. We've had lots of requests from people who would love to get a early retro edition boxed set of CoC. If Classic reprints aren't your thi

The update is live on Roll20 now. Changes to sheet so that layout does not break when legacy sheet toggle is switched offHTML added datalists to provide a dropdown for weapons. Note that datalist do not behave as comboboxes the list limited based on the content of the input.Fixed. Hit Locations table 1-4 should be the right leg but is the left, 5-8 should be the left leg but is the rightFixed Improvement rolls which roll exactly the threshold to increase. Removed yellow box around roll results for improvement rollsThe skill value for a weapon skill name that does not exist or is spelt

Are there plans to support Dark Ages with further supplements; I hesitate to ask, a campaign?

He also recently shared the following piece by Ossi Hiekkala, which will be included in the Sartar Box, depicting an Orlanthi farmer and his child:

SHAME STAYS HIDDEN BUT REDEMPTION IS SOUGHT *** Invictus the Light Captain made his way back to Sun County following his embarrassing interlude with the Lunar priestess Marusa. All around him Invictus saw the terrible grip the Great Winter had on the land: frozen fields that were once thick with golden corn lay dry and hard, and now that Daga was at large, withering corpses of farm animals lay clustered around drying up canals and wells. At the Sun Dome Temple the Light Captain was vexed to learn that the Count and his questers had already set off fo

I once figured as a once huge fan of Glorantha that Greg would never publish any book entitled THE TRUTH ON GLORANTHA: ENCYCLOPAEDIA GLORANTHANA. I used to be upset at that because of the rpg campaign I ran on these days back. So I invented what I could not guess or scrap from the material I owned. I think that in fact it was exactly what Greg expected from me as a gamemaster. I dreamed my own Glorantha. Think of the Grail. Greg was quite found of arthurian mythos, and so he knew of its true nature... Arkat's story, the secret of the god learners, Arachne Solara's true name and

A bit more about the Cradle aftermath — In the reproaches and recriminations that followed the Cradle debacle, the chagrined Count Solanthos saw fit to squarely lay all culpability on his frontline commander at Harpoon, the Light Captain Lord Invictus. Solanthos had sent a contemptuous message to his rival and overlord, the Lunar Governor Sor Eel, bragging that with their great spear-casting machine at Harpoon, the Sun Dome Templars would succeed where the mighty Lunar Empire had so miserably failed. The cost to Sun County, in terms of men, materiel, and magic for their own subsequent fai

And.... Drumroll...... ...I got the job! 😄 To celebrate I am going to cook some "bisque de homard" (tomato, cream, wine and lobster french soup 😄)

All of the suggestions and answers above in this thread are excellent ones, but... ...the jump from "not a worshipper, never heard of her" to "honorary priest" is a pretty huge one. My suggestion is that the adventurer would first have to: Sacrifice at least 1 POW to become an Initiate Take a Passion of Devotion (Idrima) at 60%+, and maybe Loyalty (Broken Tower/temple) 60% Start new Worship (Idrima) and Cult Lore (Idrima) skills Once all of those are underway, then see if they qualify to be a Priest using qualifications similar to those of any priest (RQ, page

That feels staggeringly unfair. He *did* share it, in various physical forms; that he didn't share it in other forms, or more widely, was presumably his choice. Saying that Chaosium, who are publishing lots of amazing Glorantha material, are somehow being false to the memory of someone so close to them and their work is a wretched thing to do.

Right, I’ve been meaning to say this for a while, but got distracted. Much earlier, in this or a related thread, somebody talked about how the Loskalmi have to set us up the Doomsday Bomb to take out the Kingdom of War some time real soon now, to clear the decks for proper Western Hero Wars to begin. The heartland of the Kingdom of War used to be the Black Forest. So what if the God Learner Doomsday Weapon is what wakes it up, and that’s the first domino of the Reforestation? Black Forest Ents tearing down the Kingdom of War. Black Forest Reforestation sprouting everywhere withi

Here is the Bison breakdown: BISON Cult D100 % Orlanth 01–05 5 Eiritha 06–39 34 Chalana Arroy 40 1 Issaries 41–42 2 Daka Fal 43–49 7 Humakt 50–56 7 Storm Bull 57–63 7 Waha 64–93 30 Foundchild 94 1 S

The last time I was on the player side of RQG I tried to work the problem in the first quote from the position of the second quote. While playing an Argan Argar dark troll who was more or less consciously emulating OOO from the end of Dark Season 1626 onward (pulled together a Unity Army to drive Chaos from a ruined settlement, married a human Earth priestess, became the founding king of a Darkness+Earth+Harmony-centered society, etc.), I began a side project of attempting to fight the Curse of Kin using the intercession of Earth powers. I tried this in two ways, with two separate results.