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Just pondering through EvilRoddy's original post. The party wants to travel across Vanch and Sylila, avoiding population centers, and skirting along until they reach Talastar. That's certainly doable - and if the gamemaster wants to simply narrate the journey, knock off some silver (for the ferry across the Oslir at the very least), I'd certainly view that as perfectly reasonable. If on the other hand, the gamemaster wants to introduce some tension and excitement to the travels, here's some off-the-top-of-my-mind suggestions: Local villagers are convinced the skulking barbarians are the same bandits or raiders who have been troubling the area and either send out the militia or recruit the Seven Samurai to hunt down the "bandits"; The party finds themselves drawn into an "anti-Orlanthi" ritual of the local temple - maybe Hwarin Dalthippa, maybe Yelm, maybe Yelmalio, etc. The party finds themselves drawn into a "enlighten the blinded" ritual of a Red Goddess priestess. The priestess is friendly, helpful, and determined to Illuminate the barbarians. A band of Pentan scouts offer to ally with the party. They too want to find a route that a small army could travel through South Peloria without notice.... A big unfriendly spirit - Lunar or Fire - is wandering across the landscape and drawn towards the party. A Lunar aristocrat is hunting with companions and decides to hunt "the most dangerous game". While trying to cross the Oslir, some Water spirits or intelligent fish wish the party to help them with a ritual to undermine the dykes that keep the Oslir River in its banks. Vanchite Orlanthi contact the party and beg the Rune Lord to help them summon a more powerful manifestation of Orlanth into their temple in the hills. Of course this might require overcoming the manifestation of Hwarin Dalthippa or Yara Aranis or whoever is "suppressing" Orlanth in that area.

We're hoping for this week for the PDF being ready to go. At some point it will then appear on the website, and I guess there may be pre-order options for the print version. Printing can be a little bit elastic in timescales (as it gets printed then shipped by boat etc.)

There was a RQCon in Japan this weekend! Seven tables of players came to give the new Quickstart Rules a try-out. Call of Cthulhu is huge in Japan (it sells more copies there than any other language). Maybe RuneQuest will be too some day...

Coming soon, from our friends at Rapier miniatures - Morokanth! "Most people of Glorantha know only these things about the morokanth; they are one of the five great tribes of Prax , and they alone herd and eat men there." (WF #9)

Sweet is Revenge Check out the link. It's an RQ scenario by Dave Morris and Oliver Johnson, which they originally wrote as part of the Questworld pack they developed for Games Workshop. Of course that never saw the light of day, although some of it ended up being repurposed as Dragon Warriors material. Anyway Dave just published this on his blog, complete with RQ 2 stats. Well worth checking out.

Hello humans. I found the HeroQuest Glorantha book in the clearance boxes at a local comic & game store in North Texas. I don't know how I missed this for so long, but this system is the one I've been waiting for. I feel like I've met my soulmate, but in game form. My soulgame. Soulsystem. Something. Anyway, I'm currently putting my notes together to run my take on steampunk. I plan on sharing if anyone is interested.

I love dinosaurs and there are plenty of them in Glorantha. Just wait until you see the pictures of the painted triceratops in the RQ Bestiary or the pack of Deinonychus attacking a Praxian rhino.

For which of the books :-) If you arrange the back and front covers of the three books around your head you will see a 360 panorama of Prax from the top of the Eiritha Hills:-) Maybe.

Here are some notes on precipitation in Peloria that did not make it into the Guide: Furthest is the wettest city of the Pelorian valley, at 34 inches. Mirin's Cross is 28 inches. Mirin's Cross gets most of its precipitation in Storm Season. Alkoth is 24 inches (Kiev - the area of the Pripet Marshes). Alkoth is in a convergence zone that gets precipitation both in Fire Season and in Storm Season. Glamour is 16 inches (Spokane). The presence of the Crater moderates the Northerly winds, but also means Glamour is in a rain shadow. Raibanth is 14 inches. The presence of the Yelm cult definitely increases the number of cloudless days. Almost all of the precipitation falls in Fire Season, when the Pelorians worship Entekos the Rain Goddess and Dendara the Good Wife. Yuthuppa is 18 inches. Almost all of the precipitation falls in Fire Season. Elz Ast is 22 inches. Elz Ast is on the White Sea. Elz Ast is an awful place - the Pelorian version of Buffalo. Cold and miserable in winter even with the Kalikos Expedition. Further west in Talastar and Brolia, you get more rain (maybe as much as 40 inches in Hazard Fort and Dorastor), because of the Rockwoods. Further east it gets drier. The Arcos valley likely gets around 16 to 20 inches or so, and the Pentan grasslands get even less (probably around 12 to 14 inches). Yes, that means Pent is drier than Prax, but Prax gets its rain in huge useless downpours. And has the Desert Winds.

Jeff and I have clarified this in the Bestiary manuscript, and in the writeups for those characters with elementals. It's easier for earth elementals to shove their own mass around, such as an earth elemental making a big pit. It's basically just telling a bunch of earth "get out of the way". It's harder for earth elementals to do something as tricky as engulfing a moving being and bringing them down to waist-high and immobilize them. We've also adjusted the sizes of earth elementals to be more in line with others, so that a small earth elemental is about 1 cubic meter in size, which coincidentally, is just about waist-high.

The wait is over! Download the RuneQuest Quickstart and Adventure PDF now, or get it in print for USD$9.95. Plus, we have the bonus 6th pregen character and QS rules for spirits and shamans, and a guide for GMs running the 'The Broken Tower' adventure included in the book. http://www.chaosium.com/runequest-roleplaying-in-glorantha-quickstart/

Well given that the Crimson Bat absorbs all magic cast at it, that isn't going to work. And 10 crits against the Crimson Bat isn't going to slow it down. And given that the 1000 cannon fodder are all Demoraiized (and thus running away), they aren't going to do any shooting once that beast gets in range. Seriously, do you really think your murder hobos can out-munchkin Sandy?

https://www.chaosium.com/the-eleven-lights-pdf/

In fact, I think the caballistic nature of the Zistorites is pretty explicit in they stuff I wrote in Middle Sea Empire. The Will of Malkion created the One Book, to give guidance so that humankind might restore the Law of the Creator. The visible One Book presented to the Church Witnesses is only one of the possible permutations of the runes of the eternal One Book, as the Invisible God presented it at Creation. By rearranging the runes of the One Book in solemn prayer and contemplation, we may someday arrive again at the original Law. As Umburudu the Whisperer observed, “since the Invisible God created the world by combining written Runes it must follow that these Runes were not representations of pre-existing things, but the very things by which the elements of the universe are molded.” But the important thing is not the finding, it is the seeking, it is the devotion with which one spins the wheel of prayer and scripture, discovering the truth little by little. Our error was that we lacked the patience and the dedication for that long quest – we sought short cuts that would give us the truth immediately. We sinned against the Law, against that which created and sustains the world. Now we are punished for it. The Word and the Law revealed by the One Book is not merely a work of the Invisible God, like our essences or the universe itself; it is one of the attributes of the Creator, like His eternity or His mind. Outside of the Word and Law is only Chaos - the Void and Annihilation. Deciphering and correctly interpreting the Sacred Scripture is the key to perceiving and understanding the Law of Creation. This is the science of the purification of the heart. Mystic logic, the runes on the wheels of prayer whirling in infinite change, it is the world of bliss, it is the music of thought, but one must proceed slowly, and with caution. Unfortunately for us all, the Reconstructionalists and their offspring have proven unable to walk the fine line between contemplation of the Word and the Law and manipulation of the Runes into a talisman, an instrument of dominion over nature. They took the spinning prayer wheel and turned it into a tool to master the Law. For example, the Logical Circles of the Reconstructionalists, which show every possible combination between sets of Runes, are used by every God Learner school and movement. The five elemental Runes embrace 120 combinations, the Ten Polarities have 3,628,800 possible arrangements, and the Thirty Core Runes give rise to more than 265 thousand billion billion billion combinations. To reconstruct all of the Law through such techniques would take nearly 8 billion billion billion years. A radical group of Reconstructionalists asked, if a mere circle subdivided into compartments could give rise to so many combinations, what wonders might we get from multiple concentric, revolving disks made of metal, each with ten, fifteen, twenty, or even thirty compartments? These radicals – later called the Zistorites after their “Machine God” or “Artificial Demiurge” sought to recreate the original Law by mechanical combinations of Runes and thereby reconstitute the universe. They constructed their “Divine Machine” to aid them – a myriad of automated Logical Circles and prayer wheels endlessly generated new combinations of the Word and the Law. Teams of monks venerated and schools of sorcerers studied each and every combination made by Zistor. In their mad pride, the Zistorites usurped Makan with their own construct, which they had created to rewrite the One Book! Like the Creator, Zistor’s output of combinations needed to define all of creation, which meant that an endless number of these combinatory engines must be assembled. In every city of the Empire, their noisy machines could be heard, spinning, combining, and reconstructing the Law of Creation. The Zistorites enjoyed the full support of the Emperor and the Church. Following the successful campaign of the Archduke of Slontos in Kethaela, the Zistorites were given dominion in the conquered Mirrorsea lands to provide the resources to complete Zistor. There, on flat and grassy island, the Zistorites built a great machine - a vast array of furnaces, pipes and gears that tirelessly operated mechanized engines, spun prayer wheels, and powered combinatory cylinders – to define all of creation. In the conquered lands, Zistorite workshops and slaves provided the tools and resources for the great Machine. Endlessly, the Divine Automaton worked to transmute Creation, aided by the prayers, veneration and songs of the Zistorites. During the reign of Emperor Ilotos, the process became fully automaton. Manipulating the words of the Law, the Zistorites had constructed a machine as a short cut in the process of recreating the original Law. Zistor, however, awakened as the blasphemous “artificial demiurge” – the Machine God – which rewrote the Law of Creation and paid no heed to whether the Law had too many runes or too few. Creation shall recoil against this Artificial Demiurge and our perversity exposed; the calamities that now beset us are just the beginning of our deserved end!

One of the core ideas that we've been working with over the years is that coming up with Heroquests is easier than you think. Okay, its nice to have a big one as the climax of an adventure - the one in the Colymar campaign, etc. But there's loads of stuff already published that are the seeds of Heroquests, that are easily fleshed out. This is good otherwise each cult needs a list of quests and few will overlap with other cults. Whilst working on the cult of Waha that appeared in Heroquest Glorantha, I came up against the same problem - to much stuff to write about. So I looked at all the mythic actions of Waha and just put them in a long list - it's not even complete: Next a simple format so you can fill them out: and an example to get you going Now you just have to do it with the cults you are using.

Not exactly.... In RQ You ask "What are you doing?" - "Casting 'Detect Rebel Scum'" In HQ You ask "What are you hoping to achieve?" - "Locating the Rebels" - "How are you doing that?" - "with my 'Detect Rebel Scum' Feat" If 'Detect Rebel Scum' doesn't find the Rebels, you can't keep trying until the GM says "No," because it failed to solve the problem the first time, so you need to find another method to achieve your aim, or set a different aim (or wait for circumstances to change sufficiently that you can justify trying the original method again - say if the Rebels did something particularly noticable) The approaches are different, but the underlying Gloranthan reality is that while the Lunars might be able to magically detect a couple of powerful Orlanthi trying to sneak through the hinterlands of the Empire, they certainly cant be certain of identifying the whereabouts of every Orlanthi who happens to be travelling through...

HeroQuest doesn't actually limit repeat actions, except augments. In my games players often repeatedly cast magic, they normally stop as they've won or been knocked out of the contest or circumstances change. You've either played in some oddly GMd games, not played HeroQuest or not understood the rules (or maybe not read them?). As HeroQuest is very player driven and the answer to any contest is yes, but... I've never seen the authoritarianism you speak of. For a better understanding of the system, I'd suggest Robin Laws' other books - Hamlet's Hit Points, Hillfolk and of course Sharper Adventures in HeroQuest Glorantha.

I first played any BRP game (it was RQ2) in 1980. Since then I have played... dozens, at least; maybe scores? ... of other RPG's. I have yet to meet ANY system that hits so many of the "desirable" traits -- evocative and colorful; fast-playing; satisfyingly "accurate" and simulationist -- at least for what *I* desire in RPG-combat! YMMV, but no "modern" system does any better (and few do as well!) by my lights.

Oh, wise Magus Byll: In reading your post I noticed something which has been staring me in the face but has gone unnoticed by me for quite a while. You mentioned a "seventhed" illuminate as a guide towards Dorastor for the party. Dorastor made me think of Ralzakark which made me think of broo which in turn made me think of Thed. Then I saw it in a blinding flash of mini-revelation. "Seventhed", is it seventh-ed or seven-thed and thus Seven-Thed! More searing insight into the insidious corruption of Nysalor/Gbaji and possibly the influence of Ralzakark? Enquiring minds want to know! Have I just solved a Nysalor riddle posed by the Magus Byll and seen a glimpse of my seventh soul or my inner broo, or both? Cheers and good gaming? Evilroddy.

For those wondering about western cavalry, the one I painted was somewhat based on Kushan or Bactrian cataphracts. The Western art had quite a bit of northern India in it, so we went for those Indian/Greek/Eastern overlaps. The art direction only said the warrior was from an animal worshipping society, and I was to pick one. For whatever reason (can't remember really, maybe it just seemed funny) I chose peacock. I think I liked the idea of the feathered helmet, but it also seemed like a cool and unusual animal for such a cult.

Dammit, Dan replied to the "questionable" axe before my registration on here went through. Well actually... Nah, he's right, it's definitely based on Luristan axes. I'll talk about the spear then: Yeah, it's pretty big. The thing is, there are spears from the bronze age that are that big. Like this (copper) beauty from Kfar Monash, 66 cm long, that's almost a sword: Now, it's really heavy (cca 2 kg, I think), so I don't think it was used for much combat. (even though someone really strong probably could've used it) That said, large weapons would be also a display of wealth and power, showing off how much metal you have. Like these spears of the Yayoi culture in Japan: (note the measurements at the bottom of the drawing) And lastly - big weapons also make sense if you're fighting unarmoured, or lightly armoured opponents. If you don't need to pierce armour, a wide/large blade makes a wider hole which bleeds a lot quicker, plus it increases your chance of hitting a major blood vessel. Here's a video demonstration of that:

In combat use, I'd say a Brawl or Wrestle attack would be required, arguably an easy one (however you choose to assess "easy" rolls), with a Dodge or parry as a defense as you are simply trying to touch the target. IIRC They spend a round casting the spell, which becomes active at their INT in the Casting order - they then have until that point the following round to discharge it. SO if they cast it during a fight yes - but there's no necessity for anyone to KNOW they are casting it... Given the wording on 104 / 105 I'd say per that page they have to concentrate for the whole casting time so yes, Dodging / parrying whilst casting would lose the spell (as would taking 1 or points of damage). Effectively yes. I'd also assume it ignores armor. I don't think it is a terrible spell per se, but its use is not what its description might at first suggest. It was briefly discussed a few years back: It's a terrible _combat_ spell (for better effects in combat use Sorceror's Razor / Sharp Flame or others...). But, besides its utility for killing rats etc consider this spells name: "Wrack"... It's for torturing prisoners / intimidating peasants. It's entirely possible that non-Wizards will have no idea that it has been cast, so when the Wizard steps up and slaps the local loud mouth and their face erupts in suppurating boils etc the crowd will flinch. The original intent of the spells in Elric! was to avoid the "fire & forget / mobile artillery" model of magic that is common in e.g. most version of D&D, so there wasn't originally ANY direct damage spell of this sort - no fireball / magic missile etc. IIRC Wrack is adapted from the Elric supplement "Sailing on the Seas of Fate" which adapted it in turn from the old RQ spell Disruption (that WAS Ranged). Cheers, Nick

This sounds like a new kind of event for conventions like the Kraken - "Can you out-munchkin Sandy Petersen?"

Of course the ship has painted eyes. How else would it know where to go?

You need to know about Ouranekki http://www.glorantha.com/for-those-who-are-interested-heres-my-base-sketch-for-a-sixth-wane-ouranekki-board-note-the-strong/ Board, pieces and rules: Ouranekki.pdf Go to G+ and search for Ouranekki, @Charles did a great piece of work on that.

Keep in mind, if I say something is new, then it's new to me. I do not posses all available Glorantha sources, let alone that I would have read them all. So here are my notes to the week 1 read: Book Jacket: Great illustration, which immediately triggers my curiosity. I can identify Harrek, the Berserker and Jar-Eel the Razoress, but who are the two other figures, which you can see, if you hold the book top down? But this is the Guide (sic!) to Glorantha, and therefore this question is answered immediately on the inside of the book jacket: they are Can Shu, the Exarch of Ignorance and Cragspider, the Firewitch. Title page: Kind of Atlas figure carrying the stars, the heaven on his shoulders. Another mysterious sight for the not (yet) inaugurated reader. An impressive list of authors, co-authors, and illustrators. Many names I know from other Glorantha publications. And the usual protection blessing, this time through Lhankor Mhy (how appropriate). pp. 2+3: another impressive list of names, this time the supporters of the Kickstarter for the Guide. And some of the people I know even personally. p. 4: and another list of supporters … plus an illustration depicting a (religious) harvest procession … very appropriate, as the existence of this Guide is something, you really have to celebrate. p. 5: the table of contents for Volume I … gives a first impression, what to expect p. 6: the foreword tells a short version of the nearly 50 years old history about how Glorantha was initially discovered by Greg Stafford and explored and refined over the years by him and a lot of other people. Told by Greg Stafford himself. Nice details, not known before. It also tells, how the vision of one man became the vision of many – which explains the long lists of contributors and Kickstarter supporters on the first pages. p.7: a map of the World of Glorantha, nothing new here, but an awesome colouring of the map. Plus a short description of Glorantha and its structure, which is quite similar to the description found in the Glorantha book of Runequest III. pp. 8-9,11: The first part of this Introduction is quite similar to the beginning of the 'Editor’s Introduction' in the Glorantha book from RuneQuest III box Glorantha: Genertela, Crucible of the Hero Wars. The section about 'Types of Civilization' starts similar to the section 'Levels of Civilization' in the same Glorantha book, but instead of the former descriptions of 'Human Racial Types' (which appear later in the Guide) the four civilization types are listed. These descriptions seem to be based on similar descriptions of the civilization types in the Player’s Book of the Genertela box, but are summarized descriptions of these civilization types only, although updated and improved. Especially the term Barbarian has been changed to Chiefdom. Descriptions have been also made more generic, because they do not describe anymore Genertelan types only. The following sections ('Magic and Religion', 'Demographics and Population Growth', 'Life and Death' and 'Social Organization and Politics') seem to be again quite similar to the same text passages in the 'Editor’s Introduction' in the Glorantha book from Glorantha: Genertela, Crucible of the Hero Wars. A bit restructured and adapted, but mostly the same. p. 9: boxed text 'Four Paths to Magic'. Basic description of the four types of magic existing in Glorantha. No new contents, but a very useful summary I’ve never seen before in that form. p. 10: The 'Cosmology of Glorantha'. Great illustration plus explanation of what you see in this illustration. p. 11: new 'Magic and Warfare' sidebox. pp. 11, 13-15: The 'Economic' section is much more extended in comparison to the respective section in the Genertela box. New section about 'International Trade'. Contains a very picturesque description of a large market like in Nochet. New section about 'Gloranthan Warfare' with useful descriptions of Light and Heavy Infantry and Cavalry. New sidebox about 'Sea Trade'. p. 12: boxed text 'Coins in Glorantha'. Very nice overview with descriptions and very convincing example illustrations of some coins commonly used in Central Genertela. Illustrations could be from a museum catalog. New from my perspective and very useful for getting an idea, how the coins in Genertela look like. pp. 14+15: The 'Harrek and Jar-Eel' fresko. Great illustration, which shows both Heroes in their mundane as well as in their mythical form. Surrounded by (new) boxed texts describing the Heroes as well as the details of the illustration. Creates a good impression who and what these two Heroes are. Also contained is a description of the Red Goddess. p. 16: boxed text 'Bones of the Gods'. Slightly revised and enhanced version of a text from the Secrets Book in the RuneQuest III box Elder Secrets. pp.16+17: All sections on these pages ('Adventurers in the World of Glorantha', 'Human Racial Types' and 'Physical Nature') are revised and adapted (mainly avoiding references to the RuneQuest game system) texts from the 'Editor’s Introduction' in the Glorantha book from the RuneQuest III box Glorantha: Genertela, Crucible of the Hero Wars. The boxed text 'An Analysis of the Crystals of the Gods' is the reprint of a document from the Nochet Knowledgs Temple. First seen in the Secrets Book contained in the RuneQuest III box Elder Secrets.

This is a group photo at the event. I am also surprised that many RuneQuest fans gathered.

July's scenario is for Classic Fantasy - this month, N1: Tomb of the Mad Wizard, by Ian Fletcher Even to this day, the bards sing of the rise and fall of the wizard Darksong. Said to have fallen in love with a dark elf in youth, he scoured the world for the secrets of immortality, refusing to leave her side. His quest led him into darkness, and his spirit withered while his power grew. He became a tyrant, and his tower became a den of evil and hedonism. Far and wide was Darksong feared, and his armies ravaged the land in their hunt for his artefacts of power. Trapped in a mountain vale as the winter snows bite deep, Intuosa the Elven scholar talks of Guenever, her bloodline, and how he intends to trace her lineage through the village of Rovsgood. And he whispers the name Darksong, a wizard in search of immortality who became a tyrant and paid a dreadful price. Will the adventurers aid Intuosa? What of the legends of the Mad Wizard? The bitter snows are, perhaps, the least of their worries. Tomb of the Mad Wizard is for Ranks 2-3 and provides a complete environment for adventure, offering many hours of exploration in the Mad Wizard’s Vale and beyond. $4.99 PDF, $9.99 Lulu POD, and available from the following fine sites: http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/217172/N1-Tomb-of-the-Mad-Wizard?src=newest http://www.lulu.com/shop/ian-fletcher/classic-fantasy-n1-tomb-of-the-mad-wizard/paperback/product-23267797.html http://thedesignmechanism.com/products.php#!/N1-Tomb-of-the-Mad-Wizard/p/88446235/category=23403107 http://www.aeongamespublishing.co.uk/product/tomb-of-the-mad-wizard-classic-fantasy-adventure-module-n1/40825/

Additional insight and commentary: This is the first Classic Fantasy adventure to map the World of Greymoor for several hundred miles around the adventure location. Included are rules from the upcoming Classic Fantasy Unearthed Companion, detailing overland travel and very detailed Wilderness Encounter Tables for all of the differing terrain types found within The Vale. There have been many instances where fans of Classic Fantasy have asked us about old school 'Hex Crawl' rules, and along with the provided Encounter Tables that can be further extrapolated for other areas of Greymoor, or fantasy settings in general, Games Masters will find this chapter of Tomb of the Mad Wizard very useful. Rod

Scanned in from me copy of Tales #9

Sandy strongly disagreed with the take in Tales 11 and I relied upon his take to develop the Doraddi section of the Guide (and other sections of Pamaltela).

When we doing the GRoY, there was a lot of too and fro, about ideas. So I signed FGS on pieces he had a hand in. For instance, this piece came about because we needed several pieces of regalia for the Muster of Khordavu. There were a orb and sceptre, and I thought having 3 objects that reflected the 3 Brothers was a good idea: Dayzatar as the Orb, Yelm as the Sceptre, and Lodril as.... a bucket or spade. Greg pointed out I'd drawn a mattock head not a spade head . Later Dayzatar and Yelm became the Sceptre, but I only ever drew the Dayzatar side. I had some whacky idea for an abstract design for the Orb, that revealed Runes if turned in the hand, but it never made it to a full illustration (it is in the final Khordavu piece though).

I always liked the animal with blade in mouth types, a kind of piercing axe type

Yeah, the heads are huge, but the axe is probably meant to be an Orlanthi design (ritual or otherwise) with the 3 spikes representing the Mastery Rune. Runes aren't always "painted on" (personally I think they are almost always integrated/hidden into artifacts, but i appreciate most people like to see simple rune shapes). In Glorantha Form often makes Function.

The Liornvuli had a trebuchet which they called Culgak (History of the Heortling Peoples p14) which they used against the Stravuli in the Stampede Emperor Kerunebbe of Dara Happa had a catapult which he used to throw his wife over the walls of Hematuran to punish his Rinliddi in-laws (Glorious ReAscent p81). In both these cases, the weapon was probably acquired from the nearby Mostali. Engines are described as being on the walls of Glamour (Guide p318) The Zendamalthan School has ingenious stone-throwers (Guide p208) New Pavis had defensive engines on its walls after it was founded (Pavis: Gateway to Adventure p41) Then there is Harpoon in Sun County which uses torsion. King Congern of Jonatela is described as a siege expert which implies the use of siege engines rather than magic.

We all have a duty to preserve the cosmos through the Sacred Time ceremonies. Failure to participate in these rites (in whatever local form they take) weakens the cosmos. This is true not just for Lightbringer Theyalans, but for Dara Happans, Lunars, and even Westerners. Given that most political or military leaders in Glorantha are also religious leaders, the religious imperative is likely to be given the greatest of weight - and can even result in two enemies performing the rites in conjunction - even cooperation - with each other.

Or perhaps it was originally 3 feet x 3 feet x 3 feet (or 1 cu meter)?

The Major Cultures section of the book had some debates concerning how big to have the cultural distribution maps. We tried them spanning all three columns, which made the few text entries easier to read, but that left little other room on the page for text. Also, the relatively little info on the maps, great as it is, didn't really impart more info when enlarged. I also really like the population boxes. A lot of "how many people could this area support" discussions went into the numbers, and it was something that Greg had spent quite some time on many years ago, including for the Genertela: CotHW boxed set. The Hsunchen section always starts a pronunciation debate (I usually say SUN-chen). Laubenstein's B&W drawings are very detailed. One thing that struck me is that many of the humans portrayed are not particularly tall in stature, which goes against a common RPG trope. The art direction grey boxed text really helps with each illustration. Because many of the ills are full page in nature we didn't want to shrink them to put the text below the picture. The art direction boxed text is also vastly edited down in content. Many illustrations involved Jeff writing pages of information, including many hyperlinks to websites with inspirational images. I think the art notes and early sketches could fill a 128 page book all on their own. For the Doraddi, a culture I knew little about, I fell prey to the temptation to spend more time reading the text than getting pages laid out. I probably pondered the "We Tried That Already" boxed text for about an hour. I got to use one of our favorite Lisa Free illustrations in the Praxian section. While we tried to re-use art very sparingly, some art from decades ago is just "too right" to not include. That Morokanth on page 26 is definitely one of those. We knew that the incomplete list of Independent minor tribes would get challenged for leaving someone's favorite out, but even at 800 pages we knew the book couldn't contain all the Gloranthan info created over 45 years. The Praxian pic on page 28 certainly put to rest the "Praxians are Native Americans" trope. The Orlanthi section also made me pause several times as I read and reread the text. I had never realized that 5x more Orlanthi live in Ralios than in Dragon Pass! until I remembered the Dragonkill. Getting the best size for the picture spanning pages 34-35 wasn't easy. Putting it on only one page only would make it too small, and much larger would have only left room for the larger than average art notes. The Pelorian section also brought me a number of revelations, but that's for next week...

The below answers are all in my opinion and may be wrong, but this is how we played Chalana Arroy cultists in the past. The Chalana Aroy principle is that members of Chalana Arroy cannot harm a living being by choice. Yes, that is what Orlanthi are for, to kill chaos. The healer can try to heal the pregnant person afterwards, but cannot harm the broo baby. I think that Cure Chaos Wound can be used to cure a gestating broo, but that might have been a house rule. Hero Wars had a spell that forced broobirth to spontaneously abort, but I am not sure if this was retained. If it still exists then that could be used as the broo larva is not harmed by the CA cultist and they can still let it die or get an orlanthi to kill it. Diseases are not alive. They are caused by disease spirits or by magic but are not themselves alive. Spirits are not living beings and can be harmed with impunity. Plants don't count. Animate plants might count and intelligent plants count, but picking a fruit is the same as pulling out a hair, so is probably OK. Yes, that is correct. Chalana Arroy cultists do not perform surgery, at least that is what we played. Undead don't count as they are perversions of life. Chala Arroy Cultists can quite safely bash undead to their hearts content. In fact, we had a Chalana Arroy Healer NPC who was armed with two shields that she used to bludgeon undead, she was a Jack o'Bear as well ... Yes, a Chalana Arroy cultist can engae in Spirit Combat against a spirit, as spirtis are not living beings. Discorporate shamans are spirits, so don't count. Shields are fine and can be used to defend the CA cultist and to bash undead, see above. Bashing her own leg is fine, as the restriction applies to other beings. Fumbling and bashing nearest friend probably breaks a vow, so don;t stand to close to a shield-wielding CA cultist. Dodging is fine as it is not offensive. I would nguess that CA cultists are not trained in dodging, though. No, hurting oneself is fine, they just cannot harm anyone else. Accidental malpratice probaly results in a temporary suspension of cult powers, in the same way as becoming inactive, but a short HeroQuest should sort that out. Chalana Arroy cannot themselves harm another being. So, they couldn't kill a sheep and then cook it. However, they can happily watch a sheep being butchered and eat its meat. Some are vegetarians, as they don't believe in killing others. No. If you want to be harsh then tyhis might cause the cultist to become inactive for a while, perhaps until the next cult ceremony. No, this is fine. Riding is not a combat skill. Ordering a warhorse to attack someone would probably count as breaking cult vows. Sitting on a horse that then attacks someone of its own accord is fine. Thanks for telling me how to answer your questions. The cult has no regional variation in its vows. Aldryami are fine with killing plants as they can use Food Song to send the spriti back to Aldrya. They wouldn't kill intelligent or animate plants anyway. Praxian Chalana Arroys would not use Peaceful Cut to send a slaughtered anmial's spirit back to Eiritha as that involves killing an animal, which is not allwoed. Is that an inconsistency? Maybe, but it is fine as plants are not living beings in the Chalana Arroy sense. Sure, play it that way if you want, but I don't think it is intended that way. Chalana Arroys are fine with Orlanthi or Storm Bullers doing their killing for them, for example, so they are not like Jains in that respect.

The massive Howling Tower, with a Seven Mothers temple for size comparison.

This is a very timely thread. Knowing how Venus and Mars could look, if inhabited, fits neatly with a future Mythras project...

Players get plenty of potential chances to get their Rune points back, including on the weekly minor holy day (although they have to go to their temple to do so). They are pretty much guaranteed to get their Rune points back on the HHD and during the Sacred Time ceremonies (assuming they participate in those and aren't adventuring).

The Red Cow campaign is designed to fulfill a number of goals: Provide a sandbox setting for running a typical clan-based game, akin to the one that Greg Stafford ran for his own group. Allow a narrator to run a typical Sartarite game with zero-prep other than reading the book To that end the book includes (as Harald points out): The clan description, including key leadership NPCs, a description of Red Cow Fort, gazetteer of the clan lands, history etc. and everything else you need to 'start running'. Information on neighboring clans (one a rival, two enemies), and the Cinsina tribe itself, again with key NPCs and a description of Dangerford Descriptions of the Woods of the Dead, where Brangbane King of the Ghouls hangs out, and the Telmori, a tribe of werewolves. By contrast, the Colymar Campaign is lighter touch in describing the Orlmarth clan, which allows for greater GM creativity, if they have the time. The Colymar Campaign contains an epic campaign focused on completing tasks for the earth priestess. As well as Orlmarth lands it takes you to sites of adventure across Sartar. The Eleven Lights contains a chronicle/saga campaign in Cinsina Lands. it includes template adventure descriptions for common Sartarite activities as well as a complete description of events in each year between 1618 and 1625 with adventures set in those years. It ranges from feuds with the neighbors, through surviving the Crimson Bat and the Great Winter. Both campaigns include an epic heroquest (although the Red Cow includes a second that gives the clan its name). As to which to run for a particular group. If you and your players like to wander around the sandbox with the the odd published adventure to drive engagement with the setting, or as a 'Saturday Night Special' choose The Coming Storm + the Eleven Lights. If you want epic adventure, following a set of missions, choose The Colymar Campaign. For, the least work. Both can be used to play the other. Alternatively get both, and have the opening events of The Colymar Campaign happen when your Red Cow players are visiting the Orlmarth as emissaries.

The Guide tells us For most of her human inhabitants, Glorantha is a simple and unsophisticated world. In Earthly terms, most of mankind is still at a Neolithic or Bronze Age stage of civilization (mixed agriculture, basic tools, and simple theocratic governments). And from many perspectives, Gloranthan technologies and cultures roughly approximate terrestrial Bronze and early Iron Age cultures. There are, however, significant areas in which human cultures are more sophisticated than terrestrial Bronze Age cultures: ocean going ships, large centralized states etc. so that it isn't uncommon for newcomers to question this comparison. However, I do wonder if when Glorantha is termed Bronze Age, this isn't just a technological designation, but a mythological one. Mr. Stafford would be familiar with Hesiod's Works And Days where human mythological history is given as: ll. 109-120) First of all the deathless gods who dwell on Olympus made a golden race of mortal men who lived in the time of Cronos when he was reigning in heaven. (ll. 121-139) But after earth had covered this generation -- they are called pure spirits dwelling on the earth, and are kindly, delivering from harm, and guardians of mortal men; for they roam everywhere over the earth, clothed in mist and keep watch on judgements and cruel deeds, givers of wealth; for this royal right also they received; -- then they who dwell on Olympus made a second generation which was of silver and less noble by far. (ll. 140-155) But when earth had covered this generation also -- they are called blessed spirits of the underworld by men, and, though they are of second order, yet honour attends them also -- Zeus the Father made a third generation of mortal men, a brazen race, sprung from ash-trees; and it was in no way equal to the silver age, but was terrible and strong. They loved the lamentable works of Ares and deeds of violence; they ate no bread, but were hard of heart like adamant, fearful men. Great was their strength and unconquerable the arms which grew from their shoulders on their strong limbs. (ll. 156-169b) But when earth had covered this generation also, Zeus the son of Cronos made yet another, the fourth, upon the fruitful earth, which was nobler and more righteous, a god-like race of hero-men who are called demi-gods, the race before our own, throughout the boundless earth. This is followed by Hesiod's own age, the Iron Age. There's a gradual diminishing of mortal powers, from the Age of Gold, the Age of Silver, to the Age of Bronze and the (unnamed) age of heroes, until the mundane age of iron. With the onset of the Hero Wars, Glorantha is entering its own age of heroes...

I am much more open to reading the Runes as semiotic characters in a perfect alphabet capable of infinite rearrangement and interpretation, and yet contain an obvious "grammar." But then again, Eco's "Search for the Perfect Language" is in my top ten favorite books.

http://www.princeofsartar.com/comic/99-change/

Some here for me. Shortly after I've started Fantasy Roleplaying at all (in Germany with 'Das Schwarze Auge'/The Black Eye and D&D in the mid-eighties, I've found an article compilation about several role playing games (in German). One of the articles was about Runequest, and one of the sentences from this article has been burned into my memory since then: "Forget all you know about trolls - these trolls are different." Especially in comparison to the trolls in the regular fantasy role playing games. Around the same time I enjoyed my first Runequest adventure on a small convention in Berlin - playing a duck! Yes, that was the next point: Buying Troll Pak (for RuneQuest III), which contained this menu from a Troll inn offering "Elf Torso" in impala butter with a dressing of your choice. These trolls were really different! And Elves were real plants! So yes, the Elder Races were one of the reason, why I've been interested in Glorantha since then - although for some reason I've never used it in my own games - not until now.

The original Brithini castes each had skin colors associated with that caste. The talars had light golden skin, the zzaburi light blue, etc. Only the Vadeli were able to preserve that pronounced color differentiation through the Great Darkness - even the Brithini now rely more on clothing to mark the castes than skin color. Make what you will of that.

My good friend Ben has me looking at running some Revolution d100 powered sandbox sword & sorcery stuff. We were both reminiscing about Jonril, the big little city that borders the Sunken Lands. Anyone else remember this one and care to comment?

Actually, the spread of result is why both are in. The two methods end up with different statistical spreads - and POW v POW has a certain expectation of result that we do not want to alter (and opposed resolution does alter that rather substantially - in a way that would change setting assumptions). Where the Resistance Table was traditionally used, we kept it. Where the Resistance Table was not used, and where just resolving the issue fast is desired (rather than preserving a certainly predictable spread of result), use a quick opposed resolution.