svensson

I'd like to see that, if only for 'villain' purposes.

Well, Jeff, that's why I just came right out and asked what I thought was a valid question. I'd seen a lot of speculation, a lot of grousing, a lot of 'WTF' and thought that asking the question would inform me of some of the problems so that I would have a more reasonable set of expectations. And that's what I got, in spades. Like I said, I appreciate the honest and open discussion of what the production issues are, the explanation of the 'why-for'.

A very large portion of the internet [that which isn't pet tiktoks and porn] is gasbags venting their nonsense. And I'm not even gonna act like sometimes I'm not one of the gasbags. I like to think I'm intellectually honest enough to admit when I'm wrong, that's not for me to judge.

Well, as you can tell, I care a great deal about RQ too. I want this renaissance to not only be 'right' but have legs. We were all pretty stoked about the Glorantha specific titles for AH's RQ3, but that petered out and died. I personally didn't much like the HQ rules, but the writing was top notch. When the RQG Quick Start came out for Free RPG Day, I was on the road on vacation and hunted down a comic /game store 75 miles out of my way so I wouldn't miss out on it. Thank God I have a game geek wife who understood! My ex-wife wouldn't have. And one of my great gaming treasures is a copy of the RQG Core Rules signed by Greg Stafford the GenCon before he passed away. While I certainly don't claim to have the investment in it you guys have, I am a loyal fan and am perfectly happy to put down my filthy lucre when something comes out. But I admit to being really confused at how CoC puts out several pretty high quality box sets in the time it takes for RQ get one hardback out. But let me emphasize that I recognize you guys doing your best to answer my questions. I see the effort and transparency and I do appreciate it. Frankly, I can't imagine having the same conversation with a couple of other game companies out there.

NSFW, but.... applicable....

IMHO, the mastery of Runes would make a great deal of difference when the player is undertaking the role of a deity in an HQ. For example, to know the correct action Orlanth might take in 'Orlanth and Aroka', it would depend on any one of Orlanth's Runes as the specific decision would require [blowing poisonous gas away would be Air Rune, bypassing an unnecessary conflict would be Movement, etc.]. In addition, there will be times when a given action or decision would come down to a given PC's actual skill numbers and the boosts for inspiration would be vital in such an event.

Addenda: When I was speaking about initiating into multiple cults if they are complimentary, being in the same pantheon is just one reason. Sometimes there are cultural ties [Seven Mothers with Sable Riders, etc.]

Thanks for answering this so quickly, Jeff. I think the question bore asking, but I do appreciate the transparency.

So, I get the AbChaos feed in my email. It's great, I like it, and I'm glad to get the news. But I'm gonna go ahead and put this out in the middle of the table where everyone can see it... Why does it seem that Chaosium puts about 4 Call of Cthulhu titles for every single RuneQuest title? I've seen guesstimates, pie in the sky predictions, and so on, but frankly I'm getting the feeling that Chaosium is more interested in supporting CoC than RQ. We've been hearing about the Prosepaedia for two years now and we don't any notion whatsoever when it'll be available even in pdf form. Weapons and Equipment has been out in pdf for 6 months and we STILL don't have a hardback copy. So what's up with all this? Is it some internal issue in Chaosium or something?

Something else I think needs to be said here. Cults are not trying to make every single Initiate a Rune Level. For one thing, 99% of Initiates simply don't have the talent or ambition to become a Rune Level no matter what the benefits might be. Their ambitions are more homely and realistic than the average adventurer type. They want to inherit the steading or master their craft, marry well, have and raise healthy children. These initiates don't want a life full of blood, danger and risk that is required to gain the skills to become Rune Level in almost every cult out there. And not just warrior cults. either... Even Ernalda Earth Mothers have to leave the confines of their temple, travel, learn, and, yes, get into conflict of some form [be it warfare, politics, theological, whatever] if they want to progress and get 'ordained' with the full confidence and trust of their hierarchy. Being an Initiate of two faiths isn't a lack of faith in one or the other cult, provided those two cults are complimentary. I don't see a blessed barking thing wrong with a Heortling belonging to two Lightbringer cults, for example. I can see real use for someone who has advanced skills in both Chalanna Arroy and Lhankor Mhy, as unlikely as that is. It would take a highly talented 'adventurer type' person to even aspire to such a thing, and such a person would be of great value to a community. It is when those faiths are NOT complimentary that the referee has to step in. Because Yelm represents Fire [he owns the Rune], a Yelmalion will respect a Yelmite, but cannot be one. It is for this reason [along with cultural issues] that the Grazelanders and Sun Counties of Dragon Pass are not more allied than they are.

All Ducks are Illuminated. Prove me wrong....

OK, 'Troy' from 2004. My bad on that one, I'll correct it. I'm not recommending 'The Northman' because it has swords in it. If that was the case '13th Warrior' would do just as well. I recommend 'The Northman' for the cultural aspects, especially the depiction of shamanic ritual. A lot of gamers come to RQ with DnD firmly in their brains... a world with articulated Gothic plate armors and literally every single edged weapon they can devise a stat for [anybody remember the 'glaive-guisarme-fork'?]. A world where throwing knives can penetrate plate armor at 50 meters and elves can duel-wield knives and longbows at the same time. RQ demands a bit more realism than that. Because of all this, I recommend movies that depict the magic, buildings, material cultures and societies that Greg envisioned way back when. 'Kingdom of Heaven' is just as inappropriate for the RQ setting as 'Das Boot' is. So I try and keep it 'Bronze Age', although I do recommend some Iron Age stuff ['Rome', for example, is a good depiction of the decadence and rot at the heart of the Lunar Empire].

@DreadDomain Well, it's Viking Age, so it doesn't really 'fit' in Glorantha anywhere. Norse culture is portrayed as ancient and abiding, so IMHO the best sort-of fit would be Old Tarsh. That's the odd dichotomy of Viking movies... they have some strong Orlanthi /Hendrikings elements but they don't really fit the Bronze Age theme of RQ. I haven't seen either Pathfinder nor Wolfhound, so no opinions there. The most Glorantha-like movie I've seen for plot and the 'odd group of random people thrown together for a mission' is probably '13th Warrior'. I've always liked Vladimir Kulich ['Bolvei'] and he's been woefully misused in English language movies.

That one was awful, but entertainingly awful. It was like '13th Warrior' that way. And at least is didn't have Tony Curtis and Kirk Douglas [1958's 'The Vikings'] or Lee Majors [1978's 'The Norseman'] in it. THOSE two pieces of tripe advanced the beginning of Fimbulwinter by a decade. Each. 😁

That one's not bad, but as a documentary is doesn't really give you a 'daily life' type narrative.

There can if you want there to be. After all, Chaos corrupts all life and Your Glorantha Will Vary. Step 1. Decide on base Attributes [STR, POW, etc.] Step 2. Decide on baseline racial features [Venom bite? If so, how skilled are they at biting and how potent is the poison?] Step 3. Assuming you want them to have legs ['snake people'], all you have to do is look at the Human /Biped Hit Location Table, shave one location point off of both the left and right leg and apply it to the tail. So: Right Leg 01-03, Tail 04-05, Left Leg 06-08, all other locations remain the same. Step 4. Apply Chaos Features as you would with Broo. And, boom, you're done.

Well, YGMV, French. That's fine. I'm presuming in my post that the cults involved have some kind of relationship with each other. Either they'd be in the same pantheon or are otherwise related. In my Orlanth and Waha Praxian nomad example, canon says the Orlanth cult forms a significant minority in both the Bison and Rhino peoples. If I accept that, then it's easy to presume that the worship of Storm Bull [a member of both Orlanth's and Waha's pantheons] was the most likely agent of Orlanth's minority of worshipers. So among those peoples, there is a solid friendship so long as all the restrictions of both cults are obeyed. The same could be said of Seven Mothers worshiping Sables Riders... remember that the PC's generation of Sable Riders were raised as the #1 tribe on the plains. This led to a lot of hard feelings among the other tribes [especially the Bison People, for both religious and personal reasons]. And there isn't anything wrong with a Sable brave worshiping Waha-of-the-ancestors and still worshiping the new and more vibrant faith of the Seven Mothers. There will be times when two possible faiths will be incompatible. In the Sun Counties [all of them, not just the one in Prax], Gustbran and Mahome are as necessary cults as they are with any society. Not only smiths, but potters, charcoalers, bakers, jewelry-makers, anybody that uses Fire as a central part of their profession requires Gustbran's and Mahome's blessings. And these people are NOT Yelmalions. As much as their society needs them, they work the forbidden element of Fire and can have no outward political power or social prominence. No one can be an initiate of both deities. But the wise Sun Count pays attention when Gustbrans and Mahomes speak... without these people their society would devolve into scratch farmers having to beg weapons from others.

I just caught the 2022 movie 'The Northman' last night on PPV. If you're a Glorantha-phile, SEE THIS MOVIE. I'm an amateur historian. As such, I've seen a lot of historical movies. I've seen very, VERY few that 'get it right'. 'The Northman' has displaced a long time favorite in my Top 5 Historical Movies, and that was a painful but clearly correct decision. I've NEVER seen a movie that depicted shamanistic practices as realistically as this film. Near the beginning, there is an initiation ritual for a boy into the clan's ancestral cult that has very strong Daka Fal overtones. Later, the boy has grown to be a bearsarkii, and there is a pre-battle ritual that absolutely screams Storm Bull or Babeester or Maran Gor [depending on gender] This movie really ought to go alongside 2004's 'Troy' as required viewing for Glorantha /RQ fans and I can't recommend it highly enough. PS: My Top 5 Accurate and Entertaining Historical Movies /Series are, in order: - Arn: The Knight Templar - Lincoln [I will never again think of Abraham Lincoln without hearing Daniel Day Lewis' voice] - Der Untergang [Ditto Bruno Ganz's Adolph Hitler] - Das Boot - The Northman The Northman displaced Cross of Iron, a movie I've loved for ages. The Rest of the list in no particular order: Cross of Iron, Generation War, Generation Kill, Kingdom of Heaven [Director's Cut], Elizabeth, Pharaoh's Army [a small budget Civil War movie]

Bolthor was famous for complaining at the costs of being an initiate of multiple cults... 10% of your annual income is expensive for a King!

Very often. It's so common among Orlanthi as to not even be a subject for comment. I would expect that among more rigid cultures [Yelmites, for example] that it is somewhat rarer. Obviously, individual worshipers cannot 'mix' cults with certain dogmatic strictures [Yelmalio cultists may not worship any cult that requires Ignite or other fire-producing spells as Fire is the Lost Power, for example]. Generally multi-cult membership is kept within the pantheon, but certain outliers exist. Among the Bison and Rhino Peoples of Prax, for example, is a strong Orlanth-worshiping minority, but EVERY male is still initiated into Waha and EVERY female is initiated into Eiritha. The way I do it in RQG character generation is that the player chooses one 'free' cult wherein they were initiated at 16 or so, have 3 Rune Points [and associated spells], and 5 pts. of Spirit Magic, and have the cult skill bonuses. If they wish to initiate into a second cult, they must 'pay' a point off their rolled POW for 1 Rune Point and one Rune spell, no Spirit Magic, and the cult skills of Cult Lore, Meditate, and Worship. They are recent initiates into the second cult, having just been 'confirmed' into the faith. So, for example, my Rhino Rider wants to be a Wind Lord of Orlanth. But as a Praxian male his place in society is determined by his membership in Waha. His 'main cult' is Orlanth Adventurous [3 Rune Points, 5 pts. of Spirit Magic, all the cult skills] and his 'minor' cult is Waha [1 RP, no Spirit Magic, reduced cult skills] but he must still abide by Waha's Heal 1 restriction and I specifically put some of his bonus skill points into Peaceful Cut for role-playing and ritual reasons.

Yes, you can block edged weapons with hafted weapons. Some weapons, even in the Bronze Age, had a protective metal strip on the haft or were even forged entirely of metal. Yes, this was much more common after the Renaissance but examples do exist in both Egypt and Greece of bronze axe and mace heads with long enough sockets to protect the haft. As I see it, the game system takes the relative fragility of axes and maces into account in their AP and I don't see much need to adjust the game over it. Frankly, it's a bit of a ticky-tack suggestion that would slow the combat down.

Ideally speaking, Glorantha should be like Portland OR. Just when you think you've seen all the stupid, all the strange, all the 'that-boy-ain't-right', all the weirdness, you turn a corner and see.... this...

Well, you'd be a damned poor nomad if you didn't have a high Ride skill... lol!

OK, so question for those who are NOT Sky cultists... How does Mounted Archery work for mounted nomads [Praxians, etc.]? Are they assumed to have trained in mounted archery [Kushile or another name], or are they bound by the base rules?

Good point. I'd forgotten that one.