MOB

Nice summary Groovyclam! And Geek and Sundry just published an article giving reasons why a game that came out ""when bell-bottoms were cool" is still so popular: http://geekandsundry.com/4-reasons-you-need-to-play-this-38-year-old-rpg-now/

Killer quote from Sandy: "Frodo is Frodo–not a “thief” or a “rogue” or a “warrior” or whatever. He is an individual. RuneQuest was the first game I’d seen which let my character be himself, instead of trying to fit into some mold. Even the more-flexible molds that modern Pathfinder and D&D 5e have developed are, to me, just larger prisons. In RuneQuest, I can just do things, and get better at those things over time. I don’t worry about what Feat is next in line, or what weapon specializations are best." http://geekandsundry.com/4-reasons-you-need-to-play-this-38-year-old-rpg-now/

The scaly old Sun Dome doesn't happen until Earth season 1625, a consequence of the Dragonrise (other goofy draconic stuff happens up in Pavis too). As one of Argrath Whitebull's Companions, Rurik Runespear makes several cameo appearances in the future history of Sun County... here's his first appearance (Storm season 1624): The Fall of New Pavis Several days after their victory at Second Moonbroth the nomads arrived at New Pavis, immediately laying siege. The Sun Dome contingent appeared too, silently watching from the other side of the river (though vrok hawks were seen to pass back and forth from the Suntown enclave inside the city). Pavis’s defenses had been stiffened by the fabled Watchdog, brought up by the Lunars from Corflu. But on the very first morning it was destroyed by a gigantic golden wyrm that suddenly swooped in from the west. At this, the Sun Domers marched off downriver, and the wyrm was seen flying into the Rubble. The siege was finally broken a week later and the nomads poured into the city, intent on destruction, bloodshed and plunder. This was when the great wyrm appeared again, this time with a golden warrior perched on its back. The wyrm curled itself around the Sun Dome temple in Suntown. Its presence helped spare that quarter of the city from excessive violence or damage, although it tore the roof off the fortified Lunar headquarters (formerly the palace of count Varthanis) to root out those taking refuge inside. The golden warrior was none other than Rurik Runespear, the famous Light Son of Pavis. After his mysterious disappearance at the time of the Cradle three years ago he had been grieved as dead. Unknown to the Sun Dome authorities, he’d instead been one of the heroic defenders of the Cradle and then became one of Argrath’s boon companions, sharing incredible adventures across the world. Leading a mixed band of nomads and Suntowners, Rurik led the charge into the Lunar Headquarters. He personally killed the hated governor Halcyon var Enkorth, who he found hiding in a privy. [GM Note: The resourceful Halcyon cunningly switched clothes with a flunky just before the assault, and it was actually the luckless double’s head that got paraded around afterwards, not his. He managed to flee the city and eventually make his way back to the Empire, along with Marusa. Rumor has it they were also both among the very few survivors of the Dragonrise.]

BTW, Sun County's "retirement towers" and the great spear-casting machine at Harpoon originally had another purpose - from The Dragonrise bit of the as-yet unpublished Future History of Sun County document: The Dragonrise Any plans by Countess Vega to capitalize on the situation were quickly overtaken by momentous events, again from distant Dragon Pass. The Dragonrise was an epic event seen across the world, causing mass panic, fear, wonder and awe. From his vantage point in the temple library, Hector the Wise surmised something significant was about to happen when he observed the stars moving in unexpected ways that fateful night in Earth season, 1625. But even he was not prepared for the incredible sight of a truly immense True Dragon, obviously many miles long, rising out of the distant mountains the following day. Unknown to everyone in Prax, in a catastrophic blow for the Lunar Empire the great Brown Dragon had just destroyed the new temple of the Reaching Moon, devouring most of the Lunar army, and many of the Emperor’s most important priests and officials. Great rumbling shock waves attested to the dragon’s stupendous power. As one rippled its way across the plains it toppled one of the retirement towers next to the great Sun Dome. Although the damage to the temple was slight, the unfortunate hermit inside the tower (the suspected Lunar collaborator Laertes Coatilon) was killed, and wild stories began to spread that the Sun Dome Temple itself had been destroyed. Safeguarding the County As the panic rose, the countess put her forces on high alert. Fortunately new arrows for the spear-throwing machine at Harpoon were to hand, having been made from the many tree trunks washed down in the Great Flood. Vega ordered it to be loaded and the targeteers to be vigilant. Few remembered the Great Ballista’s original purpose was to protect against dragons. It had been built in great fear after the Dragonkill War, when the people of the Sun Dome tore down their old temple, purged themselves of any vestiges of EWF-inspired solar draconism and returned to the unsullied, pure light of Yelmalio. The weapon originally protected the new Sun Dome Temple, but when draconic retribution never came, it was later moved to the high bluffs above the river near the village that now bears its name. Vega realized no one now had the means or expertise to move the harpoon back to the Sun Dome. But she was able to revive another old custom – along with the Great Ballista, a network of Dragonward towers had been built across the county in the aftermath of the Dragonkill War. Like the Arm of Pavis in the Rubble, these watchtowers once provided aerial defense and also served as heliograph stations. As fear of the dragons waned, and the prosperity of Sun County declined, the expense of maintaining the Dragonwardens weighed heavily. The network of towers was slowly dismantled, and their garrisons were reassigned. The mirrors were placed in the temple treasury, and the internal timbers reused elsewhere. Some towers were demolished. Most were left as shells. Retiring priests took to using them as hermitages, and with their original purpose almost forgotten they became known only as ‘retirement towers’. To assure the people, the countess announced she was reinstating the Dragonwardens. New great mirrors would be fitted to the towers, or at least those in a fit enough condition (little heed was given to the peace and solitude of any hermits within). Sadly, long ago the Count known as Orogurri the Bison loved drink more than ceremony and had melted down all the great mirrors in the treasury to make gold cups for his warriors. To replace them, Vega organized a great requisition drive to collect gold and other metal items from across the county, gathering a huge quantity from the panicked people. Revived Energies The great dragon continued to fly in great spirals around Dragon Pass, circling Kero Fin and obscuring the Red Moon. As it did so, strange draconic energies revived that had been quiet since the days of the Empire of the Wyrms Friends. In Prax, the Old Sun Dome temple again became a true place of power, and its once-cracked dome now glistened as if covered in scales...

The Sun Domers of Prax didn't come from Teshnos, though they sent an expedition there later. They worshipped dragons along with everyone else in the EWF period, and were part of the Invincible Golden Horde that turned against the dragons in the end. They threw off the draconic elements of their sun worship in the aftermath of the Dragonkill War, burning and abandoning their old temple (this is all described in The Old Sun Dome scenario, in RQ3's SUN COUNTY). In recent years, the Light Priest Daystar's researches in the Old Sun Dome revealed important secrets about the suppressed Sun Dragon cult, though the count banished him to a lightless vault in the salt mines for his troubles*. Meanwhile, on his travels the Nysalor Illuminate Belvani picks up a strange dragonewt servant. In the aftermath of the Second Battle of Moonbroth (1624), Belvani immediately declares himself the new count, announces an alliance with Argrath Dragonfriend and the resumption of Sun Dragon worship. This is bitterly resisted by the Guardian of Sun County, the Light Lady Vega Goldbreath, who declares herself count(ess), following the unsullied and pure light of Yelmalio. Cue religious civil strife. * given what they knew about draconic rebirth, it was considered too risky to actually execute Daystar

That is exactly what has happened in Sun County (Prax)... once in the past, and currently.

We've just added William Church's instantly evocative Dragon Pass and Prax maps (from RuneQuest 2) to the Chaosium Redbubble store. Available as posters and wall art, and more. http://rdbl.co/2cjB7JU

"At last I'll be able to afford some clothes!" - just added the infamous cover of PLUNDER - Treasures for RuneQuest to our Redbubble store. (15% off everything there - t-shirts, mugs, posters, phone cover, notebooks and more for another couple of hours) http://rdbl.co/2clhB4E

We are slowly replacing the single runes with bigger ones (so they appear bigger on the t-shirts etc - that's what people have asked for). Then we'll move on to rune combinations.

The Sunspots Kickstarter is live, and has funded in less than a day! This is a 1920s Call of Cthulhu RPG scenario set in New England with ancient magics, unbridled ambition & a new take on an old god by our newest licensee Dave Sokolowski - Media 8. Sunspots a project with a worthy pedigree. It began as a work commissioned and approved by famed Call of Cthulhu writer and editor Keith "Doc" Herber. This was intended for a licensed supplement he had begun work on, just before his untimely death in 2009. Dave Sokolowski hopes this project will do Doc Herber's vision justice. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/davesokolowski/sun-spots-a-call-of-cthulhu-rpg-scenario

Chaosium will launch an all new organized play campaign for Call of Cthulhu in the first half of 2017... A Time to Harvest will be released as a full color campaign supplement in 2017, incorporating feedback from the organized play campaign. The organized play version is available for free download for Cult of Chaos members. 'A Time to Harvest' Organized Play Campaign Concludes

Yes, I'll be bringing several demo sets to Kraken

And the Kickstarter is now live - over 80% funded in the first 8 hours A 1920s horror Call of Cthulhu RPG scenario set in New England with ancient magics, unbridled ambition & a new take on an old god: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/davesokolowski/sun-spots-a-call-of-cthulhu-rpg-scenario Sun Spots is a horror RPG scenario set in 1920s New England for 3-6 players that takes between 8-10 hours to play. It has been written for Call of Cthulhu and will be updated for the 7th edition of the rules. Back in 2007 I answered a call from famed Call of Cthulhu® writer and editor Keith "Doc" Herber to submit ideas for his upcoming The Outer Gods scenario book. He had specific ideas about making the book different from other scenario collections, and he had a high bar he wanted each scenario to reach. We worked together on the scenario over the next 1.5 years until his untimely death in 2009, but before that, he approved Sun Spots for inclusion in The Outer Gods. His specific words were: "I think we have a winner here, and one with a lot of fun possibilities. Nice job..." I hope this project will do his vision justice.

And a note of thanks too from Chaosium: It's over - The Gods War attracted nearly 2000 backers, and raised over $585K - wow! Sandy has his note of thanks from Petersen Games to everyone who supported the campaign in this Kickstarter update link. We too wish to thank everyone! In Glorantha's 50th year, The Gods War will certainly help bring Greg Stafford's amazing mythic universe to the wider audience it deserves. It was certainly gratifying to see Cthulhu Wars fans and other boardgamers engage with, become intrigued or even captivated by the imaginative depths and possibilities of Glorantha - the 7,500+ comments on the Kickstarter page so far attest to that. Chaosium will be bringing out its new edition of RuneQuest in the new year. It too is set firmly back in Glorantha (where the RPG started), offering more opportunities to game in and explore the legendary setting. And if you backed The Gods War, you'll have some amazing minies to terrify and awe your RQ characters with too!

All gameplay content unlocked. All announced stretch goals unlocked. All add-on products 100% funded. 100 minutes to go! Your last chance to pledge for The Gods War! http://bit.ly/godswarks

OK, it's happened...

OK, in the dying hours of The Gods War Kickstarter Sandy has done it - mash-up rules for a Cthulhu Wars - Gods War crossover. Using figures from Cthulhu Wars in The Gods War, and vice-versa! http://petersengames.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/GodsWar_CthulhuWars_Crossover.pdf

As Godlearner says, with Rokari the issue may be one of proscribing those who are not of the right caste or under appropriate authority practising alchemy, rather than banning alchemy outright. Theoblanc's decree might be something like, "Unauthorised Alchemies are here prohibited and those who practise them or procure their being done are punished. They must forfeit to the public treasury for the benefit of the poor as much genuine gold and silver as they have manufactured of the false or adulterate metal. If they have not sufficient means for this, the penalty may be changed to another at the discretion of the judge, and they shall be considered criminals."

We welcome Dave Sokolowski - Weird 8 as our newest licensee for Call of Cthulhu. http://weird8.com/sun-spots-to-be-published-for-call-of-cthulhu/

We'll swap them out with the updated rune list from The Guide to Glorantha. The runes in CoP aren't 'wrong', just not the complete picture...

(*because, as noted elsewhere in the document, the Sun Domers had used up all the machine's arrows during the Cradle episode the previous sea season. An expedition had been despatched to cut some more from the Tall Timbers above the Leaping Place and float them back down the river, but nothing was heard from that party during the Great Winter and it was presumed lost)

The runes are those as given in RQ2 Cults of Prax

Humakt (Death, Truth) is up now, with some others. More cult combinations to be added...

Another relevant excerpt from Sun County 1621 – 1627: The Great Winter & The Time of Two Counts: With the Windstop came other terrors. Fertility blessings failed as animals and children began to die the womb, gravely endangering their mothers as well. Out of the Great Bog came swarms of locusts, both normal-sized and giant. With them came gangs of ravenous wild trollkin, some even riding the huge flying insects. They swept through the farmlands, stripping all the vegetation in their path. In their wake came a plague of famished traskars and cliff toads, driven from their usual lairs by hunger. Even more disturbing, chaos horrors emerged from a great eruption of sinkholes that appeared around the abandoned village of Rabbit Hat, formerly a center of the illicit hazia trade. As the fields dried up, more such holes began to appear all across Sun County. Investigating parties sent in by Vega Goldbreath found themselves in a dangerous and confusing network of excavated tubes, suggesting a disturbingly widespread subterranean infiltration of the land by Krarsht, the Devouring Mother. Meanwhile, on the river a strange sea-monster, its breath like a poisonous cold mist, wreaked havoc. To the Count’s vexation, the Great Ballista at Harpoon was useless, lacking arrows to slay it. Even Sor Eel’s soldiers couldn’t kill the monster and eventually it made its way upriver to the Rubble, where it is said to have disappeared into the Puzzle Canal. The leaders of Sun County were sorely pressed dealing with these calamities, but the real crisis lay in the dwindling supply of food. As even harsher measures were enacted against hoarding, people began to accuse their neighbors of being in league with Krarsht. But worse was to come: that Sacred Time, the customary rituals to renew the world utterly failed. Perimides the Chaste, the aged high priest, collapsed at the 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 spread from the spilled libations to the sacrificial food offerings (and was later found to have spread to the granaries). Evil spirits began to assail the assembled worshippers, and in horror they realized some in the crowd were actually the undead of Nontraya: those who had already died of hunger. In the confusion, the sleeping Penta vanished - some said she was carried off in the jaws of a great horned wolf.

We've added Runes to Redbubble...