jajagappa

If you reduce it far enough you just have the Runes. There is no Storm God but Orlanth, no Earth Goddess but Ernalda, etc. But at that point you've lost the realm of myth that makes Glorantha a unique place to play and explore.

Yes, they do. I'm in the anti-God Learner camp. While gods can be equated, and even be views of the same thing, their roles (even based on the evolution/devolution) indicate they are and can be distinct entities. I like the messiness of myths and mythology. I don't like reductionist mythology. And Elmal will live and retain his unique spark in my games.

Sounds like the old Vanchite quest to "aid" Yelmalio at the Hill of Gold. After Orlanth and Zorak Zoran have been by, there's lots of useful magic to pick up. If the Lanbril thieves follow the Bad Dogs for a bit, I'm sure they can not only get Yinkin's eyes, but some of his other parts, too.

No big deal. You just raid the Morocanth and steal some of their herd men. Then have the herd men gather the leaves, and you never have to leave your mount!

RQ Classic: a Rune magic spell cannot be cast again until the Priest spends a day of quiet worship at a temple or holy place of the Priest’s cult RQG: Rune points may only be replenished through worship of the deity on a holy day and participation in cult rites. Replenishment is not tied to a season but to a holy day when worship normally occurs. There's really no effective difference here. What is different with Rune Points is that they can be applied to a cult special rune spell OR any common rune spell. That is a big difference and plus in my mind - you no longer have to forego cool cult special rune magic because you need to make sure you've got Spirit Block available. Consider this RQ Classic example: the cost of training determines how long the character must train to gain an increase. Thus, STR, which takes 1000 L to gain a 1 point increase, will take 10 game weeks at 2 hours a day, or 2½ game weeks at 8 hours a day. Or review the cost/training time required on the Weapons Training table on p. 26 or the cost for Experience Gained on p.120 - i.e. training takes continuous downtime such as a season or more to achieve in both versions. Experience rolls happen in whatever downtime you, as the GM, choose. But characters still have to make a living - not every adventure is going to generate coin to spend. Consider the points made in RQ2 on Episodic and Full Campaigns (p.116): the regular characters adventure in pre-set locales, usually starting near the objective, and spend their ‘between game time’ in an unspecified world with spell and skill training costs equal to those given in the rules. And: The characters may have to spend game time on worldly duties, may find themselves embroiled in a cousin’s feud, or have to hide for months without play because of a government enquiry or purge. All these aspects are there in the original world. Noting them as just taking a season is a quick and expedient way to handle between adventures. And there's nothing that prohibits running continuous sessions without downtime - but while you'd get your experience rolls, you shouldn't expect to have training time with no downtime. Note p.313: The maximum number of Rune points an adventurer can have with a single cult is equal to their CHA. Just joining a second cult doubles your possible maximum rune points - and given the POW sacrifice required, that will take some time to fill. And that doesn't take into account enchantments or other magical artifacts which could easily boost you further. Remember that CHA is your effective leadership ability - your ability to be noticed by your god or goddess. To get beyond normal human limits, you need to heroquest (and hopefully by the time we get to the point of having that many rune points we will have a book on heroquesting available to provide more details). Not sure where you see this. Critical Dodge vs. Critical attack = Attack is dodged successfully. Generally parries are better than dodges, but Dodge is still effective. I'll just add that I don't think any of these are barriers to play. I've been GM'ing RQG for a year and a half now and have found it enjoyable to run and my players have found it enjoyable to play. The Rune Points and ability of adventurers to actually use a broader range of a deity's magic has been very positive (and I ran RQ3 for 10 years and it was rare that adventurers ever really got to leverage the range of rune magic that they do now). Replenishment of Rune Points and training feels realistic. The Runes and Passions work very well for inspiration and augments - players have really made great use of those. Combat still feels like RQ combat - except that we don't usually end in marathon battles struggling to get some edge. We've yet to hit limits on anything the players want to do but find the rules don't let them.

But we also never assume or argue that Orlanth / Storm Bull / Vadrus / Umath are the same, though why wouldn't we if we go down the God Learner's path?

They are not available online to my knowledge (or even for sale anywhere).

Not just Sheng born at the same time as the Red Goddess (Teelo Norri notwithstanding), but also Jannisor. Common parentage not required as you note to be Shadows (or False Shadows). Many folk claimed Jannisor as their own in my mythic stories. Whether the same is true or not for Sheng, I don't know.

Except for one annoying item: on the Dragon Pass map cities are centered in hexes, on the Balazar/Elder Wilds maps cities are on the lines between hexes.

I think that works perfectly well. As noted in the description of the Water Rune Personality: To have a strong affinity with Water is to be mercurial, capricious, and mutable. The River Gods also have the Movement Rune: To be strong with the Movement Rune is to be changeable, energetic, rebellious, and ambitious. Such adventurers can adapt quickly to changing circumstances, but are also impulsive and reckless. All sound like perfectly good traits for a thief!

I will only note that my players were quite happy to see the parries of their scorpionmen foes substantially lowered. As I run PbP, sessions are quite long so would never restrict it per session. I follow these notes from p.229: Only one attempt at inspiration can be made in a situation The inspiration lasts for the time it takes to complete the activity or task, such as the duration of the combat or battle. (Max 1 day) The adventurer can choose to cancel the effects of inspiration at any time, if desired, but must wait until the next day to attempt it again. And my modified rule: once a Rune is successfully used for inspiration, it cannot be used again that day

1) never heard the suggestion made before. 2) don't believe either would be (or any reason they should be).

Yes! 😉

Yes, it went through a terminology change during writing. Originally was Area Lore (local). Then changed to Homeland Lore (local). Likely that occurrence in the Occupation chapter occurred during editing of the first, but didn't get Homeland inserted.

No. Each melee round for the most part has a "reset". Exception is magic that requires multiple rounds to case (usually sorcery, or highly boosted spirit or rune magic). Dagger attack in 2nd round will be at normal DEX + SIZ + weapon SR (unless you cast more magic first).

Clearly the courting of Queen Inkarne.

No, not with spirit magic. You must focus on the spell and then cast it. Rune magic does act like this as it is instantaneous and occurs on SR 1 (unless boosted by additional MP's).

You normally will cast your magic first at the start of the round. SR depends on the level of the spell. Let's say your DEX SR is SR 1, SIZ SR is SR 2, and you cast Bladesharp 2 on the dagger you already have out and prepared. p.254: To determine the strike rank at which a spell can be cast, total the adventurer’s DEX strike rank plus the magic points of the spell (minus the first), plus any boosting magic points. The spell occurs on SR 2 (1 for DEX, 1 for 2 pt spirit magic - 1st pt). You can then use your magically enhanced dagger on SR 8. (2 SR's already into the round for the magic, +1 for DEX SR, +2 for SIZ SR, and +3 for weapon SR). You are now done for the round (excluding parries or dodges). If your dagger is not ready, then on SR 5 you draw out your dagger (5 SR's to prepare a weapon). Now you cast your spell on SR 7 (same as prior example: 1 for DEX, 1 for 2 pt spirit magic - 1st pt). You are now done for the round (excluding parries, after SR 5, or dodges) as you need 6 SR's to attack with the dagger and that would be over the 12 SR limit for the round. Note: most spirit magic spells last for two minutes (ten melee rounds).

No, something else. It is where the spiritual energies of Glorantha exist. It is coterminous with both the Inner World, the Outer World, the Upper World, and the Underworld as @soltakss notes. Spirits infuse life everywhere (rocks, trees, animals, humans & most Elder Races, rivers and seas, etc.). It has its own weird topology which is not based on anything in the Mundane World though. So you could be walking through the Colymar Wilds, cross over into the Spirit World, and for awhile it looks the same. But then you find yourself diverging perhaps into Velhara's Endless Wild, from which you might find yourself at the Root of Life, or possibly in the Nightwood (which is also in the Underworld). Yes, certainly could occur at places where the borders are "thin". I did this in a recent HQG game where the heroes escaped Lunar pursuit by venturing into Colymar's Wilds, but then found themselves in Velhara's domain (effectively in the Spirit Plane) where they had to win a contest to escape (and even that was rather difficult) and end up back near the Nymie River on the other side of the Wilds.

Just Art (00). "It measures the artist’s ability to communicate an idea, such as beauty, divinity, grace, etc., as well as the artist’s technical skill. This skill is used in media as diverse as pottery, bronze, gold, marble, silver, stone, terracotta, wall paintings, and more." Note that it is a Communication skill, not a Manipulation skill. So it can be applied to any number of media without requiring you to specify anything in terms of the media. It can also be used to augment a Manipulation skill such as Craft(x) (which you will note is specifically divided into specialties). Same as with Art, it is just Game (15). "Game measures an adventurer’s competence in common Gloranthan games of wits and chance, especially those where money is wagered on the outcome. It includes knowing the rules of games, and is also used to assess the odds of success or failure, or to spot when someone is cheating." While this is a Knowledge skill, again there is no breakdown into abilities by specific games. I'd go with what's on the Ability List p.61 and the character sheet.

I received both yesterday.

If you want new young adults, then don't make them initiates of cults (that cuts out a range of skills/magic immediately and initiation into the cult can then happen in-game). Don't add in the 4 +25% bonuses. Decide if you want to let them have the 5 +10% skill bonuses to help personalize them. Let them have 3-5 spirit magic points so they have some basic magic. Even with the updated character background they aren't superheroes, just competent young adults with usually one area of some mastery.

RQG builds upon the RQ2/Classic foundation, though addresses issues such as those that @womble noted with POW/MP's and the over-restriction of Rune Magic. Defense is dropped, and a few skills renamed. It's added actual use of Runes and Passions on top of that (and augmenting skills with those or with other skills) - all of which in my mind make for a more interesting game. It also expands more on character background so that you're not starting brand new, but with enough skill/magic to have some impact in the world. It's also got enough cults to get you going, and adds in sorcery which didn't exist in RQ2/Classic. Both are married to Glorantha. I'd be much more inclined to use RQG and then leverage the old supplements. Just set the time dial back 10 years and you are pretty much ready to go. E.g. if you wanted to run the just re-released Borderlands, begin your characters background generation in 1610 and work up to 1615. For whatever reason, they head east to the Zola Fel valley. Duke Raus is settling the Grantlands. You might be Lunar Tarsh settler, refugee from Sartar or Old Tarsh, a Grazelander exile, or a Praxian who has decided to serve as a mercenary. If you want to keep their skills simpler, don't add in the 4 +25% and 5 +10% bonuses. The foes statistics will work just fine (I've drawn from old RQ2 supplements for many foes in my current RQG scenarios).

I think this will really depend on degree. Sprouting a third arm, yes. Clubfoot, or extra or missing digits, stunted leg, incredible ugliness (ala Urgggh the Ugly), no. It might be blamed on a trickster ("string him up!"), or a shaman's curse, or an influx of Disorder (blame it on the Storm Bulls!), or even Ernalda cursing the birth. Whether it results in suspicion or not will depend on community, friends, et al.

Faster than the Vormaino Flying Swallows? 😉