jajagappa

And I would argue that it's a perfectly reasonable map found in Glamour or Raibanth or even Mirin's Cross that I would hand out to players to say "this is what your characters know". No Argan Argar Atlas for them! I think most cases of getting "Gregged" really reflected people other than Greg attempting to work on or build upon early material before Greg had a chance to establish canon, and then finding that their work didn't fit his vision. The 'medieval' west, the 'soviet'/'red' Lunar Empire, the Unspoken Word publications and early HW/HQ1 'little gods'/'many runes' era. Works like The Missing Lands, Arcane Lore, and Revealed Mythologies show some of the adjustments made in conceptualizing Glorantha and can be contrasted to more finalized forms as they appear in GtG or Glorantha Sourcebook.

Of course, from the Solar perspective, Rebellus Terminus' slaying of his uncle destroys order and allows darkness and subsequently chaos into the world, all because of his selfish desires. Very easy to translate this into a chaos heroquest.

Maybe got to use that occupation in developing/selecting skills. And maybe also has an "in" at her local temple. 🙂

When I ran the Quickstart, I found that both the Rune/Passion augments and the use of rune points to power various available Rune Magic both came strongly into play. With the former, a 20% boost in skill through a battle made a considerable difference (die hated Greydog!). But so did available rune magic - Yanioth's Inviolable spell does wonders, and Spirit Block can be a lifesaver. And spirit magic is still there - and really depends on what you want to pick up. In the old days, you picked up Bladesharp and Protection to keep you going in combat. But if I can boost my skill with an augment and no MP loss, maybe I really want Heal instead (because I don't want to give up precious rune points on that). What I like is that these added dimensions increase the opportunities for different playing styles and approaches. As you note, it also gives the GM's some powerful weapons. Most of them are ~21, the equivalent of the old RQ2 character with advanced experience. Based on the skill levels, most seem like they'd be 5-10 sessions away from a rune level. None of them are RQ2 beginning characters (aka Rurik at age 16), which didn't even have spirit/battle magic.

The advantage is that if you happen to run into some nasty ghost, you don't have to curse yourself for not selecting Spirit Block. Or if you did select Spirit Block, and run into some bandits instead, wish you had a couple uses of Lightning to blast them with. The limitation is your rune points, and far less your choice of rune spells.

Spirit magic is still there, and the spell selections have not particularly changed. These pre-gens each have 5 points of spirit magic (except Vishi Dun who is training to be a shaman). In RQ2, if you used previous experience, you got 1d6 spirit magic spells if a barbarian, roughly 5 spells if a cavalry mercenary, and up to 8 potentially if an infantry mercenary. So think that falls right in line.

It was called Shattering and was a Black Fang rune spell. Acted as 4 Disrupt spells. Between summoning earth elementals, casting Inviolable or Absorption, or drawing on Earthpower, there is a fair capability with Ernalda now. For the first, Coordination. Changes to DEX reduce SR's. For the second, Shimmer which reduces chance to hit. There's only so far you can reduce strike ranks. And the RQ2 Defense ability showed that adding too much to reducing attack chances could really throw the game out of balance. The new Distraction spirit magic in RQG draws spirits towards the caster and away from those with less ability to fight spirits. You could certainly come up with a spell to draw fighters to you. The Conceal spell took attention away from you, so that gives you the cost level you should target (and if you want as a spirit spell, it's twice the rune spell cost typically). Given the general focus on gods, most attention in the past went to creating rune spells relevant to them rather than spirit/battle magic. That was generally true whether in TotRM, Tradetalk, or other fanzines.

I was looking through the Eleven Lights earlier today and it occurred to me that there are some interesting concepts based on the Green Age myths (p.128 - section on the Awakening). The two "classic" Orlanth and Ernalda paths are the Full Bowl and Spoon and the Rich Swan. Full Dish and Spoon myth: "The PCs find they are suffocating, unable to breathe and confined, trapped, and unable to move. A sense of panic, a need to escape overwhelms them: a desire to be born from the womb of the mother and into the world. The PC must tear a place for himself or herself in existence or risk being imprisoned." This one is not that far off from the larval broo story. Just change the story to be one where you must eat your way out of the womb. Rich Swan myth: "The PC begins to experience a terrible gnawing in their belly, an intense pain, which is accompanied by feelings of weakness and tiredness. The PC is experiencing hunger for the first time. Feeding means the PC must recognize their difference from the plants and animals around them, and even the parts of those plants and animals." This could be the starting point for a Krarsht quest. Except that you recognize the difference between you and stone, and that you can not only eat the stone, but convert its entire self into you, leaving nothing behind. But this point of recognizing your distinctness and separateness from the One seems like a natural point for Chaos to depart. You aren't part of the One. Maybe it leads you to a primal rage. Or it makes you jealous that there are Others and they have things you don't - and you want those. Or you discover that things can now Die, and won't return, and it creates a Fear of Death so powerful that you want to consume so much Life that you never Die.

As Edna says in the Incredibles, "No capes!" 😉

I'd say two+ levels of Mastery - you should be Nearly Impossible to defeat via that Rune, even on the God Plane (though of course you may have other weaknesses). Likely you need worshippers who can empower your actions. You probably need the Feat Return from Hell, and maybe that has to be through your specific Rune. For Harrek, that might mean cutting/clawing a hole through the Barrier of Life and Death.

For trolls, yes, so I don't see ZZ cultists creating them. But Delecti? Of course! Or Ralzakark in Dorastor? Seems quite reasonable to turn twisted Hellwood Elves into such.

I have not done so personally as have never gotten to a point where I needed to. However, just having some number of additional Feats seems wrong. And both must have gained the heroic ability to return from the Dead, so not that. We know as well that it is not Illumination for Argrath is Illuminated, while no indication that Harrek is. If you go by Sandy Petersen's hypothesis, then the Superheroes have fully embodied a specific Rune (e.g. Harrek = Death, Elamle = Life, Androgeus = Man, etc.). So perhaps that means that you have the full ability to manipulate that Rune in any capacity (e.g. create on-the-fly Feats, become the avatar of that Rune on the God Plane, etc.)

Mallia was originally a fertility/healing goddess too. Think about cancer - mindless, mutated growth. But if you can't attack it... it just grows and warps and destroys everything else. Yes, plenty to work on there.

That's how I would use them as well.

I think he's more about consuming all knowledge for himself. The destruction of that knowledge is just a consequence of his action. You can probably align most chaos quests along an axis that starts with some core vice that corrupts the figure and leads to an all-consuming passion that leaves obliteration and destruction in its wake. Ragnaglar, Thed, and Mallia all have ties to Lust; Tien to Greed for Knowledge; Pocharngo to Gluttony/Consumption (of the world); the Devil and Cacodemon to Hatred/Power; Krarsht to Hunger/Power; Vivamort is the desire to Never Die; Gbaji is the amorality that you can do anything and nothing can/will stop you.

😀

I thought they were on the Plateau of Statues. At least, IIRC, that's where Sandy put one.

It's quite likely the Wolf Pirates raid to get enough booty to acquire timber. Caladraland is one source given the fertile, fast-growing lands. The Fever Trees of Teshnos may be another. And that may be another good reason for Harrek to conquer Laskal. 1624 sees Greymane's forces destroyed by Harrek, Argrath, et al. And the Lunars devastated by the Dragonrise in 1625. Competition for the Manirian Road becomes the "battleground" between Samastina and the Demivierge of Rhigos. Nochet controls the access to the riverine route up to Duck Point. 1616-1624 is the rough period.

Also keep in mind that Chalk Man Vale has strong spirit connections including Chalk Man himself (from whom you can get Good Luck charms - SKoH p.74), Kolat (since Chalk Man is part of the Kolating tradition - SC p274), and probably others. There are likely to be shamans there regularly. There's a bit more on Chalk Man Vale in HQ1 p.148: "Chalk Man is an Earth spirit that rose up from the ground from near Donalf Flats, and left behind him the great outline still visible there where no plants ever grow." Also SC p.275: "Chalk Man retired to an underground chamber, whose invisible entryway is someplace near where he raised himself from the ground. He now rules over the hillsides north of Donalf Flats."

They will regularly attempt to, but several challenges: 1) no God-king, so no longer a "Holy Country" fleet. Post-1616 there are pockets of fleets (Nochet, Rhigos, Seapolis, Karse). 2) The Wolf Pirates keep raiding. From the area activity chart in WF15 p.55, there are pirate raids into the Islands in 1618-19, an invasion in 1620, more raids in 1621, 1623, and 1624, and then another invasion in 1625 (when Harrek sacks the City of Wonders). The pirates raid Caladraland in 1624 as well. The main gap marks the period of the Great Winter and when Harrek is off circumnavigating the oceans. The invasions likely mark major destructions of the Islander's fleet. Samastina buys off Harrek in 1623-4 when he takes booty from the battle of Pennel and spends it in Nochet. 3) Timber during the Great Winter likely went to keeping people warm, not shipbuilding, so some additional gaps in fleet construction.

Yes. From the Guide p.112 "The Dara Happan Empire measures time from Yelm’s Enthronement, 111,000 years before the Dawn (meaning 1621 ST is 112,621 YS). This dating system is the YS system, and is still used in Dara Happa." Ostensibly Yelm's Enthronement marks the beginning of the Golden Age and that lasts 100,000 years. Then the Storm Age lasts 10,000 years and the Great Darkness 1000 years. Also same page of the Guide "The Brithini calendar measures time from the first turning of the Red Sands of Time, which they date to 14,825 years before the Dawn (making the year 1621 ST the year 16,446 by Brithini reckoning)." If you use the Dara Happan system, then the Vingkotlings who followed Orlanth were strongest during the Storm Age and built their various hill forts as well as various burial mounds. Genert's Garden, where the Wastes are now, dates to the Green Age, so even before Dara Happan measurement. The best examples of ancient ruins there are the Tunneled Hills and Plateau of Statues. Other ancient Earth-cult sites could date to the Green Age too.

There is some very nice detail here - very reminiscent of ancient Sumerian art. Behind Orlanth and Ernalda on the left hand detail seems to be a great pyramid - presumably the Spike. I wonder if the two single figure panels flanking the brazier are Sartar (l) and possibly the Feathered Horse Queen (r - the head is hidden so can't be certain, though the skirt seems trimmed with yellow feathers).

It's Kallyr's funeral pyre, so Boldhome, and presumably she's atop the Flame of Sartar.

The Air rune spirals inward in a counter-clockwise direction. A reversed Air rune spirals inward in a clockwise direction. Both versions are Air runes - there is no difference in use or play. For symmetry in someone's tattoos you might have one on one shoulder and the other on the other shoulder. You can do the same for the Water or Movement runes. Again, no difference in meaning or usage. As @David Scott notes you can get some interesting patterns out of these. Perhaps they serve as clan tattoos, or spell foci, or the marks of enchantments. I created these two years ago highlighting Orlanth as Trickster since when you overlap an Air and a reversed Air rune you get a hidden Disorder rune.

I played T&T and was aware of how D&D worked/played. And then discovered RQ. Here was a system that did not restrict a character to being one specific type. A warrior could have spells and magic. A priest could wield a weapon. Each and every character could be unique with their set of skills and abilities. Here was a system without forced alignments. Here was a system where you didn't make artificial jumps in 'levels' but simply progressed skill-by-skill as you used the skills and gained experience. It just felt real - a feeling I did not get from most other systems at the time. On top of that it had a really cool, epic game world that wasn't just about looting the next dungeon. It had elder races that were playable and had their own goals and motivations - not just being monster fodder for adventurers.