Jeff

After things go bad for one side, that is when people should 1. run away, or 2. surrender for ransom. Or something else is going on that they should run to. There is a video game/DND mentality that all fights should be to the death before moving on to something else. In RQ it is much smarter (and usually more fun) to have the losing side run away or surrender.

This is all spot on, although I find that in RQ, fights are usually settled once one side or another loses a "critical mass". That might be when the leader of one side is defeated, or when there is a clear numerical/usefulness superiority on one side or another. Combats tend to last 2 to 4 rounds in my experience.

First off, thank you for creating a new thread. Second, let's play around with terminology and definitions a little. I tend to approach RuneQuest combats as falling into one of four categories: 1. Duel. This is a one on one combat. Simplest to run, requires no special prep. 2. Loose skirmish. This is probably the most common - when the player characters fight a roughly equivalent group of opponents. Effectively it is a group of one on one combats, but some players might be casting spells or using missile weapons, others might be trying to double-team an enemy while defending against another. I tend to just print out a bunch of NPC stats if this is prepared, and if not I just do a table like: Tusk Rider 1 ("Dave") Total Hit points Injuries Spells cast Any other notes: Tusker 1 ("Dave's Big Pig") Total Hit points Injuries Any notes: And then reference the Bestiary or other source for stuff like attack %, etc. 3. Large skirmish. This is where the players are assisted by other NPCs against a large number of foes. There might be several waves of combat, like for the defenders of the Cradle. Here's the point I start hand-waving - this is a TTRPG and not a war game! I am only interested in rolling stuff where the players are directly involved. The rest we handwave and describe narratively. In a large skirmish, the GM really needs to keep track of how the player characters are doing. If they are kicking butt, let there be a short pause (which expires their spirit magic) and then have another wave. Maybe a few Rune levels engage with them. Or have them targeted by missile weapons or spells. If they are on the ropes, let them be rescued by allies. Move away from the idea that this is a clockwork mechanism, and really think about pacing. 4. Battle. This is where the hand-waving really needs to take over. Focus on what the players are doing. Give them opportunities to play an important role in the battle - maybe they are able to attack the enemy banner man or even a commander. Let there be plenty of pauses where spirit magic, and in larger battles Rune magic, is going to expire. Battles are confusing places where the combatants rarely know what is going on overall - that's what their Battle Skill is for! But even in a skirmish or a battle, I handle the NPCs like I do in a loose skirmish. Stat up a few that you think are going to matter and track them. A battle is usually a session by itself - it should be a major event in a campaign, so if a game session looks like it is going to come to a battle, and you aren't ready as the GM, that's a good point to call it a night and you can prepare for the battle before the next game.

Maybe start here: This has already had over 2000 views, and I am always happy to record more material giving out specific advice or answering questions.

So although there is a GM book in the works to cover this (or the many posts on this on other social media, examples of play on YouTube, etc), you'd rather wait to have a second and larger Bestiary made? I for one don't think more species would help with that. A big book of encounters might be far more helpful, with a range of different types of encounters, from Rubble Runners to Rune Lord and Entourage.

I’m not sure how we got from asking why there aren’t more monsters in the Bestiary to here, but let’s go back to the original point of the thread. From my perspective there aren’t too few or too many critters in the bestiary. I am curious what value is gained by having more?

RuneQuest is not marketed as a generic fantasy roleplaying game system by us - RuneQuest is our game set in Glorantha. Basic Roleplaying, on the other hand, is precisely that. It is the engine that underlies RuneQuest, Call of Cthulhu, and Pendragon. And we are doing quite a bit more with Basic Roleplaying.

So far the Bestiary covers most of the non-human entities player characters are likely going to have meaningful interactions with if they are adventuring in Genertela (where probably 99% of all RQ campaigns take place). From my point of view, the main thing that it is missing are sea creatures (the only triolini presented are the ludoch) and creatures from beyond Genertela. Those will have to wait. Now there are few new monsters that appear in new books - Duckbears, various Beast Peoples, and so on. Maybe eventually they will get collected into a new edition of the Bestiary.

Monastery This complex of artificial caves dates to the Empire of the Wyrms Friends. It is believed that draconic mystics resided here. It is considered the “male” counterpart to the Nunnery because of the prominent male figures depicted in the stonework. In the Third Age, these caves often serve as shelters for herders or bandits. Nunnery This complex of artificial caves dates to the Empire of the Wyrms Friends. It is believed that draconic mystics resided here. It is considered the “female” counterpart to the Monastery because of the prominent female figures depicted in the stonework. It has been home to the Sisters of Mercy since the Second Age. It also serves as a minor temple to Chalana Arroy. Old Saint’s Road This route starts at the Monastery, winds through the hills to the Nunnery, and then through Battle Valley and on to Jarolar Keep. The remnants of this First or Second Age road can be seen in the hills, but little more than stones remain in Battle Valley. It gets its names from the broken statues of long-forgotten holy people that litter the route between the Nunnery and the Monastery. The Red Vireo Clan of the Culbrea Tribe herds their cattle and sheep in the hills east of the road.

Love it! For me the Arkat story winds through Glorantha. It is a funhouse mirror show where certainties fail once you move further, and truth requires great sacrifices to find. It is a cautionary tale about the dangers inherent in spiritual exploration, and the abuses that so-often accompany the "enlightened". And we should not forget that in the end, Arkat finds peace and balance - but we need to remain with him for the entirety of the ride.

Yeah, Storm Bull, Babeester Gor, Trickster, and Humakt are all roles where the otherwise socially unacceptable can find a useful and accepted place in Orlanthi society. CA and Uleria are roles where those who might otherwise not be able to survive in Orlanthi society can find a place where they are revered and supported.

Every hero at a certain point likely gets tied into the Arkat story. Everyone has stories of him. He's acknowledged, feared, and admired - even by those he betrayed. But few devote themselves to him outside of Ralios and the trolls of Guhan.

Argrath is Arkat. I mean that literally. Greg had a character named Argrat in his old stories, who fought a great war against Gbaji that shook Glorantha to its foundations and changed the world. That character became Argrath in White Bear and Red Moon. A few years later, he recycled an edited version of the Argrat stories for Cults of Terror, where he became Arkat. Argrath is not a member of the Arkat cult - he is the same hero. Mularik is not an Orlanthi. He's a Stygian heretic from a long line of Arkat cultists and a Wolf Pirate. He becomes Argrath's teacher on the three-year circumnavigation of the Homeward Ocean and one of his early boon companions. He knows his stuff. Ethilrist is not Arkati.

And now give those "death squads" over a dozen centuries of having a socio-religious role where they have repeatedly proven their value over and over again. The Storm Bull cultists are mad and dangerous, but they are holy when it comes to fighting Chaos. As Scott points out they are basically a mirror-image of Chalana Arroy in Orlanthi society. Besides, the Storm Bull cultists are murderous without needing the justification of fighting Chaos - if they want to do an unjustified killing, they are known to just do it. Everyone knows the Storm Bull cultists are dangerous, mad, and violent - they are tolerated because they fight Chaos without compromise.

Also remember that after the Gbaji Wars, Arkat gave rule of Dragon Pass and Peloria to his friends - the trolls. He then settled in Fornoar, at the time part of Ralios. There he remained, surrounded by his companions, his wives, and his beloved children - the trolls. He gave nearby Guhan to his First Hundred as a stronghold. Arkat was no longer trollish, but he was feared and his shadow darkened the lands. For seventy-five years he remained in Ralios, and a curious empire formed around him. He taught those that came to sit around him, and enforced a strict moral code for his followers. As the trolls say, once Arkat became a troll there was no perfidy or betrayal in him. His true self brought the balance of living peace.

In general the Orlanthi give the Storm Bulls great leeway because they have proven their capacity regarding fighting Chaos both mythologically and historically. (Zorak Zoran gets similar leeway in troll society.) The Orlanthi all acknowledge that Arkat was powerful and that he destroyed Gbaji. But unlike Storm Bull, he is treacherous. Arkat betrayed the Orlanthi to the trolls. When victorious over Gbaji, he turned over rule of Dragon Pass not to the Heortling kings but to the trolls.

It is perhaps worth pointing out that the Arkat cult largely has to exist as a secret society in most human societies. Arkat is acknowledged by the Orlanth as the King of Battles (among other things), and as the most powerful hero of all time. But he betrayed humanity to the trolls, embraced Zorak Zoran, and so on.

Several thoughts: 1. There are those who say in the end Arkat became a monster to destroy Gbaji. Some say that means he became a Mistress Race Troll who joined the cult of Zorak Zoran (which is generally known to be true), others claim that means he became a Chaos monster (which is generally claimed to be false). What is certain is that Arkat emerged from Dorastor and established a peaceful empire in Ralios. 2. The Orlanthi trust the Storm Bull cultists as the experts on sniffing out Chaos. That being said, something obviously Chaotic is treated as Chaotic. Even if the Storm Bulls are confused that it doesn't seem Chaotic. Everyone knows that Gbaji is the deceiver, after all. 3. The human Arkat cult has ways of sniffing out Illuminates, and unless those Illuminates are Arkati, the Arkati usually try to kill them if possible.

Unlikely.

Not all deities have power to lend, even to their initiates.

Yes. In fact shamanism is the main source of magic for broo - both Thed and Mallia have shaman-priests.

Here's the original royal genealogy that Greg and I put together.

Re potato, I suggest you check the Guide to Glorantha. I think you will find that we do not have potatoes. YGWV, but in Chaosium publications that is something that gets cut out in editing.

Correct. Heler is worshiped by most Orlanth cultists as Rain, the loyal follower ever at Orlanth Thunderous' beck and call. That's pretty much all he is - the source of the Rain spell. However, even they know him as a once-mighty Water god, brother to Magasta, Triolina, and Nelat. As an independent god, Heler is the father of King Undine, source of water elementals and nymphs, and an ancestor of the triolini. As Lorion, he is the Celestial River, the source of the water that falls from the sky. These connections can only be explored by Heler's dedicated worshipers. This is a very small cult in Dragon Pass, but it does exist.

In my experience they did little except to create over-specialised classes and were a barrier for many players and GMs.