Christoph Kohring

For those who didn't see the beginning of the discussion, here it is!

This is my last order from Chaosium. The Red Cow volume II was out now so that I redeemed my coupons for the PDF of both volumes & got both hardcopies tpgether. It was also a good time to buy the slipcase for TGtG to put my Moon Design Publications books in a Chaosium "box". CoC for noobs à la Dr. Seuss sounded fun, so what the heck I took it. And I also bought a copy of the Crucible Seven second printing of HQ:CR even though I already own a copy of the first edition first printing. Why you might ask? Because it is such a bloody good book & it is a bloody shame that it is going out of print without ever getting any errata as well as any revised printing & I "needed" a spare!

"Orlanthi All" wazzat? Sure ain't canon (anymore)... Besides, we're talking Humakt here who isn't exclusively "Orlanthi" & for whom things are definite, precise & clear-cut (pun intended). 😎 Kidding aside, as we all (sic) know, what this shows is a bit sad. It's summer 2018 & there still isn't any errata for either S:KoH (2009) or HQ:G (2015) & the Humakti Swordfighting ability is just one example among others. Hell, HQ:CR (2009) -that oh so tight, crisp & lovely document- is going out-of-print just as we are talking & never got any errata or revised printing. Erratas & typo fixing are part of quality control, customer care & plain good manners (!?) but have never been a forte of Moon Design Publications to say the least. Let's cross fingers (a Humakti gesture?!?) things might improve with nuChaosium... (By the way, "one in seven" ? Isn't that a bloody Lunar thing?!!)

... but of course, because "[all] Humakti have the Specific ability of Sword Fighting at least at the same rating as their Death Rune [...]" (S:KoH p. 170 & HQ:G p. 165) she's got Swordfighting 6W, now doesn't she? The only question is if she gets it for "free" !

Hey, it's your book! Stasis is out for religious reasons. Movement would be lame. Disorder, Illusion & Truth don't fit. Death would be ironic & Life a bit too much, so yes that leaves Harmony as a Power Rune. Maybe it's Broddi who should have Life instead of Harmony?!?

Very! After all, it is not as if Sartar were devoid of vegetation now, right?!! (Sorry, I couldn't resist... ) To come back to your character, as Ian said, according to the published cults that we have as of right now, he could become an initiate of Argan Argar & with some nifty Breakout Ability from the Plant Rune & maybe also from the Life Rune would be all set for a life of unorthodoxy.

Considering that Red Cow's Broddi Strong-Kin already has Air/ Harmony/ Mastery, why not make war clan Gwandor/ Jotoring/ Two-Pines chief Kulbrast Offirson Air/ Life/ Mastery instead?!?

RQ6.5, between RQ6 & RQVII?!! ?

Lack of money?!? Lack of time (CoC7 QS, RQII, RQVII, etc... )?!? Lack of interest (in HQ... cos' RQVII, D&D:G [aka 13thAiG], CoC, KoK, etc... )?!? The recycled artwork from Moon Design/ HeroQuest publications is indeed disappointing, but the life of a Glorantha fan has been filled with so many disappointments already that who really cares, right?!! ?

$50.

´Cause... White Bear & Red Moon!

You've been errated! ?

Yep, same to me! • Varnaval the Shepherd King: Beast (Sheep) instead of Air. • Siwend the Hunter: Man... OK, but why? • Korolful the Keen: Sky/ Fire instead of Fate (even though Fate is a Rune of Rigsdal!?!). • Baroshi the Avenger: Earth... for the son of Varalz, a Storm god?!? • Saren, Elmal’s Charioteer: Movement instead of Sky/ Fire as @Mark Mohrfield said above. • Oonil the Skillful, Harmony... check!?! • Tanian the Fiery Waters: Water _and_ Fire instead of Dragonewt Baroshi was never worshipped whereas (some of) the others may well have been, so how come he was included?

She plays HQ:G if she knows what is good for her. ?

RQ is incomparable! It is incomparably better than D&D, Chivalry & Sorcery, Rolemaster, etc... for instance. What HQ & RQ have in common are: no classes, no levels, no alignments, no armor class, no increasing hit points, no XPs, skills/ abilities, religion/ cults that make sense, etc... In fact, one of the few things that RQ & D&D have in common is characterics but not much more (equipment, weapons & armor lists?!?). Besides, everybody in this community (except for Rob Heinsoo, Jonathan Tweet & Newt Newport) knows that D&D is badwrongfun, no?!! ?

What do you have against trolls, @Steve?!! We are all Uz, after all!?! ? (Sorry, couldn't resist! ? )

Yes, definitely! The cults described in HQ:G are all the short version of cults fully described in S:KoH (Orlanth, Ernalda, Humakt, Issaries, Lankhor Mhy) & P:GtA (The Seven Mothers). The Red Cow campaign takes place among one clan of the Cinsina tribe of the Jonstown Confederation in the Kingdom of Sartar... which kingdom is more fully detailed in S:KoH & SC! In addition, the cults of Chalana Arroy, Elmal, Urox the Storm Bull & Yinkin are only available in S:KoH whereas the cults of Argan Argan, Babeester Gor, Eurmal, Heler, Kolat & Odayla are only to be found in SC. P:GtA also includes Pavis, Flintnail, Yelmalio, Lanbril, Zola Fel. The first two are mostly unknown in Sartar, which is not the case of the next two... The cult of the River of Cradles -Zola Fel- is, of course, unknown in Sartar but it gives a good idea of what the description of another river cult like Engizi, worshipped by many in the Red Cow along the Creek, might look like. Jonstown, its library & Mynarith Purple are described in SC & used in TEL. The Orlmarth clan & the Cinder Pits are described in S:KoH & used in TEL. So are Runegate, the trolls & the Sazdorf clan described in SC. The dragonewts of Dragon's Eye & the Dragonewt Wilds are, if not next door neighbours to the Cinsina, close by & a dragonewt road goes through tribal land. They are described in SC. The Crimson Bat Comes to Sartar in SC... & to the Red Cow in TEL! Boldhome described in S:KoH is... but need I say more?!! Basically, to play the Red Cow campaign you not only need TCS, TEL & HQ:G, but also S:KoH as well as SC & it is good to have P:GTA, HQ:CR, KoS, TBoHM & TGtG. As is written in The Coming Storm on page 5: "THIS IS NOT A STAND-ALONE GAME! The Coming Storm is not a stand-alone game. It is a supplement for Moon Design’s Sartar: Kingdom of Heroes, a game set in the high fantasy world of Glorantha. This supplement does not describe the game’s various core traits, present its rules for combat or provide a complete setting. These can be found in [...] HeroQuest[:] Glorantha, Sartar: Kingdom of Heroes and the Sartar Companion. The Coming Storm gives in-depth information about the Red Cow clan, part of the Cinsina tribe of the Kingdom of Sartar and their struggle against the Lunar Empire. You’ll need to consult HeroQuest[:] Glorantha and Sartar: Kingdom of Heroes in order to play. Much essential information about Orlanthi lifestyle and history is given in Sartar: Kingdom of Heroes. The Sartar Companion is particularly useful, as it includes a description of Jonstown, a city in Cinsina lands, and two scenarios: The Crimson Bat Comes to Sartar and The Gifts of Stone which can form part of this campaign. You may also find other products such as Pavis: Gateway to Adventure, The Book of Heortling Mythology and The Guide to Glorantha useful although they are not needed to play The Coming Storm." Page 6: "THE COMING STORM AND OTHER PUBLISHED SARTARITE CAMPAIGNS The Colymar Campaign begun in the Sartar: Kingdom of Heroes book and continued in the Sartar Companion follows the epic of the Argrath and offers the PCs the chance to be the movers and shakers of the Hero Wars. The Coming Storm by contrast deals with the fate of ordinary people in a world on the brink of a terrible conflict. The two thus provide alternate modes of play for a HeroQuest[:] Glorantha game. The Coming Storm covers a period that includes some of the great events of the Hero Wars such as the siege of Whitewall. However, for this campaign they occur ‘off stage.’ Other Moon Designs products will cover these events, and you can certainly dovetail them into The Coming Storm if you wish. You can use background and ideas from one campaign in the other. Characters from the Colymar Campaign may find themselves visiting the Red Cow or other Cinsina clans. If they are exiled, they may be able to serve their exile with Queen Ivartha. Characters from The Coming Storm may well travel to the Earth temples at Greenstone or Clearwine. Many of the places encountered in the Sartar Companion appear in The Coming Storm. The PCs will certainly want to travel to Jonstown during the campaign, located as it is in the heart of the Cinsina lands. Many of the scenarios within that book could be easily located in Cinsina lands. For example, The Gifts of Stone takes place within the area covered by this work. The Lunar Road to Pavis passes through the campaign area and that city can be an ideal detour or place of refuge for exiled PCs."

Mmmh, let's see... I would have written the choices this way: • Hero Wars: Roleplaying in Glorantha (2000) • HeroQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha (2003) • HeroQuest: Core Rules (2009) • HeroQuest: Glorantha (2015) • A hybrid i.e. HeroQuest: Glorantha but with fixed ratings from HeroQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha But, hey! that's just me... To answer your question, I shall be happy to use HQ2.1 (HQ:CR -with the promised modifications from HQ:G published on the website- as well as HQ:G itself) once it has been properly... errated! For me both fixed ratings, edges, APs & all the rest are dead & buried with HQ1 (i.e. both HW:RiG & HQ:RiG). I agree with Christian Braun who wrote elsewhere that: "HeroQuest [2] is the RPG I always dreamt of. It's simple, yet lets you do everything you ever wanted to do. It's not a game for rule freaks, it's a game for people who like a game that supports your imagination."

As @Mark Mohrfield elsewhere once wrote: "The Curse of Glorantha is that it simultaneously has the reputation of being too serious ("You need a degree in anthropology to play") and too silly ("It's got Ducks!")." For me it is a blessing! And ducks. Of course...

The PDF is coming out this week, says Ian here:

The RQ:RiG QuickStart is out now, so the errata discussion should resume here in the open, I presume.

Mmmh... as HeroQuest: Core Rules is not out of print yet, there is not need for a reprint, right?!! HQ:CR is magnificent even though it is a bit like RQIII: devoid of any Glorantha reference until the very end (Book 5 in RQIII & the last chapter in HQ:CR).

Magatheus the Sinister Sorcerer already has the Flaw Outlawed by the Lunar College of Magic at 6W (cf. HQ:G p. 55) whereas Vargast the Thunderer has Hunted by the Lunar Empire 12W as a flaw (HQ:G p. 53). (Karganvale may very well not be technically outlawed: she just followed her boss & kinsman Vargast in exile... ) Slightly corrected: THE PROUD THANE Hero Name: Vargast the Thunderer Community: Outlaw from the Orlmarth clan 13 THE VENGEFUL MERCENARY Hero Name: Karganvale Community: Exile from the Orlmarth clan 13 THE SINISTER SORCERER Hero Name: Magatheus Community: Retainer to House Delaeos (originally from Furthest in Tarsh) 13 Flaw: Outlawed by the Lunar College of Magic 6W What is funny is that -except for Samastina- Vargast, Karganvale, Herrox, Orensulva & Magatheus should in fact all have: Community: Retainer to House Delaeos 13 Glorantha Wiki got it right!

I didn't like Cultural Keywords both in HW:RiG as well as in HQ:RiG & was overjoyed when they were replaced by just Community Keywords in S:KoH & P:GtA. After all, if you are a member of the Orlmarth clan then you also belong to the Colymar tribe as well as the Sartar Kingdom, you are from Dragon Pass in Genertela & you are a Heortling Wareran human. Thus a Community Keywords includes cultural "trappings" very neatly & elegantly as well. Are there exceptions to the previous? Yes, but they are very few & in between. An Orlmarthing huscarl could of course come from Esrolia, the Tarsh Exiles or Prax, for example or be a Duck, a Minotaur or a Dragonewt. Besides, who ever increased his Heortling Cultural Keyword?!? Whereas it makes perfect sense to increase one's Community Keyword to improve, say, one's standing in the community... Let's see how would it work for the sample characters from The Coming Storm: The Red Cow Volume I who are, after all, all members of the Red Cow clan: THE VENGEFUL HUNTER Hero Name: Olend Many-Moods Community: Red Cow Clan 13 Hate Dinacoli +1 THE RATTLE-BORN WARRIOR Hero Name: Londrol Spear-Rattler Community: Red Cow Clan 13 Hate Dinacoli +1 Housecarl to Kangharl Black-Brow +1 Member of the Tormakting Bloodline +1 THE FEARLESS HEALER Hero Name: Maklami Friend of Heroes Community: Red Cow Clan 20 Adopted Daughter of Broddi Strong-Kin +1 Fine jewelry, clothes, and cosmetics +1 Follower of Enastara the Red +1 THE HONORABLE THANE Hero Name: Rastalulf the Tall Community: Red Cow Clan 13 Rival to Kangharl Black-Brow +1 Loyalty to Enerin Bristle-Beard +1 THE LAUGHING MERCENARY Hero Name: Barbessa Laugh-Much Community: Red Cow Clan 13 Follower of Orstalor Spearlord +1 Follower of Borngold Many-Brothers +1 THE HARD-BITTEN CATTLE RAIDER Hero Name: Koschei the Weary Community: Red Cow Clan 13 Sworn Man to Kangharl Black-Brow +1 Member of the Tormakting bloodline +1 And how does it work for the sample characters in HQ:G? Here we go: THE AMBITIOUS NOBLE Hero Name: Samastina Delaeos Community: Member of House Delaeos 13 THE PROUD THANE Hero Name: Vargast the Thunderer Community: Exile from the Orlmarth clan 13 THE VENGEFUL MERCENARY Hero Name: Karganvale Community: Exile from the Orlmarth clan 13 THE ENERGETIC PRAXIAN SPIRIT-TALKER Hero Name: Herrox Community: Member of the Blue Llama clan 13 THE CURIOUS SCRIBE Hero Name: Orensulva Community: Member of Nochet Temple of Knowledge 13 THE SINISTER SORCERER Hero Name: Magatheus Community: Outlaw from Lunar College of Magic retainer to House Delaeos 13

Everything is a keyword except for breakout abilities. Elegant... why not? Makes sense indeed!?!