Paid a bod yn dwp

Thanks Chaosium! Amazing to have these back in print, and at a sensible price too. These are going to be played with the new RQG edition for sure, I've put my order in!...Just one thing, could we please have alternative family histories for the classic timeline? Guess that would be a substantial bit of writing for the different cultures in Dragon Pass and Prax, but surely worth it to support this new/old surge of classic material for RQG in POD?

For what it’s worth I prefer the previous one. It has more character. New one is fine and very clear, but not as dynamic. Neither of them are bad choices though.

Yep would be good to see this made available again. River of Cradles had a great cover that set ancient world expectations for adventures in Prax And Glorantha, be good to see that used with any reprint of the adventure...and a chance to put a proper description of mud sharks in 😉

Nice to see these coming back to print. Will there be hardback versions available? What about handouts and maps, will those be included?

Thanks Jeff, that’s really clear. I’m keen to see how you conceptualise the look of the people and architecture of the West in future RQG books. Don’t suppose there are any concept sketches available to see?

This is true. I may be having a waking RuneQuest geek dream. But I do like the POD idea

If it isn’t possible/feasible to do a reprint with dual stats then this would be a really useful alternative. I would happily pay for a nicely done POD book....would obviously need to do the RQ3 Gloranthan adventures as well Having said that I think Goodman Games has shown there’s a healthy market for a product that stays faithful to the original print whilst at the same time bridging the gap with the current edition. Conversion wise I guess it’s not too much of a difference between RQG and RQ2, but it’d still be handy to have a well conceived conversion at the ready. Likewise I think it’d be great to have access to RQG character generation backgrounds for the earlier timeline of RuneQuest classic. The less barriers to play the classic adventures the better.

Goodman Games have made a successful line with their classic reprints of D&D modules. They include reproductions of the original adventures plus a conversion to the latest edition of D&D. Would love to see something similar implemented for the RuneQuest classic series. Be great to have the Classic adventures updated to RQG in a nice hard back format complete with the original reprint.

Jeff, Could you give a quick snap shot of western culture in Glorantha? Since RQ3 Boxed Glorantha set I’ve found it difficult to visualise the culture in terms of an ancient bronze age world. I presume it’s not a medieval world of knights in shinning armour as was hinted at in the RQ3 boxed Glorantha set? How similar or different are they from the look of the Sartarites we’ve seen so well conceptualised in RQG? Are there any real earth analogies that can help explain their look?

Crush damage is quite significant. There’s a little ambiguity over the critical result in the core rules, but it’s been clarified here as being: Full Weapon damage + full damage bonus + full damage bonus, ignoring armour. That said it is very damage bonus dependant. With subdue and crush weapons, I might be inclined to just add +5% or plus 10% to the resistance roll to give a little bonus for subduing. That subduing roll could be applied to other body parts too for dead leg and winded effects. However the standard rules for damage to hit locations already includes incapacitation to hit locations so may be a bit of unnecessary cross over there.

Hi Jeff, Curious about the depiction of Miskanders Tower in Pegasus Plateau. It looks very much like something from a medieval keep, and not in keeping with what we've seen of dragon Pass culture so far. I'm guessing this is intentional. Culturally how does the style of Miskander's Tower fit into Glorantha? Is this a representation of architecture from the west? If so how would you describe the look of the west?

This is part of the point. The myth also very likely has a historical basis in a reality, without which there wouldn’t be the later medieval writings. It’s not Middle Earth. It comes from Brythonic Briton, and the struggle against the Anglo Saxon invaders. We can all play the game how we want to, and I’m not trying force everyone into playing an historically correct dark age Briton game. But I am proposing that there is a degree of sensitivity given to the historical origins of the subject through giving options in the new edition to use the old Welsh/Brythoinc names. This could be notes in the back of the book. Love to see two versions of the map of Prydain for instance. One with the familiar Pendragon naming conventions, and the other a truer representation of the Cymric. To not do anything to acknowledge the Welsh/Brythoinc origins of the myths and the significance of the language in the story would be amiss in these enlightened times. Particularly when you have the living breathing descendant language of Arthur to enrich your game.

Yes. The thing is Arthur & the myth still resonates today, certainly for people in Wales, Cornwall, Scotland and Brittany. In some very real ways the Arthurian struggle still continues. The Welsh language is a signifier of this struggle to have the right to retain a cultural identity and way of life. The struggle didn’t end at the end of the dark ages. It’s the hear & now. It’s not just a fanciful Norman story of knights In shinning armour doing deeds of great valour. It’s represents a continuing story to people from those countries. Cofiwch Dryweryn

Really? I mean it's not like Cymric naming conventions come up in many other RPGs. All place names tend to get shifted for langage anyway. Most English speaking places use Rome, not Roma, and so on. It's not like you could use older names with your players, assuming you knew them. Yes really. If you’re brought up in Cymru/Wales, and use or are familar with the language and it’s history, your perspective on these things is understandably different. At its heart the myth and subject of Arthur is Brythonic. One of the interesting things about the Welsh (and Cornish and Breton) language is that it’s hasn’t changed as much as other languages such as English over the centuries. It’s a living language of the here and now, but also a window onto Britain’s past. Place names come alive and take on different meanings, it opens old Brythonic Britain to modern eyes. Shame not to use that in a game like Pendragon. To be clear I’m not proposing a whole sale name change to Brythonic/Welsh as I realise that the majority may find that an obstacle to play. Instead I propose optional names perhaps in parenthesis next to the Anglicised names, or as reference at the back of the book. That way it does a bit more justice to the subject. It opens peoples eyes to Brythonic culture but also keeps gamers happy who prefer to carry on with the Anglicised names they’re familiar with. There’s definitely a middle ground to be found. I think to do nothing would be a real shame.

Appreciate that the majority of Pendragon players could find a change to Welsh/Brythonic too disruptive, but I think Chaosium have a golden opportunity to do the setting and game justice. From a Welsh speakers point of view, it’s equally jarring to see a subject matter like Arthur treated with what comes across as cultural ignorance. Wales and the language has often been a cultural black spot for others. Be nice to see Chaosium addressing that in some way. I think a bilingual approach could build a bridge, and help introduce those with little or no knowledge of modern (and old Welsh), and the closely related Cornish and Breton languages. I think a bilingual map ( or extra alternative Brythonic map) , and alternative characters names as an *option* where appropriate, would be a nice gesture and recognition of the stories cultural origins. That way it would it would allow those who wish to use the anglicised names to continue, but also say actually there’s important cultural distinction here - Here’s a more authentic view of how the Britons would have envisioned things through their own language. Welsh is a living language, shame not to utilise it for a game like Pendragon. Kind of misses the point IMO.

@Jeff Caught the tail end of the Chaosium discussion on twitch last night. Really interesting, I shall catch up with the rest on YouTube. Jeff talking about Pendragon & a possible new edition got me interested. I’ve never played Pendragon but by all accounts it’s a great game. It got me thinking why I haven’t made the jump. As a Welsh speaker (it’s my families first language), the Anglicisation of the place names is a real off putter. It seems ironic from a cultural point of view that the language that is used to imagine Brythonic Briton is that of the decedent of the invading Anglo Saxons. Aware that this game has a history, and a basis in Malory’s writing, but considering Chaosiums sensitivity to mythic,cultural/linguistic differences, it’d be really nice to see this recognised somehow in a future editions of Pendragon , perhaps the use of bilingual place names/characters names, alternative maps, etc? Diolch

@Jeff any thoughts on this? Hoping that the so far excellent ancient Bronze Age depiction of Glorantha in RQG isn't about to slip back to RQ3 pre renaissance standards, with ducks in full medieval plate armour to “save the hamlet from scurrilous scoundrels”? I’m sure it’s not, but I’m just aware of the fine line that keeps continuity in a Bronze Age setting like Glorantha. Feels like it’s slipped a bit with that illustration.

I know “Your Glorantha may vary” , but I’m getting a distinctive medieval Norman keep vibe from the illustration of Miskanders Tower. I only bring It up because the art direction for RQG has so far been brilliant at getting that ancient bronze age vibe. Is it just me or does that illustration feel more like something you’d see in a medieval keep?

Art for the RuneQuest Starter set? I like it

I've never used extras like spell cards in game, but looking at the D&D 5e merchandise it struck me that something similar for RunQuest could be helpful. I think the spells are the most fiddly part to RQG characters and NPC's, something like this could make it less intimidating to new players, and the game run more smoothly at the table.

Occurred to me that the “other“ game has spell cards decks to aid playing at the table. Think that could be helpful for RQG too?

Have to say I’ve been bowled over by the interpretation of the Orlanthi in RQG. Its everything I hoped they were. Boldhome is draw dropping as are the other Orlanthi settlements. There’s a strong culture identity which feels in line with the vibe of RQ2. Just what was needed.

Lovely to see how far we’ve come with the new RuneQuest Glorantha depictions of Sartarites. Some excellent maps and representations of Orlanthi Steads.

This looks brilliant.

Thanks - Has the name pharaoh been completely replaced with God-king In the Holy Country, or is it still used in game?