pachristian

Oi! The second rule of being a GM: Never ask your players to attempt a roll that you’re not willing to have them fail!

Two players works great. Just remember to never make an adventure hinge on a skill that neither of them possesses.

Runequest Classic and Runequest Glorantha use the same core mechanics. I recommend that you base the difference on your players. The key difference is that Runequest Classic was done with the philosophy of "sit down, roll up a character, play". Character background, relations, and complications are kept to a minimum. The whole rulebook is only 120 pages. RQ Classic is showcased by the Pavis campaigns: You have a giant dungeon (called the Big Rubble), and a city outside it. Adventurers go from the city into the rubble as their day job, looking to loot ancient treasures from the monster-infested ruin. This is normal gaming from the 1970's. By itself, Runequest Classic will not get you into Glorantha. For that, you need, at least, Cults of Prax (Chaosium, 1978). This was the book that introduced most of us to the wonders of Glorantha. You see, while Runequest gave a hint of how to bring magic into play, Cults of Prax gave you something you could actually use in play. Runequest Glorantha is another kettle of fish. Depending on your point of view, it either "engages you deeply in the mythical world of Glorantha", or "crams Glorantha down your throat until you choke". Characters start by generating their homeland and ancestry, and build their character in relation to their background, passions, astrology (runes), and you create the whole complex edifice of your character's social role. The rules are not much more complex than in RQ Classic, and they offer more variety in play. But they are served atop a very thick slice of Glorantha, with a side order of "this is how you are meant to play your character". If your players are the kind of players who just want to hit monsters, take their treasure, and brag about how awesome they are, then RQ Glorantha is probably not going to appeal to them. Now, despite this, I recommend RQ Glorantha, with two caveats: (1) If you are an experienced GM, and know how to edit material so your players are not overwhelmed, then RQ Glorantha will give you a better game: It's easier to sideline rules until you need them than to add to the rules. (2) If your players are the kind of gamers who are willing to put a little extra effort in to get a more rounded storytelling experience.

"We Don't Need Another Hero", Tina Turner, 1985 "Cinderella", Cheetah Girls, 2003 I can slay my own dragons I can dream my own dreams My knight in shining armor is me

They are in my game.

It's funny... Dozens of original, clever, involved, campaign ideas. And the one that my players like best is still: "You have come to Pavis, to raid the big rubble and find gold and glory!"

Saw it. Bought it. Reading now. Thank you for producing these books, they're a priceless resource.

On a completely unrelated note, I also have the sacred brew of the Morning Star is (guess!), and her priestess in Pavis has a male deer as an allied spirit.. She brews potions of wakefulness, among others.

I use some home-brew rules. But the short answer is that when you wander into a temple other than your own, the priests of the temple will demand all kinds of proof before they will let you worship in the inner sanctum and regain rune magic. They'll let you worship, they'll certainly take your donations. But they don't know you, and the world is full of tricksters, and lunar spies, and generally evil people who are OINO (Orlanthi In Name Only). As a result, the players-characters have to network; A letter of introduction from their clan-chief, to the clan-chief of the region they are traveling through; or other proof of goodwill. If they're traveling far, they may need one from their tribal king. The presence of an Issaries merchant or herald does wonders for a group that wants to travel far. They player-characters are aware that even among nominal allies they are on their land, using their resources, and they may not be welcome. In practical game terms, it gives me an opportunity to give the players side quests, and reinforces non-combat skills and encounters.

I'm looking at g33k's posting and strongly agree with several points: solid positive personal link, no "lone wolfs", no intra-party backstabbing (luckily that has not been a problem). I like the idea of the "common goal" as well. A previous game I started, I had the following: a PC who created a detailed backstory, with supporting NPC's and home town and everything - and then doesn't want it to be mentioned or included in any of the adventures. Another PC created a backstory, but then promptly ignored everything about it. A third player refused to create any sort of backstory because "that would limit his character". And of course, one player had a "great idea for a character" that had nothing to do with the game, and then that player tried to force-feed their 'great idea" into Glorantha and Pavis - where it didn't fit, and then they got upset, because I wasn't giving them a chance to do what they wanted to do. So basically, half the players exerted their egos and did the "you have to GM whatever I want, but I don't have to play within your setting the way you want" thing. One of those players is now out of the game, and another has started incorporating backstory into their play. The saddest part is that the information below was part of the GM's handout to the players at the start of the game: Glorantha is Glorantha. This game is set in a world that is at least 90% canon Glorantha. This means the world has a history, cultures, customs, and mythologies. While you are welcome to advance your own ideas, ultimately, they must fit within the framework provided. A tie-in to this is that Glorantha is a world where people make their home, murderhoboes – the homeless killers that make up the bulk of adventurers in most games – are not particularly welcome in Glorantha. People are expected to have familes, clans, and social ties. The Game is set in Pavis. This game is built around rubble adventuring in and around the city of Pavis, in the years of the lunar occupation. Build a character who is appropriate for that setting and type of adventure. There’s no point in creating the long-lost heir to Maniria, as the focus of the game will never be in Maniria, and your plot concept will be wasted. Proactive players. As a GM I prefer players who have ambitions, plans, and ideas of things they want to achieve and do. But please keep point 1 and 2 in mind when you’re coming up with your character concept: I’m not changing the world or the game setting for one player.

I think a lot of prayer in Glorantha is part of everyday life. I go to the market to buy food, and as I enter the market I tip Issaries (i.e. toss a clack in the market-bowl) and say "Issaries aid my wits and my words to bargain well". On the way home I see clouds building and pray "Blessed Helar, gift my crops - but could you wait a half an hour, please?" As I understand it, the Orlanthi in particular see the gods as participating in everyday life; so the work-song the smith humms is also a hymn to Gustbran - although we might not see it as such. An example of this is the Hymn to Ninkasa (https://www.ancient.eu/article/222/the-hymn-to-ninkasi-goddess-of-beer/), which then turned out to be a practical beer recipe (https://www.realmofhistory.com/2017/09/22/oldest-beer-recipe-mesopotamia-ninkasi/).

This is by far the most important point. Trying to cram Glorantha down a bunch of player's throats will only drive them away. My game is based in Pavis. Pavis was created as a giant dungeon with a city outside, and dungeon adventuring is a career. Little by little the players get used to Pavis, and start to care about the city, the people, and their own social and political position. Let that happen naturally. If you need resources, get yourself a copy of Moon Design Publication Pavis and the Big Rubble. (or Pavis: Gateway to Adventure). Rubble-running in Pavis will give your players a comfort zone of dungeon crawls, while allowing you to introduce them to Glorantha gently, and naturally.

Nobody who admits to it.

I play it as a hardliners-vs-moderates approach. The two High Priests each have their adherents and fans, and both of them are sincere in their worship of Orlanth, and their interpretation of the best way to protect the people of Pavis under Orlanth's law. The Orlanthi of region squabble among themselves over which is "right". This squabbling is encouraged by the Empire, as it keeps those "Violence is always an option" folks aimed at each other, and not at imperial citizens.As you can tell, my game is pre-Argrath.

It looks to me like you've thought this out well. This should work; but I admit I have very limited experience with RQG.

I have a player who's cult is built on a very similar concept to this.

I use it as a Roll20 handout

The heading font is "Crom", not "From" created by Russ Herschler, and is still available on "www.dafont.com"

I like the realpolitik and moral ambiguity of the setting: Trolls hate chaos, but tolerate cave trolls. Praxians hate chaos, but recruit Broo as mercenaries. Sartarites hate chaos, but the "Werewolf Guard" protects the king.

My players were on a logging expedition in the Eastern Rockwoods, between the Boathouse and the Throne. Having already negotiated with the Aldryami, they were allowed to cut a certain number of trees to float down the River of Cradles, and sell in Pavis. During the expedition, they were approached by a a couple of giants, and by trolls. One of the party is an Issaries merchant, and a brilliant negotiator. As part of the negotiations, he's arranged to return the following summer with a trading expedition, to trade with the giants, and with the trolls who live at the eastern end of Dagori Ingarth (two of the parties are troll-friends, from previous adventures). I have four questions: What would the trolls want to buy off of humans? (first thing I have on the list is humans, the younger the better) What would the trolls offer for sale that might sell in Pavis? What would the giants want to buy off of humans? What would giants offer for sale that might sell in Pavis? Gonn Orta and his trading post have nothing to do with this expedition, and are a long ways away from it. Any ideas out there?

Sure. Here's an .rtf version of the same document. The heading font is "From" created by Russ Herschler, and available on "www.dafont.com". Combat Special Effects Table.rtf

I supposed I should wander over the the Design Mechanism site, and put it up there, too. My game's a strict swords-and-sandles, so no reason to put in firearms - besides - there isn't any room left!

Combat Special Effects Table.pdf The main thing for speeding up combat is player familiarity. Encourage your players to read the rules, and pay attention to what's going on. Use miniatures or tokens to avoid long arguments discussions about "where did my character actually move". I use this (attached) sheet in Roll20 for my players; it's a one-page reference for combat special effects. Having them all on one side of one page speeds things up for the players. Advance preparation speeds up combat: Have a method of tracking actions per round, either a turns sheet where you check off actions and combat turns, or some other tool. On the tabletop, my players use tokens to count their remaining actions and luck points. Use those fatigue rules!

Barbecue sauce

Also: Genertela is actually post-holocaust North America. All that business about it being a flat world is just "we present it this way in publications because that's what your characters believe".