Psullie

these ships ranged in size from 15 - 40 meters long and 3 - 7 m wide. They would have had a crew of 12 - 20 

speed was dependant on the wind, but 5-6 knots would be fair, they could not sail close to the wind so actual time to get form a - b would vary dramatically 

as for cargo you could use the a simple (but inaccurate) Builders Measure of Tonnage = Length * Beam * Depth / 100 so a 40m (130') * 7m (23') * 5m (16') = 47,840/100 = 478.4 tonnes 

this image give a bit more detail...

I'm not sure Dormal brought any technological advancements, he is the Sailor not the Shipbuilder. I assumed that Dormal found a ritual loophole that enabled him to sidestep the Closing. The reappearance of the Boat Planet ultimately lifted the curse. 

As there is a large Holy Country trade enclave in Dosakayo on Melib Island there would be frequent sea voyages and as that journey is 700 miles or so some captains may stop off at Corflu. 

As Joerg points out it would more than likely be a grain ship: link and link. Galleys are expensive and don't do well in open seas so these would reserved for VIP's 

I don't have the book but from what I understand the initial focus is on central Genertela, other regions may be detailed in future publications all going well. 

Always a good idea to give player characters common ground, more so in RQ:G where diversity can easily lead to disruptive play, this after all is a recurring theme in the mythology, 

For me all the great games were the ones where the rules encouraged play that reflected it's own universe. Call of Cthulhu for instance, while BRP at it's core and just enough nuace to make it work. WEG's Star Wars, R Talsorian's Castle Falkenstien and GDW's Traveller were in my opinion all landmark games for the mechanics capturing the spirit. 

D&D today holds little resemblance to it's earlier editions, one could argue that it has become a polymorph RPG that reflects the trend. However it was always vanilla, a great staple and east to get into. Every time I D&D is mentioned on TV I smile, because of it's success other games like RuneQuest will continue.

One last though, RQ's first great innovation was thinking differently about RPG's. Glorantha, as rich sand box to play in was the second. Little has changed in that regard in 50 years (compared to D&D) the core is still very much the same which is great. This new renaissance for Glorantha materials and RQ is great, the new Sourcebook is fabulous so perhaps developing our favourite lozenge as a system free world is the next innovation.

Let's place nostalgia aside and look to making these new products something bloggers will refer to in 2055, what do you see as the what makes RQ/Glorantha work today?

Purity is Fire/Sky so what not an Earth/Fire mix. This could then place her as perhaps make her Ernalda's half-sister by a uniting between Asrelia and Veskarthan. Diamonds, being a pure form of Earth could be her domain. I somehow imagine that the Demiverge would have a thing for diamonds.

1 hour ago, kr0p0s said:

Given all the activity of Solanthi and Ditali raiders, especially the large raids by Greymane into Esrolia, this would seem a safer bet for getting trade into Esrolia from Salfester. Volusus the Trader Prince of Jaraz and king of Nimistor is mentioned as plotting against Handra (GG p356). The drawing off of trade from Highwater to Handra and the loss of trade would give him reason enough to plot.

that was one of the many strands that served as the backdrop to the scenario... as said earlier Maniria could well do with some canon materials

I'd imagine Thelos would be a main station for many, transferring to river barge for onward journeys. However I think that few caravans make the complete journey, instead trading at key stations along the route and returning thereby remaining in familiar territory. 

I ran a game recently which saw significant trade heading south of Highwater to Handra via barge, then by ship to Nochet. Much faster and avoids all those trader princes. With the Opening and Handra's rise in prominence (it must be connected to markets in order to thrive as it has) I'd imagine that this would replace the old Manirian Road.

7 hours ago, davecake said:

Except I did. 

Pendragon has both a set setting, and largely a set genre. It’s not just Arthurian, it’s mostly Mallory. Glorantha is a setting, but it allows many genres, and many styles of game (and even many games). The battle rules for Pendragon are cool, and one very useful way of dealing with mass battle in game. But only one, Nd your game might work differently. So the Battle skill needs to be useful in multiple ways. 

Apologies Dave, I was dipping in and out of the thread and missed your reference. 

I agree, Pendragon from the outset establishes the framework and player expectation so make integrating battles easier. Glorantha is the setting, and RuneQuest is just one of the ways to interact with it. Perhaps we shouldn't expect an RPG to handle (and handle well) mass battles beyond an abstract way. I'm sure there are other systems that would better suit such play

Funny that no-one has mentioned Pendragon yet which set out, among many things, to bridge gulf between RPG and war-game. I've run many a very successful Pendragon game where the PC's participated in mass battles. It can be easily done if the GM establishes goals that represent the level of impact the PC can achieve. For the common soldier staying alive is often the case (in Pendragon surviving the initial clash of heavy cavalry was considered glorious), for the other PCs just outline what they could hope to do and then how that would ultimately effect the whole battle. As a GM build the expectations into the narrative, so the player understand what's at stake. Watch any war movie and you can see how this works, even if you know the outcome of the battle, you root for the characters personal battles. 

I only mention Pendragon as Battle is listed as Knowledge Skill on RQG and curious if it'll get much treatment.

I see Gloranthan battles as an arms race taken to extremes; I send in my giant bat, I see your bat and raise you a god, is see your god and raise you two dragons etc. Makes for epic tales but less than epic games. Also the level of commitment is commensurate with the benefits of victor or the cost of failure. There are many minor conflicts were the actions are well within human influence and just a little divine support (like the shining Yelm examples above).  

attractive character sheets are a great way to introduce the game to new players and help set the tone for casual players. I think the colour sheets look great and would use them for pick up games and the like. I've long since given up using character sheets for campaign play as I find serious players will each have their own style and preference. 

The B&W would make great work sheets though for the initial stages of character building.

13 hours ago, kaydet said:

Is there a way, using the Runequest rules and framework, to create an item which has a spirit magic spell that is always on? 

For me this is heading towards creating artefacts which the rules do not cover. As mention above a hero quest would be the best way forward as long the magic required is in tune with the myth in question. The last time mortals began making 'magic items' did not go so well for those involved... 

Bronze (from the classical era) is a very loose term to describe a wide range of copper alloys made with a host of additives. Some were deliberate concoctions for special purposes (hardness, brightness, etc.) others were accidental simply based on what raw materials were at hand and recycled. Perhaps Gloranthan bronze is equally diverse and that famous mines like Volsaxiland and Enneserach are just particularly good quality seams. 

Unless well provisioned, smiths made what the did form what was available, which is probably why different regions become known for quality of a particular product (bronze for a plow has different requirements than bronze for tableware). Even the chieftain's grave at Ciumeşti, which gives us the earliest Earth examples of chainmail (iron) contained bronze greaves. So I'd imagine that in Glorantha, where 'bronze' is far more readily available than iron, it gets coopted into all manner of uses, even those where iron would be better suited.

3 hours ago, Joerg said:

The Red Moon doesn't have any influence on the seas (and how should it, sitting still in the sky?). The Moonbroth cycle has always been a mystery to me, but Glorantha averages two tides a week.

I was previously under the impression that the tides were only influenced by the Blue Moon who has an erratic pattern, hence unpredictable tides. But (and I can't remember the reference so perhaps I'm mistaken) that the Red Moon does exert some influence...

3 hours ago, Joerg said:

The 7 day week cycle of the Theyalans is based on the 7 days of visibility of Orlanth's Ring and then 7 days of doing stuff outside of the star dome. Nothing Lunar about that.

The Lunar energies are at an almost zero in the dark and dying phases, but the visibilty is pretty much there. Full moon gives everything a reddish tint in the nights, while less than half moon barely offers much to see by, but looking directly into the glow will clearly make the glowing parts of the moon visible.

I didn't say the Red Moon caused the 7 day week, only that it follows it. Perhaps its a subtle concession to Orlanth's power over the Goddess. 

Guide to Glorantha, Page  648: 

"Over the course of a week, the Red Moon slowly turns through her cycle of phases. One face of the moon is bright red, the other is black. As the cycle progresses the red face wanes, replaced by darkness creeping around it. The darkness grows to cover half the moon, then three quarters, until the last crescent of red moonlight disappears. The names of the Lunar phases are: Black Moon, Crescent-Coming, Empty Half, Full Moon, Full Half, Crescent-Going and Dying Moon.

When the moon is dark (the Dying and Black phases), it can be seen only faintly by observers within the Glowline; it is no longer visible outside. It remains dark for two days, after which the red light creeps in again and waxes to full. An entire lunar cycle takes seven days and nights."

Although a HeroQuest book, Pavis gateway to Adventure is full of Praxian goodies: https://www.chaosium.com/pavis-gateway-to-adventure-pdf/

the phases of the Red Moon differ from place to place once outside the glow line, when it's Full in one area it may be half-full in another. Also Dark and dying moons are all but invisible, and crescents not very bright - the Red moon would only be visible half the time, 

As for the Blue moon, just because they share the word Moon doesn't necessarily mean that they would associate the two (a bit like thinking Koala's are actually bears). The Red Moon is new and in the Middle Air, the Blue Moon is a celestial body from the God Time. Also the Red Moon is regular with a seven day cycle, the Blue Streak follows a pattern known only to her. The fact that both have a visible effect on the tides is also coincidence. 

I was under the impression that individualism is alien to Glorantha, even the Orlanthi are Clan first. it is an 'us v them', never an 'I v them' 

22 minutes ago, David Scott said:

I'm not sure this is a thing. The Guide has the Lycos as a sluggish river. It looks from the description and the Season picture that the meeting for Chlorinthor and Lycos is one of slowness.

this being Glorantha, the important thing is that the captain has not offended Lycos... or anyone with influence in that arena

18 minutes ago, styopa said:

Unfortunate.

I can see dodging any missile at extreme range, or thrown at normal range, but a crossbow bolt at point blank is like a gun: nobody's dodging that except accidentally.

While I get what you're saying, muzzle velocity of even a low powered pistol is 3-4000 feet per second, a quarrel about 200 so no, they are not the same. 

However to dodge missile fire you need to see the archer fire, so in effect you're more trying to put off the shot rather than dodging a projectile already in flight.

who's the optimist that gave Chances Are Slight 45%

24 minutes ago, David Scott said:

There’s never been any mention in the rules that Fanaticism is limited to melee or that it’s a lesser form of berserk (even in the final RQG manuscript at Dragonmeet) - it just ups your attack and decreases your defensive ability. A person under fanaticism is a fanatic which is where we get the word fan from. The person is focussed almost exclusively on a single goal. I would argue that the spell could be extended to other activities were it not so specifically about attacking. The effect always reminds me of the Mule's effect on Ebling Mis in Asimov's Foundation and Empire. Fanaticism is about focus not bloodlust. 

I was inclined to agree with David's line of thought when I read the OP. But from a game balance point of view it's a bit of an issue. 60% becoming 90% with no downside. Now with Passions and Augments we are looking at the concept of 'inspired focus' but with a risk of consequence from failure. Why bother with a Passion roll when a Fanaticism spell works so much better! The wording in RQ2 does say Hit Probability which limits it to combat or sports, for game balance I'd keep this limit, allowing missile fire but any protection magic must be cast first. 

well there are a lot more Uz than Aldryami so perhaps the trolls are winning! 

I created one for RuneQuest for Free RPG day last summer, feel free to use it as a background...

RQ_Sign-up_blank.pdf

this raises an interesting point, how important is character advancement ala D&D levels type thing to modern players. The recent trend of story being the prime driver, especially with RQ's deep dive towards HeroQuesting, could render the whole concept of slowly getting better and fighting tougher monsters redundant (from a pure skill level point of view). 

For some recent games character advancement seems like a last minute add-on rather than a core mechanic... definitely the zero-to-hero type game is very old school.

RQ2 has it that a body part can only take 2x it's HP value in damage. a 3 HP leg hit for 8 damage will only reduce the total by 6. This however incapacitates victim. Further damage to that location does not reduce the location but does reduce the total. 

You could argue that for multiple limbed critters such as centipedes can fight-on with the loss of a few legs.