Austin

Thanks! I figured it was adequately bizarre and nonsensical. I intend to use her as a recurring character (though I don't know if she'll always be doing a Python bit)... I've got portions of the Classics line, but well... reading time is limited at some point. It's also challenging for me because I can skim a lot of material in hard copy (I got the paperback of Borderlands & Beyond and it's wonderful) but it's harder for me on laptop. Would love a POD of some of that out-of-print material... 😉 And @Darius West thanks for the suggestion!

Is Gorakik(i) a troll deity/troll cult? I'm not familiar with the term.

We had our second session (our first "real" session, moving beyond adventurer creation) this evening (Tuesday, November 13th). I thought it went pretty well. We started with finishing up adventurer creation (mostly discussing Rune magic and Rune points), and we've added one adventurer to the group: Derket: I don't remember exactly how the player spelled/pronounced this one, but it was something like this. He's a Food caste trollkin (of his own choice, though I do have a D10 table made up for determining caste) who worships Argan Argar. Derket got dragged into the conquest of New Pavis by Beowulf--the previously-unnamed human worshiping Zorak Zoran. Beowulf is his master, and Derket took a lovely blend of Fear and Hate Passions centered on humans and trolls due to his caste. He rolled max SIZ (a 6 on 1D6+6), and then gained +2 from his primary Darkness Rune, making him a SIZ 14 trollkin! He's the third-biggest in the party, though I ruled that's more bulk than actual height. Beowulf may be fattening him up... The adventurers started in the outer hall of a half-destroyed building, which once housed the Lunar bureaucrats governing New Pavis. They've come because word has spread that Argrath seeks adventurers to aid him in his crusade against the Red Moon. But the hall is mostly empty, except for a tanned, black-haired woman. She invited them to sit, introduce themselves, and then "interviewed" the adventurers while making notes on a wax tablet. (I stole a bit from Monty Python for this.) Eventually the trollkin broke down sobbing in the corner. When an older man entered she fled, cackling. This was Sir Narib who (for better or worse) has ended up in a position similar to chancellor for King Argrath. Sir Narib revealed that the woman was Argrath's Trickster, Elusu, and apologized for her actions. He made note of their names as potential members for the Expedition into the Big Rubble in a few weeks, and asked if they could help with some busy-work in the meantime. When they agreed, Sir Narib introduced the party to Jevona Sithert, a peddler of Pavis County and initiate of Issaries. She's been robbed by trolls twice in the last few weeks. Each time they waylaid her cart near dusk, threatened her with spears, and then swiped her donkeys. Upset, she's come complaining to the new King (which really means she's complained to Sir Narib) and now Pavis's new rulers have passed the buck on to the adventurers. Each time, the thefts took place near the small farming community of Blueflower Village, about two days north of New Pavis. So, next session the adventurers will be on their way north, to investigate for signs of troll bandits. Thanks for all the comments/suggestions/discussion, everyone. I love seeing all the thoughts and ideas! That being said I've inevitably got some more questions (especially for the uzko out there). My Zorak Zorani heavy cavalryman has the Ride (Beetle) skill since it seemed interesting, but all the beetles big enough to mount (SIZ & STR 26+) seem really strong in comparison to the equivalent human mounts. We're currently saying that his beetle was slain during the battles with the Lunars & when conquering New Pavis--he rode in a ZZ mercenary company--but he's reasonably wanting to "replace" it. I'm of the mind that whatever the story, a riding beetle feels like something he should earn, but I don't think I want to force him to wait until Rune Lord (I'm thinking it would be a fun host for an allied spirit). Does anyone have suggestions for good beetles, or what a good cost would be if he tried purchasing one? I haven't seen any market info on them listed in the Bestiary.

Hrm, good point. Perhaps just removal of ENC penalty as default, with GM discretion on more interesting effects. That kind of makes sense from a game balance perspective--after all, it's only one MP.

I feel like the minimalist approach to the description is that Silence removes the ENC penalty to Move Quietly rolls for its duration, or perhaps other penalties similar to "the clank of plate armor while its wearer tries to hide in shadows." It could feasibly also apply to other sound-affiliated Stealth checks, like Hide (because of that sentence). But, that's not very exciting now, is it? I'd probably play it that the opponent only gets a Listen roll if the sneaker fails (no roll on a successful Move Quietly), and on a fumble something significant happens, like knocking over a vase or breaking a branch underfoot.

It also might be worth updating the subforum's tagline from "Runequest forum for Chaosium's roleplaying game system, classic editions and the upcoming one" since RQG has, after all, upcame.

Glorantha Bestiary, p.29 ("Creating a Baboon Adventurer"): According to the entry, baboons worship Daka Fal but call him "Grandfather Baboon."

We had our first session this past evening, and did adventurer creation. It seemed to go pretty well; three of my four fairly-certain players were able to attend. Two of them have experience with RQ3 (though I'd call that game a bit Glorantha-lite) and the other has never played D100, but has played Pathfinder for years. Everyone seemed pretty happy with their adventurers. So far we have: Tatonka Watco: A herder of the Bison Tribe who helped manage the herds while Argrath & Co.'s army marched on New Pavis. He eventually ended up choosing the cult of Waha after originally wanting Eiritha. I pointed out that it noted female Praxians only (but offered him the cult anyway) and he declined, wanting to try sticking with the material. He expressed some frustration that he couldn't find an Earth Rune cult which was actively accepting of males, and I couldn't think of any vaguely canon-friendly suggestions on the spot. He seemed bemused and excited that his adventurer basically starts play with a small herd (6 meat bison). Unnamed 1: A heavy cavalry warrior of the Bison Tribe, but who worships Zorak Zoran rather than a conventional deity. This player had played Storm Bull in RQ3 and basically wanted "same but different." The first adventure I have set up involves trolls, so I thought it could be interesting to offer this. So far, he seems really happy with his character--he rolled three 6s for CHA! Which was hilarious and weird--we figured he's big and scary and brutal (CON 19 and SIZ 17) but has that sort of cult-leader, Charles Manson-type appeal to normal folks. He was part of a Zorak Zorani cavalry group (giant beetles!) who joined Argrath's horde in conquering & sacking New Pavis, but has mostly split off from them to pursue his own ambitions (I figure in hopes of gaining enough power to rank higher in troll society). Unnamed 2: A morokanth assistant shaman, who worships his ancestors. We're still working on his story, but I plan to suggest that he's accepted the call to adventure because he's heard stories of Argrath's odd mystical insights (this adventurer has a very high Moon Rune). I'm cribbing the baboons rule about using Beast Rune instead of Man Rune for Daka Fal, since it felt like it fit better with this character--not exactly the savage parts, but very separated from normal society. His favorite food is newtling. Additionally, my fourth wants to play a trollkin because I intentionally described it & set it up as "Hard Mode," and he enjoys a challenge. I plan to introduce him to play as a slave of Unnamed 1 (which he's approved). Beyond that, I rolled up a few NPCs using the same adventurer creation rules for if new players want to step in and try the game out: Shadowpaw: A large, dark-furred baboon shaman who worships Grandfather Baboon. (I'm not entirely sure if he'll be assistant or full shaman, but when I did the [POW+CHA]/2 x5 roll for approval, he succeeded. And, his shaman skills ended up really strong.) He hates humans--especially Praxians who killed most of his mother's troop--but is also strangely fascinated by them. He's adventuring to understand them, perhaps to figure out how to overthrow them and rebuild the Monkey Empire. Garick Ulstor's son: A heavy infantry warrior from Sartar, he joined Argrath's followers shortly after the Battle of Pennel Ford (if I have my battles right). He's kind of my "example standard Orlanthi," who worships Orlanth Adventurous, has good weapon skills, and so on. I'll probably say that Shadowpaw and Garick tag along with the party (just to make the story flow better), but I don't know yet if I'll end up GMPC-ing them; I'd like not to, but it'll depend on how many players are able to make it to sessions, on average. I figure once we're settled a bit into the system I'll let other players run them if needed. I'm running sessions in a game store, so my hope is that I'll have people see the game and be interested in jumping in if I've got the spare characters to offer. Next week, we plan to finalize character choices (and maybe at other points during the week, for those of us who can get together) and start play in New Pavis. My plan is that they're in the city while a party of adventurers is mustering for an expedition into the Rubble, but they get caught up in more mundane issues in the meantime as a local peddler complains to the new "authorities" about having been robbed of her pack donkeys for the second time this season... (Plus this'll give me more time to actually figure out what the heck to do with the Rubble! )

This is what my RQ group has done for several years now, and it's worked really well (although not just in the Rubble). We've played a mix of AD&D adventures and old RQ material that my GM has access to. I expect at some point to be doing the same (if only because there's some adventures I'm dying to play, like D&D3.0's Red Hand of Doom). A few of our highlights have been The Lost Shrine of Tamoachan and Castle Amber. There was also one with ghouls in a castle near a village named Vast I liked, but I haven't figured out what module that actually was. I know a module which has caught my eye that I may adapt for RQ is Spire of Iron and Crystal, by Frog God Games, for Pathfinder (and other systems). It looks like a cool way to mimic crazy God Learner technomagic. If you have suggestions for the Rubble, I'd love to hear them .

I like this idea, though I find it a bit tricky to work with. It feels like a useful direction to play with. Unexplained and as sudden as lightning. I feel like I'd want to emphasize that it's sudden and unexplained for the other NPCs, too. I tend to be of the school that "If an NPC can do something, a PC should plausibly be able to do it (even if it requires obscene time and effort)." That being said, I do find this useful as a way of thinking about how Argrath acts. Rather than "this is bigger and cooler Rune magic," just "Look, he's being Jesus, okay? It's a miracle. You've got no freaking clue." Conceptually, I feel like this puts it in a different category than "normal" magic. This is really helpful, thank you. I'm playing pre-Dragonrise (but only by a few seasons), but this definitely gives me some material to work with. My understanding of the (New) Pavis & Prax relationship was somewhat antagonistic, but not open warfare. I had no idea the Zebra Riders once were the Royal Guard, though I did know in passing they were a major faction in the Rubble. I wish I could get a physical copy of Pavis & Big Rubble; I find it hard to skim PDFs for tidbits and I don't really have the time to sit down and read that one . I really like the idea of "in the name of Argrath!" while he's off in Sartar. These are probably areas where I'm going to drift into YGMV because I find it more interesting. I see Fort Raus surviving to some degree simply because walls are good against nomads, especially if (in my Glorantha) Argrath's focused on stuff other than mopping up random Lunar farmers (and I'll just YGMV-assume it was Argrath & Jaldon who knocked down the New Pavis walls against the Lunar garrison). Corflu's also smaller than I had thought it was, as I keep reading material. Of course, the Praxians want to clear out the valley, but I think it might provide the PCs some interesting choices about mass-slaughtering peasants. Eh, I'll figure it out. It's in a similar vein that I'm seeing a period where Argrath (or rather, his followers) wants to consolidate control of New Pavis. I just see "king by conquest" providing more interesting stories and options than "and everyone liked him and was happy and ate cake." (Largely joking there.) This is also incredibly helpful for me, thank you. The White Bull Society is something I've struggled with understanding--as it's usually just mentioned, rather than explained--and I appreciate this. I think I will go with the "Argrath fathered White Bull with Eiritha" just because again, it's a way to describe Argrath's power in a concrete, but basically untouchable way. "The dude conceived with a goddess, okay?" Even if this is a cult secret from the start of play. Didn't know they had cars in the bronze age...

100% agreement. I may have my own quibbles and opinions here and there, but the production and art quality in this book is astounding, some of the best I've ever encountered in gaming. The old black & white line art blends really well with the brightly colored cartoonish or watercolored style. It's just so bright and vivid; the setting can be brutal and dangerous, but I love that it's portrayed in such a cheerful way. What're your highlights in the book, art-wise?

This is closer to what I'm thinking & expecting to play the Rubble as. Start them in safe (or safe-ish) areas, and work their way deeper & more dangerous. Loosely thinking the first story "arc" will be Sea Season through the end of Fire Season, when Argrath unsuccessfully attacks Lunar-occupied Sartar. Probably do three-ish adventures through then (maybe including the failed Sartar campaign). I'm thinking retaking Temple Hill for the Orlanthi & re-establishing those temples being the long goal of the game, which Argrath or one of his lieutenants has in mind but the adventurers are unaware. Do you have suggestions on how to encourage this? The way I've been trying to think about Argrath-the-character is in terms of Passions, and that's what I've been struggling with. None of my players will know anything about Glorantha, so I don't really have a baseline to work from for "Look, he's weird and does XYZ when everyone else does ABC!" I'm trying to think of a way to show this weirdness instead of just telling the players "He's a charismatic trickster" and expecting them to buy it. Showing others worshiping him, maybe? Taking it a stage beyond normal conceptions of royalty to include odd magical effects, stuff like that? (I mean this less as "Jeff, tell me how to play!" and more as a plea for advice ) When I think through Dragon Pass in terms of story & plot, it seems to me like Argrath isn't (yet) the center of the story in 1625. Harrek, Broyan, and Kallyr are much more at the center. From the Glorantha Sourcebook it seems that Argrath's already formed a few units of the Sartar Magical Union (the Eaglebrown Warlocks, maybe the Egglord Warlocks, the Warm Sisters, and Sir Narib's Company, I think), and Kallyr basically has allied a couple others, though Argrath strengthens them (the Eleven Lights & the Stormwalkers), so the "Figure out Mystical Warlock Secrets" plot arc is over. I feel like Argrath's Fire Season 1625 failure is really important to the story, even though sources seem to just kind of gloss it over. He's not invincible, nor infallible. It also opens space for Kallyr to begin the Hero Wars with the Dragonrise, and then Argrath is out of the picture basically until she dies. What does Argrath want, immediately? To liberate Sartar--he wants it enough that he barely spends any time in Prax. So why's he in Prax? To build up his army. Call for adventurers, that works there too. I figure he wants more than just an army, but I'm not yet sure what. Maybe he founds the Egglord Warlocks around this time, using new Second-Age secrets left behind in the Rubble? Just kind of thinking "out loud."

I've been using Chrome, and had none of these issues. I've also not had double-page issues (for what it's worth).

This is closer to what I'm familiar with when I think of "heroquesting." I've played a fair amount of RQ (though nothing compared to most on this forum), but never ended up on the Hero Plane. Of course, this is partially because my GM prefers the Skill/5 (or harder) interpretation of heroquesting, and you need some serious skill percentages to be ready for that. I can see how specific places might encourage the transition. It was the notion of "oops, I'm on the Hero Plane now I guess" which confused/bothered me.

I'm thinking of Argrath more as employer, than participant. He's in a situation where he has twenty problem-solvers and two hundred problems, hence the call for adventurers. I'm planning for them to get swept along and interact with the King, but not really to be fighting alongside him. He's busy with big stuff, so they're handling other stuff (and, as they grow in power, graduate to the big stuff).

This is the direction I'm kind of leaning. The problem I have with Argrath, as a GM, is that for me he has come across as boring. I've read King of Sartar and his sections of the Glorantha Sourcebook, and in trying to make him mysterious and powerful he just seems bland, without emotion. That's why I'm considering nicking odds and ends of Conan for how to play him interacting with the players. (It's worth pointing out that the Conan of The Scarlet Citadel is far, far away from being an impulsive brute. He's a just king and clever strategist, while retaining barbarian instinct and lust for life.) My hunch is that it'll make him a more compelling and memorable (non-player) character. Could you elaborate? I don't understand how going to the Hero Plane "just happens." How dangerous, really, should the Big Rubble be represented? I mean, from my skim of Pavis & Big Rubble it sounds like normal (or normal-ish) folks actually live there. Sure, there's going to be some really nasty spots, and some places with crazy old magic running rampant, but my understanding is that it's not insane for new RQG characters to explore parts of it. As long as you try to stay away from the known nasty areas. It doesn't come across to me as "everyone who goes in there dies!" I've been brainstorming and scribbling a little, and I'm thinking I'll start with an adventure situated in the Rubble, but only tangentially involved with the ruins itself. It's Sea Season, and a troll clan got flooded out of their old caves (perhaps in addition to feuding with another of the troll clans in the Rubble--I'm leaning toward having eaten another clan's Value trollkin as the cause, parallel to raiding cattle). They settled in a ruined Knowledge temple or Second Age sorcery school, ate all the books, then found some tunnels as they looked through the vaults for more things to eat, which led past the Rubble's walls. So they started raiding in Pavis County. Not a lot of killing (yet), since the humans have just fled, but lots of sheep and other animals eaten. Enough people complain (including an Issaries peddler who lost her donkeys) so Argrath tries to set up a group to destroy what seems like a small-ish group of bandits. One of his lieutenants & warriors through the tunnel and his new pet adventurers through the temple (or maybe the other way around). Hopefully, the players will try negotiating or finding creative solutions once they realize it's a whole clan down there, but the other group of warriors would give me a potential contingency. "Oh, look, we've arrived just in time!..." etc.

Hey all. I'm setting up a campaign set in New Pavis for RQG in the next few weeks. My premise is that Argrath has just conquered the city, and has put out a call for adventurers for an expedition into the Big Rubble (amidst all the chaos of conquest and the loss of stability enforced by the Lunars). I could use some suggestions, advice, and brainstorming on a few topics: Good McGuffins to go ruin-delving for in the Rubble What sort of personality to play for Argrath & Co. Argrath's powers and skills (because I just know that at some point he'll need to be the 'bigger & badder & keeps the party in line') Other story and conflict seed ideas (especially if it can make use of existing material) Advice on parties with multiple species (I plan to offer humans, ducks, morokanth, baboons, newtlings, dark trolls, and trollkin) What in the world really is the White Bull Society? I'm kind of thinking to just run them through Balastor's Barracks (because the Axe is a pretty good McGuffin), but that might be too lethal for beginning adventurers. I've played a fair amount of RQ3, but haven't GM'd RuneQuest in any iteration, nor have I played RQG at all yet. So far, I'm thinking to play Argrath a bit like how Conan is presented in Robert E. Howard's The Scarlet Citadel. A barbarian who conquers and is focused on his own desire for revenge on the Lunars and seizing what he pleases, but who (almost accidentally) turns out to be a decent king, probably due to his Honor Passion. I think that the timeline puts him in Pavis from Sea Season through Earth Season (based on the Glorantha Sourcebook), with the conquest pretty early in 1625? So, I'm currently thinking that he conquers Pavis, but isn't super interested in keeping it (wanting to invade Sartar, then getting rebuffed [GS p.39]), and then the Dragonrise happens and Starbrow conquers Sartar so Argrath settles into Pavis for a few more seasons. Some stories I'm intending to fiddle with are Argrath's handling of the Grantlands/Rone County, the civil strife in Sun County, and becoming accepted by the citizens of Pavis. I figure the people of New Pavis are glad the Lunars are gone, but aren't exactly pleased about a bunch of filthy nomads roaming their streets... And maybe Argrath gets extra ambitious in winning their favor, and tries re-establishing the temples in the Big Rubble on Temple Hill or wherever that one is which the Yelmalions and Aldryami hold sacred. For resources, I've got all the RQG materials, Borderlands & Beyond (which I've read), Pavis & Big Rubble (which I've skimmed), and the Glorantha Sourcebook (which I've skimmed). I'm not terribly concerned about staying canonical.

I don't really know of the questionnaire you're familiar with, but the GM Screen Pack has an adventure book which includes short (or short-ish) writeups on the clans of the Colymar Tribe, which would probably be a good place to start. I know The Coming Storm (for HeroQuest) has a lot of information on the Red Cow clan; I've skimmed this, but not actually read it. I'm (ideally) going to be starting a campaign of my own next week, and my plan is to just have the players make up names for their tribe/clan if something doesn't catch their eye, and then I'll try to thread that in occasionally as we play. But I'm not really planning a clan-focused game.

I like how you oppose the Dragonewt Rune to all the Elemental Runes. What would the Dragonewt Rune actually be classified as, though? My best guess is that it's maybe a Condition Rune? Also, do you have a plan for figuring out your character's initial Elemental Runes (since you want low scores, not high)? Will you get to start with Dragonewt Rune as one of your options instead of the six Elements? It's a bit obscure to me how Dragon's Form functions. Transform Self lets three spells last for an hour, but the Dragonspeaker cult seems to have more which are eligible (Dragon's Hide, Dragon's Might, Dragon's Talons, and Dragon's Wings). In addition, "massive dream dragon" just seems more powerful than turning into a semi-divine bear (comparing to Odayla, the only cult using Transform Self at the moment). It's also worth pointing out that Dragon's Hide costs less, provides more, and is stackable compared to Bear's Skin (which is nonstackable). This feels particularly relevant to me because the Dragonspeaker cult seems like a smaller cult than Odayla (and generally bigger cult = bigger magic in RQG). I'm assuming that all Dragonspeakers are humans, and that Dragonewts function as normal. On a similar note, Dragon's Breath seems to be a better form of Lightning/Thunderbolt (each of which are otherwise the premiere damage-dealing Rune spells) because it doesn't have the POW v. POW restriction of Lightning, and costs fewer points and doesn't have the cloud cover restriction of Thunderbolt. Dragon's Thought is also crazy powerful, but... I like it, it seems like a cool zany trade-off for mastering the Dragonewt Rune. I suggest that Dragon's Breath becomes a reskin of Lightning Bolt, and that Dragon's Hide becomes a reskin of Shield (though you can still use it with Dragon's Form). Those will help keep the cult at a similar level to those presented in RQG. Additionally--if you're looking for brainstorming ideas--I wonder if the Power Runes could be implemented with this cult. From what I recall of the Bestiary's Dragonewt entry, they basically spend lifetimes engaging in a particular set of behaviors. I suggest that humans could mimic this, as part of the process of becoming a Dragon. The Dragonewt Rune and Elemental Rune dichotomy would still apply. What I think could be interesting is that to "earn" spells (or maybe actual dragonewt effects?) the Dragonspeaker cultist could have to max out each of a pair of Power Runes in turn (maybe ritually saccing a point of POW once he has?), demonstrating exploring the different aspects of life on Glorantha. So, after mastering the Death Rune and sacrificing a point of POW, maybe he learns Dragon's Breath. And then has to lose that Death Rune, and start mastering the Fertility Rune, or whatever, with the ultimate goal being 100% Dragonewt Rune, 0% in all Elemental Runes, and being 50%/50% in each of the pairs of Power Runes. Also, if you're looking at being able to do the become-a-dragon thing with Dragon's Form, it might be appropriate to note in the description whether or not it can be stacked with Extension. Because who doesn't want to be a dragon for a year?

Oh, now you're just taunting us! But seriously, that sounds cool as heck. Looking forward to those developments...

The current PDF download should have this corrected (at least, Queen Leika's corrected--maybe one got missed?). Their armor should be enchanted, with the increased AP, and no percentage hindering magic.

My understanding is that all dimensions are multiplied. Length, width, and depth AFAIK (memory, not re-reading). I think it just works, no POW roll needed. DEXx3 makes it somewhat more dangerous than flat Dodge when used on highly-skilled opponents, but I don't think using Dodge instead is too crazy. It's worth thinking about if someone in the middle of a huge rift can realistically avoid it, though--at the least, I reckon they'd be forced to move if they succeeded their check. Maybe they'd need to roll a special, too.

My gut says initially no, but as they continued to dabble it could happen. Maybe gaining the Chaos Rune would depend on if the creature received the Chaos Gift intentionally or unintentionally. E.g., a Priest of the Red Goddess using Chaos Gift would probably gain it (if she didn't already have it!). In any case, I'd say the Rune starts at 60%, like when an adventurer gains a new Passion.

My hardback doesn't have the parenthetical text here. Did RQG go to the printer before all the tribal edits were compiled?

Without referencing the text, that sounds like it's a parallel case to how Rune magic works. So, the Magic Rune can basically be replaced by any Rune the sorcerer has mastered, as long as he's mastered at least one Rune. For example, the Rune spell Command Cult Spirit has (I believe) the Magic Rune, but can be cast rolling on any of the cult's Rune affinities. So followers of Orlanth could use the Air Rune, Movement Rune, etc. I'm guessing it's the same in your quoted section for sorcery; the sorcerer could use any of his mastered Runes as the Rune for casting Drain Soul.