Beoferret

I like this interpretation. And it still means that managing/caring for a calmed berserk is still dangerous - e.g., you calm and heal the berserk, but then something sets them off again while your healer is the closest available target for their wrath ("Uh oh."). I also wonder if other forms of the Berserker spell come with their own corresponding "soother;" i.e., someone who can play the role of a Chalana Arroy cultist in relation to a frothing at the mouth Uroxi. For example, maybe full priestesses of Ernalda should be able to pull Babeester Gor devotees from their berserk rage?

I'm not familiar with the systems you mention or what they mean by oracle table, but it'd be great to develop a table of semi-vague oracular visions that characters could get from consulting specialists in a temple or from hazia-induced dreams, etc. Throw together a bunch of things that include references to the broader setting ("I see a bison whose coat is as polished alabaster tossing its head, seeking to gore the Red Moon!") with visions that are essentially adventure seeds ("Within the cave of many hues waits [*insert tantalizing nugget here*])." Of course, how do you get the character to consult the oracle?

I strongly advise anyone who's interested in staging a heroquest to watch the "Dream of a Thousand Cats" animation from the last episode of Netflix's Sandman. It contains a pretty interesting sequence of a questor facing multiple challenges to meet with a divine/semi-divine entity (kinda looks like Yinkin!) who then provides a new myth (and knowledge of a ritual that could work some serious magic if completed.)

What about having a general Shield skill and then apply bonuses/penalties according to shield size and general character position? For example, small shields get no bonus to parry (but are quick to ready), while medium and large shields do get variable bonuses to parrying if the character is on foot (impose a penalty for large shield use on horseback.)

That's certainly how it should be, IMHO, but not how it is in rules as written (as others have pointed out.) Maybe weapons that have lost half their HP should get a penalty to attacks, while shields are ok until broken? Or give shields better HP (e.g., half again what they have already)? Giving up an attack for an extra parry (at regular skill levels) seems like a fair exchange and easy to implement. But my view of how combat rules should work is influenced more by GURPS mechanics than D&D.

The cookbook! I listened to the whole podcast (admittedly, over the course of several interrupted sessions) and got some good ideas from it. But the cookbook reveal is pretty darn exciting. I didn't catch what kind of foodstuffs are included though (maybe because of the broken way I listened to Claudia describing it.) Are the recipes derived from real dishes from antiquity? As an aside: may I recommend to all you culinary history geeks the Youtube channel "Tasting History" with Max Miller? Some good stuff, including Mesopotamian-derived recipes.

There's some good stuff there. I like how some of the options you listed could really liven up a combat, especially the "riposte" idea. Did they all play quickly and easily for your group (I'm assuming the answer is some version of "Yes," since you used these rules, but I'm going to ask anyways, in case there's some qualification.) Were aimed blows at half-skill on the normal SR too powerful or just right? I'm hoping that the GM Book will have some additional combat options (mostly along the lines of the above-mentioned) for folks to bring to the table.

Has anyone tried any of these ideas? If so, how well did they work for you and/or your players?

It seems reasonable that someone with fairly intensive interactions with other cultures, areas, etc., should gain a baseline level of related lore, whatever their occupation. A Sartarite warrior who spends a season or two living with a Bison tribe clan should gain some insights into Praxian lore, etc. just through their day to day involvement in the life of the clan and/or spending time with clan members. Granted, you can easily argue that the effectiveness of this sort of informal education/training should, at best, be considered on a case-by-case basis. It might also be a fun source of adventure/role-playing fodder - e.g., the PC learns about some taboo by accidently breaking it or mistakenly insults someone, etc.

Ear cleaning tools that provide a +10% to your next Listen roll after you use them.

Even if it turns out to be bad, I'll buy any RQ CRPG that comes out. What'd be especially fun (to my mind at least) would be Total War: Glorantha!

This corresponds with how I understand Issaries. Issaries trade involves profit, but also Harmony and the desire to forge bonds between parties. Bargaining, but not exploitation. Etc. Big question: would the voluntary offering of POW, by non-coerced individuals who are doing it for material gain ('cuz they're poor or want a quick release from captivity or that's how they want to pay their tithe, etc.) be acceptable to the non-Chaotic gods? Say, for instance, a poor farmer is trying to improve their economic well-being and so doesn't want to provide scarce money, precious seed, or a prize animal to Ernalda, instead offering a bit of themselves for the temple priest's use. Would Ernalda be OK with this? Maybe the gods don't really care and people can/do offer up POW for material gain. Still, one would expect this to be a pretty big deal for most folks (who don't get regular POW rolls, in game terms), so there might not be too many willing to do it. There's probably also a basic understanding that those with "weak souls" are easier to magically manipulate, more likely to be possessed by malicious spirits, etc. The POW farm may have a hard time finding willing (thus effective) workers. There'd probably also be some degree of social sanction for doing this; e.g., you just did something only a stickpicker would do. Maybe if you (the POW donor) has provided more than once for material gain, you start to get a poor reputation: "That guy over there? That's Soulless Sam. Sold himself to buy a couple of nice horses. Lost 'em to the first swindler who came though. The Eurmali love him.")

I might incorporate the old classic option into the next game I run, along with the standard targeting rule. I also kinda like the 5% penalty to dodge/parry for every +/- 1 to the hit location too. It's definitely worth experimenting with - I can't see how it would break the game, whether or not it worked as a rule-in-play (RIP 😀). I've always liked the GURPS mechanic for targeting hit locations; that being assessing a variable penalty towards going after a particular spot (with difficult to hit locations having a higher penalty, etc.). This seems to work for GURPS' 3d6, bell-curve mechanic, but I don't know if it would translate well into a straight percentile system like RQ. Anyone with HEMA, kendo/kumdo, or other weapons training want to chime in with their thoughts as to what mechanics for targeting hit locations make the most sense (or offer the most verisimilitude for the least amount of complexity)?

That's a really good point. I totally forgot about the Percy Jackson phenomenon, which is a pretty big oversight.

Two issues that I see with furthering RQs popularity with new, and especially younger, folks, neither of which should cause us to despair. 1) The mechanics of the system. I have quibbles with aspects of the system, but overall really like it. If one is using the rules from the Starter Set, I don't think they're any more difficult than D&D. But they're different and run on different assumptions, not all of which immediately appeal to folks. My youngest son, for instance, told me that he wasn't super keen on having to roll to make a spell work (even though he said it made sense with the setting and system.) Live plays I've watched on Youtube occasionally result in players saying that RQ is "crunchy" (said in a tone that implies that this was off-putting.) Again, I don't think that D&D is as simple and intuitive as many seem to believe, but it is closer to what people may have already encountered in video game mechanics (which were often, in turn, influenced by D&D). Possible solutions? Introduce prospective players to Call of Cthulhu first and get them used to the BRP system. Then woo them over to RQ. Or play up the gritty aspects of RQ combat (which is already being done to some extent), but make the case for this meaning more drama and excitement! Your shield can be splintered as you feverishly try to defend against a troll's hammer! Armor stops damage, but doesn't make it harder for your character to be hit! Your character can lop-off enemy arms! Called shots? We got 'em! 2) Setting. Let's leave the Durulz aside. One of the reasons I love Glorantha and RQ is also one of the things that may stand in the way of growing its popularity with the young people of today - the connection with the ancient world and classical myth. While people are still interested in both, I suspect that neither are nearly as popular as they used to be. Glorantha is advertised as a world based on/linked to myth. Cool! But how many kids are all that interested in myth anymore? As for Antiquity, I think for a lot of kids/teens, "ancient" equals the Middle Ages. And there's lots of faux Medieval imagery throughout pop culture right now. Not to mention Ren Faires and their mix of Medieval and 18th century swashbuckler/pirate styles (which looks suspiciously like a lot of default 5e D&D imagery.) This isn't an insurmountable hurdle, but it means more work for those of us trying to bring RQ and Glorantha to newbies. Have those image banks handy! But maybe this is something to lean in to. "Bored with cookie cutter, faux medieval fantasy? Try our sword and sandals-flavor setting! So old, it's new!"

I've been wondering about this broad topic as well. I'd like RQ to endure as a gaming system (and Glorantha to get more love as a setting), which obviously means bringing in new and younger players. I'm trying to do my part and have run RQ a couple of times for my two boys. This last time, it took a little effort to keep them focused while they made characters, but when they were done they both loved their new PCs (an Odaylan hvy infantry warrior and a Grazelander assistant shaman dedicated to Kolat - my own slapped together version.) Strike ranks have been a mild challenge for them, but between me working out the math and our using the tracker from the Starter Set it all worked out pretty well (they had no complaints.) Figuring out the myriad different spells sometimes slowed things down. The math behind characteristic checks and differentiating between success/special success/critical wasn't too hard for them, but they both actually enjoy math. Aside from two early teens, I've introduced the game to some adults who I ran through two of the Starter Set adventures using the pre-gens. The group included a twenty-something woman whose previous gaming experience was with D&D. She really enjoyed playing in the Gloranthan setting, especially when her character (Aranda) got to a) kick scorpionman ass, and b) partake in an initiation rite for a young Jonstown woman who turned out to have been favored by Babs. The player in question has also enjoyed the system so far too, feeling like much of it makes more sense than D&D mechanics. But I also worked to make things as easy for these new players as I could; including providing each pre-gen character with a sheet listing and describing all the spells they had (along what they had to roll to successfully cast.)

This all brings to mind two questions I've had about the whole Summons of Evil ritual. Say the PCs successfully complete it and a couple of nearby broo answer the call: A) How do the PCs know that the ritual was successful, if the coming chaos creatures are a couple of days away? Are they supposed to just sit there waiting and hoping? B) What's to stop anyone else from attacking/killing the summoned evil, while it's on its way to the site of the effigy? If some hunters see a couple of broo seemingly on a walkabout, why wouldn't they try to kill them (either right then and there or after getting some backup)? Is there something that indicates that summoned foes are part of a ritual and shouldn't be touched?

What if Leika does become the leader of Sartar, but not the prince? To use a Middle Earth analogy, what if the tribes (or enough of them) agree to proclaim her "steward" of Sartar. Sartar is then more unified to deal with internal strife and the return of Lunar forces (or so it seems from the outside.) The prospective reality is that her hold remains tenuous and begins to weaken as the tribes and clans that refuse to recognize her begin to cause problems. Civil war threatens. The Lunars begin preparations to return in force. The only hope is if Aragorn ... (er, I mean Argrath!) returns to Sartar to stake his rightful claim to the throne. And perhaps not all are convinced that he's the one that Sartar needs ... So, lots of room for politics, skullduggery, quests, and heroics! (and the established timeline still basically works.) The only question is how well Leika makes her mark in Sartarite history; how well she lays the groundwork for Sartar's place in the Hero Wars and how she deals with the coming of Argrath. And the PCs will could easily play a role in all of it.

Just read it. Thanks for another entry to your blog! I've found your insights (e.g., on climb checks) and reviews to be thoughtful and thorough. Looking forward to whatever else you write, whenever you're able to get proverbial pen to paper.

So, to continue with the Conan motif, set the adventure in one of the cities in Safelster. They're not well fleshed out yet, so lots of room for your own imaginings. The tower is the abode of a Godlearner (like EricW suggested) or a sorcerer who walks their path. The elephant is a captured and bound Kivitti hero or godling, who's being used by the sorcerer as a tool for exploring the God Plane, etc.. Make it even more decadent by saying that the sorcerer, over time, developed a serious hazia habit and now spends his time in a haze of hallucinogenic smoke ("Black lotus! Stygian - the best!"), leaving his captive to rot. A strange magician's tower in the middle of a packed sword and sorcery-style city; where the occupant hasn't been seen for years, but still employs guards and purchases the best hazia regularly (sometimes with strange old coins)? What foolhardy adventurer wouldn't be interested?!

Given the difficulties of the main trade routes between Nochet and Sartar - and the relatively brief period that the oceans have been open again - how common would it be to find items of Teshnan or Kralorelan origin in Dragon Pass (after having been brought through Nochet, of course)? What about Pamaltelan goods?

An Alynx with SIZ 2 and 3d6 POW? It's a kitten! Come on folks, it's obvious! It stays a kitten for awhile and after a few seasons it's a full-on shadowcat friend who's awakened. All while sticking to the rules. And creating fun possible issues for the PC: "Where did Mr. Purrypants wander off to?! We can't leave the Caves of Chaos until we find him!"

Thanks for the replies everyone. To be clear, when I say that I think of Orlanthi divorce as straightforward and easy, I mean that I imagine it happening through public acts like setting one's former spouse's belongings outside of the home or loudly announcing "I divorce you!" a set number of times in front of witnesses (both of which are examples from real world societies.) Easy, but not lightly taken. And if the divorce is due to the breaking of the marriage oath (or even just petty or selfish reasons - "My spouse has too much nose hair! I want out!"), then maybe some spirits of retribution (or even a devotee of Babs) are due for a visit to the offending party. My question flows out of wondering if the wife of a newly disgraced (possibly exiled) Lunar nobleman, could escape the situation and rescue some shred of her own standing by divorcing him. Very specific situation. But it made me start thinking about the general question that I posed.

So, I'm operating from an assumption that divorce among Orlanthi (whether in Sartar or the Holy Country) is pretty straightforward and easy, if the marriage bond has been honored during its duration. BUT, what are the divorce strictures/procedures for worshippers of Yelm and/or Yelmalio (and others generally seen as more patriarchal cults)? How does one get divorced in the Lunar lands, especially among the nobility and upper echelons of society? Asking for a friend .... (ha ha)

Woo hoo! Thanks for your patience, Rick. (I'll just slink back to the RQ and Glorantha forums now....)