Shawn Carpenter

That's how I treat them in my home campaign.

You know me, always twisting canon into something I like better.

Thanks, again! That was our intent. Our main goal was to hook people on the Jaldonkiller Saga, but we also tried to make the presentation of the book a template that could be easily adjusted to some other clan. We've actually thought about doing something similar for the Anmangarn clan at some point.

Thanks! Glad you like it! I thought you might enjoy Frog and Mudpuppy.

Awesome (literally) stuff, Jajagappa!

One of the childhood scenarios in Valley of Plenty deals with some children inadvertently entangling themselves in a rivalry between two spirits. I can't say more than that without giving anything away. On the topic in general, it's easy to focus on the big spirits, the wyters, spirit of a known landmark, tribal hero spirits, etc., and forget about the smaller spirits that must inundate Glorantha. Being smaller, they have a lesser impact on the world and so the stakes of interacting with them are lower. That's a good thing. Spirit encounters shouldn't always be about saving a clan or village or ensuring the survival of the whole tribe. Smaller stakes make for a more personal story. Spirit encounters don't have to be threatening. A spirit might actually need the PCs help with some problem that they can't handle because they're incorporeal. Maybe they're locked to an object that needs to be relocated or repaired. Or maybe they want to deliver an adulthood gift to a person who played with or near them as a child. Helping them out may or may not result in a reward, but it's always nice to have a spirit friend! I probably run spirits entirely wrong, as I tend to think of them as somewhat fey entities. I have a lot of fun playing the smaller spirits, whom I tend to give squeaky little voices and portray as somewhat childlike and impulsive. The more powerful the spirit, the more impressive and self-interested their portrayal. This is probably incorrect, but it works for me and my group, so it might work for you, too.

Can I go do it right now!?!

That sounds like it would have been a blast to play - a great series of adventures that also helped deepen the PC's ties to the setting and each other. That's GM gold.

You are talking to a cartoon dust cloud, complete with footprints vanishing into the distance!

Steal this. Steal this. Yep, stolen!

Putting on my barker's cap and hoisting my speaking horn: Valley of Plenty has events similar to these in our Interlude tables. Those are tables that represent the passage of a few years as the PCs age up from 9 year-olds to 15 year-olds.

That hasn't been my experience with HQ. I've found that I see MUCH more cinematic action in my HQ games than I ever did in my RQ games of yore. Here are some examples: Confronted by a giant, rampaging mantis, one party member fired a rapid string of arrows to pin one of the creature's deadly arms to its body. A particularly burly party member took advantage of the mantis's discomfiture to climb up its back and twist its head off its neck. The mantis rampaged around headless for a while sending the party scampering for cover and giving its slayer the ride of their life! Surprised by the arrival of a group of mounted enemies led by a Lunar witch, an Orlanthi Adventurous initiate called on his Storm Rune for winds to carry him in a mighty, somersaulting leap over the witch's head to land behind her mount, which he promptly smacked across the rump with the flat of his sword. The witch's horse bolted, carrying her out of combat, trampling a couple of her footmen in the process. While traveling through enemy territory, an Orlanthi initiate PC called on his Storm Rune to intensify a cold mist into a freezing drizzle that sent the enemy guards back to the comfort of their picket fires, allowing the party to pass undetected. During a siege, an Ernaldan Priestess PC opened the ground beneath a Lunar sorcerer and buried them alive outside the walls. In the same siege, a PC seized a siege ladder, shook he warriors off it, and then used it as a lever to dislodge two more ladders. The PCs in my HQ campaign have fought ZZ Trolls, killed enough giants to earn one of them the epithet of "Giantslayer," destroyed ice demons, defeated the degraded husk of a Star Captain, fought their way into and out of Whitewall, gone toe-to-toe with "Ghost and the Shadow" style Sakkars, and on, and on, and on. I find that storytelling games like HQ and QW support wild, over-the-top action far better than more granular and procedural games which tend to focus the eye on the minutia of chained tasks rather than the overall action of the encounter. YMMV, of course. No game is perfect for everyone. The important thing is that you enjoy the game you're playing. I only spoke up because I've seen this "RQ is better for high-flying action and HQ is better for slice-of-life stories" meme a lot and I think it's dead wrong. In fact, I'd reverse it to say that RQ, with its close attention to procedural tasks, is better for representing the day-to-day struggles of your average carl and HQ is better for representing the exploits of heroes. I've stacked the pitchforks over there for your convenience. The torches are just behind them. You'll have to come up with your own tar and feathers.

That looks great! I might bump the size of the title up a bit, though.

I like this approach a lot. Leingod, and I will steal it when I run this scenario! Beyond this scenario, though, using players to inhabit NPCs has been a favorite tool in my GM toolkit since I read 1st edition Ars Magica by lamplight back in the last century. I think the "troupe" approach has a lot to offer any game and is particularly well-suited for HQ/QW.

I hope so!

Peggy and I have begun work on our first non-Gloranthan QW project. It's something a little strange and different, but we're hoping folks will like it! Work is still progressing at pace on Lances at Dusk, the 2nd book of the Jaldonkiller's Saga, too. We're trying to make the best of my current job situation and the pandemic. The challenge leads to the solution, and all that!

I think concise, colorful brevity is a good quality to aspire to when writing a setting guide.

Part 2 of Peggy's notes on our Valley of Plenty playtest campaign are up on my blog. I hope you enjoy 'em! https://dscarpenter.wordpress.com/2020/06/12/valley-of-plenty-playtest-notes-2/

Some folks have asked us to share notes from our playtest campaign for Valley of Plenty. If you were one of them, or even if you weren't, you can find Peggy's notes here: https://dscarpenter.wordpress.com/2020/06/11/valley-of-plenty-playtest-notes-1/ Enjoy!

Wow. You definitely made my day! Nothing makes me happier than a happy reader!

If you're interested in learning what's actually IN the book, I give a section by section breakdown on my blog: https://dscarpenter.wordpress.com/2020/06/09/whats-in-the-valley/ While the book isn't written for RQ:G, I think RQ GMs still might find all the setting information (which is half or more of the book) to be useful, especially if they're looking for a different culture to play that's till near the heart of the action Dragon Pass. Our Dundealos are Elmalians through-and-through, though they recognize Orlanth's claim to be "king of the gods." Anyway, please give the blog a look if you're interested in learning more about the book!

You should like our version the Dundealos tribe, then. They are all about Elmal! We've also included a non-cannon cult for one of Elmal and Redalda's daughters, Andred. Andred is the goddess of justice, the blow wisely struck, and deferred victory. You'll learn a lot more about her in book 3, when her cult adjusts to the Dundealos' new circumstances in the Poljoni Marches.

Thanks! I hope you enjoy it!

That's very true.

Sounds like we have the same background and brought the same lessons from it.