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Axe Orlanthi (spear and axe are their preferred weapons)? Ernaldori-gone-Vingan? Or just unusual... "not in the usual model" IS the usual model for PC's after all...

Here is a very very USEFUL bit of getting into Glorantha: all of the conflicting bits can be true, including the canon unique to your own table. Stress to the players that every culture has its own takes on the same stories, tell different and conflicting variants, and what their characters "know" to be true may work reliably in one place, but not be true -- may not even work, "proving" it untrue! -- in another. Trying to find the "Absolute Truth" of a thing in Glorantha is complex, contradictory, and (as the God Learners found out) ultimately a doomed pursuit. Besides, even if you DID find it... some bloody Heroquestors would come along and CHANGE THE TRUTH you just discovered! So launch your campaign with your preferred version of Glorantha. And if you find it has been Gregged... embrace it. Have the PC's get drunk at the campfire of a newly-befriended Tribe, and hear the crazy story about how the rivers are all rushing to the ocean because this crazy-ass Primal Water god is still fighting the Chaos War down in the deeps, that there's this ginormous hole they're all trying to fill. And tomorrow morning, as the hangover fades, their new friends will take them across yonder pass to where they can see for themselves that the water will run uphill if it has to, so long as it gets to the sea! Or (it being Your Glorantha) say, "That's stupid. No." And Lo! so it was Not.

John Wick says, "the original L5R RPG was just me cribbing from Pendragon."

Not sure. At the time they put it online, it was planned for KoS... https://www.glorantha.com/new-maps-for-the-new-version-of-king-of-sartar/

The Lunar Empire is sprawling & multi-partite... The "Heartlands" (mostly Dara Happa, a very-ancient patriarchal/Solar empire) The "Western Reaches" (mostly Carmania (n.b. some prior work had Carmania in the model of feudal/medieval society / knightly warriors / etc; this treatment is no longer canonical).) The "Lunar Provinces" (of which Tarsh is one of several), each more-or-less a kingdom (now ruled by a Lunar, or Lunar-sponsored local puppet).

"Tarsh" was a kingdom founded as humans began to repopulate the Dragon Pass region, in the "Resettlement" after the Dragonkill & inhuman-only era. It was founded by the first Human who survived crossing the Dragon-imposed Deathline. HonEel, third inspiration of Moonson, seduced & married the Tashite king Pyjeemsab, and converted (most of) Tarsh to the Lunar Way. The Tarshite king did not survive his wedding night to HonEel the Artess, but she retained rulership. Tarsh is now a key Lunar province, rich and powerful. In addition to the Lunar Way, they worship most of the Lightbringer deities except Orlanth himself. "Old Tarsh" is the bits of... well, "old Tarsh"... that refused to adopt the Lunar Way. The center of Tarshite resistance is the Shaker Temple, near mount Kero Fin. http://3zw0tn2csmas1gxg5k1aagl5up3-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/KingSartar_SartarTarsh.jpg

I'm pretty sure the Mostali would object to Cannon Cult powers being used in this fashion. I suspect the Lunars have something, given their absorption of the Dara Happan Fire-oriented cults + their own Glamour &Illusion magics. Q: do the Crater Makers count as "fireworks?" (n.b. Eurmali answers don't count)

TDM's "Agony & Ecstasy" for Mythras ? Elder Godlike, for Achtung!Cthulhu / CoC ?

I think "red-headed female 'Orlanthi' warrior" is usually presumed to be Vingan. Jeff is usually pretty spot-on in his art direction; I doubt it's accidental! I suppose the artist could have been working on-spec, but it's just stunningly apt for Glorantha if done by someone not informed! Occam's razor... === EDIT: Or we could go consult the artist's own page...

I think there were a LOT of optimistic RPG product-announcements back in the late 70's & early 80's. Hopefully, we all treat such references as gentle teasing these days; it's definitely not kosher to task nuChaosium with stuff done (as MOB says, by "...completely different management, editorial, and production processes (and completely different people too)." That said, I confess to a certain... shall we say poignant longing? ... for some otherworld heroquesting/runequesting rules for Runequest. Help my aging memory, again... how long since Chaosium originally announced such rules...? 😉 And Jeff is being quite the tease these days... But seriously: props to the nuChaosium team. Keep on being awesome, folks!

I have, interestingly, seen a similar approach taken in D&D, to pseudo-level-up a low-level PC by giving them higher-power magic items, so they can go adventuring in company with higher-level PC's. They hit harder, courtesy of +5 swords instead of +1's, courtesy of 12d8 Fireball Staves instead of 5d8 Fireball Wands. They're harder to hurt, courtesy of +3 Platemail of Etherealness instead of a +2 Chain Shirt. Etc etc etc. But in the end, one good BBG roll, or bad PC save, lets the BBG land a solid blow... and the low-level PC shows up as incredibly brittle. I don't experience this approach as a good one... YMMV.

I am actually not entirely clear with the post you're citing -- @Robert has mixed an explicit quotation with differently-font'ed text, some of which are quotations (e.g. from the text of the OGL) but others not -- such that I'm uncertain exactly what he means. My initial reading was that he was claiming that all of Mongoose's efforts at OGL were equally valid, but when I went back to re-read it seemed like he was separating the older MRQ OGL and noting that MRQ has others' IP embedded which isn't OGL'able. Is he saying that "MRQ" doesn't have a valid OGL attached? Is he saying that the (c)'ed IP is "severable" and not OGL'ed, but the remainder of MRQ has a valid OGL... and it's up to the end-user to determine OGL-status of any given bit of text? Or ... ? BTW, Jeff -- I like your sublet analogy, but given that most CC/OGL's (I haven't read this one) even allow commercial re-sale of derived products, I like to go with the car-rental analogy: If I go rent a car, I cannot just sell it to another party when the rental is over. It isn't MINE. I can't pass it along.

Yes. Looking at the details again... RH completely free & unencumbered, with the axe to hand (and the knife fastened for RH-draw; so she's right handed). This puts her only 1 second or so away from being fully armed (LH: drop load; RH: draw axe). Granted, she'd like her shield strapped on, but evidently she judges things as peaceable enough that she isn't likely to need it that quickly.

That is to say, does "canon" specify that it spirals outward from the center, or into the center from the outside, or does each have a different meaning within Storm Tribe culture... or is this just silly Gloranthan navel-gazing of a particularly egregious and onerous form? (YGMV)

<whiny tone> : But Biiiiillll !!! It isn't even a puuuuun. I used the words correctly, and grammatically, and everything! You're just being mean to me!

Classic form-follows-function. Muscle to propel you... Any extra weight is only a detriment. Pretty much the definition of "definition." 😁 Not just "doubly true" but exponentially true for LD runners. They want mostly the high-endurance long-fiber musculature, and as little body-fat as they can carry and still be healthy-enough to compete.

Hmmm. Can you reveal which product, perchance? Or were you specifically not mentioning that? 😉

Depending on the players' RPG backgrounds, the swords/armor/magic details (which RQ shares with Certain Other Games) may lure them into highly-dubious tactics/strategies/mindsets that work in those Other Games much better than they work in RQ. Some sort of low-stakes preliminary session -- to make some of the differences clear -- is (often) a Very Good Thing: run a "bar-room brawl" with smashing pottery doing half-damage of a "real" weapon; or a "training session" with wooden swords where survivable broken bones & knock-out / concussion injuries replace lost limbs and negative-HPs in the head; or throw in a canon-fodder NPC whose ONLY purpose is to die messily so as to educate the players about the dangers (if necessary, GM-fiat a roll to be a crit that could have been a PC); etc... By the same token, only having played Class/Level based games can cause some players to be a bit nonplussed or confused during character-creation. The GM should be ready with additional explanations/support (if needed).

Also you could setting-fiat some magical material that blocks magic, cannot be Gated-past or teleported-through. Herbalists brew up something you soak cloth in, magesmiths create special metal bars, etc.

If you prefer to work with Mongoose, that's a choice; them being local I suppose makes for certain conveniences! It's also worth noting that other publishers do licensing deals with 3rd parties. TDM/Mythras is publishing a relatively-extensive Classic Fantasy line by Leary, and has licensed Redd of Frostbyte Books, who publishes M-Space and Odd Soot, with more products in the pipeline. D101's The Company is the work of a freelancer who seems to have done a LOT of the creative/dev work, not just a "write to spec" assignment from Newt. And of course Chaosium themselves do bunches of work with freelancers. There was Darker Hue Studios' award-winning Harlem Unbound, and it looks like a Reign Dragon is bringing out a new setting for MagicWorld. So if you prefer Mongoose, that's one thing... but the lack of a BRP OGL/SRD doesn't really look like it should decide how you develop your project. Pick the mechanics you prefer, and ask the publisher of that product about licensing options!

Chaosium isn't "killing" MW, despite how commenters talk about it. They simply are putting in no more Chaosium resources. But they specifically cited that they'd happily do fan licenses and 3rd-party commercial products... And here one is! Chaosium mentioned recently that they have a /LOT/ of MW core rulebooks in-stock, so running out of them is unlikely. And if this project causes sufficient interest for Chaosium to unexpectedly run out of stock...? Well, I cannot speak for them, but I suspect they'd be willing to revisit the question, and consider reprinting the book. They are kinda pragmatic that way -- if it sells, they will keep it going (they discontinued MW specifically because it wasn't selling).

If I _was_ going to make a HR on this, I'd shift HP over to being SIZ with a minor bump from CON. I don't think (CON+SIZ)/2 is enough of a difference to HR away from the RAW. YGMV

Perhaps these offers could be brokered through your associate... one "Mr. Meints," I believe? (Or so he is reported through Interpol channels). He is rumored to be something of a... collector...

Or it may be her share of a bigger / shared load... Back on the road behind her, not shown, may be a whole party, one of whom is carrying a bigger share of grain than is reasonable for 1 person, etc. All the load on her left, maybe she has a wrench or strain making her right arm non-loadbearing. Maybe she has NO spear-skill, she's carrying the kit for a fallen comrade, returning his gear to his family. Rather than micro-analyze for FLAWS, note any "problems" and use it as an opportunity to tell stories about why it's THIS way instead of THAT way... Also: I argue against this rendering the weapon unusable: 1. ground the butt, everything slides down; 2. lift the spear up to guard position. Maybe 2ish seconds? 3 max? With practice, I bet I could get it down to about 1 sec. Slower that a readied weapon, I grant; but hardly an unreasonable delay for a traveling / non-adventuring config! If you advance down every road or trail in combat-ready mode, you'll be so slow that all the action will be over before you're there. And the Storm Bulls will tease you about being too "girly".

Well, I guess if everyone agreed about everything, there wouldn't be much point in a forum like this one... 😉