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There are a lot of fantasy worlds out there for gamers to choose from. D&D offers several official settings and a slew of licensed worlds, Pathfinder has its own world, there’s a cornucopia of “system independent” settings, and there are the massive old grandfathers of fully-fleshed out worlds: Glorantha, Tekumel, and Harn. All of these worlds have things going for them. The lore of the D&D and Pathfinder worlds are tightly linked to the rules of those systems, relieving the GM of any work in figuring out how to represent the effects of setting specific elements, such as monsters or magic. If you’re not into D&D or Pathfinder, though, they may not appeal to you. System independent settings get around this by designing the world first and either providing guidelines for using it with different rules (Primeval Thule is a good example of this) or simply leaving it to the buyer to sort out. The looming Old Ones of game-world design (Glorantha, Tekumel, and Harn) offer players dense lore accreted over the decades of their existence. they can also be a bit intimidating to new players and GMs. None of these worlds offer everything a player could want, because that’s an impossible task. For me, Glorantha and Harn come closest to ticking all my boxes, but neither is exactly what I’d like to see in a game world. That’s not a criticism of either setting, because even I don’t know exactly what I want from a game world. Despite that lacking that critical piece of self-awareness, I’ve always wanted to design a commercial game-world. I’ve designed several worlds for my own use, but most of those were comprised of little more than a couple of maps, a few notes, and a relatively firm feel for the setting in my head. I aspire to going whole hog, though, and would like to create a world that GMs and players who aren’t sitting at my table could stomp around in and make their own. I have some ideas of what I’d like to see in that world, but I’d be grateful to hear what kinds of worlds other folks would like to plant characters in to watch them grow. I’m not trying to crowd-source a setting by any stretch of the imagination, but I would like to know what elements other players and GMs would like to see in a game world, particularly things they can’t find in other published works. To that end, I’ve put together the annoying questionnaire below. I don’t expect anyone to fill the thing in completely, I’m just offering it as a framework to shake loose opinions that might not have occurred to you. Now, on to the annoying questions: What level of “fantasy” are you looking for in a fantasy world? High fantasy where magic, monsters, and elves are common place? Medium, where such things exist, but they’re rare and remarkable? Low, where magic is scarce as hen’s teeth and monsters and fey folk are the stuff of fairy tales (that may be true)? What level of technology do you prefer? Stone-age? Bronze-age? Iron-age? High medieval, Renaissance? Some mixture? Swords only? Swords a muskets? Swords and early revolvers? How wild do you prefer your fantasy world to be? Tribes and clans struggling against nature and the unnatural to survive? City states surrounded by howling wilds and roving nomad clans? Feudal kingdoms sprinkled with wild places and separated by swaths of wilderness? Stable kingdoms and empires with wild lands beyond their borders? Do you like medieval European feudalism in your world? Or would you prefer a more tribal organization? Or territories ruled over by satraps appointed by a royal or imperial bureaucracy? Something else? Are the gods real in your ideal fantasy world? If so, do they interfere directly in the mortal world, or do they work through mortal intermediaries? Do you like your gods wearing black or white hats or do you prefer them to wear dove grey? What are the ideal stakes of your world? Are they high, with a big bad that will destroy the world unless your character finds a way to stop it? Or medium, where the threat is often aimed at one of the world’s kingdoms/city-states/tribes? Or they low, with the threat usually directed at the PC group itself? Do you like a game world to be strangely familiar (like Harn or Glorantha) or utterly alien (like Tekumel or Jorune)? How much effort are you willing to sink into learning a world as a player or GM? Are you okay with reading dozens or hundreds of pages of lore and exposition to get your feet on the ground, or do you prefer a world that gives you the high points of the setting and allows you to fill in blanks as you play? Do you want your world to have a well defined future history? Or would you prefer a loose guideline of optional ways the world might evolve over the next few decades? Or do you want history to end at a given year so that you and your players are free to develop it as you will through play? That’s it for the questionnaire, although I may come up with follow-up questions based on your responses. Again, you don’t need to slavishly provide answers to each question (feel free to do so if you have the time and inclination, though). Answer the ones that jump out at you or hit one of your hot-buttons if that’s all you feel like. Any input is good input!

Hello together, it's the the stupid German again. This time I am stuck trying to figure out the details of (Group) Extended Contests. Trying to understand how things work here, there are still two questions, I didn't find an answer for. QUESTION 1: Is it possible to Augment an Assist? QUESTION 2: How to determine the Level of Victory in a Group Extended Contest? It seems there either is some information missing, or there is another contradiction in the rules given on page 84 and page 82. page 84 The section "Determining Climactic Consequences" here reads: The section "Determining Rising Action Consequences" on page 84 is missing any information how to resolve the LoV. Using this information to cross-reference, I would: (1) in a Climactic scene: (a) with more than one opponent: use the second-worst consequence among defeated opponents (b) otherwise: use the consequence of the only opponent present (2) in a Rising Action scene: * scratch my head as no information is given page 82 The box "Consequences and Group Extended Contests" reads: If you win more than one exchange in either Rising Action or Climactic contests, and then need to determine a final level of victory [..] use the victory level you attained against the hero who contested against you with the highest target number. Using this information, I would: (1) BOTH in a Climatic and a Rising Action scene: use the LoV won against the opponent with the highest target number

And yet another problem I stumbled across, trying to summarize the Pass/Fail Cycle. It seems that either the table given on page 117 is broken, or I am to stupid to understand how to read it. Starting on page 116 it says I guess both "Major Defeat" and "Major Victory" are meant to be read as: (1) each Major Defeat or worse (i.e. or Complete Defeat) (2) each Major Victory or better (i.e. or Complete Victory) But even using this interpretation it is impossible to read the table in corner cases. To make explaining the problem a bit easier, I will use the following conventions (1) I will call BOTH Marginal and Minor Victory a small Victory. (2) I will call BOTH Major and Complete Victory a big Victory. (3) I will call BOTH Marginal and Minor Defeat a small Defeat. (4) I will call BOTH Major and Complete Defeat a big Defeat. So where is the problem? Using the naming convention given above take a look at the following two cases Case 1: The last two contests were: a small Defeat (=1 defeat) and a big Victory (=2 victories) Let's check to see which entry applies.: "3-4 Defeats" – no we have 1 defeat "2 Defeats" – no we still have only 1 defeat "2 Ties" – no we even don't have a single tie "1 Defeat + 1 Victory or Tie" – no, we have 1 defeat for sure, but our big Victory (=2 victories) neither counts as 1 victory nor as a tie "2 Victories, 0 Defeats" – no, we have 1 defeat "3-4 Victories, 0 Defeats" – no, we still have 1 defeat Alas there isn't a any entry that applies. Case 2: This time let's assume the last two contests were: a tie and a small Victory (=1 victory) Let's see how checking the table turns out this time: "3-4 Defeats" – no, we don't have any defeat "2 Defeats" – no, we still don't have any defeat "2 Ties" – no, we only have a single tie "1 Defeat + 1 Victory or Tie" – no, we don't have any defeat "2 Victories, 0 Defeats" – no, we only have a single victory. "3-4 Victories, 0 Defeats" – no, we still only have a single victory. Same problem again! QUESTION 1: Have I missed something or misunderstood how to correctly read the table? In case the table is broken, even more important: QUESTION 2: How would you fix the table in your group? Maybe some of you already have a nice houserule to suggest?

Hi all - Picking up from my former thread... https://basicroleplaying.org/topic/11023-using-hq-in-the-lunar-empire-tips-tricks-and-homebrew/ I just reread the Lunar magic section (starting page 179 of the Heroquest: Glorantha edition) and the example of Magatheus on p55; I scanned the Seven Mothers section and the Illumination section but haven’t reread closely yet. In any case, here’s my understanding on how to create a Lunar character in HQ:G - please confirm/correct: 1. Lunar magic stems from the character’s Moon Rune a. This is one of the 3 tunes that the character gets during character creation b. Lunar characters select a specific phase of the Moon c. The All Phase rune is only accessible to Illuminates ie not starting characters 2. Lunars can choose to initiate to one of the gods of their phase (those listed in the Seven Mothers or New Gods listings). a. When doing so they have access to the runes of that god, as sub-abilities of their Moon Phase Rune b. The character has to have a rating of at least 1W in the moon phase rune. c. The individual Seven Mothers qualify as New Gods for this purpose (p185) despite being listed as separate in the Moon Phase list (p180 and following). 3. Lunars can use their Moon Phase Rune to “create glamours mimicking the runes that Phase can replace”. a. I think I understand that this means the runes the phase “Embodies”? Eg Darkness and Death for Empty Half Moon? b. As an aside a little definition of the various characteristics of the Phases would the helpful, eg, what Embodies means. c. In any case these “mimicking Glamours” can be used at the Phase Rune rating for augments. d. “The direct use of the Lunar Phase incurs a Stretch penalty of -6 (see page 103) – unless: (1) the Lunar is an initiate of a Lunar New God cult and is creating glamours in accordance with the teachings of that New God; or (2) is using a Lunar Grimoire.” 4. Lunar characters can buy access to Grimoires a. These seem to function just like Sorcery Grimoires? Except for the lunar cycle in play. b. Each Grimoire inherits the rating of the relevant Rune, which might be the Moon Phase or might be a different one (eg Magatheus has one off his moon phase and one off his law rune). c. Characters can assign a bonus to this rating. (E.g. Magatheus has assigned +1 to each Grimoire). This applies to all spells in the Grimoire. 5. Characters can replace their Moon Phase Runes with a Chaos rune. a. Game mechanically this seems to allow the character to use the Rune for active / direct actions without the Stretch penalty? And use it more widely?

Hi all - I am (once again) thinking of setting a game in the Lunar Empire. I thought I’d see if people have any advice or material for how best to use HQ for this. I have to re-read the Lunar magic portion of HQ:G and may have more specific questions after that. I also have the old Hero Wars / Issaries Lunar books and will look back at that, for cult structure etc if nothing else. Similarly I’d be very interested in any home brew materials or personal setting/rules info. Thanks in advance! Hyperlexic

New at Chaosium.com - THE ELEVEN LIGHTS in full color hardback! The Eleven Lights is a Gloranthan campaign set in Dragon Pass, taking the PCs as members of the Red Cow clan from the Occupation in 1618 through to the Liberation from the Lunar Empire in 1625. It features 20 complete adventures and many more outlines, and is a companion to The Coming Storm (also available from Chaosium). This product is for HeroQuest Glorantha, but can be easily adapted to RuneQuest as well. Available from our USA, UK and Australian warehouses.

In HeroQuest's 'The Coming Storm', the dangers surrounding the Red Cow clan in Sartar are closing in from within and without. Occupied by the Lunar Empire, the clan can see violence on the horizon— the Hero Wars are coming. The gripping saga of the Red Cow's dire straits in 'The Coming Storm' now has a sequel. In 'The Eleven Lights', War has come to Dragon Pass in this complete Gloranthan campaign setting, taking the Red Cow PCs from brutal occupation to their liberation from the Lunar Empire. Whatever history holds for the Red Cow clan, players are about to find out: https://www.chaosium.com/the-eleven-lights-pdf/ And don't forget—when the print version is available, you get the full price of the PDF off when you buy from Chaosium.com.

Hello, everyone! I have a bunch of old RuneQuest books and I would like run them for my players but I don't feel like using the RQ rules. All those very detailed rules were cool when I was younger, but now, after getting to know HeroQuest: Glorantha and already with two sessions of GMing that under my belt I feel that is more to my liking at the moment. Has anyone tried redoing any of the old RQ classics with HQ:G rules? I would like to start with Sun County (this one: https://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/classic/rev_6784.phtml ) scenarios. Some of my players might want to create new characters, some might want to have ready made characters. In Sun County book there are 8 ready made characters, but of course I/we would have to "convert" (probably more or less loosely) those characters from RQ stats to HQ:G ones. Any tips for that? Also, one thing I feel like struggling are the local Yelmalio worshipping characters. For example, which runes might be common for Sun County men and women? I'm sure I'm going to have more questions later, but here are my main worries at the moment. Please, share your thoughts!

"One of the oldest and most respected fantasy settings ever created for RPGs, Glorantha is the brainchild of legendary game writer and designer Greg Stafford. Crafted in 1975 for the board game White Bear and Red Moon, it became the heart of the first major challenger to D&D, RuneQuest. Now it’s back and represented in a system specifically crafted for it – HeroQuest Glorantha, making it a great choice for New Year, New Game Week." —Sean's Picks of the Week at EN World

A trio of new HeroQuest Glorantha titles are now available on DriveThruRPG—the core HQG rules, and the linked supplements The Coming Storm and The Eleven Lights. Everything you need to run an epic clan-based campaign at the advent of the Hero Wars!

Cut yourself a deal - Chaosium's Black Friday sale has begun! Runs through Squamous Saturday and ends on Spectral Sunday at 11.59pm PST. Use Code 'Black15' to get 15% off over 400 selected Chaosium titles— including everything for HeroQuest/HeroQuest Glorantha, including recent releases The Coming Storm and The Eleven Lights PDF. More details here: https://www.chaosium.com/blog/cut-yourself-a-deal-on-black-friday-and-cyber-monday-at-chaosiumcom

The sequel to The Coming Storm is now out in PDF. Whatever history holds for the Red Cow clan, players are about to find out in The Eleven Lights: https://www.chaosium.com/the-eleven-lights-pdf/ This product is for HeroQuest Glorantha, but can be easily adapted to RuneQuest as well. Don't forget—when the print version is available, you get the full price of the PDF off when you buy from Chaosium.com.

The following sentence on p. 106 in HeroQuest Glorantha at the end of the Catch-Ups section gives me a bit of a headache: So given I have a keyword like Hunter and a sub-ability (that is a breakout ability, right?) Archery with the following values: Hunter: 13 Archery +1 According to the above rules I'm not allowed to raise Archery higher than +6, because raising it to +7 would mean, that the effective value (13+7=20) would reach a new Mastery level. So far, so good. Now imagine, that over time I have reached this maximum value: Hunter: 13 Archery +6 Now, at the next possible opportunity I raise the keyword (e.g. by investing 2 Heropoints): Hunter: 14 Archery +6 Wouldn't that break the above rule? And more so, if I raise the value of the keyword even higher? Or does this rule limit the raising of sub-abilities only? Whereas reaching or exceeding the next Mastery Level by raising the keyword value is possible without any restrictions? (In fact I would tend to use this last interpretation, but I would like to know, how other people handle this.)

We welcome Ian and Sue on board the team! (Ian Cooper is the new line editor for the HeroQuest Glorantha RPG) "Sue and Ian both bring a much needed range of skills, experience, and a passion for all that is Chaosium. They game every week. They have been a part of our tribe for many years", said Rick Meints, Chaosium President. More here: http://bit.ly/2no9sg8

We welcome Ian and Sue on board the team! (Sue O'Brien is the new Boardgames line editor) "Sue and Ian both bring a much needed range of skills, experience, and a passion for all that is Chaosium. They game every week. They have been a part of our tribe for many years", said Rick Meints, Chaosium President. More here: http://bit.ly/2no9sg8

HEROQUEST GLORANTHA at Dragonmeet! If you're attending Dragonmeet in London next weekend and would like to play HeroQuest Glorantha, GMed by Ian Cooper, author of The Coming Storm:, sign up now and reserve a slot for these sessions now at Warhorn: (There's also a playtest demo of the new RuneQuest - "Ears of the Bull", GMed by Andrew Bean) https://warhorn.net/events/dragonmeet/schedule/2016/12

The Coming Storm in hardback is now available from www.chaosium.com! It will be shipped to you from one of our international fulfilment warehouses (USA, Australia, Europe). And it comes with the PDF, free. The Coming Storm makes a perfect home for your Sartarite adventurers. It's built for Heroquest Glorantha, and the rich background material is usable with RuneQuest or 13th Age Glorantha campaigns too. http://www.chaosium.com/the-coming-storm

The Coming Storm is the first part of an epic HeroQuest Glorantha campaign taking the Red Cow Clan through the opening days of the Hero Wars. This book provides everything you need to run a classic clan-based Sartarite campaign. And if you buy The Coming Storm PDF now, we'll credit you the PDF price on the purchase of the printed version once it is available later this year. http://bit.ly/comingstormpdf

Here's some of the beautiful interior layouts from our latest release, "The Coming Storm" for HeroQuest Glorantha. As noted, it's available now in PDF; when the print version comes out later this year, you get the price of the PDF back as a discount! Order it here: http://bit.ly/comingstormpdf