I don't get it(player creation question)

[kinwolf]

Hiya!

  Small intro:  I am totally new to Runequest, and Glorantha, but an old AD&D player(dating back to 1st edition).  I bought the recently release slipcase of Runequest to create my first campaign in that world/ruleset.  I always liked D100 systems(WFRP and Middle-Earth RPG back in the days) but we only got to play those when the two mains DM's were sick or busy with exams(sickness did seem to strike at the same time as exams period though... weird)  Anyway, fast forward to today, seeing this new release rekindled my interest.

 

So!  Bought the books, started reading the main rulebook and...stuck at page 28.. Yikes!  It's a small thing really, but I can't figure out what we're supposed to do with step 1 of the family History;"Pick which family member had the most important impact on your adventurer sense of identity".  Reading the paragraph under this seems to indicate that the player must select the influential grand-parent, that's fine, but also his/her clan/origin and who married who and into which clan? For total newbies to the world like us this feels like a huge empty blank page.  We know almost nothing of the land, and a player could select mortal enemies of his current homeland, selected in step 1, without knowing it?

Anyone can help clarify how this step is usually done?

Thanks!

Edited November 6, 2019 by kinwolf

[Lloyd Dupont]

Many (but not all) D100 rule variation are big on social background. It's in Runequest DNA.

Some rule have table to make it easy. I dunno about Runequest rule in particular though.

Many preset adventure will somehow tie in your social background. Some magic are also heavily tied to your social background (i.e. strong emphasis on social duty for priest or shaman and particular location for replenishing power)

This is an approach to adventure that you can try or ignore as a GM.

Personally I tend to err on the side of ignoring such rule. However I think most D100 settings will be less Monster rich than AD&D and the social background is a big part of the reasons for which you fight or pick your ennemies.

 

Edited November 6, 2019 by Lloyd Dupont

[jajagappa]

45 minutes ago, kinwolf said:

It's a small thing really, but I can't figure out what we're supposed to do with step 1 of the family History;"Pick which family member had the most important impact on your adventurer sense of identity".  Reading the paragraph under this seems to indicate that the player must select the influential grand-parent, that's fine, but also his/her clan/origin and who married who and into which clan? For total newbies to the world like us this feels like a huge empty blank page.  We know almost nothing of the land, and a player could select mortal enemies of his current homeland, selected in step 1, without knowing it?

Anyone can help clarify how this step is usually done?

Nothing overly critical needed to select the grandparent. Whichever one appeals or choose randomly which of the four options.

Beyond that, usually the easiest starting point is to have the GM set some scope as to what the game/campaign is going to focus on. For example:

1. Sartarite clan in process of liberating their lands. The GM and players can determine which clan (e.g. the examples provided in the Homelands chapter like the Ernaldori or Varmandi) the game is about and start from there with all characters from that clan. Such would fit well with the Quickstart scenario or the scenarios in the RQG GM Pack/Adventure Book. If they've chosen maternal grandparents then those will be from a neighboring and friendly clan that regularly marries into yours.  If you have the GM Pack, then it shows the nearby clans for the Colymar tribe.
2. Refugees gathered in New Pavis looking to remake their lives. Almost any Homeland/clan will work for this. You really don't need to be that particular about the clan, though could simply use the example one included for the Homeland, or make up a clan name.
3. Lunars sent to infiltrate and disrupt the latest Sartarite rebellion. Choose Lunar Tarsh as Homeland. Choose a common city for all characters instead of a clan, as that's where many loyalties connect to.  If you want to create a clan name for the grandparent, you can do so.
4. Bison Riders or Grazelanders looking to raid Sartar for plunder. The GM and players can determine which clan the characters come from (e.g. Flower Bison, Thunder Hooves, Golden Manes, or whatever other name you like).

Overall, I would recommend the GM decide on type of campaign and if specific Homeland (and possibly specific tribe/clan) should be noted. GM should go ahead and read the Homeland sections if in doubt to be able to suggest some ideas to the players.

Otherwise, don't worry too much about specific names. If you want to use "adventurer's clan" or "friendly, neighboring clan" or similar as a placeholder, just do that.

[Lordabdul]

1 hour ago, kinwolf said:

Anyone can help clarify how this step is usually done?

You would usually just pick which of your 4 grandparents you're going to be rolling for. Basically, "my grandmother on my dad's side". Then, unless you had anything special in mind, you just make that grandparent into the same clan/homeland/etc. as your character. So if you're making a Grazelander, you just say that your dad, and his mother before him, were all Grazelanders. Then you start rolling so that you get to know your grandmother better: step 2, roll... got a 19, uh oh, she was a thief for some reason! And off you go.

Of course, if you have some idea that you're descended from, say, some Lunar grandparents, then you could choose to make your "main" grandparent (or parent) have a Lunar homeland and roll their history accordingly... or you can just decide that it was some other, less important parent/grandparent, and leave it (for now) as a one liner on the character's background, to be expanded on later in the campaign.

Edited November 6, 2019 by lordabdul

[Atgxtg]

Just pick one. The idea is to help you generate the history of said grandparent and the backstory for your character, so that you will find out some of the events that have happened in the past and how they affected your family. This sort of came from another game, Pendragon, where you just rolled the history of your grandfather, but because they wanted to make RuneQuest less male dominated than Arthurian Britain, they gave you the option of picking any one  of your grandparents. 

 

So in the end, barring a few gender specific cults, it doesn't really matter who you pick, unless you want it to.

[kinwolf]

Ok, great, so we pick one grand-parent and select the same homeland/clan as the character.  And once players have more familiarity with the world, they can get more creative with that step.  Got it, thanks!

[Atgxtg]

2 hours ago, kinwolf said:

Ok, great, so we pick one grand-parent and select the same homeland/clan as the character.  And once players have more familiarity with the world, they can get more creative with that step.  Got it, thanks!

Yup. The opened nature of the choice was really to allow you to pick grandma instead of being forced to pick your paternal granddad. This might be because of gender preferences of the  player or because a given character has to be male or female to be in a particular cult. The drawback to the open ended choice is that it makes it somewhat ambiguous.

[g33k]

I permit choosing another relative of the appropriate generation... a great-aunt, an elder cousin, etc.

Much of Glorantha is kin/clan centric, so it's entirely possible for a non-ancestor to be in that "most influential" role.