Just how expansive will the Gods Of Glorantha guide be?

[Sir_Godspeed]

31 minutes ago, g33k said:

One cannot ... fondle... A PDF.

 

 

No matter how cheap they are.

 

Precioussss...

[Joerg]

33 minutes ago, g33k said:

One cannot ... fondle... A PDF.

 

 

No matter how cheap they are.

 

You'd have to discorporate first, so go find a techno-shaman to get you into the VR.

[Richard S.]

The price is, honestly, the biggest concern for me, especially if we want to be more inviting to new people. Putting such a useful supplement at such a high price can be a bit of a bar for some people, though it is what it is now. I do wonder whether it would have been better to release smaller "regional" books, such as one for Peloria, one for Dragon Pass, one for Prax, etc. I ain't a business person though so I don't know if that would even be economically feasible.

[AndreJarosch]

Just now, Joerg said:

You'd have to discorporate first, so go find a techno-shaman to get you into the VR.

This is RuneQuest, not Shadowrun! 😉

[AndreJarosch]

1 minute ago, Richard S. said:

The price is, honestly, the biggest concern for me, especially if we want to be more inviting to new people. Putting such a useful supplement at such a high price can be a bit of a bar for some people, though it is what it is now. I do wonder whether it would have been better to release smaller "regional" books, such as one for Peloria, one for Dragon Pass, one for Prax, etc. I ain't a business person though so I don't know if that would even be economically feasible.

Printing one big hardcover book is cheaper than printing multiple smaller hardcover books. 

Adding a few more pages to a hardcover makes it more expensive, but not as much as splitting the book into multiple volumes (at some point you HAVE TO split a book into multiple volumes, otherwise you can´t handle the book anymore... so two volumes are good). 
And more volumes mean more coverartwork to pay for, too. 

 

[Richard S.]

Just now, AndreJarosch said:

Printing one big hardcover book is cheaper than printing multiple smaller hardcover books. 

Adding a few more pages to a hardcover makes it more expensive, but not as much as splitting the book into multiple volumes (at some point you HAVE TO split a book into multiple volumes, otherwise you can´t handle the book anymore... so two volumes are good). 
And more volumes mean more coverartwork to pay for, too.

Fair enough, I can see your point. I was just speaking from the perspective of a player/GM with a tight income, but there are points to be made on the producer side as well. We want them to stay in business after all!

[Joerg]

6 minutes ago, Richard S. said:

The price is, honestly, the biggest concern for me, especially if we want to be more inviting to new people. Putting such a useful supplement at such a high price can be a bit of a bar for some people, though it is what it is now. I do wonder whether it would have been better to release smaller "regional" books, such as one for Peloria, one for Dragon Pass, one for Prax, etc. I ain't a business person though so I don't know if that would even be economically feasible.

You are correct in that a recent convert or someone just dipping a toe into the setting cannot be expected to put down 300 bucks for a first attempt. There has to be some form of strongly reduced package available.

But then, you don't need the long cult write-ups to start to play. They sure are nice to have and they help you round out your character and the setting a lot better, but with a little rough edges and the bare-bones information in the (already not cheap) RQG basic book you are set up as a GM.

The alternative you are suggesting here is the step onto the spiral of splat-books. New spells, new skills...

 

The pdf option can make dipping your toe hurt a lot less, financially. You can upgrade to dead aldryami for your full immersion sensory input later when you have found out that a life without these books will be absolutely meaningless.

 

2 minutes ago, AndreJarosch said:

Printing one big hardcover book is cheaper than printing multiple smaller hardcover books. 

Adding a few more pages to a hardcover makes it more expensive, but not as much as splitting the book into multiple volumes (at some point you HAVE TO split a book into multiple volumes, otherwise you can´t handle the book anymore... so two volumes are good). 
And more volumes mean more cover artwork to pay for, too. 

For physical copies, this is correct. For electronic publications, the additional artwork is the only real overhead, and a certain artwork recycling from one cover (disturbed by whichever text and logos you need to place there) to interior artwork is not unheard-of.

Having a great range of nice artwork for illustrative purposes is a good thing. And it may lead to a weapon-permit-required coffee table collection of Gloranthan artwork in the future to accompany the Guide hardcovers. Ideally with making-of, art direction, and the narratives depicted.

Who wouldn't like to have such a book?

[AndreJarosch]

One last addition from me about this topic: 

Is the Guide to Glorantha expensive?

Yes, it is, BUT it is worth every single penny i have payed for it. 

I expect the same from the Cults of Glorantha set of books. 
Chaosium has never me never disappointed since 2015. 
"In Chaosium i trust!"

[Ali the Helering]

1 hour ago, AndreJarosch said:

This is RuneQuest, not Shadowrun! 😉

Why should we all be stuck in the Hero Wars?  Glorantha's future awaits.... 

[g33k]

1 hour ago, Ali the Helering said:

Why should we all be stuck in the Hero Wars?  Glorantha's future awaits.... 

The ancient-fantastical precursor to the Shadowrun world is officially Earthdawn.

RQ needs a different cyberfuture.

[Joerg]

10 minutes ago, g33k said:

The ancient-fantastical precursor to the Shadowrun world is officially Earthdawn.

RQ needs a different cyberfuture.

Dwarven steampunk, anyone?

[scott-martin]

8 minutes ago, g33k said:

RQ needs a different cyberfuture.

I love it but aren't they already us? To quote the last of the dinosaurs in Italo Calvino, "I traveled through valleys and plains. I came to a station, caught the first tram and was lost in the crowd."

[Sir_Godspeed]

Glorantha already has some cyberspace-esque stuff, like Avanapdur's empire or the EWF, though in this case "virtual space" crossed over with the middle world and altered it for a while. 

EDIT: Also, heroquests are a bit like running levels in a virtual reality. Which makes sense, since, you know, they're running levels/dungeons in a rp game just sorta codified into the setting itself.

Edited March 25, 2020 by Sir_Godspeed

[Ali the Helering]

9 minutes ago, Sir_Godspeed said:

Glorantha already has some cyberspace-esque stuff, like Avanapdur's empire or the EWF, though in this case "virtual space" crossed over with the middle world and altered it for a while. 

EDIT: Also, heroquests are a bit like running levels in a virtual reality. Which makes sense, since, you know, they're running levels/dungeons in a rp game just sorta codified into the setting itself.

The Western "saints' nodes" always struck me as a bit cyberspacy

[Sir_Godspeed]

47 minutes ago, Ali the Helering said:

The Western "saints' nodes" always struck me as a bit cyberspacy

Ooh, this is new to me. What are they?

[davecake]

5 hours ago, Joerg said:

You are correct in that a recent convert or someone just dipping a toe into the setting cannot be expected to put down 300 bucks for a first attempt.

And that’s why there is a quite playable selection of cults right there in the rules book. 

[Tindalos]

1 hour ago, Sir_Godspeed said:

Ooh, this is new to me. What are they?

In HQ1, etc, nodes were "regions" within the sorcery plane/essential world/world of forms where different runic energies mixed, which appeared to those experiencing them (a purely mental/spiritual viewpoint, as they were beyond physical bodies) as representations of a saint's residence (or the home of a founder of a wizardry school). These nodes were connected to other ones, either of associated saints/school founders, or with smaller nodes representing specific spells, where they would learn them.

On page 161 of the guide is a diagram of various otherworlds. The circles seen there would presumably be examples of these nodes.

[g33k]

7 hours ago, Joerg said:

You are correct in that a recent convert or someone just dipping a toe into the setting cannot be expected to put down 300 bucks for a first attempt. There has to be some form of strongly reduced package available.

And in fact, the "RuneQuest Starter Set" is coming... and relatively soon, at that!

Likely to be #2 in the pipeline, right after Pegasus Plateau (which is the very-next, I think).

[Shiningbrow]

6 hours ago, g33k said:

The ancient-fantastical precursor to the Shadowrun world is officially Earthdawn.

RQ needs a different cyberfuture.

The Gods of Glorantha are totally against such things! Look what happened to the Clanking City!

[g33k]

11 hours ago, AndreJarosch said:

The original question was "Just how expansive will the Gods Of Glorantha guide be?". 

The Guide to Glorantha has 800 pages and costs about $ 169,99 (~ $ 0,21 per page)
The Smoking Ruins has 192 pages and will cost about $ 37,95 (~ $ 0,19 per page)

If The Cults of Glorantha will end up about 600 pages, with ~ $ 0,20 per page, i assume the price will be about $ 120,00. 
It depends how much the artwork will cost them, and if it will be just two books, or two books in a slipcase. 

You seem to be addressing the similar-sounding but utterly distinct question, "Just how expensive will the Gods Of Glorantha guide be?"

 

My bet is $85 - $90 (ish).  My reasoning:

• RQGcore slipcase, 3 items, $120.
• Cults slipcase, 2 items... 2/3 the price = $80; then add a $5-$10.

I am guessing Chaosium has their own formula for figuring this... and they won't try to set the final price until they have a finished (layout & art) ms. and a firm quote from a printer.  But I could be wrong...

Edited March 26, 2020 by g33k

[AndreJarosch]

2 hours ago, g33k said:

You seem to be addressing the similar-sounding but utterly distinct question, "Just how expensive will the Gods Of Glorantha guide be?"

Oops, my bad. 

[soltakss]

12 hours ago, Richard S. said:

The price is, honestly, the biggest concern for me, especially if we want to be more inviting to new people. Putting such a useful supplement at such a high price can be a bit of a bar for some people, though it is what it is now.

PDFs are cheaper. 

I know that some people prefer to buy physical copies of books, but if a high price is an obstacle, then buy the PDF first, so you can use it, then buy the physical book later if you like it and can afford it.

[g33k]

30 minutes ago, soltakss said:

PDFs are cheaper. 

I know that some people prefer to buy physical copies of books, but if a high price is an obstacle, then buy the PDF first, so you can use it, then buy the physical book later if you like it and can afford it.

My rule of thumb is to buy adventures (which generally, I only use once) cheap; PDF or even used.  Corebooks and sourcebooks -- things I want to go to again and again -- I get the Mostali-processed Aldryami.

[Akhôrahil]

10 hours ago, Ali the Helering said:

The Western "saints' nodes" always struck me as a bit cyberspacy

"It was hot, the night we burned St. Xemela."

[Ali the Helering]

1 hour ago, Akhôrahil said:

"It was hot, the night we burned St. Xemela."

And the sky was the colour of a divination tuned to a dead god....