I want to love Glorantha....help me

[DreadDomain]

3 hours ago, ffilz said:

If people ask ME for suggestions of how to get started, I'd say pick up RQ1 or RQ2

I this case though, Gman already has RQG so I suspect, it will be much easier for him. As an aside, it is often easier to start on a new RPG with the latest iteration which is supported, irrespective of what the established crowd prefers.

3 hours ago, ffilz said:

I really want to see the RQ3 stuff in PDF form. I don't think there's a rights issue (I may be wrong), other than maybe for the RQ3 core rules, it's probably mostly a case of whether there's enough interest to do the work.

Yes, me too! My boxes should arrive form Canada in a few months so I will have access to the books again but PDF would be good.

[GAZZA]

11 hours ago, Ian Absentia said:

Speaking of which - and I intend this in all sincerity, so I apologise for the digression - does anyone here recall purchasing this book from me anywhere between 10 and 15 years ago?  I loved that book, and for the life of me I can't find it in my collection now, though all other books remain.

Just...let me know it's in a good home. 😿

!i!

I probably got it off eBay several years ago - so, maybe? If so, I can assure you it's happy with me.

[Austin]

7 hours ago, ffilz said:

But all through that, I gravitated to treasure seeking monster bashing, pretty traditional gaming though maybe with a bit more characterization than with D&D, and certainly smaller "dungeons." And that's the type of gaming that still interests me. ...

I'm NOT sold on the newer style tribal centered play. I'm not sold on what I've heard about the RQG rules. But Glorantha is big enough for all of us. It's had enough gonzo and wacky stuff that it makes the way I play still "fit". And that gonzo and wacky stuff is part of the appeal to me. I like ducks. I like some of the silly stuff that shows up in Trollpak.

If people ask ME for suggestions of how to get started, I'd say pick up RQ1 or RQ2, Cults of Prax, and Apple Lane. if that grabs you, look into Griffin Mountain or Pavis/Big Rubble for more extensive (and available) content, or pick up some of the newer Sartar centered material and make a game of it. Borrow from whatever source you want (I'm always borrowing D&D and other games content) or make stuff up on your own.

FWIW my game basically uses the tribal/cultural stuff to then justify the hack n' slash . Our old RQ3-ish game was basically just a series of AD&D dungeons. Some of us newer folk are still kicking down doors & looting the room!

[simonh]

Three pages of replies and nobody has mentioned Griselda. How can nobody have mentioned Griselda?

https://www.chaosium.com/the-complete-griselda-pdf/

Back in the 80s the Griselda short stories, published in White Dwarf Magazine, were my first exposure to Glorantha alongside the occasional RQ scenario or monster  elsewhere in the magazine. She's a street smart adventurer living on her wits in Pavis and the Big Rubble. These stories were probably the single thing that grabbed my interest the most. I wanted to know what some of these things meant. What are these Trolls in Glorantha like? They seem intelligent, but brutal and sometimes live alongside humans. Combat seemed dynamic and tactical, was that really how RQ worked? What is a Death lord of Zorak Zoran? What is a cult? Even street thugs can know a few low power, but immediately useful magic spells?

Griselda was part of my kid's childhood, I used to read the stories at bedtime and they just loved them and couldn't wait for more. She was the perfect role model for my girls. Street smart, careful, creative and confident. Highly recommended and at $5 an incredible deal.

Edited July 20, 2020 by simonh

[Nick Brooke]

No disrespect to any posters, but I'd urge a degree of groundedness here. Insisting @Gman should relive your own journey with RuneQuest thirty or forty years later, as that's the best or only way to experience it, is kinda unrealistic. Suggest focusing on current editions and books readily available in print, for someone who prefers printed books, and on supported settings that can readily be used for Sword & Sorcery (the Hero Wars in Dragon Pass!), rather than previous iterations that could also do the same (looting the Big Rubble in Pavis!).

[Akhôrahil]

If you're new, it's both reasonable and easy to use the Sartar stuff that's currently being published. It's designed to be somewhat newbie-friendly.

[Stephen L]

On 7/19/2020 at 1:19 AM, Gman said:

I have read of RQ

You mention that you have the Slipcase set.  That has everything you need for an excellent introduction to Glorantha.  I get the impression that the good folk at Chaosium have given a lot of thought how to start people off, and this is working really well for my campaign.  Though I'm an old RQ/Glorantha hand from the early 80's, my youngest player is 7, and he's really enjoying it, so it's a good enough start for him!

If you want more background, then the Glorantha Source book, https://www.chaosium.com/the-glorantha-sourcebook-hardcover/, is good, focusing on what you need for a Dragon Pass (ish) 1625 campaign.  But the Slipcase case has the essentials covered.

On 7/19/2020 at 8:06 AM, Nick Brooke said:

 I read Greg's Cosmology & History articles in Cults of Terror

These are amongst my favourite as well, and they're available online for free at the Well of Daliath (another excellent resource):

https://wellofdaliath.chaosium.com/home/gloranthan-documents/cot-history/cot-cosmology/

https://wellofdaliath.chaosium.com/home/gloranthan-documents/cot-history/

Also lots of other stuff there, including maps of Glorantha (which are a bit sparse, particularly in Glorantha Source book): https://wellofdaliath.chaosium.com/home/gloranthan-documents/glorantha-2/map-of-glorantha/

Also, I agree with pretty much everything runeblogger says in his article:

On 7/18/2020 at 1:25 PM, Runeblogger said:

I wrote a post about How to get started in Glorantha

 

On 7/17/2020 at 9:15 PM, Gman said:

I love gritty sword and Sorcery

There's *a lot* to enjoy in RQ/Glorantha, and it has the flexibility that you're not typecast, so you can (usually) pull it where you and the players want to go.

Enjoy!

[ffilz]

14 hours ago, lordabdul said:

I have never looked very closely at the differences between RQ1 and RQ2, but my understanding was that RQ2 was mostly a heavily errata'ed version of RQ1 based on early feedback. Is there any reason you prefer to stick to RQ1?

So originally I stuck with RQ1 because I wasn't going to pay $12 for a bunch of errata... Now at the time I didn't really realize how many differences there were. Recently I completed a paragraph by paragraph comparison which I had hoped to share, but it's impossible to do the idea justice without copying too much text to work under the fan license so I will be working with Chaosium (probably over the next year) to polish it into something that can be offered as a more official product.

Sometime between 1980 and 1995 or so, I did come up with some changes I don't like:

1. I don't like RQ2 armor, in part because of the AP stacking on the abdomen and chest, partly because I like to just say "this guy is wearing chain".

2. After playing with John T. Sapienza's unified weapons tables of the early days (published in The Wild Hunt and Alarums and Excursions APAs), I have come to prefer RQ1's quirkier weapons table over RQ2.

3. From the paragraph by paragraph comparison, I don't agree with all the spell changes.

4. While it is nice to be able to look up creatures alphabetically, I also like seeing the creature groupings in RQ1, plus I noticed a few changes (and since I use RQ1 I have the Ambush and Sense Ambush skills).

That said, I had never really looked at Shamans very closely, in part because RQ1 Shamans are sort of confusing. If I run Shamans now, I will use the RQ2 rules.

I have long used Protection as a variable spell instead of RQ1's Padding and Protection spells.

I wonder how many other folks in the world still use RQ1... Am I some weird holdout? Of course one might ask how many even still use RQ2, it seems like most folks migrated to RQ3 when it came out (or at least once it had decent Glorantha support).

[ffilz]

14 hours ago, DreadDomain said:

I this case though, Gman already has RQG so I suspect, it will be much easier for him. As an aside, it is often easier to start on a new RPG with the latest iteration which is supported, irrespective of what the established crowd prefers.

Oh, sure, I agree, if you're getting into RQ and Glorantha today, go pick yourself up RQG and some of the current modules. Then if you're curious and willing to do some work, go back and pick up some of the RQ2 era modules (or even the RQ3 ones if you can find them in a bargain bin in a dark corner of your FLGS).

I was merely stating what I would recommend if someone asked ME what I would suggest... Don't listen to me... I guess I wasn't clear enough. And I was also responding to Nick Brooke's story of how he got into RQ and sharing mine, and that I unlike most (all?) others, have stuck with the original game.

[ffilz]

9 hours ago, Nick Brooke said:

No disrespect to any posters, but I'd urge a degree of groundedness here. Insisting @Gman should relive your own journey with RuneQuest thirty or forty years later, as that's the best or only way to experience it, is kinda unrealistic. Suggest focusing on current editions and books readily available in print, for someone who prefers printed books, and on supported settings that can readily be used for Sword & Sorcery (the Hero Wars in Dragon Pass!), rather than previous iterations that could also do the same (looting the Big Rubble in Pavis!).

I really hope I didn't come across as insisting that someone new to Glorantha relive my journey...

Heh, it was much easier before RQG was released but the kickstarter had put most of the RQ1/2 material on Drivethru... Then if one wanted to recommend RQ as opposed to HQ, one could in good conscience recommend RQ2 (or RQ1) + Cults of Prax + maybe a module or two. Now I agree, it's better to recommend RQG and a current module or two.

[g33k]

On 7/19/2020 at 11:04 AM, Gman said:

... with that said is it easy to convert the coming storm and eleven lights to RQG considering my experience with RQG?

The HeroQuest game-engine (which is used by TCS and 11L) is VERY different from RQ.

You will have to create all the RQ-mechanical bits on your own -- stat blocks, spells, etc.  Much of this will be fairly self-evident, albeit tedious.  A few elements will be more challenging; overall, it's a project that many have done, and found worthwhile.

I wish Chaosium would do an official "adapted stats" booklet.

[g33k]

On 7/19/2020 at 11:06 AM, Richard S. said:

Pavis is a very good starting place, especially for people coming from dungeon crawlers. I'd recommend picking up Pavis & the Big Rubble if you want to give it a go in Runequest. It's written for RQ2, but as is tradition with BRP games 90% of it is useable as-is. The only problem is that it's set a few years before RQG starts, but you can probably either adjust or ignore family history enough to get yourselves started then.

There's also the Jonstown Compendium "Early Family History" supplement, to help make the earlier (RQ2/RQ3) content work better for RQG.

Explicitly Pavis-ite backgrounds, or Zola Fel, or Corflu, would also help... but AFAIK are unavailable at this time.

[Rick Meints]

18 hours ago, lordabdul said:

Most probably a rights issue: according to the legalese blurbs at the beginning of those books, it all belongs to Avalon Hill. I don't imagine it's very high on Chaosium's list to spend time and money talking to lawyers on the phone.

No need to speculate when I'm on these threads fairly actively, and usually respond when asked. 🙂

I have said this on other threads, but there is no rights issue with the vast majority of RQ3 material. If you look at the credits page of almost ANY RQ3 supplement your will see that it is copyrighted by Chaosium and not by Avalon Hill. Greg made very sure that they retained the copyright, and when he left Chaosium his part of the split was taking all of those copyrights with him. Moon Design Publications owns all the rights to RuneQuest and Glorantha, both in terms of trademarks and IP. So why haven't we reprinted more RQ3 product? It's just down to time and resources. We do not have electronic copies of any RQ3 material in a laid out form. Those layouts were all done as cut and paste until late in the life cycle of RQ3, and Avalon Hill deleted the layout files for whatever they had for the last books in the RQ3 line several decades ago. That said, a few RQ3 books may get released as "Classics", but they haven't even been started yet. To be fair, getting a copy of Dorastor, Sun County, and similar isn't that hard on eBay, and you probably wouldn't have to pay more than $30-$40 for any of them if you have a bit of patience. I know a few sellers have copies listed for far more than that, but those don't sell. If you are based in the US, feel free to send me your want list of RQ3 items you are looking for.

Edited July 20, 2020 by Rick Meints

[Rick Meints]

33 minutes ago, g33k said:

The HeroQuest game-engine (which is used by TCS and 11L) is VERY different from RQ. You will have to create all the RQ-mechanical bits on your own -- stat blocks, spells, etc.  Much of this will be fairly self-evident, albeit tedious.  A few elements will be more challenging; overall, it's a project that many have done, and found worthwhile.

I wish Chaosium would do an official "adapted stats" booklet.

Having such a stats book is possible, but no one at Chaosium has the bandwidth to write it, especially when such work is, as you say, "tedious". If a volunteer submitted it to us we could possibly make it available as an official PDF.

Edited July 20, 2020 by Rick Meints

[g33k]

5 hours ago, Rick Meints said:

Having such a stats book is possible, but no one at Chaosium has the bandwidth to write it, especially when such work is, as you say, "tedious". If a volunteer submitted it to us we could possibly make it available as an official PDF.

This is tremendously helpful, RIck; or at least I hope it will prove so!

I'm not one of those who has done the adaptation, but I know others have.  I hope one of them kept good notes, and would be willing to approach you folks with that.

To clarify -- would you/Chaosium want to see a "letter of interest" or the like, first?
Or just the whole shebang submitted out of the blue?

[Gman]

8 hours ago, Stephen L said:

You mention that you have the Slipcase set.  That has everything you need for an excellent introduction to Glorantha.  I get the impression that the good folk at Chaosium have given a lot of thought how to start people off, and this is working really well for my campaign.  Though I'm an old RQ/Glorantha hand from the early 80's, my youngest player is 7, and he's really enjoying it, so it's a good enough start for him!

If you want more background, then the Glorantha Source book, https://www.chaosium.com/the-glorantha-sourcebook-hardcover/, is good, focusing on what you need for a Dragon Pass (ish) 1625 campaign.  But the Slipcase case has the essentials covered.

These are amongst my favourite as well, and they're available online for free at the Well of Daliath (another excellent resource):

https://wellofdaliath.chaosium.com/home/gloranthan-documents/cot-history/cot-cosmology/

https://wellofdaliath.chaosium.com/home/gloranthan-documents/cot-history/

Also lots of other stuff there, including maps of Glorantha (which are a bit sparse, particularly in Glorantha Source book): https://wellofdaliath.chaosium.com/home/gloranthan-documents/glorantha-2/map-of-glorantha/

Also, I agree with pretty much everything runeblogger says in his article:

 

There's *a lot* to enjoy in RQ/Glorantha, and it has the flexibility that you're not typecast, so you can (usually) pull it where you and the players want to go.

Enjoy!

I think the best approach for me will be to start with what I have (Slipcase adventure) +inevitable starter set then move into the new Pavis and Big Rubble books when they come out.  Thanks for all the info

[Rick Meints]

2 hours ago, g33k said:

This is tremendously helpful, RIck; or at least I hope it will prove so!

I'm not one of those who has done the adaptation, but I know others have.  I hope one of them kept good notes, and would be willing to approach you folks with that.

To clarify -- would you/Chaosium want to see a "letter of interest" or the like, first?
Or just the whole shebang submitted out of the blue?

What to submit solely depends on how much work on the stats has been done thus far. If only a few stats blocks have been done as some sort of test, then that could be submitted, along with a plan/outline for how to handle the rest of the work. If the whole lot has been done, then that could be submitted at the start. Regardless, we are absolutely not asking anyone to do a great deal of work before getting any sort of agreement or understanding as to how we should proceed.

[soltakss]

23 hours ago, Nick Brooke said:

No disrespect to any posters, but I'd urge a degree of groundedness here. Insisting @Gman should relive your own journey with RuneQuest thirty or forty years later, as that's the best or only way to experience it, is kinda unrealistic. Suggest focusing on current editions and books readily available in print, for someone who prefers printed books, and on supported settings that can readily be used for Sword & Sorcery (the Hero Wars in Dragon Pass!), rather than previous iterations that could also do the same (looting the Big Rubble in Pavis!).

For me, I don't buy print editions nowadays, only PDFs and Arms and Enemies of Dragon Pass, so I don't know what is available in print, as opposed to just PDF.

Also, I am on an embargo and am self-banned from reading things that might appear in an forthcoming campaign, so I can't comment on a lot of the Jonstown Compendium material.

I have pretty much all the older RQ material in print, so am happy to comment on them. They are available, at a price, on various resale sites.

[Nick Brooke]

This is @Gman's thread, and they've expressed a strong preference for print.