Where will your Heroquest game go?

[Matt Ryan]

19 hours ago, Dimbyd said:

I'm also ruminating on an Ars Magica/ Heroquest hack for Grand Tribunal in August. 

 

Grand Tribunal? I've been there twice, both times hosted (and housed) by CJ. Have we met?

 

matt

[Joerg]

1 hour ago, Mark Mohrfield said:

I'm having some trouble with the lack of granularity on the second part of the survey. Would locally powerful heroes fall into the first or second category?

I wasn't quite clear about that, either.

And truth to be told I would like to explore all the ends of the spectrum.

I wonder about the hero and demigod range - how much are such characters bound by fate, or by the worship (or similar support) of their communities that might limit them in their freedom of choice (or cause them to hurt themselves and their abilities when deciding against these trends)? If I understood the Kallyr story correctly, this is what happened to her.

Are such moments "mandatory" as heroes progress, and is the mark of a great hero to take on these significant damages and to carry on? How tragic is a Gloranthan hero (and/or demigod, and/or superhero)? How much evil prophecy will the hero accumulate? (Note to self - going against the expected direction of the supporters needn't do immediate damage but may incur new taboos and premonitions of a really bad end for the character.)

Looking at these musings, I think that creating the low level settings for HQ has different challenges - to come up with new interesting twists and adventures for low  and low rune level folk that haven't been done in other settings - than dealing with Movers and Shakers (where you need something like a consequence generator, and possibly a "living universe" approach to the other movers and shakers and their factions) and in the far range of heroes and demigods some idea how the mythic structure of the world is reconfigured and how that plays out upon return to the more mortal affairs.

I would like to see a publication that runs a community game rather than a character game. Over the years I have played a few of these, and they were some of my most insightful Gloranthan games. One time Greg Stafford ran a game where every player represented one of the uz tribes of the Blue Moon Plateau who had to provide something big for the ever-growing appetite of the ancient mistress race mother pregnant with the new hope of uzkind, where the abiltiies were something like "tribal queen 3M2", "three uzko clans 12M1", "five enlo hordes 17" and "six insect herds 2M1" where you put these abilities to certain domestic, ritual and extraordinary tasks. You could allot certain properties to these skills, like e.g. "burrowing moon moth maggots" to some of the insect herds, which came in very handy when the extraordinary task included returning the Cap of Mernita, which had to be dug out. Another time Jeff Richard ran two communities of five players each against each other, with each player personifying exactly one community skill. How to employ those skills was decided by something like council sessions, and framing the contests to match the skills and the flavors was a major component in that game.

I realize that this is rather exotic. However, I can imagine a product with a working title "experimental HeroQuest" where several such approaches get presented to offer other ways to play this game, not necessarily building upon one another, and neither with a full background like that of the Red Cow setting.

[Dimbyd]

Matt- I'm dreadful with names- but I attended Grand Tribunal in 2015 and 2016. It is a lovely boutique convention. 

[Matt Ryan]

Dimbyd - I was there something like five or six years ago. If I could find my old passport I'd know for sure. Ah well.

[Ian Cooper]

On 06/04/2017 at 5:57 PM, Mark Mohrfield said:

I'm having some trouble with the lack of granularity on the second part of the survey. Would locally powerful heroes fall into the first or second category?

Second. First is meant to be farmer's campaign

[Revilo Divad Of Dyoll]

On ‎4‎/‎3‎/‎2017 at 8:16 AM, Ian Cooper said:

I'm trying to understand appetite for material outside of Dragon Pass. Traditionally, supplements for areas outside of DP and Prax have not done so well, because folks can't use the material in their own game. But, post the Guide, folks may have more of an appetite for exploring the wider lozenge.

So let's talk about where you might want to go, if you could only pick one to cover for the next two to three years

 

I am fascinated by Fonrit.  I would also like to see stuff on Teshnos and Kralorela. 

Your poll results may be skewed because people on this forum may already have all the setting material back to 1980 or whenever.  (For example, I personally love Pavis, but if I could choose one more book to see published, it wouldn't be yet another book on Pavis).  But the potential audience for the books is (hopefully) larger than the number of people who read this forum.  

[Mark Mohrfield]

On ‎4‎/‎14‎/‎2017 at 3:54 PM, Revilo Divad Of Dyoll said:

 (For example, I personally love Pavis, but if I could choose one more book to see published, it wouldn't be yet another book on Pavis). 

I understand (and to some extent share) this desire, but I would point out that while New Pavis has been detailed, the Old Pavis communities have never been given much attention.

[Ian Cooper]

On 14/04/2017 at 8:54 PM, Revilo Divad Of Dyoll said:

Your poll results may be skewed because people on this forum may already have all the setting material back to 1980 or whenever. 

It's more 'out of interest' in terms of the people here, than any belief that a survey here would produce a statistically significant or representative sample.

[Ian Cooper]

27 minutes ago, Mark Mohrfield said:

the Old Pavis communities have never been given much attention.

The trick to understanding the Big Rubble is that it is an old-school megadungeon. As such it has: large unoccupied areas (where the main threat is a wandering monster from another area), areas occupied by different groups (trolls, dwarfs, elves, humans, chaos), and 'Saturday Night Special' areas (Puzzle Canal etc.) It has more in common with Castle Greyhawk or the Undercity of Jakalla than Jonstown etc. See http://dmdavid.com/tag/when-megadungeons-ruled-dungeons-dragons/ but note that most 'modules' were 'tournament dungeons' that could plausibly be cleared whereas within a megadungeon that would merely be a portion of a level.

But this is possibly a whole other thread.

[Revilo Divad Of Dyoll]

19 hours ago, Mark Mohrfield said:

I understand (and to some extent share) this desire, but I would point out that while New Pavis has been detailed, the Old Pavis communities have never been given much attention.

You didn't like the MRQ stuff, huh? ;-)

[Mark Mohrfield]

9 hours ago, Revilo Divad Of Dyoll said:

You didn't like the MRQ stuff, huh? ;-)

I was referring to Third age background for things like the Real City, the Troll Strongholds, the Garden, Opili's Fort, etc.

[Noita]

On 4/18/2017 at 3:49 AM, Mark Mohrfield said:

I was referring to Third age background for things like the Real City, the Troll Strongholds, the Garden, Opili's Fort, etc.

I'd love to see the Rubble get a book before we start seeing other places, and then Prax and Sun County. Then that area is complete and need never be revisited.

[Mark Mohrfield]

13 hours ago, Iskallor said:

I'd love to see the Rubble get a book before we start seeing other places, and then Prax and Sun County. Then that area is complete and need never be revisited.

You forgot the Cradle Scenario. And Duke Raus's lands. and etc, etc. I honestly think that the Zola Fel valley alone has more background than most rpg worlds.

[Mankcam]

In response to the original question,  I don't see HQ as being my go-to game for Glorantha, but I would really love to see HQ do pulpy stuff like Hollywood Action films and such. I see it as a great set of rules for running stuff like Magnum PI, CSI,  Dirty Harry, Bosch, MI, Die Hard, The Transporter, The Fast & The Furious, etc. That's just the kind of genre that I think the game mechanics support really well.

However if the original poll is more about what Gloranthan settings I would like to see, then I am definitely eager for The Holy Country and Ralios. In fact Dragon Pass really needs to be developed more in conjunction with Esrolia and the other ex-Sixths, considering the proximity to each other.

I love Pavis and Prax, but I don't think I really need to see it further developed, given the source material already out there. As far as The Big Rubble goes, it's quite easy to retrap old D&D dungeon-delves and fit them into The Big Rubble, which seems like it was designed to do.

I would not mind seeing the HQ Sartar books brought out again with some of the artwork more consistent with the current portrayals of Sartarites. Not much would change regarding content, if at all, and at least half of the artwork still works. But presenting them consistently with the presentation described in the G2G and The Coming Storm is a good idea.

For more new material I would love to see the Malkioni finally officially developed. Especially how the G2G reinforces that they are more consistent with ancient world cultures than their earlier medieval portrayals. They sound like a mix of Etruscans meets Byzantium Empire meets Vedic culture, but who really knows at this stage? I think that given they are such a presence in western Genertela that we really should see some official development on them.

I would like to see how Seshnela is, although as a region Ralios may have more play opportunities with the Safelstan City-States.

Any of these regions would be great to see developed. If it is for HQ then its not an issue to me as it's very easy to convert to any system, so I would quickly translate it into RQ.  

I am eager for any further material to be developed for Glorantha

Edited April 22, 2017 by Mankcam

[Noita]

As for new works I'd like the Southern continent to get a campaign. 

[Garwalf]

On 4/5/2017 at 5:51 AM, Joerg said:

That points straight to the Harreksaga - travel around the Homeward Ocean and meet and raid all those quaint local people and their likewise quaint exotic dangers. Exotic encounters galore.

Join the Harrek the Berserker and travel around Glorantha, meet interesting people and kill them.

[Garwalf]

I don’t have a campaign going right now, so for me the biggest question is: What would I buy regardless of whether or not I was in a game?

These are more or less in order of preference, but I would buy any and all of these:

1) I would love to see better guidance for including Elder Races as PC’s--either in an all-Elder Races campaign or mixed in with humans. RuneQuest was a game where some players made up Tusk Rider characters, and now it feels like it’s difficult to even work the odd duck PC into a HeroQuest game.

(Side note: When I skimmed The Coming Storm, one of the things I found most interesting was the material on the Telmori. Thanks Ian!)

2) I’d like to echo an earlier post: Please return to the sea! I’ve been dying to go to the seas in Glorantha ever since reading the RQ3 rules about ships. “Men of the Sea” had its strengths, but it needs replacing--especially in the age of HQ:G

3) Big Rubble

4) Prax--or at least something that gives guidelines for creating Praxian characters--beyond the Waha writeup in HQ:G

5) And, to be honest, if the “official” timeline is moving past 1626, Pavis itself will look a lot different and I would really love guidance on how to run games in the city after the rise of Argrath White Bull.

Also, I would like to make a pitch regarding the tone of any new material: I know a lot of buyers are experienced Gloranthans, but please try to make sure material is accessible to newcomers too. Remember that while heroes may ask questions about life, death, and meaning (and these responses enrich Glorantha), still players ask: “What k00l powerz does this give me?” Please make sure the answer is clear.

Edited May 3, 2017 by Garwalf
Edited for clarity

[Ian Cooper]

13 hours ago, Garwalf said:

Also, I would like to make a pitch regarding: I know a lot of buyers are experienced Gloranthans, but please try to make sure material is accessible to newcomers too. Remember that while heroes may ask questions about life, death, and meaning (and these responses enrich Glorantha), still players ask: “What k00l powerz does this give me?” Please make sure the answer is clear.

 

Indeed, I'd very much like the HQG line to be accessible to folks if you didn't have time to read a lot of background, either as GM or Player. Of course, I would want to support the richness, but tthere are ways of layering the detail so that you can dive as deep as you want or need.

[Richard S.]

http://web.archive.org/web/20030622204719/http://www.glorantha.com:80/products/future-plans.html

This is what I want. All of it.

[JonL]

You know what, I wish I'd thought of it before, but my (free, and thus worth what you're paying for it) advice to @Ian Cooper and @Jeff is to hire Chris Chin (Bankuei) to do a Kralorela book. 

• He has deep knowledge of both Glorantha & HeroQuest
• He has run Kralori campaigns.
• He has shown the ability to critique problematic racial aspects about Kralorela that most of us may not otherwise notice while remaining constructively engaged with it.
• His output is good and conduct professional.
• The Blood Monsoon is rad.

Much as I'm itching for a Ralios book, Chris's critique that the further away from Dragon Pass you go the more shallow and stereotypical the cultural presentations become is on-point. That's not to point fingers, there's a ton of practical and historical reasons why it ended up that way, but the opportunity to do better is there. Hopefully it can be seized.

Edited May 19, 2017 by JonL

[Bohemond]

I have been craving a Prax campaign for HQ for a long time. I ran one on my own for a while, but it eventually died in part because there was so little information about Praxian society I found myself struggling for idea (but also in part because two players became difficult and sort of torpedoed things). 

[Tim Ellis]

My thoughts were that a Tarsh/Lunar Provinces book should be different enough from a Sartar/Orlanthi campaign, without being so alien as to turn people off.  Close enough that Sartarite characters could conceivably visit for those wanting to maintain continuity, or as an "enemies" sourcebook giving information on Lunar(ised) cults.

That said, I'd be happy with any area - exploring areas "in play" make them much more "alive"...

 

[simonh]

One thing to bear in mind is that a really stormingly good campaign pack could open up pretty much anywhere to popularity and fame. For example nobody is suggesting Balazar, it's an unremarkable backwater in the grand scheme of things Gloranthan, yet Griffin Mountain is one of the best loved campaign packs. To be truly great a supplement has to be done for its own sake, not just because now it's time to do a supplement on X.

I'll support the vote for the Lunar Provinces though, Holly, Aggar, Imther, etc. They're close enough to Dragon Pass to be relevant to campaigns there, are also close to Dorastor and Balazar, have familiar elements such as Orlanthi culture and should still provide a solid grounding on life in the Empire. If you look at areas detailed already in campaign packs, that area is a gaping hole in the middle yet it looks like it should be packed with things to do.

Simon Hibbs

Edited August 11, 2017 by simonh

[Joerg]

I am growing more and more convinced that Glorantha could find a new market with a weird, high rolling Outer World campaign, with trips into the sky, the near Underworld, underwater realms etc.

Sailing up the Sky River features in both Sartar Rising and The Eleven Lights, however in both cases as heroquests. A tale like St. Brennan boating the Young Islands can easily be done in Gloranthan context, with Gloranthan cults from now and the past. Well grounded in the background, in wildly mythic, semi-out-of-context realms is a style of adventure that hasn't seen publication yet.

The idea itself isn't new. In fact, looking at examples like the Githzerai and Gythianki in AD&D 1st ed Fiend Folio, this is a rather Old School approach. Which is very en vogue these days, so why not offer Glorantha-flavored outer world strangeness?

 

[Jenx]

I mean if we're going on-Gloranthan settings, let's just take what Joerg is suggesting two steps further - HQ:Planescape. I actually keep planning on hacking together a homebrew conversion of this so I could potentially run it at some point, but hell, it's not inconceivable to make it fit the system.

Beyond that - I like the West and want to have more stuff in there. Be it Ralios or Seshnela, I don't particularly care. I just want to have the Malkioni around. Having a proper Lunar-centered book would also work great.