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What do you love about Glorantha? (Glorantha Quickstart)


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7 hours ago, hkokko said:

Wow, soltakks, it has been a long ride, there are still many grognards here, 36.5 years for me. Do you still have players from your original group - I have three of them and a fourth who joined a bit later.

Having some players from your original group still playing is impressive.

Unfortunately, no, my first group was at University and we lost track when we graduated. My second group was Uni-related and lasted for about ten years, until we all moved away. My current group is Birmingham based and I joined after finding out about them in the original Mongoose RQ playtest, I joined them 13 years ago, so they must have been going for 16 years.

 

one of the reasons I like Glorantha is the tribe we have formed over the years.

Yes, that is a good point. Who would have thought I'd be friends with people from all over Europe, America, Australia and New Zealand through playing in Glorantha.

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Simon Phipp - Caldmore Chameleon - Wallowing in my elitism since 1982. Many Systems, One Family. Just a fanboy. 

www.soltakss.com/index.html

Jonstown Compendium author. Find my contributions here

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For me it all started when I attended my firat Runequest (III) session on a small role playing fair in Berlin, Germany during the early mid-eigthies of the last century (that sounds weird :)), where one of the prepared characters provided by the Game Master was ... a duck! I couldn't resist. (This duck had the best climbing value in the group, so you can guess, who had to go up all the time on the trees for getting a better outlook ...) This was one of my greatest game sessions ever! (I still own the character sheet!)

Next point was, that religion is not just a more or less important add-on to the setting, which mainly provides the first aid staff needed in a world of constant fighting. It was integral part of the culture (regardless which one you used). It was the basic moral compass for actions of all people involved in a Gloranthan game in a much more differentiated way than the alignment system I knew up unto this point. Pantheons and Gods had relations, which motivated the actions of their followers. Much more to what religion was in our world than any other role playing system I have seen.

Different nations, cultures, peoples could have quite different views about the same historical/mythical events, which was reflected in different legends/myths/stories. And members of these nations were absolutely convinced, that their view was the only right one.

Last but not least: non-human races. Although the names sounded familiar (Elves, Dwarves, Trolls), they were so different from everything I had seen so far, so alien, that they made this setting absolutely outstanding to any other existing role playing setting - and still do so.

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Thanks everyone - these are excellent, and lots of well-considered views to choose from as we assemble the Glorantha Quickstart. A key aspect that many people have noted is the collegiality that exists in Gloranthan fandom though, which is great. And Glorantha fans love ducks. 

Starting another question soon...

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It's three things that hooked me:  The how the mythology explains the world and how each person is more about what god and myths they believe in than they are a specific character class.  The silliness (ducks) and ability to laugh at themselves that has existed from day one (beware the evil griffon, he has a scarlet beak and crimson eyes.  Trust only the good griffon who has a crimson beak and scarlet eyes....you meet a griffon with a red beak and red eyes.)  And just as importantly, the game system, RuneQuest, which from day one was head and shoulders better than any other gaming system created before or since.

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I love it that there is another thread going on regarding whether Glorantha has gravity or not. That's the kind of things you got to love about Glorantha :D

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" Sure it's fun, but it is also well known that a D20 roll and an AC is no match against a hefty swing of a D100% and a D20 Hit Location Table!"

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6 hours ago, Mankcam said:

I love it that there is another thread going on regarding whether Glorantha has gravity or not. That's the kind of things you got to love about Glorantha :D

Of course it has gravity... but Wakboth is found in the warp and the weft, innit?

Gloranthan "gravity" is driven by something entirely different than G(M1M2/r^2) (just as Glorantha has "weather" and "climate" and "seasons" but they're is driven by stuff other than solar heating, radiative cooling, axial tilt, etc).

;)

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C'es ne pas un .sig

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On 10.8.2017 at 8:07 PM, Pentallion said:

ability to laugh at themselves that has existed from day one

That' right. In almost all the RQ2 publications, one can find some concealed touches of self-irony, but never ridiculous nor inconsistent.

Glorantha gives us the illusion to be intelligent.

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Wind on the Steppes, role playing among the steppe Nomads. The  running campaign and the blog

 

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I don't remember what I loved about Glorantha twenty five years ago when I got into it, but what I love now is that every time I get back into it, it feels like coming home.

I mean, childhood homes go away, friends and loved ones move, but Glorantha is always there; a place where you can meet up with old friends and start new adventures.

Anyways, it's great to see new products coming out again!  Keep up the good work.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Glorantha presents the best representation of gods, worshipers, and religions in any fantasy setting I can think of--in games, literature, film, or any other medium.

Religion in Glorantha isn't a matter of "believing" in one god or another. They all exist--even gods of your character's enemies and the gods of people you've never heard of. The question is: What does your character do for those gods, and what does he or she get in return? And then Glorantha answers the other important questions about gods, goddesses, and religions in the world: What do these gods and goddesses do for the *world*? Why is their worship important? And what institutions have been created by the worshipers of those gods?

And it has Ducks.

And it has Griselda.

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I first played RuneQuest (1 - I think) whist desperately avoiding a school sports day in 1979. What I liked was the lack of levels, openness of skills and the range of character races (I played a scorpionman as we had no clue as to Gloranthan setting intricacies - scorpionmen were just "cool").

 

Later I got sucked into all the detail and sophistication of the setting; the politics and religious framework being a big draw.

 

Sadly I never liked ducks.

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