Jump to content

Bits of Glorantha you ignore


Jon Hunter

Recommended Posts

I don't really ignore anything written for Glorantha. If I were setting up a Gloranthan campaign I would be basing it in a part of the world I already know, which is mainly the Dragon Pass area, but that isn't because I dislike/disagree/hate/ignore the rest of the world. I don't have any problems with ducks, although I tend to portray them with only slight bits of humor. If I were a PC in a group where the GM used a Donald Duck voice and flapped his arms like wings while playing an NPC duck I probably wouldn't enjoy it. When we played through our Griffin Mountain campaign in the early 80s I had no problems with Jack O'Bears. They seemed no more or less silly than a number of creatures I had encountered in previous D&D games only a few years before (including Bugbears, which Jack O'Bears are based on). I like Dragonewts for a number of reasons and am happy to have them as NPCs because they specifically are unpredictable and I enjoy the speculation as to why they do things the way they do. I don't mind if people play the Lunars as X or Y, especially if I am playing in a one-shot scenario. I've enjoyed playing them as "The Romans in Life of Brian", playing them as Soviets more akin to the Hunt for Red October, (Hunt for Red Storm Season freeform) and also as they are in the Guide to Glorantha,, which is how I would probably use them in a campaign. All that said, I expect everybody to drop some aspects of Glorantha. There's SO MUCH written about Glorantha how could you agree with or like absolutely all of it. I'm not a personal fan of the Juggernaut (big rolling wheel) but all I do is just think "It's far away", not "erase it from the histories". Lastly, I don't play Morokanth as vegetarians (although I appreciate the humor of it) because to me it means they DID cheat in the contest. I'd prefer not to know if they cheated. I prefer the sense of the unknown surrounding it. I'm actually one of those irritating types that loved sitting in an "Ask Greg" seminar at a convention and was happy when he would answer with "I don't know" or "I haven't decided". I don't want to know what Charg is like while under the Ban, or who really won between Arkat/Gbaji, etc. I love Glorantha because of the ambiguity and the wide sweeping weirdness it contains. 

  • Like 8
  • Helpful 2

Hope that Helps,
Rick Meints - Chaosium, Inc.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Most of it. The setting is like Forgotten Realms in how thoroughly overdeveloped it is. Also, a good half of all Glorantha related publications are dry, self important nonsense that do the setting and its fans no service. 

I use the general themes and pick and choose from the mountain of garbage all the stuff I like. I had hoped that the new version of Runequest would come hand in hand with a new way of looking at Glorantha. I would have liked to have seen the noose loosened and we could have seen something like the 13th Age Vaporware project's core ideas applied across the board. I would have liked to have seen different interpretations of the setting, varied takes, ACTUAL FUN, etc...but instead we got yet another pseudoanthropological folklore nerd fanwank aimed at old diehard fans that does not appeal to anyone outside this echo chamber.

Related: I have pretty much given up on Runequest. I still like Mythras, and will continue to use it now and again. I run "Glorantha" games using DCC now.

  • Like 2
  • Sad 1

121/420

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I ignore the gonzo stuff, because while I detest the overly self important attitude taken by some, I also prefer to run my games with a serious tone (which admittedly sounds self important...)

Other than that, I try to stay close to Glorantha as written because I like the challenge and novelty of portraying different cultures. I do tend to elide stuff like "Loko Moko", which just makes players laugh and robs the moment of any gravity.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 hours ago, tedopon said:

Most of it....

I use the general themes and pick and choose from the mountain of garbage all the stuff I like...

<heh>  Yeah.  I'm envisioning a Glorantha campaign -- any mechanics -- that features as much as 20% of the Gloranthan canon.  The mind boggles... so, I think, would any group of players I've ever met (boggle, that is).

15 hours ago, tedopon said:

... something like the 13th Age Vaporware project's core ideas ...

N.B. the term "Vaporware" is a bit ambiguous, maybe even offensive.  While some consider it "announced but not yet released" others take it as "... will NEVER get released."

It's pretty clear that 13G in fact will be released... although the project appears to be behind schedule?

C'es ne pas un .sig

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, g33k said:

N.B. the term "Vaporware" is a bit ambiguous, maybe even offensive.  While some consider it "announced but not yet released" others take it as "... will NEVER get released."

It's pretty clear that 13G in fact will be released... although the project appears to be behind schedule?

Yes, it is technically still in production. Three years behind schedule.

121/420

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, g33k said:

N.B. the term "Vaporware" is a bit ambiguous, maybe even offensive.

I'd say it verges to the latter given that I, and every other backer, have the full text pdf.  Yes, we all want to have the final published version out the door, but doesn't make it "vaporware".

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, tedopon said:

...and there is literally no way it will ship by July 2018. I think it's even overly optimistic to say it will be at printers by then.

My guess it will be close to 3 years and done.

The last 13thAge Glorantha update indicated about 75% of the layout had been done. So at the current rate the PDF should hopefully be done and available in a couple of months. Then one month or so to Crowd Source any typos, and then about 3 months for printing / shipping. 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I meant no offense by using the term vaporware.

I fully expect the product to be delivered at some point. 

I am just fatigued by the kickstarter phenomenon of continually stretching timelines. I would honestly prefer to back products in the future that had a realistic date where I could possibly be surprised when it arrives early. I am lucky and haven't been burned yet. I have received everything I've backed. Always late, and each project is delivered further out from the projection. I would just prefer project designers would step back from their enthusiasm and make some realistic proposals. The trend over the last few years does not bode well for the production model's future IMO.

For the record, I did not back 13th Age Glorantha, but it looks rad.

  • Like 1

121/420

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, tedopon said:

I am just fatigued by the kickstarter phenomenon of continually stretching timelines.

Quite agree with you there.  Much as stretch goals are nice and add to the value of the final product, many people running kickstarters seriously underestimate the impact of those on delivery.  And I'm happy that RQG will not be kickstarted.

3 hours ago, tedopon said:

For the record, I did not back 13th Age Glorantha, but it looks rad.

There's really a lot of cool ideas in it from the use of runes, to ideas for rune magics, to heroquesting in the Argrath era, to scenario ideas that I plan to leverage in RQG.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, jajagappa said:

I'd say it verges to the latter given that I, and every other backer, have the full text pdf.  Yes, we all want to have the final published version out the door, but doesn't make it "vaporware".

The thing is, the word is made-up and relatively-recent.  There are different definitions;

One definition is "announced but not yet released," by which standard 13G certainly IS "vaporware" (I do not count a non-final draft in PDF-only released only to KS-backers as "delivery," particularly when so many folks backed for hardcopy).  Fair call.  Were I a backer, I'd be pretty pissed right now, though I'd still be looking forward to the product in full expectation of eventual arrival.

I only wanted to point out that OTHER definition -- which may be the working or main (or even only) definition for some readers! -- by which light, @tedopon had just accused Rob Heinsoo & everyone in that KS to be cheating the backers.   :(   I was pretty sure (and he confirmed above) that was *NOT* his intent; but for those who read "vaporware" to mean "eternally non-shipping" I thought the use in play should be clarified.

C'es ne pas un .sig

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I mostly ignored ducks and if I didn't, I definitely used the name Durulz and a visual that is more akin to the one we saw in Hero Wars rather than the Daffy Duck analogue. Another option could have been  the barbarian Platypus that is floating around on the web (less the tail). Just search for barbarian platypus on Google.

I mostly played Glorantha in RQ3 so my Glorantha was more down to earth and grittier, very much focused on politico-religious conflicts and searches for ancient mysteries. Magic was less gonzo (no Wind Lords were flying around) and there were no focus at all on the metaphysical.

EDIT I should have added that my Uz are less big hungry savages and more big hungry creature of darkness. Secretive, patient, a bit more sophisticated, scary...

Edited by DreadDomain
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 11/12/2017 at 5:00 AM, DreadDomain said:

I mostly ignored ducks and if I didn't, I definitely used the name Durulz and a visual that is more akin to the one we saw in Hero Wars rather than the Daffy Duck analogue. Another option could have been  the barbarian Platypus that is floating around on the web (less the tail). Just search for barbarian platypus on Google.

IMG Durulz are some form of bird-like dinosaur. The recently discovered Halszkaraptor would probably be similar.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don’t really get the complaint that Glorantha is over developed. Maybe I have overdeveloped “ignore things I don’t like or care about” muscles.

but there’s tons of stuff all over the most well known maps of Dragon Pass and Prax I know extremely little it nothing about. The ruins in the Dead Place? Monkey Ruins? Pimper’s Block? Tada’s High Tumulus? There are named spots all over the place That are complete mysteries to me. Personally I’ve run a campaign in Karse and made mine up from whole cloth. There are versions on the net, but none of them canonical.  There are vast swathes of history and background detail that are undefined. And if it turns out they are defined differently somewhere? Well, my game varies.

Simon Hibbs

  • Like 5
  • Thanks 2

Check out the Runequest Glorantha Wiki for RQ links and resources. Any updates or contributions welcome!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 years later...

I have a friend who finds ducks to be utterly immersion breaking, so I just don't include them when he plays.  I am not keen on ducks myself, but they are part of the setting, and there is this whole place on the map called Duck Point that becomes a bit problematic without them.  I certainly never have ducks in Prax, not even as river bandits.  Where ducks appear I substitute trollkin or baboons.

Edited by Darius West
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Darius West said:

I have a friend who finds ducks to be utterly immersion breaking, so I just don't include them when he plays.  I am not keen on ducks myself, but they are part of the setting, and there is this whole place on the map called Duck Point that becomes a bit problematic without them.  I certainly never have ducks in Prax, not even as river bandits.  Where ducks appear I substitute trollkin or baboons.

Better hope the campaign never reaches the "East Isles".. From the Guide:

Quote

Keets
Keets are a subspecies of duck which is found in the East Isles.
Mythos and History: ...

Description: Keets are a bird-people similar to ducks. The vast majority are similar to the ducks of Dragon Pass and the Holy Country. The East Isles hold various other tribes: booby, coot, cormorant, gull, merganser, parrot, pelican, puffin, and tern. At least one island boasts a village of flamingo-men.

I'm having extreme problems visualizing an armored flamingo... Maybe they've developed spiked helmets so the can swing their heads at opponents.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

44 minutes ago, Baron Wulfraed said:

I'm having extreme problems visualizing an armored flamingo... Maybe they've developed spiked helmets so the can swing their heads at opponents.

Given their use in a game of croquet, it doesn't look like flamingos (and by extension flamingo keets) need any additional head protection when impacting say hard wooden spheres.

Telling how it is excessive verbis

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've never managed to work in Kralorelans into my game, maybe as I feel they're too China-like and not distinct enough; but also as my campaigns have always been far from there, so I am blissfully ignorant. I am working the Black Sun into the West IMG, so we'll see...

Ditto for Vormain/Japan. But I'd love to be a player in a good campaign set in either place. I just don't feel good enough of a Gloranthan GM to figure out how to make them work myself.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

30 minutes ago, Snugz said:

I've never managed to work in Kralorelans into my game, maybe as I feel they're too China-like and not distinct enough; but also as my campaigns have always been far from there, so I am blissfully ignorant. I am working the Black Sun into the West IMG, so we'll see...

Ditto for Vormain/Japan. But I'd love to be a player in a good campaign set in either place. I just don't feel good enough of a Gloranthan GM to figure out how to make them work myself.

There was a “Little Teshnos” district in my version of Karse, but many of the residents were actually Kralorelan, and a Kralorelan street magician was an incidental character but that’s about it. Mainly I just wanted to show that Karse is moderately cosmopolitan so I had incidental characters from various corners of Glorantha.

Edited by simonh
  • Like 2

Check out the Runequest Glorantha Wiki for RQ links and resources. Any updates or contributions welcome!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 hours ago, Baron Wulfraed said:

Better hope the campaign never reaches the "East Isles".. From the Guide:

I'm having extreme problems visualizing an armored flamingo... Maybe they've developed spiked helmets so the can swing their heads at opponents.

I actually have less of a problem with an armored flamingo than meeting Donald Duck.  Call it a branding issue.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...