Where to start?

[Code_Uniform]

So, I've been a fan of Glorantha since I first discovered it through King of Dragon Pass in the 90's, but I've never actually found a group playing Hero- or RuneQuest. My group DOES play 13th Age, however, and since I've always felt it's setting a little underbaked, 13G seems like a great fit. Personally, I LOVE legacy settings like this (or Traveller, or anything in the real world). Being able to take a deep dive into the setting is most of the fun for me as a GM.

The problem is, where should I start with the players? I just got 13G (and the Guide to Glorantha) today, and it looks like it's set in the Dragon Pass (which is good, because it's what I know), but how do I ease the players into the setting gracefully? I don't want them to hit this and just bounce, but at the same time I'd like to avoid the "murder tourism" of a group that's used to normal D&D adventures and settings.

Any advice?

[jeffjerwin]

Prax and Pavis is a good choice if you don't want to worry about Heortling clan dynamics right away.

[jajagappa]

57 minutes ago, Code_Uniform said:

but how do I ease the players into the setting gracefully? I don't want them to hit this and just bounce, but at the same time I'd like to avoid the "murder tourism" of a group that's used to normal D&D adventures and settings.

Depends a bit on what they like.  With 13G, the Rune associations and the character classes (which tie to runes and gods) should help ease them into Glorantha.  The Duckpoint Venture included in the book is set for 3rd level characters, but offers some ideas of preceding events that you could work with.  

You might also pick up the old RQ2 Apple Lane booklet and check out the Rainbow Mounds scenario.  It's a dungeon crawl set in Dragon Pass with newtlings, rock lizards, gorp, and a troll bandit with trollkin.  There are stats for all but the rock lizards in 13G which should work for 1st level characters.  Maybe substitute the 13G earthbeasts for the rock lizards.  Tie it to the Duckpoint Venture that White-eye the troll bandit has stolen the sacred duck idol noted.  They track down White-eye to the Rainbow Mounds (can stop at the Tin Inn in Apple Lane along the way).  

At that point, you've introduced some of Glorantha such as newtling and Gloranthan trolls and some of the magic/wonder of Dragon Pass.

[Craig N]

I'm thinking seriously about 13G for my next campaign, for a group of players that knows nothing about Glorantha but something about 13A. Looking for a place to start for characters -- as well as players -- who don't necessarily know that much about the world, I hit on The City of 10,000 Magicians in Aggar (shows up on the secondary map). Closed off from entry by outsiders for decades, it's quite plausible you could get together a group of inhabitants whose families have ignored the world outside the walls for generations, and are only now realizing that may have been short-sighted. And they could be pretty much any 13A class, with idiosyncratic magic that doesn't have to mesh up all that well with anything else.

Then for players who want more solidly Gloranthan characters, start them off in the village outside the gates (of course there's one) which has just been swollen by refugees from Chaos Rising who hope to shelter under the City's magical defenses even if they can't get in. Pick a few things the refugees need that heroes can get them -- starting with a chaos threat or two that need smiting -- and you're off to the races. 

 

[jajagappa]

23 hours ago, Craig N said:

and you're off to the races. 

Sounds like a very reasonable plan.  

Aggar is an Orlanthi land, and as of the start of the 13G material, have rebelled against the Lunars to return to their traditionalist roots.  So more refugees likely from that, and any subsequent feuds that have erupted in the vacuum left from the collapse of the Lunar Provincial Administration.  All the Orlanth/Storm related classes and the Earthmother class make sense for folk outside the walls.  

[Code_Uniform]

On 3/27/2018 at 7:25 PM, Craig N said:

I hit on The City of 10,000 Magicians in Aggar (shows up on the secondary map).

I really like this, thank you!

[davecake]

Nochet also works well if you want to do a gang of adventurers thing, a city based campaign can easily charge off to elsewhere at the drop of a hat, start it out as a Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser style game. And then draw them into Holy Country politics gradually. Or put them on a boat if you want a change of setting. 

The old Risklands campaign in Dorastor never made much sense to me in RuneQuest, but might work a lot better in 13G - start with a gentle introduction, rapidly escalate to taking on Ralzakark and his chaos hordes.

 

[Tim Ellis]

On 3/24/2018 at 10:23 PM, jeffjerwin said:

Prax and Pavis is a good choice if you don't want to worry about Heortling clan dynamics right away.

I was a little surprised that 13G did not take Pavis/Big Rubble as it's base setting, given that they "sort of" exist to provide a "D&D Environment"  for RQ players, and I'm sure  the "Borderlands" campaign could be mined for 13G  - It allows for the PC's to explore and learn about the Praxian setting as outsiders working for Duke Raus

[davecake]

I think expanding to Prax and Pavis is a bit of an obvious next step. Rangers work well as Praxian warriors given the Praxian mount feat and a little tweaking, and I think a transformation of the Druid class into Shaman would work pretty well. 

[borbetomagnus]

Thank you all for the suggestions for starting a 13th Age Glorantha campaign for players new to Glorantha. 

[Quackerjack]

On ‎6‎/‎21‎/‎2018 at 6:15 AM, Tim Ellis said:

I was a little surprised that 13G did not take Pavis/Big Rubble as it's base setting, given that they "sort of" exist to provide a "D&D Environment"  for RQ players, and I'm sure  the "Borderlands" campaign could be mined for 13G  - It allows for the PC's to explore and learn about the Praxian setting as outsiders working for Duke Raus

The River of Cradles supplement from back in the day could be a good start. The Troubled Waters adventure could be started with everyone having partial amnesia about where they came from. The adventure does a nice job of introducing different peoples who live along the Zola Fel. I think you can still find pdfs. Borderlands is pretty flexible too. Start in media res (maybe in combat) and then allow players to fill in background as they get more comfortable with the setting.