Glorantha! Runequest! We love them for their heroic themes, Bronze Age mythology, and fascinating magic, and ducks!

Glorantha! Runequest! We love them for their heroic themes, Bronze Age mythology, and fascinating magic, and ducks!

So why not talk about them?

Specifically- my GM is running a Glorantha Runequest game- something I've dreamed of for ages! However- while theistic magic slots in to the setting as easily as a cattle raid, sorcery is far harder- traditionally "sorcery" in Glorantha specifically refers to the magic of the west, but Runequest sorcery is very broad in scale- it'd fit fine in king of dragon pass as orlanthi magic. In short- I need something that integrates Runequest and Glorantha magically and economically. Now lots of sourcebooks exist- but they're all crunch free or from earlier additions!

But wait, I found mention of just what I was looking for- Adventures in Glorantha, a preview of a new R6 style rule book that is R6 style Glorantha! And it's coming out soon!

... according to posts most recently mentioning it in 2015. Couldn't find a thing more recent.

Now AiG is already out and has most of what I want, buuut I can't find a scan and what physical copies I've heard of sold out for 600+ dollars.

Is there any more recent information on either of these products, or better yet, the pdfs themselves?

Other urls found in this thread:

glorantha.com/docs/morden-defends-the-camp/
glorantha.com/docs/history-of-malkioni-thought-brithini-and-first-age/
glorantha.com/docs/quick-summary-gloranthan-cultures-part-two-westerners/
glorantha.com/
glorantha.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page
glorantha.tumblr.com/
twitter.com/SFWRedditGifs

>So why not talk about them?

Because the "we" in this context is like three people that post on Veeky Forums

And Sorcery isn't just a Western thing, most of Lankhor Mhy's 'cult magic' is Sorcery, a lot of it originating from the EWF or Godlearners.

RQ6 I'm assuming?

Yeah, as says, Lhankor Mhy's cult knows sorcery... properly purified of course.
And of course there's other sorcery cults in central Genertela. The Lunars have a bunch, but you can also find them in the Holy Country, such as the House of Black Arkat.

See, that's exactly what I wanted to know but couldn't find! It's very hard to make a magic tradition when you don't know where it's based off of. So, purified god learner sorcery- what is god learner sorcery like? I know they blended and abused myth, but not enough about their magic to make a tradition.

Also, mysticism. I'm guessing it'd be blended in with warrior god cults for super warriors, am I right?

Also EWF. Passed over them.

And sorcery cults... are there enough of them that I could make my own? Because I've got a hankering for dark conanesque magic.

If you're hanging around Orlanthi, the Mysticism you're likely to bump into is Draconic, a holdover from the EWF.

Mysticism is a lot like (and sort of is) Illumination. It allows one to do the impossible. However, it does this by learning to comprehend all realities the way a dragon does, making them pretty much useless for player characters, and any NPC mystic you meet is going to seem completely insane.

Think of a weird Orlanthi cultist who lives in retreat atop a mountain, and who has done nothing but meditate on the true meaning of his own breath for the last few hundred years.

I assume you're playing RQ6 since you're trying to make it work with Glorantha, rather than it being Glorantha.

I'll see if I can dig up a pdf and look at how magic works there.

Huh. I assumed mysticism would be bound up in making Orlanthi warriors more amazing, like flying storm lords or terrifying Uroxi bolstered by combat focused mysticism.

That is accurate, apologies for not being clear.

Thanks a ton by the way.

Well, the example grimoire given to Lhankor Mhy worshippers, the Torvald Fragments, has spells devoted to knowledge and magic...I'll list a few of them and note their likely RQ6 versions:
Analyse Magic (Mystic (Sight))
Resist Godless Sorcery (Spell Resistance)
Divine Motivation (Intuition)
Speak Truth (A specific form of Dominate (Human?)

(Three other spells: Identify Runic Power, Recognise Otherworld, and Identify Demon are likely from purified GL grimories, since they're highly specific and very much in their style.)

As for mysticism, most of their forms are practised in Kralorela, but there are the occasional form in the centre. Unfortunately they'd mostly be practised by the Lunars.

One of them however, would probably be the followers of the Stormwalkers of the Old Wind Temple. These near-demigods know the secret winds and breaths of Orlanth. Their disciples would likely be mystics.

In RQ6 Terms, the Stormwalker Brotherhood would probably look like:
Stormwalkers
Runes: Air, Mastery
Professional Skills: Healing, Meditation, Mysticism.
Path: Path of the Four Sacred Breath
Indomitable (Calm Breath), Enhance Damage Modifier (Storm Breath), Augment Healing (Healing Breath), and Heart Slow (No Breath)

Other talents likely include Featherlight, Denial (Falling), and Astral Projection (Likely to be sending out their breath to explore as its own wind)

I didn't locate a RQ6 book (amusingly difficult since it was discontinued), but I found a few writeups about what sort of things it does. Looks like an almost ritual style self buffing magic?

If you wanted to use the rules, it reminds me of the way Orlanthi magic has sometimes been portrayed by Greg, you might find this excerpt helpful if you wanted to go that route: glorantha.com/docs/morden-defends-the-camp/

Basically just have your Mysticism be like a mini-Heroquest, where you recreate the deeds of a legend from the past by embodying that hero.

>All of the Orlanthi ceremonies followed the same principles. Each rite was a re-enactment of a divine or heroic act. If done properly, the ceremony would reproduce the magical effects which were done in the original action. In this way successful actions were remembered, reproduced, and refined, and the gods and heroes returned to the world.
>Becoming your gods

>Morden was fortunate because he had a powerful heroform ceremony, was able to activate into it more quickly than most men. Finally, to help himself further, Morden chose Brekun’s Shield Fight. Brekun was an ancestor of Morden’s, and kinship with the object of worship always helped to strengthen the connection. More importantly, Morden had practiced the feats of Brekun for many years. He would not rely entirely upon the magic he got from the ancient one — such would be a foolish dependence or a truly desperate attempt. Thus Morden could already hurl his razor-edged shield with great skill, and so the magical impetus would enhance rather than create, and be more powerful thereby.

Oh yeah, and this would be a way to use RQ's Mysticism rules, not to actually do Mysticism. (unless you wanted to be a Kralorean martial artist or something, but all that material is garbage)

As previously stated, Mystics are weeeiiiird and sane people should avoid them. Fucking dragons, man. Never engage in conversation anyone who doesn't believe in Time.

The new version's just called Mythras. Much of it remains unchanged though, despite the new name.

That makes a good amount of sense, it allows for ridiculous shit like riding a javelin you threw to kill faster or how batshit scary humakti can get.

A devotee of Yan Starcere might enact his deeds to do great works defending the innocent

But if he wanted to do the Humakt magic 'Kill Everything' that's straight up from the god.

(do not adventure with Humakti that can perform 'Kill Everything'. Point them at an enemy army/country and keep your allies several miles away)

I have the Dragonewts supplement for MRQ and it contains a draconic mysticism system for EWF characters and a lot of Dragon themed transformation powers and freaky abilities, as well as Mystic cults amongst the EWF with different traditions.

It's a goldmine of stuff to refluff as other sorcery types, based on the assumption that Kralori, Vithelan and Eastern Isles mysticism are derived from Dragonewt practices, as it gives you a framework to tweak.

Not other Sorcery types, other Mysticism types, pardon.

Actually, Kill Everything was inspired by Jonorl The Terrible, whose Geas was that he must kill everyone afraid of him. This did not end well.

Obligatory 'Mongoose a shit, never use'

Fucking, Dragonewt player characters? Were these poeple retarded? How the fuck are you supposed to roleplay Right Action or not believing in Time

It was cancelled, with the only sources remaining being a collection of cult one page previews, a limited, unfinished run (pic) sold at Gecon15 and whatever notes could be scrounged/made-up on the blog Notes From Pavis

What.

Why haven't they at least released what they had then.

Is the chaosium Glorantha Runequest edition still in progress, or have they just rolled over and died on a pile of my hopes and dreams?

Shit whoops

A lot of shit went down last year. As a result, all Glorantha/Runequest/Heroquest rights are held by Chaosium, who I believe have now rescinded all licensing deals with other parties.

And yeah, I think the new Chaosium edition is still going to happen.

Skill checks my man; right action right action is a skill value unique to Dragonewts, which depending on your Dragonewt's stage of growth would crop up in different situations.

Right Actions starts at 10+int-pow; there's a table of what sort of decisions need consultation for right action as appropriate for each dragonewt stage representing struggle for personal growth.

I'll give the Crested or "Orxiliate" Dragonewt as my example; This stage is innately tasked with understanding the Six Actions and the Prime Runes; the six actions are representative of dichotomies in behaviour when represented a choice in gameplay terms; a Crested Dragonewt learning the virtue of silence has to make a Right Action test in order to keep from attracting attention to itself

Learning the virtue of Secrets means mastering the compulsion not to blab when questioned, and so on and so forth.

Once you master each stage your Dragonewt can progress to the next stage, and so on.

I've never used this splat personally, the book was a gift from a friend who's retarded for dragons.

However, the system for the Mostali is even stranger, esssentially boiling down to having you justify certain actions arbitrarily with dice-rolls depending on some unknowable fluctuations of the World Machine.

Well that's something at least. The more Glorantha in the world the better.

Why does Greg have such a hard on for Orlanthi when they're easily the second least interesting culture. First least interesting is of course the Vormain.

Because Dara Happans are too grossly incandescent for humanity to survive them being the focus culture.

Also fuck off Lunars are twice as uninteresting.

He doesn't, if anything he's more about Loskalmi, what with them being the first culture he wrote about.

It's just that the hero wars made for a better board game, so people got introduced to them, and wanted more.

I still think Vormain could be interesting if you made it more bronze age appropriate rather than just "samurai." After all, that's around 2000 years too modern at least.

Go earlier, Jomon or Yayoi; or base them on the Ainu (descended from them.)

They're ancestor worshipping barbarians, who fight great feuds amongst themselves. Just ramp it up a bit, have the tattooing and scarification which would be appropriate. Have them hairy as fuck.

Even the great castles they're meant to have are relics of the golden age, so more like cyclopean ruins, made habitable by wattle and daubing the walls (the white appearance from the added asbestos to protect from firearrow spells)

That's the whole problem with Vormain and Kralorea. None of the cultures should just be 'based on such and such'.

Well, the others are, just more as a blending.

So I already want to slap myself for this idea, but, could RQ6 sorcery be used to represent Trickster magic, making Eurmali playable?

And if so, would a PC trickster be possible without being a CE Kender?

Actually you'd could also simulate tricksters using mysticism, given the nature of reality and illusion.

Talents could include: Invoke Adhesion, Invoke Aura of (Laughter, Panic, Terror), Invoke Squeeze, Augment Deceit, Augment Disguise, Augment Seduction, and Augment Sleight.

As to making them playable? Yes, if you have a player who knows what they're doing. The problem is that 9/10 at best, a player who wants to be a trickster won't.

Really, Eurmali could use any and all magic systems to work. It's all the same to them.

>We love them for their heroic themes, Bronze Age mythology, and fascinating magic, and ducks!


You mean we hate them for its dull and anti-heroic setting, boring sophomoric myths, magic that takes out all the fun of magic, and ducks.

It's an antique setting that is as good as dead, and we're all the better for it.

Sorcery is very flexible though, which is why I thought of it.

Eurmali are hard- you have to balance being a cunt and being useful.

Is there any way to use spooky nasty looking magic without being killed on sight?

I know you're a troll, but... antiheroic? Glorantha is based entirely on heroism. Most everything in the setting happens because of heroes.

It's antiheroic because it spends a fair amount of time reminding you about how less important your character is than the heroes that preceded them.

It's like a setting designed to take out all the fun out of fantasy.

Be marked as a bonded trickster?

Pretty much the way, or just be too powerful to attack.

What, like Arkat, or Sartar? Those dicks?

Eh, well, I guess you could object to that. It'd mean that you'd throw out a lot of other settings like FR, Dragonlance, Lord of the Rings, and pretty much anything else with established heroes.

I never realised how unheroic heroes were.

>heroic themes, Bronze Age mythology, and fascinating magic

Yep, pretty awesome.

> and ducks!

No, not really.

>So why not talk about them?
Because seeing every RuneQuest-thread here die makes me sad.
But I believe in you, OP!

>Implying Lunars are the most interesting
>Not Malkioni master race
Arkat's gonna come back and fuck you up, Gbaji worshiping scum ;^)

Glorantha's major weakness is that its mythology and lore undermines the setting, rather than enhancing it. Never have I had a player actually want to hear more about the setting, and most games didn't go past the first session because everyone wanted to switch to a setting that didn't sound like it was written by a guy in college somehow missing everything that made the Hyperborean age exciting but still wanted to rip it off.

Bitch I STATED Lunars are the least interesting, now bow before the Emperor Yelm and prove you aren't just a rebel dog.

Wut. That is genuinely the opposite reaction I've seen with, well, everyone I've seen it introduced to.

It's probably because I don't play exclusively in nursing homes like you do.

It probably is hard to find interested players in your special ed class.

The only time I teach and school retards is moments like these.

Yes, you seem to miss he was implying you were a part of the class. Maybe if you took your head out from your ass, you might have seen that.

Of course, then you wouldn't have barged into a thread to complain about the topic of it, so it's unlikely to happen.

>tfw just started king of dragon pass
I wish I had known about it sooner, Glorantha is GOAT

What I didn't realize is that you suck at banter.
Also, if you're looking to make a hugbox where only people who agree with you are allowed to say anything, I think that might be the core of your problem.

This is clearly not the site for you.

Wait until you figure out how the game works. You're going to lose interest in Glorantha pretty quickly once you realize how shallow that game actually is.

>shit gameplay affecting how cool the setting is

>I'm an illiterate retard
>but no, YOU are the one who sucks at banter

Lol faggot.

Tell me about Malkonian sorcerers. Could I be one in Lunar/Orlanthi territories without being lynched? What is the magic like/do?

Well, it varies where and who.

Your average Malkioni wizard believes that there's only one god, the pantokrator usually called the Invisible God who created the world (whether by manifestation, emanation, etc.) The gods worshipped by pagans are fragments of the world, called Runes and personified.

So a Malkioni will see Orlanth and his wind spirits and go "Ah, this is the primary manifestation of the Air rune, an elemental god worshipped by pagans, and his own subservient spirits." The gods are often enemies or slaves of powerful wizards (whose title translates as Knower, because they know the laws by which the universe functions and can manipulate things.)

The rural Orlanthi are going to take one look at a wizard, see he can work his magic without the blessings of the gods or spirits, and think he's a soulless sorcerer tainted by Chaos.

Civilized Orlanthi will know it's a strange power, and that the wizards worship a god which doesn't seem to exist, and try to avoid them.

(There are of course exceptions to all this, as such things always exist.)

The Lunars accept Malkioni, and claim that their Goddess is the only one who can truly reach the Invisible God, and use his powers properly. Naturally, a lot of non-Lunar Malkioni think this is vile heresy.

As for their magic, they understand the laws that created the universe, that were used by the Invisible God, and were written by Malkion, his son Zzabur the Wizard, and as the Abiding Book.
They use spells, which involve using four/six various techniques (summoning/dismissing, combining/separating, commanding, and tapping) acting on the Runes themselves to produce a magical effect.

So when a Wizard wants to cross a river, he might cast the "Halt the Waters," spell combines the Stasis Rune with the Water Rune to stop the river in its place, creating a dry path for him to walk.

He could also cast "Walk upon air," combining Air with Movement, allowing him to walk across the river by not touching it.

These spells will be contained in Grimoires, philosophical and religious texts that describe a facet of the universe, and are associated with a Rune (or sometimes two)

Grimoires are usually specific to a particular school of wizards, such as the Debaldan wizards, who have a grimoire all about the element of water, and can manipulate it in various ways; or the Barmalani, who could command the power of Death and use it to enhance warriors.
Many of these schools have been lost, fragmented, or united over the centuries.

Wizards themselves are usually under some powerful restrictions, which include things like dress (must be the tallest, hence the elevated shoes and tall hats) tools (some even take this to prevent them from using cutlery) and purity (no contamination by bodily fluids, such as blood. This has resulted in some becoming vegetarians.)

Cool as fuck. Where could I find some of these restrictions? There's only so much info in the Guide to Glorantha.

glorantha.com/docs/history-of-malkioni-thought-brithini-and-first-age/

Specifically the restrictions mentioned there for most traditional spellcasting: the wizard cannot spill blood or allow blood to be spilled upon his body, must obey lawful commands from a talar [the nobility], must not perform physical labor, and must have been “initiated” into the wizard caste (ie part of the caste since completion of the adulthood rites). Sorcery involves achieving Solace (ie reaching henosis with Kiona or Logic). A minority of spells do not identify the caster and are not so restricted.

(It also has some spells from some grimoires)


Another good page is glorantha.com/docs/quick-summary-gloranthan-cultures-part-two-westerners/ which helps with the look and feel.

Are those restrictions cultural or 'No magic for you if you fuck them up'?

Yes.

(After a couple of millennia... mythically speaking, it can be hard to work out exactly what is required, and what is optional. So most wizards won't risk it.)

Of course that's just traditionalists, there are other grimoires which have different restrictions.

(And as a note, while called grimoires, these won't just be lists of spells, but texts on various subjects. Sun Tzu's "Art of War" could be a grimoire. As could "The Prince." The spells there in will be hidden in the text, determined via context, mystical understanding, and such.)

>You mean we hate them for its dull and anti-heroic setting, boring sophomoric myths, magic that takes out all the fun of magic, and ducks.

A special child resents not being most-special.

...

Adventures in Glorantha is deader than disco.

Chaosium's Runequest is going to be Kickstarted mid-2017, with a quick-start packet containing basic rules and an adventure to be issued before the launch of the campaign.

Best Elder Race

Yelm had to be dragged out of hell by the god of cowfuckers, then Gbaji 2.0 made Yelm her bitch. He is the emperor of little bitches, only prissy-pants who compete over the curliness of their beards would bow to him.

Then to whom do you bow to?

>tfw no qt Pujaleg Bat Sorceress gf

>worshipping Wakboth

Chaos plz go

>Equating holy Red Bat with chaotic Crimson Bat.

stfu god learner shit

>ignoring cosmic truths

Grub more in the dirt, pleb.

Truth?
That sounds more like Gbaji talk to me, shitlord.

There is no god but the Invisible God and Malkion is His prophet :^)

Any links to where i can read ordownload stuff for Glorantha? I'm interested in learning more

Check out the Glorantha website, the wiki, and the tumblr. There's tons of stuff waiting for you.

Here you go, user. I hunted down the links for you since I had a bit more time than I had thought.

If you have any questions, just ask!

glorantha.com/
glorantha.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page
glorantha.tumblr.com/

Muhammad plz go. You are not in the right thread.

Hey question- say I'm an Orlanthi, and I gain the Darkness Rune as my elemental rune when I initiated- what does this mean for me personalitywise and socially? And who do I worship? I thought Arkat, but he's not really a god.

Specifically, my guy is Sartari Orlanthi, and he end up joining the House of Black Arkat, a darkness sorcery school in Heortland.

It means that you're going to be a more serious and calm Orlanthi -- you'll have a "winter" personality.

Thanks. When and where do King of Dragon Pass fit in Glorantha? That game is all i know right now of Glorantha

King of Dragon pass is set about three hundred years before the current timeline of Glorantha (which is between 1613 and 1627 -- when the Hero Wars really get started). It tells the story of the founding of Sartar, with your clan as the star.

Okay, cool. Still wondering about the darkness god thing- there aren't really any darkness rune gods in the Storm Tribe. So I guess Troll gods,but as far as I know the only accepted Troll God among the Storm Tribe is Argan Argar.

You don't *have* to worship a Darkness god if you have a Darkness rune. Remember the three runes you pick at character creation only represent the three most dominant -- all runes are present in every Orlanthi in different proportion.

You could initiate to another god through one of your other two runes.

Oh. Fair enough, I just assumed since Fire runes goes to Elmal and Air to Orlanth and ect ect.

True. But you could also approach Orlanth through Movement or Mastery, and Elmal through Truth.

What happens in those 300 years?

A lot! Short answer is that Sartar founds a long line of kings that lasts until they are conquered by the Lunar Empire. Read King of Sartar if you want the full story! I'm off to bed, though, or I'd tell you myself. Keep the thread alive.

This is the setting that every year surprises me that it hasn't completely died.

For all its faults, you certainly can't say its fans are not tenacious.

Heathen/pagan pls go, suck esranchula cock somewhere else

This image is not canon, soz Gbaji

>brinthianfw I tap chaos to make monsters and free people from taint

Well duh, it's a lunar chaos demon mindfucking a rebel, of course it's all lies. I mean she just said she associated with Gbaji the Deciever so of COURSE she lies about him being good. She needs a good skullfucking from Arkat Kingtroll is what.

>We all need a good skullfucking from Arkat Kingtroll

Fixed that for you

What is the Lunar Empire?

The Lunar Empire is our greater foe, along with everyone in it. The people there mock true life with perversity. Their customs are dirty. Their gods are evil. They seek to destroy everything of our way of life. None are to be trusted. They are of Chaos.

Hey, sorcery question, RQ6, with the Targets modifier, can I have the same spell target one individual multiple time? Like, the Wrack spell, can I have it target 6 targets, and have it hit 6 different random locations on a single enemy, or only 6 separate enemies? And if the latter, what happens when said 6 target wrack is used to attack 4 targets?

Well, I've been making a Runequest six Orlanthi sorcerer, and I found a place that taught sorcery, the house of Black Arkat. So he became Arkati. Then I found that Black Arkat was specifically Arkat as a troll. Then I found that Arkat is revered but not worshipped, so I needed to find a god. So I looked for appropriate ones, and apparently the two main gods Arkati worship are Zorak Zoran (as Arkat's final form) and Argan Argar. And now I'm deeply torn between berserker sorcerer and Surface Darkness.

So please /this/, tell me about Argan Argar, because I only know of him as a trading god and I'm no merchant.

(ZorakArkat as that cult is known is all about focusing and controlling hatred to fight Chaos, so it's less unplayable-y Chaotic Evil than normal Zorak Zoran.)

Arkat can be a god, in as much as you have to worship one. To most people there's little difference.

As for Argan Argar, he's what's generally called the god of Surface Darkness. This has several different meanings, including intercessor between trolls and non-trolls.
This last part's generally got him seen as a trade god, because whenever people want to trade with trolls, an Argan Argari will see them, (often called a Chief -- and most will assume they may be their ruler if unfamiliar with trollish ways)
Among humans, his worshippers a trollfriends. If you need to speak to trolls, you get an Argan Argari, because they know the secrets of darkness (well, at least the ones humans can know)

The House of Black Arkat actually does teach some of its grimoires to Argan Argari, as a part of the Kitori Nightcult (the Kitori are people and trolls who followed into Argan Argar's son's service and became something between the two. Now each can take the form of the other.)

I can't find anything for sure, but given how powerful multitarget Wracking can be, I'd say no. And in your example, it would hit the four and the other two castings would be wasted; so you'd be better off in that instance making it 4 targets and putting the other two points of shaping into something like range or magnitude.

Alright, that makes a lot of sense, thanks. Means I've got more options than the trolling lovexhild of Urox and Humakti plus undead.

If I did go ZorakArkat, would I get lynched? Zorak is neither a popular nor liked god, being unnecessarily violent, even if my specific cult was more controlled. Also because he's a Darkness god without Argan's good PR.

Also, can I ask where I can find more info on the House of Black Arkat? Online stuff is scarce.

As a human, people would look at you a bit suspiciously. After all, you're not worshipping a human god.

If you don't raise the corpses of the dead though, or do anything else which is against societal rules, you're not likely to be lynched.

Unless of course there's a Humakti around, in which case you'll have problems.

Your best bet would be to hang around with Uroxi, since Zorak Zoran and Urox are friends, and so are their worshippers (even ZorakArkati.) And while no one likes Uroxi, they're easier to stand, and if they vouch for you, you'll get some respect.