adventure design in RuneQuest

[Kravell]

I have survived seven years of WotC antics and have finally switched over the RuneQuest. I've bought every book I could find and read the back issues of Signs and Portents.

One thing I haven't seen is much discussion on adventure design. So I thought I'd post my first approach here and see if anyone wants to offer some good ideas for me to use.

My campaign is set in Ralios (using the PDF) and I don't have the Glorantha world book yet (this Saturday I hope to get it). The players are a mix of Orthanthi clansmen, one God Learner, and a duck.

The characters will just wander into Fiesive and start exploring. Here's a list of things I think they may want to do. Once they start showing interests in various options I'll create more adventures in those directions. If anyone else has any other ideas I might to consider I'd appreciate hearing them.

Coin earning
Cult joining
Gathering party for a Quest
Gear buying
Quest for Darkness rune
Quest to protect the Unlucky People
Seeking mentor for divine magic
Seeking mentor for shamanism
Seeking mentor for sorcery
Skill mentor
Skill researching
Spell buying (Darkness spells)

 

[Rasta]

Why only the darkness rune?

 

[Kravell]

Why only the darkness rune?

They can look for any runes, but the duck warlock (witch) has heard of Hebdoloriam, a Spolite witch and member of a darkness cult living in the town. I took that to mean that she would have plenty of darkness spells. Magic of Glorantha has many darkness spells which would make it easy for the duck to buy new spells. But he has to get the Darkness rune to get the spells.

The other runecasters are looking at studying sorcery and shamanism so may not start out looking for new runes right away. Unless they should and I simply don't know that they should!

 

[Kravell]

I just noticed the blog has some info on adventure design.

I started putting down the various NPCs in Fiesive under the various needs the PCs might be seeking out. I couldn't find too many NPCs who could offer instruction in divine magic. There's at least one shrine in town, I wonder what other options might work for divine magic.

 

[Utgardloki]

I think plot-wise, Runequest adventures would be a lot like other RPG game adventures. I'm not sure how much fun it would be to base an RPG campaign around things like skill research, spell buying, and seeking mentors. Maybe if players are interested in something exotic like unusual martial arts techniques.

But moreso than getting things, players usually want to do things with the things they get.

I think the RPG industry has evolved beyond "kill them all and take their stuff". On the other hand, the last Call of Cthulhu campaign I was in seemed to be more about kill them all, don't worry about their stuff.

 

[Halfbat]

The other runecasters are looking at studying sorcery and shamanism so may not start out looking for new runes right away. Unless they should and I simply don't know that they should!

Runecasting is fairly low-level. If Runes are going to be rare (such that one is teh focus of attetion for a whole campaign) and sorcery is readily available, then you might find that the impetous to gain Runes is very low unless the spells are boosted in power. If "Gain Darkness Rune" is a relatively quick scenario then it would work: if a campaign in itself, then perhaps not.

In our games the default spellcasting is Runecasting or Petty-Magick, with sorcerers rare. Runes are available, but just have to be looked for - not as the centre of attention, however (rare runes, perhaps so (Dragonewt?, Chaos?)). I've lost count the number of Runes PCs have just walked by without thinking about what they are doing!

Cult joining is often fairly straightforward unless its a tricky-to-join cult, in which case the characters can actively search for teh cult in a centre of its operations. Mentors for Divine Magic (Lore specific theology) should come from the cult heirarchy and should be relatively straightforward to find - not worth building an adventure around, ime. Similarly for skill mentors if any sort of civilisation (town, nomad tribe) is nearby UNLESS specific skills are being sought.

Skill research requires a library or scrolls or similar. A town might have a small library, but a small scenario could be built up around trying to find a good library (perhaps a hidden one?) and finding specific ranges of scrolls/tomes. Perhaps information on one set of skills is written over the wall of a long-lost tomb? (PS don't forget the reading rules: 80% normally, though we allow reading at 60% language skill if from a civilised, noble (and a civilised one, at that) or townsman background).

A mentor for sorcery could be made into a good adventure, especially if sorcerers are rare. One might possibly want an apprentice or mentee to prove himself first before being accepted.

Of course, it all depends on just how detailed a game you wish...

Hoe pthis helps a bit

 

[soltakss]

Coin earning
Cult joining
Gathering party for a Quest
Gear buying
Quest for Darkness rune
Quest to protect the Unlucky People
Seeking mentor for divine magic
Seeking mentor for shamanism
Seeking mentor for sorcery
Skill mentor
Skill researching
Spell buying (Darkness spells)

Raiding for coin
Raiding for Magic Items (Very Godlearnerish)
Raiding for Revenge
Banditry
Mistaken Identity (always a good one)
Exploring a new land
Exiled to a new land
Caravan Guards - travelling around an area
Rescue Mission - rescuing someone who has been captured/kidnapped/escaped/fled
Kidnap Mission - kidnapping a bride/girlfriend/relative/hostage
Assassination - killing an enemy of a friend or a friend of an enemy
Going somewhere because someone said it was cool
Local Politics
General Politics
Religious Zeal
Being named a heretic
Finding a heretic
Learning heretical secrets/knowledge
Becoming an outlaw
Running away from a powerful enemy
Finding a powerful enemy to kill
Tomb Raiding
Finding Lost Secrets (Arkat's Dark Empire/Nysalor/Gbaji/Other)
Finding New Secrets
Solving a problem
Solving a Mystery
Causing a problem/mystery
Generally getting into trouble
Getting out of trouble again

I could go on (I normally do) but in RQ you can do almost anything. Watch a film or TV episode, take a story from that. Read a book, take scenarios from that. See what gets sparked off from current or old scenarios. Make it free and easy and you'll get more done.

 

[Utgardloki]

I am thinking back to games I've run, trying to pick out elements that seemed to work out. Of course, most of these were D&D, but I think they can be ported to Runequest.

1. Making or finding special weapons. PCs were expecting to go up against wererats, so they had to get weapons to use against them.

2. Tracking a monster through a cave network. For this adventure, I made gave each cave an obstacle that had to be navigated with a climb or balance check. (Other checks might also apply: perhaps the PCs have to lift boulders out of the way or, failing that, figure out some device.) One of the caves had two routes and the PCs had to figure out which one to take. (They guessed right from the clues I gave them.) Things were a little dicey when one PC fell into the icy river, but the others managed to fish him out and get him warmed up again.

3. Retreiving a weapon. One of the PCs threw his magic sword at a flying satyr, which stuck in his rear end, so the PCs had to track him back to his lair and retrieve it.

4. Evil druids. Not content to just sit down under his evil tree and wait for PCs to find him, he and his minions went out and used their spells to continually harrass the PCs. If you can convert D20 spells to Runequest, you can have loads of fun.

5. Evil priestesses. Not everybody evil is going to lurk in a forest somewhere waiting for PCs to kill them. Some evil priestesses will operate out in the open, perhaps even with backing from local authorities. As long as they don't actually break the law, who is going to stop them?

6. Active NPCs. NPCs with agendas of their own, which may intersect the PCs' agenda.

7. Strategy and tactics. Players like to be able to use the battlefield to their advantage, whether it is setting up an ambush in the woods, jumping up on the barroom table, establishing a blockade in a narrow corridor, etc. This also applies to the PCs' enemies: if you convert the Druid spells over from D20 to Runequest, you'll have a lot of neat spells which can be used to control the battlefield against the PCs favor.

 

[weasel_fierce]

Cattle raiding is always fun if you're orlanthi

Negotiating or forcefully recovering hostages

Ransom negotiations

Political squabbles when two cults have it in for each other.

A zorak zoran worshipper, an uroxi and a humakti walk into a bar.....

 

[Utgardloki]

Well, for a role playing game, a war is a good way to keep PCs busy.

 

[Kravell]

Thanks everyone for the great ideas. The Ralios PDF has five adventure seeds and now I have about fifty more.

I'm going to try to keep runes fairly low magic. One player wants to try shamanism and another God Learner sorcery.

I see that I need to throw in a few more exciting options for the players. I'm sure conflict with the EWF will top the list.

 

[RMS]

Here's some traditional Gloranthan ideas:

If they want to join a cult, make them prove themselves by doing a deed for the cult. (Rinse and repeat for gaining magic, runes, special items, etc. from the cult.) You can introduce a standard adventure type seed here: rob a grave, find a long lost item, etc. (ie. dungeon crawl with a real reason behind it). You can also have them do interesting things like going and meeting an entity (ghost, ancient wyrm, etc.) that they need to get information or trade with or... The first time through, explain a bit about what goes on in initiation, etc. (Don't get too carried away, but it can be cool if done for some atmosphere.)

Take a myth related to the local god (Orlanth), read it, map out some encounters that follow a similar path. Interject those during the course of an adventure. After they return, have them relate their adventures to a priest, elder, etc. who explains to them how their actions mirrored the god's actions and how their success (or lack thereof) will similarly affect the community around them. Tie them and their actions in with the local community. This gets really cool when you have experienced Glorantha players who recognize immediately that they've slipped into a minor heroquest.

In fact, the single biggest thing I always emphasize with Glorantha is the ties between the PCs and the local community. The locals aren't just nameless NPCs: they're cousins, brothers, sister, etc. They're directly affected by the PCs actions. Raid the next clan over, and something will come back: not necessarily directly to the PCs. It's make their actions have consequences, and as this builds, the adventures pretty much write themselves.

 

[atgxtg]

I agree with RMS about characters proving themselves to join an cult, and being part of a community. That is oje of the major differences between a good Glorathan campaign and the "generic" fantasy RPG. Players are not strangers who wander into an area, kill off the local menaces, loot their bodies, and move on. At least, most of the time.

A good deal of the roleplaying fun of the game comes from characters growing and reaching goals other than getting thier weapons and magic skills up. There is a sense of accomplishment just becoming a member of a cult, and making it to Rune Level was a reward in an of itself.

Of course, like all rewards, they have cost. Hero types are the first ones the community calls on when things go bad (and usually the first ones the community turns on, too).

One way to get a good feel for the flavor of the Glorantha setting it to hunt down a HeroQuest adventure. In some ways HQ put more emphasis on the setting and flavor that RQ did. Probably due to the fact that the games came out close to 20 years apart, and gaming had involved in the interim. While the game did change the setting a bit, the overall feel is right, and would be useful to a GM setting up a RQ campaign, even a 2nd Age one.

 

[Kravell]

All of these suggestions are great. I'm starting my play by post RuneQuest campaign today so I'll be using some of these ideas soon.

 

[Kravell]

Here's the introduction I sent to my players of the PBP:

The river barge Light’s Glory, carrying meager supplies upriver along the Upper Tanier River, passed the last civilized settlement of Valantia in God Learner territory a day back. It then passed into the wilds.

The captain, a surly Carmanian named Neleran, runs a crew of Carmanians. No friends of the Empire of Wyrm’s Friends, they don’t seem happy about their exile to Ralios.

Passengers on board include a God Learner dressed as a priest of Malkion, a God Learner in homespun clothes with a massive axe, a huge God Learner garbed as a Cog of Zistor, an Orlanthi clansman, a duck dressed in traveling gear, and a beast-man in animal skins complete with stone weapons. The duck has the head and webbed feet of a bird but the body of a human. The beast-man is wiry, tough-looking, and has a cruel look to his features.

The duck and beast-man cause some concern among the humans. However, the duck stays by himself near the water and doesn’t appear interested in picking any pockets (yet). As for the beast-man, the captain says, “He paid his silver. Hell, you might need him if you plan to get into any fights in Fiesive. Leave him alone and he’ll leave you alone.” And that seems to work.

Neleran has to stop the boat a few times and sound a horn before entering the territory of Orlanthi clans. If no clansmen approaches, Neleran continues on. If one appears he hollers out a long list of pirates he’s killed, rivers he’s traveled, and whores he’s bedded. Typically, the clansmen holler back about men they’ve killed, raids they’ve conducted, and women they’ve bedded.

Six times Neleran performs this ritual before the settlement of Fiesive comes into sight. By that time Neleran is muttering blackly under his breath and cuffing crewmen who don’t move fast enough to suit him. The Orlanthi seems to enjoy Neleran’s annoyance.

Fiesive is a ramshackle collection of motley buildings clustered around a bend in the river and nestled against a small hill. Dirty smoke rises from several buildings and men of all shapes and nations travel in small groups. A few ducks fish from patched boats in the river.

Neleran bypasses the first set of docks. A sign above the various barges shows a brightly shining lantern above a riverbarge. Those of you who can read see the name Ulifentor’s Riverboats beneath it. A few men cry out rudely to the crew and the crew swears back at them. Captain Neleran just scowls.

Past the docks are a sprawling network of musty, rotting colleges. Pigeons and rats nest in the roofs. Muddy water trickles down from them to the river. The men housed there look dispirited, angry, and violent.

Past the rotting cottages is a truly ramshackle set of docks. Unlike the one with the riverbarges, these wharves are cobbled together and in disrepair. You see that some are the converted keels of other boats. A strange collection of fishing boats, canoes, and small barges are clustered here.

The captain docks and points to two buildings with a crude path running between them and then further into town.

“Gerdret’s Good,” he says, pointing right. “Only place to buy stuff. Don’t piss him off or try to compete with him.”

Pointing left, “Benadeo’s Lodging. Fairly clean and a great place to hear, well to hear damn near everything.”

“The path beyond leads further into town. If you need a boat head back to the riverboats we passed on the way in. Enjoy your stay at Fiesive.”

The priest disembarks and turns towards Benadeos. What do each of you do?

 

[gamesmeister]

Here's the introduction I sent to my players of the PBP:

<snip>

Sounds great! Please keep us posted on the progress of this (or remind me where the website is if one exists )

 

[gamesmeister]

One way to get a good feel for the flavor of the Glorantha setting it to hunt down a HeroQuest adventure. In some ways HQ put more emphasis on the setting and flavor that RQ did. Probably due to the fact that the games came out close to 20 years apart, and gaming had involved in the interim. While the game did change the setting a bit, the overall feel is right, and would be useful to a GM setting up a RQ campaign, even a 2nd Age one.

Agreed. This is a great way to understand Glorantha and how it works, in fact I'm in the process of cannibalising several as we speak for my RQ campaign.

 

[Kravell]

Here's the introduction I sent to my players of the PBP:

<snip>

Sounds great! Please keep us posted on the progress of this (or remind me where the website is if one exists )

Two of the God Learner PCs started talking to the priest. One God Learner is a lower-class knowledge questor who dreams of becoming a priest. He's a hick but very earnest.

The other God Learner is scary. Basically he's a Dr. Jekyll who wants to become Mr. Hyde. Cog learning, machine magic, magical body parts, the whole works.

He too is striving to learn more and his mind is like a steel trap. He enjoys combat because it helps him study internal anatomy while the body is in motion. Yeah, he creeps me out. Luckily I know the guy running him is married and has job and isn't a serial killer. At least, I don't think he is.

We're running the game on a members Yahoo group. You're welcome to join the Yahoo group to read the posts.

Also, I'll be posting here some and I have a column at rpg.net where I'll be covering RuneQuest as well.

 

[Kravell]

One way to get a good feel for the flavor of the Glorantha setting it to hunt down a HeroQuest adventure. In some ways HQ put more emphasis on the setting and flavor that RQ did. Probably due to the fact that the games came out close to 20 years apart, and gaming had involved in the interim. While the game did change the setting a bit, the overall feel is right, and would be useful to a GM setting up a RQ campaign, even a 2nd Age one.

Agreed. This is a great way to understand Glorantha and how it works, in fact I'm in the process of cannibalising several as we speak for my RQ campaign.

I'll see if I can find some at Gen Con.

 

[Kravell]

A Knowledge Quester, a Cog, and an Orlanthi walk into a bar. The common room of Benadeo's Lodging is filled to bursting. A duck sits alone in one corner, his bright green feathered head proclaiming him a mallard.

A dozen fierce Pentans are drinking and carousing loudly. Each proudly displays a long black mustache and a wicked curved sword.

Seated right next to them in what has to be the worst seating arrangement possible are a near dozen Praxian Bison People. They eat quietly with one hand on their spears.

A scattering of other locals from various nations sit as far from the two groups as possible.

Two hurried serving wenches serve drinks and food. A harried looking barkeep quickly serves drinks.

Tallyn, the Orlanthi, points one of the locals out and says the clansman is from the Unlucky People. He appears to be a peddler. He may be able to offer new myths and news of the clans.