Glorantha previews?

[Harshlax]

Hi, I've just joined the forums after lurking for quite a while, following the monkey magic thread and know the upcoming Runequest.

I was wondering, after all the previews for the main rulebook, are we going to see any previews of the gloranthan supplements? I have always had a soft spot for the setting and am dying to see how they are approaching the Imperial age.

Vaughan

 

[SwordSage]

I would love to see this myself. I love 3rd Age Glorantha and I'm a little leary of the Imperial Age stuff. Hopefully it will be just as cool and full of opportunities for adventure as Sartar circa 1618.

 

[Osentalka]

The standart Glorantha 3rd Age is set in between 1617 (RQ 2 earliest date for a published adventure) and 1621 (RQ 3 standart "starting year").
The starting point for HeroWars / HeroQuest is in between 1619 and 1624.

My personal NOW for a beginners group is most of the time 1620, so that i have a year or so before the important things start to happen.

Mongoose RuneQuest will be set in 908 S.T.

By the way:
The Rough Guide to Pavis City (a Chaos Society publication) is set in 894 S.T.
A great addition to the future RQ.


Cheers

Osentalka

 

[andakitty]

Welcome, Psychman.

908? When is the Dragonkill War, exactly. So I know how long the setting period is. :?:

 

[GbajiTheDeceiver]

Around 1120

 

[andakitty]

Thanks. About as long as the Arabic golden age, then.

 

[Urox]

The Dragonkill is sort of late to adventure in for the Second Age. 1120 is the year when the dragons finally got involved -- the True Golden Horde was active for about 20 years prior to that.

The EWF got zapped in 1042, but that is still a little too late to adventure in.

920 is the imporant year when the Closing starts, so if 908 is true as the setting, it's very close to the Third Age theme where big world-changing events are about to happen...

 

[GbajiTheDeceiver]

The Dragonkill is sort of late to adventure in for the Second Age. 1120 is the year when the dragons finally got involved -- the True Golden Horde was active for about 20 years prior to that.

The EWF got zapped in 1042, but that is still a little too late to adventure in.

920 is the imporant year when the Closing starts, so if 908 is true as the setting, it's very close to the Third Age theme where big world-changing events are about to happen...

Quite correct. 1120 is right at the end of the intermediate period of conflict that always comes between ages in Glorantha.

I'd originally guessed about 875 for a date, as it was far enough off from pivotal events to allow folks to just get on with adventuring. Don't have a 2nd age timeline to hand, but 908 is a mite close. Any large campaign will run right into the Closing (that could be interesting, though it would have to be handled carefully).

 

[andakitty]

I was hoping to avoid 'world shaking event' type periods. What is the Closing? Would it be possible to have a 'mercenaries out for hire/bodyguard/assassin/loot the ruins' sort of game without Significant Historical Events to worry about, and having to work same into the game? Say about a 250-300 year period? I was hoping around 750-1000 would serve as such. Please bear in mind that I quit keeping up with Glorantha's meta-history around 1985, so right now am very ignorant about it. And sources are hard to find and/or too expensive. So I was hoping folks around here could fill me in.

 

[Lord Twig]

The Closing is a huge event that started in 920. Basically an invisible wall radiated from Brithos and began to sweep away all ships, forcing the onto land or sinking them under the ocean. After the wall had swept by any sea travel was prevented by a gently turned the ship around and forced it back to land. Fishing boats still managed to operate, but no more than 2km out to sea before being pushed back.

It was not until 1580 that Dormal the Sailor discovered the ritual that would allow sea travel once again.

Edit: The Closing did not travel terribly fast. It did not strick the Western most part of Genertela until 930 and probably didn't effect Dragon Pass until about 940.

 

[kpmcdona]

Personally, I think setting 908 ST as the 2nd age NOW is a bit late. The battle of Three Dragons Fall in Peloria is in 905 ST. The Machine City War in Maniria and the Two Year Winter in Dragon Pass both start in 907 ST. Why miss all that fun?

I plan to start my game (set in and around Carmania) at around 900 ST, just after the death of Shah Saman the Lion. The game would follow the war against the EWF that follows shortly thereafter.

I would set a Maniria game sometime just short of 907 ST.

YGWV

~Kevin McD

 

[Ravage]

Its a long time since I brushed up on my 2nd age Gloranthan mythos - hell I've only spent 25 years playng the game at the pivotal 1620's of the 3rd age!!!

But, even from the start, Glorantha - or at least playing (war and role) therein has always been the classical white bear / red moon relationship.

Not bringing this up to discuss the previously thrashed and thrashed and thrashed to death Greg loves orlanth argument... but more... if the villians of the 3rd age were the Lunars....

...who are the two forces in this systems timeline. EWF? Hardly the evil empire?

Whatever - lets just pray we get as much material for the "enemies" as well as the "pc stereotypes" - I'm still waiting for proper Lunar cults since the day I started!!!

Ravster

 

[atgxtg]

...who are the two forces in this systems timeline. EWF? Hardly the evil empire?

Why not? To most of the cultures of the time the EWF would appear to be a strange group that wants to challenge the tradtional bweliefs that everyone KNOWS are the truth. "

Those whackos want to be friends with dragons, and they want to take the rest of us with them."

Think Lunar Empire but supbsitute the word "Dragon" for the word "Chaos". THat's probably the typical Heortling reaction.

Whatever - lets just pray we get as much material for the "enemies" as well as the "pc stereotypes" - I'm still waiting for proper Lunar cults since the day I started!!!

Ravster

I'm still waiting to find out how the Hero Wars end. Who wins? Who loses? Who lives? Who Dies? Did the Red Goddes sleep with Orlanth? Will we ever see a Duck Broo? Is Harrek the Beserk ever a nice guy?

 

[Urox]

I'm still waiting to find out how the Hero Wars end. Who wins?

http://www.soltakss.com/timeline.html

 

[Lord Twig]

I'm still waiting to find out how the Hero Wars end. Who wins?

http://www.soltakss.com/timeline.html

Whew! Glad they got that figured out. For a while there I thought I would actually have to play the game to see how it turned out! Now I don't have to!

Seriously, the stupidest thing you can do in a Role-Playing Game is tell everyone how the game ends.

1725 Dragons destroy the Red Moon
Gods Slain and world changed - End of RuneQuest
1733 Apotheosis of Argrath

Great! Now what are the characters supposed to do?

This same problem is usually given as the biggest reason for the failure of the Dragonlance setting. After you read the books, what else is there to do? The threat has been taken care of.

 

[kpmcdona]

I'm still waiting to find out how the Hero Wars end. Who wins?

http://www.soltakss.com/timeline.html

I wouldn't put too much stock in the actual dates on that timeline. The order of events might be more-or-less right, but IIRC Greg Stafford has stated that the actual HW timeline is more compressed - ending sometime around 1655 ST.

Simon's timeline is mostly based on the King of Sartar book, which is written as if composed decades, maybe centuries, after the Hero Wars ended. It is a cool read, but not particularly accurate. That was a stroke of genious, IMHO. It meant that Greg could write about the events without contradicting what happens in your game. All you need to do is assume that the future historians got it all wrong.

~Kevin McD

 

[kpmcdona]

if the villians of the 3rd age were the Lunars....

...who are the two forces in this systems timeline. EWF? Hardly the evil empire?

Robin Laws posted some insteresting stuff about this on his livejournal site:

http://robin-d-laws.livejournal.com/140150.html

Me, I think both the God Learners and EWF qualify as Evil Empires if you accept the idea that the road to hell can sometimes be paved with good intentions. The Second Age empires are sort of like Mad Scientists (tm) and cthulu (dragon) cultists willing to make just about any sacrifice for power/knowledge/whatever.

Fun times...

~Kevin McD

 

[homerjsinnott]

I'm still waiting to find out how the Hero Wars end. Who wins?

http://www.soltakss.com/timeline.html

Whew! Glad they got that figured out. For a while there I thought I would actually have to play the game to see how it turned out! Now I don't have to!

Seriously, the stupidest thing you can do in a Role-Playing Game is tell everyone how the game ends.

1725 Dragons destroy the Red Moon
Gods Slain and world changed - End of RuneQuest
1733 Apotheosis of Argrath

Great! Now what are the characters supposed to do?

This same problem is usually given as the biggest reason for the failure of the Dragonlance setting. After you read the books, what else is there to do? The threat has been taken care of.

Well I thought that things weren't that clear cut from my reading of King of Sartar.

 

[jorganos]

I was hoping to avoid 'world shaking event' type periods. What is the Closing? Would it be possible to have a 'mercenaries out for hire/bodyguard/assassin/loot the ruins' sort of game without Significant Historical Events to worry about, and having to work same into the game? Say about a 250-300 year period? I was hoping around 750-1000 would serve as such. Please bear in mind that I quit keeping up with Glorantha's meta-history around 1985, so right now am very ignorant about it. And sources are hard to find and/or too expensive. So I was hoping folks around here could fill me in.

There is no problem at all with a mercenary band moving along from disaster to disaster. You should leave Jrustela as soon as the Closing reaches its northwestern shores (or you get stuck). If you flee via Pamaltela, you can travel around the east to Genertela, and have uninterrupted, Black Company style "fun" until the Rise of the Red Moon or longer.

The world is not ending. Bits and pieces get mauled or shut off, but so what?

So, unless you prefer being stuck in Pamaltela or the East Isles, you ought to leave Jrustela by 930, and get to Kralorela before 954. Avoid Seshnela, Slontos and western Ralios in 1049-1050 and Dragon Pass in 1100-1120, and when in Kralorela keep to the uplands, and your company will be fine.

 

[Enpeze]

There is no problem at all with a mercenary band moving along from disaster to disaster. You should leave Jrustela as soon as the Closing reaches its northwestern shores (or you get stuck). If you flee via Pamaltela, you can travel around the east to Genertela...

Sounds like the way description to the nearest gloranthan tourist attraction... Sorry but I could not resist.