Glorantha - THE SECOND AGE

[gamesmeister]

MAJOR CULTURES:

Best chapter in the book that I have read in the book so far! Excellent reveiw of the major cultures.

(only downsides where history in present tense, and those horrible "How to play a ..." -tables.)

SGL.

I actually thought the tables were ok, in that they give lots of generalisations about a character of that culture. No one character will have all those traits, and some might be the complete opposite, but for starting players they give a reasonable flavour, even if it's just how other cultures perceive them

 

[Trifletraxor]

MAJOR CULTURES:

Best chapter in the book that I have read in the book so far! Excellent reveiw of the major cultures.

(only downsides where history in present tense, and those horrible "How to play a ..." -tables.)

SGL.

I actually thought the tables were ok, in that they give lots of generalisations about a character of that culture. No one character will have all those traits, and some might be the complete opposite, but for starting players they give a reasonable flavour, even if it's just how other cultures perceive them

I liked the "How to Act Like A Timinit" table, but the others???

"Think rigidly"

"Talk so quietly others must strain to listen"

"Behave as if you have all the answers"

"Refer to dismaying events indirectly, if at all"

"Be offended"

"Bring a bag of dried leaves to the game session in a plastic bag; occasionally take them out and rustle them" !!!!!! :shock:

SGL.

 

[Adept]

Also no one says you have to play it as writen. Certainly not at my gaming table, its the players who will have the final say on whether the
EWF or Godlearners come out on top.

IMO this is exactly the way to go. When you start running the game, just take the "future history" as one way things could go. That's what I'm doing in my third age game set in Sartar and Kethaela.

Greg started his original game some ten years after Sartar had fallen to the Lunar Empire. What exactly had happend, and how Sartar fell, was written later. My game is curently at about a year before the final Lunar invasion, and I have no idea how it's going to turn up. There is no future history, only the factions and characters on the world stage. Game on.

 

[Licheking]

I loved the book. Have only played in Glorantha a handful of times previous to this and am now GMing it for my group. Some of my players are die-hard 3rd ageists, but are coming to like this era just as much due to its differences. And some of their out of character knowledge is actually hampering them in this age as they are making erroneuos judgements based on what they think is about to happen rather than trying to just solve what is there.

In my opinion the 'mistakes' can be taken as truth, because of the changes about to occur when the 2nd age changes to the 3rd age, and the myths and legends change again. in that way the 3rd age can remain the same and the 2nd age can still develop and remain new without the constrictions of the future.

 

[Richard]

Calling all Glorantha groupies! Pouring over my 2nd Age tome have come across a couple of minor whoopsies. Maybe I'm going blind (My mother said it would happen eventually...) but where are Hendrikiland and Esrolia supposed to be on the maps (Page 102-3)? I'm guessing Imarjalar = Esrolia. Are the 'Right Arm Isles' (Text) the same as the 'Left Arm Isles' (Map) or is something missing? Also p.102-3, where's Aurelion? Is it another name for 'Veskarthan Volcano' on the map? Oh yeah and where the hell is Mt. Kero Finn exactly (Page 106)? Is it the unnamed peak above Orin Jistrel? I'm not interested in spelling mistakes or timeline/mythic discrepancies with 'King of Sartar' or Mr.Stafford's 2nd Age address book just basic 'where stuff is'. Ant other quirks I've missed?

 

[Trifletraxor]

WORLD GAZETTER:

Mostly good material, but small maps with little detail, and a bit to superficial touch to most of it. Basically just the cities are described. I hope for more areas described in the way of the Ralios pdf.

The Ralios pdf was funnier to read tool. The World Gazetter chapter got a bit dry.

SGL.

 

[Stewart Stansfield]

Hi Richard,

... but where are Hendrikiland and Esrolia supposed to be on the maps (Page 102-3)? I'm guessing Imarjalar = Esrolia...

I'm a bit uncertain of Second Age Hendriki matters, I'm afraid (!), but The Durengard Scroll quotes Hendrikiland as being "between Ililbervor in the north and Durengard in the south." Erm, I'm fully aware that neither of those appear on the maps, but basically Ililbervor is "Whitewall Ruin" and Durengard is slightly upriver of Leskos. So, in effect, Hendrikiland is most of the Savage Forest and its plateau. See also p. 95.

Esrolia is, yes, Imarjalar, and also parts of what is Deralar (though the western portions of that land grade into Kotor/Kotorsland).

Are the 'Right Arm Isles' (Text) the same as the 'Left Arm Isles' (Map) or is something missing?

I believe the Rightarm Islands are what are called the Leftarm Islands on p. 103; the Leftarm Islands are t'other side of the Troll Strait, i.e. Tosk, God Forgot. The nomenclature might have been swapped for some Second Age reason I'm not aware of.

Also p.102-3, where's Aurelion? Is it another name for 'Veskarthan Volcano' on the map?

If you wish to take the book as written, yes, it's the same as Vestkarthen Volcano, aka Caladra Volcano, aka the Vent, aka Smoketop, aka... If you wish to swap Caladra and Aurelion back to how they appeared in prior publications, Caladra is said feature; while Aurelion's Breakwater is a geomorphic feature on Jrustela - quite where I'm not entirely sure has been officially noted, and I don't recall David Dunham placing it on his map of Jrustela.

By the way, the Twins also had a third important cultic site, at Meetinghall Mountain, in Slontos. You'll be glad to know that I don't think we're ever properly marked where that was, either. (Although we're most probably speaking of Second Age Wenelia ot Herilia... i.e. bits that later got sunk.)

Cheerio,

Stu.

 

[Richard]

Big thanks to Stewart.

 

[Darran]

Are the 'Right Arm Isles' (Text) the same as the 'Left Arm Isles' (Map) or is something missing?

I have just checked the old RuneQuest Companion and what is labelled on the Glorantha 2nd Age map as 'Leftarm Islands' are the Rightarm Islands as in the text.

 

[Dead Blue Clown]

Showing the EWF and the Godlearners as baddies is the sort of stereotypical typecasting that happens alot in the 'big picture' write ups of Glorantha.

Magic of Glorantha most assuredly does not treat the empires as the Bad Guys. Not up front and obviously, anyway. Quite the opposite. Doomed, yes. But I love their noblesse oblige. I love that they tried to change the world for the better, even if it was ultimately only for their better. Even if Reality and Fate kicked them in the head for trying.

The characters in my campaign are all Dragonspeakers; bewildered, embattled and suffering in the face of these other races and regions refusing to receive enlightenment and remain in their blind heresies. In trying to improve the lives of others, they get called invaders and corrupters. But some evils must be done to serve a greater good.

Except the God Learners. Hell, do they ever hate those guys. One of the characters, from a Dragonspeaker cult called the Children of the Ten Talons, has taken to wearing a mechamagical bronze clockwork hand on a necklace, which he took from the corpse of a particularly powerful Zistorite.

 

[soltakss]

WORLD GAZETTER:

Mostly good material, but small maps with little detail, and a bit to superficial touch to most of it. Basically just the cities are described. I hope for more areas described in the way of the Ralios pdf.

The Ralios pdf was funnier to read tool. The World Gazetter chapter got a bit dry.

SGL.

My thoughts exactly.

 

[Richard]

True to an extent but Mr.Laws was trying to cover a lot of ground. There is some humour outside the gazeteer (Elf players bringing bags of dry leaves to the game...) and I think he has produced as good a job as anyone could have hoped for within the page limit. Ideally Ralios would've been stuck on the end but that would probably go beyond his page limit/bump up the price and was easy enough to download from Drivethrurpg anyway. It would be no bad thing if Mongoose were to advertise it's existence in the front of the book. There are a couple of minor Glorantha glitches (See above, this thread) but keeping track of Greg Stafford's musings gets pretty futile after a while. It's an excellent system free book which suffers only from the occassional spurious and correctable whim. Savannah = 'a grassy treeless plain'. Pamaltela = 'grassless savannah'?! p.51.

 

[Trifletraxor]

True to an extent but Mr.Laws was trying to cover a lot of ground. There is some humour outside the gazeteer (Elf players bringing bags of dry leaves to the game...) and I think he has produced as good a job as anyone could have hoped for within the page limit.

I'm not saying he hasn't produced a good job. What I'm saying is that their 160-pages limit ruins a bit of the feel of the book, as it gets too superficial. I mean, the book is thin! And that's their maximum??? :shock: I've seen some arguments for bringing the game closer too D&D, maybe they could start with upping the page count? The current D&D core rulebook is 320 pages, MRQ's core rulebook is 96 pages... (The D&D-book cost $5 more, but has colours)

SGL.

 

[mthomason]

The current D&D core rulebook is 320 pages, MRQ's core rulebook is 96 pages... (The D&D-book cost $5 more, but has colours)

Unfortunately that's a difficult one to match. The D&D rulebook is so much cheaper to produce in the first place due to their adding two zeroes on the end of their production run compared to any RPG book out there, plus the fact that they use it to a degree to subsidise getting people into the game so they cut their profit margin on it as close as they possibly dare, in the hope of making it back on all the other books and the minis.

Of course no amount of explanations are going to help end-customer economics. A glossy colour 320-pager is always going to look better next to the $5 cheaper black and white 96-pager (except perhaps to those familiar with the contents of the 320-pager )

 

[Trifletraxor]

The current D&D core rulebook is 320 pages, MRQ's core rulebook is 96 pages... (The D&D-book cost $5 more, but has colours)

Unfortunately that's a difficult one to match. The D&D rulebook is so much cheaper to produce in the first place due to their adding two zeroes on the end of their production run compared to any RPG book out there, plus the fact that they use it to a degree to subsidise getting people into the game so they cut their profit margin on it as close as they possibly dare, in the hope of making it back on all the other books and the minis.

Of course no amount of explanations are going to help end-customer economics. A glossy colour 320-pager is always going to look better next to the $5 cheaper black and white 96-pager (except perhaps to those familiar with the contents of the 320-pager )

I know MRQ can't produce the same way as D&D.

But a 160-pages maximum??? That's abnormal!

SGL.

 

[Rurik]

But a 160-pages maximum??? That's abnormal!

Thats nothing. I have it on a good source that every one at Mongoose has 6 toes.

 

[Darran]

One of the characters, from a Dragonspeaker cult called the Children of the Ten Talons, has taken to wearing a mechamagical bronze clockwork hand on a necklace, which he took from the corpse of a particularly powerful Zistorite.

Isn't that a bit dangerous?
What if the hand activates and strangles him? :shock:

 

[B_Steele]

I have it on a good source that every one at Mongoose has 6 toes.

I do?!?!? *looks at feet*

Holy crap! I do!

8)

 

[mthomason]

I know MRQ can't produce the same way as D&D.
But a 160-pages maximum??? That's abnormal!
SGL.

I would have to guess (and it is just a guess) that the "maximum" is the price (after market research determining the point at which the purchase curve gets steeper), rather than the page count. If it was more pages and cost more, you'd likely lose the impulse market of "I bought it to take a look at because it was cheap enough to buy with the spare cash I had on me".

Just a guess, though.

 

[Trifletraxor]

Now they lose the "This looks like a good system, maybe I'll buy it?"-buyers.

If I did not know RuneQuest from before, I would never have started playing MRQ who has a 96-pages thin rulebook.

SGL.