New to mongoose RQ, thinking of running it

[FNG]

Hello everyone.

First post so just let you know who I am. I am old and a GM of 20 years experience. Been playing 2nd edition RQ since the mid to late 80's and own a lot of the stuff but was recently looking at the new MG stuff.

How different is glorantha in the MG system and how different are the rules compared to the the classic 2nd? One of my favourite aspects of the original was that you could play any creature, any cult and do anything with no restrictions on magic, levels classes etc The 3rd killed this and wondered if MG have taken it back a little or a lot?

Also have they drasticly changed thw world as well like with the Heroquest/Wars stuff so that my knowledge of the history has expired

As to the MG game itself are there are any pre written scenarios or campaigns that I could pick up and run for a game?

Finally, whats the minimum books you need to run a decent game? What core books must I have and what books are best to expand? Realistic I don't realy want to get more than 3 or 4 books of which one I want to be a decent lengthy scenario.

TIA

FNG

 

[Deleriad]

How different is glorantha in the MG system and how different are the rules compared to the the classic 2nd? One of my favourite aspects of the original was that you could play any creature, any cult and do anything with no restrictions on magic, levels classes etc The 3rd killed this and wondered if MG have taken it back a little or a lot?

I would say that MRQ is closer to RQ2 in spirit than it is to RQ3. As with all editions of RQ there are no restrictions on what you can play. The system is the least lethal of all RQ versions and does have some major changes that are not always popular.
Notably: no resistance table, no general Hit Points, use of opposed rolls, a lot more actions in each combat round and the introduction of Hero Points and Legendary Abilities. You can download a free copy of the System Reference Document which gives you the rules in brief.

Also have they drasticly changed thw world as well like with the Heroquest/Wars stuff so that my knowledge of the history has expired

No but they have moved the setting to the second age so it's about 600 years earlier. This means Orlanthi, Wyrm Friends and God Leaners rather than Orlanthi and Lunars.

As to the MG game itself are there are any pre written scenarios or campaigns that I could pick up and run for a game?

There are two Gloranthan Campaigns out there. Blood of Orlanthi is relatively low-powered at the beginning and is pretty enjoyable. Dara Happa Stirs is a high-powered epic campaign and sourcebook and you really need experienced GMs and players for that one. These are both high quality campaigns. For me, the game lacks a compelling introductory scenario along the lines of Apple Lane.

Finally, whats the minimum books you need to run a decent game? What core books must I have and what books are best to expand? Realistic I don't realy want to get more than 3 or 4 books of which one I want to be a decent lengthy scenario.

For Gloranthan RQ:
RQ Deluxe and Glorantha The Second Age will give you rules and background. If you want to start a campaign right away Blood of Orlanth is a good start that could give 10-20 sesssions of play depending on how much of it you want to use. After that:
Cults of Glorantha Vol 1. This gives most of the major theistic cults that you'll need. Useful for running Blood.
Cults of Glorantha Vol 2. This gives the shamanism and sorcery cults. Beware that Shamanism is seriously fu-barred due to editing problems. Wizardy - to give it its proper name - is well worth it.
Players Guide to Glorantha - gives character backgrounds for Glorantha. I don't personally rate this book very highly. If you're confident of your abilities, just use your pre-existing Glorantha-Fu.

So, I would get RQ Deluxe for the rules, Glorantha 2nd Age for background, Blood of Orlanth to play and, optionally, Cults Vol 1.

 

[FNG]

much obliged for that

Moving the setting backwards is ok as a lot of it was covered in the already extensive Orlanthi, Wyrms and Lunar background which I have read in previous articles. It's the moving it forward that caused me problems. Makes it nice to know that the Lunars are coming as well, gives options for intrigue and calamity.

FNG

 

[Deleriad]

much obliged for that

Moving the setting backwards is ok as a lot of it was covered in the already extensive Orlanthi, Wyrms and Lunar background which I have read in previous articles. It's the moving it forward that caused me problems. Makes it nice to know that the Lunars are coming as well, gives options for intrigue and calamity.

FNG

Should you wish it, Dara Happa stirs has elements which are at the very beginning of the Lunar Empire. If you wish, your players can say "I was there when..."

Blood of Orlanth does have a bad continuity error but it is only a throw-away line and you can just pretend it never got mentioned.

The Gloranthan writers for MRQ are very good and work very closely with Issaries to make sure that nothing gets over written.

 

[Darran]

Blood of Orlanth does have a bad continuity error but it is only a throw-away line and you can just pretend it never got mentioned.

What was that?

 

[Loz]

An error in the date of Alakoring's birth. No great biggie.

 

[Deleriad]

Actually, I've been meaning to ask for a while, but the footprint is neither on the map nor mentioned in the text of Blood of Orlanth. Is this an oversight or is something else going on?