Opinions of Players Guide to Glorantha

[DigitalMage]

I bought Glorantha the Second Age for Mongoose RuneQuest when I first bought MRQ but I wasn't that excited about it - it didn't quite click for me. One of my problems was that I felt I was missing something having never played a previous incarnation of the system or setting.

However I am keeping an open mind and hope to play in some games at some cons to see if it grabs me.

In the meantime I was looking at the Mongoose website to see what book contained all the "crunch" that wasn't in the largely systemless 2nd Age book. And I came across the Players Guide and the preview seemed to be aimed at getting new players up to speed on Glorantha.

So is this a book that may help me "get" Glorantha? Is it a useful book if I wanted to play / GM a 2nd Age game, or would I be okay with the core book, Companion and just the 2nd Age book?

Any reviews out there?

NOTE: I originally posted this on RPG.net here

 

[RosenMcStern]

Player's Guide is a really useful book. Its only real problem is that it is awkwardly divided into Background, Profession, Magic, Legendary Ability and Items sections, each of which with its culture related paragraph. Culture chapters with a background, profession, etc. paragraph would have been more easy to use. But the contents are definitely useful.

However, adding it to GtSA is not enough to get the complete picture. My advice is to get one regional or racial book and stick with that culture or species fro your first campaign. You'll need Cults 1 or 2 and/or Magic of Glorantha, too, in order to acquire knowledge about the magic used by that culture. And the Player's guide could be a worthy addition also in this case.

Trying to "get" all of Glorantha at once is not an easy task, and it takes reading the equivalent of 10-15 Mongoose books. Not that it is not worth the effort, though.

 

[DigitalMage]

I am unlikely to buy any more Glorantha books than 2nd Age and possibly Players Guide to be honest, and then only if the latter will help me "get" Glorantha.

The preview talked about a primer for players new to Glorantha - has anyone got any opinions on whether this does bring newbies up to speed on how to use Glorantha as a setting?

 

[Rurik]

The Players Guide is almost all crunch, the primer you mentioned is just a few pages. It is a worthwile book and compliments Glorantha: the Second Age very nicely, but is not going to give a lot more in the way of 'getting' the world.

The other logical second book is Magic of Glorantha. It's title can be misleading, it is more a sourcebook on the God Learners and Empire of Wyrms Friends (EWF) than a spellbook, and it contains the Draconic Magic system used by the EWF.

But honestly, if you are trying to get a good feel for the world, I recommend picking up Blood of Orlanth. It is a campaign and has been very favorably received by both the Gloranthan old guard and newcomers to the game/setting. The best way to 'understand' Glorantha is by example, Blood of Orlanth is a fine example. It has the added benefit of being playable from any of three factions - the God Learners, EWF, or Free Orlanthi, and so will give a good insight into all the major factions.

The caveat is that Blood of Orlanth requires Magic of Glorantha because of the aforementioned Draconic Magic system. But ultimately, I think Blood of Orlanth will make you want to play in Glorantha more than just picking up Players Guide or Magic of Glorantha.

 

[DigitalMage]

Thanks for the reply, maybe I should just try a few games (if I can find any players) using what I have and see if I enjoy it - I think that may be the only way to tell if I will get into Glorantha.

 

[The Greek]

Where are you based? Someone on the board might be able to help, or point you in the direction of a show where you can have a game (eg: Games Expo will have a game or several at the end of the month, GenCon UK in August, and others).

 

[DigitalMage]

Where are you based? Someone on the board might be able to help, or point you in the direction of a show where you can have a game (eg: Games Expo will have a game or several at the end of the month, GenCon UK in August, and others).

I live in Wolverhampton if there are any players nearby.

I am going to Expo and had thought about RuneQuest, but instead booked myself into D&D 4th and Dr Who with a mate.

I will however be going to Continuum

 

[The Greek]

If you want to find out about Glorantha then Continuum is certainly the place to go to.

I will be there on our little stall, but hopefully will be able to get away and play (or maybe run) some games in the evenings...

 

[Sinisalo]

Blood of Orlanth is a good Gloranthan start. Just read that and you'll get it. TBH I didn't get much use out of Players guide.