Friday Fantasy: A Darkness at Runegate

The Dragonrise broke the hold that the Lunar Empire had on Sartar and enabled the clans and tribes the imperial thumb to join forces with the rebels that had long opposed the occupation from the hills and rise up, to free themselves. It also upended the social order, leaving a vacuum where there was not a fully cohesive government. Some settlements were left to fend for themselves. One such town is Runegate, famed for its east gate sacred to Asrelia, the goddess of luck and fortune, and for the great horses it breeds and sells. Despite lying in the lands of the Colymar tribe and being the market and religious centre for three of the tribe’s clans, its leaders and inhabitants have been forced to recover alone in the aftermath of the Dragonrise. This is going to change. Leika Blackspear, newly restored Queen of the Colymar Tribe has despatched a delegation from Clearwine Fort to present gifts to the Runegate leadership and so hopefully lay the groundwork for both its and town’s restored fealty to her. However, when the delegation of four reaches the walled town, they find too many funeral pyres smouldering and being attended to outside of the walls, many of the townsfolk coughing and spluttering, and a far from happy welcome.

This is the set-up for A Darkness at Runegate, a scenario for RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha published by Chaosium, Inc.. It comes complete with a set of four pre-generated Player Characters and can be played as a one-shot, but its location and time frame actually make it easy to add to a campaign. It is located in the northwest of the Colymar tribal lands, a day or so’s travel west of Apple Lane. It takes place late in Earth Season of 1625. This combination makes it easy to add to a campaign based in the area, especially if the Game Master has used or is using the campaign material set in and around Apple Lane primarily found in the RuneQuest Gamemaster Screen Pack.

Begrudgingly welcomed into the town, the Player Characters find any fears they had upon reaching Runegate, quickly confirmed. The townsfolk are suffering from a widespread outbreak of disease, but the situation worsens as their only source of respite, the Chalana Arroy priestess, is found murdered in the Lightbringers Temple. This escalates A Darkness at Runegate from a horror scenario into a murder mystery. This being a scenario for RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha, the cause of the diseases is essentially already known. In Glorantha, bad spirits cause disease, sent by the Goddess of Disease, Mallia, and nearly all of the inhabitants of the town have been touched by a disease spirit, and when they interact with them, there is a strong possibility that the Player Characters will be touched by them too. This adds to the impetus driving the scenario. That is, to find the source of disease that it is not only afflicting the townsfolk and its leadership, but potentially the Player Characters. If Mallia, the Mother of Disease and one of Unholy Trio of Chaos gods, is involved, the likelihood is that there are cultists devoted to her operating in Runegate or nearby. Investigation and talking to the townsfolk able to talk will reveal the depth of the problem, but observation will reveal that with the failure of the Chalana Arroy priestess to find the cause and alleviate the symptoms—prior to her death—some in the town are turning to another healer, recently arrived in Runegate.

The scenario will culminate in a confrontation with The Healer as the Player Characters attempt to work out quite who she is and who she actually worships, whilst she obfuscates and prevaricates. The scenario presents several ways in which this can play out, but whether The Healer lives or dies, is captured or escapes, she still has a group of quite nasty allies nearby. Ideally, the Player Characters will be able to identify and deal with the threat that blights the people of Runegate and thus as her delegates, show Queen Leika in a favourable light. Four pre-generated Player Characters are provided if A Darkness at Runegate is to be run as a one-shot or demonstration scenario. They consist of a good mix, particularly ages. There is a young priestess of Ernalda; her elder sister, an initiate of Orlanth Adventurous (Vinga); a middle-aged initiate of Issaries; and a young initiate of Humakt. All four have quite detailed background, but these are not presented separately for easy provision to the players.

Physically, A Darkness at Runegate is decently presented in the style you would expect for RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha. The new artwork is good, as is the map of the town. There is no map of the region which might have been useful considering that the actual climax of the scenario is likely to take place outside of Runegate.

One thing to note is that A Darkness at Runegate is not a new scenario, it having been used as a demonstration scenario prior to it now actual publication. What this means is that there will be some players who will have already played this scenario, so it will not be of use to every group or Game Master. Of course, given the diversity of games run in Glorantha, this applies anyway. The scenario itself is a little dense, but that is often the way of mystery scenarios. Otherwise, this is a great little scenario that shows off some of the consequences of Sartar’s immediate history and how the world of Glorantha is different to other fantasy settings. A Darkness at Runegate is a desperately disease-driven scenario as a one-shot or convention, but a good addition to a Sartar-based campaign.