Gods & Sods

One of the innovations of RuneQuest is that it introduced a world in which religion plays an intrinsic role. Glorantha has numerous mythologies, pantheons, deities, cults, heroes, and villains, and they are important to all of the peoples of Glorantha such that everyone belongs to a cult, worships one or more gods, whilst also acknowledging many others. Originally introduced in the ground-breaking Cults of Prax and its companion, Cults of Terror, the cults of Orlanth, Humakt, Ernalda, Yelmalio, Kygor Litor, Zorak Zoran, and many others have even entered the roleplaying lexicon. Each provided beliefs, outlook, and spells, and in play even roleplaying hooks. However, having access to all of these cults has historically been something of an issue, the last complete treatment of Glorantha’s gods and cults being GloranthanClassics Volume III – Cult Compendium, which collates material from Cults of Prax, Cults of Terror, and Trollpak, and more. One of the plans for RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha was to produce its own similar tome, Cults of Glorantha, initially in a two-volume set—now only to be seen in a limited ashcan edition released at Gen Con. Instead, the Cults of RuneQuest is to be a ten-volume series, each entry dealing with particular pantheons and aspects of Glorantha’s mythologies.

Cults of RuneQuest: The Prosopaedia is the first volume in the series from Chaosium, Inc.. It is essentially an encyclopaedia to the gods and other mythological figures and groups of the fantasy world of Glorantha and contains hundreds of entries. Entries are arranged alphabetically as you would expect. Some entries only receive a single paragraph, for example, Delaeo, Goddess of Fortune, Good Luck, and Wealth, Lanbril, King of Thieves, and Zistor, The God Machine of the Dwarfs. Others, however, are accorded two more paragraphs, such as Babeestor Gor, Avenging daughter and Sacred Guardian, Kyger Litor, Mother of Trolls, and the Seven Mothers, the Recreators of the Red Goddess, the New Gods. Perhaps some of the longest entries are devoted to some of the more well-known figures in Gloranthan mythology—of which Ernalda, Goddess Creation, Goddess of Love, and Orlanth, King of the Gods, Storm God, Chieftain, Warrior, Leader of the Lightbringers, are the best examples. The Cults of RuneQuest: The Prosopaedia is also cross-referenced, so the entry for Orlanth includes references to both Ernalda and the Lightbringers, and when you turn to the Lightbringers entry, there are references to Chalana Arroy, Eurmal, Flesh Man, Ginna Jar, Issaries, Lhankor Mhy, and Orlanth. Not every entry is a god. For example, Gerak Kag is a Dark Troll hero who defeated Praxian nomads and invaded Pavis in the 1230s, Jaldon Goldentooth is the immortal hero of the Praxian tribes who returns again and again to lead them all into battle, and Zzabur is the First Wizard.

Every entry includes a pronunciation guide, its place and role in particular pantheon, and cross-references as needed. Also included is the Rune symbols associated with that particular god, a practice continued from The Red Book of Magic, and particularly useful it is too.

What is not included in Cults of RuneQuest: The Prosopaedia are any game stats or rules mechanics. This it shares with The Glorantha Sourcebook, which framed the conflicts between the differing mythologies in the forthcoming Hero Wars. The lack of stats or mechanics is intentional. Cults of RuneQuest: The Prosopaedia is intended as an overview of the mythologies and gods and other figures of Glorantha, drawing on diverse sources and collating everything for ease of reference. For the player new to RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha and the setting of Glorantha this is an easy starting point to look up such details, with the core rules providing the mechanics necessary. For the Gloranthaphile, it still provides a good overview, but they will, of course, be left wanting more, but that will come as further entries in the Cults of RuneQuest series are published. Further, it should be pointed out that Cults of RuneQuest: The Prosopaedia is not designed as a standalone product. In being an overview of the gods and mythologies, it is a companion volume to the rest of the titles in the series.

There is one other aspect of Cults of RuneQuest: The Prosopaedia which stands out and that is Katrim Dirim’s artwork. It is gloriously rich and vivid in its colours, capturing the majesty, power, glory, and might of the many deities depicted. It gives them all a naturalistic feel as if painted by their worshippers, yet still unworldly.

As comprehensive as the Cults of RuneQuest: The Prosopaedia is, there is one feature which would have increased its utility, and that is perhaps an index by pantheon and thus refer to particular entries in the Cults of RuneQuest series. It is likely that at the end of the series that an index for all ten books will be necessary.

Physically, Cults of RuneQuest: The Prosopaedia is a slim volume. It professionally written and presented, and as already mentioned, is superbly illustrated. That said, in places, the writing will send the reader to a dictionary to look up the definitions of unfamiliar words.

Cults of RuneQuest: The Prosopaedia is beautiful introduction to the pantheons and mythological figures of Glorantha. Superbly comprehensive, it sets up and serves as a companion to the Cults of RuneQuest series and if the rest of the titles are going to look as good and delve deeper into their subjects, then the RuneQuest fan and the Gloranthaphile are going to very pleased with each new volume.

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An unboxing video of Cults of RuneQuest: The Prosopaedia is available to watch on Unboxing in the Nook.

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Chaosium, Inc. will be at UK Games Expo

from Friday 2nd to Sunday 4th, 2023.

Jonstown Jottings #40: Secrets of HeroQuesting

Much like the Miskatonic Repository for Call of Cthulhu, Seventh Edition, the Jonstown Compendium is a curated platform for user-made content, but for material set in Greg Stafford's mythic universe of Glorantha. It enables creators to sell their own original content for RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha and HeroQuest Glorantha (Questworlds). This can include original scenarios, background material, cults, mythology, details of NPCs and monsters, and so on, but none of this content should be considered to be ‘canon’, but rather fall under ‘Your Glorantha Will Vary’. This means that there is still scope for the authors to create interesting and useful content that others can bring to their Glorantha-set campaigns.

—oOo—

What is it?
Secrets of HeroQuesting is a guide to HeroQuesting—becoming a hero, creating and running HeroQuests, and other secrets of HeroQuesting.

It is 10.43 MB, eighty-one page full colour PDF.

It is generally well written and illustrated throughout with a range of Public Domain artwork. The layout is tight in places and it needs another edit.

Where is it set?
Secrets of HeroQuesting can be set anywhere in Glorantha, but focuses on Central Genertela.

Who do you play?
Secrets of HeroQuesting does not require any specific character types, but Player Characters should possess magic, be capable and willing to embody the tenets of their cults and the characteristics of the gods they worship.

What do you need?
Secrets of HeroQuesting requires RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha, but will apply to, but is not specifically for, QuestWorlds: Glorantha and 13th Age Glorantha.

Secrets of HeroQuesting makes reference to numerous supplements for Hero Wars, Questworlds, and HeroQuest Glorantha, including Sartar: Kingdom of Heroes and The Eleven Lights. It also references numerous titles from the Stafford Library and fanzines. None of these are necessary to run the content in Secrets of HeroQuesting, but they will help the Game Master with examples.

What do you get?
HeroQuesting—the ability to engage with the mythology and beliefs of Glorantha’s many cults and legends, to learn from them, to enforce them, and to embody the original participants, has long been a long-term aim of roleplaying in Glorantha, from RuneQuest II to RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha. After all, the Lightbringers’ Quest in which Orlanth, Chalana Arroy, Lhankor Mhy, Issaries, Eurmal, Flesh Man, and Ginna Jar quested into the depths of Hell to find the Bright Emperor Yelm whom Orlanth had slain with the newly discovered Death, and return him to his rightful place and so bring about an end to the Great Darkness, is a myth central to Glorantha’s lore, which great heroes can enact again and again to enforce a fundamental truth about the world. This re-enactment and enforcing of a myth is known as a HeroQuest and its participants are HeroQuesters, and whilst the Lightbringers’ Quest may be the greatest of HeroQuests—especially if you belong to one of the cults which worships its original participants—there are innumerable cults in Glorantha, and all of them have myths to replicate and HeroQuests to be fulfilled. Secrets of HeroQuesting explores and examines the ideas and concepts behind HeroQuesting and suggests ways in which the Player Characters—if they are powerful enough and sufficiently devout—can undertake and so become greater heroes for their cults.

A HeroQuest is the bringing of a myth into the world, typically enacted through a divinely inspired, tightly regulated mythical journey, designed to ‘Achieve the Impossible’. Secrets of HeroQuesting identifies and examines various types in some detail—‘Short Form’, ‘Long Form’, ‘Riddling Contests’, ‘Wagering Contests’, ‘Re-enactment’, ‘Magic Roads’, ‘Raid Quests’—noting the potential controversy of the latter given that we are gaming in a modern world, ‘Exploration’, ‘Mundane’, and even ‘Spell-Learning’ in which Rune and other spells can be learned through mini-HeroQuests which echo how they were originally learned. In moving on to look at their individual steps or ‘Stations’ it suggests that HeroQuests become something that a HeroQuester actually invest points of Power into—much as he did for Rune spells—so that he can access a particular HeroQuest more easily later. Similarly, individual Stations can be invested in, which sets a greater flexibility in how the HeroQuester approaches each Station and can substitute different Stations for another and even use one Station to leap to another and potentially into another HeroQuest. In terms of objectives, a HeroQuester will not only be enforcing a Myth, but more personally learning a spell, performing an improbable act or task, gaining a magical weapon or item, gaining allies, and more. It might be that a HeroQuester is undertaking a HeroQuest to gain the means and support to start a bigger more important HeroQuest which he would otherwise be unable to start, let alone complete.

What is emphasised throughout is that although a HeroQuester is enforcing a particular myth, his approach need not rigidly adhere to how the HeroQuest is completed according to said myth. The HeroQuester can be flexible in how he attempts each Station, especially if successful. If a HeroQuester’s approach can be flexible, then so can the HeroQuest in that it is possible to alter or warp a HeroQuest, not just for the HeroQuester who completed it, but for anyone who attempts it afterwards. The flexibility extends to improvising stations as well, but this requires a higher degree of knowledge upon the part of both Game Master and her players, so is better suited to veterans who have been playing for a while and whose characters have also been HeroQuesting for as long. 

Numerous examples of HeroQuests are discussed throughout, though the Game Master will still need to track them down in order to deploy them in her campaign. Also discussed are the advantages of being Illuminated and going on HeroQuests, as well as covering the different planes—from the Mundane Plane to the God Plane, and the Ages of Gloranthan Mythology—from the Formless Age and the Dark Age to the Chaos Age and the Silver Age. Advice is given on designing and running a HeroQuest, tailoring to the players and their HeroQuesters, and suggested Game Master styles. It even takes the concept of ‘Achieving the Impossible’ up a notch or nine and suggests quite how HeroQuesters could potentially save those who have been consumed by the Crimson Bat! This falls under ‘Your Glorantha Will Vary’ of course, but would make for an epic mini-campaign since it would require a great deal of preparation, research and adventuring to even attempt it, including numerous HeroQuests before the big event. Throughout, the author adds commentary to the content, personalising it and giving much of what he writes some context.

Now as good as the advice in Secrets of HeroQuesting is, and as interesting a read on the subject as it is, there are issues with Secrets of HeroQuesting which preclude it from being totally useful for your RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha or other Glorantha-set campaign. First, it is one author’s view of what it is and what it involves, born of forty years of gaming in Glorantha, so it is unlikely to be the ‘official’ approach to the subject matter when the official guidelines are released. Second, the author draws heavily on forty years of assembling an extensive library of roleplaying games, supplements, scenarios and campaigns, and fanzines—the majority of which the reader is unlikely to possess or have access to. This is particularly noticeable in the suggested use of ‘Virtues’, the equivalent of personality Traits from King Arthur Pendragon, which although present in earlier supplements for RuneQuest: Classic Edition (and also in the fanzines Tales of the Reaching Moon #6 and Enclosure #1), they are not present in RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha, though the Power Runes do use its model. The inclusion of Virtues is not the only mechanical additions in Secrets of HeroQuesting, the others being the investment of Power into HeroQuests and individual Stations, and the inclusion of a ‘Hero Soul’, a magical part of a HeroQuestor which is awakened upon a Player Character first participating in a HeroQuest and left permanently on the God Plane. These contribute towards the third issue, the inclusion of extra mechanics and elements for the Player Character and Game Master alike to keep track of in addition to the fairly complex character sheet for RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha. Fourth and last, is that although the author identifies that most of what has been written about HeoQuests in the past is “fragmentary and self-contradicting” and states that his aim is to reconcile these fragments together with his “…most recent ideas and gaming experiences”, as much light as is thrown on HeroQuesting, Secrets of HeroQuesting still cannot quite get away from the enigmatic and mystifying nature of its subject matter. Especially for the Game Master not as learned when it comes to the lore. Perhaps the promised Secrets of HeroQuesting: Storm will provide concrete worked examples and advice on staging and varying HeroQuests when it is released.

Despite these issues, this does not mean that content presented in Secrets of HeroQuesting is neither interesting or useful, and it really has a lot of potential, especially if the Game Master has access to the same content as the author. Bringing that potential to the table is another matter, especially if the Game Master is new to Glorantha and RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha.

Secrets of HeroQuesting ends with a detailed bibliography of roleplaying games, supplements, campaigns, and fanzines in which HeroQuesting is explored, a glossary of terminology, and full table of contents.

Is it worth your time?
Yes—Secrets of HeroQuesting provides an in-depth exploration of HeroQuesting, an important aspect of roleplaying in Glorantha and careful study will enable the Game Master to take her campaign and players and their characters onto another plane.

No—Secrets of HeroQuesting provides an in-depth exploration of HeroQuesting, an important aspect of roleplaying in Glorantha, but it is not the official version from Chaosium, Inc. and it cannot quite escape being still a mystifying and enigmatic subject.

Maybe—Secrets of HeroQuesting provides an in-depth exploration of HeroQuesting, an important aspect of roleplaying in Glorantha, but it is not the official version from Chaosium, Inc. and it cannot quite escape being still mystifying and enigmatic despite going some way to clarify the ideas and concepts behind the subject.

Jonstown Jottings #26: Valley of Plenty

Much like the Miskatonic Repository for Call of Cthulhu, Seventh Edition, the Jonstown Compendium is a curated platform for user-made content, but for material set in Greg Stafford’s mythic universe of Glorantha. It enables creators to sell their own original content for RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha and HeroQuest Glorantha (Questworlds). This can include original scenarios, background material, cults, mythology, details of NPCs and monsters, and so on, but none of this content should be considered to be ‘canon’, but rather fall under ‘Your Glorantha Will Vary’. This means that there is still scope for the authors to create interesting and useful content that others can bring to their Glorantha-set campaigns.

—oOo—

What is it?
Valley of Plenty is the first part of The Jaldonkillers Saga, a campaign for QuestWorlds (HeroQuest Glorantha). 

It is a one-hundred-and-fifty page, full colour, Print on Demand softback book.

Although it needs a slight edit in places, Valley of Plenty is nicely presented with some reasonable artwork. The cover is pleasingly bucolic.

Where is it set?
Valley of Plenty is set in the lands of the Blue Jay clan of the Dundealos tribe in southwest Sartar on the border with Prax.

When is it set?
Valley of Plenty begins in 1602 and will explore events which take place in 1602, 1605, 1607, and 1608.

Who do you play?
Members of the Wildlings, the gang led by the younger daughters of Dinorth Many-Spears, leader of the Blue Jay clan and King of the Dundealos tribe. They are in turn children, teenagers, young adults, and finally adults, who will play and then grow into their roles in the tribe.

What do you need?
Valley of Plenty requires QuestWorlds to play. (At the time of the publication of Valley of Plenty, only the QuestWorlds - System Reference Document is available. Alternatively, Valley of Plenty can be run using HeroQuest: Glorantha.).

Valley of Plenty also makes reference to Sartar: Kingdom of Heroes, Sartar Companion, Sartar Player’s Primer, The Coming Storm: The Red Cow Volume I, The Eleven Lights: The Red Cow Volume II, The Guide to Glorantha, and The Glorantha Sourcebook. Of these, Sartar: Kingdom of Heroes will provide details of the gods and their associated cults that are also worshiped by the Blue Jay clan, whilst The Glorantha Sourcebook provides wider background.

What do you get?
Valley of Plenty is notable as a release on the Jonstown Compendium for being the first for use with QuestWorlds rule-system—Chaosium, Inc.’s update for HeroQuest. It is both a sourcebook for, and the first part of, The Jaldonkillers Saga, a campaign set in Sartar which will take a group of characters from the idyll of their childhood through the sundering of their tribe and beyond to its reconstitution in exile and then the efforts made to retake both their tribe’s lands and glory. This is framed against the invasion of Sartar by the Lunar Empire and its repulsion following the Dragonrise. Valley of Plenty only covers the first part of this and sets everything up and deeply involves the players and their characters in their clan through notable events in the early lives.

The player characters begin play as children. They are members of the Wildings, a gang lead by the younger daughters of Dinorth Many-Spears leader of the Blue Jay clan and King of the Dundealos tribe, who have plenty of time to play and have fun. No matter what trouble they get into, the Wildlings have the favour of the king—though sometimes not his wife—and this has interesting implications for the campaign. It means that as the campaign progresses and the characters grow, the characters’ friendship with the king’s daughters and his favour enable them to grow into a place close to the king and the events that will beset the clan, rather than being the default set-up from the outset. So initially, the campaign will have a little of the feel of Swallows and Amazons or Five Go Adventuring Again, but this will change as the characters grow, become adults, and assume their full roles in the clan.

The structure of the campaign is episodic. The first takes place when the Player Characters are eight or nine, beginning with a day that many players will recognise from a hot summer’s day from their own childhoods, before going on to explore the consequences of the day. From an adult perspective, it is very light-hearted, but not so from that of children. In particular, the second scenario, ‘Two Frogs Too Many’ presents a challenge typical of that which might be faced by an adult adventurer in Glorantha, but here appropriately scaled down to match the ability levels of the children. (Mechanically, of course, this does mean that the abilities of the Player Characters or the threat they face have been scaled down, but for QuestWorlds, they have been scaled down narratively.) The second is set in 1605 when they are eleven or twelve, have some responsibilities, but still time to slip away on an adventure, one that brings then face-to-face with the clan’s enemies and then have a day at the races. In 1607, the Player Characters will undergo their rites of passage and become adults, before in 1608, engage in adult activities—a raid and the difficulties of engaging with a rival clan. The Player Characters will have their first encounter with the Lunars, a sign of things to come in future parts of The Jaldonkillers Saga.

In between these periods of intense activities, the players roll for events which will affect them and their families and learn of ongoing events in the tribe and the wider world. All the adventures though, are really well done, in presenting tasks and challenges appropriate to the ages of the Player Characters, the risks and responsibilities growing with each new chapter. Each period comes with additional seeds and throughout the bonuses to be gained and changes to be made to each character’s stats as they grow up and eventually gain responsibilities, meaning that the characters grow up both mechanically and narratively into adults and members of the tribe. At the same time, both they and the Game Master are growing into QuestWorlds’ mechanics, the campaign introducing different elements of the rules as it progresses.

In addition to the mechanical progression, Valley of Plenty also presents the background information that the Player Characters would know, also progress. Notably, this is done through two player handouts, ‘Child’s Knowledge’ and ‘Youngster’s Knowledge’, which present their world view rather than that the clan’s adults. These present a Sartarite clan from first principles, then second principles, and then the wider world, introducing Glorantha in an easy to digest step-by-step fashion. Other handouts cover the gods commonly worshiped by the Blue Jay Clan and the Dundealos tribe and details of the small city of Dundealosford, and the surrounding area. For the Game Master, there is more information about the Jaldonkillers tribe, including very full write-ups of the cults of Elmal (the Jaldonkillers being Horse Orlanthi, though the Player Characters are ‘City Jays’, living in Dundealosford), Redalda, Andred, and Drogarsi the Skald, as well as the Shamanic Tradition of the Steadfast Circle. These are exceptionally well done, and full of suggestions as what benefits worshippers—and the Player Characters—can gain from belonging to each cult as well as extra details that the Game Master can bring into play and each cult’s role in Blue Jay society. The cult of Andred—she is the goddess of victory and justice deferred—is new, as is the shamanic tradition write-up, and it should be noted that the cult descriptions for Elmal, Redalda, and Drogarsi are written from a non-Orlanthi perspective. So if a player would participate in a different campaign, he would need to be apprised of the differences. Further, not all of the cults which the Blue Jays belong to are covered in Valley of Plenty and a Game Master may need access to Sartar: Kingdom of Heroes if a player decides his character belongs to one of those.

On the downside, some of these handouts are lengthy and in places it feels as if the players need to do a bit of homework to play Valley of Plenty. As much as it is designed as an introduction to Glorantha—although one from a particular point of view—there is still a degree of buy-in upon the part of the players. Another issue is that Valley of Plenty only takes The Jaldonkillers Saga campaign so far, that is from childhood to adulthood, and not as far as the events surrounding the sundering of the tribe. Of course, Valley of Plenty sets up and hints at the events to come, but anyone expecting more will be disappointed, plus the scenarios in Valley of Plenty do not really end on a high point or a low point, or indeed with any great sense of a climax. These issues are minor, however, and will not really impinge on a play-through of Valley of Plenty.

With Valley of Plenty, the Jonstown Compendium has not one, but two good starter campaigns—campaigns that start from first principles about Glorantha and who the Player Characters are in the world—and take them deeper into the setting. The other of course is Six Seasons in Sartar. It is not difficult to draw comparisons between the two, because they share a number of similarities. They both focus on the one clan, their storylines both involve the sundering of their clans and subsequent reclamations, and both have the Player Characters beginning play before they are adults. However, whilst the events of Six Seasons in Sartar are more direct, those of Valley of Plenty are gentler, with more adventures before the Player Characters come of age. Of course, the big difference between Six Seasons in Sartar and Valley of Plenty is that the former is written for RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha whereas the latter is written for QuestWorlds. In fact, this is a good thing, since it means that they do compete with each other, though there is nothing to stop a Game Master adapting Valley of Plenty for use with RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha. However, she would need to take care as the RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha mechnics are not as forgiving when handling children Player Characters as QuestWorlds is.

Valley of Plenty is an excellent campaign, an excellent campaign for Glorantha, and an excellent entry point for playing in Glorantha—so good that it could easy have been published by Chaosium. It guides both Game Master and her players, step-by-step, into the game and the world of Glorantha as well as the mechanics of QuestWorlds, in an enjoyably gentle fashion, supporting the process with an easily digestible background and details that can be brought into play. As an introduction to, and a first campaign—literally and narratively—for, Glorantha for QuestWorlds, this is a must buy, and were not for the fact that Valley of Plenty is written for use with QuestWorlds rather than RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha, one of the first purchases which should be made from the Jonstown Compendium. 

Is it worth your time?
Yes—Valley of Plenty is a near perfect introduction to gaming in Glorantha and should be your first QuestWorlds purchase.
No—Valley of Plenty is another Glorantha campaign starter and for another set of rules when there is more enough for RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha right now.
Maybe—Valley of Plenty contains background as well as adventures which could be adapted to your campaign or indeed, rules system, of your choice.

[Fanzine Focus XX] Hearts in Glorantha Issue 1

On the tail of the Old School Renaissance has come another movement—the rise of the fanzine. Although the fanzine—a nonprofessional and nonofficial publication produced by fans of a particular cultural phenomenon, got its start in Science Fiction fandom, in the gaming hobby it first started with Chess and Diplomacy fanzines before finding fertile ground in the roleplaying hobby in the 1970s. Here these amateurish publications allowed the hobby a public space for two things. First, they were somewhere that the hobby could voice opinions and ideas that lay outside those of a game’s publisher. Second, in the Golden Age of roleplaying when the Dungeon Masters were expected to create their own settings and adventures, they also provided a rough and ready source of support for the game of your choice. Many also served as vehicles for the fanzine editor’s house campaign and thus they showed another Dungeon Master and group played said game. This would often change over time if a fanzine accepted submissions. Initially, fanzines were primarily dedicated to the big three RPGs of the 1970s—Dungeons & Dragons, RuneQuest, and Traveller—but fanzines have appeared dedicated to other RPGs since, some of which helped keep a game popular in the face of no official support.

Since 2008 with the publication of Fight On #1, the Old School Renaissance has had its own fanzines. The advantage of the Old School Renaissance is that the various Retroclones draw from the same source and thus one Dungeons & Dragons-style RPG is compatible with another. This means that the contents of one fanzine will compatible with the Retroclone that you already run and play even if not specifically written for it. Labyrinth Lord and Lamentations of the Flame Princess Weird Fantasy Roleplay have proved to be popular choices to base fanzines around, as has Swords & Wizardry. As popular in the Old School Renaissance as the genre is, not all fanzines are devoted to Dungeons & Dragons-style roleplaying games.

The world of Glorantha has had any number of fanzines dedicated to it over its forty year or so history, most notably, Wyrm’s Footnotes and Tales of the Reaching Moon. Published by D101 Games, Hearts in Glorantha is a more recent fanzine, having been published on an irregular basis since 2008. A total of seven issues have been published to date, with the first five collated as Hearts in Glorantha Vol 1 Collected. The inaugural issue, Hearts in Glorantha Issue 1 Summer 2008 was subtitled ‘Mythology & Glorantha’ and its focus is very much on the mythology and bringing it to your game. As well as the ‘Mythology & Glorantha’, it comes with two region guides, duck tales, an interview, and more.

The issue opens with John Ossoway’s ‘God Fall’. This details a location in north-eastern Prax, at least a week’s waterless journey from anywhere, a location where a century ago, a new star blazed across the sky and fell to earth. Hailed as a fallen god, its worshippers are known to receive prophetic visions and healing from him whilst they wait until the time he awakens, reveals his identity, and rewards them for their devotion. Both location and cult are described, and there are also notes for shifting God Fall to the Second Age. What is missing here is a scenario seed or two, something to give the description some application to help the Game Master include it in her game.

Publisher and editor of Hearts in Glorantha, Newt Newport, contributes several pieces to this first issue of the fanzine. The first is ‘Prologue Method For Character Generation’, which breaks the character creation process in HeroQuest into three steps—Childhood, Rites of Passage, and Early Experience, and has player and Game Master together explore what happened at each stage. This rewards both with enhanced character creation and background and experience of how the character works in play. He also details a frontier country in the Eastern Wilds of Ralios in two articles—‘Karia’ and ‘Karia Mythology and History’. The first is a gazetteer for Karia, a rough land and only separated from Dorastor Land of Doom by the Kartolin Pass, barely populated by settlers from the Kingdom of Delela, exiles from the Dukedom of Naskorion, and Trolls from the Queendom of Halikiv. The second provides context and background, not just from one point of view, but multiple points. This includes the Orlanthis, the Trolls, and more, before bringing the region up to date at the dawn of the Hero Wars.

‘Homeland: Kralori’ by Mark Galeotti explores Kralorela, the Kingdom of Splendor in Eastern Genertela. It details this very traditional, caste-bound culture, their common faiths, and the Kralori pantheon. This is supported with particular Keywords for use with HeroQuest and nicely captures the conservative nature of the society. Elsewhere Stuart Mousir-Harrison describes Aweke, a low-growing ground herb found across Pralorela and elsewhere for ‘Flora of Glorantha’. It details how although difficult to cultivate, it has stimulating and endurance-enhancing properties.

The ‘Mythology & Glorantha’ focus gets underway with David Dunham’s ‘The Tale Theft’. This is a ‘do-it-yourself’ means of creating heroquests, using words and ideas on cards as elements which players can tribute towards both creation and play of a heroquest. By implication, it is written for use with HeroQuest and supported by a full example or two. This emphasises the storytelling aspects of HeroQuest and would actually work with the next article, ‘Location Mythlets’. Here Jane Williams looks at how to take the two-line myths from the Dragon Pass Gazetteer and by answering a few questions—what the Game Masters wants, how to build the myth, how it might differ from the myth’s norm, and how it might all go together. Again, it comes several examples. How a heroquest might differ from the norm is entertainingly illustrated in the first of three pieces of fiction in the issue. This is in Jane Williams’ second contribution to the issue, ‘Lookout Hill’, telling how a heroquest to ensure that the Thunder Brothers burned off the darkness at the foot of the Quivini Mountains became something more. The second piece of fiction, Jeff Richards’ ‘The Seduction of Tarahelera’ tells of what is perhaps a more straightforward heroquest, but is no less entertaining. The third is ‘Using a Charm’, an instructive piece on the nature of dealing with spirits by Greg Stafford.

Perhaps the most fun piece in Hearts in Glorantha Issue 1 is ‘Rymes & Ribbolds Royall – The Kings and Queens of the Durulz’. Written by Stewart Stansfield with Keith Nellist, this presents idea that a chronicle of the kings and queens of the wereducks of Dragon Pass was written as a series of comedic poems, most notably by the skald known as Waddlewit. This is supported by three sample excerpts and histories for a particular monarch, as well as the full stats in HeroQuest for the artefacts associated with them. So for example, Holgreema the Rotbane, Queen Starbolt, wanton despot who wooed the river god, performed the Cutting of the Zombie Chain, and cast her left eye into the swamp to watch its borders is accompanied by a write-up of the Chariot of the Gods, Spirits, and Essences of the Creek-Stream River, a water-chariot made from a giant Dragonsnail shell. Typical spirits associated with the chariot are also described. All together a highly entertaining piece of lore.

The interview in Hearts in Glorantha Issue 1 is with Jeff Richard. ‘Newt Talks to Jeff Richard’ is a fairly lengthy piece covering a number of subjects, including the then development of HeroQuest 2, as well as Pavis: Gateway to Glorantha, Cults of Sartar, and more. It highlights in the main the intended ease of play of HeroQuest 2 in comparison to the first edition of HeroQuest. As interesting as the interview is in capturing the then state of roleplaying Glorantha—after all, 2008 was a very different time with different publishers—it is not particularly interesting in itself.

The single scenario in Hearts in Glorantha Issue 1 is Newt Newport’s ‘Fixing the Wrong’. Set in Dragon Pass, it casts the player characters as either Lunars or Heortlings. Since published in Gloranthan Adventures 1: New Beginnings, it takes place in the former lands of the Hazel Owl clan, which was all but obliterated by the Lunar Empire following an uprising. The Lunar Empire was not without compassion and established a mission house to attend to the refugees who survived, including the then beautiful daughter of Hazel Owl chieftain, Jalhena the Gentle. Driven mad by the experience, in the years since, Jalhena the Gentle has become Jalhena the Hag and a Lunar convert, so when she approaches the neighbouring Birch Shaper clan in order to claim the hand of the chief’s son in marriage, mediators are required. Which is where the Player Characters become involved. The scenario comes with a full cast list, location descriptions, and scenes, including a heroquest. Of course, timewise, this is now a slightly difficult scenario to run, but it could certainly be run as a flashback.

Physically, Hearts in Glorantha Issue 1 Summer 2008 is decently presented. It needs a slight edit in places, but is in the main, very readable. It is lightly illustrated, but the artwork is good—or even excellent in the case of the ducks! Hearts in Glorantha Issue 1 Summer 2008 is twelve years old and it shows very much in the choice of gaming systems referenced—though this is generally down with a little touch—and of course, the time frame. Nevertheless, this does not mean that the contents are invalid or useless, the discussion on the nature and construction of heroquests is thoughtful, the fiction entertaining, and the background interesting if not immediately useful. Overall, Hearts in Glorantha Issue 1 Summer 2008 is a solidly thoughtful first issue.

#WeAreAllUs: Highwall Inn

October 10th marks the first anniversary of Greg Stafford’s passing. To both commemorate that date and celebrate Greg’s contribution to the roleplaying hobby, Chaosium, Inc. is publishing not just one free scenario, but five. One for each of the major roleplaying games published by Chaosium, Inc. Either designed or influenced by Greg, they include RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha, King Arthur Pendragon, HeroQuest in Glorantha, Call of Cthulhu, Seventh Edition, and 7th Sea. The aim of these releases is twofold. One is to showcase each of these worlds and roleplaying games, typically with a scenario that can be brought to the table with relative ease, whether that is your own or at a convention, but primarily the purpose is to get everyone sat round the table and playing since we are all roleplayers. In Greg’s words, that #WeAreAllUs.

Highwall Inn is a scenario for HeroQuest Glorantha, the narrative-driven roleplaying set in the world of Greg Stafford’s Glorantha. It is set in the area of Dragon Pass detailed in The Coming Storm: The Red Cow Volume I, but is not part of The Coming Storm campaign. Nor is is designed to be played as part of an existing campaign—though there are some decent notes to run the scenario with existing characters, but is instead a one-shot or convention scenario. To that end, it comes with seven pre-generated player characters divided into three factions which will drive a lot of the action and tension in the scenario. It also comes with an actual plot, some villains that everyone can agree upon, and peril by the barrel-load.

The scenario begins with several groups on the road between Alone and Herongreen. It is deep in Dark Season and as the differing groups thread their way between the Ghoul-infested Woods of the Dead, a biting blizzard descends upon them and howls are heard from the trees on either side—they will all need to find refuge, and soon. On the high road there is only one place of safety lest the travellers want to end up as Ghoul fodder or in the Ghoul herds—Highwall Inn. Here in this isolated location, they will find both warmth and welcome, but also enemies, marks, and potential converts. This will initially drive the tension in the common room as everyone sups warm wine and eats the filling stew, eyeing each other, waiting, waiting, waiting… The outside will intrude though, as Ghouls come in search of food in a particularly horrific scene.

Although Highwall Inn does include a plot, much of its tension comes from the seven pre-generated player characters divided into three factions. The first faction are the Moon Dogs, who consist of Ralda Red-Hands, a Sartar rebel with a bloody and murderous reputation and leader of the Red-Hand Gang, and Pharanda Glittering-Eye, an actual Moon Dog, one of the Lunar Empire’s bounty hunters who go out and capture Sartar rebels. Noted for having one eye and the Glittering Eye which replaced the lost eye, the Moon Dog has captured Ralda Red-Hands and is taking her in to collect the bounty on her head. The Rebels consist of Barnakt Two-Swords, Ralda Red-Hands’ loyal and wise lieutenant and Koschei the Beardless, a perhaps all too keen recruit to the rebel cause, both of whom have come to rescue Ralda Red-Hands. The Thieves are Orgorvale Horseface, a Sartarite street bravo, and Valmir Dances-On-Water, a Tarshite knife fighter turned Irripe Ontor-worshipping thief, who together who have designs on Goldentongue merchant Griselda Far-Walker, a successful trader who has also been forced to stop at Highwall Inn. Lastly, Palashee the Lantern is the Pilgrim, a zealous preacher of Yelmalio who wants to bring his cold light to these dark, dark times before the Hero Wars…

As is standard for other HeroQuest scenarios, the pre-generated player characters that come with Highwall Inn are not complete. They are ready in that they can be played straight from the off, but do come with a pool of further character creation points ready to spend as needed, whether that is to improve existing abilities or purchase new ones—even during play of the scenario.

What this all means is that numerous contrasting and conflicting views and objectives are thrown into a melting pot and brought to the boil against the backdrop of a horrific corner of Dragon Pass. Of course, the horror intrudes more than once before… Although in terms of plot, Highwall Inn is straightforward enough, in terms of its staging with tensions coming from the interplay between the player characters and between the player characters and various NPCs, it looks to be much more complex than any of the other scenarios released by Chaosium, Inc. for the inaugural #WeAreAllUs day. The author adroitly counters this not once but several times, by breaking down each scene into the dilemma faced by the player characters, the choices they have, and the consequences they might suffer, making them much easier to run than the scenario at first looks. Further, there is solid advice on handling the player character versus player character interaction which forms much of the scenario, as well as running each of the different stages of the scenario. Plus there are notes throughout on various aspects of the setting of Glorantha that are relevant to the scenario. Lastly, there are notes on the inspirations for Highwall Inn, one of which is fairly obvious.

Physically, Highwall Inn is a twenty-five page, 3.17 MB, full colour PDF. It is lightly, but decently illustrated and comes with three good maps. Sadly, none of the NPCs are really directly illustrated and neither are the pre-generated player characters. Perhaps the biggest issue is that the pre-generated player characters are not best organised so that the Game Master can print them out and give them to her players.

As good as Highwall Inn is, there are a couple of potential issues though. One is the structure of the relationships between the pre-generated player characters, so that two of the pairs are natural allies—the Thieves and the Rebels, whereas the Pilgrim is a loner , and the Moon Dogs are at odds with each other. This means that the player of the actual Moon Dog will have to work harder in order to gain allies at the inn. This may well be compounded by the other potential issue which is that this scenario is fairly complex in terms of its background and may well require a player to have more information than is necessarily given to get the fullest out of their characters.

Although it may not look like it, Highwall Inn is a horror scenario. A really tense horror scenario that harries the player characters up against each other and pushing, pushing them into confrontations with each other before ratcheting up the horror again. Its potential complexities are offset by some excellent staging advice for the Game Master, though players less familiar with Glorantha may want some more advice and information with their pre-generated characters. Overall, Highwall Inn is an excellent demonstration or convention scenario for both HeroQuest Glorantha and Glorantha, and of the five titles released for #WeAreAllUs, the perfectly tense—if surprising—choice to run on Halloween.

A Fulcrum Broken

The Red Cow campaign for use with HeroQuest Glorantha consists of two parts. In the first part, The Coming Storm: The Red Cow Volume I, we were  introduced to the Red Cow, the clan famous for the red cows it breeds and trades that make it the envy of many of its neighbours. Part of the Cinsina tribe, itself part of the Jonstown Confederation, the Red Cow sits at the heart of the Kingdom of Sartar in Dragon Pass. In describing the Red Cow clan and its leaders and notable figures, its allies, enemies, and their aims, The Coming Storm: The Red Cow Volume I set up the clan on a knife edge, riven by factions with no single fiction dominating the clan—the Moon Winds have converted to the worship of the Seven Mothers and welcomed the Lunar occupation forces; the Free Sartar faction supports rebellion and its campaign of guerrilla warfare against the Lunar Empire and would kill the Moon Winds; the Conquering Storm concentrates on local matters, old feuds and slights, to keep the tribe strong and its neighbours weak; the Wolfskinners want to kill the Telmori, the werewolves to the east, even being prepared to work with the local Lunar general to wipe them out; and the Eye of the Hurricane which does not want the clan to involve itself in outside affairs, whether it is involvement in the rebellion against the Lunar Empire or the foretold Hero Wars which are to happen soon. Broddi Strong-Kin is both clan chieftain and head of the Eye of the Hurricane faction,  and so has the difficult task of maintaining the balance between the rivalries and politics of the factions, the clan, and the tribe.

It is into this rich, detailed set-up that the player characters come to the fore.  As members of the Red Cow, they are clan warriors, hunters, herders, healers, farmers, priests, and more, who through their decisions and actions have the potential to influence and eventually, even determine the future of the clan. The opportunity for them to do is is presented in the second part of the campaign, The Eleven Lights: The Red Cow Volume II. This is the campaign proper, chronicling the story of the clan from 1618 until 1625, covering the events, season by season, that lead up to the outbreak of the Hero Wars. These of course, include the Lunar campaigns throughout the period, the death of Orlanth and the Great Winter which followed, and the Dragon Rise which struck the death knell of the Red Emperor’s attempts to occupy Dragon Pass. Yet the story of the Red Cow clan is not about its involvement in these events, but how its people react to them, cope with them, and above all, survive them. It should be no surprise given the level of detail paid to the Red Cow clan and its allies and enemies in The Coming Storm: The Red Cow Volume I, that campaign is primarily location based. The player characters may travel far from their homeland—in one instance, very, very far—but they always come back and their ultimate concern is always the fate the clan. In the process, they will become involved in dealings with other tribes and clan, in dealings and death with werewolves, suffer under the yoke of the Lunar occupation, and worse—much worse, but again, it is their fellow clan members whom they have to return to deal, and they all have their own ambitions.

To get the very most out of The Eleven Lights: The Red Cow Volume II, the Game Master will need access to several books beyond just The Coming Storm: The Red Cow Volume I. Primarily, these are the Sartar Companion and Sartar: Kingdom of Heroes, which add wider background, but in the main provide further scenarios and heroquests that the Game Master can run in addition to those given in The Eleven Lights: The Red Cow Volume II. Also of note is Hamlet’s Hit Points, Robin D. Laws’ examination of story beats—actions and actions within a scene—to help with staging the campaign’s many episodes. Of course, the Game Master does not have to read Hamlet’s Hit Points before running the campaign, but it might be a helpful option all the same.

The majority of the book is devoted to years that the campaign covers, chapter by chapter. The first chapter introduces The Red Cow campaign, explains how the book is organised, and provides some advice for the Game Master on running the campaign. Each of the yearly chapters is organised into sections entitled Conflicts, The Ring, The Hero Wars, and Important NPCs. Conflicts details conflicts that threaten the Red Cow, both within and without; The Ring covers events concerning the clan’s leadership; The Hero Wars provides information on events which might affect the clan—both local and further afield; and Important NPCs lists everyone who has a role to play in that particular year. The chapters then give the various episodes which take place that year. Like the chapters themselves, these are organised in the same fashion. Each provides a starting point with ‘Begins With’, lists the Cast, explains the Situation and gives possible Twists, lists Connected Episodes as well as the Acts, Scenes, and Beats in the Episode, before going through the Episode, Act by Act, and finally, giving some advice on running the Episode and discussing how it might play out in ‘Play of the Game’. These two formats are adhered to throughout The Eleven Lights: The Red Cow Volume II and together help the Game Master run the campaign. Individual Episodes vary in length, some may take a session or less to finish, others may take multiple sessions to complete.

In addition to the various episodes in each of the year-by-year chapters, the first chapter also includes a number of ‘general’ Episodes. These cover common activities which the clan often engages in, such as conducting cattle raids, sending emissaries to other clans, feuding, patrolling, trading, and so on. These are designed to be slotted into the ongoing campaign as needed, with many being listed under the Connected Episodes section of each Episode. In comparison to the great events covered by Episodes in the year-by-year chapters, these are perhaps not quite as exciting, but they do add to ongoing drama. Also included in this chapter is a Heroquest particular to the Red Cow clan—‘The Stealing of the Giant’s Cow’, which the player characters are likely to undertake at least on one year in order to ensure the quality of the clan’s cattle.

The campaign opens in 1618 with ‘The Missing’, a crisis involving sickness among the clan and children having disappeared. It is a relatively gentle, and charming, introduction to the campaign, but it gets the player characters involved in clan affairs and it gets them dealing with other members of the clan from the off. It is followed by Episodes which push the player characters to make choices as events bring both them and the clan into conflict with its long-term enemy, the Emerald Sword clan of the Dinacoli. Episodes in later years continue this conflict to varying degrees, but the focus will shift to one of survival as events outside of the clan’s control impinge upon it again and again. Ultimately, circumstances will call upon the player characters to undertake a longer, much more involved heroquest which has great consequences for the wider world. This has a truly epic, magical feel to it and any player characters who return from it are heroes, ones ready for the difficulties the clan must face after the campaign (many of which would be worth exploring should The Eleven Lights: The Red Cow Volume II ever receive a sequel).

The challenge in running The Eleven Lights: The Red Cow Volume II is twofold. First, as a community-based campaign, it involves a lot of NPCs, not just those listed in The Coming Storm: The Red Cow Volume I, but also those added by the Game Master. There are a lot to keep track of in the campaign, but The Eleven Lights: The Red Cow Volume II gives advice on handling multiple NPCs and it limits the numbers involved from Episode to Episode. Second, there is a great deal to take in when preparing the campaign, nearly all of it in the pages of The Coming Storm: The Red Cow Volume I before the Game Master has got to the running of the campaign itself. Overcoming this is a matter of careful preparation and taking notes prior to running the campaign, and again, the episodic nature of the campaign means that the Game Master should be able to avoid being overwhelmed by too much information.

For the players, the challenge is knowing that the actions of their characters and the decisions they make will have consequences. Promises made, connections forged, alliances made, help rendered, and their reverse will have some kind of impact upon the outcome of the campaign. The many NPCs and factions have their own agendas and so will often require something of the player characters if they need support or assistance. Many of the decisions made will not have any consequences until much later on in the campaign when the player characters have a much larger role in the tribe. 

Physically, The Eleven Lights: The Red Cow Volume II adheres to Chaosium’s now standard, professional degree of presentation. Although a slight edit is needed here and there, the book is well written and well presented. The artwork, a mix of full colour and black and white, old and new, is excellent and helps to bring to life the fantastic world that is Glorantha.

For decades, the struggle of a Sartarite clan to win its freedom and throw off the yoke of the Lunar Empire has been one of the classic campaign set-ups for Glorantha. The Eleven Lights: The Red Cow Volume II together with The Coming Storm: The Red Cow Volume I, enables Gloranthaphiles to explore that set-up to its fullest with a superb community-based campaign. It provides a great, sometimes epic, storyline which the Game Master can tailor to her players and in playing through the campaign, it is their characters that will decide the fate of the clan and their home. Together The Coming Storm: The Red Cow Volume I and The Eleven Lights: The Red Cow Volume II form a great community-based campaign which give the player characters a home and a clan to care about.

A Mythic Primer

The Glorantha Sourcebook is an important companion to the three roleplaying games set in Greg Stafford’s world of Glorantha—HeroQuest Glorantha, RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha, and 13th Age Glorantha—all three of which are, like The Glorantha Sourcebook, published by Chaosium, Inc.. It is a systemless sourcebook which introduces the mythic and mythological underpinnings of Glorantha, taking us from the creation of the universe and God Time to the Gods War that introduced Death to the world, the Compact that ended it and introduced Time to the world, and beyond... It is the story of gods and heroes, kings and prophets, and more, but it is not though, the definitive work on Glorantha as a whole. There is the massive eight-hundred page, two-book The Guide to Glorantha for that. Instead, The Glorantha Sourcebook focuses very much on the myths and pantheons of the peoples who will ultimately come to clash in one geographical area—that of Dragon Pass, the region which allows egress north to to south through the mountains which divide the northern continent of Genertla. All this telling will come to a head in the year 1625, at the beginning of the Hero Wars—the starting point for both RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha and 13th Age Glorantha.

The volume begins with a short description of Glorantha’s geography, before diving into a history of Dragon Pass. This literally sets everything up for what follows in the book, being a annotated explanation of the feud between the House of Sartar and the Red Emperor, between the Lunar Empire and the peoples of Dragon Pass. It is written as a gift from a scholar to the queen in Nochet, the City of Queens, so much like the rest of The Gorantha Sourcebook, it is no dry, objective text, but subjective and opinionated. As well as giving the history, it gives the details and family trees of the dynasties that have shaped the region, notably the Feathered Horse Queens, the Lunar Kings of Tarsh, and the various Sartar Dynasties. Although their involvement in the events of Dragon Pass has waxed and waned over the centuries, the Elder Races are not ignored and are described in turn. Of these, the write-up of the Aldryami is somewhat brief in comparison of those given for the Dragonewts, Mostali, and of course, Uz. 

At the heart of the supplement though are two lengthy and opposing set of chapters, which together continue the explanation of the feud between the House of Sartar and the Red Emperor. Where this explanation has been historial, here it is very much concerned with the gods. The first set  consists of ‘Theogony’ and ‘Time’. ‘Theogony’ presents the stories and creation myths of Glorantha’s gods, element by element, in turn Darkness, Water, Earth, Fire, and Air. Each is accompanied by a family tree that depicts the element and his or her descendants in their classic iconic forms as well as maps of their associated realms. Thus Darkness is accompanied by a map of the the Underworld, Water by a cross section of the oceans, Earth by a map of the realms of the Green Age, Fire by a map of the realms of the Golden Age, Air by a map of the Storm Age or Lesser Darkness, and so on. From the creation of the universe and the world, the chapter takes the reader through God Time and the events of the God’s War that ultimately would lead to the events of the second of these chapters, ‘Time’. What is notable about ‘Theogony’ is that is not written from the point of view of these pantheons’ contemporary worshippers in Dragon Pass, but from the God Learners of the Second Age. Although initiates of the cults dedicated to these deities might not necessarily agree with the interpretations of the God Learners, their attempts to rationalise myths actually serve to make them accessible for the reader. ‘Time’ actually presents the actual history of Dragon Pass from the end of God Time through the First, Second, and Third Ages up until the beginning of the Hero Wars. This is a relatively short chapter, but it is important because it what keeps the mortal world separate from God Time and it is the compact that created it that is so threatened by the contents of the opposing two chapters.

The opposing set of chapters are ‘Gods of the Lunar Way’ and ‘The Redline History of the Lunar Empire’. Together these describe the deities, heroes, goddess, empress, and emperor who will fight on the opposing side in the Hero Wars. Of these, the goddess—the Red Goddess—is the most significant because she is a goddess reborn in Time, who lived as a mortal and became a goddess once again, thus threatening the compact that brought Time into the world and separated it from God Time. It is her son, the Red Emperor, who will be born again and again over the course of the history detailed in ‘The Redline History of the Lunar Empire’. It is the Red Emperor’s decision to expand the Glowline, the magical border of the Lunar Empire, into Dragon Pass and the differing nature of their religions—the Lunar Empire accepts Chaos as part of natural order of things, whereas the people of Sartar and its surrounds see Chaos as a threat, that will see the two cultures and peoples clash again again culminating in the Dragon Rise ceremony which triggers the Hero Wars.

Beyond these lengthy chapters, The Glorantha Sourcebook essentially looks at the nature of the forces arrayed against each other in the run up to the Hero Wars and beyond. ‘Gloranthan Magic’ explains the Runes and their relationships, the latter nicely depicted and explained with a series of diagrams. This and the discussion of the types of magic will likely be amongst the most familiar content in the book. ‘Gods and Mortals’ notably details the leading heroes of the Hero Wars, including Harrek the Berserk, Jar-eel the Razoress, Delecti the Necromancer, and of course, Argrath Whitebull, who will lead the rebellion against the Lunar Empire. Lastly, the shortest chapter is ‘Startar Magical Union’, which introduces the Warlocks who combine a number of magical disciplines in serving Argrath Whitebull. The description of the Warlocks are quite brief, but their inclusion, like much of the supplement, sets the stage for the Hero Wars.

Physically, The Glorantha Sourcebook is a highly attractive hardback. It is clearly written, with a strong sense of story, though in places the style is a little heavy going, but then that is sometimes the way of such mythologies. The book is liberally illustrated though, with great depictions of the gods, heroes, and myths discussed in the text. A lot of the artwork is not new though, but it is used effectively and more than serves the text to support the differing points of view presented throughout the book. In particular, the stone reliefs taken from Sartar’s Palace, which depict the history of Dragon Pass up to the Dragon Rise, are wonderfully evocative and echo those of the Assyrian Empire. The Kyger Litor temple friezes of the Uz are also good. 

The Glorantha Sourcebook is not quite perfect. There is an instance of incomplete text and perhaps it could have done with clearer maps of Dragon Pass and the surrounding area to help the reader gain an easier grasp of the flow of events of the region’s history. Certainly the maps of the growth and fluctuating fortunes of the Lunar Empire from Wane to Wane help with its history and it would have been nice to have seen something similar done for Dragon Pass. Another issue is that because much of the content is written from differing perspectives, it can sometimes be a little awkward to put the various stories, histories, and events in context with each other, so certainly for the period of Time, an actual timeline might have been a useful addition. In comparison, the write-up of the Lunar Empire is much easier to follow because of timeline.

Drawing on diverse sources, such as Wyrm’s Footnotes, for both its text and illustration, there is certainly much here that Gloranthaphiles—devotees of Greg Stafford’s world—will find familiar in the pages of The Glorantha Sourcebook. To be truthful, the supplement is not quite aimed at them, although there is much in its pages that they will useful in terms of easy reference, especially given that its contents have been updated. Rather The Glorantha Sourcebook is intended as an introduction to specifically Dragon Pass and an exploration of the events leading up to the Hero Wars, framing the conflict not so much as between dynasties, but as between myth and magic. What this means is that The Glorantha Sourcebook is an excellent companion volume to The Guide to Glorantha, but an even better companion to both RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha and 13th Age Glorantha, serving to introduce, support, and frame the conflicts that those two roleplaying games open with.