RuneQuest Classics: Sun County

Although Avalon Hill published RuneQuest III in 1984 and would work with Chaosium, Inc. for another four, the publisher, best known for its wargames rather than its roleplaying games, would not release any new material for the setting of Glorantha for seven years. The combination of a new company head and a new line editor would change this. Under the aegis of roleplaying game designer Ken Rolston, Avalon Hill published Sun County: RuneQuest Adventures in the Land of the Sun in 1992. It was well received by the fans of the setting and in the next three years, Sun County would be followed by River of Cradles, Shadows on the Borderlands, Strangers in Prax, Dorastor: Land of Doom, and Lords of Terror. All together, these six supplements for RuneQuest III set in Glorantha explored new areas of Dragon Pass and became known as the ‘RuneQuest Renaissance’, rekindling interest in Glorantha that continues to this day. Notably, some of the titles that formed the ‘RuneQuest Renaissance’ have inspired community-created content on the Jonstown Compendium. For example, Sun County is the setting for the ‘Tales of the Sun County Militia’ series and Dorastor: Land of Doom is the setting for Secrets of Dorastor.

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Originally published in 1992, Sun County: RuneQuest Adventures in the Land of the Sun is once again available in print. It is a remastered edition, rather than an updated edition. What this means is that it is still written for use with RuneQuest III, rather than RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha, the most recent edition of the roleplaying game. It also means that it has been tidied up and is now available in colour rather than just being in black and white. Plus, it includes a foreword by Shannon Appelcline, author of the Dungeons & Designers series of books about the history of the roleplaying hobby, which explores the origins and consequences of the ‘RuneQuest Renaissance’. This is nicely detailed, but it does not extend that foreword to 2024 and the publication of this new edition of Sun County. This is a missed opportunity. One issue with Sun County is that it is not fully compatible with RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha, so some adjustments are necessary and the various NPC and monster stats will need adapting. Fortunately, there is a conversion guide in the appendix of RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha, which also includes the details necessary to play a member of the Cult of Yelmalio, which dominates religious and cultural life and outlook in Sun County. Further information is available in the forthcoming Cults of RuneQuest: The Gods of Fire and Sky.

Sun County: RuneQuest Adventures in the Land of the Sun can be divided into two halves. The first half describes the small, isolated province on the Zola Fel River in the River of Cradles valley, between Prax and Vulture Country, and just south of the city of Pavis. Since 877 S.T., the province has been settled by light-worshipping farmer-soldiers, known for their devout worship of Yelmalio, their extreme conservatism and prudishness, their sometimes-extreme distrust of outsiders, and their skill with the pike and the spear, with many of the county’s young men serving in militias and troops work as mercenary phalanxes far beyond the borders of Sun County. Since 1610 S.T., with the capture of Pavis, the biggest city in the region, by the Lunar Empire, Solanthos Ironpike, Honoured Count of Sun County, has owed begrudging fealty to Sor-eel the Short, Lunar Count of Prax and Governor of Pavis, effectively ensuring a relatively easy peace between the city and the county. Sun County: RuneQuest Adventures in the Land of the Sun is not a gazetteer of the province, but it does give a geographical overview, as well as describing how it is governed, how its deals with and trades with outsiders, and its problem with hazia, the addictive euphoric herb, whose cultivation is profitable, but technically, banned.

Full stats are provided for Solanthos Ironpike, as well as his leading captains, Invictus, Light Captain of Sun County, commander of the Templars and the county’s military and Vega Goldbreath, Guardian of Sun County, an exception to the rule in being a Light lady of Yelmalio. Another exception is Belvani, Lieutenant of the Light Captain Light Son and Light Servant of Yelmalio, whose duties actually require him to deal with outsiders and who is accompanied by The Gamon, a crested dragonewt who never speaks, but who Belvani treats as his dogbody! Although the leading members of the priesthood of the Cult of Yelmalio are described, they are not given stats. The cult itself is fully detailed, including its mythos, history, place in the world, and more. How to become an initiate and then a Light Son or Light Priest, as well as a Light Servant who acts as their special servant. Along with the subcults of Monrogh, the cult’s spirit of reprisal, Kuschile the horse archer, and Togtuvei, the cartographer and geographer, plus a list of Yelmalio’s Gifts and Geases, this is an excellent write-up of the Cult of Yelmalio.

One pleasing addition to the write-up of the cult is the map of the Sun County Temple, renowned of course, like all temples to Yelmalio, for its gold dome that catches the light, which is taken from the Pavis: Threshold to Danger boxed set. Besides detailing the temple and its powerful defences—both magical and mundane, the temple description also details terms by which it offers sanctuary, now strictly enforced lest Solanthos Ironpike, irk Sor-eel the Short in Pavis. Which effectively means that if the Player Characters annoy the Lunars in Pavis, they may not have as much luck hiding out in Sun County as they might hope! There is also terrific write-up of an annual ceremony and heroquest, ‘The River Ritual of the Sun People’, which the current count performs to reforge Sun County’s alliance with a daughter of Zola Fel, god of the River of Cradles. (It is a pity that none of the adventures in Sun County deal with this, but that does mean that the Game Master has scope to develop something herself.) Lastly, the Sun County militia is detailed as is ‘Shield Push’, a Sun Domer game that can be best be described as Rugby or Australian Rules Football scrum or ruck played with shields!

Another notable inclusion in Sun County is that of ‘Jaxarte’s Journal’. This is the account of Jaxarte Whyded, a minor relative of Sor-eel the Short given the make-work role of ‘Commissioner of the Imperial Census for Prax’ recounts of his visit to Sun County. It gives a very enjoyable counter to the description of Sun County and a more immediate outsider’s point of view. It also comes with footnotes from a Lhankor Mhy sage which add further commentary, and all together, his account echoes that of the travelogue of Biturian Varosh, the merchant prince of the Issaries cult in Cults of Prax.

In addition to a set of encounter tables with some potentially entertaining entries for Sun County, the other half of Sun County: RuneQuest Adventures in the Land of the Sun is dedicated to four scenarios. Two of these, ‘Melisande’s Hand’ and ‘Rabbit Hat Farm’, are designed for relatively inexperienced Player Characters, whilst the other two, ‘Solinthor’s Tower’ and ‘Old Sun Dome’ require more experienced Player Characters. Most of the scenarios are flexible in who they are run, whether that is with Sun Domer Player Characters or outsiders. The eight provided Player Characters include a good mix of both, though they do come with notes for use with ‘Rabbit Hat Farm’.

The first scenario, ‘Melisande’s Hand’ is a classic festival adventure whose events and intrigues the Player Characters can embroil themselves. It details a harvest festival dedicated to Ernalda—and gives the winner the right to wed a local Ernalda initiate for a year as well as a fair bit of renown—which takes place each year in Garhound, a town on the other side of the river from Sun County. It is a busy affair with lots going on between the various contestants and plenty of opportunities for the Player Characters to shine, whether in the individual events or in between. There are prizes too for each of the individual events, there is the opportunity for everyone to win something. Whilst the scenario is designed for beginning Player Characters, its busyness does mean it is better run by a more experienced Game Master.

‘Rabbit Hat Farm’ is the RuneQuest equivalent of a ‘village-in-peril-that-nobody has heard from lately’-style scenario. Its location, Rabbit Hat Farm has been abandoned following an attack by Praxian nomads and then Broo, and so far, the militia already sent to investigate have not been heard from. The farm is fully detailed, as is what the Player Characters will find below—the remnants of a nasty Chaos nest! This is the scenario that the pre-generated Player Characters are written to play and there are really good hooks to get them involved in the investigation and exploration of the farm. Thankfully, the caves have been partially abandoned as otherwise it would be a very tough adventure. As it is, this is a challenging adventure against some tough opponents for inexperienced players and their characters, as it is effectively, a mini ‘Snake Pipe Hollow’! Nevertheless, clearing the remains out of the caves will be a major achievement.

The Sun County Ruins are site of the Old Sun Dome Temple—abandoned after an earthquake—and the location for the third scenario, ‘The Old Sun Dome’. Lots of hooks are given as to why the Player Characters might want to explore it, including looking for certain artefacts and even mapping it out for architecture-obsessed Jaxarte Whyded, and it makes use of the map of the current Sun Dome Temple (because why would a religiously orthodox society build anything different?) to create what is effectively a haunted house. There are guards outside to prevent anyone from going in, but the real threat lies inside in form of undead who have occupied the otherwise empty complex. There are some interesting secrets to be discovered, no matter whether you are a Sun Domer or an outsiders. The latter especially, as they are unlikely ever to get that far into a functioning Sun Dome Temple!

Lastly, in ‘Solinthor’s Tower’ is more of an encounter than a full scenario. A Lhankor Mhy sage is writing a thesis which collects all five hundred hymns and poems written by Solinthor, a priest of Yelmalio who ‘died’ in 1375 S.T. except that she cannot find the last seven. She thinks they might have been interred with him in his ‘retirement tower’ (which is where all priests of Yelmalio spend their last days) and so wants help in locating the right tower and getting inside. This is challenging since the penalties for looting—and this applies to ‘The Old Sun Dome’ scenario too—are death by ritual combat if they are caught! This sets up a bit of a dilemma because Solinthor is possession of treasures that the count will be pleased to have in his possession, but then where did the Player Characters find them? Getting hold of them though means getting past some tough magical defences which will challenge most Player Characters, especially given the tight space of Solinthor’s Tower. One thing it does share with ‘The Old Sun Dome’ is potential access to Yelm’s realm on the Hero plane, neither of which is actually designed to lead to any Heroquesting, given that at the time of publication for Sun County there were no rules for such activity! (Oh, how times change.) The outcome though of that access is actually better and better handled than it is in ‘The Old Sun Dome’. ‘Solinthor’s Tower’ is by no means a bad scenario, but it feels all too short.

One issue with Sun County is what you play. The core characters are the Sun Domers of Sun County and they are to man, xenophobic, misogynistic, repressive, and strict. This represents a roleplaying challenge because although not necessarily nasty, they are not nice people and they have a dislike of anyone who is different to them. In particular, female Player Characters will struggle in a society that would ideally restrict women to certain roles. Sun County does acknowledge this by suggesting that the Player Characters be outsiders for many of its scenarios, though of course, that has its own challenges. Alternatively, they could be misfits, as per Tales of the Sun County Militia: Sandheart Volume 1. This does not mean that players cannot roleplay Sun Domers, but both the Game Master and her players need to be aware of their cultural attitudes and present them with care.

Physically, the Sun County: RuneQuest Adventures in the Land of the Sun is decently presented. Behind the excellent front cover, the layout has been tidied up whilst still retaining the look and style of a RuneQuest III book, the internal artwork is good, and colour has been judiciously applied to make various elements stand out. This includes a new map of Sun County that now includes the settlement of Sandheart and the various documents done as scrolls, such as ‘The Light List: The Honoured Counts of Sun County’ and ‘Jaxarte’s Journal’.

In terms of a setting, Sun County: RuneQuest Adventures in the Land of the Sun does could have done with a gazetteer and more on the ordinary lives of the Sun Domers, as both would have been useful, especially if running the book’s four scenarios for Sun Domers. That said, the scenarios are easier to run for outsiders than they are for Sun Domers, as the Sun County parochial attitudes do set up tensions that a Game Master and her players might not want to deal with. However, Sun County: RuneQuest Adventures in the Land of the Sun is still a great book with a balanced mix of background and overall decent scenarios, ultimately providing what was a great introduction to the Yemalio-worshipping Sun County in 1992 and still is a good introduction over thirty years later.

A Gloranthan Gear Guide

Equipment books in roleplaying serve numerous functions. At their most basic, they are a book of goods and gear that a player can have his character purchase to help that character survive the next scenario, whether it is a sword, shield, and some armour that the character will wear from one adventure to the next, or thick furs or padded clothing that will help him weather the freezing temperatures over the high mountains and into the snow and ice beyond. Then they are the virtual equivalent of a Sears & Roebuck catalogue at the table, that the players can pick and choose from as their characters go shopping within the game and there is even semi-tradition of the Player Characters actually going shopping within the game and buying all of the things—whether the genre is fantasy Wild West, Science Fiction, or Cyberpunk—that their players never could. Literally roleplaying a fantasy of going shopping for fantasy things! Of course, just as the items within an equipment guide can be used to equip a Player Character, they can also be used to equip an NPC. If such an equipment guide includes a good mix of arms and armour, then all the Game Master has to do is pick out some different weapons and some different armour, and she has the beginnings of an interesting NPC, at least in terms of what wields and what he looks like. In addition, if the Player Characters have amassed some loot—jewels, gems, object d’art, and that sort of thing—then they will want to sell it and an equipment guide will often discuss the means to do so. In addition to arms and armour, an equipment guide will often detail a range of services and experts that the Player Characters can purchase or hire, as well as bigger things that they might want to invest in, such as land and buildings. This though, is not all that an equipment guide can be used for. A good equipment guide can do all that and more. A really good equipment guide can do all this and be used to help bring a world to life and it can be used as a spur for stories.

RuneQuest: Weapons & Equipment is a supplement for Chaosium, Inc.’s RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha. As an expansion for the core rules, RuneQuest: Weapons & Equipment does everything that a good equipment guide does. It details and describes a wide range of items, goods, services, training, magical items, and beasts, plus new arms and armour, new rules for land ownership and use, and much more. And it is fair to say that the least interesting aspect of the supplement is actually the arms and armour. This is not to say that the included weapons and armour, which together draw from a range of cultures and races from across Glorantha, are not useful, because they very much are, but they are not actually interesting in comparison with the rest of the book.

RuneQuest: Weapons & Equipment begins in broad detail with the market and what goods might be available depending upon the size and location of the market, explains Gloranthan currency, and looks at the economy, prices, handling and creating masterwork items, and more. The interesting aspect here is the effect that the size of the local economy can have on what a Player Character can buy and sell and what effect selling loot can have on the local economy. In smaller, more local economies, favours and bartering are more likely as means of exchange—even when it comes to settling debts—rather than money, and if the Player Characters sell too much loot, it can not only depress the economy, it can also attract the attention of the local authorities and temples, who will want them to contribute to the community!

One of aspects of Glorantha is the prominence and importance of different metals and their use. Most obviously bronze, since Glorantha is most often described as a bronze-age world, but other metals, ranging from aluminium and copper to silver and tin are also examined. This includes its properties when enchanted, such as weapons and armour made from enchanted copper being particularly hardy and enchanted quicksilver having the property of not being able to sink in water, Gloranthan cults and the enchanted metal spells they grant, and how enchanted metal is crafted. Here is where RuneQuest: Weapons & Equipment begins rise above being just a simple shopping catalogue, because this is a useful section for metal workers—redsmiths for bronze, goldsmiths for gold, and so on. This is because it is possible to play such craftsmen in RuneQuest: Weapons & Equipment and this directly supports them, as does the rules for creating masterwork items, which might be to increase an item’s Hit Points, armour points, or increase the amount of damage it can do. These are not fully detailed rules for creating masterwork or enchanted items, but they are more than sufficient. Plus, they enable a master craftsman Player Character, who needs a skill of at least 90%, to use his skill to greater effect, whilst at the same time working towards creating objects with enchanted metal. They are also accompanied by ‘The Metals of Acos’, a First Age document which provides some engaging in-game thoughts upon the various metals. Similar sections cover pottery and weaving, though not in as much depth, and there is an accompanying list of prices of crockery for the former and a list of clothing types and their prices under the common goods section.

‘Common Goods’ lists thumbnail descriptions and prices of a wide variety of everyday items. Clothing, jewellery, cosmetics, tools, musical instruments, toys and games, food and drink (including honey, wax, and royal jelly from bees), herbs and plants, exotic materials, and trinkets. There is some pleasing little details here, such as slimming girdles, made from either zebra or whale bones, being worn by Lunar nobility as means to appear thinner, but usually causing the wearer to pass out due to their tightness, or that popular board games are God’s Eyes and Fingers, Ouranekki, and Swords and Shields. Sadly, there are no rules any of the board games only relatively sparse descriptions, but whilst the mundane nature of many of these items and certainly their prices may not mean much to the average adventurer, they might to an NPC. Also, these items can be used to add verisimilitude to huts and houses and other dwellings as they are the everyday items which might be found at home. And just like the ingots of metals used by the various smiths, they will be found for sale at markets, in shops, and from the backs of the pack animals of travelling Issaries merchants. Further details, such as the fact that the popularity of rubies in the Lunar Empire means that Etyries merchants are willing to pay more for them and that reed baskets and bags, inexpensive when bought in Prax or New Pavis, are seen as foreign and fashionable items elsewhere, are more interesting than how much they cost. By comparison, though necessary, the section on adventuring gear feels almost mundane!

The chapter on beasts covers meat beasts, pack animals, riding beasts, and war beasts. Exotic beasts are listed for the different Elder Races, and stats for two new riding bests are given, expanding upon those in the RuneQuest: Glorantha Bestiary. These are the Moose and the Reindeer. Alongside the list of riding gear, including various saddles, harnesses, saddlebags, and stirrups, there are details of various mobile dwellings and a table of mount speeds. Also given here are details of awakened animals. The most obvious of which is the alynx or shadowcat, and in roleplaying terms, thus associated with the worshippers of Odayla and Yinkin. However, any Player Character can have an awakened animal, not just a worshipper of Odayla or Yinkin, but a shadowcat is not always the most appropriate. RuneQuest: Weapons & Equipment looks at several options, including birds, lizards, and snakes as well as other mammals. It notes that parrots are popular in Nochet and Glamour, crows and ravens with worshippers of Ty Kora Tek, Durulz children have frogs and toads, and geckos are commonly found in both Lunar and Sartarite Tarsh. Possession of an awakened creature at least adds colour to a character, but the roleplaying possibilities it opens up are endless.

Some skills and knowledges lie outside that of the Player Characters and this is where hirelings and services are useful. There are rules here for the availability of either, the expected skill ratings and rates pay, plus specific sections on mercenaries, personal services, heralds and poets, sages and scribes, and magic services. Notable here are terms of employment and contracts for mercenaries, plus a typical oath sworn by mercenaries and a guide to how loot is divided among them, including the Orlanthi and Yelm methods, plus an adventurer’s pact. These work for both NPCs and Player Characters, whether they are entering employment or hiring. There are details too of how slavery works in Glorantha, primarily as punishment for crimes and debts, or being captured as prisoners of war, and which species do own slaves. This does not include the Orlanthi who abhor the practice. That said, the authors do address the subject of slavery from a modern point of view and how it relates to the game, ultimately advising that the Game Master discuss the issue with her players beforehand. Besides this, there is a list of magical services, including the decidedly ungodly practice of sorcerous divination and casting magic for enchanted items—the latter to accompany the earlier rules on enchanted items, and also prices for renting rooms in the short term at inns and residences in the long term. The section on funerary rites covers various practices and their prices, including ceremonies and funeral pyres humble and grand, but again adding depth and detail to the world, though greater specifics will lie with the various cults.

The chapters on arms and armour expands upon those listed in RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha, adding a variety of new weapons like the Orlanthi Broad-axe, Moon Blade polearm, trident, war boomerangs, chakrams, and more. All are described and listed in the expanded weapons tables, as is the rhino hide armour in the armour tables and the armours for beasts and non-humans including Elves, Ducks, Trolls, and Trollkin. All of the arms and armour are illustrated, the armour in full colour, with some nicely depictions of various types of helms to differentiate between the types. One surprising omission is that of Dragonewt weapons, especially since the weapons of other species are included. (They can though, be found in the RuneQuest: Glorantha Bestiary.) The major addition are the rules for entangling and net weapons, which bring throwing hooks, lassos, nets, and whips into play.

The rules for travel focus on group travel, including caravan, river, and ocean travel. Typical travel times are listed, and there are even rules for length of journey depending on circumstances and skill, as well as details of vehicles and vessels, such as chariots and reed boats. It would have been handy here for them to be illustrated and even be given deck plans where necessary, but there are none. As a campaign progresses, there is scope for the Player Characters to own their own dwellings and land, possession of which can lead to further adventures. The example here being is land grants being handed out by Prince Argrath in the Big Rubble, enforcing that being a big challenge. Land is treated as a potential reward and then responsibility, something that the Player Characters might earn and then have to protect and nurture. There is list of improvements which can be made, profits or losses to be made during sacred time, and possible random land-related events. The aim is not to provide a detailed set of rules for resource management, but more as a means to support the narrative and roleplaying. There is scope though, for a supplement, whether in whole or part, dedicated to this subject.

The penultimate chapter in RuneQuest: Weapons & Equipment revisits training from RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha, adding rules for learning new Runes, which typically has to be done via a cult associated with the cult a Player Character is an initiate of. However, since a maximum of only 5% can be gained at the end of training, it takes at least two seasons to increase a Rune to the minimum of 10% necessary for it to be used in play. Lastly, the section on exotic items expands on the rules for magic crystals given in the RuneQuest Gamemaster Screen Pack with a list of strange enchanted items and extraordinary gems. The former include an Empty Purse, which transfers only local currency to a nearby strong box and Walktapus Gloves, made from the skin of the feared Chaos creature, but valued by redsmiths for their ability to withstand extreme heat, whilst the later includes a Lhankor Mhy’s Mark, used to copy and transfer text via rubbings and a Vengeance Black, which if an oath is sworn it, provides a temporary bonus to skills dedicated to fulfilling the oath.

Physically, RuneQuest: Weapons & Equipment is very well presented. It is clean, tidy, and easy to read. The cover is excellent, depicting the pre-generated signature characters from the pages of RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha and RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha – Quickstart and Adventure at rest, camping between adventures.

There is a degree of repetition in the pages of RuneQuest: Weapons & Equipment and other books for RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha, but in most cases, the repetition means that the new information is brought together with the old so that it is all together. Then there is the fact that a quarter of book, that devoted to arms and armour, is actually utilitarian rather than interesting. The majority of the book, fortunately, is both interesting and useful, presenting content that will be of great use to Issaries merchants with the market and price guides; Chalana Arroy initiates for the herbs and plants details; and craftsmen of all types for details particular to their crafts. Player Character of all types will find the supplement of use, whether they want to make a purchase or sell some loot, or undertake some training or hire some experts. However, RuneQuest: Weapons & Equipmentcomes into its own for the Game Master, because of the richness of the tiny details that even the most mundane of items brings to Glorantha and the verisimilitude that creates, helping to bring the world to life for her players. In this way, RuneQuest: Weapons & Equipment does exactly what a good equipment guide should.

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.

[Fanzine Focus XXVII] RQ Adventures Fanzine 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 DM 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 be 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 format is, not all fanzines are devoted to Dungeons & Dragons-style roleplaying games—and in the nineties, many fanzines appeared dedicated to roleplaying games other than Dungeons & Dragons.

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 John Castellucci, RQ Adventures Fanzine ran for six issues between 1993 and 1998, each issue containing scenarios written around a particular theme or location. Published in 1993, the inaugural issue of RQ Adventures Fanzine contains just the one scenario, ‘Escape from Duckland’, which the author and publisher had previously released as a standalone title. The scenario is set in 1621 ST in the kingdom of Sartar and sees a band of adventurers tasked with locating a small band of outlaw Ducks which has been struck down with the Red-Feather plague, a disease which fortunately only seems to affect Ducks and seems to be directly related to the intensity of the Red Moon in the sky. The only healer known to be capable of curing this disease resides by the mouth of the Marzeel River where it flows into the Mirrorsea Bay, many days travel away in the Holy Country. The adventurers must make their way to Apple Lane where they can find a guide, the famed Quackjohn, and then travel south and west into the Delecti Marsh to locate the stricken ducks, and from there escort them south to the border between Sartar and Esrolia. They will need to take some care, as not only are the Ducks outlaws and have a price on their heads (or beaks), but the infamous proclamation issued by General Fazzur Wideread, blaming the Ducks for the 1613 ST rebellion led by Kallyr Starbrow and placing a bounty of one year’s Imperial taxes for every Duck head/bill turned over to the provincial Lunar government is still in effect.

The scenario proper begins in Apple Lane. After they have dealt with a would-be Lunar tax collector and his bully boys on the make, the adventurers can sneak their guide out of the village and west to Runegate, but to avoid Dragonewt entanglements they are diverted south along Starfire Ridge and then over into Greydog territory. There are a couple of nasty encounters along the way—a band of Broo and horde of the undead which comes swarming up out of Upland Marsh. After both locating and placating the refugee ducks, the adventurers can begin their long journey south. There are some more nasty encounters along the way, a band of mercenary Tusk Riders which has decided to go Duck hunting—and have some horrid plans for any they catch, and there is one last attack by a threat encountered earlier. Not all of the encounters are quite so confrontational, an old man on Starfire Ridge proves to be good company and potentially helpful in speeding their journey, and there are dinosaurs to be found along the way, who might prove to be nuisances, or they might actually be helpful.

Consisting of ten encounters, ‘Escape from Duckland’ is a linear scenario, but then it is designed to be a journey. In terms of framing, being set in 1621 ST and thus written around elements of the Lunar occupation, it would be challenging for the Game Master to set the scenario elsewhere—or else when. That said, it could be adjusted to a few years earlier, but only few as they have to be after the Lunar proclamation on Ducks. This does not mean that the scenario could not be run today despite its strict time period. Since it takes place following the destruction of Gringle’s Pawn Shop in Apple Lane, it could be run as a flashback for Player Characters being run in the current timeline of RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha, especially if they have played through the events of Apple Lane at the very start of their careers. If so, then the old man they encounter on the Starfire Ridge early in the scenario could easily be the shaman they would have run into at the beginning of ‘The Broken Tower’ from the RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha – QuickStart Rules and Adventure. Alternatively, it could be run as part of The Company of the Dragon campaign which takes place during this period.

Mechanically, ‘Escape from Duckland’ is written for use with Avalon Hill’s RuneQuest III—as would all six issues of RQ Adventures Fanzine would be. The differences between those rules and the previous and subsequent rules for RuneQuest are relatively minor, such that ‘Escape from Duckland’ can be run with relatively few changes. In terms of support it is suggested that the Game Master be familiar with Apple Lane, Snakepipe Hollow, King of Sartar, and Gods of Glorantha. Were ‘Escape from Duckland’ be run today, The RuneQuest Gamemaster Screen Pack would be useful for information about Apple Lane, and the RuneQuest: Glorantha Bestiary and The Red Book of Magic will be useful for details on the various creatures and magics encountered as part of the scenario, but otherwise it is easy to set up and run. An experienced Game Master would have no problem running the scenario.

‘Escape from Duckland’ is supported with a total of eight pre-generated adventurers. Ranging from a young and headstrong Orlanthi and a cold, hard Tarsh Exile to a peaceful centaur from Beast Valley to a bachelor of the Newtling race, they run the gamut of the standard Gloranthan types to the slightly odd, even weird. The scenario suggests the type of player each is suitable for and each is given a full page, including stats and nicely done background briefing. It also includes a copy of the Lunar proclamation on Ducks, some reasonable maps, and an enjoyable write-up of both Hueymakt Deathdrake, Druulz God of Death & War and the Indroduck Greydog subcult. Plus there are full stats for all of the creatures and monsters encountered in the scenario.

Physically, RQ Adventures Fanzine Issue 1 is scrappily presented. It is very far from unreadable, but it does need another edit and the art is rough. The maps are decent though. Another issue is the tone, that taken with the Ducks, which involves more than a few puns. Of course, ‘Escape from Duckland’ is very much a case of ‘Your Glorantha May Vary’ and another Game Master will have a different approach. The scenario includes a lot of flavour and detail about the various locations it visits over the course of its journey and each of the NPCs is decently done as well.

RQ Adventures Fanzine Issue 1 is rough around the edges, but ‘Escape from Duckland’ is decently serviceable and playable, taking the Player Characters on a challenging and nicely described tour of southern Sartar. For a modern campaign and a scenario of its vintage, ‘Escape from Duckland’ is a far more flexible scenario than at first seems.

A RuneQuest Starter

The starter set for any roleplaying game is always designed as an entry point into that game. It has to do three things. First, it has to introduce the game—its settings and its rules to both players and Game Master. Second, it has to showcase the setting, the rules, and how the game is played to both players and Game Master. Third, it has to intrigue and entice both players and Game Master to want to play more and explore the setting further. A good starter set, whether City of Mist: All-Seeing Eye Investigations Starter Set, the Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay Starter Set, or the Call of Cthulhu Starter Set will always do that, whereas a bad starter set, or even a mediocre starter set, such as the Sixth World Beginner Box for Shadowrun, Sixth Edition, will not. Whilst a starter set is always designed to introduce a roleplaying game, it has another function, depending upon when it is published. A starter set published as a roleplaying game’s first—or one of its first—releases introduces the game and setting to everyone. A starter set published later or deep into a line’s run, when there are multiple supplements and scenarios available as well as the core rulebook, is designed to introduce the game, but not to those who are already playing it. If there is content in its box that veteran players of the game and fans of the setting will enjoy and can bring to their game, then that is an added bonus. Ideally though, it is intended to introduce the game and setting to new players, at the time of its publication providing a means of getting into both when the range and number of books and supplements available might be daunting and there might not be an obvious point of entry to the prospective player and purchaser. This is exactly what the RuneQuest Starter Set does for RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha from Chaosium, Inc.

The RuneQuest Starter Set comes in a dense sturdy box which weighs two-and-a-half pounds! It designed to introduce new players and new Game Masters to RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha to that end includes all of the rules necessary to play the content in the RuneQuest Starter Set, provides an introduction to Glorantha and the area where the three scenarios it comes with are set, fourteen pre-generated adventurers, a sheaf of handouts and play aids, and a set of polyhedral dice. The latter come in an appropriately bronze colour since RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha is a Bronze Age roleplaying game, but whilst they both fetching and obvious as soon as you open the box, they are not the starting point for the RuneQuest Starter Set. No, that would be the cover sheet, which in turn yells out ‘Read Me First!’ and ‘What’s In This Box’ and ‘What’s Not In This Box’. The cover sheet—as with any good roleplaying box set of old, including a great many from Chaosium, Inc.—introduces the RuneQuest Starter Set, explains what it is and what its contents are. Less importantly, it does not cover character creation, equipment, advanced combat rules, becoming a Rune Master, Shamanism, Sorcery, or Sacred Time, and that is fine, since all of that can wait until the core rules for RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha. Instead, it contains the sixty-page Book 1: Rules, fifty-eight-page Book 2: The World of Glorantha, fifty-seven-page Book 3: SoloQuest, and eighty-one-page Book 4: Adventures, plus the aforementioned fourteen pre-generated Player Characters, two blank Adventurer Sheets, the Map of the Jonstown Area, the Map of Jonstown, and the Map of the Rainbow Mounds (all maps measure twenty-two by seventeen inches in size), two four-page RuneQuest Starter Set References handouts, Gloranthan Runes sheet, and a Strike Rank Tracker. This may seem like a lot—and it is, but this is a starter set and is designed to ease the player and the prospective Game Master into both Glorantha and RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha without overwhelming them as they delve deeper and deeper into the box.

Book 1: Rules does exactly what it says, explaining the core rules for RuneQuest: Roleplaying Game in an easy to understand fashion. In turn, it covers the dice and dice rolls, the core mechanics, the Resistance Table, time and movement, skills, experience, passions, Runes and how they work, combat, magic—both Rune and Spirit magic, and so on. Much of this will be obvious to veteran players, but this is a streamlined version, for example, the Fumble Table for very bad results in combat, is much shorter than that given in the core rules. Which makes sense since the variety is not really needed within the limits of the scenarios given. As well as explaining how magic works, Book 1: Rules also lists all of the spells—both Spirit magic and Rune magic—which appear in the adventures that appear in the RuneQuest Starter Set. Useful boxouts explain the difference between RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha and Call of Cthulhu, Seventh Edition, how to survive combat, how Strike Ranks work, when you need healing, and more. One useful addition here, sadly missing from The Red Book of Magic, is made to each of the Rune spell entries, that of the cults which use that particular Rune spell. There are also two examples of play—one of roleplaying and one of combat—that help show how the game is played, both done as two-page spreads and both of which are drawn from scenes in the scenarios in Book 4: Adventures. Rounding out Book 1: Rules is a list of spot rules for easy access, whilst the centrefold of Book 1: Rules provides an ‘Adventurer Sheet Overview’, not just of one of the pre-generated Player Characters, but of Vasana, Farnan’s Daughter, the Player Character used in Book 3: SoloQuest. In effect this, like the two examples of play and the rest of Book 1: Rules, is preparing the player and Game Master alike to play and adventure in Glorantha.

Book 2: The World of Glorantha is the proper introduction to the setting of Glorantha. Of the four booklets in the RuneQuest Starter Set, it has the most dynamic cover illustration, depicting as it does Sartarites reacting in fear and shock to the rising of a dragon into the sky and coiling itself around the Red Moon. It is a fantastic image, depicting the very moment and reaction to the Earth and Moon-shaking event that prefigures the events which play out not just in the RuneQuest Starter Set, but also RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha. Inside, Book 2: The World of Glorantha explains the nature of its setting, that it is an Age of Bronze in which magic is part of everyday life, kinship ties and temples play important roles in society, that everyone has loyalties and passions that will drive their actions, and that the influence of the Gods is felt through their associated Runes. It details all of the Runes and the cults which have a role in the RuneQuest Starter Set—whether in one of the scenarios or because one of the pre-generated Player Characters belongs to one of them, and it also explains what is sets Glorantha apart from other settings. This covers Heroes and Heroquesting (although further detail on this left for the core rulebook to explain), the importance of community and kinship, what drives and motivates characters to act—the Rune affinities and Passions, the lethal nature of combat, and more, before exploring the nature of the world. As with RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha, the emphasis is upon Dragon Pass and its immediate surrounds, and is accompanied by what is an incredibly attractive and readable map of Northern Sartar, essentially the region where the Player Characters will be adventuring, at least in the RuneQuest Starter Set. A short history given too, essentially to bring the reader up to date and ready to play the adventures.

The second half of Book 2: The World of Glorantha—in fact, more than half—focuses in on one setting, that of the City of Jonstown. This will be the base of operations for the adventurers and the central location for Book 4: Adventures. In comparison to the first half, this section is much more detailed and details the history of its founding by Sartar in ST 1480 and the establishment of its famous Jonstown Library in 1535, surrender to the Lunar Empire in 1602, through to 1625 and the Dragonrise, its besieging by the Sartar Free Army under Kallyr Starbrow, and the reestablishment of a free City Ring and thus local government in the wake of its capture. The city is described in some detail, including architecture, distribution of food, prominent religions, politics, along with write-ups and stats for the city’s notable figures and descriptions of the city’s various quarters. Jonstown itself is divided into an Upper City, built on the site of an old hill fort with the Lower City spread before and the two connected by a set of wide steps and a spiraling tunnel for carts and wagons. Again, there is a very nicely done three-dimensional map provided for the city, but the booklet goes a step in making use of that map. For the Upper City and each of the four quarters, the particular section of the map is blown up and included alongside the descriptions to make it easier for the Game Master to navigate her way around Jonstown. Lastly, there is a set of generic stats for the typical inhabitants of the city and each the notable locations around the city—which appear on the map of Northern Sartar is given a thumbnail description.

Book 3: SoloQuest is where the fun starts in the RuneQuest Starter Set. To play through the adventure in Book 3: SoloQuest, the player will also need to refer to Book 1: Rules and have two of the pre-generated Player Character folios to hand. One is that of Vasana, the character whom the player will be roleplaying, and that of Vostor, the Lunar Tashite warrior, who where necessary will stand in for the other Lunar warriors she will face in the course of the adventure. As the title suggests, the adventure takes the form of a SoloQuest (something which RuneQuest has not had since the publication of SoloQuest 1, SoloQuest 2: Scorpion Hall, and SoloQuest 3: The Snow King’s Bride, all in 1982, and available collectively, here) in which Vasana takes part in the Battle of Dangerford, at which Sartarite and allied forces mount a defence of the village against an incursion by Lunar forces. The adventure gives her time to prepare before the battle, take part in multiple sorties, and more. The adventure makes great use of not just Vasana’s martial skills, but also her Passions, and often they will drive her to act in unexpected ways. As well as the Experience Checks gained through successful skill or Passion use, the player gains points towards Vasana’s Battle Result Total, which at the end of the battle is used to determine both the outcome of the battle and her role in it. With two hundred entries, it is likely that the adventure can be played through more than once, to explore all of the options, and although the scenario is specifically written with the character Vasana in mind, it should be possible to play using the other martial characters from the fourteen given in the RuneQuest Starter Set.

The fun continues with Book 4: Adventures. This contains three adventures, each of differing nature and complexity, and designed to ease the Game Master into running RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha. Its cover sets the tone, depicting the Player Characters arriving at the walled city of Jonstown (described in Book 2: The World of Glorantha) after surviving the Battle of Dangerford (as adventured in Book 3: SoloQuest). The three adventures are ‘A Rough Landing’, ‘A Fire in the Darkness’, and ‘The Rainbow Mounds’, and they can be played in any order, but ‘A Rough Landing’ is designed to bring the adventurers into the city and get them involved in its affairs, so should ideally played first. It is also intended to be played after the adventure in Book 3: SoloQuest, so any number of players could have run their characters through that before coming to the table to roleplay together. None of them are overly challenging to run, each of them having quite straightforward plots, which whilst different in each case, means that they should not overwhelm either the first time Game Master or players. This does not mean that veteran players will find them simplistic as they do make good use of the background—especially recent events in the case of ‘A Fire in the Darkness’ and they are genuinely fun to play. The first scenario, ‘A Rough Landing’ is the most straightforward, the adventurers arriving in Jonstown and finding themselves quickly involved in a brawl that will bring them to the notice of the city authorities. It sounds almost like a cliché, but it does not take place in a bar and there are lots of ways in which it can go, which the authors take the time to discuss. Once they have come to the attention of the authorities, the adventurers will be called upon to perform the first of several tasks and missions, which is to check on a settlement to the west which has not been heard from in a few days. It is a nasty twist upon the ‘village in peril’ set-up and primarily involves action and combat, but there are opportunities for the Game Master to make the situation a little creepy too.

If ‘A Rough Landing’ involved combat and action, then ‘A Fire in the Darkness’ is an investigation scenario. A rash of fires has broken out across Jonstown and everyone is on edge because they fear both arson and the possibility that any future fire cannot be contained and might spread across the city, raising parts of it to the ground. Like any investigation, this is quite detailed, involves a fair number of NPCs, and some clues to sort through and try and work out what is going on. Of course, there is more to mystery and the fires than meets the eye, but with care, some stealth in places, and even some diplomacy, the adventurers should be able to learn what is going on. This is a nicely done investigation which should take several sessions to play out and which should prove interesting to play depending upon the Player Characters’ Passions and the cults they belong to.

The third and longest scenario is ‘The Rainbow Mounds’ and is a throwback to the scenario of the same name which appeared in the supplement, Apple Lane. Originally published in 1978, the two scenarios in Apple Lane would for very many years be the first scenarios that many RuneQuest groups played and it is lovely to see it updated here. Recently, the hamlet of Apple Lane has been beset by raids by bandits of the Troll and Newtling kind, and one of the local farmers recognises the Troll attackers at least as similar to those who abducted him when he was a child. The Player Characters are hired as mercenaries to investigate and if possible, put an end to the attacks. What follows is the equivalent of a dungeon, Gloranthan style, but a network of caves rather than a worked network of corridors and rooms, and with a strong emphasis upon its different factions and their loyalties. As a ‘dungeon’ there is plenty of opportunity for exploration and there are some quite nasty encounters—even those not necessarily attached to the adventure’s main plot, but players who approach it as a dungeon are likely to come away disappointed. There are plots and plots in motion in the Rainbow Mounds, and whilst there are plenty of opportunities to fight, including some really quite big fights, approaching the cave complex and its inhabitants in a combative stance may not always be the best approach.

As the longest and most complex scenario in the RuneQuest Starter Set, ‘The Rainbow Mounds’ will provide multiple sessions’ worth of play. However the fact that it involves the Rainbow Mounds throws up a couple of wrinkles which will not necessarily be obvious to anyone new to RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha. It is noted that the scenario is an updated version with some major changes and it does not follow the same plot as the previous version, although in places there are lots of similarities. So players whose characters have adventured here before will still enjoy it. The other issue is that as written in the introduction, the hamlet of Apple Lane does not have a Thane. If that is the case, then if the Player Characters are successful in dealing with the problems of the bandits from the caves, the situation is ripe for the Game Master to make the RuneQuest Gamemaster Screen Pack her next purchase and run the adventures contained within. However, what if the Game Master has already run the adventures in the RuneQuest Gamemaster Screen Pack and one of the Player Characters is Thane? The Game Master may need to make some adjustments to the beginning of the scenario as it is not addressed here. Those issues aside, the scenarios in Book 4: Adventures and thus the RuneQuest Starter Set are really very good, engaging and fun, whilst drawing the players and their characters into the setting.

And penultimately, the RuneQuest Starter Set comes with not six as you would expect and as appeared in The Broken Tower—the quick-start for RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha—but fourteen pre-generated adventurers. All of them come in folio form, with a full-page illustration of the Player Character on the front—including mount or other animal or elemental companion, and the character’s Rune affinities, background, and guide on how to play them on the back. The back splits open to show the character sheet, with statistics and attacks on the left-hand panel, skills and passions in the middle, and magic on the right-hand panel. Spread across an A3-size sheet rather than both sides of an A4-size sheet, the format is very readable. There are a couple of blank sheets in the box too, but hopefully they will be available in general as well. The given pregenerated adventurers include Vasana, of course, ready to play the solo adventure in Book 3: SoloQuest, but also Yanioth, the Assistant Priestess of Ernalda, Harmast the merchant, Vishi Dunn the shaman, Vostor the Lunar Tarshite soldier and Seven Mothers initiate, Sorala, the Lhankor Mhy initiate, and Nathem, the hunter and Odayla initiate. Together, these seven will be familiar from The Broken Tower and the RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha rulebook. However, they are joined by initiates of Babeester Gor, Yelmalio, Maran Gor, Storm Bull, Chalana Arroy, Eurmal, and Humakt, essentially giving the players a wider choice what they play for the scenarios in the RuneQuest Starter Set, as well as providing replacement characters as necessary.

Lastly, the RuneQuest Starter Set includes two map sheets, two four-page RuneQuest Starter Set References handouts, and a Strike Rank Tracker. The map sheets are double-sided. One depicts the Rainbow Mounds from the scenario in Book 4: Adventures, one side marked up with location names, the other without, whilst the other sheet has a map of Jonstown on one side and a map of Northern Sartar on the other. Both of the latter are exceptional pieces of cartography. Plus the actual backs of the four booklets in the RuneQuest Starter Set form the map of Northern Sartar, which again, is another nice touch. The RuneQuest Starter Set References handouts—two of them, so one for the Game Master and one for the players, collates the most useful tables in the game. The Gloranthan Runes sheet simply lists all of the common Runes which appear in the game and the Strike Rank Tracker shows the twelve Strike Ranks of a round on the outside of the sheet with the modifiers in the middle. Clear and easy to read, it is so obviously useful that it will have groups playing RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha wishing they had had it from the start.

Physically, there is no denying the impact and physical presence of the RuneQuest Starter Set. There is a lot in the box, but there are a couple of issues with it. One is that it does need a slight edit in places, but the other is that parts of it feel fragile. None of the set’s four booklets have card covers. And whilst the maps and the Strike Rank Tracker are done on stiff paper stock or card, the RuneQuest Starter Set References handouts are not. So even as you hold them in your hand, there is the feeling that they will not withstand a great deal of handling. This though, is the most—and the only—disappointing aspect to the RuneQuest Starter Set. Otherwise, the contents of the RuneQuest Starter Set are well written, engagingly presented, and supported with some great artwork and some superb cartography. Even physically, the RuneQuest Starter Set is simply good value, let alone the amount of play a gaming group is likely to get out of it.

Now of course, veteran players and Game Masters of RuneQuest and of RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha are going to find much that is familiar in the RuneQuest Starter Set, especially in terms of the rules and the background. What is in it for them though, is the background on Jonstown and the opportunity to expand the details of northern Sartar in the wake of the Dragonrise, the opportunity to play a solo adventure which throws them into recent events, for the Game Master to play rather than run with the solo adventure, and then for everyone to play the three new adventures, and make use of the maps and references. The ‘Rainbow Mounds’ adventure will probably bring back memories for veterans of a certain age anyway and the chance to revisit something again is always fun.

If there was any danger of being overwhelmed by the RuneQuest Starter Set, it would be by the amount of things in the box, not the actual content. The RuneQuest Starter Set really does give the prospective Game Master and her players everything they need to start playing RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha—background, rules, dice, a solo adventure with which to learn to play, multiple, lengthy, and engaging adventures, and gorgeous, gorgeous maps that just make want to look at them and have your character want to visit each and every location just because it is on these maps. Yet by breaking everything down into the four books, the RuneQuest Starter Set never threatens to overwhelm, easing them into the world and the game step-by-step, deeper and deeper they go into the box until they have learned about the world and are involved in the solo adventure and wanting more with the proper adventures. And the three adventures will deliver that and multiple sessions of play. The RuneQuest Starter Set is the perfect introduction to RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha that both the roleplaying game and setting have long deserved and it really does set a standard by which other starter sets are going to be measured. Chaosium did that already with the Call of Cthulhu Starter Set, now it has done it again with the RuneQuest Starter Set.

—oOo—

A full Unboxing in the Nook video of the RuneQuest Starter Set can be found here.