Races and Creatures of Umathela

Some of the many races and creatures of Umathela have already been mentioned on this blog:

• Iqari
• Lascerdans
• Plant-Men (Dryads, True Elves, Black Elves [Voralans], and Red Elves [Slorifings])

Other sentient races:

• Dwarfs. Umathelan Dwarfs are vegetarian.
• Grey Giants.
• Timinits (several sub-species); they are allied with the Westerners.
• Trolls (Dark Trolls and Trollkin) in the Tarmo Mountains. Hot Trolls do not live in Umathela but further south in the jungles.

Animals:

• Boars and hogs; both domestic and wild. And sheep. Swine and sheep are almost the only domesticated meat animals of Umathela. Fowl/poultry are uncommon; cattle non-existent.
• Horses are not native to Pamaltela and hence extremely rare. Only Westerners own horses, which are exclusively used as mounts, and never as beasts of burden.
• The Middle Sea Empire tried to introduce mules, but for some reason they all died out in Pamaltela.
• Draught animals: the standard Umathelan draught animal is the giant hog used to haul carts. In other parts of Pamaltela, wagons are simply dragged by teams of men.
• Although Theyalan in origin, Umathings do not keep alynxes as companions but dogs (that are similar to  the Catahoula cur).
• Wolves of various sizes and types. Large wolves may be used as mounts by some monsters.
• It is rumoured that the Zistorites have managed to domesticate large flightless birds called horseclaws, which they mount much in the same fashion as the Dragonewts mount the (larger) demi-birds.

Monsters:

• Giant arthropods.
• Giant insects. Trolls raise and breed all kinds of giant insects.
• Undead.

From the Gloranthan Bestiary:

• Charnjibber; a highly chaotic predator whose size and shape are constantly changing. Greatly feared throughout Pamaltela.
• Gargoyle; lives in the mountains.
• Grue (large chaotic monster; bipedal, huge deformed head; their blood is corrosive); lives in eastern Umathela near rivers
• Mountain Trolls (low intelligence)
• Sabre-toothed Cat
• Skybull
• Succubus
• Titanothere

Mottled Condies

From Trotsky's site:

Animals

• Vangono's Horror (a kind of larger hyaenodon created by Vangono, the Pamaltelan God of War)
• Uintal (the only pachyderm living in cool Umathela)
• Mottled Condy (the most common herd animal of Umathela)
• Manatee (in the Dashomo and Jorkar Seas)
• the Umathelan crocodile, small and swift
• Pteranodon
• Green Mamba, deadly venomous tree snake

Monsters

• Fright (a degenerate, trollish ape-like creature).
• Hoon (again, a degenerate, trollish bat-like large monster); lives in the mountains.
• Shadowstalker (darkness-related, wiry ape-like creature with a long neck); lives in forests.
• Watchwere (hulking ape-like chaotic horror); have the ability to see through any object as if it were transparent.

T&T: New French-Language Edition - More Impressions

(still reading T&T 8th ed)

There is a large section devoted to advice for the GM, and another large section that explains when to award experience points, and in what amount.

This latter section is really detailed and provides many many examples. I believe it should be really useful for anybody using the rules as written — which is not my case: I tend to award a set amount of experience points at the end of each session so that the players can improve their PCs by the time the next gaming session starts.

T&T: New French-Language Edition - First Impressions

OK, after having perused the new French-language edition of Tunnels & Trolls, I must agree that calling it "8th edition" is somewhat of an exaggeration. What Patrice Geille has done beyond translating the rules is mostly re-organising them in a more logical, structured way (7th ed was such a mess!).

Combat is the part that has received the most in-depth treatment, and indeed I can see a rule that I don't remember having seen in other editions (but then I'm not a big T&T expert): any damage inflicted through spells and/or missile weapons at the beginning of an encounter is added to the rolled damage total of the first round of combat, which is actually tantamount of keeping track of said damage twice. Now the rules say this is to reflect the 'shock' value of that damage; however, I don't think I'll apply that rule.

There is also quite an extensive part dedicated to poisons and their various effects, which I don't recall having already noticed in previous incarnations of the rules (possibly as an extra in the 30th anniversary CD).

More in future posts as I continue reading the rules and writing down small notes.

Voralans in Timinits & Trolls

The following is almost a direct rip-off of Scott's Mushroom People but hey, Scott said it was OK :)

Pamaltela is notorious for its dangerous forests and its death-filled jungles. Many delvers have tried to explore them, few have ever returned, and usually to die a horrible death as plants would burst out of their ears and eyes.
Unbeknownst to most adventurers, deciduous trees and evergreens are not the only perilous plants in Pamaltela — there are fungi of all sizes too! And just like True Elves are basically sentient trees, Voralans are sentient fungi.

Although smaller than True Elves and misshapen, and despite their being loth to combat, Voralans can be just as dangerous opponents as True Elves because of their mastery of noxious spore-based attacks. Whether these attacks are "biological", as claimed by the God Learners, or magical, as assumed by sane people, is beyond our knowledge. Whatever the truth, these spore attacks are destructive and unpredictable.

Voralans
STR×1, CON×0.75, INT×1, POW×3, DEX×1, CHR×1.5, KNW×0.75, PER×1.5, SPD×1, LK×1.5

Average SIZ: 1.35m

Special Rules:

• Voralans thrive in the night, so during the day (between dawn and dusk) any SR level is increased by 1.
• While Voralans are able to use any kind of spell, they are forbidden by their culture to use anything other than metabolic magic, which costs 1 fewer POW per spell level than in the spellbook. Other magic types cost an extra 2 POW per spell level.
• Voralans are able to take an hour of uninterrupted meditation to heal 1D6 CON on themselves or one other person.
• Voralans may not wear helmets. They simply won't fit over their mushroom head.

T&T: New French-Language Edition Available (cont'd)

T&T 8th ed. is at last in my grubby hands! I've only had time to quickly skim through the book. It has 137 pages, a very clear lay-out, numbered paragraphs, and a real character sheet. And of course new illustrations by Liz Danforth on top of the classic ones. What it is still lacking is an index.

T&T: New French-Language Edition Available

T&T 8th edition (in French!) is available on Lulu at last, apparently in dead tree only, for £17.21. More on this much-expected product as soon as I can lay my grubby hands on it.

Here's the blurb of the French edition of T&T:

Tunnels & Trolls 8e édition
La présente édition française du livre de règles pour le jeu de rôle Tunnels & Trolls est basée sur la 7e édition de langue anglaise. Toutefois, certaines lacunes et incohérences de la version originale ont été corrigées après consultation de l'auteur, Ken St André. De plus, nous avons ajouté certains passages de la 5e édition du jeu qui nous ont semblé utiles, voire indispensables. Cerise sur le gâteau : l'édition française comporte de nouvelles illustrations de la mythique Liz Danforth...

And here's the foreword, by Ken St André himself:

Plant-Men

As implied by their name, Plant-Men are sentient plant beings. While some may appear to be of very human-looking appearance, most feature completely vegetable traits. Some may have leaves or vines for hair, or a greenish hue to their skin, others are covered in bark or have non-animal twists to their limbs. Their eyes have neither white nor pupil. This latter trait renders their gaze particularly alien and unsettling to other humanoids. Cool sap circulates through the body of a Plant-Man, not warm blood. Plant-Man religion is likewise alien to other sentient races; Plant-Men hold animistic beliefs yet a number of named deities are known to outsiders. This is has proved extremely puzzling to the ever-cataloguing God Learners.

Plant-Men are called Wort-Men by the Umathings, and Elves by the Westerners with a further, finer distinction based on colour, as there are several types of Plant-Men. Three of these sub-species (brown, green, and yellow) are called True Elves by the Westerners. Plant-Men obviously do not use these exonyms but refer to themselves with a variety of different endonyms that depend on their plant association (see names in green below).
Plant-men have almost disappeared from Umathela proper, but are quite numerous in the forested lands around it.

Embyli by Dario Corallo

As mentioned above, Plant-Men come in an array of forms and sexes:

Dryads
Dryads are the female Nymphs of the woods, and are far more magical than other Plant-Men. Each Dryad is the protective spirit of a given grove of trees, which she may control under certain circumstances. The role of Dryads in the reproductive cycle of Plant-Men is often of paramount importance.

• Green Elves don't rely on them for reproduction, as they have their own females. When a Green Elf mates with a Dryad, no offspring results.
• Brown elves sometimes rely on them, sometimes not.
• Yellow Elves completely rely on them as they are all males.

Pregnant Dryads give birth to a large seed, not to a living being. The seed is planted, and it grows into a shrub. After two years, the shrub bears a fruit, which contains the child.

Brown Elves [Mreli]
They are associated with deciduous forests, and with trees such as aspen, birch, and oak.
They hibernate in the Dark Season, looking for a hollow tree or a comfortable hole in the ground in which to remain comatose until the Storm Season.
Brown Elves are both male and female, and also interbreed with Dryads, who hold important positions in brown elf society.

Yellow Elves [Embyli]
They are associated with rainforests, jungle evergreens, and palm groves.
They are wholly male and breed with Dryads for procreation.
They are quite aggressive vis-à-vis humans, especially Westerners. In Pamaltela, Embyli are organised in Dryad-ruled queendoms that resist the encroaching human civilisation. These bellicose Yellow Elves are particularly present in the lands to the east of Umathela, where they have fought many deadly wars against the Middle Sea Empire.

Green Elves [Vronkali]
Of the three races of true elves, the Green Elves are the most human-like, having for instance a similar sleeping pattern to the humans', and living in village-like communities with males and females. Vronkali are taller and stronger than any of the other Plant-Man species.
They are associated with coniferous forests, with trees such as fir, pine, and spruce.

Black Elves or Voralans
Hermaphrodite, diminutive squat humanoids with grey skin, and swollen limbs or heads, who inhabit the rare toadstool forests. They are shy, keep to themselves, and avoid combat. However, they can be formidable opponents because of their strange spore-based biological weapons to which they are immune.

Red Elves
Also called called Slorifings by the Umathings, and Goblins by the Westerners. They are small and stunted Plant-Men who inhabit the great swamps to the west and to the south-west of Umathela, thus far from human civilisation. They are associated with ferns and mosses rather than with trees.
Goblins are known to eat humans and to obey a cruel Sorceress Queen. All Slorifings are male, and need diminutive vile-looking Dryads called Olarians to mate.

The Lascerdans

The Lascerdans are a mysterious race of sentient reptiles from the ancient past of Glorantha. As with most little-known elder races, information about Lascerdans is scant.

What little information I have managed to scavenge is as follows. Lascerdans inhabited Umathela before and in the Dawn Age, when they were exterminated by the elves of Pamaltela. Lascerdans descended from the pel-mre of the distant, mythical past of Pamaltela, reptilian life created by Pamalt and Balumbasta. That would have made them distant relatives of the Slarges.

Physically, Lascerdans looked like muscular lizard-men with a gaping mouth. One description mentions their having the head of a basiliscus. Although Pamaltelan humans remember them as coming "from the mountains", Lascerdans were at least semi-aquatic, preferring river-bottoms and swamps.

The Lascerdans dammed the rivers to make shallow lakes and swamps, which destroyed forest land, though it did create some mangrove forests. However, the elves of the woods at the time were mostly green elves, and could not survive in mangroves.
The Lascerdans farmed and fed on pens of freshwater manatees (and probably other aquatic livestock), and their infamous slash-and-burn practices were not true slash-and-burn. Rather, the Lascerdans chopped out huge tracts of forest, burnt the wood, and hauled the greenage back to the rivers to use as cheap and fast manatee fodder. They recognised that they got more useful fodder from cleared areas than from the huge tree-covered portions, so they became tree-enemies. That might explain why the elves fought a genocidal war against them. The last Lascerdans were exterminated along the Palau River in 475

It is believed that the Lascerdans worshipped a fire god (a volcano god like the Olodo?), the Mother of Manatees (a herd goddess), and, more importantly, the River Gods of Umathela. They left some mysterious ruins in the forests of Umathela, called Lascerdan Stones.

Canonical sources mention the Lascerdans as being 'extinct' in Second Age Pamaltela but, hey!, my Gloratha varies...

The Iqari

The Iqari are mentioned, en passant, in The Abiding Book, a Mongoose supplement for MRQII. They are not really part of the Gloranthan canon, as they are a race originally developed for Gwenthia and added to Second Age Glorantha by Pete and Loz, who are involved as developers in both gaming worlds. The following has been communicated by Loz:

Back when Pete was working on the Mongoose Races books he asked Greg if there were any rules about creating new sapient races and Greg said, I believe, that Pete could invent new ones if he wanted to.

They were originally created for our Gwenthia book and are a particular favourite of ours, so we threw them into a few places.

They're part human, part raptor. Quite ferocious, but also with a developed civilisation.

According to The Abiding Book, Iqari are found in the upper peaks of Jrustela, and as an allied colony in the God Learner city of Arstranwal, which has been built in the high crags overlooking the Umathelan plain. There is little more information about the Iqari in the Mongoose supplements, so I shall copy the description found on the Gwenthia wiki:

With human bodies and the head and wings of an eagle, Iqari are formidable hunters, possessing the keen sight and instincts of raptors, and the strength and size of humans.

Iqari are social amongst their own kind, but are antagonistic towards most other species, and any who venture too close to their mountain colonies. Certainly they are intelligent, with tool-making and building skills. No one has yet been able to venture successfully into the mountainous reaches they inhabit to view first-hand what kind of settlements they occupy, but the common view is of great collections of nest-like structures that form crude versions of cities, high in the mountain peaks.

Iqari can fly far and wide, but seem to prefer the areas around their home mountains. Iqari hunting flocks regularly attack the settlements clustered in the fertile lower reaches of the hills and mountains, taking livestock and the occasional human victim - either as prey or simply for the joy of the kill.

Iqari communicate through a complex series of beak-clicks, sqwawks, feather-ruffles, head-tilts and hand signals. Some have noted that they can understand certain languages but lack the ability to speak them. As yet, negotiation with Iqari has been futile: they are unwilling to communicate openly or offer any respite from their attacks.

As well as their natural hunting abilities, Iqari employ long, barbed spears when hunting or attacking. These two-metre long weapons are dreadful in use, being either hurled from on-high or used as lances in the feared Iqari death-plunge.

Edit: The Iqari have both arms and wings, so the picture above does not correspond to how they actually look like.

RuneQuest 6 Latest News

The following was posted by Loz two days ago:

Here's the progress so far.

Playtesting
Our stalwart playtesting crews have worked they way through character creation, skills, equipment and combat chapters putting each to the test, suggesting revisions, identifying problem areas and highlighting what's worked very well for them. The input has been great and Pete and I spent time during the recent Petecon to address each point and challenge and integrate them, where necessary into the rules fabric.

The above chapters, along with Creatures, are nearing completion and will soon be sent for editing after we've completed some minor additional revisions.

Magic
RQ6 will have five very different magic systems: Folk Magic (Common Magic as was), Animism (spirit magic), Mysticism (brand new), Theism (Divine) and Sorcery. Initial writing is complete on three fifths of these and will form the next round of playtesting.

Folk Magic is a radical revision of old Common/Battle Magic. We've de-emphasised the combat aspects and vastly increased the more utilitarian spells. Old favourites are still there, but every spell has undergone a substantial degree of revision. Mysticism is completely new and aims to allow characters to replicate all manner of wuxia, martial arts, ki, and other powers that focus on self-realisation and potential. Its not a spell-based system, but it does have a very wide range of different effects/talents to offer considerable flexibility. Animism is a complete overhaul of the old spirit magic rules to clarify, expand and explain the system in detail. Theism and Sorcery are next up and these will, again, be overhauled with an eye on flexibility.

Creatures
A huge chapter, there's a wide range of beasties and mythical monsters along with playable races - each with character creation guidelines. Old favourites are in there (but no specifically Gloranthan critters) along with some new additions. We've tried to give each creature or race a unique spin making for more rounded creatures than simply things to butcher and steal from. Expect extensive rules for how creatures react and fight, along with guidelines for creating your own.

Art and Layout
Art is commissioned and we have a team of three very talented artists working on illustrating the book. Having seen some of the sample art, I'm very impressed and once we're in a position to share some of it I'll post samples on the DM website. But work is still underway, so patience please!

We have also commissioned a professional layout guru to work on the book's presentation. Clean, readable and easy on the eye is the overall theme. There'll be no intrusive borders, good use of white space, consistent and recognisable design elements, and a book that should look good in dead tree and PDF versions that remain printer-friendly.

So a lot has been happening and RQ6 has taken several bounds towards realisation. There has been some project slippage due to personal lives and Real Life intrusions, but nothing that has significantly delayed our progress.

Thanks for bearing with us.

Some more information from the Design Mechanism forum:

    So, with some of the sting taken out of Folk Magic will another magic system carry the weight of combat-focused spellcraft? Will we see Bladesharp, Speedart, Disruption, Multimissile shifted to another magic system? Or will they remain "Folk Magic" with a more limited effect?

Some of them remain in watered down version. The more potent effects will achieve apotheosis to a higher level of magic. A lot of the problems I saw in long running RQ2/3 campaigns was the out of control magic inflation which eventually rendered weapons and armour superfluous. So we're reining that in a bit.

For those that are worried about Glorantha backwards compatibility we will undoubtedly make a Battle Magic supplement/conversion available for free download.

Art for Umathela (1)

For some reason I am inspired by Russian fantasy for all things Umathelan. I have found many illustrations and paintings on line. I will give all the links on the blog.

This page is dedicated to Andrei Guselnikov's (Андрей Валерьевич Гусельников) art depicting ancient Slavic deities. The pictures are absolutely amazing.

Time-Line of the Campaign

Now leaning towards ca.950ST. The Umathelan Coalition has driven off the Middle Sea Empire but hasn't experienced the utter destruction it will undergo in the 11th century yet.
Rumours of the Closing are reaching Umathela. It's going to be several terrifying years of incoming doom for coastal people who rely on the sea, not helped by the dragonship attacks.

Eastern Umathela is more or less reunited under the leadership of the local God Learners, centred in Cerngorth. Is their leader in the 10th century already called the 'Lord of the World's Knowledge'?

Western Umathela is much more of a very loose coalition of city-states, which don't have any control whatsoever on the interior. And altough a noted Jrusteli scholar has written a book in 950 proving that the elves of Enkloso are extinct, the latter are in reality quietly plotting the Reconquista of Western Umathela.

The Olodo

The Olodo are another people that were brought to Umathela, before the Umathings. My understanding is that they were Old Wayers who lost some civil war on Jrustela. They were transported to Pamaltela by the Waertagi.
They retreated to the inhospitable areas of Umathela. In my opinion they somehow went "wild" and I hence intend to depict them as woodwoses.

There is little information on the religion of the Old Wayers. They are supposed to practise a mix of theism, shamanism, and even Invisible God worship. Yet some Olodo worshipped the volcano god Aurelion when on Jrustela. Even though it is unknown what happened to those particular Olodo when the Seshnegi settlers arrived, I find it cool to think that some of them where amongst the colonists transported by the Waertagi, and that they have hence had an influence on Pamaltelan Olodo religion, because I want to have at least one active volcano in the interior of Umathela, and I want to use the Olodo as antagonists to the PCs. And I'm sure antagonists with fire magic are going to kick arse.

The Order of Cerberus

MRQII is dead and Mongoose has lost the licence, but the Italian version of MRQII by Asterion Press (with way better quality and nicer art, especially for the Monster Coliseum) is still alive... Such are the intricacies of game licences.

A community site dedicated to the Italian version of MRQII has been created. It is called the Order of Cerberus and features news about products and cons in Italy, a free introductory scenario, and several gaming aids such as new creatures, magical items...

T&T: New French-Language Edition

Because of my intolerance to the recent "buzz" about a 5th edition of D&D, I had recently jokingly posted about an 8th edition of T&T.

Well, believe it or not, there is going to be an 8th edition of T&T: it will be based upon the rule book and the magic book of the 7th edition published by Fiery Dragon, but with a different, improved presentation (I agree 7th ed. was horribly presented... what a mess!). Some excerpts from Flying Buffalo's 5.5 ed., and which were not included in Fiery Dragon's, will also be incorporated, again for clarity's sake, plus some bonus stuff like firearms, poisons, a glossary of arms and armour... Ken St. André himself will add some more bonus stuff. And it will only be available in French, at least at the moment.



Much of the art will be from the 5th ed. by Flying Buffalo, and Liz Danforth is adding some new art. You might even have a say in what she will be drawing — more on her blog.

T&T 8th ed., in French, expected at the end of February 2012. Yippee!

Zak S GM survey

Reposted from Playing D&D with Porn Stars:

GM Questionnaire
Repost and answer. Or, if you don't have a blog, answer in the comments. Or be a big rebel and do neither [OK, I did both].

1. If you had to pick a single invention in a game you were most proud of what would it be?
That would be when I ad-libbed an entire session when in high school. At the time, following one's notes or a pre-published module was the gospel.

2. When was the last time you GMed?
June 2011.

3. When was the last time you played?
Two weeks ago.

4. Give us a one-sentence pitch for an adventure you haven't run but would like to.
You're cornered and there's no way out except through the ghost town.

5. What do you do while you wait for players to do things?
Fix myself a tea/coffee.

6. What, if anything, do you eat while you play?
Fruit or weird Chinese snacks.

7. Do you find GMing physically exhausting?
Yes.

8. What was the last interesting (to you, anyway) thing you remember a PC you were running doing?
Crashing through a well-defended fortress through the front gate on a berserk elephant.

9. Do your players take your serious setting and make it unserious? Vice versa? Neither?
I've had this kind of issues running CoC, I guess because the players know they're supposed to be serious and so they're not. This is why I don't run CoC any longer. What I do is I run weird fantasy. The players aren't expecting mind boggling monsters so when there's one they're all panicky.

10. What do you do with goblins?
Er, no goblins in my games.

11. What was the last non-RPG thing you saw that you converted into game material (background, setting, trap, etc.)?
A photograph of an incredible vertical shaft in China.

12. What's the funniest table moment you can remember right now?
Back in university-- I was running a Star Wars game and the players were about to shoot down an Imperial ship. One of the players shouted 'You're crazy... There could be gold on it!'

13. What was the last game book you looked at--aside from things you referenced in a game--why were you looking at it?
LotFP Tutorial book. Playing the solo adventure.

14. Who's your idea of the perfect RPG illustrator?
Dario Corallo.

15. Does your game ever make your players genuinely afraid?
See No.9.

16. What was the best time you ever had running an adventure you didn't write? (If ever)
Honestly I think I've always enjoyed my adventures more than pre-written ones.

17. What would be the ideal physical set up to run a game in?
A castle.

18. If you had to think of the two most disparate games or game products that you like what would they be?
T&T and LotFP?

19. If you had to think of the most disparate influences overall on your game, what would they be?
Hongkong action movies and Central/Eastern European mythology.

20. As a GM, what kind of player do you want at your table?
Players looking for role-playing and immersion.

21. What's a real life experience you've translated into game terms?
Exploring a cave complex in Southern France.

22. Is there an RPG product that you wish existed but doesn't?
Yeah, there was... so I wrote it!

23. Is there anyone you know who you talk abotu RPGs with who doesn't play? How do those conversations go?
I had a colleague who played boardgames but not role-playing games. He just kept saying 'Yeah, I'll have to try' but never did.

Teleos Crazy Idea

OK... I'm reading Carcosa. I am also a playtester for the upcoming Harreksaga by Moon Design, and our party is currently fleeing a gang of lily white-skinned cannibals on the secluded island of Teleos. Why me... I've always hated cannibal holocaust movies!

Anyway, since I'm reading Carcosa and recovering from the last game session at the same time, I have these weird ideas materialising in my feverish brain about using Carcosa for a Second Age weird fantasy campaign at the centre of Glorantha. Right... Carcosa = Teleos. The size of the map is right. The dinosaurs are right. The cannibals are right.

Here are the correspondences that have popped up in my head:

• Carcosa  = (Second Age) Teleos
• Dinosaurs = Dinosaurs
• Snake-Men = Dragonewts
• Aliens = God Learners
• Alien technology = Zistorite technology
• 13 different coloured human tribes = either decide that there used to be 13 tribes in the Second Age before their number was reduced to 7 in the Third Age; OR make the 6 extra tribes sub-tribes of the 7 canonical ones... Obviously the Bone Men from Carcosa are the White Men from Teleos.
• Sorcery = God Learner sorcery
• Old Ones = this is the only correspondence I'm struggling with... Maybe some forgotten myths unearthed by the God Learners?

T&T 8th edition announced!

Just kidding.

Too Many Good News! Part Two: The Design Mechanism To Launch Free Magazine!

The Design Mechanism will be launching a free PDF magazine available from their web-site. The magazine will focus on RuneQuest 6th ed. and other games based on the Basic Role-Playing system. Issue No.1 should be available at the end of January and is rumoured to provide a few little snippets from the upcoming RuneQuest 6 rule book!

At the moment it appears that the as-yet-unnamed magazine might also feature Gloranthan content, thanks to the partnership between The Design Mechanism and Moon Design.

Stay tuned for more information...

Too Many Good News! Part One: Wyrms Footnotes Returns!

Despite all the gloomy articles and interviews I've been reading about the state of the rpg industry, I am of the opinion that our hobby hasn't been in a better shape for decades. But then industry ≠ hobby. Oh, well.

Moon Design have just announced the come-back of the Gloranthan magazine Wyrms Footnotes, after a hiatus of 30 years (!). I am particularly pleased with their decision of labelling the new issue as issue No.15 and not as No.1. This is a good "continuity" message for us fans, and also (IMHO) a sign that this magazine will bridge the gap between old- and new-school gaming. Hooray!

Real Gloranthan fans will have noticed that the artist of the cover is none other than Jennell Allyn Jaquays who (as Paul Alan Jaquays) was extremely influent, both as a writer and as an artist, at the time of the original RuneQuest 2.

Here's the original piece of news: Wyrms Footnotes Returns!