About Me
04 May 2016
Chimeriades & RuneQuest 4
Long-time readers of this blog know that there are three conventions I love and have almost never missed: the one in Bacharach in Rhineland-Palatinate, THE KRAKEN in Brandenburg, and Chimรฉriades in the Luberon.
Well, Chimรฉriades V starts tomorrow, and I am oh! so excited to go. The highlight for me will be Chaosium's own Jeff Richard making the first public appearance of the new RuneQuest rules (which Jeff calls ‘RuneQuest 4’ — not sure if that will be the official name though). I will be playing in a game refereed by Jeff on Thursday night — watch this space if you're interested by my first impressions!
13 April 2016
The Hanging Garden, Issue No.5 – Updated!
Issue No.5 of The Hanging Garden has been updated with a full-length article about Boot Hill by Travis Casey. Enjoy!
30 March 2016
The Hanging Garden, Issue No.5
Howdy dear readers. The fifth issue of my free e-zine, The Hanging Garden, is available for your perusal and enjoyment from the usual page.
Issue No.5 is a special "Old West"-themed issue. It contains several interviews, articles, and three full-length scenarios (two for Basic Roleplaying, and one for GURPS).
Feedback and comments are welcome, as usual. Cheers!
Issue No.5 is a special "Old West"-themed issue. It contains several interviews, articles, and three full-length scenarios (two for Basic Roleplaying, and one for GURPS).
Feedback and comments are welcome, as usual. Cheers!
27 March 2016
FG Con: Revolution D100 On-Line Demo Game
As implied by its name, FG Con is an on-line convention devoted to the popular on-line tabletop RPG platform Fantasy Grounds. The on-line convention is taking place from 8 to 10 April 2016.
An official adaptation of the Fantasy Grounds engine to Revolution D100 has been available for some time now for a select group of happy playtesters. Yours truly can testify that it is really a top-notch adaptation that almost gives you the same experience as playing in the same room as your friends.
Paolo Guccione, the author of Revolution D100, will be demoing it on Saturday 9 April from 9pm to 1am CET. You may register here.
Paolo may run further on-line demos, depending on how many people subscribe. Paolo is an 'Ultimate GM', meaning players needn't have a Fantasy Ground licence. You can play in his games for free – just download the software and play. You will also receive a link to the latest version of the Revolution D100 SRD, and a library module with the most important tables and charts.
An official adaptation of the Fantasy Grounds engine to Revolution D100 has been available for some time now for a select group of happy playtesters. Yours truly can testify that it is really a top-notch adaptation that almost gives you the same experience as playing in the same room as your friends.
Paolo Guccione, the author of Revolution D100, will be demoing it on Saturday 9 April from 9pm to 1am CET. You may register here.
Paolo may run further on-line demos, depending on how many people subscribe. Paolo is an 'Ultimate GM', meaning players needn't have a Fantasy Ground licence. You can play in his games for free – just download the software and play. You will also receive a link to the latest version of the Revolution D100 SRD, and a library module with the most important tables and charts.
10 March 2016
The Sea Cave
I have received the PDF of the RuneQuest Old School Source Pack from the RuneQuest Classic edition kickstarter. It is a collection of all the very early RQ supplements, incl. The Sea Cave, which is an original unfinished and unpublished adventure by Greg Stafford. The Sea Cave is rather in the style of the quite lethal old school adventures of the time. Here are a few salient points I enjoyed whilst reading it [WARNING– MAJOR SPOILERS]:
“When adventurers are slaughtered or run screaming, the Monsters get experience rolls too.” I guess this is to make the adventure tougher should the PCs return to it. This sentence has a nice Monsters! Monsters! flavour to it which, being a huge T&T fan, I have really enjoyed reading.
At the beginning of the scenario, there is a section dedicated to tides in Glorantha, and to how the exact day the characters start the adventure may influence its outcome.
The text makes a difference between Denizens (remain in the same area) and Inhabitants (move from one area to the other) of the Sea Cave. The referee must decide where the latter will start off at the beginning of the scenario. This is decision is a mix of referee agency and of a random die roll influenced by the tide.
Rather than wandering monsters, the referee has a table to roll up random items in the various locations. The items go from the mundane (a shark tooth that was part of a necklace) to the hazardous (a magical skull that attacks the PCs) or the magical (an aluminium whistle). They are globally Gloranthan-themed, and contribute to making the adventure more than an average dungeon crawl.
The monsters themselves depart from the tedious monster-in-a-room-guarding-a-treasure design philosophy (or lack thereof) typical of the 1970s/1980s. The Trolls have family ties, know how to read and write, and do not get along well with the Sea Wyrm. The Mermaid also opposes the Wyrm. It is an interesting little monstrous ecosystem.
There is also a faux boss, which is a clever little twist. The PCs will think they have killed the boss, collect the reward... but then the villagers who have hired them will still be plagued by mystery attacks at sea... possibly prompting a second foray into the Sea Cave, and making this adventure re-usable :)
Unfortunately, since this was an unfinished and unpublished adventure in the first place, the maps are quite terrible. Furthermore, a very short appendix at the end of the adventure explains that Greg had originally intended to add a temple to Cacodemon to the east of the cave complex; there are stats for the priest. Speaking of stats, they are handwritten on RQ monster/NPC sheets and are particularly difficult to decipher. I wish Chaosium had made the extra effort to print them rather than merely photocopying them.
All in all, it is a very decent adventure, possibly playable in a single session (depending on how long the PCs stay in the fishing village to investigate/hire a boat before heading to the cave).
“When adventurers are slaughtered or run screaming, the Monsters get experience rolls too.” I guess this is to make the adventure tougher should the PCs return to it. This sentence has a nice Monsters! Monsters! flavour to it which, being a huge T&T fan, I have really enjoyed reading.
At the beginning of the scenario, there is a section dedicated to tides in Glorantha, and to how the exact day the characters start the adventure may influence its outcome.
The text makes a difference between Denizens (remain in the same area) and Inhabitants (move from one area to the other) of the Sea Cave. The referee must decide where the latter will start off at the beginning of the scenario. This is decision is a mix of referee agency and of a random die roll influenced by the tide.
Rather than wandering monsters, the referee has a table to roll up random items in the various locations. The items go from the mundane (a shark tooth that was part of a necklace) to the hazardous (a magical skull that attacks the PCs) or the magical (an aluminium whistle). They are globally Gloranthan-themed, and contribute to making the adventure more than an average dungeon crawl.
The monsters themselves depart from the tedious monster-in-a-room-guarding-a-treasure design philosophy (or lack thereof) typical of the 1970s/1980s. The Trolls have family ties, know how to read and write, and do not get along well with the Sea Wyrm. The Mermaid also opposes the Wyrm. It is an interesting little monstrous ecosystem.
There is also a faux boss, which is a clever little twist. The PCs will think they have killed the boss, collect the reward... but then the villagers who have hired them will still be plagued by mystery attacks at sea... possibly prompting a second foray into the Sea Cave, and making this adventure re-usable :)
Unfortunately, since this was an unfinished and unpublished adventure in the first place, the maps are quite terrible. Furthermore, a very short appendix at the end of the adventure explains that Greg had originally intended to add a temple to Cacodemon to the east of the cave complex; there are stats for the priest. Speaking of stats, they are handwritten on RQ monster/NPC sheets and are particularly difficult to decipher. I wish Chaosium had made the extra effort to print them rather than merely photocopying them.
All in all, it is a very decent adventure, possibly playable in a single session (depending on how long the PCs stay in the fishing village to investigate/hire a boat before heading to the cave).
28 February 2016
The New RuneQuest - How It Will Use Runes
The fourth instalment in Jeff Richard's design notes about the new RuneQuest is available on the Chaosium blog. This latest blog entry is mostly devoted to Gloranthan Runes and to how they will be used in the new RuneQuest.
In my opinion, there are two salient points: (1) Rune skills, and (2) Rune points.
Runes, much like in the short-lived RuneQuest Adventures in Glorantha by The Design Mechanism, will be directly expressed in gaming terms by straight percentile skills, and quite high-level ones too.
Apparently the player will have to choose three elemental runes and receive interesting starting scores in them; the example mentioned in the blog entry is Air 60%, Moon 40%, and Fire 20%. RuneQuest Adventures in Glorantha usually envisioned a single elemental rune at start.
The other runes (see my earlier post) function in opposing pairs; their total being always 100%, the worst score in one of them is necessarily going to be 50%. Not bad for a starting skill.
Apparently Rune Magic has been singled out as one of the weak areas of RQ2, what with sacrificing your POW for single use spells. Apparently a new mechanism will be implemented: Rune Points. RPs will fuel Rune Magic spells just like MPs fuel Battle Magic spells. They will still be ‘bought’ by sacrificing POW; however, it seems they will be easier to recover.
In my opinion, there are two salient points: (1) Rune skills, and (2) Rune points.
Runes, much like in the short-lived RuneQuest Adventures in Glorantha by The Design Mechanism, will be directly expressed in gaming terms by straight percentile skills, and quite high-level ones too.
Apparently the player will have to choose three elemental runes and receive interesting starting scores in them; the example mentioned in the blog entry is Air 60%, Moon 40%, and Fire 20%. RuneQuest Adventures in Glorantha usually envisioned a single elemental rune at start.
The other runes (see my earlier post) function in opposing pairs; their total being always 100%, the worst score in one of them is necessarily going to be 50%. Not bad for a starting skill.
Apparently Rune Magic has been singled out as one of the weak areas of RQ2, what with sacrificing your POW for single use spells. Apparently a new mechanism will be implemented: Rune Points. RPs will fuel Rune Magic spells just like MPs fuel Battle Magic spells. They will still be ‘bought’ by sacrificing POW; however, it seems they will be easier to recover.
26 February 2016
News From The Design Mechanism
I always hesitate before publishing this kind of blog entry.... I reckon most people reading my blog also scour the various D100 forums and G+ communities. But, well, who knows, maybe there are people who only read my blog, so here are the latest news from The Design Mechanism for your enjoyment.
1) RuneQuest 6 will be re-named Mythras. The book will be re-printed with the same content and the same cover illustration; only the name will change.
2) The next supplement out is a much-revamped incarnation of the former BRP monograph titled Classic Fantasy. There is a preview here, and the cover simply rocks:
Apparently it will be much more than a mere Old School supplement for RuneQuest 6; with Mythras firmly rooted in the ancient world and the bronze age, Classic Fantasy will be the basis for faux mediaeval adventuring using the RQ6/Mythras rules.
3) Rumours are re-surfacing again of Chronicles of Future Earth by Sarah Newton being re-written for the RQ6/Mythras rules set. Stay tuned...
1) RuneQuest 6 will be re-named Mythras. The book will be re-printed with the same content and the same cover illustration; only the name will change.
2) The next supplement out is a much-revamped incarnation of the former BRP monograph titled Classic Fantasy. There is a preview here, and the cover simply rocks:
| This is so Old School! I love it. |
Apparently it will be much more than a mere Old School supplement for RuneQuest 6; with Mythras firmly rooted in the ancient world and the bronze age, Classic Fantasy will be the basis for faux mediaeval adventuring using the RQ6/Mythras rules.
3) Rumours are re-surfacing again of Chronicles of Future Earth by Sarah Newton being re-written for the RQ6/Mythras rules set. Stay tuned...
14 February 2016
The New RuneQuest - A Candid Retelling of 2015
In his third instalment about the 'new' RuneQuest, Jeff Richard quite candidly retells the whole Chaosium/The Design Mechanism imbroglio from last summer. Even though I was quite shocked at the news of the demise of RuneQuest Adventures in Glorantha at the time, I have come to understand the reasons behind this business decision, which, given the success of the RuneQuest Classic Edition kickstarter crowdfunding campaign, was certainly a sound one.
10 February 2016
The New RuneQuest - Snippets of Information (cont'd)
The second instalment on Chaosium's blog about the birth of the 'new' RuneQuest is here.
TL;DR
TL;DR
- A short overview of what makes RuneQuest RuneQuest.
- A short overview of why RQ2 is superior to RQ3 and hence used as the basis for the 'new' RQ.
- Globally, this last blog entry sort of answers the sceptical remark I made yesterday about the draft being available for Gen Con: the 'new' RQ is more like a RQ 2.5, hence its short-term availability.
09 February 2016
The New RuneQuest - First Snippets of Information
The Chaosium have released the first real snippets of actual information about the new incarnation of their flagship role-playing game (no, it's not the Call of Cthulhu). You can click here to get to the relevant post. I am sceptical about the“launching at Gen Con this year” bit of the article. The Gen Con is in August; a launch in August 2016 is tantamount to saying that the game is almost finished and in its very final playtesting phase, yet Steve Perrin has just recently jumped on board, and it seems any playtesting at the moment is restricted to the Chaosium inner circle, so....?
Anyway, what has caught my interest is not the aggressive time-line, it is the picture of the hand-drawn player character sheet:
I like the fact that we're ending up with way more runes on the player character sheet than in HeroQuest Glorantha or in the short-lived RuneQuest Adventures in Glorantha.
I also like the fact that this feature directly reverts Gloranthan cosmology as presented p146-149 of the Guide to Glorantha (but what about the other Form runes?).
Anyway, what has caught my interest is not the aggressive time-line, it is the picture of the hand-drawn player character sheet:
I like the fact that we're ending up with way more runes on the player character sheet than in HeroQuest Glorantha or in the short-lived RuneQuest Adventures in Glorantha.
I also like the fact that this feature directly reverts Gloranthan cosmology as presented p146-149 of the Guide to Glorantha (but what about the other Form runes?).
07 February 2016
The Man Is Back!
Steve Perrin, the man behind most of the original mechanisms used for the RuneQuest rules, is back! Here is the press release from Chaosium:
Steve Perrin joins design team for new Chaosium edition of RuneQuest
In the spirit of bringing the band back together, Chaosium is delighted to announce that Steve Perrin is joining the design team for Chaosium’s new edition of RuneQuest. "We knew that Steve Perrin’s place at the table, as both the creator and lead author of the original groundbreaking ‘78 and ‘79 editions of game, was a natural fit that harkens back to the genius and originality of RuneQuest", said Rick Meints, President of Chaosium.
In late 2015 Moon Design Publications and Chaosium successfully Kickstarted the RuneQuest Classic Edition campaign, a triumphant reissue of the iconic 2nd Edition of the RuneQuest rules and the supplements produced for it: Cults of Prax, Pavis, Big Rubble, Griffin Mountain, TrollPak and many others.
“We want to usher in the newest exploration of Glorantha with a tribute to the masterpiece opus of work that has come before. Part of Steve's role is to help insure that this edition contains the best possible game mechanics while maintaining backwards compatibility with RuneQuest 2", said Jeff Richard, creative director at Chaosium.
The new version of RuneQuest maintains backwards compatibility with earlier editions, while also containing a number of unique innovations that resonate with Glorantha, Greg Stafford's mythical campaign setting where RuneQuest started and to which it returns. This new edition incorporates Runes directly into both your character and the magic system you use, including their passions and motivations.
"The rules reinforce immersion in the setting even more than the original RuneQuest rules did, and ideas experimentally brought forth in Griffin Mountain reach their fruition", said Richard.
Seizing this unique chance to get this right, Chaosium has brought in a team of notable game designers to support Chaosium’s rebirth of RuneQuest, including Sandy Petersen (Call of Cthulhu), Ken Rolston (Paranoia, Elder Scrolls, RQ3), Chris Klug (James Bond 007 RPG, DragonQuest) and Jason Durall (BRP, Conan).
A special pre-release version of the new rules will be revealed at Gen Con later this year, along with introductory scenario sessions. A wealth of all-new campaign material and supplements for the new edition will follow.
Steve Perrin joins design team for new Chaosium edition of RuneQuest
In the spirit of bringing the band back together, Chaosium is delighted to announce that Steve Perrin is joining the design team for Chaosium’s new edition of RuneQuest. "We knew that Steve Perrin’s place at the table, as both the creator and lead author of the original groundbreaking ‘78 and ‘79 editions of game, was a natural fit that harkens back to the genius and originality of RuneQuest", said Rick Meints, President of Chaosium.
In late 2015 Moon Design Publications and Chaosium successfully Kickstarted the RuneQuest Classic Edition campaign, a triumphant reissue of the iconic 2nd Edition of the RuneQuest rules and the supplements produced for it: Cults of Prax, Pavis, Big Rubble, Griffin Mountain, TrollPak and many others.
“We want to usher in the newest exploration of Glorantha with a tribute to the masterpiece opus of work that has come before. Part of Steve's role is to help insure that this edition contains the best possible game mechanics while maintaining backwards compatibility with RuneQuest 2", said Jeff Richard, creative director at Chaosium.
The new version of RuneQuest maintains backwards compatibility with earlier editions, while also containing a number of unique innovations that resonate with Glorantha, Greg Stafford's mythical campaign setting where RuneQuest started and to which it returns. This new edition incorporates Runes directly into both your character and the magic system you use, including their passions and motivations.
"The rules reinforce immersion in the setting even more than the original RuneQuest rules did, and ideas experimentally brought forth in Griffin Mountain reach their fruition", said Richard.
Seizing this unique chance to get this right, Chaosium has brought in a team of notable game designers to support Chaosium’s rebirth of RuneQuest, including Sandy Petersen (Call of Cthulhu), Ken Rolston (Paranoia, Elder Scrolls, RQ3), Chris Klug (James Bond 007 RPG, DragonQuest) and Jason Durall (BRP, Conan).
A special pre-release version of the new rules will be revealed at Gen Con later this year, along with introductory scenario sessions. A wealth of all-new campaign material and supplements for the new edition will follow.
12 January 2016
RuneQuest Classic - If You've Missed The Kickstarter...
So, if you've missed out on the one and only Kickstarter crowdfunding project that you shouldn't have overlooked if you were a true-blue fan of Old School role-playing games, here is a chance to still be able to pre-order the 'new' version of RuneQuest 2, elegantly called RuneQuest Classic: link.
This is not a mere reprint. It comes with additional content such as a lot of Q&A from the 'RuneQuestions' column in Wyrms Footnotes (Chaosium's in-house organ), new appendices ('The Birth of the Minotaur' by Greg Stafford, precisions about Divine Intervention and Divination, 'What It Takes To Convince The Examiners' also by Greg, precisions about ghosts and spirit combat, and of course a full description of Rurik Runespear, Runemasters-style), a GM screen, and player handouts.
As a whole, the additional content amounts to 7 pages of small type in the appendices, and to various instances of boxed text interspersed throughout the main text of the rulebook.
This is not a mere reprint. It comes with additional content such as a lot of Q&A from the 'RuneQuestions' column in Wyrms Footnotes (Chaosium's in-house organ), new appendices ('The Birth of the Minotaur' by Greg Stafford, precisions about Divine Intervention and Divination, 'What It Takes To Convince The Examiners' also by Greg, precisions about ghosts and spirit combat, and of course a full description of Rurik Runespear, Runemasters-style), a GM screen, and player handouts.
As a whole, the additional content amounts to 7 pages of small type in the appendices, and to various instances of boxed text interspersed throughout the main text of the rulebook.
15 December 2015
Hit Location Tables and Their Evolution
Note: I will restrict my post below to humanoid hit locations, which are anyway the ones I use most when I'm refereeing RuneQuest, as my favourite “monsters” are human opponents. I also believe humanoid hit locations are the ones that have been modified most in the various incarnations of RuneQuest and of the Basic Role-Playing System.
RuneQuest 2 had a simple universal hit locations table, which was applied to a humanoid target irrespective of whether the attack was via a mรชlรฉe weapon, a missile, or a spell. The table is the one in the first column (Mรชlรฉe) in the illustration at the bottom of this blog post. There were a few modifiers to be taken into account if the attacker was on horseback or riding a high llama (one of the bizarre riding animals used by the Praxian animal nomads).
RuneQuest 3 kept the same table as RuneQuest 2 whilst restricting its use to mรชlรฉe combat and adding a second, slightly different, table for the results of missile combat — which made perfect sense. Please refer to the tables in the first two columns (Mรชlรฉe and Missile) in the illustration at the bottom of this blog post.
The Basic Role-Playing System “Big Gold Book” (BGB) used the same exact tables as RuneQuest 3.
RuneQuest 6 has introduced a slightly different table, which is supposed to replace both the Mรชlรฉe and the Missile tables from RQ3 and the BGB; please refer to the table in the third column (Unified) in the illustration at the bottom of this blog post.
Personally, and in contrast to the latest outcries about Chaosium splitting the RQ fanbase again with yet another version of the RQ rules, I find the various incarnations of the rules sufficiently similar that I can use them interchangeably; e.g., I have recently run my RQ6 Swenstown scenario twice, and I've used the RQ2 hit locations both times... only realising whilst re-reading the various rules sets to write this blog post that they were actually different!
Anyway, my suggestion is to use a mix of the RQ2/3 and RQ6 hit location tables as follows: the first column for mรชlรฉe combat, the second column for missile combat, and the third column in all other cases (e.g., falls, spells) or if you only want to use a single hit location table.
Also please remember that a combatant in a superior position adds +1 to the D20 roll for hit locations.
RuneQuest 2 had a simple universal hit locations table, which was applied to a humanoid target irrespective of whether the attack was via a mรชlรฉe weapon, a missile, or a spell. The table is the one in the first column (Mรชlรฉe) in the illustration at the bottom of this blog post. There were a few modifiers to be taken into account if the attacker was on horseback or riding a high llama (one of the bizarre riding animals used by the Praxian animal nomads).
RuneQuest 3 kept the same table as RuneQuest 2 whilst restricting its use to mรชlรฉe combat and adding a second, slightly different, table for the results of missile combat — which made perfect sense. Please refer to the tables in the first two columns (Mรชlรฉe and Missile) in the illustration at the bottom of this blog post.
The Basic Role-Playing System “Big Gold Book” (BGB) used the same exact tables as RuneQuest 3.
RuneQuest 6 has introduced a slightly different table, which is supposed to replace both the Mรชlรฉe and the Missile tables from RQ3 and the BGB; please refer to the table in the third column (Unified) in the illustration at the bottom of this blog post.
Personally, and in contrast to the latest outcries about Chaosium splitting the RQ fanbase again with yet another version of the RQ rules, I find the various incarnations of the rules sufficiently similar that I can use them interchangeably; e.g., I have recently run my RQ6 Swenstown scenario twice, and I've used the RQ2 hit locations both times... only realising whilst re-reading the various rules sets to write this blog post that they were actually different!
Anyway, my suggestion is to use a mix of the RQ2/3 and RQ6 hit location tables as follows: the first column for mรชlรฉe combat, the second column for missile combat, and the third column in all other cases (e.g., falls, spells) or if you only want to use a single hit location table.
Also please remember that a combatant in a superior position adds +1 to the D20 roll for hit locations.
10 December 2015
Gloranthan News from Dragonmeet 2015
Dragonmeet is an annual British tabletop gaming convention that takes place in early December in London. It is one of the largest UK conventions and it is attended by many professionals and famous guests.
Unfortunately, I have never been able to attend, as London has become ridiculously expensive. Anyway, after the two German conventions (Eternal Con and The Kraken) and the Chimรฉriades in France, it's certainly the most important convention for European fans of the world of Glorantha, so I'm sure I'll make the extra effort one day.
Moon Design/Chaosium have made quite a number of announcements at Dragonmeet regarding the future of the world of Glorantha and of the Chaosium role-playing games, which have put in turmoil the various forums and G+ communities of the Gloranthan aficionados so, even though I was not present, I have decided to copy a post by Steve from BRP Central for the benefit of the readers of this bog. Aren't I nice.
Unfortunately, I have never been able to attend, as London has become ridiculously expensive. Anyway, after the two German conventions (Eternal Con and The Kraken) and the Chimรฉriades in France, it's certainly the most important convention for European fans of the world of Glorantha, so I'm sure I'll make the extra effort one day.
Moon Design/Chaosium have made quite a number of announcements at Dragonmeet regarding the future of the world of Glorantha and of the Chaosium role-playing games, which have put in turmoil the various forums and G+ communities of the Gloranthan aficionados so, even though I was not present, I have decided to copy a post by Steve from BRP Central for the benefit of the readers of this bog. Aren't I nice.
- The RuneQuest 2 re-issue (via the Kickstarter) is progressing well, and the rulebook itself is ready. Jeff held up a softback "test" copy printed via Lulu.com.
- A European fulfilment centre is being set up and will start from February 2016, including the HeroQuest: Glorantha rulebook.
- Prince of Sartar - a colourist has already been brought on board, despite this being a later Patreon goal. The next chapter is New Pavis, then the following chapter will be the classic Cradle scenario. The Patreon campaign means that Prince of Sartar can continue; before this there were problems given that this isn't a product being sold, it's a free web comic. There will be a monthly Google hangout with Jeff and Kalin for backers.
- The Glorantha sourcebook (for 13th Age, but rules-free) is waiting on the final 13th Age in Glorantha manuscript so that Jeff can finish it off. Art is being commissioned now.
- The Coming Storm - this advances the timeline from 1618 to 1625. Apparently Greg has joked that "it only took 40 years" to advance these seven years! The first book is the setting, the second is the campaign. It is planned that all the major NPCs will be depicted in art in the books, and many examples of this (great!) artwork were handed round, plus several maps.
- The Gods War boardgame, by Sandy Petersen, is on course for a Kickstarter in 2016.
- The “new” RuneQuest will be later in 2016.
- Trollpak (the new three-volume version, not to be confused with the reprint stretch goal in the RQ2 Kickstarter) is at the stage of commissioning art.
- The Guide to Glorantha will be reprinted in 2016, in the same format as before. It won't be in general distribution though.
- The RQ2 reprint might be in stores, or it might not. This is being looked into.
- Sandy Petersen is very involved in the “new” RuneQuest.
- Jeff's very brief comments on what the “new” RuneQuest will be have been reported (and mis-reported) elsewhere [e.g., here], and are better explained in Jeff's forum posts on the RQ forum and in the Chaosium press release.
- The Reiner Knizia Gloranthan board game that was previously announced by Chaosium was referred to by Jeff as "Khan of Khans". It's set in Prax, and a key theme seems to be stealing stuff from other players.
- Jeff announced that in late 2016 there will be a Kickstarter for a "re-modelled" Dragon Pass board game. This is being totally revamped by Chris Klug, it's not just a reprint. Basic KS goals will include cardboard figures for Harrek, Jar-Eel etc, with stretch goals for plastic figures. It is aimed for between 2 and 5 players and around 90-100 minutes of play.
07 December 2015
Entropic News
![]() |
| the beloved BGB |
[Yes I know about OpenQuest and Legend.]
Well, it now seems we're soon going to experience quite the opposite of the death of the D100, i.e., a plethora of D100-based systems! For those of you who do not follow G+, the gaming forums, etc., here are the latest news:
- The BGB will indeed be scrapped, and replaced with a new generic product called BRP Essentials, itself based on the classic RQ2 rules and “incorporating 30 years of progress”.
- The Design Mechanism isn't working on the new Gloranthan version of RuneQuest any longer (see announcement here); as a result, RuneQuest 6 will continue under a new name.
- Alephtar Games' Revolution D100 has successfully funded.
It hence appears that we will soon have three simultaneously in-print D100-based engines: BRP Essentials, the as-yet-unnamed generic D100 system by The Design Mechanism, and Revolution D100 by Alephtar Games.
These are the generic D100-based role-playing games; I'm not even mentioning that there are going to be two in-print Gloranthan D100-based FRPs in 2016: RuneQuest Classic and the “new” RuneQuest! An embarrassment of riches...
01 December 2015
RuneQuest Classic Edition Crowdfunding Campaign
Funded in 4½ hours.... More than 1,000 backers... Reached most of its stretch goals...
WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR??
WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR??
18 November 2015
The Hanging Garden, Issue No.4
Howdy dear readers. (Yes, I know I'm late.) The fourth issue of my supposedly bimonthly 'zine, The Hanging Garden, is available for your perusal and enjoyment.
Issue No.4 is a single-themed issue as it is 100% devoted to the description of the city of Swenstown in the mythical world of Glorantha. It features a kind of mini-sandbox with random tables, enabling the referee to use the city for 'urbancrawl' adventures, or as a base for your adventurers whilst they explore Sartar and/or Prax. The 'zine also includes a short scenario set in Swenstown and appropriately titled Swenstown's Sour Secrets. It is quite dark and adult and, as a result, may not be to everyone's taste. I GM'd it twice for two different gaming groups, and it was well-received both times, despite some unsavoury elements.
I have tried and kept the rules-y parts to a minimum. Whatever stats are present are for RuneQuest: Adventures in Glorantha, and they can be easily converted to other D100-based FRP games or even to other Old School systems.
Well, anyway. Feedback and comments are welcome, as usual. Cheers!
Issue No.4 is a single-themed issue as it is 100% devoted to the description of the city of Swenstown in the mythical world of Glorantha. It features a kind of mini-sandbox with random tables, enabling the referee to use the city for 'urbancrawl' adventures, or as a base for your adventurers whilst they explore Sartar and/or Prax. The 'zine also includes a short scenario set in Swenstown and appropriately titled Swenstown's Sour Secrets. It is quite dark and adult and, as a result, may not be to everyone's taste. I GM'd it twice for two different gaming groups, and it was well-received both times, despite some unsavoury elements.
I have tried and kept the rules-y parts to a minimum. Whatever stats are present are for RuneQuest: Adventures in Glorantha, and they can be easily converted to other D100-based FRP games or even to other Old School systems.
Well, anyway. Feedback and comments are welcome, as usual. Cheers!
11 November 2015
Classic RuneQuest Reprint
As revealed at The Kraken, Chaosium is going to re-publish the classic 2nd edition of RuneQuest as a hardback in 2016, to celebrate Glorantha's 50th anniversary. The first images have been leaked to the G+ RQ2 community:
And, for an old grognard like me, it is a dream come true!
And, for an old grognard like me, it is a dream come true!
06 November 2015
Random Dragon Pass Wilderness Generator
This Random Dragon Pass Wilderness Generator is a hack of รric Nieudan's own more generic classic fantasy random wilderness generator.
What you need:
- A standard 52-card deck with French suits (♠♥♦♣); remove the jokers and the 2's.
- Dice.
1. Draw cards to make a 7×7 grid; leave centre of grid empty. The centre is your main point of interest (city, dungeon, whatever) and is up to you — see picture below:
2. Terrain the remaining 48 areas according to card suit; face cards mean there is a steading. See tables below:
| Terrain |
|---|
| ♦ plains or plateau |
| ♣ woods or swamp |
| ♥ hills or dunes |
| ♠ mountains or canyons |
| Steadings |
|---|
| Jack: village, hamlet or camp |
| Queen: temple, shrine, other holy place |
| King: tower, keep or fortress |
| Ace: town or trading post |
3. Encounters and events. For each card, roll d20 and compare to card value (Jack = 11, Queen = 12, King = 13, Ace = 14) on the main table below. Choose or draw another card for subtypes.
Variant: Use a d12 for step 3; use a different type of die in the light grey rectangle around the centre of the grid, see above; e.g., if the centre is a city (civilised) then use a d10 in the light grey area; if it is a dungeon (wild) then use a d20.
| Die | Civilised Encounters Die roll < card value |
Events Die roll = card value |
Wild Encounters Die roll > card value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Farmers ♦travelling ♣foraging ♥poaching ♠fleeing | ||
| 2 | Fishermen ♦working ♣mending nets ♥famished ♠building a dam | ||
| 3 | Merchants ♦caravan ♣lost ♥being robbed ♠loaded with gold | Ambush or trap | |
| 4 | Acolytes ♦preaching ♣looking for help ♥begging ♠on a pilgrimage | Impromptu market | Aldryami ♦elves ♣dryad ♥pixies ♠runners |
| 5 | Men-at-arms ♦mercenaries ♣soldiers at war ♥militia ♠recruiting | Freak weather | Dwarves ♦industrious ♣wise ♥hungry ♠curious |
| 6 | Ducks ♦assassins ♣traders ♥confidence artists ♠family | Blocked roads | Newtlings ♦scared ♣hostile ♥friendly ♠on a pilgrimage |
| 7 | Wizards ♦master & retainers ♣illusionists ♥necromancer ♠witch | Fire | Animals ♦herbivores ♣wolves ♥ pterodactyls ♠mountain lions |
| 8 | Adventurers ♦bruised & beaten ♣hostile ♥friendly ♠richly equipped | Flood | Monster ♦dinosaur ♣manticore ♥jack o'bear ♠minotaur |
| 9 | Barbarians♦in battle ♣on a heroquest ♥raiding ♠hiding from foe | Battle | Nomads ♦Grazelanders ♣Pol Joni ♥Praxians ♠Morokanths |
| 10 | Trolls ♦merchants ♣patrol ♥messengers ♠raiding | Ghosts | Spiders ♦hive ♣parasites with hosts ♥giant ♠sentient |
| 11 | Bandits ♦river raiders ♣on the run ♥hiding ♠carrying plunder | Country fair | Trolls ♦slavers ♣Zorak Zorani ♥Tusk raiders ♠cave trolls |
| 12 | Thieves ♦street thugs ♣running from the law ♥spies ♠burglars | Chaos nest | Bandits ♦pirates ♣folk heroes ♥highwaymen ♠mercenaries |
| 13 | Dragonewts ♦ambassadors ♣warband ♥mercs ♠travelling | Siege | Humanoids ♦baboons ♣centaurs ♥satyrs ♠wind children |
| 14 | Plague | Thanes ♦visiting ♣prisoners ♥at a wedding ♠travelling | |
| 15 | Undead ♦wraiths ♣vampires ♥zombies ♠ghouls | ||
| 16 | Chaotic ♦broo ♣dragon snail ♥ogres ♠scorpion men | ||
| 17 | Lycanthropes ♦Elurae ♣tusk brothers ♥wolfbrothers ♠tiger sons | ||
| 18 | Abomination ♦gargoyle ♣basilisk ♥walktapus ♠cockatrice | ||
| 19 | Elemental ♦gnome ♣salamander ♥undine ♠sylph | ||
| 20 | Special ♦cultists ♣demon ♥magical sheep ♠sky bulls |
As always, I welcome any feedback for improvement.
18 October 2015
Random Sartarite Name Generator
| Art © Dario Corallo |
We assume the sex of the NPC has already been determined, else D6: 1-3: Female, 4-6: Male.
| D20 | Name Type |
|---|---|
| 1 | one-syllable name (please make it up) |
| 2-10 | two-part name with initial + final elements (roll below) |
| 11-16 | three-part name with initial + middle + final elements (roll below) |
| 17-18 | four-part name with initial + middle + final elements + suffix (roll below) |
| 19-20 | three-part name with initial + final elements + suffix (roll below) |
D100 Male Initial Element
1-3 An-
4-6 Ar-
3-9 Bro-
10-12 Caras-
13-15 Dang-
16-18 Derd-
19-21 Eo-
22-24 Ern-
25-27 Far-
28-30 For-
31-33 G-
34-36 Ga-
37-39 Gar-
40-42 Har-
43-44 Hen-
45-46 Heort-
47-49 Hof-
50-52 Jar-
53-55 Kal-
56-58 Kan-
59-61 Kor(o)l-
62-64 Min-
65-67 O-
68-70 Orl-
71-73 Rakel-
74-76 Rast-
77-79 Sali-
80-82 Sar-
83-84 Sil-
86-87 Tar-
89-90 Ter-
92-93 To-
95-96 Vad-
98-100 Ven-
D30 Male Middle Element
1-2 -al-
3-4 -am-
5-6 -an-
7 -as-
8-9 -d- before a consonant / -dr- before a vowel
10 -dangh- before a consonant / -dangy- before a vowel
11 -g- before a consonant / -gr- before a vowel
12 -gh- before a consonant / -gy- before a vowel
13 -h- before a consonant / -y- before a vowel
14 -kal-
15 -ki-
16 -kin-
17 -ma- before a consonant / -m- before a vowel
18 -n-
19 -nel-
20 -o-
21 -ol-
22 -on-
23 -or-
24 -orl-
25 -os-
26 -ri-
27 -rob-
28 -st-
29-30 -v-
D30 Male Final Element
1 -akt
2 -al
3 -an
4-5 -ar
6 -arg
7-8 -arl
9 -arm
10-11 -ast
12-13 -ath
14 -g
15 -ik
16-17 -il
18 -in
19 -is
20 -ist
21 -k
22 -lai
23 -ng
24 -on
25 -or
26 -rai
27 -rev
28 -sar
29 -tar
30 -tip
D20 Male Suffix
1 -alor
2 -aran
3-4 -d
5 -des
6 -di
7-8 -er
9 -f
10 -(g)ian
11 -in
12 -ing
13 -le
14 -os
15 -stan
16 -star
17 -ste
18-19 -(y)th
20 -var
Notes:
i. Siblings will often share the same initial element(s), e.g., Sil·kin·ist·er and Sil·kin·or
ii. Individuals with the Darkness rune or from a Darkness-influenced clan may replace one or several vowels in their name with a 'u'.
D100 Female Initial Element
1-2 A-
3-4 Ar-
5-6 Be-
7-8 Bre-
9 Bry-
10-11 Dar-
12-13 Dara-
14-15 Do-
16-17 Du-
18-19 E-
20-21 Ent-
22-23 Erin-
24-25 Ernal-
26-27 Es-
28 Esrol-
29-30 Grisel-
31-32 Ha-
33-34 Har-
35-36 Heort-
37-38 Inster-
39-40 Ivar-
41-42 Jar-
43-44 Jarnar-
45-46 Jen-
47-48 Kal-
49-50 Kel-
51-52 Ken-
53-54 Le-
55-56 Li-
57-58 Lis-
59-60 Lon-
61-62 Marer-
63-64 Mer-
65-66 Mor-
67-68 Natal-
69-70 Ondur-
71-72 Onel-
73-74 Oran-
75-76 Sartar-
77-78 Sen-
79-80 Senren-
81-82 So-
83-84 Soa-
85-86 Tar-
87-88 The-
89-90 Ul-
91-92 Vin-
93-94 Yan-
95-96 Ye-
97-98 Yor-
99-100 Yr-
D20 Female Middle Element
1 -g-
2 -gan-
3-4 -i-
5 -in-
6 -is-
7 -kal-
8-9 -l-
10 -lan-
11 -mel-
12 -nal-
13 -ne-
14 -noth-
15-16 -r-
17 -ra-
18 -re-
19 -sul-
20 -vu-
D30 Female Final Element
1 -a
2-3 -d
4-5 -da
6 -ea
7 -een
8 -en
9 -eth
10 -ga
11 -ia
12 -in(a)
13 -is(sa)
14 -ka
15-16 -la
17 -na
18 -ne
19 -nt
20 -ola
21 -oth
22 -ra
23 -sa
24 -shi
25 -t
26-27 -va
28-29 -ynn
30 -yr
D20 Female Suffix
1-2 -ella
3-4 -er
5-6 -ina
7-8 -lla
9-11 -na
12-13 -nina
14-16 -rella
17-18 -rios
19-20 -ta
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