Right now much of North America is having a pretty severe cold snap. Where I live, all the passes over the Rockies were at least temporarily closed this morning. Which had me…
Month: January 2024
Trolls in Dragon Pass
After humans, trolls are the most numerous sentient species in Dragon Pass, although they live primarily on the edges of the area. There are some 70,000 trolls in Dragon Pass – mostly…
Central Genertela Map Overview
I often play around with putting different maps together in order to get a better feel for how Glorantha works. This is one of my favorite composite maps – it nicely shows…
Notes on the Big Rubble
The Big Rubble covers about 25 square km. With 6100 inhabitants, that’s almost 250 inhabitants per square km or 2.5 per hectare. In comparison, New Pavis with 28 hectares has 5150 inhabitants…
Notes on Balastor’s Barracks
I personally hate the graphic design of Balastor’s Barracks – that old school dungeon intended to fill up a single page – but I do think there is something LIKE it at…
Prax and the Wastes
Prax is the more fertile part of the Wastelands, although to outsiders even Prax is pretty inhospitable. There are stretches of scrubland in the Wastes that can support herds, and there are…
Notes on New Pavis and the Big Rubble
There are over 25,000 human inhabitants of Pavis County – that’s the broad fertile valley in the northern River of Cradles. Most of them are farmers of Sartarite origins who settled between…
Startar and Prax Overlap
It’s a little over 40 km from Swenstown to the Dead Place or Moonbroth and maybe 65 km from Swenstown to the Block. Not that is not all that far. That transition…
Esrolian Matriarchy
A few thoughts on the nature of the Esrolian matriarchy. As the core rules says, Orlanthi view men as emotional, often violently passionate, and women as more practical and vengeful. In a…
Visualising Gloranthan Societies
I like to think of mortal Gloranthan societies as being made of clusters of temples, with links to their associates. Some cults – like Orlanth and Ernalda – end up with big…
Notes on Belintar IV
For nearly three centuries, Belintar was the God-King of the Holy Country. Belintar defeated and slew the Only Old One, cast him down, and received acknowledgement from all the major cults of…
Lunar generals circa 1610
So why did someone like Sor-eel get the command to conquer Prax? Well lets start by looking at the main Lunar generals circa 1610: Fazzur Wideread. He’s a provincial warleader, successfully invaded Hendrikiland…
What is a Thane?
The word “thane” means “martial companion,” although an older version of their name means “horse men,” denoting their status. The title is sometimes transliterated to “lord” particularly in older RuneQuest documents. Thanes…
Notes on Sor-eel the Short
We often underestimate how significant a figure Sor-eel the Short is. A member of the Eel-arish clan, he is the nephew of Farangold, which makes him the maternal cousin of Jar-eel the…
Army Recruitment
Most Gloranthan armies are recruited in the following ways: Tribal militia. Members of the local community perform military service as part of belonging to the community. Among the Sartarites and Praxians, this is…
The Night Caravan
The Night Caravan (more commonly called the Night Train or the Argan Argar Chain) is the Argan Argar insect caravans that travel across Genertela at night. They bring goods, insects, and trolls…
Notes on Halikiv
Halikiv is just to the west of Dragon Pass, but it is easier to get there from southwest Peloria, as the Skyreach Mountains are pretty near impassable. From Aggar, there are a…
Communication between Peloria and Ralios
So how much communication is there between Peloria and Ralios (or Dragon Pass and Ralios)? The Western Rockwoods (and their associated ranges the Mislari and Nidan Mountains) are a high mountain range,…
RuneQuest Styles of Play
One of the things that keeps me inspired about RuneQuest is that it supports so many different styles of play. One game might be about fighting in battles along side demigods and…
Corruption in the Lunar Empire
Is corruption a major problem within the Lunar Empire? Is this something the infamous Tax Demons would deal with, or would Moonson and the authorities turn a blind eye to such practices…
How Powerful is a Lunar satrap?
Within their domains, the rulers of the satrapies or sultanates of the Lunar Empire rule with inherent authority. They are not mere governors or administrators – they are rulers in their own…
Notes on Jar-eel the Razoress II
Jar-eel the Razoress can be difficult to get a handle on. Rather than think of her as a heroine, it might be easier to think of her as the Moon Goddess incarnated…
Dragon Pass Encounters
Stuck for what to encounter and want a Dragon Pass randomizer? Just roll a D20:
GMing RuneQuest #2
Here’s another tip that might help in GMing RQ games. Remember that RQ combat, unlike D&D or most computer games, is not attritional. Once a combatant strikes a good blow that gets…
GMing RuneQuest #1
A few tips for GMing RuneQuest: Addendum