Skip to content
The Well of Daliath
Menu
Menu

Casting Rune Magic

Posted on April 7, 2025

When you cast Rune spell like Lightning, several key things occur:

Channeling Orlanth’s Power:

The lightning bolt that streaks from your hands isn’t the result of your personal power or knowledge—it’s Orlanth’s. In Glorantha, Rune magic taps directly into the nature and power of a god. Orlanth wielded lightning in the timeless myths of the God Time to strike down his foes. By casting this spell, you’re borrowing a fragment of that divine power, not generating it yourself.

Invoking the Hero Plane:

The Hero Plane acts as a bridge between the mortal world you inhabit (the Mundane World) and the divine realm where Orlanth resides (the Gods World). When you cast Lightning, you momentarily align yourself with Orlanth’s mythic actions, opening a temporary conduit through the Hero Plane. This isn’t a full heroquest where you physically travel to another realm, but a ritualistic echo—a “mini-heroquest”—that lets divine energy flow through you.

Manifesting in the Mundane World:

Once that power crosses the Hero Plane, it takes form in the physical world as a crackling bolt of lightning. To those around you, it might look like you’re briefly touched by the divine—perhaps your voice booms like thunder, or the air around you hums with electric energy. This is Orlanth’s power made real, filtered through your mortal form.

This process reflects how Glorantha’s planes of existence are deeply interconnected:

Gods World: This is the eternal realm where Orlanth exists in his purest form, bound by the Cosmic Compromise. This agreement prevents gods from acting directly in the Mundane World, but they can influence it through worshippers like you. When you cast Lightning, you’re acting as Orlanth’s proxy, bringing his power into a world he can’t touch himself.

Hero Plane: Think of this as the intermediary space where myths come alive. It’s where mortals and gods meet, and every Rune spell taps into it briefly. For Lightning, the Hero Plane lets you step into Orlanth’s mythic role as the storm god, even if just for a moment.

Mundane World: This is the temporal, physical world where you live and fight. The lightning you summon doesn’t just harm your enemies—it’s a tangible sign of the gods’ presence, a reminder that the divine is never far away.

As the one casting Lightning, you’re more than a magician—you’re a conduit for Orlanth. Here’s what that implies:

A Spiritual Connection: Your ability to cast Rune spells depends on your Rune points, which measure your devotion to Orlanth. Each point you spend is like offering a piece of your soul to align with him. The stronger your bond (the more Rune points you have), the more of his power you can wield. After casting, you’ll need to replenish those points through worship or sacrifice, reinforcing your symbiotic relationship with the god.

Reenacting Myth: When you call down lightning, you’re not just using a weapon—you’re retelling a story. In the God Time, Orlanth’s lightning was a tool of victory and justice. By casting the spell, you echo that tale, making it real again in the present. This gives your actions a mythic weight, tying you to the grand narrative of Glorantha.

A Fleeting Divine Moment: The Hero Plane’s involvement is brief. Once the lightning strikes, the connection closes, and you’re fully back in the Mundane World. But for that instant, you’re more than mortal—you’re a vessel for Orlanth’s power.

This is part of what makes RuneQuest magic very different from in other games. At least for me.


Jeff Richard

Next
Previous
Gods World, Hero plane, Lightning, RQG, Rune Magic

Sections

  • Search Tips
  • Current RuneQuest Glorantha Publications
  • RuneQuest Glorantha Corrections and Q&A
  • Catalogue
  • References for Glorantha
    • Gloranthan Canon
  • Gloranthan Documents
  • RPG Systems & Versions
  • Gallery
  • About This Site
  • Get involved!

Latest Posts

  • Thog the Giant

    In 870, Thog the giant appeared with an army of …
  • The Nine Good Giant Mountains

    The Nine Good Giant Mountains are about 60 km or …
  • Why Most Sartarites Hate the Lunar Empire

    From time to time it is worth reminding people why …
  • Suntown and the Eiskolli

    Suntown has always been in the hands of the Sun …
  • A Few Notes on the Grantlands

    To the south of Sun County are the former Grantlands, …
  • Sartar Cities

    Sartar can be thought of a confederation of small cities …
  • Catalogue of the Gods revisited

    This piece from the Mythology book is among my absolute …
  • Thunderbolts in Art

    One of the things that really got me down the …
  • RuneQuest Art

    So let’s talk RQ art for a moment. For the …

Links

  • Chaosium
  • Chaosium’s RuneQuest RPG Wiki
  • Glorantha on BRP Central
  • RuneQuest on BRP Central
  • RuneQuest on Discord
  • Prince of Sartar Webcomic
  • Glorantha G+ Archives on Tapatalk
  • Search mailing list archive

Latest from BRP Central

  • Request of information: spying from above
  • Now on sale in Jonstown Compendium: Dine 'n Dash in Dragon Pass
  • RuneQuest Warlords. A Youtube Test
  • Whatever happened to William Church ?
  • Hunter character and spells
  • Slonta is not in the Prosopaedia?
  • MORE RHINOS! [Come on, you love this stuff too...]
  • More Heroforge
  • Copy of the Guide to Glorantha for sale on eBay
  • Gender in Glorantha

Popular Tags

Boldhome (large city) Chaosium Colymar (Sartar tribe) Contents Cult demographics Cults of Runequest (preview) Ernalda Esrolia (homeland) FRA Furthest (large city) G+ post Genealogies Gods Wall Greg Stafford Guide to Glorantha (preview) Humakt Jar-eel Lunar Empire Lunar Pantheon Magazine Malkioni pantheon Map Michael O’Brien Mongoose MRQ1 New Pavis (small city) Old Glorantha Q&A Orlanth Orlanthi pantheon Photo reference Population demographics Prax (homeland) RQ3 RQG Sandy Petersen Sartar (homeland) Spirit Cult Star Subcult Tarsh (homeland & Lunar province) Troll Pantheon Yelm Yelmalio Yelm Pantheon Youtube

Recently added or updated

  • Yanioth Work in Progress

  • CHA4034 Red Book of Magic – Chapter 02 Rune Magic Spells Q&A (N-Z)

  • CHA4037 Dragon Pass – Q&A

  • Erenava Chan

  • Vasana & Yanioth’s Apprenticeship

  • Reconstructing Slontos – 2nd Age

  • The Discovery of Glorantha

  • The Lunar Satrapy of Sylila

  • Ygg

  • Yinkin

  • Wakboth the Devil

  • Waha

  • Voria

  • Vingkot

  • Valind

  • Vinga

  • Everina

  • Grain Goddesses

  • The Grain Goddesses art preview

  • Slonta

©2025 The Well of Daliath | Design: Newspaperly WordPress Theme