CHA4028 RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha – Chapter 01 Introduction Q&A

Official Answers from Chaosium

This covers Chapter 1, pages 4-11:

Contents

    See also

    From the Editor’s Desk…

    System Crash

    Part of Rune Fixes 2

    As publishers of RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha, it’s important for us to stress some things that shape our approach to game development in general and Glorantha in particular.

    First and foremost, it cannot be stressed enough that rules are guidelines for the gamemaster and must occasionally need to be interpreted when a question arises. These rules aren’t computer code, throwing an error and causing a system crash. No set of rules can accommodate every permutation and interaction between the various sub-systems, nor should they.

    When there’s an potential conflict or unclear area, it is the gamemaster’s job to adjudicate, revising later if necessary. When in doubt, make a decision and move on.

    The play is the thing, not getting it “right”.

    Whose Glorantha is It Anyway?

    On a second and related note, the phrase “Your Glorantha May Vary” comes up a lot, along with its variation, “Your Glorantha Will Vary.” These phrases emerged as a response to the players who had the fear of getting it wrong, of somehow misrepresenting Glorantha in a way that wasn’t “accurate”, the way that its creator, Greg Stafford, and later authors intended.

    After 40 years of content development, there’s a lot of Glorantha, far more than anyone should have to try to keep in mind in order to run a game. This wall of content and sometimes complex rules can be daunting. There’s always a danger that big, detailed settings become monolithic, unchangeable, every printed word being treated as holy writ.

    So “Your Glorantha May Vary” is both an acceptance and an assertion, as is “Your Glorantha Will Vary.” This freedom to make Glorantha one’s own is so important to us that it’s emphasized on page 10 of the core rules.

    The upshot is that no matter what a gamemaster or player wants to do, it is perfectly all right and well within the realm of another important principle to remember, that of Maximum Game Fun, which is also so important to us that it’s presented even earlier in the core rulebook on page 6.

    Let’s examine two phrases around for the moment in the mind and approach the issue from another angle.

    We would like to propose that “your” Glorantha—the game being enjoyed by the players and gamemasters across the world—neither may or will vary, because for all intents and purposes, your Glorantha is the real Glorantha, and it’s everyone else’s Glorantha that varies.

    Once you start playing games in Glorantha, or even imagining it, it becomes yours to dream about, a playground of thought and myth and adventure that you can shape, alter, and evoke however you’d like.

    Your Glorantha is more real than anything you’re going to read about, even in print.

    Take what you want, change what you’d like, and make it your own. We at Chaosium and our wonderful Jonstown Compendium contributors can make suggestions about how we think things are in Glorantha, but ultimately your Glorantha takes precedence over anything we have to say.

    Materials (page 7)

    Rounding of Results (page 7)

    Do you need 21% or 30% chance (as a PC) in order to get a 2% chance of crit?

    Ability Results Table, RQG page 142 and GM Screen pack (screen, reference book or Players Pack): 30% Ability gives 1-2 Critical.

    Standard rounding rules (p. 7) would mean 21% (as it calculates to 1.05%, which would then be rounded up to 2% as per standard rounding rule), but the Critical Hit Table requires 30%.

    Similarly, does an enemy get a 2% crit chance at 39% (standard rounding rule) or 30% (table)?

    If the latter, why is a different rounding rule than the standard one applied for crits?

    Use the Ability Results Table on page 142 or in the GM screen pack (screen, reference book or Players Pack).

    If your GM allows it, you may use the Rounding of Results paragraph, instead of the Ability Results Table to interpret ability results and vary them depending on who is doing the roll in your game. You should agree with your GM beforehand 0, 1 or 2 decimal places. For example, in my games we ignore anything beyond eighths.

    Runes (page 8)
    Change
    Correction

    As Rune affinities develop and the magical potential of an adventurer increases, they become a Rune Master, eventually taking part in the great cosmogonic cycle of the Hero Wars.

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    Ideals and Motivations (page 8)
    Change
    Correction

    An adventurer without deep Passions or strong Rune affinities is always weak

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    Kinship (page 8)
    Change
    Correction

    An adventurer’s kin supports them against enemies,

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