Just as a reminder, if you missed out on the Kickstarter, now you can Pre-Order the Guide to Glorantha and the Argan Argar Atlas. You can even pre-order Poster Map Sets (collections of maps in a 24 inch by 36 inch format or 12 inch by 18 inch). This offer includes discounted shipping and free PDFs if you bundle the Guide and the Atlas together. The Pre-Order discount is time limited until July 7, 2014, however, so go to our shop and order your copy now!
“Fantasy is not so much a suspension of disbelief as it is an acceptance of our own unconscious.”
Greg Stafford discovered Glorantha, but Glorantha has always been with us, lurking in our collective unconscious. Greg first came to the shores of Seshnela and the West back in 1966, and then traveled about with the Middle Sea Empire, discovering Teshnos and Pamaltela. His earliest maps may look a bit strange to our eyes, but no more than medieval maps of the lands of Cathay and Cipango.
above: Early map of the Genertelan West around the Dawn. Circa 1966.
above: Early map of Ralios, circa 1966.
In 1975, Greg first learned of the Hero Wars, the war between the White Bear and the Red Moon. His travels through Dragon Pass were remarkably accurate, although his maps of the Lunar Empire and beyond were still filled with rumor, lies, and error.
above: Early map of the Lunar Empire, circa 1975.
In the nearly 40 years that followed, Greg, accompanied by an intrepid and ever-changing band of adventurers, explored Glorantha fully. They traveled into the Sky Dome, and accompanied the Cradle in its voyage down Magasta’s Pool to the Underworld. They learned the deep history of the empires before the rise of the Lunar Empire, accompanied Harmast on his Lightbringers’ Quest, and circumnavigated the world with Harrek the Berserk and Argrath Dragonlord. The forbidden secrets of the God Learners were stolen, the blasphemies of the Empire of the Wyrms Friends revealed. A thousand of pages or so were published; but tens of thousands of pages of notes, maps, sketches, and stories sat in file cabinets, old hard drives, and in tubes.
Decades of Greg’s work might have remained there, until Kickstarter allowed us to fight the battle of I Pledged, We Won.
The result is the Guide to Glorantha. A huge, oversized (as in 10 inch by 12 inch, instead of the normal 8.5 inch by 11 inch), lavishly illustrated encyclopedia of dreams, fantasy, and even the occasional nightmare. At 800 pages, it is so big we had to divide it into two volumes. At 12 pounds (6 kilograms), it is so huge that we worry about its impact on Earth’s rotational cycle.
The Guide to Glorantha is not just a roleplaying product – if indeed it even is truly a roleplaying product at all (it contains no stats, no rules, and no scenarios). It is a complete encyclopedia of a fictional universe, with history, mythology, cultures, maps, demographics, cosmology, and far far more. It is a remarkable undertaking and a fitting tribute to Greg’s life work.