Kakstan was a Dragon Pass artist who came to Pavis in 880 after the defeat of Thog the Giant. He was active until his death at the hands of the nomads in…
Latest posts
New Gods and Heroes
What is the difference between New Gods and heroes who become gods? There’s basically two things going on: Heroes that became minor gods: These all fit into the Compromise, as none display…
Boldhome after the Battle of Queens
After Kallyr dies at the Battle of Queens, there is no regent in Boldhome. There is a self-proclaimed High Council of various figures such as Erynn Mercy, Vamastal Greyskin, Erenava Chan, etc.,…
Update on the Playtest
Mike Mearls says: Hey everyone! Update on the playtest. Over a thousand people have signed up! That’s a lot! A lot. Wow, a real lot. That does mean that I am running…
Take the rules for a spin
Lots of chat and lots of speculation about the new edition in this Facebook Group. Mike and I aren’t going to answer many of your questions AT THIS POINT – and nor…
New RuneQuest?
The cat is out of the bag! Mike Mearls, Jason Durall, and I have been secretly working on refining and streamlining the RuneQuest rules for the better part of a year! The…
A vision of Sartar
For me my vision of Sartar is a cross between the Rockies near Taos or Humphrey Peak near Flagstaff with Tirol and Sudtirol. A few fleeting visions: What about the Highlands of…
Three-step Isles
About 600 km south of the Rightarm Islands are the Three-step Isles. Since 1610, this small archipelago has been the main port for the Wolf Pirates. With decent winds, it takes about…
Overview of 1626
Here’s a quick visual map of the events going on in the early 8th Wane, say 1626 to 1628.
Sunset in the Big Rubble
Sunset in the Big Rubble is a fearful time. Long shadows fall over the ruins. Although there are some faint lights of lamps and fires in the Real City, Mani’s Fort, and…
Notes on Cave trolls
Cave trolls, as we all know, are tainted by Chaos. They regenerate, are often twisted almost like giant, powerful trollkin, and have oversized eyes. And yet, most troll communities keep significant numbers…
Game Time in RuneQuest
One of the design goals in RQG has been to incentivize passage of campaign time. An adventure a season (or so), means that the gamemaster can let the setting develop, and have…
Getting Property in New Pavis
In New Pavis, only citizens own land and you need to own land to become a citizen. When the city was founded, Dorasar divided up the land among the settler groups of…
Home Economics in RuneQuest
In the rules, an ordinary free person needs about 80 L to maintain their status. This assumes a free household (person, one or two adult family members, a few children).80 L a…
Creating scenarios for RuneQuest
A few thoughts: Give the adventurers a reason why they are in the adventure. Maybe they are hired or sent on the adventure by a ruler or cult leader. Maybe their community…
Zero-to-Hero vs. Starting In Media Res
I’m a big fan of letting the players start with competent adventurers – and RQG (and indeed most games I work on) reflect that. This not only reflects the amount of sessions…
Making Sense of RuneQuest for Players
To really make sense of RuneQuest as a campaign setting, I think it is handy to give the players a short version of the monomyth and a little history. Not a lot,…
RuneQuest Campaign Styles
For the default setting of 1625, there are a couple of prevalent campaign styles I see a lot of: Exploration and dungeon crawls. Big Rubble, Upland Marsh, Snakepipe Hollow, Prax, and the Shadowlands….
Player Cults in RuneQuest
Someone recently asked me what my favorite cults are to actually play. You know for player characters in actual campaigns (rather than as NPCs or to speculate about in internet discussions). Here…
Not all magic systems in Glorantha are equal
Spirit magic is the easiest and most ubiquitous. In most games, the player just decides what spirit magic they want, and pays whoever it is that can provide it them up to…
Cults of Pavis
This is an overview of the cults present in New Pavis and the Big Rubble, and the local environs (mainly Pavis County). Don’t bother over interpreting the categories or the number of…
Notes on Spirit Cults III
Putting my God Learner glasses on lets me see that “Spirit Cults” are a short-hand for covering a wide range of practices. The first is as described in the RQG rules. A…
Cult Distribution in the Mythology Book
One of my absolute most-referenced chapters in the Mythology Book is Cult Distribution. Each of those tables gives me a quick overview of the culture in a region. Want to get an…
Dual Cult Membership
Most adults in the main homelands initiate into the deeper mysteries of only one cult, but continue to worship the associated deities and are often lay members of other cults. The cult…
Draconic Mysticism, the Void, and the Kralori
Just to expand upon my previous post with some bits from Cults of Terror: The Void is the mystic origin of the universe. This preexistence is said to be indescribable. “It is…