Skip to content
The Well of Daliath
Menu
Menu

RuneQuest Battles

Posted on December 19, 2023

Thinking a little about the dynamic of RuneQuest battles. At the skirmish level, they likely resemble real world ancient combat with some added magical effects – more deadly weapons, ranged magic, the occasional mass effect spell like stacked Thunderbolt, etc. But we have the usual array of:

  • Light close and ranged combat, slow moving
  • Heavy close combat, slow moving
  • Light close and ranged combat, fast moving
  • Heavy close combat, fast moving
  • Ranged combat

But when we get to battles, things get different. Massed magicians can cause remarkable effects on the battlefield – even something as trivial as 20 magicians casting Demoralize simultaneously to break a unit. Get six Yelm priests casting Sun Spear, or six Storm Voices casting Thunderbolt, and formations break. And the Lunar College of Magic (and soon the Sartar Magical Union) know how to link dozens of magicians together to create much larger effects.

Add to that the presence of a Hero with a capital-H on the battlefield. Jar-eel can break through a phalanx on her own, and Harrek can route heavy cavalry without breaking a sweat.

And battle standards are sources of magic and power. Lose your regalia, and all the spells and morale linked to it is in jeopardy.

As a result, I think most large RuneQuest battles are far more dynamic and chaotic than historical battles. Regular soldiers are used to delay attacks on the magicians, and Rune Lords (and their companions) charge deep into the enemy line. Duels between leaders are common, as victory can break entire enemy formations.

So don’t assume it is going to look anything like the opening of Rome or Gladiator!

Artist, Lionel Marty

Is there much in the way of flying troops & Air elementals? Flight is a pretty powerful spell (3 Rune Points usually), so you might find it among massed magicians. Elementals happen all the time. Magicians unleash waves of elementals – Air, Fire, Earth, Lunar, and Darkness usually. I’d love to see a piece of art showing that! Heck this looks right:


Jeff Richard

Next
Previous
flight, Lionel Marty (artist), Photo reference, RQG Battles

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

  • Caravans II
  • Cult Membership
  • Creating scenarios
  • The Spread of the Lunar Way
  • Treasure!
  • The Puzzle Canal
  • Solars, Orlanthi, and the Monomyth
  • Orlanth Rex is the God of Tribes
  • Tribe and Clan Structure
  • Some Notes on The Dragon Religion

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

  • Pregen Regen 2025 Elder Race Edition
  • RuneQuest Elder Race Adventurers corrections thread
  • Out now and free for RuneQuest! Elder Race Adventurers
  • Out now: RuneQuest Adventure Tokens
  • Books about Heroquests
  • Teelo Norri's Role in the Ritual
  • Heler and War
  • Mastery, and other Runes
  • Gamara on the Wall.
  • Death Comes for Eiritha

Popular Tags

Boldhome (large city) Chaosium Colymar (Sartar tribe) Contents Cult demographics Cults of Runequest (preview) Ernalda FRA Furthest (large city) G+ post Gods Wall Greg Stafford Guide to Glorantha Guide to Glorantha (preview) index 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) Q&A RQ3 RQG Sandy Petersen Sartar (homeland) Spirit Cult Star Subcult Tarsh (homeland & Lunar province) Troll Pantheon Yelm Yelmalio Yelm Pantheon Youtube
©2025 The Well of Daliath | Design: Newspaperly WordPress Theme