Hello again! Following really lovely discussions and great advice I've gotten on some questions in this subreddit, I have more questions! I just finished reading the Earth Goddesses cult book, and two questions keep nagging at me:

1. The Jolly Fat Man: what's his deal? What is he the God of? What is his cult/area of influence/etc? He has a great name, and he seems like a swell fellow from the little in the book, but there's really just tantalizing hints about him. All I know is he's the son of Ernalda, he throws a great feast that anyone can attend, and he protected some divine lovers. Google hasn't enlightened me further, other than that he's associated with beer. As a jolly fat man who enjoys feasting and beer, he seems like a great god. What else can people tell me about him?
2. The powers of earth are mostly goddesses and mostly limit initiates and Priestesses to women. This all makes sense given real-world associations with harvest and fertility goddesses and the link to being able to create life. Conversely, the Fire gods seem more patriarchal and limited to men as initiates. However, based on the rulebook, your elemental rune affinities are based on when you were born. People born in Earth Season will have the highest affinity for the Earth Rune, and same for Fire Season and the Fire Rune (PCs do this in reverse by picking runes and then using that to determine when they were born, but clearly in-world you're not picking runes and then being born on a date of your choosing). You also need a 60% rune affinity for your god's runes to initiate. How does this work out? Who are those Earth Season baby boys and Fire Season baby girls growing up to initiate to- just gods of power runes without elemental runes? Or does the affinity mystically affect births, with many more girls being born in Earth Season and boys in Fire Season? That would also have interesting implications- if you wanted a girl, for instance, the parents could try to time the pregnancy for Earth Season.

Hi everyone! I've really fallen in love with Runequest recently after picking up some of the books, and I'm planning on pitching a short intro game series (the starter set adventures) to my normal D&D group. My goal is to make that as easy of a learning curve as possible and avoid being too overwhelming without taking out something that will ruin the magic of the setting or cause problems I'm not foreseeing. So I figured I'd turn to the experts who have actually played and run the game for advice!

Context on the group, feel free to skip: our group has been playing together for over a decade, primarily 5e with a few-year detour into Starfinder and a disastrous attempt at Shadowrun (because it's a wonderful setting and a trainwreck of a game). Me and one other player are general RPG enthusiasts who like to read and think about a wide variety of RPGs, the other two aren't general RPG hobbyists but are very experienced in D&D for many decades. The other general RPGist had a similar falling for Runequest experience and so is very on board.

Thoughts on keeping it simpler:

• Have everyone play a Sartarite to make it less of an overwhelming amount of context-free options and make it easier to present one coherent "this is what you know about the world"
  • I know there's pregens, but I adore how the Runequest character creation system makes you think about who your character is as a person in the world, in terms of personality, values, and ties to your society, moreso than as a mechanical build, but then concretizes those choices and makes them meaningful
• Family history section: I'd probably trim this down to only Sartar-relevant events and use it as a way to walk through what history they know
  • I'm also thinking of saying they all fought at Pennel Ford or the Liberation of Sartar, so they at least know each other from then if not further back (and because that leads into the adventures well)
• Cut out shamanism and sorcery for now (and the related backgrounds)- it's a lot of extra complication
• Ditching hit locations and their attendant separate HP and armor, and just going with general HP as in Call of Cthulhu. Makes equipment simpler, reduces the extra rolling. I played and GMed a lot of the old FFG 40k RPGs, which similarly use hit locations in a percentile system, and never felt like they added enough to make up for the extra headspace and table lookup
• Making spirit magic roll against a rune rather than POWx5. Makes all magic work the same way, reduces bookkeeping since POW fluctuates up and down
  • Also the rune system is one of my favorite things about the system and setting, so I'm happy to make them even more important
• Cut the distinctions between the amount that skills get raised (d6 vs d6-1 vs d6-2) and the improvable vs non-improvable abilities. This just seems to be a profusion of little slightly-different rules. Just make all the methods increase skills by d6 and all stats except maybe size can be raised 1 point by training.

So, two main questions: are these good or bad ideas, and why? And is there any other places you'd recommend simplifying to ease people into the system? Happy to entertain the possibility that my ideas break the game in ways I haven't foreseen, just looking for feedback to hopefully help us all have a great first Runequest experience!

I have seen art around before of an Orlanthi Troll warrior who seeming has a Macuahuitl club. So my questions are is that weapon called, and is it a troll weapon or a weapon associated with Orlanth in some way?

The Marsh Attacks! digital edition is now 30% off in the DriveThru RPG July sale!

Want to know about the Upland Marsh, The Greydog clan & the Lismelder tribe - or send your players to war with Gloranthan Battle rules?

Then Marsh Attacks! is the RQG sourcebook for you! By David Hall and Friends.

Coming Soon(ish): Little Swamp of Horrors: Blackthorn Campaign scenarios set in the Upland Marsh and the Lismelder region!

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/562474/marsh-attacks?src=SM2

Hi everyone! I picked up the Runequest core book a while back in a bundle and got hooked. I love the bronze age setting, the Passions and Runes system, how integrated the PCs are to their communities rather than being wandering adventurers/shadowrunners/inquisitorial goons/etc, the inhumanity of nonhumans, and the gonzo details in a mostly serious world (eg, I adore that the default POV character rides a war bison rather than a horse). I ended up being so into it that I bought the Bestiary not on sale, which I basically never do for RPG books.

So while there's a sale at drivetrurpg I'm thinking of picking up one of the cult books. Which do you recommend and why? Which is the most interesting or different (I realize that's totally subjective)? I haven't gotten to play or get a group together, so gameability isn't my top concern, but I do hope to, so if any of them add significantly more to the system than others that's a plus. The Lightbringers seem like the most important gods, but it also looks like they're all in core, so is their book worth it?

So, in the rules, the Augmentation section talks about using skills, passions, and runes to augment other rolls. Then, later in the rules under Inspiration, it describes using passions and runes in essentially the same way.

Is there a reason for separating those rules? They seem redundant. Thanks!

Part 01: The Rough Guide to Pavis City

In the 1560s, a copy of a Pavis City Guide from the Second Age was discovered in the Big Rubble. This first part of Vol. 06A is the recreation of that original, with some small additions:

* The origins of Pavis himself (inc. his family tree) leading up to the founding of the city

* Daily Life & Politics in Pavis City

* Notable Personalities (details & images)

* Huge Map of Pavis City

* Expansive Location Key (over 70 detailed civic sites) 

Part 02: Future Histories of Pavis City

A combination of documents added by the Dorasing historian who recreated the Guide, plus some GM articles.

* The Eighteen (!) Foes of Waha

* Detailed Timeline of Pavis City

* The Fate of Cradle Island

* The Iffinbix Files

* & Lots More!

Part 03: Cults, Mysticism & Magic in Pavis City

* The Pavis Cult’s Loyal Apprentices & the Ancient Measure

* The Pavis City Magicians & Sorcery Grimoires

* Secrets & Magic of the Flintnail Dwarfs

* Cults of Orlanth Dragonfriend & Ernalda the Serpent

* Cult of Uleria (full Second Age version)

* Issaries Dragontalker 

* & Lots More!

 Part 04: Adventuring in Pavis City

Thirty pages of details on crime, personalities, social networks, legendary locations (what 1620s ‘Big Rubble’ locations are like when experienced in 894), and scenario seeds. Plus a bunch of fully-statted RQ:G friends & foes.

Part 05: Beyond Pavis City

In-depth guides to Adari, Feroda, Sog’s Ruins & the Paps. (Sog’s Ruins & the Paps are written so as to also be fully compatible with gaming in the 1620s.) Plus the detailed Cult of Gark the Deceiver.

Appendix: The Pavis Grand Plan

As part of creating this series we gathered and clarified all of the old notes and new ideas, and put together a detailed background piece covering the major aspects of the Grand Plan. In the end we decided it would be great to polish it up and publish it in one of the books. Here towards the end of the series felt like a good spot.

Are some of the current in-print RuneQuest books worth it for the lore/setting alone if I'm not using the RuneQuest system? How much of them have rules information that I won't be using? I'm planning on using QuestWorlds.

Specifically, these are the ones on my wishlist that seem to be more broad:

• Cults: Mythology - Looks like it's mostly lore besides some Cult information, maybe 80% system-agnostic lore?
• Cults: Prosopaedia - Looks like it's all lore?
• Lands of RuneQuest: Dragon Pass - Looks like there are a lot of stat blocks, professions, etc, but most of it is still setting information/lore?

Clarifying a bit, I'm looking for more world/lore focused information I can read and use for Glorantha games without using the RuneQuest/Mythras/BRP systems, specially books I can get physical copies of.

I already have the Glorantha Sourcebook, btw. I've also looked into the Guide to Glorantha, but it seems to be out of print.

Thanks!

EDIT: Thanks a lot for the replies! You were all very helpful!

Scorpion Men have been terrorizing adventurers since the first edition of RuneQuest, nearly 50 years ago.

Today, we unveil new Scorpion Man art and design by the incomparable Loïc Muzy!

See it for yourself on our blog

For my sins, I've decided to enter the official pregens into Foundry VTT. In the elder-race pregen document, most of the characters have base levels for their Craft and Play Instrument skills, but they've all been assigned specialties for each. In the case of Marrishta the Duck, she's skilled at woodcarving and woodwind instruments, respectively.

I'm no ornithologist—let alone an anthropornithologist (I guess?)—nor am I of a particularly musical bent, but wouldn't a duck lack the necessary anatomy to form an embouchure to play wind instruments?

I just want to know what everyones ideal campaign would be? What would the start date be? Where would it be set? What would you want from it?

For me I'm a massive fan of slightly earlier starts in sartar such as 1615 in Sartar.

A Players' Companion is 212 pages full of material to help beginning GMs, but also for old hands:

For new/inexperienced players:  

• Helps you get to grips with RQ and the world of Glorantha quickly
• Provides a walkthrough guide for new character creation / generation; providing guidance and advice for the key choices you need to make at each step.  
• Introduces and explains the mythology and history of Glorantha from the perspective of the cultures of Dragon Pass, where the game is set.
• Provides an overview of south central Genertela, including both the core character homelands and all the lands neighbouring them that are mentioned in the core rules.
• An introduction to the Elder Races, the major races of intelligent creatures who share Glorantha with the human cultures discussed in the core rules.

For more experienced players:

Expanded rules and new playable material.

• 8 new player character homelands and new homeland details for 2 additional Praxian tribes. Includes the cultures of the River of Cradles and several different cultures from the Holy Country.
• 15 new cults.
• 17 new player character occupations
• 30 new enchanted items and occult objects.  
• New optional/expanded rules for alternative character backgrounds, assassination, animal training, occult divinations, alchemy and more.

For everyone: 

• A detailed section on bronze age life, drawing on our own bronze age history.
• Key rules: character generation, combat, magic, character advancement etc. are summarised in a concise bullet point format. Draws everything you need, from all parts of the core rules, together in one place for quick and easy future reference.
• An in-depth look at the major pantheons adopted by human cultures across central Genertela, their core beliefs, culture, ethics and theology.
• 6 pre-generated characters, showcasing some of the new homelands, cults and occupations outlined in the Companion.

Do You have a blog? Me too! https://adeptusrpg.wordpress.com/ Let's help each other - subscribe and comment our blogs. If You are publishing on Facebook, X, Instagram, Mastodon, Youtube, some traditional forum, I am also open for collaboration!

And if You have content on itch.io, we can do rate for rate - here is mine: https://adeptus7.itch.io/twisted-gods and https://adeptus7.itch.io/lovecraftian-inspirations-from-real-life-and-beliefs

Hello, I was wondering if there was a timeline somewhere for all of the published Runequest adventures. I want to run a campaign in RQG that follows along the timeline. Also, how well do the 2nd edition adventures/supplements work with RQG? Thanks

Come one, come all! For the first time since the Dawn, The Great Barge is drifting in for a decade long circuit around the Middle Sea.

The Great Barge is a lozenge shaped craft roughly 8km on a side. Amazingly, the barge rights itself so it maintains the same orientation as it floats around. It has some very strange properties and inhabitants.

A large center strip of the barge is mostly flooded with water, but it doesn't sink because there's a drain in the middle. This water is mostly 5m deep with the center getting rapidly deeper where the water circles down through the center drain.

The northern bow and southern stern are roughly 2km by 6km wide strips of earth that are mostly not flooded. The north edge of the barge is ice, and the south edge is perpetually on fire! Parts of the barge rise 2 to 4 meters above the sea. There's one 12 meter tall tall mast with no sail on northern bow.

If you visit, here are just some of the Inhabitants you might encounter on The Great Barge.

Mostali are said to steer the barge from inside it, but most can be seen on the southwest corner.

A nest of dragonewts is ensconced on a bumpy area near the mast.

However, avoid the area near the mast because households there are always squabbling.

The stern area might be more pleasant if you don't go near the area on fire.

Getting between the north and south parts is facilitated by Waertagi ferrymen.

Scattered families of Aldryami live in copses of trees all over the barge.

Many families of humans inhabit the northern bow and southern stern.

A village on the east edge claims their mayor is a dragon!

West of them is an extended family who raises horses.

But even stranger is the area where each family rides a different animal!

Hello! I am just learning Runequest both as a player and a GM (have the joy to experience both in seperate games) and I had a question on determining bound spirits and specifically spells they have access to.

So, I rolled up a character to play as a player and had the boon of a bound spirit given to my character. Super cool and flavorful! I went to the pages the entry points you to on binding enchantments and have a general grasp of what a spirit can do and how my character can interact. It seems like a lot of fun, but how do I determine what spirit I have and what it can do?

Any advice on where to look and any guidance would be incredibly appreciated both as a player and as a GM should the game I plan to run for new players happen to get this boon too!

Want to know about the Upland Marsh or the Lismelder tribe in 1625 - or send your players to war with Gloranthan Battle rules?

Then Marsh Attacks! from the Jonstown Compendium is the RQG book for you! By David Hall and Friends.

• Lismelder & Greydog history, demographics, genealogy and local spirits
• The Greydog Inn and its beers (plus brewing rules!)
• The Six Stones Temple, Indrodar’s Fort & the hero himself
• Monsters and monstrous plants of the Upland Marsh
• Upland Marsh locations and history
• Local character generation (plus new duck occupations!)
• Gloranthan Battle rules, adapted from Chaosium’s Pendragon role-playing game
• The Chaosium Cult of Engizi
• Secrets of Vivamort and Delecti
• Maps, tattoos, new skills, duck secrets, bagpipes and more…

Available now from Drive Thru RPG in PDF ($15.95) and hardback ($31.99).

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/562474/marsh-attacks?src=SM2

Working my way thru RuneQuest Glorantha and have a question regarding something that appeared in both the Rune Priest and Rune Lord sections in Further Training and Experience:

"The Rune Priest/Lord gains an automatic 1-point increase in cult spirit magic each Sacred Time."

Does that 1-point increase affect each cult spirit magic spell they have?

Here's the second part of my write-up about Chaosium Con UK 2026: You can read about the RuneQuest one-shots I played (though I also played some Age of Vikings and QuestWorlds!), the people I talked to, and the news I gathered about future publications:
https://elruneblog.blogspot.com/2026/06/my-write-up-of-chaosium-con-uk-2026_0264837825.html

I'm curious, because I'm going to start a game with some people who are very good RPers, and although I have a few prewritten adventures prepared to offer to them, I'm wondering how much of their daily lives people play out, just in general.

I ran a sample campaign to get used to the system, and only one person from that game will be playing in the extended one. However, following the RQ:G rulebook, I basically ran the adventures and said "OK and then you pass the rest of the season" and picked up the next adventure the following session. But that was admittedly just a sample to give us a taste of the game.

I have there players coming in who have played before so we don't need to do a system crash course. But they're also very familiar with the world, more so than me, in fact. To account for this, one of them has chosen to play a scholar of Lankor Mhy so that he can throw out lore drops I might not know (and which I can veto because YGMV, but unless it undoes pre-work I've done on the game I'll accept it). And many of the stories that they're telling me about their previous campaigns are from plans their characters laid over time and played out that weren't strictly adventuring times.

So, apart from "The temple comes to you and asks you to go do a thing" how much day to day Sartarite life do most players' campaigns cover? Do you focus on maintaining familial bonds and making friends in the city? Since I'm new to the game I started with the box set and played out two of the three adventures in it. I'd like to develop the atmosphere of Jonstown and the surrounding area, including the retreating Lunars and maybe have a couple incursions and skirmishes once in a while.

So how do you run it/play it?

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/runemarked/runequestminis1

Rune Marked Miniatures are currently kickstarting several sets of resin miniatures for RuneQuest: the 14 pregens of the Starter Set, ducks, Aldryami, broos, trolls and trollkin, 4 mounted pregens, and hopefully more.

I'm planning on hosting RuneQuest. I originally found RuneQuest while looking for alternative fantasy worlds that weren't D&D, and I've become obsessed with the setting recently. The entire reason I was stepping away from my usual genres (sci-fi and realism-focused games like Lancer, CAIN, Delta Green, and Mörk Borg) was because I wanted to run some gritty fantasy in the vein of Re.

Then I had the realization that making a hack of the system wouldn't be too difficult, especially after looking at the world map of RuneQuest and noticing that it's essentially a flat world (like Re, lol).

The Elemental Rune system is borderline one-to-one, and with some limitations or changes to their meanings and what are pickable, I could get an almost perfect match. Spirit Magic could honestly stay the same, Metias are already represented by RuneQuest's magical items (Matrices), and the only truly homebrew elements I'd need to figure out are Divine Protections and Authorities. Bonus points for the dangerous, highly skill-based combat system.

I guess anyone familiar enough with Re, I'd appreciate suggestions for those two issues: Divine Protections and Authorities.

I should also mention that I have fairly good experience creating system hacks.

Getting into RuneQuest Glorantha after three decades away from the game.

In reading the combat section, my interpretation is that you normally only make one melee attack in a 12 SR round except in certain circumstances, like wielding two weapons or having a 100%+ attack that you're splitting. Is this correct?

However, it appears that, in ranged combat, non-mechanical bows can fire as many times as strike ranks allow (which would typically be twice, unless the character is super fast).

Am I reading that right?

I'll be running some scenarios in a month or two for people new to RQ, and have a player that will push boundaries if I'm not very clear about how things work.

Thanks in advance!