From: Roger Nolan (Roger.Nolan@Symbian.com)
Date: Fri 07 Jul 2000 - 02:44:49 EEST
> In my defense, all my RQ2 & 3 is locked up in storage in the UK whilst I
> rebuy duplicates on ebay during my ex-pat exile in Japan; anyone know of a
> copy of G:CotHW for sale?
- -..and I've just been reading through my new Wyrms Footnotes. One of my
favorite pieces in this is the D&D stats at the back. This got me thinking
about how Glorantha evolves and how much it is shaped by the rules system.
I have no real idea about the original Chaosium house campaign but, I'd
there was less social interaction and a lot more 7th level fighters with 7
league boots and bags of holding - maybe even dungeons full of Orcs (sorry
Broos).
Then with RQ1&2, most people got really gritty, Glorantha was suddenly
centered on Prax and full of people scrabbling around for weapons to fight
Chaos, having their armour fall off at inoportune moments. Luckily everyone
had healing 6 and Geos to get over it all afterwards.
Suddenly Cults of terror is relased and the Chaos monsters get really nasty.
Our only defense lies in the pages of CoP - and a million 14 year old boys
fill the world with Storm Bulls and Humakti.
RQ3 and suddenly the world is invaded by these weirdos from the west, is the
old D&D guys back again? They certainly have spell books and huge INTs. But
they're not the real baddies - look, the Lunar empire has depth, it seems
they are the real baddies and the Trolls are our friends - sortof....
Now we have Hero Wars and Gloranth is full of Heroes. Everyone is
professional all of a sudden and worried about their big plan for the end of
the world. People have Wealth and followers not a few clacks and nowhere to
sleep tonight. The gods are even more important but, beacuse of the naritive
and social focus we're trying to put depth into Glorantha's every day life -
this is difficult because of the magic. It kindof unbalances houshold
chores. How long before we see Orlanth Hooverup with an affinity for tidying
the stead?
My point? Well I don't really have one, this is the way of the world and
games. I also realise that this is probably getting cause and effect the
wrong way round. I imagine Greg wasn't happy with the restrictions placed on
Role Playing in Glorantha so we get RQ1. Similarly, HQ is designed to change
people's focus on Glorantha and, the focus on the non-heroic details of
Gloranthan life has been going on here long before HW was released.
If I had to make a point, I'd say that we're all too concerned with gods
like Urox and the Storm Bull because the games systems of the day (and
information available) made them more relevant to most people's games than
they really are in Glorantha. I know I make this mistake. Read back through
the archives how annoyed were we that a god/major spirit worshiped by a few
outcasts and lunatics wasn't in the main rulebook. I also have to constantly
remind myself that Humakt is the _God of Death_. Anyone who worships him has
got to be seriously strange.
Whatever, back to work
rog
------------------------------
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.7 : Fri 13 Jun 2003 - 21:55:41 EEST