RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha.

[sbaldrick]

This is the report of the Runequest game that I play in. It was written by our GM. We never made it to our duel before we had quite the detour:

Last session, the players committed to a duel at the House of Death with their Clan Greydog rivals on Lawstaff day. In the intervening week, a strange famine struck the city of Boldhome, drying up the wells and rivers.

Meanwhile, the heroes heard strange rhymes from unseen people at night, and from strangers who denied having spoken them.

I am Orlanth, sleeping in my house
I am Orlanth, captive in my house
I am Orlanth, hiding in my house
Sing the old wind songs, and let me out

and

First the battle, then the plunder
First the deed and then the wonder
First the lightning, then the thunder
Water above, then water under

Today, then, was Lawstaff day. The heroes awoke early to the sound of the mysterious rhymes again. Following a guide bearing an uncanny resemblance to their outlawed god Orlanth, they came to the shuttered temple of Orlanth Adventurous. Strange lights were visible from the upper windows, and the Lunar soldiers patrolling the site were hurling javelins, trying to put out the lights.

Ambushing and routing the Lunars, our heroes gained entry to the locked temple and found it full of WInd Children, the winged, Orlanth-worshipping sprites of the high mountains. The Orlanth priest in the party sanctified the site again, temporarily, and the heroes engaged in the worship of an outlawed god on his seasonal holy day...

... and promptly found themselves on the God Plane. Famine-plagued storm tribe members begged for relief. Ernalda provided weapons to the thane who was Orlanth, and everyone sang songs of power, ate the Splendorbread, or drank the crazy black Widebrew.

A road of trials followed, including a battle with vengeful trolls, spirit combat with the wild wind Gagarth, crossing the Poisonthorn Acre, and ultimately battling the famine-dragon Aroka, who had swallowed the rain. Strangely, Lunar heroquesters tried to stop the heroes from attacking Aroka.

With the Lunars driven off, the heroes entered battle with the dragon himself. One bold Vingan, swallowed by Aroka, discovered a band of beastkind heroes in his belly: the Fifth Inspiration of Moonson, Woad the Living Wind, Arkat King Trollkin and his mount Yelorna, Biff the Death Lord of Chalana Arroy with his club Euthanasius, Furry Argrath the Ice Lord of Valind, and Eurmal the Cuddler. Lunar sorcerers had imprisoned these storm heroes by feeding them to Aroka on the God Plane, and by slaying Aroka, our heroes set them free.

Rain spewed from the temple of Orlanth Adventurous, ending the drought. One of our heroes turned blue and became a Rune Priest of the rain god Heler. Another gained skill with the klanth, the ancient ritual weapon of Orlanth, and all gained some strange gift from their time on the God Plane.

[Necron 99]

Haha, nice recount. Knowing nothing about RQ or Glorantha, it doesn't make a lot of sense, but, still cool to read.

I'm not gonna lie, though, it sounds like something you'd hear from the weird hippie guy in the tie dye shirt saying, after he's been on a trip.

[sbaldrick]

Haha, nice recount. Knowing nothing about RQ or Glorantha, it doesn't make a lot of sense, but, still cool to read.

I'm not gonna lie, though, it sounds like something you'd hear from the weird hippie guy in the tie dye shirt saying, after he's been on a trip.

From what I heard about the late Greg Stafford, the creator of the world of Glorantha, that sounds EXACTLY like him. He was a practicing shaman and member of the board of directors of Shaman's Drum, a journal of experiential shamanism.

[Necron 99]

Haha, nice recount. Knowing nothing about RQ or Glorantha, it doesn't make a lot of sense, but, still cool to read.

I'm not gonna lie, though, it sounds like something you'd hear from the weird hippie guy in the tie dye shirt saying, after he's been on a trip.

From what I heard about the late Greg Stafford, the creator of the world of Glorantha, that sounds EXACTLY like him. He was a practicing shaman and member of the board of directors of Shaman's Drum, a journal of experiential shamanism.

LOL.