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Since childhood, I have been in love with myth; so in love, in fact, that in graduate school I found myself learning Sanskrit and Greek to better explore them. It was inevitable, then, that I was drawn to Glorantha. For those who love Tolkien, there is Dungeons & Dragons. For those who love Malory, there is Pendragon. But for gamers who truly love myth, there really is only one world.
My love of Glorantha is a quiet one. I have only ever been to one convention, I don't have a web page as wonderful as Pete's, and over the last several years I have had less and less opportunities to indulge in RPGs. But every now and again, I take down some Gloranthan tome from my shelf and revisit for awhile. And yes...I always end up feeling better.
Yet this does not mean I instantly love everything Gloranthan. On the contrary, jaded by stellar products of the past (“Cults of Prax,” “The Big Rubble,” “Trollpak”) I tend towards being highly critical. So, after my immense disappointment with Mongoose's new edition of RuneQuest, I was not expecting much from Glorantha, the Second Age.
And boy, was I wrong.
THE REVIEW
As with my reviews of HeroQuest and RuneQuest, to make things easier I preface each section with the topic. If you come across an area you already know about, or are not interested in, feel free to skip it.
COMPATIBILITY
Glorantha, the Second Age doesn't contain even a drop of rules specific material. This makes it a wonderful reference for HeroQuest fans and those who prefer the older editions of RuneQuest (or any other system for that matter). Alternatively, it makes for a simple, pleasant read.
THE BOOK As a physical artifact, it is the most beautifully produced Gloranthan product I have ever seen. Hardcover, it features an evocative painting, and the new “Glorantha” logo (emblazoned over a bronze shield and two crossed short swords) is splendid. Inside are 160 full color pages. The paper is heavy and has a good texture. The book easily lays flat, and the spine is durable. The pages feature the same parchment style used in the core rulebooks, but it works much better in color than in black and white. Inside the front cover is a map of Glorantha, and again, it is one of the finest looking I have ever seen. The illustrations all correspond to the text at hand, and are without exception well done. Several area maps are scattered throughout the book.
GLORANTHA
It is safe to assume you already know what Glorantha is. But for those who do not, let me quote its creator, Greg Stafford,
“...Glorantha conforms to the mysterious and malleable laws of myth rather than the reliable, repeatable laws of science. Glorantha is not a globe. It is a huge cube of earth floating in an infinite sea, with one surface delicately exposed above the water. In its center is a gigantic whirlpool that sucks all the waters of the world into it. The sky above is a dome housing the sun, the moon, and stars. Beyond this firmament live the sky gods. Beneath the world, other, darker gods dwell...” Glorantha, Introduction to the Hero Wars, p. 6
From it's 1974 appearance in the board game White Bear and Red Moon, Glorantha has entertained and played host to thousands of fans all over the world. In 1978, it became the setting of the classic Chaosium RPG RuneQuest. Many consider this the “golden age” of RuneQuest, and without question Chaosium published some of the most extraordinary gaming supplements ever seen. In their series of Gloranthan books the world gained astonishing depth and breadth. Though the third edition of RuneQuest, published by Avalon Hill, tried to separate the RQ system from Glorantha with a series of generic products, it proved to be a costly mistake. A decade later, Avalon Hill was publishing Gloranthan RQ material exclusively, and added some fine material to the canon.
The apparent “death” of RuneQuest in the mid-90s paved the way for a kind of Gloranthan renaissance. Stafford sent out the call to Glorantha's loyal fans, and together we all became the GTA (Gloranthan Trading Association), helping to create a new company (Issaries) to publish a new game (Hero Wars). A new wave of Glorantha texts appeared as supplements for that game.
In short, the setting has been growing for over 30 years.
What distinguishes Glorantha from most other fantasy settings is that by and large it eschews the conventions which have become standard for the genre, or in the very least twists them unexpectedly. It seems a fantasy standard to begin with the a priori assumption that the world should conform to all the standard laws of physics which govern our own, save the addition of “magic.” I am not clear why this should be so; Middle Earth, which so many settings struggle to emulate, is a fantastically mythic world. Magic is often described in fantasy games in quasi-rational terms, as an “energy field” of some sort. Not so in Glorantha. In Glorantha, magic takes center stage;
“...Glorantha is a place governed by the laws of magic, not physics. Vegetation patterns exist because the gods put those plants there, back in the time when deities and men mingled in the everyday world. The world's terrain was shaped by divine action. Objects fall because the laws of magic decree that they should...” Glorantha, the Second Age, p. 3
Another standard convention is that the fantasy setting need resemble medieval Europe, with knights, and wizards, and feudalism. Perhaps because this is so commonplace, the most remarkable settings—like Glorantha, Tekumel, or Talislanta—do not. In its earliest incarnation, Glorantha was a Bronze Age world, with cultures resembling pre-Christian Europe, vedic India, classical Rome, and the ancient Near East. Instead of knights and wizards, we had heroes and temple priests. Later, medievalism and monotheism finally entered the mix, but these seemed to be peripheral things almost alien to the setting. Indeed, Glorantha's greatest medieval culture, that of the God Learners, was itself rejected by the mythic powers of the world and destroyed, throwing the setting back into the dark ages.
The final convention is that there must be Good and Evil in a proper fantasy setting, with races and peoples who embody both. But Glorantha...
“...is a world of clashing cultures, where good and evil are not always easy to sort out...no single one of (Glorantha's) cultures maintains a monopoly on virtue. Two warring cultures can be, from their own point of view, equally right—or equally ruthless and brutal...” Glorantha, the Second Age, p. 2
This applies to Glorantha's non-humans as well. There are no “Good” Elves and “Evil” Orcs here. Rather; “Glorantha's inhuman races follow their own alien agendas, as laid out from the beginning of time”(ibid, p. 2). All the inhumans of Glorantha—from the sentient plant men (Aldryami) to the voracious Trolls (Uz)–are just as likely to be player characters as monsters, and just as soon be enemies as friends.
THE SECOND AGE
Glorantha began in myth. Before time existed, the gods did as they pleased, and eventually fell to warring amongst each other. They nearly destroyed everything, cracking the world and letting the horror of Chaos in from the void. To save existence, the Compromise was born. The gods were bound, doomed to repeat the actions they performed in myth over and over again. The cycle of the God's War, from the idyllic Green Age (spring) to the death and destruction of the Greater Darkness (winter), is now endlessly repeated in the seasons of the year. The sun rises and falls just as in myth he rose to power and then fell under an assassin's blade. This is the foundation of the world.
History began after the first Dawn. The age which followed saw the mortal races struggling to adjust to world where gods did not walk amongst them. Thus, they tried to construct one of their own, an experiment which ended badly. In the second age, two mighty empires rose, and were eventually destroyed in catastrophic ways. And in the third age, people turned away from the high sorcery which characterized the previous era, returning to the more traditional worship of ancient gods and spirits.
Previous editions of RuneQuest, a well as Hero Wars (retitled HeroQuest for its second edition) have always been set in the third age, circa 1620 ST. In an inspired stroke of genius, Mongoose has decided to set their new edition of RQ seven hundred years earlier, in the midst of the second age. This accomplishes several simultaneous things: 1) it prevents the new RQ from stepping too much on HeroQuest's toes, as that game remains set in the third age, a world in many ways quite different from this one; 2) it explains the changes in the RQ magic systems between the third and fourth editions (for example, in the new RQ sorcery has become far more powerful than it was before. This makes sense, as the second age was the age of high sorcery, arrogantly turning its back on the ancient spirit powers and gods); and 3) it opens the door to deeply explore other cultures and powers from Glorantha's history, giving old-timers like me a fresh perspective on the world.
The downside, of course, is the loss of the magnificent Lunar Empire (adjusting to a Glorantha where no Red Moon shines in the sky takes a bit of work). But, the presence of the ambitious God Learners and the creepy-as-all-hell Empire of Wyrm's Friends is more than ample compensation. Author Robin D. Laws writes;
“In its glorious Second Age, Glorantha is the prize of warring Empires...The God Learner Empire seeks to crack open and lay bare the very secrets of the gods, manipulating them to their own ends. The Empire of Wyrm's Friends works to transform its land and people into a gigantic, mystical dragon, which will take flight and reshape the entire world...” Glorantha, the Second Age, p. 2
The latter agenda leads to a rather chilling quote on the following page; “The Dragon is everything. Soon, everything will be the Dragon” (ibid, p. 3).
THE WRITING
First rate. Glorantha has always been fortunate in drawing some of the gaming industry's top writers, and today one of those is Robin D. Laws. With a portfolio which includes Over the Edge, Feng Shui, HeroQuest, and Rune, Laws has distinguished himself not only with his flair for innovative mechanics, but a clear prose style which is both highly readable and easy to apprehend. The only pity is that he wasn't tapped to rewrite the core RuneQuest rules themselves.
Stafford writes sprawling mythologies and histories in a nearly academic tone. Of course, this is the charm of his work. One nearly believes he is describing a real world. Laws, by contrast, writes with the gamer in mind. Where Stafford occasionally meanders into the minutia, driven by pure love for his invented world, Laws seems to instinctively know what the gamer needs, and confines himself to that. For example, many of the cultures in this book come with a boxed text giving simple ideas on how to roleplay them, and one of the features of the location descriptions is a “Reasons to Come Here” section. As a text, I must admit I prefer Stafford's Glorantha, Introduction to the Hero Wars, but as a gaming resource, Glorantha, The Second Age is superior to its predecessor.
CHAPTER BY CHAPTER
Essentially, The Second Age follows to format of Glorantha, Introduction to the Hero Wars (published by Issaries in the spring of 2000), but with some key differences. First and foremost, this is the second age of Glorantha, so there are geographic, geopolitical, and even cosmic differences that must be addressed. For example, Laws reminds his readers that there is no Red Moon (yet) in the Gloranthan sky, and the impact this has on gaming. The God Learners and EWF (Empire of Wyrm's Friends) are center stage, detailed as never before. And in as much as it can be said of a cube-shaped world, the second age is more “global.” Previous third age materials have been largely Genertela-centric, concentrating on Glorantha's “main” continent. The world in that time is still recovering from the cataclysms which ended the previous age, and contact between distant lands is minimal. But the God Learners of the second age are a seafaring empire, with holdings and trade all across Glorantha. In a second age campaign, characters can move more freely around the world, and the book reflects that.
Here is an overview of the chapters.
1: WELCOME TO GLORANTHA: This is a bird's eye view of Glorantha. Some material repeats what long time fans have heard before, but there are additions that I feel make this version more accessible. For example, right off the bat Laws lists ten “Gloranthan Themes” that immediately give readers new to the setting a feel for what it's all about. From this point, Laws moves on to summarize geography, the calendar, and the cultures (human and inhuman) inhabiting the world. He discusses the nature of the Runes, and the forms of magic practiced in the world. Finally, he provides an overview of Glorantha's history and prehistory.
2: THE TWO EMPIRES: One of the key themes distinguishing this era from the future third age is “new ways versus old ways.” The traditional cultures of the world, which cling to practices and beliefs from the dawn of time, are at odds with the two new empires sweeping over the world. Time-honored forms of magic and belief are being systematically overturned.
On one side are the God Learners, a sprawling empire bound together by sorcery and faith. The miraculous appearance of the Abiding Book—the God Learner Bible—jump-started a new form of orthodox monotheism. Believed to be a direct revelation from the Invisible God, possession of the Abiding Book gives the God Learners absolute confidence that they have all the answers. They see themselves as the followers of the one true religion. To them “foreign gods are false gods, so there is nothing wrong with changing their myths around or taking their powers from them” (page 15).
But it is not merely religious conviction that makes the God Learners powerful; they are in possession of a terrible secret. Masters of sorcery, an analytical form of magic that views the Runic powers of the world as impersonal forces, the God Learners have also learned how to penetrate the realm of myth, beyond the normal space-time of the world. There, they are actually able to change things, rearranging myths more to their liking. As myth is the foundation of everything in Glorantha, changing a myth changes the world. They have not yet mastered this technique, however, and like Frankenstein their meddling in Things Man Is Not Meant To Know often causes disaster.
On the other side is the Empire of Wyrm's Friends, surprisingly the far more disturbing of the two. As long time fans know, the dragons of Glorantha are not mere monsters; they are immense cosmic beings whose unfathomable motivations are utterly alien to mortals. In this age, humans have unexpectedly cracked the code of the draconic language, and for the first time are able to glimpse what the dragons see. But merely knowing words in the draconic tongue changes you, altering your mind, your spirit, and occasionally even your body. An immense cult has risen, based on this principle, and it has come to dominate the central region of the Genertelan continent. The cult's plan is to draw enough magical energy from the land and its members to actually transform the entire empire—land and residents—into a great, immortal dragon. There is something deeply chilling in the way Laws handles the EWF: the only way to rise in power and status in the cult is to convert others, the more you convert, the better. And once converted, you are just plain “different”.
Ironically, two of the traditional cultures most threatened by the EWF—the barbarian Orlanthi and imperial Dara Happans—have been forced to join forces, despite being hated enemies. There is a kind of underground movement, the Old Ways rebels, opposing the Dragon Friends.
Laws gives a careful and detailed description of both these empires, with useful boxed texts for players; “How to Act Like a God Learner,” “What's Your Faction,” “How Do I Scheme,” “Why Do I Fight,” etc. He describes the histories, beliefs, and economics, with more than enough detail to bring these powers to life.
3: MAJOR CULTURES: This chapter describes the diverse peoples of Glorantha. Each section is broken into topics; “My Myths,” “My History,” “My Life,” “My Magic,” and of great use for players, “Why I Adventure.” Again, this is all familiar to long-time fans, and not quite as comprehensive as the HeroQuest Voices pdf available free from the Issaries website. Nevertheless, Laws does a fine job or revising the information, and the reading is lively. Newcomers will have everything they need to understand their character's background.
4: MAJOR RACES: The same care and treatment is given to the inhuman peoples of Glorantha: the Aldryami, Dragonewts, Mostali, Timinits, and Uz. I was surprised to find so extensive a treatment of the Dragonewts, who in previous Gloranthan materials are left something of a mystery race. But as draconic mysticism is integral to the EWF, delving into the lives of these beings was obviously necessary. Likewise, it was nice to see an expanded description of the Timinits, or Insect Men, who in this age are strong but nearly extinct in the next.
5: WORLD GAZETTEER: Now comes a long and detailed region-by-region look at the world. Topics such as local geography, politics, commerce, magic, and leadership are all covered for each area. In addition is a “Reasons to come here” section for each, extremely valuable to players and gamemasters. The maps and illustrations are beautifully done. At the conclusion of this chapter is a description of the oceans, the visible sky, and otherworldly realms existing on the periphery of the mortal realm.
6: CAMPAIGN SETTING: SAFELSTER, CITIES OF INTRIGUE: The last chapter provides a long (32 pages) and detailed campaign setting, Safelster, in the region of Ralios. It is very well done, with enough plot hooks, intriguing characters, and locales to provide a sound foundation for a new campaign.
COMPLAINTS
In sharp contrast with the three core rulebooks, there is very little to find fault with in Glorantha, the Second Age . It belongs on any fantasy lovers shelf. However, here are the few areas that might have been done better:
1. Ralios? One entire region of Glorantha, the land of Ralios, is missing from the book. True, some of Ralios is detailed in the Safelster chapter, but it is absent from the gazetteer. Mongoose has released it as a separate, 40 page pdf instead. Presumably it was cut for space reasons, but it is absurd to think Glorantha fans wouldn't have paid a little bit more for a complete, 200 page book instead of a slightly less complete 160 page one.
2. Omissions: Some standard things are missed. For example, there is no mention made of Rune Metals, though bronze, iron, and silver (?) are discussed.
3. Discrepancies: Some of the material in the book contradicts previously released works, but this has long been the case with Glorantha books. I am reluctant to mention it as a complaint, because I have always felt these contradictions add to the realism of the setting. After all, real histories are themselves often contradictory, and the gamemaster is free to choose which version he believes.
CONCLUSION
After reading RuneQuest, the RuneQuest Companion, and RuneQuest Monsters, I was ready to dismiss the entire line. As one friend put it, “Mongoose has taken RQIII (3rd edition RuneQuest), broken it up into a bunch of hardcover books, and changed just enough to dodge any legal trouble they might run into for selling what is just basically Chaosium's house system.” That having been said, Glorantha, the Second Age has restored my confidence (somewhat) in a company which I have come to respect through their fine Conan and Babylon 5 lines. In the very least, it has earned them a second chance. This book is top notch, and lives up to the high standards of Chaosium's old RuneQuest products. Perhaps the best thing I can say of it, was that an old friend of mine who never cared much for Glorantha before was suddenly converted by this product. My message to Mongoose is simple;
You keep making them like this, and I'll keep buying them.
NEXT TIME... I am preparing reviews for "Cults of Glorantha" and "Magic of Glorantha." I should have them out by mid-January.
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