It is claimed there was renaissance in RuneQuest in the early 1990s and Dorastor certainly is an item for the affirmative. Dorastor is a 128pp, perfect bound book with a cardstock cover which features a beautiful piece of cover art (Linda Michaels) representing the signing of a treaty between a Lunar envoy and Ralzakark, the King of the Broos. Also included is an A3 map of the region of Dorastor and Talastar, a 16pp handout for players giving travelers tales of the region. There is an excellent table of contents and good to very good artwork and maps. The text is well-structured, organised and clear with the designer adopting a difference voice with relative ease depending on the "author".
Dorastor is described on the back cover as a "very, very bad place" and the opening lines for the first main chapter on mythos and history gives some insight to this reputation.
"Gata, the first goddess, conceived and bore a son without a husband. This son, Genert, fathered upon Gata many daughters.... One daughter, Pela, gave her name to Peloria. This most-beautiful and generous of all land goddesses was taken to Genert to wife. One child of this union was a goddess named Dorasta, namesake and local earth goddess of Dorastor."
So this Genert fellow, whom the most important continient in Glorantha is named after has by his side this most beautiful land goddess who is his wife, his sister and his daughter all at the same time. How about that for a holy trinity? The chapter continues by explaining that earthquakes are caused by a local volcanic mountain range is actually a sleeping giant who is suffering from an uncurable poisoned wound. Apparently there is also a great Wolfbear that is also snoozing and when a hero awakens it, Dorastor will return to its former glory.
The very big event that put Dorastor on the map was the ritual of the Second Council who, through various rituals, created a god. This was sufficiently impressive that the Sun stopped moving in the sky for a closer look. This god, known as Nysalor, or the Bright One, ruled The Golden Empire for seventy five years resolving paradoxed through riddles, but was eventually overthrown by the western HeroQuester Arkat The Destroyer who named the Bright One as Gbaji, the evil god of deception. Since then Dorastor had 2,000 years to chaotically fester until the recent treaty between the Lunars and Broos has meant that the area is open for business.
Along with the history of neighbouring Talastar and future prospects for the region, the history chapter is followed by The Ihabitants, including the delightfully named and thoroughly xenophobic Hellwood and Poisonthorn Elves, the "evil, revolting, chaotic" Broos, the Spiderfolk, and the Telmori werewolves. Sounds like a delightful neighbourhood. The latter group are explained on some detail, apparently taking the role of "noble savages" in the land.
The next chapter is Important Locations and deals with those mainly along the thin line of the Lunar trade route. This includes Dorastor's Inn (yes, there is such a place) and Fort Wrath, ruled by Ralzakark's Lieutenant, Manslime. Other locations include the Dwarven built Bloodstone Fort, the Dorasta Shrine and the "zombie zoo" of Neverdead.
The Encounters chapter takes up almost 50 pages, and includes a great variety of challenges for even the most seasoned RuneQuest characters. Apart from the usual fare of ghouls, harpies, chaos spirits, cave trolls and walktapi, there is also some regional specifics such as the pathetic grayskins, the slime deer and the region of Rotground (which, along with Foul Vale, Spider Wood and Fort Slime are honest real estate markers). Special mention is given to the frightening and disgusting abilities of the party who grace the back cover, the Slime Broos. Their abilities should have your players curling in revulsion even as their characters are pummeled, shot, stuck and driven thoroughly insane. Finally there are various individuals of note, including the Dokat, Babool the Illuminated Shaman and, of course, Ralzakark, the King of the Broos himself.
The rest of the book mainly deals with Riskland, a low to medium powered campaign, with excellent notes on the community, its mores and a wide variety of NPCs. With several sessions of play described and clear options for further extensions, the campaign revolves around establishing an Orlanthi community (the Lunars have offered religious freedom and land in the region - how kind) and protecting it from the surrounding monstrosities, and problems within. The final pages describe in detail the Cult of Dorasta, the Cult of Telmor and the Path of Illumination,
It must be admitted that some of the NPCs in Dorastor are so powerful that the RuneQuest system creaks significantly under the strain. Indeed, it is to great credit to the designers that they managed to design a believable low to medium level series of scenarios in such a setting. In a nutshell, the mythos and history are rich, the cultures appropriate and detailed and the encounters are terrifying - all of which is exactly what the product set out to achieve. This is certainly one of the best items produced under the third edition banner and is a worthy and very cool inclusion to any collection. Become Illuminated!
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