Last weekend I returned to the very first RPG that I owned: RuneQuest. With the exciting Kickstarter to reprint the Classic Edition of the game, I took to “rolling up” a character and seriously considering going solo with said resulting hero.
Following the rather stunning revelation via social media that, contrary to previous statements, Chaosium / Moon Design Publications aim to publish a new RuneQuest Glorantha book next year that isn’t based on RuneQuest 6th Edition, I decided that I might as well push on with this project using RuneQuest Classic Edition (and port it to the forthcoming RuneQuest Glorantha next year).
Why step back 35 years in my gaming?
Two reasons:
- By beginning to re-learn Glorantha through the Classic products, I get to digest and enjoy the world the way it first came to us.
- When ready, I can port it to RQ6 for improved playability and (eventually) to RQG in 2016.
The principle is to re-enter Glorantha as a setting through the medium of solo roleplaying. The solo aspect is because my home group are playing D&D right now, while I need time and play to get my head back into the essentially different world of Glorantha.
And the plan begins with a trip to Griffin Mountain.
Griffin Mountain?
I never played this classic supplement, or even owned it, before 2014. Back in the day, we moved on from RuneQuest long before I could afford such luxury products. But back in 2014, thanks to Moon Design’s “Gloranthan Classics” line, I bought into Griffin Mountain… and was immediately impressed! Back then, though, I was thinking of playing with the Hero System.
With the RuneQuest Classic reprint imminent, it looks like the information in Griffin Mountain is all the more useful as I try to grasp Glorantha. In fact, reading the essay at the back of the tome, I was heartened by these paragraphs:
“We chose a region that was, in comparison to civilized lands, a bleak and inhospitable wilderness… There were several good reasons to make the land so poor. First, when we begin new players it is easiest to do so in simple and straightforward surroundings, so that the players and characters can learn about their new experiences as one. The Stone Age people cautiously explore their realm, going farther and farther from their homes as they learn more weapon skills and magic.
Likewise, the new player characters learn more and more complex methods of play. They eventually graduate from hunting to working for the mighty citadel lords, who gift loyal followers with the incredible treasures of a metal sword, armor, and a horse to ride. Eventually, the player characters will be bold enough to brave the nonhuman lands where tougher monsters and greater rewards lie.” (pp. 248-250 Griffin Mountain, Second Edition, 2001)
But it was more than that: when I rolled up the character last weekend, I was reminded of the Balazarings. And that reminder nagged me all week.
Barbarian Balazaring
In truth, the one thing that threw me last weekend was when I rolled the “Barbarian” result for the character’s background. It turned out to be the most fortuitous of nudges.
Griffin Mountain outlines two areas, one of which is Balazar:
“A rugged and thinly populated expanse of land, Balazar lies between the Elf Sea on the north and the Rockwood Mountains on the south. Its grassy plains and grassy hills support many herds of wild cattle and other such animals. Local barbarians and prides of smilodon hunt the herds…
The barbarians of the area are the Balazaring tribe. They trace their descent from the legendary Balazar, famous as a leader of a Yelmalio legion during the days before the Dragonkill War.” (p.11 Griffin Mountain, Second Edition, 2001)
In short, as alluded to above, the Balazarings are at a Stone Age level of technology in a Bronze Age world. This appeals to me greatly – especially given my love of ancient history and mythology – and also offers a simple set of conditions within which to begin to play.
Thus, setting decision made, I turn towards fully constructing the character which I began rolling up last weekend.
Character Creation First
It felt “right” last weekend to use the standard “roll-up” rules from RuneQuest 2nd Edition to forge a hero. A week on, however, my stronger and wiser instincts have led me towards tinkering.
I’ve got be honest and say that I was really, hugely, relieved (and pleasantly surprised) to discover that the classic RuneQuest contains rules for building a character without random rolls. As regular readers will know, I’ve come to understand the wisdom of creating characters, not leaving such things to fate. That said, I also enjoyed the creative nudge that randomness can sometimes provide. For this solo game, it feels like the combination of random rolls followed by creative tinkering has formed a sweet spot.
My original rolls.
Reviewing the character from last week, the first issue I have is the randomly delivered Strength score of 6. To put it simply, he can’t even use a short spear with Strength that low. The rest of the basic characteristics I can work with, but the Strength is a hindrance. Fortunately, page 99 of RuneQuest (UK 2nd Edition, 1980) provides me with the following rule:
“[Alternate System] (5) assume all characteristics have a basic value of 8, then take 20 more points and assign them to characteristics, so that no characteristic is below 8 or above 18.”
Thus, I can legitimately raise the Strength to 8. Leaving all the other characteristics as rolled, I count 22 points across them, however, meaning that I need to tweak them a little. It’s not a problem to lower Size by 1, to 9, and still retain the bonuses originally earned. Additionally, lowering Intelligence to 10 also has a negligible effect. Problem solved.
Having established a basic concept, my next step is to squirrel myself away and flesh out the character in more detail via a Character Interview. Given that I’m an “Action Camp” player, I’m not going to go into the same depth as I did for Pyry in my first solo foray. That said, I do want to get “into” the setting a little more before I nail down too many details.
With the game afoot, I’m off to make a coffee and get stuck into full on character design. Wish me luck!
Game on!
Next post --> RuneQuest with Griffin Mountain, Part 2
I eagerly await the PC’s development. Does Griffon Mountain have special prior-experience rules, or are you just using the barbarian modifiers out of the main book’s appendix? or sending him on his way as is…?
Griffin Mountain has some Balazaring-specific skill levels which substitute the basic Barbarian skills. I will, however, send him on his way without prior experience – a new Hunter finding his feet.