This blog is dedicated to Gref Stafford’s Fictional World Gorantha.
Glorantha is a fantasy world created by Greg Stafford. It was first introduced in the board game White Bear and Red Moon (1975) by Chaosium and then in a number of other board, roleplaying and computer games, including RuneQuest and HeroQuest, as well as several works of fiction and the computer strategy game King of Dragon Pass. The Gloranthan world is characterised by its complex use of mythology, heavily influenced by the universalist approaches of Joseph Campbell[1] and Mircea Eliade, its sword and sorcery ethos, its long and distinctive history as a setting for role-playing games, its community development and expansion, and (unusual among early American fantasy role-playing games) its relative lack of Tolkienesque influence.
…this blog main mission is build knowledge and compile sources to help roleplay Glorantha by enthusiats, currently available by using 3 systems:
RuneQuest Roleplaying in Glorantha
RuneQuest Glorantha uses a variant of Chaosium’s percentile resolution system, Basic Roleplaying (BRP). Other games that use their own version of the system (to name but a few) include Call of Cthulhu, Magic World and Superworld. Six attributes (Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Size, Intelligence, Power, and Charisma) define a character, along with a culture, occupation and magical association. Skills are percentile, such as Ride (horse) 55% and Spear 45%, with combat resolved using opposed rolls. Armor points subtract from damage rolls, and hit points are mapped to body locations. A blow to the head can kill even the most experienced character – there are no Luck or Hero points to allow rerolls in this game! Along with its own line of products, RuneQuest Glorantha is backwardly compatible with our RuneQuest Classic products.
HeroQuest Glorantha
HeroQuest Glorantha is a free flowing narrative system. Characters are defined by three broad Keywords, Magic, Occupation, and Culture. These often have specific abilities broken out from them. A character with Warrior Keyword of 17 can easily ride a horse, but one with Trick Riding +1 can do much more. All rolls use a d20 and are opposed. There are Armor points or hit points, with the results of combat defined by a Consequence of Defeat, the worst of the four levels being Dying. Hero Points are the system currency that can be spent to improve outcomes (positively and negatively) or characters.
13th Age Glorantha
13th Age Glorantha is a supplement that builds on the Archmage Engine used by 13th Age. As a d20 game its D&D classes and levels will be instantly recognisable, with Gloranthan classes such as Orlanthi Warrior and Earth Priestess also available. 13th Age replaces the D&D skill system with backgrounds, so this book also contains specific Glorathan ones. 13th Age also has a number of unique features, such the Escalation Die used to enhance combat, and One Unique Thing that only the character possesses in the world.
