My friend Jane has said that I make "loadsa money" off of Glorantha. Truth be known, I make money on most of my "collector" types of transactions, but that is not so true for much of the rest of my involvement in Glorantha. Supporting Glorantha with a steady supply of gaming material is a business and if it is not run as one chances are that it will fail. I have never been one to shy away from the business aspect of supporting Glorantha. That is why my first character was an Issaries merchant, with some Lankhor Mhy spillover.
I regularly get requests to help Gloranthans find and purchase out-of- print and/or hard to find game material. Some of it has tremendous mainstream accepted value, such as a copy of Enclosure. Other times the buyer is after a set of Pavic Tales, which is more of a mixed case. It is certainly rare and hard to get a hold of, but it is not a wealth of playable material, It appeals far more to completist collectors than players or GMs. If 10 people all want one set of the fanzine, the way I I decide who gets it, without illegally photocopying it, is to sell to the highest bidder.
This got frustrating for me with the mainstream material, like the RQ2 Chaosium supplements. I got tired of seeing many players and GMs shut out of getting the material when the secondary auction market regularly put the average price tag for Big Rubble, Pavis, or Borderlands at about $150. Thus, I secured the license to publish the Gloranthan Classics series of reprints. They are basically the same price as the originals were originally sold for, adjusting for 20+ years of inflation.
I would be happy to do so with more material, but getting the rights from the original authors and/or publishers is not an easy task.
Please privately email me if you have any publishing suggestions.
PS: As for the Gloranthan group that most supports the open and free spreading of knowledge and enlightenment, that would be the Lunars. The are not an altruistic force for good, but they do believe in acceptance, growth, learning and change far more than almost everyone else. Most other cultures and religions are far more exclusive and conservative. That goes double for the Elder Races, and Yelmies too.
Thanks,
Rick Meints
Moon Design Publications
www.glorantha.info
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