Sandy on scenarios:
>The dark side is that the scenarios are often _very_
>specific as to locale, type of party, local politics, etc. to the
>point that it is ten times harder to fit it into (say) the East
>Isles than even BORDERLANDS would be...I don't mind the good writing.
>I do mind the unusability of the scenarios, to the point that more
>and more often, PCs are provided with the scenarios, because even
>the authors realize that no conventional campaign will be able to
>shoehorn their party into it.
Sandy hits the nail right on the head when it comes to writing scenarios for a wide audience rather than for a personal campaign. Finding convincing rationales to get existing PCs into a good Gloranthan plot can be difficult, because the richness world of Glorantha, and the depth of the background (we should be a long way from "You all gather at the Beer & Brawl for another night on the turps, when a mysterious stranger approaches the party's table..."*). Nevertheless, those of us who still attempt to write scenarios for the wider audience should still try: one of the key reasons why RQ3 never took off after its release was that there was bugger all *new* stuff to play (see Tales #5), and not everyone is prepared to or has the time to invent cunningly fiendish plots to confound the PCs week after week.
One of the reasons why I put my 'Beyond the Wall' scenario in Esrolia rather than the West was so that existing PCs from the traditional areas of RQ could get in on the action (beats somehow transporting your mixed bag of Sartarites to Seshnela for a one-off scenario). My bit in Strangers in Prax is perhaps less successful, as you've gotta be a anti-Lunar rebel to take part (then again, it'd be pretty difficult to get a party of Lunars on the good guys side of the Cradle...).
Unfortunately, some of the best scenarios I've ever been involved in both as player and GM are so specifically tied to characters and events that they could never be written for a wide audience.
*As a rule, our gaming group will bloodymindedly ignore or attack wilfully glaringly obvious plot devices!
Keeps those scenarios, cameos and Holiday Gloranthas coming!
MOB
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