<< To avoid the massive reprinting of old RQ materials (aka the Kyger Litor syndrome), why not focus on a new area of Glorantha instead of the Dragon Pass region? >>
I doubt this is very likely. For one thing, anyone changing over from RQ3 to GtG is going to want at least the rules for the cultural area they play in. Dragon Pass is the most popular, and so a logical place to start. I am assuming here (and I may be wrong) that details of culture will be a central feature of the rules, and that the rules for, say, Orlanthi, won't be easily summarised in a few lines in the character generation section of the rulebook and will need to be discussed at some length. If the rulebook is anything like the one for the current edition of Pendragon, it will have to be 'built' around a particular culture, and I can't honestly see that that will be anything other than Dragon Pass Orlanthi - and probably the Colymar at that.
<<Peloria might be a good region to start with, one which has had much written about it lately but has not been adequately explored through gaming sources. >>
I'm not sure I agree with this. Most of Peloria does not have great potential for adventuring, because it's so damn safe from outside threat and society is still pretty regimented and misogynist for all that the Lunars are trying to change things. Sure, there are great political style plots you could run there, and you can get round the limitations, but as the first setting to be described? Doesn't feel right to me.
OTOH, using Tarsh or even some of the other provinces such as Aggar or Holay might work.
<< Balazar might be a good area to reopen (Return to Griffin Mountain?), even
though it has become a Blank Land (this status could be revoked, certainly?)
>>
According to a previous post on this Digest (ages back; I can't remember who it was from) Greg didn't realise it was a Blank Land until somebody pointed it out to him at a Con. So, revoking that status seems not impossible ;-). OTOH, they'd still be reprinting old stuff so that isn't really avoiding Kyger Litor syndome is it? In fact, if anything, there is rather more 'official' gaming stuff for Balazar than there is for Sartar (excluding KoS as a non-gaming supplement).
<< Any other likely regions? >>
The Holy Country might be good; although it might be too varied for a starting area if each culture needs to be described in some depth for the rules to work, or if Chaosium/Issaries wants to start off with a relatively simple setting (as with Salisbury in Pendragon).
Other regions that might work as a starting setting include Fronela and Ralios, but I don't either is very likely. Personally, I think they'll pick Sartar. It won't involve all that much in the way of reprinting - most of the existing official stuff is actually for Prax. Okay, so they'll have to do all the cults again, but the Sartarite versions aren't identical to the Praxian ones IIRC.
If you're producing a new Gloranthan game, some reprints are unavoidable. So long as there's significiant new stuff in with them, I don't think we should complain too much under the circumstances. If the books were to continue referring you back to out-of-print Avalon Hill sources, you wouldn't exactly pick up many new players, now would you?
Forward the glorious Red Army!
Trotsky
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