<< The process you (and all of us) are witnessing is the long, slow, painful
death of RuneQuest and Glorantha (which will not survive their tortuous
severing)...>>
I really think its too early to say this. It *might* be the case, but given that Avalon Hill hadn't exactly been churning out Gloranthan RQ products for some years prior to the split, then if it *is* true, it would have happened anyway.
<< On a more serious note, it's pretty hard to mistake all the signs:
Can't say I've noticed that myself, but I haven't been to all of them, so I'll concede its possible.
<<- - Prominent digest personalities posting less and less (MOB, for example) or disappearing entirely (Sandy)>>
You're going to get this in any e-mail list over time. And there have been a number of new people posting with some regularity to the list (Julian Lord, for example). I admit that I haven't the strength to look back at a long series of Digests to see if the number of regular contributors has declined overall or not, but I'm not so sure its the case as you seem to be.
<<- - Issaries Inc. efforts floundering>>
Well, this is due to legal entanglements, and has absolutely nothing to do with the popularity of Glorantha or otherwise. If the game comes out and flops, then you'll have a point; until then, its just too early to say.
<<- - LARPS proliferating,>>
Sorry, but I just can't see how that can possibly indicate that people aren't gaming in Glorantha any more, one way or the other.
<< RPG campaigns dying off>>
No new official supplements have been published for some time and the game is pretty much out of print, so, if true, this is perhaps unsurprising. But you'll only be proven correct in your predictions if Hero Wars comes out and flops - and we don't yet know whether or not that will happen. That RuneQuest is dying, and that in the future less and less campaigns will use it is unquestionable (and somewhat regrettable) but Hero Wars may well stimulate interest in Glorantha again, and bring a number of new players in. Or it may not - we don't know yet.
Incidentally, on a related topic, the writers of RuneQuest: Slayers gave an interview to Pyramid magazine this week in which they outlined the philosophy of the new game. They stated that they had thrown out *every* aspect of the old system except the name. So my comment that 'RuneQuest is dying' stands even if the new game takes off - it isn't really RuneQuest, but rather a different system that just happens to have the same name. When a game is no longer published, its death in the long run is difficult to avoid...
<< - - Commericial publications halted>>
True, but relevant only if Hero Wars flops.
<<, fan-published materials fading fast>>
I find some difficulty squaring this statement with the fact that more fan-published materials are being released this year than at any time in the past (Enclosure, Questlines, TotRM, Tradetalk, Drastic: Darkness, Book of Tentacles). In what sense, exactly, are they fading?
<<All these factors point towards a dwindling fan base, a seemingly impossible result given the loyalty of RQ/Glorantha fans through the lean years, but nevertheless, although many digesters will no doubt deny it, the promise of Hero Wars is not enough to sustain this community...people want RuneQuest *and* Glorantha, together...>>
Clearly that's what you want. I couldn't care less what system officially-published Glorantha uses, so long as its not too dreadful. Which of us is more typical? Which of us will be more typical after Hero Wars comes out and has the potential to draw in new players? I don't know, and I suspect, neither do you.
Forward the glorious Red Army!
Trotsky
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