> Here's my chronological understanding of Glorantha.
Yep, that hits the nail on the head. I share your (consumer's) POV. This is, of course, different from the publisher's, and from History's.
"White Bear and Red Moon" had lots of information about the Hero Wars and Dragon Pass; "Nomad Gods" had lots of information about Prax. Most of this was unavailable outside of those games. The idea was that you'd "get into Glorantha" from the boardgames, then come to the RPG -- because this was the way Gloranthan gaming had evolved. Of course, it often didn't work out that way. (Personal experience: I didn't see "Dragon Pass" until I'd played RQ2 for years, and didn't see "Nomad Gods" until long after RQ3 came out, long after my Pavis/Rubble/Borderlands days were over). But reading "RuneQuest" and "Cults of Prax" with the background knowledge from WB&RM and NG undeniably helps -- and this was the position many fortunate gamers were in, back in the Golden Age of the early eighties.
Some of the "misconceptions" about Glorantha arose from RQ rules constructs that got out of hand (Blade Venom and Guilds everywhere!) -- these kinda died out or were replaced by "more Gloranthan" alternatives in later publications (e.g. the Sages' Guild became the cult of Lhankor Mhy; the Thieves' Guild became the cult of Lanbril). I'd guess this was because getting your loan to start adventuring from the Swordmasters' Guild was fun, but getting it from the Sword of Humakt -- the Priest of your Temple to the Death-God -- was *even more* fun.
Some of them arose from art (e.g. the Grecian armour in Luise Perenne illustrations for "Runemasters" were the source for a Citadel RQ miniatures range which made *everyone* look Greek -- although the original "Sartar City Militia" counter showed a horny-helmeted barbarian, a popular understanding developed that Sartar was kinda like Ancient Greece, Orlanth like Zeus).
Some of them arose from the information gap between what had been published and what was still available and being read. An owner of "Nomad Gods" was bound to have a different understanding of Prax to someone who had only read "Cults of Prax" -- but at Chaosium's publisher's end of things, authors would assume familiarity with all that they'd written. Similarly, "Wyrms Footnotes" contained valuable information about Glorantha -- its gods, cultures, histories -- which wasn't available to every player. Throwaway mentions (like Yelmic empires fighting Yelmic horse nomads) which would squish some of the simpler RQ-based interpretations (that gods always provide clear guidance to their worshippers) -- if only they were known to them!
> Nobody I gamed with knew that Orlanthi had Celtic/Viking clan structures
> (one suspects that this was "discovered" by Greg in his Chaosium house
> campaign).
Absolutely: if he'd known about them when he wrote "Apple Lane", it'd have looked very different (one hopes). He certainly knew by the time of Wyrms Footnotes #7 ("Sartar High Council"), and they reached "proper" publication in "Cults of Terror" (those barbarian Bilini, with all their Ketils, Oddis, Eriks and Hairybreeks). Not *too* obscure, eh?
It is no cause for shame to have been unaware that something existed, or to prefer your own material to the "official" released version. It is, however, rather a pity to choose to die in a ditch for unrepentant grognardism, ignore the products which are available, and rail against the evils of the modern world.
Recent publications have done some great work in eliminating old misconceptions, removing information bottlenecks, reprinting obscure material, and clarifying what Glorantha is. There are surprises for everyone in this process: at times, we're learning things other people have known for years; at others, genuinely new material is coming to light. For my part, as a Lunar/Malkioni enthusiast, I am irritated by some of the "new" stuff (where it clashes with the preconceptions and structures I've built up in twenty years of gaming), and elated by other aspects. The trick is to hang in there, go with the flow, make your views known, and contribute to the continuing vitality of Glorantha.
I'm afraid that worrying over the might-have-beens and spilt milk are no fun for anyone. Yes, we all wish Dave Dobyski could draw. Yes, we all wish the RQ3 rules had a Gloranthan setting, and a new Cults book in the year they came out. Yes, we all wish Chaosium hadn't sold RuneQuest to Avalon Hill in the first place. Rehearsing these old gripes is kinda comforting -- I suppose it's our communal equivalent of reminiscing about what a good fellow Harl Half-Beak was, before King Grozz defenestrated him. But it happened. It's history. There's clans in Prax, tribes in Sartar, and Starbrow isn't a Duck. So let's move forwards.
Cheers, Nick
End of The Glorantha Digest V6 #520
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