> Greetings,
> I have been running demos of Hero Wars at cons and local
> shops for the last 9 months and have never played RQ. (I
> started out testing it to check for flaws that a new player would
> be more likely to spot) Can anyone recommend a FEW RQ
> books to give me a quick handle on the old game that would still > be
useful in the new?
> I love the rich detail of the world but am somewhat daunted by
> the prospect of catching up on 25 years of canon.
> Phil Posehn
Hi Phil,
here's a quick list of what I'd suggest. I stuck to stuff that I read and re-read very carefully only recently, and excluded fan publications and convention fundraisers like Ye Booke of Tentacles (which often make for an exhausting read to people who have no detailed knowledge of the original, "official" game releases; no offense!!).
RuneQuest 2nd Edition basic rulesbook (any version) RuneQuest 3rd Edition, Deluxe Box (Avalon Hill, 1984) Advanced RuneQuest, rules expansions (GDW, 1987)
RQ: Glorantha: Genertela, Crucible of the Hero Wars (1988)
RQ: Glorantha: Gods of Glorantha (1985)
RQ: Glorantha: Gloranthan Bestiary (1988)
RQ: Glorantha: Elder Secrets (1989)
RQ: Monster Coliseum I & II (1985)
adventure supplements:
Apple Lane, Snakepipe Hollow, Into the Troll Realms (funny!), ... and
especially my more recent favourites, Shadows on the Borderland (1993),
and Strangers in Prax (1994).
AND, of course: King of Sartar (Greg Stafford's fiction, 1992)
For variants of the rules system, you might want to check out these RPGs - -- just a thought:
"Elric! Dark Fantasy Roleplaying" (Chaosium, 1993) "King Arthur Pendragon" 4th Edition rulesbook (ditto)
Note that with HW so close to its release, you really don't have to bother much with the RQ3 rules system. I personally still like stuff like the Fumble tables, monster stats, income and market price examples, and heck, even some of the illustrations (!) -- only the ones in Elder Secrets are pretty crappy, but other than that ...! I assume the cult descriptions in "Gods of Glorantha" will be largely subsumed and/or superceded by the Keywords and future cult write-up's in HW, there'll be even more deities to choose from, and any pre-existing stuff will be a great deal more refined and more epically explained (?). Malkioni sorcery, I'm sure, will also end up as a lot more playable and quicker to learn in HW.
Have fun!
Norbert
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