I didn't have the rules with me, and I didn't want to get into all the complexity of the system for a one-off -- really I was hoping that I could give the kids an example running a game. (They were all clearly familiar with RPGs, so I didn't need to worry about that.)
So I told them that the could pick a keyword, 5 things special about their character*, and 3 magic charms. In the heat of the moment I entirely forgot about distributing points, so everyone started with the 5 abilities at 13, with the common magic and keyword at 17. I think I might have forgotten HP as well (or maybe I decided not to use them).
Just to make sure, I showed them a sample character (an NPC who featured at the start of the game), and I think they got the idea pretty well. I think they all liked the idea of the fairly loose definition of the abilities, and how they could augment. (One character was able to augment past 20, which meant that I had to explain bumps in the middle of the game, which might have been a bit confusing.)
My wife Elise (who rarely games) agreed to run a character too, so there was another adult model of gaming. Even if her healer was perhaps a bit bloodthirsty...
I took a scene from King of Dragon Pass, and elaborated it slightly, sending the PCs out to recover clan members taken as slaves by the hitherto-unknown Horse Spawn. I think the kids were pretty impressed at how detailed the setting was. (The father of two commented "you're just making this all up" :-) They all seemed to pick up the game basics, and had a good time. I probably bent the rules severely (Elise kept using her common magic actively), but what the heck.
I didn't elaborate the keywords at all -- I just let people do a lot of stuff based on Hunter.
Since I hadn't introduced HP, upon their success I just gave directed improvements (as well as a gift from the clan chief).
I don't know that I did my finest job of narration ever, partly because I was trying not to take too long. But the stripped-down rules did seem to work, and it might be a good starting point for anyone else wanting to run a game for younger children.
David Dunham
Glorantha/HQ/RQ page: http://www.pensee.com/dunham/glorantha.html
Imagination is more important than knowledge. -- Albert Einstein
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