>> I have been playing RPG for a while now and I was looking for a
>> very epic games. A friend of mine recommended me HeroQuest. I got
>> the book and I must say that, although it makes a good impression
>> to me, I am somewhat puzzled by the very little space dedicated to
>> depicting the world and the background. I would have prefered a
>> book with 200 pages that makes me dive into the HeroQuest world
>> rather than the same difgging into the rules. I believe it is a
>> matter of taste, yet a question remains: where should I look
>> to really discover what is the world of HeroQuest? What would you
>> recommend me to read? I must say I am yearning to know what the
>> setting of this famous RPG is like!
>Vlsadimir's question mirrors my own. I've been wondering where to get
>more background information as well. But since Vlad has already asked
>that question I will ask one that is similar, but will hopefully take
>the discussion on a somewhat different path.
>
>Runequest has been around for many years and has a devoted, some might
>say fanatical following. Why? What is special about Runequest that
>folks love it so? I don't ask the question to be flippant, but rather
>because I would like to hear from some of the long time fans of the
>world about what makes it tick for them. Why do you love the world of
>Glorantha enough to have stuck with it for these many years and these
>many system iterations? Why do you love running games in it, playing in
>it, or just spending time reading about it and discussing it on boards
>like this one?
Part of it is nostalgia, Glorantha was the first fictional world to become a gaming product. Yes, pre D&D with the hex board game White Bear, Red Moon. When D&D came out Runequest followed and it was a better system. Even at that stage though there was both a heroic background and quirky bits that made you want to know more. And dragons weren't the puny monsters of D&D who could be killed by an experienced character - they ate whole armies for breakfast.
Probably the most important thing is that the people are real, they're not one dimensional goodies or baddies. Is Kallyr Starbrow a heroic leader dedicated to freeing Sartar or a fanatical rebel consumed by hatred of the Lunar Empire? There are people who believe both of those as fact - the truth is somewhere between and it's your game that determines this for your Glorantha.
I agree the HQ book is short on background, by the time the rules and examples were included Issaries was near to the page limit for the price point of an RPG book. There's been loads of background published - many books worth but a lot of it is either out of print or not widely stocked. This can be in your favour, some of the source books for Orlanthi were remaindered in the US recently and on sale at one of the big shows for a few dollars each. If you've got a local games shop with decent contacts they can find stuff for you.
As others have mentioned there's lots of stuff on www.glorantha.com and more indexed through lokarnos.com . That should give you plenty to go at.
-- Donald Oddy http://www.grove.demon.co.uk/
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