Re: Where does 'gyrda' come from?

From: Lawrence Whitaker <lawrence.whitaker_at_40InVBOdxEgNS3ASe9NCLz5pQWmjUSzExafRlXz020oLDlm1UKm8tSl7sd>
Date: Sun, 20 Jul 2008 07:49:43 +0100


In response to Mark's post...

I think we should care if new people flock to Glorantha. Its what keeps the setting going. Its what breeds new life and ideas. Its important!

For that reason its important to strike a balance between the deeply scholarly, obscure stuff, and the simple, straightfoward, easy to grasp. Another Mongoose example, and currently very relevant. Over on the Mongoose RQ forum, someone brand new to RQ and Glorantha is wondering aloud whether its worth getting into Glorantha at all. He's more attracted to the 3rd Age than 2nd, but is having trouble with the mythical aspects as he's come from a game background where grit n grime is the norm. He's actively feeling like Glorantha won't be worth the effort or appeal to his players, but he's still happy to be convinced.

Now people like this should be welcomed and encouraged, but I'm sure that some of the HQ supplements would probably turn him away PDQ. And that would be a shame: someone curious and willing to invest some time in Glorantha ought to have materials that give you some good, solid depth, that isn't overwhelming and obscured by forensic detail and exceptions which, whilst exceedingly well thought through are of only limited interest or practical use, especially to a new player. So its all about balance.

I'm writing the new Pavis book with such balance in mind. I actively want to lever in some detail that's missing from the original works, but I want that detail to be practical and accessible. Same's true for Cults of Sartar where we're looking to make the cults (still the most fundamental part of gaming Glorantha) understandable, accessible, practical and fun, whilst still embodying the myths and some of the detail that's been invested over many, many years. We want the old hands to enjoy it and newcomers to pick up Pavis: Gateway to Glorantha, and Cults of Sartar, and get that same rush of excitement we got when we first read Cults of Prax and the old Pavis boxed set.

BTW, I've thread-jacked horribly. I do apologise!

One last thing - this is actually a very good debate, and there are some themes Jeff and I will be picking-up in the various Glorantha panels at Continuum, so we hope to see many of you there!

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