Exploring Glorantha - Episode 1: The Beginning

[@ToeTapper42]

For me, the draw to Glorantha, besides having an enthusiastic GM (thanks Evan), was the integration of the Gloranthan Gods with the RuneQuest game. While D&D offered alignments to everyone and deities to clerics, to support building a character's personality, I found Glorantha much richer and more cohesive. The way I played D&D in high-school and college was that everyone would roll up a character independently, and show up for the first game. It was enough to have a variety of classes to make sure you had a wide range of skill available. We ended up with a variety of characters with no background, no religion, and little real reason to be adventuring together. Thus, we played right into the over-used trope of "you meet in a bar" and ya-da ya-da you go off on this adventure. In RQ, we studied The Gods of Glorantha and Cults of Prax for hours, picked a deity we liked, and all ended up being initiates in some cult within the Gloranthan Pantheon. Initiating into a cult necessarily means buying into that cult's version of history and mythology, which is a wonderful basis for further developing the character.

[@efranke20001]

Hey Dave! I so miss playing with Maze the Yelmalio Priest and his cohorts. Running Borderlands and then Griffin Mountain for that group was one of my all time highs as a GM. It firmly fixed my love of Glorantha. I still have the calendars, notes, and even the summary sheets with key abilities (RQ2 was so ahead of its time) for all the characters. I agree with your sentiments! I hope we can continue to spread the love of Glorantha and all the ways to play in this amazing fantasy world of Myth. It certainly has influenced all the games I have run since, but, as much as you can encourage Glorantha/RQ style play in a more generic setting like D&D, there is nothing like having a game like RQ, or now HeroQuest or 13th Age Glorantha, to reinforce the close ties of religion, culture and social ties to the player characters. I am glad you are here, and I hope you like what we do with the show going forward! I miss you!

[@lasselaukkanen3574]

I really like your show! I'm now listening to episode 7 and every episode has been like a diamond. I like how you offer your deep insight into Glorantha and not just extol its awesomeness. Your show offers a lot of new things to think about about Glorantha, and I´m happy to listen to it with thoughts. It is useful to listen to this along with reading books. Thank you for your important work! I hope to hear several more new episodes.

[@lasselaukkanen3574]

...and by the way I´ll do my first ever Patreon action because of you :)

[@efranke20001]

Thank you very, very much Lasse! That kind of feedback is meaningful beyond our wildest dreams. We love to have our own discussions, and we thought we could share them and share our love for this imaginary world in a way to help others to approach and enjoy it. Being told that it is working really makes us love the endeavor all the more! Thank you for checking us out and please keep engaging with us, we really value the feedback!

[@Bryon1187]

I've always been into history, in fact when my brother introduced me to AD&D I was hooked on the game - simulating medieval combat, but since getting back into Runequest, and the new "Roleplaying in Glorantha" I have started getting into Mythology and ancient Mideast history.

[@efranke20001]

You are talking our language! We hope you continue to explore and enjoy Glorantha. It is amazing and supports so many systems and styles of play!

[@gracez145]

Got thrown into Runequest and the world of Glorantha in the middle of a campaign. I'm having a blast but having a hard time keeping everything straight so very happy to find your channel and this content!! It's super helpful in learning and I'm looking forward to bettering my gameplay with this info.

[@efranke20001]

That is wonderful to hear. I hope you will find many useful discussions here! You may have embarked on a lifelong exploration! I certainly hope so.

[@Sethan777]

Thank you 👏👍 I am just starting to play Runequest and I am happy to find your Chanel.

[@IconicProduction]

Welcome!!!

[@efranke20001]

Excellent! Glad to be a resource for you! You have found an amazing world for adventure!

[@adults_talking]

the guide to glorantha slipcase set is a beautiful work of art! i love all the new RQG publications!

[@IconicProduction]

Yes they are!

[@efranke20001]

We definitely 100% agree with you. The art and presentation are wonderful, but the amazing information and depth of imagination and adventure held within those pages are priceless!

[@Velzhaed]

Thanks for doing this series. I'm surprised with years and years of TTRPGs I had never heard of this setting.

[@efranke20001]

We are so glad you are here Velzhaed! There is so much to love about Glorantha, and you are making our day to find out that we are getting to introduce some of it to you!

[@ageingrapidly]

Great stream, it's really tempted me to look into Glorantha again. I have the Starter Set and used to play Runequest (in a very D&D style) way back in the early 80s but the depth of the lore has always put me off coming back to it. You've convinced me it IS possible to role-play in Glorantha without reading hundreds of thousands of words of background first.

[@IconicProduction]

Go for it!

[@TucsonExplorer]

Evan mentioned this series during his recent call-in to Baz's "RuneQuest Year Zero" podcast so I thought I'd check out Episode 1. Okay, guys, you've got me hooked for the duration. This is going to be a fun ride, and very informative too! Great job!

[@efranke20001]

Duane! Thanks so much for checking us out. Glad you are enjoying it and finding it engaging. We would not at all be upset if you spread the word! In any case, please feel free to leave comments, questions or suggestions. I try to check back regularly and keep our engagement up. This is a labor of nerdy love, and made all the better for engagement from our viewers! Game on!

[@IconicProduction]

We are so glad you're here!

[@NOopulence]

Dude. I just bought the latest edition of runequest and just starting to learn about this world and this is excellent!

[@efranke20001]

Welcome Dan! Glad you found us. We will be talking for many episodes to come because it is our pleasure to do so, and we are glad you are joining us! There are many excellent resources out there, and will will continue to try to point people to new and wonderful ways to experience and enjoy this amazing world! Keep giving us feedback too! It is a big help.

[@modelpainter7838]

Hi Evan and JM. Much love for this channel as a long time reader and player of RuneQuest, and Call of Cthulhu. Loved the quote by Greg Stafford. I just listened to the first hour of this channel while I continued working on my own Glorantha. Unusually, it went too fast... Thanks!

[@efranke20001]

Thank you for your kind and encouraging feedback! We definitely want to share and spread the love for Glorantha! I hope you find the subsequent episodes also enjoyable. Come by anytime and tell your friends!

[@skrivvg7855]

I love their take on trolls, troll-like monsters are my favourite creatures from myth hands down. Whether they're baby stealing mead hall wrecking brutes or angry mistreated ancestor spirits in IRL mythology

[@efranke20001]

We've just done our Uz episode with all things Troll! It will be out on KZbin at the end of this week! Glad you are watching and hope you find it fun and informative. Spoiler for the episode, we love Glorantha trolls!

[@DavidChadwick0341]

Awesome video guys. As a relative newcomer to Glorantha this has amped up my excitement even more. Keep it up

[@IconicProduction]

Great to hear!

[@efranke20001]

Very glad you found us and it is great to hear we are successfully transmitting our love of Glorantha! I hope you get your own explorations going and if we can help, so much the better!

[@jeffersondonizetti]

I loved the show, congratulations to the showrunners s. I hope I can keep up with the whole series. I'm a beginner in Glorantha but already in love with this incredible world and these videos help a lot to get to know the scenery better. Thank you for that.

[@efranke20001]

Hi @jeffersondonizetti ! Thanks so much for giving us a try! You are definitely one of our target audiences and if we can get more and more people interested in Glorantha, then that makes us very happy! Welcome!

[@ZaGaZigZag]

Thank you so much for doing this podcast. I'm really trying to learn everything I can about the world, and I'm a total neophyte. Having content like this to listen to while I am at work is invaluable, as I don't ever seem to have enough time to read as I would like. Keep up the good work and excellent content!

[@IconicProduction]

You are so welcome!

[@efranke20001]

Thank you! this is so great to hear! We will try to keep it up.

[@wtrollkin]

Playing TheGodsWar is such a satisfying experience for me. Glad to see the cross over rpg to boardgame.

[@efranke20001]

Glorantha seems to be glorious in all its incarnations! From fiction, to RPGs, to board games, to computer games it is a place that can deeply engage our imaginations and give endless enjoyment!

[@UlfBengtsson]

Good show guys.

[@efranke20001]

Thank you Ulf! We appreciate your feedback and support!

[@dracopticon7788]

This is fantastic! And look at all the wonderful replies in the comments below (not mine though)! :)

[@efranke20001]

Glad to have you here! Thank you for checking us out! We hope you will come back frequently! Bring friends.

[@dracopticon7788]

@@efranke20001 Thanks! Yes I'll try to. :)

[@Acantigue]

2023 and present for intro to Glorantha

[@efranke20001]

Thanks for giving us a try!

[@justinrivera1618]

So I’m confused. If the earth is a cube, does everybody only live on one side of the cube and the rest is submerged in the ocean? Or are all five sides of the cube being occupied?

[@efranke20001]

The surface, which contains all the middle world, is inhabited. And, of course, there are vast underground places, many inhabited by the dwarves. The other five surfaces interface with other worlds. The four around the sides are submerged in the vast waters. The fifth side underneath hangs above the lands of the Underworld. Here is a link to a map of the universe which may help you see the concept of this vast cube, 8000 km on a side, floating in the endless ocean, suspended between the Underworld and the Sky. 3zw0tn2csmas1gxg5k1aagl5up3-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/GLORANTHA-MAP-final-2.jpg

[@andypresby6537]

I recently came across an interview with one of the Elder Scrolls designers who cites Glorantha as a key influence. Full interview here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gHWzaYSsqr2hZsksi=sHGFw8vv7OwwauI0 Note that the Glorantha part is very brief.

[@efranke20001]

Thanks so much for sharing! Great catch!

[@ZaGaZigZag]

I've tried playing "King of Dragon Pass" and know alot of people say they love it and it's really fun, but I find it confusing. I don't know when to sacrifice what and to what god and all my people end of discontent and it all goes downhill from there.

[@efranke20001]

I can certainly understand that King of Dragon Pass (and its terrific successor, Six Ages: Ride like the Wind) is complicated and can be frustrating if you hit some choke points on success or advancement that you can't crack. Since KoDP has been around for a long time, there is a lot of good advice available. For example, this Tip Page (kingofdragonpass.fandom.com/wiki/KoDP_Tips) on the KoDP Wiki has a lot of good strategy ideas and explanations for tactics to use in different situations. These are not cheat codes, and the game will continue to throw curve balls at you, but they can improve how you approach the game and decreasing the frustration allows you to really enjoy the story the game builds for you and see the world through your clan members' eyes. I will also say that I was fairly liberal with replaying a bad year if really disastrous things happened. No shame in that! It was the only way to win. The function is there for a reason. I hope you can find your way back into the game and get over the stumbling blocks, because it is a great experience and has a lot of replay value. If it works out, I can definitely recommend Six Ages as well!

[@justinrivera1618]

The way I manage to survive is a first focused on food and building up relations. Then after about three years I slowly build up my military and some trade routes. At some point I just ended up with temples galore and as many trade routes has the god permitted

[@spiritsongtress]

Good to see this! Perhaps you guys could invite some other people on to talk about the female sides of Glorantha, or non-binary sides of Glorantha.

[@efranke20001]

Thanks for checking out the discussion. There are lots of discussions we would like to have, and we certainly will hope to have some guests. It is very helpful to hear from the audience about the range of topics you want to see covered!

[@spiritsongtress]

@@efranke20001 That's great. I also think talking about getting your feet wet in Glorantha is really important. Cause Glorantha can be... overwhelming.

[@julianlord5366]

Nearly 60 years, not 50.