At first glance it would be easy to dismiss Runequest: Glorantha as just another addition to the pile of fantasy RPGs clogging up the shelves of your local store, but if you delve beneath the surface you’ll find a fascinating blend of wild heroism and ruthless simulation that goes to create a game that offers something utterly unique – so long as the players are willing to put in the effort, that is.
Much of this comes from the way that the game is so strongly tied into the world of Glorantha itself. The bronze-age setting has played host to Runequest games for decades but this time around it feels like much more than just the standard template for GMs to bounce off, to the point where it’s almost impossible to completely separate the two. Major events in the world’s recent history play a vital role in character creation, different factions offer different abilities and the tone it sets feeds into almost every part of the gameplay.
It breaks away from the core tropes of gleaming armour and codified magic that have come to dominate fantasy in recent decades and replaces it with something that feels closer to ancient myths and legends – more The Odyssey than Lord of the Rings. It’s a world where every character can draw on magical powers but very few truly understand them; where the party can be communing with the gods one moment and fleeing from a well-planned bandit ambush the next.
The core ruleset also enforces an idea of downtime between adventures, in which the party are expected to ply their trade, build families and pay their taxes. This all comes with mechanics and rules, and while some may find it a little tedious it helps to build the wider world and enforce the idea that adventures and quests are exceptional events, carried out by exceptional heroes.
On the subject of rules, the foundations of the system are still based on the D100 mechanic that anyone who’s played earlier version of Runequest or its successors, such as Call of Cthulhu, will instantly find familiar. Each character has their skills rated by a percentage, so if you have the Ride (High Llama) skill at 70% and want to chase down an enemy fleeing across rough terrain you need to roll a 70 or under to successfully catch them.
While these core mechanics may be simple enough, Runequest: Glorantha focuses much more on simulation than modern incarnations of D&D and other mainstream titles. Every cut and thrust in battle requires a roll to see if it’s parried or blocked, where it strikes and if your weapon takes any damage in the process. The system does a great job of making combat encounters feel truly dangerous, and while this is great for encouraging clever solutions for avoiding battle it can sometimes drag down the pace of the game to a crawl.
In fact, Runequest: Glorantha is a game that requires a lot from the GM and the players if it’s to run smoothly.
On the player’s side it demands that people properly learn the rules and commit to the world that they’re playing in. If your table regularly plays host to folks who forget what their rogue can actually do every other session, you’re probably going to have a frustrating time when they stare goggle-eyed at your request for a POW x 4 check.
Likewise, if you’re GMing a campaign you need to either be happy committing a vast array of rules about how likely it is that a lantern’s candle will blow out in strong wind – it’s a 26% chance, by the way – to memory, or be comfortable and confident enough to know when to wave things off improvise, and when to commit to a ruling from the book.
Runequest: Glorantha isn’t a game for everyone, but if you’re more interested in the Epic of Gilgamesh than epic loot, it might just be exactly what you’ve been looking for.
This article was contributed by Richard Jansen-Parkes (Winghorn) as part of EN World's Columnist (ENWC) program. We are always on the lookout for freelance columnists! If you have a pitch, please contact us!
Much of this comes from the way that the game is so strongly tied into the world of Glorantha itself. The bronze-age setting has played host to Runequest games for decades but this time around it feels like much more than just the standard template for GMs to bounce off, to the point where it’s almost impossible to completely separate the two. Major events in the world’s recent history play a vital role in character creation, different factions offer different abilities and the tone it sets feeds into almost every part of the gameplay.
It breaks away from the core tropes of gleaming armour and codified magic that have come to dominate fantasy in recent decades and replaces it with something that feels closer to ancient myths and legends – more The Odyssey than Lord of the Rings. It’s a world where every character can draw on magical powers but very few truly understand them; where the party can be communing with the gods one moment and fleeing from a well-planned bandit ambush the next.
The core ruleset also enforces an idea of downtime between adventures, in which the party are expected to ply their trade, build families and pay their taxes. This all comes with mechanics and rules, and while some may find it a little tedious it helps to build the wider world and enforce the idea that adventures and quests are exceptional events, carried out by exceptional heroes.
On the subject of rules, the foundations of the system are still based on the D100 mechanic that anyone who’s played earlier version of Runequest or its successors, such as Call of Cthulhu, will instantly find familiar. Each character has their skills rated by a percentage, so if you have the Ride (High Llama) skill at 70% and want to chase down an enemy fleeing across rough terrain you need to roll a 70 or under to successfully catch them.
While these core mechanics may be simple enough, Runequest: Glorantha focuses much more on simulation than modern incarnations of D&D and other mainstream titles. Every cut and thrust in battle requires a roll to see if it’s parried or blocked, where it strikes and if your weapon takes any damage in the process. The system does a great job of making combat encounters feel truly dangerous, and while this is great for encouraging clever solutions for avoiding battle it can sometimes drag down the pace of the game to a crawl.
In fact, Runequest: Glorantha is a game that requires a lot from the GM and the players if it’s to run smoothly.
On the player’s side it demands that people properly learn the rules and commit to the world that they’re playing in. If your table regularly plays host to folks who forget what their rogue can actually do every other session, you’re probably going to have a frustrating time when they stare goggle-eyed at your request for a POW x 4 check.
Likewise, if you’re GMing a campaign you need to either be happy committing a vast array of rules about how likely it is that a lantern’s candle will blow out in strong wind – it’s a 26% chance, by the way – to memory, or be comfortable and confident enough to know when to wave things off improvise, and when to commit to a ruling from the book.
Runequest: Glorantha isn’t a game for everyone, but if you’re more interested in the Epic of Gilgamesh than epic loot, it might just be exactly what you’ve been looking for.
This article was contributed by Richard Jansen-Parkes (Winghorn) as part of EN World's Columnist (ENWC) program. We are always on the lookout for freelance columnists! If you have a pitch, please contact us!
