For the first time, you can now collect the RuneQuest main rulebook, the Companion and Monsters as one mighty tome! This book contains all the essential information the RuneQuest Games Master (or dedicated player) needs to adventure in any fantasy setting, be it Glorantha or one of your own devising.
With the information within fully integrated into one cohesive book, allowing you to review the Rune Magic, Divine Magic and Sorcery options for your character, side-by-side. With enough creatures to populate an entire continent and all the core rules, RuneQuest Deluxe is your entry to one of the longest running and most loved roleplaying games.
Packed with all the information a Games Master needs for easy reference during a session of RuneQuest, this is produced in the style of Mongoose's new 'deluxe' GM Screens. Made from thick card stock, this screen will last many years of play with RuneQuest as your players fight against rival cults and build their own empires.
The RuneQuest Companion expands on some of the rules from the core rulebook and also offers a large number of new rules for use in the game. Within these pages, readers will discover the secrets of the spirit world and how to handle spirit combat in RuneQuest - and they will also meet a few of the more common and more dangerous denizens of the spirit world. New and powerful styles of magic are explored as well, from the faithful priest who gains magical power directly from his god to the learned sorcerer who uses skill and will to wrench magic into existence, to change it and manipulate it.
The RuneQuest Companion also contains an expanded chapter on cultural backgrounds and professions. From the primitive herbalist, to the mariner sailor, to the civilised tumbler, players will find a host of new backgrounds and professions to suit any character idea.
The lives of adventurers are not put on hold when they return from the wilderness and the RuneQuest Companion explores this as well. The Between Adventures chapter provides rules for making a living while inside a city - legitimately or not - as well as covering a wide variety of topics important to the adventurer who finds himself between adventures. This includes such things as item creation time, item quality and how much things might cost in different areas of the world. Of particular interest are the discussions of item quality - the products of master craftsmen and the benefits these masterpieces of the craft can bring to the characters that use them.
A huge part of the life of a hero is spent travelling. After all, no character can expect to spend his days in the comfortable environs of a city’s finest hostel, waiting for all the adventures and challenges of the world to trudge their way across the globe to his door. Indeed, as most adventurers know, the greater the challenge and the greater the reward, the more remote and forbidding the locale. The Travel chapter offers simple and streamlined rules governing journeys made by land and by sea, allowing a Games Master to easily determine the time required and the troubles encountered along the way. Sea travel in particular is discussed in detail, from travel times, to storms, to fires, to combating enemy ships. The Games Master will find simple and straightforward rules that allow him to add flavour and peril to a sea journey without consulting a score of tables or making dozens of die rolls. Lastly, the Travel chapter introduces a variety of ships to RuneQuest, delineating their statistics and prices.
Finally, the RuneQuest Companion closes with a chapter on Temples, replete with details on these permanent and semi-permanent religious structures. From humble woodland sites to the majesty of a great temple, what separates one from the other is fully discussed and delineated, and a selection of example temples is included for ease of reference.
The RuneQuest Companion is the perfect expansion to the all new RuneQuest system.
The Games Master’s Handbook is an invaluable resource for any RuneQuest game. Inside you will find:
There are notes on character and non-player character creation, with samples of archetypes that can be plugged straight into any campaign.
New advanced skills, with the effects of fumbles and criticals with each skill in the game in included. Additional information is provided on opposed skill rolls, as well as the Persistence and Resilience skills.
The use of magic is also covered, with details on how and when to use it. In addition to dealing with existing magic systems, binding creatures and alchemy are both covered.
In the Adventuring chapter you will find the effects of alcohol, how the law might work and how to deal with down time between adventures.
Finally towns and cities are covered, with information on services and tradesmen that might be found, along with the workings of cults and societies.
RuneQuest Arms & Equipment is a collection of new and interesting gear for Games Masters to include in their games. This equipment is designed to be used in any RuneQuest setting. There is a wide variety of new weapons including the vicious stavesword and the deadly garrotte, and new types of armour such as dwarfen cinder and serpentmail, giving Players a multitude of options when kitting out their character. In addition there is a host of new general items, land-based vehicles with an extended system for their use in combat and even a collection of mounts and steeds.
This book includes:
Questing Gear & Basics - Assorted gear that any RuneQuest character might find useful.
Weaponry & Armour - Items for inflicting and protecting against damage from all over creation.
Transports & Buildings - Vehicles and the rules to use them in RuneQuest combat, along with details on buildings of all kinds.
Beasts & Cohorts - The cost and rules to buy and train living assets, from attack dogs to weaponsmiths.
The Rare & Wondrous - Items that use magic or technology, including full details on an array of black powder weapons.
‘A Pyrate is Hostis humanis generis, a common Enemy, with whom neither Faith nor Oath is to be kept… if Pyracy be committed on the Ocean, and the Pyrates in the attempt be overcome, the Captors may, without any Solemnity of Condemnation, hang them up at the Main-Yard; if they are brought to the next Port, & the Judge rejects the Tryal, or the Captors cannot wait for the Judge, without Peril or Loss, Justice may be done upon them by the Captors.’
RuneQuest Pirates brings the golden age of piracy to life! Lay hand to your cutlass and stick your pistols in your belt, friend - adventure’s waiting for you offshore. Band together with other scurvy dogs and take command of a ship and a crew. Lead them to victory and plunder, or to a watery grave! Win fame and fortune, or dangle at the end of the yardarm when the Navy catches you!
The shining blue waters of the Caribbean lie before you, and the wind is in your sails. What you do next is up to you!
This book contains everything you need to launch an epic Runequest campaign set in its classic setting of Glorantha, a world of mythic adventure.
Glorantha is a world permeated by magic and shaped by myth. Its heroes achieve power by questing for runes, physical manifestations of the eternal abstract forces that shape its destiny. Eventually they graduate to even more powerful magics, learning to gain power by emulating the deeds of the gods, mastering the arcane formulae of the sorcerous arts, allying with spirits, or achieving meditative awareness of life’s unknowable secrets. In doing so, they draw on one or more of the mythic Otherworlds surrounding their everyday material world. With the right magic, they can travel to the realms of the gods, become participants in their ancestral myths, and return with wondrous new abilities. Those who fail these daunting tests may be diminished, destroyed, or eternally lost in the mythic realms.
Explorers, adventurers and kings aren’t the only ones who wield magical power here. Ordinary people practice their own spells and charms, helping them to feed, clothe and shelter themselves in what would otherwise be a hostile environment.
Glorantha is a world of clashing cultures, where good and evil aren’t always easy to sort out. Though cursed with more than its share of tyrants, monsters, and villains, no single one of its cultures maintains a monopoly on virtue. Two warring cultures can be, from their own point of view, equally right - or equally ruthless and brutal. Cultures differ on the right way to live, the true events of myth and history, and the very purpose of existence. And that’s just the humans: its inhuman races follow their own alien agendas, as laid out at the beginning of time.
In its glorious Second Age, Glorantha is the prize of warring empires. Two empires, more similar than they’d like to admit, vie for ultimate dominance. The God Learner Empire seeks to crack open and the very secrets of the gods, manipulating them to their own ends. The Empire of Wyrm’s Friends works to transform its land and people into a gigantic, mystical dragon, which will take flight and reshape the entire world.
The Second Age is a time of unprecedented discovery and exploration. For the first time, trade and travel allows the interaction of far-flung cultures. Both Empires innovate feverishly, unveiling new forms of magic, new devices, new modes of perception.
Against this backdrop of unfettered progress, dark omens gather. Men have pushed the Glorantha’s eternal laws of myth and magic to the breaking point. How long will it be before the world strikes back at them, punishing their unprecedented hubris?
There is not another world in existence quite like Glorantha. With its rich background, varying levels of fantastic and realistic mixed liberally with heroism and villainy; there is no true way to explain it all in one sitting. It could take a longstanding fan several days to describe it all to a newly blossoming player. The Player’s Guide to Glorantha is the essential reference sourcebook, designed to help readers become more familiar with Glorantha and all of its wonders.
This book is a handy guide for both new and seasoned players looking to progress beyond the races, cultures and plot hooks that we unveiled with earlier Glorantha products - introducing several new ways to enjoy both RuneQuest and Gloranthan Second Age setting, including everything you will need to know about Folk Magic.
RuneQuest Sourcebook; Hardcover by Mongoose Publishing
There is a legend that few Gloranthans will ever know. It tells how during the Godswar, in the land which is now called Dragon Pass, Orlanth was almost slain by one of the vile Chaos Gods that rose from the Void and threatened to extinguish all life in the world. To the Orlanthi, this is a foul lie. Yet to a minor, lone cult of the barbarians, it is a terrible truth and a secret shame – a secret they guard forever.
The God Learners have learned a shard of this hidden truth. Arch-sorcerers of the Alliance have mastered a ritual that can use the blood of the wounded Storm God to achieve their own unknowable ends, perhaps even rewriting history and altering the life of Orlanth himself. But the blood must come from this secret myth. Jrustelan agents make their way to Dragon Pass now, seeking to prise the secret legend from the Orlanthi that live there.
Delecti the Inquirer, the traitorous sorcerer, is aware of his former brethren’s machinations. He employs his own agents, Dragonspeakers and mercenaries allied to the Empire, to watch over the conquered Orlanthi of Dragon Pass and ensure the God Learners do not learn the full truth of this legend.
In every battle there is a crucial moment: a fulcrum upon which all hope and despair balance. It is in that moment that the fate of each conflict is decided. It is down to the Player Characters to forestall disaster by any means necessary. If they are successful, only then can they defeat the God Learners’ ambitions before the sorcerers enter the Hero Plane and steal a god’s blood.
MORE INFO
The city of Zistorwal is part-factory, part-fortress and instrumental to the Zistorite God Learners in their efforts to further their unique magical ends. Under smoking towers, the citizen workers stride among machinery built upon stolen Mostali secrets and enhanced by the vision of God Learner magicians and engineers. Through the streets, a giant automaton, the avatar of Zistor, strides proudly through the city named for him. In underground surgeries, God Learners replace their weak mortal flesh with alchemically-treated mechamagical implants, rising from blood-stained tables bearing metal limbs powered by sorcery and clockwork joints.
This is the Machine City, known as the Clanking City for the noise its thousand engines make, and it stands defiant against a great siege mounted by the Empire of Wyrm’s Friends and their allies of convenience. The Clanking City allows Games Masters and players to walk the streets of this infamous city in its golden age, shaping their own plots and campaigns in the towering structures and dark smoke-clogged alleys of this magical-technological nightmare metropolis.
The cults dedicated to Glorantha's deities are among the oldest and most powerful institutions on the face of Glorantha. Contained in this book are the secret lore and powers known only to the most ardent worshippers of the gods, whether they are the faithful warriors battling in the Storm King's image for the cause of good, or vicious, uncivilised trolls emulating the evils of Zorak Zoran in the name of personal power. In the Second Age, the Godswar is a distant time legend and myth, but the divine warriors that shed their blood so long ago now thrive on the respect and dedication of mortal followers. Cults of Glorantha: Volume I opens the way for players to join their cults of choice and rise through the ranks from mere believers to Runelords and Runepriests, going to war and adventuring across the world in the name of their god - calling down holy power and honouring the pantheon with grand deeds.
Cults of Glorantha: Volume 2 reveals the innermost secrets of shamanic traditions and sorcery schools. Contained are glimpses of the sorcerous cults of the God Learners and the spirit-questors of Glorantha’s ancient and sacred shamanic traditions. Sorcerer and shaman characters will find this resource invaluable, fleshing out Glorantha’s magical practices, spirit cults and Middle Sea schools of sorcery.
Inhuman cults also feature, including troll, elf and dwarf cults, founded on principles few humans will ever learn and wielding magic few humans could ever hope to master. For characters wishing to immerse themselves in the diverse cults of Glorantha, perhaps eventually ascending to the highest ranks of influence and power, Cults of Glorantha: Volume 2 offers all the character options and new mechanics they need to do so.
Cults of Glorantha: Volume 2 contains over 30 new sorcery and shamanic cults and 90 new spells, as well as new rules for Spirit Magic to use in your Glorantha – The Second Age games.
A Dragon...
The ancient kingdom of Dara Happa, beloved of Yelm, is ruled by a dragon. Its agents occupy the length and breadth of the Oslir valley; they have even penetrated the Gateway to Hell...
A Poor Woman's Son...
One man, the son of a blind carpenter and his pauper wife, is destined to to challenge the Dragon; to win back his father's heart and eyes, and in so doing, drive out the Dragon for good...
Seven Servants...
Every hero needs companions. Every rebellion needs its instigators. Every Dara Happan needs a divine purpose...
A Rebellion...
Together the Poor Woman's Son and the Seven Servants will rise and challenge the Golden Dragon Sun. From its stupor, Dara Happa will stir and shake. Gods will be challenged; the accepted ways of the Empire of Wyrm's Friends put to the test. Blood will be spilled.
A Rage
And in the midst of it, you, the players characters; the Seven Servants. Heroes emerging...
Dara Happa Stirs is a Gloranthan sourcebook and campaign setting of epic proportions. Within its pages you will find detailed information concerning Yelm's empire: history, myths, and political structures for the empire in Glorantha's Second Age. You will also find new cults, new magic, expanded character creation for Dara Happan adventurers, a full campaign spanning 10 years of Dara Happan history and numerous story seeds for additional action and intrigue.
So, Dara Happa Stirs; Dara Happa Rages. Join the fight for the Empire of the Yelm! Death to the Dragons! In Every Man a Sun!
The Dragonewts are perhaps the most alien of the races to inhabit Glorantha. With their continual cycle of reincarnation they are practically immortal and this makes them stand out.and drastically alters their perception of the world.
This book looks in depth at the different life stages of these enigmatic beings, their history, beliefs and society and how they interact with the other races of Glorantha, even their relationship with the Empire of Wyrm's Friends, who claim to know much about the draconic races. But how much can one truly know about such a strange people?
At long last the Eravssarr will take their rightful place amongst the races of RuneQuest, with Players and Games Masters alike being able to integrate them into their Glorantha games.
Runequest Gloranthan Sourcebook by Mongoose Publishing
At last Glorantha's most misunderstood and iconic race, the Ducks! Others call them accursed but these proud, independent creatures have their own traditions; calling themselves Durulz, they claim a defamed history and fight to see their place in the world restored - or revised. Ducks also covers the lesser-known bird tribes who share Keetsland with the most famous breed. With this sourcebook, Players and Games Masters alike can incorporate Duck characters into their Gloranthan campaigns as never before.
The elfs of Glorantha are beings as far removed from humanity as the great dragons and as such their motives are largely unfathomable. They are not even animals, but a form of plant life that is mobile and forms its own vibrant societies across the world. There are numerous subspecies of elf and, whilst they have their own names for the different races, humanity has tended to group them by type in an effort to categorise them more easily. Inside this book are extensive notes on elfin society, how its people interact with one another and the outside world, with their beliefs, culture and details on the various elf types. Their settlements and how they are organised are covered also, with two being described as examples of how they can be laid out (not that any two elf settlements are ever the same).
Extensive notes on how to play the various sorts of elf are available within, allowing Players and Games Masters alike to get to grips with these strange beings.Finally the religious cults are described in some detail, with some familiar to humans and others practically unknown outside of the elfin groves. With these descriptions are spells which are unique to these people.
The birthplace of the Middle Sea Empire, Jrustela is home to immense cities, powerful trading guilds, fearsome sorcerers and the birthplace of the dominant religion in the west. Although it is a location feared by its enemies the island itself is a place of peace and prosperity where the dreaded God Learners can safely practise their twisted magic.
Politics, trade, religion and magic are the cornerstones of the Middle Sea Empire and all of these are examined within Jrustela. The island continent represents a fantastic setting where even experienced RuneQuest players can meet new and unique challenges.
The history and geography of the island are described in detail within Jrustela, explaining how this previously isolated realm has become the linchpin of one of the mightiest empires to ever arise upon the world of Glorantha.
The teachings of the God Learner wizards, and how they manage to turn myths and even gods to their will, are explained, as is their relationship with the all-powerful church.
Welcome to the home of those who dismiss even the power of the gods. Welcome to Jrustela!
Set in the Heian Period of Japanese history, when the Shinto faith was starting to give way to Buddhism, when the Samurai were making their climb to power, in a land of legends.
Included are new professions and backgrounds along with advice on creating exciting characters, with which to explore this fascinating period. Also an in-depth look at the Shinto and Buddhist faiths, along with the variety of other factors that influenced life in Japan at this time. Predominantly, this book covers the rise of the Samurai and other martial classes and even gives the option of introducing Ninjas…not technically of this period but a whole lot of fun to utilise none the less!
Encounter the monsters and myths that have been the stuff of legend for over a millennium. Experience the Imperial life or that of a Samurai. Understand the importance of defending the honour of you and yours – no matter what it costs.
A scenario, along with extra advice for Games Masters, ensures that Land of the Samurai will provide players with an exciting, enlightening and even sometimes spiritual experience time and again.
Players may find a copy of Legendary Heroes helpful, though not essential, to using Land of the Samurai.
Throughout the teeming masses of lives that are born, live and eventually die in the spanning worlds of this reality there are a handful of shining beacons of hope that show the rest what they are capable of. These brilliant stars of life are far and few between, making their appearance in the tides of normal lives something truly special. They walk amongst their fellows like giants of deed and duty, a living reminder that the world is shaped by the actions of the bold and powerful.
They are the legends of this world.
Legendary souls that have carved a niche in history through their actions, these heroes are what the stories are written about and how epic tales are born. From the stalwart hero standing in the path of a hundred rampaging savages, to the lonely wanderer who one day overthrows a corrupt king - legendary heroes walk this realm in many forms. One universal rule, though, is that they seem to change the very pattern of the world wherever they go.
These powerful and influential beings are often responsible for performing great deeds and services for others on a grand scale. Unlike the common hero who might champion the cause of a single mistreated servant, a legendary hero would likely champion the cause of the kingdom that would allow such mistreatment to go on unchallenged. They are a bane of evil and wickedness, raising their weapons against their foes no matter the odds or the possible cost. True legends are made from unquestionably strong stuff, with the results cascading down through future generations as folklore and fable.
Anyone can hope to eventually count themselves amongst the small number of proven legendary heroes. It takes dedication to a cause, the willingness to set aside personal goals in lieu of a higher purpose and more than a little luck in the day to day struggles of an adventuring hero. It takes years - sometimes decades - to have the stage set to turn a veteran hero into a legend. It seems to happen when the hero is least expecting it; a legendary act performed out of need rather than want. Sometimes the hero does not even wish to become a legend, but wears the heavy mantle on broad shoulders. Not because he wants to, but because he has to.
While rare, the movements and choices of these select few are felt universally across their worlds. The common man wants to be them, the forces of good wants to recruit them, and the forces of evil fear and despise them. These are the adventurers that affect their worlds on an epic scale...
...and now you can join them.
This book is a guide to how to aspire to be, creating and play as Legendary level heroes in the Runequest game setting. It will explain what it takes to count a character amongst the ranks of the legendary, and what it takes to survive there. We will give both players and Games Masters the tools they will need to add Legendary Heroes to their existing chronicles, or even to create a Legendary Campaign that should even challenge the previously unmatched characters of this level.
To be a magician in the Imperial Age is to know, without a shadow of doubt, that you command the most powerful magic that can ever be harnessed by mortals. In reading through Magic of Glorantha, Games Masters and players get the chance to see how the sorcerer-lords of the God Learners and the Dragonspeakers of the EWF possess power far above that of the other Gloranthan cultures. This is as it should be in this era of empires that threaten the stability of the world itself.
Magic of Glorantha details the spectacular magical and mystical powers of the two greatest empires to ever stride the Gloranthan stage. From the draconic mysticism of the EWF to the heroquesting grandeur of the God Learners, this book covers all the reality-shattering power that eventually brings low an entire world. Including a host of new runic powers for the more mundane Rune Magic and detailed descriptions for some of the greatest and most influential magicians of the Second Age, Magic of Glorantha is invaluable for any Games Master or player wishing to capture the essence of mythic magic in the Second Age.
The stage is set for the death of empires.
Runequest Sourcebook by Mongoose Publishing
Have your players just taken a wrong turn, and caught you off balance? Are they miles away from your adventure, forcing you on the back foot? Never fear, Ruins of Glorantha is the perfect companion for every over-worked Games Master! With a multitude of encounters and locales fully detailed, Ruins of Glorantha allows you to funnel your players into interesting and unusual scenarios that will take a session or two to resolve. Explore some of the strangest and most challenging locations in Glorantha!
The tale of the adventurer is one of wonder and magic, of treasures won and lost, great deeds and foul plots, terrible foes, stalwart friends and monsters that can chill the blood of the most seasoned veteran. Depending on whether the adventurer is a hero or a villain, a miser or a spendthrift, a steadfast warrior for a noble cause or an opportunist out for nothing but gold, the details of the adventurer’s story will change, but one thing remains a constant for all adventurers: they will all come face to face with monsters of every description.
Within these pages is a host of creatures to populate any RuneQuest setting. They range from the ordinary and familiar, creatures of the natural world such as bears and snakes, to the fantastic and alien, creatures born of chaos, of magic, of the spirit world.
Many of the creatures found in RuneQuest Monsters are beings native to Glorantha, the original gaming world of RuneQuest, such as the grotaron and the timinits, but this certainly does not mean that other worlds are left out in the cold. Not only are most Gloranthan creatures perfectly suitable for use in a plethora of fantasy worlds, RuneQuest Monsters devotes a great deal of space to more generic beasts, at home in any fantasy milieu. Veteran players of RuneQuest will find many of their old favourite creatures within this book, as well as a few newcomers.
RuneQuest Monsters is much more than a simple listing of monsters. It provides information on how to create a full-fledged character using the various sentient races found within the book. While the text does not seek to pigeonhole any particular race to any particular role in the world, RuneQuest Monsters does provide guidance on which backgrounds and professions are most common for the different races most likely to be used as Player Characters.
Following on from the first collection of creatures for RuneQuest, Monsters II provides Games Masters and Players alike a new host to populate their Gloranthan campaigns. The world of Glorantha is amply serviced, with many creatures making their first appearance in this new edition of RuneQuest. From creatures twisted by vile chaos, such as unusual varieties of broo and snakes, through to the great riding beasts of the Praxian plains and Mostali constructs there are many new foes to keep adventurers on their toes. It will require a stout heart, strong swordarm and incredible cunning to be able to face these beasts and survive! Do you have what it takes?
Runes of Chaos is an introductory scenario that gives new and old Players alike a look at the newest breath of life into the RuneQuest world and game rules. From searching ruins and crossing blades with deadly monsters, to hunting down treacherous villains and saving both damsel and scoundrel... RuneQuest will bring a new feel to your table.
In This Adventure the aged daughter of Geramaine and Susanna, Sadradi, has fallen quite ill and knows her life is coming to a close. Her entire life has been dedicated to the protection of her parents’ village and the people who call it home. In recent months Wofe has suffered many disappearances of livestock, with a visiting farmer having gone missing just last week. Sadradi fears that a dark evil has nestled in her quaint little town and that when she passes to the next world, it will take over the village and undo her family’s work.
Rune of Chaos is the perfect introduction to the new RuneQuest system.
Magic is so integral to fantasy gaming that it was only a matter of time before an entire tome was dedicated toward magical spells in RuneQuest. This is that tome. RuneQuest: Spellbook is a gateway to hundreds of new magical spells and abilities for characters and monsters throughout the RuneQuest game settings. New and old players alike will find the information within these covers useful to their magically inclined characters, from Sorcery and Divine Magic to the classic Rune Magic . New methods of magic previously unknown to our readers are unveiled, along with some never before seen magical practices.
Quite simply, the RuneQuest: Spellbook is the most important tome for every magic user in the worlds of RuneQuest.
