Quote from: Persimmon on January 27, 2023, 08:57:02 AM
However, I'm not so sure I would actually play Runequest.  Could one simply use the setting material, or are the books too tied into the mechanics?  The game itself looks a bit too convoluted and something about duck people has always deterred me from investigating further.  But I'm intrigued by the Bronze Age stuff and how the gods and runes are incorporated into everything.

Both the Guide and the Sorcebook are entirely background material with no rules material at all. Glorantha is not exclusively bound to the Runequest rules, and actually has other official rule systems:
13th Age Glorantha https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/234486/13th-Age-Glorantha?src=hottest_filtered

and the currently oop Hero Wars/HeroQuest, soon to get another edition under the title Questworlds.

Edit: As for Ducks, they are a very small part the setting and easily ignored if you don't want them around.

Quote from: markmohrfield on January 27, 2023, 02:33:30 PM

Quote from: Persimmon on January 27, 2023, 08:57:02 AM
However, I'm not so sure I would actually play Runequest.  Could one simply use the setting material, or are the books too tied into the mechanics?  The game itself looks a bit too convoluted and something about duck people has always deterred me from investigating further.  But I'm intrigued by the Bronze Age stuff and how the gods and runes are incorporated into everything.

Both the Guide and the Sorcebook are entirely background material with no rules material at all. Glorantha is not exclusively bound to the Runequest rules, and actually has other official rule systems:
13th Age Glorantha https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/234486/13th-Age-Glorantha?src=hottest_filtered

and the currently oop Hero Wars/HeroQuest, soon to get another edition under the title Questworlds.

Thanks!  Now I'm even more tempted.

I thought Runequest mechanics is pretty standard BRP mechanics, like Call of Cthulhu... I mean that doesn't seem landing on convoluted side of RPGs IMHO.

Mystara fans have been carrying the torch for that setting for a long time and have amassed an impressive set of world expansion books. I really think this is one of the best under rated settings TSR ever made. They should have gone with this instead of Forgotten Realms IMHO.




http://pandius.com/

Quote from: Wrath of God on January 29, 2023, 04:59:46 PM
I thought Runequest mechanics is pretty standard BRP mechanics, like Call of Cthulhu... I mean that doesn't seem landing on convoluted side of RPGs IMHO.

A four page character sheet alone is enough to disqualify a game for me.  I've actually played a fair amount of CoC so that base system doesn't bother me.  But hours of creating backstory for my clan, cult, etc.?  That kind of stuff turned me off Modiphius Conan.  So, no thanks.  But the setting of Glorantha seems intriguing.

Quote from: thornad on January 29, 2023, 05:42:10 PM
Mystara fans have been carrying the torch for that setting for a long time and have amassed an impressive set of world expansion books. I really think this is one of the best under rated settings TSR ever made. They should have gone with this instead of Forgotten Realms IMHO.




http://pandius.com/

Agree on Mystara being awesome, but the OP was looking for a single book or boxed set.  By that definition Mystara is too stretched out.  I will say that the fan-made gazetteers available on Vaults of Pandius are generally quite good  for expanding the setting and complement the published stuff (including the Champions of Mystara boxed set) set quite well.

Quote from: Persimmon on January 29, 2023, 06:17:49 PM

Quote from: Wrath of God on January 29, 2023, 04:59:46 PM
I thought Runequest mechanics is pretty standard BRP mechanics, like Call of Cthulhu... I mean that doesn't seem landing on convoluted side of RPGs IMHO.

A four page character sheet alone is enough to disqualify a game for me.  I've actually played a fair amount of CoC so that base system doesn't bother me.  But hours of creating backstory for my clan, cult, etc.?  That kind of stuff turned me off Modiphius Conan.  So, no thanks.  But the setting of Glorantha seems intriguing.

Is that four-page character sheet something for later editions of RQ?  I've only played RQ2, but in that the basic character sheet is one page.  Sure, you can expand all that background if you want to, and if you're  a high-level character you might want spell descriptions appended to your character sheet instead of looking them up all the time, but it's not necessary.  I like Glorantha, but I don't worry about all the minutia of it.  A PC is probably going to be operating in a pretty small area of the world and will only have to know a little bit about it to be a viable character.  I understand your point about not wanting to get involved in a game with too-complex rules or background (I would be of the same opinion), but Runequest (2nd ed.) is not that game.  And the ducks or most other elements you might not like can easily be left out.

Quote from: Persimmon on January 29, 2023, 06:22:07 PM

Quote from: thornad on January 29, 2023, 05:42:10 PM
Mystara fans have been carrying the torch for that setting for a long time and have amassed an impressive set of world expansion books. I really think this is one of the best under rated settings TSR ever made. They should have gone with this instead of Forgotten Realms IMHO.

http://pandius.com/

Agree on Mystara being awesome, but the OP was looking for a single book or boxed set.  By that definition Mystara is too stretched out.  I will say that the fan-made gazetteers available on Vaults of Pandius are generally quite good  for expanding the setting and complement the published stuff (including the Champions of Mystara boxed set) set quite well.

Put them all into a box. 

Quote from: I on January 29, 2023, 07:36:23 PM

Quote from: Persimmon on January 29, 2023, 06:17:49 PM

Quote from: Wrath of God on January 29, 2023, 04:59:46 PM
I thought Runequest mechanics is pretty standard BRP mechanics, like Call of Cthulhu... I mean that doesn't seem landing on convoluted side of RPGs IMHO.

A four page character sheet alone is enough to disqualify a game for me.  I've actually played a fair amount of CoC so that base system doesn't bother me.  But hours of creating backstory for my clan, cult, etc.?  That kind of stuff turned me off Modiphius Conan.  So, no thanks.  But the setting of Glorantha seems intriguing.

Is that four-page character sheet something for later editions of RQ?  I've only played RQ2, but in that the basic character sheet is one page.  Sure, you can expand all that background if you want to, and if you're  a high-level character you might want spell descriptions appended to your character sheet instead of looking them up all the time, but it's not necessary.  I like Glorantha, but I don't worry about all the minutia of it.  A PC is probably going to be operating in a pretty small area of the world and will only have to know a little bit about it to be a viable character.  I understand your point about not wanting to get involved in a game with too-complex rules or background (I would be of the same opinion), but Runequest (2nd ed.) is not that game.  And the ducks or most other elements you might not like can easily be left out.

That's the latest one, which I checked out on their website.  Granted, it looks like you could get away with just using the first two pages as the second two are mostly family, clan, and background details, along with space for holdings, mounts and the like. 

The Land of NOD is fairly expansive.  I've lost track of how much of the world still needs to be covered, but the 36 issues released so far cover more than I could ever use.

https://landofnod.blog/nod/