One of the best rpg supplements I have seen this year, an excellent piece of Gloranthan gaming material of interest to HeroQuest players and RQ players of any edition, detailing Ralios as a campaign setting.
Re: [RPG]: Glorantha the Second Age: Ralios, reviewed by cj.23 (5/4)
A serious apology: as I have done once before I submitted the non-spellchecked version of the file, owing to cut and paste error. Too be fair it took me four attempts to get the file submitted at all, as my machine keeps freezing up, as manty of you know, and the original text file took many hours to write. I will buy a new computer.
A brief addendum - one of the notable things on cross checking with the description of Ralios in Glorantha: Genertela Crucible of the Hero Wars is how little has actually changed in the Third Age. l have not had a chance to cross reference with An Introduction to Glorantha yet, but the material is very similar in the Third Age and Second Age, so conversions to a Third Age Ralios wiould be easy.
Re: [RPG]: Glorantha the Second Age: Ralios, reviewed by cj.23 (5/4)
Good review!
As someone who is (so far) underwhelmed by MRQ, I was feeling somewhat apprehensive about the follow up books and setting info, although to be honest I would probably get them anyway. This sounds really positive from your review, and as you say, can be plundered for use with any rules set. Here's hoping that the Second Age book maintains the standard.
I'll be off to download this when I get home.
cheers,
Mark
PS: I didn't notice the spelling errors!
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Re: [RPG]: Glorantha the Second Age: Ralios, reviewed by cj.23 (5/4)
Quote:
Originally Posted by cj.23
A brief addendum - one of the notable things on cross checking with the description of Ralios in Glorantha: Genertela Crucible of the Hero Wars is how little has actually changed in the Third Age. l have not had a chance to cross reference with An Introduction to Glorantha yet, but the material is very similar in the Third Age and Second Age, so conversions to a Third Age Ralios wiould be easy.
I'd be interested in hearing your comments.
Cheers
cj x
Intersting review. As to your comment on Ralios, as I recall, the place took a heck of a pasting during the First and Second Ages. During the Third Age it is very much a conservative backwater and not much happens. Western Maniria suffers much the same fate after the God Learners are exterminated.
Ralios seems to be a place people are from, rather than a place people go to. Incidentally, Alakoring Dragon Breaker is, I believe, about nine years old at the time of the Ralios pdf. The few survivors of the Orlanth Dragonbreaker cult are about to find him...
Voriof
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Blood over Gold - explore the wilds of Glorantha with the Trader Princes!
Re: [RPG]: Glorantha the Second Age: Ralios, reviewed by cj.23 (5/4)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Voriof
Incidentally, Alakoring Dragon Breaker is, I believe, about nine years old at the time of the Ralios pdf. The few survivors of the Orlanth Dragonbreaker cult are about to find him...
Voriof
Thanks for the comments. It's depressing when nobody replies after you work hard typing a review. It's also worth noting that Bazkalia Oskor (Genertela, Crucible of the Hero Wars, p.69) will probably also be around in the Mongoose period, owing to his remarkable longevity.
Re: [RPG]: Glorantha the Second Age: Ralios, reviewed by cj.23 (5/4)
Quote:
Originally Posted by cj.23
Thanks for the comments. It's depressing when nobody replies after you work hard typing a review. It's also worth noting that Bazkalia Oskor (Genertela, Crucible of the Hero Wars, p.69) will probably also be around in the Mongoose period, owing to his remarkable longevity.
cj x
Its always good to choose your parents well. And he chose remarkably well. Or remarkably badly.
Well, if you write a review of Cults of Glorantha or (better yet) Trader Princes, rest assured that I will comment in great detail.
At the risk of seeming snarky, I think in the review I would have prefereded more about the thing being reviewed than its socio-political situation in the Gloranthan fan community. More about the what than the why...? I hope that makes some sort of sense.
Voriof
__________________
Gloranthans are the freemasons of the gaming world - Ron Edwards
Blood over Gold - explore the wilds of Glorantha with the Trader Princes!
Re: [RPG]: Glorantha the Second Age: Ralios, reviewed by cj.23 (5/4)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Voriof
.
Well, if you write a review of ... Trader Princes
Once I can get Trader Princes, I will certainly review it. I would have reviewed ILH2, but I was beaten to it, so scrapped my review!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Voriof
At the risk of seeming snarky, I think in the review I would have prefereded more about the thing being reviewed than its socio-political situation in the Gloranthan fan community. More about the what than the why...? I hope that makes some sort of sense.
Voriof
Are we reading the same review? I don't think I mentioned the Mongioose RQ controversy beyond the first sentence, and the section in which I declare my biases struck me as appropriate in the face of that ongoing rows on rpg.net and other places? However 85% of the review (I just counted) was on the .pdf itself, so I am puzzled by how you came away with any other impression? Have a look, see if you see what I mean. And a large part of the "My baises" part is me declaring where i have an interest - I unsucessfully interviewed for a job with Mongoose, so I wanted to make clear that had not influenced my review overly, but delare just in case. I'm quite positive about MRQ really, just personally am more interested in HeroQuest. Not being sbnarky either, just completely puzzled. Have another look, maybe you can point out to me hwat you refer to?
Re: [RPG]: Glorantha the Second Age: Ralios, reviewed by cj.23 (5/4)
Thanks for the great review, CJ! Like you, I'm much more interested in playing 2nd Age Glorantha in HeroQuest, and it's nice to know that the setting information is quite useable for this.
Re: [RPG]: Glorantha the Second Age: Ralios, reviewed by cj.23 (5/4)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Voriof
Ralios seems to be a place people are from, rather than a place people go to.
I don't know, it's a great place to hide out if you're feeling the heat as it's pretty out of the way, but a dangerous place too. As a result you can probably meet some interesting people.
Also it's a great place to carve out your own little empire, if you're that way inclined, or stop other people doing exacty the same thing.
Re: [RPG]: Glorantha the Second Age: Ralios, reviewed by cj.23 (5/4)
Just got around to actually reading this review; thanks for the kind words about my very old Ralios article.
You see at one time I had a bug in my ear to put out a fanzine all about First Age Glorantha. The Galinini article is as far as I got before deciding that Glorantha really couldn't support a setting in a different era.
Heh.
Oh, I found my notes on those myths. These would have been the rest:
Quote:
[erzo:11][ralios]:more myths.txt
** THE FIRST AGE RALIOS MYTHIC CYCLE
originally a proto-umathi people. herath mother. spirits.
** PART I: THE GOLDEN AGE
more elf relations. and troll anti-relations.
THE FIRST CHILDREN OF GALANIN
how the fleet-footed god Galanin created his first children, the
horses so that he would have company when he roamed. the wisdom of the
raven.
THE SECOND CHILDREN OF GALANIN
How Galanin had his second child Eneral, who swore that he and all his
children would protect the horses. InUlei, daughter of Rali, is
Eneral's mother.
THE FOREIGN HORSES
Brithini (Daron)
THE CONTEST FOR IORLA
How Eneral won his wife, Iorla, in a contest.
ENERAL'S CHILDREN
The birth of Eneral's five children. A mention of the daughter,
Yelorna. Also, the characteristics of the children.
THE DEGENERATION OF THE HSUNCHEN
How many of the people of the land interbred with the animals and thus
degenerated into Hsunchen people.
THE MOUNTAINS
How the mountains were not in Ralios, and then were. Perhaps how they
seperated the Hsunchen people.
THE ZEBRA PEOPLE
How the zebra hsunchen are from a tribe that interbred with the
horses. Stribes are a brand of some type. They are traitors.
THE MANY GODS
how the enerali originally worshipped many gods, and no person gave
his total devotion to any one.
THE HATRED OF THE LION TRIBE
the basmoli and the galinini are ancient enemies. this story explains
why. It talks of Basmol killing the first horse (Galanin?) and that
they were afterward driven west.
THE COMING OF WAR
How Galanin's brother took up the horn and became the warrior. How
Yelorna was his favorite niece.
THE BREAKING OF THE KORIONI
how the Korioni broke into the Naskorioni and the Otkorioni at the
beginning of the war with the Triolini of Lake Nradar.
THE CHARIOT
HOW YELORNA LEARNED TO FIGHT
Elven Axe
HOW YELORNA FOUGHT THE TROLLS
Argan Argar & Zorak Zoran?
HOW YELORNA'S UNICORN LOST ITS HORN
** PART II: THE AGE OF DARKNESS
some should mention the stars.
THE GREAT WAR
how each of the four sons died. what happened to their tribes
afterwards. the age of darkness that followed.
THE RISE OF YELORNA
How Yelorna survived the darkness because she was a great warrior who
knew how to rise. How she became the Pole Star.
THE BETRAYAL OF THE VUSTR
how the Vustr abandoned their horses during the darkness.
THE DAWN
i have no idea what the Ralian myth of this is.
It's probably elvin awakening related.
** PART III: THE FIRST AGE
How Estel Regained the Horn
THE DANGAN CONFEDERACY
how the Dangan Confederacy was a religious organization that rose
around Hrelar Amali. how it brought civilization to the people of lake
felster, which were then but scattered bands of people. how the people
of the highlands (the Vustr) refused the enlightenment of the Dangan
Confederacy. how Hrelar Amali was destroyed during the time of Dari by
invading Seshnegi (305-307?), and the Councilic ideas destroyed the
old religious ones.
EARLY BATTLES OF TANISOR RELATED TO RALIOS
CONTACTS WITH THE COUNCIL
cf. Broken Council History
How Orlanth came to Ralios. On the twin sun gods.
THE FIRST DARI ALLIANCE
THE SECOND DARI ALLIANCE
350 Second Dari Alliance (aka the Heirs of Dari) formed to deal with
hill barbarians and the God Project
at some point, Maklaman Ironblade betrays it to join Arkat. It is
assumedly dissolved shortly afterwars.
THE RISING OF THE ZEBRA HSUNCHEN
of the new zebra heir, who was Dari reborn (who was Dan reborn?) Dari
Thriceborn.
THE COMING OF ARKAT
THE YELORNANS
Arkat slays all of the men of the Yelornan tribe when establishing his
kindgom. They swear an eternal oath of vengeance.
THE TRAVAILS OF THE YELORNANS
How they travelled to Prax, through COuncilic lands, and found an old
enemy there.
** PART IV: RELATED BASMOLI MYTHS
How the Basmoli were driven out of Prax.
How the Pendali hunted in packs.
How Basmola died.
How the Basmoli/Pendali fled East.
[erzo:12][ralios]:
Re: [RPG]: Glorantha the Second Age: Ralios, reviewed by cj.23 (5/4)
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