Editing Glorantha

{{Short description|Fantasy world created by Greg Stafford}}
{{more citations needed|date=August 2019}}
{{Lead too short|date=April 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2024}}
{{Infobox fictional location
| name       = Glorantha
| image      = Glorantha.png
| imagesize  = 250px
| caption    = Map of Glorantha by Christophe Dang Ngoc Chan
| source     = [[RuneQuest]] and [[HeroQuest (role-playing game)|HeroQuest]]
| creator    = [[Greg Stafford (game designer)|Greg Stafford]]
| genre      = [[Tabletop role-playing game]], [[wargame]], [[fiction]], [[Video games]]
| type       = [[Fantasy world]]
| locations  = [[Genertela]], Pamaltela
| people     = 
}}

'''Glorantha''' is a [[fantasy world]] created by [[Greg Stafford (game designer)|Greg Stafford]].

==Overview==
It was first introduced in the board game ''[[White Bear and Red Moon]]'' (1975) by [[Chaosium]] and then in a number of other board, roleplaying and computer games, including ''[[RuneQuest]]'' and ''[[HeroQuest (role-playing game)|HeroQuest]]'', as well as several works of fiction and the computer strategy game ''[[King of Dragon Pass]]''.  The Gloranthan world is characterised by its complex use of mythology, heavily influenced by the universalist approaches of [[Joseph Campbell]]<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Dunham |first1=David |title=Book Review: The Hero With a Thousand Faces |journal=Tales of the Reaching Moon |date=1992 |issue=7 |pages=36–37}}</ref> and [[Mircea Eliade]], its [[sword and sorcery]] ethos, its long and distinctive history as a setting for role-playing games, its community development and expansion, and its relative lack of [[J. R. R. Tolkien|Tolkienesque]] influence, which is uncommon among early American [[fantasy role-playing]] games.

Stafford first wrote about in Glorantha in 1966<ref name="GtG">{{cite book |last1=Stafford |first1=Greg |last2=Petersen |first2=Sandy |last3=Richard |first3=Jeff |title=Guide to Glorantha |date=2014 |publisher=[[Moon Design Publications]] |location=Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. |isbn=978-09777853-8-4}}</ref> as a way to deepen his own understanding of mythology. He founded the company Chaosium to publish the board wargame ''[[White Bear and Red Moon]]'' in 1975,<ref>{{cite web |title=Fictitious Business Name Statement 1975 |url=https://twitter.com/Chaosium_Inc/status/1057576370681798656/photo/1 |website=Twitter |publisher=Twitter.com |access-date=August 31, 2020}}</ref> which was set in Glorantha. Chaosium later published other games in the setting, including the critically acclaimed ''[[RuneQuest]]''. Various later editions of ''RuneQuest'', the narrative role-playing game ''[[HeroQuest (role-playing game)|HeroQuest]]'' (the first edition of which was published as ''Hero Wars''), and the video game ''King of Dragon Pass'' were also set in Glorantha, as were several prominent fan efforts. Stafford has also explored the Gloranthan setting in the fantasy novel ''King of Sartar''<ref name="King of Sartar 1">{{cite book |last1=Stafford |first1=Greg |title=King of Sartar |date=February 1993 |publisher=Chaosium Inc |isbn=0933635990 |edition=1}}</ref> and a number of unfinished works published under the collective name of "the Stafford Library".

In Glorantha, magic operates from the everyday level of prayers and charms to the creation and maintenance of the world. Heroes make their way in the world, and may also venture into metaphysical realms to gain knowledge and power, at the risk of body and soul. In the more recent material, competing magical outlooks (such as theism, shamanism and mysticism) exist to explain the world. Within each metaphysical system, adherents may also compete, such as when theistic worshipers of rival gods battle each other. The world is flat, with a dome-like sky, and it has been shaped in large and small ways by the mythic actions of the gods. The 'historical' world of Glorantha is in a more or less fallen state, having recovered only partially from a universal battle against Chaos in the mythic Godtime.

Humans are the dominant race, but other sentient beings abound. Some, such as the mystic dragonewts, are unique to Glorantha. Familiar nonhuman races, such as elves and dwarves, are distinct from their common, Tolkienesque portrayals.

==History of the Gloranthan game world==
===Early development (1960s–1970s)===
Glorantha's origins lie in experiments with mythology, storytelling, recreation, and the blending of ancient societies.  It is unlike its contemporary, ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]'' which has its roots in [[wargaming]].

Stafford's first imaginings of Glorantha date back to 1966, when he began his studies at [[Beloit College]], as a vehicle for him to deepen his own understanding of mythology by creating his own mythology. Stafford was greatly influenced by the ideas on the mythology of [[Joseph Campbell]], and echoes of Campbell's work are to be found in many aspects of Glorantha; for instance, the story of the "God Learners" can be seen as an exercise on the implications of Campbell's idea of a unifying [[monomyth]], and the story of Prince Argrath an exploration of Campbell's ''[[The Hero with a Thousand Faces]]'' (1949).  More abstractly, Campbell's idea that myths are how we shape our lives deeply informs the picture of life in Glorantha throughout the game world's publication history.

The first game set in Glorantha was the [[board game]] ''[[White Bear and Red Moon]]''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Stafford |first1=Greg |title=White Bear and Red Moon |date=1976 |publisher=The Chaosium |location=Albany, California, USA |edition=1st}}</ref> The game details a time of constant war between the land of Sartar and the Lunar Empire during the reign of Argrath Dragontooth. Its board details an area called Dragon Pass, while the rulebook provides details of the warring factions, their lands, and leaders. In addition, it provides a large-scale map titled the Greater Lunar Empire, showing a larger world in which Dragon Pass is placed. The ''White Bear and Red Moon'' does not disclose the name of the world.

''[[Nomad Gods]]'', a second board game, published by Chaosium in 1978, and based on the raids and wars between the beast-riding, spirit-worshiping tribes of Prax, a cursed land located east of Dragon Pass. It also did not mention the world by name.

In 1978, after the publication of ''Nomad Gods'', and prior to the publication of [[RuneQuest]], the name Glorantha appeared in print for the first time. ''[[Wyrm's Footnotes]]'' #4 contained three articles on Glorantha and a map of the world itself.

===In role-playing games (late 1970s – 1990s)===
The first edition of the role-playing game ''[[RuneQuest]]'' was released in 1978. Here, the world was referred to as "''Glorontha''". Several later editions were made; the second edition ("RuneQuest 2") in 1979 introduced many sophisticated game aids, such as ''[[Cults of Prax]]'' and ''[[Cults of Terror]]'', and polished campaign packs such as ''[[Griffin Mountain]]''. Using materials such as ''Cults of Prax'', players aligned their characters with any of a number of religions, grounding those characters in the political, cultural, and metaphysical conflicts of the setting. Each religion offered a distinct worldview and cultural outlook, none of which considered objectively correct out-of-character. This approach of offering competing mythical histories and value systems continues in current Glorantha material. ''Cults of Terror'' focused on the worship of evil gods and adversaries, such as Vivamort, a [[vampire]] cult, and Lunar and Chaos cults.

In 1993, Stafford published his first major expansion of Gloranthan mythology, the novel ''[[King of Sartar]]''.<ref name="King of Sartar 1" /> This was a departure from previous Gloranthan material, which had all been targeted at a [[tabletop role-playing game]] audience.

In an attempt to leverage the power of a much bigger gaming company, a third edition of ''RuneQuest'',<ref name="RQ3ed">{{cite book |last1=Perrin |first1=Steve |author-link1=Steve Perrin |last2=Stafford |first2=Greg |author-link2=Greg Stafford (game designer) |last3=Henderson |first3=Steve |last4=Willis |first4=Lynn |last5=Sandy |first5=Petersen |author-link5=Sandy Petersen |last6=Rolston |first6=Ken |author-link6=Ken Rolston |last7=Krank |first7=Charlie |author-link7=Charlie Krank |last8=Turney |first8=Raymond |title=RuneQuest |date=1984 |publisher=Avalon Hill |location=Baltimore, Maryland|edition=3}}</ref> was published with [[Avalon Hill]] in 1984. The default setting for this edition was given as the "Dark Ages of fantasy Europe",<ref name="RQ3ed" /> but it also included a booklet allowing use in Glorantha. Later supplements such as ''[[Gods of Glorantha]]'' expanded religious aspects, while ''[[Glorantha: Genertela, Crucible of the Hero Wars]]'' did the same for culture and geography.

In the mid-1990s, Avalon Hill began work on a fourth edition of ''RuneQuest'', subtitled ''Adventures in Glorantha''. Stafford did not approve of the project and it was canceled. ''RuneQuest'' did not prosper with its association with Avalon Hill, and the relationship between Chaosium, who held the rights to Glorantha, and Avalon Hill, who held the rights to ''RuneQuest'', broke down completely in 1995. Following the break with Chaosium, Avalon Hill began to assert their trademark to the RuneQuest name, began work on ''[[RuneQuest: Slayers]]''. This was unrelated to Glorantha and the third edition rules. The project was canceled just before printing in 1998.

During this period of breakdown, Glorantha continued to evolve. The advent of the Internet caused a boom in fan creations for Glorantha. This was supported by several unofficial business ventures, such as Reaching Moon Megacorp, and a lively convention scene.  Loren Miller proposed his [[Maximum Game Fun]] principle as a basis for gaming in Glorantha; this soon became a game system in its own right. David Dunham proposed his ''[[PenDragon Pass]]'' system, a nearly freeform game system, and several ambitious [[Freeform role-playing game|freeform]] games were played at conventions. One such game, ''Home of the Bold'', hosted up to eighty participants.

The [[video game]] ''[[King of Dragon Pass]]'' was released by [[A Sharp (company)|A Sharp]] in 1999. The player assumes the role of an Orlanthi hero who seeks to unite the clans and tribes of Dragon Pass into a single kingdom. The game features exceptional depth of coverage of the area of Dragon Pass, and featured the first compelling public view of Stafford's ideas about the hero's quest. Stafford was also self publishing additional material at this time about the history and mythology of Glorantha in non-game form in ''The Glorious (Re)Ascent of Yelm''.

===21st century===
In 2000, [[Issaries, Inc.]] published ''[[HeroQuest (role-playing game)|Hero Wars]]'', a new Gloranthan role-playing game unrelated to RuneQuest. Its next iteration in 2003 was named ''[[HeroQuest (role-playing game)|HeroQuest]]'' and later in 2008, [[Moon Design Publications]] published an updated second edition. 2016 saw Moon Design publish ''HeroQuest Glorantha'', completely integrating Glorantha into the rules. 2006 saw ''RuneQuest'' licensed from Issaries by [[Mongoose Publishing]] with a second edition in 2010. In 2012, [[The Design Mechanism]] published the sixth edition of RuneQuest, with no Gloranthan content. Glorantha returned in 2018 with Chaosium publishing ''[[RuneQuest - Roleplaying in Glorantha]]''.

====''Hero Wars'' and ''HeroQuest''====
The ''HeroQuest'' game system, written by [[Robin Laws]] in collaboration with [[Greg Stafford (game designer)|Greg Stafford]], is a complete departure from ''RuneQuest''. The former leverages quick contests and open, almost free-form style of skills and abilities to emulate a mythic structure of play, with rising and falling tensions that contrast with the more naturalistic focus taken by ''RuneQuest''. Owing to this approach, in approach some ''RuneQuest'' fans found it difficult to adjust to ''HeroQuest''. A rewritten second edition was published in Spring 2009 by [[Moon Design Publications]]. It was supported with comprehensive Gloranthan sourcebooks ''Sartar: Kingdom of Heroes'' (2009), ''Sartar Companion'' (2010) and ''Pavis: Gateway to Adventure'' (2012).

====''RuneQuest''====
In 2006, ''RuneQuest'' was licensed to [[Mongoose Publishing]] by [[Issaries, Inc.|Issaries]]. Their new edition of the rules,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sprange |first1=Matthew Sprange |title=RuneQuest |date=2006 |publisher=Mongoose Publishing |isbn=9781905471102 |edition=1}}</ref> were not set in Glorantha, and required a further supplemement, ''Glorantha – The Second Age''<ref>{{cite book |last1=Laws |first1=Robin |title=Glorantha - The Second Age |date=2006 |publisher=Mongoose Publishing |isbn=9781905471119 |edition=1}}</ref> to play. Written by [[Robin Laws]], it was set in the Second Age of Gloratha's history against the backdrop of The God Learner empire and the Empire of Wyrm's Friend. In this edition, Mongoose produced 17 supplements and adventures based in Glorantha, alongside their generic fantasy background.

A second edition ''Mongoose RuneQuest II'' was published in January 2010, but Mongoose Publishing's licence for Gloranthan material lapsed in May 2011. The ''RuneQuest II'' game system has been retitled "Legend", and contains no Gloranthan material. A new company, The Design Mechanism, was formed by the authors of ''RuneQuest II'', and ownership of the Gloranthan supplements produced for the "RuneQuest II" line was transferred to them (PDF versions continued to be sold). There are close links between The Design Mechanism and Moon Design Publications, with The Design Mechanism founders writing material for both companies. Their new edition of the RuneQuest rules, ''RuneQuest: Sixth Edition'',<ref>{{cite book |last1=Nash |first1=Pete |last2=Whitaker |first2=Lawrence |title=RuneQuest |date=2012 |publisher=The Design Mechanism |isbn=9780987725905 |edition=6 |url=http://thedesignmechanism.com}}</ref> did not have a Gloranthan setting.

In 2018 Chaosium published [[RuneQuest - Roleplaying in Glorantha]]. Wholly set in Glorantha, it advanced the in-game date to 1625, and focuses once again on Dragon Pass. Along with its two slipcase companions,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Richard |first1=Jeff |last2=Stafford |first2=Greg |last3=Durall |first3=Jason |title=RuneQuest - Gamemaster Screen Pack |date=2018 |publisher=Chaosium |location=Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA |isbn=9781568825045}}</ref> it provides a complete overview of this region. Again the village of [[Apple Lane]] in the homeland of Sartar is used as a starting adventure setting, but updated to the year 1625. Two further supplements concentrate on specific areas within Dragon Pass.

==The World of Glorantha==

The Glorantha website<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.glorantha.com/|title=Glorantha}}</ref> introduces Glorantha as follows:

<blockquote>
Glorantha is an action-packed world of adventure. Gods and Goddesses struggle here, with nations of people nothing but their pawns. The stormy barbarians with their brutal but honest Storm God struggle against the Lunar Empire, led by the imperial Sun God and devious Moon Goddess.

Glorantha is an exciting world of heroes. Legends are being made by great individuals, many who are not even human beings. Some work with the deities, other heroes and heroines fight against them.

Glorantha is colorful and full of magic. Supernatural animals are found, ranging from unicorns to seven types of merfolk and the Goddess of Lions.

Glorantha is immense. If explored, it has different worlds and dimensions, whole realms where Gods, spirits and sorcerous powers come from.  Unlike many fantasy settings, Glorantha emphasises religion, myth and belief to a level rarely seen in role-playing or fantasy fiction elsewhere.

Glorantha shares some fantasy tropes such as [[dwarf (mythology)|dwarves]], [[elf|elves]], [[troll]]s, [[giant (mythology)|giants]], but has developed them differently to the more conventional versions based on the work of  [[J. R. R. Tolkien|Tolkien]]. Dwarves are literally made of stone and exist as manifest rigid inflexible laws of creation, while elves are intelligent, mobile plants. Glorantha is full of surprises.

Glorantha is as deep as you want it to be, or not. Hackers and choppers have what they want, while scholars and mythologists have a vast playground of new stories, legends and myths to enjoy.
</blockquote>

It has various cultures analogous to Earth spread over two major landmasses and a wide [[archipelago]]. The northern continent of [[Genertela]] has a caste society of roughly Vedic type to the west, an autocratic Oriental society to the east and a classical-style [[Bronze Age]] culture in the center. The southern continent of [[Pamaltela]] is analogous to [[Africa]].

==Creatures of Glorantha==
'''Broos''' are creatures of chaos. As they can fruitfully mate with anything, they have the body of a man and features of their animal parent, often [[deer]], [[goat]]s, [[antelope]], [[cattle]], and [[sheep]]. The animal parent normally dies when the child eats its way out of the host at full gestation. They worship Malia, the Mother of Disease, and Thed, the goddess of rape and mother of Chaos.<ref>Stafford & Richard (2012), page 97</ref>

'''Scorpionmen''' are belligerent and resemble [[scorpion]]-human [[centaur]]. They are stupid, vicious and live in violent [[matriarchies]] with a religious emphasis on devouring. They are chaotic in nature.

'''Ducks''' or ''Durulz'' are flightless humanoid [[duck]]-like creatures who have arms rather than wings (or men cursed with feathers and webbed feet). They have unknown ancestry and may descend from cursed humans or cursed ducks. They reside around rivers, mainly in Sartar, and have an unexplained mystical affinity with Death.

'''Aldryami''' or Gloranthan [[elves]], are plant people. They worship nature and the sun and Aldrya, deity of plants, specifically. In contrast to [[Tolkienesque]] [[elves]], they are alien, physically plant-like and unfriendly to "meat men" (humans). Like many other fantasy fictional elf races, they are excellent archers.

'''Mostali''' are machine-like [[dwarf (mythology)|dwarves]]. They are [[xenophobic]], [[Orthodoxy|orthodox]] and insular. They have invented [[iron]], which has many extraordinary magical properties in Glorantha, contrasting to the primary metal used [[bronze]].

'''Uz''', the [[troll]]s, are the race of darkness, large, intelligent, astoundingly [[omnivorous]], with a very developed [[sonar]]-like sense (''darksense''). Their societies are matriarchal, and they worship, among others, a goddess of darkness called Kyger Litor, mother of the Trolls, and the more violent and sinister Zorak Zoran.

'''Dragonewts''' are a magical race made up of forms of [[neotenic]] [[dragons]]. They are engaged in a cycle of self-improving [[reincarnation]]. They are alien, with an incomprehensible mindset. They must have oral surgery in order to speak human languages.

==Multimedia Glorantha==
Glorantha has been the background for a number of different media, and numerous pieces of myth and fiction created by the Glorantha community, featured in magazines such as ''[[Tales of the Reaching Moon]]''. Several hundred gaming miniatures by various licensees and about a dozen plush toys have also been produced at various times.

===Board games===
* ''[[White Bear and Red Moon]]''/''Dragon Pass''
* ''Nomad Gods''
* ''Khan of Khans''
* ''Glorantha: The Gods War''<ref>{{cite web |title=Glorantha: The Gods War |url=https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/164702/glorantha-gods-war |website=BoardGameGeek |access-date=January 10, 2021}}</ref>

===Tabletop role-playing games===
* ''[[RuneQuest]]''
* ''[[HeroQuest (role-playing game)|HeroQuest]]''
* ''13th Age Glorantha''

===Video games===
* ''[[King of Dragon Pass]]'' by A Sharp
* ''[[Six Ages: Ride Like The Wind]]'' by A Sharp
* ''[[Six Ages 2: Lights Going Out]]'' by A Sharp

===Prose fiction and comics===
* ''King of Sartar'' by [[Greg Stafford (game designer)|Greg Stafford]]
* ''The Collected/Complete Griselda'' by Oliver Dickinson
* ''Gloranthan Visions'' by various authors
* ''The Widow's Tale'' and ''Eurhol's Vale and Other Tales'' by Penelope Love
* ''Path of the Damned'', a comic book series

===Fanzines===
* ''[[Tales of the Reaching Moon]]''
* ''Hearts in Glorantha''

==Footnotes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
* Astinus, 1998.  [http://ptgptb.org/0003/hist3.html History of Role-playing:  Part III - A golden age emerges].
* Peter Maranci, 2001.  [http://www.maranci.net/rqpast.htm History of RuneQuest].
* {{Cite journal|author=Greg Stafford|year=1997|url=http://www.chaosium.com/chaosium/starry-wisdom/sw1-stafford.shtml|title=Why Chaosium is|journal=Starry Wisdom #1|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19990203132502/http://www.chaosium.com/chaosium/starry-wisdom/sw1-stafford.shtml|archive-date=February 3, 1999}}
* Greg Stafford and Jeff Richard (2012). Sartar Companion 2nd Ed. Moon Design Publications. {{ISBN|978-0857441058}}

== External links ==
{{commons category|Glorantha}}
* {{official website|https://www.chaosium.com/}} - The publisher's website containing links to their Gloranthan roleplaying systems: RuneQuest, 13th Age Glorantha and [[HeroQuest (role-playing game)|QuestWorlds]].
* [http://www.pensee.com/dunham/pdp.html PenDragon Pass], the rules for David Dunham's system, which puts the Gloranthan world into the [[Pendragon RPG|Pendragon]] Arthurian role-playing system.

[[Category:Fantasy campaign settings]]
[[Category:Fantasy worlds]]
[[Category:Greg Stafford games]]
[[Category:RuneQuest]]