Essential references?

[Hobbitboy]

If I was going to (attempt to) run a HQ campaign centered around the region just to the south of the Dragon Pass (Sartar?) what HQ/HW books would be either needed or strongly recomended? Currently all I have is the HeroQuest book itself.

I'm guessing I'll need:

[*]Anaxial's Roster: for creatures etc.
[*]Thunder Rebels: for local culture.
[*]Storm Tribe: for other local cults
[*]Imperial Lunar Handbook: to know about the 'other side' even if I don't reveal that much about them. ;-) Or my players might decide to go the Lunar way. Who knows.
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But what about:

[*]Dragon Pass: The description looked good (as did the review) but do those of you who have it find it useful?
[*]The World of Glorantha?: Is this suitable for letting players who are not Glorantha-literate browse through?
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Is there anything else I'm overlooking? I'm trying to get a mix of broad background information plus specific local detail.

I suppose I'll end up with most of the books in the end but given that I have to get them posted across the Pacific it'll probably take me a while so I'm wanting to get the ones that will get me off to best start first.

PS I played in then ran a few RQ campaigns back in the Chaosium days and I had a passing familiarity with most of the Chaosium/Avalon Hill published material but that was all several years ago.

Thanks,

John

[Thor Olavsrud]

I'm in the process of putting together a Sartar campaign myself. I think you could easily do it with what you have on hand. You don't really need anything else. However, other stuff that may be helpful:

Dragon Pass: This is a gazetteer of the region. It has a nice color map,  and description of many points of interest. Not essential, but certainly useful for playing in the region.

Barbarian Adventures: Ostensibly, this is a scenario book for the region, but much of the book is devoted to exploring what Orlanthi life looks like from the ground-level. It's stuff that wasn't covered in Thunder Rebels. It includes history of the Kingdom of Sartar, some information on the tribes, different tribal rings, etc. Recommended.

Orlanth is Dead!: This, after Barbarian Adventures, is the second book in the Sartar Rising campaign. If you're interested in having your players take part in the Sartarite rebellion, this book is essential. If not, it won't be as useful. It has history of the rebellion, more stuff on Heortling warfare, a Clan Questionaire that allows you to customize your clan, etc. Also Recommended.

I don't own Glorantha: Introduction to the Hero Wars, so I can't really comment on its usefulness, though I've heard many good things about it. It's hard to track down currently.

If you're interested in portraying some of the stuff around Sartar, like the Tarsh Exiles that live near Wintertop at the edge of Kero Fin, or the goings on of the Alda-Chur Overtribe, check out some of the Unspoken Word's excellent stuff, like In Wintertop's Shadow, and Tarsh In Flames.

[Donald]

If I was going to (attempt to) run a HQ campaign centered around the region just to the south of the Dragon Pass (Sartar?) what HQ/HW books would be either needed or strongly recomended? Currently all I have is the HeroQuest book itself.

I'd drop the Imperial Lunar Handbook off your list, it's more a source book for Lunar characters than anything else. Between the Dara Happens and Tarshites in the main HQ book you'll have all you need for opponents. If the players want to go Lunar you're going to have to make up a fair bit yourself because it's the first of several and it doesn't give enough information about some things (e.g magic).

Glorantha: Introduction to the Hero Wars is good for a very brief introduction to the whole world and the bits which are unlikely to be covered soon. I understand it's out of print and will be replaced by a new title shortly. I'd certainly wait for the replacement.

Masters of Luck and Death is useful if you're struggling with the idea of herobands and there's some nice stuff for campaign ideas but probably not essential to start with.

Same with the scenario books, there's lots of lovely information but depending on what your players want to do they may not be very useful.

I'd probably go for Dragon Pass, knowing where places are and what's nearby is always useful.

The other thing that's really useful is 'Heroquest Voices' which is a free PDF on the Heroquest site, it's the best player introduction you could want to go with the homeland writeups.

[Nick Brooke]

The other thing that's really useful is 'Heroquest Voices' which is a free PDF on the Heroquest site, it's the best player introduction you could want to go with the homeland writeups.

Here you go: HeroQuest Voices.

I'll second Thor's plug for the Unspoken Word books (esp. Tarsh in Flames, The Thieves' Arm, In Wintertop's Shadow). They make a lovely counterpoint to the "mainstream" Orlanthi culture shown in Thunder Rebels. And their material is extremely pick-up-and-playable (if you see what I mean)... if you can find it, that is. (Warehouse 23 carry some of their books).

Cheers, Nick

[Thor Olavsrud]

Oh and Thunder Rebels and Storm Tribe are awesome if you really want to dig into Orlanthi culture and their gods. Thunder Rebels covers loads of Orlanth and Ernalda Cults. Storm Tribe covers most of the other cults Heortlings are likely to join.