Getting Ready for Hero Quest

[Christopher Kubasik]

Here's one for the folks within the inside scoop on the Hero Quest book and product line.

Okay.  Let's say I patiently set aside buying Hero Wars a while back because Hero Quest would be coming out soon.

And, say, I kept waiting.  And waiting.  And now the wait is almost over.

Finally, say I own absoutley no material about the Glorantha.

Question:

In two months or so I can get Hero Quest.  Are there any books on the market right now I could get to start rounding out my knowledge of the setting? Are there any books on the market I'll need to get?  And if so, will they make sense to me without Hero Quest.

I'll be running a game for some folks and I figure I can start brushing up on the game background even before I get to the rules.

A list in order of priority and value for a new comer would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Christopher

[Michael Bowman]

Here's one for the folks within the inside scoop on the Hero Quest book and product line.

Okay.  Let's say I patiently set aside buying Hero Wars a while back because Hero Quest would be coming out soon.

And, say, I kept waiting.  And waiting.  And now the wait is almost over.

Finally, say I own absoutley no material about the Glorantha.

Question:

In two months or so I can get Hero Quest.  Are there any books on the market right now I could get to start rounding out my knowledge of the setting? Are there any books on the market I'll need to get?  And if so, will they make sense to me without Hero Quest.

To answer your first question, yes. And, secondly there's nothing you have, but there are some that will greatly enhance your appreciation of the setting.

Glorantha: Introduction to the Hero Wars is the introduction to the whole world. It's not necessary and depends on how much you want to understand about the whole setting. The books below provide all you need to know about their specific areas. If you want the big picture though, get this book. There are no mechanics of any sort. It's a systemless introduction to the world.

There are two branches: for Heortling characters and for Lunar characters. I don't think there's anything you'll really miss that the rules synopsis online won't tell you in terms of game mechanics in these.

If you've got Lunar characters, the Imperial Lunar Handbook: Volume 1, The Lunar Empire is essential for covering the Empire as a whole and the cultures that make it up.

If you've got Heortling characters, Thunder Rebels is a wonderful resource on what the culture is like and what Heortling characters are like. Storm Tribes covers the 15% of the population that follows other gods (beyond the big two). Barbarian Adventures is also good for setting the scene as to what Heortling adventurers do, like cattle raids, for example.


That's my recommendation. Glorantha is a wonderful setting and reading it's setting materials is always a treat. The rules here are not intrusive enough to hinder your understanding.

Michael

[MrWrong]

Question:

In two months or so I can get Hero Quest.  Are there any books on the market right now I could get to start rounding out my knowledge of the setting? Are there any books on the market I'll need to get?  And if so, will they make sense to me without Hero Quest.

The bottom line is anything that is published for HW is going to be completly compatable with HQ. The system is pretty rules lite, so the source books aren't bogged down with references to the HW rulebook. Where there are stats and rules references they are pretty simple and written in plain english.

So you aren't wasting your money by buying the sourcebooks now.

I'll be running a game for some folks and I figure I can start brushing up on the game background even before I get to the rules.

A list in order of priority and value for a new comer would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Christopher

Ok here goes.

1.Glorantha Introduction to the Herowars
World overview, no rules, 100% pure background. Written as a starting point for Newcommers to the world. If you only get one book while you are waiting for Heroquest it should be this one.

2.Anaxials Roster
The systems' Monster book. Again because HW/HQ is pretty rules light, even this book is more about background and the myths behind Glorantha's beasties.  

Both these books are core background books for HW, and will stay valid for HQ.

What people tend to do is then choose which other background books they  want to buy based on the type of campiagn they want to run.( Either that or go completly bonkers and start buying everything that is available, guess which camp I belong too :)  )

Therefore if you are interested in the Satarite Stormbarbarians it goes

Thunder Rebels (Core Sartar player book) then Storm Tribe (detail about the smaller Sartar Cults, other than mainstream Orlanth/Ernalda).
The accompanying adventures Barbarain Adventures and Orlanth is dead will then set you up nicely to run games based around the Sartarites.

If you are interested in playing in the Lunar Empire, its the Lunar Handbook 1 -which is 100% HQ compatable.

The UZ Book, published by the Unspoken Word,  http://www.celtic-webs.com/theunspokenword/, is an excellent source book for the Trolls of Glorantha, and also shows the depth that Gloranthan non-humans have.

Hope this helps