I'm gearing up for my interview with Greg Stafford as part of the HeroQuest cover story in Daedalus, a new ezine I'm launching in October.

The interview will inquire about the evolution of Glorantha, Issaries' upcoming plans and strategies, the HeroQuest rules, his thoughts on where HQ fits into the hobby & industry, etc. It won't get terribly in depth about Gloranthan lore, for example.

So, what would you want to ask Greg?

If you could be an anthropomorphic aquatic avian, any kind of anthropomorphic aquatic avian you wanted, what kind of anthropomorphic aquatic avian would you be?

Favorite(or favorites) myths of Glorantha which came up in play for him in his gaming group.

Chris

Already did.

Industry and Chaosium history, design decisions as BRP evolved from game to game, differing creative agendas among players in Gloranthan settings, where did Belintar come from, Prince Valiant, romantic interactions among members of role-playing groups, cross-gender play, material vs. vital inquiry, feuds and government, fundamentalism, Kralori dragons vs. Illumination, Thed and the deification of rape, about a hundred different aspects of running Hero Wars, and a bunch of other stuff.

Best,
Ron

I think Glorantha needs a Campaign Setting Handbook like the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting of DD3. What do you think ?

I have a range of questions, ranging from the serious to the trivial and annoying. Most of these are not that deep, as they reflect issues that I'm coming to as someone newly interested in the game and with a limited knowledge of its creation and history.

1. What advice would you give to people just now coming to Glorantha and HeroQuest about getting into the setting? Many such players love the depth and breadth of Glorantha, but can be put off by the occasionally schizophrenic presentation and organization of its material. How can they get over their fears and learn to love the ducks?

2. In a related question, do you ever feel that in giving the current Gloranthaphiles their roll in creating and expanding the setting you may have set up a situation where your world became inherently accessible mostly to those already imbedded in it? That is to say, do you feel that you made a world with deeply embedded and immersed fans at the cost of getting a significant number of new fans?

3. If so, are you happier with it that way? If not, how do you explain the “wall” that many new players feel they come against with the setting?

4. Where is Heroquest Voices, yo?

5. What roll would you say your own political views have had upon the creation of the history and politics of Glorantha? How did your views on imperialism and expansivist colonialism, for example, effect the development of the Lunar Empire? Have those views changed, and if so is that one of the reasons why we’re seeing a more human side of the Empire now?

6. How hard do you think it is for someone to become immersed in Glorantha if they have political views opposite yours?

7. When you sit down to create a setting for a game that others are going to play in, do you worry about any of the issues questioned above? Do you focus more on the game setting being usable and approachable by people playing a game, or upon it being realistic and detailed in keeping with your vision?

8. What’s your favorite rune?

9. Why ducks? Why, for the love of Donald, ducks?

• How does it feel to be one of the seminal visionaries of our hobby, an inspiration to nearly all who have come after you into this grand venture of designing games?
• What was it about Robin Laws' initial draft of what would become HeroQuest that lead you to the realization, after years of struggle to create a game which portrayed Glorantha in a manner more consistent with your vision of it than RuneQuest, that you had finally hit upon your... pardon the homage to Pendragon... personal Holy Grail?
• Which one "deeper mystery" of Glorantha do you most wish someone would ask you about (i.e., you are most eager to reveal), and why?

I would like to ask Greg about his novel writing. He has two novels in development. most of which have only ever been available to members of the GTA: Harmast's Saga and a Lunar novel. Robin Laws went to those novels to write HeroQuest. Will Greg ever pubish those novels to a wider audience? After all M.A.R Barker has made Tekumel novels available by print-on-demand, why not Glorantha? II has often indicated its intention to publish Gloranthan novels, but Greg's have never been in the pipeline, why not? Finally Greg said in a White Dwarf interview years ago, that the inspiration to publish White Bear and Red Moon came from a publisher who rejecting a novel said 'all S&S are pretty much the same hackwork' and Greg decided to take that observation and create a game. Does he ever regret revealing his creation that way, and not in print?

You mean, besides What is the God Learner's secret?

Seriously, I think I'd want to ask about two things.

First, has he ever intended for RuneQuest/HeroQuest/Glorantha to have a 'real world' purpose besides 'a game for people to play' or 'a way to explore Glorantha' and, if so, what is that purpose? I suppose with this question I'm really trying to find out if his mythic stance in the portrayal, creation, and development of Glorantha has an agenda beyond fiction and games. Is it supposed to educate, or teach, a viewpoint or way of thinking about things?

The second thing I'd want to ask him about would be objective truth in Glorantha. Is Objective Truth actually possible or present in Glorantha from the point of view of the natives in more than a regional, mythic sense? To what degree? The fact that myths and whatnot have been and presumably can still be changed 'for real', which more or less results in changes to history, suggests that objective truth is present, but not lasting. There is a way that Glorantha works right now, but tomorrow it might work differently, depending on what happens on the God Plane and whatnot. The God Learner's secret is like this, too -- it's real. It has an objective existence. But at the same time, 'things don't work that way anymore'. Is this a 'real truth' about the way Glorantha works? Why? Since Glorantha is a created place, what ends are served by making it's internal rules work this way?

There's lots more I'd love to ask him, but I think these are the burning questions I have.

Folks have captured most of what I'd ask. But . . . shouldn't Ron have to supply ANSWERS rather than questions, since he already asked his? Not that Ron's busy or anything, but Matt - maybe Ron ought to be required to put those answers in an article of his own for Daedalus (smirk)?

Gordon
(Realistically, if Ron's schedule is as full as I'd think it would be- no way this can happen by October. But there will be future issues, right?)

Gordon C. Landis wrote:
(Realistically, if Ron's schedule is as full as I'd think it would be- no way this can happen by October. But there will be future issues, right?)

I'm very curious about the answers Anyablue's questions as well.

(Ron's, too.... But apparently they've already been asked.)

Christopher

Ooo, another one!

I've heard vague mutterings about the fact that he's spending a year teaching English in Mexico. Is that in fact the case? Why? How is that working/going to work logistically?

AnyaTheBlue wrote: I've heard vague mutterings about the fact that he's spending a year teaching English in Mexico. Is that in fact the case? Why? How is that working/going to work logistically?