#greg stafford

[oldschoolfrp]

Excalibur is known by name in many other sources too. To the Welsh it was called Caledvwlch or Caliburn, and was said to have been made in the Isle of Avalon. After Arthur pacified his kingdom the court champion wielded Excalibur for many years while Arthur ruled. Gawaine was King Arthur's oldest sister's oldest son. According to the Celtic inheritance system Gawaine was, therefore, the heir to the king. He was also the champion and war leader.

"Swords of Pendragon" by Greg Stafford, illus. Martin McKenna, White Dwarf 85, January 1987, summarizing the stories of The Sword in the Stone, Excalibur, The Sword of King David, and Balin's Sword

#Pendragon #Greg Stafford #Martin McKenna #Excalibur #sword #fantasy #strange women lying in ponds #King Arthur #Gawaine #Gawain #White Dwarf #Games Workshop #GW #Arthuriana #Arthurian legend #1980s #Caliburn

[vintagerpg]

This is one of Greg Stafford’s Saurintology pamphlets, from 1994. It’s just a single folded, photocopied sheet. As you can see from the cover there, it claims Saurintology is the world’s oldest religion. It seems to be, on some level, a send-up of Scientology, but the energy to me is extremely in line with the Church of the Sub-Genius.

Inside is a survey about favorite dinosaurs, a note that “Trilobites: Deeper Wisdom” is coming soon, exhortations to get in touch with your Dinosaur Self and this doozy of a quote: “Saurintology Teaching Number One: Extinction is forever. Do better than us.”

Fun, then suddenly poignant.

#RPG #TTRPG #Tabletop RPG #roleplaying game #D&D #Dungeons & Dragons #Greg Stafford #Saurintology

[kleioscanvas]

"Nor will we overlook Eserela, that sweet woman who was hard where Teelo Estara was soft, cruel where She was kind, and, most importantly, kind where She was cruel."

-From Greg Stafford's "Lives of Sedenya", describing the lovers of the Red Goddess before her ascension into the Middle Air.

#artists on tumblr #illustration #fantasy art #sapphic #wlw art #runequest #glorantha #ttrpg #mythology

[birdsthatsingaftermidnight]

This Evening, in UK Politics - What Even is Happening?!

Suella Braverman, somehow an even more vile person than Priti Patel, has resigned because she sent an email from her personal account and also governments should be held accountable for their mistakes. Agreeing with Suella Braverman makes me feel dirty all over. Still, a stopped clock is right twice a day.

The fracking vote is being framed as a confidence vote.

There is a three-line whip. Any Tory MP not voting in line with the party will be removed from the parliamentary party and have to sit as an Independent MP.

The Chief Whip has resigned maybe.

It is no longer a confidence vote.

The deputy Chief Whips have also resigned?!

Jacob Rees Mogg and Thérèse Coffey are manhandling MPs into the lobby to vote?! There's an account of at least one MP crying as they did so.

Liz Truss was too busy arguing with Wendy Morton, the possibly-former Chief Whip to vote. On a vote with a three-line whip.

No Votes were recorded for 40 Tories, including not just the actual Prime Minister but also Boris Johnson (who has more important things to do than represent his constituents in parliament apparently), Nadine Dorries (no doubt wherever Boris is, hoping he notices her or something), David Davis, Greg Clark, Sir Iain Duncan Smith, Kwasi Kwarteng, Theresa May, Wendy Morton, Alok Sharma, Priti Patel, and Ben Wallace (who's actually in Washington D.C. on government business, so he gets a let). These are all party grandees, former Prime Minsters, former leaders of the party, and Nadine Dorries.

I mean, I'm assuming they're not going to withdraw the whip from the Prime Minister and members of her own cabinet (Alok Sharma in this case since Mr Wallace is abroad), although I'm willing to bet there are several Tories darkly hoping that someone will. That's one way to get rid of her!

Wendy Morton apparently has resigned.

Wouldn't it be amazing if she said, "No, I didn't resign and I've withdrawn the whip from Liz Truss!"

According to various sources and polls, if there was an election tomorrow, come Friday the SNP would be the official opposition, because the Tories would have fewer seats than the Scottish National Party and Labour would, obviously, be in power.

If Liz Truss had become Prime Minister and then done nothing whatsoever she would be doing better than she is now.

Let's have a look at some quotes!

“It’s a shambles and a disgrace. I think it is utterly appalling. I am livid,” veteran Tory MP Charles Walker told the BBC. “I hope all those people that put Liz Truss in Number 10, I hope it was worth it. I hope it was worth it for the ministerial red box, I hope it was worth it to sit around the Cabinet table, because the damage they have done to our party is extraordinary.”

Asked if the government can survive the night, one Tory MP replied: “I hope not.”

Labour MP, the shadow Scottish secretary Ian Murray, tweeted that he had "never seen scenes like it" in the voting lobby. He said he'd seen Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg shouting at his colleagues, whips "screaming at Tories", and "dragging people in".

Alexander Stafford tweeted -  "Lots of rumours flying around tonight. This vote was never about fracking but about Labour trying to destabilise the country, and take control of Parliament." This is my favourite, because he's trying to blame the Opposition for this!

#I remember when minister resigned #uk politics #what the actual hell #wtf #no really what #HOW IS THIS HAPPENING HOW IS LIZ TRUSS STILL PRIME MINISTER #I mean I still wouldn't want Boris back #but holy shit #HOLY SHIT

[alexilulu]

Friendly reminder that

(From Guide to Glorantha Foreword, Greg Stafford, 2012)

[haveyouplayedthisttrpg]

Have you played PENDRAGON ?

By Greg Stafford

You play multiple generations of Knights covering the entire Arthurian saga. Only a small portion of the game is quests and combat, there are also social feasts, land management, raising children, and romance

#ttrpg #tabletop rpg #poll #poll time #usa #1980s #pendragon #pendragon ttrpg #pendragon rpg

[rpgsandbox]

FÄNGELSEHÅLA is the Swedish word for "dungeon." 

We are inviting you to play an epic adventure with the elegance of the instructions from everybody's favorite furniture store!

This tabletop role-playing game takes a minimalist approach, offering an immersive experience without the complexity. Forget thick rulebooks and intricate character sheets – FÄNG is as easy to grasp as connecting the dots in an instruction manual. 

Designed for new players and one-shots that allow you to embark on quests with mechanics so straightforward that you can be up and running in minutes. 

Make characters within minutes using d66 tables and jump right into the adventure!

You can choose from character options of Alv, Dvärg, Krigsman, Tomte and Trollkarl. (Elf, Dwarf, Warrior, Gnome & Wizard) Each character option providing some unique benefits in the game. 

Each character also receives a heirloom and curse to help round out their back story and make the game play a little more exciting!

Attributes of Will, Tinker, Agile and Tuff ranging from 2-4 that are the base pool of white Action Dice as well as any extra dice added from character benefits

Top two Action Dice are totalled to beat a Difficulty score on a scale of 12

Jinx is a tie, and there is success with a complication

Use Luck Dice to improve failed Action Rolls

Difficulty Scale

<6 - Don't bother rolling... characters just do it! 6 - Pretty easy, you had better be able to do it 7 - Expected outcome, unless you mess up 8 - Pretty hard task, but not surprising that you did it 9 - Damn hard, but with all your concentration, you can do it 10 - Very difficult, to the point that pulling it off is surprising 11 - Almost Impossible... don’t kill yourself in the process 12 - Impossible... best you can hope for is a Jinx

The "DOOM STACK" for Tactile Game Play

Character damage and trauma is tracked with black Doom Dice which you stack on the table - or track on character sheet if you are on a wobbly table, camping, or just think it's too gimmicky (it's fun though... you should try it!)

Difference between the Action Roll and Monster Difficulty is Doom to the loser

If your Doom Stack tumbles during battle, the character is unconscious, or you trigger a trap if you accidentally knock them over while getting a snack!

Risk using Doom Dice to help Action Rolls but then add them to your Doom Stack

* Dice are not included as part of the game, but hopefully you have some extra lying around, or can find some at your Friendly Local Game Store. It's not necessary to have different colors of dice (white, black and a third color for luck), but it makes game play a bit more clear! Dice with dots tend to work better than numbers, for quickly determining success.

* The base game mechanics were inspired by the d6 system first developed for Ghostbusters RPG by Sandy Petersen, Lynn Willis & Greg Stafford, which has been foundational for dice pool mechanics across many TTRPGs

Each adventure is minimal game prep from random d66 tables that provides the dungeon rooms and its contents. It's so easy that you can probably even run it without a Doomsayer (Game Master).

In true ZineQuest fashion, you will receive a 36-page saddle-stitched landscape digest-sized zine (5.5"H x 8.5"W), with black and white interior pages and heavyweight card-stock color cover and inside cover pages.

This format was chosen to lie flat and be accessible while you roll on the d66 tables. It has the bonus of looking like an instruction manual!

Kickstarter campaign ends: Wed, February 21 2024 3:05 AM UTC +00:00

Website: [Dieku Games] [facebook] [twitter] [instagram]

#RPG #kickstarter #Fangelsehala #Dieku Games

[eleemosynecdoche]

If former belt buckle salesman Greg Stafford could casually and politely explain a character uses it/its pronouns in a board game manual from 1976, you can use them too. I promise.

[silver-leaf-girl]

A commission I did for a Glorantha book, part of the Jonstown Compendium of fan work.

For those not familiar with Glorantha (you might know it as the setting for King of Dragon Pass), it's a bronze-age fantasy setting written by Greg Stafford, an anthropologist. There's some bits that are a bit 'hmmm', but overall - it's a fresh and enthralling take on the fantasy genre, driven by a genuine interest in how ritual works in Bronze Age societies (I've heard it described as 'as Tolkien was to linguistics, Stafford was to mythology).

The paintings here intend to showcase one of the rituals in question, with a hero being anointed and girded to assume a mythic role (specifically Humakt, deity of swords and truth and death!)- around her, her masked clan-members prepare her for her transit into the mythic realm, while above her, Humakt himself wields/blesses the blade that she takes up. The second painting was for the back cover - it shows a devotee of Eurmal, trickster and storyteller, entertaining a couple of children and inducting them into the clan's mythic cycle, while their hunting cat (an alynx - Gloranthan cultures tend to favour cats where Earth ones would dogs) looks on.

Both paintings were done in gouache, early in the pandemic. I wanted to capture a sense of genuine mystery and weird spiritual power, and also to present a female Humakti in a role that many character artists have usually shown a traditional male warriors. It's also one of my (too rare! I should get back to this!) experiments with light and darkness in a painting.

#glorantha #runequest #humakt #heroquesting #eurmal #gouache #fantasy art

[drnightstone]

Mythic Synthesis Movement

The world of Glorantha has been one of the key determining factors of TES lore. But it is a shame that there isn't much interaction between the two communities. That is why I have made the Mythic Synthesis Movement, a Discord where one can discuss such comparative lore. Whether a newcomer or expert, in one or both, this place is for all, as the path of learning is endless! We are also currently doing a weekly lore playthrough of the Six Ages and King of Dragon Pass games - feel free to heroquest along us!

#tes #teslore #elder scrolls #the elder scrolls #glorantha #runequest #heroquest #six ages

[gefdreamsofthesea]

My hot takes on specific TTRPG systems:

Runequest - I think this is more my beef with Glorantha as a setting but Greg Stafford was big into core shamanism and it definitely shows in his work. Kralolera is very stereotypically Chinese (xenophobic, bureaucratic, have an actual dragon for an Emperor) I've heard Prax was more stereotypically Native American but in the current edition they are more Mongolian inspired (I feel like I've seen art where their architecture is more tipi than yurt but I'm probably thinking of something else). Also I really hate that the default setting revolves around Stafford's King Arthur-esque PC character which is why if I GM the game I'm setting it during the time of King of Dragon Pass.

Exalted - Again, I love Exalted's setting, Creation is weird and I want to burn it to the ground, imagine you are a level 20 D&D character, you start the game with command of an army and an actual god on speed dial, and then you get to the abilities list and they're all names like "Ox Body Technique", "Jade Leaves a Trail", "Death of Obsidian Butterflies" I am uncertain if they've ever had any Asian folks on their staff at all. I would have to ask my friend who knows some of them. Again, love the setting but like is it a homage to wuxia and anime? Orientalism? Both?

PbtA - some of the games that use this system just aren't good and the community is one of the worst in the TTRPG space

Every game on itch.i.o that is about some incredibly niche queer experience (ESPECIALLY if it's a game about death) - 1. Have you ever played a TTRPG in your life? 2. Do you need something to alleviate your depression? Seriously as someone who struggles with depression I'm concerned for you. 3. Are you SURE you wouldn't rather write a novel instead? I feel like someone out there understands me.

[oldschoolfrp]

Elric -- board game of war in the Young Kingdoms, Kenn Nishiuye cover for Avalon Hill’s 1984 edition, game design by Greg Stafford and Charlie Krank, originally released by Chaosium in 1977 as Elric - Battle at the End of Time

#Elric #Kenn Nishiuye #fantasy #Avalon Hill #Michael Moorcock #Eternal Champion #Greg Stafford #Charlie Krank #wargame #board game #fantasy art #Stormbringer

[vintagerpg]

As my collection of books has grown, so has my collection of bits of paper and other neat, small whatsits. I have three binders that I stick those things in, after which point I generally forget I own them. Which is a shame, because a lot of them are cool! This week between Christmas and the new year seems like a good time to pulls some stuff out of the binders.

This, for instance, is a business card once belonging to Greg Stafford. Circa the early 80s, if I had to guess, but I’ve no idea, really. I only say that because it looks a lot like the 1981 catalog I have. Stafford’s widow tucked it in the set of Different World magazines I bought from her. That struck me as oddly, off-handedly meaningful in some way I can’t quite find words for.

#RPG #TTRPG #Tabletop RPG #Roleplaying Game #D&D #dungeons & dragons #Greg Stafford #Ephemera #Chaosium

[unseenphil]

Goddess swap?

So the Godlearners were part of the Malkioni, Monotheist wizards of Glorantha, sorcerers who followed the Invisible God and basically regarded other gods as runic emanations who'd gotten too big for their britches at best.

A standard form of religious worship in Glorantha is the heroquest, recreating ancients myths in such a way that you can partially manifest on the godplane and can draw magic from successfully creating the stories, or even, with enough effort and time, changing those myths.

The Godlearners figured out how to do the heroquests of other religions, plunder them for power, and even started experimenting with changing myths to suit their own theories. One of the more successful attempts united two volcano religions into a single cult by adjusting their founding myth.

And then they got ambitious. They took two grain goddesses from different parts of the world, saw that their basic mythic origins were superficially similar, and heroquested hard enough to change what tribe in what area followed which goddess.

They proclaimed it as a great success proving some of their theories.

Except...

They'd swapped a rice goddess with a wheat goddess, and the rice goddess sent the water needed for rice patties to her new followers, who were in terrain drastically not suited for it, resulting in massive flooding. (And possibly that land sinking beneath the ocean entirely, depending on source)

One of the goddesses was associated with marriage while the other was not, causing skyrocketing divorce rates in her old followers, as they no longer had the blessings appropriate for marriage.

The swap failed because the god learners couldn't admit that their model based on a few points of similarity didn't work out and they still called it a success.

Unrelatedly Greg Stafford, creator of Glorantha, apparently really disliked Joseph Campbell.

[thegaminggang]

#RuneQuest

[alexilulu]

Books I Read in 2024, #6: Runequest: Roleplaying in Glorantha (Greg Stafford Steve Perrin Jeff Richard Jason Durall and friends, Chaosium Inc., 2019)

A bronze age-styled fantasy epic setting originally published in 1975 (as White Bear and Red Moon), Glorantha is one of the founding touchstones of fantasy storytelling in the RPG space that draws upon historiography and a firm integration of magic and mysticism into the firmament of its setting.

My first experience with Glorantha, like a great deal of others, was King of Dragon Pass. I don't remember exactly where I first heard about it. It's either on SA in the LP subforum back in the early 2010s or Tumblr in the same era; if it's the latter, Jared is entirely to blame for this, and probably because of him telling me stories about it in my car over the years.

King of Dragon Pass is a management game in which you play the tribal leader of a Heortling group exiled from their homeland in the wake of Belintar's accession to the throne in the Holy Country of Esrolia, forced to travel to the forbidden land of Dragon Pass where centuries ago the Dragonkill War wiped the land clean of all human presence. For you see, the Dragonkill War was named not for what we did to the dragons, but what dragons did to humanity.

Glorantha is like that.

Glorantha sticks in my mind easily, to be honest. It draws such a stark picture of itself so quickly you can't help but feel arrested by how committed it is to being itself. The Gods are so real that reenacting their greatest deeds invests you with their awe-inspiring power, and the Runes they wield are so bound into the fundament that embodying and studying them allows you to manipulate reality directly yourself.

The game itself is straightforward; every skill is rated from 0 to 100, and you roll 2d10 to roll under your skill rating, which you can further influence by channeling your passions or the Runes that represent you. Its character creation is delightfully baroque and fitting with the focus on historiography: you roll to generate the general lifepath of your parents and your own history in the last 21 years of Dragon Pass' history, during an eventful lead-up to the Hero Wars starting in 1625 when the world will enter a true tumult as empires face off.

I really just love the little things about the world here. Glorantha is detailed in the way that only a seasoned reader of history would be, with a light touch to give you plenty of room to imagine your own tribes in the region, the foibles of each village that give it real texture. The book grounds you in the idea of being from each ethnic group, the stereotypes others hold for them and the realities of their lives.

More than once it states that the Orlanthi recognize 6 gender roles and 7 forms of marriage, which is both a refreshing acknowledgement and also just a good reminder that societies for centuries have seen things in ways that would be foreign to the modern reader, and that you have to think of these societies in the context they've been shaped by.

The various pantheons of the world rule. I could evangelize about Orlanth, the god of storms all day, but it rules that the chief god of the largest and best-known pantheon, the Lightbringers, is the god of the season of utter disaster where life becomes cheap and dangerous, which i suppose makes sense as far as who you would beg to for survival during.

It's combat is dangerously swingy, in a way that kind of rules, in that you can plan for a lot of bad things to happen but you really can't stop that 5% roll from putting a javelin through your soft palate. This is your granddaddy's RPG, there's no luck recovery methods. You die, you beg the local priest for a resurrection and pay him handsomely for the privilege and don't do that shit again.

It just sticks in the mind for me. Very few other RPGs take the sort of careful, historically and culturally-focused bent on producing and placing a world in the way that Glorantha does. It feels lived in and loved, with a clear idea of itself and what it wants to be. I wish I could say the same for more games in the space.

#Alexis Reads Books 2024