This product has two books and a map of a coliseum. It is based around the idea that people will enjoy roleplaying gladiators in a coliseum where they have to fight strangers to survive for the benefit and enjoyment of a baying mob. Interesting idea.
Coliseum Book - This describes what a Coliseum is, for those who did not know, and gives descriptions and rules for gladiators and their different types. It contains rules for Chariots and chariot Racing. I used these rules when my players built huge armoured carts and took them through Dorastor and they worked fairly well. However, do we need them? I rather doubt it. Finally there is a section on Solo Roleplaying for those who like to play with themselves.
Monster Book - Nasties to be met and conquered. Gladiators (Humans, Centaurs, Ducks, Minotaurs and Orcs), Monsters - another Bestiary, On the Road - groups of people to meet and kill, all have general cults (Storm God, Earth Goddess) and seem very hollow. All good cannon fodder. Trolls met have enchanted lead, broos carry disease and have chaos features, but this is Alternate Earth, not Glorantha. Monster NPCs follow, including some nymphs with rather tasty magic items.
If you like Bestiaries or desperately need rules for Chariots, then you might want to buy this, but otherwise don't bother - there ids nothing you would really miss.
Recommended For: Beginners
Three books and one Pull-out with NPC stats for the major scenario.
Gamesmaster Book - Geography and History of Vikings, this contains some dodgy history/geography, but is still interesting. Scandinavian Creatures - fascinating Supernatural Powers and a Bestiary you just have to see, unique and interesting. There is also a reading list, more information on Vikings if you can be bothered to look them up.
Players Book - This has a Character Generation which is as good as any I've seen. Viking Society - very simplistic, but good enough for play purposes. Excellent rules on Alcohol and Drinking and several new ship, types. There is a section on Religion and Magic which is sketchy as the stories of the Gods are not told. However, the new spells are good and the idea of Gods without Godar is truly excellent. Magic is obviously not important in the Viking World, which makes it difficult to play RuneQuest in.
Scenarios Book - Some fairly good scenarios for beginning characters, but nothing spectacular. The section on Wind Children is very good, better than the write-up in Elder Secrets.
Overall, Vikings is the best Alternate Earth pack so far and can be very easily adapted to Glorantha.
Firstly, this suffers from comparisons with the excellent Griffin Mountain. As a reworking of that supplement, this cannot be avoided.
The Map of Griffin Island contains a number of inaccuracies, these are there intentionally to confuse and mislead the Players - something I wholeheartedly agree with.
Gamesmaster Book - This contains a description of the island, the citadels of Nidik, Ockless and Surlt and the town of Soldier Port. There are some very goods NPC writ-ups and stats - Blueface is particularly good and Granny Keeneye is stupendous. Griffin Mountain Lunars have become Orcs, Orlanthi have become Aeolians and Yelmalio has become Hilme, but the originals are clearly visible. The new spells of Awaken Horse/Hawk are very good.
Player Handouts - These have good write-ups of the Citadels and religions, with the Votanki hunters described in detail. This section is actually better than the relevant sections in Griffin Mountain.
Scenarios Book - This has a good bestiary, but includes Slarges, for some inexplicable reason. There are some interesting Treasures - again, better than Griffin Mountain. The Scenario hooks and outlines are pretty good, but are copies of the Griffin Mountain scenarios. The Redeye Temple scenario is new but is just an orc hunt/dungeon scenario.
Overall, Griffin Island is not as good as Griffin Mountain, although the NPC stats, descriptions of cultures and Treasures are actually better. I tend to use Griffin Mountain for the Gloranthan Background, but Griffin Island for NPC stats and the Culture. For those people who only have RQ3 and Griffin Island, I would recommend buying Griffin Mountain if you possibly can.
Recommended For: Experienced GMs
This supplement contains three books and a map.
Glorantha Book - Introduction to Glorantha - how to game in Glorantha. The Six Worlds of Glorantha - the Planes explained. History of Glorantha - a short Monomyth and a good History with the Arkat War, Godlearner Empire and Empire of the Wyrms Friends covered in some detail. Time - how Gloranthans measure time. Languages of Glorantha - the main languages of Glorantha, with language family trees, indispensable for widely travelled adventurers.
Genertela Book - nearly 100 pages of bliss. All the areas of Genertela covered in sketch format with History, Geography, Famous Personalities and a brief description of famous places. Everywhere is covered, if only in part detail. The most annoying thing is that the book is too short - each area deserves a book in its own right. Each area has prophecies of the Hero Wars which are themselves fascinating.
Players Book: Genertela - Character Generation for all areas of Genertela. Very good, very detailed. Easily enough to get started anywhere in Genertela. There are descriptions of the main cultures and What My Father Told Me sections.
This product is very, very good and must be bought by all RuneQuest Gloranthan GMs everywhere.
Recommended For: Beginners
This consists of three books, a Cults Book, a Prosopaedia and a What The Priests Say book.
What the Priests say - A general overview of each culture and pantheon. This is interesting but a little generalistic. However, it is good for beginning players.
The Prosopaedia is the most complete list of Gloranthan deities yet published. Even though the descriptions are maddeningly short, they give a flavour of the deities in question. All the Pantheons are covered, from Pamalt to Theyalan, Malkioni to Kralori, Troll to Elf, even Chaos. As a source of trivia knowledge it is indispensable.
The Cults Book begins with a very short version of the Monomyth, then explains the Pantheons of Glorantha in a simplistic form. A grossly simplified Pantheon Relationship Table is included - do not use it, use the one in Cult of Terror instead. New rules are given for cult membership and special rules for Gloranthan cults which add to the rules for RQ3 Divine Magic. Finally, the major cults are described in a short format with Description, Cult Structure, Spirit and Divine Spells and Associate Cults. Some descriptions are incorrect (No Shield for Zorak Zoran) and some incomplete - the full descriptions of Yelm and Lodril, for instance, have far more spells. Many deities are not described elsewhere, so this work is truly useful.
As a general Gloranthan reference, this is essential.
Recommended For: Beginners
This contains two books and a map - forget the map, it merely shows where the Elder Races live but it is inaccurate, missing the trolls of the Elder Wilds and the Broos of the New Fens, for instance.
Secrets Book - This begins with Inaccessible Glorantha, those places where nobody goes. These include Dagori Inkarth and Prax - two of the best places for Gloranthan Campaigns, very odd. There is a section on Mysteries of Glorantha - snippets and descriptions of unique places and items just waiting for adventures to be set around them. They are occasionally wrong - colour blind trolls see the Egg of Erangalos Karastomator as blue-purple and Kero Fin is described as being needle-like because its base is 30 km wide and it is 12 km high - some needle! There is a section on the Secrets of Dragonkind, much repeated from Wyrms Footnotes 14, this is the most complete description of Dragonkind ever seen. Monsters and Terrors is a bestiary using many creatures from the Gateway Bestiary (including the Hippogriff which, as every Gloranthaphile knows, can only be magically created as Hippogriff herself was severely damaged during the GodTime, so all her normal children are horses). The Terrors section contain monsters you would not believe - even my players do not want to go up against these. There are sections on Magical Geology, including new rules on Rune Metals and Powered Crystals, the Sky, with fascinating snippets of information, the Weather, which is different in Glorantha, and Secrets of HeroQuesting - infuriating because it is so short.
Elder Races - Trolls (another Kyger Litor write-up), Elves (sketchy but good) and Mostali (more than the article in Different Worlds with an incredible description of Dwarven sexuality, descriptions of Mostali Castes) and the minor non-human races. If you want to play a non-human, get this supplement. The cults of the Bloody Tusk and Cacodemon are excellent, although Cacodemon and his Fiends cannot Vomit Acid - in my campaign they can. There is a Scenarios section with some good outlines, although they do suffer from the "creatures are misunderstood, not monsters) school of thought.
Overall, this is an excellent pack, well worth buying.
Recommended For: Beginners
The original Trollpak supplement for RQ2 was reprinted in RQ3 by Avalon Hill and was split into four supplements - Trollpak, Troll Gods (with new material), Into Troll Realms and Haunted Ruins. This was a cynical attempt to gain the maximum amount of money with the minimum effort and was unforgivable, in my opinion.
Uz Lore - The History of Trolls, this contains their Mythology, including a very detailed account of GodTime, History, Eating Habits, Physical Features and Culture. It is very, very good. If you run trolls or are interested in the GodTime you have to read this. Finally, it contains a Glossary which is fascinating, even though it is only a list of names - it is a very interesting list of names.
Book of Uz - Troll Character Generation (including the fabulous Mistress Race Trolls), Troll Culture, write-ups of the major Troll Cults (including a Kyger Litor write-up) and a bestiary of trolls and insects. Very good for roleplaying trolls.
The Munchrooms - a scenario where rebel trollkin can be stomped by big, bad trolls. Actually, this is quite good. It can be played from both angles, either as allies or enemies of the trollkin. There are pages and pages of stats, including Nosebiter, an intelligent axe, and a complex that includes an entrance to Hell - always handy to know where these are.
If this were not a reprint of RQ2 Trollpak, I would be enthusiastic over it. As it is, if you do not own the original and want to run trolls, then get this supplement.
Recommended For: Beginners
This is based on the RQ2 Trollpak Book of Uz Cult Section, with extra cults added. It consists of a Cults Book and an extract from the Jonstown Compendium.
This is a description of all the major troll deities and includes a Kyger Litor write-up. It also includes a poor description of the Arkat Cult and a selection of Troll Spirit Cults. The cult of Karrg is briefly mentioned, but only as a Spirit Cult, without True Maul or Fear. The additions to the cults are well worth buying this product. Of all the Trollpak extracts, this is the most changed and is actually worth buying.
The Jonstown Compendium is a series of essays written from the viewpoint of a traveller through the Only Old One's kingdom. It covers the trolls who worship the cults described and is well worth reading. If you thought that Xiola Umbar was a nice Goddess with a gentle cult, then read this. The Compendium is full of interesting facts (Arkat was a Mistress Race Troll with Mistress Race children, for instance) and is a must for Gloranthaphiles.
Overall, if you run trolls or have interactions with trolls in your campaign, this is a must. It is actually very good.
This is a clumsy RQ3 adaptation of the scenarios from RQ2 Trollpak, yet still has RQ2 hangovers.
There are several scenarios, including fishing in Skyfall Lake, drinking troll drinks, attacking an insect farm and trading with trolls.
If you had never seen RQ2 Trollpak, this would be interesting. If you had, then it is a rip-off. Buy it if you want to see troll adventures or want troll NPC stats.
This is the final section in the reprinted RQ2 Trollpak.
It concerns a troll tribe living between Sartar and Prax in Battle Valley. The Sazdorf Clan are famous for being involved with the Temple of the Wooden Sword and not much else. The booklet contains a description of the caves, personalities of the trolls, a breakdown of the troll structure and line of command in the event of a fight.
If you want to see examples of medium-high powered troll shamans, then look at the stats here - the troll priestesses are not to be trifled with.
The Sazdorf Caverns have been expanded from the original and provide a good cavern crawl if you want to sack it. Beware of nasty troll surprises, though. You can even enter Hell via the doorway to Zorak Zoran's Training Halls, sealed with Iron. The NPC characterisations are good and there are pages and pages of stats, if that is what takes your fancy.
This is better laid out than the RQ2 original, with better stats and an expanded cave system. It is probably worth buying.
Recommended for Beginners.
This excellent pack covers the Duchy of Sun County in Prax.
The land, politics, culture and people are described in detail, together with the Cult of Yelmalio and the Sun Dome Temple. Running throughout are extracts from Hector's Yellow Book containing interesting snippets about Prax and the Solar culture, not as good as the Jonstown Compendium, but worth a read. There is a random encounters section and a set of scenarios for beginning characters which would be best set around a militia group.
Sun County is a good introduction to that area of Prax and provides another place to begin adventuring. It is a very good way of starting in Glorantha.
This pack covers the land around the Zola Fel, or River of Cradles in Prax. It has descriptions of the history and geography of the River and of Prax, together with descriptions of the peoples of Prax, Sun County, the Grantlands and the River.
There is a scenario in many parts - good for beginning characters and a way to become famous very quickly.
The city of Pavis, the Big Rubble and the town of Corflu are also described. Basically, River of Cradles is a reprint of sections of the RQ2 packs of Pavis, the Big Rubble and Borderlands. However, if you do not have access to these old supplements, it is an invaluable reference book for the area around the Zola Fel.
Recommended for Experienced GMs.
Promised for 10 years, this was well worth the wait.
A description of the land of Dorastor, its people, places and monsters. There is a history of the surrounding areas, a description of the major groups living there, including the Telmori and Broos, a list of important places and much more.
Rolled encounters can include normal Chaos, of which there are pages of stats, and special, unique monsters of which many are described. Stats for Ralzakark and the Mad Sultan are given.
There are several scenarios in the Riskland Campaign, a campaign for exiled adventurers, but these are secondary to the monsters of Dorastor. On the back it says "Visitors to Dorastor have been determined to provide nourishment and amusement for big, rude, ugly, disgusting things" which says it all, really. There is a hilarious section on an amusing encounter to scare players and a good couple of Lunar pamphlets, one extolling the virtues of the land of Dorastor, the other warning people to Trust Your Storm Bull senses.
This is a very, very good pack, very high level and not for the faint-hearted. It will provide stimulating scenarios for the players, amusing scenarios for the GM and an all-round good time. I defy anyone not to enjoy it.
"It's a Very, Very Bad Place."
Recommended for Experienced GMs.
This supplement is supposedlya scenario pack based around the area of Snake Pipe Hollow in northern Sartar. What it does is give a rough description of the Hollow and then provides a cavern crawl scenario.
There are several ways of gettinginvolved with the scenario, including killing chaos, helping a sage in his researches, rescuing an Earth artefact and running an errand for an alchemist. Almost any kind of party can be sucked into the Caves of Chaos. The Cavern Crawl itself is quite good and can be very funny - Big Club the Giant and the Turtle are excellent sources of humour. The Chaos inhabitants are a match for most parties, with Ogres, Scorpionmen, broos and powerful spirits.
However, the strength of the scenario is in the Deep Temple - a remnant of the GodTime battle which formed the Snake Pipe Hollow. There are demigods, spirits Chaos Heroes, a Void into Primal Chaos and much,much more. A good GM can use this to great effect and can link in to other supplements,especially the Rainbow Mounds in the Apple Lane supplement.
Overall, this is a nice little scenario,although just a reprint of the RQ2 version.
Recommended for Beginners.
This was originally bundled into the RQ2 rules boxed set. With RQ3 it was re-released as a stand-alone supplement.
It has three parts, a description of the village of Apple Lane with an initiation ceremony and two scenarios - Raid on Gringle's Pawnshop and the Rainbow Mounds.
Gringle's Pawnshopis the first scenario that most people who used RQ2 played. It is an introduction to RQ, being one long combat.
Rainbow Mounds is slightly better,being a troll hunt in a set of nearby caves. The troll hunt is incidentalto the subplot within the caves - a re-enactment of a God Time Battle. This has a link into Snake Pipe Hollow which is not obvious. PCs may go to Snake Pipe Hollow and find a missing part of a Newtling Statue and recreate the Great Newt. PCs who kill the Lizard Founder or who bring back the Great Newt will become friends of the Newtlings and can kick off links to other scenarios.
As a free booklet in RQ2 this was good. As a standalone product it is poor.
Recommended for Experienced GMs.
This is the book of Chaos Cults and contains a number of cults and a description of Chaos NPCs for each cult. Some of the cults are reprints from Cults of Terror updated for RQ3 but there are three new or drastically changed cults - Krjalk is new,Mallia is drastically changed and Pocharngo is fleshed out from the thumbnail in Gods of Glorantha. The NPC descriptions are very good and are useful for any GM.
There are many Spirit Cults described, both of Chaotic and non-Chaotic cults with new skills and spells. Spirits of Disease, new Disease rules and other spirits are found here.
There are a few things which I did not like about this supplement. I strongly disagree with the rules on Illumination, preferring the RQ2 version. An NPC belongs to the Spoken Word,an organisation which has no part in my Glorantha. The naratives of Paulis sometimes ciontradict the text, being based on the RQ2 descriptions rather than the updated ones.
However,Lords of Terror is amust for anyone GMing in Glorantha and using the RuneQuest rules.
Recommended for Experienced GMs.
This begins with a summary of Gloranthan EcologicalZones,extracts from the Deluxe Rules including a sketch of the Karrg cult. It then continues with a bestiary of creatures in Glorantha.
All the subtypes of Elves, Trolls, Mermen and humans are described. All the major Gkloranthan creatures familiar from RQ2, are here, although the stats for a few have been changed. Shadow Cats have been upgraded and are now awesome.
Other creatures have appeared, the much promised Maidstone Archers, gobblers, Nilmergs and Gremlins. Many new Pamaltelan creatures are also here and this is perhaps the weakest part of the pack. There is a tendency to have weird creatures for weirdness sake. It seems almost as if the writers had a competition to produce the weirdest creatures.
Overall this is an excellent supplement and provides stats and descriptions for as many greeblies as you could wish for.
Recommended for Experienced GMs.
This is a scenario pack containing three scenarios, two of which appeared in a modified form in the White Dwarf magazine a long,long time ago. These scenarios are very detailed and well-written, for intermediate-level characters.
Guamata's Vision can be used as an extension to the Sun County pack and is suited to a militia party.It is an investigation scenario with not much scope for random violence.
A Tale toTell slots into the RQ2 Borderlands campaign, between the penultimate and last last episodes. It combines both investigation and combat with a few surprises - a Tien shrine fugures in the scenario.
The Dyskund Caverns is a bug hunt, going into a Thanatar Complex and killing things, and a very good bug hunt it is too. There are chaotic greeblies, a very old temple, links to other scenarios and a number of First Age Vampires alseep who you do not want to wake up.
There is a full version of the Thanatar cult with slightly different spells from the RQ2 version and an excellent powergaming way of gaining new spells. Thanatari in RQ3 are not to be messed with.
Overall,this is an excellent product and can be used for many things. If you own the Borderlands or Sun County packs, this can be used to link them together and to ensure that the players a chance to expand into new areas.
Recommended for Beginners.
This has three groups of people for use as NPCs and scenario hooks.
The first group is the Coders, a group of high-ranking Lun ar Agents, in Prax for various reasons. These are the acceptable face of the Empire, honourable and fair. There is amultipart scenario involving the Coders and the Orlanthi in Pavis which is quite good. The Coders also play an important part in the attack on the Cradle and so links in to the Pavis Pack quite nicely.
The second group is that of Barran the Monster Killer, a Magasta and Dormal cultist with a cunning plan. A group of related scenarios help the PCs perform tasks for Barran,culminating in a monster hunt of epic proportions.
The third "group" is Arlaten the magus,a Rokari Clerk of the Wizard caste and accomplished magician. Several scenarios revolve around Arlaten culminating in a duel with an Arkati Adept from the Rubble. (Funnily enough the Arkati is an Aranea Priestess without a Fetch - a mistake as she should be a shaman.)
All the scenarios are good, the major NPCs can be used again and agian,giving extra flavour to any campaign.
Recommended for Beginners.
This is described as a companion to Dorastor and details the main Chaos cults worshipped there and also describes how people of Central Genertela view Chaos.
There is an interesting discussion on the nature of Gbaji, including several histories of the Chaos Wars.Here, each of several cultures gives their account of Gbaji, Arkat and Nysalor and is well worth reading.
"What the Priests Say" is a couple of accounts of what a Wind Lord and Sword Broo think of various people and deities, following the usual format.
Each cult also has an example of a powerful NPC and these are mightily impressive.
New rules for Passion Spirits can be found, together with new Passion Spirits. There is also a discussion of Illumination that tries to water it down further, this is possibly the weakest part of the supplement.
Overall, this is an excellent supplement, as good as, if not better than, the original Cults of Terror. Some of the cults are missing and that is unfortunate, but the rest certainly makes up for it. I would strongly recommend anyone to buy this supplement if it ever becomes available.