REVIEW: Mythology

No, I’m not reviewing the entirety of Earth’s mythology this week—Mythology is the title of the fourth volume in Chaosium’s Cults of RuneQuest series. Touted as the indispensable lynchpin to playing RuneQuest in Glorantha, I’ve been looking forward to this book since its announcement. Despite chewing away at the volume for about a week and a half, I’m still not entirely sure what to make of it.

So we’re going to do this review a little differently than usual. I’ll start with the usual descriptive stuff about the volume’s text and art. Then we’ll be digressing into a more general discussion on Mythology’s contents, before trying to draw any conclusive judgments. I often use this space as a way to process my own thoughts. Today’s review is going to be one of those times.

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What’s Inside?

Mythology is a 158-page hardcover which includes an additional 4-panel foldout illustration of the God Time. In addition, the PDF includes a “Catalogue of the Gods” poster-size image, and a PDF of the foldout illustration. The last 12 pages of the hardcover are dedicated to demographic tables of cult distribution in various Homelands, and the Index.

The volume opens with a Foreword by Greg Stafford, the creator of Glorantha, about “Mythic Truth.” It is then followed by the volume’s—and, I believe, the whole series’s—Introduction. This discusses the nature of mythology, including topics such as cults, Time, magic, and heroquesting. The latter provides a few definitions and a brief history of heroquesting, but no gameplay procedures.

The Introduction closes with a somewhat abbreviated description of the Runes; four Form Runes, five Condition Runes, four Partial Runes, and two Combination Runes are described. Partial Runes are described as limiting a god’s—and therefore an adventurer’s—access to the Rune’s power. Form and Condition Runes are presented in order to explain why the listed Runes are not available to adventurers.

The next chapter is a quick summary of Glorantha’s geography, including the southern continent Pamaltela. I believe this is the first summary of Pamaltela in the current edition of RuneQuest. Describing each continent through the land goddesses which constitute each mass, this chapter is succinct and on-theme with the book’s mythic focus.

Then we come to the heart of the book—the Monomyth. This chapter describes the mythic ages of Glorantha as synthesized by a cabal of sorcerers known as the God Learners. The subjectivity of myth is emphasized with the use of short sidebars presenting individual myths from an in-world perspective. Continuing past the Dawn, this section also summarizes Glorantha’s history through the First, Second, and Third Ages. The Monomyth is, essentially, a 50-page lore-dump presenting the rough shape of Glorantha’s story, with occasional specific details (the individual myths).

Following the Monomyth the book returns to the theme of its Introduction, with a short chapter titled “Understanding Mythology.” As I’ll discuss further below, this section vexed me most. It strikes me not as guidance for playing a tabletop game, but as a statement of personal religion. For example, “Sadly, most people in today’s desacralized world have little idea about what a realistic religion is about or is based upon.” Echoing the Introduction’s structure, this section too closes with a tidbit about Heroes and Cults.

The next chapter presents a portion of the Monomyth through maps of the God Time. These are presented as in-world documents compiled from a list of 12 different sources. Six maps are provided, along with a gazetteer of their locations, and the perceptual characteristics of visiting each Age. For example, during the Greater Darkness when Chaos had nearly destroyed Glorantha, the “water was broken or jellied, and the earth lost solidity.”

These maps are followed by a miniature version of the Prosopaedia, with the inclusion of family tree illustrations of each pantheon. These are identical to those in Lightbringers and Earth Goddesses, and I presume will be republished in future pantheon splatbooks—Mythology collects the genealogies in a single volume.

The final chapter is the Universal Cult Format, which describes the longform cult writeup used in the already-published splatbooks. Unlike the rest of the book, this section contains a mixture of setting description and rules text. The rules text broadly overlaps with the Rune Cults chapter of the core rules. For example, restating the standard requirements to become a Rune Priest of a cult. Where Weapons & Equipment provided a introductory box noting rules changes compared to the core rulebook, Mythology does not. I presume the newer text is more accurate, but there are some odd choices and lack of clarity in this chapter. For example, the chapter refers to the core rulebook for attempting divine intervention, but provides a table of the cost for most spirit magic spells (which is also in the core rules).

Overall, Mythology’s textual polish varies. This excerpt from the Universal Cult Format chapter is a good example:

Initiates may sacrifice Rune points to use Rune spells from their deity. … Initiates may replenish spent Rune points and get an annual POW gain roll by participating in holy day and Sacred Time ceremonies.

Mythology, page 139

Or:

A Rune Priest can replenish Rune points by leading holy day sacrifices, and by performing other sacrifices, to the god. A Rune Priest replenishes all Rune points with a successful Worship skill at a temple or holy place. [sic]

Mythology, page 140

These sentences provide ambiguity about if Rune points are sacrificed (and lost), or merely spent (and replenished), when the initiate is eligible for a POW gain roll (which holy day?), and if Rune Priests can replenish Rune points outside of a holy day (“by performing other sacrifices”). I personally feel clear about how to adjudicate each of these ambiguities. However, they could have been—and should have been—avoided through greater editorial diligence.

This is not exclusive to Mythology‘s rules text. For example,

The myth here gives only the stories for gods who are still relevant to tribe in the Genertela. As usual, Pamaltela was not cursed with such natural violence and even its Storm goddess is gentler than these northern brutes. Hence, the myth for these important, deities. [sic]

Mythology, page 36

This particular sidebar myth—”The Sons of Umath”—frankly strikes me as an unedited first draft copy-pasted into the layout file.

Mythology‘s combination of simple errors and unintentional ambiguities result in a text which is below my expectations for a major publisher in the tabletop industry. I would compare the textual fidelity to a competent independent fiction author.

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Production

As with prior Cults of RuneQuest volumes, Chaosium’s production quality is outstanding. Mythology is a well-made hardcover with a ribbon bookmark, and is illustrated with a variety of high-quality art. I recognize some of this art from prior publications—such as the RuneQuest core rules the Guide to Glorantha, or the Glorantha Sourcebook—but the frequency and quality of new art is well done.

The theme, style, and subject matter of each piece varies. Some standouts include the 4-panel foldout illustration, the illustration of Gloranthan worshipers, and a bunch of Orlanthi riding dragons.

Mythology is gorgeously presented—especially during the Monomyth—and does a great job portraying Glorantha in “technicolor.”

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Discussion

Now let us digress…

My immediate, subjective response to Mythology was curiosity and fascination, which slowly diminished to confusion. Most works I would immediately call that a flaw. However, it’s clear that Mythology both explicitly and implicitly values ambiguity, taking a relativistic approach to mythology, metaphysics, and ethics. Thus I’m led to believe this is, to some extent, intentional.

The foundation of my confusion is trying to figure out how to use Mythology to play RuneQuest. After all, this is Cults of RuneQuest, not “Cults of Glorantha.” The goal is to play a tabletop game, not engage in Glorantha lore debates or simulate population demographics. As of this writing, the short answer is that I don’t know how to use Mythology at the table. I’m pretty sure I like the book, but I’m still struggling to find its purpose.

I’ve enjoyed Mythology so far because I have a pretty academic personality. My background is in philosophy, and in particular in Anglo-American analytic (with a bit of a Platonic mystic streak, I’ll confess). I’ve spent probably 10, 15 hours over the last few days perusing various Gloranthan publications trying to collect and fit together puzzle pieces. Maybe longer.

I’m the kind of nerd who finds research rabbit holes and weird lore puzzles fun. Like, I didn’t spend this time out of frustration—it was a source of joy.

As mentioned above, sections of Mythology strike me as a statement of religion, not roleplaying games. While I absolutely believe games can be art, I can’t help but feel the Foreword and the Understanding Mythology sections are a bit prurient. They seem like an essay from a personal journal, not something written for mass consumption. There’s a few sentences of Latin, a page-long digression on the history of Greek religion—which I believe is inaccurate, but this isn’t the space for arguing history—and a brilliant exegesis on the psychology of the Sky pantheon.

I had a similar experience with the Mythic Maps. I absolutely adore the following, under the heading “Using These Maps.”

[The Mythic Maps] can be used to help create new myths or even new cults. … These maps are intended to be a source of inspiration for heroquesting.

Mythology, page 80

YES PLEASE. That’s absolutely the type of content I was hoping for from this book. That is a fulfillment of the promises made in the RuneQuest core rules, and the Starter Set.

As an adventurer progresses in their cult, they strengthen their connection to the Runes, gaining power and questing towards becoming a true Hero.

RuneQuest, “Purpose of the Game,” page 6

Glorantha is a singularly unique setting. … Instead, the heroes are Bronze Age warriors and mystics, all of whom can cast their own personal magic and can enter the realm of the gods, reenact myths and even change them, and become gods themselves.

Starter Set, Book 2, “What is Glorantha?” sidebar, page 4

These, then, are the stakes. And, as I reflect and digest, I increasingly feel Mythology does not live up to them.

Gloranthan publications have a long history with secrets. My understanding was that Mythology was to alleviate some of that pressure, in describing how much of Glorantha’s lore fits together. I felt frustrated while reading the Monomyth and seeing phrases such as that the Empire of Wyrms Friends had learned “powerful secrets,” or that the God Learners “wove the four modes of magic into one etheric cloth of powers.” I believed that an “essential” guide to Gloranthan mythology would describe—with or without game terms—how this occurred. Lost powers are one topic, but the Hero Wars is said to return many of these powers (see the dragonriders above!).

Likewise, a subsection of the Introduction is labeled “Heroquester’s Lexicon.” It describes seven terms which, on first read, led me to believe that we’d be getting some form of heroquesting rules in this release. After all, why would a book define a “Liminal Ceremony” without saying how to start one, or use one to cross over to the God Time? Yet this term only exists in its definition.

This lexicon also introduces an ambiguity, and I cannot perceive if it is on purpose. The Spirit World is a common term in RuneQuest which denotes the world of spirits perceived by shamans. The lexicon’s definition of Spirit World coheres with the core rules. Yet, in the following “History of Heroquesting” subsection, the term “Spirit World” seems to be used synonymously with God Time, Otherworld, etc. Further, this does represent on some level an intentional choice. A portion of this text is included on page 140 of The Glorantha Sourcebook, albeit with “spirit world” lacking capitals. There was an editorial choice made, here, but I can’t tell if it was automatic, or intentionally introduced this particular ambiguity.

When I can tell an ambiguity is on purpose, I quite like it. For example, there’s one myth where Humakt finds Death in the Underworld, and another where Eurmal does (then gives it to Humakt). On the fold-out illustration, this is reflected by Eurmal and Humakt together gazing upon a magical force in the Underworld. There is no and can be no “factual’ version of the story. (Zorak Zoran also gets tangled up there, and with the Murder of Flamal, and again this all works well.) A seed of my frustrations is that due to the poor textual fidelity throughout Mythology, I can’t trust the authors to be intentionally ambiguous. Paradoxically, further clarity would have enhanced their Gloranthan ambiguity.

I found the Mythic Maps to be confusing and interesting. I like the concept of using them to create cults, but it’s unclear to me how to do so. Likewise with exploring them during adventures. My instinct says to use the maps like I would any other campaign setting map—but given the content of Understanding Mythology I can’t imagine this is the authors’ intent. Certainly this instinct does not cohere with the Guide to Glorantha‘s assertion that “Navigation through the Hero Planes uses Myths to get to events, not maps to get to locations” (page 154). So I’m clearly wrong, but I can’t figure out what the intended use therefore is.

How does knowing “Serelazam led the armies of Sevasbos against Genjera” at the city of Alarlaverir during the Late Lesser Darkness help me create an adventure roleplaying the heroquest in which my players’ adventurers “reconcile with the Great Mystery?” To add to my frustration, none of the prior proper nouns are to be found in the Prosopaedia’s Index.

Now as mentioned before I’m the type of turbo-nerd happy to muddle through all this and find my fun. I’m whining, but it’s like a pig whining because he’s wallowing in mud. I like this, even if it also vexes me. That’s probably a personality flaw. I’m not quite at an answer, yet, but I’m working toward figuring it out. Whenever I find one, that’ll probably be good enough for me to roll with for a while. I feel it’s worth the time and energy to figure out how Mythology is intended to be used, but that doesn’t mean I’m not happy to just start making wild stuff up myself.

(Treasures of Glorantha 2, in hindsight, is basically exactly that. Huh.)

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Conclusion

Overall, I would describe Mythology as a recombination of various Glorantha lore essays into a single beautifully-wrapped publication. To my eye much of this material is republished from the Guide to Glorantha, The Glorantha Sourcebook, and occasionally from the Stafford Library. For example, “Four Ways to Experience These Stories” in Understanding Mythology is in Heortling Mythology, the Mythic Maps are a condensed version of the Guide to Glorantha Appendix E (with in-world texts attributed, which aren’t in the Guide), and much of the Monomyth is based on The Glorantha Sourcebook’s Theogony and Time chapters.

Much of the republished material has been recombined with other sources, and details have been added or revised. It’s often not clear to me that these revisions are semantically significant. I’m not (yet) at the point where I’m willing to do a paragraph-by-paragraph comparison; I’m letting my eye catch similar phrases as I process the new and reprocess the old texts.

I’ve gone much further down the research and/or textual analysis rabbit hole than usual this time, due to personal curiosity and a desire to understand how Mythology is transformative for Gloranthan gaming. Don’t expect this to be the norm for future Cults of RuneQuest reviews.

I think this book is worth reading, but I’m not sure who is in its target audience. If you’re new, the book doesn’t really give enhanced ability to play the game. If you’re a Gloranthan scholar, you probably have 90% of the book’s text already (and who am I kidding, you’ve probably already bought it).

As far as I can tell, Mythology does not reveal new secrets which can be used at the table. If this is meant to revolutionize fantasy gaming, I do not understand how.

This book’s strengths lie in its excellent presentation of widely-spread material. If you’ve enjoyed the RuneQuest slipcase set, Mythology is probably your best choice for a deep-dive into Glorantha. The religious underpinnings are too pretentious and elusive for me to recommend this book to newbies—I think The Glorantha Sourcebook introduces the setting more clearly—but the inclusion of content like the Mythic Maps will intrigue those who are already running down the rabbit hole. While not a great RuneQuest book, I do think Mythology is a strong restatement of Glorantha as a setting.

You can get Mythology in PDF from DriveThruRPG, or order the hardcover directly from Chaosium’s website (which comes with a free PDF).

Until next time, then.

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