In Ritual and Religion in the Making of Humanity, anthropologist Roy Rappaport says that rituals "are public, and participation in them constitutes a public acceptance of a public order, regardless of the private state of belief." Being the sort of person I am, Rappaport's work has been doing an awful lot to poke my brain … Continue reading Lay Membership in RuneQuest
Tag: mythology
Using “Cults of RuneQuest”
Chaosium has released three Cults of RuneQuest volumes out of a prospective ten. Last week (and the week before) we explored the latest volumes' content. Now what? How might players, gamemasters, and creators utilize and engage with the bevy of new myths, cultures, and powers presented in these works? That's what we'll explore today. As … Continue reading Using “Cults of RuneQuest”
REVIEW: The Lightbringers
They're here. Last month Chaosium released the first volume of their new Cults of RuneQuest series, the Prosopaedia. And as promised, last week they simultaneously released the next TWO volumes in the series: The Lightbringers and The Earth Goddesses. This week I'm reviewing The Lightbringers, and next week will be The Earth Goddesses. Finally, I'm … Continue reading REVIEW: The Lightbringers
Why Read Epic?
What do you think of when you hear the word "epic?" For many it's just an adjective. For others, it's Epic Games—the creators of Fortnite and other games. And for more, the first association is with epic fantasy, a portion of the modern fantasy genre focused on heroic tales of good and evil. These are … Continue reading Why Read Epic?
REVIEW: The Prosopaedia for RuneQuest
After an 18-month hiatus without official RuneQuest material from Chaosium, that oasis sprang to life last week. On July 13th Chaosium published the first volume in their much-anticipated series "Cults of RuneQuest," The Prosopaedia. Fans have been awaiting "the cults books" since the current edition's 2018 release, and if I were to measure the depth … Continue reading REVIEW: The Prosopaedia for RuneQuest
The Golden Bough & Glorantha
When I first began to write, my reading habits shifted. It was slow, at first, and I did not notice it. Over time I came to read dominantly nonfiction—especially about the ancient world. Although this had long been of interest to me, I discovered that the more I studied, the more detailed my creative work … Continue reading The Golden Bough & Glorantha
Calling on Ernalda
This week's post is a short story I wrote to explore what the process of summoning and binding an earth elemental in RuneQuest feels like to the characters. Originally I was planning to set this at the Clearwine Earth Temple, but my fingers put it in Sylthi instead. Hah, oh well! The story's RuneQuest mechanics … Continue reading Calling on Ernalda
Asrelia Retires
My usual session of RuneQuest this week was cancelled, so I spent my time in Sylthi writing a myth instead. A collection of similar stories will be collected in one chapter, "Sylthelan Mythology," of the forthcoming City Guide. I'll probably post other tales as they get written. I really enjoyed writing this story. That's the … Continue reading Asrelia Retires
End of August Update
(Yes, I know it's September now. Shush.) The last month's been interesting. My gut reaction is to say "No, it hasn't been fruitful" but I don't think that's entirely accurate. Jiharel sat on the backburner through August, although it's still bouncing around in my mind, with a lot of the same challenges and wonderings as I … Continue reading End of August Update
Weekly Update – 4/26/17
Hello, Internet! Things are going aright over here. This week was a bit of a mishmash, since I was waiting for books to come in. Still waiting, but at least one of them came in (The Kingdom of the Hittites by Trevor Bryce) so I've been able to dive back down the rabbit-hole of research. … Continue reading Weekly Update – 4/26/17
Akhelas 