Somewhere back in the '80s, I used to own this edition/version of Runequest:




Has this, and whatever supplements might have existed for it, edition ever been released as pdfs?  I'd like to own an actual copy, but I'm not too keen on paying the likes of $75 for it, which is the price I've found it for online.

I should note that my primary interest is the setting -- Glorantha, is it? -- that came with this version of Runequest.  I recall liking the rules well enough, but I want to forc...err, let my players play a band of ducks fighting to defend themselves against those diseased goatmen.

Quote from: A Memorex for the KrakensHas this, and whatever supplements might have existed for it, edition ever been released as pdfs?  I'd like to own an actual copy, but I'm not too keen on paying the likes of $75 for it, which is the price I've found it for online.

Not legally.

Some of the supplements have been reprinted in very nice editions. Each are pretty big and include a lot of info, good value.
http://www.glorantha.info/shop/shop.html

Chaosium has reprinted RQIII with all the Gloranthan bits filled off but not RQII and hasn't released either on PDF.

$75, eh? I might hang on to my spare boxed set until Greg Stafford dies.

There's about enough Glorantha material in that book to fill an 8 1/2 x 11 page.  Really very little setting material by today's standards.

Quite true. There was more in the RQ3 Glorantha Book.

In that case, what should I pick up if I'm wanting setting info about Glorantha?  I seem to recall people being disappointed by Mongoose's recent RQ material, but I can't recall why.

Quote from: A Memorex for the KrakensIn that case, what should I pick up if I'm wanting setting info about Glorantha?  I seem to recall people being disappointed by Mongoose's recent RQ material, but I can't recall why.

Huge amounts of the old RQ2 supplements are online at http://www.glorantha.com/ . I would start there. If you want further info about any particular topic, get back here and I (or others) can advise you. There is so much info that it's quite hard to make any firm recommendations otherwise.

I haven't looked at Mongoose's stuff, but my understanding is that it deals with a different era from the printed material, and that the different era isn't very differentiated.

To be fair to Mongoose, most of the complaints I have heard about their edition of Runequest relates to the (by and large entirely unnecessary) tweaks they made to the system, which serve to make it somewhat less sleek and well-formed and polished than in earlier editions, and their failure to credit the work of anyone except for Greg Stafford in the design of the original Runequest. Then again, that could just be because those complaints were the loudest and drowned out people's concerns about the setting.

Wikipedia entry for Glorantha could be useful for an overview.

I'm still kinda lost in glorantha.com's vastness (that's a good thing), but this page looks like it could be a good starting point, if you grok history and/or myth.

Heroquest Voices is a good free presentation of the range and feel of Glorantha & well illustrated. :cool: One of the better ways to present a complex setting IMNSHO. (edit: reread the thread; it's also a good update of RQ era entries)

Also, A-Sharp's King of Dragon Pass computer game is very good. KoDP is focused & does a good job of presenting a segment of the setting in a fun game. It's also cheap and has low system requirements. Only real fault is lack of multiplayer play but that was just not possible, it's amazing the game was made in the first place. The printed manual isn't too bad either.