Quote from: Arminius;852229In what mythology, game, or fiction do ogres do that?

Gloranthan ogres look human but are chaotic creatures branched off from humanity. They carry a chaotic taint and have some physical differences - beauty, sharp teeth, strength, a taste for human flesh. See Gaumata's Vision in Shadows on the Borderland for some ogre-ish escapades.

Thanks, all. That stuff was either missing in RQ2/3 core (the editions with which I'm most familiar) or I plain missed it. Am more used to ogres, not as Shrek per se, but as human-eating giants without any other major canonical details.

Quote from: Simlasa;852254The RQ Ogres sound a bit like the Genestealers in 40K... which are also based on Alien.

The reproduction is a little bit like Alien, though RQ came out in 1978, Alien in 1979, and 40K way later.

Quote from: Arminius;852302Thanks, all. That stuff was either missing in RQ2/3 core (the editions with which I'm most familiar) or I plain missed it. Am more used to ogres, not as Shrek per se, but as human-eating giants without any other major canonical details.

It's in RQ2. You must have missed it. It's under "O"

Quote from: Arminius;852302Thanks, all. That stuff was either missing in RQ2/3 core (the editions with which I'm most familiar) or I plain missed it. Am more used to ogres, not as Shrek per se, but as human-eating giants without any other major canonical details.

RQ2 had them in the core rules. RQ3 had them in an excellent supplement, the name of which escapes me. I am sure someone will fill in the gap.

Quote from: Bren;852396The reproduction is a little bit like Alien, though RQ came out in 1978, Alien in 1979, and 40K way later.

Oh, I wasn't thinking RQ  was borrowing from Alien or visa versa... just other examples of that cuckoo tactic.

I'm another who missed the finer points of ogres in RQ2.
I went and looked at broo in the book and the description doesn't spell it out enough where my teenage Baptist mind would have made the connection, "Oh! They'll fuck anything... and anything they fuck will birth more broo!"
I did notice that the rules mention broo Hirelings and PCs...

Quote from: Bren;852396The reproduction is a little bit like Alien, though RQ came out in 1978, Alien in 1979, and 40K way later.

It's in RQ2. You must have missed it. It's under "O"

I just mentioned this in another thread, but the RQ core has nothing about Broo reproduction. The earliest source I can find on that is Borderlands from 1981.

Quote from: Baulderstone;852460I just mentioned this in another thread, but the RQ core has nothing about Broo reproduction. The earliest source I can find on that is Borderlands from 1981.

I'm going by what other folks have mentioned in this thread... I wasn't aware of it till just recently.
As for Broo as adventurers... I addressed that, I thought I saw it in RQ2 but it is in RQ3's Creature book. The listing there does suggest broo doing very bad things but doesn't get specific.

Maybe in our softer and gentler era the Broo will get a Shrek-like retcon when the new Runequest book comes out... they'll smell better and just want hugs.

Quote from: Simlasa;852447I'm another who missed the finer points of ogres in RQ2.
I went and looked at broo in the book and the description doesn't spell it out enough where my teenage Baptist mind would have made the connection, "Oh! They'll fuck anything... and anything they fuck will birth more broo!"
I did notice that the rules mention broo Hirelings and PCs...

As far as I can recall, nothing was spelled out in supplements until Borderlands. There might have been something in Wyrms Footnotes, but I don't recall any articles. I believe the original write up of Broo in the boardgame Nomad Gods, which predates RQ1, linked them to the chaos gods Mallia and Thed, so disease and fertility (of a sort) goddesses, so the inference was made, but you had to put the pieces together.

Of course Nomad Gods makes it clear that the Praxian tribes will ally with chaos forces so the relations in Glorantha between law and chaos are a bit more complicated in practice than they might appear in theory. Much like the way that Chirine describes the stability and change pantheons in the Tekumel related thread.

The setting has been codified as recently as last year in the huge and quite elaborate Guide to Glorantha. And thus, the current description of broos has it all: fornication with lifestock, monstrous fertility, and so on (including the terrible rumour of an allosauruss broo). I think it is quite unlikely that this description is changed, and for a good reason: Broo are sufficiently evil creatures. Unlike D&D-style orcs (for example) who do not differ that much from anybody's actual ancestors if you look back far enough, Broo are inherently monstrous. And yet, they are not beyond redemption. There are peaceful, altruisitic broo. In total, Glorantha's broo are one of the best designed monstrous species in this particular niche.

Also, this is Glorantha. Where the anthropomorphic ducks are dead serious, and trolls eating humans and their own cursed children are the comic relief.

Where are the good guy Broo? Anyplace outside of the Guide?

Quote from: Arminius;852495Where are the good guy Broo? Anyplace outside of the Guide?

I assume RQ3 having a sidebar about Broo PCs implies they can be played as something other than straight up evil rapists... because why would anyone want to play such a nasty thing otherwise?

Quote from: Arminius;852495Where are the good guy Broo? Anyplace outside of the Guide?

Quote from: Elder Secrets of GloranthaEven the famed wild healerof the Rockwood Mountains, [a Broo] who has joined the peaceful Chalana Arroy cult, is regularly hunted whenever sighted, even though he has saved many lives, resurrected good folk and bestowed blessings on strangers.

The text in the guide to Glorantha is pretty much the same, and I think that this character appears in one of the classic adventures as well. It stands to reason that if a human can be corrupted to the worship of chaos, a broo can be "corrupted" to a more harmonious lifestyle, even if this is not socially acknowledged.

Quote from: Simlasa;852501I assume RQ3 having a sidebar about Broo PCs implies they can be played as something other than straight up evil rapists... because why would anyone want to play such a nasty thing otherwise?

Runequest basically assumes that you can play pretty much anything, as long as the gamemaster agrees and you find a way how to do it. Can you come up with a group-compatible character concept that happens to be a broo? Can you live with being dreaded and hunted by the very people you want to save or protect? Congratulations, you are a broo. There are certainly  worse character concepts than "monster looking for redemption", but admittedly, there aren't many tips how to play a sociable broo character in any of the sources I know.
I personally wouldn't want one in any of my groups (because I cannot think of another tolerable concept for a broo besides the redeemer and that might get old quite fast), but I understand why characters like Broo  greatly benefit from a PC equivalent character creation system, if only to have individual broo with individual strengths and weaknesses.

Quote from: Arminius;852495Where are the good guy Broo? Anyplace outside of the Guide?

The Dorastor supplement for RQ3 had stats for Ralzakark. I wouldn't describe him as a good guy, but he isn't a typical broo. Among other things, he is a king.

There is also supposed to be a broo who is a healer and a follower of Chalana Arroy.

Quote from: Bren;852525The Dorastor supplement for RQ3 had stats for Ralzakark. I wouldn't describe him as a good guy, but he isn't a typical broo. Among other things, he is a king.

There is also supposed to be a broo who is a healer and a follower of Chalana Arroy.

Wasn't there also a stegosaurus-broo in there? I'm not certain, but I have the impression that he was at least neutral.

Quote from: Vile;852555Wasn't there also a stegosaurus-broo in there? I'm not certain, but I have the impression that he was at least neutral.

I don't recall. Though I own Dorastor, I only skimmed it as it was soon apparent that it wouldn't 't fit in any sort of campaign I could see running.