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Six Ages: Ride Like the Wind - King of Dragon Pass spiritual successor

Azael

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Dec 6, 2002
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Wasteland 2
Do I need to do a hero quest as well, because that sounds awfully close to work?
 

agris

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Apr 16, 2004
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6,942
What's with that interactive controller.h? is that some kind of WiiU reference?
 

Shaewaroz

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I'm very into cock and ball torture
http://sixages.blogspot.cz/2014/11/those-stories.html

I fear no more. David convinced me, this game is going to be great. Without Glorantha Six Ages would be just an empty shell, but it's clear that David understands what made KoDP successful. And he is passionate about this stuff. I mean the guy sites Carl Jung in the development blog. That's HC.

David said:
Even better, Glorantha is not just one myth family, but many, which are sometimes compatible and sometimes opposed. Perfect for a game! [

This is exactly what makes Glorantha so special - every tribe and race has their own worldview, constructed by the stories of their elders, and these worldviews come alive and interact in a spectacular fashion in Glorantha. I can never forget the wonderful stories in The Elder Secrets of Glorantha.

Just to give you a little taste:


World from a dwarf's perspective:

The Foreman's Words

Instructions to New Workers


Where did the world come from?

We made the world. We and the World Machine. Elves, trolls, Umath the Destroyer,
all broke the Machine. They ended the world. Now is the time of the Gods War. We
must work till the Machine is repaired. Then the old world shall be restored.

Where do we come from?

You were made like other tools. Like the World Machine itself. All true life
comes thus.

Why do we die?

You do not have to die. Only bad dwarfs die. While you and I fulfill our
appointed tasks, we shall live.

What happens after we die?

Non-dwarfs and broken dwarfs die. Their bodies recycle in the cosmic currents of
the World Machine. Their personalities disintegrate. Their souls' force
dissolves into the energy fields of Ty Kora Tek.

Why are we here?

We repair the World Machine. All our tasks, all our spells, all our tools, are
for this task.

How do we do magic?

The old world was made well. Laws were forged for its operation. We know the
world and its workings. We use that wisdom to create sorcery. All dwarfs learn
the sorcery they need. You shall learn the sorcery you need.

What is the truth about ...

...Aldrya?

Elves are tools of the evil principle of Growth. They fight us and they hate us.
They can only have a part in the Machine when it is completed.
Till then they must be kept under control. Or they must be exterminated.

...Chaos?

Chaos is a force of cosmic destruction. It comes from outside the Machine.
So we must defend against it, not attempt to repair it.

...Kyger Litor?

These foul monsters come from Hell. They kill our laborers. They spill vats of
potions. They shatter our Machines. They destroy creations which took eons of
toil to make. One day the Machine shall be repaired. Then trolls shall be
imprisoned in Hell or made extinct.

...the Lunar Goddess?
The rise of the Red Moon was prophesied long ago. It proves that the World
Machine is being repaired according to schedule.

...Magasta?

The god of the deep waters has little to do with us. His mermen do not assist
us. Neither are they important. Their god's purpose is to maintain the great
ocean currents of the Machine. He does this admirably.

...Monotheists?

These humans scientifically examine the universe. They know some of our magic.
But they delude themselves with lies about an afterlife. Like all beings, they
find only oblivion after death.

...Orlanth?

This brute being and his minions led the attack on the World Machine.
They broke it once. They would break it again. We shall never give them that
chance. When the machine is finished Orlanth shall be kept firmly under control.

...Pamalt?

This is just another human god. He does not interfere in our affairs. So we can
ignore him and his worshipers.

...Primitive Spirits?

There are many fragments of the old world left behind. Most are broken pieces of
the World Machine, still mindlessly trying to fulfill their purpose. They are
best ignored. When the Machine is completed they shall be recycled.

...Yelm?

The Sun's rise at the Dawn proves that the World Machine is coming together
despite our enemies and the ravages of Time. The Sun is one part of the world
which still works properly and obediently.

Dwarf Ancestors

Ancestral Mostali

The Mostali were made to assist in the world's care and building. Each of the
eight original Mostali has special abilities. Diamond dwarfs contact them on the
Godplane.

Glorantha

Glorantha was the guiding spirit of the World Machine before its breaking.
Now the name is misused to refer to the world structure itself.

Grower

In the old world, Grower made raw material for Maker to refine. But Grower's
warped descendants have forgotten their true purpose. Now Growth is evil. Would
a plate of food be improved if something grew in it? When the World Machine is
repaired, the now-cancerous principle of Growth shall be restored to its
original purpose.

Individualism

Some dwarfs say that each must seek his own salvation, his own path. They are
wrong. Would a hammer be useful if it changed itself, if it grew a pulsating
brain? These heretics destroy their own usefulness. They harm the Plan thereby.

Maker

Maker is the name of those laws of the ancient universe which formed the World
Machine. Once the World Machine was finished, Maker was subsumed by its
operation.

Mostal

Mostal is the World Machine, now dead. One day it shall live again.
Ignorant outsiders personalize Mostal and equate him with their own
simple-minded religions. It is well that our foes do not understand us.

Octamonism

Some conservatives believe the invention of Iron and Diamond Dwarfs was evil.
They deny their own creation. They seek to halt our progress on the World
Machine.

Openhandism

This heresy is one of the most dangerous. These dwarfs claim that outsiders can
be allowed access to our treasures. They say the benefit of such dealing
outweighs the danger. They are fools. What can the surface world offer to
surpass our secrets?

Stone

Stone is Mostal's brother. He is the matter of which the World Machine is made.
In the old world, all stone was alive and magical. Foul elves slew Stone and
made him cold forever. Only the rare truestone hints at what the original Stone
was like. When the Machine is fixed, the rock shall return to life.

Vegetarianism

This belief is so far confined to Pamaltela. These dwarfs are infected by the
cancerous principle of Growth. They actually produce food by breeding plants.
This vile heresy brings its own destruction upon itself.

World from a troll's perspective:

Tales of the Night Hag

Where did the world come from?

The dark has always existed. Once, it spawned seas, the cursed heavens, and the
harsh surface where we now live. Someday it will swallow everything back into
itself. And we and the dark will go on forever.

Where do we come from?

Once we all lived in the harmony of Wonderhome, Kyger Litor's wombplace.
The burning horror of death drove us forth to the Komor [Hurtplace], the surface
world. Now we struggle in agony to survive.

Why do we die?

Death is the natural state of the universe. Our gods are alive, and keep us
alive. We must be grateful to have a chance at all. But we know that all life
must end someday.

What happens after we die?

Fearsome death is, yet it is the only return to the underworld. When we die, our
spirits meet with Kyger Litor in Hell.

Why are we here?

We are here to serve our masters, to be served by our slaves, and to feast upon
our enemies.

How do we do magic?

All magic ultimately comes from the shadows. Our gods know all the secrets of
night, and so we have the most powerful magic in the world. Our priestesses know
secrets that would send members of other races screaming into madness. Our gods
do deeds that would blast the souls of lesser deities. And our home, the
darkness, has secrets of ultimate power that have never been revealed.

I have heard of other powers. Can you tell me the truth about ...

...Aldrya?

This is a good food goddess. Her children can be annoying to the point of death,
but they are well worth the killing and eating.

...Chaos?

When we were forced out of Wonderhome to grim Komor, Chaos came to rob us of
even the miserable lands we had left. But we fought it, killed it, and ate it.
Now chaos is driven into the hinterland.

...the Lunar Goddess?

New gods are being born all the time. This one consorts with vile gods who
blasted our race with curses. She brings light where no light should be. Yet she
tempers the harsh light of the sun. And she controls and subdues the monsters of
chaos. We cannot yet say whether her rise has been for ill or well.

...Magasta?

The gods of the oceans are old, and they hide many mysteries. But their greatest
mysteries are from the darkness, the oldest of all.

...Monotheists?

This is a burdensome human religion from a land near the setting sun.
They are troubled with castes, strange rituals, and a plethora of confusing
saints. Yet their worthless god gives no rune spells. Arkat came from their land
and pillaged their religion's secrets for us to use.

...Mostal?

This is another good food god. Some of his children are immobile stone, and
others, called dwarfs, can move around. They are often clad in poison metal and
rarely come aboveground, but they are the tastiest of all. The sweetest meats
are the dearest.

...Orlanth?

This human war god battled us when we came to the Komor. When he could not win,
he fled to the Underworld, seeking Death to wield against us.
When he returned with the Enemy, we were stronger and could endure its weakened
light. He and his worshipers fight us still. We have faced far grimmer foes than
he and we still survive.

...Pamalt?

Pamalt and his legions of servant gods and peoples killed our warriors and
maimed the hero troll Moorgarki. Now Moorgarki's children are the mutant jungle
trolls, who cannot bear the clean cold of the mountains and glaciers. Someday
all trolls shall take vengeance upon pitiless Pamalt for this misdeed.

...Spirits?

Some spirits are broken pieces of dead gods. The most powerful and useful of
them come from the source of all magic -- the Darkness. Other spirits are the
souls of those that have died -- our ancestors. Our shamans know how to deal
with all types of spirits.

...Yelm?

This bad god forced us out of the primeval Wonderhome. He crippled our gods.
When we fled to the Komor, he followed us here to persecute us.
But now he must flee around the universe, eternally pursued by Xentha, goddess
of night. His sons have been eaten and broken by our gods. And Subere has shown
us secret parts of Hell untouched by Yelm's burning presence.

Troll Deities

Argan Argar, god of surface darkness

The burning death destroyed Wonderhome, broke our gods, made us flee. When we
came to the Komor, everything was strange. We made many mistakes.
Then came Argan Argar. He showed us the correct ways of surface life. He taught
us our enemies' languages and ways. And he conquered fire gods and enslaved them
for our benefit.

Arkat Kingtroll, killer of Gbaji, knower of sorcery

This is the cleverest of all trolls. He fooled humans, elves, and dwarfs, and
stole their most precious secrets for our use. They are still being fooled by
him.

Dehore, father of shades

There are many types of darkness spirits, shadows, and shades. All owe
allegiance to Dehore. Our shamans know Dehore well, and so we can command all
the beings of darkness, too.

Himile, god of cold

Winter is our friend. We may walk openly, for there are none that dare hurt us
or make us afraid. Himile's cold rushes down from his palace in the north. The
weak gods of summer flee him and the hollri -- his ice demons.
Our enemies and our food hide away, paralyzed with fear of us and Himile.

Kyger Litor, troll ancestress

Kyger Litor, our mother, has given us much. Her secret magic protects us, gives
us power, and cripples our enemies. Her divine family teaches us how to live,
how to work, how to fight, and how to kill. We are her children, and we love
her.

Kyger Litor, our mother, has suffered much. The dead sun burned her and drove
her from Wonderhome. Chaos gods like Gbaji maimed her and crippled her children.
Here in Komor, enemies battle us desperately and persistently. We are strong, and feast
on our foes. Gbaji is dead, and we have killed much chaos. The sun hides from us each
night and each winter, when we roam the earth in might. We bless Kyger Litor for this.

We give our troll children Kyger Litor's blessing. We kill, fight, work, and
live for her and our other gods, her servants. We give her our worship and
power, precious gifts. She is our mistress, and we must do her deeds all our
lives.

Subere, goddess of hell darkness

When the sun came long ago, its unendurable brightness drove our gods and us
from Wonderhome. Its fiery rays burnt and slew many inhabitants of the
Underworld. But many creatures sought and found refuge in Subere. She still
dwells in Hell, the only god never tainted or blasted by the Enemy's unholy
light.

Xentha, goddess of night

Half the universe is ruled by Kyger Litor, and Xentha is her steward to blanket
the world with night. Her shadows and children, such as Argan Argar, cover the
world and make it safe for us. She brings us darkness, ever-chasing the sun
around the world.

Xiola Umbar, goddess of protection darkness, mistress of the dark deep within.

Xiola Umbar is the weakest of our gods. The most inferior and helpless entities
seek refuge in her. But she has healing powers that can help even the mightiest
Zorak Zoran berserk, and which we all value. She is precious to us.

Zorak Zoran, war god

Zorak Zoran is the strongest of our gods. Only the mightiest warriors worship
him and can survive the battle frenzy he grants. But, though he kills chaos and
our enemies, he also sometimes kills trolls. He is dangerous to both us and our
foes.

World from Orlanthi perspective:

Staves from the Storm Priest

The Barbarian Priest Speaks


Where did the world come from?

Dead the word 'til Umath the Free,
Broke the sun's curse and moved the world.
Umathsons and stalwart liegemen set the world in its present ways.
Now all feel the world's winds at their backs.

Where did I come from?

Humans are wind-born, freest of free.
Orlanth Breath-giver gives you first lungful.
Follow the winds, like Orlanth before you.
Yours is the path-choice, make it and live.

Why do we die?

Stale the world was, unchanging and solid.
No one could die, so no one could live.
Orlanth and Humakt, brothers in bravery.
Brought Death to the world and gave life an edge.
Slew they the monsters who undying plagued us.
First of them unchange, who binds us to sloth.
Now there is Death, who prompts us to live life,
Slayer of foes who brings respite to friends.

What happens after we die?

Death is a comrade, a tool for our needs.
Orlanth found it, and fought it in turn,
Defeated Death fully, and brought the Sun out,
Fulfilled is Quest, the Lightbringers' glory.
Death is the boatman, guide to last journey,
Carries you safe to the gods' brazen hall.
There presides Orlanth, his table for heroes,
Tell him your stories, take your right place.

Why am I here?

Life is for living, feel to your fullest.
Challenge the challengers, carve out your place.
Faithful to friends, relentless to foes
Loving to kith, fulfilling your wyrd.

How do I do magic?

Great among gifters, storm gods gave magic,
Taught runes to priests, first among followers.
Priests teach wind spells, wise men learn them.
Magic lets all men work with the world.

I have heard of other powers. Can you tell me the truth about ...

...Aldrya?

Great among goddesses, Aldrya gave forests.
Bulwark of old world, preserver of trees,
She holds her counsel, favors not good or evil,
Friend or foe at the change of a season.

...Chaos?

Foulest of slime, curse of existence,
Twisted the god gifts, bred many foul monsters.
Only the Lightbringers, conquerors of Chaos,
Could right the wronged world, restore the Law.

...Kyger Litor?

Mother of the trolls saw the world born.
Crawler in darkness, eater of dead.
Hungry and cruel, like the dark days of winter,
Lurking at gates, waits for men to grow slothful.

...Lunar Goddess?

Lover of Chaos, mocks the gods' blessings,
Tangles the wind in her secret shackles.
Gives blasphemous secrets to lure the unwary,
Destroy her now or the world is enslaved.

...Magasta?

Mover of Seas, changing forever.
Unlike other old gods, this god can change.
Orlanth fought him five times, and conquered,
Freed him again to rule his deep realm.

...Monotheists?

Barren-souled truthseekers, boast of great magic,
Work tawdry wonders in Malkion's name.
Woe to the atheists, they die without gods,
Spirits sink slowly, fall empty to hell.

...Mostal?

Deep in the earth, stone god sits rocklike,
Frozen like elder, wracked with age.
No winds for Mostal, no challenges met,
Pity the dwarf god, pity his people.

...Pamalt?

Ruler of plainsfolk, southland's green glory,
Wise is Pamalt, though he knows honor not.
No call to glory rings in his ear,
No hero's path calls him, his thoughts are too small.

...Spirits?

Great were the gods who fought Orlanth's gifts,
Many were broken or made to be small.
Now the survivors are spirits for bushmen,
Shamans coerce their small magic spells.
Notice and praise those spirits sundered,
Some can be helpful, perform useful deeds.
Do not give them worship, keep from them your soulforce,
That is for King Orlanth, their conqueror and liege.

...Yelm?

Yelm ruled a world that was stale and changeless.
Orlanth, his enemy, released freedom for all.
Yelm met Death, he fled down the dark path,
Only Orlanth and Lightbringers walk that path alive.
Orlanth the liberator, freed his foe Yelm,
Brought him to life into a slave's station.
Yelm follows his path, unable to break it,
But Orlanth is free to follow the winds.

Chalana Arroy, the healer

Her touch heals all, Lightbringers' white lady,
No hurt can withstand her soft ministrations,
She healed our chieftain when pain made him mad.
She healed the world, made life come again.

Daga, drought and famine

Traitress sister Molanni, Umath's daughter,
Bore deadly Daga, sparer of none.
Orlanth confronted him, fought his grim nephew,
Beat down the foe, drove out the enemy.
Daga is sealed, trapped in the Jar.
But vile enemies conspire, open the jar,
Daga swims out, to face Orlanth once more.
Death to the friends of pain and despair.

The Earth Goddesses

Three are the bounteous goddesses of earth,
Three the number of their dark sisters.
All are our allies, friends of the storm,
Orlanth claims all earth as his kin.

The giving goddesses; grandmother, mother, and daughter.
Asrelia the crone, keeper of good things.
Ernalda the mother, bride to great Orlanth.
Voria, spring's daughter, herald of youth.
The grasping goddesses; sisters to the kindly ones.
Ty Kora Tek, hag-lurker in darkness.
Maran Gor, violent sister to kindly Ernalda.
Babeester Gor, vengeful guardian, jealous of the earth's rights.

Ernalda, earth mother

Mother of all, wise spouse to King Orlanth,
All hail and protect fair mistress of earth,
Every man must revere the arts of all women,
Mother and lover, her needs are our wants.

Eurmal

No jape nor trick too hard for the Trickster,
Stole fire from Yelm to warm all mankind,
Was both boon and trouble to his traveling companions,
Stands loyally by Orlanth his lord.

Gagarth, the wild hunter

Gagarth the foul wind, hot and fetid,
The Hunt seeking lost and lonely spirits,
Drives the devout off their path to eternity,
No one is safe if Gagarth learns their name.

Heler, god of rain

Orlanth took Heler from Magasta's dull lair,
Used him as weapon in wars against Daga,
Heler the staunch, his name is a by-word,
Sheep to him sacred, Daga his foe.

Humakt, god of death and war

Orlanth's fell brother, noble Death-Finder,
Humakt is guardian, protector from foes.
Humakt brought Death to ennoble and free us
Gave us struggle to make our lives full.

Inora, the white princess

When mountains extend their cold to the lowlands,
Inora, white princess, dances amongst us.
Issaries, god of trade and communication
Issaries found the way of the dead,
Broke Darkness of Silence which covered the world.
Issaries chose trails, was scout for the Lightbringers,
Now merchants and heralds worship his name.

Kolat, father of winds

Kolat's great progeny, Seven Winds of Glorantha,
Four names are known, North, East, South, and West.
Three names are secret, Upper, Lower, and None.
Honor them all, their life is your breath.

Lhankor Mhy, god of knowledge

Finder of riddles, he knows the world's secrets,
Rescued all wisdom from ignorance's gloom.
Helped save the world during the Gods War,
Now lawspeakers and elders call for his praise.

Mastakos, charioteer of Orlanth

Mastakos Mover, the God with No Home,
Vigorous god, drives immortal storm chariot.
He alone handles Orlanth's mighty steeds.
Servant of Storm God, mover of men.

Orlanth, King of the Gods, Storm God

Orlanth Adventurous makes change in the world,
Rescued us all from stagnation and death.
Orlanth Thunderous brings life-giving rains,
Blesses the plowsman, blesses his herds.
Orlanth Lightbringer led the Seven,
Rescued all life, all earth lauds his name.
Orlanth Rex, King of the Gods,
Rules in the Heaven and takes tribute from all.

Umath, father of the storm gods

He was born with great noise, deafening, disabling,
Like thunder in a cavern,
Like living in a horn.
His visage rolled over the earth with anger,
Rumbled across the sky with greed,
Filled the space with his gray brows and thunders.
Umath's five sons ruled the world after him.
But he made the place for his sons and us to live.

Urox the Storm Bull, berserker god, chaos-killer

Untamed beast, god of savage passion,
His mad berserk fury can even beat chaos.
So doth wild Storm Bull lead the war against Chaos.
He holds the vile Devil under mountains of stone.

Valind, god of winter

Savage Valind, god of winter,
Sweeps the earth with ice from the north.
Ally to Orlanth, sometimes wayward and willful,
Each year takes the earth in his grip.
 
Last edited:

laclongquan

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Messages
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Are you implying Glorantha itself make KODP successful? Cause it aint so. It's like a DnD world, or a generic fantasy dime a dozen nowadays.
Or maybe it is and the definition of successful is just changed. Cause from commercial and fame's view, KODP is not that profitable, and not that famous outside of some selected circles of gamers.
 

Shaewaroz

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I'm very into cock and ball torture
Are you implying Glorantha itself make KODP successful? Cause it aint so. It's like a DnD world, or a generic fantasy dime a dozen nowadays.
Or maybe it is and the definition of successful is just changed. Cause from commercial and fame's view, KODP is not that profitable, and not that famous outside of some selected circles of gamers.

You clearly have no idea what you're talking about. If David had merely played D&D like all the other nerds, KoDP would have never been made. Read his blog. Glorantha is the source for all the passion and creativity that went into KoDP.

KoDP has sold over 100k copies, which for a small team like A# is a big success. KoDP, more than any other game that I know, is a work of passion. It was never going to be a mainstream success because it doesn't make compromises to appeal to a broader audience. Even the mobile and tablet versions are unapologetic in their complexity.
 

laclongquan

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Messages
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Location
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As the first guy to consistently play big tribe from start to finis then go trolling them in their group, I know pretty much how they treasure that glorantha setting and insist players follow that settings.

And if they think Glorantha make their games a success, limited though that scope was, then they would be wrong. That would demonstrate why they havent made another successful game in the last 15 years.

King of Dragon Pass is memorable because it's a living world that you can affect. You can conquer a tribe third forth time until they have o pick up stake and move faraway. You can save runaway carls and absorb them into your tribe or help them make a new one. You can fight nomads/ducks/trolls or not. You can command tribe to do certain thing... Generally, it's gameplay, not lores that make the game exciting.
 

Norfleet

Moderator
Joined
Jun 3, 2005
Messages
12,250
Yeah, I didn't play the game for the setting, which I knew absolutely nothing about prior to playing the game. I played it because I like pillaging, looting, constructing additional pylons, and building more farms.
 

Shaewaroz

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Patron
Joined
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Messages
2,923
Location
In a hobo shack due to betting on neanderthal
I'm very into cock and ball torture
As the first guy to consistently play big tribe from start to finis then go trolling them in their group, I know pretty much how they treasure that glorantha setting and insist players follow that settings.

And if they think Glorantha make their games a success, limited though that scope was, then they would be wrong. That would demonstrate why they havent made another successful game in the last 15 years.

King of Dragon Pass is memorable because it's a living world that you can affect. You can conquer a tribe third forth time until they have o pick up stake and move faraway. You can save runaway carls and absorb them into your tribe or help them make a new one. You can fight nomads/ducks/trolls or not. You can command tribe to do certain thing... Generally, it's gameplay, not lores that make the game exciting.

You're missing the bigger picture, which is that without Glorantha as the setting the game wouldn't have the kind of focus on myth and almost anthropological approach to Orlanthi tribal life. Heroquesting is an integral and inseparable part of Runequest (and thus Glorantha) and if you understand what the meaning of heroquesting is, you understand that such focus on tribal instead of individual and mythical instead of historical is hardly possible in any other fantasy setting. But you probably have never played Runequest so all this is irrelevant to you and I don't bother arguing the point further.

My belief is that KoDP's success came from the genuine passion and design decisions that were both fundamentally inspired by Glorantha's unique focus on the aforementioned worldview. In D&D you explore dark caves, fight goblins for xp and shovel all dat sweet loot to your pockets. In Heroquest you wonder whether elves are immaterial forest spirits, argue about the right interpretation of poetry and urinate on the earth mother to make a rainfall. As I said, KoDP would have never been made if it hadn't been inspired by Glorantha. Whether it might have been more successful in another setting is irrelevant because a game like KoDP would have never been inspired by a setting like D&D.
 
Last edited:

Norfleet

Moderator
Joined
Jun 3, 2005
Messages
12,250
You're missing the bigger picture, which is that without Glorantha as the setting the game wouldn't have the kind of focus on myth and almost anthropological approach to Orlanthi tribal life. Heroquesting is an integral and inseparable part of Runequest (and thus Glorantha) and if you understand what the meaning of heroquesting is, you understand that such focus on tribal instead of individual and mythical instead of historical is hardly possible in any other fantasy setting. But you probably have never played Runequest so all this is irrelevant to you and I don't bother arguing the point further.

My belief is that KoDP's success came from the genuine passion and design decisions that were both fundamentally inspired by Glorantha's unique focus on the aforementioned worldview.
I disagree. Your own example demonstrates this: KoDP succeeds because it has appeal independently of its "storyfag" lore aspects. You, being someone familiar with the lore, find appeal in it for its ties to that lore. Those like me and Laclongquan, being ignorant of much of this backstory, still derive our satisfaction through the pillaging, looting, and whatnot. That we pick up some of the lore in the process of playing the game certainly doesn't hurt, but it's not the IP that sells the game to us, and to us, it wouldn't matter if it was Glorantha or something the developers made up ex recto, so long as we get our mineral-requiring and pylon-constructing itches scratched.

Whether it might have been more successful in another setting is irrelevanting because a game like KoDP would have never been inspired by a setting like D&D.
Wouldn't be so sure of that. Pretty sure I've seen this sort of thing before in other settings, way back in the old days of Text Games.
 

tuluse

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KotDP only really works because it has a well thoughout and represented world. It feels alien, yet is internally consistent. Like seriously 3/4 of the events you can get are about the culture in the game.

Now you might not care what culture that is, but if the devs had to come up with it on their own, well you better believe the game would have been a fraction of what it was.

Also, they are clearly inspired by Glorantha, and the value of inspiration cannot be overstated.
 

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I disagree. Your own example demonstrates this: KoDP succeeds because it has appeal independently of its "storyfag" lore aspects. You, being someone familiar with the lore, find appeal in it for its ties to that lore. Those like me and Laclongquan, being ignorant of much of this backstory, still derive our satisfaction through the pillaging, looting, and whatnot. That we pick up some of the lore in the process of playing the game certainly doesn't hurt, but it's not the IP that sells the game to us, and to us, it wouldn't matter if it was Glorantha or something the developers made up ex recto, so long as we get our mineral-requiring and pylon-constructing itches scratched.

You don't seem to be reading my posts before replying. I said that even many of the gameplay elements - the founding of a tribe, the focus on seasonal cycle (how it relates to the Myth of Eternal Recurrence and the birth & death of nature/gods and so forth), the huge emphasis on honoring the ancestors - are inspired by Glorantha. Most RPG settings pay lip service to these themes, but in Runequest they're the core of the game. The gameplay of KoDP wouldn't be the way it is without Glorantha.

If you merely enjoy the pillaging and looting, I'm sure there are other games that offer that as well. To me that's just a tiny fraction of KoDP's appeal.

Wouldn't be so sure of that. Pretty sure I've seen this sort of thing before in other settings, way back in the old days of Text Games.

I'd like to know if this is indeed the case. I have never found any game that is even remotely like KoDP.
 
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laclongquan

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I heroquested like mad. After I build up my HQ councillor and/or chieftain with enough stat, I HQ whenever I can. Priority of reward is personal stat (to feed more success) >>tribe stat (ditto) >> artifact etc..

I only read the lore until the 2nd replay. 3rd replay onward is just skim, mostly because I read it already but also it's not that great for a 3rd reread. The writing itself is good, but the specific details that make Glorantha glorantha, is just generic. Okay, but nothing to worth make a stink.

It's one of reason why it's so amusing when the guys in the kodp group insisted that I must divide my tribe "because the setting/lore said so."

But that's okay. Lorefags always are lorefags. Even now Morrowind lorefags still insist that Morrowind worth reading :shudder: I forgive you for that small foible.
 

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I heroquested like mad. After I build up my HQ councillor and/or chieftain with enough stat, I HQ whenever I can. Priority of reward is personal stat (to feed more success) >>tribe stat (ditto) >> artifact etc..

LOL, I meant what heroquesting means in the world of Glorantha, not in KoDP.

You really make no valid points or reply to my arguments (merely classify me as "lorefag"), so let's end our discussion here. Have a good day sir.
 

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I said that even many of the gameplay elements - the founding of a tribe, the focus on seasonal cycle (how it relates to the Myth of Eternal Recurrence and the birth & death of nature/gods and so forth), the huge emphasis on honoring the ancestors - are inspired by Glorantha. Most RPG settings pay lip service to these themes, but in Runequest they're the core of the game. The gameplay of KoDP wouldn't be the way it is without Glorantha.

You do realize that one could draw the very same elements from any mythical setting.

Samhain/Calan Gaeaf marked the end of the harvest season and beginning of winter or the 'darker half' of the year. Like Beltane/Calan Mai, it was seen as a liminal time, when the spirits or fairies (the Aos Sí) could more easily come into our world and were particularly active. Most scholars see the Aos Sí as "degraded versions of ancient gods [...] whose power remained active in the people's minds even after they had been officially replaced by later religious beliefs". The Aos Sí were both respected and feared, with individuals often invoking the protection of God when approaching their dwellings. At Samhain, it was believed that the Aos Sí needed to be propitiated to ensure that the people and their livestock survived the winter. Offerings of food and drink, or portions of the crops, were left for the Aos Sí.

The invasion of Ulster that makes up the main action of the Táin Bó Cúailnge (Cattle Raid of Cooley) begins on Samhain. As cattle-raiding typically was a summer activity, the invasion during this off-season surprised the Ulstermen.

Etc. etc. etc.

You could take Glorantha out of the game, replacing them with real history/myth broze/iron age elements. It'd still be a great game. Now, maybe without Glorantha as the inspiration, the game would've never been made in the first place. That's a different thing.
 

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You don't seem to be reading my posts before replying. I said that even many of the gameplay elements - the founding of a tribe, the focus on seasonal cycle (how it relates to the Myth of Eternal Recurrence and the birth & death of nature/gods and so forth), the huge emphasis on honoring the ancestors - are inspired by Glorantha.
Pah, all these themes exist across many mythologies. When I encounter them in a game, I just shrug and ask myself, "How does working with or against this theme grant me more minerals with which to construct additional pylons?".

Most RPG settings pay lip service to these themes, but in Runequest they're the core of the game. The gameplay of KoDP wouldn't be the way it is without Glorantha.
Disagree. I can string-replace just about everything in the game, the game is unchanged.

If you merely enjoy the pillaging and looting, I'm sure there are other games that offer that as well.
Indeed, there are...and I play those, too!

To me that's just a tiny fraction of KoDP's appeal.
Well, clearly, the game has ways to appeal to many. YOU like it because it leverages a lore you're familiar with it. I like it because I can construct additional pylons. Is what I like in it somehow more wrong than what you like? But from my perspective, the lore does not make the game unique. I could snowclone pretty much all of these elements in total ignorance, and the game would play out just as nicely to me. To you, perhaps, your familiar lore would be ripped off or butchered...but the fact that this can be done without changing the game at all is, to me, makes me view the lore as window dressing.

I'd like to know if this is indeed the case. I have never found any game that is even remotely like KoDP.
There were actually many, back in the old days of text games. A whole lot of MUD-esques back in the day were like that, they all had their little lore and whatnot, and then the game would go under within the year, usually from me burning and pillaging everything in a glorious orgy of slaughter and destruction, BLOOD AND SOULS FOR LORD TINKY-WINKY, and all. Which just goes to show that people who play a game for its story rarely, if ever, master it to the extent of those who see it as simply a problem to be solved.

You could take Glorantha out of the game, replacing them with real history/myth broze/iron age elements. It'd still be a great game. Now, maybe without Glorantha as the inspiration, the game would've never been made in the first place. That's a different thing.
Well, that SPECIFIC game wouldn't have been made, but as you neatly demonstrated, you can snowclone real-world mythology onto the game and it works exactly the same. After all, ultimately, KODP is a dressed-up version of Hammurabi (Hoard food, get rich, kill most of your people in a plague). At the end of the day, KODP is just Hammurabi with some mythological elements attached to it.
 
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Shaewaroz

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I said that even many of the gameplay elements - the founding of a tribe, the focus on seasonal cycle (how it relates to the Myth of Eternal Recurrence and the birth & death of nature/gods and so forth), the huge emphasis on honoring the ancestors - are inspired by Glorantha. Most RPG settings pay lip service to these themes, but in Runequest they're the core of the game. The gameplay of KoDP wouldn't be the way it is without Glorantha.

You do realize that one could draw the very same elements from any mythical setting.

Samhain/Calan Gaeaf marked the end of the harvest season and beginning of winter or the 'darker half' of the year. Like Beltane/Calan Mai, it was seen as a liminal time, when the spirits or fairies (the Aos Sí) could more easily come into our world and were particularly active. Most scholars see the Aos Sí as "degraded versions of ancient gods [...] whose power remained active in the people's minds even after they had been officially replaced by later religious beliefs". The Aos Sí were both respected and feared, with individuals often invoking the protection of God when approaching their dwellings. At Samhain, it was believed that the Aos Sí needed to be propitiated to ensure that the people and their livestock survived the winter. Offerings of food and drink, or portions of the crops, were left for the Aos Sí.

The invasion of Ulster that makes up the main action of the Táin Bó Cúailnge (Cattle Raid of Cooley) begins on Samhain. As cattle-raiding typically was a summer activity, the invasion during this off-season surprised the Ulstermen.

Etc. etc. etc.

You could take Glorantha out of the game, replacing them with real history/myth broze/iron age elements. It'd still be a great game. Now, maybe without Glorantha as the inspiration, the game would've never been made in the first place. That's a different thing.

You say "any mythical setting" and refer to one of the most rich and diverse mythologies on the planet. Celtic mythology is maybe a bit more evolved than the mythology of D&D. If you're going to make the comparison, please make it to another fantasy RPG world. But on principle you're right, real world mythologies could work, but then again they wouldn't be alien, twisted and strange the same way Glorantha is.

For Greg Stafford Celtic mythology was without a doubt one of the main inspirations while creating the world of Glorantha, so the emphasis on Eternal Recurrence, cattle raids or other similar themes/tropes is not a surprise. They do not appear in all mythologies (in Judeo-Christian ones for instance). I think David actually mentioned The Cattle Raid of Cooley as one of the texts that inspired him while making KoDP (I'm not 100% sure though).

Now, maybe without Glorantha as the inspiration, the game would've never been made in the first place. That's a different thing.

Good to hear, since this is one of the points that I've been trying to make. Theoretically it would be possible for Six Ages to take place in another setting and the game might turn out OK since KoDP has already been made and the game itself can be used as a point of reference - the gameplay mechanisms already exist so obviously you can switch the names of the gods.

However there's another point that everybody seem to miss for some reason. Glorantha places a unique emphasis on communal instead of individual and mythical instead of historical. I earlier mentioned heroquesting as integral part of RuneQuest. I also posted examples of different races' worldviews. I can't think of any other fantasy setting that would offer more emphasis on these themes that are integral to KoDP - communal identity and decision-making, honoring the traditions set by ancestors, diverse and often surprising cultural customs etc. Greg Stafford published a journal about Shamanism for 25 years - he is clearly very invested in oriental cultures, the nature of myth and the like and this dedication shows in Glorantha.
 
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Shaewaroz

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Most RPG settings pay lip service to these themes, but in Runequest they're the core of the game. The gameplay of KoDP wouldn't be the way it is without Glorantha.
Disagree. I can string-replace just about everything in the game, the game is unchanged.

You miss the point again. I said the gameplay mechanisms of KoDP wouldn't be the way they are today without Gloratha's influence, not that they couldn't be changed afterwards.

...the lore does not make the game unique.

The whole time my point has been that the source material affects the game in wast amount of ways, not just the lore that we see in the game - it affects the gameplay, it affects the art style, the story, the music, everything. This is especially true in the case of KoDP, where the whole idea for the game came directly from Glorantha. This is why the source material matters - if used correctly, it's not just flavor text on the screen. Of course there are a lot of examples of game developers that start with game mechanisms and develop the story and the world later - this however is not the case with KoDP.

I'd like to know if this is indeed the case. I have never found any game that is even remotely like KoDP.

There were actually many, back in the old days of text games. A whole lot of MUD-esques back in the day were like that, they all had their little lore and whatnot, and then the game would go under within the year, usually from me burning and pillaging everything in a glorious orgy of slaughter and destruction, BLOOD AND SOULS FOR LORD TINKY-WINKY, and all. Which just goes to show that people who play a game for its story rarely, if ever, master it to the extent of those who see it as simply a problem to be solved.

MUDs? Similar to King of Dragonpass? Now that's one sad comparison. Maybe you could be a bit more specific.
 
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Borelli

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I am so happy that this is being made. While no concrete info has been given if they can pull the same mixture of management, CYOA, strategy, feeling of adventure, detailed tribe life and all that wrapped in a good lore it could be as much a success as KoDP is.
 

laclongquan

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The non-believers can laugh all day long, sitting behind his biggest tallest moat around the whole fucking Kingdom, patrolled by the hoariest HORDE of thanes, defend by even a bigger horde, brandishing various artifacts, with temple emitting magical aura all over the owned land.

In this case, bigger tribe truly is better.
 

laclongquan

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Oh and to answer an interesting question implied above

A game that is the exact, or close exact, match of KODP is not there.

But a game in its spirit, ie number crunching, hidden skills, and lore-matching quests... then there is. Its name is Academagia.

Academagia can be described as Hogwarth without Harry Potter. Playing it you can be reminded of KODP quite strongly.
 

Karellen

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Academagia is oriented around a single character, though. Text-based sim games aren't altogether rare in and of themselves, and while I don't play that many games of the genre, I'd be surprised if there weren't some or even many that are better games than King of Dragon Pass in general (KoDP has some pretty derpy game mechanics). The whole point of KoDP, though, is that it's about roleplaying a community, set in a fantasy world that's characterised by its emphasis on communities, religious organisations and myths. Glorantha has, since the beginning, been an awkward setting for traditional pen-and-paper RPGs, and the fact that it has fanatical adherents (I'm one) despite that is largely due to the quality of its lore. For a community-oriented game like KoDP, though, Glorantha actually makes sense. It's very much a match made in heaven, in a way that isn't true of most other settings.
 

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