Volume 5 describing Glorantha’s East Isles is out: Bezarngay Boil for RuneQuest – Roleplaying in Glorantha. The author, Hannu Rytövuori, was kind enough to send me a PDF and answer some questions about his latest work.
Charlie Dunwoody (CD): Thanks for talking to me, Hannu. This fifth volume completes a comprehensive work on the East Isles. How did you decide on this area of Glorantha to explore in such detail: did it spring from campaign play or in some other way?
Hannu Rytövuori (HR): I hadn’t actually played a campaign in that particular region, but one NPC—who also appears in The Guide to Glorantha, Queen Vele Unnikanan—was part of a campaign we played. This Pirate Queen of the Eastern Isles saved our player group from a shipwreck in the aftermath of the classic adventure The Cradle (Charlie: from Pavis & Big Rubble). Aboard her ship, we played through a number of adventures along the coast of Genertela and in Nochet. At that time, though, our version of Vele was more like Bêlit from the Conan stories than how she appears in our current books. Even then, I had the idea that it would be fun to eventually take the adventures to the Queen’s homeland, but back then I felt that there wasn’t enough information about the East Isles, and that too much research would be required for me to run adventures there. Still, the desire remained to create material for the Jonstown Compendium to make this fascinating part of Glorantha more accessible and easier for others to use in their own games. So, when I began to explore which region inspired me the most to create adventures, the Korolan Islands became my personal favorite. When I asked for opinions about the area’s magic on a Glorantha-related website, both David Cake and Nils Weinander became so interested in the idea that they wanted to join the project. It soon turned out that the Korolan Islands—as well as several other creations for the East Isles—had actually been invented by Nils Weinander, and that he had run a RuneQuest campaign there back in the 1980s. He provided invaluable, inspiring old material that is now part of our books. Originally, this Bezarngay Boil adventure was meant to be included in our very first adventure collection. But many factors led us to divide the material into five separate books, and this ten-adventure campaign finally reaches its conclusion in this fifth book. For this dungeon crawl adventure in Vol 5, I wanted to make something inspired by the classic RuneQuest adventure, Snake Pipe Hollow. I think we succeeded quite well with that goal. But, of course, we also needed new tricks to be added there so don’t expect to run into a giant chaos worm!
CD: There is an eternal conflict between the pantheons of creation, truth, and higher consciousness and the forces of destruction, illusion, and base instinct. How do you envision the PCs becoming embroiled in these themes and how would they become involved with the cults who are on opposing side?
HR: Good question. It requires some thought. We do have upcoming adventures that approach these antigod cults from a slightly different angle. But in our current adventures, they mostly fall into a more traditional good vs. evil framework. The Eresteens—hunger-driven monsters like vampires, manananggals, sirens, and so on—are clearly enemies. Still, even in the adventure itself, things aren’t completely black and white. I’ve always tried to include human traits in them as well, even in these “enemies.” They worship their own gods to gain benefits they need—much in the same way many people worship good gods. The Andins, for instance, worship their own god, Bandan, who is the leader of that diverse people. While both groups are antagonists from the adventurers’ point of view, they are not allies with each other. In the myths, Bandan and Arlu—the Mother of the Eresteens—are already bitter enemies. Many-Mouthed Arlu devoured Bandan before, and wants to do it again. That says something, I think. I’m not sure if that answers the question, but those are some of my thoughts.
CD: Included is the ship the Sanguine Maiden and several sample crew members. How will this crew interact with the PCs and who is your favorite crew member?
HR: My idea was to provide the gamemaster with a cast of interesting characters to briefly introduce during the sea journey. They’re meant to be present in a problem to be solved, but more importantly, they help establish a sense of grandeur and significance—as if the adventurers are in the company of truly important figures. I’ve aimed for something similar to what’s done in the Six Seasons in Sartar Jonstown Compendium book, where the adventurers interact with a powerful character, Kallyr Starbrow. That’s the kind of atmosphere I’ve been aiming for, and something I also hope the adventures themselves can evoke—that the powerful figures of the campaign are present not only in the background lore, but right there at the game table. Personally, I would use the characters—beyond the events directly outlined in the book—in the following way: I’d take one of the sailors and have him join the adventuring party. Perhaps also the Keets, the seabird-folk, as they best serve the plot. I’d use this ordinary sailor to help pace, evoke, and roleplay the atmosphere of the dungeon. This character could also be the one who “gossips” about the backgrounds of the more significant ship characters—otherwise, it can be tricky to naturally convey those fascinating bits of lore to the players. Note: in the adventure, the player characters aren’t supposed to follow the same path through the dungeon as Queen Vele’s group. Vele’s party should be sent along a different route. However, these groups should encounter each other later in the dungeon with a narrative twist. Similarly, some of the other written NPCs have story-related impacts on what they’re doing in the dungeon. My personal favorite is either Vele Unnikanan herself—who was the original inspiration for even beginning to write these books—or the Keets, who are always a riot to introduce and include in adventures. One of the most fun twists comes with the queen’s bodyguard, Boarman: his bravery and self-sacrifice aren’t just innate qualities, but are also shaped by his cultural shame over past cowardice. That’s a great angle to explore with players—along with the fact that he’s afraid of water, yet travels by ship.
CD: An extensive dungeon awaits adventurers. Why might PCs venture inside and what is your favorite location?
HR: The adventure isn’t just about discovering a dungeon. There’s a clear overarching mission—one that Vele specifically asks the adventurers to help her with. Vele is obsessed with finding the Ship of the Gods, which, according to legends, is supposed to be hidden in this place. Her obsession is deeply personal: her father vanished while searching for this very same ship. The adventurers are invited along because, as revealed in the adventure from Vol. 3, they are the ones who discovered the island hidden among the scalding steam clouds. Vele needs them—she cannot find it on her own. Of course, playing the adventures from Vol. 3 is not required to enjoy this one, but the idea is that this plotline has been slowly developing over the previous books. Still, even without any of the earlier volumes, this adventure can stand on its own. The book presents motivations to get on this adventure for the pre-generated characters—why this journey matters to them personally. There are also multiple possible reasons for wanting to go on this expedition. Not least among them, of course, are the legendary treasures said to be hidden there. My personal favorite areas in the dungeon are the sections where intersections aren’t just tunnels—but also water routes that run through the caves. I’m especially fond of the lair of the dungeon’s main antagonist: an ancient, ever-hungry siren. Her underwater cave pool and her motivations are, in my opinion, some of the most compelling material in the adventure. There are also certain story-relevant locations I’m quite proud of—but I’d rather not spoil those here.
CD: Do you have any stories from playtesting the setting to share and/or tips for GMs wanting to run a campaign in the East Isles who are looking for some advice on where to get started?
HR: We did quite a lot of playtesting—nine playthroughs in total, and with four different GMs. One unexpected outcome came from a group that decided to explore the island outside the caves first. That led me to create more interesting details for the island surface, as well as an encounter table for the area outside the dungeon. It wasn’t something I had originally considered when writing the adventure. Another surprising playtest moment was when the players discovered a method for progressing through the dungeon that was far too easy. I responded by tweaking certain elements to prevent that shortcut. I won’t reveal what it was—since that would spoil an important part of the adventure. Game Masters who want to run adventures in the East Isles can follow a very approachable path by progressing book by book through our clearly structured campaign. With ten ready-to-play adventures, there’s more than enough material for a long campaign, and the sandbox content—especially in Vol 4—makes it easy to customize and build out your own unique version of the setting. The only expectation is that GMs have access to the RuneQuest – Roleplaying in Glorantha core rulebook and The Red Book of Magic.. Other than that, the setting of the region is introduced in digestible portions throughout our books, so deep knowledge of Glorantha is not required.
CD: Many readers of EN World play Dungeons & Dragons or Pathfinder. If they asked you why they might want to try to running RuneQuest – Roleplaying in Glorantha in the East Isles and eventually Bezarngay Boil what would you tell them?
HR: I’d say—absolutely dive into our books! You’ll get a unique setting full of rich magic and wonder. We’ve made it easy to approach, with ready-to-run adventures included. And for those who prefer to build their own stories, there’s a wealth of highly usable sandbox material featuring five islands—one of them large enough to support an entire campaign full of intrigue, fascinating locations, memorable characters, and discoveries. I truly believe that the range of our adventures can appeal to all kinds of players—anyone who enjoys roleplaying and fantasy will find something to love here.
CD: Any final thoughts you would like to share with the readers of EN World?
Hannu Rytövuori: I wish you all many amazing gaming moments—no matter what games you love to play. Everyone has their own favorites, and that’s how it should be. But I can warmly recommend giving our series a try as well. Thank you for having me, Charlie. It’s been a pleasure.
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