Runequest solo - part 1: Out of Dunstop

Freezeday - Truth Week - Fire Season 1627

"Hey, Praxian girl!"

"Piss off, Iaros. I thought I told you to stop calling me that."

"I called your name three times, and you pretended not to hear."

"I'm exceedingly busy."

"Doing what?"

"I've got a full day planned."

"You're sat in the portico of the basilica watching people wander through the forum."

"It's too hot. It's only the marble and the shade that make it bearable."

"So, you planning to rob one of the stalls or something?"

"No."

"What then? Just sit there and eat that whole basket of sweeties by yourself?"

"We begin to understand one another."

"Well I hate to be the one to ruin your plans--"

"--you don't, really--"

"--but Big Boss sent me to fetch you. Well?"

"Now? It's still morning!"

"I'll just tell him you've better things to do, shall I?"

Hessa heaves a histrionic sigh and rises heavily to her feet, brushing crumbs from the skirt of her threadbare chiton. She stomps out of the cool shade without a word. Iaros scurries to catch up with her.

"Where are you going? The meeting's this way."

"I know where we're going. But I'm going to wash up in the fountain first. My fingers are sticky."

"Well you are a thief."

Hessa's attempt at suppressing her ridiculous giggle results in a most indelicate snort, but Iaros pays her no mind. She washes her hands in the fountain, then hazarding a suspicious glance at Yelm blazing high in the vault of heaven, sticks her head under the water spout and lets the cold water cascade through her hair and down her neck and shoulders. With her newly-clean fingers she shakes the excess water from her unruly (and most un-Praxian) black curls, forcing Iaros back a step or two.

"So, do I look presentable enough for a meeting with the man himself?"

"There's jam on your chest."

[It is not at all obvious from previous postings on this blog, but I dig out my old 2nd edition Runequest rulebook at least once a year. I've had a lot of PCs making forays into Snakepipe Hollow and Scorpion Hall, as well as a host of non-RQ solo adventures I converted on the fly, but none of this ever gets typed up. I have also started various free-form adventures with Mythic and other solo tools, but none of those have gotten typed up nicely either. Until now, I suppose. This adventure is the start of a campaign that I began in early 2023 and to which I have periodically come back in the intervening months/years.

I don't really remember what started it, but it came hard on the heels of a mercenary campaign based on a Lunar incursion to the foothills round mount Kero Fin. I probably just wanted something less martial. So I rolled up 4 new PCs (as that's what I can fit on a sheet of A4 lined paper) and picked the most interesting one to use as the main PC, with the idea that she'd encounter the others as things progressed.

Glorantha is a huge and very rich setting, which can be quite daunting and also lead down research rabbit-holes as the answer to a seemingly innocent question involves poring through decades worth of source material. I'm going to keep it very simple and invoke the very useful Your Glorantha Will Vary (YGWV) dictum, so expect deviations from canon. My aim is to primarily use the 2nd edition sourcebooks I have, but I do have all the very lovely RQ:AiG pdfs from a bundle and I am not above mining them for background and monster stats. I will do my best to explain aspects of the game world (and my interpretations thereof!) as I go, for the benefit of those who don't know the setting. A lot of the fun of RQ is being able to mix in all my favourite aspects of bronze (*cough*iron*cough*) age society without worrying overmuch about historicity.

I will do my best to introduce my main character through her actions rather than via a protracted look at character generation, but here follows her initial character sheet with the very broad strokes of her background to help set the scene.

I'd been looking for a chance to use this as a PC portrait ever since I came across it

Hessa originally hails from the city of Furthest, the capital of Lunar Tarsh. Tarsh is split in two: Lunar Tarsh is a province of the Lunar Empire, whilst Old Tarsh comprises the rebellious tribes of Tarshites living round mount Kero Fin. Hessa was born in one of the brothels in Furthest's poor quarter. Her mother was one of the working girls there. Her father was evidently a passing Praxian nomad employed as a mercenary by the Lunar army, but no more about him can be deduced, not even his clan (sable, bison, rhinoceros, impala, etc.). Her mother's profession isn't shameful per se, but Hessa grew up in the demi-monde and never left it, which is why her Previous Experience (Appendix H in the rulebook) was an "apprenticeship" with a gang of Thieves. She's currently living in Dunstop, working for an allied gang.

I've always thought of Lunar Tarsh as akin to romanised Gaul and/or Magna Graecia. Tarshites (and the neighbouring Sartarites) are depicted as Mediterranean types (and I will generally use Grecian/Roman pictures to illustrate them), whilst the Praxians look more like central asians. So Hessa has her mum's dark colouring and thick, curly hair, but a round face with high cheekbones and epicanthal folds; this has made it harder than usual to find good character portraits, so some imagination will need to be supplied to fill in where my picture stock and photoshop skills aren't up to the task! She's also a bit heavier (SIZ 2 higher than STR) than many old illustrators would render, especially in the pulps.

Hessa
-----
Background: Townsman, Lunar Tarsh
Prev. Exp.: thieves

STR 12 CON 15 SIZ 14 INT 17
POW 12 DEX 15 CHA 16 DB+1D4
HP 16 SR 4/2 Defence 15%

Skills: Move Quietly 50%, Hide 50%, Spot Hidden 50%, Trap Set/Disarm 45%, Listen 65%
Weapons: 1-H spear 40%/15%, med. shield 45%, dagger 40%/30%

All PCs/campaigns need some sort of goal to pursue; for a long-term goal I wanted Hessa to go adventuring in the city of Pavis and the Borderlands beyond, so I did my usual thing of starting on the other side of the map. I haven't figured out why she wants to go there yet, but it may just be a place that's far away from her current life. Her other, more immediate goals are: (1.) get clear of the thieves' ring, (2.) become an initiate in a cult (probably the Seven Mothers, as that's how she was raised), and (3.) find a weapon trainer (her underwhelming spear skill from mandatory militia training is not sufficient to survive a dangerous trek across Dragon Pass to reach Pavis). Come to think of it, she should probably (4.) learn to speak some Tradetalk as well; there are probably not that many Tarshite speakers where she's headed.

NB. Dates will be expressed according to the standard Gloranthan calendar. I may switch to the Lunar reckoning, which is the one Hessa actually knows and uses in daily life, when she spends more time in Lunar-controlled areas (her first adventure takes her outside it almost immediately). I have been keeping fastidious track of time on a copy of the calendar I printed out from Cults of Prax, mostly with the aim of figuring out weather and seeing when important religious festivals fall. It's not really necessary to understand the timekeeping to follow the adventure; just look as it as more background colour.]

The Big Boss holds court in a nearly-windowless attic above a seedy tavern in the poor quarter. It smells marginally less of stale sweat and spilt wine than the rest of the establishment. Some of his heavies are sat on the floor in the corner beneath a skylight, playing knucklebones for clacks [copper pieces]. The Big Boss himself is at a table with a burning candle, laboriously scratching a missive into a wax tablet. The Big Boss —for he answers to no other name— looks up at the sound of footsteps, and squints at the newcomers with his one good eye. "Take a seat, me dear. I'm almost ready."

Hessa does as she is bidden, opposite the Big Boss in the only other chair. She slouches more and more as he writes, twisting her curls absently round one finger. Iaros merely shifts his weight from side to side, trying not to look as bored as he must certainly be.

The Big Boss finishes writing, then reads over his letter with excruciating slowness, his stylus stopping on each word in turn, his free hand over his face so none can see the words as he mouths them, even though Hessa and Iaros are canny enough to look away. [Read/Write Native Language defaults to 10%.] Satisfied, he snaps the tablets closed and wraps a piece of cord round them thrice, then tips his reeking tallow candle over them to keep the cord in place and provide a field in which to roll the cylinder seal he had cut to counterfeit the mark of a local trader.

"Y'ever been to Wintertop?"

"Huh? Oh, er, no," stammers Hessa, roused abruptly from her daydreams. "Dunstop is the furthest I ever been from, you know, Furthest."

"I hear Wintertop is nice. So Baldakkal tells me. He runs things there. Out of a tavern called the Red Moon, if you can believe it. I need you to take this to him. Go see Sada about a horse. It'll be a gift to Baldakkal from me. And you work for him until he needs to send a message back."

"Sounds good, Big Boss."

Hessa runs off home at once to equip for the journey. She throws her extra tunics and her decent remaining underthings into a sack with her mirror and comb, deciding against the new pair of sandals which rub her feet all wrong. Her militia gear will most certainly be required: the heavy travelling cloak she's been using as a blanket, the round wooden shield that saw most of its action as a tabletop, and the spear she'd rammed into a chink in the wall to make a drying rack for her laundry. She lugs her gear to the stables, where the Big Boss' underlings give her a sleek riding horse with a saddlebags loaded with trail rations and camping gear. Hessa had hoped for a travelling stipend, but alas none was provided. There's a grand total of 15L in her purse; she'll have to forage or steal should she need any more food or equipment.

Hessa is soon out the city gates and underway.

[NB: 15L is 15 Lunars (silver pieces). A Lunar is worth 10 copper Clacks. A golden Wheel is worth 20L. All of these carry cultural connotations, and some places use different currencies.

The journey to Wintertop was largely played via the random encounter (Cultivated & Open terrain type) tables. I'll be omitting uneventful encounters to get to the good parts.

Her first 'quest' (take item X to place Y) was something I came up with just to get things moving, on the theory that something would eventually happen to spark an actual adventure. As it started with overland travel, I didn't use scenes and just set the Chaos Die (MCSV) to d10.]

It's a gentle ride through farmland to the river, which she reaches by evening. There are clusters of cottages near the banks with fisherfolk coming to-and-fro as they pull in the last catch of the day. Hessa is looking for somewhere to stable her horse for the night when she spots a familiar face.

[Encounter=NPC Friend, d6=m
Q: Who? Quaintly / Warm]

Bomoor is a spry old fisherman, garrulous and avuncular, and also a bit of a smuggler. He puts her up in his cottage for the night, and the next day helps her cross the river. She bids the smuggler farewell, then sets out towards Wintertop. She's little worry of getting lost in the open country; the 12km high spire of Mount Kero Fin points the way.

As she travels, she spots a magnificent sky bull winging overhead. Though a reminder of the Storm Bull cult, ever hostile to followers of the Lunar pantheon, she cannot help but stare in wonderment at the beast until it has flown out of sight.

That night she sleeps in the wilderness, concealing her tent beneath fallen boughs and leafy vines in a stand of trees.

[Night encounter= Dragonewt Party
Camouflage roll default 10+10=20%; 11, success; they don't spot her camp, and wouldn't care about the horse grazing nearby.]

next post: hazards of travel