Thread: GRIFFIN MOUNTAIN - Gloranthan Classics Volume II

Welcome to Griffin Mountain!

Gamers have enjoyed playing in Glorantha for a long time now, over 25 years. The time is right to relaunch a major campaign source that went out of print over 20 years ago. This second edition reprint contains all of the original supplement, several articles printed in magazines, over 35 new pieces of additional art, designer's notes, and a never before published treatise on Running a Gloranthan Campaign by Greg Stafford. It also includes a separate 12 page set of player handouts.

Griffin Mountain was the largest game adventure ever published when it was first printed and it established a new state-of-the-art in roleplaying. It is a complete depiction of Balazar, a section of Glorantha just north of Dragon Pass and north-west of Prax. Unlike many source-books which offer worlds, Griffin Mountain goes into detail about the inhabitants (not just how many people live in what village), giving in depth views of their leaders, their lives, and their land. This is not a dungeon adventure. The book is aimed at an holistic, above-ground campaign. Almost all of the material can be adapted to a GM's own campaign, including weather charts, personalized encounters, found encounters, a merchant caravan, barbaric citadels, and two new cults, Foundchild and Cacodemon.

Griffin Mountain details an area 800 kilometers wide. The Elder Wilds is where non-humans live and high adventure thrives. Balazar is a sparsely populated hunting ground for approximately 12,000 human barbarians, a wild frontier where anything can happen. This book contains extensive notes on the area's geography, history, and inhabitants.

Meet King Yalaring Monsterslayer who became king of the citadel of Trilus by right of conquest. Visit picturesque Elkoi, built by giants. Trade with Joh Mith, a fat, jovial caravan master with high bargaining skills. Gamble with Hen Cik, one of the caretakers of a legendary castle in Giant Land. Cross the dangerous River of the Damned (full river crossing rules inside). Quest for the powerful windberries, rumored to be found on Griffin Mountain itself. Beware of the ever-present baboons, bears, dragonewts, dwarves, elves, dinosaurs, wild hawks, trolls . . .

Get your adventurers ready for a glorious time in Griffin Mountain!

By Paul Jaquays, Rudy Kraft and Greg Stafford. 256 Pages. Published by Moon Design.

Anyone who knows when volume 3 of the gloranthan classics was published?

Originally Posted by Trifletraxor

Anyone who knows when volume 3 of the gloranthan classics was published?

Volume 3 is Cult Compendium, right? 2002 I think, but Rick Meints would be the authority on that.

Sorry, Volume 2 is it I mean. The Cult Compendium was published in 2002 as you says.

Griffin Mountain is an excellent setting for RuneQuest, it is small enough to be quite sandboxy. You don't really have to know too much about the coming & goings of the rest of the world, just that there are the Heortlings to the south (Celtic/Gaul types) and the expansive Lunar Empire to the north (Roman/Phoenician types). That's about it really, the lands of Balazar & The Elder Wilds are detailed enough to encompass alot of adventuring, yet the setting can be quite localised as the main urban centres are three independent ramshackle citadels on the edge of a large wilderness region. This setting is brimming with possibilities for good old fashioned fantasy game play, regardless of whether you have an edition of RQ or you own the BRP BGB. Highly recommended!

Originally Posted by Mankcam

Griffin Mountain is an excellent setting for RuneQuest, it is small enough to be quite sandboxy.

I think this is why it translated to Griffin Island so well in RQ3. It always was quite self-contained. What I really liked about it was the atmosphere, the ancient fortresses inhabited by the much-reduced descendants of a lost civilisation.

Originally Posted by Vile

Volume 3 is Cult Compendium, right? 2002 I think, but Rick Meints would be the authority on that.

Originally Posted by Trifletraxor

Sorry, Volume 2 is it I mean. The Cult Compendium was published in 2002 as you says.

You pressed 'Edit' instead of 'Quote' there, didn't you?

For Griffin Mountain I revise my estimate to 2001.

Originally Posted by Vile

I think this is why it translated to Griffin Island so well in RQ3. It always was quite self-contained...

IIRC it originally started out as generic / non-Gloranthan. Greg Stafford liked it so much he co-opted it for Glorantha...

Nick

Originally Posted by Vile

You pressed 'Edit' instead of 'Quote' there, didn't you?

For Griffin Mountain I revise my estimate to 2001.

Agh! That pesky edit button!

Originally Posted by NickMiddleton

IIRC it originally started out as generic / non-Gloranthan. Greg Stafford liked it so much he co-opted it for Glorantha...

Correct.

I still sell this book. Just email me directly. Also, the PDF is for sale on drivethrurpg.

I'm getting ready to run this for my RQ group and I had a couple of issues with the Griffin Mountain scenario. I'll try to outline my worries here and see if anyone has any suggestions or actual experience with the scenario.

Torath manover (an Orlanthi Rune Lord) is looking for the windsword and knows it is in Griffin mtn. He is willing to pay the Griffins to look for it, and or reason with them. However, the Griffins will not allow anyone to enter their caves, meaning that the Griffins have to be killed for the party to search the caves.

Also, Torath is willing to let the Griffins look for the windsword as an alternative to his party entering their cave, however, the windsword is in a place the Griffins cannot physically get to, meaning that the griffins have to be killed again if the party are to get the sword.

My problem here is that griffins are intelligent and not chaotic or evil in anyway. This is their home and they have their young in the caves.

Personally I don't like the idea of a group of supposedly good guys offering a fake alternative to killing the Griffins in the knowledge that their isn't actually an alternative to killing them. It seems odd to me to put Griffins here when it may have been more reasonable to make this Walktapus mountain (or something). Why populate the caves with an intelligent, talking critter (and its family) if it is just cannon fodder.

Am I being unreasonable? I am trying hard in my campaign to differentiate between good and evil motivation and this scenario (as it stands) doesn't have any more reason than a dungeon bash. As a setting there is a lot of ulterior motivation going on in Balazar what with the Lunars trying to influence the region, its interesting and tricky and I like it. It just seems a shame that the scenario of the title has decided to forget all of that.

Has anyone actually played this or run this scenario and still have a clear memory of what happened? I'd really appreciate some insight.