After a seemingly endless wait (‘cos I clearly have the worlds troubles on my shoulders :) ), 13th Age Glorantha arrived yesterday and with some excitement, mixed with a little trepidation, I gave it a quick glance.
Glorantha is more than a little weird, a reality that had put me off it in the past. Initially I thought it was Bronze Age Greco-Persian influence, then maybe an Indo-Persian one, then American Indian-Persian, then Celtic….Persian?. It looks like it’s actually all that and more, so jumping in on the strength of the 13th Age window alone may seem strange.
13th Age is also a little weird in a kind of awesome way. It took the relatively ancient D&D rules set and, before 5e was even launched and offered us a play style that two of the designers of the game use to play their own games, which it turns out is quite different to the way they designed their “other” games (3e and 4e). It strips back, fleshes out and generally shakes up the old game, making it equal parts “old friend” and “new age” indie style game.
You know that feeling you get when you just want some of those annoying clunky rules mechanics to not be there anymore. Well they did just that and it works. House rules rule.
Join these two forces together with the style that 13th Age oozes (conversational designers notes and empowered creative license) and you have, for me, the perfect, possibly the only palatable launch platform into this particular gaming world.
Bonkers-gonzo weird meets bonkers-gonzo, a little over the top with a big smattering of “you can do it your way”.
My first inkling I was in for a good ride with this came quickly. Randomly opening the book I came across the Troll Warrior. That entry alone set the scene. Open, revealing, original and more than a little hilarious (these guys eat their own equipment, or friends even if pushed).
Broo, the original Beastmen. Love the pencil style drawings.
One of the things that makes 13A so accessible to me is the game refuses to take itself too seriously. I doubt I could take either D&D or Glorantha in a more serious, drier form after this.
This is the best of both worlds, creating a super-additive formula resulting in an opinionated, vibrant and flexible gaming experience.
Presentation is interesting. It looks like the book is done to the new standards of Chaosiums offerings, using semi gloss pages of a slightly lighter weight than 13A’s standard high gloss and heavier than usual-weight and the font and layout make for a more mainstream looking product. It is likely closer to Call of Cthulhu 7e (I have not seen yet) or D&D 5e (that I had) than vanilla 13A, but the content is still light and open in mood.
The less tight looking 13A layout. No preference, just different.
The illustrations are mostly from the Chaosium Glorantha archive with a few by the standard 13A artists. All good and the cross-over is seamless.
The differences in presentation and feel are fine, helping set the scene for the two worlds. It is, if anything, a little denser, tighter and more mature looking.
My plans of lifting from this for my normal 13A campaign have possibly gone out the window, because to be honest I think I want to play this world as it is.