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| - Glorantha is the Fantasy world created by Greg Stafford and since used as the background for several role-playing games, including RuneQuest (1st ed. 1978) and HeroQuest (1st ed. 2000). The world is characterised by its complex approach to mythology, heavily influenced by the universalist approaches of Joseph Campbell and Mircea Eliade, its Howardian ethos, its long and distinctive history as a setting for role-playing games, its community development and expansion, and (unusual among early American fantasy role-playing games) its relative lack of Tolkienesque influence.
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| abstract
| - Glorantha is the Fantasy world created by Greg Stafford and since used as the background for several role-playing games, including RuneQuest (1st ed. 1978) and HeroQuest (1st ed. 2000). The world is characterised by its complex approach to mythology, heavily influenced by the universalist approaches of Joseph Campbell and Mircea Eliade, its Howardian ethos, its long and distinctive history as a setting for role-playing games, its community development and expansion, and (unusual among early American fantasy role-playing games) its relative lack of Tolkienesque influence. Stafford began imagining Glorantha in 1966 as a way to deepen his own understanding of mythology. He founded the company Chaosium to publish White Bear and Red Moon (1974), a board wargame set in Glorantha. Chaosium later published other games in the setting, including the critically-acclaimed RuneQuest. Various later editions of RuneQuest, the narrative roleplaying game HeroQuest, and the computer game King of Dragon Pass were also set in Glorantha, as were several prominent fan efforts. Mongoose Publishing currently publishes RuneQuest. Stafford has also explored the Glorathan setting in the fantasy novel King of Sartar and a number of extended essays known collectively as 'the Stafford Library'. In Glorantha, magic operates from the everyday level of prayers and charms to the creation and maintenance of the world. Heroes venture into metaphysical realms to gain knowledge and power, but at the risk of body and soul. Various magical outlooks, such as shamanism and mysticism, compete to describe the world. Within a metaphysical system, adherents also compete, such as when theistic worshipers of rival gods battle each other. The world is flat, with a dome-like sky, and it has been shaped in large and small ways by the mythic actions of the gods. The historical world of Glorantha is in a more or less fallen state, having recovered only partially from a universal battle against Chaos in the mythic Godtime. Humans are the dominant race, but other sentient beings abound. Some, such as the mystic dragonewts, are unique to Glorantha. Familiar nonhuman races, such as elfs and dwarfs, are distinct from their common, Tolkienesque portrayals.
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