When I introduce newcomers to the world of Glorantha, I always start with some variation of the following: it's an ancient world setting that focuses on myth, and there's really only one myth you need to know. It goes something like this.
The cosmos emerges from Chaos. First comes Darkness, then Water. The Earth emerges from the waters and begins the Green Age, the spring of the world. The Sky rises from the earth and starts the Golden Age, ruled by the sun god. The world is shaken then by the birth of the Storm gods. They tear heaven and earth apart to make room for themselves. One storm god slays the sun, throwing the world into darkness and eternal winter. This ignites the Gods War. The gods fall to fighting each other, and Chaos re-enters the world. Nearly everything dies. In a last ditch effort to save the cosmos, the gods bind themselves and create Time. The time of the gods is over. It is the time of the mortal races. History begins.
It's a fractal story. The general pattern is easy to grasp. We all know this story because we all live it. Our lives begin in Darkness and Water--the womb. We are born into childhood, the Green Age, followed by youth, the Golden Age. Strife and struggle enter our lives, then decline and darkness. Our time ends and someone else's begins.
But the deeper you look, the pattern repeats itself endlessly. It's there in the order of the Gloranthan seasons, the days of the week, and even the Ages of Time (which begin with exploring new powers and end with conflict and destruction). The myths of individual deities almost invariably explore how the god or goddess in question fits into the story told above, and it even dictates the layout of the Elemental Runes on your character sheet.
With new players, I like to start campaigns during Sacred Time, when some variation of the story above is retold. I don't tell the players the story ahead of time, I give it to the characters during the game. Then I play seasonally, starting with Sea Season, letting the pattern become obvious as we play. Gods and cults get introduced as necessary. I've done this hundreds of times and it's never failed me.
Skip the "Family History" section of character creation. It means nothing to newbies. Right on p. 29 RuneQuest tells you it's optional anyway. I also use the "Inexperienced Adventurers" option (p. 25) and skip choosing cults. You can get new players into the game in about 20-30 minutes with these options, and teach them the game and setting through play. Essentially, Six Seasons in Sartar was my blueprint on how to do all this.
This works particularly well at conventions. I shun pre-generated characters, and have been able to introduce first time players with their own characters and still have time to play.
I introduced all four of my current players to RuneQuest this way. Sure, now they are all Glorantha nerds, putting their grubby little mitts on my precious tomes and getting lost in the pages of The Guide to Glorantha, but they all went into it blind. They hadn't even read the rulebook. But that's the thing about rabbit holes: you don't need to know what's at the bottom of them before you take the plunge.
If you like what you read, consider buying me a martini!
