Runequest Adventure Review: Defending Apple Lane

 Last year I made the long-awaited switch from playing D&D 5e for the last 3-4 years to the newest version of Runequest from Chaosium. Most of my game group haven't played anything other than 5e and for some of them, this was their first time playing a campaign in a non-D&D world. For me, D&D is one of the games I like the least, and have always found better games to play. I really enjoyed 5e when we first started to play it but after year 3 of playing I was burned out on this game system and all of its flaws. I should have ended the game before I did because now I hate everything about it. But let's not go down that road. Let's get into my new hotness; Runequest.

I have never played Runequest until now and only recently heard about the setting of Glorantha, but I have quickly fallen in love with this highly detailed mythic, bronze age world of heroes. I have to say I'm loving Runequest; Skill-based game systems are my favorite and Runequest meets the level of game design I enjoy without being too crunchy in my opinion. When I first started to hear about this game I picked up the free pdf of the quickstarter, which can be found on Chaosium's site. The quickstarter is a good look at the rules of the game and what you can expect from a game of Runequest. The Adventure isn't too bad either but I haven't run it yet. Once I got into it and was preparing to change my game over to Runequest once we finished our D&D campaign, I used some birthday money and bought the full Slipcase set for Runequest that comes with the Core book, Bestiary, and the GM screen - this set is not required to play the game but was something that I just wanted since I already was going to buy all of those books and the GM screen anyway. Plus the slipcase is pretty cool.

The GM Screen Pack is 100% worth getting. Maps, character sheets, calendar, pre-gen Characters, and best of all The GM Adventure Book. This book is what I think is currently the best way to start a new campaign of Runequest. Gives you a detailed starting setting with the Colymar tribal lands and brings back a classic starting town (or Hamlet in this case) with an updated Apple Lane. The book comes with 3 adventures, a dozen explorable locations that can turn into their own adventures by themselves, dozens of NPCs with full stats,100 random rumors (some true, false, up to the Gm, and a little bit of both), and a few other worthwhile extras. Truly the best GM screen I have ever seen and/or bought.

Defending Apple Lane

Overview:

Defending Apple Lane is the first adventure in the GM adventure book. It takes place right after the major event that kicks off this edition's timeline (yep, there is an active storyline for the setting). This adventure takes place a few weeks after the Dragonrise and the PC are traveling through the area when the people who live in the hamlet of Apple Lane ask for their assistance. Apple Lane is on major trade routes and it is not uncommon for travelers heading home from one of the numerous battles that took place recently to pass through the hamlet. A man who survived a brutal raid has found his way to the hamlet and remained conscious enough to warn Apple Lane that a raiding party of Tusk Riders is preparing to attack the hamlet. Apple Lane currently has no defenders to protect them, so when the PCs appear they are asked to help defend the hamlet from the Tusk Riders - and the villagers will reward them for their help.

This adventure is a good start to any campaign and for any group learning Runequest. The adventure primarily combat scenes with some roleplaying moments that bookend the adventure, where the PCs interact with the NPCs, particularly when they are planning the defense of the hamlet.

Overall this adventure can be broken down into 3-4 acts. Act 1, which I described above, where the PCs arrive and are asked to help defend the hamlet from monstrous raiders. This gives the players a lot of power in how to defend the Hamlet, with the NPCs taking a backseat and assisting the players where they can since all but two of the NPCs have any kind of combat training. The adventure offers a series of answers to possible questions the players may ask the NPCs and this information can help the players during their planning. The adventure leaves up how much time the players have to plan and prepare before the Tusk Riders arrive. 

Act 2 starts when the Tusk Riders attack. The adventure gives you a lot of suggestions on what kind of tactics the Tusk Riders will use to attack the hamlet. They are mostly seasoned warriors who have a lot of experience attacking similar settlements. The adventure gives you some short workable background and context for each Tusk Rider so that the GM can make the best decisions as the encounter progresses. There is a clear and defined hierarchy within the raiding party's group, which can easily fracture into 2-3 factions depending on what happens as they encounter the PCs. The adventure reinforces that none of the characters want to die in this fight. So play them smart. If they are losing, they should flee to the best of their ability. The Tusk Riders have a big advantage in this fight since they are all riding Tuskers, which are giant battle-trained boars. The boars have their own attacks and give the Tusk Riders a greater range of movement. 

The number of Tusk Riders is adjustable based on the number of players and the adventure gives the GM a clear idea of how many enemies the players should encounter for this adventure. When I ran this adventure, I used nearly all of them. Each tusk Rider has a name and a level of power, none of them are what I would call minions/ redshirts/clones to be used as cannon fodder like you see in many other adventure games. When comparing the number of players to the number of Tusk Riders they should encounter in combat, the adventure tells you which ones to include in the raid based on the PC's party size. 

How this combat session resolves and what situation the Tusk Riders encounter when they attack really depends on the PCs earlier planning. The Tin Inn is the only location in the hamlet that is easy to defend. The inn has an inner courtyard surrounded by a wall with a gate. There are also two temples in the Hamlet, but they only have stout doors that can be barred shut but offer no other way for defenders to respond to any attacks.

Act 3, in my game, a number of the tusk riders were killed in the fight before the others fled. One PC was nearly killed, but in the middle of battle, the healer was able to rush over and save them while the Heavy Infantry Warrior defended them from being attacked again. So my act 3 was the players healing themselves and checking on the villagers while searching the fallen Tusk Riders. The group's Assistant Shaman and his Master detected something odd about the one Tusk Riders necklace of Human Hands, and with second sight saw that there were two human spirits enslaved and bound to the necklace. This gave the Assistant shaman a moment in the spotlight and allowed him to learn about his occupation in the game. With some guidance, he was able to free the enslaved spirits and set them to rest. 

Once they were all done and ready, they set out to hunt down the rest of the Tusk Riders who fleed. This required them to go into the Colymar Wilds but is not a difficult task for anyone with the tracking skill to do. the Giant boars they ride make an easy path to follow, destroying vegetation as they rampage through the hills and forests. 

The Colymar Wilds can be a dangerous place. In these mountains are two known monsters or beasts that most people try to avoid if at all possible. Both are detailed more elsewhere in the GM's Adventure book, but the players can possibly encounter one of these while tracking the Tusk Riders back to their camp. Redeye the Boar is a semi Divine Beast that leaves a path of destruction where ever it goes and is a creature of rage and hate. This is suggested as a possible encounter in this adventure, but if the PCs beat the Tusk Riders fairly easily and the number of Tusk Riders left is too few for a good fight, then bring this guy into play. This creature is stated elsewhere in the adventure book and is one of the many possible side adventures that the players can investigate and encounter at any time. So don't feel the need to include him in this adventure. He can show up at any time and one of the other adventures in the GM's Adventure book will give you another opportunity to have the PCs encounter Redeye.

Once the players have this final encounter with these Tusk Riders, they can then return to Apple Lane as heroes.

Act 4 (or Act 3 is all the Tusk Riders are killed in act 2), the PCs are rewarded by the villager elders, Depending on what the PCs did during the adventure and how impressed the villagers are by the PCs' ability to defend the hamlet, the PCs can gain additional rewards that are more significant than just gold and silver. These kinds of rewards create a link to the community and help launch further adventures. This is one of the many aspects that I really enjoy about Runequest, each adventure has its standard rewards as well as potentially more rewards depending on PCs actions, Player Decisions, who lives or survives, and How the PCs go about resolving the objective(s) of the adventure. It's very much a decision tree done as a reward structure; much of which is not monetary based. Also every adventure you go on, the higher your reputation becomes, making you someone that others can seek out based on what stories they heard about you. Your reputation can affect social encounters, changing how an NPC interacts with you depending on the kind of reputation you have; if they have heard of you.

In an effort to not spoil too much, I'll say that due to my player's actions one of them, for his bravery and Honorable actions, was given the title of Thane of Apple Lane. Because of this, the character was able to hire his friends as retainers and cemented the group's roles in the community. Some players might see gaining responsibility as a somewhat undesirable reward, but in Runequest - Community and the PCs duty to their community and family is one of the many aspects of play. Runequest isn't D&D and this is one of the ways that the game reflects the differences between the two. It's not about Dungeon Crawls and fighting monsters, win treasure, and wandering the lands doing whatever. Don't get me wrong, if this is what you want to do for your game then it is still very much possible. However, in Runequest, your aspiring heroes go on adventures maybe once a season, and the rest of the time they are handling the responsibilities and duties that come with their chosen occupation; local healer, local Priestess, warrior working as village protector, assistant Shaman, etc. 

This adventure is simple and straightforward. Perfect for easing into a new campaign and easing into the Runequest Rules for the first time. Plus, it allows these players to save the starter town that they can then become fixtures in and around this quaint little hamlet. If nothing else, it introduces the players to the Temple of Uleria, the Goddess of Love, whose temple is a local hot spring and bathhouse enjoyed by travelers looking for a good place to rest for a night.

What I would add or change to Defend Apple Lane adventure.

• Set a timer: The PCs and the villagers don't know when the Tusk Riders will appear. When I ran this session, I rolled a D10 to see how many hours they had to prepare for the attack. Make it very clear to the players, when they are planning their defense, that they don't know when the attack is coming. I use the NPCs to poke at the plans the players were coming up with and several of their plans never took into account the amount of time they probably didn't have. 
  For instance, the players were talking about chopping down trees to block the roads. But they didn't really have the time to do this and it probably wouldn't have done much to stop the Raiders (especially since in my game, the Tusk Riders weren't using the roads). The NPCs didn't like the idea of the Players destroying parts of the groves in an effort that may not have born any fruit.
• I would have the PCs present when Saraskos, the man who survived the Tusk Rider's raid on his home, arrives to give the warning. This allows the PCs the chance to be present went the warning is given. The original adventure has everything begin a time after Saraskos has already given his warning.
• Have it so that Saraskos had a family who the Tusk Riders killed during the raid of his homestead. This adds some weight to the raid. 
• The biggest potential downside to this adventure is the number of NPCs the GM has to manage. When the players are interacting with the Apple Lane residences, the GM should just have Brightflower and Aleenia be the only ones speaking to the players, even though the Apple Lane gives you stats for all the main personalities in the hamlet.
• There is a lot of repetition to the names - especially the names of the various woman in town. So you are not constantly going back and forth, write down all the main names and a note for each and maybe even prescribe a well-known actor or actress that you can easily picture as a quick character description. This will help break up all those similar names in the player's mind.
• Have some of the PCs help bring the locals to the Tin Inn or the Temple. There are 13 characters listed in the village under the detailing of Apple Lane; 14, if you count the one child that is mentioned here. There are something like 25 hides of land around Apple Lane, which are managed by tenet farmers, however, there are only 5 (14 people) sets of tenet farmers listed at the end of the adventure. I assumed that there are more Tenet families in the surrounding area and would say that there is a family or 3 or more per Hide of land. So I would say there are at least 20 other families (not listed in the book) out there that the players can help gather for their safety. 
• Come up with a plan of attack for the Tusk Riders. The adventure book as suggestions that can help in this but I used the map and decided early on what direction the attackers were all coming from. I did this before the players started planning their defense. 
• Make it clear that the main objective here is to protect the people in the hamlet, not property or other items in the hamlet. I feel like this was something that wasn't as clearly stated in the adventure and the impression my players had was that they needed to protect the recent surplus from the harvest. This forced the players to try and spread themselves out in order to protect more of the hamlet. 
• Have Hendroste the Horsemaster protect the stables. This just seems logical to me that the Horsemaster would be the type to want to protect his horses, his livelihood. He does have a family and I had them at the Inn since it was the best defendable location, but then had Hendroste on the roof of the stables ready to shot any Raider that came within a reasonable range of his bow. This also allows him to act as a lookout to the south side of the hamlet.
• When the Tusk Riders flee; it possible the players will try to call this task complete. Have the NPCs say that they will not pay the PCs until they feel the task is complete since with a number of Tusk Riders still out there, they could return at a later day. The task the player took up was to protect the hamlet from These Tusk Riders and as such, they will not feel safe until they can be reassured that the Tusk Riders will not return. Generally, you want them to hunt the Tusk Riders down and either finish them or run them off - make them think twice before trying this again. I used my one player's Honor against him since he had an Honor of 90%. But you could have other players make similar dice rolls, such as opposed rolls Between Loyalty Clan or Tribe and one other Passion. or just a Loyalty roll if they want to call the task complete. 
• As the Player travel into the Colymar wilds, have the players come across an area that was recently (within a day or two) destroyed by Redeye in its wandering. Trees uprooted, knocked down, tufts of fur, gouged earth, crushed rocks, and a few dead animals should give them a good idea that might be out there.
• The adventure does have all the answers. This is pretty normal, but when reading through the adventure, I would suggest thinking about any of the questions you would ask as a player and come up with possible answers. 

My plan is to write up a similar overview and notable changes or possible changes for each of the Adventures in the GM Adventure book. So Keep an eye out for that.