Why Balazar is my favourite Runequest Location?

Older gamers and long term Runequest fans are all very aware of the beloved, classic and awesome RPG Sandbox Griffin Mountain, and the land of Balazar which it describes. More recent converts to the cause may be less aware as the latest release of Runequest has focused almost exclusively on  Dragon Pass though rightly so. However this classic location without a doubt is my favourite Runequest campaign setting, and the following notes try to get to the bottom of why.



Where and what is Balazar?

For those of you not in the know, Balazar is a land to the North of Dragon Pass and to the east of the provinces of the Lunar Empire. It is a land of semi-nomadic Hunter gatherer clans. It is dominated by large citadels which are virtually the only permanent settlements, around which its human hunter inhabitants gather into three distinct tribes. The Elder races loom large with trolls and elves dominating the adjacent Elder Wilds, the Dwarves hold up in their city of Greatway to the south, and colossal giants roaming through the mountains far to the east.

The land has a sparse open wild feel to it, population centres are rare and small, unlike Dragon Pass it is not the central crucible of the hero wars. Heroes exist but are more modest than Argarath, Hareck and Jareel; its people are primitive, traditional, and possibly more innocent.



So Why?
It is this land that has long been my favourite Runequest setting and i’m about to try to articulate why I love it so much. Let me be clear, I’m not saying it’s better than other Gloranth settings, it’s just one which I prefer.

The first reason I would like to put forward is personal bias, the greatest campaign of my youth took place in the setting, my favourite most defining PC was and is based there. I had no poor and difficult gaming experiences in games based in Balazar. I am utterly and completely 100% biassed and that’s OK.  Our experiences often define out likes and dislikes, and I have many pleasant experience in playing and running games in Balazar

The setting is unique. Glorantha is a distinct and interesting setting within itself, but Balazar is a unique land within that setting. Wild, pared down and with its own distinct flavour, I cannot think of any other games written to be played with a neolithic hunter gatherer setting.

I love the scale of Bazalar, not in terms of miles and hexes, but Griffin Mountain was an intimate setting, the cast list was relatively small and players could interact with most of the movers and shakers in the region.


However, it is also a wild setting with an immense physical scale, the sense of wilderness, the unknown, an amount of space that you could drop a lot of things into without changing the feel and lay of the land. Its remoteness also means that whatever the players are doing will probably be the most notable activity in that locale.

Player centrality is something I think a game requires, if your players are hangers on to the stories of central and important NPC’s, just bit part players in their own game, the priorities of both the setting and the ref seems wrong.  In the Balazaring setting it is almost guaranteed that your players will take centre stage, and become driving characters within the story

Balazar is not defined by the Hero Wars in the same way as Dragon Pass is, it will be affected by going on in Sartar and the Lunar Empire but the setting is not defined by it. The story which will play out in Balazar is one of the storytellers and players’ invention. The sandbox format is key to allowing alternative and unique stories to be told without expectations of being on or off canonical storyline. 

One of the best and most difficult things about Glorantha is the depth and scale of the world’s law, it can be intimidating to even long-time RQ and Glorantha fans. The Balazar setting has a simplicity and a limited lore base that can be picked up and read though in a couple of hours( i may have altered that slightly), games can be run with little reading, but you still get the feel of a complete and immersive setting.

So for players or storytellers new to Glorantha, wanting to try an aspect not as detailed or as intimidating as Dragon Pass it’s a great place to start, and then characters can be moved over the mountains to more complex settings as players start to understand the world in a deeper way.


I like slow burn long campaigns which take their time and players can pace to suit their preferences. Balazar has a velocity which suits the playing style you want, without being bound to any external timeline. If your game in Balazar wants to spend the first 2 years just looking at clan life and players being rustic hunters that’s completely fine and your won’t feel pressured to get to certain milestones by certain dates on the fear of missing out on Key events.

I adore that Griffin Mountain is a sandbox setting, possibly the defining RPG sandbox setting. Nothing linear, giving complete freedom for players and storyteller.

No none of the above make Balazar better than other Gloranthan settings, i’m aware that many things that make Balazar ideal for me, wouldn’t be the preference of other players and refs. Runequest Glorantha has been written to intentionally put the Hero wars at the centre of the game, and that style of play will captivate many and is at least equally valid, so please don’t think I criticise.

Balazar just suits me and my style of play better, and I have many wonderful memories of the setting.  For some the rich, complex and multi layered lands of Dragon Pass suit, for others post apocalyptic Prax scratches an itch or the classic adventures paradise(?) which is Pavis fulfils a need. I love all of them, but for me Balazar is the palace in Glorantha which is my forever home.

If that has whetted your appetite can I recommend the wonderful Griffin Mountain which is still available from Chaosium and my own companion Back to Balazar which is available of Jonstown compendium and brings Balazar up to 1625 and uses the RQG ruleset.

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