Glorantha - The Second Age (1e)
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Glorantha is a world permeated by magic and shaped by myth. Its heroes achieve power by questing for runes¸ physical manifestations of the eternal abstract forces that shape its destiny. Eventually they graduate to even more powerful magics¸ learning to gain power by emulating the deeds of the gods¸ mastering the arcane formulae of the sorcerous arts¸ allying with spirits¸ or achieving meditative awareness of life's unknowable secrets. In doing so¸ they draw on one or more of the mythic Otherworlds surrounding their everyday material world. With the right magic¸ they can travel to the realms of the gods¸ become participants in their ancestral myths¸ and return with wondrous new abilities. Those who fail these daunting tests may be diminished¸ destroyed¸ or eternally lost in the mythic realms.
"Explorers¸ adventurers and kings aren't the only ones who wield magical power here. Ordinary people practice their own spells and charms¸ helping them to feed¸ clothe and shelter themselves in what would otherwise be a hostile environment.
"Glorantha is a world of clashing cultures¸ where good and evil aren't always easy to sort out. Though cursed with more than its share of tyrants¸ monsters¸ and villains¸ no single one of its cultures maintains a monopoly on virtue. Two warring cultures can be¸ from their own point of view¸ equally right - or equally ruthless and brutal. Cultures differ on the right way to live¸ the true events of myth and history¸ and the very purpose of existence. And that's just the humans: its inhuman races follow their own alien agendas¸ as laid out at the beginning of time.
"In its glorious Second Age¸ Glorantha is the prize of warring empires. Two empires¸ more similar than they'd like to admit¸ vie for ultimate dominance. The God Learner Empire seeks to crack open and the very secrets of the gods¸ manipulating them to their own ends. The Empire of Wyrm's Friends works to transform its land and people into a gigantic¸ mystical dragon¸ which will take flight and reshape the entire world.
"The Second Age is a time of unprecedented discovery and exploration. For the first time¸ trade and travel allows the interaction of far-flung cultures. Both Empires innovate feverishly¸ unveiling new forms of magic¸ new devices¸ new modes of perception.
"Against this backdrop of unfettered progress¸ dark omens gather. Men have pushed the Glorantha's eternal laws of myth and magic to the breaking point. How long will it be before the world strikes back at them¸ punishing their unprecedented hubris?