| A RuneQuest Campaign in Seven Scenarios | |
|---|---|
 Box cover illustration by Lisa Free | |
| Designers |
|
| Publishers | Chaosium |
| Publication | 1982 |
| Genres | Fantasy |
| Systems | Basic Role-Playing |
| ISBN | 978-1-56882-516-8 |
Borderlands is a boxed tabletop role-playing game adventure for RuneQuest . Originally published by Chaosium in 1982, this edition was republished in 2018 in PDF format as part of Chaosium's RuneQuest: Classic Edition Kickstarter.
Borderlands is a campaign of seven linked adventures for a party consisting of 4-6 moderately powerful player characters and 1-2 beginning characters. A Lunar noble, Raus de Rone, has just inherited frontier lands south of Pavis, along the River of Cradles, and hires the characters to establish a settlement and civilize the area. [1] [2]
The boxed set includes
The scenarios, when played in sequence, make up the complete campaign:
The final scenario then links up with the next Runequest adventure, Griffin Mountain . [4]
Chaosium created the fantasy role-playing game RuneQuest in 1978, only 4 years after the publication of the pioneering RPG Dungeons & Dragons . In 1982, Chaosium released the adventure Borderlands to serve as an introduction to the RuneQuest world. The boxed set was created by John E. Boyle, Tony Fiorito, Mark Harmon, Janet Kirby, Rudy Kraft, Charlie Krank, Steve Perrin, Sandy Petersen, Greg Stafford, Lynn Willis, Reid Hoffman, Ken Rolston, Lisa Free, Yuri Chodak and Elizabeth Wolcott, with cover and exterior art by Free. [5]
The youngest writer on the creative team was Reid Hoffman, who was 14 at the time. [6]
Chaosium offered a completely remastered edition of Borderlands as a single PDF for their final PDF release of 2018. [7]
Steve List reviewed Borderlands in The Space Gamer No. 56. [2] List commented that "This package is not inexpensive, but it's worth the price. However, the emphasis here is on the scenarios, so Borderlands is not as useful as a source book as Griffin Mountain. Unlike Griffin Mountain, though, the scenario structure provided requires virtually no scene setting by the GM before play can begin. For RQ fans, the only reason not to acquire this one is the hope of one day playing in it." [2]
In the November 1982 edition of White Dwarf , Oliver Dickinson called Borderlands "the perfect answer to any GM who does not have time to construct a whole campaign of his/her own." Dickinson found a few minor errors and ambiguous rules, but concluded "this seems to me a splendidly organised and presented campaign." [4]
In the December 1982 edition of Dragon , Robert Plamondon found Borderlands to be a "well conceived and executed composition. The look and quality of the materials is top notch." Plamondon highly recommended the adventure, concluding, "Borderlands stands as a model for all subsequent campaign packages, and will be a worthwhile purchase for any gamer in terms of its utility, design, and aesthetic appeal." [3]
In a retrospective review of Borderlands in Black Gate , John ONeill said "Borderlands is nicely self-contained, and comes with virtually everything you need for a rich adventure-packed campaign." [8]
In his 2023 book Monsters, Aliens, and Holes in the Ground, RPG historian Stu Horvath noted, "Bordlerands is yet another entry on the list of RPG products coming in rapid succession [in the early 1980s] that provides an experience totally unlike anything else available at the time. Certainly nothing else makes room for daily life or teaches as much about the world as this box does so elegantly." [1]
Basic Role-Playing (BRP) is a tabletop role-playing game which originated in the RuneQuest fantasy role-playing game. Chaosium released the BRP standalone booklet in 1980 in the boxed set release of the second edition of RuneQuest. Greg Stafford and Lynn Willis are credited as the authors. Chaosium used the percentile skill-based system as the basis for most of their games, including Call of Cthulhu, Stormbringer, and Elfquest.
Call of Cthulhu is a horror fiction role-playing game based on H. P. Lovecraft's story of the same name and the associated Cthulhu Mythos. The game, often abbreviated as CoC, is published by Chaosium; it was first released in 1981 and is in its seventh edition, with licensed foreign language editions available as well. Its game system is based on Chaosium's Basic Role-Playing (BRP) with additions for the horror genre. These include special rules for sanity and luck.
RuneQuest is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game originally designed by Steve Perrin, Ray Turney, Steve Henderson, and Warren James, and set in Greg Stafford's mythical world of Glorantha. It was first published in 1978 by The Chaosium. Beginning in 1984, publication passed between a number of companies, including Avalon Hill, Mongoose Publishing, and The Design Mechanism, before finally returning to Chaosium in 2016. RuneQuest is notable for its system, designed around percentile dice and an early implementation of skill rules, which became the basis for numerous other games. There have been several editions of the game.
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Worlds of Wonder is a multi-genre set of three role-playing games (RPGs) produced by Chaosium in 1982 that all used the Basic Role-Playing set of rules.
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Thieves' World is a role-playing game supplement published by Chaosium in 1981, based on the Thieves' World series of novels. It was notable for including rules and statistics allowing for its use with nine different fantasy and science-fiction RPG gaming systems.
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Griffin Mountain is a tabletop role-playing game supplement for RuneQuest, written by Rudy Kraft, Jennell Jaquays, and Greg Stafford, and published by Chaosium in 1981. Griffin Mountain is a wilderness campaign setting for the RuneQuest system, focussed on the land of Balazar and the Elder Wilds. It contains role-playing material to help gamemasters design adventures in the setting. It received positive reviews in game periodicals including Ares, White Dwarf, The Space Gamer, and Dragon.
Trollpak, Troll Facts, Secrets, and Adventures is a boxed fantasy tabletop role-playing supplement, written by Greg Stafford, and Sandy Petersen, with art by Lisa A. Free, and published by Chaosium in 1982. A second edition was published in 1988 by Avalon Hill. Both editions received positive reviews in game periodicals including Different Worlds, Dragon, White Dwarf, The Space Gamer, and Games International.
SoloQuest 3: The Snow King's Bride is a tabletop role-playing game adventure for RuneQuest. Originally published by Chaosium in 1982, it was republished in 2018 in PDF format as part of Chaosium's RuneQuest: Classic Edition Kickstarter. The republished edition, titled SoloQuest Collection contained the original adventure, plus SoloQuest and SoloQuest 2: Scorpion Hall.
Griffin Island is a boxed supplement for the fantasy role-playing game RuneQuest. Originally published by Chaosium in 1981 as Griffin Mountain, a set of adventures set in the world of Glorantha, this edition was published in 1986 by The Avalon Hill Game Company as part of its third edition RuneQuest rules set, and had all references to Glorantha removed. In addition to an adventure campaign, Griffin Island contained role-playing material to help gamemasters design adventures in the setting. It received several positive reviews in game periodicals of the day.
Balastor's Barracks is a tabletop role-playing game adventure for RuneQuest, originally published by Chaosium in 1978. Set in Greg Stafford's world of Glorantha, against the backdrop of an ancient ruined city, the adventurers search for a lost artifact.
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Pavis: Threshold to Danger is a boxed tabletop role-playing game supplement for RuneQuest, originally published by Chaosium in 1983. This boxed set detailed the fictional city of New Pavis for use in role-playing adventures. It received positive reviews in game periodicals including White Dwarf, Dragon, Different Worlds, and Fantasy Gamer. The set was republished in 1999 by Moon Design Publications in a single volume with Big Rubble: The Deadly City as Gloranthan Classics Volume I – Pavis & Big Rubble. The 1983 edition was republished in 2019 in PDF format as part of Chaosium's RuneQuest: Classic Edition Kickstarter.
Vikings, Nordic Roleplaying for RuneQuest is a boxed tabletop role playing game supplement, written by Greg Stafford and Sandy Petersen, with a cover by Steve Purcell. Published under license by Avalon Hill in 1985 for Chaosium's fantasy role-playing game RuneQuest.
Snakepipe Hollow is an adventure published by Chaosium in 1979 for the fantasy role-playing game RuneQuest, then revised and republished in various editions.