 First edition cover by William Church | |
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| Publication |
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| Genres | Fantasy |
| Systems | Basic Role-Playing |
| ISBN | 978-1568825113 |
Snakepipe Hollow is an adventure published by Chaosium in 1979 for the fantasy role-playing game RuneQuest , then revised and republished in various editions.
Snakepipe Hollow is set in a section of unclaimed land in the northern part of Dragon Pass beset by many monsters. [1] The adventure is divided into four parts: [2]
Chaosium published the fantasy role-playing game RuneQuest in 1978, and quickly followed up with a number of supplements and adventures. One of these was Snakepipe Hollow, a 48-page softcover book with a yellow cover written by Greg Stafford and Rudy Kraft, with interior art by Luise Perenne and cover art by William Church. [2] It was published by Chaosium in 1979. [3]
That same year, Judges Guild published their first licensed RuneQuest adventure, Broken Tree Inn by Rudy Kraft, which used material from Snakepipe Hollow, although all references to Chaosium's setting of Glorantha were removed. [4] : 199
As Chaosium updated and revised RuneQuest, Snakepipe Hollow was likewise updated for the new set of rules and re-released a number of times, including a second edition in 1981 with a green cover, and a third edition in 1983 with a four-color cover.
In order to increase distribution and marketing of RuneQuest, Chaosium made a deal with Avalon Hill in 1984 to publish a third edition of the role-playing game. [5] Avalon Hill subsequently published a fourth edition of Snakepipe Hollow in 1988, a 60-page book re-titled Snake Pipe Hollow (three separate words) with a brown cover by Steve Purcell, cartography by Caroline Schultz-Savoy, and illustrations by Taylor Overbey. [6]
In the inaugural issue of Games International , Philip A. Murphy reviewed the fourth edition of Snake Pipe Hollow published by Avalon Hill, and complimented the production values, calling the book "attractively produced." He called the adventure "something of a throwback to the late 70's, being a true dungeon hack-and-slay job" but liked its "completeness, thought provoking problems and the sheer fun of it all." However, Murphy took issue with the excessive challenge of some of the encounters, pointing out that while some of the combats were relatively easy, others would challenge even the highest level characters. Murphy pointed out that the only way to survive was for characters to intensively role-play with the local non-player characters first to garner as much information about potential encounters so that they would know when to "Run away! RUN AWAY!" For this reason, Murphy gave the adventure a poor rating of only 2 stars out of 5, reasoning that "Unfortunately, players who go in for hack-and-slay in a big way are the least likely to 'fritter away hard-earned coin on old men with grey beards using big words'..." [1]
In his 2023 book Monsters, Aliens, and Holes in the Ground, RPG historian Stu Horvath noted that this adventure introduces new players to the mythology and history of Glorantha, saying, "Once the scenario is finished, players come away with a significant understanding of how Glorantha works and how they fit into a world where myth is real and ever-present. Snakepipe Hollow is an adventure, but it is also a teaching tool for future RuneQuest games. Few modern adventures can claim to transmit this much world lore to players while still providing a ripping fun time." [7]
Glorantha is a fantasy world created by Greg Stafford.
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.
Rudy Kraft III is a game designer who has worked primarily on role-playing games.
Cults of Prax is a supplement published by Chaosium in 1979 for the fantasy role-playing game RuneQuest that describes the various religions that are central to the game. It was republished in 2016 in PDF format as part of Chaosium's RuneQuest: Classic Edition Kickstarter.
Broken Tree Inn is a 1979 fantasy tabletop role-playing game adventure for RuneQuest published by Judges Guild. It is a RuneQuest Gateway product and so not set in Glorantha.
Cities is a fantasy role-playing game supplement that was first published by Midkemia Press in 1979. The supplement was designed to be used with any role-playing game system, and provides information about using urban center as part of adventures. Midkemia published a second edition in 1980, Chaosium published a third edition in 1986, and Avalon Hill published a fourth edition in 1988 for the RuneQuest role-playing game. The various editions received positive reviews in game periodicals including The Space Gamer, Different Worlds, Dragon, White Dwarf, Casus Belli, and Games International.
Apple Lane is a tabletop role-playing game adventure for RuneQuest, originally published by Chaosium in 1978. Set in Greg Stafford's world of Glorantha, Apple Lane is a small hamlet that provides the basis for three adventures. Subsequent updates for new editions of RuneQuest and HeroQuest focus only on the hamlet, updating its timeline. There are also a number of licensed and foreign language editions.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Gods of Glorantha, subtitled "60 Religions for RuneQuest", is a boxed supplement published under license by Avalon Hill in 1985 for Chaosium's fantasy role-playing game RuneQuest. The fifth of their boxed supplements for RuneQuest, it provides information and game rules related to sixty fictional cults, and was the first to feature the world of Glorantha instead of the default setting of "Dark Ages of fantasy Europe". The supplement was designed by Chaosium staff writers Sandy Petersen, Greg Stafford, Steve Perrin and Charlie Krank. It received positive reviews in game periodicals including Casus Belli, Different Worlds, Dragon, and The Games Machine.
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.
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.
Monster Coliseum is a tabletop role-playing game supplement for RuneQuest published by Avalon Hill in 1985. Monster Coliseum adapted gladiatorial types and coliseum combat procedures to the RuneQuest rules. Although published by Avalon Hill, the contents are copyrighted by Chaosium, while RuneQuest was a trademark of Avalon Hill. Written by Steve Perrin, Dan Nolte, and Sandy Petersen, with a cover by Lisa Free, and art by Kevin Ramos.
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.
Eldarad: The Lost City is a campaign setting published under license by Avalon Hill in 1990 for Chaosium's fantasy role-playing game RuneQuest.
Into the Troll Realms, subtitled "Troll Adventures and Encounters for RuneQuest" is a supplement that includes adventures and material that involve interactions with trolls, published under license by Avalon Hill in 1988 for Chaosium's fantasy role-playing game RuneQuest
Land of Ninja is a supplement published under license by Avalon Hill in 1987 for Chaosium's fantasy role-playing game RuneQuest.
a notable supplement because it featured material cut from Chaosium's own Snake Pipe Hollow (1979) - though the Glorantha references were removed in the Judges Guild publication.