Chaos
In Glorantha, Chaos is both what everybody fears, and what makes everybody’s existence possible. In the God Time, Chaos entered the world when the gods fought and killed each other, and this threatened to destroy the cosmos. But Chaos is also what Arachne Solara devoured in order to create Time. This makes the life of mortals possible.
Chaos is entropy and decay, the inexorable natural force that turns something into nothing. It is both necessary and undesirable.
Few people realize the need for Chaos in Glorantha’s existence, but those who do also know that it must be restrained and contained. Many otheres only know that it must be eliminated. And others yet, like the Lunars, are convinced that it is simply a tool to be used as appropriate. A very dangerous and powerful tool, yes, but a tool nonetheless.
Shapes of Chaos
Chaos is one of the fundamental Runes of Glorantha, and it exists mainly in two ways:
As a Form Rune: Chaos as a Form Rune is the Rune of abominable monsters who are generally feared and hated by all other lifeforms on Glorantha. These monsters are almost always driven to destroying of life in as many ways as possible. Their very nature is at odds with everything that exists, especially sentient life, and it’s extremely rare that one of these monsters somehow manages to escape this fate.
As a Condition Rune: Chaos as a Condition Rune corrupts other forms of life. It turns plants wrong, grotesquely deforms animals, and makes people into psychopaths or mutants.
More importantly, in all cases, it can offer advantages and powers beyond what is usually possible.
Powers of Chaos
This section presents the advantages that Chaotic creatures get from the Chaos Rune. These advantages apply to anyone with a Chaos Rune, including the adventurers.
Chaotic Inspiration
Those who embrace Chaos benefit from it. When playing a character or creature with a non-zero Chaos Rune affinity, a player or gamemaster may declare using a Chaotic Inspiration before making a Rune or Passion scene augment. The intention of the scene augment must be Chaotic – i.e. it must be for the purposes of bringing entropy and annihilation to the world, whether physically, mentally, culturally, or intellectually.
When Chaotic Inspiration is used, the Chaos Rune is added as a bonus to the Rune or Passion being rolled. On a success, the Chaos Rune gets an experience check along with the Rune or Passion.
All Chaotic creatures, such as broos and scorpion-men, use Chaotic Inspiration all the time when they use scene augments. They have passions such as Hate (Life) and Seek (Destruction), which they routinely use to kill, pillage, and burn everything on their path, so it fit perfectly with their intentions.
Chaotic Fright
Chaotic creatures and people have an eerie, unnatural presence that can destabilize, frighten, or demoralize others. Once per encounter, they may use their Chaos Rune to impose penalties on all non-Chaotic characters.
This is resolved as opposed scene augments. The Chaotic characters roll their Chaos Rune as a scene augment, generally added to an applicable passion, as per the Chaotic Inspiration rules (see previously). The other characters may try to resist this by rolling their own scene augment. However, this must be a passion, not a Rune. People are able to resist Chaos thanks to their shared humanity (or whatever the Elder Races call it), not thanks to some magical or cosmic affinity.
- Great Victory: Chaos gets +60% and the others get –60%.
- Victory: Chaos gets +20% and the others get –20%.
- Weak Victory: Chaos gets +20% and the others don’t get any modifiers (their scene augment just barely compensated for the fright)
- Weak Defeat: Both Chaos and the others get +20%.
- Defeat: Chaos gets nothing, the others get +20%.
- Great Defeat: Chaos gets –20% and others get +20%.
Chaotic characters that can pass as non-Chaotic may use this ability, but it reveals their Chaotic nature to all present.
Becoming Chaotic
Gaining Chaos
Creatures such as broos or dragonsnails are naturally born with the Chaos Rune. Just as the Man, Beast, or Plant Runes are part of the human or elvish nature, the Chaos Rune is the form Rune of many so-called Chaotic creatures. Those born of such parents automatically gain the Chaos Rune.
Other creatures, including the adventurers, have ways of gaining the Chaos Rune:
Adulthood Initiation: the Rune affinities awaken in a character during their adulthood initiation (or cultural equivalent). Rarely, someone awakens the Chaos Rune as one of their personal Runes. Many cultures and communities on Glorantha would execute the young adult on the spot if they knew about it.
Chaos Magic: Thed’s “gifts”, a “tainted” magical items, some secret rituals, or a heroquest gone wrong are one of the many different ways a character may be corrupted with Chaos.
Taboos: Some acts are taboo in some cultures, and repeatingly doing them carries a chance of invinting Chaos into the world through personal corruption.
Taboos
Actions that go against the adventurer’s cultural or cult taboos have a chance of causing a Chaos Manifestation, or even a Chaos Taint.
Example: the Orlanthi taboos include secret murder, kinslaying, cannibalism, incest, and rape. The last couple ones should never involve the adventurers but may happen with NPCs depending on what’s acceptable at the table.
When such an action occurs, the character must make a roll under their Chaos Rune. Remember that even if the character does not have the Chaos Rune, rolls of 02-05 are always a success, and 01 is always a Critical Success. The gamemaster should also liberally apply bonuses based on the gravity of the event (between +20% and +60%), and based on whether the character is a repeat offender (roughly +20% for each past taboo).
- Critical Success: Chaos manifested through the character! The character gains a check in their Chaos Rune, and it also immediately increases by +1D6%.
- Success: Chaos manifested through the character! The character gains a check in their Chaos Rune.
- Failure: if the character has a Loyalty, Love, or other positive passion for the community whose taboo was violated, and if the failed Chaos Rune roll would have been a success for that passion, then Chaos manifests some time that week. Roll 1D10+10 on the Chaos Manifestation table (following) or come up with an appropriate event.
- Fumble: nothing happens.
Chaotic Features
When an adventurer’s Chaos Rune reaches 50% or more, and every time after that when it increases, they must make a POW✕5 roll. On a failure, they gain a Chaotic Feature. On a fumble, they gain two Chaotic Features! Use the table in the Glorantha Bestiary, page 89.
Gaining a Chaos Feature in this way only happens once.
Corrupted Abilities
The Chaos Rune is unique in that it “corrupts” other abilities on the character sheet.
Corrupted Passions and Runes
Based on their current Chaos Rune, and adventurer’s highest passions and Runes may become Corrupted Passions and Corrupted Runes. The number of afflicted abilities is indicated in the table below:
| Chaos Rune | Chaotic Passions | Chaotic Runes |
|---|---|---|
| 6% - 30% | One | One |
| 31% - 60% | Two | Two |
| 61% - 90% | Three | Three |
| 91% and above | Four | Four |
If some passions or Runes have equal scores, the player picks which one is corrupted. When scores change, some passions or Runes may become newly corrupted, and previously corrupted ones may become normal again.
Chaotic Passions and Runes may cause Chaos Manifestations (see below).
Corrupted Intentions
Whenever a Corrupted Passion or Corrupted Rune is used in play, Chaos may manifest (see below). This happens when a successful roll is within the Chaos Rune’s rating of the ability score. That is, Chaos manifests if the D100 is equal to or below the Rune or passion score, but equal or greater than that score minus the Chaos Rune’s score.
Example: Tamenius has 12% in his Chaos Rune. His Chaotic Passion is “Loyalty (Red Emperor)”, at 85%. Any roll between 85 and 73 (85 – 12) will be a success but will also trigger a Chaos Manifestation.
When using Chaotic Inspiration (see previously), a player prevents the adventurer from triggering a Chaos Manifestation until the next week. They effectively voluntarily manifest Chaos by bringing destruction and entropy on their own. During that week, the Corrupted Intentions rule does not apply.
Chaos Manifestation
Chaos can manifest when people break cultural norms (see Taboos) or give in to their Chaos Passion or Rune (see Corrupted Abilities). This Chaos Manifestation may happen immediately or after some time, but no later than one season later. It generally happens within the week. Sometimes multiple manifestations are combined in a big one (gamemaster’s decision)
The gamemaster and players should collaborate on how Chaos manifests. Use the following table for inspiration.
| D20 | Manifestation |
|---|---|
| 01-03 | Destroy or kill something or someone you didn’t want to |
| 04-06 | Cross taboo lines or go against cultural traditions (lose –1D6% in a community or family passion) |
| 07-08 | Shock or anger people around you (give a –20% penalty to everyone around you for the day) |
| 09-10 | Swear at the gods (get a –20% penalty to cast Rune Magic for the day) |
| 11-13 | Community is attacked by Chaotic animals (Dragonsnail, Gorp, Walktapus, etc.) |
| 14-16 | Community is attacked by Chaotic spirits (Disease, Madness, etc.) |
| 17-19 | Community is attacked by sentient Chaotic creatures (Broos, Ghouls, Scorpion Men, etc.) |
| 20 | The party is pulled into a Chaotic heroquest! |
Resisting Chaos
To resist a Chaotic Manifestation, roll CHA×1. Ritual Preparation applies (see the Magic chapter).
- Critical Success: The adventurer resists the Chaotic Manifestation. Their Chaos Rune affinity is immediately reduced by –1D6%.
- Success: The adventurer resists the Chaotic Manifestation. Their Chaos Rune affinity is reduced by –1D4%, at the cost of their soul (see below).
- Failure: The player can choose to let the Chaotic Manifestation occur, but they also gain an experience check in the Chaos Rune. Alternatively, the character can resist the Chaotic Manifestation despite failing, but immediately loses –1D6% in all their Corrupted Runes (see below).
- Fumble: The adventurer is overtaken by a Chaotic obsession, engaging in the worst possible actions for any passion applicable to the situation at hand (preferably a Corrupted Passion). They immediately gain +1D6% in the Chaos Rune.
When the Chaos Rune changes “at the cost of the adventurer’s soul”, the player must lower all their current Corrupted Runes by the same amount.
When Corrupted Runes are lowered by resisting Chaos, roll –1D6% separately for each Rune. Then, immediately roll 1D100. If the result is equal to or less than the sum of all the D6 rolls, the adventurer gains a Chaotic Feature! Roll on the table in the Glorantha Bestiary, page 89. This happens only once.
If a Rune affinity is lowered to 5% or less, it disappears from the adventurer’s character sheet. Roll 1D100 under their Chaos Rune. On a success, gain one new Chaotic Feature.
An Illuminated character may use their Illumination skill instead of their CHA for the Resisting a Chaotic Manifestation. On a success, they ignore the “cost to their soul”. See the Illumination chapter for more information.
Losing the Chaos Rune
There are various ways to lose the Chaos Rune, but they’re all hard:
- Resist Chaos multiple times (see above). This will cost the adventurer a part of their soul, in the form of lost points in Rune abilities, but it does reduce the Chaos Rune little by little.
- Illumination helps with Resisting Chaos.
- Rumors exist that Chalana Arroy wielded magic that helped heal a Chaos taint. This spell provides bonuses to Resisting Chaos, but no healing temple officially advertises knowing it.
Atonement
An adventurer who has an experience check in the Chaos Rune may uncheck it by atoning for their transgressions. This takes various forms, depending on their cult or cultural norms.
The adventurer must atone for 2D6 weeks to remove the check. This time must be taken as Downtime, but no other Downtime Activity can be performed, including rolling any other experience check. Each week, the player must succeed both a Mediate and Worship (deity) roll. If any fails, the week is lost and does not count. Ritual Preparation applies, including bonuses for sacrifices.