This is my first attempt to write for others and what makes sense in my head did not always translate well when I wrote it down. As a result, I must give special thanks to Nikolas Lloyd better known perhaps by his YouTube handle – Lindybeige, for agreeing to critique this before publishing. Look him up for a plethora of informational videos, many of which touch on subjects dear to a certain bronze age fantasy role playing game.

And to my much suffering wife Joanne, who drives word software way better than I do.

Applefest is a work of fiction. All the characters created for Applefest are similarly fictitious and any familiarity with real people, living or dead, is purely coincidental… except maybe Groucho the catfish… he did seem familiar at the time of writing.

RuneQuest is a Trademark of and is used with their permission via the OBS Community Content program. For more information please visit ’s website: www.chaosium.com Sample file The Chaosium and RuneQuest Logos are used under license.

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Introduction ...... 3 GMs Timeline ...... 4 Player’s Introduction to Applefest ...... 4 Day One - Windsday ...... 6 Night One ...... 10 Grumble at the Tin Inn ...... 10 Day Two - Fireday ...... 13 Barrow Bear ...... 14 Night Two ...... 16 Day Three - Wildday ...... 17 The Baboon Plan ...... 20 The Krarshtkid Attack ...... 20 The Baboon Attack ...... 21 The Moaning Barrow ...... 21 Night Three ...... 24 The Old Bandit’s Cave ...... 25 Scarlet Web Spiders ...... 26 Rewards ...... 27 Plot Hooks ...... 27 Baboon Gang ...... 29 Applefest Cider and Whitewall Wine ...... 31

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INTRODUCTION

Apple Lane early in Fire Season, everyone is in a good have been undertaken and these point to Apple Lane and mood, the summer is fresh upon the community and from a children’s attempt to recreate the lightbringers’ quest, Freezeday to Godday, the whole of Harmony week is the though as is always the way with omens, how this will help Ulerian high holy week, Apple Lane is given over to is unclear. Temple Activity. The week prior to holy week in Apple The priests at Kero Fin and Clearwine have separately Lane is, however Applefest, one of myriads of minor remembered the invitations recently received and both festivals in small communities throughout Sartar. This decided that whatever is occurring must not fail. one carries a bit more weight though as there are very few Delegations have been dispatched and in the case of Ulerian temples and only three in Dragon Pass. Clearwine, led by Queen Leika herself accompanied by During the festival, the community comes together Ereneva Chan the High Priestess of Ernalda. The stats for and cleans up the temple and surrounds and revels in two these characters can be found in the Runequest or three days of friendly rivalry and apple related fun and Gamesmasters Adventures book in the Gamesmasters games. Invites are sent to all the major Earth temples, but screen pack. they don’t generally show up, in fact they rarely respond. In addition to these high profile visitors, a telmori The invitations are more of a formality. shaman, Rashaf Fangdancer has also received spirit This year however we present Applefest, a little guidance that it is important that her son, Stymie is a part planning, a day of fun and entertainment, a dance and of a quest to be undertaken by some children during baby sitting some local children, how hard can it be? Applefest, so she will be attending, along with some of her tribe – just to make sure she isn’t sidelined. STOP This will make Applefest unusually well attended this year and the fields around the hamlet will look like an armed camp with scores of warriors and earth cultists in If your planning to play an adventurer in this adventure addition to half a hundred farmers and their families. Add you should stop reading now and give this book to the a wild tribe of telmori werewolves with their wolf gamesmaster. If you are the gamesmaster, read on… companions and the quest occurring on Wildday. As yet unknown to the denizens of Apple Lane, Keeping the peace should be a breeze. including Aileena, the Priestess of Uleria, there have been omens observed at the Earth temples of Kero Finn and Clearwine that imply a disfavor and an evil wind blowing from Peloria. Following the dragonrise and the collapse of the Lunar occupation of Sartar, the Lunar Empire has xle sought other ways to strike at the storm gods. They are engineering another great winter that would weaken Sartar and perhaps allow the Empire another chance to It may be worth noting that there are a great many invade. The gods, ever wary of the Empires threat, are references to the Gamesmasters Adventure book that unable to act directly but can influence the world through comes in the Gamesmaster Screen pack. The hamlet of the heroic quests of their most ardent followers. Apple Lane and many of its residents are detailed there as The children of Orlanth used to perform a quest in his are some of the other visitors In Apple Lane during this honor but the practice was stopped under the occupation. adventure… If you don’t own it yet, go out and buy it, you Aileena of Apple Lane is going to re-instate the quest as know you want to. part of the hamlets annual Applefest. The gods of Sartar are watchingSample. file No one wants a repeat of the last Great Winter so further hurried divinations at Clearwine and Kero Fin

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o Tug of War between different factions and GAMESMASTERS TIMELINE OF the townsfolk of Apple Lane o Coits EVENTS o Hobby Horse racing

• Poetry – Yelms Wedding Contest . Act one – Player’s introduction to Applefest. • Starfire Ridge Rune Carving.

• Children’s Lightbringer Quest. Pre-event discussion with the Thane. • Fertility Dance. • Announce plan to carve the hillside with an earth and fertility rune. Act Four – Winding Down. • Plan the Children’s Lightbringer quest • Plan the festival field for the fertility dance. Night Three – Festival Night • Pick the Apple Lane Tug-o-war team. • Drinking at the Tin Inn • Summons by the Queen Act Two – The festival begins. Remember that your may vary. As a Day One – Windsday, First Arrivals. gamesmaster, you should have some idea of the • Telmori Contingent. motivations of the adventurers. If they are more into the • First Traders and Carnies. fighting aspects of the game then by all means gloss over the ceremonies and planning, give them just enough to Night One make them feel involved. If your adventurers are in deep • Brawl at the tin inn during which… with the culture and wish to be a part of the world then • Ernaldan contingent from Kero Finn arrive play those aspects up. If you do it well you may have them (probably during the brawl). feeling guilty for things that go wrong, even though those Day Two – Fireday, Set up and more arrivals. things are inevitable and written into the scenario. • Market set up. More traders filter in and join the market. PLAYER’S INTRODUCTION TO • Queen’s contingent arrives from Clearwine. • Some festival games. APPLEFEST o Whack a rubble runner o Barrel Run (set up by lunch time) The adventurers should be in Apple Lane, a hamlet of • Still setting up Children’s Quest. about 20 permanent adult residents surrounded by the Act Three – The Main Event. farms of about 50 more. There are two main possibilities for this presented here. Feel free to inject another if it Night Two – Festival Eve. helps move the campaign along in your Glorantha. • Mummers and drinking at the Tin Inn, no fights unless an adventurer starts one. 1. ADVENTURER IS THANE

Day Three – Wildday, Applefest. This was originally intended to run after one of the • Opening Ceremony, carry out the dance pole, adventurers becomes Thane of Apple Lane playing announce the carving of the runes in the hill side through the excellent campaign pack included with the inviting all to play their part in peace and the gamesmasters screen. If one of your adventurers is Thane spirit of love. then about two weeks before the festival, Aileena, the • Festival gams available all day… priestess of Uleria in Apple Lane will ask to speak with o Cattle Raid them on a matter of some honor and importance to o Apple Bobbing community and that the discussion may take some time. o Sling o Whack a Rubble Runner As it is the Orlanthi way to discuss options with advisors Sampleo Ducking Stool before making decisions , otherfile adventurers can and o Barrel Run (changes through the day to should be present. duelling with staves)

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