Apple Lane
 1978 Chaosium Edition , Illustration by William Church | |
| Designers | Greg Stafford |
|---|---|
| Publishers |
|
| Genres | Fantasy |
| Systems | |
| ISBN | 9781568825106 |
Apple Lane[1] 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.
Publication history
[edit]Apple Lane was first published in 1978 as Scenario Pack 2, the second published adventure for RuneQuest, and is set in the Gloranthan year of 1613. 1987 saw it updated to Avalon Hill's third edition of RuneQuest, it featured a colour cover, redrawn maps, new art, and pullout reference section. 2009 saw it updated for HeroQuest, 2nd edition. Return to Apple Lane[2] published by Moon Design Publications advanced the timeline by three years to 1616, and was later included in the Sartar Companion[3] in a slightly modified form. Although containing new character art, the maps were from the first edition, and it did not contain Tribal Initiation or The Rainbow Mounds adventures. The original edition was republished in 2016 in softcover[4] and PDF format as part of Chaosium's RuneQuest: Classic Edition Kickstarter. 2019 saw Apple Lane appear in Chaosium's RuneQuest - Gamemaster Screen Pack Adventure book.[5] In the book's first adventure, Defending Apple Lane, the setting was updated to the year 1625 and the hamlet become a starting base for new adventurers. This edition did not contain Tribal Initiation or The Rainbow Mounds. 2020 saw the release of a POD version of the Classic edition.[6]
Contents
[edit]The earliest publications of the book contained three adventures set around Apple Lane, a small hamlet in the land of Sartar.
- The introductory adventure Tribal Initiation introduces players to RuneQuest and the people of the hamlet. It is a simple Initiation ceremony.
- The titular adventure Apple Lane[7] takes place in one of the hamlet's buildings, Gringle's Pawnshop. The adventure focuses on the defence of the building from an attack.
- The final adventure The Rainbow Mounds,[7] takes place at local caves, where a troll bandit must be brought to justice.
The 2009 and 2010 Return to Apple Lane is a 12 page adventure focussing on Gringle Goodsell, the owner of the pawnshop in the original book.
The 2018 Defending Apple Lane is a 26 page adventure and background where the adventurers must defend the hamlet from attack by bandits.
Reception
[edit]Forrest Johnson reviewed Apple Lane in The Space Gamer No. 35.[7] Johnson commented that "This is a good supplement for novice RuneQuest referees. Things are spelled out in sufficient detail for most purposes; not much improvisation is required. The two scenarios given show a lot of imagination, and are suitable for beginning characters. [...] On the negative side, experienced characters may find Apple Lane a wee bit tame."[7]
References
[edit]- ^ Stafford, Greg (1978). Apple Lane. Albany, California, USA: Chaosium. ISBN 9781568825106.
- ^ Richard, Jeff (2009). Return to Apple Lane. Ann Arbor, Michigan: Moon Design Publications. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
- ^ Stafford, Greg; Richard, Jeff (2010). Sartar Companion (1st ed.). Ann Arbor, MI: Moon Design Publications. ISBN 978-0-9777853-4-6.
- ^ Stafford, Greg (2016). Apple Lane (Classic ed.). Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA: Chaosium. ISBN 9781568825106.
- ^ Richard, Jeff; Stafford, Greg; Durall, Jason (2018). RuneQuest - Gamemaster Screen Pack. Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA: Chaosium. ISBN 9781568825045.
- ^ "Apple Lane POD". Chaosium. Chaosium Inc. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
- ^ a b c d Johnson, Forrest (January 1981). "Capsule Reviews". The Space Gamer (35). Steve Jackson Games: 25.