Griffin Island (RuneQuest)
Griffin Island is a boxed tabletop role-playing game supplement for "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. It was written by Rudy Kraft, Paul Jaquays, Greg Stafford, and Sandy Petersen. "Griffin Island" contained role-playing material to help gamemasters design adventures in the setting. It received positive reviews in game periodicals including "Casus Belli", "White Dwarf", "Dragon", "Space Gamer/Fantasy Gamer", "The  Games Machine", and "Games International". Contents. Material included in the books include background material, notes for gamemasters, various encounters, notable personalities and both short adventures and adventure hooks that can be developed into major adventures. Publication history. "Griffin Island" was written by Rudy Kraft, Paul Jaquays, Greg Stafford, and Sandy Petersen, with a cover by Steve Purcell, and illustration by Jaquays, and was published by The Avalon Hill Game Company in 1986 as a boxed set with a 52-page book and two 32-page books and a large map. It was published in 1988 by Games Workshop with a  cover by Angus Fieldhouse as a 144-page hardcover book. Chaosium originally published "Runequest" in 1978, and quickly followed this with a second edition the following year. In an attempt to increase distribution and marketing of "Runequest", Chaosium made a deal with Avalon Hill in 1984 to publish the third edition of "RuneQuest". Under the agreement, Avalon Hill took ownership of the trademark for "RuneQuest", but Chaosium did not include the setting of Glorantha in the license unless the content was either created or approved by Chaosium staff. If Chaosium did not supply Glorantha material, Avalon Hill used either a  generic setting called "Fantasy Earth" or and alternative fantasy setting called Gateway. Chaosium had originally published "Griffin Mountain" in 1981, a "RuneQuest" supplement set in Glorantha written by Rudy Kraft, Paul Jaquays, Greg Stafford, and Sandy Petersen. Avalaon Hill republished it, but since they could not use the Glorantha setting, the original wilderness setting of "Griffin Mountain" was changed to an isolated island that could be ported into any "RuneQuest" campaign setting, and the product, retitled "Griffin Island", was branded with the alternate fantasy Gateway logo. The writing credits remained the same, along with an interior art credit to Paul  Jaquays (now Jennell Allyn Jaquays), but new cover art was created by Steve Purcell. Reception. Jean Demesse, writing in Issue 34 of "Casus Belli", recommended this product as perfect for new gamemasters. Although Demesse thought the material was essentially identical to the previous "Griffin Mountain", he though the new streamlined rules system of 3rd edition "RuneQuest" made this a more playable product. He implored old "RuneQuest" players to gfive the new system a try, saying, "Runequesters, don't go crazy: it's all good!" In the September 1986 edition of "White Dwarf" (Issue #81), Robert Neville had a few quibbles , complaining about the changes made to the names of monsters and deities in order to move the material out of the world of Glorantha. He also thought the map's text should have looked more "ancient" rather that using typset text. He concluded that for those with the old "Griffon Mountain" supplement, this new product was not necessary. But for those who did not already own it, Neville suggested, ""Griffin Island" is very highly recommended to everyone who hasn't a copy of the original." In Issue 4 of "Adventurer", Tom Zunder thought that "Griffin Island" suffered in comaprison to  its predecessor, "Griffin Mountain", having substantially less material. However Zunder thought "Island" was a good package on its own, and concluded, "a great "RQ"/Gateway supplement, but marred by memories of its previous incarnation. Given the quality of material here, and the wealth of material compared to the 3 "AD&D" scenarios the money would otherwise buy you, I cannot do anything but recommend it to all new "RQ" Refs and all wanting an excellent and adaptable campaign setting to explore and extrapolate from." In the October 1987 edition of "Dragon" (Issue #126), Ken Rolston lamented the loss of the world  of Glorantha, but admitted that "it is with resigned enthusiasm that I salute the adaptation of the Gloranthan "Griffin Mountain" material to more generic fantasy conventions." Rolston applauded the quality of work, saying, "The campaign background material, game-master staging notes, minor encounters, and scenarios are exceptionally well-done. For the most part, the classic setting and narrative values of the original have been preserved or enhanced." He also liked the short adventures that were included, commenting that "The best things about the scenario resources are their brevity and variety - perfect for an evening’s entertainment, easily reviewed and understood  by the GM, with good maps and simple text descriptions." He concluded with a strong recommendation, saying, "The excellent presentation of the player handouts enhances the already superior quality of the campaign and adventure material, and fine presentation of the original Griffin As the only representative of a classic line of campaign supplements still is an essential part of any fantasy role-player’s library. Newcomers to Chaosium’s campaign-supplement presentation wizardry will marvel at its excellence. Old fans of the out-of-print Gloranthan supplements must resist nostalgic comparisons with the good old days and recognize "Griffin Island  for what it is: the best contemporary fantasy campaign supplement. In the November 1987 edition of "Space Gamer/Fantasy Gamer" (Issue No. 80), Tim Robinson commented that "the game is an excellent buy if you play "RuneQuest". It is useful to a GM who has a campaign established, or to the GM who wants to begin a campaign game using "RuneQuest". "Griffin Island" has a good background, some excellent scenarios, and some new, interesting creatures. I recommend this supplement for anyone interested in some enjoyable role-playing." In Issue 5 of "The Games Machine", John Woods believed that the original  Griffin Mountain supplement had been "one of the best adventure packs ever for any system", so he was pleased to see the new edition. He heartily recommended "Griffin Island", saying "Anyone who wants an FRP system with both realism and playability, and which can be readily adapted and expanded to fit in with almost any fantasy world, need look no further." He concluded, ""Griffin Island" is a bargain, a truly first-rate scenario pack for referees who are prepared to put in a little imaginative effort." In the September–October 1989 edition of "Games International" (Issue #9), John Scott admitted  that he was nostalgic for the original "Griffin Mountain", but he found the updated "Griffin Island" material as good, although he was "sorely vexed that "Griffin Island" is now non-Gloranthan." He concluded by giving "Griffin Island" an average rating of 3 out of 5, saying, "this is a good pack. Even if you still have the older pack, it might be worth checking this out."