Subject: Debbie Does Dagori Inkarth, Volume 7, Number 1
RQDIGESTV07N01
First Distribution: August 15, 1991
This issue:
Western Saints Oliver Jovanovic
Teelo Norri Oliver Jovanovic
Glorantha Runespells Steve Maurer
What's happening with HQ at Chaosium Mike Dawson
Origins 91 and RQ Mike Dawson
Correction: Apparently, Sweden (not Malta) has the highest RQers per
capita, not Malta.
======================================================================
From: Oliver Jovanovic (JOVANOVI@CUCCFA.BITNET)
Subject: Western Saints
Western Saints
Note: The source of the following is unpublished (and uncopyrighted)
material from Chaosium that is several years old, and may not
resemble the final form that the material will be published in.
As there is a chance that it may not ever see the light of day, it
is summarized here.
Saints
Certain mortals can achieve a spiritual perfection such that after
their mundane life has passed, they can procure special benefits for
those that pray to them. A few saints are debased and worshiped as
deities in non-Malkioni lands.
To obtain a patron saint, a supplicant must sacrifice a certain amount
of permanent POW to the saint. The exact amount varies from saint to
saint, and the entire amount may be sacrificed for gradually. A
supplicant can have more than one patron saint. Once the full amount
necessary to make a saint one's patron has been sacrificed, the
supplicant can call upon one or more of his or her patron saints
to receive their blessing(s). Invoking a blessing costs an additional
point of permanent POW every time it is done. The saint's blessing takes
effect on SR 1 of the round it is called upon (if part of a statement
of intent), and cannot be Dispelled, Dismissed or Neutralized, nor does
iron have an effect on it.
Some important saints:
Arkat the Liberator
ARKAT'S BLESSING: when Arkat is invoked, the skin and clothing of
all Illuminates within 100 meters of the supplicant turns a pale,
translucent white. The effect lasts until the next sunrise, and will
include the supplicant, if he or she is an Illuminate.
It costs 8 POW to gain Arkat as a patron saint.
Gerlant Flamesword
GERLANT'S BLESSING: when Gerlant is invoked, the blade of whatever
weapon the supplicant holds is endowed with a permanent Fireblade.
Only one weapon at a time can be affected, but the effect can be
transferred from one weapon to another by invoking the saint again.
It costs 3 POW to gain Gerlant as a patron saint.
Talor, the Laughing Warrior
TALOR'S BLESSING: Talor can only be invoked immediately prior to or
during a battle. When Talor is invoked, the supplicant experiences
a great joy while fighting, and for the duration of the battle is
immune to the effects of Fatigue loss and incapacitation, becoming
a Living Blade in a form of controlled berserk.
It costs 6 POW to gain Talor as a patron saint.
Hrestol
HRESTOL'S BLESSING: when Hrestol is invoked, the supplicants POW is
doubled for the next full day (24 hours). His magic points do not
immediately double, but will regenerate normally, so that without
any magic point expenditure, they will be doubled as well halfway
through the day, and regenerate twice as quickly as is normal for
the duration of the effect. When POW drops back to normal at the
end of the day, any extra magic points remain until they are used.
It costs 8 POW to gain Hrestol as a patron saint.
Paslac
PASLAC'S BLESSING: when Paslac is invoked, the armor points of any
one piece of metal, be it a weapon, shield, or piece of armor, are
permanently doubled when it is touched by the supplicant. Only one
piece of metal at a time can be affected, but the effect can be
transferred from one piece of metal to another by invoking the
saint again.
It costs 5 POW to gain Paslac as a patron saint.
Valkaro
VALKARO'S BLESSING: when Valkaro is invoked, the supplicant is gifted
with great powers of concentration until the next nightfall. He or she
automatically succeeds in any INT or concentration roll that need be
made, and automatically succeeds in any sorcery spell casting and
manipulation rolls that need to be made as well, with no die roll
necessary, although no critical successes are possible either.
It costs 6 POW to gain Valkaro as a patron saint.
Xemela
XEMELA'S BLESSING: Xemela can be invoked over one or more people,
excluding the supplicant, up to a total not exceeding the supplicant's
POW. All wounds and diseases afflicting the targets are instantly cured.
Each hit location cured of damage gives the supplicant 1 point of
general hit point damage. Each disease cured gives the supplicant
1d6 points of general hit point damage. If the supplicant still lives,
1 SR later, any victims with general hit point damage, such as from
poison or certain spells (again, excluding the supplicant) are
completely cured. Each such person cured causes the supplicant 1d6
points of general hit point damage. The supplicant can never heal
him or herself by calling upon Xemela.
It costs 6 POW to gain Xemela as a patron saint.
Other saints exist as well, some major, some minor. Not all sects of
the Malkioni accept saints. In particular, the Brithini and Vadeli
do not accept saints, and never worship them.
======================================================================
From: Oliver Jovanovic (jovanovic@cuccfa.ccc.columbia.edu)
Subject: Whatever happened to Teelo Norri?
For those of you, like myself, that might have wondered at exactly
what role Teelo Norri played in the Seven Mothers ritual.
The cult of Teelo Norri provides no rune spells, and her
role in the Seven Mother's ritual is never well described - at best
as the cup bearer or as an innocent that had to be unaware of the
ritual's purposes. She is called "Young Life", and described as an
urchin drawn randomly off the streets of Torang for the ritual.
What role did she play?
A simple one. She was basically possessed by an ancient spirit
summoned by the Seven Mothers. The Red Goddess began as a
13 year old street urchin. Other parts of the Red Goddess may
have covertly or overtly possessed other members of the Seven
Mothers as well. The girl received instructions from the other
conspirators and her other parts, and set out to find herself,
a task at which she succeeded as few have done before.
======================================================================
From: Steve Maurer (steve@tfs.com)
Subject: Glorantha Runespells
The following runespells exist in my campaign. Except where
noted, these are spells offered in addition to, not as a replacement
for, spells in Gods of Glorantha.
NOTE: any duration of "Lunar Cyclic" means 30 minutes anywhere
within the Lunar Glowline, otherwise it varies based on the phase
of the moon.
Yarra Arranis
Arm of the Goddess Cost -- 2 POW Points
Range - Touch Duration - Lunar cyclic
Stackable to 4 Reusable
This spell adds an extra arm to the recipient, who must be
either the caster, or least an Initiate of Yarra Arranis. The
arm may be used in combat to add either 20% to a weapon action
against one opponent, or an additional action against a dif-
ferent opponent. The spell provides only the arm, not weapons
to be used with it. The combat bonuses this spell gives can't
be applied to any missile weapon except daggers (the extra arm
may be used to throw a dagger). It does not provide an attack
when one would not be normally allowable (for instance, if the
recipient chooses offensive spell casting).
Yelm
The Emperor of the Universe (while Orlanth is King of Gods).
These spells are from Yelm the Youth (not Yelm Imperious which
is written up in Gods of Glorantha). Note: Yelm worshipers
almost never trade runespells.
Courage Cost -- 1 POW Point
Range - 160 meters Duration - 15 Minutes
Nonstackable Reusable
This spell makes the recipient immune to any fear inducing
spell or power cast by a darkness worshiper or creature; this
includes Shades, no matter who summons them. Courage cannot
be dispelled.
Shield of Fire Cost -- 3 POW Points
Range - Self Only Duration - 15 Minutes
Nonstackable Reusable
The priest casting this spell obtains the attributes of a
very small fire elemental. Anything within 2 meters sustains
2d6 Fire Damage - including all flammable objects held by the
priest himself. Metal equipment (except enchanted Gold) will
melt in 5 minutes under this spell (10 for iron). If used in
combat, this time is halved due to pounding. Any being which
is demoralized in sunlight will be demoralized if it believes
it must combat a priest under this spell. Fire does not harm
the caster while under the effects of this spell.
Curse Vampire Cost -- 2 POW Points
Range - 160 meters Duration - 15 Minutes
Nonstackable Reusable
This spell causes a Vampire to loose all special abilities
which do not work in Sunlight. The Vampire is not allowed a
resistance roll, nor can the curse be blocked by countermagic,
or be dispelled.
Command Subjects Cost -- 1 POW Point
Range - 160 meters Duration - 15 Minutes
Stackable (to 4) Reusable
This spell adds +10% to the recipient's effective Oratory;
if the recipient is in a position of command (such as a king
or nobleman speaking to troops), the effect gives +25%.
Dendara
Yelm's wife, the Goddess of Marriage, Fidelity, and Monagamy.
In the empire, she is considered the goddess of housewives. Her
temples teach Cooking, Teach Children, and Maintain Household.
Marriage Oath Cost -- 3 POW Points
Range - Touch Duration - Until permanent death
Nonstackable Reusable
On each casting of Marriage Oath, a permanent point of POW
must be sacrificed by the two recipients. The spell serves to
inform both the recipient and the Priestess of all violations
of the Oath by the other. Terms of the Oath are fixed in the
ceremony, and are based on culture. All Darra Happan oaths are
patriarchal and sexist in the extreme, while Pent nomads are
more egalitarian. There is no preset magical punishment for
Oathbreaking in this spell, but there may be cultural ones. A
Marriage Oath is not affected by Dispel.
Control Child Cost -- 1 POW Point
Range - 160 meters Duration - 15 Minutes
Stackable (to number of children) Reusable
This spell may be acquired only during childbirth. When
invoked, it grants the mother complete control of all behavior
except thoughts. The spell is reusable by even Initiates, but
ceases to function on any married child (under Marriage Oath).
No POW vs POW is necessary to trigger the effect. Typically,
this spell is not cast, its use is merely threatened.
Household Harmony Cost -- 2 POW Points
Range - 160 meters Duration - 15 Minutes
Nonstackable Reusable
This spell acts like City Harmony, except that spell range
is limited to a single household.
Pelora/Ernalda
Preserve Food Cost -- 1 POW Point
Range - 160 meters Duration - 1 season
Stackable (no limit) Reusable
This spell preserves 1 bushel (about 1 square meter) of
grain from rot. Grain directly affected by Mee Vorala spells
are not protected.
Ward Vermin Cost -- 2 POW Points
Range - 160 meters Duration - Permanent
Nonstackable Reusable
This is a 1 point warding spell with no size condition. (A
normal warding allows small natural animals passage to prevent
accidental tripping of the spell). The spell does not give an
alarm, but the spell effect does not drop if the animal is SIZ
1 or less.
Tilling Enchantment Cost -- 1 POW Point
Range - Touch Duration - Permanent
Stackable Nonreusable
This spell permanently enchants any earth moving implement
to work more effectively through difficult, hard packed soils.
As no rules for tilling are given in RQ, exact effects on game
mechanics are left up to individual GMs. Approximately three
points of Tilling Enchantment will double the speed of a plow.
Gorgorma
Barren Cost -- 2 POW Points
Range - Touch Duration - 15 minutes
Nonstackable Reusable
This spell renders the recipient temporarily barren. Any
child being carried will immediately begin to be expelled. (A
very mature fetus may survive this.) The recipient must allow
the spell (it is not POW vs POW). Barren can also be used to
prevent conception.
Uleria
Uleria's runes are Fertility/Fertility/Disorder (love is
both blind and often random -- you can also read WF about the
Boggles). The cult does not offer "Community" - that harmony
spell is a Herald (Issaries sub-cult) runespell. Instead she
offers the following:
Enchant Beauty Cost -- 1 POW Point
Range - Self Only Duration - Permanent
Stackable Nonreusable
This non-reusable spell may be purchased by initiates. It
adds 1 APP for each point of permanent POW. To any Ulerian
who betrays the goddess, the effect is reversed. The APP is
lowered by the same amount previously gained.
Church of Immortality
Transfer Youth Cost -- 1 POW Point
Range - Touch Duration - Permanent
Nonstackable Nonreusable
This spell allows the caster to transfer one year of life
to the recipient. The effect is exactly as if the caster has
aged a year, and the recipient has become younger by one year.
Aging rolls are made immediately.
======================================================================
From: Mike Dawson c/o Kirsten K. Niemann
Subject: What's happening with HQ at Chaosium
The Whole World in Your Hands
An inside perspective on new HeroQuest developments
Introduction
Through complex but happy circumstances, I was in part responsible for
renewing Greg Stafford's interest in HeroQuest. Based on my conversations
and correspondence with him, my long presence in Greg Maples' RQ game, and
a years-long attempt to do for Glorantha what Greg Maples is now doing for
HeroQuest, I would like to share some ideas about what HeroQuest is
currently becoming, and even part of the reason why it has taken so long to
get this far.
False Starts
Like most RQ fanatics, I dug through every source I could for years, trying
to figure out what HeroQuesting was. Luckier than most, I read some really
obscure but info-laden stuff from A&E and The Wild Hunt from the early
80's. Most of this was written by Bill Keyes, and has recently reappeared
in TOTRM. Based on this info, members of the local gaming group
experimented with HeroQuesting.
(This was not your average gaming group. Les Brooks, Sam Shirley and Ann
Merritt were part of it. All are now Chaosium employees. Dan Greenberg has
major RPG publications to his credit, including one of the Watchmen modules,
Ghostbusters, etc. Most of us have had something or another published.)
The general drift we got was that HQing was sort of "super RQ." As you moved
onto higher and higher levels of the Hero/Spirit/God plane, rolls got harder
and harder to make, and experience gains were more and more rewarding. If
all your skills while HQing were divided by 10, then any experience gain
resulting from a HQ was multiplied by 10. HQing Rune Lords found themselves
with best skills of 10-11%. On return to the inner/mundane world, their
experience went through the roof, with an average 3% gain becoming 30%.
It sort of worked, but many questions were unanswered, and so HQing was not
exactly a common occurrence among most PCs. As a ref, I certainly didn't
feel comfortable running all that stuff off the top of my head.
Cutting to the chase, we were very wrong. So was everyone else, apparently.
Work at the Chaosium stopped, I think, because the "super RQ" model was the
best they could come up with, and they (specifically Stafford) didn't like
it.
Merging Paths
An abortive project for another company led Les Brooks and Greg Maples to
develop a new level of game world detailing and integration. The intent was
to create an single mechanic for dealing with the intents and actions of
groups in a game world. The system was supposed to allow a ref to define a
group, assign it goals and abilities, and let it use these to interact with
other groups. Every group had common statistics, skills and motivations,
much like a character. This level of detail allows a ref to understand the
interconnectedness of his world very clearly--to hold the whole world in his
hands. It lets the ref know exactly what kind of effect PCs have when they
act upon the world. In effect, a ref could use the system to create the
history (or even the cosmology!) of his world. Doesn't it sound useful to
have a one page character sheet for the Lunar Empire? Or for Ernalda?
The original project died, and the system was never finished in a
publishable form. Nevertheless, Greg Maples continued to use and refine it
for his own unique RQ based fantasy world. Because of his interest in the
Heroic Journey (it was a fantasy game, after all) and HQing, a natural
coming-together occurred. In Greg Maples' world, HQing became intimately
linked with the groups or entities defined by the system he was using. The
gods, cultures, peoples, religions and even philosophies were all defined
by this mechanic, and of course they all wanted heroes of their own. So,
for his own game, Maples defined Heroes and HeroQuesting based on concepts
within his informal mechanic. With this system Greg was still fudging much
more than he would if there was a finished mechanic running the
interactions, but overall, the level of making-it-up-as-he-went-along was
lower than any other game I can imagine anyone else ever having run.
>From my own experience in Maples' game, it worked very well. Though radically
different from Glorantha, the feel of heroic action was there. I could sense
that it would work in just about any milieu. The knowledge (on a player level)
that most of the world was worked out ahead of time, and that most everything
happened for a reason (and not because the ref thought it up at the last
minute) made a tremendous difference in the game's presentation. When player
incompetence doomed a two year old campaign to an ignominious end, the players
were able to take things philosophically and move on to another campaign. How
else would you get that reaction when telling your players "Sorry, guys, but
for no apparent reason, a meteor the size of a large building falls on the
party and you are all dead. Let's start another game."?
The Call
Based on my understanding of some simple elements of Maples' system, and a
copy of a draft of Sandy Petersen's 1984 HQ rules, I forged off on my own with
an attempt at HQ rules. I didn't like Petersen's rules at all. They were very
clunky and weird -- missiles always hit, only crits were good for anything but
"will points" could make any hit a crit, lots of other strange things.
Thirty-five pages later, I had what I thought was a working system. So, I sent
a letter to Stafford saying as much. I figured that HQ was way on a back
burner, but when he got around to heating it up, I wanted to be there to push
my idea.
Stafford called me at home five days after I sent the letter. Greg started off
by blowing my mind with this: "I think HQ is a computer game."
Well, my brain went spinning for a moment. Then I started asking him about
what kind of a computer game. No, it wasn't an arcade game. No it wasn't a
text adventure. It wasn't really even a game--the computer was more an aid
for the ref to figure out what effect PC actions had on the world. As he
put it " the computer serves as a reactive version of Arachne Solara's Web
of Myth."
Stafford was once more way ahead of everyone else. It seems that the mechanic
of HQ was never the problem to him. The problem was in understanding how the
potential hero's actions in the realm of myth affected the world. This is the
central problem of HQing--without the interaction between the potential hero
and the world, there is no way to judge the importance of the character's
actions to the world of myth; thus there is no way to judge whether the
character achieves heroic status.
Stafford wasn't sure that he wanted to see any thirty-five page system. He
did want to know several things about the system though. Mostly, he wanted
to know if my system addressed the problem mentioned above, what he called
the link between the Macrocosm (the world) and the Mezzocosm (the hero). I
was left knowing that what he really needed was to talk with Greg Maples,
the man with the plan for how to do this.
That's what I told him, and that's what he has done. Stafford has run HQ
for Maples, to show him "how HQ would go if it went right." All without
rules, just off the top of his head.
The Quest
The results of this have allowed Maples to come up with the following
outline for a HQ manuscript. As related to me by Greg Maples, this is what
Stafford wants to see in HeroQuest. My information on them is sketchy in
some spots, but I will try to make them understandable within that
limitation.
Foremost, and most generally, the game must be "transformational and
satisfying." Your guess is as good as mine on the first part of that. I think
he means that the game must address the subject of the hero in the same sense
that Joseph Campbell does. Heroes in HQ are meant to be more than "real tough
guys," they must be heroes in the mythological sense. Stafford wants the
experience of playing such a character to drive home to the players what it
means to be a hero.
"Satisfying" is much simpler to explain and links directly to his next
stipulation. The game must play well, grab the player's imagination and not
let go. At the same time, this criteria means that the more obtuse and
ephemeral things about the heroic cycle may be left out. For example, I
understand the the heroic cycle as laid out in Campbell will be used for
all kinds of heroes from all cultures. Even Non-human cultures, whose
psychology, society and myths differ radically from humanity's will follow
the same heroic myth structure. The reasoning is simple--how satisfying is
it to play a dwarf heroquestor, whose quests are to build neat stuff?
Mostali (or Brithini, or ephemerae, etc.) mindset does not generally lend
itself to satisfying HQing when examined closely. These differences will be
glossed over in HQ, to make everything "satisfying."
The game must not be limited to Glorantha. The session Stafford ran for
Maples & co. was set in a primitive Scandinavian village. It must be
imposable as a meta-rules system on any other milieu or game system.
Imagine HQing Call of Cthulhu players, or even D&Ders!
Aside from these general criteria, there are five major design points being
worked out now. They are:
Aggregate will versus personal will
Quantification of natural phenomenae
Emotions and their impact
Quantification of interactions between conflicting traits
The Self-Generating Flow Chart of Myth
Quite a mouthful. Let's look at them one at a time.
Aggregate will versus personal will
Quests and quest paths don not exist for the benefit of individuals. They
are manifestations of the will of an "aggregate group," be it the cosmos,
the world, a species, a race, a nation, a tribe, a town, or a clan.To risk
overstatement, individuals do not create myths, they interact with them, or
they become them. Heroes are the symbolic representative of their entire
group, and the friends and foes they meet on a quest are symbolic "front
men" for other groups. Thus, the relationship of the individual's will to
the combined will of what he interacts with must be understandable and
mechanized.
In essence, its not who you are, but who you represent. As questors become
more important to their "aggregate group," their ability to affect things
in the mythic realm increases. Conversely, the more important a quest the
hero undertakes, the more important to the group he is. If Joe Hero heads
into the Mythic realms to gain a point of INT, he had better be well
prepared. But if he head off on the Sun's Path to gain Fire, then his whole
culture must be ready to undertake such an important journey.
At the same time, the wishes of these groups must be understood. A potential
hero finds the going much easier when he is after something his group wants
than when he wanders around aimlessly or in a manner contrary to the group's
wishes. So, a method of relating the goals and motivations of groups must be
part of HQ. What does the Janube River God want, anyway? or how 'bout the
Kingdom of Tarsh? The first design criteria demands a way of answering all
these questions simply and mechanically.
Quantification of Natural Phenomenae
This one is quite a bit more straightforward. If a hero can "whistle up a
wind" or calm the seas or cause a rain of frogs, how does this happen
mechanically? These things must be quantifiable.
Emotions and their Impact
Some things can only be achieved by the pure of heart. Others rely on love,
or courage, or whatever. HQ must quantify these things in relation to the
rest of the world. Look to Pendragon for the basis of this part of the
system.
Quantification of interactions between conflicting traits
Part and parcel of the previous section, but more broadly aimed. What
happens when one hero tries to use his Sneakyness (or his Animal Power, or
whatever) to avoid another hero's All-Seeing Watchfulness?. Or if a hero
uses his Anger to withstand possession? Again, these things must all be
measurable.
The Self-Generating Flow Chart of Myth
I understand this one the least. Maples also feels this is the one that
will take the most work. Basically, the mythic cycle will be laid out in
diagram form, with all possible branches and twists. It will serve as the
framework for all types of questing.
This is the "Web of Arachne Solara" that Stafford started off thinking
should be done as a computer game. With the addition of the "character
sheets" for all the groups that affect myth, it defines the relationships
and myths of the cosmos. The choice of what groups are plugged into what
parts of the diagram define the specific quest and who it is important to.
The World Machine
Stafford was loath to think that the nature of the World could be
quantified. In fact, I don't think it ever occurred to him that it was even
valuable to do so. There is a danger that in systematizing something, "the
magic goes away." When everything is laid out and cut and dried, the
mystery and sense of wonder can dry up too. I think this mindset is clearly
shown in the way magic is dealt with in Pendragon. But to me, the
difference between the two approaches is not so diametric.
Consider this analogy. To a primitive, a wind up clock is a mysterious and
magical thing. Awe is the main emotion he feels. He does not understand its
inner workings in the least. To a clockmaker, the sense of understanding,
aesthetic enjoyment and appreciation for a well made thing replaces the
primitive's awe. Only unperceptive, uncaring folk exposed to clocks every
day fail to appreciate the fine intricacies involved in such a creation.
To me, the second portion of the analogy matches my preference for world
design and running. I want to know the depths and breath of my world. To
understand the intricate inner workings and mainsprings that drive it into
the future. At the moment, all of us are primitives, staring without
comprehension at the marvelous mystical entity called Glorantha. But I
predict that HQ will shed light where no light has been, and will give the
keys of understanding to RPG refs everywhere. We will hold the whole world
in our hands and understand its details and inner workings.
Mostal was more right than he knew.
Bio
Mike Dawson wrote the Ostrich Tribes. He is currently trying to get answers
from Nick Atlas on a variety of proposals for Gloranthan supplements.
======================================================================
From: Mike Dawson (eco0kkn@cabell.vcu.edu)
Subject: Origins 91 and RQ
Alas I was only able to attend a few days of Origins. During that time, I
found out some very interesting info about RQ & AH. But let me start at the
beginning.....
First off, I asked Nick Atlas by letter if he needed refs to run official RQ
at the con. I gave him several months of lead time, but he never replied.
Scanning over the games listed in the con booklet, I was unable to find a
single RQ game being run. To the best of my ability to determine, RQ had no
[events? --ACB]
Even worse, the RQ display at the AH booth was inconsequential to say the
least. Granted, the AH booth itself was nothing to look at, with loose
cardboard boxes and boring displays. Even so, on Friday morning the RQ
display consisted of 6 Deluxe sets stacked on top of each other on a corner
of the table, with one more Deluxe set leaning up against it. Oh, yeah, and
a few loose copies of a new (poorly written) brochure/catalog with just RQ
stuff.
Sometimes life is better scripted than the movies. Later Friday morning, I
hauled a friend of mine over to the AH booth to show him what I had
described to him (sarcastically) as "the fantastic, huge RQ display." By
the time I got there with him, the 7 boxed sets had been taken down
entirely and placed on the floor behind the table! In its place was a copy
of some new bored game "Battle on the Beachhead" or "Duel in the Ditches"
or some such. There they stayed for [? --ACB]
All day Friday, Nick Atlas was unfindable at the AH booth. I have it on
good authority from a Chaosium staffer that he was at Origins, however. The
same person described him as "rather fannish, self-conscious and awed by
people who work at Chaosium." I for one know that he certainly has a major
case of hero worship on Stafford.
I helped Chaosium set up on Thursday, and in the midst of cutting out
buttons and opening cartons, I found out some very worthwhile info. It
seems that Charlie Krank understands that AH is looking for a new full
time RQ only editor/product manager. In fact, AH is negotiating with Ken
Rolston for the position. You may know of Ken's work in Pavis/Big Rubble
(the Taleo Illuminae scenario featuring the blind Yelmalio priest and the
Eye of Wakboth) and his seminal design work for original Paranoia.
I know Ken from years back, and I buttonholed him as soon as I could. He
says AH is being very reasonable, and they have so far agreed to every one
of his requests about the job. The only hitch is that they want someone
now, and Ken can't start 'til February.
So, what does that all mean? I can only guess but here's my pipedream
forecast:
Someone more competent than NA will soon be at AH.
Production values increase.
Due to the changeover, current projects in the pipe are slowed down a
bit if they are actually near production.
We probably won't even notice the slowdown, considering the current
schedule.
Writer's guidelines appear by mid '92.
A strong "stable" of freelancers grows up around RQ.
Active editorial direction for the line starts within a year.
3 new 48-64 page scenarios published in 91'-'92.
Sartar pack, Pent pack, Prax pack all within two years.
5-10 official RQ games at Origins/Gencon '92.
Wierd, attention-grabbing stunts at major cons (like what Chaosium
does for CoC) start in '92.
Please note that this is purely my guess!!!! It is absolutely
unsubstantiated, once you get past the first line.
Just the thing for making happy happy? Well, I think so. A bit too
ambitious? Only if another NA gets hired or a good person gets stymied by
AH molasses and politics. A good editor should be able to get all of the
above moving within a year.
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