From: RuneQuest-Request@Glorantha.Holland.Sun.COM (RQ Digest Maintainer)
To: RuneQuest@Glorantha.Holland.Sun.COM (Daily automated RQ-Digest)
Subject: RuneQuest Daily, Thu, 09 Sep 1993, part 3
Reply-To: RuneQuest@Glorantha.Holland.Sun.COM (RuneQuest Daily)
Sender: RuneQuest-Request@Glorantha.Holland.Sun.COM
Precedence: junk
The RuneQuest Daily and RuneQuest Digest deal with the subjects of
Avalon Hill's RPG and Greg Stafford's world of Glorantha.
Send submissions and followup to "RuneQuest@Glorantha.Holland.Sun.COM",
they will automatically be included in a next issue. Try to change the
Subject: line from the default Re: RuneQuest Daily... on replying.
Selected articles may also appear in a regular Digest. If you
want to submit articles to the Digest only, contact the editor at
RuneQuest-Digest-Editor@Glorantha.Holland.Sun.COM.
Send enquiries and Subscription Requests to the editor:
RuneQuest-Request@Glorantha.Holland.Sun.COM (Henk Langeveld)
---------------------
From: cjl@carmenta.se (Carl-Johan Lundell)
Subject: Some Q's ...
Message-ID: <9309081622.AA15329@carmenta.se>
Date: 8 Sep 93 20:22:50 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 1585
Hi all,
I am a newcomer on the Daily. I did lots of RQII GM-ing back in the 80's,
but have now started an RQIII game. I have run the group for about 10-15
sessions and have some questions I would like some help on:
* Chainsawing. In X-RQ-ID 1545, David Cake talks about Damage Boosting resulting
in "chainsawing of bad guys". One of my PCs becomes a formidable chainsawer
using only spirit magic, namely Strength 4 and Bladesharp 4. This takes him
from 1d4 to 2d6+4 extra damage and 32% extra attack. Shouldn't Strength
be limited to species max, as in RQII, not just double current STR?
* Bound spirits. I am a little unsure about binding spirits in RQIII.
Is the number limited?
What spells does the character have to use? Is it enough to Command/Control/
Dominate the spirit into an enchantment made by someone else? Can you buy
a complete bound spirit item, thus needing no spells?
* Using several "magic realms". One of my PCs are a Malkionist with rather
low level sorcery. Would such a character feel bad about learning for example
a spirit Heal spell? I keep telling him that he thinks spirit magic is crap
and that he won't find anybody summoning a spell spirit, since they consider
his magic evil. But then: Would he use a spirit spell matrix?
Best regards,
Carl-Johan Lundell
Gothenburg, Sweden
---------------------
From: fletcher@u.washington.edu (Brent Krupp)
Subject: Sorcery and sorcerors...
Message-ID:
Date: 8 Sep 93 02:45:26 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 1586
I have been watching the discussion and examples of sorcery and whether it
is unbalanced and I thought I would throw my $0.02 in. My apologies if any
of this repeats what has gone before, but I have not been on this list for
too terribly long.
An example was given of a 'beginning' sorceror and it was demonstrated how
powerful the guy is (namely, that all his compatriots wuld have near
permanently enhanced attributes and powerfully boosted weapons). One
person claimed that he couldn't easily boost/enhance all his buddies all
the time. But if he spends lots of time casting between adventures (and
remember, failing to cast costs only 1 MP) there is no problem here.
Another person claimed the example guy was not really 'beginning' due to
his MP crystals and spirit. This is what prompts me to write.
If you look at the character generation rules (which I assume are at least
remotely followed - else it is impossible to say whether or not sorcerors
are balanced, if the standard rules are discarded), there are apprentices
and adepts. Adepts need spend less time studying than apprentices, the
latter being barely able to adventure what with their 90% time commitment.
Assuming that a 'beginning' sorceror is a new adept, let's see what
happens. To be an adept the guy needs 75% in a few things, which in turn
demands an absolute minimum number of years as an apprentice. With the
basic 15+2D6 age, even 12 years is barely enough to make a guy an adept.
However, given that many years (or just a few more from a lenient GM who
wants the guy to be a 'real' sorceror - an adept) he will have learned a
bunch of spells. This bunch of spells can easily include binding
enchantment, dominate spirit, summon pow spirit and summon int spirit. For
a measly 4 POW (and assume that a sorceror-to-be rolls decent POW (>14))
the guy gets two bound POW spirits (better than those crystals - at least
20 MP) and one bound INT spirit (for 5-6 points on spell storage. Someone
suggested that sorcerors don't make enchantments until their skills are
good, but to be an adept you can put enchant at 75%. With ceremony that as
close to a sure thing as you get. And summonings can be done over and over
until decent spirits are obtained. Furthermore, he has to have a familiar,
which will take only one spell (create familiar INT) and yield another
half-dozen INT points for storage and a dozen or so MP.
Clearly, this 'beginning' adept is quite cool. 30+ stored MP and a dozen
or so stored spells. He ends up with 17 FREE INT and can enhance all his
buddies and himself to high DEX (DEX SR 1) and big weapons.
So, you say, I've just proved that beginners should always be apprentices,
not adepts. Ok, true enough. But, how on earth do you adventure with 90%
of your time being your master's? I suppose the GM can rig it so
adventures are quests for him, but what about your sorcery student or
divine initiate buddies? All-in-all, I think apprentices present campaign
arrangement problems in the same way adepts pose game balance problems.
Also, even with apprentice sorceror characters, they can begin to reach
the adept level, and the moment they free up enough FREE INT to do
duration they become the pains that real adepts are.
The above notwithstanding, I have almost always had an adept in the games
I have run and it can be managed. But it does elevate the level of the game,
and none of this contradicts the odd position of sorcerors within the
gloranthan setting.
Sorry for the length... fletcher@u.washington.edu
---------------------
From: DScott@snail.demon.co.uk (David Scott)
Subject: FAQ's ?
Message-ID: <9309081803.aa11449@post.demon.co.uk>
Date: 8 Sep 93 17:03:15 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 1587
Felow Digesters;
Rob Mace said:
>The current HeroQuest campaign(Steve Maurer's) I play in is somewhat focused
>around the pieces of Gbaji.....They both become equivalent. Arkat later left
Glorantha >because he realized that if he remained he would take the same path
as Gbaji.
Wow, now thats a game I want to run...Is Steve still on Email, perhaps he
would like to share some of his campaign with the digest? (Like he did his
HeroQuest system - has it come any further?)
------------------------
Ken (Rune Czar) Rolston;
Perhaps you could clear up a couple of Dorastor questions - Hungry Jack in the
Contents list becomes Hungry eater in the Encounters section - which was meant
to be correct; Hungry Jack was in the Dragon Pass game - never heard of Hungry
Eater. Or did Ethilrist kill Jack so you had to change his name. (If this was a
typo then I agologise for bringing it up :-)
Also being an old AH person, perhaps you know the answer to this one;
> the other Ralzakark", the "hairy broo with a scorpion arm" (depicted on the
cover of the >Genertela box!)
Is this really a picture of the other Ralzakark?
------------------------
Clay,
I dont think another list is in order - RQLite was already in dissussion on
the RQ4 play test echo. I just dont think it is on, reducing another list to
mechanics. If people want to discuss fine tuning RQ mechanics then I think RQ4
is the place for it. BTW when are you going to make the TORG & Shatterzone
lists like this one, rather than an echo?
------------------------
Nick said,
>If you want to know why Humakt hates Ikadz, ask Steve Thomas.
Okay Steve, do tell...
------------------------
Finally, what do readers think about the idea of an FAQ for the digest. I dont
know how it would work - but perhaps it could be available from soda.berkley by
FTP or perhaps if you could send a message to request-Digest with FAQ in the
header?. I realize that not everyone has access to USENET or FTP so could it
all be done by mail? If I remember correctly you can get files by mail from
soda (cant remember how though).
I think the purpose of something like this would be to notify new subscribers
to where sources are kept - RQ magazine subscription addresses, convention
details, have a complete index to all back issues of the digest, including
disscussions, supplements etc. For instance, a few? digests ago JagWire X
asked about other RQ sources - does anyone know of any - even old ones other
than soda? I realise that these things have to be kept current, but other
lists manage it.
I think I maybe creating a workload for other people by suggesting this sort of
thing. But long term this will benefit the digest and any associated
RQ/Glorantha activities.
Also, what happened to the MUD that was suggested sometime back - is it dead?
Any ideas Henk, Shannon, Clay, everyone...
David Scott
Sandwiches on the edge of time
DScott@Snail.demon.co.uk 158.152.16.30
---------------------
From: carlf@panix.com (Carl Fink)
Subject: 200% of Nothing
Message-ID: <199309081730.AA16367@panix.com>
Date: 8 Sep 93 09:30:57 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 1588
mace@lum.asd.sgi.com (Rob Mace) writes in part:
>David Scott writes:
>>
>> Who thinks after reading Dorastor that Ralzakark is a part of
>> Nysalor/Gbaji/Arkat,
>
>This one seemed even more hinted at then the Harrek = Wolfbear. Perhaps
>if Ralzakark is not one of the pieces he contains or is in possession of
>one of the pieces.
Bwahahaha! While I hate to give you advice, let me just say this:
It is a bad idea to mindlink with Gbaji's remnants. I know this
from experience.
>The current HeroQuest campaign(Steve Maurer's) I play in is somewhat focused
around the pieces of Gbaji. Here is a basic and very simplified outline:
[deleted]
I played around the edges of this when our NY game crossed over into
Steve's West Cost one. Your Yelmalio Hero scared the Hell out of our
group, you know. BTW, did you ever hear about Firesnake or the Squid?
jeff@cotopaxi.Stanford.EDU (Jeff Freymueller) writes in part:
>Subject: Re: "starting sorceror"?
>This is a *starting* sorceror? With two crystals and a bound intellect spirit?
>How did he get the spirit? He doesn't have summon, or dominate, or a spell
>to enchant the binding. Family heirloom? ;)
>
>So he has beginner's skills, but some nice magic items. He tries to cast his
>spells, the first four at intensity 6, duration 9 for 18 points of manipulation.
>But wait, he has 4 companions, so he has to add targets, which only gives him
>5 points of duration. And by the time he has cast the spell, refilled his crystals
>and regenerated his MP, the spells have expired.
>
>Not so gross.
Jeff, he doesn't use Multispell, he just casts the spell separately,
several times. He can also have his friends refill the crystals as
partial payment for the spellcasting.
---------------------
From: stormbull@cix.compulink.co.uk (Tim Westlake)
Subject: Re: RuneQuest Daily, Wed, 25 Aug 1993, part 1
Message-ID:
Date: 8 Sep 93 17:55:43 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 1589
In-Reply-To: <9308250515.AA28722@glorantha.Holland.Sun.COM>
having been away recently, I am just catching up with my backlog of RQ
Dailys. I could not resist resonding to this from 25 August where Greg
Fried writes
> If RQ is to break into new markets, we desperately need a system that
> can allow new players to pick it up and play readily. Only then can >
we convert players of other systems en masse, and make broad inroads
> into uncharted European (and other) markets.
"Uncharted European Market" !!! Humph!
Well, coming from the "uncharted European market" I can shed some light
on the reasons behind the low take up of RQ in the UK at least. When
RQIII came out, in order to get the Deluxe set (which, lets face it, you
would probably need) it was priced at UK 40.00 which was double what was
needed for an AD&D startup set (maybe a Players Handbook and a DMG). The
bulk of new blood to the role playing environment comes from teenagers,
and the heavy cost of RQIII stoped most of its expansion dead. It was
only those of us who fell in love with the game during the RQII
incarnation that kept on. Even so, the problems encountered with RQIII
led to its decline.
The price is now about UK 20.00 so that has now been fixed, however,
most of the current games generation have never gone near the game due
to the high price/high difficulty image that it recieved in RQIII. The
major competitor to a RQLite will be D&D, therefore it must be priced to
match this, the major problem will be suppliments and scenarios, for
which D&D has an unbelievable quantity. Maybe a method could be devised
to convert D&D type stats and scenarios for this use (or leverage the
install base, as our marketing types would say), otherwise RQ would be
facing a massive up hill struggle to get anywhere near the number of
items required. I know this may be a unpopular method and difficult to
get good quality scenarios out of but, it will give us an edge on the
stuff that is already out there!
Tim
StormBull@cix.compulink.co.uk
Westlake_tim@Tandem.com
---------------------
From: f6ri@midway.uchicago.edu (charles gregory fried)
Subject: Shamen are real mans, Man!
Message-ID:
Date: 8 Sep 93 18:22:11 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 1590
Greg Fried here.
Tim:
I agree largely with what Henk said in the last Daily about shamans (yes,
that is the correct plural, Henk! ;) ). Note however that gods more powerful
than those who are the source of spirit cults do recruit shamans too, though
-- gods like Daka Fal and Thed and Malia. These shaman-cults do not allow
rune-lords however, and this fits. In my campaign, I have allowed a shaman
to become a priest to a local mminor god she discovered. In general, the
relation of shamans to gods should be mutual distrust and/or indifference,
with rare exceptions role-played out by you. NEVER allow them to become rune
lords!
---
Clay:
For reasons stated in the last Daily, I don't think a separate list is
necessary for Glorantha-gossip. Thanks for offering us all your time and
effort, but I, for one, do like the combination of subjects. And I also
think the Daily is like the Hero Plane -- if you put in enough of the right
kind of effort, you can influence what it is. That makes it flexible enough
for my tastes.
---
Colin:
I agree with you criteria for readily playable scenarios, but I think that
instead of placing them in generic towns, etc, they could be given a definite
(pr semi-definite) location in GLorantha, but with specific recommendation on
how the location could be tranlated elsewhere.
---
Rob:
VERY cool idea about the Moon-Hole left in the God-Plane by entropic Chaos
devouring all memory of a now forgotten God-time god! A hole then filled by
the Red Moon. I suspect Stafford had not thought of this because he had not
thought about the God-Time role of this now annihalated deity. Why bother if
s/he is reduced to cosmic Nothingness, after all!
What this suggests is that the Red Moon fills a _structural_ void left in the
cosmos by the destruction of the Chaos Wars. The question remains, how WELL
does the Red Moon fill this void? Like a hand in a glove, or, rather, to use a
Mostali world-machine image, like a square peg in a round hole? (Now there's
a thought: a square moon!) I remember some reference to the Mostali wanting
to use the Moon in some way to fix the world machine by plugging up
Magasta! A sort of cosmic gall stone. The things a dwarf will do to
save water.... Damned eco-techno-terrorists!
Anyway, what IS the void left by this putatively annihilated God-Time
deity, that the R M does or does not properly fit into it?
And GAWD, Rob, what kind of campaign is that you play in?! My players will
be lucky to get dates with scrofulous clansfolk, much less daughters of the
Sun, dolling it up in their star-palaces! But really, I admire a GM who
could properly handle such a high-myth campaign, and I liked the ideas
a lot -- if for nothing else but for their audacity. The relation of
Gbaji's claw to the trollkin curse is definitely intriguing. Any
reason, other than random GM fiat, that it be Gbaji's claw that be the
key to his re-memberment?
I guess I am also just curious how you handle trotting about in the heavens and
such truck. It's not as if we get "Astral Projection" in RQ. Are you
simply HeroQuesting ALL the time? I'd like to see your GM's encounter charts!
GF out.
---------------------
From: grendel@sfsuvax1.sfsu.edu (John Castellucci)
Subject: Issue #2 of RQA available
Message-ID: <9309081941.AA08484@sfsuvax1.sfsu.edu>
Date: 8 Sep 93 05:41:31 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 1591
The second issue of my RQ Adventures Fanzine is now avaibable.
It contains an 18 page adventure that is a rainbow chase across Sartar
and includes info on Tink and the Dragon of Jarn.
Two Gloranthan dice games.
Extensive Duck Mythology
The Duck enemy cult of Quackodemon.
A 4 page mini-adventure set in a duck village.
Single issue price $5.00 US/$6.00 foreign (all via air mail)
John Castellucci
RQ Adventures
2006 22nd Ave.
San Francisco CA 94116
USA
Copies of Issue #1 (featuring Escape From Duckland) are still
available.
---------------------
From: mace@lum.asd.sgi.com (Rob Mace)
Subject: assorted stuff
Message-ID: <9309092337.AA08677@lum.asd.sgi.com>
Date: 9 Sep 93 09:37:45 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 1592
Greg Fried writes:
> Who knows anything about the tribal distribution across Prax and the Wastes?
My understanding is that there is no fixed distribution. These tribes are
nomads. They wander from place to place. They push against each other
all trying to control the best grazing, etc. areas. From year to year and
probably sometimes from week to week the distribution fluctuates.
---------------------------------
Clay Luther writes:
>
> I've been thinking about creating a mailing list dedicated *SOLELY* to
> Gloranthan lore; rules questions and complaints about the magic systems
> would be taboo. It would be more like a place where people would be
> encouraged to spout God-Learner philosophy and to publish Gloranthan
> short stories and remark endless on the connection between Nysalor/Gbaji/
> Arkat/Ralzakark.
>
> So, would anyone subscribe to it? :-)
I would subscribe if it existed, but I do not think it is a good idea.
Some lore does not need rules with it but for other lore rules are
needed.
What would we do with cult writeups? Would we have to post cult
background in one group and cult specific rules in another. Too me
that sounds really dumb.
If you are not interested in the rules discussions of this digest
then skip them.
---------------------------------
Colin Watson writes:
> Why not separate the background from the plot?:
> Produce comprehensive tomes of Gloranthan lore for campaign background;
> and generic scenarios that are not set in specific locales.
> *All* campaign-specific details (cults etc) should be explained *briefly* in
> the scenario so that it can stand alone. But there is no need to have large
> amounts of extraneous cultural detail in a scenario; keep this in the
> Gloranthan Encyclopaedia(s).
>
> Does this seem sensible to people?
Not to me. To me this sounds like you would end up with flavorless
scenarios. I'm sure there are some types of scenarios that would
work fine done this way, but other types depend too much on background
to be left with any flavor. Other types like the Cradle scenario
from Pavis could not be done with out the heavy background.
Personally I would rather just buy the Gloranthan parts of a scenario
pack as I generally do not use pregenerated scenarios any more. But I
think that the scenarios made this way would be boring and likely not
sell well to those who do use them.
Rob Mace
---------------------
From: C442196@MIZZOU1.missouri.edu (Newton Hughes)
Subject: red moon
Message-ID: <9309082346.AA00397@Sun.COM>
Date: 8 Sep 93 23:44:29 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 1593
Some Glorantha questions:
1. The subject of Vinga brings to mind Babeestor Gor and Gorgorma -
What is the defining difference between those 2 anyway? (The
cult write-up of Babeestor Gor at the soda site seemed to
endow her with attributes more appropriate to Gorgorma.)
2. Considering that Glorantha is flat, how far can someone see
on the ocean? Since the ban on sea travel that Dormal's ritual
negates takes effect when the vessel is out of sight of land,
the obvious question is, how far is this? How far can someone
standing on the top of Vent in Caladraland see?
3. It would be nice for those outside the Glowline to be able to see
the Red Moon; I'm not sure it's so bad that people within
couldn't see the phases. You don't want the peasants going
nuts every week when they see the moon go dark.
The comments in the Dorastor entry on the Telmori are rather
odd, especially where it says that "only within the Lunar
Empire does the Full Moon fall on Wildday." The description
there conflicts with the way the Wolfrunners are depicted in
the Dragon Pass game, where their power waxes and wanes
gradually with the Red Moon, except within the Glowline,
when they are always at full strength.
My own uninformed opinion had been that there is no search-
light effect, the moon appears the same to everyone outside
the Glowline at the same time. I thought of the Moon as
a piece of Godtime that is not bound by physical laws
about rotation, if that makes any sense.
About Rob Mace's objection to the initiative rule I posted,
I'd like to see movement and combat integrated, too, if it
can be done in a way that won't make things hellishly
complicated. My own position on the subject has changed
180 degrees lately, but I won't belabor the Daily with
any of it.
nh
---------------------
From: mcarthur@fit.qut.edu.au (Mr Robert McArthur)
Subject: Bits and pieces of gods...
Message-ID: <199309090028.UAA17330@fitmail.fit.qut.edu.au>
Date: 9 Sep 93 15:28:01 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 1594
Rob Mace writes
> The current HeroQuest campaign(Steve Maurer's) I play in is somewhat focused
> around the pieces of Gbaji. Here is a basic and very simplified outline:
>
> - Arkat destroyed Gbaji and cut him into many pieces.
...
> Here are some of the things we have discovered so far.
...
> - If the parts are reassembled Gabaji will exist in full again.
If I remember correctly, somewhere is KoS it says that a god (Orlanth I
think (I hope :-)) was 'only cut up into 49 pieces and so survived because
there was one piece left'. If so, there may be an exact number of pieces
that a god needs to be defenestrated into in order not to reform on its own.
49 (or 50) heroquests to get all the parts would be mighty awesome!
Robert