Bell Digest v931117p3

From: RuneQuest-Request@Glorantha.Holland.Sun.COM (RQ Digest Maintainer)
To: RuneQuest@Glorantha.Holland.Sun.COM (Daily automated RQ-Digest)
Reply-To: RuneQuest@Glorantha.Holland.Sun.COM (RuneQuest Daily)
Subject: RuneQuest Daily, Wed, 17 Nov 1993, part 3
Message-ID: 
Precedence: junk


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From: sullivam@mlc.lib.mi.us (Mark Sullivan -- Michigan Library Consortium)
Subject: Fall of Boldhome
Message-ID: 
Date: 15 Nov 93 19:06:01 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 2332

Subject: Fall of Boldhome


I have a new PC in my campaign who is a member of a clan of the Pol Joni
tribe.  I need to work out some of the background for the character.  Can
anyone tell me if the Pol Joni were involved in the fighting in Sartar
during the Lunar invasion of 1602?

Mark






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From: graeme.lindsell@anu.edu.au (Graeme A Lindsell)
Subject: Just General Replies...
Message-ID: <9311160302.AA20584@cscgpo.anu.edu.au>
Date: 16 Nov 93 19:02:04 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 2333

Colin Watson writes:
>It's true, RQ gives heavy emphasis to armour. A shield is only as good as
>your parry skill and it only fends off one blow (normally). Armour doesn't
>require any skill to use and defends against all attacks. 

 Absolute agreement here!

> It might be
>better if larger shields were easier to use (higher base %) and could
>defend against more than one attack. This would be instead of having higher AP.
>(Anyway, were hoplite shields really *that* much thicker than heater shields?)

 Perhaps shields should give their "area protection" against melee attacks
as they do for  missiles when the attacks are from the front. Thus a hoplite
shield would effectively armour most of the body from frontal attacks. This
could be the the general parrying advantage of shields over other defensive 
weapons. 

 Nick writes:
>And (bringing back an earlier
>thread), we should remember that tax collection in the Lunar Empire is
>likely to be privatised to some extent -- else why have Tax Demons?

 Did any other ancient empire practice tax farming? I thought it was pretty
much entirely Roman. A Tax Demon could be there to punish any type of 
tax corruption.

 Has there ever been mention of what a Tax Demon actually does to it's
victims?

>I agree with the general principle that Glorantha is "smaller but more
>extreme" than our world. Lunar decadence rivals the Romans and Byzantines
>at their worse, though the Empire is many times smaller and ought not to be
>able to afford such a large class of parasites at the top.

 Any ideas why the Genertelan population is so small? With the various
fertility spells and magical healing I would expect the population
to be bigger than medieval Europe, rather than less.

Allan Henderson writes:
>In fact
>illumination can have no effect on your outlook on life at all,
>eg that Chaos lover Arkat was illuminated as a boy.

 The Dorastor write-up of Illumination says that most unprepared
Illuminates go insane. Believing "Chaos isn't Evil" is not an easy
thing for a Gloranthan: Chaos is _by definition_ the greatest evil, 
since it's one aim is to destroy everything. I wouldn't exactly call
Arkat stable and well-adjusted.

Sandy writes re the Fall of the Lunar Empire:
>After conquering Sartar and nominally conquering Prax, they moved in
>on the Holy Country. But around this time, everything started to fall
>apart. The Pent Nomads, evidently not quite wiped out, started
>returning in force. The Syndics' Ban broke, and Prince Argrath, at
                     ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 Who/what actually attacked Carmania after the Ban broke? I can think
of several choices - Kingdom of War, Loskalm, Aldryami(possibly the
most motivated), Hsunchen etc, but apart from Loskalm I don't see any of 
these as being real matches for the Empire. The Blank Land status of
Charg might make an answer a problem: I'd just like an opinion

 Graeme.Lindsell@anu.edu.au

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From: sullivam@mlc.lib.mi.us (Mark Sullivan -- Michigan Library Consortium)
Subject: Re: RuneQuest Daily, Fri, 12 Nov 1993, part 2
Message-ID: 
Date: 15 Nov 93 19:09:56 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 2334

To Nick Brooke:

OK Nick, tell me more about Tales of the Reaching Moon.

David Dunham, re: Sartar Tribes.

David what is the source for your tribal list and do you have locations
and/or tribal strengths?

Mark




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From: jjm@zycor.lgc.com (johnjmedway)
Subject: mostly DP & military stuph
Message-ID: <9311160711.AA25300@hp0.zycor.lgc.com>
Date: 16 Nov 93 07:11:04 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 2335

clay@cool.khis.com (Clay Luther) in X-RQ-ID: 2281
>>  
>>  because it was more mobile).  The spear become longer and they stopped using 
>>  it for throwing.  [I've never been able to convince my players that a shield
>>  offers more protection than body armor...a weakness of game systems, I guess,
>>  or perhaps a left-over memory of D&D...]

Yeah, that AC+1 doo doo was wacked. Not that I really paid attention
to that when I played D&D, though.

That's also something that needs to appear in RQ>3. Linen armor. It was
all over the bronze and early iron age on earth. And in one of the very 
few games aimed at a quasi-broze-age world, where is it? 

I think it finally appeared in the last "vote on this chunk" post by Oliver. 
Where's he been, anyway?


sandyp@idcube.idsoftware.com (Sandy Petersen) in X-RQ-ID: 2283
>>  
>>  For my next magical trick, should I give some more Pamaltela data, or  
>>  some of my information on the Wastes? 

Not that I am not interested in Pamaltela, but I'd like to cast my vote:

			THE WASTES!!!!!!!!

Someday, the PCs in my game will get there, I hope.


sandyp@idcube.idsoftware.com (Sandy Petersen) in X-RQ-ID: 2287
>>  
>>  chaotic -- it combines chaos with the real world. Perhaps the Empire  
>>  should have, to make up for its shortcomings in diplomacy, a bunch of  
>>  points they can spend to "buy" units from their exotic pile, (the  
>>  Vampire Legion, Moon Boats, Arrolians)

Sounds good. What else could be bought? A broo unit, maybe bringing back 
the bat after it's been defeated, ....


>>  IMPORTANT GLORANTHAN INFORMATION ABOUT MAGIC USE
>>  
>>  Apparently this information hasn't been disseminated widely, and I  
>>  think it is interesting and useful for would-be gamers of Glorantha. 

Yep!


>>    In our campaign the Dara Happan base unit is the 'Millenium', nominally
>>  a thousand warriors plus support personnel.  It is composed of ten centuries,
>>  each composed of ten decades.  Both infantry and cavalry are organized on

Other than it's a easy and natural way for humans to count, is there a 
specific reason for 10s ?


>>     The numbers are for a nominal strength legion; many are understrength
>>  and some have attached auxiliaries that bring them above strength.  The
>>  Heartland Corps uses this form of organization.  We have been using Roman
>>  names for units (Maniple, etc.) but perhaps Persian ones would be better.

The term 'Cohort' has appeared in print ( Sun County, at least ) regarding
Lunar units. Haven't seen Maniple, though.



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From: ghoyle@smashland.nelsonville.oh.us (Guy Hoyle)
Subject: More Questions
Message-ID: 
Date: 15 Nov 93 21:37:00 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 2336

SABLE RIDERS
   I don't quite understand why the Sable Riders joined the Lunars at 
Moonbroth. Was it because the Lunar Sables had already embraced the Lunar 
Way long ago? Were they Illuminated? Arne't there some Storm Bulls among 
the Sable Tribes who objected (Any chaos is all Chaos!)?

PRAX VS PAMALTELA
   Though I enjoy the Pamaltela information to no end, I'd rather see the 
Praxpack info. This area has the most development, but there are too many 
questions about it. It's very difficult to organize an entire Genertelan 
campaign (especially in the Dragon Pass/Prax) area based upon the 
publishedmaterial; we have lots of broad outlines, but having to fill in 
the details on such little information is pretty frustrating.

--Guy (Mulborth) Hoyle

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