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, Fri, 23 Sep 1994, part 1
Sender: Henk.Langeveld@Holland.Sun.COM
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Precedence: junk
X-RQ-ID: Intro
This is the RuneQuest Daily Bulletin, a mailing list on
the subjects of Avalon Hill's RPG and Greg Stafford's
world of Glorantha. It is sent out once per day in digest
format.
More details on the RuneQuest Daily and Digest can be found
after the last message in this digest.
X-RQ-ID: index
6324: =
- Blue Menses (NB for MD)
6325: =
- Re: Red Army Posting
6326: =
- Truestone - my last
6327: =
- Adari, Oasis People
6328: =
- Alchemy
6329: =
- Yelorna and Restore Health (Lewis)
6330: =
- Re: Fertility
6331: =
- Truestone (another voice)
6332: =
- Re: Pamaltela Genertela aletreneG aletlamaP
6333: =
- styx
6334: =
- Martin Crim on Warhamster
6335: =
- M. Crim does not email RQ4
6336: =
- "Violence is always and option"
6337: =
- Re: Blue Menses (NB for MD)
6338: =
- Moon Spear
6339: =
- Kitori
6340: =
- Rune Power
6341: =
- Praxians selling herd-beasts, and Truestone.
6343: =
- RuneQuest Daily, Wed, 21 Sep 1994, part 1
6344: =
- Tactics and Warhamster
6345: =
- Why is the sun broke, dad?
6346: =
- Yet Ymore Yelmalio.
6347: =
- The man with no p.
6348: =
- Re: Frozen blood of the Gods...
---------------------
From: 100270.337@compuserve.com (Nick Brooke)
Subject: Blue Menses (NB for MD)
Message-ID: <940922071902_100270.337_BHL84-1@CompuServe.COM>
Date: 22 Sep 94 07:19:02 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 6324
Mike, these subject lines will never catch on!
Alex parenthesises:
> Unless Gloranthan menses happen in quadruple time, or are keyed to
> some moon other than the obvious one, which would be more than a tad
> unsettling.
That's the thought that caused me to bring it up and discover the non-
answer: "28 days is a mother-cycle, not a moon-cycle".
> If [Pelandan] culture is preserved anywhere to any extent, it's in the
> Generic Pelorian Farmer Culture, not the especially-stepped-on Oppressed
> Carmanian Peasants, I think.
Nah. The homelands of the old Pelandan culture were occupied by the
Carmanians. Pelandan =/= Pelorian.
> I like to think of [Teleos folk] as being like a colour-coded EU.
Greg put his foot in it (and swallowed) at Convulsion '92 when he gave as
an instance of Teleos tribes' quote irrational unquote prejudices the fact
that everyone hates the Greens 'cos they eat frogs. Now, you Yanks may not
follow this one, but everyone civilised hates frog-eating nations.
BTW, what's a bashed neep? No trollkin runelord connection, I hope!
====
Nick
====
---------------------
From: duncan.hedderley@afrc.ac.uk (HEDDERLE)
Subject: Re: Red Army Posting
Message-ID: <1517350822091994_A31495_FRIR_1189B1EE3200*@MHS>
Date: 22 Sep 94 10:35:25 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 6325
In Wednesday's Daily, Si Lipscomb w4rote about a game idea based around a
Lunar border garrison, and asked for suggestions for the sort of roleplaying
that might go on within it (At least I think he did). Anyway, this sort of
low-key everyday-life sort of stuff is something I've been thinking about
(in a number of different settings) for a couple of months, so here for
those of you who want to do Damon Runyon in Pavis, or M*A*S*H in the Legions,
or Little Homestead on the Risklands are some ideas culled from too long
spent watching soap operas, sit coms and listening to Classic Serials:
The thing that first springs to mind, if the PCs are newcomers, is their
relationship with the natives. There's the ever popular Girl/Boyfriend
Trouble (love triangles, either within the fort, or rivalry between a
Lunar and a local - see 'Carmen'?; doomed affairs - probably more like
'Lorna Doone', with a Lunar falling for the local bandit's daughter,
than 'Romeo & Juliet'; odd courtship rites; or dilemmas when your lover
asks you to do a favour for their family with the Lunar authorities -
e.g. give advanced warning of a tax assessment, or smuggle something
to a relative who's been arrested)
There's also the possibility of local traders trying to swindle the
ignorant but rich foreigners. This could just be a learning experience
("Praxians'll never sell you a sound herd-beast, because...") or a
reason to seek revenge (either violent or a similar subtle con). Or
maybe after some bad experiences, someone in the fort will want to take
advantage of theirsuperior position as the conquering power to _force_
the locals to trade at a 'fair' rate (The British in Africa did this by
forcing the Africans to pay taxes in money, rather than goods, which they
could only get by working for or trading with the British)
For the military (or any other power group) there's also the possibility of
being dragged into local politics. Are the Empire's allies in the area
using their priviliged status to settle old scores or reinforce their
power base - either themselves, increasing resentment against the Empire
in general, or by manipulating the Lunar garrison? Settlers from the Empire
could cause similar problems - either intentionally ("This is our land now,
so get off it or we'll call the Army in") or just as a result of culture
clash (One amusing but difficult situation would be if a bunch of Irripi
Ontor (? The Lunar charitable cult) missionaries arrived to set up a
model farm or something to convert the locals by example. Could cause a
lot of friction, but it's not clear who is in the right)
Roleplaying within the garrison depends rather on who your PCs are, but
they presumably come from diverse culture, leading to some cultural friction,
even if Legion discipline keeps it under control (Maybe a legionnaire who
was originally a spirit worshipper will feel the need to find a local shaman
to appease ancestors or lift a jinx following an adventure?). M*A*S*H is a
convenient source of NPCs (Henry, the easily manipulated CO who just wanted
a quiet life; Frank Burns, uptight officious military type; Margaret Hollihan
perfectionist career officer, but with a heart somewhere; Charles Winchester
snobbish, rather humourless type - decent, but it's a different code of
decency to the norm). Don't underestimate the annoyance factor of someone
who's sense of humour doesn't agree with your own (I lived with someone with
no sense of irony - nice guy, but sometimes that grated)
Unfortunately, my couple of classic military adventures (The PCs are stranded
a long way from base and have to make their way back through a mix of hostile
and friendly locals - and they can't easily tell hostiles from friendly; or
one of the PCs is taken prisonner, and we follow their relationship with their
captors as the captors go on the run to avoid the army search for them) don't
really apply here (No planes to crashland; and taking prisonners seems too
genteel for Glorantha)
Hope thatsparks off some ideas for someone; thanks for the bandwidth
Duncan Hedderley
Reading, UK
---------------------
From: joe@sartar.toppoint.de (Joerg Baumgartner)
Subject: Truestone - my last
Message-ID:
Date: 22 Sep 94 09:02:46 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 6326
Klaus OK X-RQ-ID: 6286
replied to me:
> If a user of divine(-like) magic finds an unset Truestone, he feels the
> overpowering urge to transfer all his divine magic into it. The spells
> are permanently lost to the provider, and they are permanently set into
> the Truestone. Magic Points are not involved at all under RQ3 rules.
> The way I understand it, spells can be regained once cast from the stone.
This might have been the RQ2 ruling. The rules changed towards RQ3,
and there will have been a reason for that.
> Otherwise Biturian would not have filled his spells into that stone. Even
> a CA healer can not demand that a priest give away all his divine magic
> permanently.
Several things Biturian did with Truestone make me doubt it really
was Truestone he traded and used. For one thing, he kept them without
feeling any urge to fill them, which is suspect to me. Then he trades
a piece of truestone for low quantities of meat gone bad.
> As I understand it, a spell must be cast into the stone to recharge it.
Right. In this regard truestone works like Spell-trading - also WRT
regainability.
> If the spell was reusable to the caster, it can be regained after it
> is cast from the stone.
Like Spell-trading again.
> If a set Truestone is found, in all likelyhood the spells will have
> been cast, and to use it they first have to be refreshed.
> Realistically, yes. However, a truestone is a plot device, a way for a
> GM to give the PCs one-use access to any spell he wants them to have. In
> actual play, found truestones will usually be charged.
Why? Part of the fun would be to find an Issaries priest or cultist who
knows the spell and buy the use of this spell.
The Truestone rules of RQ2 and RQ3 clearly aren't very compatible. I
prefer the RQ3 rules which are clearer in most aspects, but could be
swayed if either here or in a future edition of RQ a better and more
comprehensive set is presented.
--
-- Joerg Baumgartner joe@sartar.toppoint.de
---------------------
From: joe@sartar.toppoint.de (Joerg Baumgartner)
Subject: Adari, Oasis People
Message-ID:
Date: 22 Sep 94 09:03:17 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 6327
Martin Crim in X-RQ-ID: 6299
>>> Adari 200 [+100 others]
>>According to Tales 3, the populace of Adari is 300 to 600 humans
>>_inside the palisade_.
> The 300 figure I give for Adari is intended to be compatible with
> ToTRM #3's figure of the minimum (summer, was it?) population.
>>No mention of oasis folk or farming is made, ...
> One of the major weaknesses of the Adari write-up, IMHO. There's
> no way such a city could be stable or enduring without a regular
> and nearby source of food. It's typical to ignore the
> downtrodden oasis folk--certainly the nomads treat them as part
> of the landscape.
Maybe also by the person reporting the situation in Adari? Maybe the
Oasis people or whatever farmers live in/around Adari and gather
meagre sustenance out of Bison Plain chapparal soil, without irrigation,
are those 300 people seasonally out living at their fields when a touch of
fertility is there, and returning to the safety of the city in the dry
spells?
> In any case, the center of the Golden Age civilization of the
> oasis folk was to the east, in Genert's Garden, not to the south.
So you regard the Oasis People as Genert's folk, not as the people
Tada ruled?
I know that Genert's garden was home to human followers, and those were
not only beast riders, but held other types/tribes as well. Prax however
is always related to as Tada's Kingdom, and its civilisation seems closely
connected to the superhero.
> Even if there weren't any oasis folk in Adari at the dawn, nomads
> would have driven them there forcibly to provide their services
> (tanning, wood-working, farming). Nomads sacking the city and
> trolls settling nearby wouldn't deter oasis folk: they're
> survivors.
True, the oasis people behave much like the Mexican peasants in the
almost satirical Italo-Western movies - grow and have your harvest
taken from you, along with daughters and sons.
I proposed a solution - the oasis people know the places which hold the
water of the rains long enough to grow a harvest on them. These places
probably lie in hidden wadis around Adari, and maybe can be farmed only
every second or third year, so they set up only temporary shelter while
they care for their crops, and as soon as they have harvested it, they
return to the relative safety of the city. This would explain the
(otherwise mysterious) 100% fluctuation of population.
--
-- Joerg Baumgartner joe@sartar.toppoint.de
---------------------
From: JARDINE@RMCS.CRANFIELD.AC.UK
Subject: Alchemy
Message-ID: <9409220916.AB25241@Sun.COM>
Date: 22 Sep 94 09:19:00 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 6328
Loren
WRT Alchemy rules, Adam (What does Copyright Mean) Reynolds had a
complete(?) set of alchemy rules for RQ in his bumper pack. Perhaps some
kind soul out there (the original author perhaps) could send you them. If
not I might be able to do so, but it entails a long and difficult transfer
between three machines!
Get back to me in a week if all else fails
Lewis
---------------------
From: JARDINE@RMCS.CRANFIELD.AC.UK
Subject: Yelorna and Restore Health (Lewis)
Message-ID: <9409220928.AA25987@Sun.COM>
Date: 22 Sep 94 09:32:00 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 6329
Chris
I do think you are biased towards your partner (but then so are we all).You were fair when you allowed her to be killed by the basilisk, you were
generous, but fair when you allowed her to be resurrected one-and-a-half days
later. You were biased when you allowed her to swap an 8 MP storage xtal
(which would take 1 to 2 POW to create) for 8 pts of restore health (which
cost 8 points of POW). I would have given her 2 points of Restore Health for
the item and made her use her favours from the Pavis cult to *buy* the other
points back (I am assuming that the party gave the axe back to the Pavis Cult
here).
Remember that while the CA cult love to heal people they are not total
mugs. Maybe a better solution would have been to restore 2 points and then the temple institutes a strict training regeme (Physiotherapy) to help the
character regain the other points (maybe it could take less time since the
stats are being regained not raised above their original values and also the
CAs are especially good at this kind of thing).
Anyway I a glad to here that the Yelornan goes on (there are few enough of them anyway).
Keep the faith
Lewis
PS. As I mentioned a while back my wife plays a Yelornan in Pavis which explainsmy empathy. Perhaps we could swap character details in order to add some colourto our campaigns.
---------------------
From: winterg@iia.org (George Winter)
Subject: Re: Fertility
Message-ID:
Date: 22 Sep 94 07:07:03 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 6330
I learned, through a tour of the Washington National Zoo's AMAZON
exhibit that the fertility of Jungles is a misconception. The Amazon
jungle has a very shallow topsoil and once the jungle growth is removed
crops grow very poorly in it. The best/deepest top-soil is found in
places like the American Midwest and the Ukraine. The luxurient growth of
the jungles is rather a testimony to the resourcefulness and tenacity of
jungle vegetation.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
George Winter QSYS Ltd., DP & Systems Consulting
e-mail: winterg@iia.org
---------------------
From: winterg@iia.org (George Winter)
Subject: Truestone (another voice)
Message-ID:
Date: 22 Sep 94 07:14:28 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 6331
I guess people are voting for favorite interpretations, heres mine.
Each Truestone has a Size (related to the size/weight of the stone) and
when magic enters the stone treat it has having been cast by the owner.
Thus one-use spells are gone, and other spells can be regained. Since we
play with size, a truestone is not fully set until its storage capacity is
filled. I would argue against "refilling" truestone, since this confuses
it with matrixes and we never saw any reference to stones being reused.
We always assumed the block contained about 40,000 points of Storm Bull
rune magic from all the pilgrim SBs who come to the block, give up their
magic, and then regain it in the ceremonies that follow.
Possible game interpretation:
1 oz of Truestone can hold:
3 points of Divine magic
30 Magic Points (still 1 use - but works like a crystal)
Equivalent of 1 scroll of Knowledge, ie 1-3 chapters of a book, a stat
increase, a skill increase, etc.
(secret of this use is only known to Lankhor Mhy Sages and does not
cause them to lose the knowledge)
We have also run pieces of colored truestone that have special abilities,
work differently, or are just strange.
On piece was Dirty blue and we found that it refused magic or power but
sucked chaos gifts if it struck a chot the piece was just 1oz and we
thought it absorbed 2-4 gifts. Perhaps you can enchant truestone to have
special powers?
P.S. Someone was saying that TS was the frozen blood of gods, I have always
seen it refered to as a piece of the Spike.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
George Winter QSYS Ltd., DP & Systems Consulting
e-mail: winterg@iia.org
---------------------
From: paul@phyast.pitt.edu (Paul Reilly)
Subject: Re: Pamaltela Genertela aletreneG aletlamaP
Message-ID: <9409221602.AA26176@minerva.phyast.pitt.edu>
Date: 22 Sep 94 16:02:09 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 6332
Sandy writes:
>If there is a parallel here, it is an inverse one (hey, I like that!)
Umm. Sandy, I have a question. It seemed to many people (e.g., me, others
around here, John Hughes who wrote an article about it) that Genert(ela) and
Pamalt(ela) were sort of mirror-twins in many, many, many ways. I.e., that
these "inverse parallels" were part of the fabric of Glorantha. You probably
did more design on Pamaltela than anyone else. Was this inverse parallelism
consciously put in or did it "just happen" as might be indicated by your
apparently-naive noticing of it above?
I could list dozens of examples if people want... here are a few. See
also TotRM #11.
Sandy's comaparisons:
Genert heading in a
steady trajectory from the top to the bottom, with Pamalt coming out
of nowhere rising to the top. Genert was among the first to fight,
Pamalt was among the last. Genert stood alone. Pamalt used
cooperation and leaned on his friends.
More:
Genert was a from-below Earth God Pamalt a (From Above?) Fire God
Genert: North Pamalt:South
Genertela:Cities are bastions of "goodness" and Law; swamps are often Chaotic
Pamaltela: Swamps are healthy sources of life; cities often in grip of Chaos
(e.g. Ompalam - either Chaotic or just Bad)
Genertela Pamaltela
Human Conflict Human Cooperation (in interior)
Elf-Troll wars Elf-Troll coexistence (Muri)
Continent shrinking (Slontos etc.) Continent Growing (Kimos etc.)
Knowledge is written Knowledge is Oral
People live indoors People live outdoors
Metal abundant Metal scarce (IMO)
Well, I'm sure people know many others.
-paul r
- Paul
---------------------
From: SMITHH@A1.MGH.HARVARD.EDU (Harald Smith 617 724-9843)
Subject: styx
Message-ID: <01HHEWJLBCXSS5WQZB@MR.MGH.HARVARD.EDU>
Date: 22 Sep 94 07:30:00 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 6333
- David Cake asks about the river Styx in x-rq-id 6279
The River Styx 'surrounds' the Land of the Dead and also borders on the
deepest waters. Its location is not fixed IMO, but most quests to the
Underworld require it to be crossed.
There is only one 'crossing' point known--the ferry operated by Jeset
the Ferryman in troll myth (who may just be called the Ferryman in other
myths like Orlanthi). This is the point you are brought to using the
Styx' Shore spell. The dead must have proper payment to pass. The
living must bargain with him to pass (see my Crippling of Lokarma story
from several months ago as an example of this). Those who cannot pay
cannot cross and are stuck on the one bank for all eternity. Of course,
there might be someone here you want to talk to or who appeals at a gut-
wrenching level to you for money for passage.
The Styx is black water and is poisonous to most. Undead (which would
include the ghosts of the dead presumably who are waiting for passage)
are annihilated by it. Any part of a living being which touches the
Styx water dies if not the entire being. Inanimate objects are probably
not affected, so you could dip your pail into the water (but then again
maybe they are--maybe you need an alchemist's flask to gather up the
water). The Ferryman's boat may be made of a special wood, but since
those sailing from the Puzzle Canal can end up here, dead wood may be
immune to the water's poison.
Aside from gathering up the water, the Styx is a starting point for a
quest. Once across, you are in the Lands of the Dead. Paths lead from
here to the Halls of Judgment where residents like Yelm or Daka Fal
judge those who come before them. The Lightbringers path (whether
Orlanthi, Imtherian, or some other version) leads on from here. Other
paths lead down into the hells of Subere or other darkness deities. The
Land of the Dead is filled with shadows, ghostly trees, etc. Are these
valuable? Ethilrist's Cloak is presumably made from one such shadow.
You might be able to tame a hell hound (stats in a scenario in Heroes
v1 #6) here.
The heroquest paths are all dark from here and the treasures are
probably similar to those from the lightbringers quest--a light for the
world, hope, immunity to fear, etc.
(And remember not to go swearing oaths upon Styx. Those who can't keep
their oaths die. Whether this applies to someone who makes an oath
while travelling physically upon the Styx' body as well is up to you,
but I would probably make that equal in effect.)
Hope this helps. You might draw on some real world myths pertaining to
the Underworld to help. Some do deal with bargains with the Ferryman
or crossing over the black water to the true underworld--Odysseus,
Orpheus, and Aeneas all have such experiences.
Harald