Outrunning Horses

From: Mikael Raaterova <ginijji_at_...>
Date: Sun, 9 Jul 2000 13:15:51 +0200

> > Horse: Run Fast 2w (one of my players has 1w!)
>
>This exactly confirms my point... And any starting character could
>have run 5w, meaning that he
>would beat a horse in a race 70% of the time without even resorting
>to magic, which I find
>ridiculous.

Just to illustrate a feature of HW (that David Cake has already referred to):

IRL, horses and humans don't use the same type of running. A human jogging can run down a horse in a few days time. A human would outrun a horse in thick woods. A horse would win an 800 metre race.

So HW doesn't determine on the 'system level'* since there is no Truth about who runs faster, just Contexts. Hence it is up to the Narrator to assign modifiers in a specific context to reflect Gloranthan realities. The numbers are there to give you something to work with.

• HW system level is an abstract resolution mechanic. It says nothing about Gloranthan Reality; it merely lets you resolve contests in a manner you see fit.

(This is also exactly why i have come to the conclusion that mundane abilities allow you to do the superhuman. Since a starting character who puts "run fast" as his primary ability _can_ outrun a horse (depending on the actual situation), then a 5w rating is in the 'low' superhuman range. I like Glorantha to be like this, and i don't need to scale mundane and magical differently. My opinion is that HW is designed to portray Glorantha like this. YGMV, of course, but the rules seem to implicitly support my view.)

-- 
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Mikael Raaterova        [.sig omitted on legal advice]