From: owner-runequest-rules@ (RuneQuest Rules Digest) To: runequest-rules-digest@lists.MPGN.COM Subject: RuneQuest Rules Digest V1 #84 Reply-To: runequest-rules@mpgn.com Sender: owner-runequest-rules@ Errors-To: owner-runequest-rules@ Precedence: bulk RuneQuest Rules Digest Friday, April 24 1998 Volume 01 : Number 084 RuneQuest is a trademark of Avalon Hill Games. All Rights Reserved. TABLE OF CONTENTS [RQ-RULES] "Downtime" Re: [RQ-RULES] RQ/Greyhawk Re: [RQ-RULES] RQ/Greyhawk Re: [RQ-RULES] Just for the Experince [RQ-RULES] Shamans RE: [RQ-RULES] Tap INT Re: [RQ-RULES] New Sorcery Spell [RQ-RULES] DMD -Xan Yae for RQ/Greyhawk [RQ-RULES] DMD - Tharizdun for RQ/Greyhawk [RQ-RULES] DMD Bahamut for RQ/Greyhawk RULES OF THE ROAD 1. Do not include large sections of a message in your reply. Especially not to add "Yeah, I agree" or "No, I disagree." Or be excoriated. If someone writes something good and you want to say "good show" please do. But don't include the whole message you praise. 2. Use an appropriate Subject line. 3. Learn the art of paraphrasing: Don't just quote and comment on a point-by-point basis. 4. No anonymous posting, please. Don't say something unless you're ready to stand by it. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 23 Apr 1998 15:56:22 +0200 (MET DST) From: ferro@clipper.ens.fr (Frederic Ferro) Subject: [RQ-RULES] "Downtime" Does anyone have a good system to simulate the time between adventures in Runequest which would not be too random and would leave some choices for the Players ? I give X weeks of "free time" to the PCs. They choose if they want to work, to invest or to train during this time. They pay for their living and for training, they spend 10% of their time at their Temples. I roll personal events (by example on RuneQuest Cities List). But all this is too "mechanical". FF - -- mailto:ferro@clipper.ens.fr http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Lair/1054 http://www.eleves.ens.fr:8080/home/ferro/index.html "HOiPHILOIOUDEISPHILOS" *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@mpgn.com with the line 'unsubscribe runequest-rules' as the body of the message. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 23 Apr 1998 16:02:42 +0200 (MET DST) From: ferro@clipper.ens.fr (Frederic Ferro) Subject: Re: [RQ-RULES] RQ/Greyhawk Good job, Tal Meta, for your descriptions. Is there a Web Page where these Greyhawk cults could be kept ? FF - -- mailto:ferro@clipper.ens.fr http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Lair/1054 http://www.eleves.ens.fr:8080/home/ferro/index.html Ma date de naissance est indiquee à partir de la 39 216ème decimale de Pi, mais on trouve ma date d'anniversaire des la 4 729ème place. Etonnant, non ? *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@mpgn.com with the line 'unsubscribe runequest-rules' as the body of the message. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 23 Apr 1998 12:11:32 -0400 From: Tal Meta Subject: Re: [RQ-RULES] RQ/Greyhawk Frederic Ferro wrote: > > Good job, Tal Meta, for your descriptions. > Is there a Web Page where these Greyhawk cults could be kept ? Not yet. It's finally beginning to occur to me that I might just have enough original stuff to make a web page worthwhile. When I get around to it, I'll make an announcement. :) *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@mpgn.com with the line 'unsubscribe runequest-rules' as the body of the message. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 23 Apr 1998 16:51:11 GMT From: sbarrie@julian.uwo.ca (Scott Barrie) Subject: Re: [RQ-RULES] Just for the Experince On Wed, 22 Apr 1998 14:25:41 PDT, "Leon Kirshtein" wrote: >>If you're cool enough about a fight to change weapons >>for practice, >>you're obviously not under enough stress to gain experience. >> >>Andrew >This is exactly the reason while I do allow, as you put it 'tick >hunting'. The situation must matter (there has to be an element of >risk, as judged by the GM) and if the players are willing to take the >added risk by switching to a weapon with which they are less capable >then it is ok by me. Makes sense to me, so long as switching weapons then makes the combat interesting (/dangerous). This behaviour reminds me of the film "The Princess Bride". ------------------------------------------------ Scott Barrie University of Western Ontario sbarrie@julian.uwo.ca Physics Grad Student ------------------------------------------------ *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@mpgn.com with the line 'unsubscribe runequest-rules' as the body of the message. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 23 Apr 1998 17:51:16 +0000 From: "Simon Phipp" Subject: [RQ-RULES] Shamans Bob Stancliffe: RU>But, I play the Fetch as being > the Shaman on the Spirit Plane, not a RU>as a separate spirit. Why > can the shaman suddenly cast two lots of RU>spells? > The split personality was a side effect of the second INT stat. > Your > way a shaman doubles his INT and get the ability to have unlimited > POW with no restriction or penalty, except that the fetch can't > throw spells. Several rules including how to ally spirit cults get > thrown out the window because the fetch no longer has it's own > personality. I can't see this at all. The extended INT is stated to only affect the storage of spells, so is equivalent to an extra couple of bound Intellect Spirits. Shamans have unlimited defensive POW at the moment with no penalty. I just find it strange that shamans can be immune to massive spirits but have no way at all of fighting said spirits. (Imagine a POW 20 shaman with a POW 100 fetch fighting a POW 80 spirit. Under the standard rules, if he is attacked by the spirit while corporate he defends at POW 120, the same as my rules - the shaman wins; if he travels the spirit plane and meets the spirit, under normal rules he is POW 20 against POW 80 and loses, under my rules he is POW 100 against POW 80 which is fairly even; if he travels the Spirit Plane and the spirit jumps his body, under normal rules he is POW 100 against POW 80 and laughs, under my rules he is POW 20 against POW 80, but can re-corporate giving him POW 120 again. This seems far more balanced.) Allying Spirit Cults is just the same as before. The shaman contacts the Spirit and makes a bargain with it. Whether you treat this as the Shaman Personality or the Fetch Personality is neither here nor there. The fact that the shaman does not go discorporate and his fetch does has no real effect apart from having larger POW fetches roaming the Spirit Plane. Philip Hibbs: > Because his mind and spirit have been expanded? Anyway, if you want to hark > back to the 'good' old days of RQ2, a fetch was explicitly summoned as a > pre-existing spirit with it's own INT and POW, rather than being created by > the Shaman from his own POW. Actually, the RQ2 reference was in relation to the Pektok story where I was explaining that the Duck could increase CON/STR after a Chaos Feature because there were no Training Limits except Species Max stats. I was not saying that RQ2 fetches were any better because they are far worse. I like the idea of the fetch as being an extension of the Shaman's Soul and take it a stage further than the rules in that in my game it is not a separate spirit. Simon Phipp *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@mpgn.com with the line 'unsubscribe runequest-rules' as the body of the message. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 23 Apr 1998 19:35:12 GMT From: "Nikk Effingham" Subject: RE: [RQ-RULES] Tap INT > >Correct me if I'm wrong (this is to the whole digest) but I > >think that this is correct! Tap cannot be resisted. > > It can in Sandy's, it's an Attack spell. I suspect it should be able to in > RQ3. Personally, I'd allow any aware target to resist any spell. Having checked it out, it can in both versions of Sandy's rules. I still recall it cannot in normal RQ. To be honest with you, as you have to touch to make the spell work the resistance roll is a bit redundant anyhow. IMHO, Nikk Nikk Effingham eng7nje@leeds.ac.uk http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Lair/7556/ "If absolute power corrupts absolutely Where does that leave God?" -- George Daacon *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@mpgn.com with the line 'unsubscribe runequest-rules' as the body of the message. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 23 Apr 1998 19:52:07 GMT From: "Nikk Effingham" Subject: Re: [RQ-RULES] New Sorcery Spell > Lightning Bolt (instant) > This spell produces a bolt of lightning from the sorceror's hand, which > will cause 1 hp damage per point of Intensity, minus one per three meters of > distance to the target. Range does not affect this spell. If there is no > target to 'ground' the bolt, the caster takes the full Intensity in damage > to his hand. Note that the target does not need to be 'grounded' in the > literal (electrical) sense, a bird flying is a valid target. If the sorceror > can see a Projected sense, he may safely target this unless the origination > of the sense is non-corporeal. No MP resistance roll is necessary, and metal > armor will not protect. having looked at this and thought it over, I can see a problem with the spell. The complete lack of a random element. In most spells you get a Mp vs. Mp's, whereas in Evoke the damage is random. Here you get nothing, which seems a little off for me. I'd say either make the damage lost by distance variable, i.e. 1d(range in metres). Or, alternatively, allow the target to make either a Jump or Dodge to get out of the way (whichever is higher). And does the second to last line indicate that the spell can electricture people though Projections???? Nikk Nikk Effingham eng7nje@leeds.ac.uk http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Lair/7556/ "If absolute power corrupts absolutely Where does that leave God?" -- George Daacon *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@mpgn.com with the line 'unsubscribe runequest-rules' as the body of the message. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 23 Apr 1998 23:59:23 -0400 From: Tal Meta Subject: [RQ-RULES] DMD -Xan Yae for RQ/Greyhawk Hey! # 12 in the Greyhawk/RQ Crossover of the Gods... (I should note: I created my own variant set of rules for RQ psionics, which ideally would be used in conjunction with magic by followers of this goddess. When I finally get around to putting all of my "stuff" together in one place, I'll let interested parties know...) XAN YAE Runes: Mastery, Shadow, Truth Ofttimes called "The Perfect Mistress", Xan Yae is perhaps the only Oerthian deity that extolls the virtues of psionics, or Mind over Matter. She is also the Patron of Shadows, Twilight, and Stealth. She is sister to Geshtai, born of Istus and Boccob. Cult in the World Followers of Xan Yae are taught to use their bodies and their minds to overcome all obstacles. As the Shadowmistress, she attracts thieves and other unsavory sorts, but those who study deeply the secrets she reveals soon find that the mere redistribution of wealth pales before the inner mysteries the Lady of Perfection can show them. Lay Membership Requirements: Lay members of this cult are taught a variety of skills, including Climb, Dodge, Leap, Tumble, Human Lore, Conceal, Devise, Slight, Search, Hide, Sneak and Quarterstaff attack/parry. Initiate Membership Requirements: In order to become an Initiate of Xan Yae, not only must the applicant succeed in a test of three of five of the above skills, but they must also have their psionic potential successfully awakened. Once this has been achieved, training becomes available in Martial Arts, Gestalt, and Psionic Combat. Spirit Magic: Coordination, Endurance, Glamour, Mobility, Protection, Second Sight, Strength, Vigor. Acolyte Membership Requirements: as per Priests. Priesthood Requirements: Standard. Xan Yae's priests are expected to exemplify the attributes of their goddess, living a monastic lifestyle and teaching the skills they have learned to younger generations. Virtues for her priests include: Calm, Energetic, Modest, Prudent, and Spiritual.. Common Divine Magic: all Special Divine Magic: Absorbtion, Reflection, Restore Health (all), True. Associated Gods Istus: provides Avoid Fate Geshtai: provides Float *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@mpgn.com with the line 'unsubscribe runequest-rules' as the body of the message. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 24 Apr 1998 12:18:47 -0400 From: Tal Meta Subject: [RQ-RULES] DMD - Tharizdun for RQ/Greyhawk For lucky number 13 in my RQ/Greyhawk Conversions, I thought I'd convert everybody's favorite Master of Evil, Tharizdun! I took some liberties with this one, and it's by far the longest one so far, because, well, evil gods are more fun to detail. :) THARIZDUN Runes: Darkness x2, Chaos x2 Tharizdun is thought by some to be the Eldest of the Gods, the one that existed before everything else. Alone in the Darkness of pre-Creation, he was free and unfettered, but once Creation began, he has tried to snuff it back out of existance, and it continues to fight back. His most common appeallations include the Dark God, Lord of Decay, and Alpha/Omega. At some point in the past, Tharizdun was bound into a prison fueled by his own power, so that he could not effect his own escape. But his servants (both mortal and divine) can work towards his release, and the very nature of his binding waxes and wanes so that there are times when he is more able to direct them in these efforts than others. Cult in the World Followers of Tharizdun strive to effect his release through the use of three powerful artifacts that when brought together, they believe, will release Tharizdun from his prison. Since nearly every sane being opposes the return of Tharizdun to power, they must work in secret, or face the stiffest of mundane punishments. Lay Membership Requirements: There are no true "lay members" of this cult. Most people who claim to be followers of Tharizdun are pretenders or worse, generally they seek to impress the jaded by the supposed excess of their own depravity. Often as not, exposed cultists of Tharizdun are found to either be serving another Power altogether, or simply being duped by some fell sorcerer to fuel his experiments. However, sometimes a true follower of Tharizdun will stumble across one of these false dens of wickedness, and will subvert the existing leadership in order to use the false cultists as informants, builders, and hired muscle. They are largely seen as expendable, and are primarily composed of thieves, assassins, and folk who enjoy posing as members of an "evil cult". When such fools have served whatever purpose the Initiate had in mind, those with real promise are brought before his Priest as applicants, while the rest are generally sacrificed en masse in a true ceremony honoring the Lord of the Dark. Initiate Membership Requirements: The Initiate Ritual of Tharizdun differs signifigantly from the norm. Rather than prove competence in those skills deemed important by the cult, the supplicant is brought before the Altar, and a spirit known as Nahjinna the Black is summoned. Nahjinna is effectively a large Shade with a STR of 16, SIZ 3 cu.m., POW 15, HP 18, AP 3, and a move of 12. Nahjinna will envelope the applicant, hold him with her STR, and on the first round attempt to Fearshock the applicant. Whether she succeeds or not, in the following melee rounds spirit combat will ensue between the applicant and the shade, while said applicant takes 1 point of general HP damage per round from the freezing cold embrace of the Shade. If the applicant wins, Nahjinna's final act before returning to the Spirit world will be to imbue him with the Mark of Tharizdun. If the applicant fails, Nahjinna posesses the body of the applicant, pronounces the displeasure of Tharizdun at bringing such a weak convert before her, freezes the body of the applicant solid, and departs. The Mark of Tharizdun manifests as a beneficial Chaos feature. As the Initiate rises through the ranks, he will receive further Marks, but will not have to face Nahjinna again. Skills taught by Tharizdun's followers include Orate, Craft Obsidian, Evaluate, Human Lore, Darkness Lore, Conceal, Listen, Search, Ambush, Hide, Sneak, Ceremony, Enchant, and Summon. Spirit Magic: Befuddle, DarkMaul, Darkwall, Demoralize, Endurance, Shimmer, Spirit Screen, Visibility. Acolyte Membership Requirements: as per Priests. Another Mark must be accepted (75% beneficial, 25% Detrimental. (Those Acolytes who receive a detrimental feature are considered to have lost the favor of Tharizdun, and are sacrificed at the next Blackest Night.) Priesthood Requirements: Standard. Priests of Tharizdun are genuinely scary people. Another Mark is taken (50/50%, those Cursed, are sacrificed, as above) in the final ceremony of Ordainment. Common Divine Magic: Binding Enchantment, Call Followers, Command (Cult Spirits, Shades, Passion Spirits), Group Casting, Sanctify, Soul Sight, Summon (above spirits), Wards, Worship Tharizdun Special Divine Magic: Attack Soul, Bleak, Curse of Tharizdun, Dark Walk, Suppress Aether, Wither, Wrath of Darkness Associated Gods Incabulos: provides Cause Disease Pyremius: provides Poison Erythnul: provides Fear Spirit of Reprisal Nahjinna the Black is also the spirit of reprisal for this cult. In life, it is whispered, she was the first High Priestess of Tharizdun among men, and she continues to serve her Dark Lord by screening those who would serve him and by slaying those who betray him. In her Reprisal form, she is larger, possessing STR 22, SIZ 5 cu.m., POW 21, HP 24, AP 5, and a Move of 18. Nahjinna will envelope the applicant, hold him with her STR, and will then proceed to Fearshock him every round until he either succeeds in slaying Najinna or is slain by her. Each round he is enveloped he will take 3 points of freezing damage to his general hit points. *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@mpgn.com with the line 'unsubscribe runequest-rules' as the body of the message. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 24 Apr 1998 17:52:17 -0400 From: Tal Meta Subject: [RQ-RULES] DMD Bahamut for RQ/Greyhawk Fourteenth in my series of RQ/Greyhawk deities... I realize not everyone recognizes Bahamut as a god (I'm not even 100% sure I do) but I got started on it, and... BAHAMUT Runes: Dragon, Air, Light Bahamut is said to be the Father of Dragonkind, Prince of the East Wind and a Lord of Light. All metallic dragons revere him as their King, and he has a number of human followers as well (for our purposes, this file will deal exclusively with the human cult). Cult in the World Followers of Bahamut are not numerous, but do exist thinly scattered across the Flanaess. Members of this cult exist to provide the metallic dragons with companionship, communication, and to some extent, wealth (tithes are collected and redistributed to dragons living nearby). They also seek out and aid in the destruction of chromatic dragons whenever possible, as well as the occasional metallic one that goes rogue. Bahamut's cult among humankind tries to teach that man and dragon can live in peace together if each side shows the other proper respect. Lay Membership Requirements: Lay members contribute a fraction of their time and their income to projects in the interests of dragons. A variety of skills are taught, including Orate (dragons love flattery), Speak FerroDraconic, Craft (Masonry, Stonecutting, Jewelrymaking, Gemcutting, as well as others), Dragon Lore, Conceal, Devise (for the construction of traps), and Ceremony. Initiate Membership Requirements: Non-dragons wishing to become Initiates of Bahamut further hone the skills they were taught as laymen, as well as the skills of Riding (Airborne) and 1H Spear (Lance), However, they are also expected to devote a larger portion of their time and energy to making the lairs and lives of their draconic masters more comfortable. All the special divine magics of the cult are available, except for Dragon Life, on a one use basis. Spirit Magic: None taught. However, learning spirit magic or sorcery from other cults is perfectly acceptable. Acolyte Membership Requirements: With rare exceptions, this is as high as most non-dragons rise in Bahamut's cult. All the special cult magics become available reuseably at this point. Acolytes generally attempt to spend as much time as possible in their Draconic forms. When all the spells are in effect, a successful DI has a 10% chance (+1% per year of membership in the cult) of changing the acolyte permanently into a dragon. Such a transformation generally results in the rare Steel dragon. RuneLord Membership Requirements: An Initiate or Acolyte who has been a member for five or more years, and who has formed a particularly close association with a willing dragon may find a sponsor for the position of Rune Lord. Rune Lords of Bahamut are also known as the Dragon Knights; these knights, along with their dragon friends, form the elite fighting arm of the cult. Priesthood Requirements: Perhaps less than a dozen non-dragons have been selected to serve as full priests of Bahamut (though the number of Steels is slightly higher). Common Divine Magic: Call Followers, Sanctify, Warding, Worship Bahamut. Special Divine Magic: Attain Perfection of Flame, Attain Perfection of Head, Attain Perfection of Limb, Attain Perfection of Size, Attain Perfection of Spiritual Armor, Attain Perfection of Tail, Attain Perfection of Viscera, Attain Perfection of Wing, Dragon Life. Associated Gods None *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@mpgn.com with the line 'unsubscribe runequest-rules' as the body of the message. ------------------------------ End of RuneQuest Rules Digest V1 #84 ************************************ *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@mpgn.com with the line 'unsubscribe runequest-rules' as the body of the message. RuneQuest is a Trademark of Avalon Hill Games. 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