From: owner-runequest-rules@ (RuneQuest Rules Digest) To: runequest-rules-digest@lists.MPGN.COM Subject: RuneQuest Rules Digest V2 #53 Reply-To: runequest-rules@mpgn.com Sender: owner-runequest-rules@ Errors-To: owner-runequest-rules@ Precedence: bulk RuneQuest Rules Digest Wednesday, March 24 1999 Volume 02 : Number 053 RuneQuest is a trademark of Hasbro/Avalon Hill Games. All Rights Reserved. TABLE OF CONTENTS RE: [RQ-RULES] Familiars [RQ-RULES] Re: Mysticism [RQ-RULES] Off Topic Glorantha List 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: Fri, 19 Mar 1999 15:10:59 GMT From: simonh@msi-uk.com (Simon Hibbs) Subject: RE: [RQ-RULES] Familiars >Two seemingly obvious problems with that. First, the link is one way. So >the bad guys have no way of knowing when the sorcerer is within the >appropriate range. And if they can somehow magically sense this they are >able to affect the sorcerer directly, so why bother with this trick? Knowing a sorcerer is within 10km is not the same thing as beign able to target him with spells directly. It depends how fast he can travell, so it will be usefull against many, if not most sorcerers. >The sorcerer doesn't need to get close. The people he cast his spells on >need to get close. Not if they have the familiar, that's the whole point. >Second is that, for allies, the ally can cast all of his partners spells. >So, unless you are into kidnaping non-combatants, you are likely to find >that this is a really nasty problem. Familiars rarely have spell skills anywhere near as good as the sorcerer. I'd choose to take on the familiar rather than the sorcerer any day. Most of the time you'd have ten times the chance of taking it out than the sorcerer. > .... Maybe lots more... That poor little >shadow cat is much more impressive after he ignites the bag you put him >in, with a shield 10 up, and starts tossing lightning, thunderbolts and >sever spirits at you and you friends as they wait in ambush. Oh, if we're talking about allied spirits rather than sorcerer's familiars I agree. That's a whole different ballgame. A blindfolded familiar is largely helpless. It can't target you with spells, and neither can the sorcerer using it's senses. You of course can target both of them. Try it on a player in a game and see just how pissed off they get! Robert : > .....At worst, >just throw a slave bracelet on it - but I don't know whether I'd >allow the link back to the sorcerer in this case. That definitely disrupts the link. Si *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@mpgn.com with the line 'unsubscribe runequest-rules' as the body of the message. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 21 Mar 1999 14:07:08 +0100 From: Nils Weinander Subject: [RQ-RULES] Re: Mysticism Nikk: > > Having attended the Convulsion last year I had already assumed that > Sandy's Mysticism rules (and your own of course!) reflected the mystic > who was considered to have fallen from the path by other mystics. The whole setup and terminology of the forms of magic seem to be under work at the moment by the powers that be, so we'll see later on how to label things. The martial arts thing isn't pure mysticism, but it's there, and these rules model it well. Harder to say about the fallen mystics. The rules may apply to them to, but it's important to notice that they follow another path than the martial artists in that they started out on a pure mystical path and then dropped out in order to savour their power. > Returning to my original questions, does anybody have other mystical > paths? What I mean is, we know that a Gerran gains transcendence > through body mutilation and rituals - great. Do they gain anything on > the way there? Its all very nice being told that you are now > "transcendent" but this doesn't actually MEAN anything. I think that the "mystical principles" apply to them as well: they gain the potential for increasingly impressive magical powers, but if they actually use them they fail on their path. > Lastly, does anyone believe that Illumination would better be > represented in rules terms if we used the same system as Sandy did > for aquiring Mysticism (in this case Illumination skill) and then > spending it on powers (in this case a list of powers akin to those in > D:LoD but expanded further). I think this would work. Note that illuminant powers like invisibility to spirits of reprisal are typically mystic (mystics being good at negating others' magic). Simon Hibbs: > > This is true, but being a powerfull mystic and then choosing to use your > powers doesn't leave you back at square one again. The more mysticaly > powerfull you are, the lesser the costs of using your power seems to be. > Sheng never 'used up' his mystical power. True, but Sheng is no longer a mystic in so far that he has left the way to blissful liberation. He is hell on wheels magically and his powers don't diminish by his using them, but for each magical feat used, he takes one more step away from the mystical path. _____ David Weihe: > > So? Don't most people fail as mystics, at fairly low levels? Rather few people try the pure mystic path to begin with. Most see their limitations (and duties) and choose other ways. It's probably fair to say though, that of those who do go for meditation etc, few succeed fully. > That is why it > is considered such a hard way. Maybe there should be some way to penalize > future attempts to build up mystical power, say making it go to melting > a block placed where the most recent failure (ie, use of mysticism points) > occurred (something like latent heat, in physics). > > E.g., if Sugata uses all his mysticism after he builds up 90 points, then > the next time has builds up mysticism points to 91 -180 points, these > points are wasted (in a game sense, at least) by all being used to allow > him to increase his pool of Mysticism above his blockage. If he uses any > points before the block is melted then they just add to its thickness. > > Eventually, most people can build up and use only small amounts of it, > due to their continual failure to swear off the world. A good idea, but I'm not sure that you can get back on the path once you have left it. > > * For each 10% skill, add 1 to defensive POW > Or offensive power in spirit combat, to allow human mystics to cow > dieties, as has been done in some Buddhist stories that I read (of Perhaps modelled as a _decrease_ in the opponent's powers, caused by the mystic's "magic dampening field". > Or some other passive power, like healing (a common ability of the > Holy in all cultures). Refute Injury perhaps? ______________________________________________________ Nils Weinander | Everything is dust in the wind nilsw@ibm.net | http://www.geocities.com/Paris/8689/ *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@mpgn.com with the line 'unsubscribe runequest-rules' as the body of the message. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 24 Mar 1999 08:13:14 -0600 From: "Paul Stolar" Subject: [RQ-RULES] Off Topic Glorantha List Is the Glorantha list dead? *************************************************************************** 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 V2 #53 ************************************ *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@mpgn.com with the line 'unsubscribe runequest-rules' as the body of the message. 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