Harrek

From: David Cake <davidc_at_cs.uwa.edu.au>
Date: Wed, 18 Oct 1995 17:11:40 +0800

>I see what you mean about Harrek Sandy. He can control the power flow around
>him? To what range? Does that mean that if you attack him with rune magic
>running then he can simply dispel it? If he controls the power flow surely he
>could redirect spells cast at him and his mates, even reflect them?
>

Yes and no - his control is not total, but powerful enough that most mortals would have little chance of affecting him. A good example is when Tatius (?) tries to attack him with a massive combined Sunspear - Harrek and his companions are affected, but only pretty minimally (they are crisped and their armour is melted, but that is pretty minimal for the atttack of dozens of priests - say, they only take 6d6 instead of 18d6....), and Harrek diverts a substantial portion of the attack back on them.

        When being attacked by mere mortals like an average group of tough PCs, I suspect Harrek wouldn't divert the concentration necessary to turn magic back on them unless he wanted to show off - he would probably just turn their spells harmlessly aside, or ignore them, as he charges in and kills them all in a few brutal seconds.

> As for the 100k power available to him, what could he use it on? He is
>not a spirit magician according to DP and there is a limit to how much battle
>magic you can cast, so whats he do with it?
>

1. 100k was a number Sandy plucked out of the air. I think it is too high by a couple of orders of magnitude. Feel free to ignore me, of course.
2. Harrek is not a spirit magician because 1) he (and his support group) is generally not capable (or not prepared, or whatever) of DP spirit magic - which is to say, he not capable of leading a large spirit attack at great range. This is not to say that he can't be devastating at close range.
3. he probably mostly prefers to use his magical abilities defensively to give him a chance at close combat - he does not use purely magical attacks unless he is more interested in killing the foe than his own safety and that of his retinue ie when he goes Berserk
4. he probably uses all sorts of magic, including superpowered spells, effects similar to sorcery or lunar magic, etc. but he generally uses it at close range/ line of sight - in other words, in DP it counts as part of his CF not his MgF.

> Conversely, he'd probably make a very poor
>personnel manager and I bet you a billion Imperials he'd have no idea on how to
>let a pot of tea brew properly for a good flavour, so its all relative.
>

        Don't bet on it - particularly on the personnel manager...

>(1). So he's mega tough, okay but how would he fight the Crimson Bat? It would
>just eat him as he is only 6-7 feet high, yet according to DP its only about as
>tough as Harreks big toe.
>

        With cunning, guile, deviousness, powerful and unique magic, the best tactics he can think of, and everthing else. My feeling is that superheroes are good allrounders. He could protect himself against its magical fields, teleport to its back, kill everything, turn it on the remainder of its cult (he is more than capable of heroquesting for the secrets of Bat Mastery somehow, or turning a priest traitor and mindlinking with him), and then waiting till it disappears. Or he could summon something equally tough on a short term basis. Or leap inside it and cut hsi way out. And he could think of much better plans than these...

>(2). How on Glorantha did he knobble the Polar Bear god? I mean I know he's an
>experienced and lethal dart competitor and I know he's a natural for spotting
>weakness on the hero or god plane but this is a God we are talking here.
>

        I guess we will never know. After all, there is no one but him remaining alive who knew just what happened, and he likes it that way (he killed all the others). I would stop asking those questions in case he hears about you :-)

>(4). He is meant to be a great leader.

        and

>(5). Motivations. What drives this man to do what he does. Argrath is
easy to
>divine, he's a crusader, but Harrek can only be compared to Conan in fiction

        Harrek is not really based on Conan (or maybe a little bit). He is largely based on the historical figure Harald Hardrada, who was one of the most competent and cosmopolitan leaders of his time - he was from Viking lands, became leader of the Varangian guard in Byzantium, went back and took a kingdom, and nearly became ruler of England as well. This may give you some clues to his nature - he is great leader, a good tactician, and extremely intelligent and knowledgable. He is also one of the great magicians of his age. His favoured attack utilises the magical technique a berserker rage, but don't let that fool you - he probably only goes berserk when it is the most effective technique. I am sure underestimating him as a tactician and magical combatant is one of the most common mistakes made about him. Jar-Eel just gets all the critical aclaim - I am sure Harrek is an excellent poet too, just usually in the Viking style :-)

        Cheers

                David

 
Computing Officer    |" Life is easily understood as bit strings of logical
Arts Faculty UWA     |depth greater than their length" - Rebis, Doom Patrol

davidc_at_cs.uwa.edu.au |" Do not think, HIT, it is our way" - Milk & Cheese
>Microsoft, meanwhile, denies that the problem exists.

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