I believe that "balance" has no place in a roleplaying game. What does "balance" mean in such a game anyway? Surely it doesn't mean that the players shouldn't win too often? In RQ terms, I guess what it means is that no one cult should be so great that everyone would want to join it, and few would join the more obscure faiths. Or that the greatsword shouldn't be such a fine weapon that no one fights with axes or clubs. Should it mean that a beginning troll PC should not have advantages over a beginning human?
To some extent, the cults work out, I feel, because of their specialization. Not many PCs want to worship Flamal because his spells suck, but on the other hand, not many NPCs worship him either. Lots more NPCs than PCs worship Ernalda, but the PCs can at least understand why.
The critters are absolutely unbalanced, I fear. A dark troll is better than a human. Fortunately, most of the races in Glorantha have enough personality (unlike, say, D&D "gnomes" or "halflings") that people choose between them based on reasons other than stats. A scorpion man, beyond a doubt, makes the most powerful melee-oriented character of all human-sized PCs, but who would ever play one? Even ogres are pretty rare, and they don't dare "come out of the closet".
That said, I do know a case in which a player came to Greg's campaign and wanted to run his scorpion man character.
Greg winced, and said, "We kind of have a campaign here. I'm not sure you'd fit in."
"No, I'm sure it'll be all right." The player responded. "Okay," said the ever-obliging Greg, who proceeded to turnto the other players and describe the opening scene. "Okay, you're all in a bar in Pavis. The door opens, and a scorpion man walks in."
The other players look at each other. "SCORPION MAN?!" They attack at once, spells, arrows, and spears flying, and within seconds the scorpion man is dead, dismembered, and burning on an impromptu funeral pyre in the street outside.
"Wow", said the former scorpion man's player. "I guess you were right about having a campaign."
ABOUT ILLUSION SPELLS
Look guys. If you think illusion spells are too expensive and you
want more in your game, cheapen them up, for crying out loud! You
don't need a whole set of new spells or any of the more complex
proposals.
How about this: 1 point of Rune Magic gives you 3 points of Illusion Magic? If that's not cheap enough go for a 1:5 ratio.
Andrew Joelson
>I am puzzled by repeated references of massive Tapping in the
>Kingdom of war. Evidently the peasantry is supposed to be tapped
>into a state wherin rebellion is impossible. This seems very
>strange to me, as any people so badly off could hardly till the
land >and support a ruling class, let alone one that squanders vast
>resources in extensive military campaigns.
Why not? Their strength and constitution are normally unimpaired. They may not be quite as productive as a free human being, or even a Jonating serf, but this is probably more than made up for by diminished garrison and management requirements.
Certainly it's just as easy for the KoW soldiers to exact 15% of all the crops from their hapless Taplings as it is for the Loskalmi government to take a 15% "free will offering" from their upwardly-mobile serfs.
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