Michael Cule sez (rhetorically to David Hall):
>
How are you going to keep the loyalty of the current lovers of
> Glorantha?
Current lovers of RUNEQUEST, don't you mean? While we're at it, why don't we ask which version of RQ? Does it really matter WHICH set of rules are used? The answer for 99% of us is "No." Whether we use RQ2, RQ3, Aria, or something of our own creation, it is the Gloranthan milieu which we ultimately enjoy, not the game system.
> How much do you want to preserve from each of the game systems
> you will be
raiding? [edit] Is the Glory mechanic (or anything like it)
> really
needed for a Gloranthan game?
I look for a PENDRAGON-style mechanic rather than an RQ-style one, although in principle they are identical due to their genesis from the same sources. Magic, of course, will probably be something totally new. Perhaps it will be spell-based, trait-based, narrative-based, some combination of these or perhaps none of the above. It is sure to be the single biggest bone of contention in playtest, whatever the mechanism.
Magic, IMHO, should be trait- and narrative-based. A character would no longer declare, "I will cast Bladesharp!", roll for success and mark off MPs. Instead, said character would cry, "Lord Humakt! Guide my sword in the coming battle!" and roll against Valorous, with success yielding a small bonus to hit and damage. A critcal success would yield a greater bonus, while a fumble might incur the god's disfavor. Look at the "Wooden Sword" tales from Wyrm's Footprints for an idea of how divine disfavor from a fumbled invocation might play out. :)
Glory as defined in PENDRAGON is not likely to be part of G:tG, but do expect some measure of relative social status. Status becomes important when you reflect on the interactions between people and their society. When a person acts to uphold the beliefs and values of his or her society, that person gains status insofar as society is concerned. Of course, status measures different things for different people; a farmer earns status by tilling and harvesting his or her fields, while a warrior earns status by eliminating violent menaces. See David Dunham's "PenDragon Pass" Web page for one interpretation of how to accomplish this in a Gloranthan setting.
>
What new features do you want this new system to reflect that the
> old systems
couldn't? [G:tG will] have to expand
both the cultural
> and character models [of PENDRAGON] if the new game is going to
> work with
the diverse types that RQ [meaning Glorantha?] can reflect.
Behavior, behavior, behavior! Of course, many people have been doing Gloranthan roleplaying using personality traits for some time now. What the addition of traits will accomplish is to permit a new outlook on heroquesting.
Agreed on the second point. However, considering the common origin of RQ and PENDRAGON, I doubt this will present any more of a problem than it did the designers of RQ3. Something on the order of the "Lands & People" chapter of PENDRAGON would probably do the job.
> I would suggest that the Gloranthan season be the standard
>
interval between adventures for considering how your
character
> is doing in advancement in skills and stuff.
[edit] I would suggest
> not only a seasonal cycle for characters but also for their
cultures...
I concur wholeheartedly for "normal" Gloranthan play, although a yearly interval might be preferable if one wanted to preserve the feel of a generation-spanning Gloranthan saga such as the Hero Wars or the Gbaji Wars. Both would work admirably, although the extra bookkeeping of a seasonal phase might deter some folks.
>
For each type of culture, write a description of what they typically
> do in
each season, a description of the hierachy of social units and
> a mechanic for dealing with what happens to the social unit economically,
>
militarily and magically in each season.
Yes, yes, yes! Now you have it! Using PENDRAGON as a starting point, expand upon the Family Events Tables to include Clan Events or even Tribal Events. Apply a variation of the "Army Commander Roll" to determine the political, economic, religious, or military trickle-down effects during an interval. This is similar enough to your proposal, I warrant, but allow me to elucidate:
AN EXAMPLE [longish]
Blackmoor of the Colymar, Skalfi of the Lismelder, and Vamastal of the Sambari, (the player-kings) all attempt to avoid the heavy trade tariffs imposed on tribal goods by the Imperial Governor. They each make Intrigue rolls: Blackmoor criticals and thus earns his tribe and all its subsidiary clans a +5 on their Prosperity rolls; Skalfi succeeds, neither gaining nor losing any benefit; Vamastal fumbles his roll and insults the Governor, invoking an audit by the dread Imperial Tax Collectors which gives the Sambari and its clans a -10 to their Prosperity rolls this season.
Blackmoor's advisors, however, fail their Stewardship roll even with the +5 bonus, squandering away any advantage the King might have gained them by complete mismanagement of the tribal grain reserves. This garners them a -5 penalty to Prosperity, completely losing the earlier +5 bonus. The clanheads will be forced to make their Stewardship rolls with no bonus at all. Tribal Prosperity will suffer as a result of this, but at least the clans' Prosperity may not.
Skalfi's advisors succeed in their Stewardship, so the Lismelder continue to break even. Lismelder Prosperity remains proverbially steady and conservative, and its clans can expect much the same.
Vamastal's advisors critical their Stewardship despite the burden of their liege's lack of finesse, discovering resources where none were thought to exist. This gains them a +5 bonus to partially offset the -10 inflicted by the Tax Demons. Although the Sambari coffers are nearly emptied and the clans must expect to make good on Vamastal's Folly, shrewd administration could still keep most of the tribesfolk from going hungry this season.
I have noticed that I am become a rambling Ramalian rambleweed, so I shall beg off further comment at this time....
Long live the Undead Trout!
Michael Schwartz
kidfenris_at_aol.com
Powered by hypermail