+-Wandering Gods---------------------------------------------+
>Orlanth, and says "hi"... Would they encounter a hero or =
>Avatar of Orlanth? Does that make sense?
The impression I get is that they would meet another =
heroquester, maybe from a different time, filling the Orlanth =
role. The 'deeper' the quest is, the closer this encounter =
will be to actually being orlanth, but to truly encounter =
Orlanth, you have to be questing so 'deeply' that you =
actually become the god/hero that you are following, and =
never come back.
+-Ob/Sub-----------------------------------------------------+
>would like it to.
Hang on there, let me just chime in with my "objectivist" =
viewpoint: "There is an underlying Truth, there is a 'Real =
History of What Happened', but the 'events' are frequently =
fundamentally different in nature to our worldly experiences, =
so when glimpses of Mythic Truth are seen, we try to =
translate them into real-world analogies. Hence a real event, =
'The Great Darkness' is seen as having different, or subtly =
different, causes by different cultures. Of course, there is =
the occasional culture that really *does* get it *wrong*, but =
none ever get it *right*. In fact, two cultures may interpret =
the same mythic 'truth' in what seem to be opposed ways, but =
they are both right. Such is the fundamentally =
incomprehensible nature of mythic 'reality'."
Or to sum up, There is an Objective Glorantha, but no-one can =
see it, so everyone sees it Subjectively, hence Slightly =
Incorrectly.
I like Glorantha this way, and seeing a book of "The Real =
Truth Behind Gloranthan Myth" would spoil it for me.
+-RQ/Glorantha/AH/Chaosium-----------------------------------+
>revamped RQ to attempt to challenge TSR?
>Without Glorantha, not bloody likely, methinks.
Oh, I don't know. Glorantha is not everyone's cup of tea, =
it's too complex and strange for a lot of people.
+-Birthright-------------------------------------------------+Just an aside, appologiess for non-Glorantha content, but I =
have to reconsider my opinion of DnD and TSR - Birthright is =
Utterly Brilliant.
I'd love to run a Birthright-style campaign in a Gloranthan =
setting. Hm. I'll have to think about that. Any ideas?
+-Spirit Swapping--------------------------------------------+
>attacks it's killer in spirit combat and if successful can =
>posess and take over the killer's body. The fact that this =
>is a chaos feature might clue you in to just how unnatural =
>this sort of practice is to Glorantha.
Hang on, didn't Forang Farosh do something similar? Just =
because it exists as a chaotic feature, that doesn't mean =
that the act itself is fundamentally chaotic in nature.
+-Age--------------------------------------------------------+
>BTW, I agree with Nick that 1968 is a recent year to be born =
>- I vehemently deny that thirty is just around the corner!! =
>I will pass the Bar before I'm thirty, I'm still young I =
>tell you - still young!!!!!!
Hmmm, '68 does seem to have been a good year for =
Gloranthophile births - that's three of us at least so far
>Peter "'68 was a good year" Metcalfe
Eh oop, there's four now.
>for once Nick and I [Danny Bourne] are in complete harmony =
>over something. '68 what a great year.
Wow! Five!
OK, I'm giving up counting at six.
>The day before christmas eve this year I will reach an age =
>of one third of a century.
So you'll be 33 and a third? That means you'll be 33 some =
time around 23rd August?
+-Foils, cursed again----------------------------------------+
>some thieving imbecile tried to persuade him to autograph a =
>bootleg photocopy of one of his books at a Con... what a =
>twit!
Well, I had bootleg copies of Tales #1 and #2 at Convulsion, =
and I got David Hall and Greg to sign them ...
+-Poor old MOB-----------------------------------------------+
Hey, don't call MOB cowardly or bigoted, some Austrialins are alright, and he's one of them.
+-Darksense--------------------------------------------------+
>>holding a big knife under your shirt [...] but can't tell =
>>you if you are holding the knife behind your back
>Why, what's the distinction? How do you quantify how much a =
>troll can "see through"? ...? ...? ...?
You Make It Up, like Dan did.
>Darksense will not allow a troll to scan for pregnancy, a =
>full belly, or old broken bones from a distance of several =
>meters. Take a look at how ultasound works.
No, don't do that, it's irrelevant. IMO Darksense is NOT =
ultrasound, it's Darksense! If a Troll in Glorantha can tell =
that a cow is hungry, then it has a chance of determining =
pregnancy a bit earlier than just from the bump. It's =
documented somewhere that they can, so if you believe that =
(possibly mistaken cultural perspective) then there you go. =
As to the mechanics, I like the more "darkness" oriented =
explanations, so they can see stuff inside you 'cos it's dark =
in there.
As to the more general 'darkness' isn't 'absence of light', =
is there a myth that explains why darkness goes away when =
light comes out? Was it something to do with what Yelm did =
when he went down under? Did he decree that this unpleasant =
'Darkness' element should stay out of His glorious sight?
+-The Digest Digest------------------------------------------+
>publication?
Excellent idea. Maybe someone from the Megacorp would act as Editor, or they might know someone who would ... Guys?
+-Spudz------------------------------------------------------+
>(potatoes) what about barley and other grains, usually taken =
>as being the standard Earth symbol in Glorantha?
Ah, but grain requires copious sun to ripen, whereas potatoes =
are sneaky and ripen underground, what's more, they turn =
poisonous if exposed to the sun. Very suspicious.
+-Ecky Thump-------------------------------------------------+
Good grief, I didn't think Black Pudding was unknown across =
the water, after all, TSR named a monster after it. It's =
coagulated pig's blood with barley and herbs mixed in, then =
squeezed into thick plastic sausage-skin things. Luvly.
>I saw it being made on a TV program recently and was =
>disappointed to note that the butcher used a dried, powdered =
>blood instead of the authentic messy fresh stuff.
My grandad still insists that the only way to tell if it's =
properly spiced is to dip your finger in the warm blood and =
taste it raw.
+-Legends & Heroes-------------------------------------------+
>followers or fellow initiates? =
I certainly think that this sort of support can take place. =
+-HQ Support-------------------------------------------------+
>empire might provide a lot less HQ boosting that a bunch of =
>desperate Sartarites?
One way to simulate this is to abstract a sort of group trait =
roll, frex. if an Orlanthi hero is questing to reduce the =
morale magics or the Lunar phalanx, the Orlanthi supporters =
would get a "Hate Lunars" trait roll, which is likely to be a =
much stronger passion than the Lunars would be able to fall =
back on as the majority of Lunar heartlanders have never seen =
an Orlanthi, let alone had Uncle Bolthor fed to their pet =
chaos horror.
+-Sorcery----------------------------------------------------+
Yes, I'd say so, one point each.
>create a power spirit binding ... ready to accept a power =
>spirit... I then find/summon one and then dominate it into =
>the object. Correct?
Spot on.
>Do sorcerers keep the ritual 'in mind' after creating their
>familiar?
No need to keep it round, cluttering up your Free INT
>Can sorcerers not have a spell 'in mind' (to save INT and =
>thus Presence) and yet know it and put it in mind when they =
>need it
Not officially, IIRC you lose spell percentage by not having =
Free INT allocated to a spell, and have to re-learn it. I =
have never liked this, and don't enforce it. Sorcerors IMG =
have spell books, and must pore over them 20% of the time to maintain their skills.
+-Pardon?----------------------------------------------------+
Equinox? in the middle of June? Solstice, surely.
[That was an unpleasant reminder of how far behind I still am =
to were written, I was a whole year younger!]
+-Toast------------------------------------------------------+
>French.
Speaking of which, what the hell is an "English Muffin"?
+-Alternative DI Suggestion----------------------------------+
Keep a track of total POW spent on divine magic, and other =
miscellaneous cult sacrifices, including the 1 POW to join =
the cult. This gives the character a Divine Intervention =
percentage chance. When rolled, the rolled number of points =
is subtracted from the character's DI pool, and if the =
leftover is less than their POW stat, then POW is reduced to =
this number. One point of POW is always lost.
eg: POW 15, DI 10, rolls 03%, ends up with POW 7 DI 7
POW 15, DI 20, rolls 03%, ends up with POW 14 DI 17
POW 15, DI 25, rolls 21%, ends up with POW 4 DI 4
POW 15, DI 30, rolls 30%, ends up with POW 0 DI 0
I just made this up, so if I've gaffed, don't flame, =
contribute!
+-Familiars--------------------------------------------------+
> cast spells or is there _another_ (damn) system they use?
>Q2. can sorcerers teach their familiar their spells to the % =
> they know them without violating vows or social/church =
> precepts?
>Q3. how do familiars learn the Arts?
Boy, three jolly good questions, and I've no idea about the =
answers. I'm v.interested in Sandy's sorcery, to the extent =
of writing some major alternatives and additions, but haven't =
used them in game, so this question never occurred to me. =
Altogether now: "I BELIEVE IN SANDY!"
+-PenDragon Pass---------------------------------------------+
>Pendragon Digest rather than here, but these are my ideas on =
>the subject.
Well, this is for GLORANTHA, not RUNEQUEST, so any game =
system that can be used to simulate Glorantha is welcome on =
this list IMO.
>I run Pendragon, and eagerly await the publication of a new =
>Gloranthan Role Play game. Is there a patron saint of lost =
>causes I might offer a prayer to? :)
You could pray to Aneris, Goddess of things that don't exist, =
as G:TG is clearly in her domain.
+-DI Stacking------------------------------------------------+
>seem fishily like hold-overs from those Dark Days, such as =
>talk of "stacking" a spell with a DI. <shudder>
I always interpreted this as "appeal for DI, and if you get =
it, it has this additional effect".
+-Troll Sorcery----------------------------------------------+
>Kiger Litor?
Ah, there's a can of wyrms. Interpreting RQ3 Trollpack =
literally, a Troll sorceror is a KL intitate who also is a =
sorceror just like a human sorceror, with access to the same =
spells. I asked Greg on two separate occasions whether Troll =
sorcerors could get KL spirit and divine magic, the first =
time he said "Yes", the second time he said "No".
Hint for anyone playing a Troll sorceror: get a chonchon as a =
familiar, they kick ass. Oh, and shapechange it into a hag.
+-Donkeys----------------------------------------------------+
Leading to some great ideas for donkey-demons - Brayelzebub, the Donkubus=
,
etc.
Sorry.
+-Dinosaurs--------------------------------------------------+
>dinosaurs (since the large ones would have a much bigger =
>impact on the Pass if present in large enough numbers to =
>support an ongoing population)
Surely, the Dragon Pass dinosaurs do not form an ongoing population, they're corrupted Dragonewts. A fallen Full Priest might become a Brontosaurus or a T Rex, but they would be rare.
+-X-Bows-----------------------------------------------------+
>>a clan specialized weapon, or strictly personal preferance?
>Crossbows are a bit "modern", technological and effeminate =
>for the Orlanthi, who (as Real Men) prefer real (short) bows
Doesn't KoS say that killing with a bow is always murder?
+-Uz Vows----------------------------------------------------+
>system, as I can't seen the Vows working the same????
Use my Journeys system! Ideal for following Arkat's way, as =
Journeys have been likened to Quests.
+-Traits-----------------------------------------------------+
>very rarely, if ever, dictates a player-character's behavior.
The only times I've seen it directly decide a player's course =
of action is where a player has said "My character should probably do <x>=
but I'm not too sure - I'll roll <appropriate =
trait>". Some players like an element of randomness in their =
character, it gives them a challenge "picking up the pieces".
>with all 5 cult traits at 16 ("legendary" status or whatever =
>it is called). His test is an Orlanth re-enactment HQ, and =
>has to roll all five traits. His chance of success is 33%.
So make it "2 out of 3" on each trait, then his chance goes =
up to 58%, and for traits of 19 it becomes 96%. Better? It =
makes no diference at trait level 10 (3%), and reduces your =
chance from 1% to 0.5% if you have all 5 traits at 8.
+-In Game Violence-------------------------------------------+
>the dice and punch the GM in the throat
That reminds me of an incident when we were playing RQ into =
the early hours of the morning, our characters were camped =
for the night, and one of the players had actually fallen =
asleep. Simon said to the other player, "So, Andy, exactly =
how DO you wake up Norman's character?", at which point he =
kicked the recumbent Norman sharply in the ribs, who =
instantly sprang awake and vigorously pulverised Andy with a =
cushion. Simon therefore did not penalise Norman's character =
for having just woken up.
+------------------------------------------------------------+
That's it - I give up - I'm still a week out of date, and I'm =
going to be offline for a couple of days, so I'm sending this =
anyway. Appologies for any duplication, you should have seen =
how much I wrote then deleted as superfluous duplication!
+------------------------------------------------------------+
PHIBBS_at_compuserve.com
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/PHibbs
Burton-Upon-Trent, UK
+------------+
| Phil Hibbs | | +------------------------+ | Immolation is more important than | | knowledge - Zoralbert Zoreinstein | +-------------------------------------+ ------------------------------
End of The Glorantha Digest V5 #25
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