> Simon Bray is sure a multi-talented guy.
Seconded.
> Not only is he a great Gloranthan artist, and has some interesting idea=
s
> on Fonrit, but he manages to post from a CompuServe account and not get=
> '=3D' after every line...
I may have cracked this one; I'll let fellow-sufferers know how if this message turns out looking OK. As you'd expect, the cure is very tedious: keep hassling the helplines, fellow victims!
On to Traits:
> It's a pointless complexity if Chaste/Lustful is sometimes called
> Permissive/Reserved. Granted, many games are played in a single =
> culture, but many aren't.
I used to disagree with David, but have since seen some of the oddities and absurdities this can lead to, during discussions with Greg.
My only caveat is that the names of the (explicitly Christian) traits in Pendragon may not be the most appropriate for their Gloranthan users, and=
certainly the descriptions should be rewritten with appropriate attitudes=
and examples from each major Gloranthan culture's POV (like the recent Wrotheli, if I have the name correct; though I would prefer "Orlanthi", and note the differences of a kingdom, tribe or clan in detail, rather than require a separate full writeup for each subdivision of a recognised=
major culture).
Also, maybe each cult deserves a description of its own approach to the
(5?) religiously-significant traits it embodies. This could surely be don=
e
in a cultural context: explaining the "different" Humakti take on Honesty=
,
Valour, etc. could be fun.
> Also, my philosophy is that traits must be rollable. I simply can't
> conceive of anyone making an opposed Natural/Chaotic roll.
Seconded, heartily. My own approach would be to make any odd attitudes he=
ld
by a minority of weirdoes into a Passion rather than a Trait. Thus Mystic=
al,
Cyclical, Draconic, Chaotic, etc. would be unusual stigma, rather than
"normal" Trait-pairs (each with an opposite) which were *expected*, in ev=
ery
case, to have the mundane version dominant. (Presuming that the Wrotheli
begin with Natural 15+, Chaotic 5-).
> If you're going to use personality traits, you really ought to integrat=
e
> them into the game system.
Ditto heroquesting, IMHO. I don't think different "rules" should be neede=
d
(all this faffing around preventing it turning into SuperRuneQuest would =
be =
irrelevant, if we recognised that all RQ characters are potential HQers,
that powerful HQers are powerful RQers, etc. The single rule-set can say
that Magic, Traits, Skills etc. "work differently" in heroquest situation=
s
than in more mundane ones; but like David I would prefer a single common
set of mechanics to be used by the same character in all circumstances.
NB: complaining that Pendragon "breaks" if everyone has skills in the 30-=
40
region is rather a waste of time. Work out how to avoid *giving away* man=
y
skills of that level, and you have no problem. RuneQuest "breaks" when th=
e
Crimson Bat fights Ralzakark, if you ask me...
> I would say that Sir E is a lot less selfish than Harrek. He wants to
> create and maintain a small community rather than become a god to a =
> larger community. He keeps the secrets he got from Hell to a small grou=
p
> of elite followers and avoids the pressure that becoming more powerful
> can lead to.
I recall a suggestion (I think by Paul Reilly) that the Red Goddess does something similar: by restricting her actual worshippers to an insightful=
elite (Priests and Illuminates), she prevents herself from being debased by the "pressures" of mass popular worship. Mind you, this tends towards Free Willy and Truly Solipsistic arguments: I merely throw it out in case=
anyone feels inclined to use it.
> I'm sure the people who buggered up curing the Trollkin Curse came back=
> home full of themselves.
Seconded.
::::
Nick
::::=
End of The Glorantha Digest V5 #27
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