> Besides the Castle Coast, other populations of Old Hrestoli are =
> found IMG in western Ralios, in Junora and in Jrustela.
These are all very plausible locations. I'm not too bothered by Jrustela (which seems to be meant to be an implausible melting-pot of Elder Race strongholds nowadays, per "Elder Races"), but 'tis true there'll be Old Hrestoli on the fringes of Loskalm -- after all, the corrupt church of the Bad Old Days (pre-Siglat) was an Old Hrestoli one.
I'd argue that, while the Chivalrous attitude must certainly be present in the Tournament Kingdom of Kustria (making it attractive to -- or tainted by the heresy of -- the Old Hrestoli), this can be explained by the legacy of Strong King Ulianus and Weak King Vikkard, and is not necessarily a survival from pre-Downfall times.
> To be allowed to pass the candidate test, a character has to
> have two caste skills at 60%...
You mean, to become a Candidate? Maybe this is so; but remember, the Loskalmi want more soldiers than the Old Hrestoli want Knights. The latter can set a higher threshold. Also, the "Test" here could well be identical to that set by a subsequent Master, whether this be trait- or skill- or action-based. Why write two different ways of assessing the same thing, for each of four castes?
> The recommendation means that the master thinks the character has
> the right stuff for the master's caste. A trait system may be used.
Absolutely. The Master (probably requires 3-5 caste skills at 90% to be recognised) has *no* ability to judge the Candidate's suitability for any caste other than his own, or his potential as a Knight. That's not what he's meant to be doing.
> Progression in the caste skills and proper state of mind (trait?)
> should earn the candidate his recommendation. =
I was thinking about having actual *deeds* (accomplished through play) rather than skills or traits be the determinant for each Master's approval: maybe to be passed by a Soldier, you must save lives in battle; by a Wizard, you must save someone's soul from sin; etc. I would greatly prefer these "tests" to be scenarios or solo-scenarios (a la Pendragon) rather than "90% in five Wizard spells -- check!"
> Once four caste masters vouch for the candidate, he is ordained a
> knight during a great ceremony.
Probably there's a time-limit: you can't usually become a Candidate above a certain age, and you have only a year to impress each Master. I'd like a sense of time slipping away during the candidate's various "apprenticeships"; I'd like to make them worry about "wasted time" learning things with no obvious game benefit (like standing guard, peeling spuds, singing in choirs, doing the accounts). An interesting counterpoint to the common RQ PC habit of spending every hour the Gods send in some form of study, training or self-improvement...
A Knight's attitude might be shaped by his birth caste. Suggested Templates for characters along the Castle Coast:
Peasant to Knight Perceval (original French version);
Gareth ("Beaumains")
Soldier to Knight Lancelot (Monty Python's version:
"I'll feint to the north-west...")
Wizard to Knight Galahad (pure Christian virgin,
archetypally boring and virtuous)
Lord to Knight Arthur, Gawain, etc. (a noble who
also happens to be a chivalrous
knight, goes out questing, etc.)
> When the Closing was lifted by Dormal, the Vadeli helped the Yggites
> to settle in an island near Pasos.
Izzat so? I thought the Wolf Pirates more than capable of seizing =
Ginorth by themselves...
> PLEASE NOTE BELOW MY CHAT WITH TAHGC. Apparently it seems that, if
> the authors were willing, RQ:AiG could be put up "en web" IF, say,
> we replaced "RuneQuest" with "BananaPeel" and "RQ" with "BP".
> Authors? Comments? I have a web site that would love to host THAT.
I'm sure you're deluding yourself. Avalon Hill still own the RQ3 game system; if RQ4 is a recognisable outgrowth of RQ3 (and it was last time I looked), you could be getting yourself into big trouble by posting it to the Web. Posting the work "without RuneQuest references" isn't simply a matter of removing the word "RuneQuest" from the product.
And, with Chaosium limbering up for Issaries, Inc., it's possible they won't want an unofficial freeware Gloranthan RPG to be distributed just now. (I think we're lucky to have "PenDragon Pass"!).
My own hope is for the RQ4 drafts and discussions to be turned into a series of articles suggesting "improvements" to RQ3. If we take a modular and not a holistic approach, there's a lot of Good Stuff in there, from a rules (if not necessarily a Gloranthan) perspective. Would Avalon Hill object to more articles about their game in print? (Who knows? Avalon Hill have demonstrated coprocephaly before now). But this involves more work than simply reprinting RQ4 chapter by chapter, and probably requires a more backward-compatible system, too.
::::
Nick
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End of The Glorantha Digest V5 #199
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