> What is so great about having mechanics for persuasion, bargaining,
> Debating(!), etc...
>
> One rarely needs dice for such. Surely these things are handled by
> roleplaying...
Hmm, the fact that RuneQuest had such rules was one of the things that attracted me to it. I might want to play a character who's better at haggling than I am -- or want a way to feel that the GM is treating me fairly when I attempt to sell a caravan of goods. Or even a way to track my progress at becoming a better bargainer -- all the way up to Rune Lady of Issaries.
It's really no different from the Cowboys & Indians problem (apologies if something different is played in Europe -- it's where you point your finger at your friend and yell, "Bang! I got you!" and he replies "Did not!") which games with combat mechanics aim to solve. Except that kids seldom yell, "You agreed to buy my cow for 10 pieces of silver!" "Did not!"
Trotsky slanders
> this was precisely the sort of thing that the God Learners went
> about doing, and we all know what happened to *them*
Yup, they ruled huge portions of Glorantha for over 400 years (longer than Arkat's rule, for example, or the rule of a more Earthly 13 colonies). Their runic system is still widely used. Many of the cults they made are still extant. I could go on.
Learning about gods is not the flaw of the God Learners. Disrespect for the world they lived in was their downfall.
David Dunham <mailto:dunham_at_pensee.com> Glorantha/RQ page: <http://www.pensee.com/dunham/glorantha.html> Imagination is more important than knowledge. -- Albert Einstein
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