From: RuneQuest-Request@Glorantha.Holland.Sun.COM (RQ Digest Maintainer)
To: RuneQuest@Glorantha.Holland.Sun.COM (Daily automated RQ-Digest)
Subject: RuneQuest Daily, Thu, 07 Oct 1993, part 2
Reply-To: RuneQuest@Glorantha.Holland.Sun.COM (RuneQuest Daily)
Sender: RuneQuest-Request@Glorantha.Holland.Sun.COM
Precedence: junk
The RuneQuest Daily and RuneQuest Digest deal with the subjects of
Avalon Hill's RPG and Greg Stafford's world of Glorantha.
Send submissions and followup to "RuneQuest@Glorantha.Holland.Sun.COM",
they will automatically be included in a next issue. Try to change the
Subject: line from the default Re: RuneQuest Daily... on replying.
Selected articles may also appear in a regular Digest. If you
want to submit articles to the Digest only, contact the editor at
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Send enquiries and Subscription Requests to the editor:
RuneQuest-Request@Glorantha.Holland.Sun.COM (Henk Langeveld)
---------------------
From: fletcher@u.washington.edu (Brent Krupp)
Subject: WHat happens to spirits on the spirit plane...
Message-ID:
Date: 6 Oct 93 03:44:37 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 1928
Some folks were discussing what spirits do when wandering around the
spriit plane, especially how they get POW gain rolls, and how big they
get. One detail of the rules was missed. In some piece of errata (I'm not
sure which) it is stated that spirits have NO maximum POW. They always
have ONLY a 5% chance of POW increase after getting a check, and their
POW can go through the roof.
To apply this to the scenario of spirits wandering around getting big and
maybe or maybe not withering away gradually, consider: one POW gain check
per week (the maximum possible) is going to work out to only 2.1 POW
gained per YEAR, because of the 5% chance. And that is for a spirit that
aggressively attacks other spirits all the time. So spirits are NOT
getting big too fast. However, they are getting big slowly, so in the
long run it may matter whether they wither away or not.
---------------------
From: awr0@aber.ac.uk
Subject: Greetings
Message-ID: <9310061948.AA13862@deca>
Date: 6 Oct 93 21:48:04 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 1929
Just a number of things to comment on.
1> Gods of Physical things (Zola Fel etc). I think the best way of examining
this is to consider a little known book going by the title 'Small Gods' Auther
a particular Mr. Pratchett. Now in general terms, gods like Zola Fel, do exist
in a standard godly term, but they have a physical 'size' that is determined
by the beliefs of the worshippers. If they believe that the river is only
so big, or this has been so defined from God time down as being a certain
size then the Gods physical presence upon the mundane plane cannot be extended
beyond those limits, excluding things like DI. Anyway very rugh idea, but I
like it!
2> I'm putting together another PD Cults book. I noticed in the 1.7meg mail
file I went through last weekend that a number of cults have been written
which look pretty cool. If people would like to send me any cults they have
written that I have not 'compiled' and published I'd willingly include them.
The last affair was nigh on 200 pages long of postscript, hopefully this
one will be a tad smaller. (I cannot send out the other PD stuff I compiled)
It should be available from other people or from a ftp site.
Bye for now,
May the black moon illuminate you....
Adam 'Lhankor Mhy Priest'
---------------------
From: erling@circus.bbs.no
Subject: 'elp!!
Message-ID: <2152.mail@circus.bbs.no>
Date: 6 Oct 93 20:14:04 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 1930
Hi. I've got a problem. You see, I'm being told I have to GM a group
here *now* (yesterday, really). Problem is, I haven't got anything at
all to run, and I can't think of anything either.
Can anyone kick me started?
(You'll have to answer me by email - I had to unsubscribe this list to
avoid exceeding my mail quota. Sowwy)
---------------------
From: mcarthur@fit.qut.edu.au (Mr Robert McArthur)
Subject: Spirit things
Message-ID: <199310062326.TAA04775@fitmail.fit.qut.edu.au>
Date: 7 Oct 93 14:26:46 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 1931
Colin Watson writes
...
> Whoah! Hang on, consider the following Rules:
> A/ You only get a POW check if you had less than 95% chance of success.
> If a spirit has 10 points less than you then you *don't* get a POW check.
> (IMHO it'd be better to say: must have less than *50%* rather than 95%,
> but them's the rules.)
> B/ Only one POW gain per week, maximum. Spirits *can't* build POW by the hour.
> C/ The maximum POW attainable via POW checks is equal to the species maximum.
>
> I think these Rules apply to non-corporeal spirits as much as they do to
> everyone else.
This species maximum idea is only applicable inside Time. Romp along to you
fav diety/benevelent maxi-spirit and they can pop your max up, add some onto
what you have, etc etc. Since Time dosen't throw you out when you return,
it would seem that you "species" maximum has increased when this happens.
> I'd say that building POW above species max should only be possible via
> mystical means such as Worship from mundane creatures, or possibly powerful
> spells. Maintaining unusually high POW would require regular worship. If
> worship ceased then the spirit's POW would drop.
As a (gross) example, consider the Bat. It has a basic power, and then has
some amount added depending on how many people worshipped it since the last
full moon (or something like that...). I would argue that it exists on a
number of planes - certainly MP and spirit at least since it can eat any
spirit that comes near it - and thus can get power from worship. A 'normal'
person cannot get power from worship unless they are not entirely in the MP.
eg. a shaman, existing on the MP and SP could, a farmer couldn't even if she
had 20,000 people devoted to her (she'd move onto the SP et al pretty quick
then though).
So, I would argue that there are two (known) ways of getting higher power.
Firstly from a deity/mucho spirit who knows how to 'bestow' the gift; secondly
through people worshipping you while you are outside Time. When on a heroquest,
it seems that having support from family/clan/etc can make a large difference
ie. actually have an effect (see support of Orlanth on the Lightbringer Quest).
Robert
---------------------
From: henkl@yelm (Henk Langeveld - Sun Nederland)
Subject: Pendragon 4th ed. has arrived in Europe...
Message-ID: <9310070016.AA10556@yelm.Holland.Sun.COM>
Date: 7 Oct 93 02:16:33 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 1932
Amersfoort, Holland, Oct 6
This afternoon, when I arrived at home, I was pleasantly
surprised to find a copy of King Arthur Pendragon in the
mail, accompanied by the CoC 1920s Investigators' Companion.
For sheer size, Pendragon is stunning. With 350 pages,
this must be Chaosium's largest product ever. -- Maybe
surpassed by Horror on the Orient Express...
I can only give a cursory listing of the contents, main
chapters are: Welcome to Pendragon, What Your Character
Knows, Character Generation, Your Family, The Lands, The
Peoples, Glory and Ambition, Women, Game Mechanics, Ideals
and Passions, Religions, Your Home, Wealth, Chivalric
Duties, Magician Character Generation, Magic and Faerie,
Scenarios, Characters and Creatures, concluding with seven
pages of Appendices.
Lots of artwork from previos editions have been used again
(I still like Lisa Free's Questing Beast).
Most people have wondered about the new addition to the
Pendragon rules: Magic. Some even doubt whether it is
even a Good Thing(tm) to have these rules.
The chapter on Magician Character Generation starts with an
explanation on the game concept of Insight. Very roughly
speaking, this is a combination of the RuneQuest concept of
POW and experience, of which the latter is most important.
Only magicians gain Insight, for actions and honours which
would get a POW gain roll in RQ.
Magic is (as always) linked with religion. Magicians are
either Pagan (Enchanter/Druid, Bard, Enchantress, Witch) or
Christian (Priest, Nun or Monk, Friar/Hermit). Character
generation starts with discovering a natural Talent, and
continues with finding the Starting Facts, Training,
Initiation, Continued Training, Qualification, and
Graduation.
The initiate can gain guidance from a divine patron: the
Pagan gods and Christian saints. (Hey Nick, Orlanth is
called Beli Lleu, or Sky-father here - initiates get +10 to
Weather Control).
Magic itself requires four components: Life force, Magic
Limit, Time, and Talent. These are essential. Life Force
is like POW and mp in RuneQuest, it's the "fuel" for magic,
drawn from the world around you. A Magician's Magic Limit
is the sum of all five religious traits. Any magical act
takes a certain Time to complete, typically hours. Talent
may have an effect on how easy certain actions are for a
specific magician.
My impression of the magic system is that it attempts to
provide more exact rules for magic than the original
GM's fiat in earlier releases, while still seriously
restricting the possibilities of magic, compared with
the hit and run approach in RuneQuest.
Compliments to Greg and Sam.
There's a lot of love in this book.
King Arthur Pendragon,
Epic Roleplaying in Legendary Britain
By Greg Stafford, with Sam Shirley
CHA 2716, ISBN 1-56882-006-2
---------------------
From: Brian.Curley@ccmail.adp.wisc.edu (Brian CURLEY)
Subject: Mounted Combat
Message-ID: <9309067499.AA749962181@ccmail.adp.wisc.edu>
Date: 7 Oct 93 01:49:41 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 1933
Eric Johnson-DeBaufre:
I think your interpretation of mounted combat sounds good. It's also extremely
realistic. The SB player should have known that this Zebra Rider's mount was far
faster than he was and there was no way he was going to get a strike in before
the ZR blew by him.
Brian Curley
"Zaphod's juss zis guy you know..."
brian.curley@ccmail.adp.wisc.edu
---------------------
From: Brian.Curley@ccmail.adp.wisc.edu (Brian CURLEY)
Subject: Protective Circle revisited...
Message-ID: <9309067499.AA749962242@ccmail.adp.wisc.edu>
Date: 7 Oct 93 01:50:42 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 1934
Dave Cake asks:
>what happens if it is cast (somhow!) in the air? Perhaps on a
>platform, or magic carpet. Can things come up through the floor?
I think common sense would dictate that the "flat" side of a hemisphere for Prot
. Circle would be "covered". In other words, the plane of the inscribed circle
is within the area protected. If you need to be exact, the protection and
whatever Resist is cast with it extend exactly to the depth that the inscribed
circle extends into the surface it is inscribed on. Frex, if it's a circle drawn
in the dirt, the protection extends about 1cm into the ground. If it's a circle
drawn on the bed of a wagon, it extends for the thickness of the wagon bed, etc.
Brian
"Mr. President...you can't say Dallas doesn't love you."
brian.curley@ccmail.adp.wisc.edu
---------------------
From: gal502@cscgpo.anu.edu.au (Graeme A Lindsell)
Subject: Barntar (plus the Quite Vincible Golden Horde)
Message-ID: <9310070333.AA07603@cscgpo.anu.edu.au>
Date: 7 Oct 93 13:33:16 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 1935
Just a couple of quick questions before I HeroQuest down
to Sydney to exorcise the Dead Spirits of my Past (a.k.a
a 10 Year Class of '83 School Re-union):
Barntar: what detail is available about Barntar, the Orlanthi
Plough/Farmer God, outside of KoS? I may be starting to GM
Dorastor: Land of the Big Laughs in a few weeks and I suspect
that there will some PC Orlanthi farmers in the party. If there
is no detail available I will play Barntar initiates as male
Ernalda initiates: men can rise to acolyte in the Ernalda cult.
Barntar cultists will have less associate cults than female
Ernalda cultists, since the female-only cults (Maran Gor and
Babeester Gor) won't associate with them. Are there any other
things that should be changed in Ernalda for Barntar initiates?
The Golden Horde. I noticed the other day (I think it was in
either Dorastor or KoS) that there was a 20 year gap between
the forming of the Golden Horde and the Dragonkill War. The
distance between Peloria/Prax and Dragon pass isn't that much.
Was there an extended war to reach the Pass or was the "Golden
Horde" a political (anti nonhuman) movement that took many years
to gather the support (a.k.a Nazis) or both?
Graeme Lindsell a.k.a gal502@huxley.anu.edu.au
---------------------
From: WALLMAN@VAX2.Winona.MSUS.EDU (Personal friend of Little Elvis)
Subject: Re: Pendragon traits
Message-ID: <01H3T4R4L4HE001ZXO@VAX2.Winona.MSUS.EDU>
Date: 6 Oct 93 17:46:20 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 1936
We tried traits for a few months and found little use for them.
Dislikes:
Their uses seemed to be small. If they aren't used to decide what a
character does, they don't seem to be more than bookkeeping method
that records the character's past actions. I think we can remember.
Some traits are easier than others. Opportunities abound to be
indulgent, greedy, and deceitful. Actions that are wordly,
temperate, or modest required more effort and thought. Some
worshippers seem to have a harder time emulating their god.
They don't seem to fit Glorantha. This is just a feeling of mine,
but they were designed for another game universe. The alignment
system (lawful good, chaotic evil, etc.) wouldn't fit Glorantha
either (too bad, huh?).
I would prefer something including runes (as in RUNEquest) and the
particular culture (using the same traits used for both trolls and
humans bothers me).
Likes:
The one thing I did find traits useful for was designing scenarios.
I tried to think of situations when a character would use one trait
or another (mainly just to try to get some use out of them). The
result was more scenarios that had to do with personal decisions and
social interactions than fighting.
Ed Wallman@vax2.winona.msus.edu
---------------------
From: gal502@cscgpo.anu.edu.au (Graeme A Lindsell)
Subject: Clay Swings His Players From The Yardarm!
Message-ID: <9310070352.AA08245@cscgpo.anu.edu.au>
Date: 7 Oct 93 13:52:10 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 1937
clay@cool.vortech.com (Clay Luther) writes re his players:
>act "Gloranthan." I agreed with this assessment, and admitted that I do
>deliberately spend a great amount of effort "editing" information their
>characters receive, spinning it towards their point of view, or withholding or
>altering/confusing information for the same purposes. After all, I contended,
Yes, I like doing that too. One problem I have is that Chaosium/AH player
handouts tend to give out too much information IMO. I found this problem
in Griffin Island and I'm seeing it again in Dorastor: I dont want to
give the players the handouts because I think it tells them too much.
Do other people do this?
Graeme Lindsell a.k.a gal502@huxley.anu.edu.au