Bell Digest v931217p1

From: RuneQuest-Request@Glorantha.Holland.Sun.COM (RQ Digest Maintainer)
Sender: RuneQuest-Request@Glorantha.Holland.Sun.COM (RQ Digest Maintainer)
Organization: Lankhor Mhy and Associates
To: RuneQuest@Glorantha.Holland.Sun.COM (Daily automated RQ-Digest)
Reply-To: RuneQuest@Glorantha.Holland.Sun.COM (RuneQuest Daily)
Subject: RuneQuest Daily, Fri, 17 Dec 1993, part 1
Message-ID: 
Precedence: junk

X-RQ-ID: Intro

This is the RuneQuest Daily Bulletin, a mailing list on
the subjects of Avalon Hill's RPG and Greg Stafford's 
world of Glorantha.  It is sent out once per day in digest
format.

More details on the RuneQuest Daily and Digest can be found
after the last message in this digest.


---------------------

From: boliv@marin.unit.no
Subject: Lightbringers' Quest
Message-ID: <9312160924.AA27631@mkws2.marina.unit.no>
Date: 16 Dec 93 11:24:30 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 2649


  I have been playing RQ for almost 10 years now and, I am
currently playing a Wind Lord (RQ II version :). I was thinking
about running a LBQ, in our party, there are many people who are
also interested in it. So the GM offered me to think about it,
and to think about my opinion on Orlanth and which aspect I would
like to orient my character. I have started doing so, and I would
like to hear other reflections about the subject. So if any of you
have planned a LBQ (player or GM) let me know about it, I would
be deeply grateful for some help...

Derkyn  

---------------------

From: robmh@aol.com
Subject: Sandy's Tekumel Mechanics
Message-ID: <9312160426.tn61265@aol.com>
Date: 16 Dec 93 09:26:56 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 2650

Subject:  Sandy's Tekumel Mechanics
  Consider me a strong tenor in what I hope turns into a huge chorus of
requests that you publish your RQumel mechanics.  
--Rob Heinsoo

---------------------

From: robmh@aol.com
Subject: Oasis Folk (of Gor!)
Message-ID: <9312160427.tn61283@aol.com>
Date: 16 Dec 93 09:27:27 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 2651

Subject:  Oasis Folk (of Gor!)
Well, I dunno about these Oasis Folk slaves, Sandy.  I understand their
useful functions.  But it looks like such a bad deal for the poor sods that I
don't see them having much reason to go on living.  Seems like they'd need
some form of Secret Life (of Walter Moonbroth?) to keep them going, some
religious validation of their miserable lives.  I may have time to write a
proper comment when I'm back with my computer three days from now; in the
meantime I'll just pop out a few possible or trivial heresies:  

1.  In a very sick Glorantha (the kind Grant Morrison would run) the Oasis
Folk are actually part and parcel of dear old dead Genert.  Little-known
secret:  skin an Oasis Folk and you've got another piece of parchment for the
Desert Trackers to kill themselves with.  .....     Hmm, have to think about
that one to raise it above the level of hopelessly sick and stupid.
    or
2.  Oasis Folk are Three Bean Circus members in training.  Learnin'
non-violent effectiveness the hard way.  Very hard way ("Love the
nomads...you must love the nomads...").
    or
3.  The Oasis Folks' BIG secret is that they are actually descended from the
humans who lost their bet to the Morocanth....  they could either be a small
group of rebels who succeeded in covering their tracks by making a deal with
a Praxian goddess to mind the oases until some turning point I haven't
specified yet (I mean, think about it, they've GOT to be millenialists)....  
or they could be somewhat more blackguardish types, who managed to switch
members of other tribes into their place in the Morocanth herds....

OK, more when I'm back in town.  I'm happy to have finally noticed this
list's existence.  Overjoyed, actually!  

Bonus rumor:  The Three Beans of the Three Bean Circus are chocolate, coffee,
and hazia...  smoke enough and you'll think it's a bean....

--Rob Heinsoo

  

 

---------------------

From: niwe@ppvku.ericsson.se (Nils Weinander)
Subject: Sandy P's RQ/Tekumel + other
Message-ID: <9312161007.AA25528@ppvku.ericsson.se>
Date: 16 Dec 93 12:07:36 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 2652

In message <9312151719.AA03556@idcube.idsoftware.com> Sandy writes:

>Because of the enormous amount of toil expended on this project, I'd  
>like to publish it in the RQ Daily, but I feel diffident about it,  
>because it's actually aimed at Tekumel fans, not Glorantha fans. If I  
>get a huge chorus of requests for publication, I'll release it, but  
>not otherwise.

If people don't think it's suitable for the RQ Daily perhaps a special Digest
issue can be dedicated to this Tekumel material. I have not played in Tekumel
but I would sure like to see the stuff.

Now a thought on an issue debated earlier: Storm Bull weapon use. CoP says that
Storm Bulls break taboos freely, thus I think an SB wouldn't care a damn about
tribal weapons but use whatever suit them (big and destructive most likely).

Nils W

---------------------

From: heiskanen@eemeli.enet.dec.com (DC/PTG)
Subject: Adam's Collection ?
Message-ID: <9312161209.AA11579@enet-gw.pa.dec.com>
Date: 16 Dec 93 12:10:14 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 2653


Anybody knows where I can find the Adam's Collection? I need pages 320-379
and I'd prefer the postscript format.

What other RPG groups exist in Internet ?

-Antti


---------------------

From: markg@engrg.uwo.ca (Mark Gagnon)
Subject: Tekumel/RQ Rules
Message-ID: 
Date: 16 Dec 93 04:15:14 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 2654


> From: sandyp@idcube.idsoftware.com (Sandy Petersen)
> Date: 15 Dec 93 05:19:36 GMT
> X-RQ-ID: 2647

> Loren Miller says:
> 
> >maybe Sandy would like to explain how he decided on the rules he  
> >came up with for RQ/Tekumel.
> 
> 1) I completely altered the RQ magic system for RQ/Tekumel. There is  
> no spirit magic, no divine magic, no sorcery. Only Tekumel-style  
> magic, which I used to try to get the lethal flavor of Tekumel as  
> much as possible, while still using the ease of RQ rules such as d100  
> rolls, resistances, etc. It took several months to get the stuff  
> hammered out, along with converting all the Tekumel spells to my new  
> magic format. 
> 
> Because of the enormous amount of toil expended on this project, I'd  
> like to publish it in the RQ Daily, but I feel diffident about it,  
> because it's actually aimed at Tekumel fans, not Glorantha fans. If I  
> get a huge chorus of requests for publication, I'll release it, but  
> not otherwise. 

Sandy:  I, for one, am interested in seeing these rules; I've been 
collecting various bits over the past 5 or so years, and it's sad
to say that you're right: excellent game world, lamentable mechanics.
Please do publish these rules, or perhaps post theme to GRASS (hi, Loren).
Any way, that's my vote... ;->


Mark Gagnon (markg@prism.engrg.uwo.ca)  University of Western Ontario
=====================================================================
Ignus aurum probat, miseria fortes viros  
                                Fire tests gold; adversity strong men



---------------------

From: timbee@timbee.rnd.symix.com (Tim Beecher)
Subject: Subject: Heroquesting - Unepected Changes
Message-ID: <9312151451.AA14710@timbee.rnd.symix.com.symix>
Date: 15 Dec 93 14:51:30 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 2655


Heroquesting Question:

This is related to the troll heroquest that was mentioned earlier .
There was an incident in a campaign I was in where one of the characters had
angered other characters by abandoning them in a foreign land where only he
spoke the language so he could train for heroquesting . The heroquest was
climbing into the sky while the ladder was defended from various enemies .
Needless to say , there was going to be one more wave of enemies than was 
expected . What would this have done to the heroquest ? I don't believe our
group would have fit the description of any of the groups attacking (Humakt ,
Wachaza(?), and some Orlanthi Types ) . What 
happens when something unrelated to the heroquest intrudes ? 

---------------------

From: JARDINE@RMCS.CRANFIELD.AC.UK
Subject: Yinkin & RQ Tekumel
Message-ID: <9312161451.AA10492@Sun.COM>
Date: 16 Dec 93 13:29:00 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 2656


Ref: Yinkin

Another Yinkin Story

Once Storm Bull bullied Yinkin (who came crying? to Orlanth).  
Orlanth then subdued Storm Bull with only a lariat (lasso) and a sharp stick.  
This is the mythological basis for the Mastery of the Storm heroquest; 
where Orlanthi prove their dominance over Storm Bull berserkers and if 
successful against the giant horned herder at the top of Storm Walk mountain 
they gain the power to Calm Storm Bull Berserkers.  The alternative version 
of this quest involves stealing a Sky Bull from his herd to serve as a steed. 

I once ran a nice little version on this with two PCs one a Wind Lord and 
the other a Storm Kahn Minotaur!  They were both friends so there was very 
little chance of either getting seriously hurt (bar an unfortunate critical 
or other nasty).  However they both wanted to re-enact their Gods' actions 
and if possible gain some benefits (although rewards for mini-quests are 
obviously less than for the full blown quest).  

The rules:  
Orlanthi may only use a sharp stick (treat as spear - 1 damage), a lasso or 
a whip (not mentioned in mythology but in the spirit of the quest).  They may 
wear any armour as this is not mentioned.  

Storm Bull may only use natural weapons and a horned helmet (head but for 
d6 damage), also they may only wear leather or cuirboulli armour (no metal). 

Generally this quest has the odds stacked on the side of the Orlanthi if 
both are human.  However, when one participant is a VERY large minotaur 
(and bright too -- INT 11!) the odds are not so certain.  

Generally the way the quest went was that the minotaur roll played a very 
effective (but non-violent) bullying session on the Wind Lords shadow cat 
familiar on the Storm Bull High Holy Day.  Later the Wind Lord prepared 
himself and initiated the quest on the Orlanth High Holy Day.  He was 
specially prepared as the Pavis underground temple has a special lasso 
made of braided steel which is used if the SB is very strong (but not a 
troll!).  

When the to characters met on the hero plane the SB was still bullying the 
cat and inventing new and even nastier torments.  After lengthy ritual 
challenges (and the cat beating a fast retreat) the two set at each other.  
At first everything seemed to go the minotaur's way with the Orlanthi 
desparately dodging the horns and trying to lasso it.  He was too afraid 
to prod it with the stick in case he wounded it and made it go berserk!  
The minotaur knocked the Orlanthi down a few times and only his shield 
spells and armour kept him alive (the MPs were being used very fast with 
healing etc.)  Quite soon the minotaur got a special hit and went berserk 
anyway, despite the Orlanthi's refusal to goad him.  Just then the Orlanthi 
got lucky and lassoed the beast (he was not very good with a lasso as you 
can imagine).  Still it looked as if all he had done was grab the tiger by 
the tail...  However, intelligence won over mindless brute strength and the 
Orlanthi released a HUGE sylph which grabbed him and the rope and soared up 
into the air with the minotaur dangling on the end of the rope with both 
of his arms pinned to his sides, being slowly crushed by his own weight.  
The minotaur tried to break the lasso several times (STR 40 or 50 I forget) 
but eventually he ran out of fatigue and slumped unconcious.  Thus the 
Orlanthi won, but it was a close run thing.  

Rewards:
	The Orlanthi gained the ability to calm SBs on a POW * 2 roll (as 
Chalana Arroy can), it would have been POW % in the normal human v. human 
version of the quest but I thought that this one was tougher! 
	The Minotaur (who had roleplayed really well) was allowed an 
increased chance to stop his berserk rage (POW * 2 I think) as he had 
learned that brute force is not always the solution and mindless violence 
does not always win!   
	The only creature who I have not thought of a reward for is the 
shadow cat (I would appreciate comments and ideas), but it just may be that 
that is one of the prices an alynx pays for becoming a familiar.  

	If the SB had won the reward would have been something like berserk 
at will once per day!  


Ref: 2647 (RQ Tekumel - Sandy Petersen)

	Tek Yes,  I love the world but I have been completely wiped out by 
the rule system.  I would love to see your RQ Tekumel rules.  

	-----
	Lewis
	-----

---------------------

From: gkca16@udcf.gla.ac.uk (S.Phillips)
Subject: Hi from Sam with new Account
Message-ID: <12513.199312161618@rockall.cent.gla.ac.uk>
Date: 16 Dec 93 16:18:57 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 2657

(Sorry for non RQ note)
I have a new E-mail account:-
mail either
                 S.Phillips@gla.ac.uk
or
                 gkca16@udcf.gla.ac.uk

I know have access to ftp. Could someone mail me as to where to RQ archive
is (are). Thanks!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Happy Sacred Time 

Cheers,

Sam. x

---------------------

From: henkl@yelm (Henk Langeveld - Sun Nederland)
Subject: Re: sandy's terqumel
Message-ID: <9312161637.AA16243@yelm.Holland.Sun.COM>
Date: 16 Dec 93 18:37:38 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 2658


I've already suggested to Sandy that he sends
the RQ Tekumel rules to the Digest submission
address.  I will then incorporate them in a 
special issue.

I'll try to coordinate this with the managers
of the Tekumel mailing list, so we could
make a combined publication.

Note that this still falls under the charters
of the Daily and Digest: *Both* RuneQuest and
Glorantha.

--
Henk	|	Henk.Langeveld@Sun.COM - Disclaimer: I don't speak for Sun.
oK[]	|	My first law of computing: "NEVER make assumptions"

---------------------

From: sandyp@idcube.idsoftware.com (Sandy Petersen)
Subject: re: RQ Dailiy
Message-ID: <9312161630.AA06169@idcube.idsoftware.com>
Date: 16 Dec 93 04:30:52 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 2659

A personal correspondent asked about Sog's Ruins (in Prax). Here goes  
a tiny bit of background stuff:

Sog was a minor water deity, a grandson of King Undine. Sog is also  
parent of the three Father Undines who spanwed the nine Giant  
Undines. Really, he's no more than a really big undine, but the God  
Learners picked him out of the mass and used their techniques to make  
Sog into one of their most important sea gods. There are little  
peninsulas and places all along Genertela's southern coast named  
after Sog (I believe there's a Sog City in Kethaela). After the God  
Learners imploded, Sog sank back to his rightful position -- that of  
being just another name on the ocean pantheon's genealogy.

Sog's Ruins was a God Learner port (then named just plain Sog) during  
the Second Age. Today, Sog's Ruins is fairly far inland. It is not  
known whether the God Learners had cleared a channel to it, or  
whether the sea came further inland in those days. 


Anyway, it holds Second Age artifacts and evil curses, along with  
lots of sea-type spirits. It's kind of like a little bitty Pavis, so  
far as treasure goes. The monsters include things like intelligent  
patches of quicksand that pursue you and undines made out of acid.  
Though these might sound plenty mean, they're not everywhere at once,  
and Sog's Ruins aren't any more dangerous than any other ancient heap  
in Glorantha (for what that's worth). Shamans sometimes try to  
contact water entities there, with what they claim is much greater  
success than most places in Prax. 


At least one guy (not me) claims that the evil water being inside the  
Puzzle Canal of Pavis was originally from Sog's Ruins. 


Brandon Brylawski says:

>Umath represents uncontrollable, destructive Storm - Storm
>before it learned Mastery (Remember, two of his sons are Valind and  
>Ragnaglar).

Not to mention Vadrus and Storm Bull, and other crude, brutish gods  
such as Humakt. Technically, Valind is not Umath's son, but his  
grandson (another grandson is Gagarth). Ragnaglar's relationships are  
unclear, but he is probably not one of Umath's sons (though he's  
almost certainly a descendant), which are traditionally five in  
number: Umbrol, Vadrus, Storm Bull, Humakt, and Orlanth. Of course,  
in Orlanthi kinspeak, just like in ancient Hebrew, "son of" can be  
used to mean "descendant of". 


>To my understanding, Umath is no longer worshipped,
>at least not in Dragon Pass. 


Technically, this is true. Umath isn't really accessible nowadays,  
any more than is Gata. In general, ancient primal deities are hard to  
get to in modern Glorantha. Look at Subere and Magasta -- of cosmic  
importance, but with hardly any active cult. 


Although Umath doesn't boast a cult, among the Orlanthi  
storm-oriented shamans (a common type) are usually considered Umath  
shamans. After all, they spend all their time with sylphs and other  
such raw air entities, Umbroli, etc. Some of the mightiest of these  
shamans claim to have met and talked to Umath, but they probably used  
something akin to Brandon's technique (an item from each of his sons  
-- note that the Vadrus item might be hard to come by). 


re: The Sloth spirit

What if the Sloth spirit caused you to fall asleep at inconvenient  
moments, as per narcolepsy? Perhaps each time you did anything  
strenuous (at the GM's decision), you'd have to roll 1d100. If you  
rolled equal to or less than the spirit's POW, you fall asleep for a  
half-hour or so. That would be plenty inconvenient, and would force  
the player to try to "avoid hard labor" as Thom Baguley put it  
(though he did spell "Labor" in the evil British manner). 


re: RQ/Tekumel

I have decided to post my RQ Tekumel stuff in both the RQ Digest and  
the Tekumel Digest, if I can ever figure out how to access the latter  
(please don't e-mail me and tell me it's at  
tekumel-request@boombox.micro.umn.edu because I know that much -- but  
I can't get my mail to go through). Don't worry, I'm sure I'll figure  
it out in the next few days. In the meantime, I'll start formating  
the stuff for the RQ Digest. 

---------------------

From: ECZ5RAR@MVS.OAC.UCLA.EDU (Anthony Ragan)
Subject: Off topic, Sandy's Tekumel
Message-ID: <9312161730.AA08097@Sun.COM>
Date: 16 Dec 93 17:29:00 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 2660

Hi all,

Sorry that this is off-topic but, since Loren and Sandy mentioned it.......

Yes!!  I want to see those Tekumel sorcery rules you devised.   Please
publish them here or in a distributed mailing.

--Anthony (hoping he's of a large chorus of yeas)
  ecz5rar@mvs.oac.ucla.edu -OR- IrishSpy@aol.com
  Rune Chia Pet of Ernalda

---------------------

From: jjm@zycor.lgc.com (johnjmedway)
Subject: RQ-FAQ
Message-ID: <9312161734.AA21049@hp0.zycor.lgc.com>
Date: 16 Dec 93 17:34:57 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 2661

It has been pointed out that there are a few notable omissions from the
"RQ-FAQ" document which I post irregularly to rec.games.frp.misc.

In particular, all of the items I have listed are American or English,
providing no information to people interested in the French, German, 
Finnish, et al, sources for RuneQuest or Gloranthan info. (I'll use the
old and lame - "I'm an American, and am totally ignorant of anything else."
excuse here).

Would some kind soul(s) pass info about other magazines to me. I'll add
them to the next FAQ posting (probably January, after I get back to town).

BTW: Current subject areas of the FAQ:

>>  The RuneQuest Daily:
>>  RQ4 Playtest Discussion:
>>  Archive: (Shannon's archive on soda)
>>  Tales of the Reaching Moon
>>  RuneQuest-Con:
>>  Convulsion:


---------------------------------------------------------------------------
|  john_medway@zycor.lgc.com  |  Landmark Graphics Corp  |  512.292.2325  |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------


---------------------

From: 100270.337@CompuServe.COM (Nick Brooke)
Subject: RQ-Tekumel
Message-ID: <931216190755_100270.337_BHB103-1@CompuServe.COM>
Date: 16 Dec 93 19:07:55 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 2662

___________
Sandy said:

> Almost any rules will work better than the lame stuff published with
> Tekumel -- it's heartbreaking to me to see such a great background
> world saddled with such terrible rules.

Who (on reading them) wouldn't agree?

Though I also find Tekumel less user-friendly than the Gloranthan releases 
of the eighties: having things like "What Dad Said" and "What the Vicar 
Said" makes a real difference when you're approaching an alien culture. 
Which is my excuse for never running a game there, despite intense and 
often oppressive peer-pressure to do so. If the rules burden were removed, 
I'd be strongly tempted (and strongly urged, I imagine) to give it a go.

> Because of the enormous amount of toil expended on this project, I'd  
> like to publish it in the RQ Daily, but I feel diffident about it,  
> because it's actually aimed at Tekumel fans, not Glorantha fans. If I  
> get a huge chorus of requests for publication, I'll release it, but  
> not otherwise.

I for one would absolutely, unconditionally *love* to see it. If demand is 
poor, perhaps Henk could fix a limited-distribution Digest for it (as with 
Joerg's latterday hexmaps)?

Sorry to have been so quiet on the Daily of late. Can I chip in with two 
things on recent topics dear to my heart?

1)	When looking at Carmanian religion, think of the Persians.

2)	The Vadeli eat babies to stay immortal. Lovely people, really.

====
Nick
====

---------------------

From: carlsonp@wdni.com (Carlson, Pam)
Subject: RE: Nature of Chaos; Non-Gloranthan Chaos
Message-ID: <2D10ADF2@itlab.wtc.weyer.com>
Date: 16 Dec 93 18:50:00 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 2663



Paul Reilly wrote a nice article on the nature of chaos in Glorantha. He 
even included an Arkati view of the importance of Darkness in defending 
against chaos, which for me (who often plays solar types) was quite 
eye-opening!

So far I've run RQ only in non-Gloranthan settings.  As a biologist and all 
around science-nut, my worlds tend to operate with more physical consistency 
and less myth than Glorantha.   I like to interpret chaos as a sort of wild 
genetic mutatory force; when intelligent beings begin to manipulate chaos, 
(spirits, gods, sorcerers, priests), new species or organisms can be created 
rather quickly -- in generations rather than in eons.

Organisms fall into chaos categories of varying levels, based largely on how 
they reproduce.   Mild,  usually acceptable forms like centaurs always 
"breed true", moderate forms like ogres and shapeshifters have highly 
variable offspring, and these phenotypes often skip generations and show up 
unexpectedly.  Very chaotic forms like broo and scorpionfolk have a 
tremendous amount of variability (and a lot of dead offspring).  Anything 
more chaotic than these is modelled on the Hymenoptera (bees, hornets): most 
are sterile and serve a reproducing queen somewhere.

Chaos tends to be quite aimless by itself.  It becomes a menace only when it 
is controlled by intelligent beings looking for a cheap army.  Intelligent 
chaotic  creatures sometimes attempt to take settled  regions for plunder or 
hunting.  They also like to capture humans and other "ordered" organisms to 
provide their queens with new genetic material.  Thus, while chaos is not 
out to destroy the world,  it is still an effective villain.

I would be interested to hear of other interpretations of chaos used in 
non-Gloranthan worlds.