From: RuneQuest-Request@Glorantha.Holland.Sun.COM (RQ Digest Maintainer)
To: RuneQuest@Glorantha.Holland.Sun.COM (Daily automated RQ-Digest)
Reply-To: RuneQuest@Glorantha.Holland.Sun.COM (RuneQuest Daily)
Subject: RuneQuest Daily, Wed, 02 Feb 1994, part 3
Content-Return: Prohibited
Precedence: junk
---------------------
From: alex@dcs.gla.ac.uk (Alex Ferguson)
Subject: Yara Aranis/Gorgorma
Message-ID: <9402011735.AA05174@barren.dcs.gla.ac.uk>
Date: 1 Feb 94 17:35:29 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 2966
Me:
>About this Demoness Eater of Horses doodette, I'm rather vague on
>who she is, in a mythographic sense.
Joerg:
>She is one of the inspirations of Moonson (don't recall which one,
>sorry -- no doubt Nick or Colin or Joerg or Geoff etc. will know).
>She is the daughter of the Red Emperor and a really gross Demon that
>the Pent nomads have always hated and feared (my guess is Gorgorma).
David Dunham:
>In the Prosopaedia of Gods of Glorantha, Yara Aranis (horse eater and
>goddess of the Reaching Moon) is the daughter of the Red Emperor and
>Gorgorma. I'd say that makes her a new entity.
It's seems I'm outvoted, but I thought DEoH was was of (the diety who turns
out to be) _Gorgorma's_ titles. Am I just confused? At any rate, that's
who I meant in the above: not Yara Aranis, her Mommy.
So what do the Pentans call Gorgorma? Not `Gorgorma', I presume, since they
don't call Yelm `Yelm'.
Alex.
---------------------
From: watson@computing-science.aberdeen.ac.uk (Colin Watson)
Subject: Re: annoying rules questions
Message-ID: <9402012028.AA21387@condor>
Date: 1 Feb 94 20:28:15 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 2968
____________
Devin Cutler poses plenty rules questions:
>b) When a limb is maimed or severed, is the seven day limit to cast Regrow
>Limb still in effect.
Not as far as I'm aware.
>The RQ3 rules don't set any such limit. Does this mean
>there is no limit? That would essentially mean that no one would eve
>r lose a limb permanently in RQ3 Glorantha.
Anyone with enough cash and/or influence at a friendly healing temple can
probably have their limb regenerated/regrown. (Most people would be within 7
days' travel of an appropriate healer anyway, so setting an arbitrary time limit
doesn't affect much). Even if the healer doesn't charge, the cost can be high
since the patient can't indulge in strenuous work or training during the
lengthy period of recuperation. (I find that PCs habitually run into debt
as they try to support themselves while regrowth takes place). I think that's
punishment enough.
If the limb is damaged before growth is complete *then* you're crippled
permanently.
__
Many of the other questions you raise are down to the preference of the GM.
Here's my take:
c) Any healing stops bleeding.
d) I add the magic bonus to the chance of casting any type of spell (be it
spirit magic, divine or sorcery).
e) The vamp in Sun County is quite gross enough without all that divine magic.
f) The down-side of impaling weapons is that you tend to lose 'em when they
get stuck (which is annoying if you've just cast True Weapon).
g) Spirit block etc can be used to aid resurrection, I don't see why not.
The resurrectee spirit may cast spirit block also.
h) If spirit screen etc is available, learning spirit magic by defeating
spell spirits does indeed become easy. ('course, you may have to pay others
to cast the protective spells on you.) If a cult is willing to give you
a spell then defeating the spirit is "just" a ritual formality IMHO. Some
cults however might insist that you defeat spell spirits "unassisted" to
prove your worth.
i) Spirits have to be Visible in order to engage in spirit combat on the
mundane plane. Non-Visible spirits can engage other spirits on the spirit
plane.
j) I agree, the long-term fatigue rules are kinda flakey.
> d) How exactly does the Visibility spell work? Does it make a single Spirit
>Visible or all spirits within range Visible? What if you only want some of
>the spirits within range to be Visible?
As I understand it, the Visibility spell only affects Self (ie. it can only
be cast by a spirit on *itself* to make it visible on the mundane plane).
The purpose is not so much to allow others to see the spirit, but rather to
allow the spirit to interact with the mundane world (by casting spells,
possessing folk etc). From a PC point of view the Visibility spell is really
only useful for PC shamans who want to join the fray whilst they're
discorporate.
>e) Do spirits gain POW-gain rolls for overcoming targets' MP's?
This is a damn good question. There was some discussion a while back and the
consensus seemed to be that the 5% rule applied (I think...).
I don't allow *bound* spirits to increase their POW, but maybe I'm just mean
to my players. :-)
> g) Has anyone ever worked out a system for determining if a resurrect spell
>is available at any given moment.
My system is simple: Resurrection is not available. (Sorry.)
> i) What are the exact benefits that a Priest gets over an Acolyte? Until I
>know, I cannot figure out why anyone would be the former.
Priests have more responsibility, prestige and political clout.
>j) Can Magic Spirits be taught other spells? Also, do Sorcery-oriented Magic
>and Spell spirits also have Intensity, Duration, Range, Multispell, etc? What
>if a spirit knows a ritual; how can it cast the spell, since it has no body
>and presumably cannot perform many of the dances, gestures, etc. required by
>such?
More good questions. It seems clear that Magic Spirits should be able to
learn spirit magic spells by the normal method. I guess, in principle, a spirit
could sacrifice for divine magic (maybe cult spirits do so). I dunno about
sorcery... I suspect one would need to be corporeal to learn sorcery (but then
I would have suspected that one would have to be corporeal to *cast* sorcery,
which doesn't appear to be the case according to published material).
The whole idea of sorcery Spell Spirits seems strange to me. (Do you "learn"
the sorcery spell if you defeat such a spirit in combat?) As far as
sorcery-using Magic Spirits are concerned I think a (small) proportion will
know Duration, Range & Multispell but most will only have Intensity (reflecting
the distribution of sorcery skills in the living).
I propose that ritual spell spirits cannot cast their spells, otherwise
they are open to gross abuse: a sorcerer could force such a spell spirit
to cast permanent Enchantments using its own POW instead of wasting his...
___
CW.
---------------------
From: jacobus@sonata.cc.purdue.edu (Bryan J. Maloney)
Subject: Spelling and Humakti
Message-ID: <9402011745.AA27030@sonata.cc.purdue.edu>
Date: 1 Feb 94 07:45:33 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 2969
Well, Sandy objects about the "correct spelling" of wareran/wereran. I would
like to state that I wholeheartedly support people using either or both
spellings. I also like the Lhankor Mhy/Lankhor My difference. Why?
Well, just how standardized is ANY set of spellings of even proper names
in a pre-printing press society. The variation gives a nice flavor for
things, and is also anti Godlearner, which is another point in its benefit.
As for Humakti having their tongues cut out in the old Pavis Pack.
It never happened. Why? I don't have a copy of, and cannot purchase
a copy of, the old Pavis Pack. Therefore, events that occured exclusively
in this product never occurred in any campaign I run.
Why the Hell should I be expected to toe the line for a bunch of
out-of-print products that I cannot obtain nor can I even reasonably get
a complete, high-quality photocopy of them for a reasonable price from
the publisher? If it ain't in print, why the Hell should I have to to
its line?
This sort of priviliged knowledge one-true-worldism is one of the things that
really irks me and really irked a few newcomers to Glorantha whom I had
recently introduced to RQ. Either all the information should be freely
available or people should stop preaching "corrections" from sources that
cannot be had, even in facsimile.
---------------------
From: jacobus@sonata.cc.purdue.edu (Bryan J. Maloney)
Subject: Danfive Xaron
Message-ID: <9402011818.AA27580@sonata.cc.purdue.edu>
Date: 1 Feb 94 08:18:09 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 2970
Danfive Xaron is probably the most unsettling of the Seven Mothers, from the
standpoint of a modern, Western democracy viewpoint.
He is the god of Lunar "justice" but in the sense of rehabilitation--he
"guides" criminals onto the Lunar way. To me, this bespeaks a rather
nasty concentration camp or gulag mentality--take the criminals and make
their minds into the mold desired. "Arbeit macht frie", anyone?
Why, then, is DX not so heavily stressed in the frontiers? This is due
to DX's function. He is not a deity of conquest or assimilation. He is
a deity of internal control. This is to say that the Lunar way recognizes
that the "ignorant" or the "barbaric" may oppose what is "Right and Lunar"
but still be basically "of good heart". However, if one has actually grown
up within the confines of superior Lunar society and one still does not
conform and/or has antisocial tendencies, then this is an internal flaw
that must be corrected by the specialists of Danfive Xaron's cult.
Gee, kind of sounds like some schools of criminal psychology, doesn't
it...
---------------------
From: 100270.337@CompuServe.COM (Nick Brooke)
Subject: Warerans
Message-ID: <940201221001_100270.337_BHB126-1@CompuServe.COM>
Date: 1 Feb 94 22:10:02 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 2971
___________
Sandy said:
> Some people persist in spelling the dominant Genertelan racial type
> "Wareran". Despite possible misprints of which I am not aware, the
> name is "Wereran". I am in hopes that this misspelling can be
> corrected before it reaches the level of "Pharoah/Pharaoh", "Lhankor
> Mhy/Lankhor Mhy", or "Kahn/Khan".
Very surprising. I assumed the name came from Warera, the Ludoch Triolini
wife of Aerlit and mother of Malkion (thus all humanity). Not one of the
published or unpublished sources I've seen ever spelled her name "Werera".
There's only one RQ supplement that refers to "Warerans", frequently: the
Glorantha boxed set. Where it is always spelled "Wareran". The only place
I've ever seen "Wereran" is on yesterday's RQ Daily, in your post.
Odd.
_____________
Re: Pole Star
I like to imagine a Polaris-worshipping general having Star-worshipping
captains under him. Like his deity, he stands in the centre and directs.
They move, obedient to his command and design. This way, "Initiates" of
Polaris would in fact worship other stars under his command (that's the
ordinary officers). The Rune Lords (Generals) would be the true Polaris
worshippers.
I may be playing one this weekend, so I'll let you know what happens.
====
Nick
====
---------------------
From: mcarthur@fit.qut.edu.au (Mr Robert McArthur)
Subject: Sign the sheet, son!
Message-ID: <199402020054.KAA21232@fitmail.fit.qut.edu.au>
Date: 2 Feb 94 15:54:57 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 2972
Graeme A Lindsell says
> MOB provides the
> >Mercenary Contract of Leonidas the Short, Wind Voice
>
> Just a comment: you'd have to be pretty dim to sign this.
Given the literacy rate amongst hill barbarians, I would be surprised if
1 in 10 prospective merc's could get past clause 1 (let alone *sign* their
name XXX). Much more likely is that, as a Wind Voice, they would implicitly
trust the dude - as far as they could throw him for non-Orlanthi, and
pretty unquestioningly for Orlanthi. Remember, Initiates only see a small
amount of the politicing that would go on in the upper circles of Orlanthi
structures. If your chance to go adventuring is based on signing something
you can't even understand, most green merc's wouldn't bat an eyelid (IMHO).
For all its worth, Leonidas could have written anything in it - from the look
of it he doesn't want the smart/literate ones anyway!
Robert
---------------------
From: malcolm109@aol.com
Subject: RuneQuest Character Generator
Message-ID: <9402012210.tn220583@aol.com>
Date: 2 Feb 94 03:10:10 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 2973
I'm currently programming a Windows based character generator for RQ, and I'
d like to get some feedback on what type of feature and functions people
would like to see in this kind of a program.
FIrst, let me tell you about the work inprogress. I'm using the Players Book
from the Glorantha pack as the basis of the program. WHen you select NEW from
the FILES menu, you are presented with the various regions. These lead you to
specific homelands and/or races. It then uses the various homeland entires,
and information from RQ III, and Elder Races to generate characters. The
races I have included so far are human, aldryami, mostali, ducks, morokanth,
trolls, and newtlings.
After generating stats, Attributes, Skill Bonuses, and Base Skills a basic 15
year old will have been generated. You will then be able to accumpulate
previous experience based on parents occupation by choosing the Experience
mneu. I have not yet decided wether to include the Quck Experience option.
I have coded up to the basic 15 year old at this point. Please let me know
what you'd love to see in this type of a program. I open to all suggestions.
Malcolm
---------------------
From: carlf@panix.com (Carl Fink)
Subject: Roger Zelazny
Message-ID: <199402020335.AA17337@panix.com>
Date: 1 Feb 94 17:35:54 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 2974
jacobus@sonata.cc.purdue.edu (Bryan J. Maloney) writes:
R>Are the Praxian tribes cannibalistic? Now, I do NOT mean dietary cannibals.
>However, do they practice ritual cannibalism--eating portions of a dead
>foe to partake of strength, bind the spirit, etc.?
R>I know that several sources state that the Praxians are not cannibals and tha
>apprehensions of cannibalism are due to the mistaken identification of Herd
>Men as Humans, but could not these statements be those of pro-Praxian
>apologists or taken from simple outright lies?
See the Hungry Ghosts. There are cannibals in Prax, but not in the
"mainstream" Praxian lifestyle.
Joerg Baumgartner writes:
R>NICE theory, although conflicting with what Sandy says. Also: How does this
>explain the Reds and Browns?
Sandy *told* me this. "Explain"? Remember, on Teleos are humans of
all hues -- apparently the ancestors of all humans had weird skin
shades.
R>From: guy.hoyle@chrysalis.org
R>Pardon me if this has been addressed here before, but I was wondering why the
>gods of the Grazelanders (and presumably the solar-worshipping Pentans) are
>not
>thye standard solar deities such as Yelm, Dendara, etc.
> Are they in fact the same gods, with some differing names and attributes?
>Are they associated deities? Something else entirely?
You need to find a copy of the _Glorious ReAscent of Yelm_.
paul@phyast.pitt.edu (Paul Reilly) writes:
R>Yanafil Tarnils: Was Humakt's best student. I am profoundly influenced by
>the example of Rild and Yama in Zelazny's "Creatures of Light and Darkness"
>in getting a handle on this relationship.
Um, that's _Lord of Light_. _CoLD_ was a completely different book.
--Carl
---------------------
From: eco0kkn@cabell.vcu.edu (Kirsten K. Niemann)
Subject: Devin's Statistics
Message-ID: <9402012058.AA04082@cabell.vcu.edu>
Date: 1 Feb 94 20:58:47 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 2976
Hi all.
Couldn't resist pointing out that when Devin said:
...it states that no longer is one's illumination skill rolled for
each Sacred Time. I hated this rule because it meant that someone
with a mere 3% in Illumination would become illuminated inside of 33
years...
he has made a basic mistake in his statisitcs.
3% x 33 attempts is not equal to 99%. I don't have the tables handy,
but off the top of my head, I would guestimate that the actual total
chance of Illumination (or anything with this set of %ages) is really
around 40-60%.
Percentages aren't commutative.
Someone on the RQ IV playtest list was asking how to get Codex
magazine. Write me (Mike Dawson) at codexzine@aol.com.
Thanks,
Mike
>|<
---------------------
From: ddunham@radiomail.net (David Dunham)
Subject: Gods of the Grazers
Message-ID: <199402020608.AA16322@radiomail.net>
Date: 2 Feb 94 06:08:38 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 2977
>From: guy.hoyle@chrysalis.org
>Subject: GODS OF GRAZE
(You asked in the same Digest I posted on the subject, but I'll try to
provide more detail.)
>Pardon me if this has been addressed here before, but I was wondering why the
>gods of the Grazelanders (and presumably the solar-worshipping Pentans) are not
>thye standard solar deities such as Yelm, Dendara, etc.
Why? Ask Greg. (As to why they don't worship Dendara, it should be obvious
that horse nomads aren't interested in an agriculture goddess. Dendara is a
Dara Happan deity.)
My unsubstantiated belief is that the Grazers worship different gods than
the Pentans. It's been a long time since they've been the same people,
perhaps even before the Dawning.
> Are they in fact the same gods, with some differing names and attributes?
>Are they associated deities? Something else entirely?
As I run them, Dastal, Jardan, Henird, and Josad are very much like the
subcults of Yelm as written up in GoG (which is supposedly a Pentan version
of Yelm). They are four separate deities, each a son of Yu-Kargzant.
Although a man is an initiate of only one at a time, he is also always
considered to be worshipping Yu-Kargzant (each age group deity teaches
Yu-Kargzant Lore). As a man passes from one age group to the next, he is
initiated into the next cult (without having to spend a point of POW each
time). Only chieftains and nobles can join Yu-Kargzant's cult directly.
The age group deities are associated in some senses, but a Dastal initiate
can't learn magic from an "older" cult.
So is Dastal the same as Yelm the Rider? A God Learner would. A Pentan
visiting the Grazelands would recognize much of the ceremonies, but insist
that Dastal is a warped and inferior copy.
As I think I've mentioned, the Grazers consider Yelm to be worship of an
incomplete portion of the original Sun ("it don't mean a thing if it ain't
got that swing" -- the Dara Happan Yelm doesn't include the Movement rune
of Yu-Kargzant). Yu-Kargzant worship combines that portion with the deity
once known as Kargzant the Nomad, and is thus obviously a much better
deity.