Bell Digest v940205p1

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, Sat, 05 Feb 1994, part 1
Content-Return: Prohibited
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: rowe@soda.berkeley.edu (Eric Rowe)
Subject: Soda Archives Listing
Message-ID: <199402041041.CAA13121@soda.berkeley.edu>
Date: 3 Feb 94 18:41:29 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 3017


I have had several requests for help with the soda archives lately and
therefore have decided it would be a good time to remind people on the
daily what is available for ftping from soda.berkeley.edu.  They are
all available by anonymous ftp in pub/runequest.

Archives:

All the original RQ-digests from when Andrew Bell ran the show.  Volumes 1-7.
Separate files hold the supplements and discussion from this period.  The
archives for the daily and the rq4 mailing list are here as well.

Cults:

Write-ups of Goldenbow, Gyzar and Hippoi.

Errata:

Official errata for RQ3 and Sun County.

Fonts:

Rune characters for the IBM, Mac and NeXT.

Index:

Index of Gloranthan languages, another of Gloranthan plants and an index
to manirian/sartar published maps.

Postscript:

Calendar of holy days, hex maps, and Peter Wake's character sheets which
have variants for Land of Ninja, Magicless etc... as well as spell sheets.

Programs:

Character generation programs for the mac and pc, as well as a program
that generates cities in some way.

Sorcery:

David Cake's sorcery system.

Totrm:

Information on Convulsion and subscribing to Tales of the Reaching Moon.

Usenet:

Collected discussions lifted from rec.games.frp.misc on RQ topics.  They
are grouped by the following topics.

summoning
chalana-arroy
questions
post-roc
spell-goals
pavis-temples
protection
spirits
esrolia
out-of-print
overlayed-armor

ps. Ask me about RQ-Con 2

We now return you to your regular reading pleasure.

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

From: alex@dcs.gla.ac.uk
Subject: Re: RuneQuest Daily, Fri, 04 Feb 1994, part 1
Message-ID: <9402041118.AA07501@barren.dcs.gla.ac.uk>
Date: 4 Feb 94 11:18:59 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 3018


Hans van Halteren:
> And while I'm posting anyway, something completely different. In the Daily
> backlog I saw somebody

Me!  Memememememe!  

> mention Niceguy/Badguy and I noticed a word similarity
> I hadn't noticed before:
>   [Nysalor]    <=>  [nice][lor]   <=possibly=>  nice lord
>   [Gbaji]      <=>  [g][bad][ji]  <=possibly=>  bad guy

That's (essentially) how I was using it.  For the record, though, I was being
off the cuff, flip, and have no idea if it has any basis in anyone else's
fevrid imaginings, much less fact.

> May Arachne Solara uphold the net

  Is the net performance of late is anything to go by, the God
Learners are at work again.

MOB:
> LOCATION
> RQ Con Down Under will be held in Melbourne, the locus of RQ in Oz.  

I wonder if it rivals London as Biggest RQ City in the World?  Any guesses
or other contenders?

> From: [Lewis] JARDINE@RMCS.CRANFIELD.AC.UK
> Subject: PROBABILITY

What are the chances of two probability-based messages hitting the Daily on
the same day?  Getting higher all the time, I'd say.

> OK.  Thus the probability of being illuminated after 33 years (under the old 
> RQ2 system) is 1 - the prob. of *surviving* all 33 rolls.  

_Surviving_?  What is this mysterious force killing off Illuminates that
everyone keeps alluding to? ;-)  Apart from Arkati and lunacy, that is.
Which is really counting the same thing twice.

> OK so now 90% of you are bored (cause you already knew) and the other 10% 
> are bored (cause you didn't want to know) and Devin Cutler now knows, but 
> doesn't need to know because illumination rules have changed.  

Of course the new ones are just a tad more complex from a prob. point of
view, same argument about cumulative probs not being additive certainly
applies.

Alex F.

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From: ngl28@rz.uni-kiel.d400.de (ngl28)
Subject: "DAILY MOON PHASES AND DAILY SNIPPETS
Message-ID: <5345*_S=ngl28_OU=rz_PRMD=uni-kiel_ADMD=d400_C=de_@MHS>
Date: 4 Feb 94 16:40:05 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 3019

Joerg hiding behind ngl28 typing.

Alex F. in X-RQ-ID: 3007

>Well, we all know how Theyalan days correspond to phases of the Red Moon,
>right?  (Except that I can never find the damn table when I need it...)
>However this is stated to only apply for the Dragon Pass area, and to be
>different elsewhere.  But how, exactly?  Do we rule the Genertela map
>into 51.something degree segments, and calculate the phase that way?

Seems the sensible way to do. Note that most of Glorantha lies in the 
direction of Dragon Pass, viewed from the crater.

>(This makes geometrical sense, but maybe the Moon makes no more geometrical
>sense than Cthuloid horrors, Reimann spaces, or Mickey Mouse's ears.)
>And if so, where do the `dividing lines' go?

Apart from Glowline effects: the closer to the red moon you come, the more 
you will view the lower side of the sphere, the farther away, the more you 
will get a side view.

I'll add my worry to Nick's: If the cycles of the moon are made invisible 
by the gloeline effect, how does Lunar cyclical doctrine enter the 
populace's conscience? Or does Lunar philosophy actually say: "everything 
goes in cycles, only we can stay up in cycle all the time"?

Their treatment of winter through the Kalikos Icebreaker cult seems to go 
that way, too. I think this is the reason for the impending ecomagical 
catastrophe the Lunar Empire would face even were the Hero Wars delayed by 
some Wanes.

>My other worry is this: since within the glowline the moon is always full,
>how are days named?

How convenient there are Seven Mothers, one for each day of the week.

But I'd expect the Lunars to use Dara Happan reckoning for anything not 
specifically Lunar.

>Are they named according to which phase _would_ be
>visible, which thus varies from Pasha-thing to Pasha-thing?  Or is there
>a Glowline-wide convention?  Or is this naming not in widespread use, the
>Theyalan names being used instead?

I assume that by pasha-thing you mean sultanate or satrapy?

If I remember correctly, there are only six of these adjacent to Silver 
Shadow (my maps are at home).


Bryan J. Maloney in X-RQ-ID: 3010

>I still state that I consider "what has gone before" irrelevant for one 
>simple reason:  If I do not do so, then my campaign is held hostage to
>knowledge I cannot even access.  However, if I treat such out-of-print
>things as a few rumors and hints of war, but truth-neutral (neither true
>nor false until I ruminate upon them and decide), THEN I can run MY campaign
>and not have to keep worrying about my whole world being retconned by
>something that may never see the light of print again.

That's quite a sound approach. Which makes me wonder even more about the 
following paragraph:

>This is why I react with irritation to people who bring up inaccessible 
>stuff--I find it to be completely antithetical to my entire way of life.
>I'm a scientist by inclination and training (this means that I am, by the
>way 100% opposed to God-learner philosophy, Greg's definition of "scientist"
>notwithstanding).  Science relies upon the free flow of ideas and information.
>This means that when somebody says "Ah, what about Kubizhansky's work in 
>1984?" you are permitted to ask in what journal it appeared, what pages,
>what volume, and then it is usually not too difficult a matter to get a
>reprint and/or translation (although translations can take a bit of time
>to get done).

I encountered this problem while working on my diploma thesis. Some of the 
documents I needed I could have accessed within a year or so, which is the 
limit of time given to finish the thesis. This much for scientists' ways...

>However, when somebody brings something up in such a way on this list, the
>option is NOT open to me, so I must sit back, helpless.  Now, I understand
>that science has a different function as a discussion (and that is what
>science really is, a discussion) than this list, but I still am irked at
>times at particular instances of gnosticism.

Who on this list would bring up some info and then say: "No, I can't tell 
you more."? Usually, if you ask back, you get the info, at least in 
abstract form. I have contacted scientists far more tightfisted than you 
"accuse" the providers of snippets here to be.

In fact, I'd be severely disappointed if people stopped throwing in the odd 
fact from earlier publications. As far as campaigning goes, do you remember 
all the facts of accessible publications in the heat of GMing? I don't.

Joerg Baumgartner
ngl28@rz.uni-kiel.d400.de

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

From: ngl28@rz.uni-kiel.d400.de (ngl28)
Subject: "111 AND 394
Message-ID: <5350*_S=ngl28_OU=rz_PRMD=uni-kiel_ADMD=d400_C=de_@MHS>
Date: 4 Feb 94 16:49:55 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 3020

Joerg wondering about Glorious ReAscent of Yelm

Almost all my info is based on the Chaosium hype, but I already have a 
question:

>2. The Gods Wall. Facts about the prehistoric monumental 
>sculpture of Dara Happa which serves as the basis for its
>mythology. Shows the 111 Gods and Goddesses of their pantheon. 

What happened to the 394 (I think) Commoners and the 10 nobles mentioned in 
KoS in the Orlanthi Mythology story of how Yelm denied Umath his place in 
the world (and how Umath made himself a place)?

As much as I understood, 
1 is Yelm
10 are his lieutenants (or nobles)
100 are his troopers
so that's how we get 111.

I seem to recall that a number similar to 394 features prominently in the 
Kralori genealogy of men, but how does a Kralori myth interfere with Dragon 
Pass Orlanthi myth? (Barred God Learner meddling, which was kept from Dragon 
Pass quite effectively by draconic thinking at that time. An EWF relic of 
draconic cross-pollinisation?)

Joerg Baumgartner
ngl28@rz.uni-kiel.d400.de

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

From: cpearce@nemesis.acs.unt.edu (Chris Pearce)
Subject: Dara Happa?
Message-ID: <199402041632.KAA04201@nemesis.acs.unt.edu>
Date: 4 Feb 94 04:32:37 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 3021

My first post in longtime.

A while back I was looking at ancient history and ran across the
Indus culture. The main cities of the Indus rivier valley were
Mohenjo Daro and Harappa. I was struck by the similarity in sound to
Glorantha's Dara Happa.

People here are always strongly tempted to give Dara Happa an
Egyptian culture. Could it be that the Great Green Greggie modeled
Dara Happa after the Indus culture (of which I know blasted little)?
-- 
Chris Pearce -- cpearce@nemesis.acs.unt.edu
I was in this prematurely air-conditioned supermarket and there were all these
aisles and there were these bathing caps you could buy that had these kind of
Fourth of July plumes on them that were red and yellow and blue and I wasn't
tempted to buy one but I was reminded that I had been avoiding the beach.

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

From: QFF00036@niftyserve.or.jp (QFF00036@niftyse)
Subject: Greetings.
Message-ID: <199402041711.CAA12880@inetnif.niftyserve.or.jp>
Date: 4 Feb 94 17:02:00 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 3022

Subject:Greetings.

Hi all.
I'm a new comer. My name is Mamoru Kurihara, a Japanese RQer.

YOROSHIKU ONEGAI SHIMASU (Its a greeting message in Japanese)

*******

I'm very interested in Dragonewts and Dragon Magics.

I think there must be some non-Dragonewt cults/societies/tribes
that have Dragon Magics from E.W.F. in Dragonpass/Prax.
(Pavis was a Hero of E.W.F. so Cults of Pavis must have some)

How do you think of it ?



Regards.
                       // Kuri (QFF00036@niftyserve.or.jp) //

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From: f6ri@midway.uchicago.edu (charles gregory fried)
Subject: Agnoying Agnosticism?
Message-ID: 
Date: 4 Feb 94 19:02:02 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 3023

Greg Fried here.

I emerge from my cave of unbelievable business to respond to the pathos of
Bryan's Lament. 

Bryan, I hear your pain, but in the final analysis, I just can't
sympathize.  Maybe this is because I run a campaign that does not
attempt to be as officially Gloranthan as possible, but I don't think
that's it.  For me, perhaps the most fab thing about this list is the
opportunity to gather otherwise inaccessible tidbits (and occasional bigbits)
from original prophets (and more recent, intrepid Illuminates) of
Glorantha.  IF it were forbidden to these people to consult their
ancient notes, or to spend the time which I do not have finding and
pouring over long-out-of-print documents, I think the Daily would lose
much of both its charm and its usefulness.

We fans of RQ are cursed by the financial history of the game: many
items are no longer available.  I still want to learn from them, even
if I don't get the glory of Gnosis!

GF out.

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From: LOREN@marketing.wharton.upenn.edu (Loren Miller)
Subject: Tekumel: Belkhanu spells
Message-ID: <20E87E6406F@marketing.wharton.upenn.edu>
Date: 4 Feb 94 19:57:34 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 3024

Tekumel fans,

I wrote up the missing Belkhanu spells in Sandy's RQ/Tekumel format. They
may be unbalanced, but then Tekumel was never a particularly game-balanced
world, so I don't know if that's all bad.

Here they are...

BELKHANU TEMPLE SPELLS

Spell Name
Aeriality (4)
Avulsion of the Spirit Soul (7)
Etherealisation (3)
Re-embodiment (5)
Spiritism
Transmogrification (2)
The Viaticum of the Yellow Robe (3)

AERIALITY (Belkhanu) (4)
The caster can make a target fly or float into the air. Those who
do not wish to be affected may resist. Movement rate of levitated
parties is 3 meters per round. Pit 10xIntensity vs SIZ of target
to successfully move it. If STR vs SIZ contest has 95% chance of
success or greater then targets may use their full skills with
spells and physical abilities. Otherwise, all targets are at half
skill. If multispelled all targets will travel in the same
direction. Additional Intensity can be used to raise movement rate
by 3 meters per round per point.

AVULSION OF THE SPIRIT-SOUL (Belkhanu) (7)
Removes the target's spirit and sends it off into the Unending
Grey, leaving the body alive, empty and catatonic.
     Another spirit may then possess the vacant body, either the
caster's or the spirit of a dead member of the same species (using
Belkhanu's spell of Re-embodiment). STR, CON, SIZ, DEX and stats
derived from them are those of the vacated body. INT, POW, CHA and
stats derived from them are those of the possessing spirit, as are
all skills and knowledge.
     One who casts Perception of the Energies can sense a
possessing spirit, though he needs to overcome the possessing
spirit in a magic struggle in order to do so. Spells of
Ascertainment and Elicitation will not work. A successful spell of
Disenchantment will evict the possessing spirit. If the caster's
spirit possessed the target and his own body was well cared for in
his absence then he may return to it. Otherwise the evicted spirit
returns to the Isles of the Excellent Dead where it can never again
be contacted or revivified.

ETHEREALISATION (Belkhanu) (3)
This spell separates the target's spirit from its body, and allows
it to explore the area from an ethereal perspective. When the spell
expires or is dispelled with Disenchantment the spirit returns to
its body. The spirit is blocked by spells such as The Seal Upon the
Powers, The Sphere of Impermeable Quiescence, Warding, Guarding,
and Vallation, and may not explore beyond them.
     3    Self only
     5    Will affect single target of the caster's own species
     8    Will send the caster's spirit to the nearest other Plane,
          where it can observe but not act. This can be used to
          look through a floating nexus point, and if so used the
          caster must roll a d10 (1-7=may return safely, 8-
          9=emerges on another randomly selected Plane,
          10=permanently lost in the Unending Grey).
     10   Allows the caster to travel up to 1 kilometer on his own
          Plane, and to manifest his astral self physically from
          there (but not use other-planar energies of any sort,
          such as magic or eyes). If he somehow suffers damage to
          his astral body it will appear on his physical body, and
          if his astral body is killed his physical body is
          likewise destroyed and his spirit goes off to the Isles
          of the Excellent Dead.

RE-EMBODIMENT (Belkhanu) (5)
The caster can place the spirit of a dead or disembodied person in
the body of another member of the same species.
     5    The person to be placed must have been dead no more than
          1 hour and the body to receive him/her must be empty of
          its own spirit (usually by use of Avulsion of the Spirit-
          Soul).
     6    The spirit of a person dead no more than 12 hours is
          placed in the body of a new-born infant. Roll a d10 (1-
          7=the intruding spirit trimphs over the infant's spirit,
          which is sent off to the Isles of the Excellent Dead; 8-
          10=the infant's spirit triumphs and the spirit of the
          deceased is similarly banished, never to return). The re-
          embodied person must grow to maturity in the new body.
          The priesthood of Belkhanu charges heavily for this
          service, from 10,000 Kaitars for a wealthy clan to much
          much more for a noble clan.
     9    This is an advanced variant of Revivification. The caster
          can revivify 1d3 of his own species, dead no more than 1
          day, at once, and only needs to possess a handful of
          flesh from each corpse. It only works once on any target.
          After using the spell the caster cannot use any sorcery,
          not even Eyes, for a month, at peril of forever losing
          his magical abilities. The Temple of Belkhanu asks 20,000
          to 60,000 Kaitars from followers of the Lords of
          Stability for this spell, and double or triple from
          devotees of the Lords of Change. If an Imperial Prince or
          other high grandee is involved, they may require
          political concessions instead.
     10   As #9, above, but revivifies 1-10 who need not be of the
          caster's own species. The caster must refrain from
          sorcery for two entire months after casting this variant.
          The fee for this spell is identical to that for the #9
          version.

SPIRITISM (Belkhanu)
This spell allows the caster to summon and communicate with the
spirits of the dead, who must have died no longer before the
casting than a period equal to the Duration, and within the Range
of the spell.
     1    Summons by name a spirit of the caster's species and
          allows the caster to speak with it. It is not required to
          speak the truth, and the two must share a language in
          order to communicate.
     3    The target may be of any species
     5    Caster can speak with a spirit of any intelligent species
          telepathically, so its name and language are not
          necessary
     7    As with #5, but comrades within 3 meters of the caster
          can listen to the telepathic conversation.
     10   If the target fails to resist, it is compelled to answer
          3 of the caster's questions truthfully. The target must
          be of the caster's species, they must share a language,
          and its personal name must be spoken correctly in the
          incantation of the spell.

TRANSMOGRIFICATION (Belkhanu) (2)
A spell that allows the caster to manipulate the fabric of the
Planes.
     2    Opens a door to a specific Plane known to the caster. The
          door will admit any number of beings of up to
          10xIntensity SIZ. It can be recast from the other side in
          order to return, but one must stand in precisely the same
          spot and face the same direction.
     3    Opens a pocket-dimension storage space which can hold up
          to 10xIntensity SIZ points of inanimate beings. Living
          beings placed in this space will die from lack of air.
          This storage space does not move with the caster, but
          stays where it was cast. It must be renewed every 24
          hours, or anything placed in it is forever lost.
     5    As with #3, but travels around with the caster.
     6    Creates a pocket-dimension prison, which will hold up to
          10xIntensity SIZ points of foes. They must be overcome in
          a magical struggle, and if the spell expires or is
          dispelled they are released. This spell lasts 24 hours,
          and may be renewed daily, but those within must be
          defeated in a magical struggle every day in order to keep
          them imprisoned. This prison has air, but no food or
          water.
     8    Creates an inter-planar highway to a location fixed in
          advance. First the caster must prepare the destination
          spot by casting this spell. Then when he wishes to use
          it, no more than an hour after preparing it, he casts
          this spell again, spending magic points a second time,
          and all those within 3 meters of the caster are
          transported to the destination, which must be within
          Range. Targets may resist this with a successful magical
          struggle if they wish.
     10   The caster may travel along the vast road that leads past
          Death to the Isles of the Excellent Dead, there to seek
          the great ancient sages of the past, a deceased loved
          one, or some other departed spirit who may have some
          information. The individual's language and name must be
          known. The GM will have to adjudicate how likely this is
          to work, with chances of success ranging from 60% for
          someone who has been dead a year, to perhaps 1% for
          someone who died during the Empire of Llyan of Tsamra. It
          is not possible to find spirits that predate the First
          Empire.

THE VIATICUM OF THE YELLOW ROBE (Belkhanu) (3)
This spell is a powerful blessing against the undead and those who
would spread this sort of half-life.
     3    All undead within range of the spell who are overcome in
          a magical struggle take 3d6 general HP damage. Those who
          successfully resist take half damage. If killed by this
          spell undead are laid to rest permanently, and may never
          again be returned to the half-life favored by the Temple
          of Sarku, and related deities. Each point of additional
          Intensity can add 1d6 to damage. For one point of
          intensity, this will also affect the living servants of
          Sarku, such as the Worms of Death, but not including
          worshippers or priests of Sarku. Range may not be
          augmented.
     9    (Instant) Cast upon a living being of the caster's
          species, it ensures the target will never be made into
          one of the undead. Uncooperative targets (such as
          worshippers of Sarku) can resist this spell with a
          successful magical struggle. Disenchantment will not
          remove this spell, though a successful Divine
          Intervention from Sarku could work. The priesthood of
          Belkhanu charges from 1,000 to 5,000 Kaitars for this
          spell.


--
+++++++++++++++++++++++23
Loren Miller              LOREN@wmkt.wharton.upenn.edu
Into the flood again,  same old trip  it was back when