Bell Digest v941028p2

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Subject: RuneQuest Daily, Fri, 28 Oct 1994, part 2
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From: 100270.337@compuserve.com (Nick Brooke)
Subject: General round-up
Message-ID: <941027184733_100270.337_BHL95-1@CompuServe.COM>
Date: 27 Oct 94 18:47:34 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 6760

Quite a wait, but worth it.

_________
Munchies:

Lewis said:

> This brings me onto the subject of different stats (and emotions) 
> being associated with different organs.  Perhaps someone can help to
> define the list below as I am thinking of using it in a campaign.  



There's a rather good English RQ zine called "Tales of the Reaching Moon" 
which printed the Chaosium write-up of the Cannibal Cult in issue #9. Maybe 
you know someone who subscribes... or who edits it, perhaps? 

The list there was:

	STR		Heart
	CON		Bowels
	INT		Brain
	DEX		Hands
	APP		Gonads

I'd agree with you re: STR/Lungs (on the basis of Storm association with 
Strength). Sandy may agree re: INT/Liver. I think it depends what the 
Cannibals in question believe. The Kralori Cannibals may get different 
benefits to the Praxian ones, frex; and the albino cannibals in the sewers 
of Furthest might have another set again... 

About Richard the Tigerhearted (someone asked). The Carmanians had a very 
similar thing going: kill an animal, eat its heart, partake of its nature. 
They did it with Lions, Bulls... and Dragons!! This started out as a retro- 
fit by me based on Richard's nickname, but it took on a life of its own, 
meshed with Mithras and Siegfried and Nietzsche, and is now a vital chunk 
of my Gloranthan world-view. "You Are What You Eat", indeed. V. Trollish.

___________
Gary James:

> Cults who use animal allies should have an appropriate divine spell to
> awaken the INT of an animal.  Yelmalio should have Awaken Vrok Hawk,
> for example, and Orlanth should have Awaken Alynx.

They do, I believe. Per the GoG cults book, "Allied spirits are specially 
awakened animals or spirits sent by the deity to inhabit objects sacred to 
the cult." Now, unless we're talking about Ompalam's sacred Cage being 
inhabited by an Awakened parrot, I'd assume that's two separate options. 
(i.e. imagine a comma between "animals" and "or").

There's still a lot of hangovers from RQ2 in the way we approach all kinds 
of spirits in Glorantha today (the common belief that all spirits are dead 
humans, for example, or that allied spirits are former initiates of the 
cult). Certainly, your version is the way I'd play it.

OTOH, do we need to rigidly and mechanically define what every point of POW 
is doing (i.e. codifying every cultic power as a spell)? Getting away from 
this was the Great RunePower Breakthrough, and I still revere David Cheng 
for noticing how unnecessary all the complications were. (IMHO, of course).


An aside: anyone else think it's odd that while Rune Priests have to spend 
90% of their time and give 90% of their income to the cult, but there's no 
requirement to cast 90% of their Rune Magic for it, or indeed (in a non- 
RunePower game) to sacrifice 90% of their POW for useful rune spells like 
Worship and Sanctify and Divination and Cloud Call and the like...

I'm tempted to reduce PC priests' Divine Magic swingingly, just to annoy 
them; but maybe a simple rule or convention will come to mind first. (As 
there are so many non-standard games out there, my own included, I won't 
attempt to define the One True Approach to this problem).

_______________
Simon Lipscomb:

> I was worried about ... the fact that, for example, a Disease Master of
> Malia could use the same Command Malia Spirit spell to command a Sneeze
> Spell Spirit or a Shakes Spirit or a Wasting Disease Spirit or whatever
> when shamans have to use seperate spells for each.

Good. Shamans who specialise in commanding disease spirits are known as 
Disease Masters. I don't mind the flexibility; and I am glad to hear it 
worries you! I was confused that your earlier example implied Yelmalio 
employed Fireblade spirits; I am still confused by this, BTW, as the spell 
description makes it clear that this is *not* possible. "Spell spirits (for 
that cult's spirit magic)", it sez.

Being a RunePower freak in a low-Spirit-use game, I don't see the prolifer- 
ation of different species-specific/cult-specific Command Spirit spells to 
be a Good or Necessary Thing. (Just so you know where I'm coming from). If 
our game had prominent, rules-defined Shamans, perhaps we'd encounter the 
problems that worry you. As it is, we're all scared of my Uncle Bofrost up 
among the Hillhavens -- he Sees too much. And I'd assume he could take on 
any Spirit that caused trouble, and inflict appropriate hardships on it. 
(Misplaced faith in my elders & betters, perhaps...)

_______
Martin:

> To use a non-African analogue, among the Navaho the witchcraft beliefs
> are explicitly tied to moral lessons. That is, witches do everything
> that is considered bad among the Navaho, and witch fears reinforce the
> ethical code.

I haven't recommended Tony Hillerman's books here for a while, have I? Go 
forth and read them, friends: packed with ideas for Shamanic scenarios (or 
incidental details), some of which wouldn't be too hard to translate from 
the modern USA to Prax or elsewhere...

_______________
Peter Michaels:

> Did the God Learners see Bolongo at the Trickster level (and thus
> "Eurmal") or at the Aspect level (as the Mask)?  What sort of magic
> do Bolongo shrines provide?

Presumably, as the Runic Owners list in Deluxe RQ book 5 (a document of 
festering GodLearnerism if ever there was one!) separates Bolongo from 
Eurmal/Trickster, they "saw him at Aspect level". Poor sad fools... 

_____
Erik:

Interesting that you turned to Esrolia for much the same reason I did: a 
largely-female contingent of players...

> And now, where do I find material on
> A, The Building Wall Battle

Different Worlds #28 had an article on Gloranthan Military Experience which 
is still the best published source for Holy Country military affairs. Joerg 
is the best current source, of course. If I find my copy of the article 
soon, I'll post the relevant bits. From memory, the Wall was of coral (not 
in my game! - Gnomic earthworks), it grew across the land faster than the 
Lunar Army could outflank it, and it had poisonous spiny bits to kill any 
who tried to cross it. If you did get to the other side, there was maybe 
another wall behind it! Joerg posted some other good ideas to this list a 
while back: building a solid wall out of enchanted Esrolite soldiers, frex. 
I'd imagine he's answering your Q., too.

> B, The City of Wonders - it has not been sacked yet in any of my
> campaigns.

The ES Secrets Book p.10 has the most complete published description. David 
Hall has a few unpublished notes and sketch-maps: anything relevant there? 
Frankly there's not that much "known", and what there is may not be useful 
to you. It's a highly cosmopolitan and magical centre, and not "mundane" at 
all - a literally wonderful place. Crowds of unique magical beings, throngs 
of philosophers and inventors and lots of strange stuff going on. Certainly 
one of the Seven Wonders of Glorantha (and no, I don't mean there's six 
other cities with the same name! ).

====
Nick
====

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