Yes Tavarish?
> As people may or may not have noticed, Issaries has licensed the
> HeroQuest game engine to me to produce a standalone game set in
> Mythic Russia, which with startling originality, I am
> calling 'Mythic Russia' -- the initial press release is _at_
> http://www.heroquest-rpg.com/news/pr_04_01.html and the home of
> Firebird Productions, which will publish the game, is _at_
> http://www.firebird-productions.com
And let me state you got me greatly interested. I love Russian history/mythology!
> 1. Linking to the current discussion, all abilities taken during
> chargen start at 17 (not just keyword, also those in narratives --
> which will be the default start method, the others being considered
> options)
I see no problem with that. I am unsure why you want to change it though.
> 2. Repeated abilities from overlapping keywords get a +2 per
> repetition. So if Rural Survival is in all three of your keywords,
> you get it at 1W.
That, I definitely like.
> 3. No cap on increasing starting abilities. Mythic Russian heroes
> are truly larger than life characters. If you want to burn 10 of
> your starting points to begin with Strong 7W, you can. There will,
> however, be extensive narrators' notes on how to handle such heroes
> and ensure that their relative lack of other strengths also acts as
> a real penalty.
Sounds fair.
> 4. Scaling up the envisaged ranges for personality traits and
> relationships, to give them a greater role (so it is not ridiculous
> to have Love Family 1W2), again at the same time providing more
> explicit guidance on when this should and should not be allowed for
> augments and the penalties/pitfalls, so it is not abused.
That will be useful.
> 5. No common magic as such, but far more scope for using the Natural
> Magic rules for odd knacks. This is one of the definite differences
> between Glorantha and Russia: I don't want ordinary peasants having
> active magic, although they can still pray for protection and even
> miracles and use their piety as 'magic resistance.' Likewise, odd
> little knacks such as herbal cures or the like can either be normal
> abilities or Natural Magic.
Totally agree.
> 6. Remove the options and fix it that initiative in an extended goes
> to the highest bidder, to encourage high bids and outrageous
> manouvres.
I like it.
> 7. Mooks are dead, KO or otherwise definitely out of action at 0 AP
I guess it is how most of us play anyway.
> 8. The theist rules will be used as standard, even for animists and
> wizards (although the former will mainly be Mongols etc and the
> latter Teutonic Knights and the like) rather than the separate magic
> systems. There will be some rules differences to give the animists
> and wizards a slightly different feel, but I don't think that at
> present the different systems are worth the complexity. I would
> rather create different cultural constructs for different magics
> rather than rules.
I like it as well. How will Russia's neighbors will be treated? Will they be treated? You state the Mongols and Teutons but what about the Poles? The Swedes? The Lithuanians? The Byzantians?
> 9. Most gods, saints, etc offer a single affinity, so it is quite
> usual for a hero to assemble multiples, such as his home city's
> patron saint, one linked with his profession and a third relating to
> his personality.
I believe it would reflect Russia better.
> 10. No hero bands; this is really a Gloranthan construct, and I'd
> rather give guidance on how you can get group or individual powers
> and protectors
I love Hero Bands but they are Gloranthans by nature. No place for them in Mythic Russia.
> 11. No heroquesting; I don't think this really fits the Russian
> model. Instead, I'd propose that by 'crossing over' instead you come
> to the parallel otherworlds ('the thrice-ninth kingdom' et al) into
> which you can adventure, but not necessarily following
> the 'tramline' approach of a heroquest. This is the one I am still
> most unsure about.
Ditto.
Dread the Red
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