From: owner-runequest-rules@ (RuneQuest-Rules-Digest) To: runequest-rules-digest@lists.MPGN.COM Subject: RuneQuest-Rules-Digest V1 #40 Reply-To: runequest-rules@mpgn.com Sender: owner-runequest-rules@ Errors-To: owner-runequest-rules@ Precedence: bulk RuneQuest-Rules-Digest Friday, March 13 1998 Volume 01 : Number 040 RuneQuest is a trademark of Avalon Hill Games. All Rights Reserved. TABLE OF CONTENTS Re: [RQ-RULES] Re: NPC Re: [RQ-RULES] Re: Familiars Re: [RQ-RULES] Re: Runic Mastery Re: [RQ-RULES] Re: NPC Re: [RQ-RULES] NPC Re: [RQ-RULES] NPC - Invoke Spells Re: [RQ-RULES] Re: NPC RE: [RQ-RULES] Familiars [RQ-RULES] Temple Complexes [RQ-RULES] Re: Familiars Re: [RQ-RULES] Re: NPC RE: [RQ-RULES] Re: Familiars Re: [RQ-RULES] Re: NPC RULES OF THE ROAD 1. Do not include large sections of a message in your reply. Especially not to add "Yeah, I agree" or "No, I disagree." Or be excoriated. If someone writes something good and you want to say "good show" please do. But don't include the whole message you praise. 2. Use an appropriate Subject line. 3. Learn the art of paraphrasing: Don't just quote and comment on a point-by-point basis. 4. No anonymous posting, please. Don't say something unless you're ready to stand by it. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 12 Mar 1998 19:53:24 EST From: Delecti Subject: Re: [RQ-RULES] Re: NPC Sure, if you were thinking of some kind of Rules List Joint Effort like the spells, we could have a go at some kind of group of NPCs that go well together. Actually this is exactly that I was thinking. In fact, how about a joint effort in building a community, be it a temple complex or a village, somewhere in Glorantha in an unset area. It is a hell of a project but may just work, at least it will be fun. >> Good ideas! Delecti *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@mpgn.com with the line 'unsubscribe runequest-rules' as the body of the message. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 12 Mar 1998 19:56:16 -0500 From: Tal Meta Subject: Re: [RQ-RULES] Re: Familiars Leon Kirshtein wrote: > I do not think that you have to maintain that Dominate for the > rest of the familiar's life. I belive the link created in the > spell takes care of it. Otherwise spirits or helions would never > stick around with the sorceror. IMO familiars once created do not > have free will and are slaves to the sorceror. I do not belive > they can in any form do, or even think about, harming their > master. Yes, but a certain amount of free will is so much fun for the GM! The sorcerer in our party had a dog for a familiar. While the player was free to take care of certain aspects of the dog's life "off camera", I took a certain pleasure in having him chase cats, face off against other dogs, chase females in heat, dig holes, and whatnot. > I wonder. In the rules it states that a sorcerer must be friendly > to the prespective familiar due to the amount of time it takes to > cast the ritual. Would a long duration Dominate spell > qualify for the friendly aspect of this requirement. I would have to rule no, but that's only because it's more interesting to make them WORK to befriend their prospective familiar. Serenade that nymph - bring her flowers, commission a portrait of her, perhaps chocolates? Kevin Rose wrote: > > Actually, no, that isn't what the rules say. It says "and any > restrictions they may have posessed formerly (such as being bound > to a specific locale) are removed." Yes, but if their tree dies (in the case of a dryad) or their stream dries up, etc., the nymph in question still croaks. *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@mpgn.com with the line 'unsubscribe runequest-rules' as the body of the message. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 12 Mar 1998 21:32:44 -0500 From: Tal Meta Subject: Re: [RQ-RULES] Re: Runic Mastery Nikk Effingham wrote: > > In it I stole completley from Sandy Petersen's Draft HQ rules. You > have a Rune rating of between 1-100. When you get over 20 you get > an "effect point", as you increase your rune ratings you gain more > effect points at a rapidly increasing rate. So once you get 31 in > a rune rating you have 3, 41 in a rune rating you have 6 etc... Is this available anywhere? (Sandy really ought to have a webpage of his own ). I've been tinkering on my own with something that draws on the Passions & Metamorphisis rules from Nephilim, but I'm still figuring out what sort of activities would earn checks and what sort of effects would be gained from success. stancliff@commnections.com wrote: > If Slayers has a good way of handling this it will probably pay > for itself, but the same can probably be said for Adv. in > Glorantha. True. Slayers blurb says that the characters assemble various glyphs into Runes, and gain powers thereby. I'd like to integrate the Passions with the Runes, in some fashion... Hmm. > Mastering the rune bypasses the need to learn a spell to get the > effect. Note that every spell a god has as special divine magic > is supposed to use the nature of one of that god's runes to derive > it's power (not associated spells, they come from other gods). Yes... this is sorta what I'm looking for. Death (the Rune) could be seen as a merger between Calm, Destructive, & Uncaring. The only problem I have with this is that my current ideas for this don't lend themselves to multiple rune mastery. :/ *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@mpgn.com with the line 'unsubscribe runequest-rules' as the body of the message. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 12 Mar 1998 22:09:16 -0500 From: Tal Meta Subject: Re: [RQ-RULES] Re: NPC Hibbs, Philip wrote: > > I don't see why. Many people don't have access to web space, and > why should peoples NPCs all fit into any category? Sure, if you > were thinking of some kind of Rules List Joint Effort like the > spells, we could have a go at some kind of group of NPCs that go > well together, but in general terms I'd find a well thought-out > writeup of a trollkin scavenger as interesting as Gunda the > Guilty. Which brings up an important point: any project like this needs to have an established baseline for which rules we're using. For example, I use a version of Sandy's Sorcery, RunePower for RuneLords, regular Divine Magic for Priests/Acolytes, my own adaptations of Shamanism, etc.. For this to be of the most use to the most people, we need to decide where to draw the lines. Gunda, for example, was rife with skills, powers, etc., that were not always self explainatory... no less interesting thereby, but it would have been nice to have known the rules that fully described her. > I think the description and personality is more valuable than the > stats, unless the stats demonstrate something new and interesting, > or exceptional. I think a balanced mean between the two is best, actually. Leon Kirshtein wrote: > Actually this is exactly that I was thinking. In fact, how about > a joint effort in building a community, be it a temple complex or > a village, somewhere in Glorantha in an unset area. It is a hell > of a project but may just work, at least it will be fun. How about a Temple for a start? Limits the vareity of people you're likely to meet, and gives us a firm background to work from. Given the dicussions on the nature of Uleria that were going on on the GD a few weeks back, I think that might be an interesting place to start, given that they needn't be the 'temple prostitutes' that alot of people view them as. (For those who missed it, among other things, it was suggested that Uleria priest(esses)(!) give marriage counselling, sexual "coaching", advice on how to find/romance a prospective mate, etc.. They don't HAVE to be erotocomotose lucidity crazy, afterall!) *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@mpgn.com with the line 'unsubscribe runequest-rules' as the body of the message. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 12 Mar 1998 22:14:26 -0500 From: Tal Meta Subject: Re: [RQ-RULES] NPC Leon Kirshtein wrote: > > I do not know if this interests any one, but I will try and see. > This is a write up of an enemy NPC leader which I have used in the > last game as an encounter. Any questions or comments are welcome. I've thrown a couple of mine out for review, glad to see others doing the same. > Invoke Stone 45%, I'm curious, what's this one do? *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@mpgn.com with the line 'unsubscribe runequest-rules' as the body of the message. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 12 Mar 1998 23:07:14 EST From: JULIAKIR Subject: Re: [RQ-RULES] NPC - Invoke Spells In a message dated 98-03-12 22:19:19 EST, you write: << Invoke Stone 45% >> Invoke Ranged, Instant, Hard Creates a magical blast of the specific element. If the spell's caster overcomes the target's POW with his MP, this causes 1HP of damage per Intensity to a random hit location of the target. The common forms of this spell include Fire, Air, Water, Earth, Darkness, and Light. Less common forms, such as lightning or moonbeam, exist as well. As per RQ4 p.176 Leon Kirshtein *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@mpgn.com with the line 'unsubscribe runequest-rules' as the body of the message. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 12 Mar 1998 23:14:42 EST From: JULIAKIR Subject: Re: [RQ-RULES] Re: NPC In a message dated 98-03-12 22:15:13 EST, you write: << How about a Temple for a start? Limits the vareity of people you're likely to meet, and gives us a firm background to work from. Given the dicussions on the nature of Uleria that were going on on the GD a few weeks back, I think that might be an interesting place to start, given that they needn't be the 'temple prostitutes' that alot of people view them as >> Temple it is then! But Uleria, I am not so sure. How about an Irripi Ontor complex for a larger set of characters and/or possibilities. (Or even even a real large scale Thanatar temple, not a recently established one.) Leon Kirshtein *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@mpgn.com with the line 'unsubscribe runequest-rules' as the body of the message. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 13 Mar 1998 08:40:44 -0000 From: "Hibbs, Philip" Subject: RE: [RQ-RULES] Familiars >I would certainly be averse to letting any Dragonkind be >affected by the Create Familiar spells. Sure, it's horribly dangerous, but the Dream Dragon is just a mortal creature like any other, as long as the sleeping dragon continues to dream that it is. If something happens in it's dream that offends it, then the dream would shift to erase that particular offense. So watch out, and treat your Dragon familiar with utmost respect! Actually, I'd never allow it except in an ultra-MGF game, like ToonQuest (my own invention). philip.hibbs@tnt.co.uk or phibbs@compuserve.com http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/phibbs +--------------+ | Philip Hibbs +---------------------------------------------+ | What immortal hand or eye dare frame thy perfect symmetry? | +------------------------------------------------------------+ *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@mpgn.com with the line 'unsubscribe runequest-rules' as the body of the message. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 13 Mar 1998 13:35:51 GMT From: "Nikk Effingham" Subject: [RQ-RULES] Temple Complexes >Actually this is exactly that I was thinking. In fact, how about a >joint effort in building a community, be it a temple complex or a >village, somewhere in Glorantha in an unset area. It is a hell of a >project but may just work, at least it will be fun. I vote for the Temple of Heads in Dorastor!!! All those wonderful Thanatari running around weilding unheard of and arcane powers.... what more could you ask for? Nikk Effingham eng7nje@leeds.ac.uk http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Lair/7556/ "If absolute power corrupts absolutely Where does that leave God?" -- George Daacon *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@mpgn.com with the line 'unsubscribe runequest-rules' as the body of the message. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 13 Mar 1998 09:03:40 -0500 From: stancliff@commnections.com Subject: [RQ-RULES] Re: Familiars RU>I do not think that you have to maintain that Dominate for the rest of RU>the familiar's life. I belive the link created in the spell takes care RU>of it. Otherwise spirits or helions would never stick around with the RU>sorceror. IMO familiars once created do not have free will and are RU>slaves to the sorceror. I do not belive they can in any form do, or RU>even think about, harming their master. Sorry Leon, This opinion is a direct contradiction of the rules on the Free-Will retained by familiars. These rules provide atmosphere and restrict the sorcerer by making him consider his moral stand in the world. They draw on the same real world stories, so they are similar to D&D and other games. You can release the rule constraint in your house rules, at the cost of allowing Power Gamers to abuse the system even more than normal. You are telling a Good sorcerer that it is OK to have a powerful Evil familiar because it is his Slave. This logic is definitely the dark side of Nysalor. I have had similar problems with some of the rules I have relaxed or removed in the past. The rules lawyers and power gamers will jump on a perceived weak point in the rules and try to abuse it as often as possible because "it's in the rules". I have had to set limits on POW training by fighting spirits smaller than the character. There is a current problem with how often a Worship can be cast to gain a POW check; some cults such as Issaries and Eurmal can cast every week if desired. Even the cults that only Worship once a season would give the casting priest five checks per year instead of the one listed in the character creation rules. My characters are just reaching Accolyte levels and these are important questions to future game balance. Bob Stancliff *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@mpgn.com with the line 'unsubscribe runequest-rules' as the body of the message. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 13 Mar 1998 09:26:54 -0500 From: stancliff@commnections.com Subject: Re: [RQ-RULES] Re: NPC RU><< How about a Temple for a start? Limits the vareity of people you're RU> likely to meet, and gives us a firm background to work from. RU> Given the dicussions on the nature of Uleria that were going on on the RU> GD a few weeks back, I think that might be an interesting place to RU> start, given that they needn't be the 'temple prostitutes' that alot of RU> people view them as >> RU>Temple it is then! But Uleria, I am not so sure. How about an Irripi Ontor RU>complex for a larger set of characters and/or possibilities. (Or even a RU>real large scale Thanatar temple, not a recently established one.) In the old Pavis books there was a table of all the rune levels currently in the city. While it was possible to find names for about a third of them, the rest were never named and none were ever written up. Translating something like that or the old "Rune Masters" book would be major accomplishments, especially due to the conversion from RQ2 to RQ3. Bob Stancliff *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@mpgn.com with the line 'unsubscribe runequest-rules' as the body of the message. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 13 Mar 1998 14:30:14 -0000 From: "Hibbs, Philip" Subject: RE: [RQ-RULES] Re: Familiars Bob Stancliff: >Even the cults that only Worship once a season would give >the casting priest five checks per year instead of the one >listed in the character creation rules. Priests get 1 POW per year to keep afterwards, I'm sure they get more than that, but have to use it for religious duties, such as healing, warding, making enchantments, etc. My RQ group are shameless powergamers, and would abuse the rules to destruction, but they generally respect my authority when I say "No, you just can't". philip.hibbs@tnt.co.uk or phibbs@compuserve.com http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/phibbs +--------------+ | Philip Hibbs +---------------------------------------------+ | What immortal hand or eye dare frame thy perfect symmetry? | +------------------------------------------------------------+ *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@mpgn.com with the line 'unsubscribe runequest-rules' as the body of the message. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 13 Mar 1998 09:49:30 -0500 From: stancliff@commnections.com Subject: Re: [RQ-RULES] Re: NPC RU>Which brings up an important point: any project like this needs to have RU>an established baseline for which rules we're using. For example, I use RU>a version of Sandy's Sorcery, RunePower for RuneLords, regular Divine RU>Magic for Priests/Acolytes, my own adaptations of Shamanism, etc.. For RU>this to be of the most use to the most people, we need to decide where RU>to draw the lines. Important point, I would want to use my house rules, you would want to use yours. It is safer if we restrict ourselves to RQ3 (probably with the erata sheet), and nothing else. RU>I think a balanced mean between the two is best, actually. If the level of a character is fairly definite, it is possible to design to a low-medium target and GM's who play high-experience campaigns can beef them up. RU>(For those who missed it, among other things, it was suggested that RU>Uleria priest(esses)(!) give marriage counselling, sexual "coaching", RU>advice on how to find/romance a prospective mate, etc.. They don't HAVE RU>to be erotocomotose lucidity crazy, afterall!) All of this is perfectly correct. For about two years I have described Ulerians as a cross between Japanese Geisha and Renaisance Courtesans; highly skilled in music, language, dance, conversation, and pleasure. Their goal is individual harmony and peace. The write-ups say that their temples are divided into three parts; Social pleasure, Personal pleasure, and Family pleasure. IMG, if sufficient water is available, the Uleria temple will be the site of a public bath, as a function of Social pleasure. Bob Stancliff *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@mpgn.com with the line 'unsubscribe runequest-rules' as the body of the message. ------------------------------ End of RuneQuest-Rules-Digest V1 #40 ************************************ *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@mpgn.com with the line 'unsubscribe runequest-rules' as the body of the message. RuneQuest is a Trademark of Avalon Hill Games. With the exception of previously copyrighted material, unless specified otherwise all text in this digest is copyright by the author or authors, with rights granted to copy for personal use, to excerpt in reviews and replies, and to archive unchanged for electronic retrieval.