From: owner-runequest-rules@ (RuneQuest-Rules-Digest) To: runequest-rules-digest@lists.MPGN.COM Subject: RuneQuest-Rules-Digest V1 #42 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 042 RuneQuest is a trademark of Avalon Hill Games. All Rights Reserved. TABLE OF CONTENTS [RQ-RULES] March Pitch... Re: [RQ-RULES] Re: NPC Re: [RQ-RULES] Re: Familiars [RQ-RULES] Pow Gains [RQ-RULES] re: POW Loss/Gain Re: [RQ-RULES] Re: NPC Re: [RQ-RULES] Re: NPC Re: [RQ-RULES] Re: NPC Re: [RQ-RULES] Re: NPC Re: [RQ-RULES] The Temple of Heads Re: [RQ-RULES] Re: NPC Re: [RQ-RULES] Re: NPC 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: Fri, 13 Mar 1998 11:41:14 -0500 From: Tal Meta Subject: [RQ-RULES] March Pitch... I've still got copies of the following for sale. Prices listed do not include shipping. Unless otherwise indicated, all items are used, but in VG - EX condition. A ""*"" after the price indicates that multiple copies are available. AHG - 85712 - Apple Lane (SW) $4.00* AHG - 85713 - Snake Pipe Hollow (SW) $5.00* AHG - 8572 - RuneQuest 3 GM's Box (SW) $10.00 (This item contains books 3, 4, & 5, plus map of Fantasy Europe & Play Aids) AHG - 8573 - Monster Coliseum (SW) $12.00* AHG - 8575 - Character Sheets: Non-Human (SW) $5.00* AHG - 8577 - Gods of Glorantha (SW) $18.00 AHG - 8586 - Trollpak (SW) $12.00 AHG - 8590 - Sun County (SW) $7.00* AHG - 8593 - Strangers in Prax (SW) $8.00* AHG - 8594 - Shadows on the Borderland (SW) $8.00* AHG - 8595 - Lords of Terror (SW) $8.00* CHA - 4001h - RuneQuest 2nd Ed. (Hardcover) (EX) $60.00 CHA - 4001s - RuneQuest 2nd Ed. (Softcover) (EX) $25.00 CHA - 4017 - Soloquest 1 (NM) $12.00* CHA - 4017 - Soloquest 1 (VG) $10.00* I also have materials for several other RPGs available, please e-mail me privately for a complete list. *************************************************************************** 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 08:39:49 PST From: "Leon Kirshtein" Subject: Re: [RQ-RULES] Re: NPC >Leon Kirshtein said: >RU>How about RQ3(no errata please, I think it made things worse)with >RU>Sandy's Sorcery rules (much better than RQ3 and available to all on the >RU>internet). > Bob Stancliff said: > I personally refuse to run a Western campaign, and I don't appreciate >what I have seen of Sandy's rules. I never thought the RQ3 rules were >broken, but I finally decided the RQ4 rules were a good idea. > In my game I will never allow a Medieval European culture, it is too >big a clash with the Lunar style of an early iron age Roman Empire >(which is described as the most dynamic culture in Glorantha). When I >refer to the west at all it is as a Persian culture, very early Islamic: >"there is no god but the Invisible God, and Malkion is his prophet". How about some other opinions. This is not going to work with just three or four people. With three or four we will have a difference of opinion, with more we can have a consensus. Leon ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com *************************************************************************** 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 09:07:16 PST From: "Leon Kirshtein" Subject: Re: [RQ-RULES] Re: Familiars > For a second opinion, check the two familiars in "Strangers in Prax", >especially Nailhead. The writer stresses the individuality of the >familiar and that it does pretty much what it wants unless given a >direct order. This is why a sorcerer is supposed to be a friend of the >familiar before casting the spell, so that it Will not (not Can not) >betray him. >Bob Stancliff I do not buy into the idea of an equal relationship between the sorceror and his familiar. But I am willing to give on the amount of leeway a familiar has. Also note that 'direct order' is absolute and implies no choice. Leon Kirshtein ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com *************************************************************************** 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 12:35:04 -0500 From: stancliff@commnections.com Subject: [RQ-RULES] Pow Gains RU>Leon Kirshtein wrote RU>If the character is willing to take these kinds of risks, then give them RU>the power checks. But I don't want anyone crying then things go wrong. This last week a player fumbled two rolls bringing in unexpected spirits which he was able to drive back, but then he brought in the 10% very large spirit which abused him in spite of his spells. We haven't worked out the resolution yet. RU>I give a power check to a character (outside of combat) if he succeds in RU>overcoming the power of a spirit and at the time the spirits Pow is RU>greater than or equal to that of a character. I ended up with a very similar rule and there are still ways to modify the odds with magic. 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 12:55:27 -0500 From: Tal Meta Subject: [RQ-RULES] re: POW Loss/Gain stancliff@commnections.com wrote: > > I try to enforce the same rule, but there is loss involved if > the spirit is big enough to be able to win. The PC risks > possession and the monetary loss of exorcism by a shaman or > healing spirit. Fighting a ghost is even more risky since > posession can mean death or the ghost trying to keep the body. Depends on the ghost, too. When I remembered to roll for angry spirits coming to seek our party's shaman, a good bet was usually the ghost of a semi-recently slain foe, come back for revenge. As such ghosts often had spells, the shaman usually had a few points of damage from magic before spirit combat was even joined. Delecti wrote: > A good rule of thumb is to not allow POW increases for checks in > which the checker had a 90+% chance of winning, it being to easy > and not enough strain on them. Also the same can go for simple > skill checks where the skill is 75+% it is too routine. I use pretty much the same rule, as a carryover from my Stormbringer days. In addition, if the spirit wins the combat, and for some reason can't possess the character, I give it a point of the character's POW and mark it as a future enemy looking for an excuse to come and whup that character again. > I rule familiars are not slaves and have a character all thier own > (which is a good reason to take the time to notice all your > familiar-to-be's quirks. Turning a herd man you bought from > unreputable slavers and into a familiar may end you up with an > unlucky ogre priest of cacodemon! Heh. But what a bounty there! You gain access to all the spells he knew... (which may not be so lucky for you, depending on where you are). Leon Kirshtein wrote: > I do not buy into the idea of an equal relationship between the > sorceror and his familiar. But I am willing to give on the amount > of leeway a familiar has. Also note that 'direct order' is > absolute and implies no choice. I don't think anybody is arguing for "equality", simply a dose of self-awareness in the familiar. A hawk turned familiar is stil going to crave the freedom of flight, no matter if it's master is afraid of heights. *************************************************************************** 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 12:52:34 -0500 From: stancliff@commnections.com Subject: Re: [RQ-RULES] Re: NPC RU>Well, if you want to be real energetic, you could put in the basr RQ3 plus t RU>conversion to your rules (as well as where to look them up) in it also. That RU>way we can see how it works somewhat. I wouldn't be adverse to typing in a small number of NPC's and dumping the files to text. This project looks like it really needs a web site to sponsor it. It will not only overload this compendium, but it is also more Gloranthan than rules based, although it might be used to compare rules versions. Bob Stancliff (Stancliff@commnections.com) (http://commnections.com/upgrades) *************************************************************************** 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 13:03:18 EST From: Kennjewlz Subject: Re: [RQ-RULES] Re: NPC Wow, For a second there it looked like folks'd be dropping their NPCs into this Digest. This is a good thing;different folks,different campaigns,different takes on the NPCS and on the Rules that made 'em ;and if some of the skills or powers or whatnot aren't exactly BTB(by-the-book),so what?The write-up of someone like Gunda ,for example, was just terrific,yet at the same time had a lot of (well to ME,anyway) arcane references & mysterious effects I wasn't all that familiar with,yet it didn't detract from my enjoyment of seeing the write-up.Really got me thinking about stuff... Now folks seem to be steering away from just-plain-NPCs (whether with a Gloranthan slant or not) into cobbling together a Thanatar(sic?) temple/village complex packed with Thanatari NPCS. What gives?Aren't these guys supposed to be EVIL cultists?(doh! I think my Glorantha Lore 35% is showing)...At this point it seems like things're,in effect, heading towards construction of the next Big Badguy Stronghold for 007 to come along and cleverly destroy. Well,Thanatari Supervillians or not, I still plan on dropping an NPC or 2 here even if it doesn't fit into a Gloranthan POV (besides,the letter I received upon subbing to this Digest actually seemed to encourage leaving Glorantha at the door). Sorry for going off like that,but it's been bothering me for a couple of days now... -Ken- be Fiann-valorous in your wounding exploits! *************************************************************************** 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 13:35:16 -0500 From: stancliff@commnections.com Subject: Re: [RQ-RULES] Re: NPC RU>Leon RU>How about some other opinions. This is not going to work with just RU>three or four people. With three or four we will have a difference of RU>opinion, with more we can have a consensus. As long as we deal with published cults, the NPC write-ups will have very little conflict with personal house rules. Those don't matter much until you try to run the NPC. It will be different if we try to agree on a western sorcery temple, there are at least three current sorcery varients. What we need first is the temple diety, size and location so that people can determine character types and races. Size should determine the number of Rune Levels, and there should be one or two boarding initiates for each priest, besides the normal followers. This will put bounds on the number of characters to make. A temple to Thanatar in Dorastor was suggested. That would make it a shrine or Minor Temple unless there is a large broo following. Probably two to four rune levels unless you have that following, then you could add three or four more. If it is not predominately Broo, it would be on the boarder of the Risklands, trying to hide from the new settlers. This would mean it is mainly Human and Ogre and very small. Should participants suggest thumbnail bio's to make sure the characters are compatible, or are you all going to write up an NPC, just to find out everyone wrote the High Priest? Bob Stancliff (Stancliff@commnections.com) (http://commnections.com/upgrades) *************************************************************************** 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 10:51:47 PST From: "Leon Kirshtein" Subject: Re: [RQ-RULES] Re: NPC >Ken Kennjewlz wrote: > Now folks seem to be steering away from just-plain-NPCs (whether with a Gloranthan slant or not) into cobbling together a Thanatar(sic?) temple/village complex packed with Thanatari NPCS. What gives? Aren't these guys supposed to be EVIL cultists Thanatari, evil? No. I really think they are just misunderstood, all they want do to is just get ahead in life. But seriously, they are so much fun and so dangerous that I look on this project as a real challenge to build a viable complex. A website to keep track and status sounds like almost a must. Maybe Chaosium will be willing to help (we can keep the stats of their site) I do not belive that by pursuing this we do not have to abandon the idea of sharing other NPCs. We can do both and enjoy the best of two worlds. Leon Kirshtein ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com *************************************************************************** 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 16:07:33 EST From: Delecti Subject: Re: [RQ-RULES] The Temple of Heads In a message dated 98-03-13 11:06:53 EST, you write: << > 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? I have no objections to this... anyone else in favor? (Maybe we'll toss in a liche, for good measure ). >> I like it. Delecti, Lord of the Upland Marsh aka Scott Knowles, USA Coordinator for The Chaos Society http://members.aol.com/delecti/UpMarsh.html Delecti@aol.com http://members.aol.com/Glorantha/chaossoc.html ChaosSociety@juno.com "I looked in the trap, Ray." -Egon Spengler, "Ghostbusters" *************************************************************************** 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 16:07:45 EST From: Delecti Subject: Re: [RQ-RULES] Re: NPC In a message dated 98-03-13 13:10:37 EST, you write: << Well,Thanatari Supervillians or not, I still plan on dropping an NPC or 2 here even if it doesn't fit into a Gloranthan POV (besides,the letter I received upon subbing to this Digest actually seemed to encourage leaving Glorantha at the door). Sorry for going off like that,but it's been bothering me for a couple of days now... >> No problem Ken, most of what is being discussed is Gloranthan, but it still can be used elsewhere. I for one like it either way. Go ahead and send in a NPC or many. All I originally asked for was a description and background (gloranthan or not) so I could garner ideas and see what others are coming up with. The description and background not only flesh out an NPC, but would allow me you convert it to my system (RQ3.5) Delecti, Lord of the Upland Marsh aka Scott Knowles, USA Coordinator for The Chaos Society http://members.aol.com/delecti/UpMarsh.html Delecti@aol.com http://members.aol.com/Glorantha/chaossoc.html ChaosSociety@juno.com "What if life actually *was* fair, and we somehow deserved all the truly awful things that happened to us?" -- Marcus Cole, Babylon 5 *************************************************************************** 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 16:07:51 EST From: Delecti Subject: Re: [RQ-RULES] Re: NPC << But seriously, they are so much fun and so dangerous that I look on this project as a real challenge to build a viable complex. A website to keep track and status sounds like almost a must. Maybe Chaosium will be willing to help (we can keep the stats of their site) >> Well, considering it is RQ maybe not. How about a Geocities site, since it is free. I also have the space, but not the time (Chaos Society web pages and all!), so I could put it up, but someone would have to write it. Delecti, Lord of the Upland Marsh aka Scott Knowles, USA Coordinator for The Chaos Society http://members.aol.com/delecti/UpMarsh.html Delecti@aol.com http://members.aol.com/Glorantha/chaossoc.html ChaosSociety@juno.com "I looked in the trap, Ray." -Egon Spengler, "Ghostbusters" *************************************************************************** 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 16:07:48 EST From: Delecti Subject: Re: [RQ-RULES] Re: NPC <> Call it, first come first serve? Or who ever want the HP ask, and if we are agreed, then go on to the next level while it is being worked on. If you have a background part to add to another character, then email the person who has that position and work it out. Delecti, Lord of the Upland Marsh aka Scott Knowles, USA Coordinator for The Chaos Society http://members.aol.com/delecti/UpMarsh.html Delecti@aol.com http://members.aol.com/Glorantha/chaossoc.html ChaosSociety@juno.com "What if life actually *was* fair, and we somehow deserved all the truly awful things that happened to us?" -- Marcus Cole, Babylon 5 *************************************************************************** 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 #42 ************************************ *************************************************************************** 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. 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