From: owner-runequest-rules@ (RuneQuest-Rules-Digest) To: runequest-rules-digest@lists.MPGN.COM Subject: RuneQuest-Rules-Digest V1 #45 Reply-To: runequest-rules@mpgn.com Sender: owner-runequest-rules@ Errors-To: owner-runequest-rules@ Precedence: bulk RuneQuest-Rules-Digest Sunday, March 15 1998 Volume 01 : Number 045 RuneQuest is a trademark of Avalon Hill Games. All Rights Reserved. TABLE OF CONTENTS [RQ-RULES] Races, you say? [RQ-RULES] Temple of Heads etc... [RQ-RULES] Temple of Heads Re: [RQ-RULES] Re: Temple of Heads Re: [RQ-RULES] Re: Temple of Heads [RQ-RULES] Temple of Heads etc... [RQ-RULES] Cult writeup 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 22:58:18 -0500 From: Tal Meta Subject: [RQ-RULES] Races, you say? Two not-so-original races that appear on my homebrew world of Selef, the first recognizeable as the Fuzzies of H. Beam Piper fame, the second best known for their appearance on a certain series of science-fantasy TV serials as alternate enemies & allies of man... (just don't give these guys flying ships!) GASHTA STR: 2d3+3 CON: 5d6 SIZ: 2d3 INT: 2d6+6 POW: 2d6+6 DEX: 4d6 APP: 3d6 Culture: Primitive, Nomadic CPCost: -5 Gashta are small, golden-furred humanoids common to the eastern Namre forests. Their culture is best described as primitive, with most of their race engaged in nomadic hunter-gathering. However, gashta are naturally curious, and many have found their way into more civilized areas. They naturally possess the Advantage of Common Sense. Their fur is worth 1 AP. (the shaman I occasionally ramble on about was a member of this race). KLIN'ZAI STR: 3d6+3 CON: 2d6+4 SIZ: 2d6+8 INT: 2d6+6 POW: 2d8 DEX: 3d6 APP: 2d6+4 Culture: Nomadic, Barbarian CPCost: -3 Klin'zai are a humanoid race common to many island archipelagos all over Selef. Their society is a martial one, holding battle prowess, cunning, and direct action over such "soft" skills as diplomacy, agriculture, and art. Klin'zai are unique in one area; their culture has no gods. In fact, they consider anyone who slavishly worships gods to be beneath contempt. Klin'zai sorcerers are known to exist among the nobility of this race, and are reportedly quite formidable. I also have a couple of races borrowed from Talislanta, if anyone is interested. , *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@mpgn.com with the line 'unsubscribe runequest-rules' as the body of the message. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 14 Mar 1998 15:00:26 GMT From: "Nikk Effingham" Subject: [RQ-RULES] Temple of Heads etc... I think that while Than Ulbar would be an intresting choice, a simple temple in Dorastor would be easier, and also more likely to suceed. The problem is theat from what I can gather Than Ulbar is BIG, also we do not know all that much about the area. Placing it in Dorastor allows us to place it in an area we all know something about, and cuts down on conjecture, and probably arguments I'm wiling to do either. With consideration however, I do not think we should rule out the temple because it includes high level beings. If we are going to detail a reasonably large temple then it should be impossible for any but high level characters to permantley destroy. It should be relatively easy to create a temple and surrodning area that can be used for games at all power levels. There is more to be found in a Thanatari temple than merely killing the High Priest! Oh, and I LOVE the idea of a Thanatari gardener : ) Nikk E. 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: Sat, 14 Mar 1998 15:33:43 GMT From: "Nikk Effingham" Subject: [RQ-RULES] Temple of Heads >RU>Set Membership: >RU>1 - God(In two pieces) >RU>3 - High Priests >RU>2 - Priests of Each Sect >RU>2 - Acolytes each >RU>Initiates, Lay Members/Visitors >RU>Prisoners >RU>Slaves/Undead >3HP+6P+6A=15 Rune levels x 30 Init ea = 450 Initiates (min) I think that there would be one High Priest of Dark Truths, with three underlings, one priest, one rune lord, one shaman. This would be according to the description of the cult in Book of Drastic Resolutions. Has anyone read the Doomed Man article from Simon Phipps webpage? Excellent stuff and deserving of any Thanatari temple IMO and an absolute must for inclusion. As for large numbers of initiates, I think most worshippers only come to the cult on high holy days and spend the rest of their tiome milling around Dorastor doing what chaos does best... > Chaos temples this big are hard to hide near holy days, several > local >communities provide worshippers and many of the locals must be >terrorized into silence. I think that to avoid destruciton at the hands of cult foes, the temple might have some powerful magics to hide it. Otherwise I'm sure the cult enemies (re: Ralzakark) would discover it and invade it. Unless, of course, it is a face of Ralzakark that is high priest.... Nikk E. 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: Sat, 14 Mar 1998 13:17:44 -0500 From: stancliff@commnections.com Subject: Re: [RQ-RULES] Re: Temple of Heads RU><< If you want to do a honking big temple you could do the one in the middle RU> of the chaos wastes, in the tunneled hills. Than-Ulbar is more of a large RU> town, I guess, but still would be amusing. >> RU>Sounds like the perfect place for it! I have been trying to see if three people would agree on one site. Someone suggests another place and someone else say Great, but there is no concensus. We now have three possible sites for a Thanatar temple, ranging from a minor temple in Dorastor to a major temple in Carmania, to 'The Great Temple of Thanatar' hidden in the Wastes. This is going on and on. 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: Sat, 14 Mar 1998 13:33:09 EST From: JULIAKIR Subject: Re: [RQ-RULES] Re: Temple of Heads In a message dated 98-03-14 13:29:31 EST, you write: << We now have three possible sites for a Thanatar temple, ranging from a minor temple in Dorastor to a major temple in Carmania, to 'The Great Temple of Thanatar' hidden in the Wastes. This is going on and on. >> I do not think it matters where it is located for now. People can place it there they want in their worlds. I would like to start concentrating on the temple itself and the people/things in it, as that was the original idea. 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: Sat, 14 Mar 1998 14:22:28 -0500 From: stancliff@commnections.com Subject: [RQ-RULES] Temple of Heads etc... RU>I think that while Than Ulbar would be an intresting choice, a simple RU>temple in Dorastor would be easier, and also more likely to suceed. RU>Oh, and I LOVE the idea of a Thanatari gardener : ) RU>Nikk E. This was the first suggestion, and is still the best... so lets try to set the stage. High in the foothills on the south edge of Dorastor between the Hellwood and Fort Wrath are the ruins of a first age temple complex that was damaged and abandoned during the Arkat wars. When Dorastor reawoke, a small group of Thanatari from Carmania moved here and started getting Lay worship from local broo gangs. They have managed over the years to add new members and expand until they qualify as a minor temple. The population changes ocasionally, but is about 3-4 priests, 3 of whom act as high priests for the various branches, 6-8 accolytes also spread between the three branches, 100 initiates (mainly broo) about 10 of which are in attendance on a rotating basis, and roughly 1000 broo lay members living in the region. A temple with this many rune levels needs about 300 initiates, but the lay members substitute at a 5 to1 ratio (magic offerings from lay members are not as effective). Also, the quality of a temple is based on the sacrificing for divine magic, so this temple cannot afford to lose any initiates now that they have reached this new plateau. Safety lies in secrecy, no regular visits are permitted. there should also be well hidden tunnel entrances leading in from various directions. To maintain secrecy, the surface area has been left untouched. Broo gangs and other monsters have been encouraged to drive off any strangers, and the only time real traffic can be spotted in the area is when the worshippers show up for holy days. The residents spend most of the time in underground rooms and corridors, some of which lead to a natural cavern where worship is held. There should be gardening of fungi's and chaotic plants similar to Dyskund in the 'Borderlands' to be augmented by any other food offerings. Next...? 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: Sun, 15 Mar 1998 13:57:19 -0800 (PST) From: allen wallace Subject: [RQ-RULES] Cult writeup The following is one of the primary cults in my game, the cult of Terra. Some additional background is needed. The world, Paramus, has two primary and hostile pantheons. The Eldar pantheon (which is not connected to the Eldar Races causing great irritation to good librarians everywhere), and the Dragonlords. The Eldar Pantheon is most similar to Gloranthan cults, requiring certain skill levels or the like for admittance and advancement. The Dragonlords admittance is by blood right only. In all cases an individual must be magically active already to initiate into adivine mysteries. Cults in both cases will support the primary initiation (to Magic) of likely candidates. Anyway, on with the show. Terra, Earth Queen, Mistress of Earth Terra (Terhalla) History Terra is the goddess of elemental earth and fertility. It was she who fostered the found children, the patrons of living things. Some of her human worshippers name her Terhalla. She is the archetype of the protective mother. During the Chaos Age she protected her children and followers, but not skillfully, hers were not the arts of war. Fiar, the god of professional soldiers, was master of the arts of war, but the times demanded more for survival. Terra and Fiar came to an agreement, each would support the other. Fiar and his followers defended Terra and her followers, and taught them to defend themselves. In return Terra provided food and shelter, and most important, healing. Temples of each will always have a shrine to the other, and dual membership is not uncommon, particularly among the Terhalli amazons. Soldiers and mercenaries do not act against earth temples. During the Chaos age Terhalla, aided by Fiar, destroyed Korhas Tora, the Enslaver, who had enslaved her followers, and stolen her Holy Island. His death curse was that any non-juvenile male who set foot on that island would contract a horrible, generally fatal wasting illness. Fiar proved too strong for the curse, and his descendents, the Fiari, have proven more resistant than their human counterparts. Earth Temples or shrines can be found in almost every inhabited land, even where the rest of the pantheon is not worshipped. The hostility between the followers of the Dragon Lords and the Eldar Pantheon does not include Terra. The Earth Temples tend to have favorable connections with the Sun Dragon cult. The High Holy Days for Terra are the three days of the autumnal equinox. Membership Initiate (Primary) Any child born on the Holy Island of Terhalla always passes the Test of Terra. These children have Terhallas Gifts, +3 to STR, CON, SIZ. A rare few are born initiated. Candidates must pass a series of tests. (Tests are task level 20) The Test of the Fosterlings: Plant Lore, Animal Lore, Human Lore, First Aid, Sing? The Tests Of Tetra: Mineral Lore, Any Constructive Craft The Tests of Fiar: any attack, any defense The Test of Terra: POW x 1 (POW x 3 for Terhalli or Fiari) The Test of Self: successful completion of initiation. Initiates gain the standard initiatory abilities of a spirit mage. Initiates Requirements: Initiates should observe the holy days of Terra, the autumn equinox Initiates should provide food, drink and shelter to those in dire need, within reason. Safety of ones charges and person may take precedence. Initiate of the Outer Mysteries Must have mastered Ceremony. Must pass again the Tests. (Task level 50) The Test of the Fosterlings: Plant Lore, Animal Lore, Human Lore, First Aid, Sing? The Tests Of Tetra: Mineral Lore, Any Constructive Craft The Tests of Fiar: any attack, any defense The Test of Terra: POW x 3 (POW x 1 for adepts) The Test of Self: successful completion of initiation. Initiates of the Outer Mysteries gain access to the common divine magic available to the cult, and the Command Earth Elemental spell. Sorcerers additionally gain the sorcery spell, Earthwall, not requiring free INT. Mage Adepts gain access to the special adept Earth spells. Other Adepts gain the standard initiatory abilities of a spirit mage in addition to divine magic. Initiates requirements: Initiates of the Outer mysteries are required to take part in and support the holy rituals of the Earth Temple and associates when they are called upon to do so. Initiate of the Inner Mysteries Must pass again the Tests. (Mastery) The Test of the Fosterlings: Plant Lore, Animal Lore, Human Lore, First Aid, Sing? The Tests Of Tetra: Mineral Lore, Any Constructive Craft The Tests of Fiar: any attack, any defense The Test of Terra: POW x 3 The Test of Self: successful completion of initiation. Initiates of the inner mysteries gain access to the special divine magic of the cult. Sorcerers additionally gain the Inter spell, not requiring free INT. Special Divine Magic: Bless Birth, Earth Shield, Earth Strength, Fertility, Heal Body, Restore Health (all) Initiate Requirements: An initiate will provide food, shelter and healing to an initiate of Fiar who asks. An initiate will provide food, shelter and protection to the initiates of Tetra, Arae, Sarae, Barae, Adarra, and Ebarra who ask. These initiates may be required to perform a reasonable and appropriate task. Initiate of the Innermost Mysteries The Innermost Mysteries are attained after special quests, and mystic journeys. The Tests are as individualized as are the tested. Only a very few attain the Innermost Mysteries. Initiates of the Innermost Mysteries gain the ability, EarthChannels. In a place sanctified or holy to Terra the initiates magic points and fatigue are instantly replenished as long as the initiate is touching bare earth (or unworked stone). These powers are almost always tied to one particular spot, usually a temple, for that initiate. There are a very rare few who are able to tap this way into the network of Earth Channels (ley lines) throughout the world. The requirements of the initiate gaining the Innermost Mysteries are individual. Associated Mysteries An initiate of Terras mysteries may initiate to the outer mysteries of any Eldar pantheon cult, or Draconic cult. The initiate may initiate to the inner mysteries of the cults of Tetra, Fiar, Arae, Barae, Sarae, Adarra and Ebarra. There are also many local spirits attached to or allied with the various Earth Temples. Special Divine Magic Bless Birth 2 points touch, instant, nonstackable, reusable Can only be cast on a pregnant initiate of Terra, or a non-initiated worshipper who was under the influence of the Fertility blessing when the child was conceived. The conception must have otherwise been natural. The chances of miscarriage, birth problems, etc are halved. If the mother is an initiate the child receives a bonus of 2 on STR, SIZ, and CON, and the child will automatically pass the Test of Terra should (s)he attempt to initiate to Terra. Earth Shield 3 points Touch, Temporal, Nonstackable, Reusable Must be cast upon a shield, the shield will have unlimited AP for the duration of the spell. Any knockback from a successful parry is negated as well. Earth Strength 1 point Self, Temporal, Stackable, Reusable Each point raises the casters STR, CON, SIZ (effective) by 2. Note that damage sustained that is survivable with the extra HP provided by the spell might prove fatal when the spell expires. The increase in size is only for knockback resistance, HP and computing damage bonus, the caster does not actually get larger. There are no known limits to the stackability of this spell. Fertility 2 points Ritual ceremony The fertility ritual is cast once each year at the autumnal equinox. Farmers bring seed and small sacks of dirt from their fields, herders bring their animals. Couples wishing healthy babies and safe birth join the ritual as well. All these are passed through an earthen or stone arch and are blessed by the Earth priestesses. The natural procreative processes are enhanced by the total of the magic bonuses of the high priestess officiating the ritual, and of the priestess who performed the individual blessing. The Individual blessings require a 1 point MP expenditure by an Earth Priestess participating in the ritual, and that the individual or representative sample be touched. Individual blessings generally require some sort of speecial recompence to the Temple. The blessing lasts the entire year. Heal Body 3 points Touch, Instant, Nonstackable, Reusable This spell cures a body of all non-critical damage. All light and serious damage is erased for both general and location HP. Any critical wounds remain, but this damage is not reflected on general HP. This will not restore a maimed or severed limb, but will help insure the injured at least survives. If the abdomen, chest, or head are at critical damage levels the restored general HP will continue to be lost as per normal with such wounds, but at a slower rate. Severed limbs will be "sealed", Excessively damaged attached limbs will effect as a body or head wound. A limb severed within a minute of the casting of Heal Body will cause no general HP damage, and will be relatively painless. Restore Health (all) 1 point Touch, Instant, Stackable, *Reusable* This spell restores characteristic points that have been lost to disease or to magical or undead Curses, Taps and Drains. The spell does not cure the disease if it is still present. POW, SAN or EDU cannot be restored with this spell. Restores at a one for one basis. *This spell is one use if used on individuals not initiated to Terra, or to restore characteristic points lost to the Curse of Korhas Tora in any case. **** Oh, one last thing, associate cults must be initiated to to gain their magic, and all initiatory requirements for that cult must be met as well. On the plus side, all magic available to their initiates is available to the "cross-trainer". Comments? Allen *************************************************************************** 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 #45 ************************************ *************************************************************************** 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.