From: owner-runequest-rules@ (RuneQuest Rules Digest) To: runequest-rules-digest@lists.MPGN.COM Subject: RuneQuest Rules Digest V1 #75 Reply-To: runequest-rules@mpgn.com Sender: owner-runequest-rules@ Errors-To: owner-runequest-rules@ Precedence: bulk RuneQuest Rules Digest Friday, April 17 1998 Volume 01 : Number 075 RuneQuest is a trademark of Avalon Hill Games. All Rights Reserved. TABLE OF CONTENTS Re: [RQ-RULES] Re: RuneQuest Rules Digest V1 #71 Re: [RQ-RULES] The campaigns [RQ-RULES] Re: RuneQuest Rules Digest V1 #71 RE: [RQ-RULES] The campaigns [RQ-RULES] Spell Fumbles Re: [RQ-RULES] Bound Spirit & shamen Re: [RQ-RULES] Ghosts, Spirits, Matrices [RQ-RULES] Presence Limitation RE: [RQ-RULES] The campaigns [RQ-RULES] Re: The campaigns [RQ-RULES] Next..how about dodging, training, etc. 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, 17 Apr 1998 20:46:18 +0100 From: wal@eff.u-net.com (Nikk Effingham) Subject: Re: [RQ-RULES] Re: RuneQuest Rules Digest V1 #71 >In the Zeroth Wane, Yanafal Tarnils is described as a Super Hero. Now >he is a deity. Superherodom is merely a name for a powerful Hero, I >don't think there was anything special about Yanafal tarnils then or >Jar-Eel now. Certainly there is no mystical difference between them >and other Heroes/Deities. Ah yes, I remember reading that now. But I still would say that IMG Superheros are guys with the Inffinity Rune. As we are only quibbling over titles, and this List isn't really the place for such debates, we may as well end here. I understand that my application of the term will be different from other peoples. We could ask Greg but he'd only go and change his mind next week anyhow, soooo.... Nikk Nikk Effingham 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, 17 Apr 1998 20:46:21 +0100 From: wal@eff.u-net.com (Nikk Effingham) Subject: Re: [RQ-RULES] The campaigns >Nikk Effingham wrote: >> >> Geez, go to bed for eight hours, wake up and find 44 messages from the >> Digest in my box : ) > >Heh. Tell me about it. A week ago I wondered where everybody went. >Now... ANOTHER 24! I can't take it! And people had a go at ME for not having a life >I used a feature called Elan (borrowed from Stormbringer with bits of >Shadowrun) to reward roleplaying IMC. Basically, if you had 30 points of >Elan, you could choose to use any amount of it to lower your dice rolls; >i.e. if you had a 55% skill in Climb, chose to use 10 points of Elan, >and rolled a 65, you'd still succeed. Once used, it was gone, but I was >fairly generous with it for good roleplaying. This sounds quite good. I always considered adding Fate Points to my game, as in WFRP, as it might make people last longer... >I tried to be alot more stringent with ticks... with varying degrees of >success. I am quite free and easy with Ticks, and also hand out upto 3 extra bonus ticks depending on how well you role-played that session. I think that a different Experience system would be a Good Thing for RuneQuest. >> Is that a problem? While the first certainly is, attacking and destroying >> weaponary has been far easier than it should be, > >I've actually seen very few broken weapons over the years. I saw it happen quite a lot in one session. The weapons were not protected, the weapons were damage boosted and two good whacks destroyed them. The only reason, I think, that it isn't a common occurence in my game is that either the players haven't caught on how useful it would be, or they realise that if they do it to me, I'll do it to them : ) Just avoid the probelm rather than dealing with it : ) >If it has stats, it can be killed. Basic truism, no matter what the >system. Hardest part of my current Greyhawk conversion is turning all >those aweful stats into a cult writeup I can live with. Which is why we >used to crack open the D&D books and go on god killing sprees. "Fighter >20/Magic User 25/Thief 15? I can take THAT!" Roll,roll, thunk! I think its more of a point in RQ than any other game. You can't take the Tarrasque down with a critical hit to the head for instance. >> thing in our group used to be, when the GM was dealing with someone else, to >> postulate how to kill the Bat using whatever bizarre methods you wanted), > >My last group had a message chain (which the excluded me from!) on the >net over how to kill Vincent, their primary adversary (see my NPC post, >50+ digests back or so). They never did, though... in the end, it was >safer to let him have the power he sought and retreat home... By the way, we never did think of a way... Short of using 100 cataupults, 100 Swords of Humakt and 100 doses of POT 20 bladevenom >> conceivable that once they move into even more power, such as higher >> bladesharps, more rune magic, special abilites etc... that they could kill >> ANYTHING. If they put their minds to it. And used a lot of cunning. As one >> of my players who has a just-about-to-turn-adept character realized, if you >> get the drop on something in RuneQuest it's as good as dead. > >Same applies in nearly any game system, I think. Ambush is a happy >skill, when you're theone using it. :) Again, more so in RQ. Without your spells up, down you go... Nikk Nikk Effingham 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, 17 Apr 1998 16:12:06 -0500 From: stancliff@commnections.com Subject: [RQ-RULES] Re: RuneQuest Rules Digest V1 #71 RU>We always knew about this, one of the things in our campaign was RU>NEVER to ignore the trollkin with the spear as he would almost RU>certainly score a critical and kill you as you parried the Great RU>troll, defended out the Beserking Troll and chopped the Dark Troll in RU>pieces. A character of mine threw all of his best spells and rushed eight trollkin, confident that they couldn't hurt him in the three rounds he would need to clean them up. The end of the first round he took a well rolled impale in the leg and was fighting from the ground waiting for help to arrive. RU>Bob Stancliffe: Please do not add an 'e' to my name. Bob Stancliff (Stancliff@commnections.com) (http://commnections.com/upgrades) RU>In any case, most of the things my PCs summoned were cult spirits and RU>were subject to a Command Cult Spirit spell to force them to stay and RU>be bound. One of the advantages of being a shaman in a cult. You have appearently added Command Cult Spirit to a lot of cults for which it not listed. RU>Simon Phipp RU>======================================================= RU>If it has stats it can be killed. RU>If it is in the rules it can be abused. RU>If it is mentioned it can be targetted. RU>People can change the world and screw up the Timeline. RU>Restrictions are for NPCs, not for PCs. RU>Taking Power Gaming to new extremes (in a sensitive, role-playing way, of course) RU>======================================================= Cute, the D&D motto... I thought I grew out of that... I know a couple of power gamers, I was one for a while, but really I am a war gamer. My focus is offence/defense, checks & balances, relative strengths, min/max, strategy & tactics. My game is a mix of story telling and conflict resolutions, with a little real role playing squeezed in now and then. I can't really change my basic nature, just try to satisfy expectations. to: INT:runequest-rules@mpgn.com cc: INT:lackey@gator.net INT:afn50803@afn.org toobear *************************************************************************** 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, 17 Apr 1998 21:02:04 +0100 From: "Hibbs, Philip" Subject: RE: [RQ-RULES] The campaigns >As Diamond Dwarves have 2000% skills then I don't see gods having >5000% being out of the question.... If we considered a 200yr old >vampire, who turned master of a skill at 40, then estimate 3% increase >per year (very low IMO) you would have a skill of 570%. I think Gods >are more powerful than 200yr old vampires. Of course, this depends on the game world, so here I limit myself to Glorantha. I wouldn't even dream of writing down stats for gods. They are simply too different to describe in mundane terms. Encountering a God on a heroquest is a different matter, there what you encounter depends, like the rest of the quest, on a number of factors, possibly including who you are, what you believe, how you got there, how you are perceived by your fellow worshippers, and how powerful you are. All very much IMO, of course. philip.hibbs@tnt.co.uk or phibbs@compuserve.com http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/phibbs A single death is a tragedy a million deaths are a statistic Josef Stalin *************************************************************************** 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, 17 Apr 1998 21:04:47 +0100 From: "Hibbs, Philip" Subject: [RQ-RULES] Spell Fumbles Anyone got any house rules on spell fumbles? Mine are on my web page, it's a simple, small table. If anyone has any suggestions for results, please post them here. Please note my new homepage address, the old one is still valid though, but will not be updated. philip.hibbs@tnt.co.uk or phibbs@compuserve.com http://members.tripod.com/~PhilHibbs/ A single death is a tragedy a million deaths are a statistic Josef Stalin *************************************************************************** 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, 17 Apr 1998 16:25:28 -0500 From: stancliff@commnections.com Subject: Re: [RQ-RULES] Bound Spirit & shamen RU>Not that they ever tried it, but I was always prepared to rule that RU>using any of the defense boosting spells in a normal summoning would RU>have automatically summoned something huge (say, something with just RU>enough more POW to dominate the caster instantly in a straight fight). My punishment was that I took away any right to a Pow check. If the fight is close I give them one. RU>In a normal cult ritual, I'd have ruled that an emissary of the god RU>would show up and rebuke the applicant. For a shaman, the horned man RU>might well appear, and for sorcerers.... The horned man is quite beatable with just a few spells... just don't try binding him. RU>> Under RQ3 the rules say that a summoned spirit can leave when it RU>> chooses. RU>First, it has to roll under it's POW, checking once per round. In many RU>cases, that could be more than enough time to defeat it in spirit combat RU>or bind it, or whatever. But an embodied creature cannot initiate spirit combat, the spirit has to. So everyone waits around until the spirit rolls under it's POW, then it leaves. Control (spirit ) cannot be cast until it is reduced to zero MP's. Sorcerers and Priests have it easy... the summons works, you hit it with a spell, make a MP vs MP, and you are done. The problem is with shamen and spirit magicians. RU>The theory behind the various magical symbols (pentagrams, circles, RU>octagons, triangles, etc.) is that they were for containing spirits RU>and/or keeping them from shunting off before their summoners were done RU>with them. These are fine too, but they are also rule changes. The problem cannot be fixed without one. 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, 17 Apr 1998 16:28:28 -0500 From: stancliff@commnections.com Subject: Re: [RQ-RULES] Ghosts, Spirits, Matrices RU>So is failing to put user conditions on them. Right control spells can RU>call spirits right out of their bindings if the opposition knows what RU>you have ahead of time. I have used this a few time if the binding object was in line of sight for the magical vision to target. 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, 17 Apr 1998 21:55:23 +0100 From: "Hibbs, Philip" Subject: [RQ-RULES] Presence Limitation What do you think of this, those of you who know Sandy's Sorcery rules: If a sorcery user has not taken the High Vow, they have no Presence, thus their spells last for 10 minutes rather than being maintained. A logical extension of this rule would be that a Sorceror who exceeds his Presence can still cast spells, but they will only last for 10 minutes. This avoids the rather embarassing situation whereby a peasant with a spell matrix and a large reserve of magic points can cast more, and bigger, spells than a magus with the same equipment. philip.hibbs@tnt.co.uk or phibbs@compuserve.com http://members.tripod.com/~PhilHibbs/ A single death is a tragedy a million deaths are a statistic Josef Stalin *************************************************************************** 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, 17 Apr 1998 17:08:00 -0500 From: stancliff@commnections.com Subject: RE: [RQ-RULES] The campaigns RU>>As Diamond Dwarves have 2000% skills then I don't see gods having RU>>5000% being out of the question.... If we considered a 200yr old RU>>vampire, who turned master of a skill at 40, then estimate 3% increase RU>>per year (very low IMO) you would have a skill of 570%. I think Gods RU>>are more powerful than 200yr old vampires. Since I would not agree with the initial premise, the conclusion is in question. Once you hit 95%, regular increases are unlikely. There is no experience check if there is no challenge, just like Pow checks. An occasional research check should be awarded for commonly repeated tasks, but even a 200 year old vampire is not likely to reach 300%. We have started discussing viewpoints again. We play different styles. Beings outside time have stopped changing, they are locked in the eternal NOW. Immortals within time have lost interest in improving skills they have repeated for decades and centuries, so they eventually stop improving. The time required for a new skill check is proportional to your current skill, the better you get, the longer you wait. It places natural bounds on the real values a creature is likely to achieve, and each referee sets that bound himself. 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, 17 Apr 1998 23:10:47 +0200 From: Nils Weinander Subject: [RQ-RULES] Re: The campaigns Nikk: > > And with that, has anyone ever seen a copy of Mike Dawson's HeroQuest > rules???? I do know that he once, long ago, sent a copy to Greg. At RQCon II in San Francisco I played in a playtest session for a heroquest system written by Greg Maples. Mike Dawson co-GMed. Might that be the one? If so, I don't think it has been published. It seemed very scalable, but also rather complex, even though the level of abtraction was high. ______________________________________________________ Nils Weinander | Everything is dust in the wind nilsw@ibm.net | http://www.geocities.com/Paris/8689/ *************************************************************************** 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, 17 Apr 1998 16:49:26 -0500 From: Thomas Cooper Subject: [RQ-RULES] Next..how about dodging, training, etc. MAN it is so great to be reading all the posts & be able to work them into my game. I apologize for not being able to GIVE anything in yet, all I seem to be doing is getting, but I hope to change that one day. In that vein: 1] Can the Dodge skill be trained, or does it only go up by experience(& I DON'T mean researched-I mean being taught by another person). If so, can my PCs get it trained up to the 25% mark(a la RQ2)-or is that rule gone entirely in RQ3? 2] Does Befuddle REALLY affect higher Intelligence opponents more(i.e. the smarter you are the harder it is to come out of in) than lower ones; or is it a mistake? 3] From what I have read so far, in order to get the same benefit of POW/INT from 1 bound spirit in RQ2(i.e. bound in a power crystal, having it's intelligence & power available to the PC); you have to maintain TWO binding enchantments for TWO different types of Spirits! Is that correct? And how do YOUR PCs go about doing this-by themselves or paying for it?? As a side note, I'm being horrifically ruthless to my PCs; they are 3 17 year-old refugees from the Lunar invasion of the Holy Country who escaped via ship and are now arriving at the continent of Teleos to start their life! I'm thinking about giving them 1-2 experience checks for their primary weapon, 2 point armor, & disruption, and then letting them go! I'd appreciate hearing how yo'all start your new players-altho I understand most of you probably go by the experience/aging tables to assign skills/spells. I decided to make them work at this from the very beginning, since they've NEVER played RQ(well, 1 played RQ2 10 yrs agone ) & I want them to APPRECIATE every little thing they get! Thanks for all the input so far... Thomas Cooper, Jr. thomas@onr.com *************************************************************************** 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 #75 ************************************ *************************************************************************** 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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