From: owner-runequest-rules@ (RuneQuest Rules Digest) To: runequest-rules-digest@lists.MPGN.COM Subject: RuneQuest Rules Digest V1 #142 Reply-To: runequest-rules@mpgn.com Sender: owner-runequest-rules@ Errors-To: owner-runequest-rules@ Precedence: bulk RuneQuest Rules Digest Wednesday, August 19 1998 Volume 01 : Number 142 RuneQuest is a trademark of Avalon Hill Games. All Rights Reserved. TABLE OF CONTENTS Re: [RQ-RULES] RQ: Ancient Greece Re: [RQ-RULES] RQ: Ancient Greece Re: [RQ-RULES] RQ4 [RQ-RULES] DMD - St. Cuthbert for RQ/Greyhawk RE: [RQ-RULES] RQ4 RE: [RQ-RULES] RQ4 [RQ-RULES] RQ: Ancient Greece Re: [RQ-RULES] RQ4 RE: [RQ-RULES] RQ: Ancient Greece 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: Tue, 18 Aug 1998 13:35:10 -0400 From: Tal Meta Subject: Re: [RQ-RULES] RQ: Ancient Greece Guy Hoyle wrote: > > I'm exploring the possibility of setting up a RuneQuest (3rd Edition) > campaign in Ancient Greece (the Heroic Age, not the Classical Era), and > was scouting around for anybody who had done any work on cults and magic, > or anything else that might be of interest. I'm pretty good at Greek > mythology (well, I have a lot of books...), and I also have the "Mythic > Greece" supplement for ICE/Hero System; the latter has some great > thumbnail sketches of Greek cities and the rest of the world that would come in > very handy. I don't have anything myself, but I'd certainly welcome any cult writeups anyone else had to share. I did take the trouble to type in a Dragon article detailing the summoning and manifestation of divine avatars; I'd hesitate at posting it to the list, but I can send anyone who wants one a copy of the relevent text. Another good sourcebook might be TSR's Age of Heroes (9408) from their Historical Reference series; it does a good job of describing much of the Heroic Age Grecian culture. - -- talmeta@bellatlantic.net - I *am* one of the Chosen Few! ICQ - 12594453 AIM - talmeta1 TANJ Lives! - *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@mpgn.com with the line 'unsubscribe runequest-rules' as the body of the message. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Aug 1998 13:47:46 EDT From: IssariesGT@aol.com Subject: Re: [RQ-RULES] RQ: Ancient Greece In a message dated 8/18/98 12:38:23 PM Eastern Daylight Time, ghoyle1@airmail.net writes: << I'm exploring the possibility of setting up a RuneQuest (3rd Edition) campaign in Ancient Greece (the Heroic Age, not the Classical Era), and I was scouting around for anybody who had done any work on cults and magic, or anything else that might be of interest. I'm pretty good at Greek mythology (well, I have a lot of books...), and I also have the "Mythic Greece" supplement for ICE/Hero System; the latter has some great thumbnail sketches of Greek cities and the rest of the world that would come in very handy. >> Different Worlds dis old RQ2 cult write-ups for some of the major Greek and Norse deities. keith *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@mpgn.com with the line 'unsubscribe runequest-rules' as the body of the message. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Aug 1998 20:02:24 +0100 From: Nikk Effingham Subject: Re: [RQ-RULES] RQ4 At 01:48 18/07/98 -0700, you wrote: > I have seen many references to RQ4, as well as other new >mechanics, such as Sandy Petersens rules on Shamanism. Can anyone give me >a location to find a copy of these? I have found a summary of RQ4, but it >leaves alot to be desired. I have also located the sorcery and saints >rules, but that is about it. I do believe that Seve Marsh had a set of RQIV rules on his website. If there isn't a copy on the Net mail me and I'd be willing to send you them (Bob, do you have thme on your page? I can't remember...). Sandy Petersen's Shaman Rules are in their pre-embryotic production stage and have only been seen by the odd person or two I do believe. If Sandy gave permission I'm sure somebody would put them on the Net somewhere. Nikk E. _______________________________________________________ Nikk Effingham E-mail: nikk@MailAndNews.com WWW: 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: Tue, 18 Aug 1998 19:55:21 -0400 From: Tal Meta Subject: [RQ-RULES] DMD - St. Cuthbert for RQ/Greyhawk Semi-regular info banner. Greyhawk (TM) TSR/WOTC RuneQuest (TM) Avalon Hill/Hasbro Thanx go out to Gary Gygax for letting us play in his world, Len Lakofka for sharing what he knows, and to Samuel Weiss, Nathan Irving, Rip Van Wormer, Will McPhereson, and a host of others on the lists for letting me nick their ideas from time to time. (Now back to out regularly scheduled non-canon writeups) ST. CUTHBERT Runes: Law, Intellect, Truth St. Cuthbert of the Cudgel is the god of Wisdom, Common Sense, Dedication, and Zeal. Cult in the World St. Cuthbert is part of a trinity of three ascended mortals who followed Rao in life, yet took separate paths emulating their Lord. Cuthbert trod the Path of Reason, and along the way he gained the Rune of Truth, as well, making him the most successful of the three Sainted Ones, as well as the most martially inclined. Cuthbert's faith is a strict one, nearly as strict as the cult of Pholtus. Those who refuse to see Reason or Truth can expect to have it pounded into them, until they "see the error of their ways". Cuthbert's High Holy Day is the 29th of Goodmonth, his mortal birthday, as well as his Day of Ascension. Lesser services are held each Godsday, as well. St. Cuthbert's places of worship run from small shrines in rural settings to rough chapels in more civilized lands. Temples (where they exist) are generally constructed of white marble or limestone, and contain shrines to Carmichael, Trowbane, and Rao. Priests of St. Cuthbert generally wear a vareity of garb, depending on their status and position in the church. Lay Membership Requirements: Lay members of Cuthbert's faith generally sport a lot of lumps. Doctrine is very important to this cult, and failure to get things right the first time often results in correction with a wooden billet. Skills taught by the cult include Dodge, Debate, Orate, Speak Languages, First Aid, Human Lore, Read/Write Languages, World Lore, Listen, Scan, Ceremony, Mace attack/parry, and Doctrinal Discipline. Initiate Membership Requirements: In addition to the standard requirements, the candidate must possess a Doctrinal skill of at least 50%, and must succeed in 3 out of 5 rolls against that skill. Known as Billets, they dress in simple brown and russet garments, carry a stout bronzewood billet, and serve their communities as ministers and protectors of the faithful. Spirit Magic: Admonish, Banish Spirit, Bludgeon, Mind Delve*, Protection * - only available to Stars (priests). Acolyte Membership Requirements: Applicants to the order of the Chapeaux must, in addition to the standard requirements, possess a Doctrinal skill of 75%. The Chapeaux are charged with seeking converts to the faith, and with watching the Billets beneath them for backsliding. Their garments vary, but they all wear crumpled hats as a symbol of their order. Rune Lord Membership Requirements: as per priests, below. St. Cuthbert's crusaders are known by a variety of names, but they are officially known as the Correctors. They are charged with carrying the message of their Lord to those who have rebuffed all other messengers. They are trained to meet violence against their faith with violence, but refrain from engaging in mayhem for mayhem's sake. Correctors have no particular garb, though they favor heavy armor and weild maces in combat. The forces of Iuz are a particularly hated foe. Priesthood Requirements: In addition to the standard requirements, candidate priests must possess a 90% skill in Doctrinal Discipline, as well as vows of charity and celibacy. Priests of St. Cuthbert are known as Stars, and wear dark green robes adorned with the Holy Starburst of their order. Their ultimate goal is to insure doctrinal purity among their flocks, a task they are aided in by their use of the Mind Delve spell. Virtues for Cuthbert include: Energetic, Honest, Loyal and Stubborn. Common Divine Magic: all Special Divine Magic: Command Worshippers, Detect Truth, Turn Undead. Associated Gods St. Carmichael: provides Courage St. Trowbane: provides Awaken Rao: provides Shield - -- talmeta@bellatlantic.net - I *am* one of the Chosen Few! ICQ - 12594453 AIM - talmeta1 TANJ Lives! - *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@mpgn.com with the line 'unsubscribe runequest-rules' as the body of the message. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Aug 1998 12:40:09 +0100 From: "Hibbs, Philip" Subject: RE: [RQ-RULES] RQ4 Nikk E: >Sandy Petersen's Shaman Rules are in their >pre-embryotic production stage and have only been >seen by the odd person or two I do believe. Not quite, Sandy's Shamanism rules are complete enough to be just about playable (more like a premature baby with breathing problems) and so are not available for publication, but may be passed around privately. i.e., ask me nicely. philip.hibbs@tnt.co.uk or phibbs@compuserve.com http://members.tripod.com/~PhilHibbs/ Any view of things that is not strange is false - Neil Gaiman, Sandman *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@mpgn.com with the line 'unsubscribe runequest-rules' as the body of the message. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Aug 1998 05:47:11 PDT From: "Craig Tremblay" Subject: RE: [RQ-RULES] RQ4 If you would, If you would be so kind, I would appreciate a copy of the Shaman rules.... Thanks ;-) Craig >From: "Hibbs, Philip" >To: "'runequest-rules@MPGN.COM'" >Subject: RE: [RQ-RULES] RQ4 >Date: Wed, 19 Aug 1998 12:40:09 +0100 >Reply-To: runequest-rules@MPGN.COM > >Nikk E: >>Sandy Petersen's Shaman Rules are in their >>pre-embryotic production stage and have only been >>seen by the odd person or two I do believe. > >Not quite, Sandy's Shamanism rules are complete enough to be just about >playable (more like a premature baby with breathing problems) and so are not >available for publication, but may be passed around privately. > >i.e., ask me nicely. > > >philip.hibbs@tnt.co.uk or phibbs@compuserve.com >http://members.tripod.com/~PhilHibbs/ >Any view of things that is not strange is false > - Neil Gaiman, Sandman > >*************************************************************************** >To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@mpgn.com with the line >'unsubscribe runequest-rules' as the body of the message. > ______________________________________________________ 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: Wed, 19 Aug 1998 09:58:54 -0500 From: stancliff@commnections.com Subject: [RQ-RULES] RQ: Ancient Greece RU>I'm exploring the possibility of setting up a RuneQuest (3rd Edition) RU>campaign in Ancient Greece (the Heroic Age, not the Classical Era)... You mention the 'Grecian Heroes' supplement as one of your sources. I have that book too, and I strongly recommend it for background material for ANY Gloranthan GM. The Grecian cultural descriptions are very appropriate for several regions and for a glimpse of how people live in civilized Glorantha. There are tech level differences between Greek and Roman, but lifestyles are not so far apart (at least not in myths). One of the most important observations the book makes is that heroic adventurers were, almost to the last person, priests for their god. It is best to think of these heroes as Rune Lord, Acolytes, or both, who can set up mobile shrines and use local believers to meet temple requirements. Also the Initiate numbers are MUCH smaller than standard RQ (1/5?) for temple sizes because the gods are more able to directly affect the world of men. Since you are looking for a variant game anyway, there is no reason you shouldn't give your players 100, 150 or 200 points in Hero Games Disadvantages to balance starting stat points, experience levels, and special favors from the gods. It is basically impossible to balance the different adventurer levels, that is why the book suggested making everyone a hero except for one or two people who would be tougher than the rest, and on whom most of the stories would pivot. If you can get the players to agree, it is much better to have several Fighter/Priest followers for a Rune Lord/Priest heroic leader. Don't worry too much about the lack of magic in the myths. Don't allow PC's to do enchantments, limit their variable spirit magic to 3 or 4 points (restricted to their cult), and require normal Pow sacrifices for divine favor. If you don't let anyone actually be a priest, the spells would be one use, and the party would be several advanced initiates and Rune Lords. You might also allow one Priest advisor for the group to lead worships and provide a little divine magic support. Cult translations don't have to be difficult: Orlanth becomes Zeus (drop Bless Woad, give it to the Berserkers), a Yelm/Yelmalio blend becomes Apollo, Ernalda becomes Hera, etc! RU>There don't appear to be too many PC magician types in Greek mythology; RU>most of the ones I'm familiar with are like Circe and Medea, definitely RU>NPCs, whose origins also include divine blood. I suppose that priests & RU>priestesses of Hermes and Hecate might have some spell abilities. Treat these as sorcerers, and other 'evil' magicians. Use standard cultural biases against strange magic. RU>I don't think magical healing is as widely available, either. This RU>could be bad as combat in RQ tends to include lots of major wounds. By forcing characters to only be able to throw the spells they have in mind (no magic spirits or bound ghosts), you limit the access to Heal, and with the other suggested limits to divine magic, you limit the access to Heal Wound and give little or no access to Heal Body. You should be sure to add Magic Bonus to spell cast percentage so that guys in armor can still get a spell off. In fact, all magic items would be sparse and weak compared to a normal campaign. A sword hilt with Bladesharp 2 is practically a gift from the gods. Poisons and antidotes are valuable treasure, and small marginal magic items are valued as gifts. Don't bother putting any enchantments on weapons and shields, they should collect damage and break often enough that it would be a waste of magic. Put them on transferable items like hilts, pommels, jewelry items, or armor. As for mortal wounds, change 0 HP's to be unconscious and continue bleeding until -1 x HP's is reached. Then it becomes possible for the survivors to staunch wounds and eventually heal fallen comrades. If a limb is severed or maimed, allow ten rounds to reattach and fully heal it or the person will be severely crippled. *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@mpgn.com with the line 'unsubscribe runequest-rules' as the body of the message. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Aug 1998 10:05:00 -0500 From: stancliff@commnections.com Subject: Re: [RQ-RULES] RQ4 RU>I do believe that Steve Marsh had a set of RQIV rules on his website. If RU>there isn't a copy on the Net mail me and I'd be willing to send you them RU>(Bob, do you have thme on your page? I can't remember...). Sandy Petersen's RU>Shaman Rules are in their pre-embryotic production stage and have only been RU>seen by the odd person or two, I do believe. If Sandy gave permission I'm RU>sure somebody would put them on the Net somewhere. Actually I rewrote them extensively and didn't keep a copy of the originals. I am getting geared up for the third rewrite to try to simplify the number and complexity of the rules. I do keep my working version on my site in the campaign section. 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: Wed, 19 Aug 1998 15:03:40 +0100 From: "Hibbs, Philip" Subject: RE: [RQ-RULES] RQ: Ancient Greece > In fact, all magic items would be sparse and weak compared to a >normal campaign. A sword hilt with Bladesharp 2 is practically a gift >from the gods. Poisons and antidotes are valuable treasure, and small >marginal magic items are valued as gifts. Don't bother putting any >enchantments on weapons and shields, they should collect damage and >break often enough that it would be a waste of magic. Put them on >transferable items like hilts, pommels, jewelry items, or armor. I get the impression that you are concentrating on game system stuff here, rather than the mythical, heroic feel that the game should have. If a hero has a magic sword, then the sword is magical. Simple as that. In LotR, Strider's sword got broken in some cataclysmic battle in the past, and took centuries for "the time to be right" for it to be re-forged. Magical weapons should have a mystical, reverential aura, I don't like the idea of "Damn magic sword broke again, pass me another slot-in blade". When I ran Mythic Greece in RQ, I concentrated on the Mythic, mundane things like rules only applied to mundane elements of the game. Hero Wars would have been a much better system to use, but let's not let that discussion take over this list as well! philip.hibbs@tnt.co.uk or phibbs@compuserve.com http://members.tripod.com/~PhilHibbs/ Any view of things that is not strange is false - Neil Gaiman, Sandman *************************************************************************** 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 #142 ************************************* *************************************************************************** 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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