From: owner-runequest-rules@ (RuneQuest Rules Digest) To: runequest-rules-digest@lists.MPGN.COM Subject: RuneQuest Rules Digest V1999 #1 Reply-To: runequest-rules@mpgn.com Sender: owner-runequest-rules@ Errors-To: owner-runequest-rules@ Precedence: bulk RuneQuest Rules Digest Wednesday, January 13 1999 Volume 1999 : Number 001 RuneQuest is a trademark of Hasbro/Avalon Hill Games. All Rights Reserved. TABLE OF CONTENTS Re: [RQ-RULES] Magic System question [RQ-RULES] extrapolation of Disrupt [RQ-RULES] cure poison damage Re: [RQ-RULES] cure poison damage Re: [RQ-RULES] cure poison damage Re: [RQ-RULES] cure poison damage Re: [RQ-RULES] cure poison damage RE: [RQ-RULES] cure poison damage [RQ-RULES] Damage and Bookkeeping Re: [RQ-RULES] Damage and Bookkeeping Re: [RQ-RULES] cure poison damage Re: [RQ-RULES] Damage and Bookkeeping [RQ-RULES] RE: Sorcery Re: [RQ-RULES] RE: Sorcery [RQ-RULES] more sorcery thoughts 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: Mon, 11 Jan 1999 00:11:46 -0500 From: Tal Meta Subject: Re: [RQ-RULES] Magic System question Paul Stolar wrote: > > I will be running an Elric campaign soon. I was wonder if anyone used SP's > sorcery system instead of the one published and how it worked. I've used it, and found it flexible and easily adaptable. I did make the mistake of "giving away" too many skill points with it too early in the campaign, so the sorcerer in the party had a tendency to overshadow the others sometimes. - -- talmeta@bellatlantic.net - Heretic & Dilettante ICQ - 12594453 AIM - talmeta1 Homepage - *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@mpgn.com with the line 'unsubscribe runequest-rules' as the body of the message. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 11 Jan 1999 10:30:48 -0500 From: Brad Furst Subject: [RQ-RULES] extrapolation of Disrupt At 06:13 PM 1/10/99 -0500, Bob Stancliff wrote: >To keep things in proportion, Disrupt should be better than 1d3, but that >will require reviewing all of the damage spells. In my campaign, certain NPCs and occasional possession of matrices-of-limited-number-of-uses allow casting of a spell which we call "Take_That,_You_Dastard!" Such magic is simply an extrapolation of Disrupt which calculates damage as 1 MP yields 1d3 points of Disrupt damage 2 MP " 1d4 " " " " " " 3 MP " 1d6 " " " " " " 4 MP " 1d8 " " " " " " 5 MP " 1d10 " " " " " " 6 MP " 1d12 " " " " " " Until the party accumulates large quantities of stored MP, this balances well, being rather costly to cast. Notice that the ratio of the average expected damage divided by the MP cost decreases at each next highter level. At higher levels, when there is more stored MP, the balance has yet been okay when compared against the more available Rune magic. Brad Furst esoteric@teleport.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: Mon, 11 Jan 1999 10:34:17 -0500 From: Brad Furst Subject: [RQ-RULES] cure poison damage Does Heal_Body cure poison damage? Does Heal_Wound cure poison damage? How else (or instead) can the party commonly cure poison damage after the fact? The RQ2 antidotes were applied Before the encounter. Brad Furst esoteric@teleport.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: Mon, 11 Jan 1999 13:06:25 -0500 From: Tal Meta Subject: Re: [RQ-RULES] cure poison damage Brad Furst wrote: > > Does Heal_Body cure poison damage? Yes. > Does Heal_Wound cure poison damage? No. > How else (or instead) can the party commonly cure poison damage after the > fact? The RQ2 antidotes were applied Before the encounter. Heal Body, Neutralize Poison (sorcery), or antidotes carried over from RQ2, I'd suspect. Possibly other cures I've forgotten, as well. - -- talmeta@bellatlantic.net - Heretic & Dilettante ICQ - 12594453 AIM - talmeta1 Homepage - *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@mpgn.com with the line 'unsubscribe runequest-rules' as the body of the message. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 11 Jan 1999 17:59:09 GMT From: "Nikk Effingham" Subject: Re: [RQ-RULES] cure poison damage > Does Heal_Body cure poison damage? In my game, I'd say yes. > Does Heal_Wound cure poison damage? In my game I'd say no. > How else (or instead) can the party commonly cure poison damage after the > fact? The RQ2 antidotes were applied Before the encounter. personally, I think that poison damage should be very, very difficult to heal, that's what makes it so dangerous. Applying antidotes before an encounter wouldn't work in my game - but you do have three rounds which which to take an antidote to counter the effects of posion. Instant acting poison is really, really unfair. Heal spells and Treat Wounds et al are ineffective against poison IMG, although you still do have the odd healer with Treat Poison and Neutralize Poison as a spell. My characters hate poison. I like it that way : ) I think Simon Phipps used a spell called Poison Purge, but whether that is official or not, i don't know. All IMHO, Nikk 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: Mon, 11 Jan 1999 14:31:01 -0500 From: "Bob Stancliff" Subject: Re: [RQ-RULES] cure poison damage > Does Heal_Body cure poison damage? Yes, poison is general hit points, and this is too. > Does Heal_Wound cure poison damage? No, this only cures a wound on a location. > How else (or instead) can the party commonly cure poison damage after the > fact? The RQ2 antidotes were applied Before the encounter. A RQ2 antidote can be applied after a poisoning, but it has no duration and only affects the poison in the system when taken. These rules are effective under RQ3 as well. *************************************************************************** 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, 12 Jan 1999 10:19:30 +0100 From: "Terje Tollisen" Subject: Re: [RQ-RULES] cure poison damage > How else (or instead) can the party commonly cure poison damage after the > fact? The RQ2 antidotes were applied Before the encounter. Chalana Arroy has a skill called Refine Medicine. With this skill one might among other things make poison antidotes as already mentioned. Another cult skill of Chalana Arroy is Treat Poison. This skill must be used before the damage is taken from the poison. A subcult of Chalana Arroy called The Sisters of Mercy has a two point devine spell called Heal Constitution. This can heal temporary damage to CON or general hitpionts such as poison damage. - -Terje "Never underestimate the bandwidth of a station wagon full of tapes hurtling down the highway." -Tanenbaum ********************* Terje Tollisen Kjelsaasveien 99 0491 OSLO Norway ********************* *************************************************************************** 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, 12 Jan 1999 11:43:07 -0000 From: "Phil Hibbs" Subject: RE: [RQ-RULES] cure poison damage What are you all fussing about? Just use First Aid to cure poision damage, it's easy. Phil. *************************************************************************** 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, 12 Jan 1999 13:06:20 -0000 From: "Phil Hibbs" Subject: [RQ-RULES] Damage and Bookkeeping One thing perplexes me about RuneQuest, and that is to do with melee round sequence and bookkeeping. It says that the melee round is in three phases : 1. Statement of Intent 2. Melee Round (10 SR) 3. Bookkeeping - subtract FP, HP, check for Heroic Action Does that mean that if I am decapitated on SR5, I still get to strike on SR7, because I have not subtracted the damage yet? If I am struck in the chest for lots of HP on rank 4, do I still get 1 normal action without having to check for Heroic Action yet, because that is not done until the end of the round? None of the examples work this way, yet that is what the rules say. Does anyone run these rules as writ? Phil. *************************************************************************** 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, 12 Jan 1999 15:27:55 +0100 From: "Terje Tollisen" Subject: Re: [RQ-RULES] Damage and Bookkeeping > 1. Statement of Intent > 2. Melee Round (10 SR) > 3. Bookkeeping - subtract FP, HP, check for Heroic Action > > Does that mean that if I am decapitated on SR5, I still get to strike on > SR7, because I have not subtracted the damage yet? But it also says that if you go to negative hit points during a melee round, you must be healed again before the end of the round or die. Thus there are inconsistencies here. - -Terje "Never underestimate the bandwidth of a station wagon full of tapes hurtling down the highway." -Tanenbaum ********************* Terje Tollisen Kjelsåsveien 99 0491 OSLO Tlf. 22153817 P.søk 96867204 ********************* *************************************************************************** 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, 12 Jan 1999 09:49:50 -0500 From: "Bob Stancliff" Subject: Re: [RQ-RULES] cure poison damage > What are you all fussing about? Just use First Aid to cure poision damage, > it's easy. Phil. Well, First Aid does not remove all of the poison (does it?), it stops 1d3 unless you get lucky and Crit. A nasty poison attack can have a Pot 20+. *************************************************************************** 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, 12 Jan 1999 09:57:06 -0500 From: "Bob Stancliff" Subject: Re: [RQ-RULES] Damage and Bookkeeping > 1. Statement of Intent > 2. Melee Round (10 SR) > 3. Bookkeeping - subtract FP, HP, check for Heroic Action > > Does that mean that if I am decapitated on SR5, I still get to strike on > SR7, because I have not subtracted the damage yet? If I am struck in the > chest for lots of HP on rank 4, do I still get 1 normal action without > having to check for Heroic Action yet, because that is not done until the > end of the round? There is a HP test when damage is taken to see if incapacitation or unconsciousness has occurred; this can keep you from getting your later action(s). The HP test at the end of the round is mainly for the results of continued bleeding from an incapacitated location to test for unconsciousness or death; this determines whether healing is still possible. Bob Stancliff (stanclif@ufl.edu) 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, 13 Jan 1999 11:16:15 +0000 From: mab@ssdnt01.bnsc.rl.ac.uk Subject: [RQ-RULES] RE: Sorcery Philip Hibbs: >Yup. If your barrage of spells doesn't work, though, you're in trouble. It >takes ages to do things the hard way. Personally, I'd prefer to see MP >expenditure and the skill roll done at time of spell activation. I don't >like the idea of a character being able to guarantee that they can instantly >teleport away regardless of MP loss, fatigue loss, or encumberance. I know >this breaks the 1MP=1SR rule, but that's tough. I never was a slave to that >rule anyway. Ditto, this is why I was worried about the small cost of Hold, because basically if you try hard enough, you can cast any spell eventually, therefore you just write down the spells that you want to 'precast', and skill %ages become pointless. Hm, I think that system has been used before somewhere... *************************************************************************** Tal Meta: >In an earlier incarnation, you could only have 1 Held spell, and it took >up 1 presence. The lastest(?) version I have allows multiple Held >spells, but they all consume the normal amount of presence (i.e. a 5 >point spell takes up 5 presence). The version that I have came from Craig's Glorantha Page: http://www.hccweb.demon.co.uk/glorantha/sandy.htm The date on these is July 98. The section on Hold reads: HOLD - lets you hold a single sorcery spell ready to cast. The MPs in Hold must at least equal the highest other Art used. The spell pops onto the Otherworld, where it remains ready for release. This gives you an "emergency" spell. When a Held spell is loosed, it goes off on your DEX SR. Each Held spell counts 1 point vs. the user's Presence until it is cast (when it counts normally). The MP cost of the spell is paid when initially set up, not when it is cast later on, so this makes a "free" spell! Which reads to me as 1 Held spell = 1 PRE. I'm beginning to wonder how many versions of the sorcery rules are out there! >> How does this sit with Multispell? If I have 90% Palsy, then it seems >> that I can make an Intensity 3, Multispell 3, Hold 3 spell, which takes >> up 1 Presence, and costs me 9 MPs to cast. I can fire this at DEX SR! If >> I have say 5 or 6 of these (for 5 or 6 Presence), look out! Can you use >> Multispell in this way, or would the above count as 3 held spells? > >In the latest rules, this would consume 9 presence. This sounds a definite improvement, although again, given the wording in my current copy: Sorcerers -those who know any Arcane Arts must determine how many levels of each Art are used in each spellcasting. If a sorcerer has more total levels in effect than his Presence, he cannot cast any spells, until enough of his spells have been dropped to reduce the total levels below his Presence. A sorcerer can cease maintaining a spell instantly. The Presence limit is then only really a limit for maintained spells - you can still cast spells limited only by your ((Skill% + Ceremony%)/10) + 1, even if your PRE is totally used up. This would also apply to released Held spells, if they are instant or not being maintained, I assume. >*************************************************************************** Paul Stolar: >I will be running an Elric campaign soon. I was wonder if anyone used SP's >sorcery system instead of the one published and how it worked. Well, as you can see from the above, I'm still unclear on some aspects. I've only been using the rules for the past few games; things that are becoming clear to me include: - - Make sure that your players understand how Ceremony can give them a big boost in the Art levels they can use. My players started off as Journeymen - I gave them 1 spell at 90% and about 10 other spells at about 30% each, maybe that was a bit stingy, but with a Ceremony of 30-40% they can still cast reasonable spells. It seems that the distinction between a good sorceror and a mediocre one is how long it takes them to achieve the same effect. - - I underrated Multispell. One of my players has Palsy at 90%. He hasn't yet realised that he can cast 4 x Palsy 5's for 9 magic points... - - Because I also use the Elric system, SR's and hit locations don't really mean anything. If I need to know the HP of a location, then it's a simple matter to look it up quickly on the RQ tables. To fit spells in with the combat system (strike in descending order of DEX), I just rule that spells (spirit and sorcery) go off at (INT-mp), Divine spells go off at INT. You could also argue for DEX instead on INT. cheers, Mark. Mark Buckley Rutherford-Appleton Laboratory Chilton, Didcot,UK. *************************************************************************** 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, 13 Jan 1999 10:39:12 -0500 From: Tal Meta Subject: Re: [RQ-RULES] RE: Sorcery mab@ssdnt01.bnsc.rl.ac.uk wrote: > > The version that I have came from Craig's Glorantha Page: > > http://www.hccweb.demon.co.uk/glorantha/sandy.htm You missed his blurb: "The dates refer to when I posted the file NOT when Sandy wrote the rules! " The one on http://www.pensee.com/dunham/glorantha/sorcery.html reads: Hold lets you hold a single sorcery spell ready to cast. The MPs in Hold must at least equal the highest other Art used. The spell pops onto the Otherworld, where it remains ready for release. This gives you an "emergency" spell. When a Held spell is loosed, it goes off on your DEX SR. Held spells count vs. the user's Presence. Note: Permanence can be combined with Hold. > I'm beginning to wonder how many versions of the sorcery rules are out there! Plenty, as people have posted their own house versions of it, and plenty of old links still exist. - -- talmeta@bellatlantic.net - Heretic & Dilettante ICQ - 12594453 AIM - talmeta1 Homepage - *************************************************************************** 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, 13 Jan 1999 15:07:25 +0000 From: mab@ssdnt01.bnsc.rl.ac.uk Subject: [RQ-RULES] more sorcery thoughts Tal Meta, replying to me: >In an earlier incarnation, you could only have 1 Held spell, and it took >up 1 presence. The latest(?) version I have allows multiple Held >spells, but they all consume the normal amount of presence (i.e. a 5 >point spell takes up 5 presence). > >> How does this sit with Multispell? If I have 90% Palsy, then it seems >> that I can make an Intensity 3, Multispell 3, Hold 3 spell, which takes >> up 1 Presence, and costs me 9 MPs to cast. I can fire this at DEX SR! If >> I have say 5 or 6 of these (for 5 or 6 Presence), look out! Can you use >> Multispell in this way, or would the above count as 3 held spells? > >In the latest rules, this would consume 9 presence. I was thinking about this, and trying to see what the advantage for Multispelling would be. It seems 'right' to me that if you Multispell spells like this, then you can only release the Multispell as one block of spells. To do it like this costs 9 Presence, whereas if you cast and held 3 x (Intensity 3, Hold 3) spells, they are going to take up 18 Presence, but the advantage is that you can release them individually. **************************************************************************** ******** One thought that occurred to a friend of mine, about Held spells being so deterministic: Perhaps the casting skill % is done when the spells are cast & Held, but the MP's are only expended at the moment of release? Of course, they still take up full Presence until that point. **************************************************************************** ******** While I was thinking about all this, I was wondering about use of Presence generally, and I started to think about some sort of Enchantment that creates Presence. Then you could cast a spell, using your Hold skill to put it into the item, and it would Hold the spell until it was released to create a one-shot magic item. - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -------- Enchant Presence Ritual Enchant. For each POW expended in the creation ritual, the object gains 1 point of Presence. This can be used to Hold spells cast onto it. The caster casts the spell, using the Hold skill. The total points in the spell cannot exceed the POW of the enchantment, or else the spell is not held in the item. The holder may release the spell at will, at which time the item is emptied, until another spell is cast and Held back into the item. Anyone can release the spell within an item, as long as they are touching it. MultiSpelled spells can also be Held, as long as their total does not exceed the item holding limits, and they must be released 'in entirety'. The POW of the enchantment can be expanded by further Enchant Presence rituals. - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -------- Any comments? I don't think it's too powerful (sic), as you need 5-6 POW to get a decent spell stored, (maybe it's too weak?) but it could be useful. Maybe there is some option that you can sacrifice species maximum POW (as per the Vow), to get more Presence. I'd say that would be worth more than the 3 Presence for the Vow, because it could be stolen/broken etc,etc. Since you need 1 point of Hold for every 1 point in the spell, maybe this enchantment should give 2 Presence per POW used in the enchantment? Maybe this could also be used as a way to give non-sorcerors a way to gain Presence without all that tedious learning stuff and Vows? Ooh, now there's a thought...the sorcerors union would be out on strike... cheers, Mark. Mark Buckley Rutherford-Appleton Laboratory Chilton, Didcot,UK. *************************************************************************** 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 V1999 #1 ************************************** *************************************************************************** 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 Hasbro/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.