From: owner-runequest-rules@lists.imagiconline.com (RuneQuest Rules Digest) To: runequest-rules-digest@lists.imagiconline.com Subject: RuneQuest Rules Digest V2 #119 Reply-To: runequest-rules@lists.imagiconline.com Sender: owner-runequest-rules@lists.imagiconline.com Errors-To: owner-runequest-rules@lists.imagiconline.com Precedence: bulk RuneQuest Rules Digest Wednesday, July 28 1999 Volume 02 : Number 119 RuneQuest is a trademark of Hasbro/Avalon Hill Games. All Rights Reserved. TABLE OF CONTENTS [RQ-RULES] Buying Magic RE: [RQ-RULES] Buying Magic Re: [RQ-RULES] Strengthening Enchantments RE: [RQ-RULES] Strengthening Enchantments [RQ-RULES] DMD - Sharindlar for RQ/Greyhawk Re: [RQ-RULES] Gorgon and stone RE: [RQ-RULES] Gorgon and stone Re: [RQ-RULES] Strengthening Enchantments Re: [RQ-RULES] Buying Magic 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: Wed, 28 Jul 1999 11:24:57 -0400 From: Richard Ohlson Subject: [RQ-RULES] Buying Magic Another way I limit the purchase of Magic items is to raise the "cost" of power. I put a basic price tag of 2000 L per point, though if you want more than a point, the cost is probably going to double. Also, I limit WHO is willing to do enchanting. Let's face it, NPC's don't get POW checks as often as PC's, so I require a luck roll (usually POWx2 or so) for anybody to even be available, and nobody is going to be able to do an enchantment more than once a season. Unfortunatly, my players are running up and down the coasts of Genertela in a ship. We started in Nolos, and they've gone all the way to the other end of the continent. (slowly sucking up magic along the way.) Ah well, they finally (After five years) have made rune level status, and just got brutalized when I turned the opposition from "schmuck" to "runelord" level. Rich *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.imagiconline.com with the line 'unsubscribe runequest-rules' as the body of the message. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 28 Jul 1999 16:22:34 +0100 From: "Hibbs, Philip" Subject: RE: [RQ-RULES] Buying Magic >Another way I limit the purchase of Magic items is to raise >the "cost" of power. I put a basic price tag of 2000 L per >point, though if you want more than a point, the cost is >probably going to double. I only very rarely allow purchase of magic, and if I do, I usually make a few of rolls on my treasure tables to see what is available. Opinions expressed may not even be my own, let alone those of any organisations, nations, species, or schools of thought to which I may be affiliated. http://www.snark.freeserve.co.uk/ Failure is not an option, it's integral to the o/s. *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.imagiconline.com with the line 'unsubscribe runequest-rules' as the body of the message. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 28 Jul 1999 11:37:42 EDT From: MurfNMurf@aol.com Subject: Re: [RQ-RULES] Strengthening Enchantments Nikk was talking about the problems of runaway STR Enchantments. Not such a big deal,as I see it.The characters are,after all,paying with both money and their own POWs. If they're wanting something done by someone else, they'll be paying out the ass for whatever a particular NPC decides their points of POW are worth.The high cost of that alone is usually prohibitive enough to require the characters to blow-off their own POW for the enchantment.Its been my experience that,unless the player has that weird light of the committed zealot in his eyes,he usually wont WANT to have his character lose POW. Besides,with all of the damaging spells,specials, and critical hits that're so common in the game,the tanks'll eventually buy the farm.:) One of the problems in my campaign was that I snuck a few firearms into the mix (from mysterious China, I guess). Well, having come into an absolute King's Ransom, one of the characters wanted to buy a couple with his share.The pricing alone should've scared him off,but then I saw that weird light...So the guy now has 3 verry crude, temprimental, and outright dangerous firearms; 2 pistols and a 4 barreled blunderbuss (no rifling here).The 100 shots-worth of shot & powder was a very pretty penny as well. Well, in the interveining years,he's used the cantancarous things very sparingly; not wanting to waste the powder. So, years later,after another adventure in the Mysterious East the guy decides to seek out someone who makes the powder,and learn from them how to concoct it. In an effort to stop just this sort of thing from happening, I had previously decided that the absolute cap on learning this skill from someone was gonna be 25%+KNW maximum.After that,experience only. I'd decided to make my powder much more volatile;Instead of a mix failing and being ineret or fissles & sputters,etc, I decided that it ALWAYS explodes with a failed roll. Hey,just tell me how much you want to make, I'll check on the amount of damage that'll be waiting in the wings (using the dynamite,grenade,bomb,cannon info from CoC as a guage),and then make the skill roll.This has a habit of them deciding to make only small amounts. Since then,there has been a catastrophic accident at the Alchemist's center,and the Emperor of China has decreed that this line of research is to be abandoned. No more gunpowder. And boy,am I happy :) -Ken- P.S: Cavet Emptor (sic?) *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.imagiconline.com with the line 'unsubscribe runequest-rules' as the body of the message. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 28 Jul 1999 16:40:06 +0100 From: "Hibbs, Philip" Subject: RE: [RQ-RULES] Strengthening Enchantments > what do I do with my resident rules > hacker who is well on his way to 60 hit points? : ) Next time he pays for a strengthening enchantment, have an evil NPC stick a different enchantment on instead - such as a Homing Beacon enchantment, allowing the NPC to track down the character, or a Domination Enchantment, allowing easy casting of Dominate Human on them, or a Spell Welcoming enchantment, which reduces their natural resistance to spells. Opinions expressed may not even be my own, let alone those of any organisations, nations, species, or schools of thought to which I may be affiliated. http://www.snark.freeserve.co.uk/ Failure is not an option, it's integral to the o/s. *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.imagiconline.com with the line 'unsubscribe runequest-rules' as the body of the message. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 28 Jul 1999 11:46:36 -0400 From: Tal Meta Subject: [RQ-RULES] DMD - Sharindlar for RQ/Greyhawk Gods of the Dwur (Semi-regular attributive note: the majority of my inspiration for the Gods of the Dwur series comes from Eric Boyd's fine Demihuman Deities supplement. Without his work, this reinterpretation to RQ would have taken forever ). SHARINDLAR Runes: Fertility, Earth, Harmony, Fire Known as the Lady of Mercy, and the Shining Dancer, Sharindlar is the dwurin goddess of healing, harmony, and romantic love. Cult in the World Though well known to dwurinkind, most non-dwur know Sharindlar only in her role as the Merciful, never in her role as the Shining Dancer. Dwurin are always very circumspect where issues of fertility and love are concerned, so much so that she is never named as anything but the Lady of Mercy outside of her temples. In mythology, Sharindlar is the wife of Clangeddin, created by Moradin from the brightest of the flickering flames within his forge. Through her, he sought to temper Clangeddin into an even greater warrior, but was equally pleased when his newest daughter proved to have great powers of fertility and inspired the mortal dwurin to greater efforts as well. Sharindlar's High Holy Day encompasses the whole of Richfest, a week long celebration of laughter, dance, and romance usually held within closed temple doors. Temples to Sharindlar are carved from the living earth in a fashion which does not require pillars or buttresses to support. The innermost sanctum features a large floor suitable for dancing, with a deep brazier of coals supported over a central pool. Sharindlar's priestesses typically wear a scarlet robe embroidered with gold thread, and a blue sash embroidered with silver thread. Hair and beards are worn long, combed but never braided or pleated. Jewelry in all forms is common, as well. Lay Membership Requirements: Known as the Daughters of Mercy, lay members of Sharindlar's cult usually are drawn from midwives, healers, and any dwur who is seeking romance or renewed fertility. Skills taught by the cult include Dance, Dodge, Seduction, Sing, Speak Languages, First Aid, Lores (Dwur, Poison, Underdark, World), Treat (Disease, Poison), Play Instrument, Listen, Ceremony, and Mace attack. Initiate Membership Requirements: Standard. Known as the Daughters of Life, Sharindlar's initiates form the core of her cult's healing and 'works ministry', often traveling from clan to clan healing the injured and sick as needed. They also take the time to get to know as many of the single dwurin in those communities as possible. Daughters of Life also act as 'Hostesses' when the Mothers of the order organize festivals or holidays to bring single dwur together. Since the dwurin birthrate usually results in a higher number of males than females in most communities, having a few 'extra' women in attendance at such affairs is seen as a boon. Spirit Magic*: Banish Spirit, Birth Song, Demoralize, Ease Pain, Heal, Mobility, Protection, Sleep, Vigor. *Dance is an important component of spellcasting for followers of Sharindlar; for every 10% their Dance skill roll exceeds their chance to successfully cast a spell, they may add 1 to the effective power of any spirit Magic spell they cast. Acolyte Membership Requirements: Standard. Sharindlar's acolytes are called the Maidens of Mercy, and serve their communities as the heads of clan hospices and work to grant the major healing needs of their communities. Priesthood Requirements: Standard. Though officially called Thalonors (which translates as the Merciful Daughters of the Mother of Life in all it's Glory) they are more often called simply Mothers. Sharindlar's priestesses work both healing and fertility magic, bringing fertility to those dwur whom have gone childless for an extended period of time and making matches between eligible single dwur. Virtues for this cult include Altrusitic, Creative, Honorable, Joyous, and Social. Common Divine Magic: all. Special Divine Magic*: Bless Birth, Bounty, Cause Passion, Command (Gnomes, Healing Spirits, Salamanders), Heal Body, Reflection, Reproduce, Restore Health, Resurrect, Soothing Word, Summon Healing Spirits. *Dance is an important component of spellcasting, as above. In the case of Divine Magic, each a successful use of the Dance skill improves the success of the spell by 5% on the Resistance Table for each 10% or part thereof actually rolled. [Example: Nylia is attempting to Resurrect Hobnob, a fallen companion. Her Dance skill is 75%, and she rolls a 70 on percentile dice. When attempting to force Hobnob's spirit to return to his body, she acts as if her POW were 25, instead of 18 while in Spirit Combat with his ghost.] Associated Gods Berronar: provides Absorbtion Clangeddin: provides Summon Gnome Dumathoin: provides Turn Undead Moradin: provides Shield - -- talmeta@cybercomm.net - Heretic & Dilettante ICQ - 12594453 AIM - talmeta (note change!) Homepage - *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.imagiconline.com with the line 'unsubscribe runequest-rules' as the body of the message. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 28 Jul 1999 12:23:47 -0400 From: "Bob Stancliff" Subject: Re: [RQ-RULES] Gorgon and stone > >I just read this morning while taking my breakfast the description of the > >gorgon. Nice creature but... Is it associated with chaos? > It doesn't officially exist in Glorantha. I'd say no, > although I'd associate it with Darkness. It is not on the list of monsters considered tied to Chaos. I would tie it to Stasis... it turns you to stone. The Gloranthan equivalent is the Catoblepas (there is one in the Puzzle Canal in Pavis), and the attack is a gaze from the creature. > >Where do they come from? Gorgons: deserts and wastes. Catoblepas: swamps and bogs. > According to the Gloranthan Bestiary a Divine Intervention may work, and the > Mostali may know rituals to turn someone back (sounds like an adventure hook > to me!). Certainly not Neutralize Magic, Dimiss Magic etc... or Ressurect. If it were a temporal spell it would eventually wear off, but it is a permanent polymorph, so only another permanent polymorph should have much effect. Bob S. *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.imagiconline.com with the line 'unsubscribe runequest-rules' as the body of the message. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 28 Jul 1999 17:21:35 +0100 From: "Hibbs, Philip" Subject: RE: [RQ-RULES] Gorgon and stone >If it were a temporal spell it would eventually wear off, >but it is a permanent polymorph, so only another >permanent polymorph should have much effect. It might be possible to create a Shapechange Statue to Human spell to allow temporary reanimation, it has the merit of having great comedy value. Opinions expressed may not even be my own, let alone those of any organisations, nations, species, or schools of thought to which I may be affiliated. http://www.snark.freeserve.co.uk/ Failure is not an option, it's integral to the o/s. *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.imagiconline.com with the line 'unsubscribe runequest-rules' as the body of the message. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 28 Jul 1999 13:15:14 -0400 From: "Bob Stancliff" Subject: Re: [RQ-RULES] Strengthening Enchantments > Nikk wrote: > Something I always regret doping was allowing people to purchase > enchantments and matrices, after all in the book it had the cost for them. > After a while, when the campaign advanced to a level where the PCs were > raking in enough money to buy a fair few items a session, I brought in > tables to determine the chance of particular matrices being found or > enchantments being discovered, but even now this isn't good enough! : ) With > PCs buying up one Strengthening enchantment every session or so, they could > easily amass a large amount of hit points. I could make them non-stackable, > but this would mean rewriting a large wad of my NPCs who have done exactly > the same thing as the PC (this is why I don't really blame him that much for > doing it). Limiting access is the key. No one should want to give up something important to their survival for mere money (so only sell very small crystals or matrices at heavy prices and make the players find the good ones). Finding someone with spare POW to sell as an enchantment should be rare since the guy is much better off using the POW for himself. The guy should be much more willing to teach them how to do their own. Once they are using their own POW, it is their business how they use it. Enemies should always be written using the same tricks as the players, but most of the enemy matrices should be restricted to a modest group of users so that players cannot keep everything they find, and -never- let players remove restrictions. Magic CAN'T do everything, and some spells should never be allowed. I have gone through the same issues when my players got suddenly wealthy. They were buying matrices from any temple who would take their money. Then I decided that priests only make matrices for their initiates, and then only because they want the initiate to go on missions instead of the priest. Otherwise, the priest would always spend his POW on another spell, or keep the matrix for himself. A similar argument goes for shamans. Consider that a player who is set on acquiring Hp's is trying to walk the Hero Path, and drag him into confrontations accordingly. If he can't keep up with a Rune Lord, he shouldn't try to act like one. If he kills Rune Lords for lunch, the temple should use him like one. Rune Lord is just a title to give temple authority to a skilled secular leader. It carries very few magical abilities unless you are Orlanthi, or another warrior cult, where Rune Lords are acting priests. These cults should also be more willing to add Rune Lords since there are no priests, and the needs of the worshippers still need to be met. If a cult doesn't have priests, there should be that many more lords, and the reverse should also apply. There are no hard rules on how many priests and lords are needed, but I am guessing that you need to have one priest or acolyte per 70 initiates (alternating, with acolyte first), and about one lord per priest. In a warrior cult like Humakt (or Yanafel), the rune lords are the officers of the army with starting ranks similar to Lieutenant or Captain (a leader of about 70 men?). Being a great fighter can make you a Sergeant, but to be an officer, you have to be a leader. Bob Stancliff *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.imagiconline.com with the line 'unsubscribe runequest-rules' as the body of the message. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 28 Jul 1999 13:27:12 -0400 From: "Bob Stancliff" Subject: Re: [RQ-RULES] Buying Magic > >Another way I limit the purchase of Magic items is to raise > >the "cost" of power. I put a basic price tag of 2000 L per > >point, though if you want more than a point, the cost is > >probably going to double. Heh, heh... Yea, that's cool!! Actually, I did the same thing. My price started at 1000L per POW and went up to 1500L per POW as the players drained the market, and other cults start at 2000L, if they will sell POW at all. > I only very rarely allow purchase of magic, and if I do, I usually make a > few of rolls on my treasure tables to see what is available. Items currently available are always weak side spells like Detect or a 1 to 2 pt matrix. Anything larger or actually useful in combat has to be commissioned and can take a season or two. On rare occasions a priest will sell -his- very useful matrix to an advanced initiate who has been active for the cult, and some quests will be paid for with magic items also. The priests have to weigh the value of the quest or the returned item against the difficulty of replacing the magic items used as payment. Bob *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.imagiconline.com with the line 'unsubscribe runequest-rules' as the body of the message. ------------------------------ End of RuneQuest Rules Digest V2 #119 ************************************* *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.imagiconline.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.