From: owner-runequest-rules@lists.imagiconline.com (RuneQuest Rules Digest) To: runequest-rules-digest@lists.imagiconline.com Subject: RuneQuest Rules Digest V3 #63 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 Monday, July 3 2000 Volume 03 : Number 063 RuneQuest is a trademark of Hasbro/Avalon Hill Games. All Rights Reserved. TABLE OF CONTENTS [RQ-RULES] Re : Fatigue [RQ-RULES] Gladiator as RuneQuest Re: [RQ-RULES] Re : Fatigue [RQ-RULES] Test 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, 21 Jun 2000 09:26:24 -0400 (EDT) From: simon_hibbs@lycosmail.com Subject: [RQ-RULES] Re : Fatigue Trent asks regarding the ide of tactical AP modifiers: >Is there some place in the rules that mentions doing such a thing or was this your >innovation? It's my own idea, which I am writing up at the moment. >Under the rules as written, I got the impression that all tactical advantages are only a >post-hoc rationalization for the dice-roll: "Aha, that troll is losing lots of AP, he must >be fighting uphill or something," which struck my rules-loving literalist mind as way too >abstract, and kinda lame. I agree completely. The Narrator's book is actualy biased towards describing the in-world situation and player actions, then using the rules to see how successful it was, this has a number of problems. Firstly the game system doesn't provide any guidelines for Narrators to translate in-character statements of intent into rules modifiers, thus leading to the 'why should I bother' syndrome. Secondly, the orriginal game developer actualy seemed to prefer rolling the dice and then retconing a narative (Yeuch!). Personaly, I think players should be encouraged to think up novel tactics an sensible strategies, and they should be rewarded and/or penalised as a result. This feedback is what creates a raport between the player and the game environment. I'm afraid this question isn't raised much, even by Hero Wars detractiors, yet I feel it's the one weakness of the game. Fortunately, it is easily fixed. There is no reason why AP modifiers and ability modifiers can't be plugged into the system. >Reiterating what I wrote above, there are obviously two different mindsets at work here, >and since I already have a system (my house version of RQ) that meets my ideal balance >between rules and creative freedom, I'll let the other side have theirs too, and stop >insisting that HW is bad just because the mechanics don't cover every situation in specific >enough terms for me. Absolutely, RQ is still a good system, my copies are still in perfectly good condition, and I have every intention to still use it for some campaigns - house rules and all. >Indeed, but the rules are (most of) our interface to that world, and will affect how >we perceive it. The fact that two such widely opposed sets of rules (gritty detailed >RQ and free-form anything goes HW) supposedly describe the same place is curious >and problematic to me, and will lead to incompatible interpretations. The impression >I got of Glorantha based on RQ products like 'Borderlands' was that it was mostly a >visceral low-fantasy world. Now, with HW, it seems like Glorantha is being portrayed >as more of an antiseptic high-fantasy world, and, to my RQ-inflected mind, that just >isn't the Glorantha I'm familiar with. And this is where we get back on topic (-ish). My view is that you can use multiple game systems in Glorantha just as you can use multiple game systems for the real world, or at least fiction set within the real world. For me, RQ and HW don't define Glorantha any more than Call of Cthulhu defines the world of Lovecraftian horror, or Gurps Special Ops defines the world of real-life warfare, or whatever. I often had this discussion with RQ players who insisted on minimaxing exact spell ranges and such. This is where precision in a game system such as RQ can be a problem, at least for me. I also don't see why HW can't be adapted fairly easily to gritty realistic gaming. I don't see any qualitative difference between a rigid set of specific game rules and ad-hoc GM modifiers in this respect. HW has an optional results table for more lethal conflic, which you are free to use. There's also nothing to stop you using the RQ hit location table to tell you where those wounds have been inflicted. (You're down to -50 APs, location 20 : your head is now rolling in the dirt, a fountain of blood spurting from your severed neck, roll up a new character). If you do play Hero Wars, I think you might be surprised just how common very large AP losses can be. If you're down to less than 10 APs and your opponent has, and bets 30 or so AP, all it takes is a double AP loss and you're down to -50 AP or less. It does happen, especialy if you've used up all your Hero Points. Gladiator was a pretty gritty film. One friend of mine even described it as RuneQuest the movie, yet I didn't see anything in that film that I couldn't have run using Hero Wars. Simon Hibbs *************************************************************************** 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, 21 Jun 2000 09:52:16 -0400 From: Tal Meta Subject: [RQ-RULES] Gladiator as RuneQuest simon_hibbs@lycosmail.com wrote: > > Gladiator was a pretty gritty film. One friend of mine even described it as RuneQuest > the movie, yet I didn't see anything in that film that I couldn't have run using > Hero Wars. Actually, the one member of my current group who I went to see Gladiator with made the same comment. I haven't bought Hero Wars yet (the chap I have it on order with is notoriously slow on retail orders) but am neither for or against it from what I've heard of it so far... - -- talmeta@cybercomm.net - Heretic, Dilettante, & God-Machine ICQ - 12594453 AIM - talmeta 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, 21 Jun 2000 22:43:22 +0100 From: Michael Cule Subject: Re: [RQ-RULES] Re : Fatigue In message <00062109262420.23673@weba8.iname.net>, simon_hibbs@lycosmail.com writes >Personaly, I think players should be encouraged to think up novel tactics an >sensible strategies, and they should be rewarded and/or penalised as a result. >This feedback is what creates a raport between the player and the game >environment. >I'm afraid this question isn't raised much, even by Hero Wars detractiors, yet I >feel it's the one weakness of the game. Reason I don't mention it much (though I do agree it's one of the faults) is that it's tied up intimately with the AP mechanic which I hate just slightly more. - -- Michael Cule *************************************************************************** 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: Mon, 03 Jul 2000 17:49:34 -0400 From: Tal Meta Subject: [RQ-RULES] Test Clang! - -- talmeta@cybercomm.net - Heretic, Dilettante, & God-Machine ICQ - 12594453 AIM - talmeta 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. ------------------------------ End of RuneQuest Rules Digest V3 #63 ************************************ *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.imagiconline.com with the line 'unsubscribe runequest-rules' as the body of the message. 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