From: owner-runequest-rules@lists.ient.com (RuneQuest Rules Digest) To: runequest-rules-digest@lists.ient.com Subject: RuneQuest Rules Digest V4 #95 Reply-To: runequest-rules@lists.ient.com Sender: owner-runequest-rules@lists.ient.com Errors-To: owner-runequest-rules@lists.ient.com Precedence: bulk RuneQuest Rules Digest Sunday, July 15 2001 Volume 04 : Number 095 RuneQuest is a trademark of Hasbro/Avalon Hill Games. All Rights Reserved. TABLE OF CONTENTS [RQ-RULES] Basic POW Question Re: [RQ-RULES] Basic POW Question [RQ-RULES] Re: Stormbringer (& other stuff) [RQ-RULES] Shields and Stuff. Re: [RQ-RULES] Re: Stormbringer (& other stuff) Re: [RQ-RULES] Re: Stormbringer [RQ-RULES] Four Noncombat spells. Re: [RQ-RULES] Re: Stormbringer Re: [RQ-RULES] Re: Stormbringer [RQ-RULES] Synners BRP 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: Sat, 14 Jul 2001 00:44:50 -0700 From: "Daniel Fitch" Subject: [RQ-RULES] Basic POW Question - ------=_NextPart_001_0002_01C10BFE.30559B80 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable When a character sacrifices POW for divine magic, this POW is recovered a= t the normal rate (POW total every 24 hrs) right? Sorry.....back into the game after along rest...need refresher! Dan F. Get more from the Web. FREE MSN Explorer download : http://explor= er.msn.com - ------=_NextPart_001_0002_01C10BFE.30559B80 Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

When a character sacrifices POW for divin= e magic, this POW is recovered at the normal rate (POW total every 2= 4 hrs) right?

Sorr= y.....back into the game after along rest...need refresher!

Dan F.

Get more from the Web. FREE MSN Explorer dow= nload : http://explorer.msn.com

- ------=_NextPart_001_0002_01C10BFE.30559B80-- *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.ient.com with the line 'unsubscribe runequest-rules' as the body of the message. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 14 Jul 2001 08:00:41 -0400 From: Tal Meta Subject: Re: [RQ-RULES] Basic POW Question > > When a character sacrifices POW for divine magic, this POW is recovered at the normal rate (POW total every 24 hrs) right? You're thinking about magic points; POW, once sacrificed, is GONE.... - -- talmeta@cybercomm.net - Heretic, Dilettante, & God-Machine ICQ - 12594453 AIM - talmeta Homepage - *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.ient.com with the line 'unsubscribe runequest-rules' as the body of the message. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 14 Jul 2001 09:21:42 -0400 From: Peter Maranci Subject: [RQ-RULES] Re: Stormbringer (& other stuff) As I've said many times, Cordwainer Smith's "Instrumentality" would be be an incredible setting for an RPG. And how about Zelazney's "Lord of Light"? Not only is it science fiction, but it has the flavor of a fantasy novel. The Indian motif gives it some historical/educational value (the Vedas would be a good source of ideas for advntures, come to think of it), and the "gods" with their Attributes are very much like superheros! Everything in one book. :o) ->Peter - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Peter Maranci peter@maranci.net Woonsocket, RI Come to Pete's RuneQuest & Roleplaying!: http://www.maranci.net/rq.htm *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.ient.com with the line 'unsubscribe runequest-rules' as the body of the message. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 14 Jul 2001 15:29:55 +0100 From: "Adam Benedict Canning" Subject: [RQ-RULES] Shields and Stuff. Given certain comments on Shields recently, I've dug up the following table from the RQ4 playtest list. Shield Armour Points/Encumbrance/Cost Material Small Medium Large Leather (1 Ply) 3/0.5/1 4/1.0/3 5/1.5/5 Wicker 5/1.0/5 7/2.0/10 9/3.0/20 Wood 8/1.5/25 10/3.0/50 13/4.5/75 Wood/Leather 12/2.0/50 14/4.0/75 16/6.0/100 (standard) Reinf. W/L 15/2.5/60 17/4.5/90 20/6.5/125 Bronze 15/2.0/110 17/4.0/140 20/7.0/150 Hope its of some help. Adam *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.ient.com with the line 'unsubscribe runequest-rules' as the body of the message. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 14 Jul 2001 11:34:20 -0600 From: Stephen Posey Subject: Re: [RQ-RULES] Re: Stormbringer (& other stuff) Shifting the discussion a bit, I just got my copy of Stormbringer 5e. from my game store. It appears pretty much a re-layout of the material from Elric! with some stuff from the supplements; a LOT more art, and some (I think) new material. I haven't done point-for-point comparisons with the older books, but I like the layout and art overall quite a lot; also looks to me like a lot of layout and editing was done for clarity: BRAVO I say. The only real complaint I have (so far ;-)) is the futher perpetuation of what I assume to be a typo from the earlier game. The Chaos God's name is Mabel*R*ode according to my copy of "King of the Swords", yet Chaosium persists in having it Mabelode (sans "R") everywhere. Another smallish complaint is the price, but the book is as thick as the recent editions of Call of Cthulhu and there's no sense that the material is padded, so there's really enough to warrant the cost. I'll probably have more to say as I spend more time reading and comparing with the older books; anyone have specific questions? Stephen Posey slposey@concentric.net *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.ient.com with the line 'unsubscribe runequest-rules' as the body of the message. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 14 Jul 2001 15:10:18 -0600 From: Stephen Posey Subject: Re: [RQ-RULES] Re: Stormbringer Viktor Haag wrote: > > There's already a GURPS "New Sun" if you didn't know. > > I did, and I wasn't all that keen on it. It miserably failed to > convey the tone of the books, I thought, and so seemed a rather > bland catalog of facts. "bland catalog of facts", I'd say that rather well covers GURPS books in general ;-) As a rule GURPS books are quite "flavorless"; I've always assumed this was (at least somewhat) intentional on the theory that genuine "flavor" in the game is ultimately the responsibility of the GM. I'd say having a game supplement (especially for a literary source) doesn't (and I think perhaps shouldn't) relieve the GM from familiarizing him/herself with the source material in order to provide that flavor; only so much of it could be conveyed in the format of a game supplement anyway. Case in point: the new Dying Earth game goes to great lengths to capture the flavor of Vance's stories (which it does to some extent via some amusing but IMO questionable mechanics). Even so, I'd hesitate to say anyone could GM that well without reading the books first. And, of course, the rules are so environment specific that they'd be pretty useless for anything else (perhaps the environment of some of Leiber or Shea's stories). OTOH, making the supplement relatively unflavored allows for more easily doing "cross genre" (arguably one of GURPS strong suits); or if the GM merely wants to shift the flavor, there's nothing to prevent that; or, for that matter, mix-n-matching pieces from various sources to set up a whole new environment. I tend to treat GURPS supplements as sourcebooks for other things; lots of facts and raw background (as you say), and GURPS rule conventions are generally readily converted to BRP terms; I'd never likely use GURPS rules straight. Stephen Posey slposey@concentric.net *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.ient.com with the line 'unsubscribe runequest-rules' as the body of the message. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 14 Jul 2001 23:49:33 +0100 From: "Adam Benedict Canning" Subject: [RQ-RULES] Four Noncombat spells. First three for Barnatari and similar Ploughman cults Splinefurrow Variable spirit magic spell, duration 1 day, passive By enabling the target to plough a perfect s curve furrow this spell adds 10% per point to his Craft : Ploughman or his Plant Lore skill when used for ploughing. It also adds 5% per level for any animal handling tests required for dealing with the plough team. Ploughsong 1 point divine magic enchantment, duration 1 day, passive, reusable Barnatar Cast on a plough this spell halves the fatigue expenditure of a plough team enabling a half sized plough team to do the work of a full sized one. A full sized team would only achieve a 10% increase in area ploughed. Death's Reaper 1 point divine magic enchantment, duration 1 day, passive, reusable Barnatar Cast upon a willing Humakti it replaces his sword attack skills with the equivalent scythe skills. It also enables him to uses his gifts upon a scythe if he was otherwise unable. Some Humakti sects not considering a scythe to be a Humakti weapon. And one inspired by one of Robert Stancliff' s comments Caress Variable spirit magic spell, temporal, passive By increasing both the targets sexual endurance and the sensitivity of erogenous zones this spell reduces the fatigue rate of sexual activity by the target to 50% of its usual value and adds 5% per point to any use of Courtesan or Carnal Sex on or by the target. Adam *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.ient.com with the line 'unsubscribe runequest-rules' as the body of the message. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 14 Jul 2001 17:10:13 -0700 From: "Steve Perrin" Subject: Re: [RQ-RULES] Re: Stormbringer Other Suns was originally supposed to be "RuneQuest in Space" but we eventually choked on the Furriness of it all. The "cold wet nose" theory of alien generation got very tiresome very quickly. And Nicolai is not the easiest person in the world to get along with. The final decision was that the book just didn't have the "pizzazz" that the Chaosium looks for in a book. So FGU, the ultimate (at the time) vanity game press, published it after Nicolai made some cosmetic changes. There's another RQ in Space set of rules called, I belive, the Black Watch, around in photocopies form (I'm not sure it ever was formally published). Some good stuff in that, too. Steve Perrin - ----- Original Message ----- From: "Stephen Posey [TurboPower Software]" To: Sent: Friday, July 13, 2001 8:46 AM Subject: Re: [RQ-RULES] Re: Stormbringer > Viktor Haag wrote: > > > > Stephen Posey [TurboPower Software] writes: > > > > Poll: what SF background do *you* think would make a swell > > > > BRP game, other than Niven's Known Space. Keep in mind that > > > > the background should fit in with Chaosium's stated policies > > > > for RPGs: i.e. downplay violence as a solution to all > > > > problems, rich "literary" background, not post-apocalyptic. > > > > > > Tough criteria. Too bad licenses for Star Wars and Star Trek are > > > already taken ;-). > > > > I think those fall on the 'downplay violence' criteria. 8-) > > Well, there's certainly violence to be had (as there is/was in Known > Space), but I think both offer alternatives as well. > > > > > > BTW, have you ever looked at Other Suns? > > > > Yes, I own it. It has some nice bits, but I'm not all that keen > > on Fuzzy stuff. I thought Albedo was a better game > > backgroundwise, but mechanically much poorer. > > I'll definitely buy the jaundiced eye toward the Fuzzy stuff, I was just > astonished when I first encountered it at the similarities in the rules > system to RQ/BRP, I tend to consider it another RQ spin-off even though > it was published by FGU. > > > Anyway, it occurs to me now that this is the 'RuneQuest' list, > > and not the 'BRP' list. My apologies for drifting off topic, and > > encouraging others to do the same. > > I'm not sure what the list concensus is but IMO, all of the BRP derived > games (and even some others) are fair game for looking for > interesting/compatible mechanics. > > Is there some formal statement regarding this in the List Charter? > > Stephen Posey > slposey@concentric.net > > *************************************************************************** > To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.ient.com > with the line 'unsubscribe runequest-rules' as the body of the message. *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.ient.com with the line 'unsubscribe runequest-rules' as the body of the message. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 14 Jul 2001 20:45:57 -0600 From: Stephen Posey Subject: Re: [RQ-RULES] Re: Stormbringer Steve Perrin wrote: > > Other Suns was originally supposed to be "RuneQuest in Space" but we > eventually choked on the Furriness of it all. The "cold wet nose" theory of > alien generation got very tiresome very quickly. And Nicolai is not the > easiest person in the world to get along with. > > The final decision was that the book just didn't have the "pizzazz" that the > Chaosium looks for in a book. So FGU, the ultimate (at the time) vanity game > press, published it after Nicolai made some cosmetic changes. Heh, I'd heard some vague mutterings that Other Suns had originally been intended as a Chaosium project, thanks for the inside dope. > There's another RQ in Space set of rules called, I belive, the Black Watch, > around in photocopies form (I'm not sure it ever was formally published). > Some good stuff in that, too. Interesting, I'll keep an eye out for that. In case anyone's interested, I came across a Web site for Other Suns: http://www.macrophile.com/~ermine/html/other_suns.html There's evidently plans for a second edition. I also came across what appears to be a playtest version (of undetermined age and veracity) here: http://www.hoboes.com/pub/Role-Playing/Future/Other%20Suns/ Stephen Posey slposey@concentric.net *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.ient.com with the line 'unsubscribe runequest-rules' as the body of the message. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 15 Jul 2001 11:15:06 +0100 From: "Tom Zunder" Subject: [RQ-RULES] Synners BRP My good friend Graham Spearing is working on a Star Marines BRP for us to run with our sons. I have also a yearning to do a Starship Troopers/Bughunters/6th Day game, like this; Space is deep. Space is vast. Space is full. Space is full of writhing, squirming, flying, swimming, clawing, piercing, spitting, sucking and rending life, some intelligent, some hive minds, most mindless drooling animals out to rip anything apart to get energy and live another day. Humans can't withstand this, the rigours of deep space and the horror of endless war is too much for the best of men. So they made you.. They recorded your mind, because only real human minds can cope in the hostility of space. They built blank synthetic bodies, each one 100% stronger and 50% faster than a womb-born human. They call them 'Synthetic Humans', we call them 'Synners'. They played your mind into the Synner. They taught you how to fight in a few days rapid eye movement learning 'REM-teach'. They sent you to die... Character gen; STR, CON, SIZ all 1d6+12 (Blank Synner attribute) INT, DEX both 2d6+6 (Original human attribute) POW, APP both 3d6 (It's a fickle process) HP = CON+SIZ (due to the massive structural and surface mods to a Synner body). Womb-borne have (CON+SIZ)/2 All skills have a base that is an attribute x modifier. Some can be additions of stats. Thus Throw = DEX * 3%, Brawl may be STR+DEX*2+INT. Then the original human skills are created, allocate 250 points to civilian type skills. On a separate sheet record these allocations, these will always be the same for every Synner created from this personality. Then the 'REM-teach' imprinting is laid over the top, allocate 250 points to military skills. Play and die. Since they record everything you see and do whilst a Synner, they keep updating the version on file. If you gain experience rolls then in addition to marking them on your character sheet add them to the 'other sheet' where you have stored your original civilian skills. Add the experience roll increase (d10) to the base skills there. This reflects the fact that you are permanently learning skills between being replicated, and these skill additions will transfer to the next version of you. If you die then they will replicate you again. (Replicants is another term for them) But the process isn't perfect. You can remember your death, you get jumpy, your mind starts to glitch and get hazy. Your new bodies work fine but you start to crumble inside. So, future versions, STR, CON, SIZ all 1d6+12 (Blank Synner attribute) INT, DEX both at previous Synner score minus 1. POW, APP both 3d6 (It's a fickle process) Plus make an INT roll, if you make it then you develop a glitch (we can use the CoC table, someone has the rules and/or use faults/disadvantages from other games). If you fail then it's okay. Then you refactor all base skills using new attribute scores, add the base civilian skillset from your last life, add the exerience increases from previous versions of yourself and then apply 250 points of REM-teach, then you go out and die again. As time goes by you become more and more stupid, glitchy, slow, and yet more skilled and experienced and more like an automaton. After maybe 7 generations of copies, they rarely copy you anymore. The Psychology of the Synner. First born: Scared, unsure, still human, green. Second time: Overconfident, gung-ho, feels invulnerable. Third to Fifth: Starting to remember all the previous deaths, prone to depression, cynical, careful, veteran Sixth plus: Machine like, with sudden collapses into overwhleming emotions, scared that this death will be the last, either welcoming it or terrified of it. [This presupposes an Elric! style freeform character gen where you just get 250 points and place them where you like, it's not the usual method but it works. We'll use some version of BRP in space, I just thought someone with a BRP SF game might like to use the Synners. It is not original, this is basically Bughunters from TSR with a flavour of 6th Day (the film) and possibilities of Blade Runner threads) - --- T H Zunder tom@zunder.org.uk ICQ:1521799 *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.ient.com with the line 'unsubscribe runequest-rules' as the body of the message. ------------------------------ End of RuneQuest Rules Digest V4 #95 ************************************ *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.ient.com with the line 'unsubscribe runequest-rules' as the body of the message. RuneQuest is a Trademark of Hasbro/Avalon Hill Games. 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