Re: Thunder Oaks' use of magical effects

From: Jeff <richaje_at_KK3O5XJqSxZ_ULUp3IUVLxI4El4uPkj_pFI9lxuG1D_d2uBKEhUHQGgRB9It_0lMNI7X>
Date: Sun, 14 Feb 2010 21:03:17 -0000


Peter -

You have a very good grasp of the rules! A few minor comments (mainly of the "you are correct" variety):

> I doubt this. Players maximize the efficiency of their characters (usually),
> but my impression is that the Runes/Gods chose you, not the other way
> around. The vast majority (~85%) of Orlanthi males will have the Air Rune;
> Mobility is also very common, I imagine, although perhaps less so, and
> Mastery is probably even less common. Loads of perfectly ordinary Orlanthi
> males will end up with Death or Fertility or Communication or whatever
> instead of one of the "perfect 3" -- I kind of imagine that people with
> perfect matches for their god's Runes are the minority and probably reveal
> their specialness early (Harmast's initiation being a good example, Ranulf
> had another particularly spectacular one, as I recall).

This is absolutely right. In play, I have yet to see an Orlanth or Ernalda cultist with all three runes.

> This is incorrect (Sartar, p. 80). Initiation (which requires one Rune
> affinity at 1W+) "turns on" all Runes associated with your God.

You are correct.

> No, as far as I can tell, it's because he is sealed to Orlanth, and Orlanth
> doesn't have the Communication Rune. If he Initiated to Issaries, he could
> use Communication actively, but Air and Movement would be "augment only."
> Obviously, a PC would be unlikely to make that choice, but there are
> probably a few Issarians who have messed up Rune structures like this (maybe
> they are destined to become *very* good communicators -- blame the whims of
> the gods).

Again, you are correct. However, you can initiate to more than one cult. So you could be an initiate of Orlanth ("unlocking" Air and Movement) and of Issaries ('unlocking" Communication).

> Again, not as I am reading Sartar, p.80. I could be wrong here; I am trying
> to feel my way through this as well.

You are correct.

> > Normally, it just uses Leik's Air Affinity (15W at this point),
> > but
> > he could also increase the Feat as a sub ability (ie Air 15W (Hedkoranth
> > +3)).
> > /// Yes, why not ?
> >
> No reason at all, it's stated explicitly (Heroquest, p111). I am trying to
> account for all the various permutations.

Again, this is correct.

> > With the Narrator's agreement, Leik is able to increase his ability in this feat
> > by acting like Hedkoranth before using it -- He paints his body with woad,
> > > lifts heavy rocks, and boasts of his own and Hedkoranth's exploits. He can
> > > roll his Air Affinity 15W vs a Moderate resistance (usually, it might be
> > > higher or lower depending on whether he is in a Temple of Orlanth or hiding
> > > out in a Lunar city) to get a lingering augment for the whole battle.
> Well, I am unsure -- this seems like it fits the spirit of the rules, but I
> am expecting someone to sort me out, if I am wrong.

I certainly would permit this. Or I would just add a Situational Bonus if I didn't want to make the player roll dice.

> > A
> > Feat could affect a whole battle, especially if his clansmen and fyrd
> > brothers
> > back his ritual up with their magics.
> >
> Again, it seems reasonable to me, but I am waiting for clarification.

A feat can be used as an "area effect" magic ability. I believe several (the Sivin Feat, the Thunderer Feat, and the Leader of Battles) are explicitly like this.

> This one I am the least clear on (by the way, that was supposed to be (+9?
> +more?)) -- it makes sense for a very specific feat to have a special bonus
> (at the cost of limited utility -- this would give the bonus if you were
> fighting a giant, but less of a bonus if you were, say, attacking a
> giant-made object or a mountain that is the remains of a dead giant, I
> expect, and it would be useless against a creature that is very large but
> not descended from the beings Hedkoranth fought (e.g. chaos creatures,
> Maran's various creations, and Dragons), but I could be wrong.

I agree with this completely. Heck, you might want to come up with a list of feats and send them off to Newt Newport for HiG!

Jeff            

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