From: owner-rq-rules-digest To: rq-rules-digest@hops.wharton.upenn.edu Subject: RQ Rules Digest: V2 #62 Reply-To: rq-rules Errors-To: owner-rq-rules-digest Precedence: bulk Content-Return: Prohibited Return-Path: owner-rq-rules-digest RQ Rules Digest: Thursday, 7 September 1995 Volume 02 : Number 062 TABLE OF CONTENTS Brian Tickler GM tricks of the trade... David Boatright Merit Stuff Brian Tickler GM tricks of the trade... Frederic J Moulin Merit Stuff Frederic J Moulin GM tricks of the trade... Scott Ellsworth Spouse/SO players Trystero... Sanity Rules and RQ Phil Johnson GM tricks of the trade... 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. When paraphrasing you demonstrate exactly how well you understand the point someone was trying to make. 4. There is no number 4. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: tickler@netcom.com (Brian Tickler) Date: Thu, 7 Sep 1995 11:05:48 -0700 (PDT) Subject: GM tricks of the trade... Frederic writes: > No offense, brian, I just thought (IMHO of course :-)) that your answer sounded > a little snobbish, and I indulged myself with a little "smart assing". > But all of that in good spirit, of course :-) I have come to realize that I am still a little too new to the newsgroup to get away with simply stating my opinions sans disclaimers... The other thing I'm still working on is how to present a point without having people think I'm advocating it as an absolute (see below)... Sandy writes: > Brian Tickler condemns the normal scenario style of gaming. Actually, I don't. I only dislike (here comes some more 1 line quotes I'm sure to get in trouble for...) campaigns where this "formula" is used each and every game session. The same way I dislike campaigns where the party wanders aimlessly and the GM rolls random encounters every single session. In other words, I don't like stagnant campaigns, no matter which of the many available "ruts" they have stumbled into... > Guess you had to be there. I was there! :) GM tricks of the trade: As far as foodstuffs go, our group tends toward pizza (because it's easy and requires no preparation) and 2-liters bottles of anything under the sun. Usually some bags of chips to hold us off 'til the pizza arrives, and sometimes some microwaved Velveeta/El Paso concoction for dipping. Occasional beer imbibing...although none for me, thanks. Frederic mentions the age-old dilemma of the non-playing spouses. I would be very interested to see a show of virtual hands on how many RQ players out there have (A) managed to get their spouse to play, and (B) have managed to *keep* them playing. All but one person in our group is married, and while at one time or another every spouse *has* played, they have all dropped the game later on... - -- Brian T. Tickler E-Mail: tickler@netcom.com ------------------------------ From: David Boatright <100130.3567@compuserve.com> Date: 07 Sep 95 12:19:57 EDT Subject: Merit Stuff Here is some stuff I have been working on to simulate renown in society. It gives the characters something to work towards besides Rune Lord\Priest. Merit Merit is used to measure how well known and respected a characters in his society. As people can be well known for various reasons, therefore Merit can be gained in any number of different areas. A gain in specific area is also a gain in General merit. A certain level of merit may needed to even be eligible for a position in society such as Council Thane (Some examples below). Merit may also be used to influence others in this a resistance roll in the appropriate area. If a success obtain the character gets what he wants. A Communication skill may be modified 5 percentiles for each point higher in a specific type such as Leadership (Clan) (or by 1 percentile if General Merit) than the other participants in an exchange. Merit may gained in the following areas Leadership (War) Success in Battle Leadership (Bloodline) Success in making family decision Leadership (Clan) Success in Clan decision Leadership (Religion) Occupation (Farmer) Good Harvest Mastering Farming Occupation (Herder) Strong herds Mastering herding Profession (Crafter) Creating noteworthy items Mastering your craft Profession (Hunter) Bring back dangerous animals Becoming a master hunter Virtues (Cult\Culture) Exhibiting virtue in a noteworthy fashion Sample Merit Gains General Guidelines Average Gain 1D3 Good 1D4 V. Good 1D6 Excellent 1D8 Leadership (War) Lead Cattle Raid 1/1D3 Lead Skirmish (or Unit in Battle) 1D3/1D6 Lead in Battle 1D6/1D8 Leadership (Clan/Bloodline) Give good advice 1D3/1D6 Occupation Master Occupation Skill 1D6 Commitment See Time Allocation rules Religion (Specific) Become Initiate +5 Godi +10 Acolyte +20 Priest/Lord +50 Specific Ceremony +1D6/+1D10 Cult / Cultrual Virtues Good Example +1D4 V. Good Example +1D6 Positions One of the main uses for merit is the gaining of positions within the clan Weapon Thane Merit Requirements:- 200, Leadership (War) 120, Warrior 50 Special requirements:- Two Weapon Skills 100%+, Instruct 90%+, be at least an initiate of a warrior cult Benefits:- Weapon Thanes are given a Huscarl assistant who take care of their weapons and armour. They also assist them during training sessions and act lieutenants during battles. They are also given a bigger slice of clan resources to keep them in their new station. Add 10 to General Merit Duties:- They are responsible for leading and training the militia and counselling the chief.. Bloodline Head Merit Requirements:- 150 Special requirements:- Leadership (Bloodline) 150, Orate 40%+ Benefits:- Increase in status, gifts from bloodline members on inauguration. Add 10 to General Merit Duties:- They are responsible for leading the members of a bloodline.. Clan Champion Merit Requirements:- 250 Warrior (200) Special requirements:- Two Weapons at 100%+ Benefits:- Increase in status. Add 10 to General Merit Duties:- Take the place of Clan member in a duel to decide lawsuit outcome. Commitment Varies Tribal Thane Merit Requirements:- 400, Leadership (Spec) 250 Special requirements:- Two Weapons at 100%+ Benefits:- Increase in status. Add 30 to General Merit Duties:- Be available at all times to judge and advise as position requires. Commitment Varies Housecarl Merit Requirements:- 100, Warrior 50 Special requirements:- 2 Weapons at 50% Benefits:- Increase in status, Weapons and armour supplied by chief. add % to General Merit Duties:- Guard the chief and act as the first line of defence and offence for the clan. Council Thane Merit Requirements:- 250, Leadership (Varies) 150 Special requirements:- Chosen By Chieftain Benefits:- Increase in status, add 20 to General Merit Duties:- Be available at all times to judge and advise as position requires. Godi Merit Requirements:- 200, Religion (Spec) 150 Special requirements:- Chosen By ranking cult member in clan Benefits:- Increase in status, add 10 to Religion (Spec) Duties:- Perform ceremonies encountered in daily life. Change of season ceremonies, rites of passage . Commitment varies. Clan Chieftain Merit Requirements:- 400, Leadership (Any) 250 Special requirements:- Chosen by election. Pass the Chieftain Tests. Must be an Orlanth initiate and an initiate of at least one other cult. Benefits:- Increase in status, add 50 to General . Merit, add 10 to Religion (Orlanth) Duties Rule the Clan, distribute Clan wealth and resources, interact with outsiders Commitment 100 ------------------------------ From: tickler@netcom.com (Brian Tickler) Date: Thu, 7 Sep 1995 13:16:20 -0700 (PDT) Subject: GM tricks of the trade... Here we go... House Rules Combat We're playing RQ2 with some minor modifications to speed up combat. No parrying of missed attacks is allowed (this also helps alleviate the weapon breakage problem in RQ2). Magic No roll required for Battle Magic to work. Skills/Training No significant mods. Rolling dice When I remember, I have PCs roll percentile several times before play and use those rolls during the game whenever they need to make a roll whose success they shouldn't know anything about. Declaring actions Our group is pretty good about this, so I don't really have to enforce any "policy", but I generally ask the "party leader" what they are doing first, and then ask the rest of the players in a haphazard order partially dictated by their proximity to the action/hot spots. "Traditions" Pre-game preparation Go over scenario material, concentrating on areas the PCs are likely to run into that day. Think about how the party's actions from last session may have caused ancillary events to start in motion. Post-game wrap-up Read the new entries in the Book of Woe (a journal kept by the party of their exploits in Blind King's Castle...) to make sure I haven't miscommunicated something during the session (or to chuckle to myself when I *have* communicated something properly, but the party has written down something entirely different that they will be relied on during future gaming sessions as fact...). Answer player's questions about the "deeper" nature of things/events that happened. Breaks We play in my garage, so during game sessions it is fairly common for us to open the garage door if it's a nice day and throw a football around once in a while (possibly while discussing various topics that do not require rolling). Scenario Design Creating new concepts I usually rely on the players to plot a new direction with the stuff I have thrown out at them. I ad-lib a lot. In fact, the Book of Woe compiled by my players is twice as thick as the actual BKC scenario material that has been put down on paper (although I always tend to run about 25% off paper, 75% in my head). Writing background material I'm usually too lazy to write down this stuff. I think about it a lot, but I just trust my memory to bring it all back when I need it. This occasionally results in minor inconsistencies, but it's a pretty safe bet that if I've forgotten something, so have the players... I am running a New Pavis/Big Rubble campaign, so I use every printed resource available and then expand on them, trying not to contradict them in the process... Creating "hooks" I am a big believer in sub-plots. The BKC campaign I'm running has several themes going on all at once: Finding out the secrets/history of the Castle itself Thwarting the insidious plans of the Castle's current denizens (multiple sets of denizens with multiple insidious plans...) Going to exotic locales in search of clues to attain an item from the Hero Plane Handling the Lunars, who also have designs on the Castle and the item and are deploying direct and indirect resources against the party (I'm using the Coders for this...which seems to be a much better justification for them being in Pavis than any of the ones given in the book...IMO :) ) Handling the Lhankor Mhy temple (trading information from the Book of Woe for research on all of the above, while trying to keep the Lhankor Mhys, who are under political pressure from the Lunars, from selling that information) Various other sub-plots relating to single PCs... Balancing party/scenario strength This is difficult, since my players range from 2-16 years experience. Characters range from the "almost a master now" Initates up to the "almost a Hero now" Rune levels. So far we've avoided any major problems. Scenario strength is always a problem in RQ2 once PCs are well over 100%, but it's manageable (sp?). Designing/generating NPCs Haven't had to do this in a while (I did them all before BKC started, and it's been 9 years since then...). Thrykys the Destroyer is 7 pages long (including 1 full page for his percentile-based hit location table, and 1 full page for his numerous & exotic chaotic features/gifts/geases). Handling local politics Always a source of intrigue/consternation for the party...I try to always formulate a Lunar reaction/response to any significant happening the party is involved in, even if the party will never know what it was... Determining appropriate rewards Always problematic. Powerful Rune levels are perfectly happy with the non-material rewards they receive, but this leaves Initiates in the cold ("how will I *ever* be able to afford Healing 6?"). I "give out" very little in the way of traditional "treasure", but I try to provide opportunities for the alert PCs to profit in other ways besides lugging a sack of coins around after each adventure... Running the session Ad-libbing My favorite activity... Handling covert character actions/single player interactions Usually handled in another room, never longer than 5 minutes. Longer stuff is handled between sessions. Good time for the rest of the party to take a break/run to the refrigerator for a re-fill, etc. Handling problematic tendencies of players Handling GM/player favoritism Handling players from "other" campaigns I can't really get into this, since several of my players read this newsgroup... :) Physcial gaming aspects Figures Mats Maps Screens Props Yes. Layout of the gaming area Lighting/environment Garage with a generic long table (you know, the ones with the fold up metal legs...), a generic 500-watt halogen "torchiere" lamp, and folding chairs. Non-generic Rodney Matthews posters (and others) all over the walls. External factors Handling geographic diversity in playing group By far our biggest problem. Our current locations: California (Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Pinole, Palo Alto, Los Angeles) Oklahoma Game sessions have dropped to less than one a month lately. Scheduling problems Just add to the geographic problem, in our case... - -- Brian T. Tickler E-Mail: tickler@netcom.com ------------------------------ From: Frederic J Moulin Date: Thu, 7 Sep 1995 16:52:24 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Re: Merit Stuff I have been using the rules for Honor published in the RQ supplement about Japan. With small adaptations, they fit quit easily in a Glorantha type campaign. I am also carefull to make my NPC behave according to the PC reputation, and I expect my players to do the same: If they chose to insult a NPC, they should be ready for his response. I have given them titles and land, and it turned out to be a great idea. After a while, my players were tired of wandering around, and I was running out of interesting plots. fred ------------------------------ From: Frederic J Moulin Date: Thu, 7 Sep 1995 17:11:04 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Re: GM tricks of the trade... > Frederic mentions the age-old dilemma of the non-playing spouses. I > would be very interested to see a show of virtual hands on how many RQ > players out there have (A) managed to get their spouse to play, and (B) > have managed to *keep* them playing. All but one person in our group is > married, and while at one time or another every spouse *has* played, they > have all dropped the game later on... > Actually, and this is ABSOLUTLY not to be taken as a sexist pig comment, I have never managed to attract any women for a long time into any of my campaigns: I tried with my wife, the wives of my friends, friends, girlfriends... nothing. They will play a couple of time, mostly to please us, and then take off. I would like to get feed-back from women on the list about what makes a campaign attractive to them, what they like and dislike in the story, the GM style... It is such a problem, because our better half don't like to much being left alone, and they tend to have a fairly strong impact on players availability. Frederic ------------------------------ From: fuz@deltanet.com (Scott Ellsworth) Date: Thu, 7 Sep 95 15:35:09 -0700 Subject: Spouse/SO players Brian Tickler says: >Frederic mentions the age-old dilemma of the non-playing spouses. I >would be very interested to see a show of virtual hands on how many RQ >players out there have (A) managed to get their spouse to play, and (B) >have managed to *keep* them playing. All but one person in our group is >married, and while at one time or another every spouse *has* played, they >have all dropped the game later on... I have played once or twice a month more or less for the last 15 years. Anyone I dated for a significant period of time just kind of had to start gaming, since otherwise, they were not going to see me much, and I would be spending a lot of time talking incomprehensibilities. The person I am presently dating has been a player for three years now, and will probably be running the next game we play. I think this is a pretty good arrangement - if it was not fun enough to keep up, we probably would not all continue doing it, but this would be a sign of significantly divergent interests. Scott Scott Ellsworth fuz@deltanet.com "When a great many people are unable to find work, unemployment results" - Calvin Coolidge, (Stanley Walker, City Editor, p. 131 (1934)) "The barbarian is thwarted at the moat." - Scott Adams ------------------------------ From: wire@trystero.iii.net (Trystero...) Date: Thu, 07 Sep 1995 22:46:23 GMT Subject: Re: Sanity Rules and RQ Sanity (erm...Sandy) Petersen writes: >I suppose the logical utilization of SAN rules in Glorantha would be give each >player a SAN score, and then not let SAN go down...your score would normally never >drop (unless you were illuminated or something). Interesting. I would have thought Illuminates would have ultra-high SAN, like Professor Moriarty in _Cthulhu By Gaslight_ (who has seen too many dark, horrible things and now has 100 SAN); if anything, I'd expect them to be perhaps *too* sane. I imagine Illuminates to be capable of facing *anything* without batting an eyelash; that's the perspective they gain. I do think messing intentionally with Chaos should permanently lower the SAN score. That way, a character meddling with Chaos magic is on a slow slide, and has to hope he can become Illuminated before his mind snaps completely. just a thought, doug - --------------------------------------------------------------------------- douglas .s. bailey - wire@trystero.iii.net - http://www.iii.net/users/wire/ - --------------------------------------------------------------------------- this week dragged past me so slowly, the days fell on their knees... ------------------------------ From: "Phil Johnson" Date: Fri, 8 Sep 1995 09:50:26 GMT+800 Subject: Re: GM tricks of the trade... > Frederic mentions the age-old dilemma of the non-playing spouses. I > would be very interested to see a show of virtual hands on how many RQ > players out there have (A) managed to get their spouse to play, and (B) > have managed to *keep* them playing. All but one person in our group is > married, and while at one time or another every spouse *has* played, they > have all dropped the game later on... > Of the Three Females that I have ever gamed with - 1. Amanda was into the middle east and does ballroom, spanish, jazz, rock, and BELLY dancing but she mainly played Rolemaster. 2. Lorna was a political science student, and gay ( not that there's anything wromg with that ). Mostly Rolemaster. 3. Nicole, My fiancee. Who doesn't understand this gaming thing.... - ----------------------------------------------------------- Phil. Anything Organized is to conservative for me...!!! That's why I like the Internet. ------------------------------ End of RQ Rules Digest: V2 #62 ****************************** This is the bottom of the RuneQuest Rules Digest. RuneQuest is a trademark of Avalon Hill, and Glorantha is a trademark of Chaosium. 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