From: owner-rq-rules-digest To: rq-rules-digest@hops.wharton.upenn.edu Subject: RQ Rules Digest: V2 #122 Reply-To: rq-rules Errors-To: owner-rq-rules-digest Precedence: bulk Content-Return: Prohibited Return-Path: owner-rq-rules-digest RQ Rules Digest: Tuesday, 14 November 1995 Volume 02 : Number 122 TABLE OF CONTENTS Thomas Michael Cantine Knockback Colin Watson Illumination Loren Miller Sorcerors and Shamans Loren Miller Illuminated DI Frederic Moulin Illuminated DI David Dunham Illumination 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: Thomas Michael Cantine Date: Tue, 14 Nov 1995 01:46:34 -0500 (EST) Subject: Knockback As a player, I have always been a big fan of Intentional Knockback as a tactic, since it can't be parried and it can do pretty decent damage against opponents who make the mistake of standing in front of stone walls. However, Thursday night, the potentiality for silliness became clear in a combat which incidentally cost my character his leg. (I wouldn't mention that in RQ, of course, except that since this is a low-magic campaign with no Heal spells handy, it actually means I get to play a one-legged character...) Anyway, the silliness involved one of our guys (a big one, naturally) body-slammed the main bad guy (a vicious mummy with the scythe that took off my guy's leg, but only a SIZ 12) into a stone wall. Let's see, SIZ 18 plus STR 15 vs SIZ 12 plus DEX 6 on the resistance table works out to a 99% chance of success. Ultimately it worked out that the mummy took 5d6 of damage upon hitting the wall, which not surprisingly was pretty much the decisive blow of the battle. At the time, of course, I was delighted to have the fight over so I could get some First Aid, but I've been thinking about it since then, and it just doesn't quite seem right that so much damage should be so nearly automatic. This may be due to our reading of the Intentional Knockback rule, which only calls for a resistance roll on the fist strike rank, and maybe a fist attack roll is also implied, but I don't see it in the text. So, inspired by this loophole into another reverie of rulesmithing, I have come up with a few optional combat rules for RQ3. Feedback is welcome, praise especially so. (: Knockback: Under this optional system, intentional knockback can be done in two ways: (1) Just run blindly into your target, and treat the situation as Knockback Into Small Objects And People (p50 of RQ3) with a "distance travelled" equal to your movement rate. Add your damage bonus and that of your target to this damage. Of course, if he sees you coming, he can Dodge, Set Spear vs. Charge, use Opportunity Melee, or otherwise make you look stupid. Enjoy. (2) Shoving, kicking, shield-pushing, etc.: Keep the old Resistance Roll of (SIZ+STR) vs (SIZ+DEX), but require the establishment of a connection for the transmission of force in the first place. This is done with a successful attack roll, and the "weapons" usable for this are Fist, Kick (for swashbucklers especially), Shield Attack, or any hafted weapon used with both hands (the classic quarterstaff shove). A two-handed weapon used this way cannot be used to parry in the same round (since the maneuver uses the parrying surface of the weapon), although someone over 100% could split the attack, shoving one opponent with the haft and stabbing another with the point. A successful attack does no damage, but if it is neither parried or dodged, it allows the attacker to attempt the same old resistance roll as per RQ3. (This takes place on the same strike rank as the attack.) On a simple success, the target is knocked back a number of meters equal to the (SIZ+STR) of the attacker DIVIDED by the SIZ of the target, and must make a DEXx5 roll to remain standing. On a special success, the target goes twice as far and must make DEXx3. On a critical, the roll is DEXx1. If the resistance roll is failed, the attacker must roll DEXx5 or fall down. If it is a fumble, consult the fumble table for the weapon used, and roll DEXx3 to remain standing (if the fumble doesn't knock the attacker down anyway). Polearms: In addition to just hacking people up, polearms can be used to achieve an effect similar to knockback. In fact, some were specifically designed for pulling knights off their horses, and an important halberd tactic was to hook an opponent's leg and yank it out from under him. I was thinking of making up special rules for this sort of thing, but then it occurred to me that it might be simpler just to use the above system. A mounted target could add his horse's SIZ to his own on a successful Ride roll for the Resistance check, of course, but one might want to require a special Ride against a special attack for this, and a critical against a critical. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Thomas M. Cantine "My theory, which is mine, is mine. g9326443@mcmaster.ca And I own it, too." ============================================================================== ------------------------------ From: Colin Watson Date: Tue, 14 Nov 1995 10:47:10 GMT Subject: Re: Illumination Frederic Moulin: > How do you play a Divine Intervention from a character that has been > illuminated. ... > According to my understanding, since for exemple a Humakti could have gifts > without the geases, I considered that he could have the DI without paying > the POW cost. If an illuminate still has to sack MP to cast cult spirit magic and still has to sack POW to get Divine spells then I reckon he should be required to sack POW for DI. The illuminate need not fear the wrath of god (hence geasa are not a problem) but he still has to supply the power to produce magical effects IMO. Just think of DI as a big spell. At best, I'd give the illuminate advance knowledge of the cost of the DI i.e. the option to "take it or leave it" after the roll. ___ CW. ------------------------------ From: "Loren Miller" Date: Tue, 14 Nov 1995 11:59:17 EST Subject: Re: Sorcerors and Shamans Crom is right. The RQ3 rules as written don't make much sense, and they make these characters very hard to run. Shamans are especially bad under the rules, being alternately unplayable and unbeatable. - -- +++++++++++++++++++++++23 Loren Miller Life at the water's edge is the real life for men and women, and penguins ------------------------------ From: "Loren Miller" Date: Tue, 14 Nov 1995 11:58:00 EST Subject: Re: Illuminated DI Frederic Moulin writes: > It happens to me a time ago, were an initiate actually managed to > DI: According to my understanding, since for exemple a Humakti > could have gifts without the geases, I considered that he could > have the DI without paying the POW cost. And more exactly, I told > him that he could decide what number of POW points he wished to > send back to the divinity. Oh boy! Are you ever in trouble now! If I were in your shoes I'd say, "Guys, I made a mistake. The rules we've been using for DI by illuminates are not official, and they are unbalancing. I won't take away POW that you should have already spent, but I will start charging full POW costs for illuminates that get DI from now on." - -- +++++++++++++++++++++++23 Loren Miller Life at the water's edge is the real life for men and women, and penguins ------------------------------ From: Frederic Moulin Date: Tue, 14 Nov 1995 14:57:26 -0500 Subject: Re: Illuminated DI >Oh boy! Are you ever in trouble now! Yep, I realized that about a second after the words had passed my lips! > "Guys, I made a mistake. The rules we've been using for DI by >illuminates are not official, and they are unbalancing. The rules for illuminates are unbalanced anyway. But I think the best answer is actually Collin Watson's answer: "You pay with POW for the spells, you pay for DI too!" I don't even have to say "I made a mistake...", I'll just say "I changed my mind". If Greg can do it, so do I ;-) frederic ------------------------------ From: dunham@pensee.com (David Dunham) Date: Tue, 14 Nov 1995 14:37:22 -0700 Subject: Re: Illumination Frederic Moulin wondered >How do you play a Divine Intervention from a character that has been >illuminated. Same as any other character. >It happens to me a time ago, were an initiate actually managed to DI: >According to my understanding, since for exemple a Humakti could have gifts >without the geases, I considered that he could have the DI without paying >the POW cost. I don't consider a Divine Intervention the same as a Humakti gift. A geas is a taboo or stricture, normally if you violate it, really bad things happen. Illumination allows you to break your geas (it doesn't mean you don't have the geas). ------------------------------ End of RQ Rules Digest: V2 #122 ******************************* This is the bottom of the RuneQuest Rules Digest. RuneQuest is a trademark of Avalon Hill, and Glorantha is a trademark of Chaosium. 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. Send electronic mail to Majordomo@hops.wharton.upenn.edu with "help" in the body of the message for subscription information on this and other mailing lists. WWW material at http://hops.wharton.upenn.edu/~loren/rolegame.html