From: owner-rq-rules-digest To: rq-rules-digest@hops.wharton.upenn.edu Subject: RQ Rules Digest: V2 #135 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, 5 December 1995 Volume 02 : Number 135 TABLE OF CONTENTS ANDOVER@delphi.com Allied spirit Gregory C. Walsh New PC's appearing ANDOVER@delphi.com New PCs Delecti@aol.com RQ Rules Digest: V2 #134 rstaats@mail.lmi.org Introducing New PCs Dane Danger Johnson Elric! to RQ: Armor Pts. vs. Armor Dice... Watson, Paul: EDM Sudden appearance of PCs Aden Steinke Killing Strangers :) Steve Lieb Sandy... 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: ANDOVER@delphi.com Date: Tue, 05 Dec 1995 01:07:18 -0500 (EST) Subject: Allied spirit Rollin writes: We'd do it pretty much the same, except have ruled that the mindlink between allied and Priest/Lord allows the Allied to use its "masters" senses, and thus the Sword could see thru his/her eyes, were it within range and not blocked by something of sufficient strength (wardings, etc.) Of course that is true if the RL is around. But I took the question to mean what if he was not? On the other hand, Hannu did not tell us why the sword did not use DI or teleport to avoid the situation. But I do differ from Rollin about the spirit's ability to leave the sword: I don't think it can voluntarily disassociate from the sword any more than a regular (non-shamanic) human can disassociate his spirit from his body. As to the question about teleporting into the middle of a warded area, I guess it would depend upon the nature of the ward, and for that matter, possibly, the intentions of the teleporter. Certainly anti-Orlanthi temples know of teleport and must have wardings designed to ward against it. Jim Chapin ------------------------------ From: "Gregory C. Walsh" Date: Tue, 5 Dec 1995 08:21:00 -0500 (EST) Subject: New PC's appearing I have the same problem. It is more of a problem in my world because I started everyone off as part of the same clan (group of about 100 people), then as people died off, part of the same tribe (group of about 4000 people). Now they have left the steppe, and newest PC is extracted from the Uplands (a farmer). So my current party has two original Black Hawk clan, Veybecks. One White Wolf clan, Veybeck. One Uplander, Land of Tyre. Everyone's induction was sensible; but they don't trust each other very much. The Uplander in particular is not well liked. The players are just playing their characters well ... I figure in time it will smooth out or they will destroy themselves. Greg ------------------------------ From: ANDOVER@delphi.com Date: Tue, 05 Dec 1995 10:46:01 -0500 (EST) Subject: New PCs We tend to turn long-running NPCs into PCs if necessary and appropriate. Frex, some of the NPCs from the original Borderlands Pack became PCs as original PCs got knocked off. Also, the original largely male PC party from Sartar (a different group) tended to pick up women along the way (and the woman picked up a guy) and they naturally became PCs along the way (in some cases we rolled up a new character just for that purpose). The minor noble leader always gets attractive women but they have a bad tendency to get killed within a few months! Jim Chapin ------------------------------ From: Delecti@aol.com Date: Tue, 5 Dec 1995 10:52:03 -0500 Subject: Re: RQ Rules Digest: V2 #134 Hugh Foster <100326.446@compuserve.com> in a message dated 95-12-05 00:13:31 EST, you write: >This is a constant problem with RPGs. If you have a new PC to add to a >running game, there has to ben amount of increased suspension of disbelief - >otherwise the party would just kill the newbie. You have to balance between >the unrealistic "oh look, here's a complete stranger, let's make him a bosom >pal" and "no, we don't trust you, sod off" - which latter produces a more >miserable player from one who's just lost a character. > >How does anyone else handle this ? Actually, my players help out in that they like to play it out in a separate group of sessions. For example: One player dies in a non-returning way (has happend every so often). He/she will then present me with a new character ASAP. I will go over desired background and work up a "introduction" scenario and insert it in a good spot. All this goes on while not interuppting the ongoing game if possible as most of the others will want to do what they can alone (this is really difficult while running a closed scenario that will not allow for detours (i.e. the inserted new-PC) so I try to avoid making those kind of scenarios (once during a "dungeon-crawl" scenario, they continued after losing a character that would have cured the diseases that they encountered and were warned about. They paid for that in stat and other losses.). The insertion scenario is played apart by the new and old characters and I am told is really fun as it allows them to develop their characters personality before being submerged in a group of established PC's. Once in the group, which is sometimes it is really hard as the players are really an independent lot and will not trust some players do not have another motive for being with them (I allow the players to develop their PC's in whatever way possible so they sometimes have things going that the others do not know about, such as one is actually a sorcerer who Taps POW from animals to boost his MP's for offense/defense. He trys really hard to keep the others from knowing. Another is a Blue Moon worshipping Troll who is getting the players to do assignments for him that are supposed to be blamed on "adventurer types". And one PC's quest for his father's sword actually got them into the present scenario, even though they are not aware of it.). The player also tend to avoid giving out info that will give the others an edge (such as letting others see their PC's sheet). Sometimes it makes for a paranoid lot, and can be slow (I told them when I started running that we would play this way and it would be slow at times) Scott Delecti@aol.com ------------------------------ From: rstaats@mail.lmi.org Date: Tue, 05 Dec 95 13:07:40 EST Subject: Introducing New PCs Last episode Hugh Foster asked... >How does anyone else handle this [introducing new PCs]? Just my two clacks ... Depends entirely on the situation (you expected this), but here are some "have worked in practice" tips and techniques. There are different varieties of "new" PCs, and there are differing methods of effectively introducing the various types. If the new PC is a replacement for a veteran of the Campaign then you have more latitude than if the new PC is also a new player. It also depends what stage the campaign is at. Introduce the new character at an appropriate place. Although I *have* introduced new PCs in the wilderness or in the catacombs from time to time, it is usually best to bring in the new player somewhere one would expect to meet a new adventurer. Structure your campaign to reflect the amount of turbulence you expect in the player and PC population. If you have high player or PC turn over then have frequent visits to population centers and encourage bringing on-board hirelings. (If you have a plot device of the party members being the only surviving remnants of a secret organization then it will be *extremely* difficult to bring in *anyone* as a full fledged member of the party.) Lavish time on character background. Allow at least some of the party members to have obscure relatives and friends who could potentially be developed into new PCs later. Bringing on Phineas' cousin Louie makes more sense than a random stranger walking up to the group. Having powerful PC allies request the party accept someone as part of the group works occasionally. Like most ploys, it can be overworked. It is sometimes handy to have the party find a new player as a prisoner or the object of an attack by a mutual antagonist during the session. If the party is trekking across the wilderness and comes upon someone who has valuable information or a required skill, the party is more likely to accept this person. Consider bringing in inexperienced player's characters as henchmen in the service of one of the more senior party members. (Be mindful of personality conflicts here.) This allows the party to legitimately give advice to the newbie in character and enhances rather than detracts from the suspension of disbelief. Must go back to work! In service, Rich Staats ------------------------------ From: "Dane 'Danger' Johnson" Date: Tue, 05 Dec 1995 10:51:17 -0800 Subject: Elric! to RQ: Armor Pts. vs. Armor Dice... Greetings! This is perhaps not the most appropriate list to direct this to, but I wasn't sure where else I'd pose my questions, so what the hey! The worst that can happen is that I get flamed! Anyway, my question is pretty simple. I'm going to be running a campaign using a sort of weird crossbreed of the Elric!, RQ, and Pendragon rules. Elric will provide the core framework, with fill in bits from the other games. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be a very precise mapping between the Armor Points that RuneQuest uses and the Armor Dice that Elric uses. Since RuneQuest's lists are rather more complete than Elric's, I had planned to interpolate the armors somehow or, failing that, to drop the dice of protection and just adopt RQ conventions. Being incredibly lazy, though, I thought I'd poll the list first to see if anybody here had already done something along these lines. I recall reading some posts suggesting that others had been working on amalgams or fusions of some of these systems and might have done some work in this direction already. If so, drop me a line or post it here (I looked through the archives but didn't locate anything that looked like what I was wondering about). I'd be happy to collate any responses I get and mail 'em out to interested parties (or stick it on a web page, or both. Or post them back here, if it's appropriate.). Thanks, Dane ------------------------------ From: watson.paul@ic.gc.ca (Watson, Paul: EDM) Date: Tue, 05 Dec 1995 15:25:48 -0500 Subject: Sudden appearance of PCs Hugh Foster wrote: ***** >> while 3 players are running around, praying for dear life, the other are rolling new cannon-folder that appears conveniently for the next battle. "Conveniently appear?" How, from where? A new PC would join a group that was hunted by everyone as murderers/assassins, with an army on their back. Where did the handy reserve of complete madmen and deathseekers come from. I always thought a PC joins others due to the pressures of a situation or a recognition of their abilities being able to help the individual through cooperation. This scenrio seems to preclude such an option. << This is a constant problem with RPGs. If you have a new PC to add to a running game, there has to ben amount of increased suspension of disbelief - otherwise the party would just kill the newbie. You have to balance between the unrealistic "oh look, here's a complete stranger, let's make him a bosom pal" and "no, we don't trust you, sod off" - which latter produces a more miserable player from one who's just lost a character. How does anyone else handle this ? ***** There seem to me to be two basic situations being discussed here: bringing a character in in the middle of the "action", and bringing one into the campaign in general, between "chapters" in the "story". With the former case, I will rarely bring in a new PC. It is usually just too jarringly unrealistic. What I will do is, if appropriate, hand the player an NPC. Sometimes, I'll turn over a currently "active" NPC (one which is already part of the story). At other times, I'll create a quickie NPC for the player (frex, the party is involved in a running battle with Black Fang assassins, the battle takes them into a shop, and the merchant gets involved, not necessarily voluntarily). It depends largely on what the player is willing to run, and I do field suggestions from the group. With the latter case, there is usually a way of working the new player into the story. There is always a way if you consider the current party when creating the new character. (Frex, if you allow the player to take a Seven Mothers initiate, when the rest of the party are rabid, anti-Lunar Orlanthi, you're making you're own problems). Off the top of my head, I can think of a few general ways of integrating the new PC. 1) The PC has something the party wants/needs (a certain skill set, information, contacts, etc). 2) The party has something the PC wants/needs, and, of course, the means to acquire it. 3) The party and the new PC have a common enemy/goal (referring to the merchant example in the second paragraph: the player who takes the merchant indicates that she doesn't want to play the merchant on an ongoing basis so - the merchant is killed in the battle, the merchant's sister (new PC) learns of the murder and seeks revenge. The party, having lost one (or more) of their own, also seek revenge.) 4) Orders from above (this is kind of cheesy, but it preserves realism). If the party is doing mercenary duty, the new PC is assigned to their band by their employer. If one of the current party members is a high ranking initiate, someone above them "asks" (orders) them to nurse-maid a new initiate. Paul ------------------------------ From: "Aden Steinke" Date: 6 Dec 1995 12:08:01 +1000 Subject: Killing Strangers :) Hi All Hugh Foster says >"Conveniently appear?" How, from where? A new PC would join a group that was > hunted by everyone as murderers/assassins, with an army on their back. >Where did the handy reserve of complete madmen and deathseekers come from. >I always thought a PC joins others due to the pressures of a situation or a >recognition of their abilities being able to help the individual through >cooperation. This scenrio seems to preclude such an option. We normally only let them appear outside a dungeon etc, ie in town, unless there is a handy NPC for a player to replace, in which case we force the character to take skills that the NPC has demonstrated, and is limited to the NPC culture and race as revealed. Of course if you force people to role play into joining up, then events like the unfortunate incident we suffered after the GM said 'there is a new cook and the food is poisonous' (following some fumbled roles) which lead to said new cook being thrown overboard and riddled with crossbow bolts as a reward, before we knew it was a would be player character, seems inevitable. Aden ------------------------------ From: liebx004@maroon.tc.umn.edu (Steve Lieb) Date: Tue, 05 Dec 1995 21:25:03 -0600 Subject: Re: Sandy... >>> Lest anyone misunderstand, I _am_ the Sandy Petersen who wrote CALL OF > CTHULHU. (And DOOM.) << > > We're not worthy! We're not worthy! > > So, now we have a bit more insight into the guy in Doom . . . Storm Bull Runelord (couldn't be Humakti - multiple lives) with Sense Chaos (the ability to hear monsters to the side) of course, that makes me wonder why there's no DI in Doom - or is that the BFG9000? Steve Lieb (liebx004@maroon.tc.umn.edu) - -Microsoft Network is prohibited from redistibuting this work in any form,in whole or in part. Copyright, Steven R. Lieb, 1995. License to distribute this post is available for $1,000 per message. Posting without permission constitutes an agreement to these terms.-Please send notices of violation to postmaster@microsoft.com ------------------------------ End of RQ Rules Digest: V2 #135 ******************************* 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. 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