From: owner-rq-rules-digest To: rq-rules-digest@hops.wharton.upenn.edu Subject: RQ Rules Digest: V2 #175 Reply-To: rq-rules Errors-To: owner-rq-rules-digest Precedence: bulk Content-Return: Prohibited Return-Path: owner-rq-rules-digest RQ Rules Digest: Saturday, 3 February 1996 Volume 02 : Number 175 TABLE OF CONTENTS David Dunham Experience; Successes; Riskland Steve Lieb Experience; Specials; Firearrow; Dorastor Steve Lieb Skills and familiars 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: dunham@pensee.com (David Dunham) Date: Sat, 3 Feb 1996 20:33:14 -0800 Subject: Re: Experience; Successes; Riskland Steve Perrin answered me >The Hero System charges points to build a character. The Experience points >gained >in a run can run from 1 to 5 points. These points can be spent to increase or >add powers, > skills, and characteristics at the same rate as they were bought originally. Ah, so this is the D&D experience system: by killing things, I can get better at singing. Sorry, I have to disagree with your assessment. This is not the best experience system out there. You yourself have done better. >>So you can never get the current Special (double rolled damage)? All these >>are in addition to the normal rolled damage, I assume. > >Sorry, wrong assumption. These are all _instead_ of normal rolled damage OK, makes sense, and probably necessary, given your table. I think it would be more elegant if you picked your first success from the table as well (so if you were just showing off with a single success, you'd pick "Ignore Armor" even though you wouldn't be able to pick "Rolled Damage"). This would be more consistent, since your 3rd success gives an extra pick, your second should give an extra pick as well. (Then, I've never really liked "Max + Rolled Ignoring Armor" since it seems too dire.) Trent Smith mentioned Riskland. I too think it's a wonderful campaign. It's unfortunate that it's lumped in the same book with the cesspools of Dorastor -- characters appropriate for the former will be shmeared by chaos leakage from Dorastor, while characters who think they could handle Dorastor would be bored in Riskland. David Dunham Pensee Corporation dunham@pensee.com Voice/Fax: 206 783 7404 http://www.pensee.com/dunham/ "I say we should listen to the customers and give them what they want." "What they want is better products for free." --Scott Adams ------------------------------ From: liebx004@maroon.tc.umn.edu (Steve Lieb) Date: Sat, 03 Feb 1996 22:34:10 -0600 Subject: Re: Experience; Specials; Firearrow; Dorastor >I favor a system where a player can, rather than roll to see how >>much of a gain he gets (which can, in some cases, result in a reduction), can >>just take a 1% increase and not bother with the rolls. > >Isn't that how RQ3 works? Or do you mean, rather than rolling to see if you >go up at all, take the 1%? > Nope - in RQIII you still have to ROLL to see if you get a gain. You can decide to take 3% in lieu of rolling d6-1 for the gain amount - that's prob'ly what you were remembering. >> Speaking of which, one of my favourite tricks is to get a bunch of >>characters who know Firearrow to cast it on as many pebbles as possible, >>CAREFULLY placing each one into a loose bag, and firing the lot out of a >>seige engine (or just dumping it off the battlements onto the beseiging >>forces). Cluster bomblet munitions for RQ! > >Very clever (and perfectly legal) though it feels wrong. > IMO, no. If you have that many guys with Firearrow during a siege, who aren't too busy to cast it, and are willing to spare the MP for it, why not? I like clever players, although I would discourage it as a GM for the following reasons: 1) Firstly, you have to adjudicate how/why a firearrow goes off. Is it impact alone? If so, MOST of those pebbles either a) will stay in the sack together until they hit something, at that moment 'flahing' the heat damage on one target, which will be a major waste because it wouldn't be additive (i.e.a lot of firearrows won't be any hotter than one); b)(if shotgunned from a catapult, say) won't hit anything. Sure, it'll make the beseigers duck (or maybe not - who'd duck a pebble?) They certainly won;t go very far - - the terminal velocity of a pebble sucks. Ever try to throw one? Finally, if they are just DROPPED off onto a seige tower or ladder - why not just use pitch or something? Takes no magic points. All in all, a good idea, but except for some very particular circumstances, a waste of MP. Steve Lieb (liebx004@maroon.tc.umn.edu) (Who continues to suffer from .sig bloat - and therefore has clipped the whole thing. Wait . . .) ------------------------------ From: liebx004@maroon.tc.umn.edu (Steve Lieb) Date: Sat, 03 Feb 1996 22:37:47 -0600 Subject: Re: Skills and familiars > >My preference for familiars has always been nymphs. A niad is stonger, >smarter, faster and has much higher POW than the sorcerer (or any other >possibility) and it requires only SIZ to create. Sure, that's what you SAY your reasons are. Yah, sure. Any other advantages you may have left out? Steve Lieb (liebx004@maroon.tc.umn.edu) (Who continues to suffer from .sig bloat - and therefore has clipped the whole thing. Wait . . .) ------------------------------ End of RQ Rules Digest: V2 #175 ******************************* 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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