From: owner-rq-rules-digest To: rq-rules-digest@hops.wharton.upenn.edu Subject: RQ Rules Digest: V2 #280 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, 15 June 1996 Volume 02 : Number 280 TABLE OF CONTENTS Steven R Lieb Steve Lieb ending the resistance table controversy Steven R Lieb Steve Lieb Adventures & Magic Martin Declan Kelly Adventures & Magic Martin Declan Kelly Adventures & Magic Simon D. Hibbs new stuff ian i. gorlick poison Hartley Patterson Battles and Poison david boatright RQ Rules Digest: V2 #278 david boatright Gaining Runemagic Glenn Glazer plot idea William Bradford Stradley Gaining Runemagic 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: Steven R Lieb (Steve Lieb) Date: Thu, 13 Jun 96 23:17:40 -0500 Subject: Re: ending the resistance table controversy >> every time you tab, it recalc's & shows % fumble, success, special, and >> critical by comparing the two numbers. > >erm what's the point - it takes about 3 seconds to work out the chances, >(how I do it:) > >say, 67% success = 67/10 =6.7/2 = 3.3 = 3% crit > 6.7*2 = 13.4 = 13% special > 100-(5-3) = 2% fumble = 98% or above > >What's hard about that? Sorry, I didn't explain clearly - the breakdown of % is NOT the "point" of the program. The point is that the applet takes active & passive values, and comes up with success chances based on the ratio of the two values, so you don't have the stupid resistance table result of "POW 490 shaman has 1% chance to succeed vs POW 501 spirit" The subject of "resistance table madness" is a migratory one - it comes back to this list about every 6 months. I thought maybe i could kill it by offering up this little suggestion. The breakdown (special, crit/fumble) is a feature. Perhaps i should have offered it as a seperate patch ("RQ *Extra*"?) :) Anyway, rather than uploading it, i wrote the damn thing, got it working great, then realized (of course) that really, anyone with a brain should be able to lay the same thing our in any spreadsheet program. If you can't, well, let me know. I'll send you that. (Easier to upload a 12k spreadsheet than VB400.dll at what, a couple hundred k?) Steve Lieb liebx004@maroon.tc.umn.edu "Brevity is" ------------------------------ From: Steven R Lieb (Steve Lieb) Date: Thu, 13 Jun 96 23:34:38 -0500 Subject: Re: Adventures & Magic >William Bradford Stradley wrote: >> >> I have not seen much in the ways of magic items or scenerios; is this an >> acceptable subject for submission? >> --Relemaine > > >Post whatever you have, Relemaine. I wish my scenarios were fleshed out enough for me >to RUN, much less post... > >If anybody has any nasty ideas to throw at a group of Humakti that are now acting as the >honor guard for the Gov. of Karse, please let me know. Low level but fleshed out >Humakti would be greatly appreciated. (They have like 25 guys in the guard now, and >will probably go recruiting soon...) My favorite "bait" for Humakti are undead... White Dwarf had a scenario where there was a Vampiress basically trying to bring back her 'imprisoned' vampire lover. She was a member of a noble manor that was quite remote, and the locals were basically disbelieving innocent victims, with the PCs (dropping in to get out of a nasty, extended storm...) the only ones who suspect something foul is occurring. I can't remember the name...somethign about Terror at Trollmarsh. Of course, my tactic to throw the players is occasionally to 'nest' unrelated adventures. In the above example, the players were investigating a mysterious spreading darkness that was covering the land (adventure 1), and in checking the various habitations engulfed thereby they found this one manor whose inhabitants HADN'T all disappeared. Suspicious, of course, but everyone seemed pretty normal, until things started getting creepy. (See, the vampiress was using her power to ward off the blackness until she could free her boyfriend - kind of a "stay out of my larder" thing - evil vs. greater evil, with the PCs in the middle. What fun!) Steve Lieb liebx004@maroon.tc.umn.edu "Brevity is" ------------------------------ From: Martin Declan Kelly Date: Thu, 13 Jun 1996 23:53:57 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: Adventures & Magic >In the above example, the players were investigating a mysterious spreading >darkness that was covering the land (adventure 1), Bloody marvellous series that. "Dark Rising" (or 'Deork' as it was called in the pseudo 'old tongue' of the game setting)... it was reprinted in it's entirety in Best of WD III, which you can still get if you look hard enough.. they printed a lot. As to the Humakti.. the three best 'classic' opponents are assassins (Thanatari, Black Fang), other Humakti (for the gritty illustration of how there are often no 'good' and 'bad'), or undead... if it were me, I'd have them fighting the undead ancestors of the noble family that the Governor of Karse murdered so he could climb on their bodies on his way up the ladder of power... a true 'tales from the crypt' style tale... taking place in Godtime... in a surreal night that seems to go on far too long, re-enacting some old Humakti battle against the forces of the undead in a mini-heroquest... all led by the daughter/niece/nephew/child of the noble who was possessed by the spirit of one of the ancestors when he/she stumbled into the sealed room in the palace catacombs where the uninterred bodies lie... so while the Humakti are battling the forces from without, they are unaware, and surprised, when they realise the true danger is within... ...then when they defeat the undead attackers and uncover their Emaployer's dark secret, bury the remains of the noble family at last, have them rewarded with something that's more of a burden than a reward... something that has great power against undead (but is limited in how it can be used so they don't become an anti-undead artillery crew) but still so powerful in the right hands and at the right time that Delecti wants it destroyed... leading to a final confrontation with the Necromancer where the PC's have to use all their wit and skill and cunning, and some even have to lay down their lives, to bring about the correct circumstances for the bone sword (carved from a thighbone of Grandfather Mortal [Daka Fal]) to bring Delecti's empire tumbling down around him. Just an idea Declan >Steve Lieb >liebx004@maroon.tc.umn.edu >"Brevity is" Not my forte' ;) And yeah, it has holes, but I just made it up in four minutes as I wrote it... gimme a break. > > - -- We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars... - Oscar Wilde o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o Martin Declan Kelly Teleport Internet Services My view and opinions are my own; go get your own http://www.teleport.com/~declan/ o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o ------------------------------ From: Martin Declan Kelly Date: Fri, 14 Jun 1996 00:40:35 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: Adventures & Magic >power... a true 'tales from the crypt' style tale... taking place in >Godtime... in a surreal night that seems to go on far too long, I did, of course, mean 'Sacred Time'.. mea culpa Declan - -----BEGIN GEEK CODE BLOCK----- Version: 3.12 GAT d-- s: a- C++++ US+++ P+ L+ E--- W+++ N++ o+ k? w-- OM+ V-- PS+++ PE- Y++ PGP+ t+ 5++ X++++ R+++ tv+ b++++ DI+++ D++ G++ e+ h---- r+++ y+++++** - ------END GEEK CODE BLOCK------ ------------------------------ From: "Simon D. Hibbs" Date: Fri, 14 Jun 1996 12:02:54 +0100 (BST) Subject: Re: new stuff Allan: >Why don't people post new spells, new items, new skills, scenarios >or plot lines that you have just come up with or have run. I'm not subscribed to the list, but I spotted this invite in a copy of the digest I downloaded from Loren's web site. Please send comments by email. New Spell : BANISH [Species] (Sorcery spell) Attack, Ranged, Duration. A family of spells, one for each type of spirit (Passion, Disease, Ghost, Wraith, etc). The caster must overcome the target's MPs, then match the intensity of the spell against the spirit's POW. If both rolls are successful, the spirit is banished back to the spirit plane and may not become visible again for the duration of the spell. This spell is of course incompatible with the Visibility spirit spell and will dispell any such magics on the target. There is a version of this spell that can be cast on discorporate shamans using Visibility, but it is very rare. A shaman suffering from it's effects can still re-corporate as normal. The act of re-corporating terminates the spell, so even if the spell has a duration of a week a shaman could re-corporate and still discorporate again after an hour log ritual. Simon Hibbs simon@fcrd.gov.uk ------------------------------ From: "ian (i.) gorlick" Date: Fri, 14 Jun 1996 16:09:00 -0400 Subject: poison Mark Groff: Thanks for the data. I'm not sure how to use it yet, but I'll think of something. One neat thing about hydrogen sulphide is that you stop smelling it before it kills you. At lower, non-lethal concentrations it has the distinctive rotten-egg smell that warns you of its presence. At higher concentrations, when it is getting to the lethal level, it overwhelms the sensory apparatus and you stop smelling it. Nasty trap possibilities inherent in this. The players think they have gotten out of the concentration of the poison but have actually gone where it is more dangerous. ------------------------------ From: hpttrsn@ibm.net (Hartley Patterson) Date: Sat, 15 Jun 1996 15:31:43 GMT Subject: Battles and Poison David Cake: > I've got my players involved in a very large military battle (the >Lunars taking Karse). I'm interested in my players as small scale >participants, not a system for deciding battles in detail like Warhamster. > Anyone got any interesting rules for this sort of situation? I'm >currently working with an adaption of the Pendragon battle system (luckily >some PCs have Battle skill). The best system I've seen that does this is in BUSHIDO. The battle itself is decided on die rolls which only PC generals can influence, PC combatents get an assortment of 'encounters', individual fights with NPCs played out solo. They decide beforehand whether they are going to rush into the thick of battle or try to stay out of trouble, which affects the number and nature of the encounters and of course the resulting budo (honour points) - if they survive. When I've participated in such a battle - it was a shipboard fight with pirates but the same rules applied - it was certainly sweaty dice time, as my character was entirely dependent on his own skills to see him through. This would suit very well the Dragon Pass/Praxian style of fighting which is supposed to be in the heroic mode. Lunars however are Imperialists with organised military formations so it wouldn't work for your particular battle. Hm... I think I'd choreograph the battle beforehand using any means to hand, then throw the PCs in. If they are just Poor Bloody Infantry then they won't get to see or understand much of what's going on anyway. Your task is to invoke high levels of angst and paranoia as the players realise they have no control over the unfolding action. Don't forget most soldiers in most battles spend most of their time standing around waiting for orders! - ---------------- The following is a Poison example (from a non-Gloranthan universe): Hobgoblin Poison is a systemic nerve poison derived from a fungus. If a poison smeared weapon causes damage roll for luck (POW*3) to see if the poison gets into the bloodstream. If it does, three rounds later roll CON vs POT 10. Success reduces POT to 5. This poison reduces DEX by the POT level at SIZ 10. Adjust for actual size by 1 per SIZ point, eg for SIZ 8 DEX is -12 or -7, for SIZ 15 DEX is -5 or no effect. At DEX 0 the victim collapses and must make a CON*5 save or die from heart failure. The DEX loss is paralysis rather than 'the shakes'. Subsequent hits are cumulative. Recovery is at 1 DEX point per turn. 'Negative' DEX counts for this purpose. If DEX reached zero then 1 point is lost permanently. Antidote is a level 3 potion. It lasts for 1 turn and can be drunk beforehand. The CON vs POT roll always succeeds unless fumbled and no CON*5 save is required. It also speeds up recovery to +1 DEX per MR. So for small creatures very nasty but little effect on Giants. You will not be surprised to hear that other races detest and fear hobgoblins... - -- Hartley Patterson ------------------------------ From: david boatright Date: Fri, 14 Jun 1996 14:04:25 +0000 Subject: Re: RQ Rules Digest: V2 #278 Pedro Arnal Puente ============================= >We don=B4t have a lot of the problems i have been reading here, except >.probably fatigue (i like the old RQ3 system with some adds) and the >previous experience level. This leads me to think that the problem >could see that RQ doesn't fit quite well the high-power level of >Glorantha. I disagree with this. Glorantha and RQ are not fitted to any "powere level". They can be used to simulate farmer\warriors eeking out there existance or nation builders carving out there piece of the world. If people would remeber that the rules are there to simulate what a character does not define what a character can do. I think then we where hear a lot less of things like "RQ breaks down at high levels". ------------------------------ From: david boatright Date: Fri, 14 Jun 1996 14:14:07 +0000 Subject: Gaining Runemagic Has anyone go any non mechanic ideas about gaining Runemagic. It takes a week of study to learn a spell (or point of spell, can't quite remember). A priest also has to spend this time teaching the character. To me this means there is not a hell of a lot magic being taught at clan or tribe level. ------------------------------ From: Glenn Glazer Date: Sat, 15 Jun 1996 10:05:29 -0700 Subject: Re: plot idea At 22:36 06/14/96 -0500, you wrote: > I have recently discovered an answer to the problem for the >strong-villain gambit (snip) This is a really good idea. I plan to steal it at once! >Spell >Reincarnation [divine] 3 POW > Within 1d10 days the character is brought back form the dead in >another body. The forms that the character may return in are as follows: >01-05 Human >06-10 Dwarf >11-15 Elf >16-20 Duck >21-25 Ogre >26-30 Dragonewt I think that the idea of having non-dragonewts (possibly with the exception of Kralori) reincarnate into dragonewts does harm to the mythic concepts involved. Likewise, chaos creatures. What I think would be better would be a set of tables that would determine the range of reincarnatory results dependent on the race being reincarnated and who is casting the spell. For example, elvish reincarnation would only result in elves, runners, etc., but a chaos reincarnation (ick) could result in just about anything. I also believe that this sort of thing should be _very_ limited or it destroys part of that special uniqueness and alieness that is dragonewts. Hmm. Your cult starts reincarnating people right and left. Some become dragonewts, many don't. The ripples start to flow through the god plane and into the dreams of True Dragons... Look out! Best, Glenn \/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ The brim of my hat hides the eye of a beast I've the face of a sinner but the hands of a priest Oh you'll never see my shade or hear the sound of my feet While there's a moon over Bourbon Street. - -Sting /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ ------------------------------ From: William Bradford Stradley Date: Sat, 15 Jun 1996 12:20:02 -0500 (CDT) Subject: Re: Gaining Runemagic Yes, there would be a great deal taught at the clan level. However one would have to travel to many different areas to gain a suffiecient amount. There are always clever ways around this, such as magic tomes that bestow magical knowledge upon the reader. There could be other types of magical boons that enable one to learn a spell without the prolonged study time. One could have a guild of sorcerers who have a large library for all of the members and the most powerful of spells for only the inner circle. One thing I have allowed my players to do is to sacrifice POW pts to learn a spell without the added study time. I hope this helps. *************** Relemaine *************** ------------------------------ End of RQ Rules Digest: V2 #280 ******************************* 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