From: owner-rq-rules-digest To: rq-rules-digest@hops.wharton.upenn.edu Subject: RQ Rules Digest: V3 #90 Reply-To: rq-rules Errors-To: owner-rq-rules-digest Precedence: bulk Content-Return: Prohibited Return-Path: owner-rq-rules-digest RQ Rules Digest: Wednesday, 16 October 1996 Volume 03 : Number 090 TABLE OF CONTENTS Alain RAMEAU [none] Scott Ellsworth Statistic training for aging ian i. gorlick Fanaticism Jeff Johnson Fanaticism 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: Alain_RAMEAU@total.fr (Alain RAMEAU) Date: Wed, 16 Oct 1996 09:12:44 +0200 Subject: [none] Robert Baumgartner wrote : >My interpretation of the aging rules is that if a character loses >characteristics from aging that this doesn't only influence his >current value but also his original value. I play a rule similar to yours. Not only the current characterictic value is reduced, but also the racial maximum. Therefore, the roll for re-increasing through training becomes more difficult each time. Reducing the original value, as per your rules, seems too harsh IMO, as a character already being at original *1.5 in a characteristic would definitely loose any possibility to train and try to recover characteristics points. Reducing the racial maximum allows such training but it becomes harder and harder to re-increase the characteristic (such increase to its highest level becoming impossible when the racial maximum has fallen under such original*1.5 value, which could mean for the character that it may be time to retire:) Alain. ------------------------------ From: "Scott Ellsworth" Date: Wed, 16 Oct 1996 09:22:08 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Statistic training for aging >Robert Baumgartner wrote : >>My interpretation of the aging rules is that if a character loses >>characteristics from aging that this doesn't only influence his >>current value but also his original value. > >I play a rule similar to yours. Not only the current characterictic >value is reduced, but also the racial maximum. I play the opposite - aging reductions affect only current stats. It does mean that certain unlikely things can happen, such as the 80 year old who is still has the racial maximum strength, but this seems to be minor compared with the realism benefits of having people fanatically train thier stats to recover former characteristics lost due to age. Those who are not willing to become fanatics lose the strength point and do nothing. (Remember, a person at human racial max strength would need a month of near constant training to get that one lost point back, so if they lose a significant number of stats, they will spend a lot of time at it. This seems like a great compulsion for an aging character to go through. In my universe, pure strength training is hard to come by, as it is usually part of a tough gladiator school or such, which trains a lot of things. Because these rarely want an aging character in them, unless he has already used them, most people are stuck with research, which is about half as likely as good training to work. (Rule of thumb). One other point - I require dedication rolls for a character to continue a course of study after a certain point. I also require will rolls for anything truly astonishing, and I will tell a player "your character has been convinced by the oratory argument. You should play some amount of agreement, though the exact amount should vary with your character's personality." The contexts in which a character faces this is determined by agreement between the player and I during creation, with reasonable defaults being assumed by both sides. This way, supernatural compulsions can be played fairly easily, and they will eventually notice that they are being convinced of the wrong things too often. The last will roll I needed in a game was when a player wanted to have another one scar him with a razor edged chisel, and then burn spell matrices into the wounds with a hot needle. A character who is aging will thus have to find a way to get the training, and stay dedicated to it. If the character fails the roll, but the player wants to keep doing it, I will make them come up with appropriate actions, such as frequent and loud complaints, malingering, and other actions that may cause _others_ to end the training for them, but that give us both role playing opportunities. Scott ------------------------------ From: "ian (i.) gorlick" Date: Wed, 16 Oct 1996 16:21:00 -0400 Subject: Fanaticism David Dunham: Yes! Displaying the head or other bits of your enemies kinsmen should be an important part of using Fanaticism or Demoralize against them. That's the sort of touch that really brings the magic into a battle scene! ------------------------------ From: "Jeff Johnson" Date: Wed, 16 Oct 1996 17:40:18 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: Fanaticism > Yes! Displaying the head or other bits of your enemies kinsmen should be an > important part of using Fanaticism or Demoralize against them. I strongly disagree. I don't think spells should be used to simulate common real-world effects such as inciting hatred or rage. Normal emotions are emotions, not spells. Mechanics for strong emotions are an option, as in Pendragon. IMHO spells should be used for more extreme states, and for unnatural and/or forced emotions. If you can do something in the real world, it shouldn't require a spell in Glorantha to achieve the same effect, with the exception of 'technologies' such as making iron. Gloranthan people are people, not magical things like jelmre. Jeff Johnson jsjohnso@islandnet.com ------------------------------ End of RQ Rules Digest: V3 #90 ****************************** 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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