How do shields work?

[Mankcam]

Sorry for the huge digression - back to topic:

'Weapon Arm Shield' always confused me as well  A Retarius or possbily a Buckler are the only things I can think off, although this is highly unlikely given how RQ3 Malkioni were presented.

Maybe we will never know the explanation...

Edited February 14, 2017 by Mankcam

[Jusmak]

10 hours ago, Mankcam said:

Sorry for the huge digression - back to topic:

'Weapon Arm Shield' always confused me as well  A Retarius or possbily a Buckler are the only things I can think off, although this is highly unlikely given how RQ3 Malkioni were presented.

Maybe we will never know the explanation...

Thanks, I am actually drawn into cultural based playing, and Malkionism as a culture evolving away from RQ3 is new to me. Luckily I have Guide, so I can find more impressions there. Glorantha Box is just my favorite way to create characters, cultural weapons, starting equipmets to get more hints for playing style... It is still very much useful for me, and I doubt I'll change character creation system complately. Even, when new RQ come, maybe just adding more backround material from there.

I searched web and came into conclusions. Shields are never used in weaponhand, right hand. Rather it may be seen, that left hand where shield is, is  a weaponhand also. Some, expecially spiked shields have also been offensive weapons. My personal ruling is that, cultural bonus can be put into smaller spiked (buckler, heater and target) shield offence intead of large shield defence.

 

[styopa]

22 minutes ago, Jusmak said:

I searched web and came into conclusions. Shields are never used in weaponhand, right hand. Rather it may be seen, that left hand where shield is, is  a weaponhand also. Some, expecially spiked shields have also been offensive weapons. My personal ruling is that, cultural bonus can be put into smaller spiked (buckler, heater and target) shield offence intead of large shield defence.

That's funny, because I instinctively take an opposite position - I dislike that there's a special set of rules for "shield use" and a different set of rules for "2 weapon use".  Why?  I've always disliked arbitrary breakpoints like that.

To me, using a shield is INTRINSICALLY the same as using two weapons, it's just that it's an offhand article that i) offers some passive protection (but if you watch people fight with shields it's *always* a pretty active process - moreso for bucklers, for example, less so for hoplite shields) and ii) is specialized for parrying, so it's good for that task and clumsy for bashing.

Hell, a buckler can be barely more than a glorified armored glove.

And I would disagree with you about "shields NEVER used in right hand" (main hand, whichever that happens to be).  If the *only* thing a person has is a shield - say, someone surprised and only has a shield to-hand, or a noncombatant being attacked by raiders, I'd almost guarantee you that person would be using the shield in their MAIN hand because there's no better option.  

If a person is using a weapon AND shield, I daresay you're correct, I've never heard/read/seen anything about someone preferring to put their shield in their main hand and weapon in off hand....never.

[Jeff]

On 2/13/2017 at 9:30 PM, Mankcam said:

I'm not sure if the cultural background material in RQ3 Glorantha box will be all that relevant now, especially when it comes to Malkioni. 

In RQ3 the Malkioni were inferred to be a feudal culture similar to western europe in the medieval period. The current depictions of Malkioni paint them much more like an ancient era culture, perhaps like early era Byzantine Empire with Etruscan and Vedic trappings etc. It's unclear at this stage, but there are limited analogies with medieval fuedalism anymore, so the RQ3 material is definately obsolete in this respect regarding Malkioni culture.

I guess the skill lists may still be valid, but the trappings will be very different to the RQ3 portrayal.

Not to say that they don't have tournaments with mounted warriors (knights/cataphracts), but it will likely be something quite different from the stereotypical medieval tournaments of western europe. 

The RQ3 skill lists presented in the Glorantha players' book (the pink book from the RQ3 Glorantha boxed set) is in need of a complete and utter overhaul.

[Jusmak]

5 hours ago, Jeff said:

The RQ3 skill lists presented in the Glorantha players' book (the pink book from the RQ3 Glorantha boxed set) is in need of a complete and utter overhaul.

Right! Perhaps we see it done in new RQ?

[g33k]

53 minutes ago, Jusmak said:

Right! Perhaps we see it done in new RQ?

We know that RQ:Next is based on the RQ2 chassis, with some inputs from RQ3 (among other sources); I suspect the skill-list will show this.  So "mostly" a RQ2-based list, but with signs of RQ3 influence (rather than an "overhauled RQ3" skills-list).  But I'm not one of the playtesters, so I don't know from experience (if you'll pardon the pun (or even if you won't)).

 

[styopa]

On 2/13/2017 at 2:30 PM, Mankcam said:

I'm not sure if the cultural background material in RQ3 Glorantha box will be all that relevant now, especially when it comes to Malkioni. 

In RQ3 the Malkioni were inferred to be a feudal culture similar to western europe in the medieval period. The current depictions of Malkioni paint them much more like an ancient era culture, perhaps like early era Byzantine Empire with Etruscan and Vedic trappings etc. It's unclear at this stage, but there are limited analogies with medieval fuedalism anymore, so the RQ3 material is definately obsolete in this respect regarding Malkioni culture.

I guess the skill lists may still be valid, but the trappings will be very different to the RQ3 portrayal.

Not to say that they don't have tournaments with mounted warriors (knights/cataphracts), but it will likely be something quite different from the stereotypical medieval tournaments of western europe. 

Personally, I find the entire drift of Glorantha toward these alternate cultures rather needlessly revanchist and curiously, counter-intuitively homogenous.  My Glorantha hews much more closely to the more common interpretations of the last 30 years...despite that probably being "dull" to Gloranthan intellectuals.

But that's a subject for another thread.

[styopa]

1 hour ago, Jusmak said:

Right! Perhaps we see it done in new RQ?

Not anytime soon afaik (Jeff or Rick would know, obviously).  Unless something had changed, RQ4 will be focused entirely on Dragon Pass, with other regions ultimately being addressed in supplements/expansions.

[Jeff]

7 hours ago, Jusmak said:

Right! Perhaps we see it done in new RQ?

It will be done FOR the new RQ but won't be in the core rules. 

[Mankcam]

20 hours ago, styopa said:

Personally, I find the entire drift of Glorantha toward these alternate cultures rather needlessly revanchist and curiously, counter-intuitively homogenous.  My Glorantha hews much more closely to the more common interpretations of the last 30 years...despite that probably being "dull" to Gloranthan intellectuals.

But that's a subject for another thread.

I also thought in a similar fashion, however the G2G won me over, and it now feels that Glorantha is heading more in the direction that originally attracted me, so I'm all good with it. Well most of it, I'm not so fussed on the Morokanth being vegetarians heh heh. 

But yes, all that's for another thread.