Storm Khan

On 1/25/2022 at 9:07 AM, Jeff said:

These groups are actually pretty small - there are about 18,000 farmers, 18,000 horse herders, and about 4,000 townsfolk.

That means Rich Post has a population of around 1000?

On 1/25/2022 at 9:07 AM, Jeff said:

Ernalda, not Dendara, is the Earth Goddess. She is the spouse of Yelm AND Orlanth, and unites horse herder and farmers together. Her cult is the largest in the Grazelands - as large as Orlanth and Yelm's combined! The Ernalda cult is led by the Feathered Horse Queen.

This is great news for me; my Rich Post has a major temple to Ernalda and I was worried it was a little too much like "Esrolia with horses." I will worry no more.

Good luck, Mr Khan!  Or Storm if I may presume to be so familiar. 🙂

My friends call me Spaz Khan!

On 1/8/2020 at 8:57 AM, Paid a bod yn dwp said:

Really looking forward to this. 
 

edit: there’s plenty I’d like to see covered, but Notchet and the Holy Country are right up there...Bit of lunar love would be good too. 

Lunar Love!? Pervert!

23 hours ago, Alex said:

In play, it'll often work a lot like experience, because players -- being players! -- will often be keen to max-out their character's favoured runes.  Nothing exceeds like excess, after all!  So if you were looking to exactly roll back that experience, so that when they get to 1625 they look as close to by-the-book characters as possible, that's certainly a way to look at it.

Conversely, it's also a personality thing.  Young hotheads, or otherwise tending to the unchecked extremes of a particular attitude, which in the population at large might actually mellow or regress to the mean with age.

I'd say do whatever works best for you and your group, which could be either of the above.  But using it as written has the additional advantage of straightforwardness and not looking like you're short-changing the players if they see those and complain.  Also, bear in mind the way Inspiration works, where you get a bene for a success, but also a pretty significant malus if you miss.  So if you start those values too low, they don't just get less good, they quickly edge into zero craic territory, at least for that application.

My objectives are various, but mostly, I am looking for an excuse to cut down on available magic. I expect quite a few people new to RQ, and I don't want them overwhelmed. Me, too, btw. This will be my first effort at running RQ, so, wish me luck! At the same time, 16 year-olds are a pretty limited group.

11 hours ago, Soccercalle said:

I start with 15 year olds in 1623. I skipped their personal history and only kept that of their forefathers.

I had an 80 cap on Runes and passions. You need to be older to be more aligned with a Rune or to have a very strong passion.

The usual rules gives the players four +25 skills and five +10 skills with a maximum of 100%. 

I changed that to four +15 skills and five +5 skills with a maximum of 90%.

I kept the skill points that are based on culture, occupation and cult.

Mine sounds similar.  Here's my write-up:

Player-Character Generation.

The homelands of Sartar, Prax, Esrolia, or Old Tarsh are acceptable. The players may choose to have their characters related, grandparents in common and, perhaps, parents in common.

o       Family histories are as-written until the player-characters begin their histories.

o       Players may select either Civil War in Esrolia or the Battle of Auroch Hills. All will go on to fight at the Siege of Nochet.

Rune affinities and cults: as written.

Characteristics are rolled as written, but:

o       If the sum of the characteristics is less than 90, the player will receive three extra points to allot.

o       If the sum of the characteristics is less than 84, the player may re-roll entirely.

Occupations:

o       Assistant Shaman, Bandit, Hunter, Thief, Merchant, Entertainer, and Fisher will be recruited by the resistance. Players may choose any of these.

o       Alternately, they can roll on the random occupation chart.

All characters start with 2 rune points and 3 spirit magic points plus any bonus spells due to profession.

Extra skill percentages: +14%, any four skills, +6%, any five skills.

Allowed races are humans and ducks.

I am sensing a growing consensus: leave the affinities high. 🙂

27 minutes ago, Rodney Dangerduck said:

From a game balance perspective, I'd keep their Rune Affinities reasonably high.  Lower level characters will need more help augmenting their skills.

True, but I was hoping to manage play balance by also cutting down the magnitude of the opposition. Defending Apple Lane from the Tusk Riders will have to wait. 

So, assuming this Omicron thing fades, my campaign will start in 1623 with a bunch of veterans from the Battle of Auroch Hills and/or the Esrolian civil war. I want to start with less experience so players with no RQ experience will have fewer spells to understand, smoothing the way a little. 
 

I was wondering if the starting Rune Affinities reflect the experience of a character that has progressed through 1625, or is the intention to make the PC’s significant, regardless of experience? I could leave the 50 elective points in place or reduce them. 
 

Thoughts would be appreciated. 

I like the “Static POW “ rule. It should encourage PC’s to light’em up. 

Thanks. So glad this was not my imagination. 😃

Another question about spells for my more knowledgeable comrades. 
 

During spell casting and the expenditure of MP’s, does the effective POW of the caster equal the lower MP count? This is relevant, of course, for overcoming a target’s POW  

The language of the spell “reflection” suggests that effective POW and MP decease together, but I am having trouble finding that rule expressed directly  It is gnawing at me  

On 12/25/2021 at 10:00 PM, dumuzid said:

That does give a broo shaman the potential to contact ancestors from before the Turning, when they were only wild Fertility people rather than a parasitic Chaos species.  assuming those pre-chaotic ancestors didn't drown themselves in oblivion out of shame long, long ago

How about a Hero Quest to repair the Broo’s corrupt nature? Does that sound possible?

Could we agree that another sentence or two might have been helpful? That illusions are temporary reality is odd, but temporary reality that only counts for 1 PC? A great idea, but wow, what a trip!

Sounds like this spell is either recreational or very powerful. My choice. As Tricksters can be weaker combatants, it might be a good play balance. 

See also page 330, latest edition

So, the spell is 12 points of illusion that can only affect, or be perceived by, the caster?

Is its sole application for "tripping balls?"

It seems like a long ways to go for, effectively, a hit of really cool acid.

I may not be understanding the text, or, please share an in-game application that wasn't only, errr, recreational. 👽

I, too, find myself gravitating towards Elf involvement in my developing campaign. Damn Lunars keep clearing forests to build their troop barges, and it will attract the vengeful. Mulch, Mulch, Mulch, MULCHITI MULCH! MULCHITI MULCH!

You all are freaking me out. Stop it. 🤨

17 hours ago, Sir_Godspeed said:

True, but that is a culturally defined view. As is every other view, of course.

My plan is to start my PC's in the 'Lunar Bad' perspective and gradually push to "Wait, are we getting as bad as the Lunars?" The tension of trying to pull back and find a middle ground, and find a solution (likely a Heroquest(s)) while both sides are trying to kill them should be cool.

6 hours ago, Grievous said:

Now it is important to also say that I don't think that the criticisms levelled on Illumination are always wrong and indeed sometimes in-setting it does lead to horrible outcomes, solipsism and nihilism, chaos, etc. (which is also useful and fun for roleplaying/storytelling purposes), but this isn't intended to be 100% of the time and believing it to be leads to a misunderstanding of Illumination that in my view doesn't do justice to the setting or the concept.

Most characters start, from what I've seen of the backgrounds, in a Lunar-bad, Illumination-bad stance, but hey, it is your game to mold. I would agree that there is sufficient evidence to lean Illumination away from the ravages of Chaos if that is the sort of game you're planning.

My initial comment was never intended to reflect on any real world religion / philosophy, btw. Strictly hypothetical Glorantha-speech.

I always thought that the central Illumination for Glorantha was that of Nysalor / Gbaji, whereby Law and Chaos were declared The Same Thing.

Illuminated Lunars believe this, making way for a fatal degree of relativism, fatal in that it would accept the undoing of Time and the destruction of the cosmos.

After all, nothing really matters, right?

On 9/12/2018 at 5:58 PM, Bohemond said:

Am I the only one who finds the Wooing of Ernalda story (Glorantha Sourcebook, p. 115, but also in Heortling Mythology) incredibly creepy? 

No, you are not the only one. It is not a part of the myth I intend to bring up. Eiritha's role in Storm Bull's fight against Wakboth is more my style.

On 9/12/2018 at 9:45 PM, g33k said:

Fucking Up then Fixing It may be the most prevalent & important theme in the Orlanth mythography...

THIS! This is indeed the critical part of the Orlanth myth.

In defense of Glorantha's / Runequest's general treatment of gender equity, I am noting that my most powerful warrior pre-generated character is Oriane, a light infantry Babeester Gor initiate, clocking in at 110% with her battle axe.

Anyone familiar with the game mechanics knows that female characters cannot be taken for granted.

9 hours ago, Bill the barbarian said:

You’re going to need a bigger boat!

Didn't see the first elasmosaurus for about half an hour.

Seriously, a scenario helping a village dispose of an elasmosaurus (or a pack) that had become accustomed to feeding on people might be cool!

On 12/20/2020 at 6:33 AM, Joerg said:

So yes, the Orlanthi are way more ecologically correct when their raids slaughter their victims in the hundreds and carry off prisoners for servitude or ransom after having slaughtered their kin, and they don't usually feed those prisoners to Chaos horrors or temples altering reality for magical convenience like the Lunar Empire does.

Agreed, the lines between good and evil are fuzzier in Glorantha than in other fantasy settings, but they still exist. It is a major selling point for Glorantha in my mind. I am already planning to take advantage of this facet. My Rich Post location includes a shrine to The Seven Mothers tended by a God Talker who also takes care of the city's orphans. At the same time, a Lunar spy network is active in the same city, backed by a squad of Broos up in the hills to the east. All of my PC's with their Hate Lunar Empire passions will have to navigate this ethical minefield while still remaining alive.

This sort of conflict is a chance for great roleplaying. However many mundane or generous Lunars my PC's will encounter, the ones that have sold their souls to Chaos will always be there, waiting for an opening.

DUH DUH duh Duuuuuuuuuh

37 minutes ago, Godweyn said:

I think that all tricksters can be thieves, but a thief hardly qualify as a trickster.

Marvelous economy of prose!