svensson

Good point on the Ducks and Baboons, especially since Baboons seem to have more of a presence in RQG than in previous editions. Now, I have a personal repugnance for artificial cuteness. A litter of puppies or a child's laughter are wonderful, soul-redeeming things that no adult should be without. But Hello Kitty or a grown adult who insists on wearing cat ears or fairy wings is about as authentic as Strawberry Quik. I'm the guy who happily advertises himself as the unapologetic Tolkien honk and I think of hobbits as 'ratlings', and DON'T get me started on the portrayal of Radagast in the movies. But actual, authentic innocence is something that I love. I love watching a child meet a horse for the first time, or the wonder on the face of someone who's never been in the woods and hears a wolf's howl, for example. All that said, I've had to get used to Ducks in a game... mostly because my first exposure to them left a bad first impression [power-gamer player doing Daffy Duck imitations]. But I can definitely see the addition of a Duck to a party.

How do some of you folks handle non-human Player Characters? Several threads have focused on one aspect or another, but I'm interested in a more general treatment. RQ is very different than most standard fantasy milieux because non humans are not familiar presences in most societies. There isn't a nice dwarvish family down Waterdeep Way or a friendly half-elf who lives on Greyhawk's Promenade. ALL non-human societies in Glorantha keep to themselves and are the subject of more myths and outright lies than any kind of facts. So, what do you guys do when you've got a player bound and determined to run an Aldryami, Mostali, or Uz character? Or for that matter how do you handle Beast Men? My own personal bias would limit that to Centaurs and Minotaurs if I allowed them at all. [Note: IMG, nobody gets to play dragonewts. They're reserved as the DM's weirdness gun 🤣]

For every pantheon the entry of Chaos into Glorantha is a major theme. That inevitably leads to the explosion of The Spike in the Gods War. The Gods War forms the frame work of most of the most epic of a given deity's mythic deeds and therefore their Runes, portfolio, and abilities within the framework of Time. So it would seem to me that The Spike [and the destruction thereof] is known by most worshipers about as well as the Garden of Eden is to Abrahamic monotheists. The Spike was the axle of the world and your deity's dogma describes it in individual ways, all of which could be literal truth or allegory. But nobody, not even HeroQuesters, knows for sure. Well, perhaps certain Mostali do.. Isidilian of Dwarf Mine is specifically said to have lived in the God Time before the destruction of the World Machine so he could probably tell you... good luck getting that interview 😁 Oh, and welcome to the board, Jex.

Is this a webcomic or something?

Magic in LOTR is not 'common'. Depending on the era in which it's used, any overt use of magic draws the attention of Sauron -- and that is manifestly not good for you. What's more, the era just before the War of the Rings [say, after the Battle of Five Armies] is THE most dangerous time for any spellcaster to cast magic outside of certain very deliberately defined safe havens. To put it another way, if Elrond, Galadriel, and Gandalf are extremely reluctant to use any form of active magic, player characters should consider it suicidal. Passive magics, those that might be considered 'background noise' like the enchantments in Lorien, Fangorn, or Old Forest, are safe enough. In RQ definitions this would be Illusion Rune magics that misdirect and confuse. But nobody is out casting Lighting or Sun Strike spells. I think BRP is a not-bad fit for Middle Earth, licensing issues aside for a moment, but I think it would need to be toned down from the 'damned-near-Rune-level' heights of RQG. I think that an ME conversion would have to be more like an RQ3 situation, where PC's start at lower levels of skill and magic is harder to learn and harder to cast.

Just spell my name right 😁

I can easily identify with with the 'extreme partisan shift' issue. I strongly feel that the voices on the lunatic fringes of the Left and Right are getting entirely too much airplay and credence for their positions. And the news media and internet sites are NOT helping. For those who don't know, and I mean no condescension or disrespect here, it works like this: It's a development of the old newspaper editor's adage of 'If it bleeds, it leads'. Consumption of news, be it viewership, news subscriptions, or internet clicks, earns revenue, so in order to get that revenue every news source has to get you, the customer, to click that bait. This requires outlandish and misleading headlines that 'process' the actual facts of the news story to fit one group or another's narrative of events. Left wing papers tilt the language one way and right wing tilts the same story their way. Eventually, this process illuminates one one viewpoint over any others and this feeds the extremist worldview. There's an excellent expose on this phenomenon specifically about 'cancel culture', but it can easily translate into news culture. It's called '15 Minutes of Shame' and was produced by Monica Lewinsky... and say what you will about her, I think we can all agree that she knows a lot more about this subject than most of us.

One word: holyshitfuckingWOW That's my story, and I'm stickin' to it....

Well, you can't say Isis didn't put in the time to look for it! 😁

And all of this is the reason why such laws exist and are, by and large, necessary.

Hey @Ian A. Thomson, when do you think /guess /estimate we'll see the Pavis vol. 2? I've enjoyed Vol. 1 immensely and am looking forward to more.

Well, I replied to you PM, but I'll repeat the important part here. The 06JAN riot gave a lot of people around the world the wrong impression about the US. Don't mistake me, I completely understand why they came to that conclusion, but nevertheless it is a mistaken one. Let me be clear: The US is not one incident away from mass political anarchy. My intention with my post was to inform, not to criticize. OK, I don't have a lot of respect for the Big Two US parties, but that's about as far as the hyperbole went. It really is the voters in the middle that decide things in US elections, the Center /Moderates that I happily identify myself with. I'm willing to give anyone on the stump a fair hearing, but they'd better be able to answer my questions and I tend to keep track of their performance on issues of concern to me. And let me be clear about that part: At no point have I ever, or would I ever, vote for a candidate who sought to reduce or eliminate the rights of any lawful citizen of my country. I wholeheartedly believe that there is plenty of room at the table for everyone. What's more, I also believe that we [American society as a whole] has a ways to go to make the promise of our Constitution a reality for every citizen, all the time. And every two years I put my vote where my mouth is and vote on candidates accordingly.

As a general rule, I prefer a fairly even split between all parties in government. Giving one party the legislative, executive, and judicial mandate is a sure recipe for corruption and the legal erosion of rights of the citizen. Yes, Bill, I know you think things are hunky dory in Manitoba and you're probably right... I most likely wouldn't like it there very much. You're happy there, and that's all that counts anyway. You're the one who has to live there, right? But I strongly believe that a dissenting voice [that has legitimate concerns and has their facts straight -- QAnon types need not apply] is an absolute necessity in the preservation of democracy. Checks and balances are there for a reason, USE THEM. Remember, Adolf Hitler was legally elected into office with only a 33% majority in the vote. From the looks of things, the Republicrats didn't make the huge gains they were hoping for. They'll probably get a VERY slim majority in Congress and the Senate will stay split. This leaves the POTUS [a Democlican's Democlican if ever there was one] to veto any truly stupid legislation that comes down the pike. In short, just about what I thought it would be. What a lot of people don't understand about the American democracy is that only about 15% of our population calls themselves a 'party loyalist' on each side [15% Left and 15% Right]. Another 15-20% couldn't be bothered to vote if you gave away free money with a valid ballot. So it's that roughly 50% of 'Purple' [kinda Red, kinda Blue] voters that actually matter. These are the people who will elect you or boot your ass if you mess up. I have no idea about Canada, but as I understand it, the UK has more parties but a larger proportion of the population that consider themselves diehard Libs or Tories. British folks, correct me if I'm wrong on that one.

*sigh* I know why these kind of laws exist and by and large I don't take much issue with the necessity. But a fan made adaptation converting a milieu into a game system is really just free advertising. No one is making money and no one is losing money. And there's no such thing as 'bad publicity'. OTOH, and speaking as a lifelong Star Trek honk, yeah, Axanar is better than ST: Discovery, so there is that....

Well, the Seven Mothers did it... sort of. They reassembled the scattered parts of Sedenya and then gave birth to her avatar. Mary Shelley would be so proud...

From what little research I've done [mostly from a medieval sailing technique class I took], hair fiber rope was considered the best historically. It had a greater tensile strength than most plant fibers and withstood rot far better. It was also extremely expensive. You are right that a rope and grapnel is a lot of dead weight to lug around when every half-an-ENC counts. So is a shovel, a prybar, a cook pot, a wood axe [yes, a wood axe has important differences from a battle axe], and a dozen other things every Boy Scout has in their ruck. And every one of them is utterly useless... until you desperately need it. They're like guns that way... you never need them until you need them really badly. This is the reason why I didn't include any of that stuff in the pack. Players can carefully consider what they want to carry and buy it themselves.

Well, the PC doesn't get an Allied Spirit until she reaches Rune Status. And according to the RQG Core Rules, if she gets an Allied Spirit it will reside in her Sword [the sword of her former master]. There's a certain chanbara samurai movie symmetry to that. And every samurai who ever lived would have understood the dogma of Humakt. Whether they approved of it is an entirely different matter. Humakt isn't all that into familial ancestral fealty... oh, he'll keep an oath once it's given, but the whole 'born to serve my grandfather's daimyo' thing might need some convincing 😂

Well, it's not as if I didn't know that nitpicking wasn't gonna happen 😄 All of the items I listed are examples of the type. Your tunic could be a linen peplos instead of a woolen wadsarki, it doesn't matter which. As I said, cultural fashions were not considered... you have an undertunic as your 'underwear' and a thicker overtunic [of whatever style or fashion] for warmth. I specifically didn't include buckskins because they have an Armor Point value and are therefore dealt with in the Armor sections of each rulebook. Socks were a rarity in Dark Ages and Ancient footwear. Of the graves that have been excavated, very few knitted socks have been found. However, it is true that a few HAVE been found, especially in Roman and Scandinavian finds. A good middle ground would be foot wrapping cloths, large squares of woolen cloth that, when wrapped correctly, insulate the foot. And everyone knows that you can use grasses stuffed into your boot to insulate as well. Of course someone will be able to tell where you've been from your clothing. That's one of the things that 'travel' is for! Unless an adventurer specifically pays attention to their appearance, they can quickly end up looking like they hit the homeless shelter for their clothing and their reputation will suffer for it. Torches have three very important advantages over lamps: they're cheap, they stay lit in wetter and windier conditions, and they're sturdier than a ceramic lamp. For that matter, they don't spill expensive oil all over the place. As for the rations, again these are exemplary. If you want to substitute salt pork with pemmican, cheese curds and black beans, feel free. As for wine, yes, the wise adventurer would include some alcohol to keep themselves from getting dysentery [etc.]. You can conveniently buy a skin of wine right over there ----> The whole point of this pack listing is that it is generic equipment for a starting adventurer. There is no REI in Glorantha where a novice adventurer can buy a 'Kit, Expeditionary, Basic' as a whole packed unit set. My goal here was to save your players time by providing the bare bones basics of camp survival, and let them concentrate on more important things... like forgetting to buy a rope 😁

This is an 'adventurer's pack' of starting equipment from the RQG Core Rulebook and the Weapons and Equipment Guide. It is designed to be as utilitarian as possible but does not take such circumstances as extreme temperatures, cultural fashion, crafting kits, or social status options into account. Dyes are Northern European 'homespun' colors, mostly plant-based. Price: 25L Encumbrance: 5 ENC CLOTHING: Your clothing is well-worn, well-fitting, and comfortable. Any repairs are well-done and securely patched. These are the clothes you wear when you’ve got heavy work to do. They are the average clothing of a free craftsman, not your 'Godsday-go-to-temple' outfit [you'll have to purchase that]. Item functions are described or self evident - Hat: A full-brimmed working/traveling hat of thick wool felt - Overtunic: A loose-fitting, woolen tunic; Common dyes [brown, green, grey /off-white, a dull muddy red]. Sleeves are ¾ length [mid-forearm] and tunic length is about mid-thigh. - Undertunic: Closer fitting than the overtunic. Longer in the sleeve and hem than the overtunic. Tends not to be dyed. - Braccae: [pronounced BRAY-KAY] Your underwear. Undyed, loose fitting, knee-length breeches that ties with a drawstring. - Trousers or Skirt. Woolen leg coverings, dyed as with overtunic. - Ankle Boots: Soft leather boots that tie just above the ankle [like moccasins], dyed black, reasonably waterproof; or Sandals: Roman legionary sandals without the hobnails - Cloak: A rectangular blanket-cloak made of wool; common dyes [green, brown, grey /off-white, or a dull muddy red] - Belt: A leather belt with a bronze ring buckle - Jewelry: 3 pieces of common jewelry, made of brass, bronze, or copper; I would suggest that one of them is a cloak pin or brooch. EQUIPMENT: - Backpack, a frame-less leather, wicker, or wool bag that ties closed with thongs and is carried with shoulder straps. - Blanket: a blanket of heavy wool, undyed - Canvas Tarp: a 2 m x 1.5 m oiled canvas tarp. Very waterproof, but smelly and it will stain clothing. - Cutlery /Eating Kit: a Cup, Fork, Bowl/Plate and Spoon made of ceramic, horn, tin, or wood - Firemaking Kit: a fire-starting kit [probably bow and board] and ready tinder in a small waterproof leather pouch - Knife: a small utilitarian tool made of bronze - Torches: 5 torches made of grass or sticks and soaked in oil or wax, 1 hour burn time - Rations: 1 week of preserved foods; Breads might be hard bread [hardtack], bannocks, flatbread, or crackers made of wheat, oat or rye flours; Meats are dried or salted beef, fish, horse, or mutton; Dried Fruit, might be raisins, dates, cranberries, prunes, etc., Tea, about one-quarter kilo [about half a pound] of black or herbal tea - Waterskin: leather or gourd water carrier; holds about 2 liters of liquid

We have a saying here in the States, one that I fully subscribe to and try to live up to: "Democracy is held up by 4 boxes: - The soap box of free speech - The ballot box of an informed voter - The jury box of doing your duty as a citizen - And the ammo box of its defense." Many people think there's something right-wing and threatening by that last one. There isn't. The defense of democracy certainly requires police and military personnel, but it also requires fact-checkers, it requires investigative reporting, it requires those willing to stand up and be heard. There are many different kinds of 'ammo' in this world, not just the kind that goes 'bang'.

Ballot is already in the box.

The spirit is returned to it's Founder [Hykim and Mikyh by default] for whatever fate it is promised in the afterlife. Eiritha allows the spirit to exist in a place perfect for that particular herd beast for a time and it is then returned to the Mundane Plane to regenerate the species on Glorantha.

My own reading of Glorantha materials regarding Spirits is kind of 'Shinto-esque' ['Shinto-ish'?]. That all objects of significance... a pool, a baby, a tree, a stone... have an innate and latent existence that humans call 'a spirit'. Most often these spirits are not awakened and are therefore of no more [and no less!] consequence than a rock in a farmer's field. But some are awakened and are worthy of reverence or fear depending on each individual's interpretation of and interaction with them. They become, for lack of a better term, a Shintoist kami. In talking about this with Sven Lugar, I was told that this is pretty much in line with Greg Stafford's beliefs, although Sven said pretty emphatically that Greg wouldn't have put it quite that way. And that, for my game table, is Maximum Game Fun. YOUR Glorantha no doubt varies.

Oh, we are definitely in a wonderful time to be a Gloranthaphile. Many questions have been answered, many more posed, great interest is generated and there's something for old grogs and brand new RuneQuesters to do and enjoy. There are several other worthy games that I'm a fan of that I wish were as resurgent [Tekumel, for example]. As for RQ3 being easily RQG compatible, well, I'm gonna disagree too. Converting Sorcery between the two would be a major headache, and if you were to give many NPC's a one-to-one credit for their RQ3 one-use Divine spells, you'd end up with some initiates with a POW of 25 who knows every single special Rune spell of a major cult and all the subcults as well!