glarkhag

And you could inspire skills that will help you escape, like jumping across that ravine or riding your horse fast...swimming across the river etc etc

I've not got my rule book to hand but I'm sure it talks about fear passion making people avoid the subject of the fear. I play it like a demoralization if the fear wins (succeeds) but as pointed out oppose it with something else (devotion to orlanth, for example, because courage is a virtue of Orlanth).

Trading can be extraordinarily complex and the rules hint at what things can cost or make in terms of profit for a merchant. If you don’t know much about (bronze age) trading and economies it only gives a framework – lots is left to the GM to figure out. I don't propose to try to solve that one here. If you don’t have Weapons and Equipment I strongly advise you to get that because it certainly expands on trading and gives some useful tips on availability and value of things. I don’t propose to get into the market or comparative values of goods, services and favours in this blog but maybe I will come back to that when I have gone through all the skills. There’s more to the Bargain skill than haggling down at the market though. From the micro level of individual relationships through to families, steads, villages, clans, tribes and nations there are a series of implicit or explicit negotiations going on daily. You chop the wood while I feed the sheep. You make dinner and I’ll fix the clothes. Rid us of our rival and we’ll get you a position on the top table in the Sartar Council. Characters will negotiate rewards and payment for services. Negotiate favours from non-player characters. As suggested in comments on a previous blog even negotiate when it comes to marriages. Its all about giving something to receive something. Of course there is the negative aspect of this too - not taking something away in return for receiving something. Nations who provide aid to other countries will put that aid at risk unless said country toes the line for example. The Use of Bargain in Play Very simply put this it’s the trading of goods, information or favour. If you break down the mechanics as written then the opening position from the vendor of goods and services is the market cost with +50% added on (the fumble price). With a successful bargain you get it down to market cost. I only roll if it matters or it wouldn’t ruin the adventure if they fail. The characters only have 10L and desperately need 12L worth of gear? Two choices- make them roll and deal with the consequences if they fail it or let them succeed without a roll, but perhaps there is some implied consequence. They're indebted or owe a favour or get reduced bargain rolls next time. Favour can be expanded enormously to cover a multitude of things. It need not necessarily be about trading literally for a favour. It might be about altering a reaction (e.g. from hostile to friendly) or agreeing some action or behaviour from a person or community either as a one-off or on an ongoing basis. You might be negotiating peace, terms of an alliance, terms of a contract, house rules, striking an immunity deal for a turncoat or whistle-blower, asking someone to turn a blind eye for a few clacks, hiring the services of someone… In the RAW there are straight modifiers to certain actions based on gifts. These are perhaps set at customary (Customs Local) level. However, for something out of the ordinary Bargain can be used either to estimate the correct value (with a failure guessing wrong and a fumble being offensive) or to actually negotiate: “What would it cost for your allegiance?” Admittedly the last approach is vulgar and would be offensive to some cultures. Again, bargain skill can be used to couch the terms in a culturally more acceptable way (in conjunction with Customs skill (see below on augmentation etc). In terms of selling loot I assume that the bargain roll involves finding potential buyers in whatever way seems appropriate to the situation: setting up stall in a market or going round potential purchasers etc. If setting up a stall then potentially they are selling direct to the customer and so needn't discount to the 50% that merchants and other middlepersons will pay. You can do a straight roll against the character’s Bargain skill or roll opposed against another character’s skill or maybe even a passion or different skill. A draw means that terms have not been agreed and either further negotiation is required (more opposed rolls) or the talks have reached an impasse or broken down. I play it that if both parties fail in the opposed roll then they’ve run out of ideas on how to move forward and need to take a break. If both fumble then they break up with bad blood having offended each other. If they draw with successes then talks are promising and continue – if they wish. Getting fleeced is something the players won’t want to happen and they might make a case for never agreeing to terms where they make a loss, arguing they would just hold out. I empathise with this position but equally have the view that they have to take the rough with the smooth. Depending on the situation I deal with that in one of several ways. 1. I counter-argue that sometimes you do just come away with a bad deal knowing or believing it’s the best it can be. I I use market value with no chance for a higher or lower outcome – no roll. No risk then no gain. Allow them to set a reserve price but I apply taxes or expenses to the sale process, so each attempt will whittle down the profit margin. They can’t try again for the same item for quite some time and I give them a negative modifier if in the same “market” (the “try again” -20% modifier). The “some time” depends on the situation. Obviously, it depends on the frequency of trading opportunities. Cities will have daily markets but villages might only be weekly. Common items will have more opportunities to sell than more exotic things. The “market” need not necessarily be an actual market given that a bargain might be two chieftains negotiating peace. Getting an audience with the other party in negotiations might be a week later if they are busy people. Word gets out about the deal and someone else tries to interfere in some way and they perhaps lose the opportunity completely or get negative modifiers. For example, someone makes the deal themselves. They might try to steal the item. They might muddy the waters generating a negative modifier for the characters. If they do it too often they will get a reputation for driving unreasonable bargains and people will avoid dealing with them. Bargain is also used for knowing the market price of something, on the assumption that the base price is known (through evaluate). Similarly, it can be used to know the best place to get a good deal and in actually finding the items in the market (see Weapons and Equipment for the full explanation of this). Modifiers The situation of the deal might involve a greater need on the side of one party. A starving person has a greater need when buying food than someone who has a few extra pounds around the middle and a belly full of stew. Some deals are simply “take it or leave it” and I’m inclined to give +75% to those sorts of deals. Of course, if the characters are the fish in the barrel then its -75%. Obviously if doing an opposed roll don’t give one +75% and the other -75%. As I suggested before, the complexities of trade are beyond the scope of this blog but you should consider the market when thinking about modifiers. Trying to sell homemade pottery at the court of the Red Emperor is not going to be as easy as trying to sell them master crafted pottery. Asking the Clan chieftain to speak to your boyfriend about his personal hygiene is not likely to succeed (unless it’s his son perhaps). Selling meat to Aldryami - not impossible, I am sure they could find a use for it, but hard work. Haggling in a foreign language can be tricky. Generally, I limit Bargain to 2 x spoken language but for particularly complex negotiations I would limit it to their raw language skill (assuming their language skill is strong enough to convey the potential terms and rationales). Discounting when done right is always a good way to off load extra stock. Get someone to do the job you really hate by doing two of their jobs. The level of “discount” determines how much of a modifier. Say from +5 (for a minor discount) to +75% to a “give-away”. This is simplified for a one-off deal. The mechanics of on-going discounting and the effects on markets are more involved than I think this needs to be. Increasing price to a premium can weirdly improve sales in some contexts. I suppose it can trick people into thinking that the quality is better than it is and people like to buy quality. Again, it’s beyond the scope of this to get deep into behavioural economics but give a modest bonus for this if you think the context is right. However, if your reputation gets out this can backfire. Other consequences of patterns in the ways characters bargain can impact future bargain rolls. If you take your trading partners for a ride a few times and you might find the status of your relationship deteriorate and future bargains start to become more difficult if at all possible. Consider using reputation as a negative inspiration in this case. And of course, don’t forget to reward your characters for good roleplay (or penalise them for just plain dumb play!) or avoid dice altogether and play it out in character, but keeping in mind character skill levels. Augmentations A good salesperson knows their product and their target client. Any skill relating to what is being traded could be an augmentation. Trading herd animals: use Herd or Animal Lore. If trading for meat maybe even Peaceful Cut. Horse Trading (or other riding beasts) use Ride. Trading for land use Farm, Herd, Plant Lore, Mineral Lore, Homeland Lore…Trading Art I use Art Lore. Gems: Mineral Lore. Weapons: Relevant weapon skill. Craft skill is an obvious one too. In negotiations particularly between cultures Customs (area) can be used. Although if you don’t mind a few extra rolls you could simply start with a Customs roll as per RAW. Homeland Lore or Cult Lore might come in as augmentations during regional or religious political negotiations. Insight (species) is a good one particularly for Bribery. Runic inspiration as always can be applied. Harmony and Earth would be perhaps the most common. Truth or Illusion could play a part in certain deals where provenance is important. Reputation could be used as mentioned above. Although if your reputation is as a swindler it’s likely to be flipped round as negative! Passions could come into play also. If you Hate trolls then you’ll perhaps drive a hard bargain – although if you Fear them you might go the other way! Adventure Seeds Circular trading - Like the joke about getting your son to marry the girl you choose. You have three negotiations to make. The first negotiation relies on the second succeeding which relies on the third succeeding which relies on the first succeeding. Keeping everyone onboard until settlement date and coordinating them all settling at approximately the right time will take strong negotiation and organisational skills. The Big Short – the characters sell something that they don’t own and must overcome challenges to secure the deal. They may be deliberately selling short or perhaps suffer a theft or loss after the terms of the deal are struck. Perhaps if the deal fails there are serious knock-on consequences for the community. Match Maker, Match Maker – the characters must embark on a mission to secure a hand for a strategic marriage. They must negotiate their way through a hierarchy of interested parties and rivals to get the final deal maker. King Maker – As for Match Maker but it’s about getting someone into a position of power within their community be that social, professional, religious or military. Rain Maker – As for match maker but there are a series of financial deals they must coordinate to set up a trading network between resource owners, producers, brokers and customers. One bad deal could bring the whole house of cards down. Ransom Negotiation – Enemies have taken hostage a community member and the community sends the party to negotiate their release. Unfortunately, the captors believe the person is worth more than the community does. To complicate matters more another party would be keen to purchase the hostage for themselves. The Swindle – the characters buy or inherit a poisoned chalice or some bogus item/information/map and are looking to get recompense or perhaps find another sucker to sell it on to. Or perhaps the poisoned chalice isn't as poisoned as it first seems. Think Jack and the Beanstalk... In conclusion Bargain clearly has a lot of potential beyond buying and selling goods. There are lots of opportunities to add some richness to negotiations with colourful augmentations. Next time: Charm Illustration: Nikola Nevenov

Resurrection, DI. But your suggestions work. If you just want chance for last words allow that but there's nothing that can be done for them except DI. Just because they are conscious and (barely alive) doesn't mean normal healing magic or first aid will work. You might even allow it for fatal head injuries. I've read countless stories of people with fatal head wounds being conscious. The brain can continue to swell after the injury for example and eventually crush the critical parts. If you all agree that its not instant death then why not? As long as NPCs get the same benefit....😈

Actually I think you have hit on something really important there. Effectively if you attack on SR6 (without having moved or cast magic) you start your attack on SR 1 so it takes 6 strike ranks to potentially hurt that target. So for me, if they go down on SR5 you take a SR to review for a new target (battle or INT or whatever) then any movement necessary, then your 6 Strike ranks of attacking starts. So chances are in this example you wouldn't have time to move *and* attack.

and 7 times in Weapons and Equipment (Guilds, magic items, ships, crystal attunement, magical effects of songs and poems).

There are references in other books to material that will be in it. Heroquesting and NPC reactions are two that most readily spring to mind. Battle rules too. There are all sorts of things they could expand on that world help GMs, especially new ones.

This post will actually extend beyond just the communication skill of Art and cover the broader topic of art in Runequest. For me art is split across three aspects: Knowledge Production Aestheticism Knowledge includes theory, history, analysis, identification. Production is the ability to work with the medium and need not be limited to craft skills. Artistic medium can include words (both the spoken word and written word), music and elements. Aestheticism covers the somewhat subjective and intangible essence of artwork. The part that stirs the emotions in people. I don’t propose to get into a big debate about what art is. Although I think it would make for interesting roleplay as two opposing schools compete for patronage of the local thane. Where do the skills fit into all this: Knowledge I cover with Art Lore (05). With this skill the user understands current theories of art (for example perspective, colour composition, styles). They can identify origins and likely age of artwork. They can identify known professionals and forgeries from trademarks (be they literal or figurative). They know about the collectability of certain art types. They can know the history of styles, mediums and individual pieces. They know personal information about famous artists. They can analyse artwork to understand (or makeup!) the intent and imagery and techniques used. Production can use skills such as Craft (Masonry, Pottery, Painting, Tattooing, Weaving, Dressmaking, Jewel Cutting, Makeup, woodcarving, Dyeing, metalsmith, Calligraphy, Perfumery, etc etc), Play musical instruments, Sing, Dance, Speaking, Writing… The mediums of elemental runes also provide for interesting and resonant art for Runequest. Making art from air, fire, darkness and water would require ingenuity and affinity. Streamers or airborne particles making artistry of the wind. Water features in gardens. Experiments in darkness, light and shade. Although on planet Earth fire performance is not historically linked to the bronze age there is no reason it couldn’t be in Glorantha (or is there?). In the Rules as Written (RAW) Art skill covers the technical aspect. I have shifted that out into Art Lore and the appropriate production skill. For me, therefore, Art skill covers the aesthetic element. When producing art the basic mechanism I use is this: 1. Roll for production of the piece. You might augment with Art Lore if attempting a specific style or type of art that falls outside cultural norms or trying to forge / copy a particular artist. With a success the piece is as intended. A statue of a horse looks like a statue of a horse. A painting of women collecting reeds in a marsh looks like women collecting reeds in a marsh. 2. Roll for the artistry of it. With an Art success the item also captures some aesthetic element that connects with the perceiver in a way that is greater than the sum of its parts. That functional pot becomes a thing of beauty. That horse statue inspires movement and freedom. The level of success dictates the level of emotional impact (and potentially value although the value of art is truly in the eye – or ear, nose - of the beholder). If neither roll succeeds the item is neither use nor ornament! Master works are covered in Runequest Roleplaying in Glorantha (in the Craft skill section. Basically if you roll a critical) and Weapons and Equipment (if you don’t have this I strongly advise you get it – it’s so much more than just a bunch if weapons and equipment!) The Use of Art in Play Suitable pieces of art can: · be very valuable · provide bonuses to worship either through inspiration or sacrifice · provide bonuses to runic or passionate inspiration · give prestige and status to individuals or communities (e.g. temples) · raise CHA · help with other communication skills by creating an appropriate emotional response (e.g. insult someone or make them angry, make them feel proud, happy…) · can be used as funerary goods – again providing prestige to the memory of the deceased Provide game clues Augmentations Religious art is particularly relevant to the Bronze Age. Cult Lore or Worship can be used to augment the production and the appreciation/analysis of such pieces. Imagine writing songs of worship or painting and carving temple/tomb decorations. Holy vessels for sacrifices, ritual oils and such. All with cult imagery and maybe even secret messages codified in. Homeland Lore can be used to add geographical expertise or lack thereof particularly when analysing or identifying art. Perceptions skills can be used as an augment - really sensing things, whether that be sight, hearing, taste, touch or smell. Any skill related to the subject matter can too. Art is what transforms it from something functional to something poetic and uplifting. Evaluation of art might require an augmentation from either Art Lore or Art. Many an art duffer must have unwittingly sold a valuable piece for a fraction of its real worth. Modifiers Quality of materials will make a difference and artists will often develop their own and guard the secrets thereof (part of the relevant production skill). I would suggest no more than -25% to +25%. If creating a representation of someone or something specific the familiarity with the subject will affect the outcome. From completely ignorant (-75%) to having the subject available as a model for the entire production (+25%). Experimental art: when playing around with new ideas of what is aesthetic I am inclined to force an augment (not inspiration, note) with the Movement rune affinity. Success does not mean everyone will get it though. Acceptance of “modern” art into mainstream art is probably beyond the scope of a Runequest campaign but if anyone wants to explore that further I am happy to do so. Muses: Aside from the actual mythological idea of gods and goddesses (muses) who inspire the various arts I think it is also possible to have a real-world individual act as an artist’s muse. I see this working as a passion. Adventure Seeds: I wanted to write a scenario that made full use of one of the characters’ skill and interest in Art. Linking it to other campaign themes I wanted an art treasure that would be sought by dragonewts. I know that Dragonewts use obsidian a lot and after a two-minute internet search on “obsidian used in art” I had found obsidian mirrors as a candidate. These have, amongst other things, links to ritual and magic including scrying and in dealing with spirits. See how quickly that initial art theme spread into something with great Runequest potential? Provide treasure or trading goods that are pieces of art that would fetch the best value from a specific sort of collector. Knowing that it is even collectable requires Art Lore. The best buyer might be someone hostile to the characters. An art treasure or painting or whatever has been damaged just through being so old or however. Repair as a spell is not enough to fix it – to restore its mythic powers it must be repaired using Art and the associated craft. Art could hold clues to all manner of adventuring enigmas from hidden treasure, lost lore, Heroquest pointers, magical properties, ancient codes or celestial movements. Interpreting the clue would require Art (or Art Lore) skill success. And perhaps there is some danger associated with the clue which would only be uncovered with a special or critical. Sure the opening to the Underworld is identified in a symbolic map on an intricate blanket but they failed to notice the clue about the monsters guarding it…. Creating, trading or gifting artworks can build relationships and lead to patronage and rivalry. And of course the greedy and jealous will covet great art work and commission thievery or sabotage. With an increasing reputation an artist will be sought out by influential and wealthy people to commission the production or acquisition of important pieces. They might equally be sought out by wannabe apprentices. They might be criticised and dismissed by rivals. They might be subjected to art heists or religious zealots who disagree with their mythological artistic interpretations. An artist is experimenting with some new styles of art and causing quite a stir. Those with high Stasis Affinity condemn and criticise. Those more forward-thinking Movement types give it more of a chance. Does it divide the community? It’s a bit cliched as a trope but the gathering of special materials for the artwork can always involve some challenge and maybe even danger. I’ve had characters scaling cliffs and being eaten by cliff toads in order to get some especially pure materials for body paints to be used in an earth ritual. The expensive purple dye used by the Romans came from certain snails. Perhaps in Glorantha there is a pigment that only comes from dragonsnails? Of course, purging it of chaos might not be worth it – but what if it was? What if someone industrious and imaginative could productionise that? I note that in one of the Jonstown Compendium Pavis books (which I have not got round to buying yet…) there is an adventure set around an art gallery. I imagine Art (and Art Lore) could feature in that. All manner of intrigue and drama can revolve around an artist’s muse. They go missing. They might betray or steal from the artist. They might become possessed by some spirit that suppresses or antagonises their arty emanation. Even if you use Art to cover everything as the RAW I think it is safe to say that there is a lot of opportunity to bring this skill into play in a meaningful and fun way.

Yes, classic example!

This post is about the communication skill Act. We could be lovies and debate what acting actually is but I don’t have the stomach for that. I’m going to give a simple definition and one that steers away from acting as art (although art is unfortunately the next cab off the ranks in communication skills!). Pretending. Pretending to be something you are not. It can be pretending to be a specific person or just a different persona or in a different mental or emotional state. Pretending to be a noble when you are common born. Pretending to be happy to see someone. Pretending to be sad about the death of your father. Pretending to be a profession you are not (augmented by professional skills). Pretending to believe something you don’t. Pretending you belong somewhere. Pretending you are surprised when you knew all along. Acting is a form of lying but more on lying later. I would generally include voice mimicry (including accents) in this to avoid skill sprawl but I can absolutely see that you can be a great actor and hopeless at accents and imitation. So, if the nuance is important in your campaign split them out. Acting can include picking up mannerisms, posture and ways of moving. This could be useful for cutting a believable figure when observed from afar, opposed against Scan for example. It doesn’t need a full disguise attempt at distance but walking believably like someone of the opposite sex or someone of noble bearing is a part of the acting skill. Augmentations Act can be used to augment other communication skills, notably disguise but other opportunities exist. Acting can augment story telling (for which I use Orate or just Speak Language) but it should also augment other communication if the act is integral to the success of the venture. Pretending you are sad and contrite to convince your parents not to sever you from the family inheritance for example. Speak Language might be a forced augmentation – trying to act like someone who has a significantly better understanding of vocabulary and grammar would be hard. Passing yourself off as Esrolian is going to be much easier if you can speak the language well. Oppose it against the language of the audience. Skills relevant to a persona being acted out could be used. Being knowledgeable in farming would make you a more credible farm-hand - occasionally technical advisers on films end up as the roles they were advising on. Acting skill is still needed even if you are what you are pretending to be. I’ve seen people play themselves in films quite woodenly. Dropping or masking the self-consciousness and scripted nature of it all is part of acting skill. This is also at the heart of pretending to belong somewhere. If you walk into an office you are unfamiliar with and hesitate and dither you will stand out as someone who doesn’t belong there and attract attention. Acting natural takes skill and practice. You might also use acting to put your opponents off-guard in their actions. Pretending you are mad to flush out villainous murderers, perhaps (see below on Hamlet...). Act could be combined with Fast Talk to handle improv. You could argue for Insight Species being both a skill to be augmented by acting or to augment acting. An actor might be considered more astute at reading people. A sharp psychologist a better actor. Equally Insight would be an opposing skill against acting on the emotional layer. Scan or search for physical movement. Listen for tone of voice, accent etc. Illusion and Earth seem the most likely runes to inspire acting. Truth and Fire for opposing. However, I am sure creative players will find or engineer situations that suit their favoured runes and passions! Sample Modifiers: Give the audience a score for their familiarity with the person or persona and use this as an opposing roll for the Act. Alternatively, give a flat modifier – say -75% for someone very familiar to +75% for someone completely ignorant. The longer you can be studied the easier it will be to see through the act. Duration of the act: 2-5 hours (-10%); 5+ hours (-25%). If extending into days then make one roll per day with an ever increasing chance of being found out basically. Now, with this method it would be very unlikely to succeed at pulling off the act for a whole year. A fumble would be inevitable. People have been undercover for longer periods than that. If playing out that length of timeline then make the roll every week or even every season. If you’re not opposing the roll then a failed act still needs to be perceived and an appropriate perception roll needs to be successful to catch them out. Whether you allow passive perception rolls is a matter for you as GM. I’ll save that debate for a later post. Critical and special successes could negate the need for rolls for an extended period of time. If the target/audience has their perception abilities limited in some way the actor should get some benefit. Distance, clarity of view/sound (smoke, darkness, shimmering mirage, background noise). Distractions also will serve to reduce their perception skills. Give anything from +5 to +50. Beyond +50 and your probably talking about situations where perception is so limited that the acting will be all but lost on the audience! Fooling someone’s spouse at close quarters would be Heroic, without some sort of magical support (think Uther and Igraine). Over a long period of time you’d have to be a God to maintain the deception. Lying. Now Acting is all about lying in many ways and as such I would use it as a skill or augmenting skill in relation to lying in certain circumstances. I think it is perfectly valid to just bundle the ability to lie into whatever communication method the character is using to convey the lie. Bullshitting off the cuff? Fast talk. There is no need to muddy the waters with an augment. However, a gifted actor with a skill at talking fast is, in my book, more likely to get away with it. So, I would allow the augment. Equally, if the character is lying during a debate, it could for simplicity’s sake just be an orate roll. However, a gifted actor might just sustain a supporting lie through that debate more convincingly. Barristers in the UK are sometimes given acting classes to supplement their debating skills. Arguably the acting classes are just improving their orate skill. You choose. As I have said before though, I like the nudge to the richness of narrative that comes from blending skills with interaction or augmentation. I’ve watched barristers “innocently” needle and rile up the accused in court to demonstrate a point. Clearly not very good at acting though because the defence counsel also saw through it. The judge made no comment. No comment. Adventure seeds: We’ve all read or seen countless tales (truth and fiction) of people posing as something they are not (nobility, doctors, CEOs, pilots, long lost sons and daughters, criminals, heirs to the throne….) to facilitate some sort of advantage. Peter Sellers allegedly attended an audition for a part as an old man dressed and in character as an old man having failed to get the part when auditioning as himself. Hamlet is a great example for introducing acting into an adventure. Not only does Hamlet act mad (or does he?) but he also uses actors in a play to try to get villains to give themselves away. Assassins might be out to get an important hero in the community and she needs doubles to throw them off the scent or flush them out. A spy could be sent to infiltrate a household, clan or tribe or temple. One fumbled acting roll and you’ll be sleeping with the fishes. Being in a troupe of actors is a great cover for travelling the world and getting into noble courts and other hotbeds of intrigue. Acting impressively in mythological plays may just bring you in contact, albeit only tenuously, with the hero plane… Hopefully this will trigger your own creative juices in making the most of a fun skill that need not be limited to just entertainers and con artists.

I know this is an old thread but I can't see that anyone picked up on this... The Revenant in the monsters section of the bestiary aligns with a mummy.

A minor story like an ambush in the Auroch Hills perhaps...

I never thought I would see the Wurzels quoted in a RQ forum. 🤣

Hi, In times gone before one could become a Wind Lord by having Hide and Move Quietly amongst your mastered skills. These skills are specifically discounted for initiates in RQG so I presume they are considered cult skills. What is the reasoning behind not counting them for Wind Lord status now? thanks Rich

Not sure everyone would go away happy after an attempted bargain to seduce! 😂