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Tywyll

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Everything posted by Tywyll

  1. Yeah, illusion rune magic is absolutely rubbish.
  2. Surely the process of tapping techniques isn't evil, being inherent in all magic. So teaching the rune wouldn't be a problem, it would just be specific spells like Tap Size and stuff?
  3. Yeah, that's a great interpretation I think. Though I don't know what film you are referencing? I think that some people might not be too happy with it, the same way that people kick themselves later after they realize that they were bamboozled by someone's arguments, their clothes, their car, etc. But I think the resentment probably lays with the self, just as people resent 'giving in' to someone's line. But we recognize that privileged people (be it wealth, looks, etc) get away with a lot more than others do simply by the nature of their luck/gifts/eloquence. What it doesn't mean is that everyone turns a blind eye to those privileges and evaluates people solely on their arguments. An individual might, after being stung by that person, but society doesn't rise up against pretty people just because they have an easier time of things. Rune Magic is just one more gift that separates the haves from the have nots.
  4. I think you might be overstating the issue. First off, no one argues from pure logic and reason, and even if they did it's a fairly modern idea. Gloranthans wouldn't particularly care about logical fallacies or appeals to authority. It would be about passions and occasionally reason. Now, the actual mechanical bonus of the Charisma spell is really only about what, +15%, +20%? That's the same as invoking a passion or a rune. If someone gets the same benefit from arguing about their loves or hates, its hardly a 'cheat'. Granted, these things can stack but you get my drift. Also, social skills aren't mind control. You might intimidate a broo, but you aren't going to Charm it (probably...hopefully?). The spell doesn't allow you to do things you couldn't normally accomplish. And people in the world can't see the dice. They have little way of knowing if the speaker rolled a 20% or would have failed without the bonus from Charisma. And they would still only do what was within the scope of the skill. That said, yes, I don't necessarily think you'd take on Ernalda's Hero Form everytime you cast the spell. Maybe if you cast it and then rolled a critical I might describe it that way.
  5. That's...interesting. Even if your POW dropped, you would still defend with Max Pow. I'd probably allow it to increase by 1d3. Potentially losing 10 POW for 1 point of strength is pretty rubbish.
  6. Alternatively you leave it at 18. Or don't call it 'species max'. Or, I don't know, actually make rules that allow it to be achieved normally. So set the number to what is achievable (i.e. 18). Then let magic go beyond that. OR allow characters to achieve it in play, sans magic...since it is supposed to be the limit a creature can attain WITHOUT magic.
  7. They were in the basic RQ1 rules (and RQ2). Page 100 in RQ1, page 94 in RQ2. So, yeah, there was a mechanic to push CHA and DEX potentially to racial max (though Str and Con were capped by that other silly rule).
  8. Thank the Gods for that change! Still don't know why they kept the Dex one though.
  9. And if it isn't a max then what is the point of referencing it at all?
  10. I absolutely have no problem with magic raising attributes. That's not the point.
  11. Why not? They screwed up by limiting IQ, Str, Con, and SIZ from going above 18. Just call them what they are.
  12. Except Str, Con, and Siz which are linked to not rising above the highest natural of the three (or is this rule gone in RQG?).
  13. Before the Rune modifier, you couldn't get them at all is the problem. That is a very new rule. This is a problem that has existed since RQ1. Use of magic, especially a single corner case, doesn't explain its 'racial max' when racial max is described as the limit WITHOUT magic. I.e. how do you get an INT of 21 without resorting to magic? If you can't, it clearly isn't the species Max. Also, clearly non-raisable characteristic in this case is INT and SIZ, not a stat at 21 because these are magic increases. I think that species max should be attainable in play is my point. But yes, if IQ can't be raised (a silly idea based on bad science from the 70's) then it should have a different max. Again, magic. If they weren't, then yes. However, it seems clear to me that reading the RQ2 rulebook that it is incomplete with lots of stuff awaiting the expansions. Just because the scrolls weren't there doesn't mean they weren't in play and intended, so I'm not sure that's a smoking gun. Actually, thinking about it, there is such a scroll in Rainbow Mounds. It doesn't raise an attribute but it increases a skill similar to the other ones from Plunder, so yeah, I'd say they were always intended as part of the system. Regardless, the game gave you a way to attain those maxes, which is more than can be said about every iteration since.
  14. You just hit the nail on the head of one of my beefs with RQ/BRP... we have 'racial maximums' that are impossible to reach! I mean, in RQ2 you actually could reach them thanks to the treasure in the game (scrolls of Stat +X). But since those have disappeared, apparently, these maximums serve no real purpose that I can see. In RQG you might as well just say attributes have a max of 20 and leave it at that since that's all players can achieve without magic anyway. 👿
  15. The availability of this spell is what sparked the idea for my current campaign where the PCs are all genetically engineered super beings thanks to this spell and the King's connections.
  16. In RQ2 there was an encumbrance of (2) for those undergarments, which I still use because yeah, otherwise there is no reason not to.
  17. Another thing I would like to see is what people did with those three weird artifacts in the treasure room. I would like to make them into something usable by the players (even if with difficulty) rather than just weird 'don't touch me' gotchas!
  18. Even with the ridiculous stat mods as I described earlier, none of my players made RL. The 'Humakt' player didn't want to take the Geas to get his skills up (though even if he had, he wouldn't make all of them).
  19. Obviously YGMV and all that, but it seems like you are missing a big draw in Runequest, which is the ubiquitous nature of magic. Shaman and Priests still have a (important) role, despite players having easy magic access...especially for spirit world matters. I don't think you need to gimp them so severely. Heck, look at RQ3 where every 'civilized' person used Sorcery.
  20. In the setting, initiates are those representatives of faith. Not everyone has burned 3 POW, or even 1 POW. You are playing characters who have already reached that level of significance. Older versions of RQ had you start before you became an Initiate and then it was something you did in game. You could always do that if you wanted (remove the Cult section of character creation, drop their spirit magic maybe, though even laymember learn some spirit magic, and ditch their rune points. But the new RQ has you playing more powerful, more important characters. They don't need (often) to get others to solve their problems...they are the problem solvers. Why 'gate' your problems behind NPCs the PCs need to supplicate for aid? Let them sort the world.
  21. Unrelated to your build...something that has always confused me about Herrick. He war's a God's skin from a God he killed. How...? All gods are beyond Time in the Compromise. How can you kill one? For that matter, how did the Lunar Empire 'Kill' Orlanth?
  22. Honestly I don't worry about it. A strong kid destined for a 21 Strength is still not hercules strong. Their stats don't matter unless you are planning to run a kid/teen game...but I wouldn't as the system isn't built for it. A perfect child is unlikely to be a matched for a trained professional.
  23. No I agree its a lot, and I dread running powerful enemies against my players. Luckily, for most combat encounters you really only need to know how a few spells work-bladesharp, protection, countermagic, shield, heal wound, dismiss magic...maybe speeddart and multiarrow. That's not so bad.
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