Ian Absentia

😝 It's a matter of goals in play, I reckon. The Ki Skills weren't entirely out of keeping with the 2nd and 3rd Ed. approach to Rune Mastery in RQ. Again, where do you want the power level of your campaign to begin? The new RQG has set that default level higher, and yet still included the old Geas rules. And (though my memory is a little rusty and, admittedly, I never actually used them in play), I got the impression that the Mythras/RQ6 rules for mysticism had a strong whiff of a Ki Skill lineage. Presumably better playtested. !i!

Point taken -- they're the carrot at the end of the stick. They're what an entire campaign might aspire toward, not necessarily the powers one might actively employ. Geas rules, on the other hand, reverse that order. You get the powers now, associated directly with proscriptive behavior, which in turn affect how one plays. They're dead simple, too (and even older than the Ki skills!). !i!

Relative to the original post, it's worth noting that the Ki Skills rules don't actually deal directly with asceticism, but provide rules for abilities that might result from ascetic devotion. They might just as well represent a lifetime of being a badass, though. It's a matter of interpretation. !i!

That sounds a lot like the geas rules for some of the cults in RuneQuest (e.g., Yelmalio and Humakt). Please, this is BRP we're talking about. !i!

You mean gaining special abilities through prolonged denial of worldly engagement? Aside from the obvious impediment to engaging roleplay, you might look to the Ki Skills from Land of Ninja for RQ3 (assuming you can find it). Failing that, I'd suggest you duplicate this post to the Mythras forum elsewhere here on this site -- they do mysticism in some depth in that BRP-compatible game. !I!

To be clear, when I read "Knapsack Nick" I thought of Dora's bag, Bag, not Dora. Carry on! !i!

Why wait? I reckon it's all right there in print already. !i!

Not to get too Earth-sciency, but it depends on the plant, and where it's at in its life cycle. Some follow a growth-dormancy-reemergence cycle, not actually dying the true death until much later. So, regarding a not-dead-but-dormant soul, does it change upon reemergence come Spring/Sea Season, or whenever it reawakens? Will it reemerge with a different or renewed personality? !i!

Sauce for the gander... !i!

Oh...okay. Because at first I was picturing this: !i!

😍💖💥 !i!

Or the more socially accepted fashion in White... Now available in Ladies' sizes. !i!

Er...right, the very reason I've always been drawn to RQ over other options. Players seeking optimal character builds may look to other games for satisfaction. With that in mind, how does Yelmalio stack up in 13G? !i!

[Caveat: Geologist, not a quantum physicist.] Or an "initial singularity" -- undifferentiated energy and potential matter existing at a point with no dimension. Or is that just a single dimension? Anyway, similar to what you say, for all intents and purposes, not our universe yet. The laws of physics hadn't yet manifested, and perhaps could've rolled out differently under different, randomly evolving circumstances. By the way, there are schools of quantum theory that focus on the fact that quantum phenomena exist only in a potential state and don't resolve (i.e., become decisive, manifest reality) until they are observed. Since observation requires a conscious being, our universe exists only because it's being observed, and therefore exists precisely to support the observer, i.e., life. There are also some quantum theories that suggest our universe still exists in a state of singularity, and perceptions of time and space are entirely subjective. I can't really touch on higher dimensional and string theories, but others are welcome! !i! [Edit: I'm not certain it's correct to state that there's no way we can know something. Presumably, there exists a trail of evidence that can potentially be pursued, perhaps not conclusively, either now or at some point in the future.]

Le sigh. Particularly, perhaps, but far from exclusively. The Internet makes it far easier for us to be stupid worldwide. Thanks for the special attention, though. !i!

Because we really can't put too fine a point on it, this is in great part why toy manufacturers have gone to great lengths to make squirt guns and Nerf guns in such bright colors and outlandish shapes and sizes. And yet people, mostly children, are still killed on occasion for pissing someone off with a squirt gun. Getting back to the OP -- be sensitive to your environment and social climate, and understand the consequences when you're flouting convention. !i!

Shame? Seriously, though, in reality, nothing. Also, the red tips are just a toy manufacturer's measure, and -- in a climate where mobile phones are mistaken for firearms -- not real insurance that someone else will still not mistake the toy gun for a real one. !i!

Please, don't play the You-Don't-Know card on me -- I've seen Shane. I know how this story plays out. You should see the men my divorced female friends marry. Besides, she falls for him within, like, a day, maybe two. Sure, it's not the face she's interested in -- it's the machismo and domestic security. All that said, after however many weeks later at the end of the episode, I'm down with her feelings. And yet they're all still psychotic. !i!

Maybe he meant you're just mean, Ian. Ha. !i!

I'm really not trying to be contrary. I was just watching the show again recently, and right now I'm watching The Mandalorian. Another good show, and I couldn't help but compare it in structure and tone to Firefly. Of course, unlike Jayne, who exhibits some degree of discretion appropriate to the time and place, the Mandalorian himself goes everywhere armed to the teeth and wearing combat armor, and it doesn't seem to limit his social interactions. I mean, sure, the only places he seems to go are bounty hunter cantinas and war zones, but everyone seems all chill with his rifle, blasters, and combat armor that he's absolutely never without, because it's a well known and accepted part of his religion and...well...um, this is Star Wars. One woman even falls in love with him through his helmet. Again, the expectations of society at large, and the people of Star Wars are psychotic. !i!

I believe the word you're grasping for is "pedantic". Ha. !i!

Not to be a poop (well, okay, kinda), but for all his personal arsenal, Jayne seldom moves in public brandishing arms. When he does, it's very specific to the circumstances and the expectations of company. That said, it's a great show and a fine example of how even "lawless" society treats the imminently violent. !i!

I know one or two people who own riding/racing gear that essentially amounts to full body armor, and they'd sum it up for you: It's really uncomfortable; It just doesn't look cool if you're not on your bike. I have to assume much the same applies to combat body armor. Also, since we keep entertaining the absurd, see my post above about reactions to someone armed to the teeth. Public censure, whether by official statute or informal reception, will keep anyone but an overt troublemaker from displaying an intent to engage in mayhem. If you want to blend, don't look like you're prepared to kill someone. !i!

Well, that hit the inevitable end-point right away. Bringing it to more realistic ground, a person walking the streets armed to the teeth is going to be avoided by just about everyone, including people they want to interact with. No one trusts someone who's clearly prepared for armed conflict unless they understand the circumstances and context in advance of the encounter. Add personal biases and cultural bigotries to the situation, and that understanding gets murkier and harder to arrive at. Even in municipalities with "open carry" ordinances, most people give wide berth to those who are clearly trying to make a statement by being overtly or exaggeratedly armed. Those who don't are typically fellow travelers or looking to create a confrontation (which, quelle surprise, is exactly what the armed individual was intending to provoke). If the question is really about what would happen in a game situation, assume that the local citizenry will have to treat a stranger displaying arms as a threat and respond accordingly -- probably by avoiding them, maybe by confronting them. Your favorite Western movie probably sets the right tone. A stranger comes riding into town, pistols at his side and a rifle across his saddle, the locals head indoors and the sheriff comes out for a little talk. !i!

✋🐵🤚 https://images.app.goo.gl/jLQcgHJC5RZkiy6d6 !i!