soltakss

22 hours ago, cyberlobster said:

Definitely, I wish they would at least say something like "It will release after Chaosium Con", or "Books are on the ships to the warehouses, ETA 4-8 weeks" or anything! Last we heard it's still going to be released this month...

They got absolutely roasted by people a couple of times when they said that a supplement would be out by a certain date then missed the date, as far as I know, so they don't make that mistake again.

15 hours ago, Akhôrahil said:

. One of the players made a temporary Voralan PC to use while his main one is off fighting in Hahlgrim's War.

But, but, but, it isn't out yet! 🙂

Some people are just so impatient.

4 hours ago, zanshin said:

Now added the 1983 Runequest Companion, and the Book of Drastic Resolutions - Volume Darkness. 

My guess is that the Drastic Darkness will be torn from your hands by many people, as it is very hard to get hold of.

4 hours ago, zanshin said:

Hi folks - I have this for the moment, and there wasn't a contents list on Daliaths Well, so have written up this for your interest. Hope you enjoy.

Thanks for posting this. The Book of Drastic Resolutions series of supplements is notoriously difficult to get hold of and almost certainly won't see print again, but it is worth mentioning. I refer to it all of the time.

1 hour ago, Garrik said:

OK, tried to palate all the info all of you have given. But I'm overwhelmed.

Sometimes it can be like drinking from a fire hose instead of a water fountain, but people are trying to be helpful.

1 hour ago, Garrik said:

You're suggesting that I buy 50$ worth of books to gauge for few snippets of information. The books surely are interesting and beautiful. But in this case, I just have to have faith in my GM, that he provides the necessary info.

Again, it is people trying to be helpful, saying "here is where you can find more information". The alternative is to give you the information, which comes back to the fire hose.

On 4/18/2024 at 1:12 PM, Garrik said:

Question: is the coordination mainly social, among humans/mortals (husband and wife, village, priests of different gods)? Or are there examples of locally allied rain/water/earth cults that bring something extra to this marriage/technology of rain, water and growth?

It depends on the culture.

Among Solar folk the Yelm-Oslir marriage ritual explicitly gives the local Solar ruler permission to draw water from a local river for irrigation, so it suits your idea well, if your Adventurer is Solar. Here, the bargain is between the local Solar leader and the river deity themself.

Among Orlanthi, the bargain is between the people and Heler, the god of rains. Here, the chieftain petitions Heler to rain, providing moisture for crops. Sometimes it is Ernalda appealing for help from her husband, Orlanth, to bring storms to provide rain, but this is ultimately through Heler.

Among Praxians, the deities concerned are Thunder Bird and, maybe, Little Brother (Orlanth), so locals petition Thunder Bird to go to the Zola Fel, soak its feathers in water, then carry the water to dry land to water them as rain and make the grass grow again. It is also possible to petition Inora to cause the ground to become covered in frost that melts, or to contact Dew Maiden to cover the grass with dew. In all these examples, people make deals with deities.

1 hour ago, Garrik said:

Some of you are essentially suggesting that male followers of River Gods do not have the type of agency I envisioned for my character. Which of course might be a good reason for my character to leave his community and seek adventure. But I'm talking more about his background than about his future.

Of course they have the type of agency you are looking for. What is stopping you using specialist water magic to draw water from your river and sending it through irrigation channels to irrigate farmland? Don't have the spells? Then go and get them through HeroQuesting. Don't have permission? You are a representative of the river deity, of course you have permission.

1 hour ago, Garrik said:

Nowhere is it stated that Esrolian males couldn't have cult agency and important roles. They are not political leaders, and they are loyal to and protective of their matriarchs. But men are initiates and priests of the male gods and assume the power such persons and institutions have, especially locally. Surely there are men among the renowned Esrolian heroes, for example architects and crafters. Which could tie into irrigation systems and aqueducts. (Were the Nochet aqueducts Belintar's invention? Or from the time of Panaxles the Architect?)

Some people have the conceit that in Esrolia men are pretty much useful. Sure, they are good at muscle-work like fighting, lifting, carrying, making babies, putting shelves up, and picking things off the top shelf, but rich Esrolian women have servants for most, or all, of those tasks. There are things that men can do in Esrolia at the moment, but that doesn't include ruling, for that it definitely women's work. So, sure, men can build things (muscle work and saves having to buy slaves). After all, Lodril's Sons were men who made irrigation ditches and aqueducts, and Lodril is a husband of Ernalda, so why not?

1 hour ago, Garrik said:

So I don't support the idea that a male (person, cult) couldn't have important agency in everyday Esrolia. But the male god/aspect who's mostly active in these everyday activities is of course Barntar.

Barntar is a farmer god, so can dig ditches for irrigation. However, his cultists would not be responsible for major irrigation works, in my opinion, that would be Lodril's Sons or other Builder Deities, with Barntar's little ditches carrying water from the canals to the fields.

1 hour ago, Garrik said:

The Engizi cult (RQG, pp. 75, 292) clearly is river-centric, movement-centric, and in no way tied to agriculture. I'm not saying that it should. I'm asking if a male water god & his followers could have agency in irrigating and draining the fields, or designing and upkeeping the aqueducts. I think they could. It's a minor and seasonal role for sure, but where water rises from Lyksos-Engizi and flows back into him, the cult surely has agency, at the very least a ritual role.

Yes they can have agency, and often do.

1 hour ago, Garrik said:

But I think you're right that Lyksos-Engizi is a bad fit for a farmer. It would make my character perhaps uniquely special, and require a lot of soul-searching and myth-spinning. Which would be great, but our game is on the more mundane, traditional-RQ side of the spectrum.

That could be your One Special Thing.

1 hour ago, Garrik said:

All of this said, my character in the end might look more towards Heler, because he has a powerful connection to the Air rune, some Water, and nothing special in Movement. The river aspect might remain as a connection to his grandfather and family traditions, and as a gateway to him finding the waters above.

Heler spreads his bounty everywhere, causing floods as often as being helpful. Farming often needs irrigation that allows farmers to control the rains, bringing it from we areas to dry areas and avoiding flooding.

How to win a water maiden.

Are we there yet?

Are we there yet?

Are we there yet?

Are we there yet?

Are we there yet?

Are we there yet?

Are we there yet?

On 4/7/2024 at 8:16 PM, conajofa said:

I will explain how it was on my first attempt without a foundational system, I can go more in deep if needed:

1. Select Rank of the Weapon, this define its price.
2. Select if the Weapon is Ranged or Melee
   • If Melee, select a Damage Type (Pierce, Blunt, Slash)
3. Select a Property (Defensive, Reach, Heavy, Small)
4. Select effect based on its Rank (Rank 1 weapons have 2 Points for effects, Rank 2 have 4 Points, etc.)
5. Take flaws for extra Points (Rank 1 could take up to 2 Points on Flaws, etc)
6. Your weapon is ready

Some effects were things like "Inflict Burn 4", "Increase Block +1", "+1 to Reach", "Gain extra damage if the Target is Burn" "Gain extra damage if the User is Burn", etc, etc.

That is a good approach for building a weapon from scratch.

So, in BRP terms, you choose how big the weapon is and how it is used, that gives you a range for Strike Rank and maybe Armour Points or Damage. You add special effects where necessary, so a weapon might entangle, disarm, break other weapons, or whatever. 

Alternatively, take existing weapons and amend them. So, a Blaster is like a pistol but with a bit more damage and an energy pack with 100 shots.

Cultic music could be different, based on the sacred instruments or powers of the various cults.

I can see massed Shargashi drummers, with hundreds of snare drummers, timpanists, even with bass drums in concert.

Yelm cultists have the harp, flute and other gentle, refined instruments.

Orlanthi are big on instruments that you blow through.

Earth cultists have instruments that you play through touch, so through plucking, strumming, or stroking, so I can see lutes, banjos, guitars, fiddles and so on being earthy, as well as tambourines and cymbals.

We mentioned water instruments above.

Darkness instruments are percussion based, but I can't see massed drummers like the Shargashi, more like beating rocks and empty barrels. The Uz has the Tree-Chopping Song which is played by beating on a tree trunk.

Lunars probably invented new instruments, or took instruments from various parts of their Empire and used them in strange combinations, or adapted them.

I can see Praxians and Pentians using throat-singing as part of their folk music, maybe with instruments like the Kurai, which seems to be throat-singing through a flute, at least that is what it sounds like.

17 hours ago, RedCrestedSlayer said:

But I am wondering if there's a set method or easy way to build creatures from scratch.

As Atgxtg said, take existing things and tweak the characteristics. That's the easiest way to do it.

17 hours ago, RedCrestedSlayer said:

Off the back of that, what do you usually consider for making a creature feel 'different' and unique?

If it is an unintelligent creature, then give it different attacks, skills, and maybe a shape.

Bear in mind that sometimes changes aren't that interesting. A lion, tiger, jaguar and leopard are basically the same creature, stats-wise, with a few tweaks in SIZ and STR, for example. 

For intelligent creatures, I go for differences in cultures and skills. Some might have tweaked stats, more or less intelligent, healthier or more sickly, stronger or weaker, more dextrous or clumsier, and so on, than existing creatures. Think of it like the Star Trek setting, Vulcans and Romulans are effective the same race, stats-wise, but with vastly different cultures and skills.

Wayland's Forge in Birmingham is a good RPG shop.

Asgard Games used to be in Walsall centre but can be found in St Paul's Church, Walsall, near the bus station. It used to sell games and had tables for people to play games, but I haven't to its current incarnation inside the church.

6 hours ago, Akhôrahil said:

15 hours ago, EricW said:

What about every 500 years the devil returns?

Seems unsupported (also, it’s 600, right?) - when in the Second Age would that have happened?

Some say that Zistor was when the Devil returned. The Heortlings needed to perform a LBQ to bring down the God Learners.

2 hours ago, Erol of Backford said:

Is there Rune Quest age-appropriate "Country Music"

There would be Folk Music, and depending on how you see that it could encompass Country Music. Each area would have its own style, maybe with different musical accompaniment. This is the sort of thing that Sartarites and the like sing and nobles look down on, preferring stately hymns to the folk songs of country bumpkins.

On 4/8/2024 at 6:45 AM, PauliusTheMad said:

So as an example of idea I am working with (this was my first to try for campaign): 

I wanna go semi-modern (interwar for example level of tech), and i wanna be working with human like creatures, something akin to lizardmen and plant like larger things, I say wanna put in range of lizard things to be both smaller and bigger then humans, so perhaps I could do it by doing their size dice as lower number but higher value dice (not 3d6 but like 2d10 for example) and then play with culture and maybe mutation flaws or powers to balance them out to be weaker or stronger in one way or another?

So, assuming the one in the middle is human, the one on the left is Great Troll sized in Glorantha, so I'd go with SIZ and STR 4D6+12. If you want average health stick with CON 3D6, if tougher than usual use CON 2D6+6, or if mega tough 1D6+12 or 3D6+6. It looks clumsy, so maybe 2D6. Int of 2D6+6 for humanlike intelligence, or 3D6 for humanish range but less smart on average.

The one on the left looks humanlike in SIZ and STR, if they are more agile than humans make DEX 2D6+6, same thing with CON and INT as above.

You could use different dice, Stormbringer used 2D8 for SIZ, for example. I think it adds complexity but it should work OK. I am so used to variants of 3D6 that I think in those terms.

On 4/4/2024 at 9:34 AM, The Prettiest Parrot said:

I don't mean to be a pain, but I think there's a disconnect about what all is unclear.

In my experience, the best thing to do is to ask @Nick Brooke and then to stick to what he advises, That has always worked for me. Nick has been nothing but helpful to many Jonstown Compendium authors in the past.

As a general comment, for anyone wanting to publish playable material for Glorantha, nit-picking the FAQ is not particularly helpful, as all you will get is repeated statements of what is, and is not, allowed. It is much better to write things that are explicitly allowed rather than trying to push then boundaries and getting things rejected and pulled.

20 hours ago, PhilHibbs said:

Any ideas on how to handle sudden fatal blows near the end of a melee round? It sucks if it happens, and can really put players off. I’m comfortable with playing a deadly game, but not everyone is.

I tend to ignore, or downplay, Total Hit Point damage as being fatal. I normally say that it is fatal when you have gone negative past your normal Hit Points, so someone with 15 Hit Points doesn't die until they reach -16 Hit Points, and even then they don't die until the Book-keeping phase of the round, allowing Healing to work.

20 hours ago, PhilHibbs said:

I’m thinking, some kind of CON roll each round or die. Gives a chance for last words etc. as well as healing. Maybe balance it by having healing not automatically avoiding death by just bringing HP back over zero, but have the player still roll for survival one more time.

CON×5, ×4, ×3, ×2, ×1 each round maybe. Make all five, you survive!

That could work as well.

On 4/4/2024 at 12:23 AM, Erol of Backford said:

Are dwarves able to be turned into undead?

Yes.

On 4/4/2024 at 12:23 AM, Erol of Backford said:

Can dwarves be resurrected or are they needing to be repaired and or their spirit rebound into a repaired body?

Yes, Dwarves can be resurrected.

On 4/4/2024 at 12:23 AM, Erol of Backford said:

Would they have regrow limb cast on them or would it be some sort of repair body? (see menu clip below)

Regrow Limb works on Dwarves.

On 4/4/2024 at 12:23 AM, Erol of Backford said:

We always played that dwarves bleed, never thought as to the color?

Red, as normal. You could have black blood, like oil, if you prefer.

On 4/4/2024 at 12:23 AM, Erol of Backford said:

Are there any dwarven undead and if so where are they referenced?

I cannot remember any offhand, but why not have them?

On 4/4/2024 at 12:23 AM, Erol of Backford said:

On the same note are there any published dwarf Humakti?

I am sure that there are, however I cannot think of any examples.

All responses are in my own opinion, of course.

I think that by the tone of the questions, you might be confusing the original Mostali with Clay Mostali, or Dwarves. The original Mostali are more like metal constructs, formed in metallic vats and pulled fully-formed from those metals. Clay Mostali, or Dwarves, were also originally pulled from the Clay Vat, but now live, and reproduce, like other beings, although they spend several shameful hours grinding away with their mortar and pestle to do so. For me, Clay Mostali had a healthy dollop of Grandfather Mortal, or the Man Rune, in their creation, so are more like Elves, Trolls, and Humans than their metallic ancestors.

I am pleased to announce another Jonstown Compendium supplement with Leon Kirshtein, this time not for Dorastor. Welcome to Draconic Enlightenment, a supplement covering the draconic equivalent of Illumination for RuneQuest. This supplement contains the skill of Draconic Wisdom, two new Runespells, two new Magic Items, and three Scenarios. 

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/476064/draconic-enlightenment?affiliate_id=66807&src=Stormspearia

I am pleased to announce another Jonstown Compendium supplement with Leon Kirshtein, this time not for Dorastor. Welcome to Draconic Enlightenment, a supplement covering the draconic equivalent of Illumination for RuneQuest. This supplement contains the skill of Draconic Wisdom, two new Runespells, two new Magic Items, and three Scenarios. 

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/476064/draconic-enlightenment?affiliate_id=66807&src=Stormspearia

You beat me to it!

10 hours ago, svensson said:

Where I'm at right now with AI is this, "It's awfully pretty, but is it 'art'?"

For me, personally, yes it is art.

10 minutes ago, French Desperate WindChild said:

I think the point is not CA send an infection, she just doesn't care that now you have one.

Yes, the way I see it is that Chalana Arroy actively helps people fight off infections, so crossing her means that she simply doesn't do that and they can catch disease more easily.

31 minutes ago, Atgxtg said:

Uh, why?

When people study art they look at and train on the artwork of various artists who came before them. This is true in all creative fields not just images. No one comes out and tells a kid that they can't learn how to draw from their Hulk comic books. Yes, they can't directly copy/trace another person's work, but they certainly can (and should) look at any art they have available to them.  But every artist learns from the work of those who came before them, and copywrite and consent never stopped someone from studying a piece of art. The same holds true for RPGs and RPG adventures. No one says you can't look at an old D&D or Cthulhu rulebook or adventure and learn from it. Quite the opposite, we all told to look at what has come before and learn from it. I don't think a single person submitting to the new Chasoium contest hasn't looked at and been "trained" on some previous BRP product.

As I said ...

2 hours ago, soltakss said:

I agree

I can understand why companies have taken a position against generative AI, but I would like to see more generative AI being used.

18 minutes ago, Atgxtg said:

On a related issue, what about A.I. generated stories and adventures? RPGs are headed that way, just look at WOTC's plans for D&D. I mean if the community is going to ban A.I. generated art on ethical grounds,  then how can it allow other A.I. generated content? What if that content ends up better than human produced content? Do we use it or run something inferior out of spite?

I am happy for AI to train on any of my published supplements. It would be great to see what an AI could write for Dorastor, for example.

20 hours ago, Eff said:

In good ol' RQ2, any time a shaman went looking for spirits, there was a 1% chance they would encounter a deity on the Spirit Contact table, with "Deity" POW and "Unlimited" INT, and the notes indicate that deities normally ignore spirits unless they "actively intrude on their sphere of activity".

Soltak Stormspear gained several new Runespells, became Illuminated, and gained some Nysalor Riddles through such interactions, they were great fun.

I agree, but one of the issues with AI is that it has been trained on images without the explicit consent of copyright owners. Sure, it is OK to train AI on images which are out of copyright, so the paintings of long-dead artists are fair game, but when an artist is alive and says "I do not consent to my images being used to train AI", then there is a difficulty.

RPG supplements feed a fair amount of income to artists, I know that I have paid artists thousands of dollars, that income might be lost if we used generative AI instead of commissioning from artists. I know that there is a counter-argument of many professions being made redundant by advances in technology, for example we don't see typing pools or rooms of clerks filling in ledgers nowadays. 

Personally, I would like a balance where I can use generative art but prefer to commission and pay artists.