soltakss

7 hours ago, Targhan said:

If you don't need a temple to "regain rune points" (and this is a metaphor for "to keep using your rune magic"), the Lunar control over the Air Temple in Pavis should have a different meaning for the orlanthis in Prax, shouldn't it?

Not really, you still have to go to the temple to remain a worshipper in good standing with the cult. If not then you lapse and can lose access to casting magic.

2 hours ago, Zulfikar Zaban said:

I am curious what the people involved as either players or designers and creators backgrounds are in mythology?

Personally, mythology has always influenced me deeply, even though I have not formally studied it.

2 hours ago, Zulfikar Zaban said:

Did you have any books in particular that set you down the path to mythology and Chaosium Inc. as well, or any that you have found that really were beacons for you?

All of Joseph Campbell's books are useful. I found Frazer's Golden Bough informative, although many think he is old-fashioned. I was brought up on Fairy tales, Myths and Legends, so any of those are good.

2 hours ago, Zulfikar Zaban said:

I'm just curious because there is a lot of conversation about gaming with some side talk and references to mythology.

RuneQuest's Glorantha is built on Mythology, so hard-core fans are into that quite a bit.

Pendragon uses Arthurian Mythology, so that is important to the setting.

Call of Cthulhu uses the Cthulhu Mythos (Not to my tase, but others love it).

I am not sure about Nephilim, as I have never seen it, but I am sure it has a basis of Mythology.

The old Stormbringer/Elric/Hawkmoon games were based on Michael Moorcock's excellent novels, which count as sort-of mythology.

So, most of Chaosium's games have always had some mythology associated with them.

On 6/15/2023 at 2:48 PM, Guy Hoyle said:

2. Do you have any advice for running riders and their mounts in combat? I don't want things to grind to a halt during battle, without just handwaving it.

For normal combat, war beasts and their riders are trained to work together, so don't bother making a Ride roll each round. When riding normal beasts, a Ride each round might be needed but you might not want to bother with NPCs unless keeping track of who is trying to control their beast instead of attacking is important to you.

• Tusk Riders would charge with their lance in the first round, then they and their Tuskers lay into everyone around.
• Make an attack roll for the Tusk Riders and for the Tuskers on separate Strike Ranks.
• If the Tusker goes down in combat then the Tusk Rider cannot attack and should make a Jump roll to avoid being trapped under its weight.
• If the Tusk Rider is disabled before the Tusker attacks then it still attacks as it is its own master in combat.
• Attackers can attack the Tusk Rider or Tusker, just use the Hit Locations for each. Don't bother with unobtainable Hit Locations, due to reach, the combat is mobile and everyone moves around enough so that anywhere can be hit.
• When using missile fire, roll randomly whether the Tusk Rider or Tusker is hit, as you are effectively firing into melee. If they are fighting Adventurers, treat every rider and mount as separate targets for the random target hit.
• When fighting Adventurers standing on the ground, Tusk Riders roll 1D10+10 when determining hit locations, unless they have very long weapons.
• When Adventurers standing on the ground fight Tusk Riders, they roll 1D10 when determining hit locations, unless they have very long weapons.

It sounds a lot to keep track of but should be easy enough in the game.

You could take the Ally/Mount section from the fillable Character Sheet PDF and add it to the Squad Sheet from the GM Pack. It won't be fillable but it might work.

Squad_Sheet_WithMounts.pdf

On 6/15/2023 at 8:04 AM, Targhan said:

I'm not trying to replicate rune points in QW. What I want to bring to QW is the relationship between the characters and the cults they worship.

In QuestWorlds the relationship between Adventurer and Cult is gained through Keywords. You can have a Keyword for the Cult and/or Keywords for the Adventurer's runes. I put spells in either/both the Cult Keyword and Rune Keyword, if the spell is in both then the Rune can automatically augment the Cult Keyword in my QuestWorlds.

On 6/15/2023 at 8:04 AM, Targhan said:

In RQ you have a resource, when it's empty, you can't cast any more rune magic spells, and (if I got it right), you must attend a holy day or equivalent in order to replenish that resource. For me, that situation gives the temple a focus that QW loses.

I don't want to emulate certain mechanics, I want to emulate an aspect of the setting, something that is important for the people living there.

To a certain extent Temples are less useful in QuestWorlds. Basically, they are not needed for regaining magic, but they are needed for adding certain Breakouts (Spells) to a Keyword. They also give bonuses when casting cult magic.

For me, as a RuneQuest Player, Temples are only useful:

• For living in, where available
• Regaining Rune Points
• For attending Worship ceremonies (With POW Gain Roll, and to remain an active worshipper)
• Learning cult spells
• Training/Gaining cult skills
• Summoning/Binding cult spirits

Now, we could get all spiritual about Temples being the heart of the culture, and they probably are, but yadda, yadda yadda.

How do we emulate these in QuestWorlds:

• For living in, where available - Still applies
• Regaining Rune Points - Does not apply
• For attending Worship ceremonies (With POW Gain Roll, and to remain an active worshipper) - Still applies for remaining an active worshipper, but not for POW Gain rolls, unless you give a +1 in the Cult Affinity for leading a Worship Ceremony
• Learning cult spells - Still applies
• Training/Gaining cult skills - Still applies
• Summoning/Binding cult spirits - Still applies

So, of the 6 items where Temples are useful, 5 apply to QuestWorlds, so Temples are useful in both systems.

I handle combat on HeroQuests exactly the same way as combat in normal scenarios, using the same rules.

However, there are some interesting differences around combat:

• If HeroQuesting to a myth before Death was introduced, the combat should not result in death of the opponent, they might end up in a coma or in a state near death but they should be able to be restored to full health afterwards.
• In my Glorantha, if you go to the God Plane, then all skills, including Combat Skills, are divided by 5 (Equivalent to the Special chance), so your Sword Master is just a novice again.
• You might be able to Invoke a HeroQuest to gain some benefit in combat.

2 hours ago, davecake said:

But if Torvald was a Second Age figure, it raises the question of whether the LM cult used sorcery prior to the Second Age and their learning sorcery from Western sources. It would suggest not, if prior to that point the Torvald Fragments and the Alien Communication Machine was not known to the cult. 

When Arkat joined the Lightbringers, he gave his Brithini relics to them for safekeeping. Lhankhor Mhy might have been able to study them and to gain sorcery from them.

Accepting the surrender of an opponent.

Keeping a prisoner safe and unharmed.

Letting a prisoner walk around freely if they have sworn not to try to escape.

Pursuing, or fulfilling, a vow.

Doing something that is disadvantageous to you because of Honour.

23 hours ago, Akhôrahil said:

On 6/16/2023 at 9:52 AM, French Desperate WindChild said:

Now clan A claims for wergild ? But why ? Even if there is a loss, the only responsible is the lost ! Responsability is Orlanth's value.

Innoncent is innocent right ?  that is what I don't understand, why wergild is allowed in that case

I think you're coming about this in the wrong way. It's not about who was in the right, culpability, sin, or anything like that - it's about how one clan lost a (hopefully) productive member and demands recompense, or else.

It's also about pride and saving face. If someone kills a clan member, what are you going to do? Are you going to let it slide and lose face? That would mean that other people can kill clan members with impunity. No, you are going to demand compensation. Even if a weak clan demand compensation and isn't paid, they have saved face.

9 hours ago, Targhan said:

So, what happens in HQ/QW? Is this bond between the cultist and the temple broken? If I read it right (which I doubt), there is no way you can exhaust your ability to cast rune magic. At least not without your GM making something up to reflect this.

The way I do Rune Magic in QuestWorlds is to have a Keyword with Runespell Breakouts. So, you might have Orlanth as a Keyword and Shield, Teleport, Jump as Breakouts. Your chance of casting magic is your keyword ability plus the breakout add, if applicable. So, Orlanth 20 (Shield, Teleport 10, Jump 10) allows you to cast Shield at 20 and Teleport, or Jump, at 30, or 10M. 

I don't worry about Rune Points in QuestWorlds, as they don't really figure.

3 hours ago, AlHazred said:

I noticed that it doesn't have any of the stuff from TradeTalk or Ye Booke of Tentacles or most other 'zines, though. 

Were there any HW/HQ cults in any other zines? I can't remember Tradetalk having any, but I haven't read them for a long time. Ye Book of Tentacles had the Pavis cults, I think so they might be there.

Gates, Magic Items, Portals, Whirlwinds that scoop them up and spit them on on the Astral Plane, Being carried there by Demons or Angels, Spells, lots of different ways.

On 6/10/2023 at 2:48 PM, Erol of Backford said:

I'd like the hard cover copy please! 

POD comes a long while after publication, unfortunately.

On 6/10/2023 at 2:48 PM, Erol of Backford said:

But where to find the lead cross?

In Hell of course!

Or, in a heavily guarded Humakti, or Zorak Zorani, Temple.

Either way, you enlist the aid of an Eurmali, travel there, sneak in, trick the Guardian to get them to give it up, then sneak out again. Easy Peasy. Then you march into Vampire Town,  Neverdead, or the Isle of Wights, holding the Lead Cross up in front of you and watch the undead crumble all around you.

On 6/12/2023 at 11:53 AM, David Scott said:

He died leading the fight against Delecti in the Marsh and his body is now lost to us. 

But not to Delecti 😉

On 6/11/2023 at 2:54 AM, Ian A. Thomson said:

Taking a break from Vol. 03 (which is going very well) to work on the Rough Guide to Pavis City, which will be Vol 05 or 06 most likely

Excellent stuff.

Now, I have to include humane Dorastor reservations and a representative from Trowters Trading Company. Do they have a yellow boat with three oars? That has to be a duck, of course.

On 6/11/2023 at 3:16 PM, Nathaire said:

I thought maybe a "scum of the earth" sort of game set in Pavis might be more in line with his goals -- is this sort of play really supported in the new RQ? It seems very easy to do in RQ Classic.

Yes, that is eminently doable in RQG. The reason I say that is that RQG is very similar to RQ2 and our RQ2 Campaign involved a lot of scumming of the earth in Pavis.

On 6/11/2023 at 3:16 PM, Nathaire said:

Are the old Pavis books compatible with the new edition?

RQ2's Pavis and the Big Rubble are close enough, reprinted as part of RuneQuest Classics.

HeroQuest's Pavis is good for background, with a bit of conversion.

Don't forget Ian Thomson's excellent P&BRC series, now available on the Jonstown Compendium. That supports scum of the earth play very well.

On 6/5/2023 at 5:56 PM, mfbrandi said:

Well, on the one hand:

eyes closed;

eyes open;

eyes thrown in the air and juggled.

But on the other, these look like the glyphs used to notate Gloranthan choreography. “Young elf, there’s no need to feel down … It’s fun to stray in the True Illusory Forest.” Or maybe they are pom-poms and that is something by Toni Basil. Pom-poms or no, “Crosseyed and Painless” might soundtrack a Gloranthan rebirth.

You really should publish your musings as a Jonstown Compendium supplement.

3 hours ago, AlHazred said:

Has anyone made a list of all the various cults and subcults published for Hero Wars/HeroQuest/QuestWorlds, and where they were published?

You mean something like this?

Neverdead is the closest thing to a Vampire Town that I know of.

It is at the edge of Hellwood and is full of undead of every kind, not just vampires.

On 6/5/2023 at 12:51 AM, Erol of Backford said:

I wonder what fun could be had taking the Lead Cross from Plunder to Vampire Town with lots of Sun Bright and Turn Undead spells...

I would expect that to be part of Hahlgrim's War, in fact I might include it as a scenario when I finish that supplement.

Try here for the Shared World forum.

On 6/5/2023 at 6:01 AM, Jex said:

Do Maidstone Archers have normal human lifespans, or do they live significantly longer than humans?  Or is this something that hasn't been established in canon?

I just assumed that they lived longer than humans, maybe for centuries.

On 6/5/2023 at 6:01 AM, Jex said:

In earlier editions Maidstone Archers were called "grotarons", but as far as I can tell this term has been dropped from the latest edition (maybe it's used somewhere, but not that I could find).  Is "grotaron" an officially deprecated term, or is it still used in some contexts?  Or is it, for instance, a rude nickname to which Maidstone Archers would take exception?

In my Glorantha, Maidstone Archers call themselves Grotarons.

On 6/4/2023 at 10:10 PM, Erol of Backford said:

Additionally when seeing the spell The Stag's Crown (Six Seasons in Sartar) for the first time I thought wow, now the broo with horn/headbutt attacks get it back: a werebear with The Stag's Crown could gain an extra attack.

Yes, they get an extra attack.

On 6/4/2023 at 10:10 PM, Erol of Backford said:

If a werebear (yes we have them from RQ1-2) casts say iron hands on their human form and they metamorphosize to bear form the spell would stay active for the 15 minute duration? If you don't feel so please explain why the transformation would cancel the spell in your mind...

The Ironhand spell lasts for 10 rounds (5 minutes in RQ3) then expires, but the Transform spell still remains in place.

On 6/4/2023 at 10:10 PM, Erol of Backford said:

If a highly intelligent 18 INT werecreature (think Dr. Jekyll) would have 2/3 INT and so couldn't they just cast the spells in were-form with an INT of 12?

I would say yes.

On 6/4/2023 at 10:10 PM, Erol of Backford said:

Does anyone allow PC's - NPC's with lycanthropy to use iron hands, Stag's Crown, etc while in animal form?

Yes.

However, Stag's Crown is not a Bearwalker spell, so it is unlikely that they would have it, unless the Adventurer gained it in an unusual way.

On 6/4/2023 at 10:10 PM, Erol of Backford said:

What about Toothsharp?

That is just another name for Ironhand.

17 hours ago, JRE said:

The problem for these calculations is Magic, as Glorantha is not earth. The positive impact may be much higher than doubling the birth rate in the joyful years after the return of Orlanth and Ernalda, and the surge of fertility magics that come with it. Another factor, for me, is religious festivals, which mean that women without partners, but also post-menopause women and even men (though that will be rare), depending on your reading of the Pregnancy spell, may become pregnant when Fertility magic runs high.

During the Great Winter Ernaldans lost their Rune Magic as well as Orlanthi. People that rely on magic have a big shock when it stops.

9 hours ago, Akhôrahil said:

10 hours ago, Manunancy said:

Did he really plan on bringing Sheng

Yes, he specifically asks for him, at least according to the source we have, King of Sartar:

"The treasures of Heaven were available to him: peace, food for his people forever, personal immortality, friendship with demigods, a homestead in Heaven, and his own star.
But all the gods were shocked when he asked for Sheng Seleris, an ancient enemy who had chased the Red Emperor off the earth, and had even scarred the celestial face of the Red Goddess when he was alive. But that demigod was beyond their reach, quarantined in a Hell which was made by the Red Goddess outside of their cosmos. The ancient gods could not do what they had said they would do, and as a result the whole of Genertela shuddered, and the Earth grandmother groaned, as if her bones were bending. The stars were afraid."

Additionally, this sounds suspiciously like a Compromise breach, which only makes it worse (although it's sorted out when Argrath goes to get Sheng Seleris personally).

I remember attending a "Greg Reads" event at Conjunction of a Million Spheres, where he read this from the forthcoming King of Sartar, and was blown away by Argrath bringing back Sheng Seleris and performing an extension on the LBQ to do so.

Ducks in Lhankor Mhy would work really well. The idea of a Duck sage getting exasperated because people don't listen to their advice because they are a Duck fits if well with Duckness. I would say that any Lightbringer cult or Humakt would be fine for Ducks, as would thief cults and water cults. Other cults should be OK, unless they have specific racial restrictions.