soltakss

People from Northamptonshire and Cambridgeshire know where the Fens are - between those counties and The Wash. The marshlands originally went from south of the Humber, past The Wash and into the Norfolk Broads, one whole wilderness of steamy marshland.

Waterlands looks good, from a brief skip through. I really liked the format of the one page scenarios, they have a really good, clear format that is ripe for adapting.

I am sure that my current Dark Ages campaign will use some things from the Waterlands at some point.

3 hours ago, trystero said:

Can't speak for soltakss, but for my group, it's simple numbers; if you're fighting an opponent one-on-one, they're going to be able to face you, but two-on-one means one of the two attackers gets a flank (side) attack bonus and three-on-one means one attacker gets a flank-attack bonus and one a rear-attack bonus.

I use this house rule in any game that doesn't include facing and have been happy with it. (And we do ignore it for cases where the defender is in a narrow tunnel or opening, preventing the attackers from spreading out all around them.)

Pretty much, yes. The figures face a certain way and that's enough for me. If I have a figure in front then it is in front, if it is behind then it is behind.

What I don't do is to track quarter turns, half turns and so on, as that kind of thing bores me to tears.

I forgot about the Beserkergang path, that should be very useful.

There is a description of Minotaurus in one of the Wyrms Footprints magazines, but they are quite hard to get hold of. I am not sure if it made it into the Wyrms Footnotes collection.

In any case, I am not sure of the HeroQuest is described, as it is more of an in-depth description of Minotaurus and a really good writeup of Minotaurs.

Just off the top of my head, the Quest is about becoming closer to Storm Bull, via his son Minotaurus.

So, you basically become a Minotaur, or become part-Minotaur, with benefits being Bull Horns or Battle Rage, or both. 

How would you do it?

• Become like Storm Bull - Find a Chaos Foe and defeat it
• Become like a Bull - Grapple with a Wild Bull and take some of its powers
• Gain Battle Rage - Grapple with a Minotaur and take some of its powers
• Keep the Powers - Gain some control of the Beast Rune

For our group, facing is pretty irrelavant, as we assume that everyone moves around in combat and can rutn without being penalised.

Attacking from behind or from the side is advantageous, so that is important, as is attacking with height advantage, either from a mount or from high ground. 

But, we move through SRs and  change direction in combat without having to declare it or use an action. 

Commonesense rules for us, rather than strictly adhering to a "Move 3 hexes, pause, turn, move 2 hexes, pause, turn, attack from slightly behind" mentality.

We haven't for a long time, but our new campaign will use figures, due to popular demand.

We don't use a battle map, though, and our positioning is very rough and ready. We certainly don't bother with facing and quarter-turns, or anything like that, as we assume the PCs and NPCs are always moving around and not stuck in rigid robotic positions.

On 8/28/2018 at 4:53 PM, Sir_Godspeed said:

Pardon for the multitude of questions - I of course fully acknowledge that most of these things probably don't have one canonical answer, or were ever intended to be answered, but I find them interesting to think about. 

Indeed they are.

For me, the different types of Earth Deities can be broadly categorised as follows:

• Primal Deities - Raw, unspecified deities with all the powers of the earth, Ga, Gata, Genert, Earth Witch
• Land Goddesses - Deities of the lands, providing fertility and rulership to the land, sometimes associated with a plant crop and sometimes associated with hunting, Pela, Frona, Ralia and so on
• Grain Goddesses - Providers of a single type of Grain or Crop, some Land Goddesses are also Grain Goddesses, some are not, most Grain Goddesses are not Land Goddesses, Pela, Hon Eel, etc
• Pair Goddesses - Descended from Gata without the need of Gods, these are found in Pairs, Death/Life, Ty Kora Tek/Asrelia, Maran Gor/Ernalda and Babeester Gor/Voria

There are lots of overlaps. Not all Land Goddesses were daughters of Gata, for example Esrola is a daughter of Asrelia and Kylera is a daughter of Ernalda.

Ernalda herself had the land of Ernaldala, long drowned, so she was also a Land Goddess as well as a Pair Goddess.

Genert had the distinction of being Earth King and also coupling with all of his daughters and granddaughters, producing a whole family of goddesses.

If you look at local goddesses, they don;t all fit into that model and there are lots of messy relationships.

2 hours ago, g33k said:

Broadswords only seem manly 'til you've met a Great Troll with a maul !

Or someone with an Irish Flail (Wrecking Ball on the end of a 10 foot chain)

21 hours ago, M Helsdon said:

I'm not particularly interested in a is Glorantha Bronze Age or not debate, when it comes to military matters, because it's the sort of absolutist pedantism that contributes nothing to the world or its discussion -- but I would note that in the Bronze Age Near East, soldiers were mostly recruited from the rural populations around a urban center, because most of the urban centers simply weren't that big.

I thought that most Templars were recruited from the people of the various Sun Counties. So, you have a farm that is managed by a retired Templar, he has a wife and children, the boys either grow up to be Templars or Farmers. I wouldn't expect children to be brought up in the Sun Dome Temple or its barracks.

So, I think I'm agreeing with you, but it's sometimes hard to follow ...

Don't forget the Pentians.

At some point in the Hero Wars, a Pentian Horde is going to smash through the Redlands and hurtle towards the Lunar Empire. It can go northwards or southwards, but southwards goes smack bang through the Elder Wilds and Balazar. That might affect a Balazar Campaign. Then the Lunars are going to counterattack. Where would they do it? Probably inside the Lunar Empire, but then they'll push the Pentians back, through Balazar and the Elder Wilds. So, a double whammy. When Sheng Seleris comes back, he'll probably push forward again, through Balazar. You'd better get used to hordes passing through.

1 hour ago, D said:

 

War in Glorantha, thanks. I thought I had missed one, but as it involves figures, there's no way my wife would let me anywhere near that.

51 minutes ago, EricW said:

Why not add a trickster? Who stirred up the fight? Perhaps Trickster’s penance is to protect the new shrine from those who mean it harm - maybe even a trickster guard, creating a shrine which is both a place of healing and a place where trickster magic is especially strong.

Tricksters are always good fun. Perhaps the Trickster started the fight just so Chalana Arroy could heal them and also heal the rift between the clans. Tricky folk are Tricksters.

Doesn't have to be Bears and Wolves. I'd keep it simple, in some ways. Have the Chalanan rock up in the middle of a fight between two warbands and start healing the injured. Sooner or later he will run out of magic and the HeroQuest can provide the rune Points to keep casting. Maybe the HeroQuest sucks Rune Points from the healed and uses them to heal the opposing clan. How strong is the "Never kill a Chalana Arroy Healer" taboo? maybe this is a good way to find out.

You could do some preparatory work, to find a way to get the healed people to power the healing, or power the healing by the blood spilled. That would be a nice abaility to get from the HeroQuest.

It might work if the clans involved are known to the Healer, perhaps his own clan and a rival, or two different rival clans. 

Having to make choices is fine. Having to make impossible choices is less so. Finding a way to get around the impossible choice is really good and is what HeroQuesting is for. So, if you do have to choose between Healing the Warbands and saving home Clan, then find a way to do both. That's what Heroes do. As a GM, I wouldn't try to think of how the Healer can do this, that is the Players' job. All you need to do is to frame the situation and see how they solve it.

Sounds like a good HeroQuest. The Hero achieved the desired result, gained something unexpected on the way, avoided being eaten and it sounds nicely dreamlike.

I'd leave the bird alone for the time being, to bed in. It might prove useful, or a mixed blessing. Maybe the bird is sacred to another clan and having it forges a new bond between the clans. Maybe the bird figures incidentally in another myth and the clan can now access a HeroQuest associated with that myth. Maybe clan Orlanthi can give the bird to Ernalda in the Courtship Ritual. Maybe the bird is taboo to another clan and causes offence. Maybe the Lunars want to find this bird, perhaps for its plumage. All sorts of opportunities.

Which Kickstarter was that?

8 hours ago, Zozotroll said:

Yes baboon comes to mind.  Not sure there are trollkin heroes.  Other than to other trollkin

Neep Troll-Killer, from http://www.glorantha.com/docs/trolls/ 

Neep Troll-Killer was a trollkin of superior qualities, the only of his kind during this period. Such sports, with much higher health, intelligence, and power than usual, occasionally occurred but were generally slain while young, so to prevent trouble when they got older. Neep evidently went unnoticed, and escaped to Dragon Pass where he was befriended by the cult of Geo. He grew up to hate all trolls who misused their weaker kin, and trollkin everywhere often followed him rather than their own tribe. He was known for his skill at making trollbane weapons. He worshiped the god Humakt. He was fond of bright-colored clothes, and had a reputation among humans as being a seducer of dark troll women. He never drank liquor. He liked humans, but disliked elves, whom he thought were a bigoted lot.

Over on TDM's forum, Loz pointed someone to BRP Mecha in response to a query whether TFM were planning Mecha for Mythras, so it looks as though Alephtar games is still the Mecha standard-bearer.

45 minutes ago, PhilB said:

For my own part, I finally concluded that seeing content from these old Wyrm's Footnotes that related to WB&RM is something of a fool's errand. The more I look at the rulebook from Dragon Pass, and at the Vassal mod for Dragon Pass (which has all the counters, not to mention the random events), the more I am convinced that all (or nearly all) of the extra content that was announced in 1975 is in fact available through the Dragon Pass game.

From memory, very few of the counters from WF made their way into Dragon Pass.

3 hours ago, Zozotroll said:

Can he fence loot?  It would seem so, he is buying it from its new owner. 

Yes, fencing is perfectly fine, especially if the Issaries Priest "doesn't know" that it is stolen.

17 hours ago, Zozotroll said:

So what happens when  priest is going around with a storm bully? If the storm bull picks the fight does Issaries not get any of the spoils? And is not like the rest of the Orlanthi are peace loving  I have never had anybody play Issaries, so I have never had to think it through. 

If the Storm Buller picks a fight and takes spoils then they are his/her possessions. If the Storm Buller then gifts them to the Issaries Priest, the Issaries Priest can accept them.

However, if the Issaries Priest takes items from someone he has just ambushed, then that is stealing and is not allowed.

20 hours ago, Brootse said:

In the River of Cradles book it's stated on the Issaries cult's description that his priests "may never steal, except from someone who stole from them or from a creature of chaos.". Is robbery still allowed? What if they take something from a dead person that has heirs?

I would say that robbery was not allowed, as it is still stealing.

If someone attacks an issaries Priest, then that person could be assumed to be trying to steal from the Priest, otherwise why would they be attacking? In that case, it is fine to take things from the attacker.

However, instigating an attack on someone who isn't attacking you and has never taken anything from you is probably wrong.

Looks lovely. Where is it? I can't tell if the cliffs are natural or artificial.

6 hours ago, Runeblogger said:

In my thinking of whether to include some suggestions or not, a set of basic criteria for what constitutes a "good degree of compatibility between D100 systems" is in order:

• List of skills
• Percentile skills you have to roll under to succeed. You usually roll with a D100, but D20 is OK because you get skill in % if you multiply those skills by 5 (as in Pendragon).
• Attributes like Strength, Intelligence, etc. (the list may vary a lot from one game to another)
• Hit points

Do you agree?

Possibly, but possibly not.

The reason for my dithering is that not all D100 systems are like all over D100 systems.

All have lists of skills, all have to roll beneath the skill % on d100 to succeed, all have characteristics of various kinds.

Not all have Hit Points as a general thing. Some have locational hit points, some don't. Some have general hit points, some don't. Some don't even have Hit Point, for example Revolution has Life Points.

It may be that we need basic categories:

Classic RQ:

• Characteristics (3D6/2D6+6)
• Roll under Skill on 1d100
• Locational Hit Points on D20
• General Hit Points
• Resistance Table
• Characteristic Rolls
• Traditional Combat

Alternate RQ:

• Characteristics (3D6/2D6+6)
• Roll under Skill on 1d100
• Locational Hit Points on D20
• Reduced Skill Set
• Rolls against Skills not Characteristics
• Many Combat Effects/Options

Call of Cthulhu:

• Characteristics (3D6)
• Roll under Skill on 1d100
• General Hit Points
• Resistance Table
• Characteristic Rolls
• Traditional Combat

Stormbringer/Elric:

• Characteristics (3D6/2D6+6) but also on D8s
• Roll under Skill on 1d100
• General Hit Points
• Resistance Table
• Characteristic Rolls
• Traditional Combat
• Variable Armour

So, for example, RQ2, RQ3 and RQG come squarely under Classic RQ, as would be expected. RQMI, RQMII, RQ6 and Mythras come under Alternate RQ, as expected. Revolution is sort-of under that, but moves away quite a bit. Elric, Hawkmoon, Stormbringer and Magic World come under StormBringer/Elric. CoV comes under Call of Cthulhu, except for the latest edition which does funny things with Characterictics, but might still come under that in a pinch. OpenQuest is sort of between Classic and Alternate RQ, GORE is between Alternate RQ and Call of Cthulhu. Renaissance is Alternate RQ. BRP sits between Classic RQ/Call of Cthulhu/Elric/Stormbringer.

So, what about other systems? Do they broadly fit into these categories?If not, do they need a new category or don't they fit at all?

The problem with having many Sun Gods is that people tend to think they are just the Sun and get confused because there are more than one of them.

• Yelm is the fiery disc as well as Yelm the Emperor.
• Yelmalio is the Mountain Sun, or Winter Sun, or the Halo around Yelm's head, the weak sun without heat.
• Kargzant is the Sun Horse, possibly Yelm's Mount, or Yelm as a Horse.
• Elmal is the Storm Sun, the Friendly Sun, the Sun who helps them.

They are all manifestations of different aspects of the Sun.

23 hours ago, Grievous said:

I've seen some folks contemplate these bigger versions of the board game, so that you could play out campaigns any where from Esrolia to Peloria. I wouldn't mind having a board game component like that to go with my Glorantha plans - heck, I'd integrate it into play for these big events. It would be great to have the board game form the meta-structure or background for a roleplayed campaign down in the weeds.

Yes, I'd love to do that.

The Dagori Inkarth map from Trollpack and the Balazr/Elder Wilds maps from Griffin Mountain are the same hex scale as the Nomad Godsa and Second Edition Nomad Gods maps, so it is possible to overlay them. There are some issues with hexes along the edges, some aren;t lined up exactly right, but that can be made to work by moving them.

I wouldn't necessarily want to play in a game that has Sartar, Prax, Dagori Inkarth and Balazar/Elder Wilds in one game, though, as the map would be too big and the game would be too unwieldy.

However, I have used Nomad Gods tribes as Allies in Dragon Pass and Lunars and Sartarites as tribes in Nomad Gods. An average Nomad Gods tribe is roughly equivalent to the Dragonewts and the Grazelanders make a very poor tribe if used in Nomad Gods.