Jeff

Dwarfs have always been like they were in RQ2. The issue was the RQ3's hit point calculation would have severely punished dwarfs unless their CON's were raised to be absurdly high. RQG goes back to RQ2's approach, and so restores them to what they were. Humans had their SIZ increased to 2D6+6 in late revisions to RQ2, and then that was kept in RQ3. There really shouldn't be a statistically significance chance that a human being is smaller than a duck!

It is very unlikely that we do any sort of RQ3 "classics" treatment in the near future. Although RQ2 is backwards compatible with RQG, RQ3 requires a lot more work. As a result, it is more of a different product line than RQ2/3. So for the foreseeable future, you are going to have to look at discount shops and eBay for RQ3.

Dwarfs in RQ2 are the same as in RQG. The only change with humans is that their SIZ now averages 13 instead of 11. They have one hit point less than the average human despite being 6 SIZ points smaller. Again, this is not a problem in our eyes. Dwarves are not intended to be combat monsters, any more than ducks are. And their ranged weapons and explosives should be far more threatening than fighting them up close where humans longer reach and greater SIZ gives them an advantage. Part of this is how we look at the dwarfs. I view the dwarfs as being less like Gimli or Thorin Oakenshield and more like:

I view the White Bull more like this:

Oops looked at the wrong stat block! But still a dwarf has an average of 12, which is 1 point higher than the average human. RQ3 needed to massively hike their constitution to get to the same result. I am perfectly comfortable with the dwarf stats, as they reflect how we view the dwarfs.

Remember that hit points are not the average of SIZ and CON. The average dwarf has 18 hit points instead of the 11 hit points an average human has.

Correct.

Yes. For a cult to routinely have Rune Lords it needs to have an ongoing need for martial champions. Orlanth, Yelmalio, Humakt, Storm Bull, Babeester Gor, Waha, Yelm, Kyger Litor, Zorak Zoran, etc. These cults all have Rune Lords. Most of these cults have both magical specialists and martial champions, but In a few cults - Humakt, Storm Bull, Babeester Gor, Zorak Zoran, etc., - to lead the cult magically you NEED to be a martial champion. But most cults don't have such an ongoing need, or rely on other cults for that role.

There are certainly shake ups going on in the West Reaches. It (and its ambitions and threats) been locked behind the Ban for a long time and soon that is all going to be lifted. The Red Emperor has morphed from a Carmanian shah to a Dara Happan emperor in a little over a century. Treasures have been lost into pointless wars in Dragon Pass, while little is being done to defend the West Reaches for what happens when the Ban lifts. Invisible Orlanth factors into that (remember the satrap of Bindle is a big supporter, as are his warriors), as does the machinations of the Taloned Countess.

We know the major events of the Hero Wars, and have in fact known the contours of it since BEFORE RuneQuest ever came out. We have known since about 1976 that Argrath becomes Prince relatively early in the Hero Wars, regains the Far Point as part of Sartar, is allied with Harrek, Gunda, Jaldon, and the Praxians, and fights several campaigns against the Red Emperor over Dragon Pass, where he leads the Sartarites to go toe to toe against the best armies the Lunar Empire can muster. We also know that the Hero Wars involves periods where Argrath dominates Dragon Pass and periods where the Lunar Empire is able to sack Boldhome, etc. All of that was set in place long before RuneQuest was written. The game to look at here is Pendragon. We know the basic arc of Arthur's life - pulls out the sword, becomes the Boy King, creates his Round Table and era of tournaments and romances, and eventually it all falls apart and ends in a glorious battle where pretty much everyone dies. We that arc before we even open the rule book.

Issaries and Argan Argar do not. Or more precisely, the Goldentongue Priest is the closest Issaries gets.

In the end it is because a Rune Lord is a martial figure, a result of both the demands of the god and the cult's function in society. They are warrior-magicians in a way that priests are not. Gustbran has only priests, Humakt has only martial warrior-magicians.

You are welcome to add Rune Lords to your Glorantha. But at this time, the AA cult does not have Rune Lords.

AA is all about communication with the Night, rather than going about fighting the foes of Darkness. His priests are not particularly martial - they have mass of spear-using trollkin, but those are expendable masses - the dark trolls don't fight with the trollkin! Zorak Zoran and the Karrg Sons are the war gods for the trolls. As a result, AA has Rune priests, not Rune Lords.

The Iron dwarfs adopted the tools of crafting - hammers and picks - as tools of war, and the tools of their enemies - axes and swords. It really doesn't matter to the iron dwarfs if many Clay Dwarfs are too weak to properly use these weapons to their best effect - take that up with the Decamony! That sort of Experimentalist thought is very dangerous - the same sort of logical error that resulted in the disasters of the First Age.

Black Fang does not provide all common rune spells - only Divination, Extension 1, Multispell 1, and Spirit Block. Thunderbird only provides Cloud Call and Thunderbolt.

OK, a few thoughts on the Invisible Orlanth. We all know that the Invisible Orlanth movement holds that Orlanth is an emanation of Idovanus, sent to liberate the world of Ganesatarus. Orlanth is invisible because he is in hiding until it is time for him to strike against Ganesatarus. Although the Invisible Orlanth is inspired by the Theyalan Orlanth cult, it is not the Orlanth cult we all know - like the Roman Mithras its actual continuity with the Theyalan cult is debatable. It might provide some Rune magic to its initiates though, such as Summon/Command/Dismiss Air Elemental, Cloud Call, etc (I'm still uncertain about that). Or maybe it doesn't, and it is only a philosophical/prophetic movement. What matters is that it says that Orlanth is HERE but invisible (for now). The Invisible God movement is certainly politically problematic for the West Reaches. The Lunar Governor wants it proclaimed a heresy by the Heirophant, but Brostangian refuses. Many of the Carmanian viziers want it proclaimed a heresy as well, but again Brostangian refuses. Whether this is because of kinship, manipulation by his mother, or genuine belief that it is not a heresy, nobody knows for certain (best bet is all three). Invisible Orlanth gets tied into all sorts of mangled prophecies of the Hero Wars. Is this somehow a glimpse of Harrek and Argrath? Of the lifting of the Ban in Charg? Of the fall of the Red Moon or the demise of the Lunar Empire?

This is a long way off talking about Invisible Orlanth. Lets return to the subject of the thread. If you want, you can always start a new thread.

Iron dwarfs have no sense of honour, and have no need to fight single skirmishes. Throw Disorder Kegs and Bowling Balls to your hearts content. If the humans do something crazy enough like threaten Dwarf Mine with their armies, then out comes the Cannon Cult.

A lot in this thread. Dwarf Weapons. Most dwarf weapons are modified tools - hammers, clubs, axes, etc. or things constructed for the explicit purpose of killing things - crossbows, pistols, muskets, exploding barrels, etc. Dwarf society is incredibly conservative and once a thing is adopted, they tend to stick with it. Given that the average Iron Dwarf has 9 AP, and has a 70% chance of ignoring any magic cast at it, I'd not swear at them. Since they mainly fight trolls and dwarfs, their weapons are more dangerous than they look. Especially since those repeating crossbows have iron tips. When I handle dwarfs, they fight from a distance, using their crossbows. They almost never fight in the open ground and only enter combat once the enemy has been pounded by waves of bolts doing 2d4+2 damage (4-10 points as opposed to 2-9 for a composite bow). In their tunnels, where they sense everything with Earthsense, that's much more frightening than the waves of trollkin slingers. Also remember, they like to use Jolanti to soften foes up. Shields. My players all make sure they have shields and generally are reluctant to parry too often with their main striking weapon. A shield can break without dooming the character. It is useful against missile fire, etc. They aren't as indispensable as they were in RQ3, but my old sifu more than showed me why that is the case. In the end, shields are far more useful in group battle than in single combat (but can still be pretty useful in single combat). Most RQ combats are really single combats or light skirmishes.

As you say, the idea of an almost purely abstract Prime Mover is not interesting to you. And yet, such abstract Prime Movers have been quite popular - at least among the intelligentsia - in many societies and many times. And since the zzaburi can wield magic and powerful magic at that, they must have something going for them.

I don't find the Rokari fascist at all. Nor the Lunars. Not even really the New Hrestoli, although certainly a better argument can be given for them. They are certainly theocratic, but then again so are most Gloranthan societies. Certainly the Lunar Empire is a literal theocracy. Rokari Malkionism posits a hereditary caste system with a semi-meritocratic, non-hereditary "priestly" caste at the top (who doesn't muddy in their hands in the affairs of the world, but need to work with the nobility to maintain their position). I could imagine a Greek philosopher suggesting something like this to Demetrius of Bactria as a way of better governing his domains.

Well, to each their own. I find the Rokari easier to understand than the New Hrestoli myself. After all, the Rokari are closer to us moderns than the Lunars or Hrestoli....

I find the Rokari very easy to be painted as something palatable. They are "realists" about the world and human nature, and have as much joy and sadness, love and dislike, as any other human society. Their system is pretty easily to accept - if you are already a ruler, you get acknowledged as a hereditary ruler. If you are already a soldier, you get acknowledged as a hereditary soldier. And if you are everyone else, you get acknowledged as everyone else. And if you are a kid who shows magical aptitude, you get to go to Hogwarts and become a wizard. You lose your family (and don't deal with Muggles much any more), but get to become one of the most important people in the world - the people responsible for maintaining magic. Sure there is a Ministry for Magic, which regulates your life, but then again, you don't really have to pay attention to those Muggle Ministries anymore.

Lets look at this differently. The Brithini system is "perfect". The Brithini enjoy immortality and do not die of old age because of their adherence to perfection. Even the most menial of dronari enjoys immortality. They are by all accounts very well governed and haven't had a civil war (that we know of) since the Dawn. They made great sacrifices during the Gbaji Wars and survived. But nobody can become a Brithini from outside. It is a closed system. Their descendants all did things in the God Time and the Dawn that were incompatible with the Brithini Way. No going back to being immortals. We are all stuck with mortality now. So how should us mortals - the heirs of the Brithini - live. If we approach Rightness enough, we can slow down the wear of mortality and become very long-lived (but not ageless). However, that's hard work and sometimes makes survival in this flawed and degenerate world difficult. Do we just shrug our shoulders and run around with animals like the Hykimi and give up our cosmic knowledge to howl at the Old Gods? We sometimes see our Brithini ancestors and they look at us like we are short-lived savages, but we were them once. If we can't get back to that state, how should we live? Most Malkioni sects are trying to answer that question (although some are looking at it from the opposite end of the telescope).