Lord High Munchkin

18 minutes ago, davecake said:

Celestial Empire sorcery connected to a weird misguided mysticism and Kralorelan alchemy sounds a fruitful avenue of exploration. 

You mean "Kralori Black Magic"?

3 hours ago, g33k said:

Is there some reason you don't want to use the ImpalaRider stats?

Looks like SIZ of 2d6+4=6-16 (vs normal 2d6+6=8-18) for "pygmy" races.  You could always HR that down to 2d4+4=6-12, or whatever, if RAW seems too big for your table's sensibilities...

It's really that it's not very compatible with the GtG, which is the "ultimate reference".

One basic premise of RuneQuest has always been that what stands for PCs holds for NPCs (as it says on p. 6 of the Bestiary: "Monsters get experience rolls too!"), and if PC Impala Riders can be rolled up at 6'3" (or 6'4" with Air rune) that sort-of flies in the face of the info on page 26 of the GtG. The average Impala Rider as written in RQG is still 5'6"-5'7" at SIZ 11 (more than a half foot taller than the GtG says is typical upper limit).

I don't really buy the "exceptionality of PCs" in this case - can a maximum hight 4'8" tall Impala woman even carry a giant soon-to-be 6'4" child? Sounds chaotic.

Yes the bolo lizard, if based on reality, should have feathers - but all RuneQuest art I have ever seen (and I think I might have seen nearly all), as regards feathers, is firmly "old school lizard", so probably good call on not having them.

Mystics.doc and Saints.doc are inoperable... not sure what's gone wrong.

However, if one wants to roll up "normal" pygmies there are still no guidelines.

But since we know from the GtG that Impala riders have a "near maximum" SIZ of around 7-8 (to quote page 26: "Adult men are typically less than 4 feet 11 inches tall and women no more than 4 feet 8 inches") how is that going to happen with -2 SIZ on 2D6+6? With Air secondary that means a rolled possibility of Impala riders being 6'4" tall - not really very pygmy.

Hmmm... as to whether Errinoru Pygmies have the primary rune Fire things get murky.

Edit: I'm referencing the SIZ table on p. 52 in the Rulebook to get that 6'4", at maximum 17 SIZ possible, as rollable on 2D6+6 with -2, and the additional Air rune +1.

Been thinking a bit - random musings really…. After some “noggin-bashing” I arrived at the following (thanks for your input Atgxtg). Sadly my copy of ‘Foes’ is at work in my studio, so I am unsure of the RQ2 SIZ range used there for pygmies.

Errinoru Pygmies

STR    2D6    7

CON    3D6    10-11

SIZ    2D3    4

INT    2D6+6    13

POW    3D6    10-11

DEX    3D6    10-11

CHA    3D6    10-11

Impala Pygmies

STR    2D6+3    10

CON    3D6    10-11

SIZ    1D6+4    7-8

INT    2D6+6    13

POW    3D6    10-11

DEX    3D6    10-11

CHA    3D6    10-11

Ostrich Pygmies

The old RQ3 ‘Heroes Magazine’ gave the following for “pure-blood” Ostrich Clansmen:

STR    2D6+1D4    9-10

CON    3D6    10-11

SIZ    1D4+7    9-10

INT    2D6+6    13

POW    3D6    10-11

DEX    2D6+6    13

APP    3D6    10-11

However, I am not a fan of that STR “extra die” and the odd dice bonus given to SIZ (most RQ3 stat bonuses were multiples of 3, although very, very occasionally there would be something else, but I don’t like it in this case). So, I think prefer this block:

STR    2D6+3    10

CON    3D6    10-11

SIZ    2D3+6    8

INT    2D6+6    13

POW    3D6    10-11

DEX    3D6    10-11 I don’t see why they would arbitrarily have a higher DEX than any other nomads (individuals may vary).

CHA    3D6    10-11

Anyway, thoughts?

That stat range might be too big. The info from the GtG is:

"Impala people are pygmies. Adult men are typically less than 4 feet 11 inches tall and women no more than 4 feet 8 inches." p. 26

"The Pygmies of Errinoru… A diminutive race of dark-skinned people lives in the jungles of Pamaltela. They are little more than three feet tall at most, and many are shorter." p. 546

What are the stats for human pygmies?

This is a wide-spread question, as obviously there are the various animal riders of Prax, the wasp-riding Bezjalaf, the Teshnan and Kralori Pujaleg, and the Errinoru pygmies.

20 hours ago, Wrestlepig said:

It's only appropriate, any self-respecting puppeteer knows to take their performances Too Far.

"How far can Too Far go?"

Only two thoughts. You might need a few buildings for farmers and other non-adventurous types.

The well is pretty close to the "drop" in the topography. What's to stop the water draining away from the well, out into the "valley"? The water table would be pretty low.

I would call it a Kopis - it doesn't have to be "exactly" the same to have the same stats (although the description could be loosely considered to cover it).

9 hours ago, Steve said:

You've still got the card images from the Print & Play, right?

I just have the super early version without the extras. It has just the main tribes.

Sedalpists are allowed to use weapons in self-defense, so probably would have familiarity, but little in the way of extra developed skill. There are of course other Malkioni sects in Umathela.

11 hours ago, M Helsdon said:

Camptosaurus was a bit too big. Looking at the Khan of Khans game, the bolo-lizard seems to have a different build - and a frill of feathers?

I sadly only have the "Print & Play" version of Khan of Khans.

P. 155 of the Gloranthan Bestiary does have a picture though that looks very Ornithomimus. Camptosaurs would definitely be the wrong animal - not a suitably fast ride.

13 hours ago, M Helsdon said:

So I need to draw some smaller creatures in the 'foreground'... bolo lizard? Not certain what the latter should look like.

I think everyone is astounded by this, ahem, "soon to be published" work - it is quite an achievement!

People are only being picky as we've solidly bought into your vision.

'Rumble in the Tin Inn' is a classic! The character write-ups are short and pithy, funny, and all-round excellent.

8 hours ago, PhilHibbs said:

There are two basic vows - The High Vow gives a basic amount of Presence, INT+POW-20 or a minimum of 1. The Vessel gives your Free INT as Presence. So a decent stat sorcerer can start with around 25-30 Presence just from those.

Thanks! That was what I argued, my players had other ("player-friendly" opinions).

I have done a small bit of dirty alteration to show what I meant about the leg (and lowered the torso). It's very subtle, but alters the angle of the leg.

On a related Sorcery topic:

In Sandy's Sorcery rues, how is "Presence" initially determined? I can't find that bit.

The arm looks way better; However the shin is still really twisted and the foot too rotated back - a suggestion bight be to try getting in a similar position and looking in a mirror. The upper leg is probably too short, or more correctly, thin now....

I do realise that these things are hard, and you likely don't have a model handy, and my comments are "smart-arsed" given I paint portraits for a living. I should say that personally I have only once painted a rider (dismounted) and horse (the horse was almost all right thigh and buttock), but it was an 11'x8½' life-size.

Well, I am a professional figurative artist and I think you have done a splendid job!

As to the archer, my only criticism is actually the degree of twist you have in his lower leg, his foot should be pointing more downwards. The shin might be a tad too long as well.

The shoulder is fine given the armour is covering the shoulder joint and that it's obscuring our view of it. The elbow might go up and out a bit though.

On a related topic, without looking it up (and off the top of my head), is the wasp rider a bit too big, given that they are pygmies (if they are, that is)?

Otherwise great stuff!!

I was thinking more of Vadel's answer/justification to "Viymorn=Vivamort"

Picture on p.12 Wyrm's Footprints #15