Darius West

Or it could be based on specifically increasing only the skills the character actually used during the scenarios the character has been involved in.

When I was last a CoC Keeper I had fun with the "Look to the Future" organization. Amongst other things there was a showing of a glimpse of the future in the form of a documentary called Star Wars, which told the story of plucky Americans fighting against the British Empire in space. It went over quite well given the failure of Wilsonian diplomacy during the Versailles negotiations, and the threat of increased global imperialism. The Death Star was obviously a reference to what would happen if naval and related military technologies were allowed to proliferate without civilized checks. I made all the characters take a 1d4 SAN loss for seeing the movie, because I remember what it was like in 1977 when it hit the screen, and I can barely imagine what it would have been like to see a color and sound movie of this type in 1921 (when I set the scenario). The characters came out of the "special viewing" entertained, but shaken to their cores by what they had just witnessed, and desperately wanting to see it again to confirm that they hadn't somehow dreamed the whole thing. Obviously this clued the players in to the notion that there was some sort of time travel involved, but gave them the opportunity to roleplay a very strange situation and they loved it. Suffice to say that Look to the Future also made money from various souvenirs of the movie they referred to as "merchandise" for some reason.

The death of Vadrus might be considered a bit of a blessing in many ways. Thanks Chaos. 😈

It is worth pointing out that Sartar himself was likely a Larnsting mystic, dedicated to the magical principle of Change and movement. He never killed anyone, but he did turn them into "unflattering" things. Larnstings generally keep to themselves, but periodically one may mobilize to counter a particular problem, but historically they have protected the Heortlings by interfering with their politics when things were getting out of hand, and often at the turning of an age.

The present batch of clay dwarves were manufactured incorporating the self-replicating and self-healing technology. They are made en-masse as cheap and disposable components for the war machine to counter the various elements of Glorantha's mechanism that are presently out of control. They are built primarily with the purpose of emergency maintenance in mind and are created for subterranean operations. Once the emergency is over, the Mostali will return to creating Mostali of the older models according to the old plans, with modifications and redundant fail-safes to help overcome previous errors those units encountered that led to the present emergency.

"The origin of the ducks of Genertela is a mystery to outsiders. They claim to have once been the rulers of the world until their own sins and errors forced them into subservience to lesser races (elves, trolls, etc.) and, later, to humans. Others tell of them as an avian folk who forswore their allegiance to Yelm to follow Orlanth and were denied the sky as punishment." Perhaps this is why the Spike needed to be destroyed? I personally would like to thank the forces of Chaos if this is the case...

In answer to your questions, imo: 1st Question. The Temple of the Reaching Moon is a form of magical technology that extends a certain amount of Lunar magic for Lunar initiates to call upon beyond that which their cyclical magic would provide. We know it is just a form of magical technology because they are retro-engineered into Temples of the Reaching Storm later in the Hero Wars. Other temples don't work that way at all because they aren't tied to lunar cyclical magic and don't need that artificial boost. Yes, temples are created via a sanctification of a space in the name of a specific god or pantheon, but that is where the similarity with the Glowline ends. I would also point out that the Glowline doesn't represent a sanctified area, as non-Lunars who are killed within its borders can still use Divine Intervention, whereas if you were within the temple of a hostile god, that wouldn't be the case. 2nd Question. The influence of Gods is proportional to their propitiation. The more worshippers there are of a specific god, the more power that god has in Glorantha in general and in a specific region in particular. I draw your attention to RQG page 284. The number of worshippers determine the scale of the temple and the size of the blessing that can be obtained. Worship amounts to the people saying "Hey you big wonderful anthropomorphized cosmic principle, remember us? We formed a metaphysical connection with you a while ago, well, we have been mainly faithful to your preferences, and now we have made you a marvelous magical POW sandwich and in return we would like you to lend us your specific abilities as per our mutual agreement. We hope this meets with your approval." The bigger the "sandwich", the bigger the return. 3rd Question. Yes. Absolutely. If you are in an area unknown to your god, you might also be "lost in the Hero Plane". There is an interesting parallel to be made with how most cultures (as diverse as Norse and Koories) deal with the sacredness of land that likely applies to Glorantha as well, as it seems to be an integral part of Glorantha too. Deities moved across the world, and interacted with it, altering the world and creating the landscape. Moderns like ourselves look at a mountain and see interesting geomorphology. A Norseman literally sees the grave of a giant. Strange features on the mountain will be interpreted in light of the death of the giant. Within Glorantha, one of the most difficult things to understand is what Glorantha was like Before Time. Time is a recent thing. It may actually signal the slow motion death of the world through Entropy. Perhaps time was cyclical before? Perhaps not. What we can say however is that Gods moved on the face of the world and altered it, and where they performed their deeds became forever linked to them. The world back then had no Time, but it had Space, and the stories of the Gods play out across that territory. Does it have a chronological order? Sort of. For example, we know most gods have a notional birth and childhood, which would seem impossible to us without Time, but can be understood within Space instead. 4th Question. You ask about magical geography and what those maps would look like. Actually we already largely have those maps, because the gods have power where they are worshipped, with the exceptions of those lands that have sunk or been destroyed, such as the Spike. Think about all the Yelmish hero quests that are no longer possible because the Spike no longer exists. Destroy the land, change the story. 5th Question. Is Ernalda more widely contactable than Orlanth or the RMG? Let me put it this way. If an Orlanthi is able to breathe, they are in connection to their god, and their god is within them in their lungs. On the other hand, does that mean that an Ernaldan cannot use her magic because she doesn't have her feet on the Earth? Of course not. What is important is not contact with one's deity's element, but initiation and the size of the channel one creates when you sacrifice POW to your deity.

XP systems aren't extra effort imo. What they are is a relic of D&D. You go to the page and chalk off the monster XP at the end of the scenario. Then you go up a level, just like in real life. 😉

I actually don't like XP systems at all and think box-ticking is a lot better. This is because XP allotment means that players can consistently and reliably dump their XP straight into the skills they need to make Rune Lord, which means that they can reliably know when they will be eligible. You want a Greatsword skill of 200%+? Just keep spending points into it, amirite? The charm of the box tick system is that you really have to work for your advancement, and you might wind up with a skill you never intended to be good at advancing far faster than expected. For example, I have seen a player in RQ2 keep making the advancement rolls to get themselves the much coveted mastery of Defense (the dodge you have when your game has no dodge skill) making him an aikido master who now had the ability to train people in Defense. Another player wound up with the unlikely home-brew skill of Dwarf Wrapping (base 15%)at 50% (when you have ample bandages, cloth, glue and paper, but no rope, and have taken mostali prisoners again). I personally have a disturbing knack for rolling crits and ups with crossbows to the point where I as a GM don't create encounters involving antagonists using xbows out of sheer "superstitious" dread of unintended TPKs. I really enjoy how these sort of odd things crop up using only the box-tick system, as it adds to the memorability of the characters.

I am pleased to hear about Glorantha Skirmish wars. If RQG is heading into the Hero Wars that sort of supplement becomes increasingly necessary.

There is a saying I once heard from a very wise man on this very issue. It went something like "git gud scrub" 😀

Someone had to...

Yeah, I agree Morien, it's a bit too convenient. Perhaps it needs to be randomized?

Very very smart actually. AFAIK she did hand to hand as well, but if you own and arbalest, you should use it. Nobody who enters Snakepipe Hollow is a coward imo. Also I'm pretty sure that you can coat up your blade venom before going in. I don't think it is so volatile that it has to be used on the spot.

It memory serves, back in the day Queen Leika's sword-name was "Leika Ballista" because she carried an arbalest (3d6+1 Damage) and became super-proficient with it. Stack some blade venom on it and it was a damn near unstoppable combo. For extra spice add multimissile. Leika wasn't cowardly and it was no mistake about her having a low sword skill, because until she became a queen most of her fights were ended by decisive crossbow bolts in the opening rounds. She used to have a crossbow skill well in excess of 120%. If her outrageous crossbow skill didn't make it into the present stats, it is likely because she has had to put her crossbow away and be a more respectable Vingan matron, and odd mostali weapons are just not on.

Heh, always a bit of a sigh of relief when this happens. Good instincts Storm Khan.

"Not everyone is into extreme C&BT" she says and cuts both his heads off.

I disagree, I mean surely Trust is the foundation of faith? Try telling a suspicious person about Balaam's ass and see how far you get. 😉

I watched it and it was just awful. This was a movie that really didn't get the point of the story at all.

The easiest example is that there is an unexplained event, and somebody is accused... They profess their innocence and try to explain why it can't be them. Do you believe them or not? Or, your missus has been entertaining a foreign knight in secret, yet you catch wind of it. Do you trust her to be a good and honorable woman who must have some honorable reason for her actions or assume infidelity? Or you have a callow but enthusiastic follower. Do you micromanage them using the excuse of "educating" them or rely on them to know their job? A farmer is caught snooping around the camp of your army. He claims he was considering selling his produce but didn't know enough heraldry to know if you were friend or foe to his lord. Do you hang him as a spy or let him go (or insist on seeing his produce)? Suspicious people believe the worst about their fellow human, while Trusting people hope for the best. Neither is entirely foolish, but often the trusting person feels foolish when their expectations prove unrealistically optimistic. Suspicion and Trust are predicated on figuring out if someone is trustworthy or not, and that generally comes down to the use of the Intrigue skill, as that is the skill you use for cross-examination and discovering lies or truth. In cases where the evidence is equivocal, that is when trusting/suspicious tests become important. If I am not mistaken however, Trusting is a Christian Virtue, and as such erring on the side of trust is valuable to Christian characters for that reason.

LOL one head or two sir?

A person who is a leather worker knows how to work and sew leather into usable items. As these items invariably include other materials, they are rolled into the leatherworking without penalty. To suggest that a leatherworker can't make boots at full skill because they include metal tacks is absurd. The finished metal item is being incorporated into the leather, not crafted independently by the leatherworker and is an integral part of the skill. Now a leatherworker may not know how to make studs, nails, eyelets (wooo, high tech!), rings, and scales, but they have an integral working knowledge of how to sew existing metal items into their leatherwork and can do so without penalty. Now your local redsmith likely has an apprentice going slowly blind in meeting the orders for small metal items for the leatherworker, but that is a different issue. Craft skills are described very generally in RQG, but we must make the assumption that a Journeyman (50% skill) who takes their time (+bonus), and has the requisite tools and materials can complete goods worth full market value and capable of being sold as such. In the case of the ringmail, the leatherworker is not making the ring, they are sewing it into the leather, ergo, full skill. I would even go so far as to suggest that a leatherworker would know how to incorporate wood and metal fittings into a scabbard at no penalty.

The magic comes from the person, not the object, as it is the person who is the focus of the divine link (to Humakt I assume), not the sword.

I dunno... Openhandists should be playable imo, just no musketry.

I think this is perfectly fair for basic weapons and armor, but let's be utterly candid... Magic items are not going to be returned, and that is what really matters. I think it fair to say that if most players are offered a choice between 800L in ransom (let the captive live) and an 11pt magic crystal (kill the captive), they will slaughter their captive and take the crystal. I don't think my players are overly callous, and even if they will take a -10% hit on their honor, they will still kill the captive. If the captive happens to have a special item like something out of Plunder, then they are doubly dead. There is also the old adage "never leave a live enemy behind you" to consider; if you ransom someone they can return for revenge, and doubly so to get their magical gear back. This is a fair point. In this case, the allied spirit weapon likely can't be used by the captor, but it should be ransomed separately I think. The carl will have more of an issue getting his gear back, as a nice sword pretty much just belongs to whoever takes it. Of course there is the aggravation factor of having 3 generations of Sartarite carls coming after you to get their sword back, and the endless feuds it can potentially cause, but if their family honor depends on a single sword, you really don't have much honor as a family, do they? "If you step outside your door you will make three enemies." -Japanese proverb.