Rob Darvall

4 hours ago, soltakss said:

That's their problem - No Rhinos in Australia.

I'm a volunteer firey in Australia. (Fortunately I've only had to stand by so far)
Thanks for the LoL I needed it.

(And I'm thinking of raiding Dubbo Zoo for their rhinos)

18 hours ago, Bohemond said:

A bit off topic, but evidence suggests that the mortality rate among Spartan 'initiates' was quite high. Although often presented as a coming of age ritual, the whipping at the Altar of Artemis was something boys underwent every year between age 7-8 and 20. Plutarch witnessed multiple boys dying during the ritual, and since Spartan boys were underfed and the weak ones were brutalized regularly, it's likely that the ritual was part of a strategy of culling the weak boys out. It's one of the reasons the number of Spartiate citizens declined steadily across the polis' existence. I doubt that most Gloranthan initiation rituals are quite that brutal (although perhaps among Maran Gor worshippers they might be). 

Not as deliberately brutal, but there are still the "wicked uncles". Even if they are holding back to ensure the boys survival they are still introducing a mythic peril which may partly offset the lower infant mortality so evening out the death rate in Gloranthan pre-teens to something closer to RW stats, just at a later age.

Still, a serious flogging every year between 7 and 20 is probably worse than Gloranthan initiations. The Shargashi might be similar.

5 hours ago, Bill the barbarian said:

I don't know why but I am defiantly envisioning Terry Pratchett here, so my best tip is watch a few of the Disk World movies to see the fun spirits can have interacting with mortals. Death is a particular fave, I know he is not an allied spirit (let me rephrase, I hope he is not an allied spirit). 

I suppose comedy is often my resort, but when talking a boy and his rhino, I am irresistibly pulled in this direction.

Cheers

I always found the Death story arc to be VERY Heroquesty, esp Hogfather. I'll go back and re-read the dialogue (can't stand the movies. They don't do justice to my mental images, or Kirby's covers).

A Rhino and his boy, surely?

A sentient rhino in a city of tight alleys, how could slapstick NOT be part of this? Not to mention getting in to Gimpy's.

1 hour ago, Joerg said:

The beast, not the rider, right?

Yes the beast.
He'll act as a sort of allied spirit for his RW brother's Asst Shaman character (cue tragic backstory); being ridden as Rhino and carried as Knobkerrie. I went with remnant wyter so I can preload him with lots of magic to make up for the lack of limbs.
We also intend to do a Rhino's only session where we flashback to their genesis.

I'll go through my copy of "Fuzzy Heros" in lieu of "Plüsch, Power und Plunder".

The person most excited by the notion is my 49yo brother (Rhino-boy's uncle).

Praxian steeds can be stabled, but they're unlikely to get through Riverside alleys well. Though a Rhino may well go through Riverside housing without much bother. Bill's hilarity angle is looking decidedly likely. Now to work out how I get him onto the second floor.

Yet another nephew (12yo) wants to play as the group's Rhino.

To work this in with my very urban Pavis game I'm running a YGWV scenario in which he's the much reduced remnant of the clan wyter which can transfer between the rhino and a rhino horn knobkerrie (an idea which delights him).

Has anyone got tips and tricks they've used for this sort of thing?

Argan Agar is a husband protector for Ernalda.
Does this give him access to Bless Pregnancy and so away to subvert the Curse of Kin?

If so, what does this mean for Uz politics?

Does Kyger Litor oppose the myth because it reduces her power in Uz culture? Or does she support it to her own cost because it increases the number of healthy Uz births?
How limited is Bless Pregnancy in this situation?

6 hours ago, Joerg said:

The age pyramid of the Orlanthi suggests a fairly high child mortality rate. The RQG economy rules support this - for the poor and destitute.

A thought I had while dozing this morning is that intitiation can be a significant contributor to pre-adult mortality.

Cultures are not doing the initiation because it's easy or safe, they're doing it because it's mythically necessary. IDK what the mortality rate among Spartan initiates was, but I'd posit that it was lower than among Gloranthans. This is simply because Gloranthan initiations can have genuinely hostile entities participating (ala Red Cow).

9 hours ago, Rodney Dangerduck said:

I agree with @galafrone. Our group had three "fighter" types, two Orlanthi (one on my Vingan) and a Storm Bull.  Another player brought in a Humakhti. Suddenly our chances for Fame and glory seem much lower.  Will see, it might work out, requires some creativity from the others to "keep up".

Oh yeah - it's one of the "We can't ambush" Humakhti, even more annoying.

Kill the Humakti.
They are attempting to be avatars of death including their own. The greater their power the closer they should become to Apotheosis and becoming one with their god. So fewer practical methods of avoiding death should be acceptable. If they are not willing to get that close to their god they don't get the benefits. The death cult in "The Lies of the Locke Lamora" is a fine example. Worship of Humakt is to accept death in all its forms (bar the chaotic, that's not death it's dissolution) so careers should be brief and meteroric.

How many heros returned from Troy? Only the politicians. The ones who focused solely on killing got buried, even the Lesser Ajax.

On 12/28/2019 at 12:15 AM, Ali the Helering said:

Burn the heretic..... 🤪

I think I spontaneously combusted writing that.

1 hour ago, Ali the Helering said:

Try it the other way around - since they know their religion makes them the good guys, how should they behave. 

Also why and how. The Godlearner approach is useful for the GM.

2 hours ago, g33k said:

I say:  use the RAW.  Let your Humakti have his so-called GodMode, and positively WADE through the enemies.

This is a warrior of the God Of Death, channelling his deity, wielding a physical symbol of Death as his weapon.  Of COURSE he will be bringing carnage, and out-classing (most) other melee fighters.

I call it "so-called" because it's VERY limited.  He'll still fall to volleys of arrows.  He'll still succumb to spells, spirits, elementals, etc.  He's in a trance, so won't react appropriately to what's going on; e.g. taking cover vs. bow-fire, taking a moment to heal, cast mobility, mount or dismount, stop-drop-roll if hit with flaming oil, etc etc etc... if it isn't an act of swordsmanship, he won't do it, not even a single step to get out of a line-of-fire from a 8d8 mostali arbalest or cannon-cult gonne.

 

And so achieve a suitably heroic death.

He's not just wielding Death, he's accepted that every day is a good day to die, but THIS day is extra special. If he survives it's the will of his god.

g33k is describing a profound act of worship. 

21 minutes ago, Akhôrahil said:

It seems reasonable that a shaman could sic browbeaten disease spirits on people without it being chaotic. Worshipping disease, as opposed to merely sometimes using it, and spreading it on principle, is likely the boundary to chaoticism.

I love the very fine line this can create.
Joe shaman beatles about Prax sicing disease spirits on his enemies til one day he drops back in to Bob's Bison Burgers only to be spontaneously attacked by the previously not-so-hostile clientele.

Hilarity ensues.

8 hours ago, HeartQuintessence said:

Out of curiousity and to poll the community,

 WHAT DOYOU ALL WANT TO SEE IN THE  BOOK, at least i hope it'll be a book.

More of your causing me to look at the world again. Initiation to the Gors perhaps? Why and how do they see their religion as the "good" guys.

15 hours ago, HeartQuintessence said:

And with each question I ask, I get better equiped to answer my own questions and build my Glorantha slightly better.

This.

John Hughes and Michael Raaterova did  a setting up that way that is well worth stealing from. It's in Questlines 1996 if you can get a hold of a copy.

15 hours ago, Bill the barbarian said:

If you do, I am coining a new term.... being G33ked!

What? Having your head bitten off as a fairground attraction?

Sounds somewhat trollish to me. (OK Enloish)

On 11/19/2019 at 6:22 PM, Glorion said:

 "A Tale to Tell" is about Muriah the witch queen and her band of broos. You are thinking of "Black Rock Village," where an unpunished rape and the death of the victim leads to the birth of a succubus, not the conversion of anyone, including the rapist, into broos. She masters the community and bends it to her will, but that can be broken by the PC's in normal fashions, not through magically purging the community of chaos.

Gaumata's Vision by Mike Dawson now I look it up.

My original 

"Granted it's Ogres not Broo but failing to punish a rape results in the extinction of the whole community or its conversion to chaos if the PCs fail."

"After discovery.

Dealing with the villagers.

Sun County law makes the lives of the villagers' and the chaos creatures forfeit for their crimes." (Shadows on the Borderland P.21)

Thus wiping out the whole village.

"Failure

If the characters fail to notice anything unusual...The Mistress [succubus called up by the unavenged rape]  goes right on...raising her monsters [eliminating the villagers more slowly] " (Ibid)

Thus wiping out the whole village.

Either way the village is doomed through not dealing with a rape immediately and justly, so tacitly condoning it.

Given what is involved in "raising her monsters" the Failure paragraph fairly explicitly dooms the entire village to conversion to chaos IF the PCs do not get them executed by the Sun Dome officials (with the faint possibility of mercy for some. Given the description of Ironpike's justice I can't see that happenning.)

23 hours ago, Glorion said:

That's interesting. Not in any published materials as far as I know, but sounds reasonable, I can go with that. So no rapes, but plenty of looting, burning and killing.

"A Tale to Tell" in Shadows on the Borderland

Granted it's Ogres not Broo but failing to punish a rape results in the extinction of the whole community or its conversion to chaos if the PCs fail.

As a side note does anyone know if Jon Quaife was influenced by the Nick Enright play Black Rock?

2 hours ago, Cwitten said:

Per what reading i've done, not having a man rune would make you fully a spirit. HQ2 I believe had you take the spirit rune for things like following Kolat via the Seven Winds Society, but it didn't replace it. Runes seem to function a bit differently between systems though and so im not certain on how having both would function for a PC. 100% spirit and 0% man would make you a disembodied spirit that resides fully in the Spirit World for sure, but im not sure how partial percentages would fully work. As is, the PC's Fetch kind of functions as an entity with a spirit rune, as they reside in the Spirit World, and swap and partially possess you when you discorporate?

I can't personally envision a PC possessing the Spirit Rune in normal play, as it would drastically shift a lot about them.
(Also mechanically the man rune represents the ties to ancestor magic I believe, so replacing it as a follower of Daka Fal would be strange.)

Edit: (It seems prior it was a way to associate yourself with spirits/ the spirit world, while now its more of a literal form of the character.)

Ok, replace beast with spirit for human shamans and man with spirit for animals while beastmen get to choose.

I'm thinking that as the Shaman gets more and more dominant spirit rune they're less tied to the world. So yes, if they hit 100% they become spirits. I can see interesting game play possibilities there as the shaman tries desperately to maintain the last of their humanity.

On 11/11/2019 at 8:15 PM, Cwitten said:

Is it just a simple snipping of the word assistant and strapping on the benefits of a full fledged shaman?

On 11/12/2019 at 7:47 AM, Bill the barbarian said:

Yes, at the beginning I was thinking avocation rather than occupation. I do like the comment that comes from Jeff via Scott that the rules do not cover the post generation occupations. That makes sense. 

Which got me thinking in my half doze during last night's ablutions, what would happen if at Shamanhood the PC replaced their Man (or Beast for Baboons et al) rune with the Spirit rune?

How would this affect play/rulings, or does it take the PC out of play?

3 hours ago, Bill the barbarian said:

Quack Kerouac

Stolen

Thinking of you.

Just went through the same.

On 9/26/2019 at 1:04 PM, g33k said:

I gotcher Duck Special right here, Bill <gestures at platter>

And stop makin' eyes at the waitstaff!

Would that be a Duck Billed Platterpus then?

17 hours ago, M Helsdon said:

A question? Should the annotations identifying pieces of armor be retained or removed?

Retained IMHO. Purely from a selfish persepective being able to point a piece of armour out to an eight YO without delay is worth its weight in doughnoughts.

11 hours ago, styopa said:

IIRC in RQG at least, after the initial learning period, the only tables that you 'have to' consult would be the fumble results?  Or?

Or my phenomenally mathematical 2nd youngest nephew who is usually yelling "special" just as the dice stop rolling. 😊