olskool

On 5/29/2020 at 4:02 PM, gochie said:

Literally one of the worst films I've ever seen... lol.

 

Conan the Barbarian for me.

Conan is a VERY GOOD movie but I selected the two movies I did based on HOW they depicted the civilizations in them, NOT on their "cinematic value" or how entertaining they are.  Sadly,  Glorantha is so "unique" that I doubt there is any fantasy movie that can truly represent it.  It is a place that would need a movie that was actually written so as to take place in Glorantha.   

On 5/29/2020 at 3:11 PM, Brootse said:

13th Warrior for what the combat is like.

I agree 100%.  I'm just not sure where in Glorantha the Norsemen would represent.  I'm not as familiar with areas outside of Dragon Pass, the Lunar Tarsh, and the Prax (Pavis area).  

2 minutes ago, Bergguy said:

Hi there! 

Last summer I started discovered and started poring through all the Glorantha materials I could find and became a Gloranthophile overnight. I've finally succeeded in convincing my gaming group to play a game that is not Dungeons and Dragons. 

I love how Runequest stories combine the mythic sphere of storytelling with the grounded and human. I want to inspire my players to think about fantasy in this way using some pop-culture sources. I was going to host a "Glorantha Movie Night" to get their imaginations flowing. 

Are there any films that people can think of that have that right "Glorantha Feel"?

 

10,000 BC (the 2008 film) comes closest. 

Gods of Egypt has the right mix of Human and Divine interaction.  One could claim it represents the Holy Country.

12 hours ago, Mugen said:

My first reaction was that your formula gives base skill far above 100% for giants.

I think your idea makes sense, as long as weapon also influence damage.

As for myself, I'd be in favor of using the tens of the skill roll as a basis for damage, treating a critical as a 10. As a result, a character with skill XY would do base damage between 0 and X.

I like this but I would count 0 as 10 not zero.  So damage would be from 1 to 10 based on the 10's roll. 

I would also modify this by the weapon type.  I would rate weapons (and you could do this with STR bonuses too) from 0 (for small knives and light clubs) to 4 (for the heaviest axes and hammers).  This number would ADD to the 10's roll resulting in a potential damage of from 1 to 14.  Since the Weapon's Damage Modifier is fixed, it would greatly simplify the attack roll while giving a "minimum floor" for heavier weapon types.   You could also use the same system for determining how much damage was blocked by a Parry.  The defender rolls the parry just like it was an attack and adds the weapon's Parry Modifier to the 10's roll.   You then just subtract the parry total from the Damage Inflicted and if the number is 0 or negative, the parry was a total success.   IF the total is still a positive number, the Attack penetrates the defender's Parry and inflicts the indicated Damage [remaining].     

In my game, I do NOT allow Divination to occur for more than giving a glimpse at a currently occurring situation or location or to see past events in order to find clues to a present mystery.  Why?  Because of the Great Compromise that created Time.  By creating Time, the Gods insured that the future is NOT SET!  Because the future can be changed by someone's actions, you CANNOT SEE IT as it has NOT happened yet!  Divination CAN show you things occurring NOW or that have occurred in the past (when Time becomes "set" and is then "fixed" for posterity... another element of The Great Compromise to be used as as a record of PROOF of one's divine actions).  A God can also only provide information about their own Sphere of Influence, their followers, and any friendly Cults who will allow the "intrusion" of a Divination Ritual.    

On 5/19/2020 at 8:44 PM, Beoferret said:

Hello all. In a game I'm about to start, one of the characters is a hunter follower of Yinkin who's got a vrok hawk companion animal (because taking a shadowcat would be too "stereotypical.") So, how does he end up controlling/commanding the hawk and how can he train others. Ride skill can be used for training and commanding horses, etc. Herd enables you to train and command herding critters. What about hunting animals (whether avian or otherwise)? Suggestions?

The skill that comes to mind immediately is ANIMAL HANDLING.  It was a Knowledge skill in some article or module I read back in the days of RQ2, long before RQ3 introduced the LORES... Animal Lore, World Lore, Plant Lore, Mineral Lore, and Magic Lore.  I'm not sure if it was ever cannon or just something somebody suggested in a magazine article though.  

2 hours ago, PhilHibbs said:

Weapon scale in combination with damage bonus is interesting. In a sense big weapons are double-dippping because they have big damage, but the thing that is big enough to use it also necessarily has a big bonus.

I wonder if weapon damage might be better done (almost certainly not but I'll carry on anyway) by primarily basing it on a STR&SIZ damage calculation, maybe with a reduction for weapons that are smaller than the maximum or optimum size for the wielder. So you don't need to figure out what a 15m giant sized broadsword does - it's broadsword-sized for the giant, so it does base giant damage, maybe plus something for being a sharp metal thing. Giant wielding a tree? No need to worry about tree damage. Giant damage covers it.

If the damage is a table like the current system, different weapons could just have a bonus or reduction of a number of levels on the table. And the weapons chart doesn't need different damage for different sizes of the same kind of weapon, a big sword does more damage because the wielder is big enough to use it. Sharp, spiky, or solid weapons deserve a bonus, soft or weak weapons like sticks or bare fists might have a penalty.

I did this with my weapons.  Every weapon has a STR, DEX, and SIZ requirement.  I have weapons with the trait HEAVY doing +1 damage for every 5 surplus STR over the required STR.  Weapons with the LIGHT trait do +1 damage for every 10 points of surplus STR over the required STR for that weapon.  I allow an add of +1 to the character's base STR for every 10 points of SIZ over 10 that character has.  Weapons with the FINESSE trait may also add any surplus DEX over the required DEX for that weapon.  

6 hours ago, prinz.slasar said:

I guess the thing you are looking for is not in the MYTHRAS Core Rulebook.
In the supplement MYTHIC CONSTANTINOPLE are additional, new Weapon traits named Flanged and Puncturing.
These traits and rules are made for your suggestions that pointy and crushy things are better against armour.

In short and to simplify here, both weapon traits enable the weapon to ignore some armour points.
Flanged is for blunt weapons and Puncturing is for pointed ones.
 

I like that as a Weapon Trait.  You could have Piercing/Flanged 1 or Piercing/Flanged 2 as the amount of armor protection ignored by that weapon. 

10 hours ago, Hydracap said:

My English is really poor, so I am sorry if it cause difficulty to read in advance.

I am a CoC player for almost two years and I usually play in the Chinese community(mostly with Taiwanese and Mainlanders). And the trend over there is running games/adventures via communication applications such as QQ, Line, Whatsapp etc. And text-gaming are more prefered than voice-gaming as you can run the sessions everywhere with only a smartphone. 

So, I'm curious if this type of gaming is popular in the US? I have seen many gameplays in Youtube and they seem to be playing in person or at least using Zoom.

Your English is good sir.  Most of the people around my parts play in person in small groups.

2 hours ago, StanTheMan said:

A simple question with probably a non-simple answer - for those that have been exposed to both, why do you prefer BRP to Mythras?

I ask because, while I own several Mythras books, for real, I can’t get myself to run the things. I’m trying to suss out why. I’m not a fan of hit locations for sure (though M-Space helps mitigate some of that). I’m actively intimidated by the combat special effects (it isn’t the complexity; I’ve run Torchbearer and Burning Wheel with no issue). I’m okay with splitting skills into Professional and Standard. I sort of get the idea behind why combat styles. But on the whole...something’s off.

So, please help me figure it out. What’s holding me back? Why do I find the BGB a better read (despite the fact the book is literally all over the place)? I can say one thing: I MUCH prefer Wealth Levels and Status rolls to actually coin; if I ever run Mythras that’s getting ported right in.

Folks?

 

I use a blend of MYTHRAS and ALL of the other RQ and BRP rules.  The combat maneuvers are easier to incorporate IF you treat them like Special Effects (hereafter SEs).  I use 3 levels of SEs and break all of them down as follows...

The weakest SEs occur at 1/2 a Skill roll under the chance of success INSTEAD OF on a "Differential Success."  This means that an SE is NOT always awarded on a successful roll.  It also means that you can ignore your own defense WITHOUT giving your opponent an SE to use against you.  The system I use also allows for ONLY ONE SE,  whereas the Mythras system will allow multiple SEs based on multiple success levels.  I simply give BETTER SEs for higher success levels.  I find that this speeds up gameplay and reduces "analysis paralysis."  

The next most powerful SEs fall under 1/10th Skill Level (rounding up) and include all of the Specials from Runequest such as the Slash, Impale, and Crush. 

I do Criticals as DOUBLES under the chance to hit (treating 00 as "zero, zero, not 100).  So on a 50% chance to hit, a Critical Hit occurs on 00, 11, 22, 33, & 44.   I find that this reduces the "math" during the game and speeds up the play from round to round.  

By doing SEs as the occasional "spectacular move" [instead of awarding one for every successful roll],  and allowing only ONE SE (of rising potency), it makes them feel more "Special" and picking them becomes something of a "treat" for a good roll.  

      I like Mythras' initiative over BRP/Runequest strike ranks.  I use hit locations, and I kind of like RQ/BRP's Spirit Magic over the Mythras Spirit Magic because you can "scale it."  I do this for the Shaman in particular.  Scaling up Spirit Magic [for the shaman only] allows them to reach Rune Priest power levels.  I use Mongoose RQ's  system of separate Armor Points and Hit Points for weapons, but I don't mind "crunch" and I'm playing with a group of 4 on most occasions..          

On 1/11/2020 at 2:01 PM, soltakss said:

Don't forget that you cannot toss a pancake properly in Zero-G, either.

How would you even pour the batter without it spreading out into a giant cloud of floating liquid? 

This is why the US space program gave the original space crews food in tubes resembling toothpaste tubes.  Just squeeze it into your mouth and you are good to go.  you can still get budget cheeze spread in those old tubes.  It tastes funky unlike real cheese, but it is still out there.      

I have STR requirements for all of the weapons in my game.  Light Weapons (a descriptor I use in my game) give a bonus of +1 for every 10 full points of surplus STR the wielder has.  Heavy Weapons (another descriptor I use) do +1 to damage for every 5 points of surplus STR the wielder has.  I add +1 to the wielder's base STR score for every 10 points of SIZ over 10 that the wielder has.  My damage chart runs like this...

+1

+1D2

+1D3

+1D4

+1D6 (yes, I skip 1D5 because you have hit very large creatures at this level).

+1D8

+1D10

+1D12

and so on...

On 1/23/2020 at 4:07 PM, Old Man Henerson said:

Rather rude for the people to discriminate against your PCs like that. After all, you can't blame them for guns being part of their religion

In this world you can NEVER BE...  too rich, too healthy, too good looking, or too well armed! 😎

34 minutes ago, Lloyd Dupont said:

Well.. I just want to break the gear... 
(in fact it's only vaguely related with the character being poor as in, it's hard to keep up good gear, while not having the money to buy / maintain it in the first place)

In BRP at least we got weapon breaking rule. I wonder if anyone has armor breaking rule too?!

Allow each suit of armor a "Coverage Rating" that is represented by a PERCENTAGE that you roll under for the protection to apply.  An "off the rack" suit of armor would provide 90% coverage and a custom-fitted suit would protect on a roll of 95% or less.  Coverage Ratings can vary by armor type at the GM's discretion.  For example, you could have things like gauntlets and gloves provide from 25% to up to 50% coverage of a location. 

        Each time the armor is PENETRATED (ie damage exceeds AP) you subtract 1% from the armor's Coverage Rating.  Slashes/Impales/Crushes reduce the Coverage Rating by 5%.  The DEFENDER rolls the Coverage Dice during an attack.  The Coverage Dice can be rolled in conjunction with an Parry Dice (for a Parry skill check) to save time.  Once the Coverage Rating reaches 0%, the armor is destroyed.  I have the SUNDER ARMOR special effect reduce coverage by 10% on a hit with that SE.

19 hours ago, Lloyd Dupont said:

While there are many comment on weapon carrying...

What about wearing armor....
It's a bit annoying all those adventurer in full combat armor all the time... I mean it's certainly safe.. but it's not really immersive....

 

Armor will also be "regulated" in most civilized societies.   For example,  in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania where I live and worked, it is NOT illegal to possess or even wear body armor.  HOWEVER, IF the wearer were to commit a crime like Robbery or Assault, their wearing body armor while doing so can trigger another charge called "Possession of an Implement of Crime." 

     The "Possession of an Implement of Crime" is used to charge the user of legal objects in criminal activity.   Some other examples of this statute include someone caught committing Burglary in possession of a crowbar and screwdrivers,  Someone stealing cars in possession of a locksmith's kit, or someone accused of Hacking having "hacking programs" on their laptop.   While all the tools in question have a "legitimate use" in our world, the specific situation in which they are encountered above would lead a "reasonable man" to suspect that they were used to "help perpetrate a crime."   Similarly, possession of such objects without a reasonable need to be carrying said items COULD trigger what is known by LEOs as an "investigative stop."  This is when a "reasonable man" might be suspicious of the motives of someone visibly in possession of an item or implement who otherwise wouldn't be required to have that item for work or general activity.  Walking down the street in the US with a rifle slung on your shoulder will usually trigger an investigative stop.  So would hard body armor (which is usually worn over clothing).  There are exceptions to this.  In most rural towns in PA during Deer Season, no LEO would stop a man wearing an orange vest, hat, and carrying a slung rifle because the majority of PA residents hunt and people walking with long arms is a common sight here.  Do the same thing in LATE WINTER (when there are no hunting seasons) and you will attract the attention of any LEO who passes by.  YOU MUST DETERMINE JUST HOW MUCH "LAW" (AND MORE IMPORTANTLY... ENFORCEMENT) THERE IS IN YOUR SETTING. 

     Armor can be concealed under clothing and current NIJ (the National Institute of Justice) Level 3A armors can easily be worn under a uniform shirt and will stop the majority of handgun rounds.  Most rifle-grade armors (NIJ Level 3 & Level 4 as well as Level 3+) are hard armors that MUST be worn over clothing.  The Marine Corps new DYNEEMA vests are actual soft Level 3 (rifle) armor but it is BULKY (at about 1" thick).  Thus, wearing armor today will often be fairly obvious with a simple Perception check. 

       Carry out armor development a single generation though, (think SHADOWRUN) and rifle level armors would now be concealable.  Go out two+ generations (think of THE EXPANSE) and soft body armor that stops handgun rounds could be woven into clothing while hard armor could stop significant damage while still being concealable.  Once you get to STAR TREK levels of tech, armor loses its potency because hand-held weapons can disintegrate significant material structures.  YOU MUST SET A TECH LEVEL YOU ARE COMFORTABLE WITH.         

As a former (now retired) LE, I would say you'd be advised to keep it concealed.  This is why the PISTOL (not the Assault Rifle) is the number ONE weapon used in the majority of crimes in the US.  Pistols are easy to conceal under normal clothing and just as easy to carry (for weight/ENC reasons) in most "social environments."  Knives rank second worldwide and restrictions on carry could encourage such weapons being used.  Even in the US "Old West," most gunfighters concealed their "Hog Legs" and "smoke Wagons" in order to avoid "public scrutiny" by the local authorities.

You could carry a short-barreled rifle (or a bullpup) or an SMG with a retractable stock under a long winter coat or duster but it may still "flash" when the wearer moves.

You should also bear in mind that in most civilized locations, you will need a permit or license to carry a weapon in public. 

19 hours ago, Lloyd Dupont said:

I am thinking to run a scifi campaign next.

In a scifi campaign one might want to use sniper rifles.

Now I am wondering, since the D100 family has people being (rightfully) quite frail compare to the destructive power of modern weapon... How would one handle ambush?

I mean I feel like I cant ambush players or they are just going to die. Not sure how to handle that... Any tips?
I am starting to introduce more NPC for the sole purpose of having some canon fodder... 😕  Or maybe that's the way to do it?

Today, the modern sniper must contend with modern ARMOR.  The following armor levels actually exist as I type this.

National Institute for Justice is a US testing agency and is designated by the initials NIJ.  They test ALL body armor in the US.  European and Russian armor levels are comparable to US levels.

NIJ Level I soft body armor =  This armor will stop pistol rounds up to .380 acp  (velocity 1025ft/sec) and is EASILY worn under normal clothing.

NIJ  Level IIa soft body armor = This armor will stop most pistol rounds and is proof against medium-velocity 9mm (velocity 1090ft/sec) and is also concealable.

NIJ Level II soft body armor =  This armor will stop .357 magnum ammo (velocity 1395ft/sec) and is concealable.

NIJ Level IIIa soft body armor = This armor will stop .44 magnum ammo (velocity 1400ft/sec) and CAN be worn under a duty shirt (I did it for 20 years).

NIJ Level III (rifle) body armor = sold in soft or hard plates, this armor will stop 7.62mm RIFLE ammo (2750ft/sec) cold.  US Army SAPI plates are very close to this spec.

NIJ Level IV (rifle) body armor = generally only found in hard plate form, this armor will stop up to 30-06 ARMOR PIERCING ammo (2800ft/sec) cold.  US Army ESAPI plates are comparable to NIJ Level IV rifle plates.

There are many types of armor that will stop various pistol and rifle rounds WITHOUT major injury to the wearer.  

In a real-life encounter in the city of Fallujah Iraq , US marines trapped in a location known as the "candy store" (a small corner store) dug a 3-foot hole in a concrete wall in just a couple of hours with a TACTICAL TOMAHAWK in order to escape an encirclement!  If you're scared enough and fit enough, a warhammer could make short work of such a wall.  

My player would roll a Parry because... 

    In order to keep players invested in the combat,  ALL the dice are rolled together.  The Attacker would roll the To Hit dice, the Location die, and the Damage die as one.  I have them roll like this because I use the dice results to "narrate" what happened.  On a miss, I will use the Damage die to describe the miss as a feeble jab or a mighty swing and the Location die as the area where the "near miss" took place.  I need the Parry die rolled in order to narrate whether the Defender was successful in parrying the attack or not.  Thus, EVERYONE rolls TOGETHER.  This also speeds up combat and injects a sense of "urgency" into the player's decision-making during that combat.    

On 9/28/2019 at 2:55 PM, Bill the barbarian said:

Well that near citation is one point of datum more that we have provided yet, not conclusive but that does weigh toward me being an incorrect egregious munchkin. Any other opinions or even best of all, citations?

I had only two Allied Spirits in my campaign.  Ernie the Ferret and Barney the High Llama.  In my eyes, they were not "servants" to their Runelords!  They were there to guide, advise, and assist their Lords and to keep them "on the right path."  As full-fledged NPCs, they could regenerate POW and had significant "free will." 

Ernie (a Trickster spirit) liked "shinies" and talked like a New York cabby.  Since he didn't have pockets, he would "store his shinies" in Dedrie's (my player's RL character) pack.  This led to a few uncomfortable encounters for Dedrie.  He really ruffled the party mage (sorcerer) who had a standing threat to "make a pair of gloves out of [Ernie]."

Barney (an Orlanthi Rex spirit) was very polite and spoke with a British accent.  He was known for trying to talk sense into his somewhat reckless Runelord. 

I always wanted a Humakti Runelord with an Allied Spirit in his sword.  I'd use a Boston "Southy" accent and think it would be funny to see a warrior in a shouting match with his sword.  "Here I am in the worst place in the World and I have YOU to depend on.  What was The Almighty THINKING!"   I kind of like Marc from Zebra Corner on YouTube's attitude.

https://youtu.be/S0jTcGBxh6w              

This happened to Kato13's Twilight2000 Forum too.  Something about new GOOGLE rules and not automatically renewing the security certificate.  Kato got it fixed but it was something stupid that GOOGLE just started.

While I understood that it was a "ritual" in RQ2, I also used it to determine if a hide was successfully "skinned"  without damaging it (for use in making stuff) and to determine just how much "meat" (for food) and how much fat (for lard and Alchemy) was rendered from a kill.  I also used this as a skill check to harvest intact organs (for Alchemy) or body fluids (like the poison from a Manticore stinger).  I guess this was just the hunter and farmer in me (I grew up on a farm).    

1 hour ago, soltakss said:

Back then we had to write letters to people who edited fanzines or to Chaosium itself. They normally replied, though, which was good.

Or you had to "corner them" at a gaming convention...

                          I'm NOT saying that I did that... but I DO "know a guy who knows a guy who did that." 😎

We used the old RQ3 Knockback rules but modified them (of course).  Knockback was a product of a "big damage hit."  We actually had a "Knockback" Statistic created by averaging STR, SIZ, and DEX (rounding down) that we compared to the attacker's rolled damage.  If Knockdown was exceeded, you were knocked prone UNLESS you rolled Knockdown - Excess Damage [over KDN stat] received X 5 or less.  IF the damage exceeded TWICE Knockdown , you were automatically rendered prone and had to roll the formula above (with excess damage over 2 X KDN) to avoid being moved back 1 meter and taking an additional 1D4 damage (we reduced this from the RAW 1D6).  Parrying or *Dodging would reduce the damage received and often prevented Knockback from occurring.  

If an attacker tried a deliberate Knockback attack, we compared the combatant's Knockbacks in a resistance test to see who won.  The loser ended up prone 1m away.  

*We used a special version of the Dodge Skill where rolling under your skill would net a damage reduction equal to 1/10 Skill +1.

On 9/9/2019 at 4:21 PM, kirinyaga said:

My lectern is now done. I glued an african cloth (well, they're all made in europe, as you know) on the table and poured a couple millimeters of epoxy on it.

I think I may have gone oversize 😁 The glorantha books look tiny on it ahaha.

Now all we need is that 16" X 24" large print edition in leatherette!