pachristian

You're getting some good ideas here, but I think you may need to step back and consider the gaming aspect of the game. I've had a lot of players want to create "something different" and they have all kinds of motives. My rule (which I learned to enforce, the hard way)  is that they can create something different but it cannot be something that will disrupt the theme of the game, or the existing group of characters. 

I recommend that you have the player who wants to create a lunar sit down with the other players, and pitch his idea to them. Have the players (lunar and others) come up with an idea why they would accept him into their band, and trust him with their lives. The trust doesn't have to be instant, but he has to be able to be accepted into the group, and given a chance to earn their trust. Let the players work it out.

Explaining what I mean by theme: The theme of my game is "You are all treasure hunters in Pavis" and the game is set before the Cradle (classic era gaming). The theme of a game I recently played in was "you are the leading individuals for a new settlement on the edge of Prax", and of course, the theme of Borderlands is "you are the A-Team for a frontier settlement". So, identify your theme, and ask him to work within it. 

I apologize for my post, and have deleted it. I have no right to get preachy on anyone.

On 12/24/2019 at 1:11 PM, blackyinkin said:

 

Has anyone out there done a write up on the increase in population of both Pavis and Pavis county? Particularly during the time period of 1602 to 1625? (I'm lookin' at you, David Scott), My game is set in Pavis in that timeframe. Population growth affects almost everything; job availability, prices, cost of housing, social attitudes towards immigrants and so on. I like being able to provide that kind of detail as background to my players. I think it makes the city seem more 'alive'. But it's not just the city that's affected; many of the immigrants will not come to the city, but will want to farm in the river valley. 

Duke Dorasor founded Pavis outside the walls in 1550. The walls around this small city (as distinct from the walls of Pavis) encompass ~28 hectares (Pavis, Chaosium, 1982). Medieval cities had an average population density of ~150 people per hectare. Did the Duke plan for a population of about 4,000 people? 

Not used to handling bullion? What, you mean game designers are incredibly rich and wallowing in gold? Darn. There goes my retirement plan.

BTW, I just took my comments above, and posted them in drive thru rpg as a a review (with some minor edits).

We had an absolute great combat in a game a friend of mine was running. Temple defense scenario. Very prolonged fight against waves of mooks. We had to use the fatigue rules through much of it. We found them easy to use, and very evocative of what our characters were going through. Having played the prolonged fight, I don't think the fatigue rules are burdensome at all. (and my character bought the Vigour spell during his next training period, because man! that would have made the latter part of the fight easier).

No complaints here.  I really do think it is a trivial point, and I apologize for raising a fuss. But I hate inconsistencies. I couldn't find the reference in the Guide about the weight of coins, other than the inset on page 10, which does not give grams. Likewise, I couldn't find a mass reference in RQG. I'd be inclined to go with RQG as the definitive source.

I'm still working my way through your (outstanding) book, and really hope to buy one or two hard copies once they become available. I like being able to show my players what their world looks like. Some other great components:

1) Discussion of size and composition of clan war bands is valuable to my game, where players often are part of a war band, or are evading them. I've got a player who put together his own cavalry unit in a previous game, and now I have extra resources to help him detail how that unit fits in with other units.

2) The discussion of making weapons, and the mystery around smiths helps my trading-minded players by giving us a whole new set of ingredients to go after, and my detective-minded players a new set of material clues to follow up on.

3) The pictures and details if weapons and armor have helped my players get a better image of their character, and they can now identify different units and regiments based on consistent descriptions. 

4) The Breakdown of traditions by region is not only useful in and of itself, it means that I as a GM have a good idea of how to arm the farmers (mostly retired veterans of the Empire) who move into the Grantlands. And the "Heroic Light" notes were just fun, as now I have a consistent way for the PC's to identify powerful leaders in combat.

*********

Basically I'm only half-way through the book and it's a complete treasure trove! I rate this as an essential book for any GM running a game in Glorantha/Dragon pass region. Once the hardcopy is available, I will give copies to a couple of my friends who also run in Glorantha.

18 hours ago, lordabdul said:

Talking with Jeff about the map was... the... furthest it got. 😎

Well, either publish in the JC, or post it in downloads. Please.

20 hours ago, g33k said:

2-3 years onward & (afaik) no map ever got released... maybe there's a new Furthest product coming, and this is being rolled in???

Any update?

Any ETA?

Anything at all?  Frothing fans want to know!

Yes, we do!

Got the .pdf. Reading away.

This is a really trivial point, but on page 5, second column, line 4/5, the weight of the common coin is given as "weighing approximately ⅛ ounce (4 grams, 0.2 troy oz.)". This matches the Guide.  A troy ounce is ~31.1 grams - the lunar should be ~6 grams, not 4.

Why does this matter to me? It makes a significant difference in pricing armor and weapons. Copper clacks in the guide are the same size (0.2 troy oz.). So a kg of copper is ~16.7 guilders. If the coins are smaller (4 g vs six), then a kg of copper is ~25 guilders. That's a huge difference in RQ Glorantha. In ancient earth bronze varied in value, but an average of 1.5* the value of copper was common - this sets a kilogram of bronze at 25 lunars (6 g coins) or 37.5 lunars (4 g coins). 

On 11/27/2019 at 2:42 PM, Bill the barbarian said:

Yay!

I am literally checking Drivethrurpg every hour. I can't remember the last time I was this excited waiting for a book. Of course, I look at my shelf of Osprey books, and understand something about what I like: Pictures!

8 hours ago, M Helsdon said:

Printed books dispatched by printer; arriving tomorrow.

Two-wheeled trolley to carry copies to Dragonmmet delivered.

Now I just have to hope I can get into the Trade Hall before it opens...

So how do the rest of us get copies of this priceless tome?

On 11/15/2019 at 12:24 AM, Monty Lovering said:

More or less what I think. 
 

And like the man said,  YGMV. 

I’m tempted to have the gods as merely vastly powerful humans who were the first to manipulate the Runes, and that much of legend is actually myth, and that (whispers) the world is actually round. 
 

Bit god learner of me I know and exactly the sort of thing that gets the gods angry 😜

Good point. I like to scare my players by pointing out that there is absolutely nothing to "prove" that the "Gods War" was not the earthly atomic war, and that Genertela isn't post-holocaust North America. They just say that is's flat in the rules because they want you to see it from the character's perspective.

What I see is a bunch of players arguing and whining about why can't they keep the treasure they "found". Because that's how games work, right? Kill the monster, take the treasure... why should anybody else get a cut? 

Before you can do any of this, the players have to believe the the clan's goodwill is worth more than the treasure.

After much looking for decent for a bison miniature, I found this on Acheson Creations:( https://www.achesoncreations.com)

https://www.achesoncreations.com/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&view=productdetails&virtuemart_product_id=779&virtuemart_category_id=52

They also have some excellent Zebras:

https://www.achesoncreations.com/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&view=category&virtuemart_category_id=53&limitstart=20

On 4/24/2019 at 10:20 AM, pachristian said:

Armorcast.com has the Lance & Laser models. Until a few weeks ago they had fine baboons, dragonnewts, Walktipus, and so on. However, they’ve updated their web sites and some of the models - including all of the dragonnewts are gone. What’s even worse is that I had an account and a standing order (which included dragonnewts), and when they updated the website, my account and order vanished. 

For the record, Armorcast’s website and web store is back up to full; and all of the classic Lance & Laser Glorantha miniatures are there again. 

Adding a use for the Runes was something new RQ:Glorantha. I like it, but I've been running a Pavis adventure campaign using straight Mythras rules (okay, some minor house rules) for over 30 game sessions now. Mythras RAW works just fine for Glorantha.

I’m fond of Traveller 2300’s stutterwarp drive. The drive propels a ship by making quantum electron jumps of a few centimeters at a time, but cycling the drive millions or billions of times a second. The drive has a variable speed, depending on ambient gravity. Once gravity exceeds 0.1 m/sec2, the stutterwarp ceases to work. Within a star system it moves the ship at sub-light speed, and once you get a certain distance out, FTL speeds. Net effect is that you need rockets to get on and off a planet, but the stutterwarp drive for interplanetary and interstellar travel. One of the smarter things they did is have a relatively low power consumption: As the stutterwarp handwavium’s you past Einsteinian physics, the starship does not need an antimatter reactor or singularity for power. Well worth checking out for hard science fiction fans.

If you are looking for science in your science fiction, and want somewhat realistic spacecraft, check out this web site:

http://www.projectrho.com/public_html/rocket/

A slightly updated item from the last Plunder! submissions:

Kale's Token

A bronze token, about 3 cm across. The token is shaped like a movement rune, surrounded by a ring. The outer side of the ring is engraved with a hymn of praise to Heler, in his role as god of loyalty and friendship. The font is tiny, and difficult to read. The inner side is engraved with an equally tiny hymn in praise of Mastakos.

Cults

Associated: Mastakos, 

Friendly: Helar, Kolat 

Knowledge

One of a Kind. There is a record of the item, and the crafting of the item, in the Lhankor Mhy temple in Jansholm. Other than that, the item is little known.

History

Kale, an adventuring shaman who followed Kolat, realized at one point that one of his companions had, without being asked, been present to watch over his body, and to help take care of him while he was learning to be a shaman. He realized that they had always been present to watch over him, and he had hardly noticed. The opportunity to rectify this came when on heroquest, and he was able to bargain with the god of travel. He asked his god, and Mastakos, for the ability to be summoned by his friend. The gods refused initially, but Heler stepped in, and persuaded them to support the shaman. Once created, and used, the token remained, and possessed the power to be 'recharged' by someone who understood its powers and purpose. 

Kale died fighting the Kingdom of Jab in 1623. He is believed to have been carrying the token at that time. The most likely location to find the token is the contested lands on the borders of the Kingdom of Jab.

Procedure

Made on heroquest.

Powers

Kale’s token allows an individual to summon a loyal friend or follower to them. The summoned individual has a couple of seconds to grab personal items, and then teleports to the summoner. The token only works if the summoned has over a 50% loyalty to the summoner. The token may only be used once by any given person. It can be recharged by a new owner. 

Charging the token requires the person to be summoned (the "summoned") to perform a series of simple ceremonies at shrines of Kolat, Mastakos, and Helar. These ceremonies take a total of a week. The person who will receive the token is identified at this time. The summoner must succeed in a Loyalty check to successfully complete the ceremony.

In theory, the token could be charged from loyalty to a clan, or a temple. In this case, the token would have to be activated by the clan head, or high priest of the temple.

In a game setting, this is a "use don't abuse" item. It is intended to allow one character to come to the aid of another, regardless of distance between them. The Gamemaster is encouraged to have the token fail if it is used cynically, to make money, steal, or in a calculated way to bypass security. The token, after all, is based on movement, but is allowed to work because of loyalty.

Death does not break the bond between summoned and summoner. Should the summoned die, and then be called, their spirit will appear to aid the summoner. Treat the summoned as an ancestor spirit, with appropriate skills and abilities.

If the summoner ever willfully and knowingly discards the token, that will break the enchantment. The summoned will feel great pain (broken loyalty hurts!) but the bond between summoner and summoned is broken.

Value

Nominally worth about 1,500 L.

On 8/26/2019 at 2:53 PM, lawrence.whitaker said:

We have Mythic Polynesia covered. It's being written right now. 

I think I will just start sending my paycheck directly to the Design Mechanism.....,

I just assume they have the same properties as earthly metals, until some rules-lawyer who's seen a youtube video starts trying to tell me that "iron doesn't work that way". They work fine, as long as you don't think about it in too much detail.

Just remember: The moment you put fast movement into the game, the players will look for ways to make money off it. Also, keep in mind that if the PC’s can do it, it is likely that there are a whole lot of NPC’s who can, and do, do the same thing.

30 minutes ago, Lord High Munchkin said:

Seems like "proto God-Learnerdom" to me!!

I could see that. But it also has plenty of precedents: Argrath forming the white bull society. The Lunar Empire seeking to marry Pavis into the pantheon. In Mary Stewart’s Merlin trilogy, Ambrosius uses the cult of Mythras as a unifying agent for his soldiers. 

I identify average heights and weights based on ethnicity and gender, and then give everyone the same points to build with. I believe Chaosium did address the issue once, and their comment “It’s not worth the fights it creates”.