Psullie

Can we please have a clear statement, with examples, on how boosting spells with MP's is intended to work. 

You wouldn't need Spirit Screen 8, Spirit Screen 1 with a 7 MP boost would do the trick? 

Spoiler Alert!!!

Miskander is a Spirit and can only be harmed in Spirit Combat and his is 115% Unless your adventurer is Shaman this would be a tough fight. I'd kick off with Spirt Screen 3 on his spirit followed by Countermagic on his body (usually incompatible but as written the scenario suggest that they are separate so you might allow it). Then aim to possess one of the adventurers while casting offensive spells and tossing stuff (dropped weapons etc). If the possession is successful I use the meat puppet to try and kill the others. 

I can imagine dropping such spells on your opponents is a common Trickster tactic 

This was clarified here: https://wellofdaliath.chaosium.com/home/catalogue/publishers/chaosium/runequest-roleplaying-in-glorantha-players-book-print/cha4028-runequest-roleplaying-in-glorantha-qa-by-chapter/cha4028-runequest-roleplaying-in-glorantha-chapter-11-magic/

scroll down to the boosting example.

though many GMs don’t allow it

2 hours ago, Godlearner said:

Boosting would only help to punch through Countermagic, or similar spells. Boosting a Spirit Screen 1 with 5 magic points against a Countermagic 4 will punch through, but won't do anything due to the Countermagics higher intensity. In case of Shield spell I imagine it would work something like this:

I don't believe that incompatible spells works offensively as you suggest. Regardless of the power or strength, casting an incompatible spell on top of another will simply fail. As Spirit Magic is incompatible with both Countermagic and Protection, the attacking spell will fail.

But if you can cast Spirit Magic first, beat the POW v POW roll you will prevent your target from subsequently casting their Countermagic or Protection. They would need to Dispel the Spirt Screen. I was just saying that if you boosted the Spirit Screen with extra MP's for active defence, the victim would need to Boost their Dispel accordingly.

I feel that this is an acceptable tactic on the battlefield. Also if you play with boosted defence you could add a bunch of MP's to it to make it harder to dispel too. It can also happen to adventurers so I wouldn't forbid it. This is why getting the drop on your opponents is so important in RQ. 

I agree that the rounding out of other cult's magic is great, especially for GM's who to make their NPC's more developed, and the art is fantastic! the Fox Woman on p119 is one of my favourites 

14 hours ago, pachristian said:

Two players works great. Just remember to never make an adventure hinge on a skill that neither of them possesses.

Great advice, but many an adventure started by looking for someone with special knowledge too. 

Am I wrong to think that since the rise of the Boat Planet, the Open Seas Ritual is no longer required?

This looks great and I really like the inverted Runes

41 minutes ago, HreshtIronBorne said:

Wouldn't it just take a refular dispel plus MP? Or does the boosting mp suddenly become spell strength once you boost a Hotfoot or sleep?

Yes I believe so, you would just boost with your MPs or RPs to overcome theirs.

Personally I find the new edition has far more to offer. It has added Passions and Rune Augments which are a great addition. It has also made Rune Magic more assessable which truly brings Cults to the fore as a game mechanic - why don't you grab the free QuickStart and have some fun: https://www.chaosium.com/runequest-quickstart-1/

5 hours ago, Joerg said:

for penetration purposes, not for dispelling purposes

I believe that this has been corrected, you can boost to make spells more difficult to dispel

https://wellofdaliath.chaosium.com/home/catalogue/publishers/chaosium/runequest-roleplaying-in-glorantha-players-book-print/cha4028-runequest-roleplaying-in-glorantha-qa-by-chapter/cha4028-runequest-roleplaying-in-glorantha-chapter-11-magic/

"Casting Sword Trance boosted with 5 magic points for +50%,  at the same time you could boost it with an extra 3 magic points.

Using Dismiss Magic as an example, each point of Dismiss Magic cancels 2 points of spirit magic Rune Magic or sorcery, or 1 point of Rune magic. so Dismiss Magic would need 3 rune points (2 points cancels the boost, 1 point cancels the rune spell 1 point, 2+1=3 Rune points.) Without the 3 point boost it would cost only 1 rune point to dismiss."

emphasis mine

Yep, a few considerations. Combat can be lethal so tone down the violence. Avoid the murder-hobo style of play, with only two players it won't last long. Really level up the community support element. The best parts of RQ is the connection with your clan and cult so develop key NPC's a string allies (they can always then come to the rescue with Healing etc.) Keep it small, the Apple scenarios in the GM pack would make great start for a small group. Make god use of the Passions and Rune Augments

Best to pick two adventurers that belong to the region they are in, Orlanthi if playing in Sartar for example, and give them lots of relatives and enemies. 

Have fun!

1. That's why it's so difficult playing lunar adventurers

2. Do you own a drawing tablet or touch pad that you can draw on? Drawing with a mouse leads to insanity (again Lunars) 

3. What do you enjoy most? Drawing takes time. I enjoy doing both, but I honestly feel that the readers prefer I spend more time getting the words right, not the art. So I focus more on the writing.

4. If someone here is happy to draw for you, you could try a share breakdown: 50% Chaosium, 30% you & 20% artists for example

Well done on all counts!

My first thought was Summon Ancestor, but then felt that this would be a great representation of Turn Undead with the bison rider getting a Critical Success - as that could be an avatar of Humakt destroying the Ghoul

Either way loving the artworks, for these alone the book will be awesome!

57 minutes ago, groovyclam said:

How can I remember crap like that when I can't remember loads of other important stuff

I believe that that is a symptom of being a lifelong gamer 😀

Here in the UK I remember that all the GW games came with dice that look just like the ones in the photo, but they were terrible quality soft plastic like that found in cheap army men. Getting 'proper' dice was quite a thing. I still have my very first d20, it's practically round now at 35+ years old 

35 minutes ago, Jeff said:

once in a blue moon might be different

though Annilla may want a word with you. 😄

what I'm loving here is showing just how visible and theatrical some magic can be, especially Rune Magic. No more 'oh I quietly summon a gnome to...', you are channeling divine power and that means showtime!

for me maps provide two functions: topological info and atmosphere. I remember hating the old TSR maps that were lines in grid paper as they had zero personality. the early Chaosium maps were great, even monochrome they oozed atmosphere and a quick glance gave you a sense on the place. (tbh I've mixed feelings about some of the newer RQ maps, too much style imo).

I use open source software: Krita, Inkscape and Gimp; to make my maps. here's one from my next JC offering:

10 hours ago, MOB said:

530 Rune spells, rituals, and spirit magic spells

no sorcery... ?

My humble opinion is that this is a precursor to the Cult's books - this way we won't see pages of cult spells that need lots of page flipping