Sumath

19 hours ago, Jeff said:

I am still debating about whether to add Horned Man, Triolina, Subere, Wachaza, and Voria to the list.

I think Horned Man is a good shout, as a cornerstone of shamanism. The others would probably be better off in specific supplements (e.g. a sea / ships sourcebook, trollpak etc) as they will not be used in most campaigns.

On ‎3‎/‎1‎/‎2019 at 1:11 PM, jps said:

I'm just scared about my artistic skills or lack thereof   

If you don't have the time, patience or skill to paint miniatures, you can always give them the 'chess piece' treatment - paint them a single colour (e.g. white or light grey for PCs, humanoid NPCs, mounts etc and black for monsters, chaos creatures etc).

To differentiate individuals you can then paint a band of colour around the side of the figure's base. Alternatively, you could paint figures in their rune affinity colour (e.g. yellow for Yelmalions, orange for Orlanthi).

In the end, miniatures are just tactical markers - they don't have to be show pieces.

@Djday45 below is some advice I posted in a previous thread.

I'd say Borderlands is your best bet, as it's a structured seven-scenario campaign. The PDF on the Chaosium website is a steal, and it can also be used as an introduction to the Griffin Mountain campaign if you so choose...

On ‎2‎/‎2‎/‎2019 at 12:40 PM, Sumath said:

If you are new to Glorantha I'd give three pieces of advice: 1. Don't try to read everything on these forums - it'll just confuse you. I'm reasonably familiar with Glorantha, but I find some of the discussions on these boards incredibly (and dare I say, pointlessly) esoteric, and these will mire you in doubt and confusion. 2. If you want to run a RQ campaign right now, you're probably better off ignoring the suggested RQG timeline of 1625, and buying a solid RQ2 supplement like Borderlands or Griffin Mountain, and running that with the RQG rules instead. The stats are all pretty much compatible, and those campaigns are tried and tested, and great introductions to Glorantha. The RQG stuff that's been published so far (e.g. the GM screen pack adventures) are fine, but there are only three RQG scenarios (four, if you use The Broken Tower), and there are no release dates for the next publications yet. 3. Get the Glorantha Sourcebook, rather than the Guide to Glorantha - the last thing a newbie should do is try to stick their head in an encyclopedia. It will shackle your imagination, and have you worrying about whether you're 'doing it right'. 

Thanks both!

In the GMs Screen Pack adventure book there is reference to the village of Greenbrass lying in Ernaldori lands, but it is not marked on the Colymar map anywhere, and I can't find it on any other maps. Does anyone know where this is supposed to be located?

Plenty of opportunity to lose lots of expendable extras in military actions as well, I reckon, which could also lead to interesting role-playing opportunities afterwards when dealing with bereft families' needs, or clan members requesting that you take revenge for deaths that took place under your leadership. Leadership is all about obligation and responsibility, which means its even easier to manoeuvre your PCs into difficult situations ethically or politically. 

Have a look at the #ShipsofRQ post by MOB.

Heroquesting always felt like the advanced part of Runequest we never got. I remember the opening section of RQ2 talking about adventurers taking their place in the Hero Wars in Dragon Pass, amongst the greatest collection of Heroes ever seen in Glorantha. But we were never given a way to make that happen in Runequest. Would be nice to finally see some rules and guidance on this.

Having said that, I'd want it to have been thoroughly play-tested before release. This is important stuff and I'd rather Chaosium get it right. Perhaps in the meantime, they could give us some indications of what direction they are going in with this, so we can adjust our expectations accordingly?

If your players want the elemental to manifest inside a person's body, I'd say that the victim should at least get a resistance roll against that, for similar reasons that one gets to resist a spirit trying to possess one's body - spiritual integrity/autonomy is being violated.

An impaled spear head is a physical wound, but not proof of overcoming someone's spiritual defences. Yes, the spirit is manifesting physically, but it is still fundamentally a spirit, so should have to overcome its victim's POW in order to share the same spiritual space. IMG I'd disallow this, because I think the elemental would have to completely defeat the target in spirit combat first, just as a possessing spirit has to. I don't have the Bestiary in front of me, but I'm not sure that elementals can even initiate spirit combat in the Middle World.

The argument that's been put forward about the need for air for the elemental to manifest is also a compelling one. If the elemental were manifesting outside the victim's body, then neither of these objections would apply. But the trigger condition still seems a bit iffy to me.

1 hour ago, Joerg said:

Quote

I think that all cults make use of writing on scrolls, parchment, paper, papyrus and so on. This means they are easily stored, don't decay and can be easily copied or transported.

Depending on the importance and holyness, other material might be used, too, like sheet metal.

"Don't decay" is an illusion, however. Maintaining a library is a constant battle against mold, vermin, and other forms of rot. Copying tattered volumes to keep the knowledge accessible probably is 80% of a Great Library's activity.

There's a lot to be said for clay tablets. They are much more likely to survive a devastating fire (which often just bakes them solid) than parchment or paper.

14 hours ago, womble said:

From personal experience, I can attest that SIZ and DEX in combat are vastly over-emphasised in all editions of RQ rules. Skill is the most important factor in who strikes (effectively, which is what an RQ attack roll purports to represent) first.

This may be the case IRL and therefore from a simulationist point of view you may want to change the combat system to reflect this. But if you were to do so, surely you'd change the basis of SR order altogether rather than bolting an amendment ruling on top of what you consider to be an imperfect system?

Not sure. The problem with bringing attacks forwards is that in certain combat situations I suspect it would be nonsensical, so there would be a good deal of interpretation involved (and therefore potentially arguments). Would there be a limit on how many strike ranks you can deduct?

Also, if my sword skill is 200% I could effectively attack before anyone else every time, with little effect on my actual chance to hit. This means that higher weapon skill level means you can be faster without much in the way of a penalty - but that should be the role of DEX improvement.

It merits some thought. Personally, I'm not sure that skill with a sword should directly translate to being faster - that should be down to DEX and SIZ. I think problems could arise from muddying the waters on that.

Will the rulebook be self-assembly?

1 hour ago, Ali the Helering said:

Writing must also be understood in the context of carving

Particularly important for troll temples, as I believe Darkspeech is carved in stone and read like Braille.

Other deities would make good use of it also, but the content of any carving in temples would vary depending upon where in the building it was. At entrances you might find written warnings, protective wards and spell bindings. In areas of worship, there'd be histories/myths, cult ideals and morality tales, and quotations from cult scripture. In areas of private contemplation, there'd be mantras of reflection and communion. In administrative areas, perhaps appropriate quotations about obligations to clan, tribe and deity to motivate the staff... 

The written word is a rare and magical thing in a bronze age society. Outside of court scribes, Lhankor Mhy sages and the Lunars is anyone else in Dragon Pass likely to keep good-sized and interesting libraries? Issaries temples would have libraries, but they'd be full of mundane stuff - inventories and loan records. In theory, all temples are places of knowledge, so there is potential for them all to have a library, the extent of which would vary dependent upon the deity, and temple size. Would important Orlanthi marriages be recorded in writing, or just vocalised and witnessed? Would you even marry at a temple?

I imagine writing, depending upon its origins, would be on parchment, paper or clay (and all of these forms found in LM temples, for example). Would friendly or associated cults be likely to allow copying or even loaning of each other's texts? If so, what texts would be permitted, and what would be restricted (apart from obvious cult secrets or matters of court)?

17 minutes ago, womble said:

I read that as Shield being a special exception to the "Countermagic and Protection are incompatible" rule.

The wording is "The effects of this spell are cumulative with either Protection or Countermagic."

17 minutes ago, Joerg said:

This means that the dissolution-proof divine spell needs to be the basis, and that the CM needs to be stronger (including boosting) than the basis to take effect at all, and it has to be cast second.

We'll have to agree to disagree on this, because I don't see any support for that inference. The Shield spell description states its exceptional cumulative status vis-à-vis Countermagic and Protection, and for that reason (and reasons of logistical economy and MGF) I won't be asking my players to cast CM and Shield in any particular order. Equally, the same will be true for their NPC opponents.

12 minutes ago, Joerg said:

It makes it logical, which for me means I don't get to deal with rules lawyers claiming similar exceptions for whichever spell they feel to sneak by a CM-protection to boost or heal a character. CM is a fickle spell.

That seems like a bit of a straw man, as in order to do that they'd need to find another spell that specifically stated its effects were cumulative with Countermagic and Protection. 

4 hours ago, Joerg said:

I'll believe that when the designers say so.

My interpretation was that they have done so - from memory, I don't think the wording on Shield has changed significantly since RQ2. "The effects of this spell are cumulative with either Protection or Countermagic." There is no directive upon them being accumulated in a particular order, and I don't recall any RQ GM or players I knew ever worrying about that.

Besides, how can they be cumulative if you are putting one opposed Countermagic effect on top of another? Surely, if they work against each other, one spell will always either be rebuffed or knock out the other, depending on their respective strengths? 

I'm also wondering how your interpretation - that those spells need to be cast in a particular way and in a particular order - makes the game more fun or more interesting. Personally, I just can't see it - it looks needlessly finicky, and not something I would bother with at my table. But that's me, and as I said previously, YGMV.

1 hour ago, soltakss said:

They would find beauty in the forms and moves, treating it like a Dragonewt dance, exploring the subtleties and inner meanings of the various moves.

I like that. It gives a rationale for them to build a small amphitheatre that would be more theatre than arena.

9 minutes ago, Joerg said:

Now why again should a Shield 2 behave different from the CM4?

a) Because it's divine magic, and b) because it's been designed to work that way. I think the gods are more than capable of creating magic that can work with Countermagic in that way. One point of Shield is equivalent to two points of Countermagic and Protection. It is not the same as.

Whilst we're digressing, what's the Dragonewt outlook on displays of martial prowess? Would they be likely to watch feats of arms as entertainment? I'm thinking of putting an ancient, eerie amphitheatre up in a small hollow in the mountains and thought I might make it part of a Dragonewt ruin.

17 hours ago, Joerg said:

Quote: "The effects of this spell are cumulative with either Protection or Countermagic." 

I'd take that to imply an essential compatibility with those spells. In other words, you can cast them in any order and they will stack. YGMV.

Great to see Cults of Prax being used alongside the new books (even if its only as a coaster)!

So... why do you want to cap Spirit Magic spells?

I think the artificiality of a hard limit is jarring in a game system that allows so much freedom elsewhere. Besides, if a GM really wants to limit such spells they can just make them increasingly hard to come by. So I suppose I'm arguing that limits should be applied in story terms rather than via the rules.

However, there is also the notion of character progression (or rather perception of progression) to contend with in game-crunch terms. With other systems you get levelled abilities, spells etc. In RQ almost everything is available from the outset. Higher percentages and stacked spells are the mechanical rewards of advancing (surviving) in the game. As womble said, PCs are aiming for Hero status. How are they going to do that if they can't even cast a high level Bladesharp? Sure, there are other ways to be magically puissant, but why restrict Spirit Magic? It is as legitimate a form of magic as any other.