Shiningbrow

Theoretically, no. It's supposed to represent all the faints, dodges, thrusts, slashes, parties, etc that happened within those 12 seconds. Not simply an individual attack / parry. I think this is why I want to go with Action Points... some people are clearly more capable of moving and acting more often (reach & reflex), and others slower.

That's how I'd run it. Except when it is...

I'm seeing a pattern here... You've already called yourself (and by extension, your players) a powergamer, so realistically, this thread is really only discussion about powergaming... not really about Waha and RQG. (which was obvious as soon as the word "tier" was used). How many other GMs here would allow Issaries initiates to have access to any and every Rune Spell in the books ? (*sort of* forgetting /ignoring that they are limited by their own Rune Pool). I certainly wouldn't. Even associated cults would require some serious negotiations and really good reputation to get even a little bit of their special magics (with some being more generous than others).

I'm interpreting it as a gauge to determine how your character will respond, especially when in conflict, if the player doesn't want to make the decision. Remember that not having an honour passion isn't a negative, and doesn't force you to act a certain way. And thus... what happens if someone falls to 60% or lower?

Again, Orlanthi will debate this amongst themselves over the dinner table. Broo who offer to parley are obviously setting a trap, because they're not honourable creatures, and anyone who thinks so is clearly in league with them. We've all heard of that evil chaotic thing called "illumination " that makes chaos acts look OK. so... how many GMs would hit someone's Honour if someone killed a Befuddled Broo... I wasn't thinking of the CA's honour, but those they travel with. As per the question above. Does this honour extend to sentient undead? I ask this because Humakti would be a bit torn. Does a creature that should not exist be treated Honourably?

I disagree (except for the fanatics). You give honour and act honourably to honourable folks. Those without honour don't deserve that. Similar to CA cultists can Befuddle, and those under their care are protected - unless they're Chaos creatures. Obviously, this will be contentious - and I imagine that the Orlanthi would have this argument over dinner as well.

Last two paragraphs of the second link. Like all Passions, most people are not fanatics about Honor and can make pragmatic compromises. But if your Honor passion starts getting in the 80%+ range, then you are a fanatic. So that Sword Lord with a 90% Honor is going to tell you that an ambush is not proper and he won’t participate in it. And those Humakti are going to say that civilians are outside the scope of combat and are not going to be harmed or else. Same with people who surrender.And most Orlanthi are going to agree with the Humakti in principle, but they still might decide that ambushing those Lunars is worth a little dishonour. For many war leaders, having access to Humakt cult warriors is worth obeying the Rules of Honorable Combat. I would doubt that a Humakti that's trying to attain Sword level would participate. However, they might stand in the middle of the road, and casually announced that the Lunar regiment is surrounded, and they should all disarm. Also However... others might just have the opinion that Lunars = Chaos, so it's not dishonourable to ambush them. Killing on a cattle raid is *always* bad!

Two words... Blood Fued. The Love of family demands you enact vengeance. The Loyalty says you obey the head of the family to not bring down the wrath of the clan.

So, the gods really are free to act in the middle world? Arachne Solara 's net is actually an Eurmal illusion?? oooh.... that's deep!

I find that silly. I think you should be able to - but it will come at a cost - time. So, for me, someone can do 2 of 3 things - attack, parry, or cast non-Rune magic spells. It's very silly to say that Rune magic takes effect on SR 1, but then they can't do anything else except parry or dodge for the rest of the round.

At the sort of level we're talking about, merely adjusting by a few % isn't going to change much. There's still quite a good chance that the tedium will continue, and even if a blow is landed, once again a quick heal (via a spirit) is toing to make it null and void. (Although, as I mentioned previously, long 'tedious' combats should be expected at that level. Now, an adjustment that adds a few % points to the Special/Critical range - that could be sweet. So, +10% to your next Critical chance, or +30% to the next special. (This is on top of the other options mentioned above).

We use punctuation as swear-words.. @!!@@***#1!

刀 in Chinese is the word for knife, of various types. With different prefixes, you also get cleaver or meat cleaver. And, as above, also sword (by extension). 大刀 translates literally as "big sword", but might be what we think of as a Chinese "broadsword" - 1-2H, bit of a curve, thicker at the pointy end, with a sharpened bit at the end. However, 剑 (Jian) is the fairly thin 2-edged "tai chi" sword we would think of. Quite a different skill set.

The last bit takes us into the "How to make combat more exciting" thread - with particular reference to the options that Mythras has.

The fun bit is going be... When she casts her DI, deciding what the most appropriate response from her goddess should be...

I knew I'd read it somewhere (and I actually wrote that the first time I tried to post it).

One thing I was going to write (but should have re-read the thread in case it's already been mentioned)... I think Specials & Crits should have a bunch of other options than merely more damage. Yeah, damage is great when you want to kill your opponent - but sucks when you want them alive. It's also largely wasted when their next action is to completely remove all that damage with 1 spell (especially when cast by someone/thing else). So, I'd suggest adding in other effects to specials & crits... greater advantages, flung weapons, putting them on the floor, getting around them and/or putting the blade to their throat, stuns, blinding, etc

I think that's part of the simulation. Two very skilled combatants shouldn't be taking each other out in seconds. those should be epically long battles, and only occasionally getting in a small hit. Look at your Star Wars Jedi/Sith battles... they go on for a while, because any hit is almost fatal. Do people complain that they aren't over in a few seconds (like a fencing bout)? Sure, it's not ideal, but I think that is more reflective of the environment, rather than the rules. "I swing, hit. They parry. They swing, hit. You parry. Next round...." Yeah, sounds really boring. But if it was a video game, movie or TV show, we'd be less bored.

Not really, unless you're defining "modern" as within the last few thousand years. Not quite that far back, Odin famously gave his eye for the knowledge and wisdom he received. And I don't think that it's all that uncommon and idea. And then there's the propitiation for when things are really bad. Yes, that makes sense. It's one thing to say you sacrifice a point or 2 of something, however, I think it would make sense that said point reduction manifests itself physically somehow.

What about real sacrifice, not just paying something you can easily afford? There should be something for those times when what you want/need is going to *really * cost you...

Good call! How do you split yours? Down the middle? Or can the player choose any combination (like a feint)?

As long as it's legit - sure!

I've mentioned this previously, but I think this should be a choice, justified as -a) doing everything you can to ensure a really good hit (special or crit) and hope the opponent doesn't parry (keep over 100%, parry at normal), or b) do a lot of feinting, dodging, etc to draw the opponent's defences to get in any hit (reduce to 100%, reduce parry %).

I disagree with a few of your points, but I'll really just address this. Two things - firstly is that this phalanx formation thing is brought over from real world warfare, which didn't have magic. So, it shouldn't really be assumed to work the same. Secondly, as you've hinted at, the use of elementals (and, indeed, most Rune Magic) is going to be a major thing, but not a huge thing. The PCs have quite a few points to throw about, as do the other important NPCs. But typical combatants will only have a couple, and a large percentage will have none (being Lay Members). I'd even suggest that the use of elementals is fairly rare in most (mass) combat situations. And thus, the above point is addressed - why phalanxes can still work in a magical world - usually! Over the din of a phalanx of marching troops, and the whooping and roar of Orlanthi (or other) combatants - I doubt it! Firstly, the initial casting can be done from 180m away... that doesn't mean they'll stay that far back. they are allowed to move, you know. Besides which, even though it might seem to go against what I just wrote above, there is a LOT of magic in Glorantha, so the idea of "magical support" is a very different to most other games. Secondly, no, I doubt that 2 spells are going to win a battle... unless there's a very potent sorcerer out there! Yelmookians.... I'll take it! 😁

I think we should move threads... this is a really good point about battlefield tactics and all, that will veer away from the OP.