Shiningbrow

9 hours ago, lordabdul said:

Nice. But yes, I'm always leaning towards "Incomplete Modelling" too, even though, as you say, it sometimes does have some "in-game-world side effects" and so, in effect, there are multiple subtly different Gloranthas for different systems (hence Jeff's comment). But when it comes to playing, if a player says "I'm casting Bladesharp 3", I consider that game-talk -- there's no such thing as "Bladesharp 3" in my Glorantha the same way there's no such thing as "DEX 12" (imagine an NPC saying "oh, you seem to have DEX 12, right?"... preposterous!).

I mostly agree (And definitely prefer this "incomplete modelling"), but you and I know we *can* talk about DEX 12, POW, MP, etc - in real life. (Sure, we'd be labelled as geeks!!) 

In saying that, I'd presume that someone somewhere has noticed the same effects of the differently named spells, and thus categorised them.

A couple of real world instances come to mind for stats... SIZ & INT. We've quantified sizes (S,M, L, or numerical - what's your shoe size??), and we regularly talk about a person's IQ (even EQ now).

Just saying... Bladesharp 6 could be a real thing to some people. So could "I need some armour for a SIZ 15 human".

Re: indexing... Why bother when you (somebody - chief librarian?) have the Geomancy spell?

RE: all that other knowledge... Logician.

Cryptic messages... Knowledge, Reconstruction or Translate.

7 hours ago, jajagappa said:

I'd also rule that if they don't know who or what is attacking (e.g. spell or spirit), then they really shouldn't be able to use a Rune/passion augment because they won't have any context to apply it to aid their defense

Unless the home/clan/temple is being attacked by... Something.....

I'm surprised Journey to the West - the tale of the Monkey King  - hasn't been brought up. Fantasy China by real Chinese.

Martial Arts, magic, gods, demons, dragons...

1 hour ago, g33k said:

I can imagine that some ducks might favor "scale" armor etched with a feather pattern!

Scale is for fish!

42 minutes ago, soltakss said:

Well, a google search for images of Ducks with Boobs has brought up almost nothing, which indicates they probably don't have them. 

Well, I used a google.au... so, perhaps Aussies like their boobs on ducks more than where you're searching 😛 (but, yeah.. not a lot)

(now, how many reading this are going to try their own search?? 😛 )

3 hours ago, Akhôrahil said:

(This, by the way, was something I ran into - the rules don't cover what happens when multiple PCs do their occupation for one economic unit, such as several of them, with varying skill levels, working on the same farm.)

The crops are still limited by the amount that can be grown and harvested. Having more hands work the land isn't going to change that.

More hands certainly makes a difference if all the land isn't being used productively, but I'd say that this isn't happening regularly (because it doesn't benefit the owner or tenant). More hands herding doesn't bring in more money - because you still have the same number of sheep/goats/cows... Buy more, and you can get more!

I'd presume the highest skill level would guide the lower skill levels... just as the tenants would be teaching their kids. You get the skill increases as you learn (preferably from someone else's experience) not to stand right in front of a stampede of cows...

3 minutes ago, Akhôrahil said:

Actually doing that work that season. It could be as easy as taking a break from your regular occupation to work at your uncle's farm for a while, or as complicated as getting accepted as a priest at the local temple.

Getting accepted as a priest takes being accepted as one. Working at your uncle's farm takes.just showing up.

I.e., some would take rolls and role play. Others just a statement... In my view.

23 minutes ago, Akhôrahil said:

I think you definitely should. A farmer turned bandit gets earnings and occupational experience from the bandit occupation (it would be super weird if he still got it from Farmer). 

This is actually great from the point of view of rapidly increasing skills you're bad at, but to compensate, you don't make good earnings initially because of poor occupational skills.

I suppose the bigger question is , how? Just a statement of intent? Or requires the player to outline and RP the change?

3 minutes ago, Quackatoa said:

"This is a race cursed by the gods during the Great Darkness for not joining them versus the forces of Chaos. It is unknown whether they were originally human and became feathered and web-footed, or originally ducks cursed with flightlessness and intelligence."

– RuneQuest (2nd ed., 1979), p. 79.

"Legend claims that these odd creatures were cursed during the premortal times. It is unclear whether they were humans cursed with feathers and webbed feet or ordinary ducks cursed with intelligence and flightlessness."

– RuneQuest (3rd ed., 1984), Creatures Book, p. 15.

"The origin of the ducks is a mystery to outsiders. Legend claims they were cursed by the gods in the Great Darkness for not joining them versus the forces of Chaos, although it is unclear if they were humans cursed with feathers and webbed feet or ordinary ducks cursed with intelligence and flightlessness."

– Sartar Companion (2010), p. 110.

"It is unknown whether they were originally human and became feathered and web-footed, or originally ducks cursed with flightlessness and intelligence."

– RuneQuest Glorantha Bestiary (2018), p. 31.

 

I realise that what I'll term 'the Borderlands paradigm' is strong (not least as it's the longest description of ducks published, and has been reprinted practically word for word in River of Cradles, and also the RuneQuest Glorantha Bestiary), but it's worth remembering that Borderlands (1982) does note (Referee's Handbook, p. 25): "Their origins are obscure, though some tales tell of them as an avian folk who forswore their allegiance to Yelm to follow Orlantha, and were denied the sky as punishment." (Emphasis mine.)

I know, this is a fairly long-winded way of defending the potential for something I don't actually believe (!), but I like that the sources are intentionally ambiguous and like to reiterate that they're not as proscriptive as is often assumed.

Indidentally, this is also the case for keets, for whom the idea that they gave up their powers of flight is pretty standard. (Particularly because it reinforces—and self-reinforces—the perception gained from Borderlands for ducks, given the contrast: one kind cursed involuntarily to flightlessness for their own cowardice and selfishness; the other voluntarily and selflessly sacrificing it to save the world.) But, were I to be provocative, I'd suggest that the most neutral reading of Revealed Mythologies would suggest that modern keets are likely descended from ancestors that never could fly. But there's a lot going on, there - not least 'Greg things' vs 'Sandy things'.

 

Fair enough!

I suppose I was more MGV... it seems weird to punish humans by turning them into  Ducks - although there have been weirder curses. Flying creatures with intelligence (and some level of handedness), and the ability to fight Chaos - but refusing to - and being cursed with flightlessness (especially by Sky/Air gods)  makes a LOT of sense! Especially mythically - the god could easily say (enforce) "you're not coming into my realm any more"...

I really like the threaad, and especially the drawings! Amazing!!!

I know it's old, but I want to bring this up (not for you, but just in general).

On 6/19/2018 at 5:40 AM, Quackatoa said:

DO DUCKS HAVE BOOBS?

Boobs are, as I'm sure we all know, mammary glands - and that, by definition, means mammals. Are ducks mammals? I would presume not, because they got cursed not to fly - not to change their biology. Does a duckling suckle mother's milk?? (I think we need a Duck-pac book!)

Personally, I dislike the inclination for artists to anthropomorphise not only general body shapes, but also complete societal trends, including what humans think of as attractive. Clothing I get - it's handy (usually), and you can show stuff off - as many ducks would (in particular, the males).  So, in that vein, I'd keep the males as the more inclined to dress flashy and have lots of bling (and a few points in Sing and Dance!) Female ducks can also show off nice stuff - but I don't think they'd be quite as showy as the males.

Ducks don't need boobs...

(on the armour for a Vingan - maybe if they're specifically trying to emulate a human expression of a deity... or if they're really taken with human society)

Wow! Well done!!!!!

8 hours ago, soltakss said:

I've got a version of the Cleansed One HeroQuest on my website. It's quite deadly but cures all Chaos Taints/Curses, if you survive it.

What makes a Chaos creature *want* to give up its Chaos????  (Other than Illumination?)

On the subject of gains, I too think it's pretty silly to give flat gains. It completely ignores the possibility that the reader actually already knows this knowledge with their current skill level.

(A 1% increase in knowledge is actually a *huge* amount! Just consider the amount of material you had to read throughout all of your schooling, primary, secondary, tertiary... (cos, you know, modern education is a modern thing))

(Is a 100% plant lore in Glorantha equivalent to 100% in RL?)

11 hours ago, Joerg said:

While a book isn't meant to be read in one go, I would at least demand concentration rolls to keep your mind on the topic of the book rather than casting your Logician spell when studying it.

7 points duration is 6 hours... Find me anyone who can keep their concentration up for that long anyway! (Well, yes, I know... Very few people can... And, in fact, it should be a skill, power, magic or whatever LM teaches!)

1 hour ago, Joerg said:

Yes, but for it to have an effect you need to spend about 14 points on duration, and then some on intensity. Or a couple of POW for inscribing the spell.

???

Just recast...(granted, it'd be more economical with 14 duration, but if you're cutting it fine, 7 pts would do)

59 minutes ago, g33k said:

There are quite a few "canonical" myths spread across all the "canonical" sources.

I think every campaign should add myths specific to their own interests, but I don't especially want Chaosium to come sprinkle any of them with Canonicity Dust.

As you say... for "stories and myths" the status of canon doesn't matter (at least, not NEARLY as much as how they fit at the table in question).

I'm just thinking of a situation in which a fan might write a myth in which, say, Elmal keeps his fire powers and gets Sunspear... Just because... 

Q: do you allow for changing occupation? And thus, getting a new selection of skills?

My only 'concern' might be how canonical they would be... As in - not.

Granted, these are stories and myths, so may not matter.

It would be good if Chaosiun would look over them from time to time to give a seal (or sealion, or similar) of approval. Perhaps a formal publication??

10 hours ago, kirinyaga said:

Hey, it's only a fair return for the rare, difficult and highly esoteric skill of Read/Write(language) !

Bah! If you have a good Read/Write, you're likely to be in Lhankor Mhy.

If you're in Lhankor Mhy, you are likely to have sorcery.

If you have sorcery (especially in LM), you probably have Logician.

And Logician allows you to increase any other Read/Write ...

How would Plant Lore, Mineral Lore etc affects alchemy? 

A single Augment roll doesn't quite seem right...

7 hours ago, Akhôrahil said:

I would imagine that the idea is that just because you know a fact about, say, geography, doesn't mean you learn anything more just by knowing that.

However, I think this could be far more reasonably handled by the GM only allowing checkmarks when there's something to actually be learned.

Isn't that the purpose of the roll?

On 8/1/2019 at 11:04 AM, Sir_Godspeed said:

but it's a bit odd when you have it next to words with complex consonant clusters like "skr" and such (which I *think* is not even phonologically possible in Mandarin, though I could be wrong).

You are correct. 

There should be a teaching skill. Good teachers make a *significant* difference to a learner. They should also be well paid for it.

Just knowing a skill well doesn't mean you have any ideas as to how best to explain it to others (and, typically, means falling back on concepts that can actually be wrong, or stunt development).

Teaching skill.

Adds percent to both chance to increase, and the increase itself.  Perhaps equal to crit value.

The best swordswinger could be the most useless teacher (they kill, not chat), but a good teacher can interpret an explain much better, even with less knowledge and skill.

I don't get why knowledge skills don't have auto-checks... When you read/write, you're seeing different styles, ways to use lexis & grammar to make meaning, etc. Other skills give you the chance to make a connection you've not realised before - or just more certain.