Kloster

On 9/16/2022 at 5:49 PM, Rodney Dangerduck said:

Unfortunately, we originally treated "requires that the cults be compatible" as neutral or better, not friendly.

This is also what we understood.

1 hour ago, Jose Luis said:

Hello,

I have a doubt concerning a sorcery spell.

One of my players has a sorcerer with "steal breath", and unless I am understanding the spell wrong, this spell seems completely broken and overpowered.  Basically, my player activates it, with no enemies around, just obtaining lots of magic points in the process.  He keeps the spell activated for a whole day, which he can do easily by spending 8 additional MP (he knows the runes and techniques for not paying double), and he gets a ton of MP.  Then, for any other spell thrown in the same day he has an extensive amount of MP so he becomes a powerhouse with his other spells, because he can intensify them immensely, almost with no limit.

For example, by doing this he uses "enhanced INT" to raise several points the INT of the whole team for a huge amount of time.

This is greatly unbalancing the games, so I do not know if he is using the spell "legally" and if he is correct, how can I compensate this situation.

Or maybe it is intended to be like this, so in this case I shall try to adapt.

Also, in the description of "steal breath" it is stated that it can be used as an attack against a PERSON.  The player wants to use it against much bigger oponents (as a dream dragon, for instance).  Would it work the same?  How would it go?  Also, if the opponent simply moves away form the area where the vacuum has beed created, wouldn't that easily cancel any damage?

Thanks and regards.

 

To be able to cast steal breath with a duration of 1 day, you need 9 points of Intensity, just for the duration, which means minimum 9 points of Free INT.

To cast 'Enhance INT' for long duration, you need lots of MP (that 'Steal Breath' can provide) AND lot of Free INT: To cast 'Enhance INT' for a duration of 1 week, with a STR enough to add 3 points of INT, you need a duration of 12 and a strength of 9, meaning a Free INT of 21. I am not counting the amount of MP needed to do it, but it is high.

You can try to attack a dream dragon with it (I agree he should be affected), but just try to win the POW vs POW (when used as an attack vs a person/creature).

44 minutes ago, PhilHibbs said:

Interesting... that implies that you can't ever use the MPs that you have gained, because as soon as you start to cast another spell, the Steal Breath drops and you lose the MPs. The spell clearly says that the MP can be used to cast spells though.

I would treat it like a passive spell once concentration stops, so you keep the MP for the rest of the duration but you stop gaining MP.

This is how I play it.

12 hours ago, Erol of Backford said:

Along the same lines, how does it work if a group of PC's target a gaseous form vampire with disruption spells or could they not?

If the vampire has no power are they immune to spirit magic or do the PC's simply need to overcome any magic points the vampire has drained from victims?

What if by chance the vampire has no magic points when the PC's find them? Would all non failing spirit magic overcome there magic point total of zero?

For me,  the answer is yes on all 3 points.

54 minutes ago, Nick J. said:

I don’t know how accurate the source is, but supposedly Roman Legionaries we’re required to be able to force march ~18 miles, carrying 45 lbs. in under 12 hours.

I wasn’t in the military, but I did lots of backpacking and that’s a pretty good clip (particularly on parts of the Pacific Crest Trail or other steep/rugged terrain). I was in great shape at the time and you definitely felt it if you went much farther, particularly carrying closer to 55-60 lbs and usually hiking at 20 miles per day in about 8-10 hours.

im not sure why sladethesniper is being snarky or dismissive? These are all decent in-the-ballpark numbers as far as I can tell?

His comment was about 30 Miles (around 50km) with full pack (meaning in France 30 kg, around 65 lbs). This is doable. Difficult, but doable but you don't repeat it and you need rest after that. The normal march was around 20 to 30 km.

And you either don't carry the full pack, or you don't go the full length.

21 hours ago, Agentorange said:

Paris and Tring are not German or Dutch.........

Neither is Basel (for 100m).

On 9/1/2022 at 12:46 PM, smiorgan said:

This is very true. My kids never went beyond playing with dad an his friends, so they basically quit playing. I was exctatic when my older son was starting a D&D5 game with his high school classmates but then the Pandemic came and killed it.   

Same for my elder son. I purchased French RQG so he can try it with his friends, and zap.

19 hours ago, Squaredeal Sten said:

Another historical example: Why are there many picturesque castles on the Rhine?  No  the medieval petit monarchs were not building to enhance modern tourism.  Each castle was a point at which they could charge tolls.

In France, a lot of toll points were on bridges or in narrow valley. Close to where I leave is a town named 'Peage de Vizille'. That means 'Vizille's toll'. This was where the tolls were payed, at the narrowest point of the Oisans's valley.

19 hours ago, Squaredeal Sten said:

There is actually a historical situation that matches my pessimistic model.  That is medieval Europe.   As I understand it in France the local nobility burdened trade with tolls.  It lasted centuries.  Even without a single clear choke point on the map.   Even the rise of the monarchy did not totally erase it, and the monarchy did grant monopolies.   Intra country free trade did not completely come true until the Revolotion.  Perhaps one of the French participants on the forum will correct or affirm my impression.

You are even below what was the situation up to roughly 15th century and only royal envoy (with merchandise/cargo/weapons/luxuries) could travel freely, but it improved slightly after that. 18th century was a period of trade for France. The revolution canceled this but the country was in terrible turmoil, so almost all trade was local or short ranged. 1st empire was also a great period of trade (and wars, but this is another matter).

I seem to remember that Lady Vega Goldbreath had to divorce. I don't remember if it was in 'Sun County' or in 'River of Cradles'.

You also have in 'Strangers in Prax' that Lunar authorities allowed a 'diluted' form of air-worship under Faltikus's direction.

26 minutes ago, Beoferret said:

Side question: could the Aldryami grow an individual who had a tongue shaped properly for speaking Auld Wyrmish fluently? 

The rule concerns humans. We have to wait for official Aldriamy rule, bu I would say no (except of course with Heroquest/Magic,/...).

29 minutes ago, None said:

Ah. So the way I understand it then is that you're technically able to increase the skill as high as you wish but for the purpose of actually speaking the language it will never count as more than 25%, unless some unusual or special circumstances changes that.

Yes, that would be the least complicated and problematic way of handling and would make it possible for you to be a masterful scholar of spoken Auld Wyrmish even though you're physically unable to make the necessary sounds and to speak it fluently. Or even well.

This is exactly how I have understood it (and how we play it).

3 minutes ago, PhilHibbs said:

Those just allow you to tick the check box, which you then roll for normally at the end of the season, so it only makes a difference if you didn't get a POW tick for another reason that season.

This is not how I understand it. I may be wrong.

3 minutes ago, PhilHibbs said:

Disease spirit gains are in addition to the seasonal check chance. Risky though, and the way I read it you can't just find and beat up a spirit. It has to attack you and then you fight it off.

I read it the same way as you.

9 hours ago, PhilHibbs said:

Depends on how many disease spirits you can find to fight off.

Also depends on Battle skill outcomes (Specials and Criticals bring an extra POW experience check).

13 minutes ago, Shiningbrow said:

But, getting to 32 INT (or higher) is easy!!! (expensive, but easy). You can increase Intensity via Inscribing with extra POW... That's possibly how some of those you mention did it.

Yes, and this is very efficient. But the cost in MP for the spells you are casting afterwards using said raised INT are truly horrendous.

2 hours ago, metcalph said:

I got the impression from the RQG rules that Tapping (specifcially Steal Breath) was easier in that there was less moral objection whereas originally most Malkioni schools have forbidden the usage. 

Yes. What I have understood is that the Tapping technique brings a chaos mark (and is forbidden for most sorcery using cultures), but that you can cast spells by inferred techniques, doubling the MP cost, without learning the technique. Of course, some people will not care about the mark, but for most, this may allow for some use.

4 hours ago, Shiningbrow said:

My question wasn't about why have a familiar. It was why use an inanimate object like a staff. I just see it as a huge waste of characteristics (in a version where each point of STR, DEX, etc would cost the sorcerer those... esp the INT and POW).

3 hours ago, PhilHibbs said:

Maybe if you take a spirit that has INT and POW and CHA, bind it into a staff, then give it one of each physical stat, you get a familiar without having to spend the "important" stats. But creating it from nothing providing all the INT... madness.

With a physical object like the staff, SIZ does not have to be created (assuming RQ3 rules). It already had SIZ 1.

3 hours ago, PhilHibbs said:

The best familiar I ever came up with was my troll's hag.

I once saw a possessed herdman. You just need to add 1 point to any stat to have a familiar. The player (obviously) choosed 1 POW. The same player wanted to do it again on a Vampire (only POW is to be created), but the GM never let a vampire be captured.

Completely agree.

16 minutes ago, Darius West said:

It seems pretty odd that Yelmalio is dating his Dad's ex-wife, just saying.

The problem is more for Yelmalio that Ernalda also has Argan Argar as Husband Protector, not that she also dated Yelm.

3 hours ago, Shiningbrow said:

I presume, then, that a LM sorcerer (or, for that matter, any other appropriate cultist) can't have both in your Glorantha.

13 minutes ago, PhilHibbs said:

I repeated something that Greg said over twenty years ago, that doesn't mean that it is my fully formed and fixed opinion. Apparently that isn't current thinking on Gloranthan cosmology. Having said that, I think I am strongly leaning towards it being that way. So no, you can't under normal circumstances have both in my Glorantha.

In mine, they can (or could, if familiars are brought back).

29 minutes ago, PhilHibbs said:

If they are a Gloranthan thing then maybe Arkati, Lunars, Aeolians, basically "theistic" sorcerers might have them. A sorcerous parallel to allied spirits, and an abomination to the purists.

This idea I like a lot. Thanks.

2 hours ago, Saxton said:

I'd suggest using the rules in the book, remove the casting time of a full round (12strike ranks?) plus 12strike rank per magic point used. And just go with the 1sr/mp used.

Rule is 1 full round, plus 1SR/MP.

10 hours ago, Squaredeal Sten said:

Mumbai, India 76,790 per sq mile;  Bogota Colombia 35 000 per Sq mile;  Manila, Phillippines 27 307 per Sq mile; St. Petersburg RU 22069 per Sq mile;   Monterrey Mexico 17303 per square mile;  London UK 13210 per square mile; Athens Greece 13963 per square mile 

Paris (France, not Texas) is 53,188 hab/sq mi  (20,544 hab/sq km in 2021).

10 hours ago, svensson said:

The best comparisons on population density in a Bronze Age context is to look at the City of Rome during the Republic, Thebes or Memphis of Pharaonic Egypt or one of the metropolises [metropolii?] of Han China. Over 300,000 [and at times a solid *million*] people jammed into the city with entire regional provinces devoted to feeding that city. This is the best comparison to this for a major urban area in Glorantha would be Glamour or Nochet.

Imperial Rome was said to be 1385 ha for 300,000 to 1,000,000 inhabitants (depending on sources, Marc Bloch giving 255,000). That gives us 21,600 hab/sq km or 56,000 hab/sq mi (for 300,000 hab). This is equivalent to current Paris (that has lost 1,000,000 inhabitants in 1 century), and required a whole country and part of an empire to be fed.

10 hours ago, svensson said:

Boldhome might have as many people as Athens or Alexandria in Egypt.

Around 400BC, Athens was roughly 160,000 inhabitants (including slaves) for roughly 3.5 sq km for 45,700 hab/sq km or 118,350 hab/sq mi. This is more than twice as densely populated as current Paris, and required whole Attica to be fed.

13 hours ago, Rodney Dangerduck said:

A few of our PCs are nearing the CHA limit.  I guess we are supposed to join another cult.  Pending the release of any Heroquesting rules...

Anybody have other clever or even good ideas?

The CHA limit is the number of RP you may have, not the number of rune spells you may know. Once you get to the limit, you still may learn spells, but get no new RP. In addition, you may loose RP, either by DI or using 1 use spells.