g33k

Shhhh. Most of the boys don't like to see these penetrating insights revealed in public! Let's just say that when they make camp, most nomad-barbarian wives make sure they have some spare tent pegs. To honor their respective Deities.

Wasn't the earliest one D&D's explicit use of "Hobbit" (and "Balrog")

On the one hand, that completely sucks. On the other hand... their primary function is a retail site, not a review site; so it's pretty understandable! Despite the "ability" to review, I think the overwhelming majority of users see it as a place to buy. They "silo" their expectations & use of online sites, going to places like EnWorld & RPGnet (or whatever) for reviews... And chatting in the forum and maybe looking for threads like "sell me / un-sell me." "E-tailers" (like many online replacements for brick&mortars) are notably poor at the social/community element. Browsing the F&SF aisles in a bookstore or library, I have had MANY interactions with other individuals, strangers, having a 5-min chat about "what do you like? what's good here, on these shelves in front of us?" Online sales just seems to lack that element... to their detriment, I think. (edit: not that I expect I'm educating Mr.Suitcase with my rant; but maybe an interesting perspective for some folk who have had Amazon &c for their entire buying/adult lives ... ) .

Unfortunately, "discontinued" (and therefore unavailable) is NOT equivalent to "freely available in e-copy". If this is based on Michael Moorcock's work, he is still the sole owner of the (c). As noted, NobleKnight and online stores like e-bay/amazon for used are your most likely options. But "second hand PDF" is not a thing!

So it's like ... an anti-spoiler? Not IN the film, but context so the alien viewer can better understand what IS in the film?

... or death.

Statistically speaking, we're usually right, and the other person's usually wrong. It can make spotting those exceptions extra-challenging to the SOB-inclined. Get outta my mirror, PhilHibbs!

Gonna have to disagree. I've seen some rules-text that looks remarkably like computer code (at one remove); like pseudocode; like algorithmic process. 😵 I could probably take it as a design-document into a 2nd-year programming class. I think Chaosium is intentionally not covering every-last-detail in the ways those "more complete" RPGs do. That said -- yes, I do think there's some stuff in RQG that was done out of "laziness" or the like. Sword & Axe Trances not explicitly having "trance-y" features (as Arrow Trance DOES have (which (taken together as facts) sort-of implies "<Melee Weapon> Trance" is only called a "trance;" but they've explicitly corrected that (but the correction is hard to find))). Call that "lazy"if you will; or "sloppy." Or observe it as the nearly-inevitable outcome of a grognardian author, writing with the unconscious assumptions of decades of play, and a grognardian line-dev/editor, in lockstep that of course it's obvious that a spell called "<X> Trance" is a trance (those spells have always worked that way).

I've got to agree with this sentiment, particularly item (a). At the same time, we need to note the context: (emphasis added by me) That link says: So, however stylistically-unsatisfying the response, the intent is clear. I nevertheless hope one day to get a "RQG Revised Edition" (one where some of these perennial debates are addressed... and unambiguously resolved) 😁

One of the great things about the BRP "extended family" of games is that -- broadly speaking -- any given subsystem from any one of them can be easily (often seamlessly) used in any other of them. Strike Ranks seems daunting? As noted, use "DEX ranks" instead (or any other initiative system, really). Etc etc etc ... I too like BRP itself as the foundation-game for learning RQ. Gotta reiterate, though -- each subsystem can be tried separately, incrementally. You don't have to go everything/nothing! === However, I will urge that you lean-in on location-based HitPoints (& Armor/AP!). They are one of the most-characteristic bits of RQ mechanics, to me! And my experience of them is that they really enhance play at the table. Make sure you use one of character-sheets (like the main one in the rulebook) that has the stylized figure with location-based HP's & AP's & the hit-locations marked (some people swear by alternate sheets, that just have a little table for this content... it takes all kinds, I guess!). Roll d100 attack-skill and d20 hit-location (also damage-dice!) all at the same time, so you don't have to go digging for new dice & rolling again. It really isn't any harder to track the HP's in different locations, when you have that convenient little graphic with all the location HP's recorded. I find the result of having location-based HP's is that dramatic tension is higher, and narrative emerges from the mechanics... "Oddwalt has gone down to -1HP in his right arm, and the sword slips from his numbed fingers... he backs away, desperately parrying with his buckler and unable to get a grip on his backup dagger." "Corbyn is at 0 points in his leg, but the Berserk spell keeps him upright and fighting; his foe goes to 0, and staggers <GM rolls DEX (and will keep rolling every round)> barely able to stay upright." (note the last one -- DEX roll not to fall, with a 0-hp leg -- is my own HR afaik, not RAW). I find that "bag-o-HP's" (aka "general" HP's) is an attritional slog with MUCH less dramatic tension, particularly when armor makes many hits low-to-zero damage... per-location HP's, in contrast, usually means that even low-damage hits move that hit-location substantially closer to being disabled, and high-damage foes can usually disable any single party-member in one shot; I find that the risks increase the tension of the combat scenes!

Maybe, but "a few rounds" can be HUGE in combat; particularly if it has taken an uber-buff'ed linchpin character out, where much of the party had dumped prep-spells and the group strategy revolves around your Berserker's linear charge toward the Chaos Shrine, or the impenetrable parrying of your Sword's Trance...

Personally, I don't feel Befuddle needs the errata. As I said (and I think you agree) the intent of "beginning the next melee round..." seems clear. OTOH, if there's going to be an errata printing, or even a PDF-doc of errata, I suppose it's worth including, since some people apparently don't agree that the intent is so clear.

There is also the allied Fumble (which I've seen more than once, at the table: Fumble hitting Befuddle'd character, who then re-activates in the fight... but fighting on the wrong side!).

I do presume that last bit, yes -- Befuddle means you don't know who your enemy is, etc; THEREFORE you don't attack/etc (but you defend -- which could include buffing yourself). Once you get attacked, you DO know who an evident enemy is, and therefore may attack them (and their allies) the following round; that language, "Beginning the next melee round..." seems definitive as to the intent, albeit the Nitpickery Tribe (a branch of Lismelder, I think?) might claim that it's not explicit, so it doesn't count. YGWV, until errata'ed.

I think we are still waiting publication of specific text. Jeff has stated quite clearly that all the "<X> Trance" spells are indeed trances, and will generally follow the model of Arrow Trance. That spell does seem to preclude self-defense casting (or was that in regards to the issue of being Befuddle'd?) I think the correction will come in the Red Book of Magic, (if they decide to publish it), or CoG (Cults of Glorantha seeming to be Chaosium's currently-preferred title... though I admit much fondness for the GaGoG acronym!)

This was often explicitly incorporated in the"city charter," which often (usually?) came straight from the King. In places where the monarch was strong, the right to become a freeman this way was probably well respected. If the monarch was weaker, and the local noble(s) able to do as they wanted, the city's rights might be less respected. A few cities became strong enough (aka wealthy enough) to have castle-caliber walls built, and hire and/or train professional-caliber soldiers, and no longer needed the King to keep them safe.

TYVM. This is an invaluable at-the-table report! With the proviso that it's ONE table (presumably one GM) and so there will be less challenge to assumptions & preconceptions, of course!

Huh. That's an interesting interpretation. I'll have to think about it. TYVM! I don't think it's automatically true, but... I need to think further.

A hundred fyrdmen with bows? A few hidden Aldryami with Arrow Trance? Various forms of stealth -- including magic -- so they can't see you at range to leverage all that slingfire? I mean... yes.

I'm sorry, but (as noted above) -- this guy is Death come into the world. You step onto the dueling ground expecting to die. Again: ambush is one of those things that -- like a serious advantage in missile weapons -- is well known as a common winning tactic.

Also slings! Mobs of trollkin are a huge threat! Including to SwordTrance'd Humakti, because they can stand off and boldly Bolg. Agreed! But please note we're going further and further afield from legitimately criticizing <X> Trance as the too-good 1-RP "I win" button. 1 RP + 10 or so MP's (and thus a round of casting) + some other buffs (Truesword?), plus some anti-debuffing spells to absorb "blind" dispels, and, and, and ... And a fsck'ing pack of trollkin take him out with NO MAGIC and some gnawed-up lead. Or someone with the right spells actually does that targetted Dispel/Dismiss.

Given how much "we stand off, and missile them to death" is already a common (aka "winning," if one side has better missile weapons/skills) RQ tactic, I really can't call this "completely changing encounters." 😁 Given that Dispel is "mere" spirit magic, and Dismiss is "Common" as Rune Magic, I consider these as more-common-than-not; I expect them as routine; certainly more common than <X> Trance! But yeah... a Berserk'ed Troll with a maul is one of the exemplars of "awww, SHIT... hit 'im hard and fast and be ready to run if we can't put 'im down!" (alternatively: "stand off and missile 'im to death!")

Eurmal loves you. Ernalda & Chalana Arroy are REALLY pissed at you... and probably make their displeasure known. 😱 Because walking around in that kind of garb really isn't representing your God(dess), and they really do care about that sort of thing. But that's ok, at least somebody loves you. Even if he is a bit of a sociopath sometimes.

I'm pretty sure that a "Grim Foe wearing Death+Truth" has the other side "guessing" Sword Trance as their go-to guess. I mean, what's the worst that could happen? They mis-guess, and waste a Dispel on a foe who... isn't as dangerous as a S.Trance'd Humakti would have been. Seems reasonable to me. Ditto for screaming chicks with axes -- that's Axe Trance (and/or Berserk).

This is correct, and working as-designed. They aren't all equally "fighter-y." Orlanth can fly and lightning-bolt, etc (not to mention other "Adventurous" magics Orlanthi can get)... Which pretty much murderizes the Humakt sword-guy, in a head-to-head fight! (hint: it ISN'T "head to head;" Orlanthi just call upon their winds to fart in the Humakti's general direction). If the Orlanthi doesn't WANT to do that (because that's too, uh... "caster-y" ... ??? I dunno ... ) then the Orlanthi doesn't really have a "good solution" for when the Humakt shows up with his signature murderization magic, and IS willing to cast it. I mean... you have a warrior-priest of the God of Death, and he's wielding a physical manifestation of Death-Rune, made out of Death Metal <strike an awesome electric-guitar power chord here, heavy on the distortion!> and you... want to out-duel him in face to face fighting? You want the hordes of mooks NOT to fall like tenpins? Or were you thinking "they are all just fighters... Orlanthi are storm-fluff'ed fighters, and Storm Bull are anti-Chaos/Berzerk fluff'ed fighters, &c... and Humakti are God Of Death - fluff'ed fighters... but in the end it's all just fluff" ? You expected Humakt to be... fluffy? He's really more... Death-y. REALLY. It's what Humakt DOES, that's his THING. Humakti do it better than other mortals. Similar arguments for Storm Bull, who REALLY shines when Chaos is afoot (or aslime, or whatever disgusting mode of locomotion Chaos is using this time), and/or when you think a murderously-berzerk guy is the good (or amusing) solution to the problem. I think this is a key issue; there really ISN'T the fighter/caster divide that other games (e.g. games with "fighter" and "caster" character-classes) have. Sure, the Rune Priest is more caster-y than the Rune Lord, but I wouldn't feel "safe" on a battlefield ignoring the weapon-skills of the Priest or the spells of the Lord! But in Glorantha, everyone usually does both! If the Humakti is showing up and the Orlanthi feels he's losing the dicksizing contest, get the Orlanthi to Dark Walk round the battle -- where everyone is OMG'ing at the frontline carnage -- and go Mano-a-EatMyThunderbolt against the BBEG. "Yeah, thanks for the assist, Big H! You really kept the rabble off my back there! Couldn't have done it without ya!"