Dragon

Disrupt has a 'target', not a 'living target'. If Disrupt works on spirits and manifest elementals, I would think it works on skeletons. Zombies are listed with 1d6 MP, with no POW. Skeletons probably should have an MP stat in the Bestiary. Besides Turn Undead certainly works on them, and requires a resistance roll against their MP.

Those darn archeologists who carry weapons! I always liked the "That's O'Neill with two Ls". Indeed. I am convinced that those examples (not bad ones at all) are all quite loaded with heroquest abilities which we cannot yet describe as we are still waiting for HeroQuest rules for RQ. (Not the renamed QuestWorlds). We got a tease for the Hero Points from <woodsy spoiler which shall remain unnamed here>. But very vague rules as to how that works. Can that one point be used constantly, every 15 minutes, does it require worshippers to restore it?

Well said. I was thinking it was pretty obvious that if you made that Sacred Time Illumination roll with a e.g. skill of 14, you would be able to overcome your Passions by an opposed roll of the Illumination skill vs Passion. Which is to say, still pretty rare when you first start out.

An intriguing prospect. I do not recall a RAW method to achieve Runes much above 100. IIRC If you use it successfully, you get an experience check. You can then roll against the current ability - which has no bonus. Thus, the character has to roll a lot of exactly 100. But I do get that the Movement/"Status" dichotomy should garner attention even at Movement 70/Stasis 90. Clearly said character has swapped competing power runes. Hence, you must be saying that said character did some nefarious or extremely unusual runic manipulations to achieve those runes. Much heroquesting!

Good question, but it is answered already by the following paragraphs. That concentration roll only applies to Riding mounts. It is overridden for Cavalry and War mounts. My emphasis in bold, from RiG page 167: " When an adventurer is riding an animal untrained for battle, the player must roll the adventurer’s Ride skill or less every melee round and at any time the mount is injured. If the roll is unsuccessful, the adventurer must spend the next melee round calming the animal by making a Ride roll, to the exclusion of all else. If the adventurer does not attend to their mount, or fails the roll, the animal bolts away from the excitement. If this happens, refer to the rules in the Ride skill description for unexpected actions by the animal. Controlling an animal during battle requires concentration. An active spell such as Fireblade is impossible to maintain due to the concentration the spell needs. A cavalry animal is trained to remain under control in combat: Ride rolls are not needed and active spells can be maintained. A trained war animal fights for itself and the rider needs only to sit on the animal, so that Ride rolls are not necessary and active spells can be cast." You will notice the same clarifications for cavalry and trained war animal in on page 220. Fireblade cast while riding cavalry mounts is just fine, RAW. So are other active spells. That is a good way to get around the MA 4 requirement for the non-Fireblade active spells. Have the mount do the movement. That was why I didn't repeat that here, I figured that anyone who knew Fireblade and might try to use it in mounted combat would likely have at least a cavalry mount. The main thing I get from those repeated mentions is: DON'T ride an untrained mount into actual combat. Untrained mounts bad, trained mounts good.

Your explanation 'having that POW vs POW struggle' is definitely not RAW. Spirit Combat is specifically called out. Taking magical damage is specifically called out. Having the enemy casting a Disrupt that fails to overcome your POW is definitely not called out. Maybe if the Disrupt comes from your friend it is a 'something unexpected happen'. Sure, if you are overcome with a non-damaging spell, that could be 'unexpected'. But successfully resisting a spell in a Gloranthan battle cast by an enemy you perceive? No, happens all the time. Here is the quote from RQG: RiG page 247: "Such spells require the concentration of the caster to remain in effect for their full duration. If the caster tries to throw another spell, is attacked in spirit combat, takes physical or magical damage, or has something unexpected happen, then the caster must make a concentration roll (INT×3 as a percentage) or the effects of the spell cease and the spell must be recast for the effect to again apply." If the designers had agreed with you it would say (emphasis added): "Such spells require the concentration of the caster to remain in effect for their full duration. If the caster tries to throw another spell, is attacked in spirit combat, takes physical damage, must resist a magical spell, or has something unexpected happen, then the caster must make a concentration roll (INT×3 as a percentage) or the effects of the spell cease and the spell must be recast for the effect to again apply."

Definitely not in terms of iron on trolls. That is specifically for any portion that bypassed armor and parry. So if you rolled 19 damage (including damage bonus), and the troll parried with a great club for 12, then armor stopped 6, one point got through and is doubled to 2 for iron on a troll. Had the parry failed, 13 got through to be doubled to 26. Note that doubled damage for a Humakti gift also works after armor.

Fire Elementals can be affected by any weapon. All elementals can be. RQG Bestiary, page 177, start of second column: "All elementals can be struck in combat with ordinary weapons, breaking up their physical form and eventually disrupting them. They have only one hit location and no armor. When an elemental has been reduced to 0 hit points, it dissolves." You are either conflating the rules in RQG: page 36 section call 'Attacking with Weapons and Spells' for disembodied spirits. Elementals are not disembodied spirits while manifesting. stating that Fire Elementals explicitly are immune to fire damage. I will note that no specific statement in RQG Bestiary states that. Though that may be a reasonable suggestion, the RAW do not say that. Are Dehori immune to Fear? Lunes to Madness? Umbroli to Lightning? Are things without INT immune to Madness and Mindblast? I would guess Mindblast at least. But that would answer the question about Lunes and Madness.

Presumably that Chalana Arroy is part of the party, and agreed to whatever shares the party defined. Any such CA who then says, 'because I fixed your maimed leg during the battle against the scorpion men, you also owe my temple' should be brought before the Lawspeakers for violation of the contract. The party agreed to bring the CA along knowing the CA's contribution to any fights was almost completely limited to healing. Sure, the CA could also track, listen, devise, etc.. Now, if the Chalana Arroy didn't get shares of the proceeds, the CA is entitled to charge for healing. For example, a healer you rescued. The party should simply part ways with a double dealing CA?

This.

I loved Asimov too. But, the entire idea that a certain robot can override the Three Laws by inventing a Zero-th Law was certainly rules-mongering in my estimation.

Thank you so much for the reference document.

Not exactly an errate, but a missing designation or clarification. We now have a category of pole-axe in pole weapons. And weapons pole-sword and sword staff in the category spear (2H). How do those work with spells such as Axe Trance, Firespear, Soulspear, Strongblade, and Sword Trance? Inclusive or Exclusive. Flamesword in Red Book of Magic is clear it is inclusive. e.g. Would Axe Trance work on a pole-axe (in the pole-axe category) as it has the word axe in it? Or is it entirely exclusive to weapons in the Axe table? Would Sword Trance work on a sword staff or pole-sword?

Any GM could rule that way. In which case, I would suggest such GM consider an alternative. We have already seen Logical Clarity vs Solace of the Logical Mind. The former is Illusion+Dispel. The latter is Truth+Command. While the wording is not identical, the effects are pretty darn close. Logical Clarity immunizes against Orate and magic 'mental confusion' (specifically Madness), where Solace is specific to mind-altering magic and never mentions non=magical effects. Clearly Befuddle is an 'other mental confusion' for the purposes of Logical Clarity. And Madness is a 'mind-altering magic' for the purposes of SofLM. So those are covered by both spells. A vampire's Enthrall is mind-altering and a magical effect, so specified in one and covered by the other. They didn't mention a Jack-O-Bear's primary Chaos feature, but they both sound like that would be included, as well as Berserk, Fanaticism, Panic, Fear, a Lune or Shade attack, etc. The last two sentences in each have the same meaning, with slightly different wording. e.g. "spell's strength level" vs "spell's levels of strength", and "augment any skill" vs "augment any ability". Here we have the same effect with two different spells that have very different runes+techniques. So the designers are, IMHO, offering us a method. A different sorcery source could offer a nearly identical spell, using different runes+techniques. So a very generous GM who believes no CA would ever use insight to Death could have a sorcerous CA find a tome that teaches e.g. Lifeblood, which has almost exactly the effects of Dampen Damage but using Life+Command. In my Glorantha, I will allow the CA to use insight into Death, but would prohibit them from learning sorcery spells which have things like Death+Command or Death+Summon or Death+Combine, e.g. no Boon of KT. A CA asking to master Death so they can use insight to Life is right out. I am having difficulty imaging a spell which uses Death+Tap. Which of course leaves Death+Separate. Maybe if it separated e.g. the Slow Death (disease) from a body I would allow it. Such a spell could be Neutralize Disease, but that seems like it would most likely be Death+Dispel. I don't have a good idea how Separate is used in sorcery, as I could find zero examples in the limited list we currently have. Did I miss one?

I was using the quote from "Notes: An initiate must take an oath never to harm an intelligent creature or needlessly cause pain to any living thing. An initiate must give half of their income to the cult of Chalana Arroy. An initiate must become a vegetarian. An initiate of Chalana Arroy can identify the presence of disease in a person or thing, simply through concentration. Foes incapacitated by a healer’s action (usually with Befuddle or Sleep) are under her protection. They may not be harmed in any way, though they may be disarmed and captured. Chaotic foes are exempt from this protection." from RQ: RiG page 290. I am not familiar with the context of your quotation. I am not swayed by your diverting rationalizations. I do not believe a Goddess who exists in a world where Gods and Goddesses tangibly interact with the material world would be swayed. They power rune spells, send dreams, provide answers to divinations, respond to divine intervention requests, and send spirits of retribution. You say your GM was not lenient. I disagree. YGMV.

Well that clearly depends very, very strongly on the definition of 'harm' in 'never to harm an intelligent creature'. In my world, blackmail, loan sharking, bribery, drug dependence, and some other dirty tricks are all a flat out 'harm'. It isn't physical harm, but is certainly is psychological and/or emotional harm.

A decent starting set. The first sentence is okay, but is not inclusive enough. The oath is also to stop interpersonal conflict as well: assault, rape, death, etc. You have #3 twice. I can see the first #3 as being a little stringent when contrasted with an apolitical stance regarding Hendrikiland vs Queendom of Jab. But it has the word 'seek' in it, so is acceptable in that context. The second #3 could mention that eating plants in a way that does not kill the plant (e.g. leaves) is preferable when convenient. For #7, would laying noise maker traps be disallowed? i.e. maybe tighten that to traps which bind or harm are not allowed. #9 maybe add a caveat that failing to heal those who actively tried to kill you (e.g. Chaos) does not demean the healer - again your statement has wiggle room in there, so could be seen that way. Especially in certain temples. By 'starting set', I mean that individual temples may have a slightly different version. Based on the history of the area. In the center of the Lunar Heartland, they may be different than in uncivilized lands like Prax.

Comfort Song. Not the same as Couvade. Covers the birthing part of the process, not the morning sickness and earlier parts as Couvade would.

You 'utterly abused' the system because your GM allowed it. I do not take that as meaning the oath in any other GM's Glorantha has that same 'appalling weakness'. Note I am not disparaging your GM at all. It was an interesting one-off scenario/world that I might consider with very experienced players. Likewise, a GM who wants to try running the CA oath as a straight jacket (e.g. the initiate can only eat leaves that easily allow the plant to recover, never the root or stalk; they must cast Healing or Mend Flesh on the plant afterward) would equally be an interesting one-off scenario/world. Heck in my Glorantha, a CA High Priestess was also the regional spy master and got found out by the Spoken Word - she was strictly the gathering information type of spy master. But I would never consider the usual interpretation of the intent of that oath to be allowing such an evil CA to run rampant causing harm to others. Thus, I find it hard to understand how you believe that because one GM allowed you to 'utterly abuse' the system, you are positive that every other GM in the world needs to buy into your view. YGMV is all that needs be said.

You would have a point if the CA sorcerer had mastered Death. I think you are reading the wrong implication in Dampen Damage. Dampen Damage is Death and Dispel. I think it is intended that a CA sorcerer would tend to master Life, which provides insight to Death. And casting a spell which dispels death in the parlance of sorcery is quite acceptable. The same can be said for Ward Against Weapons. A CA sorcerer casting Boon of Kargan Tor, which is Death and Summon would be a completely different prospect. That would be akin to casting Bladesharp on your friend's sword, a prohibited spell to CAs. Mastering Life make casting Mend Flesh and Accelerate Healing easier and quicker, because it is mastered rather than insight. Mastering Death makes casting Dampen Damage and Ward Against Weapons quicker and easier. Animate Death requires both Death and Life, and therefore it seems would nearly always be cast with one of them being via insight. Waiting patiently for more sorcerous spells that involve Life. And Harmony.

Since we mentioned spoilers already...Huge spoiler.

Except Rune Magic that is ritual. And the LM sorcerer is likely going to be using ritual practices to boost their chances of locating the particular object (Geomancy), boosting his INT for days, or boosting his Knowledge skills for the time needed to complete said skill (Logician). Things like Identify Otherworld Entity are sort of like detect spells, the LM just spends a round in ritual practices (as far as the observer knows). Meaning, the less experienced adventures won't be able to sense the LM is that different. The experienced adventurers know the rumors about LMs and they will also know that LMs are no direct access (they have to get outside the Torvald Fragments) to any sorcery that causes damage. So, if the enemy with the fake beard and Truth and Stasis tattoos is casting a long spell, you might just shrug and keep trying kill the Humakti. Not like the Malkioni who might be casting a Boon of Kargan Tor to support the Humakti. Or Finger of Fire. Or the Lunar sorcerer about to cast Moonfire.

And it makes a good scenario hook. The CA did something a bit wrong, though not intended. And now needs to 'heal' things. Things like that can happen and what matters is making it right again.

Indeed. Scorpion Men are historically Chaos. To someone who doesn't know better, are centaurs also Chaos because they are a human torso attached to a beast body? How about Fox Women in human form, i.e. with a big tail? Could be a Chaotic Feature! Examples abound. Note that Chalana Arroy has some nuance. There are two big exemptions: Chaos and the not living. So a Chalana Arroy attacked in spirit combat by a run of the mill spirit can actively use Spirit Combat against it. They do not need to be certain it is a Disease Spirit or Mad Head Ghost or similar. It isn't alive, so defend yourself as best you can. Chalana Arroy also has a significant difference between what the initiate+ can do and what the initiate allows the party to do. A party that includes a CA cannot be murder hobos, or the CA must leave. But if they are ambushed by trolls, and a couple of the trolls are killed, the CA doesn't need to leave the party. Perhaps say a prayer for the souls of the dead trolls. On the other hand, if the CA Sleeps/Befuddles a troll and that one is killed, the CA needs to leave the party or the party must kick out the killer. In either case, the CA must inform the local cult leadership the killer is now denied healing. Same scenario for other non-chaotic enemies. IMHO. In the interests of bizarre happenings, a CA is attacked by what they presume is a run of the mill spirit; but is actually a discorporate non-chaotic shaman. The CA rolls a special Spirit Combat roll and inflicts actual damage on the shaman's body - completely unknown to the CA (RiG, p 369, Hit Point Damage section). Perhaps that does not count, because at the specific time the shaman is discorporate and thus not 'an embodied target'. Would that get the CA in serious trouble with the cult? If so, an particularly nasty Kyger Litor shaman/priestess could wreak havoc at the local CA temple by engaging each initiate at an opportune time until the CA initiate scores a special or critical result and then withdrawing.

Mostali seem capable of change. They just do it within their own rigid structures. They never had a need to design a Gobbler who could consume that explosive powdery material, and then they did when humans got hold of it. Aren't Mostali credited with making the constructs which searched out everyone with God Learner abilities and wiped them out? Those didn't exist before the God Learners. So constructs are their rigid structure, and a new one being their scientific/engineering progress.