Stephen L

4 hours ago, Jeff said:

He's already dead by then.

And then securing a cast iron alibi.

4 hours ago, Jeff said:

He's already dead by then.

Or the helpfully suggesting some of the rituals that Tatius might find useful for the opening ceremonies.

33 minutes ago, Jeff said:

He's already dead by then.

Not when planting suggestions to Tatius where to build the temple.

16 hours ago, Jeff said:

3. Kallyr never took credit for causing the Dragonrise and she made it clear she never trusted dragons or dragonkind. "Had I known that a True Dragon was beneath the temple, I would have let the Lunars waken it themselves." Many claim the White Bull - who was also known as Dragonlord or Dragonfriend - had some involvement. After all, Argrath never claimed to be responsible for the Dragonrise, but then he never claimed not to be responsible. He did welcome Orlaront to his side.

I think this is more one for the dumbest theory thread, but given all the speculation as to the author of the dragon rise…

What happens if its an inside job.  Far easier to manipulate Tatius to build the temple over a dragon rather than procure an actual dragon.

And I’ve not yet got to the dumbest bit...

3 hours ago, Joerg said:

while Temertain certainly was a Lunar puppet

How’s about Temertain.  Who’d suspect him! 

Me, just a completely bumbling and ineffectual scholar.  But Tatius, look what my latest research has turned up on the holy sites of the Sky cults during the gods war has turned up.   Isn’t the mythic significance of that really interesting!

Well, don't say I didn't warn you it was dumb.

7 hours ago, Tupper said:

vector images of the maps... that way you could zoom in on some of the “busy” bits of the maps

You know that the PDF of the The Argan Argar Atlas (an excellent mapping resource) is available from the Jonstown compendium:

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/178723/Argan-Argar-Atlas

Which means you can zoom and print to the scale you want.

Did I mention, it's free.  

17 hours ago, Kloster said:

You cast the spell before discorporation, of course.Why wait for 3 rounds before having the effect.

Me thinks you're overanalysing a post that's trying to be funny.  So, I'm no good a humour, don't rub it in!

17 hours ago, Kloster said:

the spell just needs to be extended to at least 6 hours (max duration of the discorporation).

Yes, but then the Bad man could arrive with his tickle stick, and tickle the would-be-shaman until he drops his sword.

Putting jokes aside (which, probably, is to going off topic for this thread).  The tickle stick represents dispel magic.  It's only against a 1 point rune spell.

For me, the encounter with bad man is helping you find your own inner strength and power, (aka fetch and shamanistic abilities), so paring away the external layers of the the would-be-shaman would be entirely appropriate, especially if that is dispelling *divine* magic.

On 11/24/2020 at 7:11 PM, PhilHibbs said:

You can't take a sword onto the spirit plane

I believe that swords have to be checked in through the “oversized items” portal at the spirit plane checkin.  It’s just beyond desk H.

On 11/24/2020 at 10:20 AM, Akhôrahil said:

throw up a 30+ point Sword Trance and win every round of Spirit Combat against him

I wonder what the Bad man is doing for the 3 rounds whilst you’re summoning up the magic points for the spell.

In my campaign he’d pull silly faces, requiring concentration rolls from the Shaman-to-be.

Once the spell is cast, he’ll probably remember a prior engagement, and pop-off for a bit.  But don’t go away, I’ll be right back.  In about 15 mins or so.  We can pick up where we left off.  And, in apology for the inconvenience, I’ll bring back a bun or two to share.

2 hours ago, tnli said:

Create a binding enchantment for, say, an elemental

This is how I've always played it.  Though the rules don't explicit say it, there is the merest of hints in the wording on p249:

Quote

Thus, a typical spirit binding enchantment requires
a sacrifice of at least 2 points of POW (as spirits always
have CHA and POW, and sometimes INT), while a binding
enchantment for an elemental requires at least 3 points of
POW (elementals always have SIZ, STR, and POW)

However, the example on p251 is explicit 

Quote

Example: Yanioth, now a priestess of Ernalda, wishes to enchant
an Earth elemental binding enchantment into a jade bracelet

2 hours ago, tnli said:

Obviously case 1 is a lot more restrictive than case 2

I wouldn't say a lot more restrictive.  I'd suggest, as creating a binding enchantment costs permanent POW, you would be *mad* to create the enchantment, on the off chance you might meet something bindable which you then have the right control spells to stuff in.  Surely you'd summon and control whatever you wanted as soon as you created the enchantment?  In which case, it doesn't matter that it has to be sepecific.

It would mean, later on, you couldn't change you mind and swap, for example, a healing spirit for a general spirit.  But then, given its permanent POW, I'd probably be quite certain I wanted whatever it was I was binding.

3 hours ago, jajagappa said:

I actually liked the fact that it was using red, rather than green

And I like that we're discussing the colour of the gems when, following the link, the article says:

Quote

Jaye has been working with artists for the forthcoming RuneQuest title The Red Book of Magic, to be released in December 2020.

That's next month!

Damn, just drooled over the laptop again!

(that's a two exclamation mark post, getting carried away...)

On 11/22/2020 at 2:33 AM, lordabdul said:

7Tigers is kinda like the French Joerg

To be fair, that's the first slip I've seen from @jajagappa, and that's a pretty obscure example!

10 minutes ago, Rick Meints said:

There's a chance

Yes please! sgdmlkzdfjfdlkjrehj (excuse me, just wiping the drool from my laptop)

On 11/17/2020 at 8:15 PM, Sumath said:

at what percentage does it cast Disruption, and what should be used to overcome target's POW?

I've had a similar issue recently, where creatures have no POW, and I've used a suitable Rune as a substitute, so I'd agree with Psullie.  

What would people do about resisting spells, in general for creatures without POW?

In general, I'd have no resistance.  But Vampires I'd use their MP.

Worth a shot...

If I were being *very* generous as a GM, I'd possibly allow it, as the the spell description has

Quote

This spell permits the caster to command cult spirits, such as
elementals, *petty deities*, guardians, and other such entities

However, given it sounds more like a spirit of retribution, I wouldn't hold out much hope. 

Even if you do allow it, they do have to overcome its Pow, which at 21, presumably isn't that easy.

I'd agree you couldn't have zero skill and hope for an augment.

Could there be a magical item, a matrix carved in a dinosaur tooth (jawbone?), that has a speak Auld Wyrmish spell?

You could work it into the scenario hook, however you were planning that. 

Or if it's a few adventures away, in the loot of a current adventure.

Or you could add an NPC into the scenario who speaks it, who has their own interest and agenda, that they might be accompanying the PCs (perhaps betraying them at the end), or it might someone the PCs think to go get when they need a translator.

On 11/15/2020 at 12:34 AM, Scorus said:

As a GM, do you give your players full value for treasure?

So far, treasure has been gifted away, rather than traded, so it's more the wow factor that affects my players, rather than the actual Lunar count.

I can imagine that it would be bartered directly for services, rather than ready cash.

However, I've some young players in the group, and they understand the concept of swapping stuff better than they do buying/selling.

14 hours ago, 10baseT said:

What do you all think a  human's swim MOV is, unarmoured and unencumbered, 3

Not really relevant for my lot, its more sink speed for them.  Or rather how long they can hold their breath until rescued, and the rules have that quite well covered.

I vaguely remember that 5 miles an hour is a very good swim speed, which I guess is move 2-3.

8 hours ago, David Scott said:

My players find Gooseberry the least interesting

Just how the duck likes it.  Nice and quiet, nobody taking any notice, and next morning, your purse is gone.  Damn fine meal last night though.  Must remember sometime to give my compliments to the chef.

On 11/16/2020 at 12:23 PM, Caras said:

How does Ransoms get collected/traded?

There was a big ransom event right at the beginning of my campaign.  The PCs liberated the prisoners from the Lunar Manors, where quite a few Lunar had themselves taken refuge during the liberation of Sartar, as it was quite heavily fortified (and in the wilds, and heading away from Sartar).

The PCs ended up with a lot of Lunar prisoners (and armour).  The ranking Sartar they freed (actually, his sister, who had led the PCs into the adventure, fearing Lunar atrocities in the chaos of liberation) offered to organise the ransoming of the Lunars for the PCs, for a cut (it went 50/50), as the PCs hadn’t a scooby how to go about it, nor indeed the inclination, and the Sartar prisoners were very grateful for a bit of cash.

The armour ended up with the local Humakti (again 50/50), at Indrodar’s Necklace, with choice pieces being modified to fit the PCs by the Humakti armourer (with much credit going to the Humakti duck PC, who impressed not just with generosity, but with piety and a very good worship roll).

By the end of it, the PCs had made some *very* important friends. 

And this was all on top of what had already been quite a memorable nights gaming, a climactic fight against Lunar heavies as the manors burned, and the heroic freeing of the prisoners amidst all the smoke and shouting as the flames rose. (Though not too scary for the younger members of our group).

So, if you ever wonder who burned the Lunar Manors, it was my bunch of ne'er-do-well PCs.  (What the players don’t realise to this day is that the few distraction fires they’d set had nothing to do with the conflagration that ensued, that was the Lunars who set fire to the prisoner halls, wanting the PCs occupied rescuing the prisoners whilst they fled.)

5 hours ago, Caras said:

That may mean A LOT of loot for the enemy... PC:s don´t like to lose their things, but I guess that just is the case

That's how it works in my Glorantha.  Easy come, easy go.  Isn't it the traditional GM ploy for de-powering a campaign that's got too powerful?   Thinking back to my munchin days.

Although, at the moment, my lot don't have that much that they'd miss in terms of power (the odd sword or bow doing +1 damage, their dragon scale hauberks that counts as heavy scale, excepting quiet(ish) and light(ish)).  I think what would cause tears is that their gear looks really, really cool.  A dragon bone bow certainly is a certainly a talking point. 

18 hours ago, soltakss said:

You took samples from the Upland Marsh?!

My working hypothesis has been for while, based on @Joerg’s ability to answer *all* my Glorantha questions, that he had achieved a transcendent level of consciousness, where he actually visits Glorantha in person.

I fear that he will one day venture too far, and be lost to us.  Then I might have to read up on all this stuff for myself.  Or, what terrifies me more, is that I might have to think for myself.

8 hours ago, coffeemancer said:

There are two replicas of 11th century welsh shoes somewhere in a Swedish bog.

Indeed, Coffemancer, it is not safe to tread in the footsteps of the Master.  Do not follow Joerg, he will lead you too deep.  Let the loss of a mere shoe be a warning.

My players are about to get lost in Delecti’s marsh (swept into the marsh after a river crossing gone horribly wrong, evil GM cackle).

I wonder about rules people might use travelling in the marsh.  Obviously, encumbered it’s slow.  However, bronze age armour isn’t exactly full plate (also the PC's metal armour is mainly helm, greaves and vambraces, hauberks are mainly light scale level, albeit made of dragon scale). 

What would people do for move rates?  I was thinking of 1/2 at best, perhaps 1/3 with anything but the lightest armour weapons.  Except the duck of course (who’ll be laughing).  Any movement in combat with require Dex rolls or get stuck (and Str rolls to get unstuck)?

Also, they might have horses (those that survive, resume evil cackle).  I’ve no idea what happens to horses in bog.  Hooves aren’t ideal, but they do have 4.  And spooked won’t begin to describe their mental state.

They party are unlikely to get too stuck, there’s a friendly Hadrosaur who’ll almost certainly be helping them. (Drat, GM muttering)

Thanks, if anyone has any opinions.

On 11/8/2020 at 4:10 AM, davecake said:

And dodge is already clearly the least good option to rely on (it’s terrible if your opponent specials or critical)

As has been mentioned, dodge has it advantages.  Back in RQiii days I once took a warrior with dodge as the main defence, and I recall he was very survivable.  O.k. you’re not a typical front line grunt, because toe to toe, the risks are too high.  But if you’re lightly armoured and fast, there’s a whole range of options open to you.  It’s all about keeping combats very quick and deadly (and I remember fondly he really was deadly).  I remember hiding (and spelling up or manoeuvring for an advantage) or keeping the opponent at bay (softening them up with missiles or magic) and only going in for the kill at the end. 

And against foes that dealt big damage, there’s no substitute to just not being where they swing/stab/stomp/chomp. 

I found it refreshing to have to actually think about tactics rather than just wade in with a deadly PC (although I recall he could armour up a wade in with a 2H weapon, and using parry instead)

On 11/10/2020 at 6:04 PM, Paid a bod yn dwp said:

There’s a good argument in there for bringing back RQ2’s defence skill in place of dodge  

Probably the thing I *hated* most about RQii was the defence, especially how you improved in it.  That sounds like I hate RQii - I loved it, it's why I here now.

On 11/8/2020 at 1:45 PM, davecake said:

Shields aren’t always the most effective option for ending a fight quick, but usually the best option for long term survival

I couldn’t see it in any of the previous posts (so apologies if it’s already been said), but shields have been hugely useful in my campaign, saving lives on a number of occasions.

Rules p.198 has that if you parry, any excess damage goes to a random location, but if you are parrying with a shield, it goes to the shield arm.

(I have a vague recollection that this is contradicted elsewhere in the rules, but I could be wrong).

This has meant that the big critical has chopped (or, in the case of the Dragon of Thunder Hills, bitten) off the shield arm.

That is *much* better than a random location.

It really has been a life saver.

On 11/14/2020 at 7:00 PM, David Scott said:

I slowly introduced the villagers

No one’s mentioned Gooseberry Sprig.  Obviously, as the duck, he is the main character of interest in the village.  He’s certainly been vital in my campaign.

First, he’s been picking the pockets of the obviously richest member of the party.  Who have then blamed the duck PC (Pengy).  Which instantly had Gooseberry unite with Pengy, which has been instrumental in a number of plot lines.  First sharing his heirloom, Pinfeather’s map of Duckdom.  Then suppling Pengy with marsh weed, which is a powerful calming drug that Forang Forash craves (the party have needed quite a lot of draconic lore from him).  The suspicious would wonder what’s causing Forang Forash’s headaches, and why Gooseberry knows cures.  Fortunately, suspicious isn’t a trait in my roleplaying group.

On 11/13/2020 at 9:16 PM, tnli said:

and also allow a non-sorcerer to learn the spell skill, but only for activating this kind of magic

I like the idea that a sorcerous magic item needs research to learn to use it.  Perhaps googling the instruction manual at the local Lankhor Mhy temple (if you just move the hs round until it's spelt properly, I can't be bothered to look up the spelling)!

6 hours ago, David Scott said:

Guide defines Dragon Pass as Sartar, (Lunar) Tarsh and the Grazelands

I don't know whether it's something that I just assumed, but I've always thought that Dragon Pass was marked by the Crossline in the south and the Deathline in the north  (Fitting with Sartar, Tarsh, Exiles and Grazelands).  They are a series of standing stones in the shape of the death rune.

However, looking at recent maps, I can't find either marked. 

1 hour ago, Scorus said:

find a redsmith...to revitalize the Apple Lane forges

Especially if said redsmith is a fugitive from a neighbouring tribe, pulling the players into a feud...