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I started a new QuestWorlds campaign in germany


Chiarina

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On 2/2/2020 at 6:42 AM, Chiarina said:

llright, o.k., you win!"

I thought about it thoroughly, checked my dates and then registered for Eternal Con 2020.

I already got a provisional reply. Apparently there will be a bed for me.

Let´s see, what is possible, if I´m roleplaying in english.

If it doesn´t work at all, I´ll play trollball and watch the rhine gorge.

Thank you for the kick up my backside.

Well, enjoy. I wish there was a con nearby, in any language!

... remember, with a TARDIS, one is never late for breakfast!

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On 2/3/2020 at 4:16 PM, Bill the barbarian said:

... I wish there was a con nearby, in any language!

PureSpec?  They seem to have (at least a little bit of) RPG'ing... 

CalgaryExpo also has RPGs, maybe the same-ish proportion(?) but they're enough bigger to have "more" games in an absolute-numbers sense.

 

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1 minute ago, g33k said:

PureSpec?  They seem to have (at least a little bit of) RPG'ing... 

 

On Spec is a fantastic mag and I recommend it it highly, But a speculative fiction mag con... well, having looked it up it does include gaming as one of its  sidelines. and I see it had a con last year for the first time in about 6 years, so... maybe 2020? Maybe even gaming I will let you know if a new one is sighted this year. 

 

7 minutes ago, g33k said:

CalgaryExpo also has RPGs, maybe the same-ish proportion(?) but they're enough bigger to have "more" games in an absolute-numbers sense.

 

Calgary and edmonton are about the same size, In an oil province it is a bit hard to tell, is it a boom or bust economy, are more management or more blue-collar being hired). The entire province has a touch of transience about it. 

All they have more of is cowboys (think austen and houston, edmonton is austen... oh and alberta is texas in this analogy),

... remember, with a TARDIS, one is never late for breakfast!

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8 minutes ago, Bill the barbarian said:

On Spec is a fantastic mag and I recommend it it highly, But a speculative fiction mag con... well, having looked it up it does include gaming as one of its  sidelines. and I see it had a con last year for the first time in about 6 years, so... maybe 2020? Maybe even gaming I will let you know if a new one is sighted this year. ..

I may be mistaken, but I don't believe PureSpec is anything like "the con for/by OnSpec," they just cite OnSpec as a valued & longtime sponsor.

Modiphius seems to have a strong presence there, with the 2d20 system.

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1 hour ago, Bill the barbarian said:

who?

Good Barbarian!!!

See, @Chaosium?  See how good he is???

(Modiphius has the RPG licenses for Conan, JohnCarter/Barsoom, Dune, & StarTrek, iirc)

(I,, in contrast to the sweet innocent Barbarian above, am clearly some sort of faithless Gaming Slut, winking and flirting at every Hot New License... How's that RoL project, btw?)

Edited by g33k
Gettin' slutty ...

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20 minutes ago, g33k said:

(Modiphius has the RPG licenses for Conan, JohnCarter/Barsoom, Dune, & StarTrek, iirc)

 

So, the company is located in the great white north? Or in my environs or is putting on cons in this area? 

 

22 minutes ago, g33k said:

(I,, in contrast to the sweet innocent Barbarian above, am clearly some sort of faithless Gaming Slut, winking and flirting at every Hot New License... How's that RoL project, btw?)

And there i was thinking you to be just a geek, Now I find out the truth, some say geek some say gaming slut, tomato tohmahto, as it were...

... remember, with a TARDIS, one is never late for breakfast!

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  • 1 month later...

Meanwhile we finished the second adventure (Jorstak´s Raid) with the following outcome:

The Clan of the Red Cow had a successful raid and stole many cows and the price bull of the Emerald Swords. The Emerald Swords catched out the Clan of the Red Cow stealing their cows, but Rostakus Twice-Outlawed called his warriors off, because one of the player characters had one of his sons under his thumb and threatened to kill him. At the end some Emerald Swords were severely wounded or even dead, Jorstak Bristlebeard nearly killed a player character attempting to stop his battle madness (maybe it was kinstrife!) and the hate for each other in both clans was bigger than ever.

One of my players said, the imminence and seemingly inescapable doom could be too hard for him. I have to be careful.

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  • 1 month later...

The third adventure (The Burning Of Lhankpentos The Blind) is over.

The second burning of Tormakt´s Farm turned out to be not as disastrous as the first. Our heroes acted effectively and the Clan of the Red Cow had to bemoan only a few members (Lhankpentos died, nevertheless).

In exchange Jaranil´s raid was a serious defeat. After the lost battle in Creek Turn, the Heroes not even succeeded in organizing the escape. Nearly 20 warriors of the clan died.

Time for peace weaving!

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  • 1 month later...

Does anybody has a tip?

Two characters of my group were identified by imperials after attacking two soldiers at the gravehill of the Red Cow Clan. Since then they live in the secrecy of a barn in Green Meadows, because the Lunars consider them as rebels.

But meanwhile the player of one of this characters is somewhat bugged by the situation. While the other players every now and then experience the village life of Red Cow Fort with their characters, this two players unsually wait until their characters get picked for the next adventure by the others.

Do you see a possibility to bring them back into the village life? ...or an attractive alternative?

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1 hour ago, Chiarina said:

But meanwhile the player of one of this characters is somewhat bugged by the situation. While the other players every now and then experience the village life of Red Cow Fort with their characters, this two players unsually wait until their characters get picked for the next adventure by the others.

Do you see a possibility to bring them back into the village life? ...or an attractive alternative?

It probably depends on how many Lunars, Lunar spies or sympathizers there are in the village - and how well known the character is.  The more there are, the more likely the characters are to be betrayed if they go into the village.

So, one option is Disguise (physical or magical).  Physically disguise themselves as foreigners, merchants, travelling peddlers - something unobtrusive, but common enough to gain entry and not give themselves away.  Get the Trickster to cast illusion magic upon them - maybe even to look like a troll? Or some very foreign person.  

Another is to sneak into the village. Tunnels might be one option.  Hiding in hay wagons, or a merchant's caravan wagon, might be another option.  Something that lets them come in secret into the village.  Eventually, someone might figure it out, but in the meantime, they get some taste of village life.

Alternately, if there isn't a way to bring them in, let them get truly adopted into a rebel band - opportunity to meet new folk, learn about what's going on, etc. - and they are given the opportunity to lead, maybe even strike further against the Lunars, or spy on something going on, or sent to Jonstown to gain information.

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  • 3 weeks later...

My heroes made peace with the Emerald Swords.

Next time, they´ll learn, that nevertheless Gordius Silveris punishes their clan fpr being troublemakers.

 

The Power Creep in my group is alarming.

I have to adjust base difficulties, modifications and the adjusting screws of the pass/fail-cycle to provide challenges for the characters...

...not so easy.

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8 hours ago, Chiarina said:

The Power Creep in my group is alarming.

I have to adjust base difficulties, modifications and the adjusting screws of the pass/fail-cycle to provide challenges for the characters...

...not so easy.

I found that Hero abilities at 1W plus typical augments of +3/4 readily forced me to bump up difficulties.  At the same time, lesser used abilities were still typically at 17 or 13, so I didn't want to raise base difficulty too far.  My solution was adding interim levels of difficulty (+9, +12 over base - a solution I've seen adopted in the new QW SRD) - this has worked well for me.

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  • 3 months later...

We made some houserules and finished 1618. Everything´s o.k. for now.

I´ve a question about the possible kinstrife at the end of the scenario "Manhunt": "The clan might decide that later events in 1619 are the results of this kinstrife and choose to perform the "Summons of Evil" in the Sacred Time of 1619 to purge the clan of its curse."

What does this mean? I´ve found some meager information about this ritual in the Glorantha-WIKI, but...

- who would be able to perform it?

- whose enemy would be summoned?

- who could be that enemy?

- why does this ritual purge the clan of its curse?

Do you have some answers?

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14 hours ago, Chiarina said:

I´ve a question about the possible kinstrife at the end of the scenario "Manhunt": "The clan might decide that later events in 1619 are the results of this kinstrife and choose to perform the "Summons of Evil" in the Sacred Time of 1619 to purge the clan of its curse."

What does this mean?

The Summons of Evil ritual is a HeroQuest that brings whatever is going to hurt your clan to your clan at a time of your choosing.

Think of it as "lancing the boil", you gain control of when you are going to be attacked, so that you can control the fight.

14 hours ago, Chiarina said:

- who would be able to perform it?

Normally, the Clan Ring, but anyone with the spell can cast it. Clan members might not be too pleased if a rogue Orlanthi cast this without the knowledge of the Clan Ring.

14 hours ago, Chiarina said:

- whose enemy would be summoned?

Enemies of the Clan.

14 hours ago, Chiarina said:

- who could be that enemy?

Old enemies, new enemies, internal enemies, may be even personal HeroQuest enemies.

Although it might be possible to direct the HeroQuest so that it brings particular enemies, one of the beauties of the HeroQuest is that any enemy might appear, maybe even a new one that you have not yet encountered, or perhaps several enemies at once.

If the clan has traditional enemies, perhaps through a feud, they will probably show up.

In the particular example, the kinstrife might manifest as people who are causing the strife to appear, or to mobilise and come out into the open, rather than operating in the shadows or in secret. It might be used to force them out to have a "once and for all" contest.

14 hours ago, Chiarina said:

- why does this ritual purge the clan of its curse?

This goes back to "lancing the boil", you pull the curse into the HeroQuest and it manifests as an enemy to fight, rather than lingering on all year round.

 

Simon Phipp - Caldmore Chameleon - Wallowing in my elitism since 1982. Many Systems, One Family. Just a fanboy. 

www.soltakss.com/index.html

Jonstown Compendium author. Find my contributions here

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O.K., I understand the reason and the effect of "Summons of evil". Thank you! (...but in my eyes a heroquest is something different than a spell... did I miss something?)

 

One more:

Is it possible to find the description for landing place at the fort of the cow? The location 18 has no description.

 

And here, my next challenge:

Two of the players characters are rebels in hiding. Their last hideout got discovered, so they are insearch of a new abode.

At present they accepted Voranga´s cave as a temporarely sleeping place, but one of them wants to live closer to the fort of the red cow.

Now they developed the idea to make a home in the Black Glass Ruins... 3 miles from the fort of the red cow and at least it seems to be a place, where you don´t have to be afraid of lunar soldiers... but of course, other dangers are waiting there. Sooner or later they will explore the location to see if it is a possible accomodation.

Do you have some ideas what could happen? Small events, scenario ideas or spectacular plot twists?

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15 hours ago, Chiarina said:

O.K., I understand the reason and the effect of "Summons of evil". Thank you! (...but in my eyes a heroquest is something different than a spell... did I miss something?)

Summons of Evil is actually mid-way between a Runespell and a HeroQuest.

It ritually summons an enemy of the clan to fight. That sounds awfully like a HeroQuest to me and, as a GM, that's how I would play it. However, I am biased, as i think of lots of things as potential HeroQuests.

It works equally well as a spell to summon an enemy.

Simon Phipp - Caldmore Chameleon - Wallowing in my elitism since 1982. Many Systems, One Family. Just a fanboy. 

www.soltakss.com/index.html

Jonstown Compendium author. Find my contributions here

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15 hours ago, Chiarina said:

Now they developed the idea to make a home in the Black Glass Ruins... 3 miles from the fort of the red cow and at least it seems to be a place, where you don´t have to be afraid of lunar soldiers... but of course, other dangers are waiting there. Sooner or later they will explore the location to see if it is a possible accomodation.

Do you have some ideas what could happen? Small events, scenario ideas or spectacular plot twists?

This could be a mixture of normal investigation/clearing out of ruins and some more stuff.

What are normally in Ruins? RuneQuest Classic has some pretty nifty D20 encounter tables for different and the ones for Ruins could give you some ideas of what could be there. I would map out the ruins and include various things in the areas, rolling on the encounter tables when setting them up, or choosing what is there. Ghouls and other undead are a challenge, Rubble Runners less so for experienced Adventurers.

Black Glass Ruins? Sounds as though a True Dragon breathed over it, so you might have a lot of angry or confused ghosts. There might be Black Glass to mine, or Crystals to find. Maybe some Draconic secrets buried beneath the ruins, or a lost shrine to a forgotten deity. maybe pilgrims come from far away to try to find the shrine, or just to honour the dead, what do the Adventurers do about that? Can they HeroQuest back to the Dragonkill and find out what happened there?

Who currently lives there? Do the Adventurers need to kick them out? Do they come back looking for revenge? Do other Adventurers/bandits/outlaws come along and try to take it over? Is it big enough for more than one group to live there? Can the Adventurers fortify it or rebuild it in some way?

 

Simon Phipp - Caldmore Chameleon - Wallowing in my elitism since 1982. Many Systems, One Family. Just a fanboy. 

www.soltakss.com/index.html

Jonstown Compendium author. Find my contributions here

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Allright, allright! The Rubble Runners are a good idea (ghouls are reserved for another place). It would be cool to have some "Draconic secrets". Is there a source somewhere? HeroQuesting back to the Dragon Kill? Wow... but maybe this course of the story leads too far away.

I´m interested in your "forgotten deity". The information about the place in "The coming storm" already speaks of a lesser god:

"Ancient relics of the Empire of the Wyrms Friends lie here. Huge monolithic blocks of stone mark the remains of an EWF outpost. A great statue of an armored man towers over the broken walls and buildings. Much of the structure is melted like candle wax, as if from great heat, perhaps a dragon´s breath. A lesser god, the Shadow of Black Glass, cloaks the ruins in shadows, and there is a chill in the air. Creatures of Darkness, fungi and insects, thrive. Troll hunters from the nearby Sazdorf troll tribe sometimes visit the ruins of rare foods and medicines."

So, what kind of god could it be, the "Shadow of Black Glass"? It sounds like a genius loci to me. If the two player characters settle in his ruins, maybe he demands some veneration or offerings? What could happen, if they don´t satisfy him?

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44 minutes ago, Chiarina said:

It would be cool to have some "Draconic secrets". Is there a source somewhere?

To be honest, I normally make that kind of thing up on the fly, as they happen, but that is not much help to you.

Perhaps a way to communicate with Dragons or draconic creatures, friendship with draconic creatures, gaining the Dragon Rune or Dragonewt Rune, gaining some draconic powers, that kind of thing.

47 minutes ago, Chiarina said:

HeroQuesting back to the Dragon Kill? Wow... but maybe this course of the story leads too far away.

Maybe HeroQuesting back to the Dragonewt Dream, if the Dragonkill is too scary for the Adventurers. I like HeroQuesting, so try to include it where I can.

48 minutes ago, Chiarina said:

I´m interested in your "forgotten deity".

A forgotten deity might be a Hero whose followers were killed in the Dragonkill, a demigod who lost favour, an aspect which was shed by a major deity and hidden away.

This can be something completely new and made up, or something from history or an old myth, maybe a Hero cult or Spirit cult. There are lots of ways of doing it and it can give the Adventurers an edge. On a basic level, they can get a new Spirit Magic spell or Runespell out of it, but they could develop the cult, bring it into a main cult as a SubCult or run with it and use it as a stepping-stone to a more heroic status.

51 minutes ago, Chiarina said:

"Ancient relics of the Empire of the Wyrms Friends lie here. Huge monolithic blocks of stone mark the remains of an EWF outpost. A great statue of an armored man towers over the broken walls and buildings. Much of the structure is melted like candle wax, as if from great heat, perhaps a dragon´s breath. A lesser god, the Shadow of Black Glass, cloaks the ruins in shadows, and there is a chill in the air. Creatures of Darkness, fungi and insects, thrive. Troll hunters from the nearby Sazdorf troll tribe sometimes visit the ruins of rare foods and medicines."

So, what kind of god could it be, the "Shadow of Black Glass"? It sounds like a genius loci to me.

That description begs several questions. Was it there before the Black Glass was ruined? Did it protect the Black Glass and prevent it from being destroyed? Was the Black Glass even part of the Dragonkill or does it have a different origin? It sounds like Dragonkill might have been the cause, though.

It certainly sounds like a genius loci, but might be a manifestation of a power, or the Black Glass is a manifestation of the deity. It could provide shadow magic, cold magic, glass magic, maybe something to do with Lodril/Argan Argar/Only Old One.

1 hour ago, Chiarina said:

If the two player characters settle in his ruins, maybe he demands some veneration or offerings? What could happen, if they don´t satisfy him?

Those are the kind of questions that I would be asking as a GM.

Simon Phipp - Caldmore Chameleon - Wallowing in my elitism since 1982. Many Systems, One Family. Just a fanboy. 

www.soltakss.com/index.html

Jonstown Compendium author. Find my contributions here

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6 hours ago, Chiarina said:

Thank you, that was helpful. I´ve some things to think about and will check Lodril/Argan Argar/Only Old One, too.

It's RQ, not HQ/QW, but the the RQG "Broken Tower" scenario in the QS (free PDF) may have some relevant bits ... 

Upon testing the spoiler tags, I find them failing (as reported elsewhere), so I will white-text (highlight > between the markers < to read) .  Someone who might play the RQG Quickstart scenario, please don't Highlight/Unspoiler -- YHBW !


> In the RQG Quickstart, the players begin by chasing a raider who seems to be escalating beyond coup & stolen cows, toward murder & bloodfeud.  But by the time they catch him, he's most of the way insane, and serving an unknown Dark Earth goddess from ancient days, recently awakened by the spilled blood; one of the methods some PC's have used is to bargain with her, making sacrifices & promising worship, to restore her Cult; they can have a "secret" goddess on their side, that almost nobody knows about! <

 

 

So it's something to mine for inspiration, not mechanical bits to swipe directly.

Edited by g33k

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