Starting at 18

[BrentS]

Hi all.

 

I was just looking for some advice. I'm setting up to run RQG after a long time away from RQ II and any roleplaying. I love the new presentation of the game but like many old timers I have fond memories of starting the game with less formidably experienced characters and wanted to recapture some of that feel for my players.....but not quite at the level of Rurik and his 45% cudgel skill 🙂. My thought was to start players part way there. The RAW have normal character generation for 21 year old experienced cult Initiates (capital "I") and an option for 15 0r 16 year olds without personal skill bonuses from Step 7 but nothing between. My plan is for 18 year olds who have the option of being Lay Members or Initiates (I have a teenager who doesn't know what she wants to do 🙂) and have a little world experience but aren't fully established in their careers. The risk will be a little offset by a characterisation focused game (but with some danger, otherwise it wouldn't be Glorantha) and one of my players who wants to play a Chalanna Arroy healer, who I feel I can make a full 21 year old Initiate and the leader and focus of the group without unbalancing things and providing more heavy duty healing support.

 

My test designs for 18 year olds have been:

- Partial prior Personal skill bonuses - one skill +25%, one skill + 15%, four skills + 10%

- 3 points of Spirit Magic

- 1 Rune point for those who choose to be Initiates with the option for additional POW sacrifice.

- All other character generation, including cult skill bonuses at normal levels, including Lay Members

 

Test character designs have produced characters with primary weapon skills in the 80-90% range with several other skills at competent level. It seems about right but I'd be interested in the thoughts of anyone else who has played RQG with slightly experienced characters or just input from those experienced with RQG.

 

Cheers,

 

Brent.

Edited June 22, 2020 by BrentS
Fixed typos

[pachristian]

It looks to me like you've thought this out well. This should work; but I admit I have very limited experience with RQG.

[Bill the barbarian]

1 hour ago, BrentS said:

Test character designs have produced characters with primary weapon skills in the 80-90% range with several other skills at competent level. It seems about right but I'd be interested in the thoughts of anyone else who has played RQG with slightly experienced characters or just input from those experienced with RQG.

 

Do not forget homeland passions and rune affinity bonuses. Possibly the roll "below 92" bonus of up to three Characteristic points. Or even better 1 point per year from 19 for the "under 92" characters and 1 per year from 19 of the rune affinities until 21. Most Characters seem to end up with about 450-600 skill percentiles above base (that is, all statted out) in RQ G chargens for 21 year olds. How much will this add up to?

 

What is the under 92 rule?

Quote

Roll 3D6 for STR, DEX, CON, POW, and CHA, and 2D6+6 for SIZ and INT. If the total of all these results is 92 or less, you may allot up to 3 more points to your adventur- er’s characteristics, as desired. No human characteristic can total more than 18 after you have allocated these extra points

RQ RiG page 53,

Edited June 22, 2020 by Bill the barbarian

[BrentS]

Thanks Bill.

Apart from the changes listed I've run character generation by the book except for stopping personal history at 18 years old. I figure that the family history and the Passions it generates are still entirely appropriate regardless of the age of the character, as are the Homeland bonuses which are part of the character's childhood education and acculturation. I also planned to generate Characteristics as written, with the under 92 rule and the optional reroll of 1's......I know some Characteristics can be increased but in contrast to the various Abilities I felt they were the most innate  features of a person and the least subject to change with experience.

 

Brent.

Edited June 23, 2020 by BrentS

[jajagappa]

4 hours ago, BrentS said:

starting the game with less formidably experienced characters and wanted to recapture some of that feel for my players....

The Jonstown Compendium work, Six Seasons in Sartar, starts characters in that campaign right at initiation into adulthood, so you might find it interesting/useful to get.

The main things to skip will be:

1. additional family history for the character (either none, if right after initiation, or one or two years worth of entries).  Depending on year of the campaign, you may need to bump the entries used forward or back.  The Jonstown Compendium work, Early Family History, can help with that.
2. cult bonuses - assuming they either haven't joined a cult yet, or were just initiated.  If the latter, then they get their first Rune Point (and can optionally buy another with more POW) and get choice of cult Passion.
3. spirit magic - the char gen provides 1 point per year, so determine how many years past initiation and provide 1 point per each.
4. personal skill bonuses - either skip, or provide some minimal set; the base after 5 years is 4 skills @ +25%, 5 skills @ +10%.  One possible variant: 1 @ +10% at start with 1 @+25% and 1@+10% per year subsequently.  But other options such as 5 skills @+5% could be done.  

 

[BrentS]

47 minutes ago, jajagappa said:

The Jonstown Compendium work, Six Seasons in Sartar, starts characters in that campaign right at initiation into adulthood, so you might find it interesting/useful to get.

The main things to skip will be:

1. additional family history for the character (either none, if right after initiation, or one or two years worth of entries).  Depending on year of the campaign, you may need to bump the entries used forward or back.  The Jonstown Compendium work, Early Family History, can help with that.
2. cult bonuses - assuming they either haven't joined a cult yet, or were just initiated.  If the latter, then they get their first Rune Point (and can optionally buy another with more POW) and get choice of cult Passion.
3. spirit magic - the char gen provides 1 point per year, so determine how many years past initiation and provide 1 point per each.
4. personal skill bonuses - either skip, or provide some minimal set; the base after 5 years is 4 skills @ +25%, 5 skills @ +10%.  One possible variant: 1 @ +10% at start with 1 @+25% and 1@+10% per year subsequently.  But other options such as 5 skills @+5% could be done.  

 

Thanks.

1. As I've set it in 1618 (more nostalgia) I've already availed myself of the excellent Jonstown Compendium Early Family History and done some creative timeline rejigging. Six Seasons in Sartar might not be exactly the right age group for my characters but I'll certainly check it out.

2. Most Lay Members will continue on to Initiation in the same cult but as new Gloranthans (albeit very experienced roleplayers) I'm leaving them the option of not committing until they have some experience with the setting. I felt the lay association with the cult would still be enough to generate the skills and Passions, the only thing Initiation would add being access to Rune Magic (I admit the access to all that Rune Magic in RQG is a little out of my comfort zone and starting with more inexperienced characters will ease us into it). I suspect most will opt to start as Initiates anyway but wanted to leave them options. I've also realised that there is an assumption that Initiates have sacrificed 1 point of POW to their deity already, so to offset that I would offer Lay Members an additional point of POW at character creation.

3. It actually seems obvious now that the Spirit Magic allowance is one point per year from age 16 to the 5 allocated for 21 year old character generation. That will mean 2 points at age 18....easy. Thanks 😀

4. As far as previous experience, maybe the same principle can apply.....the allowance at 21 years old totals 150%, so that's 30% per year. That would mean 60% at 18 years.....maybe one skill at 20% and four at 10%.

Very helpful, thank you.

 

Brent.

 

[BrentS]

So I think this actually extrapolates to a reasonable template for characters of any age from 16 to 20.

If I planned to offer a broader range of experience and starting age to players I might follow these guidelines for Rune Points and Spells, Spirit Magic points in spells, and skill bonuses for personal experience, in roughly linear scales to the standard starting levels at age 21.

I'd leave all other character generation as per the standard rules, assuming that cult, homeland and occupational skills and Passions were those acquired as the baseline education and acculturation of children reaching their majority before becoming adventurers, which by definition would be at the time of character generation and start of play. This rationalisation makes things simpler but also makes for better rounded youths, the right stuff to start on the long path to herodom.

Rune Points / Spells

Lay Members - none (but +1 POW)

Initiates: Age 16-18 - 1 point/1 spell*

                Age 19-20 - 2 points/2 spells*

               * +1 point / +1 spell for each additional point of POW permanently sacrificed             

Spirit Magic

Age 16 - 0 points of spells

Age 17 - 1 point

Age 18 - 2 points

Age 19 - 3 points

Age 20 - 4 points

Previous Experience Skill Bonuses

Age 16 - None

Age 17 - One skill at +15%, three skills at +5% (total 30%)

Age 18 - One skill at + 20%, four skills at +10% (total 60%)

Age 19 - Two skills at + 25%, four skills at + 10% (total 90%)

Age 20 - Two skills at +25%, two skills at +15%, four skills at + 10% (total 120%)

 

Brent.