Your Runequest Will Vary?

[StephenMcG]

Just as a thought.  I have been playing this game since the early 80s and thought that rolling 2D6+6 for SIZ and INT was an RQ2 thing, u til I checked and found it to be an RQ3 thing.

The game I am playing is cherry-picking a number of different bits and pieces from previous editions.  I was wondering how other folks are playing their Runequest.

The key differences in my game are that I use keywords, like from Hero Wars, and don't require a dice roll for casting spirit magic.

Every character comes with three keywords (for example, initiate of Humakt) that are classed like the skills in King of Dragon Pass:  Fair (25%), Good (40%), Very Good (55%), Excellent (70%), Renowned (85%), Heroic (100%+).  The idea is that any skill related to the keyword will be at the level of the keyword.  If you use broadsword successfully you can note it for improvement and, if successful, note it under the keyword at an increased chance.  If Initiate of Humakt is very good, then you can raise the keyword to Excellent if five individual skills under the keyword are advanced to 70%.

I allow orphan skills outside the keywords which can be brought together with those from a keyword to create a new keyword as the character evolves and changes.

I find this a more interesting way of managing the skill list and allowing players to be a bit more narrative in their gameplay.  It is not unusual for characters to have skills like "Make impressive entrance" and "skulk". 🙂

The auto-cast is there simply to reduce thenumber of dice rolls and to make spirit magic more routine.

Stephen

[smiorgan]

I try to play RQG by the rules. But I don't sweat the details, in order not to get bogged down in minutiae.

[Dragon]

I generally really like the RQ:G rules. Still, I have a few house rules and they tend to be minor. 

I grant POW gains and stat training to use the RQ2 POW gain (01-10 3; 11-40 2; 41-00 1). I didn't like that someone could spend the rest of the season working on something and gain nothing. The average is only 1.5 rather than 1 anyway. For the same reason, I have Skill and Rune training increase a flat 5% (capped at a result of 75/100 depending on skill). For something that an experience check would give you d6, on average if you spend about 5 weeks working on it and no other skill increases, you should get more than 1d6-1. My Glorantha has a bit more literacy for starting characters. 

My 'House Rules' otherwise are mostly clarifications. e.g. if you learn a spirit spell by defeating a spirit in spirit combat, you must cast it unfocused until you take a day to make yourself a focus. If you learn more points in a spell, the same focus still works. Five examples of combining Evaluate and an occupational skill - to ensure I rule consistently every time it comes up.

 

[Godlearner]

1 hour ago, StephenMcG said:

I was wondering how other folks are playing their Runequest.

Mostly RQ3 for me and our group. Added specials form RQ2. House ruled sorcery to get rid of Free Int. Took out Fatigue and most of Encumbrance rules. Roll for Spirit Magic only in-combat. There are a number of things in RQG which I do not like, so it's a no go for us.

[JustAnotherVingan]

Mostly play by the RQG rules except when I don't

Main differences I'm currently running are:

• Weapon skill is by category eg 1H Sword, not separate skills like Broadsword, Kopis, Shortsword etc.
• Elmal is still worshipped separately from Yelmalio, although being able to transfer from one to another without a penalty (so long as you can convince the priests you are sincere) is a thing. They are the same god but a lot of people won't like you if you say that.
• Vinga is a subcult of Orlanth and Ernalda but also has a small cult of her own. She is not an aspect of Orlanth but a goddess in her own right. 

[Kloster]

RQG RAW except:

- pure RQ3 combat.

- no 'over 100% reduction'.

- replace the '1 adventure per season' with 'max 2 or 3 weeks of non standard activity per season'.

- experience is like RQ2 or RQ3, rolled after each adventure and roughly 1 week of downtime.

4 minutes ago, JustAnotherVingan said:

Elmal is still worshipped separately from Yelmalio, although being able to transfer from one to another without a penalty (so long as you can convince the priests you are sincere) is a thing. They are the same god but a lot of people won't like you if you say that.

I like this, but I never had an Elmali player (and only 1 Yelmalion, from Prax's Sun County).

[JustAnotherVingan]

4 minutes ago, Kloster said:

I like this, but I never had an Elmali player (and only 1 Yelmalion, from Prax's Sun County).

So far this campaign I haven't either.

My Elmali are cavalry rather than hoplites. They get Kuschile Horse Archery at initiate as a gift for 1 geas, Yelm isn't associated, Orlanth gives Shield and Hyalor gives Command Horse.

[Godlearner]

39 minutes ago, Kloster said:

RQG RAW except:

- pure RQ3 combat.

- no 'over 100% reduction'.

- replace the '1 adventure per season' with 'max 2 or 3 weeks of non standard activity per season'.

- experience is like RQ2 or RQ3, rolled after each adventure and roughly 1 week of downtime.

LOL, how is this even close to RQG RAW?

[PhilHibbs]

28 minutes ago, Godlearner said:

LOL, how is this even close to RQG RAW?

I don't see the combat mechanics as being integral to the RQG experience. If it has runes, passions, and rune points then it's recognizably RQG.

[Godlearner]

15 minutes ago, PhilHibbs said:

combat mechanics

Combat mechanics in RQG are very different from previous versions.

[JustAnotherVingan]

42 minutes ago, Godlearner said:

Combat mechanics in RQG are very different from previous versions.

Quite similar to RQ2. Main differences are only a single skill for weapons instead of separate skills for attack and parry, the multiple parries/dodges rule, and RQ2 having defence but no dodge skill.

[Godlearner]

38 minutes ago, JustAnotherVingan said:

Quite similar to RQ2. Main differences are only a single skill for weapons instead of separate skills for attack and parry, the multiple parries/dodges rule, and RQ2 having defence but no dodge skill.

But very different from RQ3

[ffilz]

INT 2d6+6 was introduced to RQ2 in Trollpak.

I run RQ1 with some bits from RQ2 plus 2d6+6 INT (but still 3d6 SIZ).

I house rule that the experience rolls are made as 1d100 + Ability Bonus > Skill. For a while I was doing training costs based on Skill without Ability Bonus but that turned out to make training high skills too easy and cheap.

I have a few other house rules.

[svensson]

I've been playing the game since the 80s as well and I admit that I've become a fan of RQG.

I'm not a big fan of 'narrative' or 'keyword' game styles, but that's because my experiences with them were with players that were doing everything in their power to nerf the game. You know, the min/max power gamer types. Because of all that, I tend to prefer games with a bit more structure to them, where there is a distinct line between success and fail.

But that's just me. If your players are happy with your style, mazel tov, do your thing, and enjoy.

Edited March 8, 2022 by svensson

[Kloster]

12 hours ago, Godlearner said:

LOL, how is this even close to RQG RAW?

This is much more closer to RQG than RQ3: RQG character creation, RQG skill list, runes passions, economics abstraction, chase rules, rune points, new sorcery, cult descriptions, new shaman rules, spirit combat,...

11 hours ago, Godlearner said:

Combat mechanics in RQG are very different from previous versions.

Yes, true.

10 hours ago, JustAnotherVingan said:

Main differences are only a single skill for weapons instead of separate skills for attack and parry, the multiple parries/dodges rule,

This is exactly my main problem with current combat rules (with the 'over 100%, but this one is more generic). And it was easier to use the old rules than to try to adapt the new ones.

[svensson]

9 hours ago, ffilz said:

INT 2d6+6 was introduced to RQ2 in Trollpak.

I run RQ1 with some bits from RQ2 plus 2d6+6 INT (but still 3d6 SIZ).

I house rule that the experience rolls are made as 1d100 + Ability Bonus > Skill. For a while I was doing training costs based on Skill without Ability Bonus but that turned out to make training high skills too easy and cheap.

I have a few other house rules.

EVERYBODY has 'house rules'. No game, milieu or adventure survives contact with referees or players unmodified.

[svensson]

10 minutes ago, Kloster said:

This is exactly my main problem with current combat rules (with the 'over 100%, but this one is more generic). And it was easier to use the old rules than to try to adapt the new ones.

Huh. I've had an opposite experience.

One of the things I disliked about RQ2 and 3 was that each weapon had Attack, Parry, and Handedness percentiles. It annoyed a lot of players because percentiles awarded for skill had to be dispersed into so many picky sub-groups.

In my games, I'm careful to observe the handedness rules on pg. 226 of the RQG book: players designate their handedness at creation; off hand weapon use begins at 05%+Manipulation Bonus. This comes from my real-life experience as an SCA heavy fighter and a proud member of the 'Secret Society of Sinister Southpaws' [i.e. a left handed fighter]. I had to work hard to acquire any kind of skill with my right hand, and even then I was never really proficient with it. Seriously, if you want to watch  something close to 'combat comedy', watch two lefties fight right handed for awhile. It really does look like cows on ice.

Back to the main point, yes, the rules in RQG have up-gunned quite a bit. If you're careful with cult and profession selection and have good attribute statistics, it's not hard to generate a character that's within one or two skill bumps from Rune status right out of the gate. However, the opposition is also up-gunned. Most opponents are 65%+ percent in their main weapons, most 'character-level' opponents are 85% or better. Trying to play an RQ3 warrior /soldier who's main weapon attack is 60% is not advisable in such an environment.

 

[JustAnotherVingan]

5 minutes ago, svensson said:

Huh. I've had an opposite experience.

One of the things I disliked about RQ2 and 3 was that each weapon had Attack, Parry, and Handedness percentiles. It annoyed a lot of players because percentiles awarded for skill had to be dispersed into so many picky sub-groups.

In my games, I'm careful to observe the handedness rules on pg. 226 of the RQG book: players designate their handedness at creation; off hand weapon use begins at 05%+Manipulation Bonus. This comes from my real-life experience as an SCA heavy fighter and a proud member of the 'Secret Society of Sinister Southpaws' [i.e. a left handed fighter]. I had to work hard to acquire any kind of skill with my right hand, and even then I was never really proficient with it. Seriously, if you want to watch  something close to 'combat comedy', watch two lefties fight right handed for awhile. It really does look like cows on ice.

Back to the main point, yes, the rules in RQG have up-gunned quite a bit. If you're careful with cult and profession selection and have good attribute statistics, it's not hard to generate a character that's within one or two skill bumps from Rune status right out of the gate. However, the opposition is also up-gunned. Most opponents are 65%+ percent in their main weapons, most 'character-level' opponents are 85% or better. Trying to play an RQ3 warrior /soldier who's main weapon attack is 60% is not advisable in such an environment.

 

I'm allowing lefties in my game and ofc their base chance is higher for weapons with their left hand, but any sort of prior experience is for their right hand. Can't have a leftie messing up the shield wall/phalanx. They can use the points they get to increase skills of the players choice at the end of character creation to increase skill with their left hand.

[svensson]

18 minutes ago, JustAnotherVingan said:

I'm allowing lefties in my game and ofc their base chance is higher for weapons with their left hand, but any sort of prior experience is for their right hand. Can't have a leftie messing up the shield wall/phalanx. They can use the points they get to increase skills of the players choice at the end of character creation to increase skill with their left hand.

Depends on the shield wall.

With a mass of center-grip shields, handedness isn't as much of an issue. It's still a thing, but it's more easily managed. With hung shields [shields strapped to the forearm], handedness is a MUCH bigger thing. A lefty in the phalanx really eff's up the unit's cohesion. The formation is so tight that troops MUST march in step and fight with the same hand AND technique. But with a Anglo-Saxon /Norse 'skjaldborg' [Old Norse for 'shield wall'] it's not so much a problem.

[Kloster]

3 hours ago, svensson said:

One of the things I disliked about RQ2 and 3 was that each weapon had Attack, Parry, and Handedness percentiles. It annoyed a lot of players because percentiles awarded for skill had to be dispersed into so many picky sub-groups.

RQ2, yes. In RQ3, your skill apply to categories of weapons (1H sword, short sword, 2H sword,...), not individual weapons. Your skill is the same with a broadsword and with a bastard sword used 1 handed, so in fact, after several fights where various weapons are used, you have less skill values for combat with RQ3, even with dual skill for attack and parry, than with RQG, where you start with half value with weapons in the same category.

3 hours ago, svensson said:

In my games, I'm careful to observe the handedness rules on pg. 226 of the RQG book: players designate their handedness at creation; off hand weapon use begins at 05%+Manipulation Bonus. This comes from my real-life experience as an SCA heavy fighter and a proud member of the 'Secret Society of Sinister Southpaws' [i.e. a left handed fighter]. I had to work hard to acquire any kind of skill with my right hand, and even then I was never really proficient with it. Seriously, if you want to watch  something close to 'combat comedy', watch two lefties fight right handed for awhile. It really does look like cows on ice.

Completely agree on that. In fact, on this, RQG is more generous than RQ3, as RQG starts off hand at 05%+modifier, but you can use the half value for similar weapon, as RQ3 gives 05%+modifier (and with just above average characteristics, RQG gives 25%higher modifiers).

By the way, in my younger times, I had 12 years of fencing, and even at the end, I was unable to do anything with my sword in my left hand, so 05% is even perhaps generous.

3 hours ago, svensson said:

Back to the main point, yes, the rules in RQG have up-gunned quite a bit. If you're careful with cult and profession selection and have good attribute statistics, it's not hard to generate a character that's within one or two skill bumps from Rune status right out of the gate. However, the opposition is also up-gunned. Most opponents are 65%+ percent in their main weapons, most 'character-level' opponents are 85% or better. Trying to play an RQ3 warrior /soldier who's main weapon attack is 60% is not advisable in such an environment.

Completely agree. But I said I am using RQ3 combat rules. We use RQG creation rules RAW, so the skill values are RQG's ones.

[PhilHibbs]

17 hours ago, Godlearner said:

Combat mechanics in RQG are very different from previous versions.

I disagree. We've played a few combats in my game and it doesn't feel different. The biggest difference really is that you can't get a quick Disrupt in alongside a weapon attack. The multiple parries is a biggie but I've not put them up against a big numerical difference either way yet.

Yes, there are a lot of differences, but they don't change the feel of the game.

Edited March 8, 2022 by PhilHibbs

[Godlearner]

1 hour ago, PhilHibbs said:

Yes, there are a lot of differences, but they don't change the feel of the game.

The point was that it is not RQG RAW, as to if they do not change the feel, maybe, maybe not. Never saw the need to try it.

[soltakss]

23 hours ago, StephenMcG said:

The game I am playing is cherry-picking a number of different bits and pieces from previous editions.  I was wondering how other folks are playing their Runequest.

I do the same, cherry picking bits that I like and using those in the rules.

We have used Critical Specials in our games since RQ2. I don't like how the new Criticals (New as in RQ3 and RQG) have maximum damage Criticals, so I just have Criticals doing normal damage and ignoring armour, but Critical Specials do Special damage, ignoring armour.

I have unconsciousness on 0 HP and death when your HPs go negative exceeding your normal full HPs, so someone with 15 HPs goes unconscious at 0HP and dies at -16 HP.

I don't roll for Augments, I just add the Special value of the augmenting skill. So, a Rune at 90% would add 18 to the augmented skill.

 

 

[Dragon]

13 minutes ago, soltakss said:

I don't roll for Augments, I just add the Special value of the augmenting skill. So, a Rune at 90% would add 18 to the augmented skill.

More interested in Passion augments, as Rune will get increase checks for casting Rune magic still. Do Passion and Skill augments get a check for a potential increase?

If they do, then augmenting with a 35 Skill would only gain you 7%, but it would allow a skill check you might not otherwise receive. Just in case you have power gamers.

[Bill the barbarian]

3 hours ago, Dragon said:

More interested in Passion augments, as Rune will get increase checks for casting Rune magic still. Do Passion and Skill augments get a check for a potential increase?

 

All abilities and POW do. Abilities are a new category that consist of Skills, Runes and Passion. All abilities operate fundamentally the same as skills always have.