Weekly minor holy days

[PhilHibbs]

On 9/15/2023 at 9:50 AM, Akhôrahil said:

It also does things to the world when people in it can spend Rune Points like they’re candy.

It only does things to the world if you want it to do things to the world. The rules are there to facilitate gaming in Glorantha, and different rules (RQ2, RQ3, RQG, HQ, 13G, etc.) facilitate different kinds of games. They do not create different Gloranthas, unless you want them to. Some people enjoy going rules-gonzo on the world, and I've certainly done that myself, but it isn't the only approach.

Edited August 31 by PhilHibbs

[Akhôrahil]

31 minutes ago, PhilHibbs said:

It only does things to the world if you want it to do things to the world. The rules are there to facilitate gaming in Glorantha, and different rules (RQ2, RQ3, RQG, HQ, 13G, etc.) facilitate different kinds of games. They do not create different Gloranthas, unless you want them to.

The alternative is handwaving things and ignoring the direct consequences of the rules. This is less satisfying for me.

People have Rune Points (typically 3, going by publication), and there are no demands to sacrificing for more except that it lowers POW. Unless you somehow think NPCs don’t regain Rune Points on holy days, they will have plenty to spare and a lot to gain from using them. This is the setting the rules generate, and the options are accepting them or handwaving them away, and at least my players would wonder why NPCs don’t use the magic the rules say they have, and I would have nothing credible to offer.

And in my opinion, we do get different Gloranthas. What runes do Lhankor Mhy have, for instance? I regard the Guide as the pre-eminent source of canon (moreso than any game), and the RQG Glorantha is a variation where due to rules reasons (and possibly conservatism), LM has Stasis instead of Law. What’s the status of the Elmal cult? HQ and RQG tell us different stories here.

Edited August 31 by Akhôrahil

[PhilHibbs]

8 hours ago, Akhôrahil said:

And in my opinion, we do get different Gloranthas. What runes do Lhankor Mhy have, for instance?

That's fine! Like I said, if that works for you, then go for it. But it seems also that it doesn't work for you, so I'm confused why you choose this interpretation, although you say you don't like the "handwaving" alternative. So that would leave a third option, change the availability of the magic that you find problematic.

Personally, I choose the "you can't extrapolate the world from the rules, it's supposed to be the other way around", which I guess is handwaving. "The other way around" would be my "third option" above, change the rules to match your vision of the world.

[PhilHibbs]

8 hours ago, Akhôrahil said:

What runes do Lhankor Mhy have, for instance?

Different temples have different runes carved on them, this is true for all cults. Orlanth temples have Air, Storm, Change, Movement, Conflict, Authority, Mastery, Rebellion, Father, Family, and many other runes. Not everyone accepts the God Learner runes as being the only ones. RQG just implements a simplified set of runes to make the game simple, but you can't extrapolate Glorantha from that simplification.

In my opinion. YGMV, it's your choice.

Edited August 31 by PhilHibbs

[Malin]

Honestly one of the things that I DO find most fascinating with this current iteration of Glorantha in particular is how accessible and powerful magic is to the player character. Of course one might argue that rules made for a PLAYER character meant to be a hero fighting in the Hero Wars is not something we can use to assume that every single NPC in the world follows exactly the same rules. The RuneQuest rulebook is for running a GAME in the world, not detailing the natural laws of how that world works. At least that is my view of things.

However, we can use said rules as an indication of what might be found there. Sure, an NPC won't know that in game-technical terms it would be useful to sacrifice a lot of power for runepoints (though that might lead to ill health as disease spirits can get to you easier), because the mechanical rule of sacrificing power for runepoints is only meant to be a game mechanical way of simulating piety and commitment to a deity. It can be assumed that a priest, or a driven player character, would be a lot more focused on this path. But, that doesn't mean we can ignore that NPC's might have access to the same rune spells, even if we might argue whether the average person has one runepoint or three. Birthing is still accessible to women, and Bless Crops to farmers.

THAT is what I find to be so cool! To think about how the existence of these forms of magic influences society. As a slight digression, I was originally a horror writer, and I am old enough to be from an age long before cell phones. The advent of cell phones, and then to have them hooked up to the internet changed the rules for writing a horror story at a fundamental level. The isolation I felt growing up in the countryside, when nobody knew where you were as a kid, that's not a thing anymore. Now it is more scary that everyone can track where you are. Different vibe. And that's what I feel about Glorantha's current rune magic compared to what it used to be when I first started playing (as I said, not young).

I'm working on a Uleria thing right now, and I can already see a big cultural shift in the cult whether it is operating in a landscape where Ernalda is easily accessible and dominant (with Birthing through the Midwife subcult), or whether it is in one where Ernalda is more absent (Lunar/Solar heartlands) where Uleria's Birthing rune spell might be a lot more valuable and unique. (We don't know what Dendara has yet, but I assume there will be a lot of judgment about unmarried mothers in Solar societies regardless of magic, and the Lunar pantheon doesn't have that kind of magic).

Another thing I've had to struggle with and figure out how works is things like: Imprisoning people, keeping captives and the like. Surely society has ways to work with that, even though they have not been detailed in the rules yet (apart from the old slave manacles from earlier editions).

I don't even know where I am going with this at this point, other than that for me, the abundance of powerful magic is a feature, not a bug or a flaw. Sorry for ranting, I will get back to work now.

[jajagappa]

6 hours ago, Malin said:

Another thing I've had to struggle with and figure out how works is things like: Imprisoning people, keeping captives and the like. Surely society has ways to work with that, even though they have not been detailed in the rules yet (apart from the old slave manacles from earlier editions).

For this, I've drawn on the idea of herbal teas or leaves that reduce MP's (or even ability to use RP's) for a set period of time to keep captives from being able to draw on magic (from forkroot in Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time books). This is a lot more practical and straightforward than having to come by slave bracelets.

[Malin]

9 minutes ago, jajagappa said:

For this, I've drawn on the idea of herbal teas or leaves that reduce MP's (

I love this and am going to steal it. I have mostly worked with variants of the Warding rune spells (and even a Wyter in one case) for prisons and the like, but this is very practical!

[jajagappa]

1 hour ago, Malin said:

I love this and am going to steal it. I have mostly worked with variants of the Warding rune spells (and even a Wyter in one case) for prisons and the like, but this is very practical!

The nice thing with these types of substances (could be from herbs, fungi, minerals, or even certain animals) is that you can just use standard mechanics - nothing unusual needed. They have a POT and an effect (typically determined by a resistance roll vs CON, though other characteristics might be used) and some duration. Administer via food or drink.

[Akhôrahil]

9 hours ago, Malin said:

Another thing I've had to struggle with and figure out how works is things like: Imprisoning people, keeping captives and the like. Surely society has ways to work with that, even though they have not been detailed in the rules yet (apart from the old slave manacles from earlier editions).

I don't even know where I am going with this at this point, other than that for me, the abundance of powerful magic is a feature, not a bug or a flaw. Sorry for ranting, I will get back to work now.

"Slabimili: This island is the source of the
notorious Slave Bracelets, manufactured here
and exported throughout the world. These
magical devices consist of two bracelets and
a collar that collectively bind the wearer’s
souls, thereby insuring the wearer’s passivity
and greatly reducing any chance of escape.
These shackles originally were a secret of
the dwarves, but Henshie, the Goddess of
Slabimili, stole the secret from the dwarves
and taught it to her priest-artificers."

But agree - it's going to be hard to keep prisoners who can teleport.

Edited September 1 by Akhôrahil

[jajagappa]

23 hours ago, Malin said:

I love this and am going to steal it. I have mostly worked with variants of the Warding rune spells (and even a Wyter in one case) for prisons and the like, but this is very practical!

Btw, I included one variant of this in my Edge of Empire book called Marshwort.

[Richard S.]

On 8/24/2024 at 1:04 PM, Akhôrahil said:

It does seem like it's just OA/OT that this applies to, not any other subcults. Which might be regarded as a little odd - this seems as though it should be the standard system - but that's how it is.

I think this is probably symptomatic of just how big the divide between Adventurous and Thunderous still is. Orlanth has two entirely separate priesthoods who don't always see eye to eye, and needs a Rex to keep the Wind Lords and Storm Voices working together much of the time. Adventurous and Thunderous are almost like separate cults that just happen to share the same Rune point pool - they've each got their own subcults, their own associates, even their own temples in most places.

Edited September 9 by Richard S.

[radmonger]

While the rules don't specify this, common sense says you pay your tithe to a specific temple. There is rarely going to be an explicit mechanism to transfer the time or money between temples within a cult. A temple wyter can magically recognize whether someone is initiated or not, but not whether they have paid up.

Normally, different subcults are in different locations, so this doesn't come up. You pay you dues to one temple, and others:

• recognize you as a guest
• allow you to join worship ceremonies
• allow you to learn spirit or rune magic for cash/explicit services rendered

Orlanth is unusual in sometimes having two temples to different subcults in one spot. For example Jonstown (per the  the starter box) has separate temples to Orlanth Adventerous and Thunderous.

Another example is Nochet, which (per Harald Smith's JC work) has temples to both Yelmalio and Elmal. I would not expect paying a tithe at one would get you much at the other.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 9 by radmonger