Review: Cults of RuneQuest: The Lunar Way

[Runeblogger]

I've written a review of Cults of RuneQuest: The Lunar Way:    ✍️🌓🔊

https://elruneblog.blogspot.com/2024/07/cults-of-runequest-lunar-way-review.html

It also contains questions that came to mind while reading the book, so if anyone has any answers to suggest, please do so! 😋

[Saki]

Really nice writeup, thanks for sharing.

[jajagappa]

3 hours ago, Runeblogger said:

I've written a review of Cults of RuneQuest: The Lunar Way

Good review!

One minor note: "The rules for illumination were originally published in 1993 in the supplement for RQ3 Dorastor: Land of Doom and their current iteration in The Lunar Way is basically the same with some tweaks. "

You can find the original rules for and benefits of Illumination in the initiation section of the Nysalor cult in RQ2 Cults of Terror (10+ years earlier).

[Runeblogger]

Thanks! I’ll include that. 🙂

[Tiggy]

A great review! As a relative newcomer to Glorantha, it was helpful that you pointed out unanswered questions as it tells me that when I struggle to grasp some things, the problem isn’t always with me.

[Scornado]

Nice review; thanks.  I absolutely agree there seems to be a lot of repetition within the book (not so worried about repeating things in OTHER books).  I am not so concerned if some spells, such as Cyclic Characteristic, don't seem to be optimal ... the character does not have to choose them!

 

[Jens]

4 hours ago, Scornado said:

Cyclic Characteristic, don't seem to be optimal

Cyclical Characteristic is incredible for sorcerers and Lunar Magician- 1.5x your Free INT to cast giant spells? Yes please! And being the clever Illuminate that you are, you'll dispel it before you take minuses on Crescent, Dying, or Black Moon days.

[Runeblogger]

On 8/2/2024 at 12:30 PM, Tiggy said:

A great review! As a relative newcomer to Glorantha, it was helpful that you pointed out unanswered questions as it tells me that when I struggle to grasp some things, the problem isn’t always with me.

Glad to read that! 😋👍

On 8/2/2024 at 6:27 PM, Jens said:

Cyclical Characteristic is incredible for sorcerers and Lunar Magician- 1.5x your Free INT to cast giant spells? Yes please! And being the clever Illuminate that you are, you'll dispel it before you take minuses on Crescent, Dying, or Black Moon days.

Wow, of course!!! I hadn’t thought about that! 😳 The sorcerer still has to travel outside the Glowline just to cast the spell though, but hell yeah.
 

 

 

 

[metcalph]

2 hours ago, Runeblogger said:

The sorcerer still has to travel outside the Glowline just to cast the spell though, but hell yeah.
 

Cyclical Characteristic is castable within the Glowline.  All Lunar Magics are available in the Half Moon phase.  The effect of the Full Moon is to double the Duration. (cf RuneQuest: Glorantha p303 and the Lunar Way at numerous points)

[Runeblogger]

Sorry, I meant for the sorcerer to enjoy the x1.5 benefit of the spell.

[Runeblogger]

Another review by The God Learners:

https://godlearners.com/review-the-lunar-way/

[davecake]

On 8/6/2024 at 4:09 PM, metcalph said:

Cyclical Characteristic is castable within the Glowline.  All Lunar Magics are available in the Half Moon phase.  The effect of the Full Moon is to double the Duration. (cf RuneQuest: Glorantha p303 and the Lunar Way at numerous points)

This is, of course, trivially true. But given the default effect of Cyclical Characteristic if cast within the Glowline is for every characteristic to remain unaffected, it's also kind of pointless on its own. 

The answer to 'how is casting Cyclical Characteristic useful within the Glowline' is that if you can cast Cyclical Characteristic, you can probably cast Glowspot. Maybe bump it with a little Extension. Much easier than travelling outside the Glowline. Makes Cyclical Characteristic much less accessible for characteristic boosting, but also much less crippling most of the time. 

[Aurelius]

Cyclical Characteristic… oh dear. Stupidly powerful with sorcery, does nothing within glowline, silly with SIZ, and causes annoying amount of math if ever used, say, in combat. 

And, with 100% certainty, not playtested. 😭

[Aurelius]

Is moon always full within Glamour or Silver Shadow?

If yes, the lunari tailors gotta ve doing a lot of outfits for casually SIZ-19+ illuminates towering above the crowds in the capital. 

[Runeblogger]

New questions:

Can initiates of the full cult of Yanafal Tarnils worship their god at a Seven Mothers temple? Can they learn new Rune spells of Yanafal Tarnils there?

Can an initiate of the Seven Mothers worship them at a Yanafal Tarnils temple? Can they learn any Rune spell there without initiating into the Yanafal Tarnils cult?

Are the subcults of the Seven Mothers cult really subcults if you don't need to sacrifice POW to join each nor do they teach new magic to initiates? Are they meant only for Chief Priests of the Seven Mothers?

[Techpriest]

For the first, yes, it's the reason you can worship Vinga at Orlanth's temple or Nandan at Ernalda's temple. 

For the second? Yes, they're worshipping at a temple to an associated cult. No, they cannot learn any of Yanafal Tarnils rune magic without initiation into his associated subcult. 

Yes, they really are associated subcults. They're worshiped as a whole as the Seven Mothers which provides its own benefits, and each subcult has its own associated cults that unless you become part of that subcult, you do not have access to the magic of. For example, normally the Seven Mothers can provide Regrow Limb and, Dismiss/Summon elemental, all of which are rune magic someone in the Deezola subcult has access to. But Deezola initiates can gain access to Heal Body through her association with Dendara, can join the other seven mother cults as they're associated cults, and gain access to Gerra's 'Resist Pain' rune spell.