RQG: No NPCs???

[TK Nyarlathotep]

Alright, y'all. I have scanned this book up and down and come to a brutal conclusion: I don't think there are any NPCs, guidelines for making NPCs, or even the word "NPC" in the entire book. I Ctrl+F'd for "NPC", "Monster", "Lunar" and other NPC-adjacent phrases and found nothing. Is there really nothing for making opposition? If so, that seems like a rather vicious oversight. Am I missing something??

[metcalph]

7 minutes ago, TK Nyarlathotep said:

 Am I missing something??

The forthcoming Bestiary and the Gamemaster's Pack will probably have the desired information. 

[Roko Joko]

Here's what it does have:

* What Do Skill Percentages Mean? (Novice/Amateur/Pro/Veteran/Master), p. 63
* More/Less Experienced Adventurers for characters who aren't the default starting age of 21, p. 25
* Skills by culture, occupation, and cult on p. 60-79, which p. 25 says are for a 15-year-old
* Step 7, Personal Skill Bonuses, on p. 79, which p. 25 says represent ages 15 to 21
* Additional Experience, p. 81, for 10-year increments after age 21

I don't think it states whether it thinks the chargen rules are only appropriate for heroic PCs or for everyone, but you can use p. 63 to check.

[Roko Joko]

I wonder what you're supposed to do for NPC augments.  I don't really want to sit there behind my GM screen rolling out the mythopoetic battle within the soul of Trollkin #5.  Maybe you should just jack all NPC skills by 10% to represent their augments.

[TK Nyarlathotep]

Plus there's no monster stats. This game doesn't quite seem ready to run out of the box :s

[Richard S.]

57 minutes ago, TK Nyarlathotep said:

Plus there's no monster stats. This game doesn't quite seem ready to run out of the box :s

You can use the Bestiary sampler they put out or the monsters from any other edition or even another brp game for now probably.

[TK Nyarlathotep]

54 minutes ago, Richard S. said:

You can use the Bestiary sampler they put out or the monsters from any other edition or even another brp game for now probably.

Thank you for bringing that to my attention! That actually 100% addresses my concern (well, not disappointment that it's not IN the corebook, but inability to actually make my own creature and know general Gloranthan creatures). Thanks again!!

[Madrona]

TBH you could probably just use the Mythras monster genner if you want to run a game right now. Just takes a moment to shift Strike Ranks over and change skills.

Otherwise, in all honesty they seem really close to 2nd edition and 3rd edition monsters/NPCs, you could use them without much difficulty.

[Mugen]

The MRQ SRD is another source for monsters.

[creativehum]

Following up on this: Does this book contain rules for Lunar magic? 

I can hack together stats for Lunars, sure, but are the specifics for Lunar magic detailed in this book so I can make encounters with Lunars specific to Lunars?

I'm assuming Lunar magic rules should be as unique and specific as the treatment of the other magic I've been reading about.

[Sean_RDP]

18 minutes ago, creativehum said:

Following up on this: Does this book contain rules for Lunar magic? 

I can hack together stats for Lunars, sure, but are the specifics for Lunar magic detailed in this book so I can make encounters with Lunars specific to Lunars?

I'm assuming Lunar magic rules should be as unique and specific as the treatment of the other magic I've been reading about.

All the cults have access to Rune magic and there are rules for how to become a Rune Lord / Priest etc for the Seven Mothers as well as a listing of allied cults.  In the sorcery section there is a specific bit on Lunar Sorcery, so if you REALLY feel compelled to cast the Lunars as bad guys, which they are not, you should be able to.

[styopa]

2 minutes ago, Sean_RDP said:

... if you REALLY feel compelled to cast the Lunars as bad guys, which they are not...

Thus illustrating one of the most fundamental decisions that a RQG dm has to internally decide for themselves, and how their campaign will run: Are the Lunars ACTUALLY bad guys?  Sure, there can be levels and levels of "bad", as well as heterogeneity, apostasy, inconsistency, tragedy, and heroic/good guy individuals all as hallmarks of a well-run and subtly managed campaign, but deep down the question is ESSENTIAL.

Personally,  I believe they *certainly* are the bad guys,  but not for the obvious reasons.

[creativehum]

1 minute ago, Sean_RDP said:

All the cults have access to Rune magic and there are rules for how to become a Rune Lord / Priest etc for the Seven Mothers as well as a listing of allied cults.  In the sorcery section there is a specific bit on Lunar Sorcery, so if you REALLY feel compelled to cast the Lunars as bad guys, which they are not, you should be able to.

First, thanks for the reply. 

I'm really not sure how to respond to this.... Certainly if my Players have a group of Heortling PCs and they encounter some Lunars, they might well consider them "bad guys." (I'm not asking about Lunar sorcery, for what it's worth.)

What I'm trying to sort out is if there is enough material in the new rules to run a Lunar with Lunar magic?

More to the point, you seem to suggest that the rules contain enough material to make Lunar Player Characters. Is this the case? This would be great!

(The reviews seem to suggest the game focuses on Dragon Pass homelands, so I had thought the the Lunars might have been shorted on details. But the book is nearly 500 pages, so I'm assuming they haven't covered everything in detail and I'm only getting a quick glimpse at the material. Money is tight, I'm tempted to pick up the PDF, but I also would rather know more about what I'm getting.)

[Sean_RDP]

1 minute ago, creativehum said:

First, thanks for the reply. 

I'm really not sure how to respond to this.... Certainly if my Players have a group of Heortling PCs and they encounter some Lunars, they might well consider them "bad guys." (I'm not asking about Lunar sorcery, for what it's worth.)

What I'm trying to sort out is if there is enough material in the new rules to run a Lunar with Lunar magic?

More to the point, you seem to suggest that the rules contain enough material to make Lunar Player Characters. Is this the case? This would be great!

(The reviews seem to suggest the game focuses on Dragon Pass homelands, so I had thought the the Lunars might have been shorted on details. But the book is nearly 500 pages, so I'm assuming they haven't covered everything in detail and I'm only getting a quick glimpse at the material. Money is tight, I'm tempted to pick up the PDF, but I also would rather know more about what I'm getting.)

Yes there is more than enough material to make Lunar PCs. I am already working on running a Lunar game, even thinking about streaming it.

No one really gets shorted. Yes the number of homelands and cults etc who are not Lunar far outnumber the one, Lunar Tarsh. However, since this is all focusing on Dragon Pass and Pavis etc, no one gets more than the others in their specific material. If that makes sense.  As someone who enjoys playing a Lunar character, so very often in the midst of non-Lunars, I am pretty happy with what is included. 

[Sean_RDP]

7 minutes ago, styopa said:

Thus illustrating one of the most fundamental decisions that a RQG dm has to internally decide for themselves, and how their campaign will run: Are the Lunars ACTUALLY bad guys?  Sure, there can be levels and levels of "bad", as well as heterogeneity, apostasy, inconsistency, tragedy, and heroic/good guy individuals all as hallmarks of a well-run and subtly managed campaign, but deep down the question is ESSENTIAL.

Agreed.

7 minutes ago, styopa said:

Personally,  I believe they *certainly* are the bad guys,  but not for the obvious reasons.

A discussion for another thread

[creativehum]

7 minutes ago, Sean_RDP said:

No one really gets shorted. Yes the number of homelands and cults etc who are not Lunar far outnumber the one, Lunar Tarsh. However, since this is all focusing on Dragon Pass and Pavis etc, no one gets more than the others in their specific material. If that makes sense.  As someone who enjoys playing a Lunar character, so very often in the midst of non-Lunars, I am pretty happy with what is included. 

Again, thank you.

To follow up, there Homeland then is Lunar Trash. 

But if one wanted to hack together PCs back in the Empire further north, one could probably do so, yes? (My guess is there is enough material about Lunars from different game lines and books to piece together how to set up such a game, while using the HQG rules. But I'm looking for more information on that.)

Edited June 2, 2018 by creativehum

[Sean_RDP]

2 minutes ago, creativehum said:

But if one wanted to hack together PCs back in the Empire further north, one could probably do so, yes?

With the aid of other material, I suspect so yes. It should not be too hard.  Others' opinions may vary on that, but I think so.

<---totally not an expert though lol

[Yelm's Light]

1 hour ago, styopa said:

Thus illustrating one of the most fundamental decisions that a RQG dm has to internally decide for themselves, and how their campaign will run: Are the Lunars ACTUALLY bad guys?  Sure, there can be levels and levels of "bad", as well as heterogeneity, apostasy, inconsistency, tragedy, and heroic/good guy individuals all as hallmarks of a well-run and subtly managed campaign, but deep down the question is ESSENTIAL.

Personally,  I believe they *certainly* are the bad guys,  but not for the obvious reasons.

They're the bad guys to the Heortlings and most of Prax to be sure.  I took the late Roman model for their civilization; corrupt and decadent but still powerful.

[Oracle]

20 hours ago, TK Nyarlathotep said:

Alright, y'all. I have scanned this book up and down and come to a brutal conclusion: I don't think there are any NPCs, guidelines for making NPCs, or even the word "NPC" in the entire book. I Ctrl+F'd for "NPC", "Monster", "Lunar" and other NPC-adjacent phrases and found nothing. Is there really nothing for making opposition? If so, that seems like a rather vicious oversight. Am I missing something??

Adventurers chapter on p.23, first paragraph:

"The imaginary personae created and controlled by players are called adventurers. Those used by the gamemaster are called non-player characters. When these rules mention adventurers, the same rules almost always apply equally to non-player characters. ..."

 

[jajagappa]

5 hours ago, creativehum said:

But if one wanted to hack together PCs back in the Empire further north, one could probably do so, yes? (My guess is there is enough material about Lunars from different game lines and books to piece together how to set up such a game, while using the HQG rules. But I'm looking for more information on that.)

For Lunar cults, Seven Mothers is provided.  They offer spirit magic and rune magic.  There are a number of associated cults which provide additional rune spells.  Yelm and Yelmalio are included, so can provide a basis for DH and Light-worshipping cults.  You could readily create a shaman following Jakaleel the Witch.  Also some discussion of Lunar sorcery with some example spells (e.g. Moonfire).  I think there's enough to get started with.

[creativehum]

4 minutes ago, jajagappa said:

For Lunar cults, Seven Mothers is provided.  They offer spirit magic and rune magic.  There are a number of associated cults which provide additional rune spells.  Yelm and Yelmalio are included, so can provide a basis for DH and Light-worshipping cults.  You could readily create a shaman following Jakaleel the Witch.  Also some discussion of Lunar sorcery with some example spells (e.g. Moonfire).  I think there's enough to get started with.

Thanks!

[Madrona]

Could also probably adapt Odayla pretty easily to the Moon Bear for Sylians.

[TK Nyarlathotep]

On 6/2/2018 at 3:12 PM, Oracle said:

Adventurers chapter on p.23, first paragraph:

"The imaginary personae created and controlled by players are called adventurers. Those used by the gamemaster are called non-player characters. When these rules mention adventurers, the same rules almost always apply equally to non-player characters. ..."

 

Well, yeah, HUMAN non-player characters, but I assume there aren't a whole ton of monsters who grew up in an Orlanthi cults, worshipping the Storm Bull, and having the same stats as a human.

Thanks anyway!