So you want to play a Tusk Rider...

[jajagappa]

With the advent of the RuneQuest Glorantha Bestiary, we've got a lot of new player character possibilities, but nothing for their backgrounds (except for the ducks).  I figure there will eventually be something for the trolls, and I don't have a good feel for the elves, so I thought I'd write one up for the Tusk Riders.  The advantage for them is that the region/campaign tables for Dragon Pass that are in Wyrms Footnotes #15 come in real handy!  

A key theme for Tusk Riders is going off to raid (and in almost any direction based on the distribution map in the RQG Bestiary) which I've tried to capture in a Tusk Rider Raid table (and noting years when raids there were specifically noted).  As Tusk Riders mature quicker, I ended up with an option for a great-grandparent which allows you to start at Grizzly Peak.  I didn't figure they'd get involved in political assassinations off in Esrolia, so included the earlier attempted invasion of Sartar in 1591 instead (an event which can also be added for a human in Dragon Pass).  Generally the events focus on Tusk Riders only, though in a few instances I've noted options to include for others (e.g. the Boar Hunt, the Battle of the Porkers).

I'm sure lots of other ideas can be brought in, and events/entries and bonuses improved, but hopefully is a useful starting place.  Enjoy!

Tusk Rider Family Background generator for RQG:  Tusk Riders Background.pdf

Edited August 5, 2018 by jajagappa

[stevobevodevo]

I'm ready to play one.  When are you starting the campaign?   Nice write up.

[jajagappa]

3 minutes ago, stevobevodevo said:

I'm ready to play one.  When are you starting the campaign?  

After Harmast and company succumb to a TPK! 😈 Got my hands full with that one.

5 minutes ago, stevobevodevo said:

Nice write up.

Thanks!

[jajagappa]

One question for a GM allowing PC Tusk Riders to consider is the base CHA as this potentially impacts the ability to become a Rune Lord of the Bloody Tusk.

Possible options:

• Increase CHA for PC Tusk Riders to 3d6.  Typical Tusk Riders remain as-is.
• Remove the CHA requirement for the Rune Lords of the Bloody Tusk.

See: https://basicroleplaying.org/topic/8021-cha-requirement-for-rune-lords/

[Richard S.]

6 minutes ago, jajagappa said:

One question for a GM allowing PC Tusk Riders to consider is the base CHA as this potentially impacts the ability to become a Rune Lord of the Bloody Tusk.

Possible options:

• Increase CHA for PC Tusk Riders to 3d6.  Typical Tusk Riders remain as-is.
• Remove the CHA requirement for the Rune Lords of the Bloody Tusk.

See: https://basicroleplaying.org/topic/8021-cha-requirement-for-rune-lords/

I think increasing PC CHA would be best. You still need to be strong-willed to be a good war leader, so I don't think removing the RL's CHA requirement would work all too well.

[jajagappa]

8 minutes ago, Richard S. said:

I think increasing PC CHA would be best. You still need to be strong-willed to be a good war leader, so I don't think removing the RL's CHA requirement would work all too well.

That would be my choice as well - after all, there's some reason why this Tusk Rider is destined for fame in the Hero Wars!

[womble]

Isn't willpower mostly POW though? And isn't there a skill (Battle) which CHA doesn't help at all? Personally, I'm inclined to remove the standard CHA requirement (which seems like a hangover from 2Ed where there was no Battle skill to abstract leadership in battle into) and replace it with something specific to each Cult, usually Mastery in Battle, but potentially something else in less 'Group fight-y' Cults that have RL.

In any case 'CHA 18' is a pretty arbitrary standard requirement as has been noted elsewhere. If you've got to keep it, I'd make it 'max rolled CHA for the race'. Maxing your Charisma is possibly the hardest of the requirements to meet, for in-game development.

[jajagappa]

2 minutes ago, womble said:

Isn't willpower mostly POW though?

It's not about willpower, it's about leadership and presence of the individual.  That's what CHA represents.

CHA is actually the easiest now to increase.  As noted on RQG p.420

. . Possession of good, showy, magical objects raises CHA by +1. Just 1 point is gained here. It does not matter if the adventurer has one or a hundred showy items.
. . Becoming a God-talker, Rune Master, or shaman in the course of play or between adventures increases an adventurer’s CHA by +1.
. . Successful leadership of a military expedition (such as a raid) or of a community in a crisis can increase an adventurer’s CHA by +1.
. . Unsuccessful leadership can cause the adventurer to lose CHA. Disastrous leadership can force the leader to make a CHA×1 roll or lose –1D3 points of CHA.

[womble]

Sorry. I thought 'strong willed' equated to 'has strong willpower' which is, IMI, POW.

I'd disagree about the ease of raising CHA vs other abilities.

'Good, showy' MIs generally come to Rune level characters, if at all, IME. Your heirloom Heal 2 matrix doesn't count.

The word 'can' suggests that not every raid or crisis is good for an increase, and, again, the Runemasters probably do most of the leading of those kinds of events which would be significant enough to be eligible for a CHA increase.

So you get one for going to Lord via Priest, and the rest has to come from training/teaching, which is time-consuming and/or expensive. Whereas getting the 5 skills and Rune & Passion is pretty much inevitable for an adventurer.

Those three lines also illustrate the inherent problem with CHA: it's a horrible mishmash of appearance, reputation and self-confidence that it's difficult to draw consistent mechanics from or extrapolate into metaphysics. At least it's not the dump stat in RQ:G that it is in so many other games, given its role in capping magic known, spirits bound and Rune Points (per Cult).

[David Scott]

2 hours ago, jajagappa said:

One question for a GM allowing PC Tusk Riders to consider is the base CHA as this potentially impacts the ability to become a Rune Lord of the Bloody Tusk.

Possible options:

• Increase CHA for PC Tusk Riders to 3d6.  Typical Tusk Riders remain as-is.
• Remove the CHA requirement for the Rune Lords of the Bloody Tusk.

See: https://basicroleplaying.org/topic/8021-cha-requirement-for-rune-lords/

without wanting to derail your thread, somewhere in "old" RQ was the concept that interracial CHA between some species was different to same species CHA. For example in Cults of Prax (classic) under Aldrya membership it says for the purpose of joining:

Quote

CHA is always minus 10 for non-Aldryami races.

I'd suggest that in a Tuskrider game everyone has 3D6 CHA except when dealing with other races although Id want to treat it like reverse glamour per D6 to make the maths easy. Like -10% comms per dice reduction. so normally 1D6 tuskers are at -20% dealing with other races. No though has gone into this BTW.

Edited August 5, 2018 by David Scott

[David Scott]

1 hour ago, womble said:

Isn't willpower mostly POW though?

Charisma is quite clearly defined on page 52. Charisma's definition has also changed since the quickstart with Willpower removed. Willpower has a lot of baggage in RQ as it previously connected with some HeroQuest concepts. I think that will come back with heroquesting in the Gamesmaster book (not GM screen!). However, in my mind, willpower is what the player brings to the table.

[Zozotroll]

David S Many time the best rules are those that you just do without thinking, instead of the ones you spend a long time overthinking. 

[Skovari]

I would perhaps make tusk riders start with that 1d6 charisma.  But the species max should be based on 3d6.  As should any race to allow proper rune levels.  I’ve got this same problem with scorpion men, trollkin, and great trolls.

[jajagappa]

1 hour ago, Skovari said:

I would perhaps make tusk riders start with that 1d6 charisma.  But the species max should be based on 3d6.  

I could readily see challenging and defeating other Tusk Rider leaders as a means to increasing their CHA.  You'd probably have to defeat 12+ others, but by that point you've likely got a solid following.

[Bud]

This is a great resource, Jaja, thanks  I'll be spending part of this evening rolling up a history for a Tusk Rider.

In general, I find the character history tables in RQG great fun, and it can make creating NPC's and pre-gens a mini-game in itself. It's nice to have some more tables to access!

[jajagappa]

On ‎8‎/‎11‎/‎2018 at 4:36 PM, Bud said:

This is a great resource, Jaja, thanks  I'll be spending part of this evening rolling up a history for a Tusk Rider.

In general, I find the character history tables in RQG great fun, and it can make creating NPC's and pre-gens a mini-game in itself. It's nice to have some more tables to access!

Let me know how it went, or if you think anything needs tweaking/additions/mods.