New players abound now so - collected very basic rule questions?

[klecser]

So, total newbie and I have a literal crap ton of rules questions. I don't want to be the guy that starts a billion threads and maybe there is a better place to ask small questions than here? Let me know. What if new players posted very simple questions in this thread so they were all in one place?

I'll start simple with a few:

1) I picked Orlanth Adventurous as my Cult/Subcult because it seemed logical to start Sartar. The rulebook says that you get +20 to one cult skill and +15 to another. Can one of those bonuses be stacked with the "+10 sword skill" for Adventurous? Or do I have to pick Orate/Sing/Stormspeak?

2) The rules refer to additional Rune spells being attainable by "sacrificing POW." So, if I start with 12 POW, I could go down to 11 to get another spell. How exactly does POW regenerate? Coming from CoC, so sacrificing POW is something I would do if I were trying to get my character to go insane.  Do people tend to pick high POW scores at creation and immediately buy it down for a bunch of spells?  What's "typical?"

3) I see the benefit of the family history section and I plan to do it when I have more time. Sartar has three bases passions. The "skip family history" box says to "add three passions." Is this IN ADDITION to the base Sartar passions?

Edited April 13, 2019 by klecser

[Bill the barbarian]

Well if you are looking for small minds to answer small questions, I is yer man.

1 hour ago, klecser said:

1) I picked Orlanth Adventurous as my Cult/Subcult because it seemed logical to start Sartar. The rulebook says that you get +20 to one cult skill and +15 to another. Can one of those bonuses be stacked with the "+10 sword skill" for Adventurous? Or do I have to pick Orate/Sing/Stormspeak?

 

1 You can stack either 15 or 20 percent to sword and then choose one other cult skill.

1 hour ago, klecser said:

 2) The rules refer to additional Rune spells being attainable by "sacrificing POW." So, if I start with 12 POW, I could go down to 11 to get another spell. How exactly does POW regenerate? Coming from CoC, so sacrificing POW is something I would do if I were trying to get my character to go insane.  Do people tend to pick high POW scores at creation and immediately buy it down for a bunch of spells?  What's "typical?"

 

2 You won't go insane if your POW drops but 0 POW will kill you (outside of the scope of this question)  but you will need some POW for MPs Luck rolls and character skill bonuses (not as important as MP)  or possibly even 18 POW might be required by your cult to become or maintain Rune Level. POW does not regenerate but by opposing POW in a magic duel or though worship one can gain new POW.

 

1 hour ago, klecser said:

 3) I see the benefit of the family history section and I plan to do it when I have more time. Sartar has three bases passions. The "skip family history" box says to "add three passions." Is this IN ADDITION to the base Sartar passions?

3 No, those would be cultural passions not family history gained passions.

Cheers and remember I have a little brain. Your mileage with this answers might well vary...
Do not read while under the influence of licking toads, might cause baldness....

Edited April 13, 2019 by Bill the barbarian

[Richard S.]

POW in Glorantha isn't really willpower like it is in CoC, so it's not tied to a sanity stat or anything. It's more of a measure of how in tune you are with the universe or how much the gods favor you, which translates to more powerful magical ability and luck. Sacrificing POW is pretty common in Glorantha, especially for initiates of gods who can gain Rune magic from doing so. It's also the easiest characteristic to increase.

[svensson]

7 hours ago, Richard S. said:

POW in Glorantha isn't really willpower like it is in CoC, so it's not tied to a sanity stat or anything. It's more of a measure of how in tune you are with the universe or how much the gods favor you, which translates to more powerful magical ability and luck. Sacrificing POW is pretty common in Glorantha, especially for initiates of gods who can gain Rune magic from doing so. It's also the easiest characteristic to increase.

POW is easy to increase with the right spells.

POW is increased in two ways, the slow way and the fast, risky way.

The slow way is to wait for your seasonal or annual holy day ceremonies and attempt a POW gain then. However, in order to do that you must be in a consecrated place with a full priest of the deity. Not every adventurer can schedule their travels for that, especially in a party full of mixed cults.

The fast but risky way is to learn and use spells that attack another being's POW stat. If you succeed in that attack, you gain a skill check on your POW stat just as with a skill. The stereotypical Spirit Magic spells for that are Dispuption, Ignite [if you light a target's hair on fire -- see spell definition], and Sleep. Of those spells, only Disruption is offered in Orlanth Adventurous. Ignite is easiest-found among Yelm [NOT Yelmalio] worshipers, and Sleep is a cult secret spell for Chalanna Arroy, and they will not teach it to those who they believe will do harm to someone with the spell [which is pretty much describes almost every other cult]. Another way to learn these spells is to find a shaman and do him enough favors that he'll teach you the spells. I know from experience that that can be a long painful process.

Insofar as sacrificing POW to your deity, that is part of the compact of being a bonded worshiper. Lay worshipers get limited social benefits, Initiates get most of the social benefits and limited magical benefits, Priests and Lords get the full menu. In exchange the worshiper must abide by certain restrictions. But it's a pretty piss-poor initiate who doesn't have 5 or more Rune Points [in RQG terminology] by the time they're 30. The Gods offer you wonderful Rune Spells that are much more effective than Spirit Spells via that POW sacrifice, and most cults think you'd be fool to pass up the opportunity.

Edited April 13, 2019 by svensson

[Austin]

4 hours ago, klecser said:

Do people tend to pick high POW scores at creation and immediately buy it down for a bunch of spells?  What's "typical?"

My more minmax-y players definitely sacrificed some POW at the start for extra RP. It depends a lot on how much POW you roll (which in turn depends on the GM's rolling method). In my game, I had my players roll characteristics in order, but let them reroll the array if it was shite. This ended up with most of my adventurers having average or below POW, although each had other characteristics they were happy with.

I feel like any starting adventurer with more than 13 or 14 POW should seriously consider sacrificing for a couple extra RP and extra spells. This can depend quite a bit on cult--sacrificing for bonus spells makes a lot more sense to me in Orlanth than in Engizi due to the breadth of Orlanth's spell list as well as his stackable spells (especially Flight). Once an adventurer has 5-7 RP they're starting to reach this magical point where they can Extend a couple points of a spell for long durations. For example, Shield 2 Extension 3 gives a week-long +4 bonus to armor as well as an equivalent Countermagic 4 (plenty for most spirit magic spells) and still stacks with other spirit magic or mundane armor. At a buy-in of 2 POW at adventurer creation, this is a fairly cheap price. Of course, then you don't have any spare RP for Heal Wound...

But that's what the other party members you're defending are for, right?

Another element to think about is at what point you want to stop stockpiling POW (unless you've become a Rune Priest) because it'll be too hard to succeed on a POW gain roll. POW Gain rolls are rolling below (21-POW)x5% for humans, because 21 is the human species maximum. (Rune Priests get a flat +20% to these rolls, but are also required to maintain POW 18 for priesthood.) At POW 13, you've got a 40% chance to gain 1D3 POW at the end of each season if you've successfully gotten a POW Gain experience check by using magic--whether Worship, Spirit Combat, or overcoming another's POW with your own spell.

Again from a minmaxy perspective, Disruption or Befuddle are really a must-have. At 1MP, Disruption is plenty spammable to get that check. Befuddle's more of an investment at 2MP, but is a good option for characters with 15-16 POW or higher because just one or two successes can turn or even end a combat. In my play experience, pretty much every single player I've played with has tried to ensure they have some sort of spell which can be used to gain POW. The Gain-Sacrifice-Gain cycle is a slow, important part of character progression. Even after maxing out your RP in RQG, it's still relevant for things like enchantments and preparing for Divine Intervention.

[soltakss]

6 hours ago, klecser said:

2) The rules refer to additional Rune spells being attainable by "sacrificing POW." So, if I start with 12 POW, I could go down to 11 to get another spell. How exactly does POW regenerate?

POW can be gained by overcoming opponents' POW using a spell. So, of you cast disrupt, Fear or something similar, at an opponent and overcome POW on the Resistance Table then you have a chance to increase POW, up to the Species Maximum, 21 for humans.

6 hours ago, klecser said:

Coming from CoC, so sacrificing POW is something I would do if I were trying to get my character to go insane.

I can see where you are coming from. In RuneQuest, you go insane through magic (Madness, Luneshock) or by a magical effect (Hearing the Crimson bat scream, taking part in the Nights of Horror, seeing the Crimson bat appear for the first time). Just seeing a troll,, elf or broo won't send you mad, as you already know they exist.

However, in RuneQuest, having a low POW means you are susceptible to opponents' spells and Spirit Combat. Having a low POW isn't the end of the world, but having a high POW is normally better.

6 hours ago, klecser said:

Do people tend to pick high POW scores at creation and immediately buy it down for a bunch of spells?  What's "typical?"

Not generally, but I suppose it depends on the context.

If you are generating a PC for a one-off that you'll never use again, then this is a valid tactic, as you get more starting spells.

However, if you are in a campaign, you'll get far more Runespells as the campaign continues than you gained at the start during character generation.

For me, chargen is the basis of a PC, the interesting stuff happens as the campaign progresses.

[klecser]

5 hours ago, Crel said:

Another element to think about is at what point you want to stop stockpiling POW (unless you've become a Rune Priest) because it'll be too hard to succeed on a POW gain roll. POW Gain rolls are rolling below (21-POW)x5% for humans, because 21 is the human species maximum. (Rune Priests get a flat +20% to these rolls, but are also required to maintain POW 18 for priesthood.) At POW 13, you've got a 40% chance to gain 1D3 POW at the end of each season if you've successfully gotten a POW Gain experience check by using magic--whether Worship, Spirit Combat, or overcoming another's POW with your own spell.

Woah. I'm surprised no one else mentioned this. As a Call of Cthulhu player, I was not aware that you can gain characteristics. And I now see that POW has a check box! I'll read some more.

Thanks to everyone above for responses!

My current plan is to complete my character and I'd like someone to check it, if possible. Like, not a detailed point-by-point check, but just look at it for glaring errors. I'm looking at the numbers for pre-gens and my characters numbers are WAY lower than the pre-gens. I don't know if this means that I'm leaving out bonuses or if I'm just picking kinda random choices that should be more "stacked" bonuses. I picked Hunter for my Occupation and I see that this is not recommended for a Sartarite.

I see that there aren't really video guides on YouTube for character creation. That leads me to want to make one on my Channel, but it would be a "Watch a New Player Mess This Up!" video, not an actual guide.

Edited April 13, 2019 by klecser

[svensson]

7 minutes ago, klecser said:

Woah. I'm surprised no one else mentioned this. As a Call of Cthulhu player, I was not aware that you can gain characteristics. And I now see that POW has a check box! I'll read some more.

Thanks to everyone above for responses!

My current plan is to complete my character and I'd like someone to check it, if possible. Like, not a detailed point-by-point check, but just look at it for glaring errors. I'm looking at the numbers for pre-gens and my characters numbers are WAY lower than the pre-gens. I don't know if this means that I'm leaving out bonuses or if I'm just picking kinda random choices that should be more "stacked" bonuses. I picked Hunter for my Occupation and I see that this is not recommended for a Sartarite.

Relax, my friend. Sometimes 'glaring errors' are what makes a given character fun! I once put together a 'thief' character that couldn't open locks! Turned out that he was a smuggler [and a devout member of both Issaries and Eurmal, thank you], not a second story man. He could talk you out of your boots in a snowstorm, but couldn't sneak for beans.

[klecser]

3 minutes ago, svensson said:

Relax, my friend. Sometimes 'glaring errors' are what makes a given character fun! I once put together a 'thief' character that couldn't open locks! Turned out that he was a smuggler [and a devout member of both Issaries and Eurmal, thank you], not a second story man. He could talk you out of your boots in a snowstorm, but couldn't sneak for beans.

I see what you're saying. I'm not opposed to challenge driving creativity and role-playing. As I've said before recently, this group of gamers doesn't seem like the type whose going to say *scoffs* "you've built this wrong!" I've encountered that kind of gamer frequently and I'm a bit sensitive to it. It's part of the reason why this Community seems to be a breath of fresh air for me.

Next question: Picking Runes. Clearly there is some "back planning" that is involved with this, right? I picked "Moon" for one of my high-level runes and I'm not finding many Moon focused Rune spells for Sartar/Orlanth. I have Air, which seemed obvious, and I picked Movement as one of the 75s. But it looks like Moon isn't going to really do anything for me. So, the actual question/realization is: Characters should be picking Runes that are aligned with their culture and deity so that they can actually use them. Correct? 

Edited April 13, 2019 by klecser

[svensson]

Just now, klecser said:

I see what you're saying. I'm not opposed to challenge driving creativity and role-playing. As I've said before recently, this group of gamers doesn't seem like the type whose going to say *scoffs* "you've built this wrong!" I've encountered that kind of gamer frequently and I'm a bit sensitive to it. 

Next question: Picking Runes. Clearly there is some "back planning" that is involved with this, right? I picked "Moon" for one of my high-level runes and I'm not finding many Moon focused Rune spells for Sartar/Orlanth. I have Air, which seemed obvious, and I picked Movement as one of the 75s. But it looks like Moon isn't going to really do anything for me. So, the actual question/realization is: Characters should be picking Runes that are aligned with their culture and deity so that they can actually use them. Correct? 

Moon provided you with a bump to your POW when you generated your stats. Furthermore, you can use Moon to inspire almost any magical action you care to undertake. Is your Orlanth Adventurous attacking a Seven Mothers Initiate? Use Moon to put some *oomph* behind the spells you use on him! Nothing quite like using someone's own basic rune against them!

Air is pretty much required for a first or second rune for a Storm worshiper [Storm is the pantheon Orlanth rules over], so no harm done there. The same would be true if you were worshiping a Dark deity like Argan Argar for example... you 'd need to take Darkness as the first or second rune.

[Bill the barbarian]

2 minutes ago, klecser said:

Next question: Picking Runes. Clearly there is some "back planning" that is involved with this, right?

Yes, story line and personality building. I know there is a better strategic answer but to make sure this point gets made... And of course your rune choices will have an effect of spell casting and augments, but if story comes first this should work out fine (even, and   especially, if done wrong).

[svensson]

Oh and about those pre-gen characters...

My first reaction to them was 'Damn! Why aren't half of these 'toons Rune Priests already?'

In previous editions you'd be lucky if your main weapon attack was 60% at age 21, but in RQG you can easily generate a Rune Lord in character generation if you knew what to focus on.

In RQ2 and RQ3, there was a certain pacing to an adventurer's life. You generated as an Initiate, usually with low-ish skill levels. You then adventured until you made it to Rune Lord. At that time the cult's time and monetary demands would seriously erode your time. When you adventured at that point it was usually for cult goals, not your own. By the time you hit Rune Priest or Rune Lord-Priest, the cult requirements were such that it was just about retirement time. RQG has flipped that pacing on its head and I'd need to play a character to the point of reaching the upper tiers to see the effects of that on a given career.

Edited April 13, 2019 by svensson

[klecser]

9 minutes ago, svensson said:

Moon provided you with a bump to your POW when you generated your stats. Furthermore, you can use Moon to inspire almost any magical action you care to undertake. Is your Orlanth Adventurous attacking a Seven Mothers Initiate? Use Moon to put some *oomph* behind the spells you use on him! Nothing quite like using someone's own basic rune against them!

Clearly I need to do a more thorough reading. I think that my DND background is causing me to unintentionally disrespect this setting. Looking back at pages 44-45, I see that each rune has that list of suggested "augments." I love this concept and it's flexibility.

9 minutes ago, Bill the barbarian said:

Yes, story line and personality building. I know there is a better strategic answer but to make sure this point gets made... And of course your rune choices will have an effect of spell casting and augments, but if story comes first this should work out fine (even, and   especially, if done wrong).

A mechanic example might be that I use the Moon rune to try to augment my Spirit Combat? A story/investigative example might be that I encounter some arcane location and I use my Moon rune to try to figure out what magical influence has been present?

Edited April 13, 2019 by klecser

[svensson]

4 minutes ago, klecser said:

Clearly I need to do a more thorough reading. I think that my DND background is causing me to unintentionally disrespect this setting. Looking back at pages 44-45, I see that each rune has that list of suggested "augments." 

A mechanic example might be that I use the Moon rune to try to augment my Spirit Combat?

Partner, you ain't the first person to let DnD tropes and expectations send your character generation sideways You ain't the first person that's happened to today.

Just remember one very important thing about RQ character generation and parties... there are NO '4 food groups' in an RQ party. You don't divide the party into 'tank, blaster, healer, skill monkey'. In RQ, EVERYBODY tanks at some point, everybody is a skill monkey, everybody has some healing. Sure, a Chalanna Arroy is gonna be way better at healing, but don't sell that Heal 2 Spirit Magic spell short. It can and will save your life.

Edited April 13, 2019 by svensson

[klecser]

13 minutes ago, svensson said:

Partner, you ain't the first person to let DnD tropes and expectations send your character generation sideways You ain't the first person that's happened to today.

Just remember one very important thing about RQ character generation and parties... there are NO '4 food groups' in an RQ party. You don't divide the party into 'tank, blaster, healer, skill monkey'. In RQ, EVERYBODY tanks at some point, everybody is a skill monkey, everybody has some healing. Sure, a Chalanna Arroy is gonna be way better at healing, but don't sell that Heal 2 Spirit Magic spell short. It can and will save your life.

LOL, thanks.

I'm kind of at "where the hell has RQ been all my life" point right now. The "four food groups" mentality makes role-playing games so bland. The attitude that "these are your choices and here's how its optimized" is just so incredibly asinine, sad and basic. Part of the reason why I've gotten into BRP in general (this and CoC) is because it is a deliberately simpler/more elegant system that compels creative decision-making.

Are my examples of use of the Moon ruin kind of on the right track for creative use?

Edited April 13, 2019 by klecser

[svensson]

40 minutes ago, klecser said:

Are my examples of use of the Moon ruin kind of on the right track for creative use?

A player can pick ANY Runes they wish. However, their cult will require Rune affinity at certain levels, usually a minimum 50% in one of the Runes a deity embodies. Had your character chosen Moon, Darkness, and Earth in that order and didn't put any extra points in those choices, they wouldn't be able to be an Initiate of Orlanth. And given the political situation in Sartar at this moment, that could have some real social consequences for them. 'Lunar lover' is not a nickname you want in a country that's recently been liberated.

But there are not hard and fast rules about that. If the character were a member of a cult that was at least non-hostile to the Storm pantheon, then they could avoid all that.

[svensson]

As to 'where the Hell has RQ been', well, it's been languishing for the most part. Just like with sci-fi games that have to compete with sexier IPs and franchises with movies and TV behind them, RQ has been the victim of the elephant in the room, DnD.

Now, God bless DnD. Without it we wouldn't be where we are. Without WotC pulling us kicking and screaming out of our mom's basement and actually popularizing the hobby, tabletop RPGs might very well have died under the weight of computer games. They had the money to spend, the vision to make gaming popular, and the will to see that effort through.

But with that success comes the problems. Everyone sees FRPGs in a DnD /World of Warcraft light. Other engines and methods of gaming get drowned out amid that noise. But be glad you found BRP, CoC, and RQ. Encourage others to find them. There is more than one way to skin a dire lion and the more we show other players what those ways are, the more converts we'll make.

[PS, Sorry about the line-through crap. I have no idea where it comes from. It pops up on my posts now and again and I can't seem to get it to stop. Yes, I've tried the button at the top of the tool bar]

Edited April 13, 2019 by svensson

[klecser]

1 hour ago, svensson said:

[PS, Sorry about the line-through crap. I have no idea where it comes from. It pops up on my posts now and again and I can't seem to get it to stop. Yes, I've tried the button at the top of the tool bar]

I actually thought you were being coyly political about DND by using strikethrough.  😜

And I take spreading the hobby and keeping it inclusive very seriously and always have. I think one thing that a lot of gamers just don't understand is that popularity and engagement follows the kind of experiences new players have. And you can break a game's community when it becomes too toxic. Boards where experienced players seem more annoyed and standoffish with questions or insights (or don't respond at all) aren't helping their games.  😕

That said, I've decided I'm going to go ahead and post a series of videos about detailed character creation in RQG on my YouTube Channel (RPG Imaginings). I'm not pretending to be an expert. I think it's fun to see new players working through something for the first time. It will not be definitive or the best. I'm doing it because people are more likely to dive in when someone helps them. The first of a multi-part series for each character creation step will go live later today.

Edited April 13, 2019 by klecser

[soltakss]

3 hours ago, klecser said:

Woah. I'm surprised no one else mentioned this. As a Call of Cthulhu player, I was not aware that you can gain characteristics. And I now see that POW has a check box! I'll read some more.

We did! 🙂

[soltakss]

3 hours ago, klecser said:

Next question: Picking Runes. Clearly there is some "back planning" that is involved with this, right? I picked "Moon" for one of my high-level runes and I'm not finding many Moon focused Rune spells for Sartar/Orlanth.

In Sartar, Mon is the Enemy, due to the Lunars, so there won't be many general spells tied to the Moon.

[klecser]

 

8 minutes ago, soltakss said:

We did! 🙂

My mistake. Thank you!

 

7 minutes ago, soltakss said:

In Sartar, Mon is the Enemy, due to the Lunars, so there won't be many general spells tied to the Moon.

I like the idea of a Sartar character learning the Moon Rune secretly so as to "know thy enemy." Lots of conflict possibilities there!

[svensson]

44 minutes ago, klecser said:

I actually thought you were being coyly political about DND by using strikethrough.  😜

And I take spreading the hobby and keeping it inclusive very seriously and always have. I think one thing that a lot of gamers just don't understand is that popularity and engagement follows the kind of experiences new players have. And you can break a game's community when it becomes too toxic. Boards where experienced players seem more annoyed and standoffish with questions or insights (or don't respond at all) aren't helping their games.  😕

That said, I've decided I'm going to go ahead and post a series of videos about detailed character creation in RQG on my YouTube Channel (RPG Imaginings). I'm not pretending to be an expert. I think it's fun to see new players working through something for the first time. It will not be definitive or the best. I'm doing it because people are more likely to dive in when someone helps them. The first of a multi-part series for each character creation step will go live later today.

1. Nope. My wife used to work for WotC and DnD. If you own any 3.0 /3.5 stuff, her name has a good chance of being in it. As we used to joke, 'Dirzzt Do'Urden was our sugar-daddy'

2. Yeah, I'm also one of those 'all aboard' type people. I shy away from the word 'inclusive' because of the political correctness overtones, but I still hate bimbo armor and excessive perviness out of peeps at my table.

3. If you've got the personality to do video, do you thing! I'm a Civil War reenactor who does a lot of school demos and I used to do stand up comedy, but for all that I don't video worth a damn. The camera just hates me.

4. You'll find that this board is very helpful. Actually, we're kind of like Civil War reenactors in that if you ask us a simple question, you'll end up finding out WAY more than thought you were going to

[klecser]

53 minutes ago, svensson said:

1. Nope. My wife used to work for WotC and DnD. If you own any 3.0 /3.5 stuff, her name has a good chance of being in it. As we used to joke, 'Dirzzt Do'Urden was our sugar-daddy'

I co-designed and wrote the text for the Star Wars Strategy Showcase puzzles for Star Wars Miniatures that appeared on wizards.com in the mid/late 2000s. Not even close to the level of work it sounds like your wife did. Her name is on my shelves.

As an educator, I'm used to being "on camera." I have another YouTube Channel about mechanical pencils with a decent amount of Subs. We all dabble in a lot of things, right?

First video is uploading, focusing on an Intro and selecting a Homeland. I'm going to go all-in on Family History for the series.

Update: 

 

Edited April 13, 2019 by klecser
added video link

[Mechashef]

7 hours ago, svensson said:

 

But with that success comes the problems. Everyone sees FRPGs in a DnD /World of Warcraft light. Other engines and methods of gaming get drowned out amid that noise. 

 

I listen to a D&D podcast that features a couple of guys who have no connection to WoTC (and have no qualms about criticising the company). 

It features an experienced person explaining things to a much less experienced guy and answering his questions.  They typically cover creatures, classes, races etc.  In the first episode where he was explaining what D&D is, the inexperienced guy asked about similar games.  The experienced one jumped straight to computer RPGs and totally failed to mention any other Pen & Paper ones.

I'm still undecided whether is was through a general lack of knowledge about other games or a willful omission.

I often find it amusing as the experienced guy has only been playing since D&D 3rd Edition (iirc).  In one episode (on Demogorgon or Orcus  - I can't remember which) he described how the demon lord's stats had changed from version to version and his attempts at understanding and explaining the older D&D AC structure (where lower AC was better) was comical. 

[EpicureanDM]

You'll probably find this thread helpful, @klecser.

Link: