RQ with Less Theism

[Crel]

So I've been thinking a bit, and realized that both my experience as a player (RQ3 with lots of house rules) and as a GM (RQG with some houserules) has been rather light on Rune magic. I've never actually participated in a game where anyone worshiped any of the Lightbringers, which feels like the sort of "default" for RQ. Spirit magic/shamanism and sorcery have been the broad go-to's of my playgroup--even in my RQG game it's not instinctive for my players to use Rune magic, and we've been playing some months. I'm curious if anyone else on here has ended up with a similar play "meta" and/or has advice for playing within such a milieu.

For context of my own experience:

RQ3 party: A Knight-Sorcerer, an anti-undead sorcerer, an ancestor-worshipping shaman, an undead-using sorcerer, an occasional trickster, and a recurring warrior (who died and rerolled somewhat frequently) who most recently worshiped Yelmalio. Most notable houserules include an abomination mixing RQ3 sorcery, Petersen's Presence-based sorcery, and his RQ3 Tekumel sorcery (which led to a bunch of sorcerers in the party). All humans. We ended up in a Lunar context, but started in Pavis without affiliations.

RQG party: A pair of troll sorcerer brothers, a morokanth assistant shaman, and a Praxian Waha initiate (no shaman stuff learned). In Pavis, loosely allied with Argrath's forces.

[soltakss]

Sure, you could play like that and it would work.

I prefer my PCs and PCs in my campaigns, to join cults, as they get a richer experience, in my opinion.

But, the Animist who does not tie to a cult, the Sorcerer who remains aloof from any sects and the Outsider who hasn't initiated to a cult are all valid and interesting PC options.

[Sumath]

I ran a Griffin Island campaign when I was younger in which all my players used spirit magic or sorcery. It was fine, but as a party they were the least RuneQuesty (yeah, I know, just go with it) that I ever GMed for. No cult affiliations meant less integration into the world. More like a D&D party. However, Griffin Island was non-Gloranthan anyway, so that didn't help.

[Crel]

Yeah, I mean we've all always had a blast playing the system. I'm not sure I'd say "Gods are the only true way to RQ!" or "This is Unique and Better!" or anything like that, but just realized that my own experience is somewhat off-norm, and was curious if anyone else had similar.

18 hours ago, Sumath said:

It was fine, but as a party they were the least RuneQuesty

I find this interesting, because that's sort of my "this is what a RuneQuesty game is." A fair amount of big magic, but most of it sorcery, not divine/Rune magic. More defined by the grittiness of the combat in comparison to PFRPG, than by a sense of cultures or connections.

[styopa]

13 hours ago, Crel said:

Yeah, I mean we've all always had a blast playing the system. I'm not sure I'd say "Gods are the only true way to RQ!" or "This is Unique and Better!" or anything like that, but just realized that my own experience is somewhat off-norm, and was curious if anyone else had similar.

I find this interesting, because that's sort of my "this is what a RuneQuesty game is." A fair amount of big magic, but most of it sorcery, not divine/Rune magic. More defined by the grittiness of the combat in comparison to PFRPG, than by a sense of cultures or connections.

Understand that RQ before RQG had nearly nothing to do with Runes mechanically anyway.  So the system before RQG *was* almost exclusively defined by:
- crunchy combat

- skills not classes

- MP for spells, not Vancian magic.

- mostly played in a weird non Tolkienesque fantasy world with ducks

....none of these having anything to do with Runes in the slightest.  In fact, the pre-RQG approach to Divine Spells was...basically Vancian magic. (the horror!)

[gochie]

Honestly in RQ3 we had so little opportunities to raise our POW, and our GM loved throwing spirits and whatever resistance rolls at us, that we very rarely used Divine Magic.

We also had maybe 2 or 3 spirit magic points and that we used mostly for heals and light. Magic was mostly used by enemies and NPCs. 

[PhilHibbs]

34 minutes ago, gochie said:

Honestly in RQ3 we had so little opportunities to raise our POW, and our GM loved throwing spirits and whatever resistance rolls at us, that we very rarely used Divine Magic.

We also had maybe 2 or 3 spirit magic points and that we used mostly for heals and light. Magic was mostly used by enemies and NPCs. 

Spirit combat should give you POW gain rolls. It doesn't seem to in RQG, but it did in RQ3.

[gochie]

10 minutes ago, PhilHibbs said:

Spirit combat should give you POW gain rolls. It doesn't seem to in RQG, but it did in RQ3.

I didn't know the rules that well back then lol.

[Prinz Slasar]

41 minutes ago, PhilHibbs said:

Spirit combat should give you POW gain rolls. It doesn't seem to in RQG, but it did in RQ3. 

RQG p 418 Power Gain Roll through Spirit Combat

[Kloster]

9 hours ago, prinz.slasar said:

RQG p 418 Power Gain Roll through Spirit Combat

Yes, in addition to the (new) gains with worship and battle.

[PhilHibbs]

2 hours ago, Kloster said:

Yes, in addition to the (new) gains with worship and battle.

Battle? I can't find that!

[metcalph]

48 minutes ago, PhilHibbs said:

Battle? I can't find that!

Special and critical results on Battle Results table p176

[Tywyll]

On 4/14/2019 at 12:19 PM, Crel said:

RQ3 Tekumel sorcery

Wut? Links please! I would love to check that out.

 

Edited April 16, 2019 by Tywyll

[Bill the barbarian]

7 hours ago, metcalph said:

Special and critical results on Battle Results table p176

Holy crap, this belong is

Trumpet fanfare

What the heck... Check that out!

I think I will have to purloin this...

Cheers

[Crel]

10 hours ago, Tywyll said:

Wut? Links please! I would love to check that out.

 

Here, along with other systems. I'm not personally much familiar with Tekumel, but more a bastardized version forcibly imprinted on top of Glorantha. It's weird. It's really weird. I'd not call the PDF linked on that page actually representative of the game I play in, but it's sort of the starting point.