Making HEROES for the Hero Wars

[dracopticon]

Hello everybody! My name is Erik Brickman. I live in Sweden, Europe. I have been collecting Chaosium/BRP stuff since 1985 and started with Call of Cthulhu but pretty soon started to buy and play Runequest. Back then it was the Avalon Hill version, but I managed to collect an earlier version (version 1) and I love some of the adventure material for the Avalon Hill version (such as Dorastor, River of Cradles, Sun County, etc.).

I puchased the rules for Runequest: Roleplaying in Glorantha and was amazed by the new colorful look and general feel of this new version. The only thing that vexes me, and I understand this is going to make (probably a lot) of you RQ players irritated, is the generation of real heroes in the Hero Wars. I understand the general deadliness and feel of danger is very important to adventuring in this world. And generally I'm not a GM to hold back on these things during play (but am NOT a follower of "I'm the GM, so I'm an enemy of the players" attitude). I like the danger to be just that and I feel that a lot of the adventure material absolutely manages to produce just that. BUT: while testing the character generation of RQG, I felt very much let down by the rules as I feel the possibility of creating real player character heroes is a slim chance at best, even with the Rune affiliation bonus and Homeland modifiers.

So, I tweaked these rules. Quite a bit. I'll present these here, and I would like to hear what you think of them. Are they waaay over the top or perhaps something to be further evolved with better ideas, such as yours - if you want to give them? 

First of all: the Characteristics. You roll 3D6 for five of them and 2D6+6 for SIZ and INT. Being an old Call of Cthulhu Keeper/GM this is total basics for me. But I got hooked on the words: Hero Wars. So I changed this, as my first roll was for STR: 8 pts. Sorry but even with some boosting from Runes and Homeland bonuses I'll maybe get it raised to something like 12 or 13 (or even that). Not good.

So my first change was to let the players make rolls with 4D6 (take the best three of those, discard the fourth and baddest) and reroll ones as long as you need, for each of STR, CON, DEX, POW and CHA. I also made the change that these five starting rolls were free to put on whatever characteristic the player wanted to use them for. So no roll was stuck to a certain characteristic, but only these five rolls could be used for the first five characteristics. Then, after that, the player rolls 2D6+6 for INT and SIZ, with my addition that they can be switched before play. So if the player rolled a 16 on SIZ and 9 on INT, he or she could switch them for 16 INT and 9 SIZ. 

Then some small changes were made for the skill points to put out on the sheet. As my test character was an Old Tarsh, or Tarsh Exile warrior, I changed his skill bonus for Farming +15 (which was very strange as the text told me this people hunt or raid for survival and very little land is arable) to Hunt +15. 

I have thought of other changes, and maybe I'll go through with them, I don't know. I'll present them here if there are any interest. But this was the most important change for me.

What do you think? Have I done something sacreligious? I am not a stranger to harsh critique, so please say what you want (except perhaps personal insults and the like). Thanks. //Erik.

Edited May 8, 2019 by dracopticon

[PhilHibbs]

3 hours ago, dracopticon said:

What do you think? Have I done something sacreligious? I am not a stranger to harsh critique, so please say what you want (except perhaps personal insults and the like). Thanks. //Erik.

Seems slightly on the generous side, but not by much. I allow individual dice to be swapped around form one characteristic to another, so you can swap dice between your STR and INT if you want. I think "reroll ones" is generous enough without rolling an extra die and discarding the lowst, I'd use one or the other but not both.

There's the other options in the box on p53, such as "reroll any 6/9 or lower if you don't have a 13+", are you using those?

Also, STR 8 isn't so bad. The Strength spirit spell increases your STR by 8 for 2 minutes so you can be "fairly strong" if you need to.

Edited May 8, 2019 by PhilHibbs

[Shiningbrow]

Other than the generosity that @PhilHibbs mentioned above, I think you're doing what most consider normal (within a given range of normal).

I think most GMs allow adjustments - and that's why the chapter on character creation mentions some of the options available (but, not all...).

[HreshtIronBorne]

We basically the same thing. Roll 4d6 for all but INT and SIZ, drop the lowest, rerolling all ones. Roll 3d6 for INT and SIZ, lowest die becomes a six. Our Pcs have way above average stats. You can also look to the Rune Spell Bless Pregnancy for an additional idea for creating heroic PCs. If you look through Divine Intervention and RuneLord benefits it is not that hard for even a moderately gifted RuneLord to max stats, if that is a goal. 

[kirinyaga]

I may add the characteristics are not that important in RQ:G. Sure, it will help to have them matching your occupation, but it's not that crucial as it can be in other RPGs. I find skills to be more critical. Maybe INT is the best characteristic for everyone, actually.

Anyway, you can actually make a warrior with 12 STR and he will be totally playable. He won't use a mace and will probably try to get a Strength spell quickly, that's it.

I mean, ducks ...

[Ian Absentia]

48 minutes ago, kirinyaga said:

I may add the characteristics are not that important in RQ:G...

I'm currently having a grand time playing a fanatical devotee of Orlanth who has a POW of 6 -- it's clearly an unrequited spiritual relationship.  He generally makes up for it with his smokin' INT and CHA, and augments from his rune scores.  When everyone's a hero, sometimes the outliers tell the story of what sets your character apart from the others.

!i!

Edited May 8, 2019 by Ian Absentia

[dracopticon]

Interesting to hear so much good views on this! I salute everyone that makes such good character play with what you've got! And yes I agree, the player "Heroes" doesn't need to be big buffing tanks or superheroes all the time, at least not from the start. Just playing through all the various feelings of danger or mystical surroundings and laying ones words on a gold scale during important discussions with NPCs are what really makes for memorable roleplaying. After all, this IS real social roleplaying and not a computer- or video game.

I just want to give my players some basic security during those beginning steps of my RQG adventures. And I admit, it is cheap feelings of security, anyone can die in any situation. But it's very much the looks of the characters that the players first get in their minds. Then again, that look can differ very much from the more basic archetypes of fantasy, as it should - especially in this game of Runequest. I feel that translating that "ethnic and religious feel" that I soak up as I read in all the sourcebooks (including the two monster books of The Guide to Glorantha) is very difficult to convey to some of the players, to be honest - it's the majority of players. I want them to feel at home in this world, but I understand it takes time.

Anyway, thanks for all your replies! //Erik.

Edited May 8, 2019 by dracopticon

[PhilHibbs]

And if you want an excuse for the adventurers having good stats, you can say that their mothers all had Bless Pregnancy cast on them with a ton of Rune Points stacked on.

[Bill the barbarian]

2 hours ago, dracopticon said:

I just want to give my players some basic security during those beginning steps of my RQG adventures. And I admit, it is cheap feelings of security, anyone can die in any situation. But it's very much the looks of the characters that the players first get in their minds. Then again, that look can differ very much from the more basic archetypes of fantasy, as it should - especially in this game of Runequest. I feel that translating that "ethnic and religious feel" that I soak up as I read in all the sourcebooks (including the two monster books of The Guide to Glorantha) is very difficult to convey to some of the players, to be honest - it's the majority of players. I want them to feel at home in this world, but I understand it takes time.

Don't even try is the best solution. The rules as stand should give powerful enough characters. but if not to your taste just be generous with the rolls as you suggested.  As to that Staffordian feel  you want. if you impart a Glorantha touch or two a game session that should work. Don't force it...

My first memories of RQ were a of a sword and sandal game, kind of like D&D but cooler. The game was set on the great traveling caravans of the souther plains of Panatela. No, we weren't there, somehow the GM had transplanted them to Genertela. Did I know, did I care? Nah, it was cool.   Second thing to turn my head was the realization that a special roll could be anything , as my jonesing duck found out ny getting a box of coronas while specialling a spot hidden roll. These memories are quite strong and quite old...

[Austin]

I've had some of the same concerns as OP. The raw roll of 3D6 can feel really, really mediocre. And as @Ian Absentia points out sometimes a low characteristic makes for great roleplay, but at other times it's just vexing. Currently, I've been having my players choose three points first to add where they want, as if from Bless Pregnancy, to be "what my family hoped I would be." Sometimes this remains true to character, sometimes there's tension. Then I had them roll characteristics in order, which seemed what's going on RAW before finally adding their bonuses from Elemental Runes. I somewhat like how this works, because you can end up with a really surprising characteristic which results in unusual play (like a Zorak Zoran berserker with CHA 18 who's just persistently, weirdly compelling...).

After, if the array was super garbage, I let them re-roll it. Almost every adventurer we've created has re-rolled two or three arrays and picked one. So I feel like yeah, 3D6 is rough to get "feel-good" numbers on, even if the adventurers still might be playable (so long as that 3D6 CON is reasonable...)

I like the idea of 4D6 best 3, like in D&D. From my experience it makes for pretty good characters and you've usually got some lousy stat somewhere. I could also just see a flat rule of "reroll under 8" or under 10. Under 10's what I've done when I'm generating "elite" NPCs for our game.

Another idea I'm tossing around is having my players roll 19D6, record the numbers, maybe reroll 1's. Then, use those generated numbers where they please to create adventurers. I feel like this absolutely encourages minmaxing but might also end up with these bizarro characters with like three amazing characteristics and four mediocre/terrible ones.

Has anyone tried a point-buy system? Know of one from a different rendition of RQ/BRP? I'd be curious to see how that works. Or a stat array like in Pathfinder.

[dracopticon]

1 hour ago, Crel said:

I've had some of the same concerns as OP. The raw roll of 3D6 can feel really, really mediocre. And as @Ian Absentia points out sometimes a low characteristic makes for great roleplay, but at other times it's just vexing. Currently, I've been having my players choose three points first to add where they want, as if from Bless Pregnancy, to be "what my family hoped I would be." Sometimes this remains true to character, sometimes there's tension. Then I had them roll characteristics in order, which seemed what's going on RAW before finally adding their bonuses from Elemental Runes. I somewhat like how this works, because you can end up with a really surprising characteristic which results in unusual play (like a Zorak Zoran berserker with CHA 18 who's just persistently, weirdly compelling...).

After, if the array was super garbage, I let them re-roll it. Almost every adventurer we've created has re-rolled two or three arrays and picked one. So I feel like yeah, 3D6 is rough to get "feel-good" numbers on, even if the adventurers still might be playable (so long as that 3D6 CON is reasonable...)

I like the idea of 4D6 best 3, like in D&D. From my experience it makes for pretty good characters and you've usually got some lousy stat somewhere. I could also just see a flat rule of "reroll under 8" or under 10. Under 10's what I've done when I'm generating "elite" NPCs for our game.

Another idea I'm tossing around is having my players roll 19D6, record the numbers, maybe reroll 1's. Then, use those generated numbers where they please to create adventurers. I feel like this absolutely encourages minmaxing but might also end up with these bizarro characters with like three amazing characteristics and four mediocre/terrible ones.

Has anyone tried a point-buy system? Know of one from a different rendition of RQ/BRP? I'd be curious to see how that works. Or a stat array like in Pathfinder.

Wow this is a really interesting reply to my question! Many thanks Crel! And was laughing out loud when I read about the "persistently, weirdly compelling" Zoran Zorak berserker! That's the stuff of legend. Also very interesting with your Elite NPC approach and I have never heard of the 19D6 idea either, but I understand it's the comprised D6 dices from all the characteristics. Could it perhaps be 19D6 + 12 (or +6/+6), as the fixed bonus on SIZ/INT could be incorporated, that may be too much though?

The Bless Pregnancy is much more in theme and a wonderful idea! I have many times felt, from experience of GM:ing many other systems, that even if there are a whole lot of dice as a basis for attributes/characteristics, the players almost never roll 6s. Sure, they end up with a quite a few rolls in the high range, but they most of the time end up 16s and 17s (with bonuses), which is of course also very high. The things I should tell you is that "normally", in other systems, whether BRP games or non-BRP and even in my own BRP-based game of EBROS, I have a rule that says: "If the player rolls 3 natural 6s on the same roll, they are entitled to go on rolling another die. If that die shows a 5 the 18 goes up to 19. but stays there. If the extra dice shows a 6, the 18 goes up to 19 but the player continues to roll the extra die. And this goes on until the die stops showing a 5 or a 6." This is a very old rule that we've had since the eighties. Not sure if I am adapting it to Runequest. But I may do that.

Edited May 9, 2019 by dracopticon

[dracopticon]

13 hours ago, PhilHibbs said:

And if you want an excuse for the adventurers having good stats, you can say that their mothers all had Bless Pregnancy cast on them with a ton of Rune Points stacked on.

Excuse me for being slow on this! I didn't understand there really *was* such a thing in the rules, util Crel told of his use of it.

[Austin]

10 minutes ago, dracopticon said:

And was laughing out loud when I read about the "persistently, weirdly compelling" Zoran Zorak berserker! That's the stuff of legend

That adventurer's first array had a CHA of 5, which the player really liked for that adventurer, but lousy CON and I think SIZ. His second array was super good (including the CHA 18), but initially he was torn between the really good or really bad CHA and went with good. Our logic was basically that that adventurer was kind of like Charles Manson or some other cult leader/murderer (the adventurer was a Bison Tribe Praxian, not a troll) and kind of had this eerie persuasion that made sense to "normal" folks but was still off-putting. It was a great.

16 minutes ago, dracopticon said:

Also very interesting with your Elite NPC approach and I have never heard of the 19D6 idea either, but I understand it's the comprised D6 dices from all the characteristics. Could it perhaps be 19D6 + 12 (or +6/+6), as the fixed bonus on SIZ/INT could be incorporated, that may be too much though?

Literally came up with both of those within the last two, three days while writing material for my group. Made up a group of Lunar soldiers-turned-bandits and kept getting rolls of like 5 and 7 for STR or CON--which is particularly relevant when they're supposed to be wearing heavy armor! So I started just auto-re-rolling dice under 10, and kinda-sorta formalized it into a personal rule. I let a few garbage characteristics stand, but usually had to have some reason in my brain why. For example, a scout and archer with STR 5, not enough to wield a Self Bow--well, he just got nailed by a disease and hasn't built the STR back up yet. That sort of thing.

I've not tried the 19D6 thing yet but we just and a couple adventurers die last session and they doesn't wanna get rezzed, so I think I'll offer them this method. If they takes it up, I'll report back. My thinking with the 19 is that makes 3 numbers assigned to 5 characteristics, then 2 numbers assigned to 2 characteristics, SIZ and INT. So they're still getting the +6 fixed bonus. Total of 19 dice thrown; maybe more if I offer "reroll ones" as well.

For me, the real appeal of that method is watching the minmaxed bizarro characters which get build. Things like INT 17 but STR 4, CHA 6, etc.

[Tywyll]

3 hours ago, Crel said:

I've had some of the same concerns as OP. The raw roll of 3D6 can feel really, really mediocre. And as @Ian Absentia points out sometimes a low characteristic makes for great roleplay, but at other times it's just vexing. Currently, I've been having my players choose three points first to add where they want, as if from Bless Pregnancy, to be "what my family hoped I would be." Sometimes this remains true to character, sometimes there's tension. Then I had them roll characteristics in order, which seemed what's going on RAW before finally adding their bonuses from Elemental Runes. I somewhat like how this works, because you can end up with a really surprising characteristic which results in unusual play (like a Zorak Zoran berserker with CHA 18 who's just persistently, weirdly compelling...).

That's interesting. I'm using the idea of Bless Pregnancy but turned up to 11. The premise of my campaign is that the king of a large kingdom, upon taking the throne, had a bunch of divinations performed and learned that his kingdom and the followers of Law would be overwhelmed by Chaos in around 25 years, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. The loophole though was that he could get others to save it. So he gathered the most powerful Priests of the Mother gods and got them to blow all their rune points on his son and the children of several loyal dukes, in exchange for favors and having him send lesser priests and initiates to cover their communities while they were down their magic. So the players have grown us as genetic super-humans without knowing why. Now that they are of age, he is sending them out into the world to gather artifacts of great power in hopes that they will be able to turn the tide and save the kingdom. I let everyone roll 1d6+4 and add that many points to their stats. Interestingly, the lowest was 8 with most getting 9 and 1 getting 10 (I decided that was the crown prince because of course the king would have the most powerful priest bless his kid). So they have ridiculous stats and are walking godlings, the 1% of the 1%, kind of thing, but they are facing tremendous threats on their own. 

[dracopticon]

A related question (but one in the opposite direction, at least for me as GM) is: do anyone else feel that it is A LOT of magic flying around for starting characters to be able to use? I mean 11 common rune magic spells, 3 pts of special rune magic and another 5 pts of cult spirit magic (if the cult has it)? As a GM I feel overwhelmed with the potential rules browsing this presents once the fighting begins, even if being well read up on the spells!

If I have 4 or 5 players and everyone wants to lay different spells and they also meet opponents with a similar plethora of spells, phew! is the only thing I want to say. I understand that after a while the familiarity with the most common of them kicks in, but I still have a lot to run book keeping on during battle. 

And to be totally honest, the common rune spells of Command Cult Spirit, Dismiss Magic, Divination, Sanctify, Soul Sight, Spirit Block and Warding all sound like a priest would likely be the expert on, not just anyone, while the spells of Find Enemy, Heal Wound, Multispell and Extension sounds like more common to me. Am I totally in the wrong here?

//Erik.

[Tywyll]

29 minutes ago, dracopticon said:

A related question (but one in the opposite direction, at least for me as GM) is: do anyone else feel that it is A LOT of magic flying around for starting characters to be able to use? I mean 11 common rune magic spells, 3 pts of special rune magic and another 5 pts of cult spirit magic (if the cult has it)? As a GM I feel overwhelmed with the potential rules browsing this presents once the fighting begins, even if being well read up on the spells!

If I have 4 or 5 players and everyone wants to lay different spells and they also meet opponents with a similar plethora of spells, phew! is the only thing I want to say. I understand that after a while the familiarity with the most common of them kicks in, but I still have a lot to run book keeping on during battle. 

And to be totally honest, the common rune spells of Command Cult Spirit, Dismiss Magic, Divination, Sanctify, Soul Sight, Spirit Block and Warding all sound like a priest would likely be the expert on, not just anyone, while the spells of Find Enemy, Heal Wound, Multispell and Extension sounds like more common to me. Am I totally in the wrong here?

//Erik.

No I agree its a lot, and I dread running powerful enemies against my players. Luckily, for most combat encounters you really only need to know how a few spells work-bladesharp, protection, countermagic, shield, heal wound, dismiss magic...maybe speeddart and multiarrow. That's not so bad. 

[dracopticon]

7 hours ago, Tywyll said:

No I agree its a lot, and I dread running powerful enemies against my players. Luckily, for most combat encounters you really only need to know how a few spells work-bladesharp, protection, countermagic, shield, heal wound, dismiss magic...maybe speeddart and multiarrow. That's not so bad. 

Thank you for making me feel less alone in my view on the spell question. And the kind of ironic thing is that the foundations for this game is laid by the same man - Greg Stafford - that (in Pendragon) said something like this about magic; "It's not the flash bang nonsense of D&D". Don't get me wrong, I am a huge fan of almost all of his work, but while that line may have been solely meant for the KAP game, I would like the sentiment to be a basic law here too. I am NOT a big fan of land slides of magic being hurled back and forth for just about any encounter. It's much more OK if let's say, there's a big battle between the Lunar College of Magic and Sartar's equivalent. I have a very great desire to just let priests have that much access to magic, and the other occupations only one spell a piece. That would also mean downgrading the amount of magic on "ordinary" opponents.

Hmm...

[Shiningbrow]

15 hours ago, dracopticon said:

A related question (but one in the opposite direction, at least for me as GM) is: do anyone else feel that it is A LOT of magic flying around for starting characters to be able to use? I mean 11 common rune magic spells, 3 pts of special rune magic and another 5 pts of cult spirit magic (if the cult has it)? As a GM I feel overwhelmed with the potential rules browsing this presents once the fighting begins, even if being well read up on the spells!

//Erik.

I think you've misinterpreted the rules (or, I've misinterpreted your interpretation...)

Players in a Rune Cult (ie, deity/spirit cult) have only sacrificed 3 POW to get 3 Rune Points - total! What's available to cast with those 3 Rune Points are all those Common Spells (if their cults have access to them all), and 3 choices of the Cult Special Rune Magic. For some cults, those 3 RPs are going to have to last a season (or more). And, some spells cost all 3 points to cast.

The 5 points of Spirit Magic isn't that powerful, especially when it's over in 2 minutes max.

Burning those 3 RPs early in the game is usually not a wise idea, unless you've started your campaign close to a Holy Day

[Shiningbrow]

7 hours ago, dracopticon said:

Thank you for making me feel less alone in my view on the spell question. And the kind of ironic thing is that the foundations for this game is laid by the same man - Greg Stafford - that (in Pendragon) said something like this about magic; "It's not the flash bang nonsense of D&D". Don't get me wrong, I am a huge fan of almost all of his work, but while that line may have been solely meant for the KAP game, I would like the sentiment to be a basic law here too. I am NOT a big fan of land slides of magic being hurled back and forth for just about any encounter. It's much more OK if let's say, there's a big battle between the Lunar College of Magic and Sartar's equivalent. I have a very great desire to just let priests have that much access to magic, and the other occupations only one spell a piece. That would also mean downgrading the amount of magic on "ordinary" opponents.

Hmm...

And, just to add to the above...

5 points of Spirit Magic... Most will want Heal 2. You need to stop and concentrate to cast, so you're not doing that in the middle of a skirmish.

Bladesharp? 2 points gets you an amazing 10% skill increase and a whopping 2 points extra damage! Wow! And for 2 minutes!!!

Protection - similar to Bladesharp (probably the better choice though) - but, 2 points of armour isn't going to turn your PCs into superheroes...

Farsee? Countermagic? Speedart? Lots of good spells out there - and you only get 5 points worth.

And, your 12-15 (average) Magic Points aren't going to let you cast non-stop the whole day! Especially if they're going into enemy territory. A mere 2 skirmishes a day is going to be taxing (especially in the Heal spells, if they're taking damage). The first fight will be ok.. the second a worry.... is there a third just around the corner they need to worry about? And, 1 spirit is going to (probably) seriously deplete the Magic Points of most characters pretty quickly! Imagine if they've blown of 7 MPs in the first battle (starting with, say, 15) - 2 Bladesharp, 2 Protection, and the need to Heal a couple of wounds. That means the next battle will leave them with only about 8-9 (assuming it's a few hours later, and they've gotten a couple of MPs back). Once again, Bladesharp 2, Protection 2 (now down to 4-5 MPs). One round of Spirit Combat, and they're unconscious! If they take a bit of damage, they're in trouble (because the Heals will take more MPs... 1/point of damage).

So, in all likelihood, your PCs will be going from one battle to the next with open wounds because they won't be able to heal them all.. and be prepared for the next fight!

[Bill the barbarian]

16 hours ago, dracopticon said:

A related question (but one in the opposite direction, at least for me as GM) is: do anyone else feel that it is A LOT of magic flying around for starting characters to be able to use? I mean 11 common rune magic spells, 3 pts of special rune magic and another 5 pts of cult spirit magic (if the cult has it)? As a GM I feel overwhelmed with the potential rules browsing this presents once the fighting begins, even if being well read up on the spells!

In another thread I compared running the full game of RQ RiG like taking off in a 747 piloted by the vocalist of Iron Maiden, Bruce Dickenson—a heavy, impossible, powerful flight lacking grace but making up for it in sheer massive imposing bulk. The magic systems and the power of NPCs and adventures are some of the reasons i state this.

This is also why I do not suggest Chargen'ing more powerful adventures. 

Cheers

[Shiningbrow]

14 minutes ago, Bill the barbarian said:

In another thread I compared running the full game of RQ RiG like taking off in a 747 piloted by the vocalist of Iron Maiden, Bruce Dickenson—a heavy, impossible, powerful flight lacking grace but making up for it in sheer massive imposing bulk. The magic systems and the power of NPCs and adventures are some of the reasons i state this.

This is also why I do not suggest Chargen'ing more powerful adventures. 

Cheers

I'm confused... Bruce has been a licensed commercial pilot for decades (iirc... I know it's been many years). What makes you think his flying would be 'heavy and impossible... lacking grace" etc?

[Bill the barbarian]

44 minutes ago, Shiningbrow said:

I'm confused... Bruce has been a licensed commercial pilot for decades (iirc... I know it's been many years). What makes you think his flying would be 'heavy and impossible... lacking grace" etc?

Ever seen a 747 taking off piloted by anyone, never mind a debbil worshipping licence  holding (yes, yes, very competent) screaming crazed I did say debill worshipping, right,  Brit, God knows, they  aint pretty, they aint graceful, but they sure are big, And i aint talking about brits, metal singers, or debbil whorshippers. 747s, love em of not, there they are, BIG!

How do they fly, and who is this Bernoulli guy anyway?

Cheers

Edited May 10, 2019 by Bill the barbarian

[Shiningbrow]

8 minutes ago, Bill the barbarian said:

Ever seen a 747 taking off piloted by anyone, never mind a debbil worshipping licence  holding (yes, yes, very competent) screaming crazed I did say debill worshipping, right,  Brit, God knows, they  aint pretty, they aint graceful, but they sure are big, And i aint talking about brits, metal singers, of debbil whorshippers. 747s. love em of not, there they are, BIG!

How do they fly, and who is this Bernoulli guy anyway?

Cheers

"Scream for me, passengers! Scream for me....."

 

I'm sitting in my cockpit as the revs begin to climb

retracting the wheel chocks and we don't have much time

Cos at 5 O'clock we taxi to the tarmac road

The fuel gauge in front is running low...

Running low

Yeah!

 

 

[Shiningbrow]

Bruce Dickinson... modern day hero!

(Top 10 UK fencing champion, commercial pilot, singer in one of the most successful bands in the world, owns a football team... Somebody Blessed his mother's Pregnancy!)

[dracopticon]

2 hours ago, Shiningbrow said:

I think you've misinterpreted the rules (or, I've misinterpreted your interpretation...)

Players in a Rune Cult (ie, deity/spirit cult) have only sacrificed 3 POW to get 3 Rune Points - total! What's available to cast with those 3 Rune Points are all those Common Spells (if their cults have access to them all), and 3 choices of the Cult Special Rune Magic. For some cults, those 3 RPs are going to have to last a season (or more). And, some spells cost all 3 points to cast.

The 5 points of Spirit Magic isn't that powerful, especially when it's over in 2 minutes max.

Burning those 3 RPs early in the game is usually not a wise idea, unless you've started your campaign close to a Holy Day

Thank you for explaining this! Yes, I probably have misintepreted the rules a bit, but... I still think it's a lot of casting possibilities for budding heroes. As I say, just the possibility of all this casting is too much for me, let  alone understanding for the players as they are quite new in this here. It should be a lesser amount in my mind - except when you are a playing a true representative of the temple/faith, such as a priest or a shaman/assistant shaman.

I also think that the role of a representative of the faith is really lessened when this much magic and this type of magic is spread throughout to just about everyone. In my eyes, if a group or a person that is not this kind of representative(s) finds some rune magic laid on something hindering them, let's say a Spirit Block or a Warding, then the interesting thing would be to have these people understand that they can't solve that kind of thing themselves. They need a priest or a shaman to take a look on this problem. In my eyes, only such a person should be the solution to something like this.

Edited May 10, 2019 by dracopticon