Making HEROES for the Hero Wars

[jajagappa]

1 hour ago, soltakss said:

Common Magic isn't about spells that everyone has, it's spells that everyone could get. So, you choose 3 Runespells to start, I think, so you could choose Find Enemy or Heal Wound, or you could choose a cult special spell that is really useful.

The Common Rune spells are now commonly available (yay!) - a change from old RQ2. You only need to choose 3 Special Rune spells as you gain Rune Points. But you can use your Rune Points to cast the special ones you know or any of the Common Rune spells.

[Shiningbrow]

On 5/10/2019 at 7:46 PM, Tywyll said:

Even with the ridiculous stat mods as I described earlier, none of my players made RL. The 'Humakt' player didn't want to take the Geas to get his skills up (though even if he had, he wouldn't make all of them). 

Interesting - I did some calculations with the following stat block:

The STR, CON and SIZ were just thrown in as "dump stats", with obviously the priorities as mentioned above (CHA is necessary at 18). I'd even imagine, with Bless Pregnancy turned up to 11, that the STR and DEX would go up a little (enough to get extra % in a few important skills). If super-tuned, the INT could be 21 (if allowed) and that really makes it easy! (+5% to most categories)

With those stats, Humakti Warriors (especially Grazelander cavalry) are easily getting the basic skills needed to hit RL level (with a few +25% left over!) Sword, Lance, Dagger, Ride, and Battle (especially since the Character Background tables are likely to throw a few points every couple of years). And, since Humakt demands at least 1 gift be taken... RL at CharGen.

I looked at other combinations too.... A Sartarite Noble Orlanthi would have 2-3 skills at 90% or higher, and a couple of others at 80-85% (Sword, Orate, Sing, 2nd Weapon (I'd presume Shield is included in that) Oh, and as I type this, I just realised that Honour is a Passion, and there's multiple opportunities to pick that up during Background History...

Going with Humakt as your first cult, and then cross initiating into Orlanth makes it even easier!

 

Those are just the two I was looking for (Orlanth and Humakt)... so, it's possible if you want it.

 

Edited May 13, 2019 by Shiningbrow
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[PhilHibbs]

2 hours ago, Shiningbrow said:

That's some impressive rolls - not impossible, one of the characters in my game ended up with more than half her D6 rolls being a 6. I assume that's after rune bonuses, did the +2 go to CHA? (that's my rule, by the way) So that could just be three rolled 16s and one 17. Still pretty good!

Edited May 13, 2019 by PhilHibbs

[Shiningbrow]

3 minutes ago, PhilHibbs said:

That's some impressive rolls - not impossible, one of the characters in my game ended up with more than half her D6 rolls being a 6. I assume that's after rune bonuses, did the +2 go to CHA? (that's my rule, by the way) So that could just be three rolled 16s and one 17. Still pretty good!

While the deities of Luck do often throw their hands, I was more presuming egregious use of Bless Pregnancy. Either that, or a stat mechanism much more in the player's favour.

So, they're not actual rolls - just showing possibilities. So, while high, still not "OMG that's amazing" high.

[Garwalf]

Thank you to the OP and to the respondents who I feel have given me "permission" to use something more generous like 4d6 x 7 to generate ability scores.

Lately I've liked ability score arrays for the sake of balance, flexibility, and allowing players to start quickly. For reference and comparison:

• The 5th edition of That Other Game has a standard ability score array of: 15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8 (Total: 72/average: 12). Add another 12 into the mix for your seventh RuneQuest characteristic and you're set--at least for humans.
• 13th Age in Glorantha recommends an array of: 17, 15, 14, 13, 12, 10 (Total: 81/average: 13.5). Add another 14 into the mix for your seventh characteristic (for a total of 95), and you still have base ability scores that could be generated by "low" rolls (rolled ability scores totaling 92 plus an extra 3 points)

I haven't had a chance to form a RuneQuest group yet, but

Even though I'm not currently playing, I tried rolling a character to see what it's like and I was really disappointed when I rolled up some truly pathetic characteristics. People can argue all they want that it doesn't have that much impact on the game, but it sure doesn't *feel* heroic to have your avatar in the game world below average in everything.

[Bill the barbarian]

54 minutes ago, Garwalf said:

Even though I'm not currently playing, I tried rolling a character to see what it's like and I was really disappointed when I rolled up some truly pathetic characteristics. People can argue all they want that it doesn't have that much impact on the game, but it sure doesn't *feel* heroic to have your avatar in the game world below average in everything.

Well, I read your comment and was going to write it off as being one of a lack of knowledge of the game and leave it at that, but then I thought, hold on, that is totally unfair. How many RPGs allow one to increase most of ones attributes (all but intelligence and size) though training or practice. While those skills rolled might seem mundane you are not bound to them. Even intelligence, while harder to increase, can still be ameliorated in game and there is nothing preventing ones knowledge from increasing (raw Intelligence and size in BRP games are considered to be mostly static and unchanging in game). Remember this is your game, you have paid for it, allow Intelligence to increase through training and practice if this is what you wish. Coming up with rules to do this would be easy enough using the rules to increase the other attributes.

Do note, both INT and SIZ can be changed in Chargen and if you and our GM feel the numbers to be too onerous anyway, RAW say, roll another character. It is possible that in my time of not playing the other game, that they  now allow the skills to easily change (two seasons or to put it another way, 16 weeks of part time training while plying a trade and possibly adventuring depending on how you read the rules, gives one a chance to increase a skill). Easy peasey!

Cheers

[Dissolv]

A very common theme for me with the Hero Wars are that <your culture> just isn't ready!  Prophecies are spoken, one sided battles with the Lunars are hilariously lost, chaos rears its ugly head and the community that the players live in suffers significant losses.  The players wind up being the ones asked to go out and rediscover, uncover, explore, or steal new sources of potency for themselves, and also the clan.   This is a theme that the underlying plot sort of rests on.  To make it work:

1) The players need to have established for them what the "standard" power levels are.  Duels with farmers, fights with trollkin, cattle raids are the order of the day.  Relatively safe conflict that shows the player(s) where they stand in the world.  Also a chance to introduce the current clan top guns, as well the <useful person/item>.  To keep the power levels stable, I strictly enforce starting player rolls ups to as the rules state. 

2) Something bad happens that the players may or may not be present for, but a major battle that is lost, like Dangerford, really rubs it in their faces just how unprepared they are for conflict of this type and/or scale.  The clan top gun(s) go down in flames, and the <useful person/item> is lost.  Nothing like losing your Humakt Rune lord in battle, only to then have to turn over your clan Chalana Arroy priestess as part of the terms of surrender. 

3) So the fairly green (but probably at least a little prepared up by the clan) PC's get unleashed on the world outside of their tribal norms and have to take serous risks and have adventures.  It is in these "out of the usual" adventures that introduce items, abilities, allies, and opportunities to be gained.  If the PC's get enough of these, their characters can progress in power rather quickly.  This is where the stored power, extra spirits, bonuses Rune points, matrix'd weapons, stat enhancing maguffins (Royal Jelly anyone?) come from.  What they get can be anything, but normally I focus on strict "within the rules" benefits to start.   Usually opportunities to "fix" character problems will come up, sometimes without me doing anything in particular.  Really I just make sure that that it is a "rich" world, if they can overcome the challenges. 

4) Extraordinary powers would be the ability to break game rules.  These normally come when the players are ready to step into the role of the new clan War Chief, have rescued the never-returned Chalanna Arroy High Priestess, and are possibly ready to take another go at the problem that defeated their whole clan.  From this point on, they may start to become movers and shakers of the world of Glorantha, locally at first, but maybe more generally as their influence and reach expands.  When they get "stuck" on a major problem here, it is likely a heroquest of some type to come up with an answer.

I've only had two campaigns really go this distance, and the amount of playing to get there was considerable (3 to 5 year campaigns) but they were a ton of fun.  If the players start off powerful, I don't think that the world looks quite the same to them.  The initial, almost innocent adventures stealing cows, or negotiating a better price with a malicious stable boy set the world up, establish the daily life and rhythms, and tremendously benefit the richness of the campaign as the players gradually realize that their little bubble is in big trouble, and they have to exceed it, in order to save it.  And that may also have role playing consequences........

So in short, I would not skip the "weak PC" phase.  Just make sure that after a tone setting period (I like 4-5 sessions but favor more and more the longer I do this) there are opportunities to correct or improve the characters.  The more extraordinary the adventure, the better the opportunity to improve the character.  And the players should be active with the process too.  A player hating his INT score should be nagging his Lhankhor Mhy priests about a solution.  When they finally get fed up and relate the tale of "John the Sage" who went to <some mountain> and came back a superior scholar, that player should then have his bags packed and be halfway out the door.  And it need not be what he expects, or thinks he needs, but it will be something.

In short, heroes are made, not born.  That's my 2 cents as a GM, anyway.

Edited January 8, 2020 by Dissolv

[Shiningbrow]

23 hours ago, Garwalf said:

Thank you to the OP and to the respondents who I feel have given me "permission" to use something more generous like 4d6 x 7 to generate ability scores

Except that.normal starting arrays have two 2D6+6. And that's only applying to humans. 

Perhaps not significant, but maybe worth the reminder.

Maybe allow a couple of +2 in the mixes??

[JustAnotherVingan]

I let my players roll 3 dice, take the best 2 for SIZ and INT, 4 dice, take the best 3 for the other characteristics. Sometimes players take the worst 2 for SIZ. Not everyone wants to play a hulking brute.

I then let them arrange them as they want. If they really want a to play a sorcerer or whatever I don't think 1 unlucky roll should stop them.

If they have 92 or less I let them add 3 points as they wish (this is suggested in the rulebook). Then they get to add 3 points according to rune affinities.

This usually results in decent characters with 1 or 2 mediocre or poor characteristics. If they roll really badly I'll let them start over but 1 poor characteristic makes the character more interesting. I remember a player with a SIZ 10 noble deciding his character had a Napoleon complex.

Edited January 9, 2020 by JustAnotherVingan
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