From: owner-rq-rules-digest To: rq-rules-digest@hops.wharton.upenn.edu Subject: RQ Rules Digest: V2 #77 Reply-To: rq-rules Errors-To: owner-rq-rules-digest Precedence: bulk Content-Return: Prohibited Return-Path: owner-rq-rules-digest RQ Rules Digest: Tuesday, 19 September 1995 Volume 02 : Number 077 TABLE OF CONTENTS Sandy Petersen Date: Mon, 18 Sep 95 16:43:53 -0500 Subject: Re: weird player groups >> my first RQ attempt had PCs playing a troll, a sun domer, a >>sorceror, and a tusk rider. They were at each others's throats >>from the get-go, and the campaign suffered quickly. << >The only way around this problem I've found is to add a bit of >history that makes all the PCs beholden to a single powerful NPC or >organization; then make that NPC the "patron". Make a reason for >them to be together, rather than expecting them to forge a group >dynamic on their own. But don't be cheesy! Make it believeable! I'm an incredibly lazy GM, and rely for a game's fun on the player's cleverness interfaced with my own (rather than just my own genius). My technique for starting characters is to tell everyone just where they came from, but then making it rather loose. In my latest campaign, for instance, I had them all come from the same small island where the society was somewhat in flux. I told them that socially they were all basically Vikings, but that the old gods had recently lost face, and the island was looking for a new faith to follow, so they could be whatever religion they liked, within reason. Anyone can do up a viking character, so they all did, and we went off and had fun. When characters were killed, and new characters had to be added to the mix, I simply stated that the new character had to acceptable to the other players. I figure if the players can handle it, I can. ------------------------------ From: Eric Rowe Date: Mon, 18 Sep 1995 23:00:27 -0700 Subject: Nomad Gods Boardgame Errata (for those interested) NOMAD GODS ERRATA What follows are errata for the Nomad Gods boardgame by Oriflam that is obtainable with english rules from Wizard's Attic. This list by Stephen Martin includes optional rules and clarifications. It does not claim to be complete. (page numbers match english rules, i think) pg. 3 Dead Place Hex ...with a CF of 2 (CF of 1 if disrupted). Shaman/fetch... pg. 4 3.3.1 Change all references to "green" coloring on the map, to "brown." 4.1 The sample counter is incorrect: it should have an Air Rune, not a Motion Rune, in its MF. pg. 5 4.5.1 Add the following CF listing: 0 The unit is not a spirit, but may not participate in melee. 4.5.1, .2 The figure that looks like a "1" is an exclamation point ("!"). pg. 6 5.3.3 Winter Fertile Ground: Note that all Optional Rules are determined before a game begins. A player cannot object to an optional rule during the course of the game. See below for a listing of optional rules. 5.3.4 Change reference to "3.2" to "3.3". pg. 12 7.8.3.3 Paragraph on leadership should not be italicized. pg. 21 10.1.4 Cannibal Cult: If all of the defenders in a hex are routed by the Cannibal Cult's special ability, it may Advance After Combat as if they had been eliminated. pg. 25 11.3 Elemental Demons: the 2nd paragraph of the rules description is wrong. Replace it with the following: When one of the Elemental Demons is drawn from the Spirit Pool, it immediately attacks the stack which caused its appearance, regardless of its mode of attack. If it eliminates all tribal or independent units, it remains at the holy place until it is eliminated. If the demon is eliminated by the tribal units, and at least one tribal unit survives, the demon is "captured" by the tribe rather than eliminated, as if it were a normal spirit. Once allied in this manner, it must remain stacked with a clan. Plague can never be allied in this manner. If the demon does not eliminate all of the units in the stack, and is not itself eliminated, it is forced from the Holy Place. It retreats one hex (see 7.10.5) without having to leave a covering force, and has no further effect during that player-turn. In the beginning of the next player-turn it is treated normally, and begins Random Movement (see 6.6). If the Elemental Demon cannot retreat due to terrain or ZOCs, it is eliminated. pg. 28 11.7.3 Silver Deer -- add the following sentence to the end of paragraph 2: The hunter stack moves at the normal, undisrupted MF value of the unit with the slowest MF. Units stacked with the Silver Deer do not require support. 11.7.4 Watchdog of Corflu -- the second paragraph should be italicized. pg. 29 11.9.4 Found-child -- this description is correct; it is the counter which is wrong. See below. pg. 30 11.10.3 Good Shepherd -- there is nothing incorrect with this write-up. However, I have changed the unit since publication of Les Dieux Nomades. Those who wish can replace the current description with the one given below. pg. 41 17.1.1 Note that the diagram reference is slightly off. The diagram is obviously at the bottom of pg. 40. pg. 42 17.3.1 Units cannot be deployed on any holy place. 17.3.2 Game length of scenario 3 should be 10 turns, not 14. 17.3.3 The Sequence of play given is incorrect. It should read as follows: THE PLAYER-TURN SEGMENT The Invading Player's Turn The Alliance Phase The Movement Phase The Exotic Magic Phase The Combat Phase The Rally Phase The Defending Player's Turn The Alliance Phase The Movement Phase The Exotic Magic Phase The Combat Phase The Rally Phase THE BOOKKEEPING SEGMENT pg.47 20. Note that these should all be chapter 19, not 20. 20.1 Sheet 2 (front), correct/add the following: Three-Bean Circus MgF [Infinity] * Found-child RF (6) Sheet 2 (reverse), add the following: Rainbow Girl MgF 2 MF 4 RF 0 Found-child RF 0 Note that all herd descriptions should read "t", not "h". Back Cover Emissary Table -- the first Die Roll should read "0-2", not "1-2" (because of Bad Omens). Missile Fire Terrain Modifiers -- the second modifier omits one terrain listing. Add "oasis" to this list. The text given in 3. is correct in this regard. Missile Fire Unit Modifiers -- the second modifier (for Bison clans, herds, or ancestors) should read "-1", not "-2". Player Turn Sequence -- the exclusions listed in parentheses for phases 2 and 4 are incorrect; other exclusions are not given. As a minor point, they also do not match the instructions given directly above. Replace this table with the following: PLAYER TURN SEQUENCE Each player turn is composed of the following phases. Parentheses indicate phases used in scenarios. 1) Random Movement Phase (5-7) 2) Alliance Phase (3, 5-7) 3) Movement Phase (1-7) 4) Exotic Magic Phase (3-7) 5) Combat Phase (1-7) 6) Rally Phase (1-7) Game Turn Sequence -- this also contains an error, as the "Random Events Segment" is not used in Nomad Gods. Delete this segment, and renumber the others as "1)" (Player Turn Segment) and "2)" (Bookkeeping Segment). Again, the text in 2. is correct. SELECTED TABLE OF CONTENTS Optional Rules 5.3.3 Season page 5 5.4 The Screening Option page 5 8.8.3.1 Post-Death Strike Option page 18 9.4 Friends Option page 20 OPTIONAL RULES Magical Societies It occurs to me that the Magical Societies, rather than being doubled versus the appropriate elemental spirits, should actually be able to capture them as if they were a Magical Leader. It is too late to remove the doubling, but not too late to add in their ability to capture spirits. Thus, the following descriptions of each unit can be used to replace the ones given, as an OPTIONAL RULE or variant. 10.5.1 Red School of Masks: Their MgF is doubled against Lunar Spirits. This does not include the Book of Dale. They may capture Lunar Spirits (only), as if they were a Magical Leader (see 7.16). 10.5.2 Serpent Dancers: Their MgF is doubled against Water Spirits. This does not include Zola Fel or the Portable Oasis. They may capture Water Spirits (only), as if they were a Magical Leader (see 7.16). 10.5.3 Star Witches: Their MgF is doubled against Fire Spirits. This includes Wildfires, but not Oakfed or the War Arrow Medicine Bundle. They may capture Fire Spirits (only), as if they were a Magical Leader (see 7.16). 10.5.4 Sunset Society: Their MgF is doubled against Darkness Spirits. This includes Shades, but not Dark Eater or Tada's Cudgel. They may capture Darkness Spirits (only), as if they were a Magical Leader (see 7.16). 10.5.5 Wind Singers: Their MgF is doubled against Air Spirits.This includes Whirlvishes, but not the Wild Hunter or Tada's Sandals. They may capture Air Spirits (only), as if they were a Magical Leader (see 7.16). Silver Deer The Silver Deer is difficult to eliminate, which can make it a devastating unit. While it can be viewed as a good deterrent against players making large stacks, some may find it too effective. For those that do, the following rule can be added to the end of the second paragraph of the rules description: 11.7.3 ...belong to the same player (see 7.4.1). If the hunter stack is attacked with Spirit Magic, all casualties MUST be chosen from the top down, as occurs normally with melee. This means that the Silver Deer must be chosen as the first casualty. Even if the Silver Deer is eliminated, and all of the hunters are released, the full MgF Loss must be carried out. A shaman/fetch unit on the shaman side can advance into a hunter stack containing one or more of its own tribe's clans, inviolation of the normal stacking and ZOC rules, and capture the Silver Deer. This also releases all hunters. Good Shepherd I am dissatisfied with the current write-up, but did not discover this until after the French game had come to print. Those who wish can change the Rf to (2) on the front, (1) on the reverse, and replace the counter description with the following: [Mythos/italicized remains unchanged] The Good Shepherd has the ability to absorb an eliminated result for any friendly unit anywhere ont he board, at the time the unit is chosen as a casualty. The Good Shepherd's RF indicates the number of units he can resurrect. The Good Shepherd's RF is not affected by the Book of dale (see 13.5). Once the first unit has been saved the Good Shepherd is turned over, as if he had been disrupted (see 7.15). If the Good Shepherd is disrupted in another way, he is still turned over, and so can save one fewer unit. Once he has saved two units or been disrupted twice, the Good Shepherd is eliminated and returned to the Paps, where he again becomes available for alliance. When a unit is chosen as a casualty and the Good Shepherd intervenes, the affected unit is not removed from play. If the enemy player still has points of CF or MgF loss remaining at that time, he may apply them to the unit again. Thus, the same unit could be eliminated more than once during the same combat, if it was resurrected by the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd cannot recover from being disrupted in the normal fashion. However, if he is moved into the "ZOC" of the Paps he is restored during the controlling player's rally phase, and so can save up to two more units thereafter. ------------------------------ From: nickh@compans.com Date: Mon, 18 Sep 1995 19:21:59 +0100 Subject: Re: 00 DI > The player rolled 00, what to do? Does that mean that the Goddess > fumbled her DI.... I went for the former and instead of helping the > character Firshala immolated her, whoops, misjudged it! I would not go for this as a normal rule. However a very similar thing happened to us years ago. A character had stripped down to his underwear and left all his weapons behind in the fog on a desolate moor (dont ask!) only to later find himself surrounded by the evil shamen and co. rather than the friends he had been expecting. In desperation he called on Orlanth and rolled 00. To make matters worse only days before he had cut a healer in half because he'd seen her moving out the corner of an eye and didnt want to take any chances, AND he'd followed that by killing (under dubious circumstances) a load of possessed fellow cultists he was trying to rescue AND he had refered to Orlanths looks in less than glowing terms when the divine had appeared to him only hours earlier. Like you I wondered what to do as it was technically a failure - but MaxGameFun (and natural justice) ruled. He called on Orlanth crying 'Lord, Get me out of here' and Orlanth looked at him and said 'Dont worry my son I know how loyal your heart is..' and put him on the top of Stormwalk mountain in a violent magical wind for about five years (real time) from where he got dispatched from time to time to perform dangerous and honourable deeds till he'd redeemed himself. One point of note though. I have seen several mentions during the last week to gods killing peoples opponants for then. Its implicit in your story with the troll getting crisped by Firshala (though perhaps that was just a=20 DI for sunspear or similar) and if memory serves me right (which would be a first) it was mentioned in connection with the Humakt DI argument in terms of=20 Humakt being willing to grant death for your foes but not life for you. This remains an absolute no-no in my book. The terms of the great compromis= e utterly forbid it. A god can assist his own but not harm others. (I dont even believe he can harm another of his followers just because someone DIs=20 it). H could give you Truesword on a successfull DI (which I would cost the same as the rune magic spell but permanent) but its up to you to use it. PERHAPS he could give you SeverSpirit (at a power cost several times the normal one= ) but its up to you to overcome your opponants POW. He could _not_ strike your opponant down for you, or weaken him, or even=20 take him outside and rough him up a bit. This is one reason why, as much as I like the DI-constrained-to-runes suggestion for its tidyness, I remain warey of it. Nick H :---------------------------------------------------: : Nick Hollingsworth, UK: B90 2RA : : Birmingham - Balti capital of the world. : :---------------------------------------------------: ------------------------------ From: Frederic Moulin Date: Tue, 19 Sep 1995 10:28:57 -0400 Subject: Re: 00 DI >being willing to grant death for your foes but not life for you. >This remains an absolute no-no in my book. The terms of the great compromise >utterly forbid it. A god can assist his own but not harm others. (I dont >even believe he can harm another of his followers just because someone DIs Same for me. However, I play the DI as a simple %. The god answer or not: he does not answer better if you roll a critical. If the follower has been unfaithfull, I just put malus to the DI roll (-5%...). This is usually opportunity for a big argument with the players, but I give them warning right after their action (more often in the form of a dream) and not at the time of the DI. ------------------------------ End of RQ Rules Digest: V2 #77 ****************************** This is the bottom of the RuneQuest Rules Digest. RuneQuest is a trademark of Avalon Hill, and Glorantha is a trademark of Chaosium. With the exception of previously copyrighted material, unless specified otherwise all text in this digest is copyright by the author or authors, with rights granted to copy for personal use, to excerpt in reviews and replies, and to archive unchanged for electronic retrieval. Send electronic mail to Majordomo@hops.wharton.upenn.edu with "help" in the body of the message for subscription information on this and other mailing lists. WWW material at http://hops.wharton.upenn.edu/~loren/rolegame.html