From: owner-rq-rules-digest To: rq-rules-digest@hops.wharton.upenn.edu Subject: RQ Rules Digest: V2 #190 Reply-To: rq-rules Errors-To: owner-rq-rules-digest Precedence: bulk Content-Return: Prohibited Return-Path: owner-rq-rules-digest RQ Rules Digest: Friday, 23 February 1996 Volume 02 : Number 190 TABLE OF CONTENTS Nigel Smith Five melee rounds per minute Tal Meta Tal's wizardry Al Petterson Slave collars David Cake Slave collars Brad Furst Ernalda Rune Lords RULES OF THE ROAD 1. Do not include large sections of a message in your reply. Especially not to add "Yeah, I agree" or "No, I disagree." Or be excoriated. If someone writes something good and you want to say "good show" please do. But don't include the whole message you praise. 2. Use an appropriate Subject line. 3. Learn the art of paraphrasing: Don't just quote and comment on a point-by-point basis. When paraphrasing you demonstrate exactly how well you understand the point someone was trying to make. 4. There is no number 4. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: ns10005@cam.ac.uk (Nigel Smith) Date: Thu, 22 Feb 1996 08:29:26 +0000 Subject: Re: Five melee rounds per minute Brad Furst asks: >I have put my old texts in a safe place (where I can't find them at this >moment). Isn't it true that RQII uses five melee rounds per minute, the >same as RQ3? Yep. But RQII divides each MR into 12 stike ranks, 1 per second, rather than 10 strike ranks as in RQ3. A case of 'simplification' - ha ha. Nigel ------------------------------ From: Tal Meta Date: Thu, 22 Feb 1996 14:25:41 -0500 (EST) Subject: Tal's wizardry Well, I've had enough private responses that I thought I'd post this to the list. :: (c) 1996 Tal Meta First off, I'd like to say that this system was the result of my "upbringing" in FRPGs - I first encountered RPGs when I was in the Air Force, as a result of one of my dorm-mates getting the D&D system for Christmas. It wasn't until almost a year and a half later that someone gave me a copy of the 2nd edition Stormbringer rules (which I tried, with varying levels of success, to adapt to that "other" game system). When I first encountered RQ3, almost a year after that, I did the same thing, but eventually I decided that I just plain liked Chaosium's game mechanics better. So I reverse engineered everything else (which was alot easier; removing the concept of classes and levels was alot easier than imposing them). This system, as presented, pre-supposes that the reader is familiar with both RQ Sorcery & AD&D / Bard Games style spellcasting. This latest version incorporates some ideas/alterations that take into account Sandy Peterson's RQ4 sorcery system. If I've violated any copyrights by doing so, I most humbly apologize. Ok, now the system. :) WIZARDRY Wizardry has existed as a magickal approach for nearly as long as sorcery in my worlds; the two approaches are similar, but seperate. Sorcerers generally view wizards as flashy bookworms, while wizards see their sorcerous rivals as rules-bound tattoo freaks. WHO CAN LEARN WIZARDRY Anyone who is literate can learn wizardry. However, many faiths restrict wizards in the same ways (and for the same reasons) that they do not allow sorcerers. Many sorcerous organizations include "Abjure Wizardry" either as a seperate Vow or as part of their respective High Vows. LEARNING SPELLS Wizardry has its own written "language". Skill in Read/Write [Wizardry] controls the wizard's ability with his magic. However, a wizard with sufficient skill can always read a spell that is within his ability to read. Improving this skill requires training or research, like most knowlege skills it cannot be improved by experience. [You can call the "language of wizardry" whatever you like; in my world its called just Wizardry] CASTING WIZARDRY SPELLS Wizardry spells, when cast, always have a success chance equal to the wizard's INTx5. His ability to successfully read/memorize a spell is limited by his skill in Read/Write [Wizardry]. A wizard with 01-09% skill in Wizardry can read/cast any spell of the "cantrip" level. These spells cost 1 MP to cast, however, when the spell's duration elapses, these MPs return automatically. A Wizard with 10-19% skill can cast spells of 1st level. A Wizard with 20-29% skill can cast spells of 2nd level. etc. Wizards are also limited in the number of MPs they can invest in their spells. A wizard with 45% skill in R/W [Wizardry] can only use a maximum of 4 MPs to power his spells. This is to simulate the effects certain spells have related to the caster's level of experience. Boosting spells is still possible, but such additions have no effect on the range or duration of the spell involved. The Cast/Read percentages should not be confused; a wizard with an INT of 10 and a 45% skill in [Wizardry] has a 50% chance of casting spells of up to 4th level. The wizard's magic bonus, much like that of a shaman, has very little effect on his spellcasting ability. If you're planning to read the spell damage/duration/intensity "as is" from the books, I generally recommend strict bookkeeping where material components are involved. Alternatively, feel free to allow a wizard to cast a spell without material components at a substantially reduced value. It might help to think of R/W [Wizardry] as an "Art" that one learns by training/research (although the % is rounded down, rather than up in spellcasting). IMPORTANT DIFFERENCES BETWEEN WIZARDY & SORCERY Ritual Magic: Wizards do not have access to standard Ritual magic. While they are capable of casting spells that mimic these effects, they do not use standard RQ Ritual magic to do so. Familiars: While wizards are indeed capable of obtaining familiars, they do not "craft" their familiars in the way sorcerers do. Wizard's familiars are summoned from the surrounding countryside, not the Spirit Plane, or other dimensions. I generally allow wizards to utilize their familiar's MPs in ways similar to the way sorcerers can, but they cannot utilize their INT in any fashion. Adjudicating Spells: Spells not written for RQ generally need to be altered in some fashion to "fit in". Systems that require a 20 sided dice to avoid or avert the effects of a RQ style spell are generally inefficient. I generally rule saves in the following manner: Spells that create projectiles: MP vs POW Spells that create beams/cones: MP vs DEX Spells that effect wide areas: MP vs POW (or DEX if near fringe) Spells vs Death: MP vs CON Spells involving Charms: MP vs INT (or, perhaps APP) Spells involving Illusions: MP vs INT Illusions: Unlike sorcery or divine illusions, wizardous illusions do not exist as "temporary" alterations of reality, merely mental ones. A wizard who creates the illusion of an armed fighter has created only a phantasm; however, if his victims fail a resistance roll of the caster's MP vs their INT, they will believe the figure to be real, and will react accordingly. Victims roll once to "disbelieve", and if they fail, they cannot be convinced otherwise until the illusion is dispelled or its duration ends. Damage done by illusions is limited to 1d(Intensity) of the illusion; the disparity of a 16 ton weight falling on a character and only doing 1d8 damage is generally glossed over as luck by the character. so affected. (I generally ask my players to write their name on a sheet of paper, followed by 10 rolls of a percentile dice. I use these pre-rolls as checks against various skills that the player shouldn't know the sucess or failure of. Is Rob's player battling a fighter cloaked by invisibility (that he saved to see through) or is he fighting an illusion that is only affecting him? I've found that this serves the dual purpose of giving the players a chance to roll their own dice, but allowing me to make checks for things they shouldn't automatically know the results of.) MEMORIZATION This is perhaps the one area I'm not 100% certain on. I've played wizards as not being able to memorize spells at all (casting them directly from their books), being able only to memorize spells of "cantrip" or 1st level ability, or being able to freely memorize up to their INT in levels of spells. (i.e. a 2nd level spell takes up 2 INT, a 5th level spell 5 INT, etc.) However, usually in the desire to preserve game balance, I limit them to only being able to memorize 1st level spells (up to third if they are a "specialist"), and force them to utilize their spellbooks for all other spells cast. It doesn't take alot of comparing to notice that on a spell by spell, MP for effect basis, wizards potentially outweigh sorcerers in spell ability. Forcing them to utilize spellbooks to store their spells and to cast them from weakens them in a general fashion; spellbooks are vulnerable to all kinds of damage (fire, water, slashing/cutting attacks) as well as being physically vulnerable - one of my favorite illustrations of this point is a Magus and an Arch-Wizard facing off against one another. Example: Aidan Camazotz the Wizard is facing off against Fred Parker the Sorcerer. They have agreed to a magickal duel on a flat barren plain outside the city, well away from spectators. Both take a few rounds to cast some preperatory spells (Aidan: Major Globe(tm), Contingency(tm), etc.) (Fred: Damage Resist 10, Magic Resist 8, Cast Back 7, (in that order)). Aidan wins the toss, and hoping for a quick kill, throws a Fireball(tm) with 8 MP of force. The spell passes right through Fred's Cast Back, but hits the Magic Resistance and sputters. Aidan replies with Evoke Fire 6, which slips with through Aidan's Globe and does 5 damage. Warier now, Aidan casts Magic Missile(tm) with 5 MP, and boosts it with 5 more. The 10 force spell again flys past Fred's Cast Back, breaks through his Magic Resist, and overpowers his Damage Resist, doing 10 points of damage. Fred's reply to this staggering blow is to unleash his 3cu.m sylph and send it flying at Aidan, where instead of attacking him, it grapples with him for possession of his spellbook. The sylph's STR of 21 easily wrests the wizard's spellbook away from him, triggering his Contingency(tm) spell. A Lightning Bolt(tm) with 5 MP is cast from Aidan towards Fred. This time Fred's Cast Back takes effect, and the Lightning Bolt(tm) streaks back towards Aidan, striking his Globe. [Here is where "interpreting" spells can come into play. Was the Globe cast to resist "any" level three spell, or do you handle it similar to Magic Resistance? I generally take the latter view, but both are valid, I think, depending on where you feel game balance lies]. Taking my view, the 5 point spell blasts through the 4 point Globe. striking Aidan for 22 points of damage, which he saves against with his DEX for 11 points of damage (but it still kills him). The sylph bears Aidan's spellbook back to Fred, who begins his trek back towards town... SPECIALISTS Much like sorcerers, wizards can also specialize in types of spells. Again, much like sorcerers, wizards who specialize in a "school" of wizardry can use their (R/W [Wizardry])/5 in casting thier spells (i.e. the spells of a specialist are generally twice as powerful as those of a non-specialist.) Spells not of their school are cast at [Wizardry]/20 (if using the AD&D2(tm) style "wheel" of schools, spells of their specialty would be /5, the two closest schools /10, every other school /20, and the opposing school not at all.) WIZARDRY SPELLS I'm not even going to TRY and write up the several hundred previously published spells utilized in AD&D(tm), Talislanta(tm), etc. My best advice here is to use a pencil to make notations as to what modifications you've made to the spell to make it "fit" the level of RQ magic. As these spells often have levels of multispell, range, and intensity "built into" them, diminishing the damage they do (1d6 to 1d4, or even 1d(Intensty) as you see fit for game balance) is not unreasonable. Wizardry spells cannot be placed into any sort of Spell Matrix. Wizards have their own methods of creating enchanted items, which are extensively detailed elsewhere. Thats it - anyone who wants to use it is free to do so, and anyone who wants to buy it is free to contact me. :) ------------------------------ From: Al Petterson Date: Fri, 23 Feb 1996 00:01:54 -0800 Subject: Slave collars This is a bit of a Glorantha-specific thing, but any non-Gloranthan Runequesters who have an analogue to Praxians in their universe might also find this of interest. [I was divided as to which list to post this; it's a mechanic _and_ a Gloranthan idea. I decided Rules-digest. If the Secret Runequest Cabal feels that this belongs on the Glorantha digest instead, let me know and I'll apologize and forward it there.] Slavery is common in Prax, yet Praxian slave collars, unlike those made in the Lunar Empire, or in Ralios, or by dwarfs, are obviously not enchanted by sorcery. I was at a loss to explain the workings of the Praxian slave collar until I realized: Praxians create their slave collars by using a special sort of spirit. Among the spirits drawn to a Praxian shaman's fetch is the slave spirit, a form of spirit created by Waha's Compact and virtually unknown outside Prax and the Wastes. These spirits reflect the need not to waste life, and to spare the life of one's defeated enemy by ensuring his tractability and obedience as one's own tribe's servant. The slave spirit, once captured by the shaman, is bound into a prepared vessel (prepared using a special enchantment ritual Spirit spell). The vessel is generally a leather collar, sometimes accompanied by leather bracers/bracelets, formed from the hide of a Praxian animal butchered by the Peaceful Cut. (Normally, hide is used from the portion of the animal near the saddlestrap or bridle; this signifies ownership and servitude.) The slave spirit, once commanded into the enchanted collar, will engage in spirit combat with anyone forced to wear the collar. If successful, the spirit will "passively" possess the victim in a manner similar to that of a passion or disease spirit. The effect of a slave spirit's possession is to break the victim's ties with the invisible world. The victim cannot regain magic points or communicate with his deity. Magic targeted at the slave may resisted by the slave spirit's magic points, if so commanded by the slave spirit's master. Often the spirit is "activated" by the bracelets; this gives an owner the option of permitting specific activities, such as holy-day worship, by temporarily removing the slave's bracelets. The spirit remains in possession for the entire time the collar is worn. If the slave spirit has normal INT (many do), the shaman creating the collar might place a Spirit Screen matrix on the collar for use by the spirit, to improve its chances of overcoming its victim. An experienced slaver will often know several points of Spirit Screen for the same reason -- to support his slave spirits with difficult captives. After the manner of other spirits, slave spirits often have secondary effects which they pass on to their victim. Thus, slaves can exhibit a wide variety of nondebilitating physical, mental, or social problems. The effects depend partially on the spirit, partially on the animal from which the slave collar was made, and partially on the personality of the slave himself. Slaves might be mute, deaf, clumsy, idiotic, or dyslexic; they might be exceptionally stubborn, morose, cheerful, or appear insane (react inappropriately to some stimuli.) Use your imagination. Morokanth, who keep more human slaves than other Praxian tribes, have refined the technique of slave collars; Morokanth often have fewer slave spirits than collars, and use an advanced sort of enchantment whereby the spirits flit among the collars and slaves, possessing and repossessing them continuously. Morokanth slaves thus often lead more unpleasant and disjoint lives than other sorts of Praxian slaves. Comments? al (aamp@oro.net) ------------------------------ From: David Cake Date: Fri, 23 Feb 1996 17:57:12 +0800 Subject: Re: Slave collars I was under the impression that all the magical slave collars found in Prax where of Lunar manufacture, and the Praxian collars where non-magical, and symbolic only. After all, once captured and separated from your tribe, in the harsh wastes environment there is little incentive to rebel or escape until you can be sure of making it back to your tribe easily. Otherwise escape only ensures you dies unpleasantly of thirst or starvation, or even if you make it to an oasis you are effectively oasis folk (worse than slavery as far as most Praxians are concerned). But if Praxian collars exist, then your description sounds excellent. The slave spirits so described are probably just a variety of passion spirit (cf. Lords of Terror). Cheers David Cake Computing Officer |"Our machines are disturbingly lively, Arts Faculty UWA |and we ourselves frighteningly inert." davidc@cs.uwa.edu.au | -Donna Haraway >Microsoft, meanwhile, denies that the problem exists. ------------------------------ From: Brad Furst Date: Fri, 23 Feb 1996 10:01:21 -0800 Subject: Ernalda Rune Lords I don't have all my texts with me at this moment. Although the RQII _Pavis_ "City Guide for the gamemaster" shows (on page 15) that the Cult of Ernalda includes 5 Rune Priests and 3 Rune Lords and 2 Rune Lord/Priests, ^^^^ ^^^^ I am not finding any parameter for such Lord qualifications, only just Acolytes and Priestesses of Ernalda. I already understand that "priest" in this context means "priestess." Are the listed Rune Lord types here referring to the secret/outlawed Orlanthi Wind Lords? TIA Brad Furst esoteric@teleport.com http://www.teleport.com/~esoteric ------------------------------ End of RQ Rules Digest: V2 #190 ******************************* This is the bottom of the RuneQuest Rules Digest. RuneQuest is a trademark of Avalon Hill, and Glorantha is a trademark of Chaosium. 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