At the Kyger Litor stronghold, the night was disturbed by a massive wagon guarded by Rubble Trackers. The dwarves unloaded crates and barrels. Gragkizzie, leader of the dwarves, said that they were secret weapons and had Garrath employ an Oath spell to ensure the PCs would not reveal any of these secrets to outsiders. The dwarves were going to use these weapons on the trolls: a Disorder Keg, a Wonderbuss and two Pistoles. The PCs expressed some skepticism to their value.
The next morning the PCs, their Dwarf allies, Leotychidas, Stars Like Night, Njall and two of his followers gathered at the “back door” of the temple where the Dwarf assault had stalled previously. The dwarves threw down rocks and made noises to alert the trolls to their presence, hopefully gathering the trolls to a close defensive formation. Gragkizzie then lit what she called “fuse” to the Disorder Keg, a barrel the size of an average human, and rolled it down the stairs. Witha cry of “Fire in the trolls!” the assault party took cover. An explosion ripped back up the stairs and Gragkizzie and her followers Runi and Harc grabbed their secret weapons and charged down the stairs.
The sight that greeted the party was of a troll mob in disarray. Several trollkin were dead or severely wounded, with dark trolls also clearly wounded. A pair of Great Trolls and the Death Lord Magrak, however, appeared to have escaped serious injury. Gragkizzie leveled her Wonderbuss at a dark troll… and saw it blow up in her hands. Runi and Harc missed with their pistoles. Thinking, never send a dwarf to do a man’s work, the PCs and their allies charged in.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Runequest Campaign: The Trouble with Trolls Part I
The combined force attacking the Temple of Zorak Zoran had been joined by two others, ‘Bob’, a sneak thief born and bred in Pavis, hired as a scout, and Embla, an enormously tall (6’11”) and glamorous merchant woman, hired to use her detection magic to find the gems the temples had had stolen from them.
With Garrath Sharpsword’s force occupied by about 10 Great Trolls in the main entryway and the Flintnail Rubble Tracker dwarf force having run into heavy opposition coming down the back door, it was up to Xaraya’s force to press on into the temple alone. The shaman Stars Like Night went discorporate, while Bob advanced stealthily down the hall, taking advantage of his Dark Sight ability. About 50m down, Bob was lucky to notice two holes, one of either side of the hall. Theorizing these might be spy holes, Bob jabbed his dagger through one of the holes with great force. It just happened (01 on the roll) that a troll was just “looking” through the hole at that point and the dagger went through the hole and the gap in his helmet into his ear and brain, killing him instantly. Bob hurried back up the passage as trolls broke through the wall on either side, rounded a corner and concealed himself against the wall.
With Garrath Sharpsword’s force occupied by about 10 Great Trolls in the main entryway and the Flintnail Rubble Tracker dwarf force having run into heavy opposition coming down the back door, it was up to Xaraya’s force to press on into the temple alone. The shaman Stars Like Night went discorporate, while Bob advanced stealthily down the hall, taking advantage of his Dark Sight ability. About 50m down, Bob was lucky to notice two holes, one of either side of the hall. Theorizing these might be spy holes, Bob jabbed his dagger through one of the holes with great force. It just happened (01 on the roll) that a troll was just “looking” through the hole at that point and the dagger went through the hole and the gap in his helmet into his ear and brain, killing him instantly. Bob hurried back up the passage as trolls broke through the wall on either side, rounded a corner and concealed himself against the wall.
RuneQuest Campaign: The Road to Pavis
When we left our party, they were on a trek to find the Ficus Aureus, or Money Tree, tied to Bullford’s Esrola shrine. Accompanied by Griswald and Salvidienus Cansor, a Lhankhor Mhy sage, they overcame many obstacles to find the tree, although Griswald was carried off by a gigantic bird of prey just before they found the tree. On the way they found a terracotta jar they later learned was sacred to Xiola Umbar.
On the way back to Bullford, the PCs were forced by a storm to seek shelter in a hut which appeared to have been occupied by a Lunar scholar of some sort. In the hut, they found a sleeping baby covered by a thin layer of dust. The baby was impervious to harm and would not wake up. Simple tests by Cansor suggested it was extremely magically powerful. That night, the hut was attacked by trollkin, although their Dark Troll mother intervened when it became apparent the PCs were not Lunars, but not before Grom had sliced off a couple of arms. The PCs then witnessed an epic fight between heroes on a distant hill. A Lunar magician wielding two scimitars defeated a Mistress Race troll, then sat down to play his Aulos.
The PCs earned the friendship of the troll mother, who sheltered them before setting them on the right path to Bullford. On the way down from the hills, the PCs encountered a ghost-ridden barrow, haunted by two lost souls of faithless lovers.
On the way back to Bullford, the PCs were forced by a storm to seek shelter in a hut which appeared to have been occupied by a Lunar scholar of some sort. In the hut, they found a sleeping baby covered by a thin layer of dust. The baby was impervious to harm and would not wake up. Simple tests by Cansor suggested it was extremely magically powerful. That night, the hut was attacked by trollkin, although their Dark Troll mother intervened when it became apparent the PCs were not Lunars, but not before Grom had sliced off a couple of arms. The PCs then witnessed an epic fight between heroes on a distant hill. A Lunar magician wielding two scimitars defeated a Mistress Race troll, then sat down to play his Aulos.
The PCs earned the friendship of the troll mother, who sheltered them before setting them on the right path to Bullford. On the way down from the hills, the PCs encountered a ghost-ridden barrow, haunted by two lost souls of faithless lovers.
Is This Thing Still On?
Completely forgot about this blog, but a few things have happened since I last updated it. First, the campaign has gone on and reached a convenient pause, so I'll update what happened. Secondly, I've invested quite a bit in Mongoose Runequest so will be reviewing those products. Finally, I've had an idea for an old school D&D sandbox that I'd like to outline here. Hopefully I'll remember to update this time.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
RuneQuest Adventure Log II
Another player joined, so we now have three: Grom the Humakti, Xaraya Greatbow (and is that surname accurate) and now the beautiful redhead Skye. On we go...
SESSION 2
There remained one more contest – the Chest-Pounding. This contest was for men only, so the women jeered from the sidelines (Xaraya: “You call that a chest?”), among them a young Vingan warrior from Pavis, Skye. Grom, as champion of the wrestling contest, felt he had to enter and handily defeated Gradulus the Lunar Apostate, but drew his old enemy Kwik-Kik in the next round. Kwik-Kik used his martial arts to avenge his broken leg and defeated Grom. Eventually “Big Daddy” Fathacnut defeated Taizon the Agimori in the final, and was awarded a magnificent Chainmail Hauberk, which he gifted to his son Rathacnut.
That night, Xaraya and Grom found themselves at Griswald’s table once more, and they were once again joined by Salvidienus. This time, the Vingan contigent joined them, including Britgar Spearhaft, Ethburga (a large woman who drank like a fish), Alyrra Ingilli and Enfrewa Hendriki, a sacred Red Woman of the cult: beautiful, sensible, charming and utterly unattainable. They teased the sage, with games like Britgar sitting on his lap and caressing his beard, before Ethburga took over. The sage made his excuses and left.
Griswald then approach Grom and Xaraya, saying he had a task he had agreed to do for his old friend, the Constable of Bullford, and wondered if they would join him. Xaraya asked what the task entailed, and he said it was a task to harvest the fruit of a Money Tree. Ordinarily, the people of Bullford would send a large party of men to do this, but because it was the beginning of Sea Season, they needed all their men to plant their crops. Xaraya found the idea of a Money Tree preposterous, but agreed to listen to Griswald’s friend’s offer.
Godday
The wedding came and went, with many cattle slaughtered and much BEER consumed. Amazingly, no-one tried to disrupt the wedding or kidnap the bride and Caerthan and his wife rode off for their yurt. After the wedding, Griswald introduced the players to Henere Hamilcar, Constable of Bullford, who explained about the Fiscus, or Money Tree, how such a thing existed and how sacred the task was. Griswald explained how, twenty years ago, he had been part of the group that went to harvest the tree, and so knew the way. This would be his last adventure before settling down to raise young warriors. Grom and Xaraya agreed, as did Skye, who had been recommended by Enfrewa. Salvidienus was also coming along, to value the haul. Henere said that the Wise Woman of Bullford, chief priestess of Esra in Bullford, would teach each volunteer a point of Spirit Magic. They would set out the next morning.
Sea Season, Disorder Week
Freezeday
An uneventful trek into increasingly wild lands saw no events of note. At night, Skye was keeping watch when she heard something large coming through the undergrowth towards the campsite. She woke the Sage and told him it was his watch! He, however, also heard the creature and woke Griswald, who said it was just a bear and they could frighten it off. They did so, and resumed their night’s sleep with their food sources unsnaffled.
Waterday
As they were making their way along the banks of the Zola Fel, the party found its way blocked by a small, disheveled figure, the duck bandit Yozarian. Several of the party noted the bandit appeared to be backed up by armed crossbowmen to his rear. He demanded 10L each, then, as the party sized up their options, increased the demand to 12L each. Xaraya informed him that his men were being targeted by their own allies, at which point Yozarian told her he knew she was lying. Grom was certain they were about to come under attack, but Xaraya realized the duck’s back-up was actually a series of dummies, one with a pumpkin for a head. Yozarian, figuring the game was up, dropped his crossbow and jumped into a pool, where he swam quickly to the bottom. Skye divested her armor and jumped in with a shortsword to follow him, but was unable to get deep enough before her breath ran out, although she noticed that the duck appeared to be using a couple of barrels tied down as air pockets. Grom looked around for a large boulder and, along with Xaraya, was able to roll it, with difficulty, towards the pond. The boulder attack drove Yozarian to the surface, where he offered ransom. Xaraya, however, told him merely to make himself scarce and find something else to do for a living. He left with a quack and waddle and a quack and, after an arrow for Xaraya hit a tree near him, a flurry of eiderdown. Griswald raised an eyebrow and smiled.
That night, Griswald was keeping watch when he heard three large creatures heading towards the camp through the bush. He swiftly woke the others and they formed a defensive circle. Three large rock lizards burst out of the treeline and started towards the party. Skye and Salvidienus both hit one lizard with disrupt spells, before Xaraya’s bow struck true and severely injured the lizard Grom and his cat were closing on. Meanwhile, Griswald hurled a spear and impaled. Grom’s cat clawed its lizard before Xaraya felled the beats with another good shot. The other beasts had closed, so Skye drew her sword as Salvidienus hit with another Disrupt. Xaraya meanwhile adjusted her position and let off another shot, which again bit deep. Griswald landed a heavy blow on his lizard which Grom charged back to engage it. Skye finished her lizard off. The group converged on the remaining lizard, which Grom took down with a heavy blow to the head.
Clayday
The trail led through increasingly thick forest and the party found its way blocked by a large, orb-shaped web, above which dangled a deer trapped in a cocoon of silk. Xaraya tried to find a way around, but Grom noticed the forest was covered in thick gobbets of web. Griswald said that the way lay beyond the web, so took out his knife to begin to cut through the web. Salvidienus joined him, as did Xaraya with her axe. Their hacking brought down the denizen of the web, a Giant Spider, which rappelled down a strand and attacked Griswald, but missed. He hefted his spear and shield while Skye and Salvidienus fired off Disruption spells. Grom, Xaraya and the cat hacked away at the monster, all connecting. The spider bit Xaraya’s shield twice before its wounds and rapidly dwindling number of legs forced it to retreat back up its strand. Skye missed with a shot from her self bow before Xaraya, dropping her shield and axe connected with a shot from her bow. Grom kicked the beast in the head and noticed its poison sacs, which Xaraya was able to cut out cleanly.
Next up, the players have to get to the top of the mountain, and get the leaves of The Money Tree.
SESSION 2
There remained one more contest – the Chest-Pounding. This contest was for men only, so the women jeered from the sidelines (Xaraya: “You call that a chest?”), among them a young Vingan warrior from Pavis, Skye. Grom, as champion of the wrestling contest, felt he had to enter and handily defeated Gradulus the Lunar Apostate, but drew his old enemy Kwik-Kik in the next round. Kwik-Kik used his martial arts to avenge his broken leg and defeated Grom. Eventually “Big Daddy” Fathacnut defeated Taizon the Agimori in the final, and was awarded a magnificent Chainmail Hauberk, which he gifted to his son Rathacnut.
That night, Xaraya and Grom found themselves at Griswald’s table once more, and they were once again joined by Salvidienus. This time, the Vingan contigent joined them, including Britgar Spearhaft, Ethburga (a large woman who drank like a fish), Alyrra Ingilli and Enfrewa Hendriki, a sacred Red Woman of the cult: beautiful, sensible, charming and utterly unattainable. They teased the sage, with games like Britgar sitting on his lap and caressing his beard, before Ethburga took over. The sage made his excuses and left.
Griswald then approach Grom and Xaraya, saying he had a task he had agreed to do for his old friend, the Constable of Bullford, and wondered if they would join him. Xaraya asked what the task entailed, and he said it was a task to harvest the fruit of a Money Tree. Ordinarily, the people of Bullford would send a large party of men to do this, but because it was the beginning of Sea Season, they needed all their men to plant their crops. Xaraya found the idea of a Money Tree preposterous, but agreed to listen to Griswald’s friend’s offer.
Godday
The wedding came and went, with many cattle slaughtered and much BEER consumed. Amazingly, no-one tried to disrupt the wedding or kidnap the bride and Caerthan and his wife rode off for their yurt. After the wedding, Griswald introduced the players to Henere Hamilcar, Constable of Bullford, who explained about the Fiscus, or Money Tree, how such a thing existed and how sacred the task was. Griswald explained how, twenty years ago, he had been part of the group that went to harvest the tree, and so knew the way. This would be his last adventure before settling down to raise young warriors. Grom and Xaraya agreed, as did Skye, who had been recommended by Enfrewa. Salvidienus was also coming along, to value the haul. Henere said that the Wise Woman of Bullford, chief priestess of Esra in Bullford, would teach each volunteer a point of Spirit Magic. They would set out the next morning.
Sea Season, Disorder Week
Freezeday
An uneventful trek into increasingly wild lands saw no events of note. At night, Skye was keeping watch when she heard something large coming through the undergrowth towards the campsite. She woke the Sage and told him it was his watch! He, however, also heard the creature and woke Griswald, who said it was just a bear and they could frighten it off. They did so, and resumed their night’s sleep with their food sources unsnaffled.
Waterday
As they were making their way along the banks of the Zola Fel, the party found its way blocked by a small, disheveled figure, the duck bandit Yozarian. Several of the party noted the bandit appeared to be backed up by armed crossbowmen to his rear. He demanded 10L each, then, as the party sized up their options, increased the demand to 12L each. Xaraya informed him that his men were being targeted by their own allies, at which point Yozarian told her he knew she was lying. Grom was certain they were about to come under attack, but Xaraya realized the duck’s back-up was actually a series of dummies, one with a pumpkin for a head. Yozarian, figuring the game was up, dropped his crossbow and jumped into a pool, where he swam quickly to the bottom. Skye divested her armor and jumped in with a shortsword to follow him, but was unable to get deep enough before her breath ran out, although she noticed that the duck appeared to be using a couple of barrels tied down as air pockets. Grom looked around for a large boulder and, along with Xaraya, was able to roll it, with difficulty, towards the pond. The boulder attack drove Yozarian to the surface, where he offered ransom. Xaraya, however, told him merely to make himself scarce and find something else to do for a living. He left with a quack and waddle and a quack and, after an arrow for Xaraya hit a tree near him, a flurry of eiderdown. Griswald raised an eyebrow and smiled.
That night, Griswald was keeping watch when he heard three large creatures heading towards the camp through the bush. He swiftly woke the others and they formed a defensive circle. Three large rock lizards burst out of the treeline and started towards the party. Skye and Salvidienus both hit one lizard with disrupt spells, before Xaraya’s bow struck true and severely injured the lizard Grom and his cat were closing on. Meanwhile, Griswald hurled a spear and impaled. Grom’s cat clawed its lizard before Xaraya felled the beats with another good shot. The other beasts had closed, so Skye drew her sword as Salvidienus hit with another Disrupt. Xaraya meanwhile adjusted her position and let off another shot, which again bit deep. Griswald landed a heavy blow on his lizard which Grom charged back to engage it. Skye finished her lizard off. The group converged on the remaining lizard, which Grom took down with a heavy blow to the head.
Clayday
The trail led through increasingly thick forest and the party found its way blocked by a large, orb-shaped web, above which dangled a deer trapped in a cocoon of silk. Xaraya tried to find a way around, but Grom noticed the forest was covered in thick gobbets of web. Griswald said that the way lay beyond the web, so took out his knife to begin to cut through the web. Salvidienus joined him, as did Xaraya with her axe. Their hacking brought down the denizen of the web, a Giant Spider, which rappelled down a strand and attacked Griswald, but missed. He hefted his spear and shield while Skye and Salvidienus fired off Disruption spells. Grom, Xaraya and the cat hacked away at the monster, all connecting. The spider bit Xaraya’s shield twice before its wounds and rapidly dwindling number of legs forced it to retreat back up its strand. Skye missed with a shot from her self bow before Xaraya, dropping her shield and axe connected with a shot from her bow. Grom kicked the beast in the head and noticed its poison sacs, which Xaraya was able to cut out cleanly.
Next up, the players have to get to the top of the mountain, and get the leaves of The Money Tree.
Runequest Adventure Log I
So, I started running a RQIII+ adventure. I say RQIII+ because there are a heck of a lot of house rules, some culled from Mongoose RQ, some from HeroQuest and some from Basic Role Playing. RQIII, as I'll explain if I ever get to it in my evolution of a gamer sequence, is not an ideal rules set, but is darn close to one, at least as far as I am concerned. Anyway, here's the first campaign log from my new go at DMing. It's the first time I've DMed in over ten years, by the way...
The players have come to Pairing Stones for the wedding of Caerthan, Khan of the Northern Pol-Joni and Eanflaed Flowerhair of Waterby. There are many there besides the families of the betrothed, and the players are not out of place. Initially, there are Grom of the House of Jastarkos, Humakt initiate, a Sartarite weaponthane from the Yeavering Tribe, and Xoraya Greatbow, princess and last survivor of the Lesser Ibex people of Prax.
On Fireday, three contests were announced. Grom entered the morning contest, a wrestling competition. In the first round he met Young Deirik of the Pol-Joni, who grappled with him for three rounds before Grom pinned him. Next round, he was forced to endure the taunts of the Vingans as he drew Big Hilda of Waterby. They grappled inconclusively for five rounds before Hilda lunged at him and missed, grabbing instead a crowd member in embarrassing fashion. The judges warned Hilda, which unsettled her, allowing Grom to immobilize her arm and force the submission. Hilda hugged Grom and expressed the hope of sharing a beer, which gromwas able to turn down honorably owing to his geas of drinking no alcohol. Next came Kwik Kik Lee, a martial artist, whose attack was so bad that Grom was able to grab him and throw him so hard that it broke Lee’s leg (fumble vs critical, with poetic license). Grom received the plaudits of the crowd, so that he had a larger portion of them on his side when he faced Hardrath Strongarm, blacksmith of Waterby, who was undefeated in the last three wrestling contests he had entered. Hardrath missed his initial lunge and walked into Grom’s hold. Despite the disparity in size and strength, Grom was able to throw Hardrath for the unexpected victory. Hardrath raised Grom’s hand, impressed by the speed of his opponent’s success, and Caerthan presented him with his prize, a fine Broadsword, which Grom recognized as having a hilt wrapped in Dragonnewt skin.
After a lunch of mutton and BEER, came the rising contest, where the contestants would have to jump progressively higher obstacles. Xoraya, born to the saddle, was keen to enter, but her Great Ibex was ruled illegal (many nomads joined in her mutterings) and she was forced to choose a horse. Nevertheless, her skill enabled her to choose a string horse, and she entered the contest confidently. She cleared her first few obstacles with ease, but when it came to the great wall, she misjudged and plowed through, going out in the first round. Dafydd Brume won, earning a fine nomad saddle that Xoraya recognized as of great value.
As Yelm began to go down, the poetry contest began. Grom was a confident entrant, but Xoraya entered too. First came Gjarmani Truthtalker, noted wandering poet from Adari, who told the tale of how Sartar unified the tribes and lit the flame in Boldhome. This went down very well. Next came Ceadmon the Harper of Waterby, whose harp accompaniment was melodious, but did not rescue his sad tale of the fall of Boldhome. The crowd’s mood was lifted by the Vingan Britgar Speahaft, who used all her beauty and dancing to accompany a ribald tale of how a woman bedded Lunar nobles all the way up to the Red Emperor; after conquering him in bed she was able to bring down the moon. The crowd loved it. They did not love Wahagrim Horsefriend’s song in praise of the Pure Horse People (well, the Pol-Joni loved it, no-one else did). With Britgar clearly highest in the people’s affection (as well as clearly attracting the eye of Caethan), Grom strode to the center of the ring. He told a tale of his adventures into Upland Marsh, and the slaying of terrible undead, emerging victorious. The mixture of terror and boasting, told well, captivated the crowd, and Grom would have emerged victorious, had not Xoraya brought out her dulcimer and played a moving lament for the destruction of her people at the Battle of Bitterstream, coupled with her desire for vengeance. Her beauty swayed Caerthan so much that he adjudged the contest a tie between Grom and Xoraya and asked them to sing again. Instead, Grom announced that he had won his contest that day and would step down. Cearthan applauded the nobility of Grom and said he had anther thing to boast about tonight, then awarded the prize, a splendid Cedarwood Harp, to Xoraya, and hugged her rather more intimately than might be expected from a man about to be married. Caedmon offered her 100L for it on the spot, but she turned him down.
That evening, 100 sheep were slaughtered and the crowd dined on fresh mutton and BEER. As victors, Grom and Xoraya were honored to sit at the table of Griswald Oldoak, a veteran weaponthane of Waterby. Their fellows included Jakk and St’nn, two upright citizens of Waterby who talked amongst themselves, Old Deirik and Astragil of the Pol-Joni, and Salvidienus Cansor, a Lhankor Mhy initiate, on his way to Pavis to deliver some scrolls. Old Deirik quizzed those present on whether they had ever killed a lion. Grom responded that he had killed a Storm Bull beserker of the Rainbow Bison; Deirik responded that he knew well what a great feat this was, because he had once killed two. He then asked if they had ever killed a broo, which neither had ever done, but Grom had slain a ghoul. Deirik had killed two. He then asked how much beer Grom had drunk in an evening. Grom replied none, because of his geas. Deirik could not double that, and Astragil pointed at him and laughed. Xoraya asked Griswald of the people of Pavis, and how they felt about the Lunar occupation. Griswald related the history of the city and the shame they felt at the swift capitulation, combined with the treachery of the Sun Dome Templars. Trusting them both, Griswald told them to look up Krogar Wolfhelm in Pavis.
Wildday
The next morning, Grom and Xoraya noted how the Storm Bulls were late to rise, and how it was fitting that the archery contest should take place in the morning. Xoraya entered, facing Jode Plumma of Waterby in the first round, and won 8-6, profiting from an errant shot in the final flight where Jode managed to hit Big Hilda, which earned him a box round the ears. In the next round, she faced Allyra Ingilli, a Vingan, and won 12-7, thanks to a bullseye. Next came Sandori Steadfriend, brother of Caerthan, whom she defeated 9-3, to the great disappointment of Caerthan. Then came the Yelmalion Tarvidius Firehawk, who she defeated 5-2 in a contest far worse than expected. In the final she was due to face mysterious stranger Garsting Giorno, ostensibly from Sartar, but Grom noticed him acting oddly and whispering something to his bow. Grom mentioned this to Salvidienus, who cast Detect Magic, revealing that Garsting had illegally cast Speedart. Caerthan slapped Garsting around and hounded him out of town.
Returning, Caertan declared Xoraya again the winner and awarded her a golden arrow, which Grom evaluated as being worth around 500L. She was then approached by Tarvidius, who offered her 50W for the arrow, as it was an item of ritual importance to the Sun Domers. She accepted his price, but it transpired that Tarvidius did not have the money on him. He promised it as soon as Xoraya delivered the arrow to the Sun Dome Temple and swore it on the Truth Rune of his cult. He pointed out, however, that should Xoraya renege on the agreement and not return the arrow by a year’s time, the Sun Domers would not hesitate to take military action.
After a lunch of pork and BEER, Caerthan announced the Hunt. A Wind Lord brought forth a huge broo and announced the Orlanthi poem against chaos to it. He then removed the beast’s chains and whipped it with his spear. The broo ran for cover and disappeared over the hills. The war-whoops started and the hunt began. Xoraya successfully identified the beast’s tracks, then spotted where in the distance it had burst through the bushes. Following the broo’s scent, they came across the creature in a clearing, but were not the first there. Orlanthi warrior Gryffyn Godricson had already found the broo and was about to engage it in hand-to-hand combat. While Grom closed to the range where he could throw his spear, Xoraya let loose a shaft from her bow and criticaled the broo in its left leg. However, something magical about it reduced the damage of the blow and the broo remained standing. It swung at Gryffyn with a large branch it had gathered, and missed. Grom then hurled his spear with all his might, criticalling the monster in the chest. This time the monster fell, but it still breathed. Gryffyn failed to dispatch the beast, and Xoraya’s next shaft killed it.
The three removed the creature’s head with some difficulty and returned to the Stones to great applause, gathering a crowd of other hunters as they went. Caerthan greeted the three conquerors of chaos and presented them with their prize, a fine young Alynx of noble breeding, asking them to decide who earned the full honor. Xoraya said that, though she had slain the creature, and Gryffyn deserved honor for finding the beast first, it was Grom who had done the most to bring down the chaos fiend, so she said he should have the cat. Gryffyn grumbled, but when Caerthan announced that he had earned a place at his table during the wedding feast, he seemed mollified. Cearthan announced once again that Orlanthi honor and nobility had been satisfied, and this was a good omen for his marriage.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
RuneQuest
In my approach to D&D, I'm an old schooler. I really love the idea of a megadungeon, and probably constructed three or four (if you count my Empire of the Petal Throne megamegadungeon, with each level on four A4 sheets taped together) back in the day. I remember my very first megadungeon had twelve levels, but no-one would ever have got past the first room of the first version (Room description: The Guardian - a balrog challenges all who try to enter the dungeon) if I hadn't realized just how idiotic that was.
Yet from the beginning something appealed to me about EPT and RuneQuest. D&D was for grim, gritty orcbashing and dragon-fighting. I don't think I ever had a character live past 8th level. Most of them died in the depths of a megadungeon, were replaced and then their replacements died in the same dank crypts. Even the published modules we played were killers. Tegel Manor? Citadel of Fire? Steading of the Hill Giant Chief? TPKs, all of them. Even in the City State of the Invincible Overlord we ended up either arrested and executed for ogling or fell victim to a gang of undead rising from the sewers.
RuneQuest offered something different. The chance to develop a character who could learn more about a world. Or, as a DM, the chance to build an epic. The lethality of RuneQuest combat actually helped in this regard - players looked for other options and DMs actively helped characters survive so they could keep their knowledge, which was what really advanced a character. Your evolving relationship with a cult meant far more than another increase in level.
The rules, however, helped too. The combat system was great for an ancient historian/wargamer. The idea that everyone had magic, which so many regarded as heresy, appealed for the reason that ancient legends showed everyone with some relationship to the divine. It wasn't hard to think of the spells as curses and charms. The rules system worked, so it is no surprise it became the basis for Call of Cthulhu. It provided a basis for a different kind of game. RQIII screwed things up by introducing sorcery, but that could be ignored. Glorantha was very important, but to me it wasn't essential. For years I developed my own ancient-based world complete with cult descriptions and heroquest routes. Never got a chance to play it, and it is now mostly lost, sadly.
That's why, now I'm getting back into tabletop RPGs, I'm not that impressed with what has happened with HeroQuest. It's more about the story than the rules (although the rules are really complicated for a "narration"-based game). Role-playing to me isn't about playing a character you consciously design, but by taking a random lump of stats and working to develop them into a character, with all the limitations the rules place on that. To my mind, the dice enforce roleplaying. If the dice give you a character of limited intelligence, something you rarely do with a designed character, it is very interesting playing that (and given that the world of Glorantha had an important design element added to it because of something done by a character with lower intelligence than his riding beast, the dice helped there too). And if you have beginning players, it makes sense to have beginning characters rather than the paragons that HeroQuest seems designed for to my eyes.
That's why I'm going to be using modified RuneQuest III rules in my new campaign. Yes, it'll be Glorantha because I'm itching to develop a scenario idea I started to run in the mid-90s and never got the chance to finish (the reason why was an important DM-ing lesson for me, details to follow). I've finally got hold of Sandy Petersen's sorcery rules, which make a lot more sense. There are some elements of HeroQuest in the campaign, but in general it will be "classic" RuneQuest rather than anything else.
And, in the tradition of Found Items, there'll be lots of random tables. Old school makes sense even in RQ terms.
Yet from the beginning something appealed to me about EPT and RuneQuest. D&D was for grim, gritty orcbashing and dragon-fighting. I don't think I ever had a character live past 8th level. Most of them died in the depths of a megadungeon, were replaced and then their replacements died in the same dank crypts. Even the published modules we played were killers. Tegel Manor? Citadel of Fire? Steading of the Hill Giant Chief? TPKs, all of them. Even in the City State of the Invincible Overlord we ended up either arrested and executed for ogling or fell victim to a gang of undead rising from the sewers.
RuneQuest offered something different. The chance to develop a character who could learn more about a world. Or, as a DM, the chance to build an epic. The lethality of RuneQuest combat actually helped in this regard - players looked for other options and DMs actively helped characters survive so they could keep their knowledge, which was what really advanced a character. Your evolving relationship with a cult meant far more than another increase in level.
The rules, however, helped too. The combat system was great for an ancient historian/wargamer. The idea that everyone had magic, which so many regarded as heresy, appealed for the reason that ancient legends showed everyone with some relationship to the divine. It wasn't hard to think of the spells as curses and charms. The rules system worked, so it is no surprise it became the basis for Call of Cthulhu. It provided a basis for a different kind of game. RQIII screwed things up by introducing sorcery, but that could be ignored. Glorantha was very important, but to me it wasn't essential. For years I developed my own ancient-based world complete with cult descriptions and heroquest routes. Never got a chance to play it, and it is now mostly lost, sadly.
That's why, now I'm getting back into tabletop RPGs, I'm not that impressed with what has happened with HeroQuest. It's more about the story than the rules (although the rules are really complicated for a "narration"-based game). Role-playing to me isn't about playing a character you consciously design, but by taking a random lump of stats and working to develop them into a character, with all the limitations the rules place on that. To my mind, the dice enforce roleplaying. If the dice give you a character of limited intelligence, something you rarely do with a designed character, it is very interesting playing that (and given that the world of Glorantha had an important design element added to it because of something done by a character with lower intelligence than his riding beast, the dice helped there too). And if you have beginning players, it makes sense to have beginning characters rather than the paragons that HeroQuest seems designed for to my eyes.
That's why I'm going to be using modified RuneQuest III rules in my new campaign. Yes, it'll be Glorantha because I'm itching to develop a scenario idea I started to run in the mid-90s and never got the chance to finish (the reason why was an important DM-ing lesson for me, details to follow). I've finally got hold of Sandy Petersen's sorcery rules, which make a lot more sense. There are some elements of HeroQuest in the campaign, but in general it will be "classic" RuneQuest rather than anything else.
And, in the tradition of Found Items, there'll be lots of random tables. Old school makes sense even in RQ terms.
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