Deleriad
Mongoose
Information about NPC ststa below so read no further if you're a player.
Been reading through BoO and find myself deeply puzzled by the statistics for NPCs. The most obvious issue is the lack of magic as well as the generally low stats for what should be important NPCs.
For example, the Orlanthi honor guard are 44% with their best weapon, and have no rune or divine magic listed (though there's a 30% chance that they've integrated a rune.) This is significantly different from previous versions of RQ.
The question is: is this a deliberate decision and one which we're likely to see followed in other Gloranthan RQ material from Mongoose writers? Is it a reflection of the particular setting? Is Glorantha Second Age a much lower magic environment than Third age or is this a retcon? I.e. was Glorantha always meant to be this way?
I don't personally have an agenda. As a GM, low magic is a lot easier to run but as someone who has run and played in RQ2, 3 and HQ/HW, this does not seem to reflect Glorantha as I thought it existed.
As an another example, someone who it is implied is a top rank sorceror in GL Empire, an apprentice of Delecti, who proved herself through "sheer magical skill." This magical skill includes knowing no spell at more than 60%. In fact she knows 12 spells, of which only 4 have been improved above her base chance. The description of her character does not seem to fit her abilities.
I can see that each character has been built on roughly the same level of increase as a seasoned character in RQ and that this is important for game balance.
Been reading through BoO and find myself deeply puzzled by the statistics for NPCs. The most obvious issue is the lack of magic as well as the generally low stats for what should be important NPCs.
For example, the Orlanthi honor guard are 44% with their best weapon, and have no rune or divine magic listed (though there's a 30% chance that they've integrated a rune.) This is significantly different from previous versions of RQ.
The question is: is this a deliberate decision and one which we're likely to see followed in other Gloranthan RQ material from Mongoose writers? Is it a reflection of the particular setting? Is Glorantha Second Age a much lower magic environment than Third age or is this a retcon? I.e. was Glorantha always meant to be this way?
I don't personally have an agenda. As a GM, low magic is a lot easier to run but as someone who has run and played in RQ2, 3 and HQ/HW, this does not seem to reflect Glorantha as I thought it existed.
As an another example, someone who it is implied is a top rank sorceror in GL Empire, an apprentice of Delecti, who proved herself through "sheer magical skill." This magical skill includes knowing no spell at more than 60%. In fact she knows 12 spells, of which only 4 have been improved above her base chance. The description of her character does not seem to fit her abilities.
I can see that each character has been built on roughly the same level of increase as a seasoned character in RQ and that this is important for game balance.
