Creating sorcerors and priests

[Antalon]

Hello,

in a non-Gloranthan setting, using RQ Deluxe, I don't see any obvious ways of generating characters with Sorcery or Divine magic.

All the professions in the book offer Runecasting magic.

For Divine, it seems reasonably easy to introduce various Cults, allow PCs to start as initiates - but the RQD rules say you can't spend them on magical skills. So, you can't even develop sorcery skills and spells in pre-game?

How have people (in a non-Glorantha setting) got around this?

 

[GoingDown]

Hmm. There is book which gives you options for that - but I cannot remember what book it was? Maybe Games Master's Handbook, but I am not sure. I will need to check

Maybe you just can substitute one rune magic skill with one sorcery spell/skill?

 

[Antalon]

A straight substitution may work. If you find the reference I'd be v interested.

 

[Mugen]

Note that any magic profession related to sorcery should provide at least Manipulation (Magnitude).

 

[B_Steele]

The RQ Spellbook has adjustments to the existing professions to allow for Priests and Sorcerers.

-Bry

 

[DirkD]

Before RQ Spellbook was out I made the following profession for someone who wanted to play a sorcerer:

Sorcerer

Cultural Background: Townsman, Noble, Civilised
Basic Skill Bonuses: Influence +5%, Lore (World) +5%, Persistence +10%
Advanced Skills: Manipulation (choose one), Specific Sorcery Spell*
Pick One: Language, Lore, Manipulation (choose one), Specific Sorcery Spell*
* Choose one from the available spells - I didn't allow a couple of spells at the start, but that's just me.

 

[Antalon]

Thanks all. I think it would probably be fairly straightword to create a sorcery profession that fitted the game world - thanks for the sample.

What about initiates etc. Presumably they'd get rune magic and divine magic. Old RQ3 allowed a certain number of MPs of spells and the spending of POW to 'but' divine magic. Has anyone dealt with this in MRQ?

 

[GoingDown]

The RQ Spellbook has adjustments to the existing professions to allow for Priests and Sorcerers.

-Bry

Yes. I was wrong. It is spellbook, not GM's handbook.

 

[Antalon]

So is the spellbook worth getting?

I think it was published during the 'binding problem' phase of Mongoose (perhaps this period of Mongoose histroy needs a name: the Print Wars?), so I've so far steered clear.

 

[DirkD]

It depends, you basically get 156 pages of spell descriptions, a 21 page spell index and a handfull of backgrounds and professions. If you are happy with the number of spells in the other RQ-books, it's probably not worth it. If you are looking for a big selection of spells, it could be the first book you want after RQ Deluxe.

 

[B_Steele]

Or wait until your spellcasting player(s) buy it.


Cuz they will.

 

[havercake lad]

My Elric campaign has the following Profession for 'Civilized' characters ~
Sorcer's Apprentice
Basic: Lore ( Plant )+10%, Persistence +10%,Pick one ( at +10% ) from Art or Craft
[/i]Advanced Pick two from Command, Craft, Language, Lore, Rune, Witchsight.
My old 'Stormbringer' campaign let them start with a bound supernatural being if they rolled d8 on the following table~
1 Chaos Mutation
2 Hunted by Inquisition ( also had a bounty on their head )
3 Insane
4 Jinx ( All players and NPCs in POWxyards double chance of fumbles )
5 Prematuely aged. Snow white hair etc and +1d8 years physical aging per chaos point. )
6 Removed from mankind~ all social skills with mortal races are at base chance unless enhanced by magic.
7 Shunned by Animals
8 Wrath of an Entity~ Bad luck with a particular natural element or emnity of a deamon.

 

[Utgardloki]

For my proposed Iron Kingdoms: Runequest campaign, I was working on a kind of "roll your own" profession rules, using some sort of system where PCs can choose whether to have skills, or spells. The idea is that a character with a lot a magic would have fewer skills, to try to emulate the various D&D classes without actually using classes. This would allow for cleric- and druid- types who are heavily invested in divine magic, and paladin- types who are less heavily invested.

This just seemed easier than trying to come up with professions for each possible type of starting character.

 

[soltakss]

The rules are guidelines, nothing more.

If you want to have sorcerers or whatever then have them, no matter what it says or doesn't say in the rules.

There shouldn't be any case where a GM should say "No, you can't do that because it says so in the rules". If you want to play it one way then play it that way.

 

[DirkD]

This just seemed easier than trying to come up with professions for each possible type of starting character.

Nothing is easier than making professions for MRQ - you basically divide 50% on the skills that are most appropriate, and you can use the existing professions as guidelines. You can't really do anything wrong in my opinion, it's not D&D where you have to consider every power at every level in combination with every feat, magical item and spell...

It doesn't take more than 2 minutes to make up a decent profession. The easy and uncomplicated (but nonetheless diverse) character creation is one of the best features of MRQ in my opinion.