zozotroll said:
My only big complaint about CoG2 is the Crsh spell. It used to be veery cool. Now it is no more powerful than bludgeon, it is not reusable, and you have to go back to the temple and pay and pray to get it back. Bludgeon is much superior, and I just dont get why that happened.
I'm starting to think that Mongoose really wants to push rune magic and runes as the prestige mechanic that sets MRQ apart from all others. I can see no other reason why they have refused to even acknowledge needing a physical rune to cast what used to be battle magic is completely wrong.
Sorry it is.
Runes don't work not just for Glorantha but also for the Million Spheres, Conan, Alternative Earth, lankhmar and every other game world that has a realistic social ecology.
It's not a bad idea, per se (stop laughing Obelix), I am using them alongside, truestones, crystals, etc, it's just not central like Mongoose seem to want it to be. Initiates should have access to small, reusable charms (ie, battle magic, ie rune magic) that are related to their cult and culture. If they want to use powers that are mostly unknown to their culture then they can quest for whatever runes they fancy. I know I don't like to compromise on a self contained idea but compromise is needed to be fair to the fans.
They really remind me of Magic The Gathering, you know, tap a metal and an air to get the latest funky effect. And I used to like MTG.
I'm going to write something for my website about getting around these problems. There are the odd phrases in COG2 and Glorantha 2nd Age that can be exploited as well as some house rules suggested here.