MRQ goes deep into details

[The King]

With a book dedicated to dragonnewts:

http://www.amazon.com/Dragonewts-Aaron-Dembski-Bowden/dp/190585028X/sr=11-1/qid=1169306885/ref=sr_11_1/104-9851231-7961545

BTW do we learn somewhere the link between dragonnewts and newtlings? Are the latter possibly the result of a curse by Nysalor (as IIRC dragonsnewts were part of the council though they were among the first to quit the project).

 

[Adept]

Interesting.

You guys are getting busy, I can see. It will be nice to see how Aaron's version of the dragonewts deal with the dragon mysticism themselves.

Noble (third stage) dragonewt should already be a serious master of magic, while retaining the warriors mastery in physical combat.

The fourth stage is Heroic by any standards, and I can't wait to see a treatment of the Inhuman King*

-Adept

*although I'm a bit sceptical about seeing such. I'm not happy about the decision to keep people like Delecti unstatted. MRQ is supposed to scale "up to eleven", so why not give us the authors version of Delecti, and other heroic people of the second age.

 

[The King]

MRQ is supposed to scale "up to eleven"

What do you mean by this?

I agree it would be great to see what a powerful NPC looks like with MRQ (though I find such scale difference is easier with the Heroquest system).

 

[Yoda300]

I'm not happy about the decision to keep people like Delecti unstatted. MRQ is supposed to scale "up to eleven", so why not give us the authors version of Delecti, and other heroic people of the second age.

They won't because they don't know how to do it (look at the unimpressive characteristics of Fafhrd and Grey Mouser in Lankhmar).
They won't because it'll take too many pages, detailing the unique powers of these creatures (who must be created from scratch, and developed because everybody want to have the same).
And they won't because it can cause many debates in forum about conflicting visions of those characters, and they are at major risk of mug eating.

 

[Dead Blue Clown]

They won't because they don't know how to do it (look at the unimpressive characteristics of Fafhrd and Grey Mouser in Lankhmar).
They won't because it'll take too many pages, detailing the unique powers of these creatures (who must be created from scratch, and developed because everybody want to have the same).
And they won't because it can cause many debates in forum about conflicting visions of those characters, and they are at major risk of mug eating.

The sheer, unadulterated wrongness of this garbage sent me into spasms.

Funny, though.

 

[Voriof]

The sheer, unadulterated wrongness of this garbage sent me into spasms.

Funny, though.

True. But I'd love to see stats for Delecti and some other folks myself. Perhaps in the Heroquesting (not HeroQuest) book?

Jeff

 

[Adept]

MRQ is supposed to scale "up to eleven"

What do you mean by this?

I agree it would be great to see what a powerful NPC looks like with MRQ (though I find such scale difference is easier with the Heroquest system).

No? Isn't the system supposed to be able to handle any skill levels, and so forth? I distinctly remember the ads.

Any attempt at stats will be a noble effort. It won't be perfect or free of controversy, but I'd say it's still worth doing. Then, at least, there would be some benchmark for the serious powers of the world.

 

[The King]

How hard it must be though. I remember the stats of the major NPCs in Stormbringer's 5th.

This is why I believe the scale between a nobody and a true hero is better represented with the Heroquest system, especially because there is several levels of heroism, while with D100 you can actually only increase the chance to criticals (Earthdawn was also great to scale such differences).

 

[EricJ]

I'm guessing the Runic Power of the Dragonnewt Rune,

Rune Touched will reincarnate as a dragonnewt upon death.

should really be changed for Second Age Glorantha. Here you've got all these EWF dragon mystics trying to become as draconic as possible for a human. Almost certainly most of them will have found a Dragonnewt Rune along the way, so most of them will reincarnate to a draconic form, even if limited, and they all know it. But we know the EWF is a failure. The mystics do not awaken the Great Dragon; they fail miserably and die.

If Dragonewt Rune Touched do reincarnate, then the Immortal King will be annoyed to have the mystics showing up in his nests.

Perhaps all Dragonnewt Runes are used in klanths, so their bearers only borrow the Rune's power. Or perhaps mystics can't integrate the rune, but they'd know that.

Am I off the deep end?

 

[frogspawner]

Almost certainly most of them will have found a Dragonnewt Rune along the way, so most of them will reincarnate to a draconic form...

Assuming Runes to be very rare solves this problem. That's what I recommend, as it also minimizes other problems (e.g. What happened to all these Runes by the 3rd Age?)

 

[Exubae]

look at the unimpressive characteristics of Fafhrd and Grey Mouser in Lankhmar

Its not that there unimpressive, against starting NPC they fare quite well...
The problem with 'NPC' stats is there kind of frozen in time, NPC stats are always going to be improving... and the busy duo is going to be amassing HP at an alarmng rate if their books are anything to go by

This possibly why I've always considered major NPC stats in game books a waste of space (key items, description of unique abilities aside)...
Prefer stats in adventures where they can be keyed to the task/scenario and have long winded descriptions of motivations and personality/history in source books... but thats just personal preference of course.

Though saying that 'stock' NPC are always useful...

We could do with a Lankhmar Box set... with a city map/sewer map/ world map... would be cool.

 

[duncan_disorderly]

I'm guessing the Runic Power of the Dragonnewt Rune,

Rune Touched will reincarnate as a dragonnewt upon death.

should really be changed for Second Age Glorantha. Here you've got all these EWF dragon mystics trying to become as draconic as possible for a human. Almost certainly most of them will have found a Dragonnewt Rune along the way, so most of them will reincarnate to a draconic form, even if limited, and they all know it.

or, thanks to the wonders of the English language, read it as
"reincarnate (in the same way) as a dragonnewt" rather than "reincarnate into a dragonnewt".

This means the resurrection would be Tibetan Lama style - a child born (presumably in your birth city/village/clan stead/Nomad camp(?)) has your soul and continues with your mystical development from the point of your death. Very useful for those seeking enightment, not so useful for your "Kill 'em and steal their stuff" adventurer...

 

[simonh]

Assuming Runes to be very rare solves this problem. That's what I recommend, as it also minimizes other problems (e.g. What happened to all these Runes by the 3rd Age?)

Several possibilities -

1) We know that magic changed at the end of the 2nd Age, maybe all the Runes disapeared or lost their power?

2) Most of them were destroyed, or perhaps all sources of them dried up so they were quickly used up and not replenished one way or the other.

3) The Gift Carriers stole them all away.

On the Dragonewt Rune, who says that all runes are equaly abundant? Perhaps only one in ten thousand runes is a Dragonewt Rune, where other runes are more common.

 

[Adept]

This is a big question. I wonder if DBC has an ansver.

I'm not really talking about the runes here, but rather the whole EWF-mystic development question. The humans of the EWF emulate the dragonewt's path to draconic enlightenment. A dragonewt has to die and be reborn several times to progress.

What is the equivalent for the EWF humans? The human mystics also seem to be able to live for centuries.

The draconic suicide ritual of Utuma is propably a part of the ansver, but what happens next. Do the human mystics have an egg? How do they progress through stages of enlightenment?

-Adept

 

[frogspawner]

On the Dragonewt Rune, who says that all runes are equaly abundant?

Sadly, the rules do. The list of Runes & their powers says Dragonewt runes represent 2% of all found.

DD's interpretation "reincarnate like a dragonewt" (instead of into one) is great. And/or maybe it works only when they commit ritual suicide in dragonewt style...

 

[Adept]

On the Dragonewt Rune, who says that all runes are equaly abundant?

Sadly, the rules do. The list of Runes & their powers says Dragonewt runes represent 2% of all found.

DD's interpretation "reincarnate like a dragonewt" (instead of into one) is great. And/or maybe it works only when they commit ritual suicide in dragonewt style...

That would work, though it seems a bit of a shame if the great mystery of the EWF is basically "they all integrated a dragonewt rune".

--

I'm actually working on something for this right now, but you'll have to wait until I get some feedback on the idea from the Gloranthan Digest first.

 

[frogspawner]

Yes, a shame. Just like the very idea of integrated runic powers is shameful. Simplistic, ill-considered, puerile and worst of all un-Gloranthan.

Good luck to you in your noble quest for a better way!

 

[Adept]

Yes, a shame. Just like the very idea of integrated runic powers is shameful. Simplistic, ill-considered, puerile and worst of all un-Gloranthan.

Good luck to you in your noble quest for a better way!

Thanks.

I wouldn't be quite so harsh on the runes. It's no favorite of mine either (I think of it as an abstraction and rule artefact rather than literal Gloranthan reality), but it's somewhat remeniscient of the powered crystals we know and love from before.

Used more sparingly (and not as the basic form of magic) the runic (crystals) can be quite cool.

For those new to Glorantha, they are propably quite ok. I think of them as a cross between powered crystals and the *Vis from Ars Magica.

-Adept

*solidified magic you can use to give more power to spells, or to create permanent enchantments

 

[frogspawner]

Yes, sorry. I shouldn't slag off Mongoose's efforts to rejuvenate RQ.

I know folks around here have worked out how to make the Runes Rules compatible with Glorantha (i.e. extreme rune rarity), but for a while I was seized with mortal dread that it would be ignored and we'd officially be stuck with a 'slaughter-the-enemy-and-scoop-sackfuls-of-runes' situation.

Now I shall relax, confident that when/if any Gloranthan character stats are published they will confirm our friends at Mongoose have made the right decision... :wink:

 

[duncan_disorderly]

For those new to Glorantha, they are propably quite ok. I think of them as a cross between powered crystals and the *Vis from Ars Magica.

-Adept

*solidified magic you can use to give more power to spells, or to create permanent enchantments

Me too. I think the MRQ Rune Magic is a good "generic" magic system that should never actually be used "vanilla", but can readily be tailored for an individual campaign/setting without (greatly) changing the rules, by merely defining what a Rune is, how rare they are, and how they are integrated and relenquished...