Where are the summoning rules????

[gran_orco]

Summoning...summoning. Where are you????? Maybe with "magic of glorantha"?
How can I capture a spirit? I don't understand the rules of Binding Enchantment? How can I DISSIPATE the creature? :evil:

Could I use the megic of the spirit and his skills (runecasting 75%) or only his MP if he is binded?

I need summoning rules! In what book will they be?

PD: correct me the text. I don't know very much English :roll:

 

[OldMongooseFordy]

Calm down dear!

Cults of Glorantha: Volume II will reveal all.

Fordy
Mongoose Editor

 

[Exubae]

Cults of Glorantha: Volume II will reveal all.

When will all the core game rules be revealled to us, they seem to be getting pretty thinly spread across the whole range...
Its going to a real pain in the arse to find anything.

Will you producing a cross book ref to find stuff?

 

[Kagan Altar]

Will you producing a cross book ref to find stuff?

A master index as a free PDF web enhancement some time down the road would be definitely appreciated, indeed!

 

[Vadrus]

Calm down dear!

Cults of Glorantha: Volume II will reveal all.

Fordy
Mongoose Editor

Which is due when?


Vadrus

 

[Vatras]

You can always use the old RQ 3 rules, or adapt them from Stormbringer for serious work with demons (although this can be unbalancing if not handled properly), if you need them right now. Otherwise I think its a few months still.

 

[Wintermute]

I have to admit, I'm a bit annoyed about the way the Magic rules are being spread out.

Given that Shaman / Spirit Magic and also Divine Magic are quite important to Glorantha, I had kind of hoped they would be In the Core book or companion.

Now i Have Divine Magic in the Companion, I have to wait for Magic of Glorantha for Second Age magic (But not the other "magics" of Glorantha) and until next year to get Spirit Magic.

4 books to get the Magic rules...

I know i can use the Old Runequest spirit rules, but i just know that when the official MRQ Spirit rules come out, its not going to be the same.
And given that i have 2 players who currently want to play Shaman characters... well, its going to be a long wait till March.

 

[MongooseMatt]

And given that i have 2 players who currently want to play Shaman characters... well, its going to be a long wait till March.

I'll have a word to the development team - we might be able to do you a useful preview in S&P to get you started. . .

 

[Rurik]

4 books to get the Magic rules...

Technically 5 books. Players Guide to Glorantha has magic too.

I know the 'Folk' magic (common magic used by farmers, herders, midwives, i.e. everyday magic) mentioned in GSA is in players guide.

It has also been hinted that the perceived less commonality (is that even a word?) of Magic is addressed in that book - though I'm not sure if that is just a reference to Folk Magic or if it actually covers making Rune Magic more available.

Though really, if you want Rune Magic to be more common just make Runes common in your game - I personally don't see the big deal there.

But I digress. So far Magic is spread across:

Core Book
Companion*
Cults 2
Magic of Glorantha
Players Guide to Glorantha

* In the case of the companion I think you really can get by on the SRD as far as essential rules go.

 

[Rurik]

I'll have a word to the development team - we might be able to do you a useful preview in S&P to get you started. . .

That would Rock.

 

[Wintermute]

And given that i have 2 players who currently want to play Shaman characters... well, its going to be a long wait till March.

I'll have a word to the development team - we might be able to do you a useful preview in S&P to get you started. . .

Mathew... your a Star!

 

[MongooseMatt]

But I digress. So far Magic is spread across:

It should be pointed out that we always believed one of the strengths of the new RuneQuest was, whatever the setting, that magic had become de-provincialised. It was not only possible for magic to be radically different between, say, two sides of the continent, but highly probably that individual sects, societies and races would learn to use magic in fundamentally different ways.

In this way, Necromancy and Illusionism (say) need not be subsets or minor disciplines of (for instance) Sorcery. They could be entirely different practices, with their own rules and, most importantly, their own 'feel'. This is great, of course, for someone putting together their own fantasy setting, as they will have all the magic systems in the world to choose from. In the context of Glorantha, adventurers could travel the entire world, and get the full experience of seeing magic in many different forms, rather than just the same three or four methods which they may know by heart - how cool is that?

So, expect to see new magic popping up throughout the life of RuneQuest and Glorantha. The main magicks will be covered quickly, of course. Rune Magic is predominant and is in the core rules (we'll be adding new spells for it all the time though), and Divine/Sorcery comes in the Companion.

A lot of talk has been made of Folk Magic and why it has not appeared yet. Well, there are two sides to this. First, it really is a Glorantha only thing, hence having no place in the 'core' books. As most player characters will have at least the option of using it, we decided to place it in the Player's Guide to Glorantha, which is the essential opposite of Glorantha - Second Age. Why not sooner?

It really is a very, very minor magic system in terms of power and, while a great many people in the world can use it, its part in regular games is going to have minimal impact. Minimal. The average player is going to be far more interested in developing magicks that are going to be of some use when he is most in danger. . .

 

[Rurik]

Really the biggest gripes are waiting until Cults Two for Spirit/Shaman Magic (which is not a minor magic system) and how spread out the stuff is.

Now I am thrilled at the volume of stuff coming out for Glorantha, and if it is all of pretty much the same quality as GSA/Ralios I will be buying it all. It sure would have been nice if all the rules we needed for magic were in 1-2 Volumes. Since I plan on getting it all anyway my only problem is cross referencing (that Troll party with Divine, Rune, and Spirit magic is going to be fun to generate).

On the other hand I know people who are already turned off by how many books seem needed to get started. Compare to Lankhmar and Hyborea - as far as I can tell you get setting and magic system in one book and you will have all you need with just two books (core and source - possibly companion too).

I plan on trying to convert some d20'ers to your system and to Glorantha, but as I've said, already I know people who are turned off by the way information is spread out. I can't just say to someone 'get these 3 books and you will be good to go'.

Magic in Glorantha is not simple, and I am glad you will continue exploring the intricacies and variations of magic in the world, but it seems to me that the basics could have been covered more concisely.

(of course it seems to me I probably could have made this post more concise as well, so who am I to cast stones?)

 

[MongooseMatt]

Compare to Lankhmar and Hyborea

It has to be said that neither of those worlds has the intricate detail of Glorantha, at any level. Even though Lankhmar can be pretty much covered in two books (one for the city and the rules, the other for the rest of the world), anyone wanting to get into Hyboria in a big way is going to be eyeing up our collection of setting books already out for the Conan RPG.

However, you can look at it this way. If you want to get a player involved in a Gloranthan game, all they will need is access to the main rulebook and the Player's Guide to Glorantha - that's all. They may _choose_ to go in other directions, be it Shamanism, Sorcery, a more detailed approach to cults, in which case another book or two will be needed, depending on their requirements. However, you can compare this to D&D, where they might start with just the Player's Handbook. They might well find themselves drawn to Complete Mage, Player's Guide to Faerun, the Spell Compendium, and so on. None of which is necessary, of course, but the choice is there to expand, or not.

On the other hand, if you want access to absolutely everything, you will be wanting a lot of books. But, to be fair, that is pretty much the same with any major RPG - it is the nature of the beast. There is always something you can expand with.

Our approach has been to ensure the initial investment is low. As I said, just two books for a player serious about adventuring in Glorantha, just one (and quite a low-priced one, I have to say) if you are doing a homebrew. I'll make no bones about it - we hope you and your players do get involved to the point where they begin saying something like 'Runes of Utter Power and Destruction? I have _got_ to get me some of that!' (or something along those lines ). But the RUPD book will be desirable, not essential. The buy-in remains low.

 

[Rurik]

However, you can look at it this way. If you want to get a player involved in a Gloranthan game, all they will need is access to the main rulebook and the Player's Guide to Glorantha - that's all.

I'm not trying to get into an extended argument or anything (might be failing my roll tho). It is hard saying not knowing anything about the contents of the players guide or having any previews.

I do realize that Glorantha is a much more complex and detailed world than most others (hence all the rabid Gloranthaphiles). But I still think maybe one or two source books that covered the major magic types, char gen, and enough cults to get started would have been a nice presentation. Maybe the Players Guide will fit that bill. Hard telling without a preview or contents or anything.

I don't know as much about marketing as Mongoose, because obviously you guys are pretty good at it. I know they say more small books are better, and I beleive that (even if it may not be to my personal taste). But maybe the amount of detail in Glorantha changes things because there is so much info. Maybe a core book plus two big books is better in this case to cover the setting and magic, rather than more smaller books. A total of 3 books is a lot easier to stomach than 5 plus. Maybe not. I'd have a better grasp if I had some idea of what was in the Player Guide.

One thing I do know is that players who play magic users love to pour over spells. They go ga-ga over it. They'll do it for hours on end. And in Glorantha, every player is a magic user to some extent. Hence the concern over magic being so spread out. I do want to turn people on to the game, and say 'Just buy the core book and this other one'. Come to think of it, that players guide on the schedule might fit the bill. Hmm, wonder what's in it?

Thats really all I have to say.

And oh yeah, I almost forgot - is there any chance of getting a preview of the Players Guide to Glorantha?

 

[hoc]

I'll have a word to the development team - we might be able to do you a useful preview in S&P to get you started. . .

As a gm of a RQ3 group wich is converting to MRQ, I'll say an emphatic thank you!
As our group includes shamans, we won't be converting until we get some info on the spirit magic rules (wich I, and the players are highly anticipating.)
The little bits I've heard about spirit magic sound very, very promising.

I have to ask, are the summoning rules tied to spirit magic in some way, or are they a completely different mechanic usable by all?

 

[soltakss]

I do realize that Glorantha is a much more complex and detailed world than most others (hence all the rabid Gloranthaphiles). But I still think maybe one or two source books that covered the major magic types, char gen, and enough cults to get started would have been a nice presentation. Maybe the Players Guide will fit that bill. Hard telling without a preview or contents or anything.

I doubt it, considering that we are going to have Magic of Glorantha and two Cults books coming as well. I assume they will contain the overviews and that even more supplements will have details by culture/region.

 

[Licheking]

--Essentially the problem with surviving in the modern business world is cashflow. Money coming in and going out. Games companies that have given their players everything at once and then had trouble following up with more material have gone under, whilst companies that have kept up a constant supply of material are still around. Cashflow. We might not like it, but if our hobby is to survive it must practice good business and that means keeping the money coming into the accounts and going out of the accounts.--

All the companies i grew up with, Grenadier, FASA, ICE, TSR, Flying Buffalo and Avalon Hill, a lot of them don't exist anymore. I would not like to see that happen to Mongoose or some of the other smaller compaines that are now finding their way in our hobby and industry due to the openings given them by other bigger companies and things like the OGL.

Keep up the good work Mongoose!