From: Sandy Petersen (SPetersen@ensemble-studios.com)
Date: Tue 19 Aug 1997 - 19:29:59 EEST
Phil Hibbs
Have you seen Sandy's description of Spectres? Illusiuonary
monsters at their worst!
What the heck, I'll post it myself.
SPECTRES
Spectres are living creatures of illusion. There are two types
of origins for these beings in Glorantha. The first are creatures made
by the casting of the various illusion spells, and then given life
somehow (for instance, by binding a spirit into an Illusory Substance).
These are not described here. The second are more mysterious, and may
date back to the Godtime. They are most common in the East Isles and
environs.
Typically, a spectre looks crudely manlike. It usually has a
head (but not always), sometimes more than one. It has limbs (various in
number). It can stretch and contract its limbs and body, but it cannot
actually change the number of limbs it possesses.
They possess only SIZ & INT, and Magic Points. Their SIZ is not
true SIZ, but is more like an Intensity or Reality. All Spectres are
similar in size -- about the same as a human. However, a SIZ 1 Spectre
is very hazy and translucent, while a SIZ 10 spectre is so opaque it
glows brightly. A SIZ 10 spectre can expand itself to be much larger
than a human, but as it does so, it becomes dimmer and more foggy.
Spectres have 1d6 hit points per SIZ point. They do 1d10 damage
per SIZ point upon a successful hit. The damage is peculiar looking --
wounds just "open up" on the victim when the spectre makes his attacking
motions, sometimes not even touching the target's body. A small clawless
limb can deliver enormous amounts of damage, depending solely on the
spectre's SIZ.
Spectres are vulnerable to dispelling magic. However, the
spectre does get to resist such a spell with its MPs. A Dispel Magic
stronger than a spectre's SIZ blasts it out of existence. Each point of
Dismiss Magic permanently removes 2 SIZ of the Spectre. Neutralize Magic
dispels a spectre if it overcomes its SIZ with the spell's Intensity.
Example: Sun Tim casts a Dismiss Magic 4 at a 10-point Spectre.
First, the spectre tries to resist the spell, matching its 15 MPs vs.
Sun Tim's 14 MPs. Luckily, Sun Tim overcomes the spectre. Then the spell
takes effect, blasting away 8 points of the spectre's SIZ. It is now a
SIZ 2 spectre, much easier to deal with.
SIZ 1-10 Hit Points: 1d6 to 10d6
INT 1d20 Magic Points: 1d10+10
Move: 1m/SR per magic point (i.e.,
11-20)
weapon sr attk% damage
blow 1 95 1d10 to 10d10
SPECIAL ATTACKS: a spectre can attack either a target's HP or
his spells. If it attacks his spells and successfully hits, damage done
is treated as a Dispel Magic. Normally defensive spells are targeted
first. If the spectre attacks hit points, normal damage is done, reduced
by parries and armor. Spectres can be dodged.
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Spectres have no hit locations. They
regenerate at the rate of their full HP at the end of each round. If it
is knocked below 0 hit points, it "freezes" and appears as a
two-dimensional ragged version of itself. It'll remain so frozen until
it regenerates back to its full HP total, then return into action. If a
spectre begins a melee round below 0 hit points, it loses 1 SIZ, and so
eventually dwindles and vanish, destroyed by this means.
Some spectres are invulnerable to all but magic weapons. The
usual chance of this being the case is equal to the spectre's INT x 3 or
less on 1d100.
When a spectre loses SIZ either by Dismiss Magic or taking
damage, reduce its hit points by a flat 3 per SIZ lost. Only reduce its
maximum hit points, not its current hit points. If this drops the
spectre's maximum HPs below 0, it is destroyed. If a spectre drops to 0
SIZ, whether or not it has any HPs left, it is destroyed.
Example of Combat: Sen Tim's spectre had 35 hit points, but his Dismiss
Magic has knocked it down to SIZ 2. This costs it (8*3) = 24 hit points,
leaving it 11 points. Sun goes into combat against it striking for 12
hit points, knocking it down to -1. That round, it regenerates 11 HPs
back to a total of 10. Sen hits it the next round, with a critical hit,
for 24 points of damage, knocking it down to -14. At the end of the
round, it regenerates up to -3. At the start of the next round, it is
still negative, so loses 1 SIZ, which also lowers its maximum Hit Pts by
3 to 7. Sen sadly misses the immobile spectre that round, allowing it to
regenerate 7 points back up to +4. The fight goes on.
Carl Fink
> Despite such tales, obviously the occurrence of
> unwanted pregnancies amongst the Doraddi is low.
Unwanted *by the mother*. The father might be pretty darn
upset.
Well, yes. Of course, the father can listen for the Birthing
Song. But what the father wants is pretty irrelevant anyway, seeing as
he lives in his wife's tent, not the other way round.
> Mark asked
> Does this mean that something similar would also happen to
someone who has all their INT/CHA tapped >away by a sorceror? I'm not
sure if losing INT and CHA causes one to become a beast, or
vice-versa...
Technically, the lowest that a Tap can lower you is to
INT 1. And INT 1 is, in fact, _stupider_ than a herd man. The whole
fixed-INT thing is the problem here. Just Tapping someone's brain
doesn't take away their free will or make them subject primarily to
instinct.
From: Simon Bray <101635.32@CompuServe.COM>
I have a query for Sandy:
A while ago you gave me some advice on Fonrit, especially
NOTE: Greg is not responsible for the mythology above at all. It
regarding the religion and mythology of that country. You raised the
issue the the Fonritans had a group of Hero-Gods who circled the
universe to save the world and then formed the Council of Gods (not to
be confused with the Lightbringers). I know from Dave Dunham that the
Umathelans have Nine Lightbringers, some of which sound is if they have
Fonritan heritage, notably Rabilis the Sister Whore and Systella the
Sister Witch who seem to bear some resembalance to the cult of Seseine.
The Nine Lightbringers of Umathela are not the same as
the Fonritian hero-gods of the Circle of Light, though obviously there
is some confusion between them, and it's possible that the Fonritian
Council of Gods (the ultimate development of the Circle of Light) was
somehow derived from Orlanth's Ring.
The Umathelan Lightbringers are clearly descended from
the Second Age Theyalan colonist beliefs. The Fonritian Circle of Light
is a parallel belief.
Gloranthan mythologies are not totally independent of one
another, after all. All but the most deranged mythologies include
reference to the Darkness, the death of the Sun, etc. though
interpretations and emphasis vary enormously. Was the Sun God
assassinated (Sartarite), murdered (East Isles), voluntarily martyred
(Dara Happan), or did it just fall out of the sky because the sky dome
was tilted (Doraddi)? They're just different ways of describing the same
event - the loss of the Sun for the latter part of the Gods Age.
However, despite this caveat, the Circle of Light and
the Lightbringers may not describe the same event at all.
is the result of my own musings. Well, actually, Greg must bear
responsibility for the Nine Lightbringers idea, but not their
identities, which are as follows:
Tyloque - warrior man
Ropotes - old man
Cotoplan - bearer
Thyla - green life
Neiropha - damsel
Rondella - pauper queen
Phausia - warrior woman
Rabilis - sister whore
Systella - sister witch
NOTE: Systella and Rabilis have nothing to do with Seseine at
all. At least not according to the Umathelan forest barbarians, who know
and hate the goddess Sidicos (their own name for the Fonritian goddess
of evil whoredoms, Seseine).
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