Re: RuneQuest Daily, Sat, 28 May 1994, part 3

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From: DevinC@aol.com
Date: Wed 01 Jun 1994 - 04:16:38 EEST


Devin Cutler here:

Loren writes:

"Sorry, I don't use third-party magic items unless they come with a
usable story attached. I suspect that many other readers felt similarly."

Hmmm. What do you mean exactly by a story? I gave background and origin. Does this mean you do not use or like Plunder?

"I find this irritating, mainly because I thought I was done being
"quested" and "geased" into the DM's fragile plotline when I stopped
playing AD&D. Why don't you use a word like "forced" or "impelled" instead? Not only is this use of "geas" a D&Dism, but it also confuses things with Humakti-style Geasa."

Ooops, I used a D&Dism! Shall I be castrated or quartered (or both)?-)

For the record, I did not force them to divulge the Mostali caravan routes to the Uz. This they did inadvertantly but stupidly. Having done this, they then decided to travel to Nidan and ask the Mostali there for forgiveness (as they had reason to use the High Llama Pass and Bad Deal).

Well, I for one did not see the Mostali supervisor (or whatever) syaing to them "oh well, what's done is done", but I didn't want to kill them outright (although certainly that would be a very Mostali thing to do ... "What, you humans say that you caused the elimination of our last caravan? You humans are defective and harmful and are hereby ended!"), so this seemed appropriate.

So, my plotline was not "fragile", and the players were not being railroaded into a scenario. They messed up and, instead of slaying them outright, I got a night's adventure out of the consequences.

As regards the wording, a geas is a geas, and they were certainly under a compulsion, so my use of the term is justified.

Nick writes:

"Where in Glorantha would Humakti eunuchs come from? "

Possibly Esrolia?

"> I do not gainsay Nick's gaming contributions. I thought his scenario in
> TOTRM 11 (I hope I got the issue # right) was great!

Not mine, alas. But thanks, anyway! <g>"

Well Nick, I'm at work, and I KNOW that you wrote a scenario I really liked and that it was Sea/God Learner oriented, so maybe change TOTRM to #10 and I stand corrected.

The Close Little Firend of Elvis writes:

"On the back of the pink Gloranthan Player (?) Book is a picture of a
village dwarfed by a dragon's head. I heard the name of the village somehwere, but I do not remember it."

I don't know the official name of the village, but isn't it in Ormsgone Valley or something like that (or is that in Sartar)?

" I cannot imagine there

NOT being a cult dedicated to a thing laying a 100 m away with one foot in the infinity. Seers would probably prophesy based on its breathing patterns and digestion noises. Etc. Etc. Etc."

I wrote a scenario around this city wherein the people did worship the nearby True Dragon and did set up a cult. I placed the village far enough away, however, that when the Dragon arose to fight in the Lunar/Sartar battles, the village was spared. Now, the Dragon cult prays that they will be worthy to have the Dragon return. They blame all sorts of things like crop failures and stillbirths on the absence of the Dragon, and blame all sorts of unpious people and actions for the lack of its return.

"What part of Glorantha is (almost any of) modern-day earth a fruitful
comparison for?"

OK, scratch my use of "modern-day" and replace with "1st century AD". I used modern-day in order to relate to my own day-to-day experiences (as well as to attempt to relate to yours).

"And if they believed they saw such activity, as many of them clearly did,
ditto."

Did they? And I mean did the majority of them witness weekly phsyically manifest miracles on a continual basis. What's more, did they partake of such miraculous power themselves (i.e. cast divine or spirit magics)? Saying there were people in pre-Renaissance times who truly believed in miracles is still different from the Gloranthan religious experience. A level of universality, repeatedness, and self experience is lacking in any Terran equivalent.

"This sort of deduction is often aided by thoughts such as "We're in the
obvious "hook" part of the scenario, so..." Maybe you just have keen players."

Maybe so. I would be interested to hear if anyone else running Gaumata's vision didn't suspect chaos infestation of a village right away? Also, did the author mean for that to be obscure or obvious?

"Reliable in what way? Reliable as in "gives an answer which can be
interpreted as indicating whether to accept the candidate", or reliable as in "gives a readout on his relevant skill numbers, moral values, personal qualities, and hidden motivations"? Given the number of ogres floating round in "legitimate" cults, it's not what _I'd_ call reliable."

The first instance of course. I was always under the impression that these Chaos infiltrators used Divination Block or became Lay Members only.

Chris Cooke writes:

"I am perhaps backwards? I am and always have been primarily a ref.

I played a couple times in our spinoff but it didn't workout so well. I found
the new ref always asking for my help until I was basicly running the spinoff too."

I also primarily ref...mainly because I seem to be good at it (or so my players tell me-).

Regards,

Devin Cutler
devinc@aol.com

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