From: Nick Brooke (100270.337@CompuServe.COM)
Date: Tue 08 Jun 1993 - 00:43:59 EEST
Here we go: this is what I had to say about RQ4 last September. Of course,
if I'd ever heard anything back, I'd have had some rethinks since then.
But that's the way it goes... Och, comments are addressed to the authors,
so you guys may find it a little chatty or informal at times. But that's
the way I work best.
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RuneQuest Four
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Comments from Nick Brooke
I gained access to a copy of this draft courtesy of Steve Thomas and the
Tales of the Reaching Moon crew, and hope my comments will be the kind
of thing you're looking for. As requested, there are comments and
queries on specific rules, on the general concepts that seem to underlie
RQ4 in its present state, and on possible improvements in presentation
or contents. These generally follow the order of the draft I have, for
your editing convenience.
A lot of the suggested changes come from my own "RQ3.5" house rules,
which have been more thought about and worked with than playtested, so I
can't guarantee what will happen in the hands of other gamemasters. So
we're all in the same boat, as far as that goes.
On with the show:
General Comments
Why do you use "1d6" where the RQ3 rules use "1D6"? More to the point,
You use uncommon and exotic examples in what should be the basic
why use "RQIII" where RQ3 uses "RQ3"? You're also sloppy about
"statistic" where the rules say "characteristic". This is a
contamination from other games, and should be stamped out.
Gloranthan rule book: nightingale floors, Oriental weapons and martial
arts, Krarshtkids and timinits, gods from the Southern Continent. If you
purge all these references, the game will be more approachable. I feel
certain that the appeal of Glorantha derives largely from the published
and detailed regions of Dragon Pass and Prax; far less is attributable
to the outlandish exotica.
Players' Book
Damage Modifier
Your revised table keeps die rolls for damage modifier, and introduces
fiddly "two-sided die" rolls which MOST characters will have to use in
combat. I don't like the thought of this. Why not replace these with a
straight addition based on STR+SIZ? You could further simplify matters
by changing weapon damage to remove the fixed element: where in previous
editions of RQ a sword has done 1D8+1 damage, it could now do 1D8 plus
an average man's +1 damage modifier. (A complete revised and simplified
weapon table follows). The damage modifiers table would look something
like this:
STR+SIZ Dam.Mod
01-04 -4
05-08 -3
09-12 -2
13-16 -1
17-20 0
21-24 +1
25-28 +2
29-32 +3
33-36 +4 (or +1D6)
37-40 +5 (or +1D6+1)
41-44 +6 (or +1D6+2)
45-48 +7 (or +1D6+3)
49-52 +8 (or +2D6)
53-56 +9 (or +2D6+1)
each +6 +1 (etc...)
If the sum of STR+SIZ is 57 or more, you can simply divide by six and
round halves up to find the bonus: nice and simple. Some random element
will probably be needed at the upper end of the scale, (e.g: replacing
every +4 with +1D6 instead, as suggested above), but for normal-sized
people this should be just fine.
New Rules For Movement
If we do away with Strike Ranks, as suggested below, there's the
possibility of expanding the different movement rates of different
characters. Note that I use yards = metres in gaming, and have not
changed to metric for this so you can recognise mechanics that alter
yours.
A character's walking move, in yards per twelve seconds, is equal to his
SIZ+DEX. This is the rate commonly used when moving outdoors on familiar
ground. When travelling at this speed, perception rolls are allowed only
at half chance, and rough ground may cause stumbling. This is also the
maximum speed usually possible indoors. Walking move is the base from
which the others are calculated, and is reduced by Encumbrance and
Fatigue.
His alert move is equal to a third of this rate. This is the speed
characters use when in combat, or sneaking, or searching an area.
Perception rolls are made as needed, and the character is being careful
where he puts each foot.
Running movement is equal to three times the walking move (four times
for quadrupeds). This speed should only be attempted in emergencies, as
it is tiring and the character has little chance of noticing events
around him, or reacting to the surface he is running over. Running
indoors is not normally possible.
This rule was written with 12-second melee rounds, but I hope we'll be
keeping those in. Conversion of old spell speeds/movement rates: 1
metre/Strike Rank = six yards/round.
Skills Category Modifiers
Knowledge Skills Modifier
This will be more useful if unaffected by POW (which affects too many
skills as it is), as if we revert to the RQ3 Knowledge Modifier [INT =
Primary; no others], and increase base chance in Lore skills from 5% to
10%, there is no longer any need to list these skills on the character
sheet: 10% base + Knowledge Modifier in a Lore skill is equal to an
INTx1% roll. The character sheet can have a blank five lines or so in
the skill section headed Lores, and the player can write in any that his
character develops. (I hate having 0%-base or low-base skills all over
my character: if he doesn't care about them, I don't want to see them.
Please take Martial Arts and Shiphandling off the RQ4 character sheet;
also, shift all Language skills [spoken and written] to a separate
region so they're all together: cf. the old Games Workshop RQ2 character
sheets for an early example of how to do this).
This rules change not only clears up the character sheet; it also helps
the gamemaster judge how useful a Lore is: if a player wants his
character to know something that you wouldn't hand out on an INTx1%
roll, apply a skill penalty. If you'd let anyone normal have it on an
INTx3% roll, allow him to roll on Lorex3% if that's better. And so on.
(Sorry, but I can't be bothered with politically-correct "he or she" or
"they" throughout).
Magical Skills Modifier
Presumably not affected by STR? But you know that already (I hope).
Skills Modifiers:
an alternative use
We all know that altering every skill on the character sheet every time
a character makes a POW gain roll, sacrifices for Rune magic, ages, or
gains or loses any other characteristic, is one of the most irritating
features of the RQ3 system. What's more, skill modifiers as written
don't make that much difference between starting characters most of the
time. And all characters' skills begin at the same level if they're in
the same profession (per RQ3 at least).
You could change all this, by saying that skill modifiers work
differently when a character is first generated and when he is played.
At character generation, a player can roll 1D6 per point of modifier and
add (if a positive modifier) or subtract (negative) the result from any
of his skills in the appropriate category. The net effect of this is to
reduce the overall blanket effect of skill modifiers: most categories
have more than "3.5" skills in them; it does, however, allow a character
to begin with a natural aptitude for some skills of his choice. Maybe
limit this so none go above 75%, or up more than +25%, or double base
chance, or whatever (for game balance). And negative modifiers might
have to be spread out over all the skills in a category.
Thereafter, skill category modifiers do NOT add to skill percentages,
only to experience rolls (which is pretty important anyway in RQ3).
Perhaps they also affect initial levels in skills with 0% base chance.
Whatever, you don't need to alter your whole character sheet (or play by
one of those conventions where you "remember to add the bonus/subtract
the penalty every time you make a skill roll" [only forgetting when it's
a penalty, of course]).
What do you think of that?
Strike Ranks
One of the most clunky and unreasonable mechanisms in every edition of
RuneQuest, strike ranks became more so with the change from RQ2 (12 per
round) to RQ3 (only 10, thus less differentiation possible). Can't we do
away with them altogether? They are practically the last vestige of
"threshold" characteristic values (i.e: DEX 16 is disproportionately
better than DEX 15), and this will be more of a problem when you allow
players to "buy up" deficient characteristics.
Spell casting is in an order determined by power: high-cost to low-cost
Rune magic, then low-cost to high-cost Spirit and Sorcery. Magic Points
backing Rune spells do not add to the time to cast: why should they?
Magic Skills Modifier breaks any ties. If you cast a spell, you attack
at half your DEX in the normal sequence.
Attacks come in descending order of DEX, halved for the second of two
"active" options in a turn (i.e: Attack twice, Spell and Attack, Attack
and Spell, etc.). Ties are broken by SIZ, higher going first. The
exception is, when two characters become engaged for the first time, a
defender with a longer weapon always gets to strike first (or fire/throw
a ready missile), however low his DEX may be, if he had declared an
intention to attack the character who engaged him. Drawing a weapon?
Halve your DEX, or subtract two or three or five or whatever seems
appropriate.
Missile attacks: with any weapon which used to have a variable ROF of
"1/SR", you now shoot/throw one with DEX 1-9, 2 with 10-19, and so on
up. Yes, it's a threshold again: sorry about that.
Moving is an option (like attack/parry/dodge/spell): an unengaged
character can move and then engage an opponent, moving up to his "alert"
move distance when his DEX is reached in the sequence/countdown: the
attack takes place on contact (with the longer-weapon proviso noted
above). An engaged character can disengage: he cannot attack during the
round, and may move his "alert" move away after all other characters'
actions are taken. An unengaged character can walk or run as long as he
doesn't move adjacent to any opponent: this movement will occur when the
character's DEX is reached.
Height and Weight
Height is a basic 4'9" plus SIZ in inches; race or species may modify
this basic rule, as may player or GM whim. Weight is (SIZ+"False SIZ")
x15 lbs; an Orlanthi "stone" is fifteen pounds, not fourteen, so a man's
weight in stone equals his SIZ. For ease, 2 lbs = 1 kg (or 1 ENC under
RQ3 rules). You're right: I've taken against up-to-date, metrically-
inclined characters (and would convert back to talents and cubits if
anyone was following).
I was working on a system where you used CON-STR to determine a height
modifier: characters who were healthy but unfit were given negative
height modifiers (a few inches at most) to make them fatter, while lean
wiry types got a plus to their height (so they were taller and thinner).
Here are the bare bones:
2D6 BUILD CON - STR Mod.
1- Obese, -3" height -12 or less +4
2-3 Fat, -2" height -8 to -11 +2
4-5 Stocky, -1" height -4 to -7 +1
6-8 Average, no change -3 to +3 0
9-10 Slender, +1" height +4 to +7 -1
11-12 Thin, +2" height +8 to +11 -2
13+ Skinny, +3" height +12 or more -4
Now, of course, you'd turn a positive height modifier into a negative
Character Generation
Arlia is lucky to have POW 10 and CON 15. This makes her look good when
Several "bitty" points here; more will follow when I use the rules for
General Note
You keep supplying rules allowing players to roll their initial culture,
Magical Background
"False SIZ" and vice versa. "False SIZ" should be called "Weight
Modifier" for simplicity: as it'll never be listed separately on the
character sheet (we'll see "SIZ 15+2", not "SIZ 15, False SIZ +2) this
makes no difference and a lot of sense. More on this later.
rules which require you to divide POW by 5 or 30 by CON come up. Rurik,
with POW 12 and CON 16 would make the rules look more clunky. So will
most player characters. Rules examples should be simple, but not
deceptively so: showing how the easiest of all possible characters gets
through generation will not help those who lack her natural advantages
(and will find themselves dealing in 0.05's of a characteristic point).
the first time.
magical background, profession. Nobody sane would use these; anybody
insane enough would create their own. I'd prefer my rule set not to
include this generic, soulless twaddle.
The effect of your "base price for buying Rune spells" (one fifth of
current POW in character points) is, of course, that high-POW characters
will have the least starting Rune magic. Rules-realistic it may be, in
view of POW gain rolls (another mechanic I abhor); world-realistic it
isn't, as any fule kno. Also you'll have problems with rules-accountants
wanting to spend POW on spells, then buy more spells on the cheap, then
spend character points building POW up again. Easier to avoid this by
charging a flat one or two character points per point of starting Rune
magic (which also keeps 1/5ths of character points out of the system,
clashing horribly with the 1/4ths already there in the Spirit Magic
system).
Characteristic Increases
Can anyone explain why INT should not be increasable with time and
Cultural Background
Why do Civilized characters get +40 and Nomad characters +80 to their
study, like any other characteristic? And don't use science, IQ studies
et al, as Glorantha isn't a scientific world. A common man's perceptions
tell him that long studies make you more brainy; if the Gloranthan man
believes this, then it's the way the world works. (I don't need to
remind you that the world is also flat, and the sun goes round it: is
"fixed intelligence" more important to us than either of these?). Sure,
make it expensive, but it might as well be possible.
basic skill %ages? A more even-handed approach would avoid having other
people ask this question when the game's out. And don't forget,
everything is relative.
Sorcery
Starting spell-casting and skill chances seem very high compared to RQ3,
Cultural Equipment
Give specific Genertelan cultures' weapon selections rather than the
but I'll say no more as I don't know what else you're doing to the
system.
"generic" lists here at present. Also, rename Bezainted armour as
Studded Leather: there is no Byzantium in Glorantha. (Sog City isn't
quite the same). And reintroduce some of the "whimsical" items of
professional equipment into the profession lists; I was sorry to see
them gone.
Some Religions (Initiate)
The list of "some religions" is annoying; replace it with a real one,
broken down by cultures. In its present form it simply will not do.
Apart from the above comments, this looks like a sound (though slightly
dehumanizing) system. I worry about the sweeping classification of
skills (30-45-60-75-90), but probably too much. I dare say this will
work better than the rigid or loose RQ3 systems. Well done!
0,,
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