From: paul@phyast.pitt.edu
Date: Wed 09 Jun 1993 - 01:23:45 EEST
Response to OJ's posting:
Runic sorcery: With OJ's new data I now more or less understand Greg's
picture. The Seshnelans used some runes inherited from the Brithini,
and sorcery as well. Renegade Sorcerors such as Worlath adn Ehilm may
have also used Runes and brought them to central Genertela. The God
Learners invented a systematized system
of Runes, drawn largely from Seshnelan sources (at first) which were
supposed to codify the underlying principles of the universe, rather
like F=ma or E = mc^2. They probably used the Runes to categorize
many kinds of magical and natural phenomena, _including_ religious
cults, traditional Western spells, metals, weather, and time. Is
the calendar supposed to be a God Learner innovation as well? What did
they use for a calendar in the First Age?
Anyway, I still think categorizing spells by Runes might be a good approach,
after all the God Learners originally came out of those Western cultures.
At least this would give us some kind of building blocks for creating
spells that didn`t make it into the list.
SHIELDS
I've fought a lot (16 years), more against shields than with them. The
thing about a big shield is that it's hard to get in a shot and you often
have to use a tricky shot, going around the shield, which are not as forceful
as straight shots. Thus I think that the PENDRAGON mechanics for shields
actually reflect real fighting better than the RQ mechanics. Big shields
in this system should be worth more points.
Given the basic RQ mechanics, I'd say that a big shield should act to
_subtract_ from the opponent's attack, but that a buckler might have
more armor points. Maybe a big shield should act as a shield + a few
points of _armor_.
Also, shields vary greatly in construction, with different shield types
optimized for different things. Some shields were made of wicker: huge, light,
and one-use. Others of leather stretched over a wooden frame, others of
metal. Almost any combination of size and armor points could be found.
Note that there are some surprises: Zulu shields (one thickness of bullhide
over a wooden frame) could deflect bullets. Shaka Zulu trained the Impi to
hold their shields at the angle where this was possible.
I'll think about shield mechanics and get back on this one.
Actually, I found that PENDRAGON captured the feel of (SCA) combat quite
nicely, something I never quite got from the RQ mechanics. I would have
guessed the opposite from just looking at them.
- Paul
PS> Loren's Subject Line post presents a good idea.
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