From: Loren J. Miller (MILLERL@wharton.upenn.edu)
Date: Mon 30 Aug 1993 - 19:33:32 EEST
Dave Cake writes:
> There does seem to be a bit of a reaction against the general RQ Lite
> movement beginning, and I think that right now, with the status of RQ4 in
> limbo, and the subject topical, is a good time to debate this properly.
I don't know if it's a big movement, but there are a few voluble
First, RQLite would have rules modules, each of which could add
The skill system would be a simple binary success/failure system, with
The initiative and combat system would be simplified, without all the
The magic system would cover spirit magic only, and would allow either
The weapon damage and armor rules would be amended as per Oliver's
Character generation rules would be based around sample characters of
Monsters and NPCs would be made available in the form in which you
In addition to the rules modules mentioned above, there would be a
The whole thing would be called RQ4, with the RuneQuest Lite rules
people out there who don't seem to like RQ Lite. As one of the
proponents of RQ Lite I'll try to explain the idea as I would see it,
and to clear up any misunderstandings with my own position. This won't
clear up the whole thing, though, since neither side on this debate is
exactly unanimous.
complexity if desired. The basic game would be stripped down and
intended for use in a universal setting, a lot like BRP. The rules
modules would all be directly compatible with the basic game.
special successes for impaling weapons added in (since that's a
popular part of RQ and I like to encourage PCs to use spears). Skill
difficulty would be handled by adding the base chance to the roll when
rolling for skill increase, and skill check frenzy would be addressed
in GM advice rather than with restrictive rules. Criticals and/or hit
locations would be a rules module that you could add in if you want.
Frankly speaking, I don't think you need both a critical system and a
hit location system in the same game; they cover the same function.
rules-bound special options in RQ4, but with ways for the GM and
players to roleplay combat options without consulting lots of rules to
do so. I'd lean towards defining spell casting as an action that takes
all round to do, disallowing simultaneous casting and fighting. The
modular SR rules would allow people to use the old rules if they want.
the MPx5% chance of success or the auto-success rule to be used
(options) with the note that in Glorantha you should use the MPx5%
rule.
draft changes. The reason for this is to allow characters to wear less
than full armor and still have a good chance of surviving minor
fights. Characters wear maximum armor because it's better to run slow
and have to turn and fight than to get chopped up.
several basic types. I'd go for tribal warrior, hunter, healer,
scholar, heavy infantry, cavalry, light infantry, assistant shaman,
noble son or daughter, farmer, fisher, sailor, ruffian, bureaucrat,
artisan, trader, laborer, and initiate as a start. The RQ4 generation
rules (fixed to reduce overly common combat skills) would be a rules
module that you could add on to these rules, as would a simple
CoC-style set of rules.
actually use them. Rather than being presented with all
characteristics, their combat stats and skills would be presented so
you could take them directly from the monster listing and use them in
the game without rolling them up and calculating everything down to
the last percentile. There would be an additional module giving stat
ranges and cultural skills for those who want to play non-human PCs.
rules module allowing you to run diceless RQ. This is a huge boon to
live roleplaying groups and to those who want to get up from the table
every once in a while.
being in one inexpensive book for those who wanted just the basics and
the full rules modules in an Advanced RuneQuest book. Alternately you
could have one book with a Lite section and an Advanced section. Magic
systems aside from spirit magic would be in the RQ4 Magic of Glorantha
book, which would have enough room to cover sorcery and divine magic
in the space that we all think it needs, and to explain Gloranthan
shamans. This would also allow for additional magic systems for other
game worlds to be published as separate books.
Now, what about Glorantha information beyond the magic systems? I'd
prefer to see it in its own books, rather than mixed up with the
rules. However, I'd love to see a nice beginning module included with
the rules book, a module which would introduce players and GM to the
world and give them enough stuff to play with for a month. All you
need here is a small tribal module, something along the lines of the
Garhound Contest, with a bonus description of a few tribes and areas
and some of the nasties that inhabit the locale. This is the kind of
module that most game companies include with the GM screen, which by
the way is another thing lacking in RQ3 that should be included in
RQ4.
> How would RQ Lite differ from the woeful 'Standard Edition' (I think that was
> what it was called). This nearly useless boxed set was RQ without most of the
> spells, special situation rules, enchanting rules, and a waste of time.
The difference is that Standard Edition RQ had crippled versions of
every system from the full game; RQLite on the other hand would
include just enough systems to play a quick version of the game, but
would cover them in entirety. In RQLite, Spirit magic, for example,
would be covered entirely, but Divine and Sorcerous magic and shamans
would be glossed over and those who are interested would be pointed to
the RQ4 Magic of Glorantha book. The modular rules design would ensure
that those who bought RQLite wouldn't be stranded without a clean
upgrade path to the advanced game, and it would also ensure that they
could play with whatever magic systems they wanted without having to
switch to complex rules systems such as strike ranks and critical
hits.
> In my experience most of the complexity of RQ combat as opposed to
> a game like Pendragon is only partly due to complications like hit locations,
> SRs, weapon APs. The things that cause combat to take a while are
> 1) Magic - without magic RQ combat is often very quick. I like the way magic
> makes RQ combat more interesting, however. I have run 'no magic' combats
> ocassionally, (duels, etc.) and they can be very quick. The effects of magic
> are compunded by -
My version of RQLite would make magic casting a combat action, and get
rid of most of the SR stuff right there. This would speed things up a
lot, especially if you don't have to keep track of spell durations.
> 2) Armour and healing - The more armour, the longer the fight. I suspect that
> this applies equally to any RQ Lite.
That's why I would encourage us to go with Oliver's amended armor and
damage tables.
The result of this kind of rework would not be one-hundred percent
compatible with RQ3, but only because armor and weapon damage values
would need to be recalculated. Everything else would remain the same,
allowing old modules to be used with the new rules and new modules to
be used with the old rules. It would satisfy both those who want quick
mechanics and those who want as many rules as Rolemaster. It would
satisfy the Glorantha crowd and the non-Glorantha crowd, and the n-G
crowd hasn't been well represented in the rules discussions so far.
whoah,
+++++++++++++++++++++++23
Loren Miller internet: MILLERL@wharton.upenn.edu
"Science" does not remove the terror of the gods.
0,,
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