[Rq-rules] Re: Playing Using MRQ Rules

[David Gordon]

  _____  

From: rq-rules-bounces at crashbox.com [mailto:rq-rules-bounces at crashbox.com]
On Behalf Of Simon Phipp
Sent: 18 May 2006 12:08
To: rq-rules at crashbox.com
Subject: [Rq-rules] Re: Playing Using MRQ Rules

 

 

By the way, in case anyone thinks I'm so pompous and self-important that I
rewrote the magic system from the RQM playtest, here's an explanation. Ok,
so I am pompous and self-important, but that's by-the-by. 

 

I hope this isn't going to turn into a flame war? So I ask all (and this
isn't aimed at you Simon or anybody on the list in particular so forgive me
for stating the obvious) to respect that you all have opinions and it's
healthy to debate. :-)  I've purposely stayed out of this debate - so far -
because I'm one of the moderators of this list.  :-)  I was on the first
phase of MRQ playtests - up to v1.4 - but I am staying on the fence.   And
I'm also on the DBRP playtest so I should to stay on the fence.

 

I don't like, and have never liked, runic approaches to magic that rely on
"all people with the storm rune can cast all stormy magic". One of the great
strengths about RQ2/3 and Glorantha in particular (with HQ) is that the
deities have specific spells that are based on their own powers and history.
So, Orlanth gets some storm powers because he is the prime Storm God not
because he has the Storm Rune, and Orlanth's Storm Powers are different to
Storm Bull's and Valind's. Steve's magic system for RQM didn't reflect that,
in my opinion. I had the same problems with using Runes on HeroQuests, as
was the vogue 20 years ago. Any system that gives an Orlanth cultist the
same magic as a Ygg cultist simply because they both have the Storm Rune
doesn't work, in my opinion. My version simply takes the parts that I liked
(Runes, scaleability of Spirit Magic) and turned them around to mimic what
we used to have in RQ2/3, making them spell-centered rather than
specifically Rune-centered. Does that make sense? If so then I'm a monkey's
uncle.

 

I can see your point about runic associations - if you associated the Air
rune with Storm.  People forget that the runes are really the basic
association.  So the swirly celtic (Isle of man like) pattern is really
'Air' - this allows for the greatest flexibility when combined with other
runes.  To assume that Air is just Storm is a narrow view.  So if you play
it that that rune is Air you can see that Air plus Harmony would have a
different magical effect to Air plus Death, for instance.  A rune on it's
own is powerless - only when combined with another can you have an effect -
that's my opinion anyway.   This would allow you to use a system similar to
Egyptian Talismanic magic where you could call upon the power of runes (and
thus a god perhaps - if you assumed combined runes to be an expression of a
god) to do what you want.   Of course - RQ2 diverged from that a lot - with
Storm Bull and Orlanth all using Air in a storm fashion.  I always felt how
the runes were combined for gods in Gloranthan RQ were never looked at with
clarity enough to make it a working system.  Instead, the runes just became
labels instead of a possible way to construct magic.

 


> (Isn't it crazy to have to use house rules _already_ on a new rolegame?!)

 

Not at all. I see these as being house rules independent of the unpublished
game, sort of a halfway house between RQ3 and RQM. Of course, when RQM comes
out, these can fly as fully-fledged House Rules.

 

Anyway, I'm going to buy the new version of RQm at Continuum, so I hope I
get value for money. 

 

I'll wait for the reviews and a playtest before I hand over my hard earned
cash.  I've already got so many BRP rules to use that I don't need to really
buy another one.  And nearly all my games are being rationalized and some
sold off because of lack of space.  However, I got the impression that the
MRQ rules were aimed at a new generation of RPGers - not diehards like us,
but perhaps the new D20ers (and I don't mean the Heroquesters!  :-) ) who
might be interested in moving on from D&D, at least that was the impression
I read from Matt Sprange's mails on the  MRQ playtest group.  That's how I
began back in 1980 - with AD&D and when I came across RQ2 it just seemed
natural to move on.   I'm interested to see what develops - we might end up
with a whole new generation of BRPers joining the throng who will be
surprised to see that other BRP material has been around for decades -
people who already buy stuff from Mongoose.   I could be wrong but I don't
feel that BRP has the size of community that D20 has.  It would be good to
entice some of those players over to another way of gaming.   Lankhmar
sounds interesting - it could be used with any BRP game.  In fact all the
MRQ source books could be used as just that - source books for BRP rules.

 

As I've already bought Mythic Russia and DBRP is due to come out around
then, I can see that I won't be able to afford to eat for the first half of
August.

 

By the way, is anyone else going to Continuum this year? I know Ashley is,
and I hope he runs some RQ (NOT ANOTHER INITIATION QUEST, PLEEEEASE!), but
I'm too lazy to check the members list.

 

I'll be at Continuum - I'm helping the committee and part of the Gwenthian
world building Design Mechanism - and I'll be running a Gwenthian game using
either RQ3 or Elric!  Still yet to finish playtesting the scenario with my
own game group - and write up the player hand outs.

 

See Ya


Simon

 

 

See ya too.

 

Gordy

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