[Rq-rules] House Rule Query

[Lance Dyas]

I think some subtle shifts in perception will show that we can appease 
the gods of balance and harmony both ;-)

I will advocate a little for those who don't like the power sacrifice 
first... .. and present
a fix for the flavor of this... which really just changes part of the 
presentation and subtleties

devinc at aol.com wrote:
> It hardly punishes the character. It simply translates that POW into 
> something more usable...
More useable wow are you sure? luck is more versatile... as are magic 
points
and improving ones spirit magics reliability... that might be very useable.
I think its more coherent and focused.
> a divine magic spell. Does that lower things such as Luck roll and 
> Magic Points? Yes. But no one is forcing the Initiate or priest to 
> sacrifice the POW. 
right... not forced ... encouraged and bribed.. into maiming his soul.
> He does it because he perceives a benefit. 
or has bad math skills and doesn't plan for the future. cough cough 
cough.. OK maybe the cost
gain could be reasonable if you are gaining a multiuse magic.. and or 
are near the top end of power
that represents another form of ongoing improvement in self. the cost 
gain analysis of a one use
spell is rarely in favor of useability and might be one of the things 
that is creeping into the
reactions.

But to me there is something wrong in the simulation if learning to work 
a miracle directly results
in you being and less in tune with your god....  But see it as devoting 
yourself to an apect of the divine
 and suffer depletion in  your general attunement to  the overall 
divine, doesnt that work better.
> Otherwise, simply using the rationale that the god will give whatever 
> it can to whomever does his will would mean that gods should provide 
> or arrange for spirit or cult magic free of charge and without limit 
> as well.
Gods can require proof of commitment and service in many forms shriving 
ones power always did
 seem like self maiming to me  Read again the definition of the Power 
attribute..... what kind of mind
does it take to voluntarily permanently strip those qualities. picture a 
real person..and the kind of gods
who encourage that ... yuch
> The whole theme of RQ is the interrelation between men and gods and 
> the give and take thereof.
Sure and could also be a game balance tool failing to simulate in some 
places and
 succeeding in others. It could be simulating something people dont 
always like... or maybe it
can be resolved with a perceptual difference.

For some gods the self maiming flavor and literal pound of soul flesh 
actually works but not all in my opinion.

The gods which promote healing and self actualization and sanity  ... 
similarly gods of luck and naturalistic ones
and even some gods of magic seem not likely to promote decreasing ones 
sanity and attunement to the universe and control of magic etc for some 
special effect... 

Here is my token for those gods of a different flavor... whenever a 
character reaches a point where they
 were about to gain a point of power by the current rules you the player 
could instead choose... to awaken
or begin to awaken a gift in the character. The flavor of the gift is of 
course defined by the characters religion
and form of magical understanding. At the point when this awakened gift 
occurs .... a ceremony of thanks
giving is performed to the deity.

Awakened Gift  Model versus Sacrificial Maiming....One difference in the 
above is at the time
the power is gained one needs to choose... those with the maiming model 
no only dont have to
 choose right away.. but can get the temporary benefits of the power ... 
so maybe those with
the awakened gift start seeing lesser or uncontrolled effects before it 
fully awakens I havent decided

Another way of seeing it perhaps from the God-learner stand point.
It is like psychic surgery and the power loss is like scarring and the
 weakness one feels after surgery... souls certainly do heal from this
loss it just takes time and effort.
 
>
> Devin
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Guy Hoyle <ghoyle1 at sbcglobal.net>
> To: 'Discussion of RuneQuest rules.' <rq-rules at crashbox.com>
> Sent: Sun, 10 Feb 2008 3:55 pm
> Subject: RE: [Rq-rules] House Rule Query
>
> I understand this rationale, but what confuses me is that reducing POW 
> actually punishes the character who tries to use Divine Magic or 
> Divine Intervention.  As his power goes down, his Luck roll and his 
> Magic Points and his Spirit Magic roll go down (even for cult spirit 
> magic).  He's not as much in touch with his gods anymore, which seems 
> contrary to me. If the character is using the god's magic to do the 
> god's work in the world, shouldn't he be more in touch with the god, 
> not less?
>  
> The only workaround that I've thought of (and I haven't tried playing 
> this) is to keep a tally of the points sacrificed on DI and Divine 
> magic, and use that to supplement your Luck and Spirit Magic (maybe 
> Sacrifice Points/x). This would probably have some kind of horrible, 
> unforseen effect on game balance, though.
>  
>  
>
>     -----Original Message-----
>     *From:* rq-rules-bounces at crashbox.com
>     <mailto:rq-rules-bounces at crashbox.com>
>     [mailto:rq-rules-bounces at crashbox.com
>     <mailto:rq-rules-bounces at crashbox.com?>] *On Behalf Of
>     *steve at limitedchaos.com <mailto:steve at limitedchaos.com>
>     *Sent:* Sunday, February 10, 2008 5:04 PM
>     *To:* Discussion of RuneQuest rules.
>     *Subject:* RE: [Rq-rules] House Rule Query
>
>     /Tom said/ "I have always thought that this (sacrifice of valued
>     beast/object) happened PLUS the POW!"
>     Exactly correct.
>      
>     Getting Divine Magic is a big deal. The gods want their pound of
>     flesh, and for them Flesh = POW. Of course the applicant is
>     sacrificing cattle (or flowers or heads of ones enemies or sea
>     bass - whatever) and going through a major ceremony. That's all
>     assumed (and probably should have been emphasized in one of the
>     various god books or other) in the sacrifice of POW. You don't
>     just march into a temple, write a check for 2 pts of POW, and walk
>     out with Shield 2.
>      
>     Sure, you can have a system where you trade oxen for Divine Magic,
>     but that isn't RuneQuest. You can change the POW costs, make
>     spells more or less frequently re-usable, make them more or less
>     available to different grades of worshippers, more or less
>     powerful, but the exchange of POW for divine intervention in the
>     form of spells, as well as regular DI, is central to the dynamic
>     of the game. If this seems to make Spirit Magic and Sorcery more
>     attractive than Divine Magic, then there is probably something
>     wrong with Spirit Magic and Sorcery in your game.
>      
>     Just the viewpoint of one of the creators. :)
>      
>
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