Bizarre Glorantha Trolling
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Right, I think MRQ had the "only the best applies" thing too, now that I think about it. So your Enhance Characteristic buff routine takes a bit longer, but you can still do it.
Cuz apparently I gotta break this down for you dense motherfuckers- I'm trans feminine nonbinary. My pronouns are they/them.
Winnah wrote:No, No. 'Prak' is actually a Thri Kreen impersonating a human and roleplaying himself as a D&D character. All hail our hidden insect overlords.
FrankTrollman wrote:In Soviet Russia, cosmic horror is the default state.
You should gain sanity for finding out that the problems of a region are because there are fucking monsters there.
Now that I think about it, shamans could be very devastating and they were quicker to build, but you had to kiss the MCs ass to find spirits stronger than the Bad Man. (POW 35)Prak wrote:Right, I think MRQ had the "only the best applies" thing too, now that I think about it. So your Enhance Characteristic buff routine takes a bit longer, but you can still do it.
Priests were also quick to build but they couldn't match the versatility of Sorcery. I think Thunderbolt stacked, so priests definitely had the flashiest Alpha-Strike in the game.
It all came down to figuring out ways to earn POW Gains. It was the worst thing about RQ3. Worse than people arguing for skill checks and making nonsensical skill attempts. It only took writers three more tries to finally fix the problem in RQ6.
Well, really it all comes down to getting favors from the GM, because you have to find people to teach you this shit. Priests have it the easiest, because the most accepted god (at least from when I played) was Orlanth, so you can just rock up to an Orlanth temple, become a priest, and then proceed to walk around with a bunch of Thunderbolts ready. Shamans have to get the right spirits and Sorcerers have to find the right Grimoires. That's why when our GM did a non-Gloranthan game and told us to make our character's societies, I came back with a Tiefling society that used Solomanic demon-summoning magic to learn spells directly from demons, so I didn't have to fuck with having the exact right grimoire or worry about going to towns to find teachers. I actually learned a healing spell in the woods by offering an entire fruit tree in a summoning for a medicine demon.
Cuz apparently I gotta break this down for you dense motherfuckers- I'm trans feminine nonbinary. My pronouns are they/them.
Winnah wrote:No, No. 'Prak' is actually a Thri Kreen impersonating a human and roleplaying himself as a D&D character. All hail our hidden insect overlords.
FrankTrollman wrote:In Soviet Russia, cosmic horror is the default state.
You should gain sanity for finding out that the problems of a region are because there are fucking monsters there.
Prak, you got me wrong.
By citing the old RQ2/3 game and its supplements, I didnt mean to point the systems but the suggested structure of play contained in them. If you open RQ2 or Pavis or Griffin Mountain you will notice the players are mostly "cult troubleshooters" doing the dirty work the high priests are not inclined to do, and hoping to raise in power in the meantime. They never actually raise to "myth-weaving" status though. The mythic and cultural richness of the setting is there to permeate, and serve as the means/causes for, the adventuring, but never to be an end to it. In fact, the act of heroquesting was never truly given mechanical form back in those days.
Add to this cultural richness a character progressing method that provided an immediate connection to the setting (for "leveling up" you must rise in the local cult ranks through deeds, communal works, etc) and you have a verossimilitude that your typical fantasy game (and their "lets kill the evil orcs for lootz") lacked back then, and arguably still lacks somewhat. I like to cite a pal from another site on this distinction:
By citing the old RQ2/3 game and its supplements, I didnt mean to point the systems but the suggested structure of play contained in them. If you open RQ2 or Pavis or Griffin Mountain you will notice the players are mostly "cult troubleshooters" doing the dirty work the high priests are not inclined to do, and hoping to raise in power in the meantime. They never actually raise to "myth-weaving" status though. The mythic and cultural richness of the setting is there to permeate, and serve as the means/causes for, the adventuring, but never to be an end to it. In fact, the act of heroquesting was never truly given mechanical form back in those days.
Add to this cultural richness a character progressing method that provided an immediate connection to the setting (for "leveling up" you must rise in the local cult ranks through deeds, communal works, etc) and you have a verossimilitude that your typical fantasy game (and their "lets kill the evil orcs for lootz") lacked back then, and arguably still lacks somewhat. I like to cite a pal from another site on this distinction:
Glorantha gaming dont need to be an acid-loaded myth-weaving trip. It just needs to be permeated with culture and myth.Iron Simulacrum wrote:Traditional play:
An evil ogre has kidnapped the pretty village girl! go save her for reward and glory
RQ Spin:
The ogre is behaving according to his culture, he needs to sacrifice a pretty maiden as his cult obligation every high holy day. Perhaps secretly someone in the village is assisting him, as it prevents greater depredations or averts the threat from his own daughter. But your obligation as an initiate of your cult is to protect the villagers, so go get her back! If you succeed, your status in the cult will be enhanced, and we will teach you new skills and maybe a new blessing!
Last edited by silva on Tue Dec 09, 2014 5:12 am, edited 1 time in total.
The traditional playstyle is, above all else, the style of playing all games the same way, supported by the ambiguity and lack of procedure in the traditional game text. - Eero Tuovinen
Dont know about you, but for me its these points:Lago Paranoia wrote:What's more, I'm not exactly sure why King of Dragon Pass resonated with me in a way a lot of other fantasy games that went out of their way to tweak tropes and details didn't.
1. You have the spells working in a similar manner to how they worked (and still work) in real life - the so-called "folk magic" used by people for everyday issues like bringing luck and good fortune, raising crops, curing diseases, avoiding bad spirits, etc. Compare this to the industry average and you will see how much more reflective of ancient/pre-modern ethos it is.
2. You have charaters defined not by martial roles, but by culture, religion and occupation. Again, very anthropo-logical.
3. And you have a religion that is actually "game-relevant" instead of mere background fluff, and not because of "heroquests" or other trippy concepts, but because it determines your progression in-game. If D&D is a combat-progression game, where you level up by killing dozens of enemies through combat, Runequest is a religion and community-progression game, where you "level up" by behaving like a pre-modern man would, upholding the values and beliefs of your religion and community.
The fact KoDP manages to capture these qualities so well is a testament for the devs in depicting the setting spirit so well.
The traditional playstyle is, above all else, the style of playing all games the same way, supported by the ambiguity and lack of procedure in the traditional game text. - Eero Tuovinen
That would be the values and beliefs in question.
DSMatticus wrote:It's not just that everything you say is stupid, but that they are Gordian knots of stupid that leave me completely bewildered as to where to even begin. After hearing you speak Alexander the Great would stab you and triumphantly declare the puzzle solved.
Oh, also, Form/Set spells are deceptively awesome. Each material requires a separate spell, so Form/Set Wood and Form/Set Bone are two different spells, but basically they let you be a Bender. I had one character single-handedly provide a village with a wall from the trees around it, and another that reached over to their skeleton servant and pull it's head off when they needed a container for special spirit water. It's seemingly minor, but they're pretty versatile.
Cuz apparently I gotta break this down for you dense motherfuckers- I'm trans feminine nonbinary. My pronouns are they/them.
Winnah wrote:No, No. 'Prak' is actually a Thri Kreen impersonating a human and roleplaying himself as a D&D character. All hail our hidden insect overlords.
FrankTrollman wrote:In Soviet Russia, cosmic horror is the default state.
You should gain sanity for finding out that the problems of a region are because there are fucking monsters there.
Bender ? That's how you call your forbidden world-defiling magic you godlearner scum ? Get off my sight before I twist your mind with Lhankor-Mhy unfathomable wisdom.
The traditional playstyle is, above all else, the style of playing all games the same way, supported by the ambiguity and lack of procedure in the traditional game text. - Eero Tuovinen
actually I always got the impression orlanthi would be in favour of a good bender
Cuz apparently I gotta break this down for you dense motherfuckers- I'm trans feminine nonbinary. My pronouns are they/them.
Winnah wrote:No, No. 'Prak' is actually a Thri Kreen impersonating a human and roleplaying himself as a D&D character. All hail our hidden insect overlords.
FrankTrollman wrote:In Soviet Russia, cosmic horror is the default state.
You should gain sanity for finding out that the problems of a region are because there are fucking monsters there.
Hey Prak, what about an OSSR of RQ ? I would vote for RQ2 + Cults of Prax.
By the way, I would love to see the KoDP sequel situated in Prax. But I doubt it would happen. I bet they will depict some age in the past, like the dawn or the second age.
By the way, I would love to see the KoDP sequel situated in Prax. But I doubt it would happen. I bet they will depict some age in the past, like the dawn or the second age.
The traditional playstyle is, above all else, the style of playing all games the same way, supported by the ambiguity and lack of procedure in the traditional game text. - Eero Tuovinen
I would only consider reviewing mongoose's versions, since those are what I'm familiar with.
Cuz apparently I gotta break this down for you dense motherfuckers- I'm trans feminine nonbinary. My pronouns are they/them.
Winnah wrote:No, No. 'Prak' is actually a Thri Kreen impersonating a human and roleplaying himself as a D&D character. All hail our hidden insect overlords.
FrankTrollman wrote:In Soviet Russia, cosmic horror is the default state.
You should gain sanity for finding out that the problems of a region are because there are fucking monsters there.
By the way, I just reminded of this review of Cults of Prax by James Malizeuwski on the Grognardia blog. Worth a read, in special on the difference between it and Deities & Demigods.
Last edited by silva on Fri Dec 12, 2014 2:24 am, edited 1 time in total.
The traditional playstyle is, above all else, the style of playing all games the same way, supported by the ambiguity and lack of procedure in the traditional game text. - Eero Tuovinen
Yeah, and for speaking the wyrm tongue (and learning their magic) one must cut his tongue just like that of a serpent. Cool idea.
The traditional playstyle is, above all else, the style of playing all games the same way, supported by the ambiguity and lack of procedure in the traditional game text. - Eero Tuovinen
WHAT THE ACTUAL DUCK
Last edited by Neurosis on Fri Dec 12, 2014 10:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.
For a minute, I used to be "a guy" in the TTRPG "industry". Now I'm just a nobody. For the most part, it's a relief.
Trank Frollman wrote:One of the reasons we can say insightful things about stuff is that we don't have to pretend to be nice to people. By embracing active aggression, we eliminate much of the passive aggression that so paralyzes things on other gaming forums.
hogarth wrote:As the good book saith, let he who is without boners cast the first stone.
TiaC wrote:I'm not quite sure why this is an argument. (Except that Kaelik is in it, that's a good reason.)
The map for the new 13th Age and RQ supplements is looking good:
http://www.glorantha.com/wp-content/upl ... poster.jpg
http://www.glorantha.com/wp-content/upl ... poster.jpg
Last edited by silva on Thu Dec 18, 2014 4:15 pm, edited 1 time in total.
The traditional playstyle is, above all else, the style of playing all games the same way, supported by the ambiguity and lack of procedure in the traditional game text. - Eero Tuovinen