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<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite="">Now I've had a long running
campaign and my lack of understanding here is starting to become more
apparent. I think I *must* be doing it wrong (because spirit combat
seems really lopsided - either nearly trivial or super-lethal), and would
appreciate some advice / answers from the assembled worthies. We're
using RQ3, but I have lots and lots of house rules so don't be afraid to
offer something that works regardless of system. I've tried to
break these piles of questions into general groups.<br><br>
1) RQ3 says a spirit has to materialize to attack a mundane creature (ie
a character), and this takes a round. Does that mean that
essentially the players get a free round of swinging at it while it's
materializing? What are it's hp in material form? It seems
that if we postulate that it's MP are it's HP, spirits will never really
successfully attack ANYTHING, since they have no armor and a couple of
decent sword whacks by any schlub will put paid to even a strong 16POW
spirit. Further, this just seems odd, since my conceptualization of
spirits would be that thwhacking at them with swords and clubs seems like
it shouldn't affect them at all.<br>
</blockquote><br>
My understanding was "materialize" is a bad choice of term here
(and I realize its in the book, but that's still true). In most
spirits cases, that seems to just be "drop down from the spirit
plane to the mundane" and doesn't otherwise change their properties
(the exception here being elementals, but there may be a few other odd
cases). Most "materialized" spirits aren't any more
vulnerable to physical attack than they ever were.<br><br>
<br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite="">2) As I understand it, spirit
combat in its most basic form is MP vs MP for the success chance, a
success draining 1d3 mp from the target. Both the attacker and
defender roll simultaneously, the effects to each are applied before the
next 'round'. Both sides keep it up until one or the other is
drained of MP. Each round, the 'success chance' for each opponent
is recalculated. How fast does this occur? Does each
"round" of spirit combat take the same time as a
"round" of melee? Do the</blockquote><br>
Yes.<br><br>
<br><br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite=""> drained MP actually go
away, or is that just a handy mechanic to use to measure resistance to
possession? I'd presume you use current MP, but that would have the
</blockquote><br>
They actually go away. They're spiritual
"wounds".<br><br>
<br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite="">contrarian effect of making
heavy magic-users MORE vulnerable to spirits, because they'd be spending
their MP. It seems odd that Gandalf, exhausted from casting a
</blockquote><br>
Yes, they are more vulnerable if they're using their own magic
points.<br><br>
<br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite="">bunch of spells (and down to a
handful of MP), could be be easily possessed by some puny POW 12 ghost
passing by. What about disease spirits, who 'attack' a targets stat
(like CON), do they then still burn MP away? That would seem odd,
too. <br>
</blockquote><br>
Its no more odd than the fact he's more vulnerable to other magical
attack. That's just been one of the premises of the RQ magic system
from day one. And I'd have to look up the odd spirits (like disease
spirits and the like) but I believe they still impact magic points (might
be misremembering this one though; its been a long time).<br><br>
<br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite="">3) How fast does a spirit
move? If they have to incorporate to attack, are they considered
flying while corporeal? Can you really 'run away' from a spirit
attack? What if </blockquote><br>
I believe its supposed to be something like POW x 10m SR if I'm recalling
correctly (it might be that per round instead; either way, its bloody
fast enough nothing not another spirit is going to successfully run
away).<br><br>
<br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite="">you're on a horse or something
else fast? What other physical actions can a character perform
while they are in spirit combat? In the sense of '2 actions per
character, attack, parry, or dodge' system, would we consider 'make a
spirit attack' as one of them? Could they, for example, make a
spirit attack and dodge a spear? Are there </blockquote><br>
Yes, its treated as an attack action.<br><br>
<br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite="">any modifiers to spirit attack
success? I can't imagine physical position would batter (ie
attacking from above/behind) but what about target sleeping?
Befuddled? Demoralized?<br>
</blockquote><br>
Other than Spirit Shield, nothing standard effects it (there's probably
some odd specialty spirit or divine spells somewhere).<br><br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite="">4) can someone else help someone
resist a spirit attack? My understanding is that only spirits and
shaman's fetches can initiate spirit combat, so by my ruling, no, another
mundane character COULDN'T 'attack' an attacking spirit, they can only
get involved when a spirit attacks them first.<br>
</blockquote><br>
That's correct.<br><br>
<br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite="">5) a disease spirit, do they
just 'carry' the disease, or are they ACTUALLY the disease (ie if they
possess someone, they get the disease, but what if the spirit leaves to
attack someone else? Does the first victim still have the
disease?)<br>
</blockquote><br>
If I'm recalling those, they effective <i>are </i>the disease, as you
say.<br><br>
<br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite="">6) if a character dies, what
happens to his allied spirit? Does it go away too? Does it
(if in combat) continue to fight to help their master's group in hopes
that maybe their master could be saved/rezzed? What if it's in an
inanimate object like a storm bull's helmet? In this example, what
in particular would a Humakt spirit do - rezzing being prohibited by
prior geas?<br>
</blockquote><br>
There's no guidance on this subject that I know of.<br><br>
<br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite="">7) Rune Lords and Priests can
cast spells through their allied spirits, who are intelligent. I'd
presume that this means that each - the Rune Lord and the spirit - get to
declare independent actions for the upcoming round. Could they both
cast the same spell in the same round? If the RL casts a spell
'through' the spirit, does this use </blockquote><br>
Sure.<br><br>
<br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite="">the spirit's action for that
round too? Can the allied spirit cast the whole repertoire of the
character's spells? What if the character is unconscious?
Dead? Divine magic </blockquote><br>
That goes back to what happens to the relationship between the allied
spirit and the owner when the character dies, and is similarly
undefined. The owner being unconscious should be irrelevant
though.<br><br>
<br><br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite="">too? Does it matter
whether the allied spirit's INT is 'holding' the spell or the character
for any reason? What if the allied spirit's inhabited body gets
obliterated? (I'm thinking about a Chalana Arroy priestess with a
butterfly who walks through a warding spell...zzzt, dead butterfly,
no?)<br>
</blockquote><br>
Spirit gets punted back up to the spirit plane, so until she can get back
to the temple and get it reembodied its out of play. Always the
risk with the mobile, familiar-style allieds that you get for their
ability to operate more or less independently.<br><br>
<br>
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