Subject: RQ Discussions 36 First Distribution: May 7, 1992 ====================================================================== From: rfenner@sol.UVic.CA (Richard Fenner) Subject: A Submission to the Digest In the RQDigest V5 #12 Jamie O'Shaughnessey posted a set of stats for a RQ version of the Chimera from Greek mythos. Here is a response to his invitation to do a write-up and brief history on it. Well, everything but brief. In doing this, the intent was to remain as faithful to the Greek definition as possible, but to make the monster believable in the Gloranthan world and mythos, while still having a little fun with it. Hopefully, all this has been balanced off. This is not in any sense official or binding, and I would like to hear opinions from others on this. If you really hate what follows, you can always ignore what follows. Game Aid for introducing the Chimera: I created this with the intent of showing what I think PC's should know about the Chimera in order to approach it and have some hope for success, what to expect, and still have some surprises in place for them. The combination of attacks, and number of possible chaos features make it a formidable foe. Feel free to ignore this. A "lost scroll of historical/technical importance"... I would suggest having this written in Auld Wyrmish, which has differences, and intricacies enough to justify the unusual, and potentially misread name. =============================================== From: Reldekar the Inquisitive Acolyte of the Grey Sages Ormsgone Valley To: Scholar Wyrm Since your last instructions of Sea Season, Truth Week, Godsday (our last conversation), I have travelled the Pass, studying in various libraries, looking to catalogue unusual and rare creatures. Currently, my research has brought me to the Ormsgone Valley. I could spend my entire life researching dragons, but I know I could never begin to understand them. Therefore, I have looked for simpler creatures while here. Obviously, there is a wealth of theories and information here on Dragons, Hydra's, and other creatures specific to this area. The information they have gathered that you have not already surmised is small, but what there is I have already sent you. Hopefully, that information along with the studies done regarding the Grotarons have arrived (they were sent in Dark Season) and you have gone through them. I have also sought out information from more current, and unreliable, sources. Local adventures are usually the first to find something new, though this can be a dangerous form of research in many ways. There are always liars, fibbers, and story-tellers ready to pull the leg of the unsuspecting, truth can be very hard to find when your source is looking through glasses better designed to hold mead. However, once in a while you do find a reliable source. Most often, it is a Humakti who swears before his God that s/he is speaking the Truth. During a conversation with one Sterling Deathblade, I stumbled upon something entirely foreign, uncharted, in my research. While Deathblade was travelling through the Kingdom of Aggar, he happened upon a most terrifying creature. Deathblade, and retinue of 10 Humakti, were tracking a rather large cat. Deathblade allowed the retinue to take the lead and search the beast out. This was to be an exercise for his less skilled followers to gain some practical experience in the field, it quickly turned bad. When Deathblade assisted the last of his retinue to the battlesite, the scene was horrific. A bull-sized creature with three heads (goat, lion and dragon) and wings spanning twenty feet stood over the disemboweled bodies of two of his followers. Concerned for the safety of the rest of his crew, Deatblade charged. Before he could close with the enraged creature it unleashed a powerful shimmering flame, which downed three more men. Deathblade, a sword of Humakt, held his own against the monster, but made very little apparent headway. It would claw, or one of the heads would bite, the goat head attempted to butt him several times, and then there was the flame breath. After absorbing one blast, Deathblade knew that remaining there would mean the massacre of everyone under his leadership, and a most dishonourable end for all. For these reasons he called upon Humakt to take everyone back to the Temple and safety. Other adventurers have told stories of similar monsters, and equally horrifying results. Deathblade's account, due in part to correlating sources, appears to be the most reliable. Other claims of the beast's abilities include a shimmering teleport, coming and going, the ability to will people to fight for it against even old friends, and others too bizarre to mention. However, due to the shimmering breath, and the shimmerimg "teleport", the name I would suggest for it would be a Chimera. Reldekar. ============================================= RuneQuest Chaos Monster CHIMERA (with apologies to Jamie O'Shaughnessey) STR 5D6+12 29-30 Move 2m/sr on ground 6m/sr flying (3/8 for RQ2) CON 4D6 14 HP 28 - 29 SIZ 4D6+24 38 INT 4 (fixed) POW 3D6 10-11 DEX 4D6 14 Location Melee Missile Armour Hit Points (x Factor) RHLeg 1 1 4 7 .25 LHLeg 2 2 4 7 .25 HindQ. 3-5 3-6 5 11 .40 ForeQ. 6-8 7-11 5 11 .40 RWing 9 12-13 4 7 .25 LWing 10 14-15 4 7 .25 RFLeg 11-12 16 4 7 .25 LFLeg 13-14 17 4 7 .25 Goat Head 15-16 18 6 9 .33 Lion Head 17-18 19 4 9 .33 Dragon Head 19-20 20 8 9 .33 Attacks SR % Damage Claw 5 50 1D6+4D6 Butt 5 50 1D4+4D6 Lion Bite 5 50 1D10+4D6 Dragon Bite 5 50 1D8+4D6 Breath (1) 1 Fire Damage equal to current hits (1) Can use breath weapon once every 3 rounds, flame extends 10 metres in a conical shape. At the end, damage is 1/2, flames expand out to a 1.5 metre radius. Damage is done to total hits, a POW vs POW roll to save for half damage. The Chimera is capable of using 2 attacks each round, 3 if there are sufficient targets in range on the appropriate SR. Using the Butt would negate the possibility of two attacks in the same SR (would run by the target, or over). CHAOTIC FEATURES: POW*4 chance of having chaotic features. Since it is a creation of chaos, it may have multiple features, use the following formula to determine how many. Roll is: (1) a "normal" success, 1 feature; (2) a "special", 2 features; (3) a "critical", 3 features. ***Note: if there are multiple features, there is a 40% chance that one of the features will be a "confusing" glance (Additional attack, once per round, as per Jack-O-Bear harmonize glance, useable by any head), if only 1 feature, then a 15% chance. NOTE: For a description of the confusing glance see the new Eurmal rune spell, "Confusion". ============================================== New Rune Spell (For Eurmal only) CONFUSION 3 Points Ranged (160 metres), temporal, non-stackable, 1 use only Intended victim of this spell must be in sight, and in range. For the spell to come into effect the magic points of the target must be overcome (POW vs POW), if successfully cast, the victim becomes completely disoriented. To the victim this disorientation takes the manifestation of having a sudden insight to the current situation. (It would motivate my friends if I attack them in this fight, what I actually want to do is this, etc.) The actual effect of the spell appears to all viewers as a series of intentional fumbles. Only Dismiss Magic, Dispell Magic, or a critical oratory can counter-act the effects of this spell. This spell is only available to worshippers of Eurmal (the Trickster) at selected shrines throughout Genertela. @1992 Richard Fenner ============================================= This is intended as an addition to the Gloranthan mythos, a potential addition to the HeroQuest path, and essentially as GM information only. Perhaps an inventive HeroQuester could re- enact a shadow of this event to gain this knowledge. ================================================= The sun had seemed strangely hot and bright when it had set earlier. At the time Denmar had been too caught up in the adrenalin rush that accompanied a successful crossing to notice. Now though, as the world slipped through the endless grey of a pre-natural twilight, his attention sharpened. The further that the party moved away from the window, the more pronounced the changes became. Colour, Denmar mused, bending to look at a flower. Colour was brighter here. More vivid than in the mortal plane and here it also conveyed a sense of texture. He looked at the forest around him. The trees seemed to be pulling away from him slightly. As though they sensed his presence and found it to be a violation. It could be his imagination, but one didn't reach Lord-Priest status in the service of Eurmal by ignoring one's imagination. A light grey mist started to roll down into their ravine. Reaching the bottom it began to pool around Denmar's feet. He turned to Gelmon the Grey Sage and asked quietly, "When will the moon come up sage?" Gelmon glanced up at the sky. "Events unfold differently on the plane of heroes; Time, Light, Dark, all of these are closer to the gods from which they spring. Consequently they tend to share the cycle. I would expect that there are three equal periods of light, twilight and darkness." Denmar stared at him in disbelief, fog writhing about his knees." I don't believe you Lhankor Mhy. Do you ever give a straight answer, or do you forever beat about the bush?" Gelmon matched his stare for a moment and then turned away. >From over his shoulder he said in a low voice, "The Red Goddess does as she wills." The fog had really started to roll in. Denmar signalled the guards to move in closer. In rapid handspeech he said, "tighten the perimeter, maintain contact with the others." He turned and walked to the center of the camp, fingers tapping lightly against his ruck sack. Safely ensconced within the sack was the cloth that was white and black back to back. Also inside the cloth was the duck that flew backwards and the mirror of enchanted gold. His quest was to bypass Baugi and gain a sip of Kvasir's Blood. Then with the items in his sack and a wee bit of luck he would convince Yelm that night had already passed. He tapped his fingers on the canvas and mouthed a silent invocation to Asrelia. Unseen in the air above him, the fog eddied about a form. Cloaked in silence it sat in the fork of the branch. White fur blending perfectly with the fog it watched the camp with burning red eyes. Scanning over the camp it fixed its gaze on Gelmon. The scent of Rune-magic was strong there. Muscles slid under its fur as it gathered itself and then cloaked in the fog it lept. Denmar sensed something move behind him and turned. Half expecting to see the Lhankor Mhy priest he began, "Gelmon, Wha..." The creature towered above him. A solid wall of fur covered death. It leaned towards him, tusks gleaming in the muted light from the fire. Its burning eyes focused over his shoulder towards Gelmon. "Get lost !" It bellowed in his face. The blast of force from the scream of rage literally picked him up and sent him spinning through the air and into the darkness. Mind numbed by the force of the creatures aura he wandered off oblivious to the sounds of tearing flesh and rending bone. Hours later Denmar found himself alone in the middle of the wilderness. A few scattered remnants of the fog still clung to the odd bush like abandoned fleece. Seating himself on the ground he pondered on the events that had left him sitting there alone. A short time later he experienced a brilliant insight. Suddenly he knew how the creature had overcome him in a test of wills. The resulting period in which he had wandered aimlessly was not the brilliant idea that he thought it was. Forging ahead on his quest, and finding his party became his goals. His knew understanding into the nature of this "confusion" had gifted him with an ability to cause it in others and strengthened his ties to the Rune of Disorder. Acting quickly he invested his understanding with power, that his brothers might also learn it. Satisfied he turned from his meditation and in turning saw a glimpse of light from the woods to his left. As he had nothing better to do, and was hopelessly lost, he went to investigate. The glade was small, barely twenty feet across. In the center a small spring reflected the stars overhead. Light from the newly risen moon ran a crescent of fire of along its horns and outlined its body against the forest backdrop. On a low table before it there sat six cups. Each cup was perhaps eight inches tall and each was carved from a single unflawed ruby. Held within each of the cups there sat an egg of mottled blue and green. Denmar watched from the edge of the forest in fascination. In the clearing before him a man with the head of a goat was preforming a ritual ceremony. Determined to learn more he wormed his way through the grass, putting to use all of his skills in stealth. Soon he had crept within a dozen feet of the creature and was able to make out the details that darkness and distance had previously conspired to hide from him. The creature before him was none other than Ralzakark, King of the Broos. As Denmar watched the creature lanced his wrist and with the darkly welling blood he sketched a six pointed star about the ruby cups. Tonight would be the culmination of years of hopes and dreams, perfecting this ceremony, and tonight would see its success. Ralzakark drew a prism from his pack under the table. Fashioned of living crystal it literally pulsed with power. Uttering an invocation to Thed he left it to float a meter above the cups. Contained within the ruby cups was the future of the Broo. He had after much research and untold difficulty managed to combine the basic essence of three magnificent creatures. Combined they would be a leap forward for his race. First he had taken from the Broo. This essence he had given himself, as he could think of none other that was better qualified to be the father of the new race. Second he had taken from a captured Dragonewt scout. This would give them innate magic. Last, from the gambling pits of Kalderia he had imported a champion war lion. This would supply the ferocity and hunting instincts that would be needed in a race of warriors. By combining the intelligence of his own mighty intellect with the greater size, strength and innate magic of the Dragon, and the ferocity and instincts of the Lion he would have fathered a new generation of Broo. As a race they would ride out of Dorastor and sweep across Genertela, leaving behind nothing but burning shells and grieving widows. Denmar, hidden by nothing but tall grass, watched as Ralzakark began his ceremony. The glowing crystal exploded into life, sending blazing beams of tricoloured light to each of the ruby cups. Ralzakark's eyes were gleaming with fiendish delight and spittle was marking a passage off of his chin. Denmar could resist no longer. A new toy simply must be played with, concentrating on his ties with the Rune of Disorder he focused his will and released his recently gained ability. He felt the Rune fill him with and leave him in a long concentrated push towards Ralzakark and he saw Ralzakark hesitate. Ralzakark had just finished tying the threads of reality around the combined essences contained within the shells. Suddenly an intuition twigged for his attention. Pausing briefly to follow the idea he realized a masterful plan. Whirling back to the eggs he put the plan into motion. Calling upon Primal Chaos to link his creation with the Spirit Plane he sought to advance the essences to a higher spiritual level. Finally a short time later he was finished. The crystal, spent now, exploded before it dropped to the table. The eggs within the cups of ruby warmed slightly and pulsed with life. Ralzakark trembling in anticipation took a plate of glass, imbued it with power and looked through it into the eggs. His breath caught in horror and then a scream of fury tore through the heavens. His new race was a mash, a twisted joke of his intentions. Rather than fathering a race of super-Broos, he had created a monstrosity that mocked his original intentions. Inside the shell nestled the embryo of a creature too horrible to consider. Rather than the single form of a Broo with expanded magical, intellectual and, combat abilities there was a creature that bore three heads. Indeed Ralzakark could see that the heads had taken an evolutionary step backwards, rather than the step forward that he had planned. The head of the lion would be massive and its body would predominate. The essence of Broo was shown in the Goat head that would develop truly magnificent horns. Strangest of all however was the essence of Dragonewt. Somehow in taking a step backwards a true dragon head complete with appropriate magical flame. The only form of success was the taint of chaos. In the grass to one side Denmar could no longer contain himself. The sight of this huge creature dancing about in fury was too much. Despite himself a chuckle crept out of his throat. Beside the table Ralzakark heard and spun to face the sound. Keen eyes now alerted he quickly spotted the hidden form. "Eurmal!" he cried out in sudden comprehension. His nostrils flared with bloodlust and he charged after the rapidly fleeing form. Behind him on the table, forgotten in his rage, the ruby cups continued to provide warmth to the rapidly hardening eggs.... By Bill Thompson & Richard Fenner ====================================================================== From: MOB Subject: "SOMEWHERE IN SARTAR" or "SOLDIERS OF THE RED MOON" In some of my earlier missives I mentioned that I was working on a series of RQ adventures based in the Lunar Army. I should mention that the other co-authors are Mark Morrison (of CHAOSIUM), Penelope Love (of Call of Cthulu fame), David Hall (of Tales of the Reaching Moon fame) and Derek Prout (of no fame in particular yet, but he's a hell of a guy anyway) Anyway, SOLDIERS OF THE RED MOON (original title "Somewhere in Sartar) is almost done, and a damn fine piece of work it is too. Here's the introduction: "Although there has been much windage about the struggle of the Sartar peasant to free his land during the Lunar invasion, the story has never been told from the other side - that of the Lunar recruit, caught up in a conflict he may not even understand; made to bear the brunt of an oppressed nation's hatred. SOLDIERS OF THE RED MOON is their story." SOLDIERS OF THE RED MOON goes on to describe the Lunar Army in detail, and will include the long version of the Seven Mothers cult with particular emphasis on Yanafarl Tarnils. The Players experience enlistment (including the notorious practice of "crimping"), training at the regimental depot, and are then thrown into the thick of it in Sartar. The bulk of the book is a series of sequential scenarios set in Occupied Sartar, which begins with the endless drudgery of the patrol ("March, march, march, march... that's all you seem to do . You signed up in the Empire's Legions to see the world, and by the Bat, you've seen it: on foot.") and ends with the characters in the midst of a bloody uprising! We intend to have it off to Ken Rolston by May 30th, 1992. However, there are one or two loose ends I need to tie up. One is a small section called "Lunar Tunes". I want to have a selection of Lunar marching/military songs, and am looking for some good material to put in. Are there any budding composers out there who can help? Modifying existing lyrics is fine, but I want these songs to be taken seriously, no jokey parodies please. As example, here's one the one song I've got done so far (thanks to Mark Robins and apologies to the Men of Harlech). The player characters' regiment is the New Lolin Foot. By the way, anyone got any information about the city of New Lolin, which is apparently on the Oslir river in Tarsh? MEN OF LOLIN (To be sung to the tune of MEN OF HARLECH) Men of Lolin march to glory, Dark-eyed Death is waiting for ye, Damne'd Stormwinds hover o'er ye Hear ye not its call? At your sloth it seems to ponder, Let thy death cry peel like thunder, Burst their horne'd helms asunder And every foe appal! >From the rocks rebounding Let the war cry sounding Summon all At Emperor's call, The Stormwind foe surrounding. Men of Lolin, on to glory! See, your standard fam'd in story Waves these burning words afore ye, "Lolin scorns to yield!" 'mid the fray, see dead and dying, Friend and foe together lying; All around the rune-spells flying Scatter sudden death! Maddened steeds are wildly neighing, Brazen trumpets hoarsely braying, Wounded men to Goddess praying With their parting breath! See - they're in Disorder! - Comrades, keep close order! Ever they Shall rue the day 'ventured cross our glowing border! Now Orlanth flees before us; Crimson Crescent floateth o'er us! Raise the loud exulting chorus, "Lolin wins the field!" If you've got something for us, please get in contact with me via: tsl@cs.mu.OZ.AU (Tim Leask, who's also a hell of a guy). ====================================================================== From: MOB (c/o tsl@cs.mu.OZ.AU) Subject: SUN COUNTY - WRITING FOR RUNEQUEST SUN COUNTY is the newest RuneQuest release destined to hit the shelves, and the first to be completed under the direction of that venerable game-sage, the "Rune-Czar" Ken Rolston. Ken's arrival on the RQ scene is probably the best thing to happen to RQ in a decade. It is unnecessary for me to chronicle here the fading fortunes of RQ over recent years - TALES OF THE REACHING MOON covered that adequately enough in our special editorial "RuinedQuest?" (issue #5), as did my previous rantings on the topic in RQ DIGEST - suffice it to say RuneQuest players, gamemasters, writers and fans were very unhappy with the state of affairs. We said in the editorial that for RQ to be resurrected, the game needed someone like Greg Stafford; an experienced person prepared to put in a great deal of work, enthusiasm and energy. Ken's immediate predecessor perhaps had the enthusiasm (at least initially), but lacked the experience and imagination to realise RQ's full potential, and it showed in the quality of the products he brought out. Fortunately for RQ though, he was replaced by Ken Rolston - exactly the sort of person we were looking for. The dealings I have had with him over the last three months have convinced me of this. Ken's game design credits are extensive and his RQ credentials stretch back to the halcyon days of Pavis Borderlands and Big Rubble. His appointment promises a resurgence of interest in RuneQuest, and I'm very excited that the first release to get the ball rolling is my own SUN COUNTY. SUN COUNTY is set of course in the River of Cradles region of Prax, although Sun County itself could serve as a model for similar Sun Dome Temple lands across Glorantha. I chose to write about Sun County because Chaosium had already published background material about this area in Pavis, Borderlands etc. That way, I could expand on the ideas presented and lessen the risk of conflicting with Greg Stafford's concept. You can do what you want in your own campaigns, but it is my experience that if you wish to get your Glorantha material published, it's got to fit in with Greg's preconceived notions. Either that, or be so mind-bogglingly dazzling to change his mind. I chose the less risky option. My manuscript was sent to Avalon Hill some twelve months before Ken's appointment. As it was a Glorantha manuscript, it had to be cleared for publication by Greg Stafford. Non-Gloranthan RQ material can be published without his sanction, which goes a long way to explaining the quality of such releases as Eldarad and Daughters of Darkness. I had already discussed the make-up of the SUN COUNTY manuscript with Greg, because I wanted to use and draw upon some previously published material of his. Also, I didn't really want to work on what became a 70,000 word manuscript without a reasonable expectation that Greg would give it the green light. He seemed keen, so I was fairly confident that he would okay the manuscript after I had submitted it; nevertheless, I waited with some apprehension until I heard that he had! I initially presented my manuscript to Avalon Hill in a camera-ready format. That is, as if ready for publication, with side bars, borders, boxes, table of contents, art placement etc. Hell, I even offered front and back cover designs, advertising copy and ideas for the art assignment! To do this I used a desktop publishing program; the same one in fact I knocked up this issue of MOON with. I went to this trouble mainly to show Ken's predecessor just what could be done to his layouts with a little imagination, and also because there was no submissions guide - something I believe Ken will be redressing very shortly. Ken's predecessor dismissed this layout (which had the same style and feel as this issue of TALES) as " a very good amateur effort", but "not up to our usual standard": a pretty crass comment in my view (although he may have had a point had he not compared it to his own meagre efforts). However, I was pleased to find out that Ken was highly impressed by my suggested layout: he said it made reviewing, developing and playtesting the manuscript a "billion times easier" than if he had to wade through page after page of double-spaced typing. I don't know what Ken will say in his submissions guide, but if the above is any indication, it may be well worth your while to present your freelance submissions to AH in this way, if you've got access to a desktop publishing program. All my contract and payment negotiations were carried out in the pre-Rolston era, so I can't tell you what Ken's plans are. In this area Avalon Hill's professionalism shone through, possibly because after the initial haggling, negotiations were carried out by the AH management. AH originally offered me something in the vicinity of 1.75 cents a word for all rights to my manuscript, a paltry sum. After some persistent bargaining on my part the rate was finally upped to 3.5 cents and a royalty on the second print run (so get out there and buy your copy now, buy six copies!). I was also able to move the time of payment to "upon acceptance of the final manuscript" from "upon publication", and in fact received my first cheque soon after. I was fortunate enough to know details about the arrangements Chaosium make with their freelance authors, and used this as my yardstick in my bargaining. All told I might get about $3000 out of SUN COUNTY, not too bad for a previously unpublished author. The word amongst game writers is that although AH don't pay all that well, they at least pay what is promised on time. The contract AH sent me was written in plain language and contained no surprises (except the clause that I would have to write an article about "strategy" for THE GENERAL magazine). More than anything, RuneQuesters were disappointed with the excremental quality of the artwork in the Avalon Hill releases from Troll Gods onwards. Before Ken Rolston came on the scene I dreaded what the artwork in SUN COUNTY might look like. Graphics and visual presentation of information was one of the key features of Chaosium RQ, and one that Ken hopes to match or even better in Avalon Hill RQ. Ken has resolved to fix the problem by using professional-standard freelance artists, and giving them plenty of direction. He asked me to write an art design guide for the SUN COUNTY artists. This way, we would ensure the details of clothing, structures and setting fitted the text and accurately captured the atmosphere. This guide eventually ran to dozens of pages, including pencilled sketches, computer-generated graphics, written descriptions and xeroxed reference photos from art and history books. The only artwork I have yet seen for SUN COUNTY is the front cover, though I hope by the time you are reading this the book has been out on the game store shelves for some time (buy now; an ideal gift!). [Not around here at least, although my local gaming store has placed an order and it is expected in June or July --ACB] The cover, by Roger Raupp, is wonderful. Roger took my pathetic pencilled sketches and long-winded written description and turned it into something quite beautiful. I'm sure you'll all agree. SUN COUNTY was based partially on a RQ club campaign Trevor Ackerly and I ran for a university roleplaying association a number of years ago. Since then, the manuscript has undergone considerable playtesting and refinement. When it finally got into Ken's hands, the reviewing, developing and playtesting of the manuscript continued, and I was pleased to find that my input was still sought after and heeded. Although the original layout I submitted to Avalon Hill was 70 pages long; the final version may even be double this with all the changes and additional material we have incorporated. SUN COUNTY is the first Glorantha release to be produced in nearly ten years that features all new scenarios. It will be accessible to gamers new to RQ, yet provide enough sustenance for the experienced Glorantha hacks. It marks the beginning of the resurgence of RuneQuest under its talented new editor. I urge all of you out there to buy it, and not just because I wrote it! SUN COUNTY ought to be a boost to many a RuneQuest campaign, and a sign to all RQ aficionados that things are finally on the improve. M.O'Brien ====================================================================== The RuneQuest(tm) mailing list is a courtesy of Andrew Bell. All opinions and material above are the responsibility of the originator, and copyrights are held by them. 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