Tunnels & Trollkin... Gloranthan T&T?

[hamaofatlantis]

I just started waffling on the other games board about my love for Runequest and Glorantha and, spurred by a comment on Trollhalla about getting rid of character types in T&T, wondered about converting T&T for playing in Glorantha.

Anyone else tried this? Got any thoughts? Or, better yet, conversion notes!! lol!

Main points:

anyone can do magic - but only Heroes can do big magic

your cult/God/church/spirit practice defines you strongly

pseudo-Bronze Age tech (though that is arguable)

need to be able to simulate spirit combat and heroquesting - passing into the God World to emulate the feats of the Gods...

[zanshin]

You know, I was thinking just this the other day.

I think I would

a) Ditch the T&T spell list
b) Adopt the Runequest spell list and work out conversions for the spells from Runequest to T&T - eg Bladesharp adds 1d6/point to combat rolls
c) Ditch types - all can learn spells
d) Abolish Wizardry - rename Luck as Power (still giving adds). You spend Power/Luck to cast spells.
e) To learn Rune Magic (Fire and forget magic) you sacrifice permanent points of Power as well as paying gold to your god.
f) To advance in your cult, certain Talents would have to be obtained (thereby dictating minimum level).
g) Spirit Combat - make it an opposed Power (luck) test - each level of SR made reduces your opponents temporary Power by one. If you succeed and they fail completely , you can attempt possession if able to do so.
h) Use the stat rolls from Runequest to generate characters , but then allow T&T progression to reflect the heroic nature of the characters.

[zanshin]

Actions
You may cast a spell and attack in the same round. Howver , if the spell is an attack spell it counts as both your spell and your attack.

Spell Resistance

When an attack spell is cast upon someone , both caster and defender make a POW save. The caster must beat the level of the defenders save to cast the spell upon them (i.e defence wins on a tie). Creatures with an MR get no save.

Spirit magic Spells

You may know as many points of spells as your intelligence rating.

Spells last 10 combat rounds unless instant in effect or otherwise stated.

Bladesharp - Adds 1d6 to your combat roll with the weapon/Point spent.
Healing - Heals 1 damage/point spent
Disrupt - Attack spell - Deals your intelligence in damage to an opponent - 3 Points.
Befuddle - Attack Spell - Bemuses the target so they will not attack unless attacked. 3 Points.
Countermagic - Each Point spent Increases your effective save level vs attack spells by 1 level.
Dispel Magic - Removes the effect of an ongoing spell - Cost - the cost of the current spell.
Dullblade - Dulls the enemies weapon - The damage it does is reduced by 1d6/point (to a minimum of 1d6)
Strength - Increases the characters strength by 2 points/point spent
Coordination - Increases the characters Dexterity by 2 points/point spent
Vigour - Increases teh characters Constitution by 2 points/point spent
Protection - grants 2 armour points/point spent

[hamaofatlantis]

All good stuff Zanshin, given me stuff to think about. Though I wonder if I might personally prefer to port over something a bit more like the Hero Wars/HeroQuest magic system - more freeform, but more tied in with the cult or God - so that not everyone is using the same ten spells...

Maybe have each character being tied to three runes (as in HQ2) and these can be used to reduce the level of a saving throw, or just be a modifier to it when used in appropriate circumstances.....

[Toad-Killer-Dog]

I think more cult specific spell would be a good thing, you could always include the most common and useful spell in multiple deities spell options.

Remember not many trolls ( outside Argan Argar & Humtak worshipers ) will have access to Bladesharp but would definitely have Bludgeon.

[zanshin]

Yeah - not a Heroquest fan - if its Glorantha I want it to feel like Runequest , but would be very happy not to stat the monsters with all their hit locations

[Toad-Killer-Dog]

M.R. also makes chaos beasties a breeze to generate! ;D

[hamaofatlantis]

I would like there to be a tie to the runes - maybe have them as Talents?

How about:

Everyone starts off with one

Gains another, specific to their god, upon initiation

And another (again cult-specific) on reaching rune level

Others gained through Heroquesting and major ju-ju!!!

The talent score in each would be added to any SR where the player can make an in-game justification for it.

e.g. Rurik has Fire/Sky rune +4 among his talents. Could then add this to his INT to make the SR to cast the Fireblade spell. Could also add it to his CON to make a SR to resist the heat of flames as he rescues an innocent child from a stead set alight by raiding broo....

Part of me also really wants to keep the T&T spell names - or at least have something a bit more atmospheric than Healing 4. Chalan Arroy's lament, anyone??

[hamaofatlantis]

BTW - I totally agree about the MR system. One of the reasons I love T&T so much! It was the first system to differentiate between PCs and "mooks". And makes conversion of RQ or even HQ stuff so much easier...

I'm still humming and hawing about WIZ or LK to power spells. Something about the LK idea appeals to me!!!

[hamaofatlantis]

Really should try and tie all my thoughts into one post!! lol!! I've already started two threads on the same subject effectively!

Zanshin - I think you hit an important nail on the head with your comment about using RQ starting stats, but T&T advancement. Gloranthan heroes are exactly that - heroes with a capital H. Runequest never did the scaling up thing too well - something which HQ does, in its favour - for a more old-skool feel though, I can see a 5th level Bison Rider warrior with a STR of 48 as seeming more appropriate than the equivalent RQ character (e.g. skills about 90%, but still basically the same as when he started out physically etc.)

I think I shall consider this as my 'cartoon' Glorantha!!

[zanshin]

Your ideas sound interesting hama.

I would prefer to push back Rune Mastery from starting characters , but the idea of mastering one as a Talent is a great idea - alternatively they could be spells in T&T terms - with lesser and greater forms of the Runes.

I still would want spirit magic , the easier quick minor stuff, to be part of the Gloranthan Roleplay experience.

[hamaofatlantis]

I can see where you're coming from re the runes Zanshin, but I wasn't talking about rune-mastery so much as making the runes more an integral part of the story/game. It's just my view of Glorantha, I suppose (YGWV!)

But being T&T it should of course be random!!

How about everyone starts with one rune talent, picked at random. I've always wanted the excuse to make a bag of Gloranthan runes - just get the player to draw one out at random. It would be like their horoscope when they were born...

"Ingmar's son is touched by Humakt. You can tell death shall follow him - he shall have a great but fearsome wyrd!" (Death rune)

"You would be best to throw the child in the stream and be done with it now Arnwulf. For the scent of Eurmal hangs around the baby like a cow's fart in the byre. No good can come from having him in the clan..." (Disorder)

etc.

Roll I dice for the talent. Use to add to whichever stat is appropriate - if the player can justify it through role-play.

As you age it becomes more directed. When you initiate to a God, you take on more of their properties. Hence the addition of one of their runes as a talent then. Obviously some people wouldn't be able to initiate to certain cults - no Death rune children devoting themselves to Chalan Arroy for example. Upon reaching rune level you take on another of your God's runes as a sign of devotion - by which point the PC should be of such a status that an additional +3 or +4 from the talent is going to make little difference.

(Although... could you take the same rune two, maybe three times? hmmmm!)

Mastery of the rune on the other hand, that would be a completely different kettle of fish!!!!

(Must go off and start putting of this down to paper....)

[zanshin]

Thats all made of win hama

Yes, go write it up!

[Toad-Killer-Dog]

That sounds excellent to me and I see no reason why a character couldn't take a Rune multiple times.

Drawing runes from a bag would be a great way to really draw players into the character creation process.

[hamaofatlantis]

As an aside - if the runes are drawn from a bag rather than rolled for and the characters are all rolled up at the same time, then we could have them not put them back. So each PC would have a different rune for variety. (Not "realistic" maybe, but...)