How screwed is my RuneQuest character?

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Dan Davenport

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Any RuneQuest fans out there? If so, perhaps you can offer your opinion as to how screwed my character is.

We're at a harvest festival dance. Nobody is armed with anything more than a dagger. Nobody has armor. Due to a couple of dancing fumbles, my character -- as well as the only other competent melee fighter in the group -- is currently bound to what's basically a Maypole.

Two Chaos creatures (Krarshtkids, for the record) have burst from the ground and, presumably, aren't there it join the festivities.

Aside from daggers, the closest things to weapons nearby are torch poles, which the GM says would function like quarterstaves -- which, naturally, use a skill that neither of our bound PCs has.

So, should I start rolling up a new character?
 
True, but (1) again, my character is bound, and (2) even if he weren't, he wouldn't leave the helpless festival-goers to the monsters.
So escape and get as many people to safety as you can. That sounds herioc to me. Unless your GM has designed some kind of Kobayashi Maru encounter you should have options.
 
Any RuneQuest fans out there? If so, perhaps you can offer your opinion as to how screwed my character is.

We're at a harvest festival dance. Nobody is armed with anything more than a dagger. Nobody has armor. Due to a couple of dancing fumbles, my character -- as well as the only other competent melee fighter in the group -- is currently bound to what's basically a Maypole.

Two Chaos creatures (Krarshtkids, for the record) have burst from the ground and, presumably, aren't there it join the festivities.

Aside from daggers, the closest things to weapons nearby are torch poles, which the GM says would function like quarterstaves -- which, naturally, use a skill that neither of our bound PCs has.

So, should I start rolling up a new character?
Break one of the torch poles and use it like a sword:devil:.
 
It sounds like your GM wants to kill you all. You don't say anything about your abilities, what version of RQ you are using, or how many are in the party. If you all have Rune magic, and you have a party of eight, you'll probably be fine, if there are two or three of you and you're all teenagers, you're toast. They are not too hard to kill if you disable their limbs, but they have nasty ranged attacks and natural weapons which will kill or disable in one hit. If you have magic, that might be the best course.
 
Dan Davenport Dan Davenport I've been playing RuneQuest since the mid 1980s, so I have a bit of experience with the rules as well as the setting of Glorantha.

If you are playing with the latest edition RuneQuest: Adventures in Glorantha, then all starting characters are experienced Intiates, meaning that you have access to Rune Magic.

Even if your Special Rune Magic doesn't seem appropriate, I'ld take a look at the range of Common Rune Magic and try and come up with creative trappings for some of those using your Runes - you might be surprised what you can achieve.

The best thing is to create some disturbance (magic may help with this), and to get away during the ensuring pandemonium. That sounds cinematic and alot of fun. If it's something that would go great as a set piece in a sword & sorcery flick, then it's usually something that will go great in a RuneQuest game.

Hopefully your GM may provide you with some hints if the situation gets too daunting. Not handing it to you on a plate, but at least providing some opportunity for you to grab if nothing else seems to be working.

If things get really grim and the GM isn't offering any hint regarding an opportunity to escape, then you might as well make a Divine Intervention roll and hope for the best.

I always thought that RuneQuest played better as a co-operative roleplaying experience, rather than a directly adversial 'GM -vs- The Players' situation, because it doesn't really work well that way.

The combat system is pretty brutal, so the GM can pretty much always 'win' just by throwing in overwhelming numbers of opponents (and no mooks rules available), and/or upping the potency of the opponents available magic.

That's not to say that serious character injury or death is out of the picture, because it certainly raises the drama and tension more than alot of other systems.

But I hope the GM is not thinking that because it's an old school game that it works like a hardcore OSR. - it never really did.

Otherwise, yeah...you may be screwed :grin:
 
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Dan Davenport Dan Davenport I've been playing RuneQuest since the mid 1980s, so I have a bit of experience with the rules as well as the setting of Glorantha.

If you are playing with the latest edition RuneQuest: Adventures in Glorantha, then all starting characters are experienced Intiates, meaning that you have access to Rune Magic.

Even if your Special Rune Magic doesn't seem appropriate, I'ld take a look at the range of Common Rune Magic and try and come up with creative trappings for some of those using your Runes - you might be surprised what you can achieve.

The best thing is to create some disturbance (magic may help with this), and to get away during the ensuring pandemonium. That sounds cinematic and alot of fun. If it's something that would go great as a set piece in a sword & sorcery flick, then it's usually something that will go great in a RuneQuest game.

Hopefully your GM may provide you with some hints if the situation gets too daunting. Not handing it to you on a plate, but at least providing some opportunity for you to grab if nothing else seems to be working.

If things get really grim and the GM isn't offering any hint regarding an opportunity to escape, then you might as well make a Divine Intervention roll and hope for the best.
Good advice there. It would definitely help to know what kind of GM you have. This may be a setup for a GM "story," or it might be a puzzle, or it might be a killer GM.
I always thought that RuneQuest played better as a mutual storytelling-fest, rather than a 'GM -vs- The PCs' situation, because it doesn't really work well that way. The combat system is pretty brutal, so the GM can pretty much always 'win' just by throwing in overwhelming numbers of opponents (and no mooks rules available). So I hope the GM is not thinking that because it's an old school game that it works like a hardcore OSR. - it never really did.
I take some exception to that. I don't think I've ever had a TPK in RQ. I run it pretty hard and old school (we had a number of casualties in Rainbow Mounds). But old school doesn't necessarily mean GM vs players, I'm not out to win. I either run the opposition in a module as written, or if I'm setting up something myself, I pick reasonable numbers of opponents. The players may choose a strategic retreat. The adventure they most recently finished started out with just 2 players (the others were all unavailable, so one player took the PC he was about to retire while the other PCs trained, the 2nd PC didn't have money for training). They got into a tower occupied by a dark troll and some trollkin. The fight started to turn against them, but fortunately they had a smoke screen and they were able to escape. They came back next session with the full party and eventually cleaned out the tower.
 
True, but (1) again, my character is bound, and (2) even if he weren't, he wouldn't leave the helpless festival-goers to the monsters.

If your character is effectively helpless snd so is everyone else, I think you’re done for. Maybe the monsters will tire themselves out killing fleeing villagers?
 
So escape and get as many people to safety as you can. That sounds herioc to me. Unless your GM has designed some kind of Kobayashi Maru encounter you should have options.

Hmm. A possibility, certainly.
 
It sounds like your GM wants to kill you all. You don't say anything about your abilities, what version of RQ you are using, or how many are in the party. If you all have Rune magic, and you have a party of eight, you'll probably be fine, if there are two or three of you and you're all teenagers, you're toast. They are not too hard to kill if you disable their limbs, but they have nasty ranged attacks and natural weapons which will kill or disable in one hit. If you have magic, that might be the best course.

I sure hope not. That doesn't _sound_ like him, anyway.

My character is a remarkable human specimen with most scores 16 or higher. (This was totally above-board. I rolled electronically with the GM watching.) He's a Sundome Templar.

The other person bound to the pole is a Babeester Gor initiate.

The only other member of the party present is a Chalana Arroy initiate.

I do have Strength -- when active, his strength is 26 -- so I've got that going for me. I'm hoping to be able to just bust us loose.
 
My current thought is to (1) cast Strength, (2) bust loose, (3) uproot the pole, and (4) use the pole as an improvised pike if the GM will allow it, as I have a pike skill of over 100%.

He's already stated that the pole torches would function as quarterstaves, which doesn't do my character much good.
 
Good advice there. It would definitely help to know what kind of GM you have. This may be a setup for a GM "story," or it might be a puzzle, or it might be a killer GM.

I take some exception to that. I don't think I've ever had a TPK in RQ. I run it pretty hard and old school (we had a number of casualties in Rainbow Mounds). But old school doesn't necessarily mean GM vs players, I'm not out to win. I either run the opposition in a module as written, or if I'm setting up something myself, I pick reasonable numbers of opponents. The players may choose a strategic retreat. The adventure they most recently finished started out with just 2 players (the others were all unavailable, so one player took the PC he was about to retire while the other PCs trained, the 2nd PC didn't have money for training). They got into a tower occupied by a dark troll and some trollkin. The fight started to turn against them, but fortunately they had a smoke screen and they were able to escape. They came back next session with the full party and eventually cleaned out the tower.
Yeah I run RQ reasonably hard as well, as I think the brutality of the combat system is a strong point.

Like you, I don't equate old school as hardball like some of the old D&D was played.
But I remember some GMs approaching it that way (due to their familiarity with D&D at that time), and it would often end up as a potential TPK.

I never pull the blows in a combat situation, and the dice are normally not re-rolled, and there are no Mook rules in play.
So experienced characters still need to be wary of every opponent - like Rurik and the Trollkin example from the RQ2 corebook

I do sometimes work in-setting hints into the narrative if the characters are totally stuck up against a brick wall however. Sometimes I partially breadcrumb them to opportunities if the game is reaching an impasse.

Unlike CoC, I don't find it much fun having a TPK in RQ if it becomes a regular thing.
Likewise I don't reward stupidity or limited engagement either, so it's not an easy walk in the park by any means.

But I have found that it is often good to counterbalance the combat situations with potential other opportunities the characters may attempt. It just made sense to me for campaign play not to lose a character every session.

If the situation gets to combat, then I don't pull any punches, and I find the drama and action to be more rewarding than most othet systems I have played
 
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My current thought is to (1) cast Strength, (2) bust loose, (3) uproot the pole, and (4) use the pole as an improvised pike if the GM will allow it, as I have a pike skill of over 100%.

He's already stated that the pole torches would function as quarterstaves, which doesn't do my character much good.
I can see a scene like this kicking off in a sword & sorcery flick, so the logic checks out and the plan is solid.

Expend as much magic as you can, and let all hell break lose - and definately use that pole!

This is gonna be a great scene, and if all else fails it will be entertaining to say the least.

Go for it! :thumbsup:
 
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I can see a scene like this kicking off in a sword & sorcery flick, so the logic checks out and the plan is solid.

Expend as much magic as you can, and let all hell break lose - and definately use that pole!

This is gonna be a great scene, and if all else fails it will be entertaining to say the least.

Go for it! :thumbsup:
This, and let us know what happened:shade:!
 
Ask one of the villagers to use your dagger to cut you loose, then hope you can run away faster than the villager.

If you're not sure who's faster, then tripping the villager first might help.

Remember, leading the retreat doesn't make you a coward - it makes you a LEADER! :thumbsup:
 
Ask one of the villagers to use your dagger to cut you loose, then hope you can run away faster than the villager.

If you're not sure who's faster, then tripping the villager first might help.

Remember, leading the retreat doesn't make you a coward - it makes you a LEADER! :thumbsup:

As I learned in Scouts, you don't have to outrun the bear you just need to outrun the slowest camper!
 
Ask one of the villagers to use your dagger to cut you loose, then hope you can run away faster than the villager.

If you're not sure who's faster, then tripping the villager first might help.

Remember, leading the retreat doesn't make you a coward - it makes you a LEADER! :thumbsup:
76210d61efd6d1029b7f9a5033227b87.jpg

Checks out
 
Ask one of the villagers to use your dagger to cut you loose, then hope you can run away faster than the villager.

If you're not sure who's faster, then tripping the villager first might help.

Remember, leading the retreat doesn't make you a coward - it makes you a LEADER! :thumbsup:
I think that's the Warhammer solution, and Dan Davenport Dan Davenport is asking about RuneQuest:grin:!
 
My current thought is to (1) cast Strength, (2) bust loose, (3) uproot the pole, and (4) use the pole as an improvised pike if the GM will allow it, as I have a pike skill of over 100%.

He's already stated that the pole torches would function as quarterstaves, which doesn't do my character much good.

A very good plan! I would allow a long pole to be used as an improvised pike.
 
Had to look up a Krarshtkid...
BB884758-0DAA-49D1-A9F2-AF3FA8B1F9D2.jpeg
A3352581-3EDA-419A-8553-C870B94B55C0.jpeg
63B9EBEF-63A0-40A1-8642-B165D13F2227.jpeg
Hmm, you may be in trouble. :devil:
Strength to get free and trying to get a makeshift pike sounds like a good idea. You might be able to at least keep them at a distance.
 
I can see a scene like this kicking off in a sword & sorcery flick, so the logic checks out and the plan is solid.

Expend as much magic as you can, and let all hell break lose - and definately use that pole!

This is gonna be a great scene, and if all else fails it will be entertaining to say the least.

Go for it! :thumbsup:
I agree, y’all will talk about this scene for decades!
 
I sure hope not. That doesn't _sound_ like him, anyway.

My character is a remarkable human specimen with most scores 16 or higher. (This was totally above-board. I rolled electronically with the GM watching.) He's a Sundome Templar.

The other person bound to the pole is a Babeester Gor initiate.

The only other member of the party present is a Chalana Arroy initiate.

I do have Strength -- when active, his strength is 26 -- so I've got that going for me. I'm hoping to be able to just bust us loose.

Strength will help, but it doesn't sound like you have Rune Magic available(?) I don't want to spoil anything, but these are extremely deadly Rune-level chaos monsters which attack along a number of different vectors. It's within the realm of possibility that you could disable one of them between you in the first round, but then at the end of round one maybe one or both of you are also killed or disabled, round two Kid number two might get wounded as it kills you, but another one of you dies or is disabled, round three, you all die. That is, assuming nothing else happens, if the Kids are distracted by going after other people there, you could come out ok - maybe a "shark attack" scene where a crowd of party goers gets shredded is what the GM has in mind.
 
Well, bad news: Turns out the pole is massive -- way too big to uproot and use as a weapon. :sad:
 
My GM is reminding me that Rune Magic is powerful, but I don't see any Rune Magic I have that would be of any use in this situation.
 
What does Sunbright do? If it's something related to bright light, then maybe these things are repelled by bright light.
And if they're not, see if you can power it up to scorch them:devil:.

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Oh, it’s obvious, Morale to keep the villagers from running, and Sunbright to put a spotlight on you while you break free of the Maypole with Strength and convince the partygoers to rally and charge!
 
Oh, it’s obvious, Morale to keep the villagers from running, and Sunbright to put a spotlight on you while you break free of the Maypole with Strength and convince the partygoers to rally and charge!
Isn't Morale a kind of fear effect to make sure the other side fails a Morale check? If it's not, maybe. But the number of dead people would be atrocious.
So you should probably look for another option first, if those around you are kin and/or from the same religion:shade:.

And of course, there's always a chance for a Divine Intervention:grin:!
 
Babeester Gor has the specialist Rune spells of -
Axe Trance, Berserker, Dismiss Earth Elemental (small), Earth Shield, Shield, Slash, Summon Earth Elemental (small).
Almost all of them will be useful, an earth elemental will tear them up, and Shield will protect you, if she has those.
You have access, even as a pathetic Yemalio cultist, the common Rune spell Heal Wound.
Chalana Arroy has
Comfort Song, Cure All Disease, Cure Chaos Wound, Cure Poison, Harmony, Heal Body, Healing Trance, Regrow Limb, Restore Health, Resurrect, Summon Cult Spirit (Healing Spirit).
Again, very useful especially in your current predicament.

Your role here is to heroically keep the Kids away from your team mates as they zap with their rune spells.
 
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