From: yt1@eng.cam.ac.uk (Y. Tremblay)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: Re: RQ: Divine intervention
Date: 21 Nov 92 02:25:19 GMT
Organization: Cambridge University Engineering Department, UK

Here it is, the game situation that made me write the first article.

In article <1992Nov19.133642.1@wharton.upenn.edu> millerl@wharton.upenn.edu writes:
>In article <1992Nov19.101226.13364@eng.cam.ac.uk>, yt1@eng.cam.ac.uk (Y. Tremblay) writes:
>> FYI the rules I have are RQ Deluxe edition and using Glorantha 
>> Gods.
>You should have told us this up front.
Sorry, I think about it only at the end of the article... So, anyway, I use
RQ3 Deluxe edition (the one that include a bit more stuff).  

>> I may post later a description of the situation that lead to the argument
>> but I would like some general answers beforehand.
>
>Please do. It sounds like you have to deal with munchkins.
>
Well, I suspect that one could qualify this group (sorry some of them) as 
somewhat munchkins...  Anyway, here is the situation: 

Only one member of the party is still standing.  The rest of the party is
not in a state of fighting anymore, one mercenary is dead.  (I am still 
somewhat proud to have succefully turned down the party killing only
one NPC...).  The standing character is an elf, initiate of Aldyra (sp?)
(how surprise:-).  He still have quite a few hit points left but only 2 MP 
and his facing 5 oponents almost healty...  My goal his to take them as
prisoneers and the leader even asked him to surrender.  Two of the foes are
trying to grap him while another one keep slashing.  The player says that 
his elf will never surrender to human (I think he would have said it
for any race but elf...) and decide to ask for divine intervention. 
(In reality, I suspect the reason why he doesn't want to surrender is
cause he is afraid to lose his bow/weapon/money/etc.)

The PC is an elf, initiate of Aldyra, with some (I don't remember) 15 POW
and an elf bow of POW 13 (yes, he rolled it in front of me!). Under the 
effect of a "demoralize" spell and haven't realized it yet.  
They are in a fields (very large prairies?) at half a day of the forest.
There is a sorcerer, non-believers and initiate of other gods in the 
party.

My view are:
  He can use only his own POW points ask DI
  He can ask just once. 
  He can't ask for any offensive action cause he is demoralize.
  I tell him that he could be teleport in the forest.  Can Aldyra do it ?
  
His points are
  He can use his bow and if it succeed then the points are first removed
  from the bow...
  Since it isn't said in the rules that you can't ask more than once, 
  there is no reason why he can't.
  He want to ask for: "All non-elf around his to fall inconcious"

There started an argument that totally pissed me off and where all the
players ranged behind the elf.  (Yes he missed the first time...)
Since I don't personnally believe in GM total power and supreme 
judgement, I usually try to arrive with a concensus when there is
a point that is not clear so that most feel it is justified (logical?).

I considered that he was the initiate not his bow (the bow don't pray!?!)
so the request his made by him alone.  He says that the bow MP's can be 
used to power spell and to resist offensive spell then it can do the same
for DI.  As well, I considered that once a deity don't give something,
you cannot ask for the same again.  I refer him to the equivalent in
D&D (oh evil name here, sorry :-) but he says that in *D&D there is no
cost associated to DI while here there is one and that is what stop
people to ask so he should be allowed to ask again an again.  He agreed 
with me about the non-offensive cause of the demoralize.  At the moment
I didn't know about the pact between the Gods.

After long long argument, I gave up, it was late and we all wanted to 
finish this battle before going to bed.  However, I really regret it
and plan to put them back where they were at the beginning of the next 
session. (Yes, I consider and admit I did a mistake and I shouldn't 
agree with these players since some of them are kind of munchkins...)
It is in short/long why I am looking for other opinion, so that I can
shut them.  Or if the opinions are against me, I'll shut up.  But,
the answers I got up to now seem to be what I tough.  I didn't post
the situation at first cause it is obvious that the player is trying to 
maximise everything and I knew it would attract some flame in this 
group.  (BTW, I agree with the potential flamers...)

Thanks to the ones that replied to my first post.  Keep talking about
RQ it seems to be a nice system.

A pissed off GM.

Yannick
yt1@eng.cam.ac.uk