From: v124pz9t@ubvmsb.cc.buffalo.edu (David Cheng, using Mark S Cheng's acct)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: RuneQuest: Rune Power, version 2
Date: 29 Aug 92 16:07:00 GMT
Organization: University at Buffalo
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41

Gentlemen,

Following is the near-final revision of the Rune 
Power variant.  I know I promised it months ago, 
but you know how things go...  ;-)

A good 85% of the feedback was "this will make 
rune magic too powerful," or "this violates the
Great Compromise."  I have tried to address these
points more thoroughly, and you might notice
the article has grown over three-fold.  I think the
feedback was very valuable, and I like the way the 
idea has developed more fully.  Thanks to all
of you who responded.  

I hope to mail the final-final version to David
Hall on Monday.  If you have comments, and 
would like to influence the final draft, please
get them to me by Sunday.

I hope you enjoy it, even if you don't buy into
it.

-DC


================================

                RUNE POWER BLASPHEMY 
            Variant Rules for Divine Magic 

                  by David Cheng 

------------------------------------------------------- 
     Emma, a Sartarite woman, is an initiate of Ernalda.   
Because the omens for the next planting season are bad,  
she goes to her temple and sacrifices three points of  
characteristic power for three uses of Bless Crops.   
     Emma is also a wife and mother.  It is her duty to  
protect her home and children when a party of trolls  
raids the family stead one night. 
     Nobody said it would be a fair fight.  While the  
other members of the household are fighting outside, a  
fanatic Zorak Zorani crashes through the door.  Emma  
does her best to defend the children, but she is quickly  
overcome.  Battered into unconsciousness, she feels her  
life slipping away.  (In game terms, Emma is at one  
total hit point, and losit unless she gets some serious healing, her  
beloved children will soon follow her into the  
afterlife. 
     Ernalda, her patron, is able to grant the divine  
spell Heal Body.  Emma has recently sacrificed three  
points of power to Ernalda.  But, because it was for the  
wrong spell, Emma's life slips away... 
------------------------------------------------------- 

     Why does Emma have to die?  Why do the current  
rules say that Ernalda cannot intervene to save her  
faithful worshipper without a full divine intervention?   
Emma has sacrificed for three points of rune magic,  
right?  Why is it that Ernalda can't exercise some  
judgement in how that rune magic is granted? 


                 THE PROPOSED VARIANT 

     Instead of sacrificing for specific spells,  
worshippers (initiates and up) should just sacrifice for  
divine points, or rune points (I'll use these terms  
interchangeably).  These divine points would be "spent"  
for divine magic, upon demand, from the appropriate  
deity. 
     Divine points can be spent on any divine spell  
offered by the deity.  The player decides what spell he  
wants at the time of casting, not at the time of  
sacrifice. 
     Initiates get their divine points non-reusably,  
just like current divine magic sacrifices.  Acolytes,  
priests, and lords get their points back through prayer,  
just like the current system.  Unless, of course, they  
call for spells which are listed as non-reusable.  As  
with the current system, initiates do not have access to  
spells that are defined as non-reusable for priests. 

-------------------------------------------------- 
     Paraeus the initiate begins an adventure in Pavis  
with four Humakt divine points, having previously  
sacrificed four points of characteristic power at his  
temple.  
     Early on, Paraeus suspects that a certain "Swifty"  
is trying to sell him and his buddies a bogus map.  He  
decides he needs some magical perception, and so asks  
Humakt for a Detect Truth spell.  He is now down to  
three divine points.   
     Later, as they are wandering in the Rubble, he and  
his party are attacked by trolls.  Never one to shirk a  
good fight, he calls for a Truesword, and Humakt gladly  
obliges.  Seeing that Paraeus is such a tough opponent,  
the troll shaman sends a ghost to attack him in spirit  
combat.  This is one foe he cannot parry, so Paraeus  
feels the need to call upon Humakt for a point of Spirit  
Block (a common divine spell), and again is answered.   
Paraeus' group goes on to win the fight, collect a small  
sum of loot, and stumble back to New Pavis, only to be  
taxed heavily upon their re-entry... 
------------------------------------------------------ 

     Note how Paraeus was able to call for any spell  
Humakt is able to grant, as the situation warranted.   
Not that he got off easy, however.  Over the course of  
one short adventure, he spent three POW worth of divine  
magic.  It will probably take Paraeus at least a year to  
gain that amount of POW back, whether he plans on  
sacrificing for more divine points or not. 


     A DIFFERENT WAY OF RATIONALIZING DIVINE MAGIC 

     As currently written, the RQ rules portray divine  
magic as kind of a "holy hand grenade."  A divine spell  
is powerful magic your deity "gives" you.  Once the god  
hands it over, he or characteristic power.   
     By adopting this variant, I suggest you view divine  
magic not as a holy hand grenade, but instead as a  
"divine favor," kind of like a limited divine  
intervention.  The deity, and thus the gamemaster,  
retains some ownership.  The character still controls  
what spell he asks for.  The gods are not omniscient,  
and their attention is usually not on the inner world  
(the physical plane), even when a worshipper calls for  
divine magic.  The god "trusts" that the worshipper is  
asking for an appropriate spell.  Note: as gamemaster,  
you might want to intercede at this point.  By going  
with this philosophy, the flexibility, and  
responsibility, is there for you to control the game if  
you need to. 
     Because the character has a magical relationship  
with his god, and because he previously sacrificed some  
POW, he can "call the favor."  This favor is answered in  
the form of a predictable, magical effect: a divine  
spell.   


      BUT WHAT ABOUT THE GREAT COMPROMISE? 

     The divine point concept fits within the  
restrictions of the Great Compromise.  Yes, a worshipper  
has more flexibility with the magic he can call for.   
But, he is still constrained to the divine spells  
offered by the god.  The flexibility allowed is totally  
within the scope of the god.  Worshippers can not create  
new spells just by spending divine points - such an act  
would violate the Compromise. 
     Let's look at two fanatical Orlanthi priests.   
Hakon Cloudson spends all his POW on Cloud Call.  Borali  
Thunderfist spends all his POW on Thunderbolt.  Both  
have 20 points of their favorite spell, and practically  
no other rune spells.  Does either of these priests  
violate the Great Compromise when they cast all their  
points in one big spell?  No.  By adopting the divine  
point variant, a rvations on how the divine point  
concept will affect your game, and some suggestions on  
how to work out potential rules glitches. 


WILL THIS MAKE RUNE MAGIC OVERPOWERED? 
     In the campaigns I have been involved with, rune  
magic, even reusable rune magic, was a very precious  
thing.  The characters struggled for months of real time  
to get POW increases, so they could spare a point or two  
to sacrifice for a spell.  Those spells were only used  
when things really got bad. 
     Half the reason I developed this idea comes from my  
belief that divine magic is underpowered, especially for  
initiates.  I think having magic from a god should make  
a character tough!  The character is sacrificing some of  
his spiritual essence, his soul, for the benefit of a  
magical effect - often for only one use.  Let it be  
worth it! 
     Acolytes, Priests, and Lords:  Yes, they will be  
much tougher, because their divine points are reusable.   
These people are Rune Masters; they should stand far  
above the average person.  They should be magically  
imposing! 
     Why are these people running around adventuring?   
They have full-time duties.  Most of their divine points  
will go to pedestrian spells like Spellteaching and  
Divination - and not Divinations for personal use  
either!  The flock that supports the priest with tithes  
expects to be spiritually supported.  Just as the  
craftsman makes things for the community, the priest  
"makes magic" for the community, (assisted by acolytes).   
     Acolytes are expected to give 50% of their time to  
the temple, priests and lords must give 90%.  Remember,  
a priest's 10% free time is probably more like one hour  
per ten, not one week per ten.  Make the player  
characters feel the burden of responsibility.  Consider  
insisting they semi-retire the character, except for  
when there is a threat to the community so great that it  
warrants "calling up" the Rune Masters.  
     Of course, some people prefer high-power, Rune  
Master-dominated campaigns.  See "Game Balance" below,  
for some different suggestions. 


MAJOR AND MINOR GODS 
     You will notice that the powerful deities have  
longer divine spell lists than the minor deities.  Thus,  
worshippers of major gods will have a wider selection of  
magic to call upon.  This makes sense: worshippers of  
major gods should be more magically powerful than  
worshippers of minor gods. 


BEING AN INITIATE OF MORE THAN ONE CULT 
     Characters that belong to more than one cult should  
maintain separate divine point tallies.  Of course,  
divine points held from one god cannot be used to get  
divine magic from another god.  
-------------------------------------------------- 
     Paraeus is an initiate of both Humakt and Orlanth.   
After the Pavis Rubble adventure, his character sheet  
might say "Humakt divine points = 1, Orlanth divine  
points = 2."   Paraeus can only spend his Orlanth points  
on-------------- 


CASTING RUNE MAGIC AGAINST A WORSHIPPER OF THE SAME  
RELIGION 
     A god will not grant a Divine Intervention against  
one of his own worshippers.  Thus, when viewing rune  
magic as a "limited Divine Intervention," I suggest that  
a deity should not provide an offensive rune spell  
against one of his own; no feuding Yelmies Sunspear-ing  
each other, etc.  Of course, if the god had a reason to  
strongly favor one worshipper over another, he might  
consent.  Perhaps Orlanth is a bit angry with his  
Colymar followers for embracing the Red Moon, and would  
favor any tribes who are fighting the Colymar... 


DIVINE MAGIC FROM ASSOCIATE DEITIES 
     Back in the Godtime, the gods shared magical  
secrets with their friends, and stole powers from their  
enemies.  Because of this, they can still grant their  
worshippers those powers, in the form of associate  
divine spells.    
     To cast associate divine magic, a character just  
spen restricted to only the spell or two that  
his deity has access to.  
     Back in the Godtime, Issaries showed Orlanth a  
magical way to keep his belongings safe.  From this act  
Orlanth now knows the spell Lock.  That is why an  
Orlanth worshipper can spend Orlanth rune points to cast  
Lock.  He doesn't need to sacrifice to Issaries.   
However, Lock is the only Issaries divine spell that the  
worshipper can get from Orlanth. 


RUNE MAGIC FROM SUB-CULTS 
     A character can only call for the rune spells of  
sub-cults he belongs to.  For example, a foreign Humakti  
could not get the Indrodar Greydog spell Release Zombie  
(as seen in Tales #5).  Release Zombie is only available  
to Humakti in the Lismelder tribe of Sartar, and only to  
those Humakti who have actually joined the sub-cult. 


ISSARIES SPELL TRADING 
     During the Spell Trading ritual, each participant  
actually casts their spell.  The ritual serves to  
capture the spells before they take effect, and deliver  
them to the respective trading partners.  So, each  
trader spends the divine points to cast the appropriate  
spell normally. 


THANATARI HEAD STEALING 
     The Create Head ritual enslaves the victim's  
spirit.  The Thanatari can then force the bound spirit  
to use its rune points to cast spells.   
     As the current write-up states, minor heads provide  
only one-use rune points.   
     Major heads can get rune points squeezed out of  
them reusably, if the Thanatari sacrifices his own POW  
to do so.  I believe this is compatible with the idea of  
rune points.  Think of it this way: the bound Rune  
Master has an especially strong tie to the runes of his  
god (remember, only a head that has reusable rune points  
to begin with can grant reusable points to its Thanatari  
master).  The Create Major Head ritual allows the  
Thanatari to manipulate that victim's runic ties, and to  
get those runic powers reusably.  Perhaps this is why  
Thanatari are so hated, feared, and persecuted! 


TRUESTONE 
     The holder of the truestone spends divine points to  
cast a specific spell.  That spell is held in the stone,  
to be released later.  I do not think that truestone  
should be allowed to hold "raw" divine points.   
     But, if you like the idea of raw divine points, I  
would suggest that only worshippers of that deity could  
use them to call for divine magic.  A non-worshipper  
lacks the runic ties to be able to call for divine  
magic.  Perhaps non-worshippers could use the raw divine  
points to summon elementals (i.e. Storm god divine  
points are good for summoning sylphs, Sea god points to  
summon undines, etc.)?   


                  GAME BALANCE 

     Obviously, adopting thn most of the spells their deity  
offers, as the situation warrants.  It will be harder to  
design adventures because of this new player character  
flexibility.  Rune magic-using NPC's will also get  
tougher. 
     What steps can be taken to prevent characters from  
becoming unreasonably powerful?  Below are some optional  
suggestions to keep the rune point concept reasonable.   
Mix and match them as you see fit.  (Hint: even if you  
don't adopt the rune point idea, many of these  
suggestions could apply to regular rune magic too.) 


MAKE IT TOUGHER TO GET DIVINE POINTS 
     Too many players think having some excess POW  
obliges them to sacrifice it for divine magic.  There is  
a ritual involved, officiated by your priest.  What have  
you done for the temhost spend a  
precious Divination to ask Humakt about Paraeus'  
standing in the cult?  What has Paraeus done for this  
temple, that he should be allowed to sacrifice for more  
divine points? 
     The gamemaster should be willing add some roleplay  
to the ritual of divine sacrifice.  This gives the  
gamemaster more control over the divine magic in the  
campaign.  A word of caution: do not overlook the  
responsibility of making decisions like this.  The GM  
should not arbitrarily deny a request for new magic, or  
the players might feel betrayed.   
     If the character has not been a good temple citizen  
lately, let the player know that the chances of getting  
new divine points are slim.  This is an excellent  
springboard for adventures.  In exchange for the  
"privilege" of sacrificing, the characters might have to  
perform some favor (big or small) for the priest.  This  
is part of the roleplay behind the initiate's 10% time  
requirement. 
     Another way to limit the availability of divine  
points is to say a character can only sacrifice during a  
cult seasonal holy day.  This is easy to rationalize:  
the donation of spiritual essence (POW) can only take  
place when the god is closer to the world, during the  
suspension of Tune magic.  Normally, the character spends- 
one-day-in-prayer-for-each-point-to-recover.  Pure  
rules.  What is happening during that day of prayer?   
The character is giving his god information.  Because of  
the Great Compromise, the gods find it difficult to do  
anything new.  This includes learning things on their  
own.  Worshippers have to provide the gods with new  
knowledge, through prayer.   
     How about a dialogue with the god?  Perhaps the  
deity insists that you tell him what you did with that  
rune magic you cast, before he agrees to renew it.  As  
game master, perhaps you think the deity might  
disapprove of how those rune points were spent.  Did a  
Sword of Humakt cast Shield just so he could retreat  
from a combat?  Maybe Humakt punishes the cowardice by  
not renewing those points until the Sword goes back and  
slays the foe that drove him off.  Perhaps Kyger Litor  
is offended that her priestess traded away some rune  
magic to an untrustworthy Issaries Goldentongue, and  
refuses to renew the points until atonement is made.   
Remember, your god will know if you try to lie... 
     A word of caution: don't punish characters because  
they beat up your monsters too efficiently.  Punish them  
for acting in a way the god would not approve of. 
     Another restriction could be to say Rune Masters  
can only renew rune points on seasonal holy days.  This  
can be pretty severe, but if you feel that there is too  
much reusable rune magic flying around your campaign,  
this will definitely put a damper on things.  If you  
take this approach, I would remind you again about  
temple duties.  How many rune points will a priest spend  
tending his NPC flock each season?  What effect will  
this have on his rune point tally for an adventure,  
especially as he gets further from the last holy  
day/renewal?  Casting rune spells is part of a priest's  
everyday duty; try telling the worshippers "sorry, I'm  
saving up for an adventure on my day off." 


MAKE IT TOUGHER TO BECOME AN ACOLYTE/PRIEST/LORD 
    alify for acolyte, 80% for priests and  
lords. 
     I portance of the Ceremony skill  
is underplayed.  Certainly a priest should be well  
versed in cult rituals?  Would you wanike Glorantha, think of the  
consequences...  Again, acolytes might need at least 50%  
in Ceremony, 80% for priests and lords.   
     To make it even tougher, impose minimums for  
Enchant and Summon too. 


LIMIT, OR EVEN DO AWAY WITH, ACOLYTES 
     I have a theory that acolytes are a rules  
construct, to allow player characters reusable divine  
magic without the burden of full priesthood.  Too many  
of these pesky guys around, throwing all that reusable  
divine magic?  Do away with them!  We got along without  
them just fine in RQ2... 
     A more moderate stance would be to limit the number  
of acolytes in any temple hierarchy.  A priest can only  
have so many helpers around, and the community can only  
support so many.  If the gamemaster doesn't want a  
character becoming an acolyte (or even a priest), tell  
the player there are no vacancies.  It's your world. 


INITIATES AND ACOLYTES STILL SACRIFICE FOR SPECIFIC  
SPELLS 
     A deity will obviously favor his priests and lords  
above all other worshippers.  Perhaps this "special  
bond" is necessary for the use of rune points.   
Initiates and acolytes are not yet ready for the fuller  
power of the god, and thus can only be trusted with  
specific spells.  Of course, a mission of great  
importance, or a heroquest, might prove to the god that  
a special initiate or acolyte is trustworthy enough to  
handle the flexibility of rune points. 
     A more generous gamemaster might allow acolytes  
rune points, but keep the restriction on initiates. 


WATCH OUT FOR THOSE TRICKSTERS! 
     Thanks go out to George Harris for noticing that  
Tricksters will be unmanageably gross if you give them  
reusable divine points.  Imagine all those nasty magical  
pranks, totally at the trickster's beck and call!  Three  
solutions come to mind: 
     1) Tricksters are an exception.  The character must  
travel to a shrine to "learn" the spell available at  
that shrine.  From then on, however, the trickster can  
call upon that spell using divine points, as normal. 
     2) All trickster spells become one-use.  They  
retain the ability to call upon any spell, though.   
Tricksters will still have an incredible variety to draw  
upon, but will only be able to use it sparingly. 
     3) Impose a Disorder penalty.  Recently, Stafford  
mentioned that "all tricksters are fools.  Half the  
time, their pranks backfire."  Perhaps you could impose  
a significant (50%?) chance of a spell fumbling (which  
could be great fun for the gamemaster and other  
players). 


     Most of the resistance to the rune point concept  
comes from what it will do to game balance.  Yes, game  
balance will find a new equilibrium point.  Rune points,  
admittedly, are more of a philosophy-of-magic idea than  
a game balance idea. 
     The catalyst for the rune point concept comes from  
my questioning why the gods are arbitrarily restricted  
in the magic they give to worshipper.  This just smacks  
too much of D&D.  I see rune magic more as a miracle  
granted, and not an effect pre-packaged and handed over. 
     The gods are intelligent entities.  They are  
responsible for the well being of their worshippers.   
Why shouldn't they be able to grant any "miracle" within  
their scope of abilities?  What is the justification for  
having to sacrifice for a particthe rules "make sense" (as much as a fantasy game can,  
that is).  It makes sense to me that rune magic, being  
the miraculous event that it is, should have a bit more  
flexibility than it currently is written with. 

Thanks go to: Steven Barnes, David Hall, George Harris,  
Oliver Jovanovic, Rob Mace, Mike McGloin, Charles  
Morehouse, Erich Schmidt, Ross Stites, and James  
Wadsley, for their help in the development of this idea. 



BOXED INSERT: 
  MORE BLASPHEMY - LIMITS ON DIVINE INTERVENTION 

     While we're thrashing the traditions of rune magic,  
why not also take a look at the other way gods interact  
directly wout of danger, and restoring the dead to  
life.  I would like to suggest a different take on the  
question "what is the limitation of a god?".  Much like  
the rune power variant, I think that the gamemaster  
should take significantly more responsibility to  
roleplay the way a deity answers a call for DI. 
     Many players, and gamemasters alike, see Divine  
Intervention as a miraculous cure-all.  It can teleport  
you out of trouble, it can raise the dead, it can  
increase stats, et cetera.  I ask "How?".  How did  
Ernalda get the ability to Teleport her worshippers?   
How does Magasta restore life to a dead Orlanthi? 
     A god's runic association, his "theme" if you will,  
determines the kind of divine magic that god can grant.   
I think the runes should also constrain the Divine  
Interventions allowed.  Much as rune magic might be seen  
as a "limited DI," Divine Intervention might be said to  
be "super rune magic."  The basic idea: take the god's  
spell lists (both divine and spirit) as a roOrlanth and Mastakos  
should be able to Teleport their worshippers out of  
danger (or anywhere for that matter, using DI).  This is  
because only these two deities have the rune spell  
Teleport.  Other Mobility-rune gods might bestow a  
similar benefit.  Perhaps worshippers of Issaries,  
Etyries and Lokarnos might pray and be granted a super- 
mobility spell, to outrun their enemies.  Lgod who can teach the spell Mobility might be able to  
grant such a miracle.    
     What if the character doesn't worship a Mobility  
god?  Look at the runesspirit magic lists.  Use your imagination!  I might  
suggest variations on elementals.  Ernalda could have  
the earth "swallow up" her worshipper, to be borne to  
safety underground by a gnome.  Not necessarily far  
away, as Ernalda is not a Mobility goddess; just to  
safety.  Air gods could have sylphs carry an unconscious  
initiate away.  Sea gods could have an undine knock foes  
down, and "wash" the worshipper away to safety.  But,  
don't be afraid to limit DI; the gods are not  
omnipotent!  If the Magastan is in the middle of the  
Wastes, there can be no undines coming to his rescue.   
It's his fault he is too far away for his god to reach.   
Magasta will have to think of something else... 

Resurrection & Healing 
     I think a deity should only be able to restore life  
to one of his or her own followers.  The god has no  
mystical link to other souls, and thus cannot pull them  
from the path of the dead (An obvious exception would be  
any Healing deities, who have special spells to do just  
this sort of thing).   
     A related miracle is healing, usually in the middle  
of a battle.  An argument could be made that a god who  
has no healing magic, spirit or divine, can't do it!   
Admittedly, this could be pretty severe in a game.  But,  
I'm not advocating game balance.  My intent is to keep  
the gods within their spheres of influence, bound by the  
Great Compromise.  As an example, Wachaza doesn't offer  
his worshippers any healing magic.  But, to help a  
worshipper through a combat, he might bestow several  
points of Seastrength, Bladesharp, Coordination, and  
Mobility.  If the praying Wachazan is already  
unconscious, then maybe he doesn't deserve the patronage  
of Wachaza, and is better off dead. 

Roleplay the Deity 
     This is the underlying theme.  As gamemaster, you  
have to decide what the deity thinks about this prayer  
for intervention, and how to respond.   
     In a DI situation, the god turns his attention  
toward the worshipper.  Note the contrast to what was  
said earlier about calling for divine magic.  The god is  
not omniscient, so he probably only knows what is in the  
mind of the praying worshipper, and any other  
worshippers in the immediate area.  Using this  
information only, the god, as played by the gamemaster,  
decides how to intervene.  The player can make a  
specific request, but the ultimate authority about what  
happens rests with the gamemaster. 
     Don't grant Interventions that don't fit the image  
of the god.  Humakti or Storm Bulls who ask aid to  
escape from a combat should be laughed at, whether they  
make the DI roll or not!  Humakti and Storm Bulls who DI  
to be better fighters have the right idea, and should be  
answered appropriately, if the roll is made of course.   
Other, less violent gods are more prone to protect and  
shelter worshippers in need.  Just how they do this is  
up to you as well. 

= END =

(I apologize for the messed-up file transfer.  If anyone
 wants a complete copy, please e-mail me

 David Cheng
 drcheng@wissel.stern.nyu.edu
 (212) 472-7752
Xref: sparky rec.games.frp.misc:4816 rec.games.frp:25079