From: millerl@wharton.upenn.edu
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: Re: RQ: Divine intervention
Date: 19 Nov 92 18:36:42 GMT
Organization: Newt World Order

In article <1992Nov19.101226.13364@eng.cam.ac.uk>, yt1@eng.cam.ac.uk (Y. Tremblay) writes:
> Anybody around here plays Runequest ?  

Hmm?

> FYI the rules I have are RQ Deluxe edition and using Glorantha 
> Gods.

You should have told us this up front.

> I just started playing it a month ago and I am looking for opinions about
> divine intervention.  First some general questions.  Sorry for the length.
> 
> 1:  When can you ask for a divine intervention ?
>     Do you need to be in a deseperate situation.  At the edge of death or
>     can you ask it in any risky situation.  I know the cost can be high if
>     one asks it anytime but _CAN_ he if he is willing to pay the POW cost.

An initiate can ask for a divine intervention any time. The hard part is
getting initiated. Think of catholic monks. Initiates are *that* devoted
to their religion.

> 2:  How long does it take.  (mechanics)

No time. You just have to mumble it, subvocalize or something, and then
roll for success at the end of the round/beginning of the next round.

> 3:  Effect of magic items 
>     If the character (or NPC ?) asking for divine intervention owns an item
>     posseding POW points and wich he can normally use the magic points.  Does
>     the POW of that item can be add to the one of the character to ask for 
>     divine intervention ?  And if yes (?!) are the lost POW from the character
>     or the item first ?  (an elf bow for example? any MP matrix ?)

No! The requestor of the divine intervention pays the price out of
his/her own power. Your allied spirit can try a divine intervention for
you but it has to be its choice, not yours. On a related subject you
can't force someone to DI for you unless they agree to, and if you are
asking them to DI then why should their actual prayer be what you want
it to be? Say you capture a foe and try to force it to DI an increase in
one of your statistics. Your foe successfully DIs and before you notice
what's going on the victim is gone, or even worse, up to 10 of the
toughest warriors from your foe's faction appear in the room with
weapons drawn and spells blasting, out for your scalp.

> 4:  Can you ask more than once in a given situation/time

The answer is final for any given situation. If five characters are in a
fight, any one could ask for DI once to rescue them. If characters are
misusing DI, their priests may want to discipline them. The deity's time
is important, and should not be monopolized by pushy mortals.

> 5:  What is a reasonable effect of a divine intervention ?
>     In the book they give three examples:  teleport up to ten human-sized 
>     creatures, raise one stat, resurrect (sp?) a dead.  Can it be offensive ?

Somebody else already answered this. No. The gods have made a compromise
so they aren't allowed to kill or directly attack each other's
worshippers, because this was the cause of gods' wars in the past and
they don't want to go through that again. Neither do mortals, since the
last time that happened the Sun was killed and left the sky for a long
time and Chaos invaded the world.

> 6:  What about non-beleivers in the party ?
>     Deities and priests are known for hating sorcerer.  If an initiate wished
>     to be teleported to a safe place with his friends/party, would the god
>     accept totally ? refuse totally cause there is non-beleivers ? or simply
>     teleport only the believers and leave the rest of the party there ?

I don't think the god desires to make a decision of that sort. If the
god accepts the DI request then the god assumes that the worshipper has
made a wise request. After all, anyone who makes a DI is a full
initiate, a trusted servant of the deity, and has given a point of POW
to the deity as well as money and hundreds of regular donations of MP. I
don't think that deities hate sorcerors. Priests may hate them. The
enforcment of strictures against fraternizing with sorcerors and shamans
would be up to the priestly hierarchy.

> 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.

-- 
whoah,
+++++++++++++++++++++++23
Loren Miller                           internet: MILLERL@wharton.upenn.edu
Mediocrity is a hand rail.                         -- Baron de Montesquieu
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc