Quote from: Doom;651434Man, that brings back memories...it was a fun, brutal game with some pretty amazing stuff going on, especially a magic combat system that had armies clashing even as the physical armies battled it out on the board.

Sounds like a lot of fun. I never played it, personally. I would like to.

Quote from: silva;650761I was browsing the Glorantha wiki and found the page on the Dragon Pass boardgame (previous White Bear and Red Moon), and wow, its units are amazingly inspiring and evocative! Take a look:

It is a very good game - I spent hours playing with a couple of friends in the 80s. Nomad Gods is equally good, but set in Prax.

Quote from: silva;650761I know Glorantha suffered revisions through the years. How much of that is still canon ?

Broadly, all of it.

Glorantha has been expanded on and a lot of things have been retrofitted around new concepts. But, most of Dragon Pass is still valid, at least on a superficial level.

Quote from: silva;650761(I specially like the description of the Windwalkers - "a warband formed by sartarite men and spirits from the Old Wind Temple, that are able to fly like the wind when in combat" )

That is probably still canon, but is more likely to include Storm Mystics rather than Sartarite men and spirits.

The unit descriptions are very evocative, which is one of its many strengths.

Quote from: Phillip;651285Not in RuneQuest.

Why not? If you are playing a RQ game, then the stats should be in RQ. You just need a high-magic version of RQ.

Quote from: Phillip;651285Arduin (D&D, for practical purposes) versions of some heroes appeared in Wyrm's Footprints magazine.

And that has always rankled. Why not write them up in RQ or HQ? It made no sense at the time and makes no sense now.

Quote from: soltakss;651901Why not? If you are playing a RQ game, then the stats should be in RQ. You just need a high-magic version of RQ.

Wait, RQ is low magic? :confused:

Quote from: The Butcher;651907Wait, RQ is low magic? :confused:

Low powered magic. There is nothing in RQ that can simulate the effects of heroquest powered magics.

Quote from: apparition13;651928

Quote from: The Butcher;651907Wait, RQ is low magic? :confused:

Low powered magic. There is nothing in RQ that can simulate the effects of heroquest powered magics.

It depends how you play it.

I have used HeroQuest magic in my RQ games for years. Sometimes you just need to extend RQ a bit, sometimes you bring in rules from HeroQuest and sometimes you handwave it, but it can be done.

OK, I'm intrigued.

This thread is now officially about Gloranthan High Magic.

Give me examples from your HQ and RQ games, you two.

apparition13 can tell me what is it that RQ doesn't cover, and Simon can tell me how he houseruled it.

Coincidently, I was going to ask what exactly those "magicians" units in the boardgame represent. Since most peoples of dragon pass seem to rely on priests for their high-magic, I wonder if the term "magicians" was chosen for a more popular effect.

Quote from: silva;652004Coincidently, I was going to ask what exactly those "magicians" units in the boardgame represent. Since most peoples of dragon pass seem to rely on priests for their high-magic, I wonder if the term "magicians" was chosen for a more popular effect.

The units represent collections of magicians all working together to achieve something that normally wouldn't be possible.

The Lunar Units, especially the Lunar College of Magic, represent Lunar Priests, Sorcerers and Shamans who channel their powers together to produce certain magical effects. For example, the Crater Makers can cause parts of the Red Moon to fall off and hurtle to the ground, crushing everything beneath them. Individually, they could probably kill a few people, but combined they affect larger chunks of moonrock and can cover whole hexes on the board.

The Sartarite magical units are combinations of different types of magician who band together to do similar things. So, the Stormwalkers are Sartarite Priests, Spirits and Sylphs who can band together to fly and blow things away. Argrath is said to have found the way to combine separate powers into one magical ability.

Individual units are, in fact, the Hero and the Bodyguard/Companions/Heroband. So, the Red Emperor is himself and his closest aides, Jar Eel if herself and the core of the Bloodspillers cult, Harrek is himself and some wolf pirate buddies. Even Cragspider is herself and some meaty troll fire priests.

The dragons, however, are single entities - just the True Dragon and nobody else. They are just naturally gross.

How do they achieve their magical powers using the rules? Quite simply, in my opinion. They use the HeroBand mechanic from Hero Wars/Hero Quest. So, each unit is in effect a HeroBand, with a wyter or guardian that is used to focus the magic. Each individual priest can pour magic through the wyter, which then gathers up the magic and releases it in a single burst of highly magical energy.

Is it covered by the basic RQ rules? No.
Is it something that is easily houseruled? Yes.
Does each HeroBand have the same effects? No.

Something similar happened with the RQ3 Lodril cult, where all the priests could band together and cast Summon Lodril to cause an eruption. That would be a HeroBand with each priest channeling energy through the wyter to cause  an effect that is greater than that which each individual priest could not do.

Other things that could be thought of as similar:

• The Sun priests casting a great Fire Spell in King of Sartar, only for it to be reflected back on them.
• The Lunars in Pavis creating the Red Chains to draw the Herd Beasts to them.
• The creation of the Temple of the Reaching Storm
• Some of the magical effects the Lunars did against the Cradle.

Quote from: The Butcher;651977OK, I'm intrigued.

This thread is now officially about Gloranthan High Magic.

Give me examples from your HQ and RQ games, you two.

apparition13 can tell me what is it that RQ doesn't cover, and Simon can tell me how he houseruled it.

We could but it could get really messy really quickly. Some people like to run games using the standard rules, and no matter what other people's houserules are they don't like it.

But, fire away and I'll give some counter-examples of required.

Look at my website for many examples of high-level RQ play.

A little tidbit from re-reading the rules after 30 years.

This was the game where I learned the meaning of the word "defenestration".

Diplomats have a VERY brief life expectancy in this game...is that canon to the RQ material?

Quote from: silva;650761(cross-posted from the TBP)

I was browsing the Glorantha wiki and found the page on the Dragon Pass boardgame (previous White Bear and Red Moon), and wow, its units are amazingly inspiring and evocative! Take a look:

http://glorantha.wikia.com/wiki/Dragon_Pass_Boardgame

I know Glorantha suffered revisions through the years. How much of that is still canon ?

Pretty darned close to canon. There's been a few minor revisions to some of the descriptions of the some of the units over the years and to some of the background information, but I'd say it is pretty close to around 90% accurate.