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From: steven@qubix.UUCP (Steven Maurer)
Newsgroups: net.games.frp
Subject: Re: Runequest & other Chaosium games
Message-ID: <825@qubix.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 8-Feb-84 18:30:51 EST
Article-I.D.: qubix.825
Posted: Wed Feb  8 18:30:51 1984
Date-Received: Sat, 11-Feb-84 04:53:33 EST
References: <4907@umcp-cs.UUCP>, <171@tymix.UUCP>
Organization: Qubix Graphic Systems, Saratoga, CA
Lines: 84


    Unfortunately, RQ III is going down the drain.

    I speak from experience, because I added a few suggestions to the changes
    that might be made, and have a copy of the "new" rules.

    Among the rather silly new additions to the rules:

	Defense is now turned into a skill called "Dodge";  Whenever your
	character wants to parry, he must stand still (he gets no defense
	even if he is a pixie) -- whenever your character wants to dodge,
	he cannot seem to put his shield in the way of the blow.
	Dodge is now rolled.  If your character makes his dodge percentage,
	then the attacker missed (even if he hit).

	There has been no fix of the "training up non-human characteristics"
	bug.  Specifically, the new race "halflings" have a CON which allows
	even the most sickly of them to train their STR up to species Max.

	There has been an intense over-reaction to the ENC rules of RQ II.
	Most player characters, now cannot wield both their weapons, and
	wear any significant armor without running out of fatigue.  (There
	is a notible exception to this rule for small creatures, such as
	hobbits (excuse me, "halflings"),  who can wear platemail and use
	a greatsword - no problem.

	Battle Magic, now called "Spirit Magic", can only be sucessful in
	casting, if you roll your POW x 5 - ENC (NOT OVER ENC, JUST YOUR
	ENC).   This gives a guy with a POW of 9, in Plate Mail, with a
	Broad Sword (he could be STR 34 for all it matters), a 10% chance
	to even CAST the Battlemagic (a second roll is required for POW vs
	POW effects).   Imagine the poor Giant, carrying a treetrunk with
	a -40% chance to cast his spells.

	If you fire an arrow into melee, you divide your chance to hit by
	the number of combattants in mele.   Rolling between your normal
	chance to hit, and your adjusted chance to hit, means that to roll
	randomly to see who was affected.  This means that you should
	make sure to keep a bunch of dogs around you at all times, and
	whenever someone starts shooting at you, let a couple of rabbits
	loose among them....  chances are that the 120% elf in the woods
	will only be able to hit your dogs.

	Sorcery is designed to allow students to be almost as powerful as
	Magi.  Furthermore, a mere student (equivalent of Lay Member), can
	cast spells of such intensity as to make a Rune Priestess whimper.
	For example, a well practiced student can cast a "Regeneration"
	sorcery spell, at intensity 10, which is exactly the same as
	a Heal Body & 4 Regenerate Limbs.

	Throw out your old RQ II Shamans, they are no longer legal.
	You no longer persuade a spirit to become your fetch.  Instead
	the POW you normally store on the spirit plane is called your
	fetch.  Luckily, the new shaman player characters, can become
	incredibly rich, because they are the people who teach the new
	"Spirit Magic".  They do this by -- get this -- binding a "Spirit
	of Spirit Spell" (in other words, there are "Spirits of Bladesharp",
	"Spirits of Multimissile", etc.)   If you defeat the spirit in
	Spirit Combat, you get its spell.

	On converions between RQ II, and RQ III:

	Do you have more Battle Magic spells than your INT?   You can
	forget them -- literally.   Bound spirits do not allow you to
	remember more spells than your INT anymore.  The spells disappear.

	Your Defense becomes dodge.  Since most beginning RQ III characters
	can start out with a Dodge of 20% (if they have good bonuses), this
	means that your highest Defense character, has been demoted to a
	Lay Member status, in avoiding blows.

	Do you have seprate skills for Trap Set/Disarm, Pick Locks, Shield
	Making, Weapon Making, Armor Making?   They are now all one skill:
	Devise.   This means your Rune Lord Dwarf could be reduced to one
	90% skill, instead of 5.

    --  I could go on, but I'm too disgusted


    Steven Maurer

p.s.   Apologies to non RQ players, who don't know what the hell I was
	talking about.