daf@ihlpg.UUCP (Frech) (12/06/85)
I am a beginning RuneQuest(tm) GM. I am desperately seeking any material regarding RuneQuest cults. I have been able to find "Cults of Terror," but I don't want my players to join them. Any available information/guidelines/etc. on cults (be they home-brewed or store-bought) would be nice. In particular, if there is any way "Cults of Prax" might be found, (bought, etc.) the knowledge would be music to my ears. Pointers to additional RuneQuest source material will also be welcomed. (As well as additional net RuneQuest discussion.) If there is interest, (more than 4 replies) the results will be summarized to the net. Dewey Frech ..!ihnp4!ihlpg!daf AT&T Bell Laboratories Naperville IL
cc100jr@gitpyr.UUCP (Joel M. Rives) (12/08/85)
In article <1466@ihlpg.UUCP> daf@ihlpg.UUCP (Frech) writes: >I am a beginning RuneQuest(tm) GM. > >I am desperately seeking any material regarding RuneQuest cults. I >have been able to find "Cults of Terror," but I don't want my >players to join them. > >Any available information/guidelines/etc. on cults (be they >home-brewed or store-bought) would be nice. > >In particular, if there is any way "Cults of Prax" might be found, >(bought, etc.) the knowledge would be music to my ears. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Though it is not RuneQuest material, you may find that the world of Harn series of game players aides fit in very nicely with RuneQuest. As for "Cults of Prax", I do not know whether it is still available or not. I have a copy but there is simply too much material there to put across the network. You might write to the old Chaosium group and find out if there are any copies left. the never-present whisper spirit Joel Rives Georgia Insitute of Technology, Atlanta Georgia, 30332 ...!{akgua,allegra,amd,hplabs,ihnp4,seismo,ut-ngp}!gatech!gitpyr!cc100jr "Remember, no matter where you go, there you are!" << Buckaroo Banzai >>
tim@k.cs.cmu.edu (Tim Maroney) (12/09/85)
It's pretty easy to design your own. Cults of Prax is rather
Glorantha-specific anyway. You do not need to write up a cult in as
detailed a fashion as recommended in order to play it, particularly since
beginning characters will be only lay members. The proverbial "half a page
of scribbled lines" will do for a start. This gives you plenty of time to
flesh a religion out as you go along. It is also easy to use real-world
religions that you know about as RQ religions.
The most common problem in designing a religion for RQ is excessive
complexity, with tons of different grades and offices and so on. Real
religions do have this complexity, but it makes for bad play. If you do a
complete write-up on a cult, try to cut it to two-thirds size or less after
you finish.
-=-
Tim Maroney, Software Designer, CMU Center for Art and Technology
tim@k.cs.cmu.edu | uucp: {seismo,decwrl,ucbvax,etc.}!k.cs.cmu.edu!tim
CompuServe: 74176,1360 | This is at least as funny as my other signatures.okamoto@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU (Doctor Who) (12/11/85)
In article <699@k.cs.cmu.edu> tim@k.cs.cmu.edu (Tim Maroney) writes: >It's pretty easy to design your own. Cults of Prax is rather >Glorantha-specific anyway. You do not need to write up a cult in as >detailed a fashion as recommended in order to play it, particularly since >beginning characters will be only lay members. > >The most common problem in designing a religion for RQ is excessive >complexity, with tons of different grades and offices and so on. Actually, the biggest problem in writing Glorantha cults is making sure that it doesn't interfere with all the other cults that Greg has written. Look for Gods of Glorantha, coming soon to your local game store. This product contains cult writeups for 60 deities. Also included is a Gloranthan calendar with the High Holy Days of the 60 cults on it. Also is a Prosopaedia, an objective short writeup of almost all the deities in Glorantha. Last is a set of one-page sheets very much like the "What the Priests/Shaman/Sorcerer Says" in the RuneQuest Magic Book. These sheets cover the major pantheons (Elf, Dwarf, Eastern, Lunar, Malkioni, Orlanthi, Praxian, Pamaltelan) and are very subjective. It is quite an enjoyable sight. The beauty of the sheets is that if you have a player who doesn't know the first thing about Gloranthan mythology, and he joins, say, the cult of Orlanth, you give him the Orlanthi sheet and he can read what his cult thinks about the other cults, and some of the major deities in his(Orlanth's) pantheon. This can lead to real role- playing when he meets his first Lunar worshiper. The New Number Who, okamoto@BERKELEY.EDU Jeff Okamoto ..!ucbvax!okamoto
tim@k.cs.cmu.edu (Tim Maroney) (12/13/85)
Thanks, Jeff Okamoto, for the information on "Gods of Glorantha". I agree
completely about the difficulty of writing new Glorantha cults, having tried
it a few times. The research required is staggering! Easier just to come
up with an entirely separate mythology. Given that you are designing your
own world, though, the cults are pretty easy. Let's face it, players are
more interested in making their own myths than in hearing about old ones
anyway. Most of the material in a "complete" cult write-up is of interest
only to the referee.
Glad Avalon Hill is finally living up to their contractual requirements to
RQ, which were to produce four supplements a year. So what were two of the
supplements for the first year? Character sheets! I haven't seen the
contracts, but that certainly seems like a breach of the spirit. Gods of
Glorantha should go a long way towards making that up.
-=-
Tim Maroney, Electronic Village Idiot, CMU Center for Art and Technology
tim@k.cs.cmu.edu | uucp: {seismo,decwrl,ucbvax,etc.}!k.cs.cmu.edu!tim
CompuServe: 74176,1360 | Offense is an inevitable consequence of honesty.