Had a fantastic time playtesting the near-final heroquesting game mechanics for RuneQuest with Neil Robinson, Claudia Loroff, David Larkins, and Matt Ryan. Andrew Logan Montgomery has really done a fantastic job putting up with my constant changes. Key highlights – it is definitely not Super RuneQuest, and we are doing our playtesting with the pregens from the Starter Set. Characters with strong Runes and Passions, plenty of Rune Magic and lots of POW and CHA are going to do better than characters with high skills – which is as it should be!
The new rules do a fantastic job showing how Gloranthan myths change while the God Time remains eternal and changeless. They really encourage and facilitate exploration of the Hero Plane, and all the players could have something to do. In order to overcome a (possibly magical) drought the players set off to liberate the waters taken by Aroka. Amusingly, Vasana gained a Dragonbreaking boon in the quest’s climax – she spurned the liberated Blue Woman’s offers and went straight for power over dragons, while Sorala Tor gained insight into communicating with dragons and even a little Dragon Magic. Yanioth gained a magic fruit from the Lord of Trees and is somehow tied with the Poisonthorn Elves, while Harmast now has a magic kid with hooves and antlers. Just a regular jaunt into Hero Plane.
Attached is one of the game aids the players had – a map Sorala Tor had taken from the Holy Country describing the relationship between locations known from the Tournament of the Masters of Luck and Death.
And it is good that the players managed to get extraordinary support from their clan and the Clearwine Earth Temple or there is no way they would have succeeded!
It was pretty wildly in the details. They decided to leap far ahead so that they didn’t need to fight trolls or the Wild Hunter, got lost, copulated with the Great Goddess, asked for directions from the Lord of Trees, and plenty of over things I don’t remember in King of Sartar!But their experience was true and that is what they celebrate at the Clearwine Lightbringers Temple!
Note that not all stats are equal here. CHA is THE stat for heroes, followed by POW. STR, SIZ, CON, DEX, and even INT are dump stats in the Hero Plane.
CHA and POW are the easiest characteristics to raise in game. If for some reason you created a character with a low CHA and decide you want to have your character enter into a high CHA activity like heroquesting, then do stuff like get a showy magical item, become a priest, and become a leader in your community. But CHA is the defining characteristic for wannabe Heroes. And no Reputation is not the right thing for interaction with the Hero Plane. Not at all.
INT is helpful to plan a quest, or to interpret its meaning after it happened. But it is not helpful in imposing your will on the Hero Plane.
