Another question as I get ready to run a setting using Whitehack this Coming Monday...
Another question as I get ready to run a setting using Whitehack this Coming Monday...
Apart from the lengthy thread from this community, are there any other threads/posts/discussions around the Internet people have found useful about Miracles?
Apart from the lengthy thread from this community, are there any other threads/posts/discussions around the Internet people have found useful about Miracles?
I think there might be some stuff over on RPG.net.
ReplyDeleteYup
ReplyDeleteI know Christian says “You’ll find it will work itself out as your group plays....” and I believe that.
But also still kind of antsy.
Christopher Kubasik it does work as intended and with minimal effort. Just give it a go for a couple sessions, you'll love it.
ReplyDeleteChristopher Kubasik you going to post your experiences on your blog? I’d be interested in how it goes. I have a copy of Whitehack on order which will take about 3 weeks to get here.
ReplyDeleteThat is my hope.
ReplyDeleteWork load will determine how much I post.
Basic concept:
Basically the time of darkness in Glorantha when Orlanth killed the Sun, darkness reigned, Winter spread across the land, and Chaos creatures rule the wastes beyond fragile, isolated settlements. (Or think the Winter of Ragnorak if you're not familiar with Glorantha.)
Culture revolves around gods and ancestor worship. All three classes get their powers from the gods or spirit magic of one kind or another.
The PCs are part of an isolated settlement, formed when their anscestors retreated four generations ago. The dark creatures of the winter depths and the diseases of demonic and chaotic magic are encroaching. The PCs have to decide what to do to keep their community alive...
They can retreat further, or make a stand, or even become the heroes that help their gods reignite the sun.
Christopher Kubasik you are doing Glorantha in Whitehack? Sounds like an almost heroquest too. Definitely interested in knowing how that goes. I was going to give RQ2 another go later this year with my friends as we haven’t played it together in a long time. But what you’re proposing sounds great. Wish you the best of luck with that - hope you pull it off.
ReplyDeleteWell, my view of Glorantha is that you should do YOUR version of Glorantha. So this will be our version of Glorantha.
ReplyDeleteI have wanted to play around in Glorantha for a while. But HQ is too loose, I think, for players who don’t know thevsetting. And I found RQG to be kind of a frustrating dud in terms of clarity of writing and rules.
And then I thought... “ Hey, I really want to give Whitehack a try,... let’s see what happens...”
Sounds perfect.
ReplyDeleteYou should be fine with Glorantha! As for the magic: Again -- don't worry. Just do the following:
ReplyDelete1. Let the player tell you what the magic should do. The player can even suggest a cost if she feels like it.
2. Look at the character's vocation. Consider what magic is expensive and what magic is cheap in Glorantha, and make a judgement call if what the player suggests is ok.
3. If it isn't ok, tell the player that it will cost more, unless she alters the miracle a bit -- give it a negative drawback, shorter duration, lower damage etc.
4. When in doubt, go for the lower cost.
5. Tell the players from the start that it might take a session or two before you get a cost level that is right for the group.
The negotiations and subjectivity in the Whitehack magic system are shock absorbers. They let you settle in something that feels right and comfortable for you. You should be much more nervous if you go into an endeavor such as this with a long list of prescripted spells and hard coded costs, because if those spells and hard coded costs don't work for your group, you'd have to change system.
Good luck!
Christian
Christopher Kubasik there seems to be a common saying now ‘your glorantha may vary‘ - which is something I’ve always thought. So I’m looking forward to seeing your glorantha in your blog.
ReplyDeleteThe one rule change I'm considering...
ReplyDelete(less about Whitehack than early D&D in general)...
If you get hit you in one round and you don't hit your opponent, you automatically lose initiative for the next round.
If both combatants miss in a given round, or both hit in a given round, roll initiative as normal.
The idea is to tie the effect of HP loss (getting hit/getting exhausted) into the mechanics. And to make fights more dynamic than simply hitting back and forth.
Clever play or Attribute rolls tied to Groups might be able to circumvent this and get an Initiative roll. Trying to retreat, defensive actions, and so on are also possible.
Also, allies can try to come to add a PC that is on the ropes. If my buddy is fighting a guy, and they both hit each other, and I didn't get hit, I can attack my buddy's enemy before either of them strikes.
I think this one change is going to shake things up in interesting ways.
Christian Mehrstam Thanks for that reply! That's my assumption for the game. Looking forward to taking it for a spin!
ReplyDeleteChristopher Kubasik sounds fun! There's already some stuff built into the initiative rules to make fights less predictable. For example, you can spend a round to raise your initiative to 6, switch to a lighter weapon to break an initiative tie, move to fight a different opponent with a lower initiative, ready some action (which also lowers initiative) or fight a boss whith popcorn initiative. In my experience, when all the fighting rules are used, the fights are never static. But there's quite a bit of combat crunch built into Whitehack, more than people tend to guess from looking at the tiny little booklet :). My advice if you are beginning your first Whitehack game is to take it slow and not try to use it all from the start.
ReplyDeleteOh, I love all the fluid options in Whitehack
ReplyDeleteAlso, after running solid combat in my LotFP game I am looking forward to stepping up the action and combat for this game...
So I am arrogantly going to be using many of them out of the gate
:) Cool! Will you be using minis too?
ReplyDeleteMaybe!
ReplyDeleteI have to confess I really like the looseness "theater of the mind" provides... but I suspect the rules of Whitehack provide a fun tactical tension because distance and positioning matters round to round.
Also, in terms of Glorantha... I should have said, "Glorantha-ish." I don't expect to use the actual gods of Glorantha.
Instead I think I'll arrive with the elemental, form, and power runes (to help establish boundaries), establish something close to the sensibility of the Orlanthi culture, and then have the PCs help build out a fresh pantheon that inspires them.
These are the notes I scribbled over a year ago in my Notebook edition of Whitehack.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to trying it out!
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/EhKhAO9KYFJ7Z9JSnawxg0DLiwsC3Vd8Vzd5h97POFcF3oeUFwRZCRRIc-6CQ9nvizdD96sLu5D4Nt350LmJHnAkErlVcTMULsU=s0
These are the notes I scribbled over a year ago in my Notebook edition of Whitehack.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to trying it out!
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Z2feH78l4_4NTZ66sAl-qwo9hTq1PTL4wGqir3489WZjq1n5eGZUl7VWAtomcFYvV5gxY2g9uLtjgxfKbZyYfxJ1Jaig_eEvpsw=s0
Christian Mehrstam a question:
ReplyDeleteOn p. 17 the last paragraph on Determining Initiative begins, "Anyone can choose to lower their initiative..."
I have to admit... I don't understand that paragraph or the intent of the rule. Or what someone gets out of lowering their initiative to act before other people on that initiative.
Can you explain the thinking and/or use of the rule?
Thanks!
Christopher Kubasik It's for waiting for the right moment to take your turn.
ReplyDelete"I want to shoot him with a flaming arrow, but not until after Dave has pushed him away from my comics collection. Dave has an initiative of 4, so I'm going to lower my initiative to 3"
Brian is right, as always :). This is the Whitehack version of "ready action" in other systems.
ReplyDeleteThanks guys!
ReplyDeleteBrian Ashford and Christian Mehrstam
Can you talk more about how the set order of initiative for a combat works for you?
I believe that it works to produce interesting and evocative combat. But every time I imagine it I see everyone "waiting" for their turn to come around.
Christopher Kubasik I find it's fine. There is waiting, but there always is. Combat is so fast that no-one is waiting long to get back to their turn.
ReplyDeleteI know that what I want is fictional details produced from the rule ("You got hit!") to help produce new choices in the fiction, that lead into the rules. ("You've only got two hit points left and he's got automatic initiative on you -- what do you do?" "Full defense!")
ReplyDeleteWhen the Initiative is static and determined getting hit really has no impact mechanically to slow down a character or put them on the ropes. Hence my idea to declare that losing in an exchange of AVs will also cost you your Initiative next round. It encourages the Player to come up with desperate measures of one kind or another.
I usually (really always) try to play a new rules set as written. But in this one specific case I'm not so sure -- if only because I know how initiative systems like this tend to play out at my table. I'm looking to shake things up a bit!
Christopher Kubasik I'm not sure I understand how your initiative rule works, but I do like the idea behind it.
ReplyDeleteChristopher Kubasik What you are asking for is what happens RAW though.
ReplyDelete- Monster hits, drops player to 2HP
- Player now has a choice, attack and hope to finish it off, or go full defense and hope to survive until help arrives.
Your initiative penalty risks the monster dropping the PC to 2HP, lowering his initiative and therefore the monster attacks again, finishing off the PC before he can do anything about it.
While i can see the potential issue with that, if PCs can do that to NPCs/monsters it somehow feels ok to me. Perhaps something to keep as an option for extra gritty games. Something to keep in mind. When my rules arrive.
ReplyDelete