[Runequest] Advice Sought re Damage & HP

[Simon Phipp]

Asher (royce at efn.org):

> This summer, I hope to introduce some roleplayers to RQ.  These players
> are not mindless hack-&-slashers, but they do need action every two
> hours of seat time, or they'll get restless & dissatisfied.

That's understandable. You need something to break the session up and combat is a good way of doing this. There are other ways - you could have different skill contests - Hide/Sneak, Jump/Climb, Fast Talk/Orate or whatever.
> People in RQ are, well, delicate.  Take an arm, with its measly 3 HP. 
> Even average damage with average weapons -- say, a roll of 4 on a D8
> weapon, plus a roll of 3 on a D6 strength bonus -- will leave my
> character carrying his arm home in a bag.
To tell the truth, a 3HP arm is very light, unless you are using RQM which has lower arm HPs. I would tend to allow slightly better characteristics, perhaps using 4D6 (Best 3) or 2D6 (Best 2) + 6, which gives you better overall HPs.

> Most of the players I know will get themselves dismembered or dead in
> fairly short order.
Actually, it doesn't usually work that way, at least at lower skills/level. If you meet like with like then the opposition will be doing perhaps 1D8+1 or 1D8+1 + 1D4, an average of 5.5 or 8 which might be stopped by armour and limb HPs. If the PC paerries then he is almost certainly safe.

> On the other hand, if I, as GM, double location hit points, then a
> strong hit to the chest (with say, 5 HP doubled to 10) is merely
> inconvenient.  That's even worse.
I wouldn't do that because it unbalances the game quite a bit. PCs can add to HPs later on, but at the start they don't have that option.
> But I'd like to know how other RuneQuesters deal with horrid menace of
> melee.  Do you make sure that PC's always start with some decent armor?
> Start with high shield & weapon parry skills?  Both?  Is there another
> approach?  Start with two or three characters?  What do you do?

I would give everyone some armour, not full plate but probably 3-4 point armour and perhaps leather beneath, if you allow it. There's no reason why the PCs can't start with such armour and a shield/weapon.
It's up to you how experienced you want your starting PCs to be. Do you want them to be absolute beginners or have a bit of skill? I wouldn't make them very experienced, though, becaused half the fun is building up an experienced PC.
Give them easy fights at the start. Put them against slightly inferior numbers or perhaps slightly weaker opponents in skills and stats. Put them against ducks, trollkin or newtlings, for Glorantha, or kobolds and goblins in standard fantasy games. Give the opponents starting skills and less equipment - facing an unarmoured opponent gives armoured PCs an edge.
Don't treat combat as a contest between PCs and the GM. This can wait unril later. At some point, you will see some combats as contests and that is often a good thing as it adds edge to a game, but at the start be a bit easier on them.

> Wisdom, advice, insights, relevant experiences, old war stories -- all
> feedback is welcome.  Many thanks ahead of time.

I'm a bit short on wisdom and I could bore you silly with old RQ war stories, so I won't.
Don't use strong NPC opponents at first, build up to that. Use weaker monsters/opponents and then increase the numbers or strength until the PCs are a bit stronger and the players are more experienced and more confident.
Use some hackneyed techniques as they do work really well. If you want a cult-based campaign then do an initiation ceremony or something similar. Perhaps you want a quick knife fight with a love-rival or bully, not to the death but to first blood or have someone interrupt the fight. That way the players see that RQ combat is not always deadly. Don't be afraid to use poor NPC tactics or to forget to use some NPCs. Have NPCs hold back or stand at the back as support rather than wading in with all their weapons. Run a Bug-Hunt chasing some weak raiders. Have an outlaw attack with some beginning outlaws. have a chase where the PCs are running away from/chasing thieves/lawmen. Have them rescue a damsel in distress, perhaps they are walking through a town and see a woman being attacked in an alley - the PCs can rescue her, perhaps fighting one of the opponents while the others are holding the woman, perhaps one of the opponents will run away, perhaps another
 will surrender as his friends are cut down, in any case the woman will be friendly and can be a useful NPC plot device.
Allow healing to be easily available. If you have a magic-rich setting then give each PC a couple of points of Spirit Magic, some of them will choose Healing. Allow salves and ointments to be freely available for purchase, at a price. Have shrines in most villages provide at least some healing, again perhaps at a cost. Make Resurrection freely available in temples, if that's the kind of campaign you have, have a Chalana Arroy temple available within a few days of the starting point.
You are dealing with starting characters and starting players. You need to nurture them through the first few sessions. Make them feel that they are in a bit of danger but keep it fairly safe. Build the danger up and make them aware that retreat is always an option. Give them a harder opponent to fight at the end and they'll be able to beat him using teamwork and luck/skill, that will make them feel really good about the game.
Don't jump in with both feet and say "Well, RQ is a dangerous game - they should expect to die". That's a load of old rubbish and every player should expect to have an excellent chance of survival at first. Don't make things too easy, though. You can make things difficult for them without always trying to kill them. Make things politically difficult or socially difficult. That way you can have challenges without killing the party every time you play.
Sure, make things more dangerous as time goes by. You will find that the players will soon become confident and will start to explore the game and will do new and different things. Introduce stronger and stronger opponents until you send something that is a lot stronger than the PCs - when they beat it they will be impressed.
What I will say, though, is don't get bogged with arguments about how RQ is good/bad at high/low levels, about how RQ is deadlier than D20 or whatever. Take RQ as you find it. Try and play the game as an introductory game and then build on it.
Well, that's enough from me. I hope it helps.
See Ya
Simon
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