[Runequest] Gorp Question

Tue May 27 22:17:53 UTC 2008

Nearly the entire River of Cradles scenario is based around a sudden
increase of the number of Gorp in the region. In the opening scene the
PCs are marked by a stigmata of the river god indicating that they are
the chosen heroes to cleanse this threat. Based on that, I'd say "normal
people" do consider a gorp to be a significant threat.

On Tue, 2008-05-27 at 15:55 +0100, Roger Benham wrote:
> Just out of interest then.... since I'm a not a Glorantha user, I
> assume the fisherfolk and mariners (Riverers?) of the waterways must
> have methods for dealing with gorps.  How would they trap them,
> contain and kill them?  Are they a danger? If you were trawling the
> riverbed with a net, you'd really not want to bring a gorp up.  If you
> did (And assuming it didn't just squelch through the gaps in the net
> with a faint acidic sizzle...) what would you, average Joe Fisherman
> do to kill it without hurting yourself?  Its kinda similar to hauling
> up a nasty bunch of jellies or a stonefish, sharks etc.  
> 
> > Date: Fri, 23 May 2008 10:29:57 -0500
> > From: aelarsen at mac.com
> > To: runequest at rpgreview.net
> > Subject: Re: [Runequest] Gorp Question
> > 
> > To my mind at least, a more Gloranthan way of looking at how a gorp
> operates
> > is to assume that it senses POW and moves toward it, rather than
> relying on
> > mundane senses of terrestrial creatures. Thus it has a strong
> preference for
> > sentient beings over non-sentient beings, and for non-sentient
> beings over
> > simple organic matter. Perhaps its range is equal to the target's
> POW in
> > yards. Thus it can sense stronger beings further away.
> > Also remember Zoomer gorps, which move at a rate of 1d3+1.
> > Gorp aren't a threat because it's hard to outrun them. They're a
> threat
> > because killing them is difficult. They prefer water, and so are
> most
> > commonly found there, but the best weapon against them is fire. They
> damage
> > anything that inflicts damage on them, and they slowly destroy
> armor. They
> > are, however, quite vulnerable to Disruption. They are also quite
> hard to
> > spot in water.
> > 
> > Andrew E. Larsen 
> > 
> > 
> > On 5/23/08 10:18 AM, "Paul Cardwell" <carpgachair at yahoo.com> wrote:
> > 
> > > Mythworld has viewed them as being sensitive to
> > > pressure changes in the water and so can zero in on
> > > movement there. Yes, they are slow, but very
> > > stealthy. They may even work in small teams (not
> > > quite packs) so at least one has a chance of feeding.
> > > 
> > > Remember, they encircle their prey with pseudopods and
> > > so give little warning until they engulf. Being
> > > chaotic, there will be individual exceptions of any of
> > > this.
> > > 
> > > Paul Cardwell
> > > 
> > > 
> > > 
> > > --- Lev Lafayette <lev at rpgreview.net> wrote:
> > > 
> > >> 
> > >> Hmmm... If I take up those proposals a gorp's threat
> > >> value would decline
> > >> to almost zero. A 1m/SR movement rate and a sensory
> > >> range of 1 yard
> > >> would mean that the only way it'd get to catch a
> > >> living thing would be
> > >> by accident.
> > >> 
> > >> Regards,
> > >> 
> > >> 
> > >> Lev
> > >> 
> > >> On Thu, 2008-05-22 at 10:23 +0200, Tomas Björklund
> > >> wrote:
> > >>> This is just one man's opinion but ...
> > >>> 
> > >>> a) Use the movement rate in the rule set you use
> > >> for your campaign. In
> > >>> water I would let them either move attached to a
> > >> surface in which case
> > >>> the movement rate is the same as on land, or float
> > >> like a manowar or
> > >>> jellyfish.
> > >>> 
> > >>> b) I would say their sensory range should be a
> > >> yard or so away at the
> > >>> most. if you want to get scientific about it (not
> > >> always a good thing
> > >>> when it comes to fantasy games) you can compare to
> > >> earth creatures.
> > >>> This is a creature with very low speed, and no IQ,
> > >> very much like a
> > >>> jellyfish, amoeba of fungus it eats whatever it
> > >> encounters. Thus it
> > >>> has no need for any senses at all really really,
> > >> or if it has senses
> > >>> wouldn't have a sensory range beyond what it can
> > >> reach immediately,
> > >>> i.e whatever it can reach withing a few seconds.
> > >> This presumes there
> > >>> is some kind of selection involved in it's
> > >> creation. If it is a
> > >>> created being it can conceivably have any
> > >> abilities, like sense power
> > >>> items a kilometer away, but even then if it there
> > >> is a sensible
> > >>> creator at work he/she/it wouldn't give it senses
> > >> it has no use for,
> > >>> i.e. again only let it sense things it stands a
> > >> reasonable chance to
> > >>> get to considering it's total lack of
> > >> intelligence.
> > >>> 
> > >>> Hope this helps.
> > >>> 
> > >>> - Tom.
> > >>> 
> > >>> On Wed, May 21, 2008 at 11:49 PM, Lev Lafayette
> > >> <lev at rpgreview.net>
> > >>> wrote:
> > >>> Hi everyone,
> > >>> 
> > >>> 
> > >>> I'm sure this has probably been asked
> > >> before.. but
> > >>> 
> > >>> a) What's the movement rate of a Gorp?
> > >> It's listed as 1-5 in
> > >>> RuneQuest
> > >>> 1st and 2nd editions, 1 in RuneQuest 3 and
> > >> 2m in Mongoose RQ.
> > >>> However I
> > >>> presume that's on land. How fast do they
> > >> move in water, their
> > >>> natural
> > >>> environment?
> > >>> 
> > >>> b) What the sensory range of a Gorp? I
> > >> know they try to find
> > >>> organic
> > >>> matter in preference to inorganic as that
> > >> helps them grow. I
> > >>> also
> > >>> presume that they'll go for the highest
> > >> concentration and they
> > >>> also seem
> > >>> to have a taste for POW as well.
> > >>> 
> > >>> I'm currently running River of Cradles and
> > >> these questions are
> > >>> important.
> > >>> 
> > >>> Besides, I like Gorp. They'll like a
> > >> gelatinous cube that
> > >>> makes
> > >>> sense. :-)
> > >>> 
> > >>> All the best,
> > >>> 
> > >>> 
> > >>> Lev
> > >>> 
> > >>> 
> > >>> 
> > >>> 
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