The Broken Tower pt. 2

Session Notes (05/21/22)

Game: Runequest: Roleplaying in Glorantha

Module: The Broken Tower

Players: 3

A very short session!  We only had an hour, but we were all excited to play

Characters:

Elfriede (homebrewed character), an Ernaldan Farmer, from the Tarling Clan of the Colymar Tribe 

Vasana (pregenerated character), a Vingan Warrior, from the Ernaldoring Clan of the Colymar Tribe

Mago (pregenerated character), a Storm Bull Mercenary, from Wilmskirk

Session:

With only the cattle tracks to follow, the three set off on their mounts.  Elfriede and Mago on horseback and Vasana on her bison.

Not far along the trail, they heard the cries of a cow, so Mago dismounted to run up the hill and see what was there.  He discovered a cow being assaulted by 5 stone-skinned reptiles, clawing at the poor herd animal.  He sounded a call and ran headlong down into the small gully to save the cow.

Vasana and Elfriede spurred themselves and joined quickly.  Vasana attempted to lance one, but missed on the charge.  Elfriede looked to her goddess, Ernalda, to find the courage to calm the beasts, but fell into despair at their violence towards the cow.  Mago had the best luck: he hefted his axe and severed the tail of a lizard.

Vasana turned Molon and gave a second charge, this time she ran through a second lizard with her lance directly in the forequarters, skewering it and bringing it with her as she rode forward.  Mago attacked another lizard, finding the tail again, but not quite severing it.  The remaining lizards turned and fled, and Elfriede healed the wounds on the injured cow, her faith in Ernalda restored.

Gamesmaster Notes:

None of us had ever done a runequest combat before, and I think the scenario’s intent with this little encounter was to provide a very simple opportunity to practice: there is a single cow to rescue, it is being attacked by hungry animals, and the players have skill ratings WAY higher than them.  In other words, it is a very easy encounter and it is perfect for teaching and learning how RQG does combat.

I did a quick overview of it before we started, noting that the system itself lends itself to detail, and narrates the combat for us.  For example, we roll for attacks, parries, hit locations, damage, and subtract armor.  I briefly overviewed the idea that we move through phases, with a statement of intent, followed by movement, then all the “action”, and then any bookkeeping.  The encounter is also so simple that magic is unlikely to be used during it, but I did let them know that they could be used.  I glossed over how strike ranks were calculated, pointing out that they were simply listed on their sheets, but a few times it did become important to figure them out and so in those moments I explained them.

The hour of game time we had was a mix of reviewing the last session, followed by the opening scene/scouting the hill.  I then gave a brief overview of how combat works, and then we did the fight.  It took longer than it might have at the table: RQG is well suited to an experienced player rolling their attack, hit location, and damage dice all at once, but using a dice bot online ensured that each roll required typing and then interpretation.  Plus everyone was new so it was decidedly not quick.

That being said, everyone enjoyed themselves.  Most feedback centered around enjoying how the combat “narrated” itself, i.e. we knew where blows landed and how bad they were.  Most of my RPG experience in the last several years has been with OSR and NSR games like Mothership, Old School Essentials, and Troika! So I was a little nervous with this level of crunch.  But it went well and I am looking forward to the much more difficult encounters that come later in the scenario.