My main hang-up is durations; should I keep the 10 round duration in cases where I use a spell for the effect that has a longer duration than 10 rounds? I'd like to make sure things stay balanced for the system, and yet keep the spirit of the gaz. Oh, and I also want things to be simple.
Opinions would be great (as would any other ideas or thoughts). Since I need to do some, I might as well just do them all while I'm at it.
It's been ages since I read the NR gaz. What were the restrictions on using the runes, wasn't it once per day or something like that? And didn't the PC have to make some sort of sacrifice?
I think it really depends on what the runes and spells are. Different powers could be meant for different purposes in different editions.
It's absolutely on a case by case basis, as you say. The first Rune I looked at to see how hard it would be to convert was, amazingly enough, the first rune listed in the gaz, Fehu (cattle). The first power of that rune is listed as "indicates the presence of treasure within a radius of 90 feet". So I quickly wrote a conversion of "as Locate Object except for it only has a 90’ radius and only detects things the cleric would place value on (i.e. treasure)."
Now, the Bless Rune spell from the gaz that is used to activate this power states that the duration of the effect is 10 rounds, unless otherwise stated; for the first power of Fehu, no other duration was listed so it would be 10 rounds in OD&D. So, should I keep this power at 10 rounds as in the gaz, OR, keep it at 1 minute per/level as the Locate Object spell?
Can you tell us what you're character has?
He has Thurs (the giant) and Pethru (the unseen). Btw, he has never played in Mystara before this campaign and is really exicted about the rune system in general. He also didn't know about them when he first created his character so it was alot of fun for him to learn about them as his character did.
It's been ages since I read the NR gaz. What were the restrictions on using the runes, wasn't it once per day or something like that? And didn't the PC have to make some sort of sacrifice?
The sacrifices are made during the know rune ritual, which has been performed by his character. Originally, this ritual permanently drains 1 con point each time, but I changed that to lasting only 6 months. If you'd like to see them, I did 3E conversions of the rune magic with help from people on the boards here (especially Jesper), they are on the Vaults.
It basically comes down to the powers of a rune are activated by a second level spell, so they should be about that powerful. They can use a power as many times a day as they can cast a second level spell.
Maybe the best thing to do is post what I come up with for the runes and get feed-back from you guys.
Oh, and I also want things to be simple.
That's likely the best way to go. If I were you, I'd keep it super-simple! The less work and complication the better (What? Never reply to your own quote before?
)Anyhow, I've been looking at this pretty good and I'm starting to wonder if it's just as well to use the rune powers as they are in the gaz. We may want to add Save DCs or such for some of them, but I think they may basically be usable as is. How does this sound to you?
Any experiences with these runes in a game? Has anybody out there used these runes in a 3E game yet? Havard? Anybody?
Any experiences with these runes in a game? Has anybody out there used these runes in a 3E game yet? Havard? Anybody?
Nah, sorry. None of my players have fancied playing a NR cleric - yet :D
:-) Jesper
It would then come down to a question of what you want to emphasize. If you want to emphasize the power in the Runes themselves, then I would give each rune a different stat, corresponding to the spell powers in the PHB (so Fehu would be 1 minute/level as Locate Object). If you want the player to look at the runes more as divine foci, and think in terms of the spells he's casting, then apply the base spell's stats to whatever the rune is doing (so, for Fehu, the detection is just an effect, it's the Bless Rune spell that allows it to work, and Bless Runes lasts 10 rounds).
Does this make sense? Personally, I could go either way- one could look at is as objects and concepts that the cleric has to go out and learn (runes as spells), or simply as divinely-created tools that the cleric is using to get the job done (runes as divine foci).
Does this make sense?
I like the way you put it! It could work either way, but I think my personal preference is leaning toward emphasizing the power within the Runes themselves.