Mythic Greece: Combat Styles

Thinking about RuneQuest 6 combat styles right now. Here are my disorganizedthoughts on which ones should be included in my RQ6 Mythic Greece campaign.

Achaean Combat: This is the cultural style for all Achaean warrior-aristocrats, involving swords, spears, and shields. It emphasizes one-on-one combat, not formation fighting. It emphasizes force over elegance.

Chariot Combat: An obvious one. Chariots were used to carry heroes into combat, who would jump off and join the battle, run up along the chariot-pole and fight from there, fling javelins into battle, or use a two-handed spear or lance to "joust". The two-handed spear, shield, one-handed spear, and javelins are the most typical weapons for this style.

Mounted Combat: For Amazons, Scythians, and other horse-riding barbarians. Horse-bows and lances, plus shields.

Siege Warfare: Many heroes are "sackers of cities", so they would be skilled in this type of combat. However, fer complicated siege engines would be involved here, mostly ladders, rams, etc. Since it's at such an early stage, though, maybe there should be a cap on this skill?

Skirmishing: This seems appropriate, especially for any hero described as "swift-footed" (e.g., Achilles, Atalanta, etc.) The Amazons and Scythians are mounted skirmishers.

Unarmed Prowess: Should probably be divided into "Boxing" and "Wrestling". Boxers could use the cestus, a type of boxing glove consisting of leather straps wrapped around the hands for protection. The spiked version included what is essentially a pair of spiked "brass knuckles".

Other Combat Styles
Achaean Hunting Style
Berserker (Ajax the Greater)
Excellent Footwork (no specific reference, but it seems appropriate)
Intimidating Scream (Diomedes was "Master of the War Cry")
Spear Combat (Diomedes was noted as a "great spearman", Menelaus was "Spear-Famed)
Archery (Odysseus, Paris, Teucer)
Shield Wall a nd Formation Fighting: mostly civilized nations, like the Trojans.

Note that there's no shipboard fighting style. This is because the Achaeans don't seem to fight while at sea; they land there ships, jump out, and fight on land.

I also recall a scene where Achilles uses his shield as a weapon. Not sure if this should be a separate style or not.

Thoughts and comments are welcome, as usual.

Guy

Mythic Greece: Heroic Abilities

It seems to me that heroic abilities in Greek myth (Heracles' phenomenal strength and perseverance, Achilles' invulnerability, the ability of various characters to understand the speech of snakes and birds and bees, fly with cute little ankle-wings, great running speed, etc) should not require magic points or devotional pools to work; they are divine in origin, but they don't have to be activated. Also, the Greek gods are typically depicted as being able to give a divine gift, but not being able to take that gift away; to me, this says that a hero doesn't need divine approval to use his gift. If the hero does something that displeases the god, the god can put a condition on that gift (Cassandra was given the gift of prophecy by Apollo; however, when she spurned his advances, he gave her another "gift" that nobody would ever believe her prophecies.) Miracles, of course, are probably subject to divine approval, and the gods themselves manifest in some way when those are cast.

Here are some gifts that might be given to the children or favorites of the gods; it is not complete by any means. Some of them are actually from mythic heroes; others are some that seem right to me. How they translate into game terms remains to be seen.

“Godlike” strength, vigor, beauty, speed, etc.

"Impenetrable" skin, like Achilles

Acute hearing and sight

Ability to talk to/understand  horses, bears, bees, dolphins, etc.

Ability to move over water, snow, unstable surfaces without hindrance

Flight (usually winged, like Calais and Zetes)

Move and/or see underwater without hindrance

Breathe underwater

Ability to dodge or parry anything, even things that cannot normally be dodged or parried

Immunity to fire, poison, other harmful substances

Regaining your “strength” when you touch the ground (like Antaeus)

Having a terrifying or awe-inspiring presence

Never fail at a particular skill

Predict weather/tell when storms are coming

Berserker rage

Heroic Inspiration (inspiring confidence in others)

Immortality (self-resurrection)

Prophecy

Something like the old Multimissile

Like the above, but with melee attacks, unarmed blows, etc.

Stunning Glance (paralyze with a look(

The Evil Eye (put a curse on someone)

“Earthquake stomp”

Tactical insight

Defensive Insight

Berserker Rage

Mythic Greece: Weapons and Armor

I'm using various published game sources, such as Aaron Allston's excellent Mythic Greece, as shortcuts to get this game up and running. It was originally published as a supplement for Hero Games' Fantasy Hero system, as well as ICE's Rolemaster. As such, it has hit locations (though not necessarily the same as RQ6), so it gives me a place to start with the armor. I trust Aaron's research here, at least for game purposes, but I'll probably have to do some thinking about how this all fits together for RQ purposes; for instances, IIRC, there are no rules in RQ6 for overlapping armor. All metal is bronze, BTW.

Wealthy or Powerful Achaeans:
A helmet, either leather with bronze knobs, leather with a layer of boar-tusks, or a bronze helm.
Coat of mail
Leather codpiece (like an athletic cup, I suppose)
Breastplate and greaves (greaves might be linen, to help protect the shins from bruising when carrying a tower shield)
Belt, leather, may be worn over the coat of mail
Buckler or Tower shield
Sword and long spear.

Good Achaean Troops:
Helm
Breastplate
Linen greaves
Tower shield
Spear.

Lesser Achaean Troops:
Helm or leather skullcap
Buckler with either a boar spear or sword

"Peon" Achaean Troops:
No armor
Sling or bow, usually a short bow.

Miscellaneous:
Charioteers sometimes wore a suit of articulated bronze plate, known to us as the Dendra Panoply.
Clubs were often used; Heracles had a massive, bronze-headed one.
Short spears were often used as javelins. Really strong heroes might use long spears as javelins.
It was not uncommon for great heroes to rip up a boulder and use it as a missile, or to pummel somebody with.
Boxing gloves were strips of rawhide wrapped around the boxer's fist. The cestus was a variation of this, with something like brass knuckles with spikes thrown in.


Amazons:
Helmet, usually reinforced leather.
Body armor, made of tanned beast hide (lion, boar, etc. for wealthy amazons, goat for poor ones).
Girdle: leather, which may be worn over the body armor
Amazon Shield, a small, crescent-shaped shield, equivalent to a target shield.

Questing Dice, By Jove!

"Questing Dice" is one of my favorite options from the Risus Companion, which is jam-packed with usefuleness to begin with.  If you trade in one starting dice, you can get 5 dice than can be used once each (per adventure) on any cliche, as long as that cliche is being used in furtherance of a specific purpose. This purpose is the "quest" for which the Questing Dice mechanic was named, and this purpose must be specified when the dice are purchased. This doesn't have to be a literal quest (as in Holy Grail), however; it can apply to any situation which would limit the usefulness of the dice to specific situations. In fantasy games, one such application would be to represent the patronage and divine assistance of a god.


The Greek gods are fairly well known to gamers, so I'll use them as an example.  The best known ones are the Twelve Olympians, which are actually 14 if you count Hades, Hestia, and Dionysus.

• Aphrodite: Goddess of love and beauty.
• Apollo: God of music, healing, plague, prophecies, poetry, and archery; associated with light, truth and the sun.
• Ares: God of war, bloodlust, violence, manly courage, and civil order. 
• Artemis: Virgin goddess of the hunt, wilderness, wild animals, childbirth and plague. In later times she became associated with the moon. 
• Athena: Goddess of wisdom, warfare, battle strategy, heroic endeavour, handicrafts and reason. 
• Demeter: Goddess of fertility, agriculture, horticulture, grain and harvest. 
• Dionysus: God of wine, parties and festivals, madness, civilization, drunkenness and pleasure. 
• Hades or Pluto: King of the Underworld and god of the dead and the hidden wealth of the Earth.
• Hephaestus: Crippled god of fire, metalworking, stonemasonry, sculpture and volcanism. 
• Hera: Queen of marriage, women, childbirth, heirs, kings and empires.
• Hermes: God of travel, messengers, trade, thievery, cunning wiles, language, writing, diplomacy, athletics, and animal husbandry. He is the messenger of the gods, a psychopomp who leads the souls of the dead into Hades' realm.
• Hestia: Virgin goddess of the hearth, home and cooking. 
• Poseidon: God  of the sea, rivers, floods, droughts, storms, earthquakes, and horses
• Zeus: The king of the gods, the ruler of Mount Olympus and the god of the sky, weather, thunder, law, order, and fate.

These would be fine for use as Questing Dice in my game, but  I think I can make them even better. Every god also had a number of divine epithets or "nicknames" that describe their scope of authority. These are often more evocative than "God of Animal Husbandry", and reveal more interesting aspects that many overlook:    

• Aphrodite:  She Who Turns To Love;  Averter of Unlawful Desires; Spying; Peeping; Whispering; Of the Sea; Of Night
• Apollo: Foreseeing; Shooting from Afar; The Hunter; Healer; Leader of the Muses; Of the Mice; Of the Wolves; Of the Locusts; Of the Mildew; Rescuer; Averter of Harm; Protector of Starngers, Foreigners
• Ares: Beastly; Brutish; Of the Horses; Murderous; Manslaughtering; Slayer of Men; He Who Rallies Fighting Men; Stormer of Walls; Swift, Fleet 
• Artemis:  Huntress; Of The Hunting Nets; Of the Laurel/Cedar/Walnut Tree; Of the Beasts/Deer/Wolves/White Birds; Of the Lake/Broad Plains/Wetlands; Friend of Young Girls; Helper of Childbirth; Leader of the Dance
• Athena: War-Sustaining; Bridler of Horses; War-Trumpet; Defender; Of The Counsels; Worker; Contriver of Plans and Devices; The Deceiver; Born of the Head (of Zeus)
• Demeter: Of the Earth; She Who Sends Forth Gifts; Giver of Wealth; Of the Furrows; Great Mother; Bringer of Law; Dark-Veiled; Dark Cloaked
• Dionysus: Of the Bacchic Frenzy; Noisy, Boisterous; Mad, Raging; Of the Night; Of the Torches; Of the Feast; Giver of Increase; Of the Grape; Of the Wine-Press; Of the Phallus; Of Liberation, Of Freedom; Androgynous
• Hades or Pluto: Of Wealth; Zeus of the Underworld; Receiver of the Dead; Savior of the Dead; Ruler of Many; Host of Many; Master of Dreams; God of Curses; Master of the Furies
• Hephaestus: Renowned for Skills; Famed Worker; Of the many Crafts; Lame One; Of the Crooked Feet; The Sooty God; Bronze-Smith, Copper-Smith; Ingenious, Inventive
• Hera: Girl, Virgin; Betrothed Bride; Married Woman; Widow; Midwife; Of Marriage; Of the Chariot; Of the Flowers; Whose hand is Above; Of the Heights; Pioneer; Goat-Eater; Queen of the Gods
• Hermes: Keeper of the Flocks; Ram Bearer; Of the Market Place; Crafts, Wiles; Of the Crossroads; Of the Games; Interpreter, Translator; Guide, Minister, Messenger; Of the Golden Wand; Thief, Robber, Rustler; Deceiver, Dissembler; Trickster, Conniver; Wily, Shifty, Many-Turning; Glad-Hearted; Luck-Bringing; Keen-Sighted, Watchful
• Hestia: Of the Hearth; Of the Councils; Of Many Prosperities; Eternal Virgin
• Poseidon: Of the Horses; Earth-Shaker; Of the Waves; Savior of Sailors; Bull of the Sea; Averter of Earthquakes
• Zeus: Of the Rain; Dark, Murky; Of the Thunderbolt; Furious, Raging, Boisterous; Of Fair Winds; Watcher of Sea Havens; King, Chief, Ruler; Of Hospitality; Of the Stranger; Punisher of Murderers; Puts to Flight, Defeats, Banishes

This latter approach encourages the players (and the GM) to be more creative in describing the actions of their characters, always a good thing with Risus.  I left out a numbe of other epithets, references to sacred attributes, and sacred places, all of which could fit into the relevant "quest".  Gods of other pantheons also such epithets, or you could make up your own for an original fantasy world.