RMU Official Rulings

[Hurin]

What Counts as 'Actively Hostile' for the Purpose of Paladin Voice and Word Spells on the Paladin Base: Inspiring Ways list?

Clarified by JDale on Discord 15 May 2026:

"[JDale] I would count it as actively hostile if they have the intention to attack and are taking preparatory actions, even if battle hasn't actually started. Certainly if they are charging towards the paladin and simply aren't within reach, that's actively hostile. But also moving into position, waiting for the signal, etc.

But there are many scenarios where someone might only be potentially hostile and there is some threatening, posturing, and/or negotiating going on. If they aren't sure they are going to attack, the spell ought to apply."

[Hurin]

Characters Do Not Get Passive Shield Ranks to DB versus Area Attacks (But They Do Get Base Shield DB if the Shield Arc is Between Center and Target)

Explained by JDale on Discord

Discussion

[9:29 AM] Sunday, May 17, 2026 Hurin: Do characters get passive Shield ranks to their DB versus Area Attacks? Core Law (p. 164) specifies that dodging does not apply, but shields do if their arc is between centre and target. So that's why I ask.

[6:06 PM]Sunday, May 17, 2026 PM jdale: Hmm. 9.3 suggests a shield applies (if appropriate facing), 9.6 doesn't list area attacks as a thing that shield DB counts against. I guess I would say base shield DB only, but it still counts as one of the attacks you are using your shield against for the round.

[Hurin]

The Thrown Weapon Specialization (Combat Training: Ranged) Includes the Ability to Throw More Weapons Than Just Those Listed as 'Thrown' on Table 6.5, 'Weapons'

Core Law just avoids listing some thrown weapons more than once on Table 6.5. But you can still use full skill in Thrown to toss a dagger, handaxe, or spear.


Discussion from Discord

Friday, June 5, 2026 9:13 AM Hurin: RAW: Can a character with skill in Combat Training: Ranged > Thrown use the full skill bonus to throw a Handaxe, Spear, or Dagger? These weapons are listed in categories other than Thrown on Table 6-5, 'Weapons', but they also have thrown ranges.

Friday, June 5, 2026 9:30 AM jdale: Yes. It wouldn't make sense to list all those weapons twice, but Ranged (Thrown) is the only skill you need to make thrown weapon attacks, and Melee (Blades) or Melee (Hafted) or Melee (Pole Arm) are the only skills you need to use daggers, hand axes, and spears in melee (respectively).

(You could of course use similar skills instead, if you are using the weapon in a way you are not skilled in.)

[Hurin]

If You Are Forced to Abandon a Magical Ritual, Do You Lose the PP and Hits (Blood Investment)?

By RAW, yes, but see below.

Discussion in Discord:

Friday, June 05, 2026 2:34 AM Thrud: I thought I'd seen it mentioned somewhere, but now I can't find it?
If you are forced to abandon a magic ritual before completion, do you spend your PP?,
If you are forced to rush the completion of a magic ritual, do you just adjust the time Investment accordingly?

Friday, June 05, 2026 9:26 Ajdale: For blood investments, it's specified the damage occurs near the beginning with consequences on hold until the ritual ends. So, interrupted ritual means you already took the damage.

For PP, that section also notes that if a major participant fails their endurance rolls, they can't contribute any skill bonus but their PP investment is lost. I read that as meaning the PP investment happens earlier in the ritual.

However, if the primary ritualist fails their endurance roll, the ritual fails, with no effect and no spell failure chance.

I think a straight reading would be that, if interrupted, the ritual simply fails. Blood and PP are lost, no chance of spell failure. That's as close to RAW as it gets, I think.

However, personally, I think allowing the ritual roll to be made with a penalty for shorter time, and a chance of spell failure, could be more dramatic. It might be appropriate to set a minimum wrap-up time, e.g., the ritualists can decide to finish the ritual but carrying out the concluding steps takes 10% of the planned time. Fail that and it simply fails. Achieve that and, say, they can attempt to conclude the ritual but figure out the effective penalty for reduced time (e.g., planned 24 hours was +40, wrap-up in 8 hours is +30, so the effective penalty is -10) and triple it, and also add that to any spell failure roll.

Or you could say the rushed ritual can still be completed with the appropriate modifiers for the reduced time, but a spell failure result is automatic.

This is kind of a balance. You want PCs to be able to dramatically interrupt rituals, but on the other hand dramatically completing their own under attack is narratively interesting too. I have written specific rituals with fail conditions (e.g., if X item is removed from the ritual, or too many ritualists leave the circle, it explodes and every ritualist takes a C Impact critical) for narrative reasons.

[Hurin]

Don't Do A New Calculation to Determine the Modifiers for Spell Failure Rolls (Just Use the total SCR Modifier)

JDale specified that you don't need to do an entirely new calculation for the Spell Failure Roll after a spell fails. You can just take the final SCR mod, change any minus to a plus, and apply that to the Spell Failure Roll. This means that modifiers such as Ranks, Realm Stat, and List Type will also work to mitigate the Spell Failure Roll.

Discussion on Discord

Friday, April 10, 2026 5:13 AM Amano: The spell failure section says "add up all the modifiers". Is that just "other modifiers" or does it include ranks, realm stat and list type? I had assumed it did but the example makes no mention of these modifiers so now I'm not so sure.

What about other other modifiers like eloquence and spell focus items?

...

Friday, April 10, 2026 9:47 AM jdale: You already just did the work of adding up all the modifiers for the SCR. Use that number.

[Hurin]

What Heals a Blood Clot?

You can do an Extremely Hard (-30) Spell Mastery maneuver on a Clotting-type spell to reverse the clot. If that fails, you can always heal the organ affected by the clot.


Explained by JDale on Discord on 9 June 2026

Discussion

Tuesday, June 09, 2026 8:15 PM Hurin: Question about the RAW: what heals a blood clot?

This question has come up a few times so sorry if I am repetitive, but I just want to know what the basic rule is. Many criticals result in death due to a clot. But the rules don't seem to say what sort of wound this is, or precisely how to heal it.

Laendra also noted the spell 'Clotting Curse' on Evil Channeling: Curses, that says it is an 'Extremely Hard' Medicine maneuver to prevent the loss of a limb with a clot, and that a Joining spell will also work to prevent the loss of a limb... but some of the clots are in the torso and so obviously Joining isn't going to work on them.

So... what heals a clot?

Tuesday, June 09, 2026 9:06 PM JDale: Ok, clotting, hmm. In principle a clot cuts off blood flow to a specific area. In the case of Clotting Curse, it's localized in one spot, so the idea would be that you are somehow breaking it up. Since the procedure listed in the spell is only 1d10 rounds, that must not be surgery, and not anticoagulant drugs, so probably you are managing to somehow massage the blood vessel to physically break up the clot.

But in the criticals, usually the idea is that the clot is forming in some part of the body and then migrating typically to the brain where it causes a fatal stroke. Since it's not localized until it reaches the brain, there might not be a lot of symptoms while it's on the way, and it might make more sense to just think of it as having a stroke. Strokes aren't instantly fatal, either, so the idea that it gets to the brain relatively quickly and then the symptoms are stroke symptoms -- disrupted coordination, loss of balance, vision issues, localized or unilateral numbness/weakness, confusion, headache, difficulty speaking or understanding speech, etc. In game mechanics terms, the victim is probably Stunned etc.

Using a clotting-type spell makes sense, depends how hard you want it to be to treat. Stopping a fatal critical with a 2nd level spell is generous, but maybe Extremely Hard (-30) spell mastery? The alternative would be a spell to treat nerve/organ damage to fix the problem once it is in the brain. That ought to work without the need for spell mastery.

You also need to be able to recognize the problem, in order to know to do one of those things (although the Diagnosis spell will just tell you right away). I think that should get progressively easier as the victim gets closer to dying. Maybe Extremely Hard to begin with, Medium within a few rounds of death. Partial success recognizes there is a serious problem, but does not identify it.

[jdale]

Just to clarify, the idea of using a clotting spell to treat clotting is that you are using Spell Mastery to invert the effect. Not that you are causing additional clotting. Since this the spell most closely associated with controlling blood flow.

[jdale]

Magical Rituals

1) The primary caster: contributes their full Magical Ritual skill bonus (appropriate specialization), and can also use an appropriate complementary skill to boost the ritual. They can contribute any number of PP, and also blood etc. They must participate in the full ritual. They suffer any spell failure results.

2) Major contributors: also participating in the full ritual. They can contribute their ranks in the appropriate Magical Ritual specialization, as well as an appropriate complementary skill. They can contribute any number of PP, and also blood etc. They also suffer any spell failure results. Optionally, you might require them to have at least one rank in the appropriate Magical Ritual specialization, but in all cases they must have at least one rank in some kind of Magical Ritual.

3) Minor contributors: they have to spend some time involved in the ritual but not necessarily the whole thing, and are generally exempt from spell failure results (e.g., they don't even have to be present at the end, but for example if there is a giant explosion that might affect them). They do not contribute any skill bonus or ranks, but can add PP, limited to 1 PP per rank in Magical Ritual (any specialization). They can't contribute blood etc.

4) Bystanders: can't contribute any skill bonus or ranks or complementary skill or PP or blood, generally exempt from spell failure results. Basically, they are only there to observe.