I've been reading up on Mongoose Publishing's reboot of Runequest this week. It's a d100 system without levels or professions. I'm not sure what to think of it, because it's so different from what i'm used to in a game. I am totally sold on the Glorantha setting, however.
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Mongoose Runequest 2
Mongoose Runequest 2
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I have been reading on this lately as well. I was never even vaguely interested in Runequest back in the day; I don't know why, but I associated it with the gelflings of the Dark Crystal movie...lol...no idea why...but hey, I was a kid. I was all about AD&D 1e back then. Everything else seemed like ballroom dancing.
That being said, I played Gurps for years and years, so skill based, classless systems are not new to me. I have been looking at Chaosiums BRP and Call of Cthulhu stuff too.
The collector in me digs the leather bound, gold foil editions of RuneQuest II, but I really like the sound of the skill system, primarily combat with it's new manuevers. My fear is that, like most skill based systems, combat can become a boring series of mathematical computations....which is why the abstract, fast paced combat of C&C appeals to me.
As to Glorantha, I don't know anything about the setting. I take it it's worth taking a look at? At any rate, I many break down and buy it, even if the series just sits on my shelf looking pretty.
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When in doubt as to who is in charge on the battlefield, listen to the man with the bloodiest sword.
That being said, I played Gurps for years and years, so skill based, classless systems are not new to me. I have been looking at Chaosiums BRP and Call of Cthulhu stuff too.
The collector in me digs the leather bound, gold foil editions of RuneQuest II, but I really like the sound of the skill system, primarily combat with it's new manuevers. My fear is that, like most skill based systems, combat can become a boring series of mathematical computations....which is why the abstract, fast paced combat of C&C appeals to me.
As to Glorantha, I don't know anything about the setting. I take it it's worth taking a look at? At any rate, I many break down and buy it, even if the series just sits on my shelf looking pretty.
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When in doubt as to who is in charge on the battlefield, listen to the man with the bloodiest sword.
Awesome setting? Check.
Awesome skill-based game system? Check.
Awesome packaging? Check.
Awesome price? Check.
Depending on how far you buy into the supplements and all, of course. But is it worth checking out? Bet your ass it is! The old RuneQuest was, and still is, one of the best fantasy game systems out there. I heard many good things about this new version, RuneQuest II, and ordered it. Haven't received it though. I'll tell you more about it when I do.
As for Glorantha well. It's one of those settings that are to RPGs what Middle-earth is to fantasy literature.
I'm actually quite serious. It's *that* good. AND you can now play with different flavors to it. The Mongoose supplements are basically centered around the Second Age of the world, during which two main forces of the times, the "Empire of the Wyrms' Friends", who worship dragons and try to steal magic from them, and the "God Learners", who actually learn ways in which to modify the very fabric of reality by owning the Gods and ancestral spirits of other Cultures they come in contact with, are clashing for control of the world.
The Chaosium books, however, published for the older game, describe the Third Age of Glorantha, during which the Lunar Empire (think Romans with a pantheon worshipping the "Red Goddess", which is the embodiment of a reconciliation between the ordered forces of the universe and the matter of Chaos itself) takes over most of the world, with a gradual ramping up effect leading to a huge cataclysmic series of conflicts known as the "Hero Wars", during which the fate of the many worlds that are part of Glorantha are decided.
Myriads of cultures, gods, pantheons and spiritualities. Four different types of magic. Widely differing geographic areas providing each as much detail as you care to include in your games... there's a LOT one can do with Glorantha in terms of gaming, assuming you're ready to ignore some of the most annoying canon talibans out there (as is the case of Tekumel, I imagine), of course.
If you don't know anything about either the game or the world, do yourself a favor, and check it out.
Did I mention that Nehwon, Elric, Hawkmoon and others have their own RQ supplements from Mongoose as well? Yeah. Go check it out.
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Building: The Tower of St. Makhab - The Medival Eurth
Awesome skill-based game system? Check.
Awesome packaging? Check.
Awesome price? Check.
Depending on how far you buy into the supplements and all, of course. But is it worth checking out? Bet your ass it is! The old RuneQuest was, and still is, one of the best fantasy game systems out there. I heard many good things about this new version, RuneQuest II, and ordered it. Haven't received it though. I'll tell you more about it when I do.
As for Glorantha well. It's one of those settings that are to RPGs what Middle-earth is to fantasy literature.
I'm actually quite serious. It's *that* good. AND you can now play with different flavors to it. The Mongoose supplements are basically centered around the Second Age of the world, during which two main forces of the times, the "Empire of the Wyrms' Friends", who worship dragons and try to steal magic from them, and the "God Learners", who actually learn ways in which to modify the very fabric of reality by owning the Gods and ancestral spirits of other Cultures they come in contact with, are clashing for control of the world.
The Chaosium books, however, published for the older game, describe the Third Age of Glorantha, during which the Lunar Empire (think Romans with a pantheon worshipping the "Red Goddess", which is the embodiment of a reconciliation between the ordered forces of the universe and the matter of Chaos itself) takes over most of the world, with a gradual ramping up effect leading to a huge cataclysmic series of conflicts known as the "Hero Wars", during which the fate of the many worlds that are part of Glorantha are decided.
Myriads of cultures, gods, pantheons and spiritualities. Four different types of magic. Widely differing geographic areas providing each as much detail as you care to include in your games... there's a LOT one can do with Glorantha in terms of gaming, assuming you're ready to ignore some of the most annoying canon talibans out there (as is the case of Tekumel, I imagine), of course.
If you don't know anything about either the game or the world, do yourself a favor, and check it out.
Did I mention that Nehwon, Elric, Hawkmoon and others have their own RQ supplements from Mongoose as well? Yeah. Go check it out.
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Building: The Tower of St. Makhab - The Medival Eurth
Glorantha is a different kind of world. It is flat, and the sun chariot rises out of the ground every morning. The sky is actually a dome which separates the god realm from the mortal realm. The stars are the remains of dead gods. Elves are plants who refer to everyone else as "Meat creatures". Dwarves are actually intelligent automatons.
Like I said, it's like nothing I've ever seen before.
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Please. I have dice that are older than you are.
Like I said, it's like nothing I've ever seen before.
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Please. I have dice that are older than you are.
Oh, please--I have dice older than you are.
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Omote
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The leather-bound books certainly look cool.
~O
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~O
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> Omote's Advanced C&C stuff <
Duke Omote Landwehr, Holy Order of the FPQ ~ Prince of the Castles & Crusades Society
@-Duke Omote Landwehr, Holy Order of the FPQ ~ Prince of the Castles & Crusades Society-@
VAE VICTUS!
>> Omote's Advanced C&C stuff <<
VAE VICTUS!
>> Omote's Advanced C&C stuff <<
I keep looking at this system. The reviews give me mixed feelings though. It sounds like a cool combat system, but the more options and complexity almost always means SLOW drawn out combats that give people ample time to be bored, have healthy bowel movements between turns, and catch up on FB. Anybody have any input on how smoothly combat runs in the game?
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When in doubt as to who is in charge on the battlefield, listen to the man with the bloodiest sword.
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When in doubt as to who is in charge on the battlefield, listen to the man with the bloodiest sword.
I have RuneQuest II and III (the Basic RolePlaying Monographs from a few years ago) and a digital copy of Mongoose RuneQuest. I haven't seen Mongoose RuneQuest II, but I think I'll stick with Chaosium RuneQuest II.
By the way, Glorantha was "Gregged" back in 1999 with the release of Hero Wars. If you're into Glorantha, pick up the eponymous book for the Hero Wars system. There are no game mechanics in the book so it works fine for any system.
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My small homage to E.G.G.
By the way, Glorantha was "Gregged" back in 1999 with the release of Hero Wars. If you're into Glorantha, pick up the eponymous book for the Hero Wars system. There are no game mechanics in the book so it works fine for any system.
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NOTE TO ALL: If you don't like something I've said, PM me and tell me to my face, then give me a chance to set things right before you call a moderator.
My small homage to E.G.G.
Mongoose's Runequest II freaking rocks. IMO, it's the best variant of Runequest yet. The combat system is scary. Double entendre there. It's scary brutal from an in-game perspective and it's scary good from the player perspective at the table perspective.
Character creation is very complete, concise and well guided. A nice side effect of this is that it can be used in most any "gritty" setting with minimal fuss. If you're looking for a skill based system. This is a good one.
Heroquest 2.0 is a great narrative driven game that rocks my socks off. With 2.0 you can play in Glorantha or any where else.
Character creation is very complete, concise and well guided. A nice side effect of this is that it can be used in most any "gritty" setting with minimal fuss. If you're looking for a skill based system. This is a good one.
Heroquest 2.0 is a great narrative driven game that rocks my socks off. With 2.0 you can play in Glorantha or any where else.
Could someone give me a summary of combat? How does this actually play out at the table? Does it drag on and on, or go fairly quickly? From the sound of it, a critical success could end a fight real quick, for the bad guy or the PC. Sounds a little like the Rolemaster fights (where it seemed players suffered more criticals than the monsters/npc's).
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When in doubt as to who is in charge on the battlefield, listen to the man with the bloodiest sword.
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When in doubt as to who is in charge on the battlefield, listen to the man with the bloodiest sword.
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Lord Dynel
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Piperdog wrote:
I have been reading on this lately as well. I was never even vaguely interested in Runequest back in the day; I don't know why, but I associated it with the gelflings of the Dark Crystal movie...lol...no idea why...but hey, I was a kid. I was all about AD&D 1e back then. Everything else seemed like ballroom dancing.
Eerie. I had an almost similar view of Runequest, and certainly did of non-AD&D games.
I took a look at the AH Runequest, probably back in '87, and was a littler weirded out by it.
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LD's C&C creations - the witch, a half-ogre, skill and 0-level rules
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LD's C&C creations - CL Checker, a witch class, the half-ogre, skills, and 0-level rules
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Piperdog wrote:
Could someone give me a summary of combat? How does this actually play out at the table? Does it drag on and on, or go fairly quickly? From the sound of it, a critical success could end a fight real quick, for the bad guy or the PC.
In Mongoose Runequest II, if you gain one or more levels of success over your opponent you get to tap into combat maneuvers which could be pushing, disarming, bypassing armor, etc.
In one game my character was disarmed at the very start of the battle. I thought for sure that he was a goner. He still had his shield and was able to use it to bash the enemy into submission.
Combat does not drag on but it doesn't feel too quick either. Evenly matched opponents will go back and forth till someone figures out a way to (or through the luck of the dice) get the upper hand. When opponents are mismatched the greater skilled opponent doesn't have to rely on whittling through hit points but can usually end it with a combat maneuver or two. Now, if the superior skilled opponent is outnumbered by rabble he better get out of there because one of them is going to bash him in the head.
The unwritten rule is that you cannot wade in and expect to win.
dutch206 wrote:
Glorantha is a different kind of world. It is flat, and the sun chariot rises out of the ground every morning. The sky is actually a dome which separates the god realm from the mortal realm. The stars are the remains of dead gods. Elves are plants who refer to everyone else as "Meat creatures". Dwarves are actually intelligent automatons.
Like I said, it's like nothing I've ever seen before.
And the second is longer on Glorantha as well.
I haven't picked up a copy of Mongoose RQII yet, but I played alot of Chaosium RQ and the AH/Chaosium RQ. Combat did take longer than( mostly due to more dice rolling) D&D( or games based on D&D) but once the players have the system down it ran pretty smoothly. I think Mongoose's version has streamlined this somewhat.
Combat in RQ is almost a blow by blow system, where D&D, C&C etc. it an abstracted round. I always found that new roleplayers had a somewhat easier time with the rules. D&D players often had more trouble adjusting. (Broad generalization and some people didn't ever catch on to either game).
My only advice to help move combat along in any version of RQ, once a hit has been determined try to get the players to roll for hit location and damage at the same time.
2 cents.
1 the mechanics are great. character creation simple and tied to cultural background whick i enjoyed.
2. th emagic system is terrible. the description of teh sorcerer spoke of wielding powerful magic that could destroy armies and te most offensive spell is palsy. so i guess you can give the army the shakes? dream system would be mongoose character and combat with epic rpg magic system.
1 the mechanics are great. character creation simple and tied to cultural background whick i enjoyed.
2. th emagic system is terrible. the description of teh sorcerer spoke of wielding powerful magic that could destroy armies and te most offensive spell is palsy. so i guess you can give the army the shakes? dream system would be mongoose character and combat with epic rpg magic system.
I like MRQ2, but there is one thing that annoys the hell out of me: The Glorantha setting book contains everything you need to run a campaign....except for details on the magical cults. You have to buy a separate book for that (natch). Unfortunately, this book doesn't come out until sometime in July. So, in the meantime, the Glorantha setting is useless.
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Please. I have dice that are older than you are.
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Please. I have dice that are older than you are.
Oh, please--I have dice older than you are.