RQ Version #

[1d8+DB]

I want to check  to see that I'm understanding the version numbers being thrown around.

1:  The original Chaosium game.

2:  The Avalon Hill version.

3: Mongoose's 1st iteration.

4: Mongoose's 2nd iteration ('Legend').

5: Design Mechanism's 1st iteration.

6: Design Mechanism's 2nd iteration ('Mythras').

7: This will be be filled by by the Chaosium 'Classic RQ'.

OpenQuest and and Revolution D100 are considered outliers.

[21st Century Moose]

Not quite.

1. The original Chaosium edition.

2. The Chaosium second edition (this is widely considered the "classic" edition and was the subject of the recent Kickstarter).

3. The Avalon Hill edition.

4. The cancelled and unpublished 4th edition from the 1990s.

The first Mongoose edition was just called "RuneQuest" and didn't have an edition number.  It was commonly called "MRQ", or later, "MRQ1".

The second Mongoose edition was called "RuneQuest 2" (which was a little confusing as you now need to be explicit about which RuneQuest 2 you're talking) and was commonly called "MRQ2".

6. Design Mechanism's first iteration.  This was the sixth published edition, and was commonly called "RQ6".

Mythras doesn't have a RuneQuest edition number because it's not a RuneQuest edition.

It remains to be seen what we'll settle down to calling the upcoming Chaosium edition, although IIRC Chaosium themselves are calling it "RuneQuest 4" on account of it being the 4th edition with which the original team were involved; IIRC they may also be simply calling it "RuneQuest".  We may end up calling it "RuneQuest 7" or something else; who knows?

[Roko Joko]

@OP numbering your list was not the clearest way to express yourself. %)

The new one is RuneQuest.  There's a blog post about that that I'm not going to search for.  There are good RuneQuest history articles out there that I'm also not going to search for.

This subject wouldn't make a bad sticky for this forum.

[styopa]

2 hours ago, Roko Joko said:

@OP numbering your list was not the clearest way to express yourself. %)

The new one is RuneQuest.  There's a blog post about that that I'm not going to search for.  There are good RuneQuest history articles out there that I'm also not going to search for.

This subject wouldn't make a bad sticky for this forum.

I'd rephrase that.

They're all called "Runequest" on the cover.  So insisting the new one is 'called' Runequest is being a touch pedantic.

Colloquially, no matter how hard Chaosium insists 'it's just Runequest' (factually, they're absolutely right), that's claddistically (not to say idiomatically) nearly useless.  People need clear vernacular to understand what version people happen to be talking about RQ2, MRQ, RQ6, etc.  

 

Personally, I suspect it'll end up being RQ7 just because it's the 7th iteration of the rules marketed as RUNEQUEST disregarding fussy details about who worked on what, or who had what license, etc.  Chaosium discussions will likely call the new product just 'Runequest", saving iteration-numbers for historical reference only.

But hey, we can all pick whatever windmills we choose to tilt at.

[Roko Joko]

I was trying to answer questions raised by the first two posts by providing the information that Chaosium is going to call the new one just plain RuneQuest without making an edition number part of the name.  That's not pedantic in that context.  I didn't say it clearly, though.

This is the blog post I mentioned.  They've also said it will say 4th edition on the inside, for example in a comment in this g+ post.

I think the best online RQ history used to be this article, but it's not current.  I've seen several forum posts that summarize the history up to the present; here's one of them.

 

Edited January 17, 2017 by Roko Joko

[Luis Dantas]

I hope you do no mind:

https://rpggeek.com/geeklist/219936/history-brp-derived-roleplaying-systems/page/1?

[Jeff]

Given that RQ3 was released back in the mid-1980s, and that this is the first new Chaosium edition of RuneQuest since then, I don't think it is hard for most people to refer to this as the "new" RuneQuest or even RQ4. All the other editions were from licensees.

[Mankcam]

My gut instinct tells me that in the wider gaming community it will be referred to as 'the new RuneQuest' for a while, then eventually go back to being just RuneQuest.

I think in a crowd like this there will be a bit of semantics when identifying it from previous editions. Some will call it RQ7, but it will probably eventually settle with RQ4 or perhaps CRQ4 (less likely).

Even here it's likely that once the dust settles, any reference to just RQ is likely to refer to the contemporary edition. 

 

 

Edited January 17, 2017 by Mankcam

[TrippyHippy]

I'm going to call it Chaosium's RuneQuest as it stands. I didn't like the inference of a coded insult to TDM's RuneQuest 6, but that game has moved on to becoming Mythras and, perhaps, it was the most healthy distinction to make in the long term. 

But yeah, Chaosium's RuneQuest works best for me. You could also make a case for RuneQuest 40th Anniversary Edition, by the time it comes round. 

 

Edited January 17, 2017 by TrippyHippy

[Mankcam]

RQ40 may work just as well as RQ4, and it doesn't have those perceived   inferences you mentioned either 

As long as it's RuneQuest then I'm happy

 

Edited January 17, 2017 by Mankcam

[Khedrac]

16 hours ago, 21stCenturyMoose said:

Not quite.

1. The original Chaosium edition.

2. The Chaosium second edition (this is widely considered the "classic" edition and was the subject of the recent Kickstarter).

3. The Avalon Hill edition.

4. The cancelled and unpublished 4th edition from the 1990s.

The first Mongoose edition was just called "RuneQuest" and didn't have an edition number.  It was commonly called "MRQ", or later, "MRQ1".

The second Mongoose edition was called "RuneQuest 2" (which was a little confusing as you now need to be explicit about which RuneQuest 2 you're talking) and was commonly called "MRQ2".

6. Design Mechanism's first iteration.  This was the sixth published edition, and was commonly called "RQ6".

Mythras doesn't have a RuneQuest edition number because it's not a RuneQuest edition.

It remains to be seen what we'll settle down to calling the upcoming Chaosium edition, although IIRC Chaosium themselves are calling it "RuneQuest 4" on account of it being the 4th edition with which the original team were involved; IIRC they may also be simply calling it "RuneQuest".  We may end up calling it "RuneQuest 7" or something else; who knows?

Just to make life more confusing, this misses a publisher - Games Workshop.

Avalon Hill (well I assume it was them) licensed Games Workshop to produce hardback book versions of their boxed sets for the UK.

These books are also usually regarded as RQ3 and are the same version of RQ, just slightly differently arranged.  They seemed concentrated on the Fantasy Europe setting because the Glorantha booklet from the Delux box set(s) was not included in the re-ordered core rulebooks (Basic Runequest and Advanced Runequest).

[styopa]

53 minutes ago, Khedrac said:

Just to make life more confusing, this misses a publisher - Games Workshop.

Avalon Hill (well I assume it was them) licensed Games Workshop to produce hardback book versions of their boxed sets for the UK.

These books are also usually regarded as RQ3 and are the same version of RQ, just slightly differently arranged.  They seemed concentrated on the Fantasy Europe setting because the Glorantha booklet from the Delux box set(s) was not included in the re-ordered core rulebooks (Basic Runequest and Advanced Runequest).

I recognize the point you're trying to make and ultimately one could get down into the epistemological weeds but I'd simply call that a different edition of RQ3.  Likewise, I'd disagree with the list above in formally naming RQ4, as it was never actually published...but it's a thing, the draft versions are out there (and I quite liked some of their ideas), and it does therefore need a name... 

For me, the new version is probably simply going to be 'Runequest' as it's the CURRENT iteration; former versions will have more specific monikers like RQ3, MRQ2, RQ6.

[g33k]

Chaosium is -- as they are entitled to be -- the arbiter of the "official" name.  As Roko Joko says, they have said it will be "Runequest."

I suspect Manckam's guts are correct -- my haruspicy strongly indicates a period of "RQ" and "new" in conjunction, leading to a later numerological use.

I may need to go Heroquesting if I'm to see my own preference realized:  I want "RQG" for "Runequest Glorantha," to match the usage of "13G" and "HQ:G" ...  It will, after all, be the first RQ with really in-depth Glorantha content baked-in to the core rulebook ...

[soltakss]

Let's all have a go!

23 hours ago, 1d8+DB said:

I want to check  to see that I'm understanding the version numbers being thrown around.

1:  The original Chaosium game.

2:  The Avalon Hill version.

3: Mongoose's 1st iteration.

4: Mongoose's 2nd iteration ('Legend').

5: Design Mechanism's 1st iteration.

6: Design Mechanism's 2nd iteration ('Mythras').

7: This will be be filled by by the Chaosium 'Classic RQ'.

OpenQuest and and Revolution D100 are considered outliers.

 

1:  The original Chaosium game

2:  The original Chaosium game, Second Edition (Minor changes plus errata)

3:  The Avalon Hill version

4: Mongoose's 1st iteration.

5: Mongoose's 2nd iteration

6: Design Mechanism's 1st iteration.

7: This will be be filled by by the Chaosium 'Classic RQ'.

 

The following two were spawned from the main sequence but are separate:

Mongoose's Legend 

Design Mechanism's 2nd iteration ('Mythras')

 

OpenQuest, GORE, Renaissance and Revolution D100 are related but not part of the main sequence.

 

Alternatively:

1:  The original Chaosium game

2:  The original Chaosium game, Second Edition (Minor changes plus errata)

3:  The Avalon Hill version

     Mongoose's 1st iteration (Not Chaosium so needs to be written out of history)

     Mongoose's 2nd iteration (Not Chaosium so needs to be written out of history)

     Design Mechanism's 1st iteration. (Not Chaosium so needs to be written out of history)

4: This will be be filled by by the Chaosium 'Classic RQ'.

 

I am, of course, unsure why Avalon Hill's version is considered to be 3 when it was published by Avalon Hill. Perhaps it was written by Chaosium.

 

[21st Century Moose]

Avalon Hill edition was clearly written by the Chaosium team.

I think I'm just gonna say "RQ2017" - nice and unambiguous.

[tedopon]

Is it coming out in 2017, though?

Everything I've been reading seems to suggest 2018...but I'm not an employee or playtester.

[Mankcam]

Chaosium have stated that the RuneQuest Quickstart + a scenario is due to come mid-2017, but I don't think there has been an official word on when the full version is likely to be released. I presume it would be within 6-12 months of the Quickstart. Any more would end up being a major hassle.

Edited January 17, 2017 by Mankcam

[Mankcam]

3 hours ago, soltakss said:

I am, of course, unsure why Avalon Hill's version is considered to be 3 when it was published by Avalon Hill. Perhaps it was written by Chaosium.

The authors credited for RQ3 Players Book was Steve Perrin, Greg Stafford, Lynn Willis, and Steve Henderson; and the editorial team was Yurek Shodak, Sherman Khan, Charlie Krank, and Sandy Petersen; so this was definitely the Chaosium crew back then who were responsible for the content.

The current Chaosium have stated that the company still hold the rights for this material, and I think some of it is informing the next edition of RQ, although not as much as RQ2 obviously is. Sounds like things have gone back to RQ2 and restarted on a different path than that was taken by RQ3.

Chaosium pretty much released a lot of the RQ3 core books content again as several BRP monographs, although I think some of it had been tweaked to work more with the BGB. 

Edited January 17, 2017 by Mankcam

[MOB]

5 minutes ago, Mankcam said:

Chaosium pretty much released a lot of the RQ3 core books content again as several BRP monographs, although I think some of it had been tweaked to work more with the BGB. 

Not having the rights to Glorantha at the time, or Michael Moorcock's material, Chaosium used RQ3 content to help create the Magic World line, along with rules (but not the background setting) from the Elric/Stormbringer RPGs.

[Mankcam]

I also seem to recall monographs which covered alot of the same material (and text) as the RQ3 GM Book and the RQ3 Magic Book

[TrippyHippy]

I do recall the Games Workshop RuneQuest books in the late 80s. They were physically different, with a shorter page count (it was split into the RuneQuest core, Advanced RuneQuest and a Monsters book - all about 160 pages each) and the covers were different. I didn't have the advantage of reading them, so I don't know if the rules were affected in any way. 

On another related side note, I do feel that RuneQuest was clearly a heavy influence on GWs Warhammer rpgs - both settings and system - including the much later 40KRP titles. 

 

[tedopon]

I had the GW hardbacks at one point. Basically was the Deluxe or de-Glorantha-ed GM's box split into three hardbacks. My main memory was they had godawful art. I had a Deluxe box, a player box and those hardbacks. The hardbacks were the ones I lent out to people who wanted to borrow a copy.

[g33k]

4 hours ago, Mankcam said:

Chaosium have stated that the RuneQuest Quickstart + a scenario is due to come mid-2017, but I don't think there has been an official word on when the full version is likely to be released. I presume it would be within 6-12 months of the Quickstart. Any more would end up being a major hassle.

That's pretty recent info.

Realistically, I think the answer about the full version is "as soon as they can manage to produce it, with the standards they plan to hit."

Full stop.

I very  *S*T*R*O*N*G*L*Y*  suspect that this timeframe won't be as soon as Chaosium would LIKE it to be, and I'm dead-certain it won't be as soon as the FANS would like it to be (since it's already 30-ish years overdue, by that measure... ;-)

I believe (based on prior statements (but maybe I misunderstood)) that they are hoping to have it ready for GenCon 2017 (mid-Aug) .

 

[SteveMND]

Namewise, all I want from the new version when it comes out is so that I can have a distinctive search term to search for things involved with that specific version.

[tedopon]

Hopefully the Quickstart comes out well in advance of GenCon. I'd register events as a GM if I had some form of the rules to work from.