While the majority of Classic Fantasy fans appear to believe that Open Quest is the best game system, if you cannot get Chaosium to pull their head of their hind quarters I sincerely hope you give RuneQuest 6 some thought. I own both games and while I feel that Open Quest is a good game it is too simplified in my opinion. One of the things I love about RuneQuest, BRP, and Classic Fantasy is the hit location system which was removed from Open Quest. Like Open Quest, the people behind RuneQuest 6 did streamline the game to increase playability, however, they did so without sacrificing many of the features that old school players like me enjoyed back in the day. So please do not overlook RuneQuest 6 while making your decision.
Scott