Lemurion

Just joined up.

The SRD has been released, but I would expect the Worlds of Wonder packs to follow the core release of the commercial print run as one of their functions is going to be to drive sales of the core system. Now that Ian has mentioned its existence in the podcast interview with Robin Laws I think I can mention that I did hand in the pulp genre pack some time ago so I would expect Cosmic Zap! to be at a similar stage of development if not further advanced.

One thing about QuestWorlds is that as an engine it really lends itself to superheroes because you can do anything with it. I don't know how far Ron Edwards is with Cosmic Zap! but given the amount of time QuestWorlds has been in development I wouldn't be surprised to hear that it's pretty far along. As for a release date--I don't think any of those are going to be even determined before they get the new edition out.

I would suggest trying to get in touch with @Ian Cooper as he is in charge of the QuestWorlds line and see if there's anything you could do for the project. I really like what I've seen from and about QuestWorlds so far. It's a great system and you can do so much with it.

Really good interview with Ian, and I'm not just saying that because he said nice things about me.

Downloaded--It looks cool and I'm looking forward to using it.

Hopefully, the existence of the new BRP SRD means that the QW SRD isn't far behind--I know the license was a hold up and it sounds like they have that done.

That would be my approach.

Hey @Ian Cooper is there any more news on this you can share?

I see the real purpose of any rule system as being to create a shared experience at the table. RuneQuest, HeroQuest, and Call of Cthulhu are each written to emphasize different aspects of the possible group experience, and the key to choosing a system is to consider the experience you and your group are looking for. RuneQuest excels at the gritty details you want for a game that feels like the historical Bronze Age, while HeroQuest lets you explore the mythic Bronze Age where every encounter takes on some kind of emotional or spiritual significance. Moving away from Glorantha for a moment and into the pulps, you might find that Pulp Cthulhu does a better job of capturing a noir detective feel while HeroQuest makes it easier to replicate some of the more over the top pulp adventures like the movie Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. A good group can create almost any experience with almost any ruleset, but it's always easier if you choose one that's focused on those elements of the roleplaying experience that your group wishes to highlight.

As I understand it, the idea behind QuestWorlds is to open up the very strong HQ engine to a wide variety of games and settings. Once it comes out it should be a very strong competitor to systems like FATE and the PbtA games.

Yeah, I don't think duplicating genres is going to be a problem as long as there's a unique hook to any pack.

I don't know what you're working on, but so far the only packs that have been actually mentioned are the three from the original post: Supers, Pulp, and Sci-Fi, and another thread which mentions some interest in Tékumel, but nothing solid. If you're looking at something outside those areas then the chance of overlap is minimal, and even those fields are pretty broad. Pulp alone can range from noir detectives to over-the-top adventures like the movie Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. Post-apocalyptic sci-fi is very different from space adventure. What you should be asking yourself is whether you have a clear and consistent vision for your idea and if you can convey that vision effectively. Give Chaosium a vision to sell rather than just a generic genre pack. Just look at Glorantha compared to the generic pseudo-medieval settings found in so many games. Show off your vision, not just your genre.

It looks like it would certainly be possible to license it, though I don’t know if Chaosium would be willing to make the effort at this time. I just wanted to remind people that licensing the IP is a necessary step in the process.

I would love to see some Tékumel stuff for HeroQuest or the SRD but I wonder about the licensing issues.

If the idea is good enough it can’t hurt to look into it. Track records can be important but they aren’t everything.

Thanks

For what it's worth, I think some expansions for 2nd Edition AD&D had a roll under on d20 with highest roll winning for various skill and ability checks.

I am new to HeroQuest, but I'm definitely looking forward to seeing what happens with the genre packs. It's such a good system for rules-light adventure that it deserves more of an audience and I think genre packs can help a lot. As someone with a background in systems like AD&D 1e, I found HQ2 to be refreshing in how it associated obstacles with narrative importance rather than simulated difficulty. When I put on my writer's hat more than my GM's hat it makes a lot of sense, especially when dealing with emergent storytelling.

Personally, and much as I am coming to like HeroQuest, I can completely see why Chaosium is focusing on RQG.