lawrence.whitaker

A few people have asked if we can add some practical demonstration videos, so we'll give this some more thought.

Here's a reply I posted on the Design Mechanism website in response to a similar question about Mythic Briton...

I know. I've listened to it. :-) This is (part of the reason) why I'm proud to have him as my friend and colleague. He summed up RQ's history perfectly, and his ruminations on our own relationship are spot-on. Its honest, straight forward, philosophical and, well, that's what Pete's like.

The GM's Pack and Character Sheet are available for free download from the Design Mechanism website in our Downloads section. The GM's Pack includes two complete introductory scenarios and a whole host of tables and play-aids.

Deleriad is right. We have 'Monster Island' and 'Book of Quests' in the pipeline for publication. Next year will see Mythics Greece, Briton and Constantinople, plus out mysterious licensed title (which isn't Groo). Not sure when a Glorantha book will appear; it may be 2014 or it may be earlier.

You mean 'lithp'.... :-)

They're called ligatures and are a feature of the font. They do grow on you. But so does moss, if you stay still long enough...! Thanks for the feedback though and I hope the ligatures don't create too much of a distraction.

On a cost per page ratio, we actually offer a very good deal. As Pete says, we have a pre-order offer that makes that deal even better...

Others have beaten me to the announcement, but here it is anyway. RQ6 is now available to pre-order via our partners at Moon Design - Welcome to Moon Design | Moon Design Publications. We hope you enjoy it!

Today I sent the production files to the printers. I'm therefore hoping that pre-orders can start next week. Here are the details. Moon Design will be handling all print and electronic orders via their website. There are several reasons for doing this. First is synergy. Part of our business model was to integrate with Moon wherever we could. By partnering with Jeff and Rick we can offer package deals on both RQ6 and Glorantha titles (for those that want them). Second is expedience. Moon already has an established e-commerce gateway and it makes sense to take advantage of that. Plus, Moon can host PDFs for immediate download once payment has been processed which benefits Design Mechanism because we get a far higher portion of the cover price than relying simply on Drivethru - although Drivethru will still be used for PDF sales and Print on Demand options. Our Products page at The Design Mechanism will have a link to the RQ pages at Moon, so clicking on our 'Order Now' button will take you to their site. Moon still have a little work to do before all that goes live, but it shouldn't take too long. The PDF edition of the book will also be fully bookmarked and hyperlinked. We have to finish that work, but once its done then you'll be able to order the PDF immediately. If you order the print copy you also get the PDF free of charge, so you'll at least have the electronic content while you wait for your book to ship. RQ6 is being distributed by Alliance, the largest distributor of hobby books and games in the world. They are also handling direct fulfilment for us, so that's where your book will ship from once it reaches their warehouse from the printer. I'm anticipating that stock will be available from about the 20th July, but its possible this date will shift a little. I will keep you notified. Pre-order cost of RQ6 is $50 (US) + $10 shipping in North America, or $15 shipping elsewhere in the world. And you get the PDF free, which on its own is $25. We will be maintaining the pre-order price until 22nd August. Two reasons for this. First, it takes into account Gencon US, and second its my birthday. Seemed like the right date. After 22nd August the price is $62, but this still includes the PDF if you order direct. Some people have asked me if RQ6 will be available for Continuum (20th - 23rd July). Unfortunately, we won't be able to ship stock to the UK in time. However Pete will be there with a couple of sample copies so Continuum attendees will be able to whet their appetites. Other than that, its great to be able to say that RuneQuest is firmly on its way. Stay tuned for pre-orders going live and the final release date. Loz

78. I voted too.

No, pre-orders are not open yet. The DM Products pages says: 'We are not accepting pre-orders just yet, but will be making an announcement very soon.' so I don't think its THAT unclear...

Thanks for the support Trippy. I've investigated hardback costs and at the moment, its too costly. But once we have some sustained sales we do intend creating a Collectors edition. Trying to do it right off the bat would be ruinous - but we did look at it as an option. Compared with AH RQ3 we're quite cheap, if you take inflation into account. That boxed set would be about 80 quid in today's money, if not more, and the booklets weren't wonderful (although mine have stood the test of time, it has to be said). Its a question of, ultimately, cost vs value, and we do think that RQ6 represents VFM. Again, thanks for the supportive words!

This is excellent Gianni. May I cross post the link on the Design Mechanism forum?

More details on RuneQuest availability and price. RuneQuest will be 456 pages, soft cover, black and white interior, colour cover. Price is $62.00 (£40, €50). There will be a discount for pre-orders, which we hope to begin very soon. You will be able to order RQ directly from us via the Products page of the Design Mechanism website. Shipping within the US and Canada will be $10. International orders $15. We will be distributing to the retail trade via our fulfilment and distribution partner, Alliance. This means RQ will find its way into game stores across the world. RQ will be available as a bookmarked PDF close to the release date of the hard copy. If you buy the hard copy directly from us, you'll get the PDF free of charge. If you decide to order the PDF singly, it will cost $25. It will be available through DrivethruRPG and the other One Book Shelf sites. I cannot give a precise date for publication, but it should be no later than mid-July and, hopefully, a little earlier. We will open pre-orders the minute the production files are in the hands of the printer. It usually takes about three weeks for production, so factor-in a fourth for transit to our warehouse. We will be releasing a free PDF, available on the Design Mechanism website and on Drivethru, for Games Masters. This will contain all the major charts and tables, a two page character sheet, a combat tracking sheet and an introductory scenario called 'Meeros Falling'. This scenario uses the setting found throughout the examples found in the rules and is a mixture of investigation, intrigue and combat. It directly continues 'Anathaym's Saga' as found throughout RQ6. So, more information to come, but I'm pleased to say that RQ6 is nearly with us. Stay tuned for more details regarding release date and pre-orders.

Fortunately Moon Design's excellent Pavis book helps provide those answers.

It'll certainly make dragonewt magic more evocative. Much depends, though, on the areas you look it. Not everywhere in Glorantha has a mystic tradition. Kralorela, some parts of Pamaltela, perhaps some small sects in Esrolia and Teshnos. Otherwise, theism dominates east of Ralios and a sorcery/theism mix dominates to the west. In the Lunar Heartlands you would have a weird amalgam of theism, sorcery and, possibly, mysticism depending on cultural traditions. Is Sedenya truly a goddess or a mystical representation of enlightenment and transcendance? Is the Moonson a theist, a sorcerer, a mystic or a mix of all three? How does Lunar magic truly work? All interesting questions to answer.

Yes.

The reason why Myshella varies so much between MRQ1 Elric and MRQ2 Elric is because, in MRQ2 Elric, we changed the cap on increasing characteristics. Therefore all statistics needed to be recalculated to reflect this rule change. We also introduced some new gifts, and altered how some gifts work.

You've hit the nail on the head. Mysticism is deeply personal (a mystic cannot 'cast' any of his powers on another) and, at first glance, it seems both Magic Point hungry (it can be) and under-powered when compared with sorcery, theism or animism. However, clever use of a mystical path can yield some extraordinary results. It also lets you simulate a wide range of genres, from wuxia, through to a certain order of knights inhabiting a galaxy a long time ago and far, far away.

Yes, its up to the GM to frame the scene and decide what applies and how. You can classify a scene as just a combat or as long as the above example. Depends on the circumstances. It might lead to some Let's Cast Just In Case, but I don't see that as a major issue. They still have to succeed in the casting roll. And it does extend to other magic types - not just Folk Magic.

Never played 4e (or even done more than skim it), but I suppose the idea isn't so far removed. The idea is to keep working magic effective in its context. Let's say the characters are going off on a broo-hunt. The action starts with them entering the Vulture County badlands and the scene begins with them trekking through a canyon. The Gm knows that the scene may involve a combat but much depends on various skill rolls beforehand. The characters therefore have an opportunity to prepare any magic beforehand knowing they might be walking into an ambush. Traditionally your Bladesharp spell might only last a few minutes before needing to be re-cast. Using the scene as a participatory time element, RQ6 treats the successfully cast Bladesharp as effective until the scene terminates, rather than a fixed, specific-spell duration. So, after 20 minutes of negotiating the canyon and failing to spot the broo ambushers, the combat starts. The characters might be taken unawares, but prepared Bladesharped weapons are still effective. The scene ends when the combat finishes, book-keeping is done, and the action/story shifts. Not all spells benefit from scene-based durations. Some have active concentration requirements and some, of course, are instantaneous and must be cast in-situ. The scene-based duration is there to more easily handle spells requiring low, background concentration spells, that don't require dedicated concentration, need a specific duration based on magnitude, or are instantaneous. Is that similar to 4e?

No, it seems to have gone down again. I've escalated this to our host's technical support. There's clearly something screwy happening with their sites.

Yes, I've reloaded the file and its working on my Mac, PC and tablet so, hopefully, problem solved.

Looks like there's a technical bug on our web hosting service as the link is displaying a 404 Error. Trying to resolve this ASAP.