Prime Evil

Nice work. I've purchased it and the conversions look solid, albeit quite potent for a typical campaign.

Most of them could also be used for Classic Fantasy for Mythras or even Magic World with minimal effort.

You should list this over on the Mongoose forums too.

Would it be worth reaching out to the author and seeing if he would be willing to answer some questions?

11 hours ago, lawrence.whitaker said:

Mythras will take a modular approach. We've already started the process by making Mythras Imperative generic (and free), and we'll build on that base with supplements that extend its range into specific genres. But we won't produce a version of the BRP BGB or GURPS. We'll stick with Mythras core, Imperative, and then various supplements that extend the system's range. Some will be free, like Firearms; some will be paid for, like Ships & Shield Walls; and some will be focused, like Luther Arkwright.

This is a very smart approach. However, given that the resources of the Design Mechanism are limited, how quickly will you be able to fill in some of the popular genres? I know that you are already committed to a number of upcoming works...

I love obscure RPGs. There is a certain joy to finding a cool system that nobody else seems to know about.

I wasn't aware of the existence of this game. It seems to be a weird amalgam of concepts drawn from d100 games and the d20 system, with some interesting customizations. If you read the OGL Section 15 attributions at the end, it appears that the d100 elements are drawn from the MRQI SRD and the authors were not aware of the improvements implemented in MRQII / Legend and later refined further by RQ 6 / Mythras. The d20 elements aren't really my cup of tea, but there are a few very cool ideas hidden throughout the book. The bestiary also looks interesting. Apparently the author is also working on an SF version:

http://stephenlnowland.com.au/sabre/

And almost everything is released as OGC for anyone who wants to integrate elements into their homebrew Legend / OpenQuest / Renaissance variants.

The basic edition is free, but there is also a Premium Edition and a Bestiary:

http://www.rpgnow.com/product/185867/The-Sabre-RPG-Basic-Edition

http://www.rpgnow.com/product/186612/The-Sabre-RPG-Premium-Edition

http://www.rpgnow.com/product/186795/The-Sabre-RPG-Bestiary

Based upon an initial scan I'd definitely recommend supporting this author. I don't know that it's a perfect game system, but it's not bad and it looks like the author plans to release a free update every six months as he refined the system. Nice find!

For those who haven't seen the news yet, Bundle of Holding is currently offering a bundle containing the Legend core rules and most of the sourcebooks:

https://bundleofholding.com/presents/Legend

At the moment, you can pick up most of the product line in PDF for around $15 or so.

I'd also like to know how group Conflicts are handled - situations where multiple adventurers are involved in resolving the challenge via a sequence of skill rolls. For example, imagine a fiendish deathtrap that requires a combination of Athletics, Mechanisms, and Sleight of Hand to disable - with the added complication that each task must be performed by a different character to ensure that they all occur at exactly the same time.

If I treat this as a group-level Conflict, do I use a single pool of Resolution points for the entire group or does each participant have their own Resolution points for their own specific subtasks? Or maybe I should designate one of the tasks as the main task and treat the others as support actions?

3 minutes ago, g33k said:

Chaosium's new RQ is being based on a refined and updated version of the venerable "RQ2" rules, that launched the plethora of games & rulesets in the d100/BRP family.

It will indeed by MUCH more "Gloranthan" a game, with "Runes" being a much bigger part of the game... all the way down to character-generation.  It's also bringing in adaptations of some of the familial/ cultural/ campaign- oriented material from the "Pendragon" (Artuhrian) game.  It's looking pretty interesting...

 

It is interesting, and may even be a good game if your primary focus is Glorantha. But I'm more interested in something that I can use for my own settings, and Mythras looks like the better choice if that's what you are interested in. Of course, there is a trade-off here - a tight focus on a specific area of Glorantha in a specific time period allows the new Chaosium RQ to offer a streamlined ruleset tightly integrated with the setting. By contrast, Mythras is a toolbox that supports a wide range of settings and options. Therefore it can't be as 'rules light' or as integrated with a specific campaign setting as the new RQ will be. In the longer term, this will probably be a good thing as it allows Mythras to be more adaptable to the needs of different gaming groups.

I like the general idea, but the devil is going to be in the execution. I agree that tying the process closely to specific homelands is problematic - it makes it very difficult to use the rules with different eras or different parts of Glorantha (or other settings, for that matter).

This is a very nice refinement of RQ 6 Essentials. I like the fact that each iteration of the rules seems to streamline the system a little more. Heck, if it had a few more critters and some introductory magic it would almost be the Holmes Basic Set for early D&D - and that's intended as a compliment as it's very hard to pare a rule system down that much.

My only complaints is that I think Essentials was a better title than Imperative and that I'm not entirely convinced I like the new layout - I find that Warnock Pro renders much better on small screens, but that may be a personal preference. (At the moment, I'm in love with the Amasis MT font family as it seems to render beautifully everywhere).

I know that the game system is still under active development, but this is a promising start. It manages to be both familiar and different, finding a new slant on familiar game mechanics - which is no mean feat!

I really like the concept of conflicts, but the description of the mechanics is not as clear as it might be. It definitely needs a few examples to clarify how the rules work in practice.

Looking forward to see how you will handle character creation itself.

6 hours ago, RosenMcStern said:

If someone had not noticed, I have opened a split of this thread in the generic forum.

 

On the other hand, it is worth nothing that RQ itself was supposed to provide a different experience than it actually does. It was meant as a "heroic" game portraying characters like those found in the Dragon Pass boardgame, but it turned out to be a perfect "gritty" game instead.

This was a happy coincidence, but it is very important to the unique feel of RQ - the juxtaposition of fairly mundane realism and heroic elements with a mythic resonance has been a feature of the game from the very beginning. 

1 hour ago, Simlasa said:

It's 'too narrative' (meta) for me when I want to be playing something 'less narrative' (less meta).

I know it's a fashionable/popular system, if someone likes that system then that's the system they should play... rather than suggesting BRP/RQ needs to adopt it's mechanisms.

My ideal version of BRP would have a minimal set of core rules, but a range of optional components that could be bolted on to facilitate different styles of play. If you want a narrative-heavy game, there should be components that support that style of play. However, if you want a more simulationist approach, there should be options supporting that instead. My suggestion is that the core rules should focus on simulating realistic outcomes, and the options should be based upon how much you want your game to diverge from reality. If you want a grim-and-gritty simulationist game, the core rules should do the job out of the box. But if you want a more cinematic or mythic tone, with a narrativist rather than simulationist focus the tools necessary to facilitate this should be available. Such a set of rules would be difficult to write - it would require a clear vision and strong organisational skills. The Big Gold Book comes close in some respects, but misses the mark in others. In a perfect world, the upcoming BRP Essentials would form the foundation for a relaunch of the BRP product line along these principles - I suspect that Chaosium don't want a massive rulebook as the core of the system as it will alienate many newcomers at the time when they are trying to rebuild the community. But perhaps we'll see extensions of the system down the track...

(Although I'm still waiting for a PDF version of After the Vampire Wars so I can carry it around on my tablet, dammit....)

This is an excellent move - I want this so much to socialize d100 gaming with a group of younger gamers. I don't want to overwhelm them with the full rulebook yet and this may be exactly what the doctor ordered!

Any idea when the general release is scheduled? I missed out on the crowdfunding campaign, but am keen to support Revolution as it becomes more widely available.

It looks very good so far. I'm looking forward to seeing how it works in actual play.

I'm thinking of converting the Chaotic Caves module for Chris Gonnerman's Basic Fantasy RPG (itself a tribute to the Keep on the Borderland) so that I can see how it plays with an old-school adventure

http://basicfantasy.org/download.cgi/JN1-Chaotic-Caves-r20.pdf

http://basicfantasy.org/download.cgi/JN1-Chaotic-Caves-r20.odt

On 02/03/2016 at 5:27 AM, jongjom said:

MOB answered the question about RQ3 over on the RPG Net Forums:

https://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?775804-RuneQuest-Details-about-the-new-Chaosium-version-of-RuneQuest-emerge/page17

Looks like we're on the for the full renaissance, plus more!

Wow...this is fantastic news. And I'd be happy to support another Kickstarter to see these done properly

17 hours ago, ReignDragonSMH said:

Okay so I uploaded the character sheet today for folks to look at. Its not pretty lol but it works.  I am hoping to get on a roll and finish the QS guide this week. fingers crossed!

It looks interesting - there's enough based upon existing d100 material that's to make it feel familiar, but also enough differences to make it feel innovative.

We need the QS Guide to place it in some context though.

On 29/2/2016 at 5:22 AM, Rick Meints said:

As long as we own the rights to it, nothing really has to go fully out of print any more. The RQ1 book is destined for Lulu.com and DTRPG POD.

I wish an RQ1 reprint would sell enough to justify a regular print run, but it probably doesn't.

This is fantastic news!

Has PoD matured to the point where this is a realistic alternative for products with low print runs?

What is the situation with the rights to RQ 3? As I understand the situation, the rights to the text reverted to Chaosium but the actual design and presentation belongs to Hasbro (via their purchase of Avalon Hill). Is this accurate? Are their plans to "repackage" some of the Avalon Hill releases at some point in the future - just been reading Sun Country again and would love a second copy

8 hours ago, Baulderstone said:

The Sanity and Bond rules would actually working pretty well well for a tense, psychological, espionage game with no Mythos elements. While I was running it during the playtest, it impressed me with how it captures the alienation of living a secret life. Just plugging in the UA Sanity mechanics would have been cool, but they really did a fantastic job tuning them to fit the game perfectly. 

While the downtime mechanics are basically just choosing some rolls to make, the players all got into coming up with stories of what the results of the rolls meant exactly. The characters all felt like they had real lives between missions rather than just being in suspended animation between them. Getting results like a character's marriage starting to crumble as he becomes obsessed with studying an alien artifact? That's good stuff. 

That's exactly what I was thinking. It would work fantastically well for a mainstream gritty espionage thriller in the style of John Le Carre or the Bourne films. It doesn't do the cinematic end of the spectrum as well, but could be made to work with some tweakage. And then there's the near future technothriller with cyberpunk elements - think Ghost in the Shell or something similar. The Sanity rules would work well there to simulate the common themes of de-humanisation and identity loss.

It's a good system that introduces some nice innovations to the BRP rules. And because the system itself is released under the OGL it's OK to backport the bits you like to OpenQuest / Legend / Renaissance like I plan to do. The new Delta Green rules might also provide a loose OGL framework for modern and near future BRP variants (espionage, cyberpunk, etc). Looking at the full playtest rules available to backers, this is going to be an excellent system when it's released. It's interesting that both Call of Cthulhu and Delta Green are feeling the need to tinker with the underlying game system with their new editions - this just highlights how adaptable BRP can be and what a huge debt we all owe Chaosium for their pioneering efforts.

It looks like the print version is now available via the Chaosium website for $23.95, but still no sign of the PDF or I'd be interested in snagging both of them:

http://www.chaosium.com/after-the-vampire-wars/

(Incidentally, why doesn't Chaosium offer a Print + PDF bundle for each new release - or at least an option to subscribe to upcoming products as they are released?)

On 12/1/2016 at 2:14 PM, Rick Meints said:

The Gloranthan Classic Pavis and Big Rubble may get reprinted, but it just isn't a priority at the moment. It's not a matter of just getting a printer to print another batch. The files would have to be redone. It was printed via film, not PDFs. If you really want a softcover printed copy of it, I have a few extras in my private reserve vault. NO Hardcovers though. Privately message me if interested.

Wait...you have a private reserve vault???

This is a very interesting idea and may help Chaosium products to gain a higher profile with the newer generation of gamers. Most grognards know just how much fun CoC can be, but many "young 'uns" have never seen the game. A couple of questions - is this a US-only initiative or is it intended to be an international organized play campaign? Judging from the Cult of Chaos page on the website and the fact that the position of "Director of Organized Play" is now a thing, are their plans afoot to extend the organized play program with campaigns for RuneQuest, HeroQuest, and / or Basic Roleplaying? If so, how far away are those plans

Nice to see that this is still going!

Hopefully we'll see some more Renaissance releases in 2016