Newt

I couple of things that have arisen from the recent rather heated discussion about the old MRQ SRD both here and elsewhere, that have mentioned the position of the OQ OGL that I feel need answering from me as the creator of OpenQuest (OQ). 1. OQ is in the process of moving to the Legend OGL, The bits of Chaosium IP that were in the original MRQ SRD as in names of Gloranthan beasties (Gorps, Broo etc) never made it into OQ even in its 1st version. Elsewhere someone has argued that Ducks, Elementals and Spirits are Chaosium IP, there certainly weren't depicted as such in OQ where they were more generic fantasy in their presentation. I've had discussions with Jeff Richard from Chaosium/Moon Design over the years on this Just to be 100% Which leads me to the 2nd point which has always underpinned OpenQuest's legality, which folk won't be aware of. 2. Before I released OpenQuest, in Sept 2009, I showed it to Greg Stafford who quickly consulted with Jeff and they okayed it. I didn't feel the need to make a great song and dance about this because I knew at the time the MRQ SRD OGL covered the work adequately and if anyone was to use OQ's own SRD that was the basis they had to use to keep it clear. I then contacted them again via Jeff when the MRO License was withdrawn, because by then I had quite a stable of OQ releases (OQ + adventures, River of Heaven, The Company), plus there was a growing number of credible commercial works built on OQ such as those put together by Cakebread & Walton and translations such as the French version of OQ. Again because I had asked before doing, acted respectfully OQ and all the works based on OQ are OK by Chaosium. And finally, because it seems that it needs pointing out, both here and because its the no1 question from the asked by the people who contact me via email about the OGL: 3. What isn't OK by Chaosium (and myself) is if you use the OQ SRD to make your own Call of Cthulhu or RuneQuest clone, or any other game that is based upon IP that you do not have written permission to use. its worth noting that even when OQ is clearly using the Legend OGL, you would still be breaking section 15 (which is in short, only use IP you have the rights to in your games). When OpenQuest 3 comes out you'll see this reflected in an updated OGL and also in a "How to use OpenQuest to make your own product" section, in both the book itself and the OQ 3 SRD. I'm not prepared to discuss the ins and outs of this here, so I'm disabling comments for this post. If you have a valid question about OQ and its OGL, drop me a line at newt@d101games.com.

If you are interested in the revisions that I've made to the Combat Chapter in OpenQuest 3, check out this blog post I've made over at the Sorcerer Under the Mountain. OpenQuest 3 Combat

Small correction, The Company was written to spec, a very loose spec ("Write me a Modern Day OpenQuest which isn't Secret Service vs the Supernatural") , but a spec none the less that I had final approval on. Same with River of Heaven. That being said I do accept interesting pitches for OpenQuest based adventures or games, and probably as part of the upcoming OpenQuest 3 will be making an announcement about how I intend to work with people. And of course, people are free to use the OQ SRD for their own adventures and games, as long as they don't use IP they don't have written permission to do so (see Section 7 of the OGL itself I can also attest that the Design Mechanism (via Loz who deals the licensing side) are easy to work with on the Mythras Gateway license. I'm currently working on a scenario book that will see the light of day later in the year. But the key to understanding the Gateway license is that you have to work with the DM and not just go away and do your own thing once they've granted it I can also say that working with Chaosium to do licensed products (I have a small commercial license for Hearts in Glorantha, and I'm currently exploring the option of doing 3rd Party Call of Cthulu books) has been a joy (in fact Glorious Joy ) Again the main thing here to avoid problems is to ask respectfully before you do anything with their IP. Without going into details, there are numerous things that never got past "idea stage" because I've contacted them and found out it overlaps with something they are planning. On the matter of the OpenQuest's OGL, I'll make a proper statement when its all worked out but it will be getting a new clear OGL soon (and before I release OQ3 which is currently looking like an end of summer Kickstarter). If you are currently using OQ's SRD, and are properly crediting me in Section 15 as you should be by the terms of the OGL itself, there should be no need to retrospectively apply this license (i.e. existing books that use the OQ SRD). In short don't worry (as I said I'll make a clearer statement once the new OGL is sorted).

Hi Marchand, I've literally just received a successful print proof so after lunch, I will be contacting backers who are due a copy via Kickstarter message.

Right, I'm close thread because the last meaningful response was a good 2 years ago.

Nope its at print proof with the printers. Off to Kickstarter backers who are due a copy, and then I'll open pre-orders via the D101 Games webstore.

OK apologies for the delay in getting back to everyone. I'll be sorting out players and contacting people next week. As well as here I did recruitment on Twitter and on Tom Zunder's Tavern (gamingtavern.eu), so I've got more than enough potential players.

My current thinking is that there will be a short Gatan chapter in the main rulebook. This will be an updated version of the chapter that appeared in QpenQuest 2. Then there will be an expanded setting book with adventures called "From Darkness to the Light". Green Hell will be its own release and wil be a sandbox type adventure.

Speicalist magicians are there, because some folk are going to be wanting to start as The Wizard, The Shaman etc. its any easy one, they don't get any skill points when generating combat skills (which therefore start at their bases) and in return get to spend those skill points on magic skills, and pick extra spells from a spell list that other starting characters Other specialists, such as the Theif and D&D Monks, for example, will be shown via ready-made concepts, which are a lot more robust in this edition (more like ready-made characters than lists of typical skills and spells). There will also be explanatory text for newcomers, especially those coming from Class based games.

Slowly but surely plans are being laid and turned into action to bring OpenQuest back to life. A Kickstarted new edition of the rules, and an ongoing Patreon to support the release of new and revised adventures. I’m currently working on OpenQuest 3rd Edition, in preparation of a Kickstarter to be launched in Aug/Sept to tie in with its 10 year anniversary. It’s not as a radical revision of the system that I thought it would be at one stage but its enough to call it 3rd Edition. Highlights so far: Combat now has systems for Social (new) and Magic (revised spirit combat) Combat order now based on highest modified skill. Magic just one system (Sorcerers and Priests just become specialist caster types, but everyone uses one common magic list, spend magic points). New rules for Organisations which replaces the cult rules and extend to guilds and less magical organisation. I want a system that can support lots of new funky fantasy adventures (and other genres) that’s simple yet mega-fun to play but has a few more modern standards built into it. As well as the Kickstarter there will be an ongoing Patreon called OpenQuest Adventures, to fund what fans really want ADVENTURES without me having to point out that these are quite risky releases for D100 systems, When I get enough support for the Patreon I will commission other authors to write adventures. I’m putting the pieces in place of this to launch at the beginning of May, and the first release will come bundled with a playtest version of OpenQuest 3rd Ed. The last thing on my current roadmap is playtesting, which opens up next week. I’ve already done a fair bit of playtesting, the social combat rules got a good run out a couple of months ago at one shot game at Go Play Manchester for example, but this will be the first time I’ve put everything together and see how it flows. A call for open playtesting will happen sometime in early June. So OpenQuest 3rd edition dates for your diary: Now: internal playtest begins, watch out for actual play-reports. Early May: OpenQuest Adventures Patreon opens. Early June, Public playtest. Aug/Sept: OpenQuest 3rd Edition Kickstarter to coincide with the 10th Anniversary of the game’s original release.

Ok, its time to take OpenQuest 3 to playtest on Google Hangouts. Looking for 4 players, one day a week 8-10pm BST. If you are up for it comment below with favoured days (given levels of interest I may run two groups). The aim is going to be to playtest the new rules and highlight any weakness in them or the current rules. So this will be a mini-campaign of about 5 seasons initially.

Double booking is another niggle with it. For the con games I run, I've got around it by having all the character's feats with the explanatory text on their character sheet, a handy thing of cutting and pasting info from pdf of 13th Age G and the 13th Age SRD. I found then the game sings with players of varying familiarity with the system and/or setting. The organisation of the 13th Age Rule book, however, is more like a colour coded well-formatted collection of Rob's notes of his Hack of 13th Age (with occasional comments/input by Jonathan Tweet). As long as I bear that in mind while decodng it I'm good Being posistive its a collection of rules-hacks/notes that covers a fearsome amount of Gloranthan ground and once put together with the base game produces a Maximum Fun Game

This is one of my niggles with it. For my first run of Heights of Orlanth, a simple convention scenario for 2nd level, I ran it using my mate Guy Milner's set of 5 pre-gens. These are published in Hearts in Glorantha #7 (plug, plug) and are pretty straightforward - Guy's avoided the classes that are highlighted in the rulebook as being complex (the Berserkers, the Hell Mother class etc). I needed a sixth pc, so naively I set about creating a Humakti, which on the face of it should be a fighter with a few feats regarding Swords. Turns out that while the other characters can be summarised in one page, so all the necessary info is there so the player doesn't need to refer to the rulebook in play, the Humakti takes up two pages. Turns out that they like Swords a lot :

I would suggest kicking off forum posts here, because the forum exists and has the eyes of Gloranthafans and Chaosium :)

What a lovely way of making the classic RQ 2 sources available to the new generation of RQ players and the essential starting sources of the Gloranthan Sourcebook and King of Sartar. Nice one Chaosium

Ha, Ha You'll be able to tell directly because you won the D101 Newsletter monthly prize draw for March and you asked for OpenQuest Deluxe as your prize The main difference is that Magic World is the old venerable Chaosium Basic Roleplaying system in its Fantasy form based on the Stormbringer rules of the 90s. Its a complete game, with a small bestiary and setting. OpenQuest is based upon Mongoose's take on Runequest from the 2000s, using the MRQ 1 SRD, with bits inspired by RQ2/RQ3 and Stormbringer and my own preferences with d100 gaming, some of which are informed by modern rules standards. The Deluxe version, which is the big 260+ page version, is a slightly less crunchy d100 system, with a bestiary.

I've recently had the Joy of running 13th Age Glorantha at my local gaming meetup (Go Play Manchester), and I've posted my immediate thoughts over on the Hearts in Glorantha blog. 13th Age Glorantha, My Verdict

The Short Answer: Haven't I given you enough Swords and Sorcery with the three adventure books? Can't you roll your own Stormbringer Clone from OQ from the main rulebook? :D Please can your OQ author rest and do other things :) The Long Answer: I don't want to do C&T OQ. Its something I'm happy with and will carry on supporting down the years (the recent From the Shroud Kickstarter proved to me that there's still a market for it). Its too early D&D in many respects, despite the obvious RQ/Stormbringer influences in places. No, if I'm going to do OQ S&S I want to write it from scratch. I want it intense. I want the near-superheroic mercenary types. I want playable Sorcerers who meddle with the dark arts and deal with demons. I want vast cyclopean ruins, filled with alien beings from the primordial past. I want a fragmented world with lots of big movers and shakers who can be the characters patrons or their nemesis. And this will take time.

I’m putting the call out for submissions for content for Issue 8. To help inspire you this issue has a Sacred Time theme. What I’d like to see are articles/scenarios about what Gloranthan folk get up to during these festive two weeks where the veil between the mortal and Heroplane is thin. Sure its a time when damn big Heroes and Heroines go off on BIG IMPORTANT WORLD SAVING HEROQUESTs, feel free to write about these, but what do the little people do? From my first encounter with the idea in the Genertela box set in the early 90s, I’ve been fascinated with what happens during Sacred Time. No worries if you don’t want to write to the theme, and have something else in mind. Read the submission guidelines here. Send your pitches in (500 words max) by the end of this Month (Feb 28). I’m aiming to get this issue out by April. Some of the regular contributors already have their pitches in, and Stewart Stansfield is doing the cover again (which may be only slightly Duck related). As ever I look forward to seeing what people come up with.

It gives me great pleasure to announce Into the Shroud #2, my irregular Crypts and Things fanzine is now live on Kickstarter as part of their ZineQuest, While it is written for Crypts & Things (an OD&D Swords and Sorcery game) it is easily convertible for other Dark Fantasy games. At the time of writing, it is fully funded, and we are nearing stretch goal 2. This will be the only opportunity to get the zine in print as well as the first issue (which only had 23 printed copies when it was released two years ago). From the Shroud issue 2 on Kickstarter. This issue takes the form of a 48 pages A5 black and white booklet, with black and white art by Jonny Gray (whose Death Rider graces the cover) and Dan Barker. The contents are as follows: My Dirty Little Secret. A quick table of dark secrets that player characters can have, and probably wish they hadn’t, at character generation. The Pie Makers of Peoplolis. An adventure location in the Zarth’s City of Beggars (although they may have a franchise near you). A Strange Thing Happened on the Way to the Ruins. An encounter table of weird and wonderful non-player characters to liven up otherwise dull and humdrum journeys. The Place of Dark Hooks. The old lair of a foul Court Torturer, whose riches and secrets are said to lie in its depths. A full Crypts and Things mini-module, usable with any early edition D&D game even, 5th Edition pretty much as written. All Hail the Death Riders. They are death from above with these flying undead warriors, a new monster for the game. Prince of Rona. A demonic Prince of an Other World, fit to become the character’s latest Nemesis. Varna’s Travelling Caravan. Neil Shaw details this group of travelling merchants who deal with the mysterious and harbour a dark secret.

I've posted a fairly long blog post about what we achived last year, and what we've go planned for 2019 (which includes OpenQuest/River of Heaven/Gloranthan fanzines). The State of D101 Games 2019

Thanks for all the feedback. I'm now closing this poll/thread. I'll post my thoughts about OQ going forward soon

2019 is going to see a reemergence of releases for OpenQuest, River of Heaven and the Company. To get the full scoop first, discount codes, special offers and notice of Kickstarters and other fun stuff, sign up to the D101 Games Newsletter. D101 Games Newletter. I'm aiming at monthly updates, and if you sign up before 31st January you'll get entered into a draw to win a published book of your choice

After a long stretch in cryo-stasis the River of Heaven Companion, To the Stars, is now in final layout check. This means that it will be available for pre-order with the next couple of weeks (mid-Jan) and on general release at end of the month/early Feb. Here are some preview page layout straight from the pages of the Pdf.

One of the things I will be doing with OQ, polished OQ2 or full-blown OQ3, is taking it away from being an RQ lite (either 2 or 3) in both terms of presentation (which I confess I did in the early days of OQ) and content. If you want RQ you've got the new RQ for that As for more d100 varients fragmenting the player base, I will vigorously disagree with you on that front. There will be players who stick with their prefered ruleset, be that Mythras, RQ, BRP Gold book, or even OQ (which frankly I am humbled by). Then there's the vast majority that pick and choose from their library of D100 games and supplements, mixing and matching to their heart's content