Mongoose RuneQuest II on the way

[Rurik]

I'm not so sure about that. I haven't read MRQ2, so I can't make any comparisons. From what I've seen from the character sheets and previews, there is still a lot of MRQ1 stuff in this that I don't like (Resilience, Pestilence, opposed rolls).

Pestilence? No, no, no, it is Persistence.No wonder you avoided MRQ1 like the plague.

[Atgxtg]

Pestilence? No, no, no, it is Persistence.No wonder you avoided MRQ1 like the plague.

I think I had it right the first time.

While I like the idea of a skill based system, I don't agree with the concept that people get better at bleeding to death (or the opposite, getting better at not bleeding to death).

When MRQ was first proposed, a lot of us RQ fans got very enthusiastic and hoped MRQ would be a great RPG, with little to no evidence to support our wishful thinking.When it was released most of us dropped it, some played it but admitted it needed work, and some die-hards (I used the term Mongoose fanboys in the past and stick by it) considered it the best system ever and defended every rule, flawed or otherwise, until those rules were errata'd and then the replacement rules were defended as being just as perfect. The weeks spent and flak taken just trying to explain to the fanboys that the game was not supposed to be played according to the rulebook (and that was official) amazed me.

While I have hope that MRQ2 will be better than MRQ1, in fact I'll say that judging from Loz's and Pete's previous work its not possible for them to write something worse without deliberately trying to mess up, I still prefer to be cautious about the game until I see it.

[frogspawner]

While I like the idea of a skill based system, I don't agree with the concept that people get better at bleeding to death (or the opposite, getting better at not bleeding to death).

Yes, that's clearly a D&D-style "levels" idea and I can see why you might regard it as pestilential, if you don't want that.

I must admit I use something similar in my homebrew, though.

[p_clapham]

So far I like the changes thus far. The way magic has been done feels more like the older versions of Runequest, and I'm very happy with the changes to divine magic. As well as the inclusion of Spirit Magic. I'm hesitant over the way Sorcery has been redone. Having magnitude merged into one skill made me happy, it' s a good measure of a Sorcerer's skill. I don't like having Grimoires as seperate skills, the old system of having each spell as it's own skill is a personal prefrence of mine.

The rulebook seems very complete with very little tinkering needed, and I'm looking forward to taking it for a Sword & Sorcery test drive this semester.

[Pete Nash]

I'm hesitant over the way Sorcery has been redone. Having magnitude merged into one skill made me happy, it' s a good measure of a Sorcerer's skill. I don't like having Grimoires as seperate skills, the old system of having each spell as it's own skill is a personal prefrence of mine.

You could always say that each spell in your campaign comes from a separate Grimoire! It'd certainly fit the S&S genre.

[Atgxtg]

Yes, that's clearly a D&D-style "levels" idea and I can see why you might regard it as pestilential, if you don't want that.

I must admit I use something similar in my homebrew, though.

Homebrew is fine. Even something like Classic Fantasy done't bug me. The author is quite upfront about what CF is and what it is attemting to recreate. What CF doesn't do is call itself RQ.

MRQ1 claimed to be something that it wasn't. It claimed to be RQ. It was RQ as reivisioned by D&D players.

But then, I'm the guy who posted on the MRQ boards that the authors of MRQ1 could be noted as the Seven Mothers.

[RosenMcStern]

I don't like having Grimoires as seperate skills, the old system of having each spell as it's own skill is a personal prefrence of mine.

Please note that the "One spell, one skill" philosophy works well only with the experience check improvement system. If you use improvement rolls for character development, having each spell as a skill makes sorcerers progress too slowly.

However, as Pete said, the rules explicitly allow to have grimoires that contain one spell. In a low magic world, you can have all grimoires be spell scrolls.

[frogspawner]

Please note that the "One spell, one skill" philosophy works well only with the experience check improvement system. If you use improvement rolls for character development, having each spell as a skill makes sorcerers progress too slowly.

However, as Pete said, the rules explicitly allow to have grimoires that contain one spell. In a low magic world, you can have all grimoires be spell scrolls.

Or put another way: "Improvement rolls don't work well for One spell, One skill".

But then personally I prefer one (or just a few) over-arching "Magic" skills rather than individual spell-skills anyway.

And also, realistically ("verisimilitudinally"?) spells wouldn't have their details neatly summarized like we get them in rulebooks. I see them as filling (at least!) one entire book each, with not only the magical formulae themselves, but detailed case-histories of castings and variations, from which the sorceror character has to get a feeling for the effects to expect.

Edited January 26, 2010 by frogspawner
Fixed typo: 'book' was 'boom'!

[Pete Nash]

And also, realistically ("verisimilitudinally"?) spells wouldn't have their details neatly summarized like we get them in rulebooks. I see them as filling (at least!) one entire book each, with not only the magical formulae themselves, but detailed case-histories of castings and variations, from which the sorceror character has to get a feeling for the effects to expect.

In terms of verisimilitude I don't even see Gloranthan grimoires as books. IMG (in my Glorantha) the Abiding Book is a huge scroll mounted on six foot long staffs, and requires at least two people carrying it like a stretcher to move it around. Whereas the sorceries of Pavis cannot be set to parchment or paper, but only exist as colossal friezes carved on the inner crystal walls of his temple.

[Guest Vile Traveller]

I would expect grimoires to be 99.9% fluff, misconception, superstition and gobbledigook. The spell is buried in there somewhere, but it's unlikely that even the inventor knew which bits of his finally successful incantation were the "magic words" ...

[frogspawner]

I would expect grimoires to be 99.9% fluff, misconception, superstition and gobbledigook. The spell is buried in there somewhere, but it's unlikely that even the inventor knew which bits of his finally successful incantation were the "magic words" ...

Exactly! 1000 x our 1/4-page summaries. (So - 250 pages?)

In terms of verisimilitude I don't even see Gloranthan grimoires as books. IMG (in my Glorantha)...

Also true. (I keep forgetting, now, that MRQ is primarily for Glorantha).

[p_clapham]

I'm planning on using both the experience check system, as well as the MRQII improvement rolls. The later representing offstage improvements and training by the characters. I figure that should also make increasing attributes a little eaiser. The current system is a little harsh, where a player has to choose between a one point attribute increase vs dozens of skill increases.

Please note that the "One spell, one skill" philosophy works well only with the experience check improvement system. If you use improvement rolls for character development, having each spell as a skill makes sorcerers progress too slowly.

However, as Pete said, the rules explicitly allow to have grimoires that contain one spell. In a low magic world, you can have all grimoires be spell scrolls.

[Mugen]

I don't like having Grimoires as seperate skills, the old system of having each spell as it's own skill is a personal prefrence of mine.

I didn't understand there was more than one Grimoire skill (but I still have to find a copy of the rulebook...).

Honestly, this is a fantastic idea, as it both fit Gloranthan sorcery (as depicted in HeroQuest) ans well as Classical D&D like magic, and it allows GMs to design their own list of Sorcery skills...

Edited January 26, 2010 by Mugen