Jump to content

A Silver Lining for Glorantha Fans!


BMonroe

Recommended Posts

With the news about Mongoose stopping production of RQII, I thought those of you who are fans of Glorantha might be interested in some -great- news:

http://moondesignpublications.com/blog/2011/05/23/moon-design-welcomes-aboard-lawrence-whitaker/

Lawrence Whitaker is going to be writing for the HeroQuest system now. His first project is "Harreksaga" which sees the PCs travelling alongside the most infamous anti-hero of Glorantha.

I can't wait to see this one.

;D

Please don't contact me with Chaosium questions. I'm no longer associated with the company, and have no idea what the new management is doing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Moon Design / HeroQuest has some great 3rd Age Gloranthan supplements - having Lawrence Whitaker & Pete Nash join the ranks has certainly added some strength to future Moon Design products - these writers captured my imagination and brought me back to the RQ/BRP fold after many years.

My pipedream is for Moon Design to bring the products out in both HQ and BRP formats, but it's like waiting to catch fairies in your garden

" Sure it's fun, but it is also well known that a D20 roll and an AC is no match against a hefty swing of a D100% and a D20 Hit Location Table!"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Loz and Pete are more down to earth writers than some of those involved in Moon Design, so I would expect less of the "storygame wankfest".

What I would like to see is systemless background books and then scenarios/campaigns written with stats. That way, we could have all the juicy background material and then HeroQuest campaigns, RuneQuest campaigns and so on.

Imagine First, Second and Third Age background with the possibility of running them using HeroQuest or RuneQuest.

Simon Phipp - Caldmore Chameleon - Wallowing in my elitism since 1982. Many Systems, One Family. Just a fanboy. 

www.soltakss.com/index.html

Jonstown Compendium author. Find my contributions here. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

HeroQuest has changed a little bit since Rick Meints and Jeff Richard took over, didn't you notice? The last Sartar supplements are very close to systemless.

Although the games will be certainly HQ-style, I am sure Pete & Loz will manage to make it appeal to BRP fans, too. They certainly know how to do this :)

Proud member of the Evil CompetitionTM

Link to comment
Share on other sites

HQ is very, very good at creating a particular kind of feel and experience. Sure, it might not be to your taste or play-style, but it has a lot of merit. I've used it very successfully for Star Wars and Hawkmoon.

If Pete and I felt we were being 'wasted' then we wouldn't have taken on the projects we have.

Edited by Rick Meints

The Design Mechanism: Publishers of Mythras

DM logo Freeforums Icon.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Is the direction for Moon Design all HQ?

Is releasing a version of RQ in the works?

Personally I think that is unlikely. I think they'll keep the RQ name and Second Age setting (or any other Gloranthan period that does not overlap with HeroQuest) available in case another interested party thinks they can make a go of them, individually or combined. The space for RuneQuest in the market is now very crowded, though, with BRP, Wayfarer, and OpenQuest.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Combined? There is already enough trouble keeping licensor and licensee happy together. Would having a group of licensees make things better?

LOL, I think he meant the "RQ name" and the "Second Age setting" either singly or combined.

Given the chaotic heritage here, I can't begin to imaging how a consortium could be successful.

Steve

Bathalians, the newest UberVillians!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

LOL, I think he meant the "RQ name" and the "Second Age setting" either singly or combined.

Indeed. I have no idea if RuneQuest and the Second Age setting are a package deal or not, or whether Greg might licence it to someone who wanted to do a First Age setting.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hmmm, I suspect this option is not on the table. Mongoose would have picked it, in that case.

I thought Mongoose dropped it becuase they didn't want to pay for the name.

Frankly, I don't think liscing out the RQ name is such a great idea. Fans tend to associate certain game mecanics with a system's name, and when a new system comes out under an old name, it tends to backfire. I suspect MRQ and MRQ2 fans will probably react as poorly to another RuneQuest as the ld RQ2/RQ3 fans did to MRQ.

Maybe some of the original RQ folk and/or Chaosium might be able to release another RQ and benefit from it, but I doubt that is going to happen.

Chaos stalks my world, but she's a big girl and can take of herself.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I hope that they are able to get as close to systemless as possible with their Glorantha stuff for HQ, as I'm sure their Glorantha info will be great.

If you look at Moon's most recent releases - Sartar and the Sartar Companion, you'll see that they're as statless as you can possibly get whilst still retaining the heart of the HQ mechanics. HQ2 works in such a way that you don't need stats to be able to run the material as its written. It also lets you plug-in whatever system floats your particular boat, be it HQ, RQ, BRP or even D&D 4e or Savage Worlds. What drives HQ is the 'story cycle' and 'pass/fail cycle'. Now you could dismiss such things as storygame wankery if you like, but really all they do is quantify and provide a structure for the in-game tweaking most GMs do when running a scenario or campaign and want to scale challenges according to what the characters have done, are doing, or are likely to do. It works surprisingly well.

But as I say, HQ doesn't appeal to everyone. Pete and I will, though, be going for good, epic, usable books with our respective projects and we're looking forward to the journey.

The Design Mechanism: Publishers of Mythras

DM logo Freeforums Icon.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

HeroQuest has changed a little bit since Rick Meints and Jeff Richard took over, didn't you notice? The last Sartar supplements are very close to systemless.

The only HQ2 things I have bought have been the rulebook and Sartar - I haven't been able to afford anything else. The rulebook wasn't really my cup of tea and Sartar seemed OK, but I haven't really read it through properly.

Although the games will be certainly HQ-style, I am sure Pete & Loz will manage to make it appeal to BRP fans, too. They certainly know how to do this :)

Let's hope so.

Simon Phipp - Caldmore Chameleon - Wallowing in my elitism since 1982. Many Systems, One Family. Just a fanboy. 

www.soltakss.com/index.html

Jonstown Compendium author. Find my contributions here. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Is the direction for Moon Design all HQ?

Is releasing a version of RQ in the works?

If they were, I would hope that it would be as a supplement to BRP, rather than a full-blown separate game. I've already re-bought rules too many times over the last 5 years! ;-)

SDLeary

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If they were, I would hope that it would be as a supplement to BRP, rather than a full-blown separate game. I've already re-bought rules too many times over the last 5 years! ;-)

SDLeary

Agreed.

A Glorantha BRP supplement would be great! Glorantha is intimidating to get into for a lot of reasons. I'd think Basic Glorantha for Basic RolePlaying would do pretty well.

129/420

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Agreed.

A Glorantha BRP supplement would be great! Glorantha is intimidating to get into for a lot of reasons. I'd think Basic Glorantha for Basic RolePlaying would do pretty well.

Yes. The way I envision it, "RuneQuest" would be an outline of the supported "options" (hit locations, et al) with perhaps a new option or two thrown in that the would support. In addition, a basic outline of how to cull, convert, and GM the HQ supplements like Sartar and the Sartar Companion, with a small bestiary of the common non-human and monster types, with a bit more space to PC worthy races (Mostali, Aldryami, and Uz).

Probably, all told, not bigger or much bigger than the core HQ book.

SDLeary

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest Vile Traveller

I'd stick to small areas rather than try to get the whole world in. A Prax or a Dragon Pass book, rather than a Glorantha book. I like Prax, because it's more different from standard Euro-centric fantsay than Dragon Pass (not that DP is "standard" when viewed on its own).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

After reading a bit in the new HQ Sartar book, I must say I am very impressed. I do not like the system at all, but before the scenarios were useless too, these ones I can convert. I think my next campaign will be a drooles Kingdom of Sartar campaign. :-D

Ef plest master, this mighty fine grub!
b1.gif 116/420. High Priest.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'd stick to small areas rather than try to get the whole world in. A Prax or a Dragon Pass book, rather than a Glorantha book. I like Prax, because it's more different from standard Euro-centric fantsay than Dragon Pass (not that DP is "standard" when viewed on its own).

Thats what the current Sartar and Sartar Companions, and other HQ books would be for. The main RQ book would give information on how to use and convert info in the HQ books for BRP use, along with a basic overview of Glorantha, or perhaps just Genertela.

SDLeary

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...