Guest Vile Traveller Posted February 28, 2016 Share Posted February 28, 2016 Many of you will be the proud owners of a RuneQuest 1st Edition PDF since this morning. What do you think? What differences have you spotted between this and RQ2? This is the first time I've seen one of these, other than a quick flip through someone else's copy many years ago. While I haven't had a chance to look at it in any level of detail, the thing that immediately jumps out at me is the difference in quality between RQ1 and RQ2. Admittedly I'm going by the Games Workshop RQ2, which was great in production terms. RQ1 has layout and typesetting that are (charmingly, in my nostalgic opinion) reminiscent of those early wargame or role-playing booklets of the 70s. The tables inserted in the text appear to have been produced with a constant-spacing tyepace, a bit like the older versions of forum software used in order to make columns line up. I have spotted at least one piece of Luise Perrin art that doesn't appear in RQ2, perhaps because it was considered a little on the risque side (p.14)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Meints Posted February 28, 2016 Share Posted February 28, 2016 (edited) As I prepared the PDF and cleaned up the scans I got to re-read a fair bit of the book again. Some of the things I noticed (no particular order): The layout was a rush job. Tadashi Ehara did most of it and was almost defeated by constant last minute edits. The tables were cut and pasted in because they didn't have any more time to do them properly. The page numbers, while correct, look to be Letraset rub ons. There are several pieces of Luise art that were fairly generic and got dropped from the 2nd edition. The full page table on page 114 for Monster Development got dropped from 2nd edition. Barbarian Dragonewts on page 78 got cut. Monsters were divided into two sections, intelligent, then non-intelligent. Giants were chaos creatures in the first edition Aldryami were presented as a group instead of separately Map of Sartar and Prax is way more basic, with far fewer place names. 49 battle magic spells in both editions, padding got dropped, spirit shield got added in 2nd ed. Cults had less info in the 1st edition Edited February 28, 2016 by Rick Meints 5 Quote Hope that Helps,Rick Meints - Chaosium, Inc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted February 28, 2016 Share Posted February 28, 2016 This is the first time that I've seen the RQ1 rulebook. I haven't had a very close look yet, but there seem to be more differences than I had previously realised. Thanks to Rick for the very useful summary above, and more importantly for producing the PDF for us KS backers. @Vile I did immediately notice the production quality thing too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bturner Posted February 28, 2016 Share Posted February 28, 2016 I'd always wondered what the "Padding" spell that a couple of NPC's knew in some of the RQ2 supplements. Now thanks to RQ1, I know - apparently Protection didn't start off as a variable spell, it was just the 4-point version and Padding was the 2-point version. Go figure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Falconer Posted February 29, 2016 Share Posted February 29, 2016 So, which supplements were published under RQ1? I noticed Apple Lane has its stats in Str/Int/Pow/Con/Dex/Cha/Siz order, which would seem to match 1e. What else? Someone mentioned that this will be available as print-on-demand at some point, is that true? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Vile Traveller Posted February 29, 2016 Share Posted February 29, 2016 1 hour ago, Falconer said: Someone mentioned that this will be available as print-on-demand at some point, is that true? Rick mentioned it on Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/113579493255016426668/posts/VYP2FE5XN4E I think that's always been the intention for all of these re-issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Meints Posted February 29, 2016 Share Posted February 29, 2016 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. 5 Quote Hope that Helps,Rick Meints - Chaosium, Inc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbbourgoin Posted February 29, 2016 Share Posted February 29, 2016 Quote nothing really has to go fully out of print any more Excellent ! I'm very glad to hear that, false rarefaction has always upset me. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Mohrfield Posted March 1, 2016 Share Posted March 1, 2016 On 2/28/2016 at 6:49 PM, bturner said: I'd always wondered what the "Padding" spell that a couple of NPC's knew in some of the RQ2 supplements. Now thanks to RQ1, I know - apparently Protection didn't start off as a variable spell, it was just the 4-point version and Padding was the 2-point version. Go figure. Not quite. Apparantly, Padding "adds 2 points of protection to all armored parts of the body" while Protection simply "adds 4 points of protection to all parts of the body" (emphasis added). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prime Evil Posted March 2, 2016 Share Posted March 2, 2016 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 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al. Posted March 2, 2016 Share Posted March 2, 2016 6 hours ago, Prime Evil said: 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 Seconded. A legal digital copy of much of the RuneQuest renaissance would be lovely. Quote Rule Zero: Don't be on fire Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jongjom Posted March 2, 2016 Share Posted March 2, 2016 12 minutes ago, Al. said: Seconded. A legal digital copy of much of the RuneQuest renaissance would be lovely. 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! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
styopa Posted March 18, 2016 Share Posted March 18, 2016 Having seen the new print systems at the last Drupa show, it's clear that soon the production of a paper book in a run size as small as one will be trivial. The all-in systems that go from literally a pdf on a usb to a warm book in your hand, full cover color & internal illustrations beautifully done just a handful of minutes later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g33k Posted March 18, 2016 Share Posted March 18, 2016 2 hours ago, styopa said: Having seen the new print systems at the last Drupa show, it's clear that soon the production of a paper book in a run size as small as one will be trivial. The all-in systems that go from literally a pdf on a usb to a warm book in your hand, full cover color & internal illustrations beautifully done just a handful of minutes later. But what's the co$t of one-off print runs like that? Can you really get a product that's just as high-quality (durable vs. use, non-bleeding, etc) at a comparable price? 1 Quote C'es ne pas un .sig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
styopa Posted March 21, 2016 Share Posted March 21, 2016 On 3/18/2016 at 11:12 AM, g33k said: But what's the co$t of one-off print runs like that? Can you really get a product that's just as high-quality (durable vs. use, non-bleeding, etc) at a comparable price? It's a matter of who wants to invest in the machine, and what they're willing to cut the price down to. How many books printed over time to pay off the machine? What's the "cost" and what's the "price" can be pretty different things. Cost is surprisingly, astonishingly low. Taking out the machine investment, the paper's about $0.80/lb for high quality uncoated fine paper, machine wear, ink, etc - can't be more than maybe $5/book, tops. Early versions were pretty cheap perfect-bounds, but current grades are impressive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atgxtg Posted March 21, 2016 Share Posted March 21, 2016 Yeah, even with current household tech, if one shops for ink and paper, one can print off a book fairly cheap. It's the binding that's tricky. I suspect in a decade or so the ability to print off something like a low grade Lulu copy with be possible with some home printers. Quote Chaos stalks my world, but she's a big girl and can take of herself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Meints Posted March 22, 2016 Share Posted March 22, 2016 (edited) While home printers with book binding capabilities will probably happen X years down the road, I would think it far more likely that we will see copy shops like FedEx/Kinkos having a kiosk or self serve station where you can bring in a memory stick or similar and print and bind the book while you wait. They can afford to have expensive setups. I don't need one at home when I can go a few times a year to a place like that. Also, with sites like Lulu.com being so cheap and fast, I can't really see wanting to pay even $500 for a home printer/binder. I don't need books so fast that I need to print them at home. Edited March 22, 2016 by Rick Meints 2 Quote Hope that Helps,Rick Meints - Chaosium, Inc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Vile Traveller Posted March 22, 2016 Share Posted March 22, 2016 6 hours ago, Rick Meints said: I would think it far more likely that we will see copy shops like FedEx/Kinkos having a kiosk or self serve station where you can bring in a memory stick or similar and print and bind the book while you wait. I would think so too, as we've had those 'round our way for a decade or so. Kids here get their portfolios bound before going to their uni interviews. About time the rest of you caught up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mankcam Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 Yeah, Officeworks shops over here have been doing that to some extent Quote " 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 More sharing options...
Rick Meints Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 While some copy shops offer "tape" binding, along with coil or comb binding, I have yet to find one that offers anything more like what you get from Lulu or DTRPG. Quote Hope that Helps,Rick Meints - Chaosium, Inc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Vile Traveller Posted March 27, 2016 Share Posted March 27, 2016 We have perfect binding and saddle-stitching (I haven't checked for others). It's not cheap, but then neither is shipping via Lulu. The irony for me is that a lot of "proper" printed books seem to ship out via Hong Kong before being sent back here to me ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Meints Posted March 27, 2016 Share Posted March 27, 2016 (edited) 3 hours ago, Vile said: We have perfect binding and saddle-stitching (I haven't checked for others). It's not cheap, but then neither is shipping via Lulu. The irony for me is that a lot of "proper" printed books seem to ship out via Hong Kong before being sent back here to me ... Speaking of Lulu, it usually has a free shipping event about once every 3-6 weeks. There have already been at least two so far this year. We tested it and the free shipping worked for the US, UK, Germany and Australia. Obviously, that offer might not be valid for some countries, but we're very happy with what Lulu charges for shipping overall. Edited March 27, 2016 by Rick Meints 1 Quote Hope that Helps,Rick Meints - Chaosium, Inc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prime Evil Posted April 2, 2016 Share Posted April 2, 2016 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1970 Posted April 18, 2016 Share Posted April 18, 2016 This is great! I've never owned a copy of Runequest in any edition and for the most part Lulu does a pretty good job of binding for my needs, so there's a lot to look forward to . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MountainDude Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 I'm really looking forward to RQ1 in print, moreso than pretty much any other game release this year. I've enjoyed skirting the edges of the OSR for awhile now, but there's been something lacking for me...and this is it. I missed the Kickstarter (thankfully have a Reston RQ2), but if RQ1 sees print, I'll be buying into these other Runequest reprints heavily. I've had very good luck with Lulu personally, so the POD option sounds fine, anything to get this stuff back in print more quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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