Four features that help make RuneQuest distinct among other roleplaying games

[MOB]

Here are four features that help make RuneQuest distinct among other roleplaying games:

1. Mythic Adventure — RuneQuest began in Glorantha. Its influences are Bronze Age cultures where the relationship between mortals and the gods are much stronger. Rather than being myths, the deeds and actions of the gods are history, and are very much active forces in shaping the day-to-day lives of all living things
2. Culture and Community — Adventurers are strongly tied to their cultures and clans, with compelling family histories, complete with all that entails. They begin play knowing not only who they are, who their family is, what clan they belong to, but with person al history that gives them experience and momentum going forward.
3. Unique Adventurers — Players can create unique adventurers and customize them as desired, without arbitrary restrictions such as classes or levels. All adventurers can use magic, including powerful Rune spells that channel the very power of the gods. As adventurers progress, they grow along natural lines: skills that are used successful improve, and rather than being limited, the opportunities for development and improve increase dramatically.
4. Dangerous Combat — Combat in RuneQuest can be dangerous, even deadly, with skirmishes filled the chance of fumbles, critical hits, and strategic tactical choices. Shields can shatter when hit hard enough, limbs can be disabled, and even the weakest of opponents can get off a lucky shot that can take out an experienced foe.

https://www.chaosium.com/blogwhat-is-runequest-four-features-make-runequest-distinct-among-other-roleplaying-games/

[ThornPlutonius]

Unfortunately, those points do NOT make RQG distinct among other RPGs. They did when Runequest first came out, but not now. Folks can play in Glorantha using Hero Quest. The other three are also properties of Mythras, Open Quest, Legend, Revolution D100, etc.

I understand that you are promoting your wares. RQG is worth promoting. The features that you mention are worth having attention called to them. Please be a more honest in your marketing. Please don't make claims that are not true.

[Y Mab Darogan]

What’s untrue?

He doesn’t say unique he says 4 features that ‘help’ make the game distinct.

Edited June 6, 2018 by HorusArisen

[jps]

Yes it made the game unique back in the old days but, even now, the setting is amazing: so many tales, legends, a rich history and a mix of deadly combat in a heroic world.

[PhilHibbs]

20 hours ago, ThornPlutonius said:

Unfortunately, those points do NOT make RQG distinct among other RPGs. They did when Runequest first came out, but not now. Folks can play in Glorantha using Hero Quest. The other three are also properties of Mythras, Open Quest, Legend, Revolution D100, etc.

I understand that you are promoting your wares. RQG is worth promoting. The features that you mention are worth having attention called to them. Please be a more honest in your marketing. Please don't make claims that are not true.

Sure, other games have copied these features of RuneQuest - they are RuneQuest in every sense other than the trademark (caveat, I don't really know RevD100). But RuneQuest did them first, and IMO RQ:G does them more than any other game, and he does say "that help make RuneQuest distinct", he does not say "each of which is unique to RuneQuest".

Edited June 7, 2018 by PhilHibbs

[MOB]

On 6/6/2018 at 11:59 PM, ThornPlutonius said:

Unfortunately, those points do NOT make RQG distinct among other RPGs. They did when Runequest first came out, but not now. Folks can play in Glorantha using Hero Quest. The other three are also properties of Mythras, Open Quest, Legend, Revolution D100, etc.

I understand that you are promoting your wares. RQG is worth promoting. The features that you mention are worth having attention called to them. Please be a more honest in your marketing. Please don't make claims that are not true.

If I'd proclaimed "Here are four features that make RQG unique among other roleplaying games" you might have had a point. But I didn't. I said "Here are four features that help make RuneQuest distinct among other roleplaying games."

I stand by everything in that post. At least in this thread you haven't gratuitously called me "dishonest" and "deceptive" like you did over on G+ (assuming ThornPlutonis = +JohnLuther). That was unnecessarily rude, and I'm thankful some posters there called you out on it, as well as making the same points as the posters above here.

[Y Mab Darogan]

I’m sure he is since the posts are word for word. Same point same poster, don’t know what bug he has up his ass but he’s been very disingenuous and I’ll call him on it every time.

[Gene M.]

I'm often surprised by how negative and sometimes even hostile some posters here are to Chaosium. 

Edited June 7, 2018 by Gene M.

[Prinz Slasar]

6 minutes ago, Gene M. said:

I'm often surprised by how negative and sometimes even hostile posters here are to Chaosium. 

The good thing is: the RQG product speaks for itself and is an instant classic. So I don't bother about gratuitous criticism. But a great pity for all the people who were attacked for no reason.

[ThornPlutonius]

No bug up my ass, except for a growing hyper-sensitivity to the inherent dishonesty of modern marketing.

My posts (I am the same person, different handles due to G+ rules about pseudonyms when i registered there) were an attempt to urge the Chaosium marketing away from what I perceive to be untrue statements about their product.  Mr. O'Brien's statement about distinct features may have been true in 1981, but now there are many games that hold the qualities that he claimed to be distinct to Runequest Glorantha.  I'll not belabor my point.  It is clearly not shared by many others.  I hope R:G sells well and that many folks enjoy it and Glorantha.  I expect to own a copy if it, too.

[creativehum]

That I am having to parse words this carefully makes me sad and is kind of weird, but for the record:

1 hour ago, ThornPlutonius said:

 Mr. O'Brien's statement about distinct features....

O'Brien never makes a claim for "distinct features." In both the thread title and the post he claims RQ has four features that help make the game distinct from other games.

In other words, the game is distinct, not the features.

Does RQ have the four features named? Yes.

Do these four features in combination in the same game help make RQ unique among other RPGs? Yes.

Edited June 7, 2018 by creativehum

[Oracle]

1 hour ago, creativehum said:

That I am having to parse words this carefully makes me sad and is kind of weird, but for the record:

O'Brien never makes a claim for "distinct features." In both the thread title and the post he claims RQ has four features that help make the game distinct from other games.

In other words, the game is distinct, not the features.

Does RQ have the four features named? Yes.

Do these four features in combination in the same game help make RQ unique among other RPGs? Yes.

Exactly my thoughts ...

[tedopon]

There's a joke here somewhere, but it would probably deeply offend someone. 

[ThornPlutonius]

I apologize for my offending post.  I've not changed my mind, but I understand why folks have taken offense.

[seneschal]

Back to the OP:

Ducks!!! What other game (other than Toon) has them?

[Madrona]

16 minutes ago, seneschal said:

Back to the OP:

Ducks!!! What other game (other than Toon) has them?

Discounting furry or anthropomorphic animal focused RPGs I'm guessing for that one? If you include them you get: Albedo (first, second and Platinum Catalyst)
Just about anything by Sanguine Games (Ironclaw, Jadeclaw, Urban Jungle)

Oh and uh. I'm not sure but I imagine Hc Svnt Dracones probably has waterfowl and ducks gennable by its nature. Not played it though.

Also anything in the 'silly extreme post apocolypstic category' like Gamma World and After the Bomb.
In the less furry focused RPGs, I think Victoriana has duckfolk. But yeah, that is a pretty narrow margin that comes to mind. Wait, Battletech almost counts, right? Since Far Country (clearly the best and most well received battletech novel) had bird people?

 

If I had to list the most unique traits (not distinct, they're very different words) I think the OPs post is pretty distinct, yeah.

1) A focus on religion in culture. Other games talk about culture, but I can't think of one aside from Dogs in a Vineyard that tries to talk about religion and its place in culture.

2) Chaos. Once upon a time Chaos wasn't unique. Lots of games focused on its concept. Not anymore. You have Elric as a forgotten ghost, you have Warhammer doing it entirely different in every way. RuneQuest's chaos is distinct for not using the eight-pointed wheel/star symbol. Not being treated particularly the same, and most notably, for being opposed by barbarians and 'accepted' as part of nature by civilization. Chaos is many things that disrupt natural laws, and isn't treated in a way even close to D&D, Warhammer, or really even Stormbringer. The way Chaos works in Glorantha is distinct and even confusing to people coming at it from other settings, who either expect it to be 'random uncontrollable realms of madness and randomness' ala D&D, or some manifestation of base emotion (ala Warhammer) and somehow RuneQuest's Chaos ends up being more vile--and more diverse than most of its peers.

[Mankcam]

5 hours ago, seneschal said:

Back to the OP:

Ducks!!! What other game (other than Toon) has them?

Let's not go there 😁

[Belgath]

Some distinctions about RQG I feel that really separates it from other RPG. Are the races are Are vary unique from each other and not some Token reprint. That there’s not some silly alignment system. What’s right and wrong is based on your race and culture. I don’t know many other games out there that can have two groups fighting each other both thinking That there absolute doing the  right thing. 

[Richard S.]

22 minutes ago, Belgath said:

Some distinctions about RQG I feel that really separates it from other RPG. Are the races are Are vary unique from each other and not some Token reprint. That there’s not some silly alignment system. What’s right and wrong is based on your race and culture. I don’t know many other games out there that can have two groups fighting each other both thinking That there absolute doing the  right thing. 

Well... Alignment is really only used in one game, albeit the biggest one on the market, most others tend to have quite a bit of moral grey. And really, most fantasy settings I've seen nowadays put some effort into trying to make their races much more unique, though only a few pull it off really well.

[Tigerwomble]

2 hours ago, Mankcam said:

Let's not go there 😁

 

2 hours ago, Belgath said:

Some distinctions about RQG I feel that really separates it from other RPG. Are the races are Are vary unique from each other and not some Token reprint. That there’s not some silly alignment system. What’s right and wrong is based on your race and culture. I don’t know many other games out there that can have two groups fighting each other both thinking That there absolute doing the  right thing. 

I concur. The alien nature of the races makes Glorantha a big pull for me. Elves are not simple pretty humans with pointy ears.

[MOB]

On 6/8/2018 at 2:18 AM, Gene M. said:

I'm often surprised by how negative and sometimes even hostile some posters here are to Chaosium. 

Fortunately the vast, vast majority of people here are positive and collegial, and even if some are negative or critical they are for the most polite and genuine in the concerns. BRP Central is a great community.

Since the return of Greg and Sandy in 2015, the new management team has had to make some hard and difficult commercial decisions bringing Chaosium back from the brink of total, utter, existential disaster, and for commercial/legal/personal reasons we can't always disclose all about why. These decisions inevitably impacted some long-time business colleagues and people identified with the company, some of whom are our friends, and who all have passionate supporters of their own work. 

The previous management was often lamented for its lack of engagement with stakeholders and fans, but we have striven to be communicative and open with people who follow Chaosium and with the wider gaming community. You will regularly find me, @Rick Meints, @Jeff and various of our line editors contributing and engaging on forums here on BRP Central, and we are thankful to @Trifletraxor for that opportunity. 

The role of communicating to the wider world has largely fallen on to me (and to Dustin for customer service issues). Being out there on wider social media for Chaosium means I'm the one who usually deals with legitimate criticisms and complaints from those who obviously feel we have done them or the gaming products they love wrong, as well as facing the occasional flare-ups of nerd rage, egregious concern trolling, or outright malignant hostility—among other unpleasantness I've had my mother called a whore and my death called for at the hands of Islamic terrorists (nb not made here, though it is no loss that that particular charming keyboard warrior has been preemptively and permanently banned by BRP Central).

Nevertheless, I mostly enjoy this role - it has been great to see the Chaosium on line community grow significantly, and most people seem happy to see Chaosium prospering again. But frankly there are times I find my job exasperating (such as the above), and draining (such the tiresomely predictable response we got literally seconds after announcing our participation in Women in Tabletop Gaming Month). However, it does make me, a fairly self-confident middle-aged white male, appreciate the far, far, far worse levels of venom, harassment and bullying routinely levelled at various less-privileged segments of the gaming community. Fortunately, that sort of stuff rarely if ever happens here. As I said BRP Central is a great community.

Edited June 9, 2018 by MOB

[DreadDomain]

5 minutes ago, MOB said:

The previous management was often lamented for its lack of engagement with stakeholders and fans, but we have striven to be communicative and open with people who follow Chaosium and with the wider gaming community.

And frankly, this is refreshing. I do not always agree with all the decisions made and might find some comments and answers irritating at time but in the grand scheme of things the level of communication and the marketing approach have generally been spotless. Well done! 

[soltakss]

On 6/6/2018 at 2:59 PM, ThornPlutonius said:

Unfortunately, those points do NOT make RQG distinct among other RPGs. They did when Runequest first came out, but not now. Folks can play in Glorantha using Hero Quest. The other three are also properties of Mythras, Open Quest, Legend, Revolution D100, etc.

I just lump all the D100 games together for these purposes. These  points make the RQ Family different from many games, including HeroQuest.

Many other games have taken some of these on board and have produced similar styles.

[soltakss]

On 6/7/2018 at 5:18 PM, Gene M. said:

I'm often surprised by how negative and sometimes even hostile some posters here are to Chaosium. 

I'm not.

It's been the case for a long time, unfortunately.

[soltakss]

On 6/8/2018 at 6:06 AM, Belgath said:

Some distinctions about RQG I feel that really separates it from other RPG. Are the races are Are vary unique from each other and not some Token reprint. 

Probably going to come out in the supplements. RQG is very much human-centric, with other races barely mentioned.

This is a shame, because RQ has always been a game where you can play pretty much any race, some with game support and some without. That, for me, has always been a defining point of RQ.