Runequest is the game I didn't know I always wanted.

[Ochoa]

I've been running games since the late eighties, and I can't remember the last time I felt so excited about my biweekly session.

From stone woman to a trip to Greydog lands to return the corpses before the seven days are up, to today's session where the party has committed to go with Vostor (the one player who decided to use a pregen) on a Humakt pilgrimage to break his bonds to the Seven Mothers. The Battle of the Queens looms on the horizon.

2 players are new to RPGs, the other four have varying degrees of experience. Every single session has been a joy for everyone involved.

I'm not sure why I'm gushing long form here, but I guess I might as well post before the game high passes.

[DreadDomain]

Good on you mate! Such a positive post. I take it you are the gamemaster? What would be the highlights of the sessions you had? The immersive world? The fact the setting feels fresh and different? The quality of the published scenarios? Thd ruleset?

[Ochoa]

I would have to say it's everything, really. The world, the integration from character generation onwards, the tons of lore I've read from precious editions that i can pepper into sessions, the sense of history and community. The experienced players are leading the new ones in healthy ways, the spotlight is passed around, and there's enough story hooks already for many seasons.
I was a little wary of the ruleset because i've been running everything with Fate Core for a few years but it all came together nicely after a couple of sessions. There's some rough edges and stuff I'll deal with/adjudicate when i come to it but for now play has been a breeze.

I guess my only problem with RQ is having to wait for updated materials to come out, mainly the detailed series of events that's supposed to come in the Gamemaster's guide. I like to have world events unfolding regardless of player involvement.
 

[soltakss]

Really glad you enjoyed RQ. The current edition is probably the best one.

7 hours ago, Ochoa said:

I guess my only problem with RQ is having to wait for updated materials to come out, mainly the detailed series of events that's supposed to come in the Gamemaster's guide. I like to have world events unfolding regardless of player involvement.

You could use the RQ Classic scenarios and supplements with RQG fairly easily. You might have to handwave some stuff and might need to give NPCs Rune Pools, Runes and Passions, but apart from that it should work OK. They are available as PDFs, so are nice and easy to get hold of.

 

[DreadDomain]

8 hours ago, Ochoa said:

I would have to say it's everything, really. The world, the integration from character generation onwards, the tons of lore I've read from precious editions that i can pepper into sessions, the sense of history and community. The experienced players are leading the new ones in healthy ways, the spotlight is passed around, and there's enough story hooks already for many seasons. 

This really highlights the game's strong suit. The setting is very rich and engaging and RQG gives characters a sense of history, belonging and connection to a community.

8 hours ago, Ochoa said:

I was a little wary of the ruleset because i've been running everything with Fate Core for a few years but it all came together nicely after a couple of sessions. There's some rough edges and stuff I'll deal with/adjudicate when i come to it but for now play has been a breeze.

RQG covers a lot of ground. Some areas shine, some are covered in broad strokes and some are fairly rough. The comat chapter would have needed a lot more love.

8 hours ago, Ochoa said:

I guess my only problem with RQ is having to wait for updated materials to come out, mainly the detailed series of events that's supposed to come in the Gamemaster's guide. I like to have world events unfolding regardless of player involvement.
 

Would love to see the Guide soon but there is no telling how long the wait wil be!

[Ochoa]

4 hours ago, soltakss said:

You could use the RQ Classic scenarios and supplements with RQG fairly easily.

Oh I've scoured all the old materials I could get my hands on for tasty morsels for future games already! 

[Ochoa]

[Ian Absentia]

Those rows of dice in the lower front-and-center are far too tidy.  You need to keep that trouble-maker busier.

!i!

Edited June 16, 2019 by Ian Absentia

[soltakss]

On 6/16/2019 at 9:17 PM, Ian Absentia said:

Those rows of dice in the lower front-and-center are far too tidy.  You need to keep that trouble-maker busier.

But doesn't everyone line up their dice like that? All my D20s are lined up, then my D12s, then D10s, then D8s, then D6s, then D4s, then D3s, then D2s, although the D4s are sometimes put into a little hexagonal shape instead. Sometimes, to spice things up a bit, I pair my Tens D10s and Units D10s into pairs of D100s, but only if I have matching pairs.

[Jeff]

On 6/16/2019 at 10:17 PM, Ian Absentia said:

Those rows of dice in the lower front-and-center are far too tidy.  You need to keep that trouble-maker busier.

!i!

We have big tubs of dice. Tubs of them. And somehow I always fail to have the appropriate dice handy and end up borrowing from someone else.

[g33k]

When gaming, I like to keep my not-in-use d4's on the floor.  It keeps the players from retreating so readily.

[Marchand]

Not sure whether to start a new thread or just respond to this one - anyway, hopefully not derailing...

Is it worth it for me to get RQG if I am not at all interested in Glorantha? i.e. what's it bringing in terms of mechanics, given I already have a wealth of d100 material on actual and virtual bookshelves (several RQ editions, BRP gold book etc.)? I read it is based heavily on RQ2 - is that right?

I'm not criticising Glorantha or anyone's decision to game in that world. However I missed out on it back in the day, and at this stage in life I just don't have the time or inclination to learn a new deep and detailed mythos.

[Joerg]

1 hour ago, Marchand said:

Not sure whether to start a new thread or just respond to this one - anyway, hopefully not derailing...

Is it worth it for me to get RQG if I am not at all interested in Glorantha? i.e. what's it bringing in terms of mechanics, given I already have a wealth of d100 material on actual and virtual bookshelves (several RQ editions, BRP gold book etc.)? I read it is based heavily on RQ2 - is that right?

I'm not criticising Glorantha or anyone's decision to game in that world. However I missed out on it back in the day, and at this stage in life I just don't have the time or inclination to learn a new deep and detailed mythos.

I think even as a non-Glorantha player RQG is worth the admissiion - at least in pdf format - for a couple of reasons.

While you may not be interested in Glorantha as a setting, RQG is a case study to integrate the setting and background into skills and character creation.

The gods and their cults are presented in a very short format, without the myths attached that give the magic context, but they are a menu to pick and choose for any pantheon you may have designed yourself or adapted from another setting.

The rules for shamanism are fairly extensive, and written by (or at least under the supervision of) practitioners in touch with indigenous practitioners.I haven't played the new Spirit Combat rules yet, but they are less dull than the RQ3 rules that allowed no skill at all, and very little magic.

Sorcery is a new approach, and while the huge investment of magic points is a scare which makes it hard in Glorantha, you could make that a lot more feasible with introduction of veins of magical energy the sorcerers can Tap into in a sustainable, less destructive way than Tapping is described in the rules, if you want a world where sorcery is a lot more available than the section of Glorantha discussed in the rules. (I am fairly certain that we are bound to see similar rules for special places in Glorantha, too.)

I have used the Gloranthan runes or at least variations thereof building a setting of my own, and they make a good short-hand for a whole bunch of magical affinities. RQ2 already uses them in its (rules book approach) Runepower meta-rule spells which then got spelled out supplements like Cults of Prax/Terror (or combined with other cults in the Cults Compendium) which makes a spell supplement for theist magic you can use as a menu if you don't want to design your own spells.

The Augments from runes and passions are rather new to BRP, but they aren't much different from certain enhancing Battle Magic spells (just without MP expenditure).

The skills are possibly the most conservative approach, leaving a barely manageable number of these which lead to lots of things your characters have extremely low or no chance at all to perform (basically rolling augment plus category modifier plus bas chance - in order of magnitude - to get their target number).

Combat is pretty close to previous Chaosium-produced versions of RQ.

The rather basic economy management seems to be similar to Pendragon.

[g33k]

Can't really add to Jeorg's list, but I have a slightly different perspective...

I'd say it's NOT worth it if you just want ready-to-use subsystems to yoink out of RQG and plop into your own FrankenBRP.

OTOH, if you're willing to reskin some of the mechanics into new setting-conceptual frameworks, cultural nuances, etc... then yes, it has a fair bit to offer.

 

RQG's new Rune rules look to be VERY re-skinnable to other fantasy settings.  You may not have a Harmony Rune, or an Air Rune, but so long as you have fundamental magical principles that people can affiliate to, the RQG rules for rune-affinities and Augmentation look worthwhile.  I'd put this item at or near the top of the list.

Character-creation in RQG embeds the PC deeply into the world, with 2 generations of family history, giving you deeply-held passions and loyalties (and skill-boosts, occasional treasure, etc).  It'd be a fair bit of work to re-skin all those years of Gloranthan history, re-populating the cultural events with events from your own setting; but IMHO it's worth some effort, if you'll be making more than a single party of PC's.  This is the other Big Item of things you'd get that aren't likely to be in your existing BRPbookshelf.

I think all the rest of Joerg's points just get my Internet Nod -- yup, uh-huh, agree (or any disagreements are minor/trivial, & clearly a matter of preference rather than correctness).

 

Edited July 12, 2019 by g33k
typo

[Ochoa]

6 hours ago, Marchand said:

Is it worth it for me to get RQG if I am not at all interested in Glorantha?

There's so many options now, from BRP to DnD to all the retroclones and Fate, AW and all else, I'd say it's worth your time to research and get something that fits the style you want to play. It just so happens that RQG is exactly what my players and I want right now

[Marchand]

Thanks very much for all the responses. I'm thinking I should probably give it a miss, but chances are I'll pick it up on a whim some timeand end up with the same opinion as the OP!

[Mugen]

On 6/23/2019 at 4:50 PM, Marchand said:

Not sure whether to start a new thread or just respond to this one - anyway, hopefully not derailing...

Is it worth it for me to get RQG if I am not at all interested in Glorantha? i.e. what's it bringing in terms of mechanics, given I already have a wealth of d100 material on actual and virtual bookshelves (several RQ editions, BRP gold book etc.)? I read it is based heavily on RQ2 - is that right?

I'm not criticising Glorantha or anyone's decision to game in that world. However I missed out on it back in the day, and at this stage in life I just don't have the time or inclination to learn a new deep and detailed mythos.

Having been a player of RuneQuest for 30 years, but only played a few sessions in Glorantha, I understand you completely.
I used RQ3 rules for years in other settings, and even specifically created one to support its rules. But that edition was far less gloranthan than RQG...

Runic influence and would be perfect fit for other settings. L5R Rokugan is an obvious one, with the elemental rings and bushido virtues instead of runes.

In my opinion, Combat is definitely not worth it, and unnecessarily complex. Strike Ranks and localized Hit Points are something I don't want to use anymore.

Concerning Magic, Spirit Magic and Runic Magic are still fantastic systems, and aged very well, and the Runic . I also love the famous "POW economy".
Sorcery, on the other hand, has too many skills and rely too much on INT and the availability of huge amounts of Magic Points.

[DreadDomain]

On 6/24/2019 at 12:50 AM, Marchand said:

Is it worth it for me to get RQG if I am not at all interested in Glorantha? i.e. what's it bringing in terms of mechanics, given I already have a wealth of d100 material on actual and virtual bookshelves (several RQ editions, BRP gold book etc.)? I read it is based heavily on RQ2 - is that right?

If you are specifically looking for new rules, probably not. RQG bring RQ2, RQ3 and KAP to the table in a package that is Glorantha specific. Background character creation and personality and passions are adapted from KAP in a way that it bring Runes to the forefront. The way it is connected with magic means that your character has every reasons to act like his God.   

On 6/24/2019 at 12:50 AM, Marchand said:

I'm not criticising Glorantha or anyone's decision to game in that world. However I missed out on it back in the day, and at this stage in life I just don't have the time or inclination to learn a new deep and detailed mythos.

However, if you do not want to jump in Glorantha because you feel like you need to catch-up, I would offer that RQG is the perfect edition to jump in. Runes, background creation and personality, cults and cultures in the core book, is all you need to jump in Glorantha. I'm serious. I've known Glorantha for 30 years now and when I created a few characters with RQG, I felt that I was rediscovering the setting and that I did not need all the bagage. Ignore the grognards and jump in!

[Jeff]

On 6/27/2019 at 11:14 AM, Mugen said:

Strike Ranks and localized Hit Points are something I don't want to use anymore.

Which is perfectly valid opinion. But it is worth point out that plenty of people like Strike Ranks and localised Hit Points (like myself and the other designers). They have been a part of every iteration of Chaosium RQ and there has never been any serious thought to getting rid of them.

[Shiningbrow]

Just throwing my 2 clacks bolgs in...

I'd suggest that it can be a good environment to put players into who know nothing about the world, so that they can players who know nothing about the world (other than what their local priests, etc tell them). It would/should actually make the RP much more legitimate.

One thing that I think is a bit annoying is 'planning' out your character, going for the best of everything... as it presumes that the characters have access to all that information and knowledge about what's out there. This is true for any game, but given the mythos and history of RQ, it's even more relevant.

[Ochoa]

Today, the uroxi was taken down by a tusk rider. First thing in the action sequence. One horrible critical tusk gore.

He didn't die, but the faces of the rest of the players as they saw the strongest fighter impaled on the ugly end of a boar and dragged for a few rounds was priceless.

Gods damn it I love this game.

 

 

[Jeff]

2 hours ago, Ochoa said:

Today, the uroxi was taken down by a tusk rider. First thing in the action sequence. One horrible critical tusk gore.

He didn't die, but the faces of the rest of the players as they saw the strongest fighter impaled on the ugly end of a boar and dragged for a few rounds was priceless.

Gods damn it I love this game.

 

 

I was running a session of RQ at a convention in Poland a few months ago. The players - all new to RQ and a few new to RPGs - were trying to herd sacred cattle when two saber-toothed cats showed up and spooked the herd. One of the characters - again the toughest of the group (and a D&D player)- tried to get control of the cattle with his Herd skill. AND failed. And a stampede started. And then he realised that his character might well get killed by stampeding cattle. He looked shocked, then smiled, and then said, "this is so cool - I think I am going to get killed by cows!" A few luck dice rolls later, he was still alive (although banged up pretty bad), and the other players had killed the saber-toothed cats. But the next time an optional combat occurred, the player said, "No way am I fighting this guy if I don't have to. I nearly got killed by a cow!" And so they had a very tense negotiation instead of a fight.

Wonderful fun!

 

[Cloud64]

Forgive me for relinking to this pic, but I feel its time is due, again…

[g33k]

On 7/7/2019 at 6:58 PM, Ochoa said:

... they saw the strongest fighter impaled on the ugly end of a boar and dragged for a few rounds...

I'm having a little trouble here.

Which is the pretty end of the boar, again?

 

[Joerg]

55 minutes ago, g33k said:

I'm having a little trouble here.

Which is the pretty end of the boar, again?

When it rotates on a spit above a campfire...