tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post6352866182512702464..comments2024-03-28T15:30:09.903-04:00Comments on GROGNARDIA: REVIEW: RuneQuest IIJames Maliszewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-62292052714143133592011-03-21T00:41:36.926-04:002011-03-21T00:41:36.926-04:00Thanks for the reviews of MRQ II and OQ. Still hop...Thanks for the reviews of MRQ II and OQ. Still hoping to see you review BRP's Classic Role Playing at some point!Baron Greystonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16636292202674906870noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-35443761697741716172011-03-12T07:32:04.461-05:002011-03-12T07:32:04.461-05:00One good thing about MRQ2 is that Lawrence Whitake...One good thing about MRQ2 is that Lawrence Whitaker has done an excellent job with the rules is maintaining compatibility with what the current ideas about Glorantha are whilst still producing something that is recognizably <i>Runequest</i>. Much of the official Glorantha setting (especially in the mechanics of how the universe works) changed markedly when <i>Hero Wars</i> and <i>Heroquest</i> came out.<br /><br />Unfortunately Mongoose went into their first edition of Runequest with the same reflexes and attitudes they they had with their 3rd Ed products (after all, it had worked there), only to discover that most of the RQ consumers were far more discerning individuals, especially after the Avalon Hill years.<br /><br />Also, the fact that they had the rights to the name "Runequest" and had not licensed the actual BRP game system from Chaosium, meant that they had to produce a fascimile edition of the rules (using the argument that they had the right to produce a game of Runequest, and that you can't protect a game system [unless you patent it]). Which meant that all the other games had to subsets of the Runequest core book, rather than adaptions of the basic game system (as Chaosium could do with BRP). Which means that the game was rather confused between being a Gloranthan role-playing emulator and a generic fantasy gaming system.<br /><br />MRQ1 was really a bit of a mess. Still, it wasn't as bad as the height of Avalon Hill mismanagement of the brand.Reverance Pavanehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01217657347160811310noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-24482800400788157152011-03-11T03:52:15.836-05:002011-03-11T03:52:15.836-05:00@Robert Fisher: There are a few editing issues wit...@Robert Fisher: There are a few editing issues with the MRQ2 core book, but, by and large, it's an improvement over a lot of other Mongoose releases. A 3-page errata document is available to fill in the gaps, and provide clarification).<br /><br />The real editing problems occur when you get into some of the MRQ2 supplements. The Arms & Equipment guide and Necromantic Arts were poorly upgraded from MRQ1 to MRQ2, for example.KPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18374233546533225028noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-32621170325587080342011-03-11T03:12:33.135-05:002011-03-11T03:12:33.135-05:00People probably don't know that RuneQuest 2, t...People probably don't know that RuneQuest 2, the Chaosium version, was never actually called RuneQuest 2. It was called RuneQuest. You had to search far and wide to discover that it was second edition. Once Avalon Hill produced the new edition, fans started calling the game RQ2 to distinguish it from the new edition.<br /><br />For better or worse, when Mongoose produced their first edition of the rules they simply called it RuneQuest with no edition number. If they had called it "Mongoose RuneQuest" they would have been slated for trying to associate their name with the brand. <br /><br />Given that this is their second edition of the game and that it was close enough in time to the previous edition they were going to have to call it something. Personally I would stuck to the tradition and called it RuneQuest and left any edition marker off. <br /><br />Interestingly, the only company to put a pronounced edition marker on RQ products was Games Workshop for the UK versions. I'm sure part of Mongoose's hope is to capture an echo of the lightning in the bottle that was RQ2 in the UK in the early 80s by echoing the name.Brucehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16012828706720567957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-34117349069034334492011-03-10T15:59:30.700-05:002011-03-10T15:59:30.700-05:00So, no (or few) editing or other production relate...So, no (or few) editing or other production related problems?<br /><br />You know, even companies themselves end up having to find ways to refer to different editions of games. Would it really be so bad to actually think through these things and make sure there was enough information on the cover to make the distinctions clear to anyone? If we’re all—including Mongoose and Chaosium—are going to call this “Mongoose RuneQuest II” or “MRQ2”, why not put that full term or abbreviation actually on the cover?Roberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16733274876782876659noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-70380027246625679012011-03-10T04:46:42.958-05:002011-03-10T04:46:42.958-05:00Also, since everyone could wield magic in Gloranth...Also, since everyone could wield magic in Glorantha, a fighting-type character would rather have a magic crystal storing POW and enabling him to cast a Bladesharp on his sword before each combat than the equivalent of a "+1 magic sword" à la AD&D.賈尼https://www.blogger.com/profile/03207671300903490067noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-44288608108567501382011-03-10T04:44:29.286-05:002011-03-10T04:44:29.286-05:00In RuneQuest (at least in the Chaosium version of ...In <i>RuneQuest</i> (at least in the Chaosium version of the game, which was set in Glorantha), magic items were supposed to be <b>unique</b>. There was a book of magic items, called <i>Plunder</i> (1980), which gave the rationale and the history of each item.賈尼https://www.blogger.com/profile/03207671300903490067noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-18151945882128641952011-03-10T03:23:20.257-05:002011-03-10T03:23:20.257-05:00Interesting reviews of this and OQ. It does show s...Interesting reviews of this and OQ. It does show some interesting differences in mind set and 'treasure' is an interesting case in point. MRQII works very hard to ensure that you can play and never need a magic item. As someone who started gaming with the original RQ2 in 1982 and who has not played D&D, I find magic items to be something of a foreign country.<br /><br />On the other hand, somewhat like you, when I first got MRQ1 and now MRQII I was highly sceptical of heroic abilities and it's patently obvious that the RQII authors don't think highly of them. However they turn it to be quite useful both to help emulate the heroic type who doesn't rely on magic (note that heroic abilities require Magic Points and have no 'casting roll') and also for settings where magic is rare.<br /><br />All in all, where the detail is in the book is a good guideline as to the game's focus. Combat is more detailed while there's not much support for exploration. The level of detail reminds me of A Game of Thrones (re-reading for obvious reasons). When GRRM describes combat it is a big deal and quite detailed. Same is generally true in RQ.Brucehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16012828706720567957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-32486204386123847422011-03-10T02:58:31.563-05:002011-03-10T02:58:31.563-05:00Thanks for this review.
MRQ2 is a pretty solid sy...Thanks for this review.<br /><br />MRQ2 is a pretty solid system, though it nearly reaches the complexity of RQ3. Combat was a bit of a challenge to GM, for me - definitely the most daunting part of the system - but, in my campaign, it led to some very cinematic, swashbuckling conflicts. The extra effort led to a great payoff.KPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18374233546533225028noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-25699662073405044712011-03-10T01:11:17.510-05:002011-03-10T01:11:17.510-05:00Another fine review! I agree with most of your po...Another fine review! I agree with most of your points, both positive and negative, although I think that I'm more positive in my opinion of MRQII overall. (I would probably give the book a 'utility' score of '8'.)<br /><br />As for 'completeness', I think that only the <i>Monster Coliseum</i>, along with the corebook, is essential for running a proper fantasy campaign.<br /><br />In case anyone is curious, I'm playing in a 'Young Kingdoms' (Elric) campaign right now with one of the authors of MRQII (Lawrence Whitaker). An index for the campaign (with links updated semi-regularly) is here: http://akraticwizardry.blogspot.com/2011/02/young-kingdoms-campaign-index.htmlAkrasiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08734103159691571156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-35696050003184075872011-03-10T01:01:45.243-05:002011-03-10T01:01:45.243-05:00A nice review, thanks.
I read the book a couple o...A nice review, thanks.<br /><br />I read the book a couple of weeks ago, and it's a nice ruleset - I could see buying this if I didn't already have enough RQ material (and if I were to run an RQ game...)<br /><br />I'd probably drop the heroic abilities in my game. I don't feel they add much to the game, and in my view RQ is very much a low-level game, even with magic. I know it can be played otherwise, too, but I liked it without that much magic.<br /><br />The lack of creatures could be a problem using just this book.<br /><br />In a couple of places you have written 'MRQIII' instead of 'MRQII'.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-65315920812856703072011-03-10T00:18:40.373-05:002011-03-10T00:18:40.373-05:00Thanks for the review. Now you've looked at Op...Thanks for the review. Now you've looked at OpenQuest and MRQII, the last* of the readily available RuneQuest derivatives is the Big Gold Basic Roleplaying book. Will you be reviewing that next?<br /><br />* By this I mean commercially available. There are more freely available RQ-derived games, notably Ray Turney's Fire and Sword.Questbirdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00533422997911138615noreply@blogger.com