I cannot recommend Runequest highly enough. I love this game so much. The mechanics are great [though might at first seem strange if you are coming from dnd for example], very solid , hard to break. But the game world of Glorantha is RQs biggest selling point. And the way the rules meld with it, make for an incredibly immersive and enjoyable game. Because combat is dangerous, it makes it way more thrilling, and becomes only one option when dealing with adversaries. One commenter mentioned’Six Seasons in Sartar’ as a great alternative intro game. I totally agree with this, it gently introduces the rules and the ease it progresses through a fascinating and sometimes deeply intense story.
bought the humble bundle, did my prep and the solo adventure, kinda wished for some of these amazing books as paper versions, went on to watch a 3-4 ep stream, annoyed my friends to no end until they finally agreed to play and we'll never look back. we still have much to learn, but the journey has begun and I am looking forward to all of it
Nice job! I just got into RuneQuest myself over the past few weeks. I have started with the Starter Set as well and can’t highly recommend that enough. The solo quest in it was great because it made the setting come alive in such a gripping, evocative way while acting as a practical means of learning the rules. Two things you might suggest to new people to RuneQuest: The King of Dragon Pass phone game as a way to learn the lore and Six Seasons in Sartar from Jonstown Compendium (DriveThruRPG). Six Seasons functions as an alternative starting campaign where the group is focused on a single tribe and its background. I am considering this as a possible starting point so then the vast lore is more digestible for me as a GM and for any new players - limited focus, start small, and grow. I wish it also had some pregens. I could rework the starter set ones, but their backgrounds are off because of the timeline jump.
Michael, glad you enjoyed the video. Anyone reading Michael’s comment, there are some likely good additional suggestions. I have not played the mobile game so I can’t really comment on that one. I have read ALOT about 6 Seasons, and it is certainly compelling. In my buyer guides I try to stick to the main line “official” stuff most of the time, but SSIS is a highly praised work so probably won’t go wrong there!
Great reference video for prospective buyers. I 100% agree with the starter set complimenting the core rulebook. The core rulebook, as you say, is a rules reference. There isn't an introductory adventure, a pared down bestiary, there isn't really even any guidance for judges/GMs. I picked up the RuneQuest Humble Bundle and if I were a newer judge/GM and had picked up just the core rules, I would have been somewhat baffled as to how to get off the ground. Pretty sure the Core Rulebook is meant to be purchased as part of the slipcase or solo to reinforce/advanced rules the starter set.
I appreciate that! When I do a buyer’s guide, I try to go into it fully focused on a new player experience. Chaosium has a GREAT starter set for Runequest, which is good, because the starting out with the core rules is a slog otherwise!😀 I really feel like Runequest would greatly benefit from a skilled, long time group playing an introductory series of sessions on camera to get a better feel for the world. With Glorantha, so much of the game is culture, history and customs, it is hard for a traditional player to pick it all up without seeing it in action, in my humble opinion.
@@booksbricksandboards783 Regarding: "With Glorantha, so much of the game is culture, history and customs, it is hard for a traditional player to pick it all up without seeing it in action, in my humble opinion." Yeah. Definitely seems that to me as well! 😀
Loved RQ since '82. Agree 100% about the main rulebook's accessibility. Full marks to Chaosium for the quality of their books, but the main book is a bit dense and it could have stood an editor that was less tolerant of flowery language. Rich descriptions are fine for things like monsters and flavor text, but not when trying to explain how to play.
It is a DEEEEP dive. I wouldn’t suggest it if I didn’t love it, but, be prepared to fall into a rabbit hole of learning about what makes it tick. Addictive personalities beware!
As well as the Soloquest book Chaosium have pretty much all the old books from RQ2 out as pdfs and POD. Minimal conversion between versions of RQ make them worth a look. The Pavis and Big Rubble campaign books are excellent. As is Griffin Mountain and Borderlands. Then there are the classic Cults books. I know Chaosium are bringing out new takes on the Cults and are meant to be working on a new Pavis project, but the old RQ2 stuff is great. Sadly the RQ3 stuff isn't currently available as this was done under Avalon Hill.
@@booksbricksandboards783 aye, excellent quality books too. Also, in my experience the customer service has been very good. The fact companies like Chaosium, Free League, LotFP (to name just 3, but many other companies do this) can put out high quality physical books (and include the pdfs for them with the purchase) really makes WotC look like the fast food equivalent in the RPG landscape.
@@AngryPict Absolutely! I am going to throw two more in there, North Wind Adventures (Hyperborea) and Sine Nomine (Worlds Without Number/Star Without Number). There are so many great indy publishers out there that put the big boy on the block to shame, not just with creative content but also production values. Totally agree on all of your choices.
RQ is wonderful. It is truly a great system. BRP is one of the most straight foreward yet detailed gaming systems out there. I have alway found Glorantha rather impenetrable, while the ubiquitous nature of magic and PC ducks were a real turn off. For this reason I got more into Cuthulhu, Pendragon and my favourite game, Magic World. Still Steve and Sandy, (and Lynn) were super geniuses. Giants in RPG. They are all sorely missed. Fun fact Pendragon Starter Set came out yesterday. Excellent too.
I had more luck finding players for Cthulhu. Pendragon, with the right group, could be the most rewarding. I think RQ by far has the most detailed fictional world. The Guide to Glorantha slipcase two book set is absolutely amazing, it’s an encyclopedia (back when those existed) for a fictional world! Thanks for watching.
I've heard of this game, but I think I had it mixed up with role master for the longest time (and after hearing how many tables that uses? Pass) But this does sound like a cool one. I like an older era of fantasy than medieval.
The setting is certainly a large draw. There are rules for between adventures and how the community develops between jaunts to the dungeon. Also, nice to have a fantasy game not set in medieval Europe for a change of pace.
I played role master for years with good friends and it was one of the funnest things I’ve ever done. Yeah, it has a lot of charts, you don’t use them all. When you make a character, you know what you do and you prep for it just like any other game. Because of the fact that everything turns to be loose leaf, you’re not digging through the books looking for charts. You’ve pulled them out and made copies for yourself. So the three, four or five that you use you have on hand. Which is better than every player at your game forgetting the spells.
Great content. I'm trying to find a new game to replace 5e as a GM and Runequest seemed like an obvious (and yet, difficult) choice. Going to buy the Starter's Set after watching this video. Thanks
Welcome! Thanks for watching. Chaosium really puts out some great content. They get that gamers don’t need a total rebuild of a great system, we just want some convenience upgrades and very high production values, at a fair cost.
The great thing about the Starter Set, is that it's still useful after you get more invested in the game. Great setting-information, scenarios, maps and tools. Usually starter sets are useless after you get the core books, not this one. :-)
@@CallMeThing Absolutely, I think that balance is where Chaosium is a head above of the competition on their starters. The content and the production quality allows for the starter set to continue to be used long after you have left behind Vasana and the other pre gens!
I loved Runequest back in the day, played a lot but we never had all the new weird art work. I just cant get into it, not the kind of world I am interested in. I love the mechanics of Runequest but all the cults and weirdness is not for me. Im looking to get back into RPG and thought of Runequest but think I will try to get into a D&D game, More along the lines of what I remember
If you wanted to try something a bit different, but still familiar feeling, you might try the new Dragonbane. It is slick, plays fast and has beautiful art.
Is there a way to play the game without runes and all the gods? Neither of these appeal to me but the way people speak of glorantha, it sounds amazing.
I think that largely, the magic system has been the biggest hurdle for people with the newest edition, and I am no different. I really like the setting and the base rule set… but the magic system is cumbersome and not optional… it is pervading the entire story and built into the game mechanics so deeply that is feels like it would be a different game without it… maybe a better one. It’s interesting and in theory, it is a fun magic system, but in practice I found it unwieldy and overly complicated. It reminds me of the Psionic system in AD&D 2e, which CAN be effective if the players know it thoroughly and take the time to really Grokk it. In reality, few players have the patience to really invest in a sub mechanic of an already complicated system. I really like Runequest, and the Glorantha edition is a great set of books, but I can relate to your beef with the magic system, and unfortunately, I don’t feel it is optional.
@@booksbricksandboards783 Thank you for the reply!! I just bought a ton of d100 games and am really digging Pendragon. I was hoping for Runequest to be my fantasy go to. Would Mythras be a suitable replacement if I don’t want all the Runes/gods? If I were to pick up the Glorantha Sourcebook, I should be able to run a game in it regardless of system or is the sourcebook specific to RQG?
@@TheJDough1 no problem at all for the reply, I love talking games! Pendragon is very cool, new D20 version, or older d100? I have heard Mythras is based upon 2nd edition Runequest which I believe has a better magic system, but as I have not played it, that is just from reading other people’s opinions. My go to system when I don’t like the one intended for a setting is Savage Worlds, but Mythras would probably be great since it is based on older RuneQuest.
@@booksbricksandboards783 I'm using Pendragon 5.2. I also have Paladin and really looking forward to digging into it. My understanding is Mythras is RuneQuest 6e but with a few minor changes. I have multiple editions of Savage Worlds but never even cracked it open. I've only heard positive things
You don't play RuneQuest without the runes (obviously) or the gods. It isn't RuneQuest without either of them, and it most certainly isn't Glorantha. There's a saying "Your Glorantha will vary", but it doesn't cover decoupling those from the setting. If you want a RuneQuest game that doesn't use them in such an inextricable way (there are no Runes, but playing a game without gods in a bronze age setting...I think you're best off looking elsewhere as a whole, the bronze age isn't the place for it) you can try Mythras. Even the atheist philosophers of Rome weren't atheist in any way that we'd know that term today. Mythras is RuneQuest 6 but rebranded, it has many of the same rules, and you can hack in parts you like from either system into the other with no fuss. Many good supplements for it as well, but I personally didn't like that they really haven't finished their setting for it yet (whereas with Glorantha, the setting is complete, just not in the current edition). You don't need to use the pantheons as is in Glorantha, but you'd need to create an approximate pantheon to replace them as the entire world works based on the doings of the gods. Rivers don't flow downhill because of gravity, they flow downhill because they're trying to reach their king. If someone gets sick, it isn't because of germs, it's disease spirits. If people get pregnant, it has nothing to do with the normal biological process, they were instead granted that child by a fertility god. The entire world does not function without the gods and all the roles they fill, so if not using the default gods, you need to make different ones that do the same things. But then you'd be lacking all the lore to base hero quests on (for which there are still no rules after 40 years).
I cannot recommend Runequest highly enough. I love this game so much. The mechanics are great [though might at first seem strange if you are coming from dnd for example], very solid , hard to break. But the game world of Glorantha is RQs biggest selling point. And the way the rules meld with it, make for an incredibly immersive and enjoyable game. Because combat is dangerous, it makes it way more thrilling, and becomes only one option when dealing with adversaries. One commenter mentioned’Six Seasons in Sartar’ as a great alternative intro game. I totally agree with this, it gently introduces the rules and the ease it progresses through a fascinating and sometimes deeply intense story.
Sounds like you are lucky to have a dedicated group into Glorantha! Love to hear the enthusiasm. Very cool game!
bought the humble bundle, did my prep and the solo adventure, kinda wished for some of these amazing books as paper versions, went on to watch a 3-4 ep stream, annoyed my friends to no end until they finally agreed to play and we'll never look back. we still have much to learn, but the journey has begun and I am looking forward to all of it
Nice! Finding a group is half of the battle for Runequest, so you are halfway there!
Nice job! I just got into RuneQuest myself over the past few weeks.
I have started with the Starter Set as well and can’t highly recommend that enough. The solo quest in it was great because it made the setting come alive in such a gripping, evocative way while acting as a practical means of learning the rules.
Two things you might suggest to new people to RuneQuest: The King of Dragon Pass phone game as a way to learn the lore and Six Seasons in Sartar from Jonstown Compendium (DriveThruRPG).
Six Seasons functions as an alternative starting campaign where the group is focused on a single tribe and its background. I am considering this as a possible starting point so then the vast lore is more digestible for me as a GM and for any new players - limited focus, start small, and grow. I wish it also had some pregens. I could rework the starter set ones, but their backgrounds are off because of the timeline jump.
Michael, glad you enjoyed the video. Anyone reading Michael’s comment, there are some likely good additional suggestions. I have not played the mobile game so I can’t really comment on that one. I have read ALOT about 6 Seasons, and it is certainly compelling. In my buyer guides I try to stick to the main line “official” stuff most of the time, but SSIS is a highly praised work so probably won’t go wrong there!
RuneQuest has been my favorite system since the 90's!! I haven't played in years. I need to break it back out and introduce some new people.
And you need to introduce it to some new players as well! 😁
Great reference video for prospective buyers.
I 100% agree with the starter set complimenting the core rulebook. The core rulebook, as you say, is a rules reference. There isn't an introductory adventure, a pared down bestiary, there isn't really even any guidance for judges/GMs. I picked up the RuneQuest Humble Bundle and if I were a newer judge/GM and had picked up just the core rules, I would have been somewhat baffled as to how to get off the ground.
Pretty sure the Core Rulebook is meant to be purchased as part of the slipcase or solo to reinforce/advanced rules the starter set.
I appreciate that! When I do a buyer’s guide, I try to go into it fully focused on a new player experience. Chaosium has a GREAT starter set for Runequest, which is good, because the starting out with the core rules is a slog otherwise!😀 I really feel like Runequest would greatly benefit from a skilled, long time group playing an introductory series of sessions on camera to get a better feel for the world. With Glorantha, so much of the game is culture, history and customs, it is hard for a traditional player to pick it all up without seeing it in action, in my humble opinion.
@@booksbricksandboards783 Regarding: "With Glorantha, so much of the game is culture, history and customs, it is hard for a traditional player to pick it all up without seeing it in action, in my humble opinion."
Yeah. Definitely seems that to me as well! 😀
Loved RQ since '82. Agree 100% about the main rulebook's accessibility. Full marks to Chaosium for the quality of their books, but the main book is a bit dense and it could have stood an editor that was less tolerant of flowery language. Rich descriptions are fine for things like monsters and flavor text, but not when trying to explain how to play.
It is odd too because the CoC Keeper Guide I found to be an easy read. Not sure why my RQ experience was so different.
To anyone reading this now, the humble bundle is literally selling all of the pdfs of the books mentioned here for only $18!
Good deal!
A great system that I never invested in
It is a DEEEEP dive. I wouldn’t suggest it if I didn’t love it, but, be prepared to fall into a rabbit hole of learning about what makes it tick. Addictive personalities beware!
As well as the Soloquest book Chaosium have pretty much all the old books from RQ2 out as pdfs and POD. Minimal conversion between versions of RQ make them worth a look.
The Pavis and Big Rubble campaign books are excellent. As is Griffin Mountain and Borderlands.
Then there are the classic Cults books.
I know Chaosium are bringing out new takes on the Cults and are meant to be working on a new Pavis project, but the old RQ2 stuff is great.
Sadly the RQ3 stuff isn't currently available as this was done under Avalon Hill.
Chaosium is a great company, bringing in new fans while really catering to the old ones as well!
@@booksbricksandboards783 aye, excellent quality books too. Also, in my experience the customer service has been very good.
The fact companies like Chaosium, Free League, LotFP (to name just 3, but many other companies do this) can put out high quality physical books (and include the pdfs for them with the purchase) really makes WotC look like the fast food equivalent in the RPG landscape.
@@AngryPict Absolutely! I am going to throw two more in there, North Wind Adventures (Hyperborea) and Sine Nomine (Worlds Without Number/Star Without Number). There are so many great indy publishers out there that put the big boy on the block to shame, not just with creative content but also production values. Totally agree on all of your choices.
RQ is wonderful. It is truly a great system. BRP is one of the most straight foreward yet detailed gaming systems out there. I have alway found Glorantha rather impenetrable, while the ubiquitous nature of magic and PC ducks were a real turn off. For this reason I got more into Cuthulhu, Pendragon and my favourite game, Magic World. Still Steve and Sandy, (and Lynn) were super geniuses. Giants in RPG. They are all sorely missed. Fun fact Pendragon Starter Set came out yesterday. Excellent too.
I had more luck finding players for Cthulhu. Pendragon, with the right group, could be the most rewarding. I think RQ by far has the most detailed fictional world. The Guide to Glorantha slipcase two book set is absolutely amazing, it’s an encyclopedia (back when those existed) for a fictional world! Thanks for watching.
None have ever died of watching nudity, but it's okay you make aware of it.
I think that if you have younger gamers you are playing with, it is worth knowing up front so that it is a decision rather than a surprise.
I've heard of this game, but I think I had it mixed up with role master for the longest time (and after hearing how many tables that uses? Pass)
But this does sound like a cool one. I like an older era of fantasy than medieval.
The setting is certainly a large draw. There are rules for between adventures and how the community develops between jaunts to the dungeon. Also, nice to have a fantasy game not set in medieval Europe for a change of pace.
I played role master for years with good friends and it was one of the funnest things I’ve ever done. Yeah, it has a lot of charts, you don’t use them all. When you make a character, you know what you do and you prep for it just like any other game. Because of the fact that everything turns to be loose leaf, you’re not digging through the books looking for charts. You’ve pulled them out and made copies for yourself. So the three, four or five that you use you have on hand. Which is better than every player at your game forgetting the spells.
Great content. I'm trying to find a new game to replace 5e as a GM and Runequest seemed like an obvious (and yet, difficult) choice. Going to buy the Starter's Set after watching this video. Thanks
Welcome! Thanks for watching. Chaosium really puts out some great content. They get that gamers don’t need a total rebuild of a great system, we just want some convenience upgrades and very high production values, at a fair cost.
The great thing about the Starter Set, is that it's still useful after you get more invested in the game. Great setting-information, scenarios, maps and tools. Usually starter sets are useless after you get the core books, not this one. :-)
@@CallMeThing Absolutely, I think that balance is where Chaosium is a head above of the competition on their starters. The content and the production quality allows for the starter set to continue to be used long after you have left behind Vasana and the other pre gens!
Yeah thank you for this. I just ordered my starter box and am trading stuff in to get more
Welcome! Hope you have a great time in Glorantha.
I loved Runequest back in the day, played a lot but we never had all the new weird art work. I just cant get into it, not the kind of world I am interested in. I love the mechanics of Runequest but all the cults and weirdness is not for me. Im looking to get back into RPG and thought of Runequest but think I will try to get into a D&D game, More along the lines of what I remember
If you wanted to try something a bit different, but still familiar feeling, you might try the new Dragonbane. It is slick, plays fast and has beautiful art.
Is there a way to play the game without runes and all the gods? Neither of these appeal to me but the way people speak of glorantha, it sounds amazing.
I think that largely, the magic system has been the biggest hurdle for people with the newest edition, and I am no different. I really like the setting and the base rule set… but the magic system is cumbersome and not optional… it is pervading the entire story and built into the game mechanics so deeply that is feels like it would be a different game without it… maybe a better one. It’s interesting and in theory, it is a fun magic system, but in practice I found it unwieldy and overly complicated. It reminds me of the Psionic system in AD&D 2e, which CAN be effective if the players know it thoroughly and take the time to really Grokk it. In reality, few players have the patience to really invest in a sub mechanic of an already complicated system. I really like Runequest, and the Glorantha edition is a great set of books, but I can relate to your beef with the magic system, and unfortunately, I don’t feel it is optional.
@@booksbricksandboards783 Thank you for the reply!!
I just bought a ton of d100 games and am really digging Pendragon. I was hoping for Runequest to be my fantasy go to. Would Mythras be a suitable replacement if I don’t want all the Runes/gods?
If I were to pick up the Glorantha Sourcebook, I should be able to run a game in it regardless of system or is the sourcebook specific to RQG?
@@TheJDough1 no problem at all for the reply, I love talking games! Pendragon is very cool, new D20 version, or older d100? I have heard Mythras is based upon 2nd edition Runequest which I believe has a better magic system, but as I have not played it, that is just from reading other people’s opinions. My go to system when I don’t like the one intended for a setting is Savage Worlds, but Mythras would probably be great since it is based on older RuneQuest.
@@booksbricksandboards783 I'm using Pendragon 5.2. I also have Paladin and really looking forward to digging into it.
My understanding is Mythras is RuneQuest 6e but with a few minor changes. I have multiple editions of Savage Worlds but never even cracked it open. I've only heard positive things
You don't play RuneQuest without the runes (obviously) or the gods. It isn't RuneQuest without either of them, and it most certainly isn't Glorantha. There's a saying "Your Glorantha will vary", but it doesn't cover decoupling those from the setting.
If you want a RuneQuest game that doesn't use them in such an inextricable way (there are no Runes, but playing a game without gods in a bronze age setting...I think you're best off looking elsewhere as a whole, the bronze age isn't the place for it) you can try Mythras. Even the atheist philosophers of Rome weren't atheist in any way that we'd know that term today.
Mythras is RuneQuest 6 but rebranded, it has many of the same rules, and you can hack in parts you like from either system into the other with no fuss. Many good supplements for it as well, but I personally didn't like that they really haven't finished their setting for it yet (whereas with Glorantha, the setting is complete, just not in the current edition).
You don't need to use the pantheons as is in Glorantha, but you'd need to create an approximate pantheon to replace them as the entire world works based on the doings of the gods.
Rivers don't flow downhill because of gravity, they flow downhill because they're trying to reach their king. If someone gets sick, it isn't because of germs, it's disease spirits. If people get pregnant, it has nothing to do with the normal biological process, they were instead granted that child by a fertility god.
The entire world does not function without the gods and all the roles they fill, so if not using the default gods, you need to make different ones that do the same things. But then you'd be lacking all the lore to base hero quests on (for which there are still no rules after 40 years).