Several years ago, long before the Hasbro bullshit, I was in NYC shopping at a gamestore, The Complete Strategist. Another customer asked the store clerk if he could help him find a rpg to learn to play. The clerk clarified, asking, "You mean you've never even played Dungeons & Dragons?" The customer replied "No." The clerk said "Good, you haven't developed any bad habits.Let me show you Runequest." That's a true story.
I witnessed the same thing; except fortunately the guy that was playing in the store was playing Dungeon Fantasy RPG (Powered by GURPS). I had the old box set of Runequest back in the 80s, but never could (as a 12 year old kid) figure out how to use the magic system, so never got around to playing it. I'd love it if they'd reprint that like they did the Call of Cthulu.
@evanhughes7609 I bought the classic book, I have not seen where they did the full box set, I may need to go looking... the old box sets from Avalon Hill bring back some awesome memories!
I've played RuneQuest for many years, although some of the newer elements are unknown to me. I think as a TTRPG it works really well when you only have a small number of players. The reason is, something like D&D is designed around the idea that you take damage, and you need to outheal or outdamage the damage. A single player in D&D will quickly die because it's hard to avoid taking damage - you need some party members to do actions other than just swinging a weapon. RuneQuest makes taking damage more impactful, but it gives the characters more ways to avoid damage. You get hit less often, but when you do it is more of a big deal. It's more realistic in the sense that a powerful character avoids more damage, rather than the D&D way where you take more damage but soak it up. In RuneQuest, combat is slower and more tactical. It wouldn't work with a large group because it would take too long, although there are many "homebrew" rules to speed up play. It's worth noting that many of the tables you really don't need once you have a bit of experience or a passing amount of arithmetic capability. I've never met anyone who uses all the rules anyway - you can ditch a lot of the more noodly stuff quite easily.
@@DaveThaumavore I think all long-lived game systems become more rules heavy because players request more clarifications. In the early RuneQuest (and Call of Cthulhu), a lot of the stuff about critical rolls was fairly vague, along the lines of "If someone gets a particularly good roll, like under 20% of the threshold, then extra stuff might happen, DM's discretion." That's how we play it, and I think the creators want that - they just add rules because people want them but they don't expect everyone to use all of them. Same with skills, they keep adding new ones when what they used to do was have some blank rows where they said the DM could add new ones that come up during play. The problem with this is that you can get odd situations such as someone who is a master of, say, herbalism, but knows zero alchemy, or a katana expert who does not know which end of a regular sword is which. You also get people arguing about whether skill X or skill Y covers a situation. Overall, your instinct to cut down the skills is the correct one, and many people do. The core of RuneQuest is very good though, for people who want a "more realistic" system. But it's telling that a lot of people prefer playing "Pulp Cthulhu", which has streamlined rules, to "Call of Cthulhu".
For what it’s worth, combat is not generally as long as in D&D. I find that most combat ends when decisive hits are made somewhere around round 2 to 4. A big hit tends to take an opponent or adventurer out due to everyone’s low HP. I’ve been playing with some newbies and gamers with familiarity with Call of Cthulhu, and we haven’t run into any truly grinding moments. When we go back to Call of Cthulhu, some of the crunchiness is missed from time to time. The big asks for RQG: 1. The GM needs to know the rules really well. 2. Everyone needs to roll all the applicable dice at once: when attacking, roll your attack percentile dice, your hit location D20, and your weapon damage dice all at once. The opponent dodging or parrying needs to do the same. It cuts down on waiting for all the pieces to be rolled, and if you don’t apply any damage, no big deal, just ignore those dice. 3. Use those wild and weird skills that your adventurer has: the character creation gave them to you for a reason! One small addendum: Peaceful Cut has even come up more than once in our current campaign!
Just a few misunderstandings in covering the skills and abilities. The Crit is one twentieth of your skill, a special is one fifth. You don't need the table. For the resistance table, it's take the difference between the 2 values, multiply by 5 and that either adds or comes off 50%. Neither of these are difficult and can be picked up very quickly. Also, peaceful cut is pretty important for a hunter trying to live in harmony with the world (because it's possible that the ghost of the deer could come and hunt you down if you didn't properly guide it into the afterlife). And character creation isn't in the book because it's a starter set and cost needs to be kept down. Understand, it's a ton in a box for not much money. There is only so much room available in a starter set. There's also a basic set of character creation rules online on the new wiki, I believe.
Yup. At its core it’s utterly simple and elegant. I run 3rd edition. I’m guessing dodge vs attack is unchanged: equal or better success is a succesful dodge. So that shouldn’t be too hard as well.
A good reply, but I must agree with the reviewer, character generation is of course something that *should* be included in a starter box, AND many of the skills are just too specific and many, many of them will probably be used very seldomly.
Years of playing BRP has taught me that the resistance table isn't really needed. It's math. ([Active Characteristic * 5] - [Passive Charactisc * 5]) +50 = Chance of Success in %. So, in the example in the video, ([15 * 5] - [11 * 5]) + 50 = (75 - 55) + 50% = 20 + 50 = 70. You can also just start with the 50% baseline, and then add (for stronger Active) or subtract (for stronger Passive) 5% per point of difference. So, say Active is a piddly 7, while Passive is a 16. That is a 9 difference in favor of the Passive. So, subtract 5% * 9 from 50% base, for total of 5% chance of success. That said, if you have a GM screen, the table is a lot faster to just look up unless you are a natural math wiz. But there is a formula.
The explanation in the book actually makes it more computationally complex than it needs to be. All you need to do is: Success is rolling under = 5*(Active char - passive char) +50 So it becomes something like = 5*(15-13) + 50 = 5*2 + 50 = 10 + 50 = 60 Instead of multiplying two separate values and then subtracting them. Takes an extra step out of the equation. I think the designers were not the best at layout and concise language. I've got the core rulebook and there are some things like that in there - I saw three 2-column tables for values which could have been just a single table of 4 columns, as the first column was repeated for each table. It's things like that which drag down the presentation of this sytem for me and sometimes makes it more convoluted than it needs to be.
My group is streaming a RuneQuest campaign right now and the worldbuilding is CRAZY deep, and so cool. I hope we're doing it justice, it's a lot! The Starter Set is insane value, though, and I plan to do the Solo Quest as a podcast when we get a bit further into the campaign (because it contains spoilers for Six Seasons in Sartar). Great work on this video!
I’m glad you did this as I was curious what Runequest was like. There are a few things I like but overall it seems cumbersome and complicated just to be so.
A fair criticism, but it's not just for complexity's sake. Rather, it's a legacy of being a very old system. Back then, it was revolutionary. Now it services its fan base, but lacks more modernized design sensibilities. Much like D&D, in fact.
Its a d100 system. It runs entirely different. I don't like modern design because I hate dice pools and enjoy the fiddily bits they seem to want to throw away. Think of it this way. Your stats say X percentager, you need to roll under that. If you do well or exceptionally well you get special features and mechanics. If you can roll 2 D10 and decide the number is lower or higher than your skill, you can play this game. Though there is some work for your GM to take care of the mechanics. As I mentioned upthread. My grandkids, preteens, figured it out very quickly because all they had to do was roll under their skill number. Its actually way more complicated to run any D20 system. Feats, ancestry bonues, position, skill bonus, skill augment, help a friend. +1,+1-2+1+1-1....lots to account for without sliding players and positioning. I also prefre TOTM over battlemaps.
@@guyfawkes8873 perhaps but once your character is made, which is just as or more complicated in many other games, its pretty simple system. Compare it to some of the more popular ones and its not bad. Combat tracking with ranks is probably the worst parts, but Mythras which is RQ6, does it pretty well without strike ranks.
@@thorinbane I’m the last one to defend D&D, but a lot of the +1/+1/-1/+1 fiddliness you described has been done away with, thanks to Proficiency and Advantage/Disadvantage since the dawn of 5E nearly a decade ago. I also agree with the other commenter: the d100 system is not necessarily the burdensome point of Runequest (from the outside looking in), so much as everything else that surrounds that.
I played RQ for a few years in the 1980s, it was my first RPG, and the only fantasy RPG I liked. To be honest I don't think we ever calculated Strike Rank correctly in our games (we were all young teens), from memory we just used Dex as turn order. I didn't like the Resistance table but as others have pointed out, the calculation is done fairly easily as mental arithmetic. Runes and Passions were not in earlier editions, neither was any of the skill augmenting, but most of the rules seen here are straight from RQ2, which released 1980(?). Games Workshop re-published it in the UK which is where I came across it. At the time Games Workshop promoted RuneQuest strongly in White Dwarf magazine, especially after they lost the D&D licence from TSR! The new RQ in Glorantha looks very nice production-wise but it is surprisingly conservative in its approach to the rules. My guess is the owners are more terrified of annoying the older fanbase than they are interested in attracting new players. I got drawn back into RPGs by RuneQuest 6 (2012?), which was the first decent edition of RQ since RQ3, which was about 1984. RQ6 continues in the form of Mythras, which resolves a lot of the cruft in the older RQ rules - there are no strike ranks, the resistance table is removed in favour of Opposed Rolls. The skills were rationalised so for example, the three (!) different perception skills are combined into one, Perception skill. Combat skills for different weapons are combined into a single Combat Style skill, and so on. There are a number of other improvements and 'modernisation' of the rules in RQ6/Mythras, particularly with combat, but it also does a good job at revising most elements across the system. It is *still* a bit too complex for me in practice, although the core of Mythras is a very good take on the RuneQuest system.
RuneQuest 3rd edition was my intro into full-on campaign length roleplaying and I loved the game for the amazing lore and the stories my gaming group created over the years in Glorantha. The rules were definitely a bit chunky, but I personally found them much more approachable than D&D's rules of the same era. Says a lot that despite the rules, the game can still hold its own in the modern era. There is amazing mythology and world building to be had!
I really liked that with RQ 3rd Edition, it removed the Glorantha world and gave you a more flexible base setting that you could more easily adapt to your own setting. Love the Glorantha setting, to read but not so much to run.
After cutting my teeth on D&D my friends and I were into Stormbringer, Elfquest, RuneQuest and Call of Cthulhu. All of these games used what is now called the "Basic Roleplaying" engine from Chaosium. We had great fun with these systems and from what I remember, the overhead of character creation made the base game and combat move faster than it did for us in D&D.
This, while char creation take a bit more, the rolls are super simple afterwards. I think of it this way, characters are front loaded in skill based games and backloaded with d20 systems. You are always trying to figure out feats, bonus abilities, magic items from the "magic vendor" and need to have a lot of fiddily bits once your guy is built. While in skill based games, once your char is made its a lot less of that. Combat is a lot quicker too. You don't hit as often, but when you do it matters. Not just a mountain of HP to kill 2 hours whittling down.
Stormbringer 1st/2nd editions are my all-time favorite of all the Chaosium games. Please locate the "Sorcerer's Isle" mini-campaign in the 2nd Companion for the game, and run it - it's the best.
I love Runequest and the world of Glorantha. The d100 mechanics are easy to use and understand. Yes, combat is quite mechanical. BUT...since combat is also extremely lethal for PCs, I'm totally fine with some complexity there. Decisions really should matter. Compare that with D&D 5e combat which can drag on for a very long time without that level of PC lethality. On a side note, if you like Glorantha but want to stick to "modern d20" mechanics, I'd recommend checking out 13th Age Glorantha.
Thanks for this compact overview! It's indeed a game where the "simplified" rules still reflect more than 40 years of gaming history. It was especially designed to be different from D&D, and as such it MUST be strange to some who have played D&D before. The combat system was developed by people who actually did real-life combat with ancient weapons. IMHO that's the main reason for such a detailed and deadly system. I would just leave the strike rank rules aside for beginners. The world of Glorantha is sooo deep, you can literally spend years discovering it, and the different versions of it. I really enjoyed playing the introductory choose-your-own-path adventure, as it breaks down the rules into something usable and fun. All in all, I would say the Starter Set does a really good job in introducing new players to this wonderful setting.
Man, I love BRP as a system. In spite of owning a copy of the Avalon Hill version for years and raiding the monsters for my BRP games, I've never really dug into Glorantha until recently. I do think the 7th Ed rules are a bit noodley (compared to straight BRP or Call of Cthulhu), but I'm still hoping to bring it to the table at some point.
At its heart it’s a straight forward roll under % system. There are a few exceptions to results with critical, special, fumbles but that adds the fun/colour to play. I’ve never found strike ranks a difficult concept as its all worked out and written down on the character sheet before hand. Any modifiers for exceptions( things like surprise) being accounted for easily during play. I think it is a lot easier in play then it perhaps looks on paper. The gritty combat is always exciting and thrilling, never a bore.
I actually like the pre-made characters. They have backstory and personality. Honestly, I had an opposite and worse situation. Our DM told us we will create characters from the core book. I ended up with some Farmer who worship Humakt (God of Truth and Death) and whose father and grandfather died in early age. My whole doomer-style roleplay was kinda bad, cause I didn''t understand my character and his role in this world. And yeah, my PC also died in early age.
I recently delve into Runequest Glorantha by Chaosium too, Dave. Incredible in depth game and world. I love it. I highly recommend it, everyone. Thank you so much for the review as always, Dave!
I played this game for a year or so, and run a Solo Campaign. I can say, I need a more streamlined game for my Gloranthan experience. But, damnit, if the lore and the worldbuilding doesnt keep drawing me in. Once the God Books, GM Book and Sartar Book hits, I'll be golden.
I am sure you know of Heroquest, its a much more rule light game set in the same setting. The sad thing is, since hasbro republished the Heroquest board game, chaosium had to cancel permanently any books for that game and they are now all permanently out of print and not available legally anywhere.
I've been playing this for a while and you quickly get a feel for specials, crits and fumbles. The table makes it look way more convoluted than it actually is. Have to admit that I swapped out the resistance tables in favour of the parry system. Parry system is yet another thing that looks way more complicated on paper than it actually is.
We switched from D&D to play RQ 2ed ed then moved on to Avalon Hill RQ. I am now running Runequest Gloranthera. The world is very complete with rich history, and very imersive. I am forcing the rules into my own world with a little struggling. Runequrst Gloranthera is a great game to start, but I prefer the older edition if you want to make your own world. Either way, the system is very fun and enjoyable. I like the D100 mechanic a lot, and find skill raising is more satisfying than leveling in D&D
This is hands down the best ttrpg game mechanics explanation and overlook that I have ever watched! Incredible. You, the owner of this channel, in my view explain things very pedagogically, and in an interesting way. You also keep a good eye on the parts that are going to be challenging for beginners, which is extremely important! Many thanks for this general breakdown of the rules mechanics of RQ. I am definitely watching more of you videos! //Erik Brickman, Sweden.
Love the Rune quest setting but I am a little apprehensive about running it rn because of the rule set and magic system. I have bought all the books and starter sets though. One of these days I’ll get to it. With the season system and generational play, I can see running a really in-depth game.
The game lore is so rich and deep, If you find your way into it, Glorantha can keep you occupied for literally years and years. The setting is awesome, and the game mechanics make a great deal of sense, once you become familiar with what the game is going for. Which is games where characters are tied to a community and are the heroes of that community. I have recently introduced many players to the game and the game lore and style of play and storytelling, blows them away.
RuneQuest is a cool system that I've always wanted to play but never had the chance. As someone who's only read the rules for it & based on your description, I think there's a lot of things that the 6th edition by Design Mechanism did better than than this one. Strangely, they never had the chance to release the Glorantha setting book & turned it into a generic system called Mythras when they lost the license.
@@DaveThaumavore It's well worth looking at Mythras, and the Classic Fantasy add-on that reintroduces some class-based mechanics so you can get your D&D fix using the d100 rules.
Too bad the Design Mechanisms folks are soo stubborn about using a bad font/type for their books. Soo much so that I feel that they're unusable. Very eye fatiguing and just hard to read. :(
@@Acmegamer The font weight isn't as heavy as some other books but I, personally, haven't had a problem with it. Some of the table text can be quite small though, and their panelled text could benefit from a lighter background, so I can see why some people might have trouble.
Runequest is a classic. Although the world is a bit too high-magic for my usual tastes these days. The slipcase set is quite beautiful. Would also recommend, for a less crunchy and more easily understandable Bronze Age fantasy setting, the 'Jackals' rpg from Osprey. It's based in the same d100 system of RQ, but adds some interesting bits and is less crunch overall. There are also other versions divorced from the Glorantha setting, such as OpenQuest and Mythras, for creating your own. Lots of options.
@@himurogentoku7117the guy who writes Jackals has a RUclips channel and one of their long running playlists is discussions of Glorantha lore :D. Also, Jackals is based on OpenQuest, which is an OSR cousin system to RuneQuest which is a lot simpler. I play Glorantha with OpenQuest, simply reworking the spells a bit and adding in the Rune system. Pretty easy to do on the fly tbh
@@jasonGamesMaster - Ah, yes. OpenQuest is a great version, cut down to be more manageable crunch-wise yet keeping the same fantasy style. Definitely a recommend on that one too.
it looks challenging, but also awesome. I've heard of runequest back in the days, but only had access to DnD. Looking back, I think Chaosium was way ahead of its competition, and this would have been much more my kind of game. So it's going on the wishlist. :P
Honestly, the tables aren't really necessary; they're just there so you can look at a glance instead of doing division. If you're fine with doing basic arithmetic in your head, resistance rolls are basically 10 + active stat - passive stat, all multiplied by 5. To work out what you need for a special success, you just divide the number you're rolling against by 5. For a critical, divide by 20. Again, this is basic arithmetic that they provide a chart for as an option. The chart for combat results is likewise entirely optional. Edit: I will note though that I would prefer more starter sets include rules for creating your own characters.
@@DaveThaumavore I really love the system because of the added danger it has. Makes the players really think twice before the go into combat mode and also helps them find other alternatives besides violence, which is more realistic in my opinion.
@@DaveThaumavore Hey Dave I just wanted to get back with you as I'm not going to check out 7e because I like what I have now and it works for me. As for other versions of the game Avalon Hill picked up the IP and I was not really impressed with it back in the day. They added sorcery and I think the magic was way too powerful and it really changed the flavor of the game. I'm glad they reprinted the 2nd edition rules.
I love RQ, been a fan of it since late 1978. My issue was always the strike rank system. I felt that it was easier to work with when their Stormbringer rpg came out back in 1981. What we tended to do with use a version of Stormbringer's lighter melee round mechanics. Later on when BRP (decades later) was released they had a lot of options to make RQ combat lighter. Personally I'd love to meld the combat options of GURPS combat with the rest of RQ instead of using RQ's combat SR etc system. We played 1st and 2nd edition RQ with our own world setting back in 78 to 82-ish. It was much more fun having a skills/attribute base rpg versus the mess that was DnD and then 1st edition AD&D at that time. That said once GURPS 1st/2nd edition (1986/87) came out I moved my whole campaign setting to that because less tied to the bronze age and I had more control and options for how I wanted my game to play. In the end I have this fondness for RQ but I don't tend to run it. I collect it still, because the RQG material is stunning and great to read through though. :)
I like long skill lists, it makes sense in skill based systems. Conceal is for large objects(hiding a cart ), slight is more for palming or small objects. I feel like dave comes from a very D&D centric background. Skill based systems seem cumbersome, but they are far simplier for new players that are D&D conditioned to DC's. My 9,11 and 13 year old grandkids picked up on it easily on session 1. They had issues with character gen because of length. The combat is way more interesting and quick overall. You don't just pound each other for HP blocks. Mythras has another version without strike ranks and it works well.
Very good video, describes very well the pros and cons as well. I, myself had the same feeling about complexity of the rules but the setting drew me in and I came to love the tactical aspects of the rules in the end.
Amazingly thorough as always. I'm curious as to how this compares to Mythras, which as I understand it, was made by some of the original creators of Runequest (who no longer hold the license to the name).
Very similar, but Mythras gets rid of the strike ranks and has a better action economy. Its actually the 6th edition creators. Not sure their involvement with the originals, but Mythras is QR6e with a few tweaks and no glorantha. The consensus is if you like Glorantha play runequest, if you want a more generic setting play mythras(or brp) M-Space is a traveller like version of mythras. They have several mythras based books like Luther Arkwright which is a spy like system and based in a sorta victorian world and after the vampire wars which is WoD like. Mythras has a great magic subsystem. Runequest EVERYTHING is magic and mostly baked in. Mythras has 5 types of magic, animism, folk, sorcery, mysticism and theism. I think the layout and fluff is great in runequest, but for homebrew Mythras is a better. My only gripe is overall too many 'mythic' books on our world based fantasy(not my thing) Mythic Britain, Mythic Constantanople, Mythic Egypt etc. Monster Island is a very good sourcebook for mythras, that isn't just a bestiary. Hope this was sorta helpful.
I'm a RQ fan since RQ2 from the mid '80s. This new RQG is definately the best presented version of RQ, but perhaps the most cumbersome. As far as game mechanics goes, Mythras is very similar to RQ, yet just seems to work much smoother in my opinion, whilst at the same time having more colourful combat options. Mythras definately wins for me in terms of game mechanics, yet Chaosium's current portrayal of Glorantha in these new products is very cool. I intend to use the RQG products with the Mythras Core Rules, because there is close compatability between stat blocks, magic, and whatnot. It's very easy to import Glorantha to the Mythras rules. Just add three Rune Passions during Mythras character generation, and these can be used as Augments, Lores, and Magic Rolls for Rune Magic (Theisism). Done. Everything else fits, and Mythras is good to go in Glorantha.
I'm enjoying Runequest, but I'm running it and haven't really ever been a player in a Runequest combat. I feel it would really help me as a GM to have experienced how combat feels as a player. Very nice review and I agree with some of your criticisms and some of my players have felt a bit overwhelmed by some of it as well. The spirit world is very intriguing to me as well, but I am still a bit confusing for me. Thanks for the great review.
Going by the comments this video appears to have put off a fair number of folks due to the rules being complex. This is a shame as the setting of Glorantha, all the pre-gens and the adventures in this box are great ,but those reservations are unfortunately well founded. I am currently running this game and I must admit it has been a big time investment to get it to the table. Quite why Chaosium didn't streamline this game in a similar way to Call of Cthulhu 7e I do not know, I think it's a mistake that they kept so much old baggage in this system. Utimately though, the setting and the depth of this game is mind blowing and I am hooked, this is a game I want to keep playing for the long run,
And can easily be swapped out to OpenQuest with almost no effort (the systems share probably 90% of their rules) just making a few magic adjustments that deal with those different mechanics
@@himurogentoku7117 my understanding is that this will be an update of the BRP book from 2005ish which was itself an update on the OG BRP from the 80s. If it is, it will be essentially a general use version of the rules that underlie RuneQuest, Call of Cthulhu, etc. Even Pendragon basically uses the same system. But it will be the core rules they all share and then the extra bits and bobs like sanity and strike ranks that you can use to customize it. So, basically similar to GURPS or Hero System (or FATE or a lesser extent, PbtA). So, tl:dr, yes it should, because it's like a roll your own version of the same rules
Just thought I check this here, dont think I saw it yet. (I am running a group for it currently), and yeah late to it, but nontheless to give critique or rather explain things that the starter set doesnt: -Of course, just the starter set - but rolls are pretty forward. you know a 100 is always a fumble, and 96-99 can be, which you can look up quickely. same for crit - always 1 and checking for higher values. special... well, same. the game emphasise that its okay to look it up, and as GM i do that quick and on we go, takes 3 seconds. same for resistance table. -and no, augmenting etc makes NOT for long turns. in most cases you augment with a passion or rune, which are few or a very fitting/related skill. there are not endless options, the GM has the last word and can suggest things based on the skill. in combat its a nobrainer suggesting the air rune for example. I dont know why it would take long? its 2 rolls just for a skill. and an augment holds for a scene and u cant change it than and only works for related stuff. we usely dont retry stuff unless really wanted. - drive chariot is a profession skill. runequest lists almost all possible skills without every character even knowing it. like this one, only chariot drivers will know it, unless trained. its a flavour of the world. those drivers are mainly part of one culture. many things make perfect sense in the world, a starter set just cant give justice conveying why - why is speaking ur own language oddly specific too u?! language barriers are a thing in glorantha. and speak other language is the term for others than your mother tongue... - again, as a farmer the skill Farm is your professional skill. in runequest, you are not an adventurer fulltime, you do it for your community. most of the time u do ur job and at the end of the year that skill decides if u did well and can keep ur standard of living. - peaceful cut, once again tied to a culture and history. it makes sure that the souls of butchered animals go well into afterlife and will be only a thing to Waha cultists in Prax and is VERY important to socio-cultural and religious world of them. so no, cant be put in another skill. not all skills are for everyone - note how each character will have some with 0 in it. - sense assassin is unique to Humakt cultists, only they get it - even says so. it has that one function, its not related to perception skills. - I dont get why its hard for u to differentiate conceal and sleight, it literally says there. conceal: hide things, sleight: pickpocket etc - It doesnt say anything about "if u want to improve the skill" in the starter set , it states that you can choose to either roll for it or add a flat amount. dont remember it from the core, but if: you might not want to improve a rune (that changes ur gameplay and character) or a passion - yeah it doesnt state, but just for info: man and beast are condition runes technically - you fell for the trap that many newbies think of strike rank - its neither complex nor difficult. a break down of how every combat runs: GM asks every player what they want to do in battle, which determines their SR. (dex+siz+SR weapon in melee, dex + weapon SR in ranges, dex + spell SR for spirit magic, rune magic is instantly - those values never change and everyone has only a handful of spells and points to spend on them) I than slot them into the right SR, with modifiers if needed, same for enemies I narrate whats happening and when its your turn: roll if succeed. roll for location if applicable. roll for damage. state what u do next and i slot it again, repeat til combat is over. - yes, it is a deadly game, cause it lives from realism there. you still can mitigate by spells, being good in combat or tactical smart. but it also emphasises that combat is only done when needed and most intelligent foes flee rather before. plus: bandits and enemy groups capture u rather alive to ransom u back (which depends on valueable u r to ur clan or tribe or temple) - spirit magic is not minor, just more common as everyone has it. its easier to learn and uses rechargeable magic points. "low powered cantrips" is the understatement of the year. just look at fanaticism or befuddle. those can decide over life and death! of course there are many more ( if you have a shaman that can learn and use all, many spirits bound to fight for them or can go into the spirit world to mess with ur soul, u become a powerhouse. given, its a profession (and specialisation) - ah u mention it later kinda) - also your rune spell options are not just limited by cost, but foremost to which u have access to, to begin with. that is decided by your cult, which offers only a selection from which u pick starting ones. and than it makes sense to have a fitting strong rune (GM tip: thats why i always ask for cult, rune and profession FIRST against the given order of it. those have the biggest impact and help players to choose what they like and already form a personality) - yeah someone needs to know the spells or pay at a temple or roll on divine intervention - maybe you are important enough to your god and even after death doesnt need to be the end - wait, did u read the core? that it should all make more sense to you - the rules are very exact in what they do and offer your for that easy usable tables. and u need max 4 (resistance, ability, attack/parry, dodge). the ability table is even the least problematic with the easiest rules to memorise - how is that cumbersome?! instead you could say that its not something for people who want exactly zero tables or dont wanna memorise such complex rules, thats fair - again, strike ranks are NOT a barrier for beginners. I explained it to my whole group, among them a bloody beginner, and after one example they got it. you dont have to decide turn order, the strike ranks do it for you! you just choose what u wanna do and plug in your values, done! i dont even know what one could critique instead here or chose instead, so dunno what to recommend there - the skill list is not awkward, as even the starter set explains it enough to make sense, literally what you highlighted... you could instead say how it puts it already here, where newbies might stumble over it - yeah creation it lacks, but given that is quite indepth in that edition and would explode the limits of the box. but they could have given a tease. i like your reviews normally, but that one sounded way awkward on the con side, see above. if it means u read the core, than I would love to see a video about that (and you could address those points) just irked me to write this, cause i appreciate your input. and sorry if some sentences end up weird, pretty tired when i wrote this.
I bought the 7th edition collector's edition with the 3 books, map, etc. I opened in excitement and started to read, saw all of the arbitrary stuff, went, "Nope!" closed the books and haven't touched them since. I'll keep it as a collector's item.
17:42 The "Ability Results Table" is not needed at all. A Critical is 1/20th of your ability: A Special is 1/10th of your Ability. A Success is every other roll under your Ability score. A Failure is every roll above your ability score (that isn´t a fumble). - Fumble is 1/20th of your chance o fail. The "Resistance Table" is also not needed et all: The chance of a characteristic to overcome another characteristic with the same numeral value is always 50%. Each point better ads another 5%, each point worse substracts 5%. "Attack and Parry Results" will be needed as a reference for specail outcomes (involving Criticals or Fumbles), everything else is memorized very fast after very few fights. The "Strike Rank Tracker" is very useful. But you also can keep track of Strike Ranks by the GM simply use a D12, which he starts at one, and counts up, as he moves the dice around. And keep in mind: A fight will mostly run only one to six combat rounds --> Yes, RuneQuest combat is very deadly! The "Skill List" makes perfect sense if you dive deeper into Gloranthan lore, and the full rules. Lack of Character Creation rules: Since Glorantha has SO MANY regions, and cults it had to be limited, but the 14 (FOURTEEN!) Pregenerated Characters give a good overview of what kind of characters can be played.
Those dice are pretty sweet but I have a hard enough time seeing the numbers on marbled or speckled dice let alone these. Unfortunately, I don't buy items to just sit my shelf.
@Dave Thaumavore RPG Reviews I might someday publish it for people to have fun with it too. Gotta test it further, though. Just finished the "test drive" with the players learning the system while escaping an undead ridden city. They come from D&D, so they just ran straight to the mobs and almost died. So first I'm using npcs to teach them the importance of strategy and common sense. As the game goes, I'll make any adjustments needed. That aside, it's being super fun and the pace is flowing absurdly well.
Yeah, the rules can be a bit forbidding. It's worth mentioning that Glorantha can also be explored through the much more narrativist 'HeroQuest - Glorantha'.
Kinda a missed opportunity to align with the changes made in the 7th edition of Call of Cthulhu. But maybe I'm wrong. The new edition is gorgeous though
Beautiful art, evocative and unique setting, but mechanics that just refuse to let go of the past. I still love it though. (And yeah, I know Mythras is a thing but Glorantha is bae)
sense assassin is a supernatural ability. its like that bullshit samurai ability where the hero just KNOWS someone is planning to attack because of auras or some shit
The way you presented some of the elements to the starter set seemed pretty unfair when compared to how those elements play out in actual games. Most of the extra elements like tables are meant to be crutches for new players lacking in rules confidence, but the actual rules behind them are very simple. You make out like every game of runequest has players looking through lookup matrices when the rules behind each of matrices are very simple. E.g. Contested rolls: add 5% edge for every characteristic point you have more than the other person Skill success: roll under skill to succeed, if you are under 1/5 of skill thats special success, if you are under 1/20 of skill thats critical success (these numbers are so low that you usually know without even having to do maths) Even with strike ranks, you say that you need to recalculate each turn, but strike rank almost never gets calculated: you choose which weapon you want to use, and you use the strike rank that you have pre-calculated on the sheet. That's why the sheet has SR modifiers, because usually you don't calculate, but sometimes you need to add something. I don't know if this depiction came from a lack of experience with the system, but I thought I'd put these things in context of what the rules are, vs. the aids they've put in.
1) RQ isn't *that difficult* to actually play. Combats tend to go much quicker than the intensive dice-grinding spectacles that D&D games often turn into. 2) Fair enough- RQ isn't going to be everyone's cup of tea. But really- there seems to be a serious amount of prejudice these days against having *any kind of rules at all*. But if the constant screaming for 'Rules Light' makes your stomach turn, RQ is something to look into.
Sorry but I disagreee with so many of your points here in this video. Here is just one issue I had. The rules booklet's guides and tables allow for quick reference and are laid out very well for ease of use. It allows for quick learning over time and does not require memorisation as they are provided for the players at the table and not hidden behind a GM's screen. While it looks like you are doing separate videos for each of the books in this starter set. You might have wanted to talk about the SoloQuest when speaking about the rules booklet. The SoloQuest goes through the rules in a play as you go style which teaches the rules and setting of the game in a fun choose your own adventure way. It is also strongly recommended that all players and keeper does this before playing for the first time. I will also note that character creation is not included in the starter set, because it is a starter set. Not ever beginner box/starter set has character creation rules included. They are focused on getting players up and running and into their world through a basic or condensed rules. Character creation in the full rules spans some 61 pages and is deeply extensive, while being totally unnesisary here. Instead of this, Chasium has provided 14 premade characters which is far more than any other beginner box/starter set on the market. And each of these characters are written into the adventures so that they each have abilities/skills/power etc which can turn encounters/investigations.
Hey Dave! Do me a favor! In your thumbnails, but some identifying symbol so we know it's one of your videos. I have come close to missing the last few because I couldn't tell they were from you.
I love the setting of Glorantha but I hate it’s archaic rules. Particularly when so much of the game is about roleplaying and creating a world that feels at once real and mythical, where magic and the Gods are real and anything can happen. IMO this game would be suited really well by a system like PbtA
Yeah, where the rules take a back seat and let the setting shine. I agree. I just got the feeling that the rules were tailored to a very specific kind of gamer who got their start in the 80s and don’t really want to let go of specificity.
Mythras is my preferable set of BRP mechanics, it is pretty much RQ but just does the game mechanics slightly better IMO. However Chaosium is presenting Glorantha really well with these new RQG books!
I've heard of Rune Quest for years but never played it. It's sad to see such nice components (all the layout, design, and components look top notch) with such an overly clumsy approach to role-playing. To me...role-playing should be extremely light on rules. I cut my teeth playing Palladium games...mainly by skipping about 60% of the rules and we had a great time and the games worked just fine without so much nonsense. While I don't mind specific skills...they're just definitely just padding pages at that point. I guess I just wonder if you could play this game...by skipping all the tables, and simply doing the old "That sounds difficult, give me a Strength test at -10%" approaches. I dislike heavy-magic centered worlds so this is all a moot point to me, but I'm always enthusiastic to see any non-D&D stuff get coverage.
Late answer I know, but you can ditch most of the tables once you get more confident with the rules. Most of them are just included to help new players. It's also a system that sounds clunky and super rules heavy on paper but plays surprisingly intuitive and fast. You have to put in the work and learn the rules tough. Runequest also does not restrict role-playing with overboarding rules. Quite the opposite. Roleplaying is extremely rewarding due to rune affinities, you cult, time between adventures (which is exclusively roleplaying, nothing else), and other fun elements. So yeah, if you are mildly interested in the setting I can recommend the game to you. Chaosium also really put in the work with all the supplements they released so far. Great stuff.
I wanted to love this. The art and maps are amazing. But, two things put me off. The rules, as you say. It is very disappointing that they didn’t take the opportunity to modernize this, at least to the latest version of BRP as used in CoC 7th ed. Secondly, the way the world works with every farmer having access to magic, and every tree having a spirit… it just doesn’t click, for me.
This game sounds annoying complex. I'm all for complex rules, but only when it adds to the fun. A lot of this seems like unnecessary bookkeeping, and a whole lot of unrecognizable graphs and charts.
Oh but it does. I really don't understand how people come to the conclusion that the game doesn't work. There are a few core mechanics that you need to learn and understand. The game plays absolutely smooth when you put in a bit of work.
Always wanted to play Runequest just to say I've played Runequest... i've just signed up to a 4hr in-person one-shot... i'm worried after watching this .... but still excited strangely
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Several years ago, long before the Hasbro bullshit, I was in NYC shopping at a gamestore, The Complete Strategist. Another customer asked the store clerk if he could help him find a rpg to learn to play. The clerk clarified, asking, "You mean you've never even played Dungeons & Dragons?" The customer replied "No." The clerk said "Good, you haven't developed any bad habits.Let me show you Runequest."
That's a true story.
I witnessed the same thing; except fortunately the guy that was playing in the store was playing Dungeon Fantasy RPG (Powered by GURPS). I had the old box set of Runequest back in the 80s, but never could (as a 12 year old kid) figure out how to use the magic system, so never got around to playing it. I'd love it if they'd reprint that like they did the Call of Cthulu.
I was just there today and grabbed a bunch of Runequest books, crazy world.
@@slaapliedjeThey did!
@evanhughes7609 I bought the classic book, I have not seen where they did the full box set, I may need to go looking... the old box sets from Avalon Hill bring back some awesome memories!
I've played RuneQuest for many years, although some of the newer elements are unknown to me. I think as a TTRPG it works really well when you only have a small number of players. The reason is, something like D&D is designed around the idea that you take damage, and you need to outheal or outdamage the damage. A single player in D&D will quickly die because it's hard to avoid taking damage - you need some party members to do actions other than just swinging a weapon. RuneQuest makes taking damage more impactful, but it gives the characters more ways to avoid damage. You get hit less often, but when you do it is more of a big deal. It's more realistic in the sense that a powerful character avoids more damage, rather than the D&D way where you take more damage but soak it up. In RuneQuest, combat is slower and more tactical. It wouldn't work with a large group because it would take too long, although there are many "homebrew" rules to speed up play. It's worth noting that many of the tables you really don't need once you have a bit of experience or a passing amount of arithmetic capability. I've never met anyone who uses all the rules anyway - you can ditch a lot of the more noodly stuff quite easily.
Yeah if I ever played it I would probably bypass a few of the finicky mechanics right out of the gate.
@@DaveThaumavore I think all long-lived game systems become more rules heavy because players request more clarifications. In the early RuneQuest (and Call of Cthulhu), a lot of the stuff about critical rolls was fairly vague, along the lines of "If someone gets a particularly good roll, like under 20% of the threshold, then extra stuff might happen, DM's discretion." That's how we play it, and I think the creators want that - they just add rules because people want them but they don't expect everyone to use all of them. Same with skills, they keep adding new ones when what they used to do was have some blank rows where they said the DM could add new ones that come up during play. The problem with this is that you can get odd situations such as someone who is a master of, say, herbalism, but knows zero alchemy, or a katana expert who does not know which end of a regular sword is which. You also get people arguing about whether skill X or skill Y covers a situation. Overall, your instinct to cut down the skills is the correct one, and many people do. The core of RuneQuest is very good though, for people who want a "more realistic" system. But it's telling that a lot of people prefer playing "Pulp Cthulhu", which has streamlined rules, to "Call of Cthulhu".
BTW, the Passion system comes from Pendragon, Greg Stafford's other game (and arguably his masterpiece)
For what it’s worth, combat is not generally as long as in D&D. I find that most combat ends when decisive hits are made somewhere around round 2 to 4. A big hit tends to take an opponent or adventurer out due to everyone’s low HP.
I’ve been playing with some newbies and gamers with familiarity with Call of Cthulhu, and we haven’t run into any truly grinding moments. When we go back to Call of Cthulhu, some of the crunchiness is missed from time to time.
The big asks for RQG: 1. The GM needs to know the rules really well. 2. Everyone needs to roll all the applicable dice at once: when attacking, roll your attack percentile dice, your hit location D20, and your weapon damage dice all at once. The opponent dodging or parrying needs to do the same. It cuts down on waiting for all the pieces to be rolled, and if you don’t apply any damage, no big deal, just ignore those dice. 3. Use those wild and weird skills that your adventurer has: the character creation gave them to you for a reason!
One small addendum: Peaceful Cut has even come up more than once in our current campaign!
Just a few misunderstandings in covering the skills and abilities. The Crit is one twentieth of your skill, a special is one fifth. You don't need the table. For the resistance table, it's take the difference between the 2 values, multiply by 5 and that either adds or comes off 50%. Neither of these are difficult and can be picked up very quickly. Also, peaceful cut is pretty important for a hunter trying to live in harmony with the world (because it's possible that the ghost of the deer could come and hunt you down if you didn't properly guide it into the afterlife). And character creation isn't in the book because it's a starter set and cost needs to be kept down. Understand, it's a ton in a box for not much money. There is only so much room available in a starter set. There's also a basic set of character creation rules online on the new wiki, I believe.
Yup. At its core it’s utterly simple and elegant.
I run 3rd edition. I’m guessing dodge vs attack is unchanged: equal or better success is a succesful dodge. So that shouldn’t be too hard as well.
Yeah, 1/20 is as easy as dividing by 10 and then dividing again by 2.
1/5 will be diving by 10 and multiplying by 2. Easy, for me at least....😅
Yeah, 1/20 is as easy as dividing by 10 and then dividing again by 2.
1/5 will be diving by 10 and multiplying by 2. Easy, for me at least....😅
A good reply, but I must agree with the reviewer, character generation is of course something that *should* be included in a starter box, AND many of the skills are just too specific and many, many of them will probably be used very seldomly.
Years of playing BRP has taught me that the resistance table isn't really needed. It's math.
([Active Characteristic * 5] - [Passive Charactisc * 5]) +50 = Chance of Success in %.
So, in the example in the video, ([15 * 5] - [11 * 5]) + 50 = (75 - 55) + 50% = 20 + 50 = 70.
You can also just start with the 50% baseline, and then add (for stronger Active) or subtract (for stronger Passive) 5% per point of difference. So, say Active is a piddly 7, while Passive is a 16. That is a 9 difference in favor of the Passive. So, subtract 5% * 9 from 50% base, for total of 5% chance of success.
That said, if you have a GM screen, the table is a lot faster to just look up unless you are a natural math wiz. But there is a formula.
Great comment. Thanks.
Yep, the Resistance Table for me was one of the less fiddly mechanics systems. The breakdown you listed is exactly why. It's rather straightforward.
Or just used Opposed Rolls ...
The explanation in the book actually makes it more computationally complex than it needs to be.
All you need to do is:
Success is rolling under = 5*(Active char - passive char) +50
So it becomes something like
= 5*(15-13) + 50
= 5*2 + 50
= 10 + 50
= 60
Instead of multiplying two separate values and then subtracting them. Takes an extra step out of the equation.
I think the designers were not the best at layout and concise language. I've got the core rulebook and there are some things like that in there - I saw three 2-column tables for values which could have been just a single table of 4 columns, as the first column was repeated for each table.
It's things like that which drag down the presentation of this sytem for me and sometimes makes it more convoluted than it needs to be.
Always good to see RQ get some coverage.
My group is streaming a RuneQuest campaign right now and the worldbuilding is CRAZY deep, and so cool. I hope we're doing it justice, it's a lot! The Starter Set is insane value, though, and I plan to do the Solo Quest as a podcast when we get a bit further into the campaign (because it contains spoilers for Six Seasons in Sartar). Great work on this video!
Six Seasons is sick... I can't wait to get back around to Glorantha to spring that one on my players
Thanks for your awesome mention Dave! Whoever wants to elevate their RPGs experience, happy to welcome you all at our Ember Dice Kickstarter ! :)
I’m glad you did this as I was curious what Runequest was like. There are a few things I like but overall it seems cumbersome and complicated just to be so.
A fair criticism, but it's not just for complexity's sake. Rather, it's a legacy of being a very old system. Back then, it was revolutionary. Now it services its fan base, but lacks more modernized design sensibilities. Much like D&D, in fact.
Its a d100 system. It runs entirely different. I don't like modern design because I hate dice pools and enjoy the fiddily bits they seem to want to throw away. Think of it this way. Your stats say X percentager, you need to roll under that. If you do well or exceptionally well you get special features and mechanics. If you can roll 2 D10 and decide the number is lower or higher than your skill, you can play this game. Though there is some work for your GM to take care of the mechanics.
As I mentioned upthread. My grandkids, preteens, figured it out very quickly because all they had to do was roll under their skill number. Its actually way more complicated to run any D20 system. Feats, ancestry bonues, position, skill bonus, skill augment, help a friend. +1,+1-2+1+1-1....lots to account for without sliding players and positioning. I also prefre TOTM over battlemaps.
@@thorinbanei dont Think OP thought the d100 part was the cumbersome bit… I know I didn’t… it was all the other parts
@@guyfawkes8873 perhaps but once your character is made, which is just as or more complicated in many other games, its pretty simple system. Compare it to some of the more popular ones and its not bad. Combat tracking with ranks is probably the worst parts, but Mythras which is RQ6, does it pretty well without strike ranks.
@@thorinbane I’m the last one to defend D&D, but a lot of the +1/+1/-1/+1 fiddliness you described has been done away with, thanks to Proficiency and Advantage/Disadvantage since the dawn of 5E nearly a decade ago.
I also agree with the other commenter: the d100 system is not necessarily the burdensome point of Runequest (from the outside looking in), so much as everything else that surrounds that.
I played RQ for a few years in the 1980s, it was my first RPG, and the only fantasy RPG I liked. To be honest I don't think we ever calculated Strike Rank correctly in our games (we were all young teens), from memory we just used Dex as turn order. I didn't like the Resistance table but as others have pointed out, the calculation is done fairly easily as mental arithmetic. Runes and Passions were not in earlier editions, neither was any of the skill augmenting, but most of the rules seen here are straight from RQ2, which released 1980(?). Games Workshop re-published it in the UK which is where I came across it. At the time Games Workshop promoted RuneQuest strongly in White Dwarf magazine, especially after they lost the D&D licence from TSR! The new RQ in Glorantha looks very nice production-wise but it is surprisingly conservative in its approach to the rules. My guess is the owners are more terrified of annoying the older fanbase than they are interested in attracting new players.
I got drawn back into RPGs by RuneQuest 6 (2012?), which was the first decent edition of RQ since RQ3, which was about 1984. RQ6 continues in the form of Mythras, which resolves a lot of the cruft in the older RQ rules - there are no strike ranks, the resistance table is removed in favour of Opposed Rolls. The skills were rationalised so for example, the three (!) different perception skills are combined into one, Perception skill. Combat skills for different weapons are combined into a single Combat Style skill, and so on. There are a number of other improvements and 'modernisation' of the rules in RQ6/Mythras, particularly with combat, but it also does a good job at revising most elements across the system. It is *still* a bit too complex for me in practice, although the core of Mythras is a very good take on the RuneQuest system.
RuneQuest 3rd edition was my intro into full-on campaign length roleplaying and I loved the game for the amazing lore and the stories my gaming group created over the years in Glorantha. The rules were definitely a bit chunky, but I personally found them much more approachable than D&D's rules of the same era. Says a lot that despite the rules, the game can still hold its own in the modern era. There is amazing mythology and world building to be had!
I really liked that with RQ 3rd Edition, it removed the Glorantha world and gave you a more flexible base setting that you could more easily adapt to your own setting. Love the Glorantha setting, to read but not so much to run.
Your reviews continue to be the best in all of youtube. Thank you!
Thanks for saying so!
Totally agree!
After cutting my teeth on D&D my friends and I were into Stormbringer, Elfquest, RuneQuest and Call of Cthulhu. All of these games used what is now called the "Basic Roleplaying" engine from Chaosium. We had great fun with these systems and from what I remember, the overhead of character creation made the base game and combat move faster than it did for us in D&D.
This, while char creation take a bit more, the rolls are super simple afterwards. I think of it this way, characters are front loaded in skill based games and backloaded with d20 systems. You are always trying to figure out feats, bonus abilities, magic items from the "magic vendor" and need to have a lot of fiddily bits once your guy is built. While in skill based games, once your char is made its a lot less of that. Combat is a lot quicker too. You don't hit as often, but when you do it matters. Not just a mountain of HP to kill 2 hours whittling down.
Stormbringer 1st/2nd editions are my all-time favorite of all the Chaosium games. Please locate the "Sorcerer's Isle" mini-campaign in the 2nd Companion for the game, and run it - it's the best.
I love Runequest and the world of Glorantha. The d100 mechanics are easy to use and understand. Yes, combat is quite mechanical. BUT...since combat is also extremely lethal for PCs, I'm totally fine with some complexity there. Decisions really should matter. Compare that with D&D 5e combat which can drag on for a very long time without that level of PC lethality. On a side note, if you like Glorantha but want to stick to "modern d20" mechanics, I'd recommend checking out 13th Age Glorantha.
Thanks for this compact overview!
It's indeed a game where the "simplified" rules still reflect more than 40 years of gaming history. It was especially designed to be different from D&D, and as such it MUST be strange to some who have played D&D before. The combat system was developed by people who actually did real-life combat with ancient weapons. IMHO that's the main reason for such a detailed and deadly system. I would just leave the strike rank rules aside for beginners.
The world of Glorantha is sooo deep, you can literally spend years discovering it, and the different versions of it.
I really enjoyed playing the introductory choose-your-own-path adventure, as it breaks down the rules into something usable and fun.
All in all, I would say the Starter Set does a really good job in introducing new players to this wonderful setting.
Man, I love BRP as a system. In spite of owning a copy of the Avalon Hill version for years and raiding the monsters for my BRP games, I've never really dug into Glorantha until recently. I do think the 7th Ed rules are a bit noodley (compared to straight BRP or Call of Cthulhu), but I'm still hoping to bring it to the table at some point.
At its heart it’s a straight forward roll under % system. There are a few exceptions to results with critical, special, fumbles but that adds the fun/colour to play.
I’ve never found strike ranks a difficult concept as its all worked out and written down on the character sheet before hand. Any modifiers for exceptions( things like surprise) being accounted for easily during play.
I think it is a lot easier in play then it perhaps looks on paper. The gritty combat is always exciting and thrilling, never a bore.
I actually like the pre-made characters. They have backstory and personality. Honestly, I had an opposite and worse situation. Our DM told us we will create characters from the core book. I ended up with some Farmer who worship Humakt (God of Truth and Death) and whose father and grandfather died in early age. My whole doomer-style roleplay was kinda bad, cause I didn''t understand my character and his role in this world. And yeah, my PC also died in early age.
I recently delve into Runequest Glorantha by Chaosium too, Dave. Incredible in depth game and world. I love it. I highly recommend it, everyone.
Thank you so much for the review as always, Dave!
You describe Chaosium's products better than Chaosium! Their page tells me almost nothing about any game they sell, just its design goals
I played this game for a year or so, and run a Solo Campaign. I can say, I need a more streamlined game for my Gloranthan experience.
But, damnit, if the lore and the worldbuilding doesnt keep drawing me in. Once the God Books, GM Book and Sartar Book hits, I'll be golden.
I am sure you know of Heroquest, its a much more rule light game set in the same setting. The sad thing is, since hasbro republished the Heroquest board game, chaosium had to cancel permanently any books for that game and they are now all permanently out of print and not available legally anywhere.
@@Infyra I do. The QuestWorlds SRD is available. But that is too much in the *other* ditch
I've been playing this for a while and you quickly get a feel for specials, crits and fumbles. The table makes it look way more convoluted than it actually is. Have to admit that I swapped out the resistance tables in favour of the parry system. Parry system is yet another thing that looks way more complicated on paper than it actually is.
We switched from D&D to play RQ 2ed ed then moved on to Avalon Hill RQ.
I am now running Runequest Gloranthera. The world is very complete with rich history, and very imersive.
I am forcing the rules into my own world with a little struggling.
Runequrst Gloranthera is a great game to start, but I prefer the older edition if you want to make your own world.
Either way, the system is very fun and enjoyable. I like the D100 mechanic a lot, and find skill raising is more satisfying than leveling in D&D
I think it's "Glorantha", but otherwise I really love what you're telling from your experiences here!
This is hands down the best ttrpg game mechanics explanation and overlook that I have ever watched! Incredible. You, the owner of this channel, in my view explain things very pedagogically, and in an interesting way. You also keep a good eye on the parts that are going to be challenging for beginners, which is extremely important! Many thanks for this general breakdown of the rules mechanics of RQ. I am definitely watching more of you videos! //Erik Brickman, Sweden.
Love the Rune quest setting but I am a little apprehensive about running it rn because of the rule set and magic system. I have bought all the books and starter sets though. One of these days I’ll get to it. With the season system and generational play, I can see running a really in-depth game.
The game lore is so rich and deep, If you find your way into it, Glorantha can keep you occupied for literally years and years. The setting is awesome, and the game mechanics make a great deal of sense, once you become familiar with what the game is going for. Which is games where characters are tied to a community and are the heroes of that community. I have recently introduced many players to the game and the game lore and style of play and storytelling, blows them away.
RuneQuest is a cool system that I've always wanted to play but never had the chance. As someone who's only read the rules for it & based on your description, I think there's a lot of things that the 6th edition by Design Mechanism did better than than this one. Strangely, they never had the chance to release the Glorantha setting book & turned it into a generic system called Mythras when they lost the license.
Ah, I didn’t know the background to Mythras. That’s interesting.
@@DaveThaumavore It's well worth looking at Mythras, and the Classic Fantasy add-on that reintroduces some class-based mechanics so you can get your D&D fix using the d100 rules.
Too bad the Design Mechanisms folks are soo stubborn about using a bad font/type for their books. Soo much so that I feel that they're unusable. Very eye fatiguing and just hard to read. :(
@@Acmegamer I never thought the font was unreadable. Maybe not super stylish, but certainly usable.
@@Acmegamer The font weight isn't as heavy as some other books but I, personally, haven't had a problem with it. Some of the table text can be quite small though, and their panelled text could benefit from a lighter background, so I can see why some people might have trouble.
Runequest is a classic. Although the world is a bit too high-magic for my usual tastes these days. The slipcase set is quite beautiful. Would also recommend, for a less crunchy and more easily understandable Bronze Age fantasy setting, the 'Jackals' rpg from Osprey. It's based in the same d100 system of RQ, but adds some interesting bits and is less crunch overall. There are also other versions divorced from the Glorantha setting, such as OpenQuest and Mythras, for creating your own. Lots of options.
Very cool. I'll track down those games.
Jackals is incredible too. I love many RPGs from Osprey.
@@himurogentoku7117the guy who writes Jackals has a RUclips channel and one of their long running playlists is discussions of Glorantha lore :D. Also, Jackals is based on OpenQuest, which is an OSR cousin system to RuneQuest which is a lot simpler. I play Glorantha with OpenQuest, simply reworking the spells a bit and adding in the Rune system. Pretty easy to do on the fly tbh
@@jasonGamesMaster - Ah, yes. OpenQuest is a great version, cut down to be more manageable crunch-wise yet keeping the same fantasy style. Definitely a recommend on that one too.
it looks challenging, but also awesome. I've heard of runequest back in the days, but only had access to DnD. Looking back, I think Chaosium was way ahead of its competition, and this would have been much more my kind of game. So it's going on the wishlist. :P
Honestly, the tables aren't really necessary; they're just there so you can look at a glance instead of doing division. If you're fine with doing basic arithmetic in your head, resistance rolls are basically 10 + active stat - passive stat, all multiplied by 5. To work out what you need for a special success, you just divide the number you're rolling against by 5. For a critical, divide by 20. Again, this is basic arithmetic that they provide a chart for as an option. The chart for combat results is likewise entirely optional.
Edit: I will note though that I would prefer more starter sets include rules for creating your own characters.
I've been running the game off and on since the early 80's. 2nd. Ed is my preferred edition to use. Thank you Dave for this video. ❤
That’s incredible!
@@DaveThaumavore I really love the system because of the added danger it has. Makes the players really think twice before the go into combat mode and also helps them find other alternatives besides violence, which is more realistic in my opinion.
@@shaunhall960 what are the big differences between 2e and 7e rules?
@@DaveThaumavore I'll have to get back to you on that as I'm not up on 7e.
@@DaveThaumavore Hey Dave I just wanted to get back with you as I'm not going to check out 7e because I like what I have now and it works for me. As for other versions of the game Avalon Hill picked up the IP and I was not really impressed with it back in the day. They added sorcery and I think the magic was way too powerful and it really changed the flavor of the game. I'm glad they reprinted the 2nd edition rules.
I love RQ, been a fan of it since late 1978. My issue was always the strike rank system. I felt that it was easier to work with when their Stormbringer rpg came out back in 1981. What we tended to do with use a version of Stormbringer's lighter melee round mechanics. Later on when BRP (decades later) was released they had a lot of options to make RQ combat lighter. Personally I'd love to meld the combat options of GURPS combat with the rest of RQ instead of using RQ's combat SR etc system. We played 1st and 2nd edition RQ with our own world setting back in 78 to 82-ish. It was much more fun having a skills/attribute base rpg versus the mess that was DnD and then 1st edition AD&D at that time. That said once GURPS 1st/2nd edition (1986/87) came out I moved my whole campaign setting to that because less tied to the bronze age and I had more control and options for how I wanted my game to play. In the end I have this fondness for RQ but I don't tend to run it. I collect it still, because the RQG material is stunning and great to read through though. :)
I still have my first copy of RuneQuest which was the boxed set published by Avalon Hill, the second RuneQuest image shown in the video.
I like long skill lists, it makes sense in skill based systems. Conceal is for large objects(hiding a cart ), slight is more for palming or small objects. I feel like dave comes from a very D&D centric background. Skill based systems seem cumbersome, but they are far simplier for new players that are D&D conditioned to DC's.
My 9,11 and 13 year old grandkids picked up on it easily on session 1. They had issues with character gen because of length. The combat is way more interesting and quick overall. You don't just pound each other for HP blocks. Mythras has another version without strike ranks and it works well.
Very good video, describes very well the pros and cons as well. I, myself had the same feeling about complexity of the rules but the setting drew me in and I came to love the tactical aspects of the rules in the end.
Amazingly thorough as always. I'm curious as to how this compares to Mythras, which as I understand it, was made by some of the original creators of Runequest (who no longer hold the license to the name).
Very similar, but Mythras gets rid of the strike ranks and has a better action economy. Its actually the 6th edition creators. Not sure their involvement with the originals, but Mythras is QR6e with a few tweaks and no glorantha. The consensus is if you like Glorantha play runequest, if you want a more generic setting play mythras(or brp) M-Space is a traveller like version of mythras. They have several mythras based books like Luther Arkwright which is a spy like system and based in a sorta victorian world and after the vampire wars which is WoD like.
Mythras has a great magic subsystem. Runequest EVERYTHING is magic and mostly baked in. Mythras has 5 types of magic, animism, folk, sorcery, mysticism and theism. I think the layout and fluff is great in runequest, but for homebrew Mythras is a better. My only gripe is overall too many 'mythic' books on our world based fantasy(not my thing) Mythic Britain, Mythic Constantanople, Mythic Egypt etc. Monster Island is a very good sourcebook for mythras, that isn't just a bestiary. Hope this was sorta helpful.
I'm a RQ fan since RQ2 from the mid '80s. This new RQG is definately the best presented version of RQ, but perhaps the most cumbersome. As far as game mechanics goes, Mythras is very similar to RQ, yet just seems to work much smoother in my opinion, whilst at the same time having more colourful combat options.
Mythras definately wins for me in terms of game mechanics, yet Chaosium's current portrayal of Glorantha in these new products is very cool.
I intend to use the RQG products with the Mythras Core Rules, because there is close compatability between stat blocks, magic, and whatnot.
It's very easy to import Glorantha to the Mythras rules. Just add three Rune Passions during Mythras character generation, and these can be used as Augments, Lores, and Magic Rolls for Rune Magic (Theisism). Done. Everything else fits, and Mythras is good to go in Glorantha.
I'm enjoying Runequest, but I'm running it and haven't really ever been a player in a Runequest combat. I feel it would really help me as a GM to have experienced how combat feels as a player. Very nice review and I agree with some of your criticisms and some of my players have felt a bit overwhelmed by some of it as well. The spirit world is very intriguing to me as well, but I am still a bit confusing for me. Thanks for the great review.
Funny how it works that way.
Going by the comments this video appears to have put off a fair number of folks due to the rules being complex. This is a shame as the setting of Glorantha, all the pre-gens and the adventures in this box are great ,but those reservations are unfortunately well founded. I am currently running this game and I must admit it has been a big time investment to get it to the table. Quite why Chaosium didn't streamline this game in a similar way to Call of Cthulhu 7e I do not know, I think it's a mistake that they kept so much old baggage in this system. Utimately though, the setting and the depth of this game is mind blowing and I am hooked, this is a game I want to keep playing for the long run,
You are right Dave, the mechanics are a bit hefty but they are certainly in theme with the beautiful world.
And can easily be swapped out to OpenQuest with almost no effort (the systems share probably 90% of their rules) just making a few magic adjustments that deal with those different mechanics
@@jasonGamesMaster I will look into it, thanks Guy. I am excited for Chaosium new BRP too, i wonder if it will be suitable for Glorantha.
@@himurogentoku7117 my understanding is that this will be an update of the BRP book from 2005ish which was itself an update on the OG BRP from the 80s. If it is, it will be essentially a general use version of the rules that underlie RuneQuest, Call of Cthulhu, etc. Even Pendragon basically uses the same system. But it will be the core rules they all share and then the extra bits and bobs like sanity and strike ranks that you can use to customize it. So, basically similar to GURPS or Hero System (or FATE or a lesser extent, PbtA).
So, tl:dr, yes it should, because it's like a roll your own version of the same rules
This might be the setting i have been looking for.
I recently got the corebook, but havent opened yet, guess now isa good time as any to finally check it out
I hope the video helps you get a foothold in the mechanics.
Just thought I check this here, dont think I saw it yet. (I am running a group for it currently), and yeah late to it, but nontheless to give critique or rather explain things that the starter set doesnt:
-Of course, just the starter set - but rolls are pretty forward. you know a 100 is always a fumble, and 96-99 can be, which you can look up quickely. same for crit - always 1 and checking for higher values. special... well, same.
the game emphasise that its okay to look it up, and as GM i do that quick and on we go, takes 3 seconds. same for resistance table.
-and no, augmenting etc makes NOT for long turns. in most cases you augment with a passion or rune, which are few or a very fitting/related skill. there are not endless options, the GM has the last word and can suggest things based on the skill. in combat its a nobrainer suggesting the air rune for example. I dont know why it would take long? its 2 rolls just for a skill. and an augment holds for a scene and u cant change it than and only works for related stuff. we usely dont retry stuff unless really wanted.
- drive chariot is a profession skill. runequest lists almost all possible skills without every character even knowing it. like this one, only chariot drivers will know it, unless trained. its a flavour of the world. those drivers are mainly part of one culture. many things make perfect sense in the world, a starter set just cant give justice conveying why
- why is speaking ur own language oddly specific too u?! language barriers are a thing in glorantha. and speak other language is the term for others than your mother tongue...
- again, as a farmer the skill Farm is your professional skill. in runequest, you are not an adventurer fulltime, you do it for your community. most of the time u do ur job and at the end of the year that skill decides if u did well and can keep ur standard of living.
- peaceful cut, once again tied to a culture and history. it makes sure that the souls of butchered animals go well into afterlife and will be only a thing to Waha cultists in Prax and is VERY important to socio-cultural and religious world of them. so no, cant be put in another skill.
not all skills are for everyone - note how each character will have some with 0 in it.
- sense assassin is unique to Humakt cultists, only they get it - even says so. it has that one function, its not related to perception skills.
- I dont get why its hard for u to differentiate conceal and sleight, it literally says there. conceal: hide things, sleight: pickpocket etc
- It doesnt say anything about "if u want to improve the skill" in the starter set , it states that you can choose to either roll for it or add a flat amount. dont remember it from the core, but if: you might not want to improve a rune (that changes ur gameplay and character) or a passion
- yeah it doesnt state, but just for info: man and beast are condition runes technically
- you fell for the trap that many newbies think of strike rank - its neither complex nor difficult. a break down of how every combat runs:
GM asks every player what they want to do in battle, which determines their SR.
(dex+siz+SR weapon in melee, dex + weapon SR in ranges, dex + spell SR for spirit magic, rune magic is instantly - those values never change and everyone has only a handful of spells and points to spend on them)
I than slot them into the right SR, with modifiers if needed, same for enemies
I narrate whats happening and when its your turn: roll if succeed. roll for location if applicable. roll for damage. state what u do next and i slot it again, repeat til combat is over.
- yes, it is a deadly game, cause it lives from realism there. you still can mitigate by spells, being good in combat or tactical smart. but it also emphasises that combat is only done when needed and most intelligent foes flee rather before. plus: bandits and enemy groups capture u rather alive to ransom u back (which depends on valueable u r to ur clan or tribe or temple)
- spirit magic is not minor, just more common as everyone has it. its easier to learn and uses rechargeable magic points.
"low powered cantrips" is the understatement of the year. just look at fanaticism or befuddle. those can decide over life and death!
of course there are many more
( if you have a shaman that can learn and use all, many spirits bound to fight for them or can go into the spirit world to mess with ur soul, u become a powerhouse. given, its a profession (and specialisation) - ah u mention it later kinda)
- also your rune spell options are not just limited by cost, but foremost to which u have access to, to begin with. that is decided by your cult, which offers only a selection from which u pick starting ones. and than it makes sense to have a fitting strong rune
(GM tip: thats why i always ask for cult, rune and profession FIRST against the given order of it. those have the biggest impact and help players to choose what they like and already form a personality)
- yeah someone needs to know the spells or pay at a temple or roll on divine intervention - maybe you are important enough to your god
and even after death doesnt need to be the end
- wait, did u read the core? that it should all make more sense to you
- the rules are very exact in what they do and offer your for that easy usable tables. and u need max 4 (resistance, ability, attack/parry, dodge).
the ability table is even the least problematic with the easiest rules to memorise - how is that cumbersome?!
instead you could say that its not something for people who want exactly zero tables or dont wanna memorise such complex rules, thats fair
- again, strike ranks are NOT a barrier for beginners. I explained it to my whole group, among them a bloody beginner, and after one example they got it. you dont have to decide turn order, the strike ranks do it for you! you just choose what u wanna do and plug in your values, done!
i dont even know what one could critique instead here or chose instead, so dunno what to recommend there
- the skill list is not awkward, as even the starter set explains it enough to make sense, literally what you highlighted...
you could instead say how it puts it already here, where newbies might stumble over it
- yeah creation it lacks, but given that is quite indepth in that edition and would explode the limits of the box. but they could have given a tease.
i like your reviews normally, but that one sounded way awkward on the con side, see above.
if it means u read the core, than I would love to see a video about that (and you could address those points)
just irked me to write this, cause i appreciate your input. and sorry if some sentences end up weird, pretty tired when i wrote this.
I bought the 7th edition collector's edition with the 3 books, map, etc.
I opened in excitement and started to read, saw all of the arbitrary stuff, went, "Nope!" closed the books and haven't touched them since.
I'll keep it as a collector's item.
17:42
The "Ability Results Table" is not needed at all.
A Critical is 1/20th of your ability:
A Special is 1/10th of your Ability.
A Success is every other roll under your Ability score.
A Failure is every roll above your ability score (that isn´t a fumble).
- Fumble is 1/20th of your chance o fail.
The "Resistance Table" is also not needed et all:
The chance of a characteristic to overcome another characteristic with the same numeral value is always 50%.
Each point better ads another 5%, each point worse substracts 5%.
"Attack and Parry Results" will be needed as a reference for specail outcomes (involving Criticals or Fumbles), everything else is memorized very fast after very few fights.
The "Strike Rank Tracker" is very useful. But you also can keep track of Strike Ranks by the GM simply use a D12, which he starts at one, and counts up, as he moves the dice around. And keep in mind: A fight will mostly run only one to six combat rounds --> Yes, RuneQuest combat is very deadly!
The "Skill List" makes perfect sense if you dive deeper into Gloranthan lore, and the full rules.
Lack of Character Creation rules:
Since Glorantha has SO MANY regions, and cults it had to be limited, but the 14 (FOURTEEN!) Pregenerated Characters give a good overview of what kind of characters can be played.
Those dice are pretty sweet but I have a hard enough time seeing the numbers on marbled or speckled dice let alone these. Unfortunately, I don't buy items to just sit my shelf.
Strike Ranks are pretty easy to work out every round, once someone's played the game, you'll get to know what SR your spells and weapons attack on.
I love RQG. But to be honest I play a simplified version that’s a mix of COC 7E.
I'd love to run a game in this setting, but I'd use either Savage Worlds or a Forged in the Dark hack I made to DM in the Eberron setting.
FitD sounds damned interesting. I never thought of a pairing like that.
@Dave Thaumavore RPG Reviews I might someday publish it for people to have fun with it too. Gotta test it further, though. Just finished the "test drive" with the players learning the system while escaping an undead ridden city. They come from D&D, so they just ran straight to the mobs and almost died. So first I'm using npcs to teach them the importance of strategy and common sense. As the game goes, I'll make any adjustments needed. That aside, it's being super fun and the pace is flowing absurdly well.
Yeah, the rules can be a bit forbidding.
It's worth mentioning that Glorantha can also be explored through the much more narrativist 'HeroQuest - Glorantha'.
Kinda a missed opportunity to align with the changes made in the 7th edition of Call of Cthulhu. But maybe I'm wrong. The new edition is gorgeous though
I think that is a sentiment shared by many.
Way to cumbersome for my likings. Thank you for this video🙏
The closest I got to Runequest was owning a copy of Chaosium's Elfquest RPG.
Beautiful art, evocative and unique setting, but mechanics that just refuse to let go of the past. I still love it though. (And yeah, I know Mythras is a thing but Glorantha is bae)
Yeah, the setting is something special.
Is the music in the background from Dominions?
sense assassin is a supernatural ability. its like that bullshit samurai ability where the hero just KNOWS someone is planning to attack because of auras or some shit
Awesome!
The way you presented some of the elements to the starter set seemed pretty unfair when compared to how those elements play out in actual games. Most of the extra elements like tables are meant to be crutches for new players lacking in rules confidence, but the actual rules behind them are very simple. You make out like every game of runequest has players looking through lookup matrices when the rules behind each of matrices are very simple.
E.g.
Contested rolls: add 5% edge for every characteristic point you have more than the other person
Skill success: roll under skill to succeed, if you are under 1/5 of skill thats special success, if you are under 1/20 of skill thats critical success (these numbers are so low that you usually know without even having to do maths)
Even with strike ranks, you say that you need to recalculate each turn, but strike rank almost never gets calculated: you choose which weapon you want to use, and you use the strike rank that you have pre-calculated on the sheet. That's why the sheet has SR modifiers, because usually you don't calculate, but sometimes you need to add something.
I don't know if this depiction came from a lack of experience with the system, but I thought I'd put these things in context of what the rules are, vs. the aids they've put in.
I agree
Agreed but by only reading I would come to the same conclusion. It reads pretty dry and complicated.
Actually playing it puts it into perspective.
1) RQ isn't *that difficult* to actually play. Combats tend to go much quicker than the intensive dice-grinding spectacles that D&D games often turn into. 2) Fair enough- RQ isn't going to be everyone's cup of tea. But really- there seems to be a serious amount of prejudice these days against having *any kind of rules at all*. But if the constant screaming for 'Rules Light' makes your stomach turn, RQ is something to look into.
Sorry but I disagreee with so many of your points here in this video. Here is just one issue I had.
The rules booklet's guides and tables allow for quick reference and are laid out very well for ease of use. It allows for quick learning over time and does not require memorisation as they are provided for the players at the table and not hidden behind a GM's screen.
While it looks like you are doing separate videos for each of the books in this starter set. You might have wanted to talk about the SoloQuest when speaking about the rules booklet. The SoloQuest goes through the rules in a play as you go style which teaches the rules and setting of the game in a fun choose your own adventure way. It is also strongly recommended that all players and keeper does this before playing for the first time.
I will also note that character creation is not included in the starter set, because it is a starter set. Not ever beginner box/starter set has character creation rules included. They are focused on getting players up and running and into their world through a basic or condensed rules. Character creation in the full rules spans some 61 pages and is deeply extensive, while being totally unnesisary here. Instead of this, Chasium has provided 14 premade characters which is far more than any other beginner box/starter set on the market. And each of these characters are written into the adventures so that they each have abilities/skills/power etc which can turn encounters/investigations.
Hey Dave! Do me a favor! In your thumbnails, but some identifying symbol so we know it's one of your videos. I have come close to missing the last few because I couldn't tell they were from you.
Will do, thanks for the heads up.
I love the setting of Glorantha but I hate it’s archaic rules. Particularly when so much of the game is about roleplaying and creating a world that feels at once real and mythical, where magic and the Gods are real and anything can happen. IMO this game would be suited really well by a system like PbtA
Yeah, where the rules take a back seat and let the setting shine. I agree. I just got the feeling that the rules were tailored to a very specific kind of gamer who got their start in the 80s and don’t really want to let go of specificity.
Mythras is my preferable set of BRP mechanics, it is pretty much RQ but just does the game mechanics slightly better IMO.
However Chaosium is presenting Glorantha really well with these new RQG books!
I've heard of Rune Quest for years but never played it. It's sad to see such nice components (all the layout, design, and components look top notch) with such an overly clumsy approach to role-playing. To me...role-playing should be extremely light on rules. I cut my teeth playing Palladium games...mainly by skipping about 60% of the rules and we had a great time and the games worked just fine without so much nonsense. While I don't mind specific skills...they're just definitely just padding pages at that point.
I guess I just wonder if you could play this game...by skipping all the tables, and simply doing the old "That sounds difficult, give me a Strength test at -10%" approaches. I dislike heavy-magic centered worlds so this is all a moot point to me, but I'm always enthusiastic to see any non-D&D stuff get coverage.
My guess is that you could strip away a lot of the clunky aspects of the rules and it would still play just fine.
Use OpenQuest instead. Strips out all the fiddly bits, and you can fairly easily add the Runes on top and make a few adjustments to the spells
Late answer I know, but you can ditch most of the tables once you get more confident with the rules. Most of them are just included to help new players.
It's also a system that sounds clunky and super rules heavy on paper but plays surprisingly intuitive and fast.
You have to put in the work and learn the rules tough. Runequest also does not restrict role-playing with overboarding rules. Quite the opposite. Roleplaying is extremely rewarding due to rune affinities, you cult, time between adventures (which is exclusively roleplaying, nothing else), and other fun elements.
So yeah, if you are mildly interested in the setting I can recommend the game to you. Chaosium also really put in the work with all the supplements they released so far. Great stuff.
I wanted to love this. The art and maps are amazing. But, two things put me off. The rules, as you say. It is very disappointing that they didn’t take the opportunity to modernize this, at least to the latest version of BRP as used in CoC 7th ed. Secondly, the way the world works with every farmer having access to magic, and every tree having a spirit… it just doesn’t click, for me.
It's a game with as many tables as DCC, but they're just way less fun 😆
A very restrictive system, but an interesting setting.
Yeah, for sure.
You lost me at ability matrix and resistance chart. Not a system for me. Next!
Basic roleplaying?
More like number crunch the RPG.
I'll stick to Savage Worlds and mine the setting for what I want.
This game sounds annoying complex. I'm all for complex rules, but only when it adds to the fun. A lot of this seems like unnecessary bookkeeping, and a whole lot of unrecognizable graphs and charts.
Agree. Played it twice, did not enjoy.
I haven’t visited earlier versions of Runequest but these rules feel… old school. Not OSR old school. Just old school.
Wow. I’m just dumbfounded by how unnecessarily convoluted this ruleset is. I wouldn’t touch it with a 10' pole.
It seems like a lot, I'll admit.
The rules seem way too convoluted for me.
How does it work? Short answer: it doesn't.
Oh but it does. I really don't understand how people come to the conclusion that the game doesn't work.
There are a few core mechanics that you need to learn and understand. The game plays absolutely smooth when you put in a bit of work.
Always wanted to play Runequest just to say I've played Runequest... i've just signed up to a 4hr in-person one-shot... i'm worried after watching this .... but still excited strangely
And I thought D&D 3.5 was crunchy!