 RuneQuest Deluxe Edition (boxed set) as published by Avalon Hill in 1984. Illustration by Jody Lee, 1983. |
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| Designer | Steve Perrin Ray Turney Steve Henderson Warren James Glorantha Material by Greg Stafford |
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| Publisher | Chaosium Avalon Hill Mongoose Publishing |
| Publication date | 1978 |
| Genre(s) | Fantasy |
| System | Basic Role-Playing |
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RuneQuest is a fantasy role-playing game first published in 1978 by Chaosium, created by Steve Perrin based on the mythical world of Glorantha devised by Greg Stafford. It was notable for its original gaming system, designed around a percentile die-based and skill-based rule and its adherence to an original fantasy world called Glorantha. Throughout its existence, the game has been molded by designers and players alike into a complex mythology which is often linked to the teachings of professor Joseph Campbell. There have been several incarnations of the game, and as of 2008 has produced a fourth version. All but the third version have been set entirely in the world of Glorantha.
In Britain in the 1980s, RuneQuest was recognised by the gaming world as one of the 'Big Three' games with the largest market share, the others being Dungeons & Dragons and Traveller.
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History
RuneQuest quickly established itself as the second most popular fantasy role-playing game, after Dungeons & Dragons.[1] The first and second editions are set in the mythical world of Glorantha, while the third edition in the mid 1980s is more generic and was much less successful.[1] RuneQuest is the original percentile die-based and skill-based rule set.
The game had been sold to Avalon Hill under a complex agreement that required all Glorantha-related content first be approved by Chaosium. In an attempt to also have a setting they could release freely, Avalon Hill also supported a new "default" setting, Fantasy Earth, based on fantasy interpretations of several eras of earth's pre-modern history. Later Avalon Hill published "generic"/"Gateway" fantasy material (Lost City of Eldarad, Daughters of Darkness). Critics consider these later "generic"/"Gateway" publications inferior to the earlier RuneQuest publications.[2]
as published by Avalon Hill in 1993.
Softcover book, llustration by Jody Lee, 1983.
Although both supplements for Fantasy Earth (Vikings, Land of Ninja) were well-regarded, the popularity of RuneQuest as a system seems to have come from the strength of its original setting, reflected in the remarkably high sales of materials that were new editions of out-of-print Glorantha content.[citation needed] A proposed fourth edition was originally meant to return the tight RuneQuest/Glorantha relationship, but it was shelved in 1994, mid-project.
Glorantha is the official setting of a new rules system called HeroQuest, which is the successor to Hero Wars. Part of the agreement that permitted a new Glorantha-based game was that Avalon Hill retained rights to the name "RuneQuest" but not to the RuneQuest game rules. An attempt was made to produce a new game called RuneQuest: Slayers in 1997 that was neither Gloranthan nor used the original rules, but it was shelved when Avalon Hill was bought by toymaker Hasbro. At some stage in 2003 the rights to the trademarked name "RuneQuest" were acquired by Issaries, Inc.
Mongoose Publishing released a new version of RuneQuest in August 2006, under a license from Issaries, Inc., and "developed under the watchful eyes of Messrs Stafford and Perrin". However, Steve Perrin was no longer associated with the Mongoose RuneQuest project as of December 2005. The new rules were released under a variant of the Open Game License, and the official setting takes place much earlier in Glorantha's history than previous editions covered.
System
The strength of RuneQuest as a gaming experience was appreciated by those expecting more realism within their hobby. Physics is difficult to simulate with simple dice rolls, but the system of leveling within games such as Dungeons and Dragons was seen as unrealistic by many players: it is often impossible for weak monsters (e.g. goblins, kobolds) to harm higher-level characters, even though these monsters' attacks would have proven deadly against these characters at their career beginnings. Through the removal of levelling, and the adherence to skill improvement, RuneQuest avoided this issue. Characters did not gain more 'hit points', they just got better at avoiding damage or delivering more damage to their enemies. It was still possible for an extremely powerful character in RuneQuest to be killed by the lucky dice roll of a weak character or good tactics.
Before a player could begin a game, like all role-playing-games, they would normally create a fictional character to be their character or avatar in the game. Player characters were devised through a number of dice rolls to represent physical, mental and spiritual characteristics, which would determine the abilities of the character throughout the game.
Once the character is defined physically, it is up to the player to decide on gender, background, motives and starting equipment, although this has to be moderated by the player running the game. The moderator is neither with or against the players, and should normally play out the game as if neutral to the players actions while keeping an eye out for the over-all fun for all at the table. The moderator or narrator determines the general situation of the part of Glorantha that the players find themselves within (political context, season of the year, current weather etc.), and the specifics of the "scenario" i.e. the story plot lines that the players will encounter and choose to follow (or not). The normal scenario opening is usually obvious to the players, though it is the players prerogative not to follow the game, but the narrator will describe the game situation in order to get the game started. What any individual non Player Character (NPC) is up to is something that the PCs must discover either by direct questioning or investigation & observation.
The rule book contained a large selection of fantasy monsters including all the traditional types (Elves, Dwarves, Trolls, Undead, Lycanthropes) and their physical stats. An invention of the game designers (and by some indications one of their favourites on the basis of their use and importance in Glorantha mythology) were creatures called Broo, humanoid goat-headed monsters (cf. beastmen). Also detailed for each type of creature were what magic spells they might know, which cults they might belong to. A huge plus for many players is that all the creatures are playable as player characters.
The game's combat system was designed in an attempt to use what its creator, Steve Perrin, had experienced through live-action combat with the Society for Creative Anachronism. An attack is rolled using percentile dice (a ten-sided die, twice, to create numbers between 01-99, and 00 counts as 100). If the character's skill level is equal to or higher than the number rolled, they have hit their target. The defender has the chance to try to avoid the blow or parry it, again determined with percentile dice. For very low rolls there was a system of critical hits (armour protection negated), or for certain weapons a chance to 'impale' (double damage). Attackers always had a chance of missing (if they rolled 96% or above). They also had a very small chance of Fumbling, where something unfortunate happened to the attacker, such as losing a piece of equipment, falling over or even causing damage to themselves or friends. (These outcomes were randomly determined following the botched attack roll.)
A key component of the RuneQuest combat system was hit location. Successful attacks were allocated randomly to a part of the target's body. (Or else a particular part could be aimed at with a reduced chance to hit.) Combined with the innate chance of everyone to hit, as well as the critical/impale system, this meant that even the most powerful character could be disabled and killed by a weak opponent. For example, a lucky hit against a leg, weapon arm or head could render a character defenseless or severely limited in their attack.
As a result, combat in RuneQuest became more detailed, slower and often riskier than most other RPGs. This often meant play was not as combat focused as other RPGs, but where it was necessary the players would look to employ every advantage of terrain or equipment. The immensely powerful fireballs, lightning bolts and earthquake spells of Dungeons & Dragons didn't exist; instead a RuneQuest character would look to try to blind an opponent with a Light spell, or Befuddle them (confuse them utterly as to which side they're on) to take them out of the combat. If they could do this whilst dropping rocks or rolling logs down a slope at them (if their code of honour permitted) then so much the better.
This system is also used for resolving almost all imaginable skill tests. If the character has climbing at 35% and the player rolls 25 on a D100, the character has succeeded. To improve the character's abilities the character needs to have successfully performed the skill in question and then (during a period of rest and recuperation once the adventuring is over and they have time to reflect on matters), the player needs to roll higher than the character's skill. For example, greater than 35 on a D100 in this example. Thus the better the character is at a skill the more difficult it is to improve (something that was viewed by many as an irritating but brilliant aspect of the game). On occasions when one character's skill is being opposed by another (for example if one character is hiding while another is searching for him or her), the passive skill may be subtracted from the active one to determine the overall chance to succeed.
Cults
Once a character has been created (often being recorded on commercially available character sheets) the player must then determine which, if any, cult the PC belongs to, as this was one of the main character progression themes of the game. Entry to the cult as a lay member is marked by passing a generally simple entrance test or set of requirements. As a lay member some skills and spells training is normally available at a reduced rate, but there are some minor restrictions on personal freedoms. After several years of good service it then becomes possible to apply to become an Initiate of the Cult. This involves a tougher test but access to better cult specialty spells if passed, plus further mundane benefits for other spells & training. The restrictions can also be harder to observe. The leaders of a cult are called "Rune Masters", which are further subdivided. "Rune Lords" are the warrior elite that are the melee specialists. "Rune Priests" are the mages of the cult. Both gain access to Rune Spells, the most powerful magics in the game.
The basic rules came with a handful of Gods which was then greatly expanded in the Cults of Prax and Cults of Terror supplements. To contrast this with Dungeons and Dragons, whilst religions were inherent in the game through the existence of the cleric class, no specific details were ever supplied with the D&D rules outside a vast list of gods in the supplement Deities and Demigods. D&D supplements created new lands seemingly at random with no common theme or link to the rest of the game. Although many enjoyed the freedom of this style of setting, many players found it lacked a grounding, history or mythology. RuneQuest instead introduced your characters into a vibrant living world, giving them much greater depth and reasons for actions, mainly via the static geography, timelines and cults.
Magic in RuneQuest
Unlike other role-playing games, characters in RuneQuest were not divided into magic using and non-magic using characters. All characters were allowed access to magic, and the closer your link to your given deity the stronger was your magic. Warriors in the game would often circle each other casting spells to give advantages in the coming combat, or strike quickly before their enemy could put up defences. These basic spells were called battlemagic.
Battle magic
Battle magic (the term was used mainly in the 2nd edition) was available to all characters with the money to buy them. These spells could provide a few extra additional armour points, make you slightly harder to hit or add somewhat more damage to your weapon. The standard magical attack spell "disruption" caused small damage to your enemy, enough to annoy them but not fatal unless they were already seriously wounded. Healing was the spell used most often during and after combat, the most powerful of which could re-attach limbs, but couldn't bring someone back from the dead.
In the Third Edition, Battle Magic spells became Spirit Magic spells (see below)
Spirit Magic
Though spirit magic was in the territory of shamans, most other characters could use the magic as well; characters who joined the divine cults but were not eligible for divine magic (see below) used spirit magic learned from cult spirits. In Glorantha, shamanistic use of spirit magic was mainly territory of primitive cultures.
Full-trained shamans became more powerful, summoning and controlling spirits according to their specific traditions. Shamans would sacrifice POW to create a Fetch, his personal extension to a spirit world. Ancestor worshipers could bring forth their forefathers in the form of spirits or ghosts to protect and avenge the living relatives of the family. Shamans could also trap spirits to their fetches to use as servants.
The second edition of the game included crystals that could trap spirits but in the third edition they became spirit binding matrixes.
Sorcery
Devised during the RuneQuest third edition, sorcery is magic based on skills that are learned via apprenticeship to a master sorcerer. Full-fledged sorcerers would have to create a familiar - animal or enchanted sentient item - to be regarded as one.
Gamers were divided over the usefulness of sorcery, because a beginning sorcerer had only small chance of using the spells and, due to the Free INT limitations, the more spells the character had memorized, the less powerful spells they could cast. Others saw sorcery as more versatile magic than spirit of divine magic.
In Glorantha, mostly Western Malkioni used sorcery (though the lower social classes did not have access to magic at all) though two other cultures - Kralorela and some regions of the Lunar Empire - had their own versions that were only cursorily explained.
Divine Magic
Divine Magic (called Rune Magic in the 2nd edition) was only available to characters that had sacrificed part of their soul (i.e. points of characteristic POW) to achieve ultimate powers of a godlike nature. These were related to the character's god and the runes associated with that god. Spells were one-use to ordinary members of the cult but priests and runelords could use some of the spells again, after a couple of days period of praying in the temple to renew the magic. Priests and some runelords, champions of the cult, could gain an Allied Spirit, a sentient sacred animal or awakened holy item.
In Glorantha, divine magic is accessible to barbarian and civilized cultures.
Enchantments
Shaman, priests and sorcerers could learn to create enchantments that were very similar in all the traditions. Enchantments could create items that would allow characters to cast spells they had not learned or bind spirits to them, strengthen the character's body or their weapons and armor or sanctify places for religious use.
Petty-Magick
As a supplement to the Mongoose edition of RuneQuest, Skeaptune Games has published a Petty-Magick system in their book "Petty-Magick, Petty-Sorcerers and Hedge Wizards", which is meant to allow for quicker, but less powerful spells to be implemented by the players.
The Dragon Pass area
The Dragon Pass area is the main land and focus of the game, detailed on a large map in the original rules. The original RuneQuest game was set during a period when the Lunar Empire, a sorcery wielding, expansive, Roman style nation; has invaded from the Northwest through Dragon Pass. They have subdued but not beaten the people of Sartar and the various tribes living in Prax. The Cults of Prax supplement adds more detail to many of the places marked, by the vehicle of a merchant travelling these lands and encountering each cult in turn.
The strong background of the game was an appealing factor to many players, giving motives to both NPCs and players alike. A God's War had been fought 1500 years ago, before time began, and the ramifications are still being felt in the present day. Storm Bull worshippers hate Chaos so attack Lunars who permit, or in some cases embrace, such manifestations; Orlanthi wind god worshippers are eternal rivals to followers of Yelm the Sun God, and have a number of rituals each must go through when encountering the other. Humakti hate undead and seek to destroy it, and Vivamort worshippers aspire to become vampires and perhaps destroy the Humakti. Lhankor Mhy followers seek knowledge.
Legacy
Chaosium reused the rules system developed in RuneQuest to form the basis of several other games: in 1980 the RuneQuest system of rules was simplified and published by Greg Stafford and Lynn Willis under the name of Basic Role-Playing (or BRP, for short). BRP was a generic role-playing game system, derived from the two first RuneQuest editions (1978 and 1979), and supplied the game system to the major part of the Chaosium role-playing games that followed RuneQuest, like:
- Stormbringer (1981)
- Call of Cthulhu (1981)
- Worlds of Wonder (1982)
- Superworld (1983)
- ElfQuest (1984)
- Ringworld (1984)
- Pendragon (1985) -see below-
- Hawkmoon (1985)
- Nephilim (1992)
- Elric! (1993)
Minor modifications of the BRP rules were introduced in every one of those games, modifications related to the uniqueness of every game's universe. Pendragon used 1-20 scale and 1d20 roll instead of percentile scale and 1d100 roll[3]. In combat it used a single STR-based damage value where weapons only gave bonuses or penalties to the number of d6s. Prince Valiant (1989), which used coin tosses instead of dice rolls, was the only Chaosium role-playing game that didn't use any variant of the BRP system.
In 2004, Chaosium released a print-on-demand version of the 3rd edition RuneQuest rules under the titles Basic Roleplaying Players Book, Basic Roleplaying Magic Book, and Basic Roleplaying Creatures Book. The same year, Chaosium began preparing the most complete version yet of Basic Role-Playing. This new BRP edition was provisionally named Deluxe Basic Role-Playing (DBRP) but was finally released under its original title, Basic Role-Playing, on June 24, 2008 as a single comprehensive book[4]. The book offers many optional rules for use with different genres, including fantasy, horror and science fiction. Currently Chaosium is selling both a printed[5] and pdf[6] version of the game. No current version of BRP includes any Gloranthan content.
Steve Perrin, one of the authors of the original RuneQuest game, later developed a similar system known as Steve Perrin's Quest Rules (SPQR), which some RuneQuest fans consider to be a successor to the original game.
References
- ^ a b Maranci.net
- ^ RuinedQuest
- ^ Chaosium's Arthurian RPG, Pendragon, can be considered to be the most distantly-related member of the BRP family; the connection is fairly tenuous (see the BRP review in the Side Notes section).
- ^ Chaosium.com: News - Basic Roleplaying
- ^ Chaosium. "Chaosium Catalog" (catalog). Chaosium. http://catalog.chaosium.com/product_info.php?cPath=37&products_id=1256. Retrieved 2008-07-09.
- ^ Chaosium. "Chaosium Catalog" (catalog). Chaosium. http://catalog.chaosium.com/product_info.php?cPath=70&products_id=1257. Retrieved 2008-07-09.
External links
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