29 July 2016

MoonQuest – A Teaser


I was intrigued (to say the least) when I saw the following announcement by Kyrinn S. Eis of Urutsk and Porphyry fame over at Google+:

“Using RuneQuest Classic, MoonQuest brings an alternate understanding of the canon of Glorantha while retaining its mythic relativism and unique flavour.
MoonQuest is a campaign add-on, a behind the veil look at the amazing and chaotic world so many have loved for decades. While usable as a stand alone setting, the more one knows Glorantha, the more this ... peculiar take will shake the established world view of the reader, and hopefully bring delight and excitement to the players.”

Despite my ugliest threats, Kyrinn wouldn't tell me more about MoonQuest, but  I have managed to have her answer a few questions for Timinits & Trolls:

Q: Kyrinn, I have stumbled upon your mysterious announcement on G+... “Using RuneQuest Classic, MoonQuest brings an alternate understanding of the canon of Glorantha while retaining its mythic relativism and unique flavour.”
A: Not really a question, but I suppose you want me to say more about this: I'll end up addressing each of these by answering your questions, but I will remain tight-lipped regarding the specifics, as it is too soon to show my hand; Glorantha was revealed incrementally in play, and tantalisingly few details were provided when the rulebook was released. If MoonQuest is taken on those same merits, it will have to be read in whole when it becomes available.

Q: “MoonQuest is a campaign add-on, a behind the veil look at the amazing and chaotic world so many have loved for decades. While usable as a stand alone setting, the more one knows Glorantha, the more this ... peculiar take will shake the established world view of the reader, and hopefully bring delight and excitement to the players.”
A: MoonQuest will, if I am successful, provide a new scope of adventure while still preserving the majestic sweep of Stafford's canon.

Q: Now, knowing your past work on science fantasy settings such as Urutsk and Porphyry, the first question that has sprung to my mind is: Is this some kind of science fantasy version of Glorantha? with space travel?
A: It is still RuneQuest in the Third Age, and all of the characters and creatures which have been created by Stafford (et al.) still exist as described from the given perspective of the Mortal realm regarding the Mythic powers as described in the RQC book. In later works, more information about the world opens up regarding how Glorantha functions, still (always) described to the PoV of mortals in their realm. The realms beyond the lozenge exist, but mortals cannot understand them without treading the Hero's path towards apotheosis. MoonQuest sheds light on this aspect.

Q: Are you just using Gloranthan tropes to give flavour to a setting out of your imagination, or are you really expanding on our beloved Lozenge, e.g., by adding a whole universe, with planets etc. or are you imaging something in the future of Glorantha (a 5th or 6th age?)
A: Glorantha isn't mine to create a 5th or 6th age. I am simply providing a different way of understanding the official canon; altering the mortal perspective to provide one way of understanding why we see places on a map mortals cannot access, granting an understanding of how both spells and chaos function, etc.

Q: Lastly, since this is an RPG, we all want to know about the ruleset you are going to use, and any modifications you are going to add to it.
A: RQC as just recently re-published via the Kickstarter; the very hardback I received in the mail not but a few weeks ago. As far as modifications: I hope to alter the flow of presentation regarding guilds and prior experience, so that they don't function as afterthoughts in the appendix, in other words, integrating them into standard character generation and training. Any additions will be clearly marked, as per the grey text boxes in the RQC edition. Existing characters and creatures will not be mechanically affected by MoonQuest, but their premise very well may be altered by the light shone upon the setting through this lens.

I think it is important to remind readers that the setting, history, and everything else mean different things to different cultures and each perspective, even while seeming paradoxical, are all equally true from the perspective of their holders: The Lunar Empire are terrible destroyers and subjugators of older cultures, but they are also peace-bringers and civilisers, etc.

MoonQuest is yet another, alternate, understanding to the established canon of the Third Age.

Thank you Kyrinn!

Note— If some of my questions sound completely stupid, it is because I sent all 5 questions before getting any of Kyrinn's answers!


25 July 2016

RuneQuest 4 - News From Chaosium

The latest news from Chaosium about the new RuneQuest are quite astounding. You may read them here.

For those of you who are lazy, in a hurry, busy– or who do not like to click links– or who are in a TL;DR mood, I have summarised them here in a nutshell:

1. Experienced game designer Jason Durall (he of the ‘Big Gold Book’ fame) has joined the new RuneQuest team to re-read the draft RQ4 rules and add “story of Rurik”-like game examples throughout the rules.

2. The new RuneQuest rules will be divided between three books:

  • The first book (the one whose draft Jason is reviewing) will contain the core rules, and in particular character generation and background, runes, passions, rune magic and cults (with almost 20 cult write-ups), battle magic, spirit combat, new shamanism rules, new sorcery rules (incl. notes on Malkionism, Aeolianism, and Lhankor Mhy sorcery)!
  • The second book is going to be a Gloranthan bestiary that will double as a sourcebook for nonhuman characters.
  • The third book is going to focus on rules for the referee such as heroquesting, Chaos, Illumination, Lunar magic, magic items, and on rules for advanced characters — in particular Heroes. It will also feature a few encounters, and three or four fully-fledged Gloranthan scenarios.

All in all, excellent news.

13 July 2016

RuneQuest Classic Edition Char Gen

RuneQuest 2 (henceforth referred to as RuneQuest Classic Edition) is my all-time favourite fantasy role-playing game. Its age, however, shows in some of its aspects, and in particular in how unorganised and convoluted character creation is compared to modern games: you have to go back and forth between several chapters to “get character creation right”, and some information useful at character generation is hidden within the sections about character improvement.

Also, we’ve been used to using “professions” and “cultural backgrounds” from later incarnations of the game and from its sister publications, and forgotten (at least it was my case) how deeply “Old School” the RQ2 char-gen was, with its focus on adventurers’ organisations and on repaying back debt by looting dungeons...

Anyway, I present you here for your enjoyment (and, hopefully, for actual use) a summarised RuneQuest Classic Edition Character Generation primer, perfected with the help of the jolly RQ2 G+ community.

STEP 1 – Characteristics

Roll the character’s seven characteristics according to their race (roll 3D6 for each characteristic for a human character; see Chapter VIII of RuneQuest Classic Edition for other races):
  • STR ⓘ
  • CON ⓘ
  • SIZ
  • INT
  • POW
  • DEX ⓘ
  • CHA

ⓘ: can be increased by training, see step 7 below.

STEP 2 – Abilities and other Derived Characteristics

STEP 2a – Abilities
Compute abilities according to section A of the Classic Handouts.
  • Attack (skill category bonus)
  • Parry (skill category bonus)
  • Defence
  • Hit Points (Total HPs + Hit Points per Location using the table in section A of the Classic Handouts)
  • Damage Bonus
  • Perception (skill category bonus)
  • Stealth (skill category bonus)
  • Manipulation (skill category bonus)
  • Knowledge (skill category bonus)

Note 1: the Oratory skill does not fall in any of the previous categories.
Note 2: Should any of the character’s characteristics be increased by training, please do not forget to re-calculate the character’s abilities.

STEP 2b – Other Derived Characteristics
  • Movement (always equal to 8 for humans; see Chapter VIII of RuneQuest Classic Edition for other races)
  • Maximum Encumbrance, average of STR and CON, but capped by the character’s STR
  • Strike Rank Modifier, per the table in section A of the Classic Handouts.

STEP 3 – Starting Money

Roll according to section A of the Classic Handouts.

SPECIAL – Creating a Shaman Character
Becoming a shaman is so time-consuming that the character cannot undergo any other training (i.e., skip Steps 4 to 7). Please refer to pages 44 to 46 of RuneQuest Classic Edition.

STEP 4 – Compute Combat Skills

STEP 4a – Starting Combat Skills
The basic chance of all weapon skills is 5%, except when indicated otherwise (see section A of the Classic Handouts).

STEP 4b – Get Credit
These skill increases may be bought using the character’s starting money. However, since this amount is usually very low (and thus insufficient), a character may obtain credit from the various guilds; the credit is equal to STR × 100L.

STEP 4c – Increase Combat Skills
See tables on p26, p30 and p31 of RuneQuest Classic Edition.

STEP 5 – Compute Non-Combat Skills

STEP 5a – Starting Non-Combat Skills
The basic chance of each skill is indicated in the various tables in section D of the Classic Handouts.
Note that alchemical skills are not expressed in percentages.

STEP 5b – Get Credit
A character may obtain credit from the Thieves Association; the credit is equal to DEX × 100L. This credit may only be used to purchase thieving skills. Other guilds/crafts do not offer credit, and require apprenticeship in order to receive credit for training during character generation (see Appendix H of Chapter X of RuneQuest Classic Edition for more details on this).

STEP 5c – Increase Non-Combat Skills
See section D of the Classic Handouts.
Contrary to combat skills, non-combat skills are only taught by some guilds, which may have special requirements:
  • Becoming an associate member of the Alchemists Guild costs 5,000L. This is a pre-requisite to learning any of the alchemical skills.
  • Becoming an associate member of the Armourers Guild costs 5,000L. This is a pre-requisite to learning any of the armourers’ skills.
Other guilds do offer training for pay to learn their skills but all payment is required in advance: the Free Sages, Players and Minstrels, Foresters, Maritime Brotherhood, and the Horsemasters’ Guild. Each of these guilds offers training in a different sets of skills, consult Chapter VI for more details.

STEP 6 – Purchase Battle Magic

Credit from cults for Battle Magic spell purchases = POW × 100L.
See section H of the Classic Handouts.

STEP 7 – Increase Characteristics by Training

STR may be increased by spending 1,000L per STR point.
CON may be increased by spending 2,000L per CON point.
Neither STR nor CON may be raised above the highest of STR, CON, SIZ before any modifications are applied.
DEX may be increased by spending 1,000L per DEX point.
DEX can be raised up to the racial maximum.

STEP 8 – Equipment

Starting equipment depends on the background rolled at Step 3.
What the character may purchase depends on the amount of money rolled at Step 3, and whatever credit money they have left from Steps 4 and 5.

PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE – Appendix H of Chapter X of RuneQuest Classic Edition presents an optional system of previous experience for player characters.