RQG Roadmap

So while I was away in Lyons at Octogônes, running 3-hour RuneQuest adventures for newbies and sitting at an “ask me anything about RQ” table, Chaosium Con UK was happening. The chaps who attended the latter sent the following information about the RQG roadmap (NuRQ was NOT tackled):

Sept 2026: Lands of Runequest, Sartar, with a PDF-only supplement containing three short adventures set in Boldhome

Q4 2026: The Apple Lane Campaign, revisiting the adventures from the Gamemaster Screen Pack (unclear whether it’s merely the same stuff re-published with new art or if the content will have been improved); as a consequence, the current version of the Gamemaster Screen Pack itself will be discontinued, and it will be replaced by a newer version 

Q4 2026: Greg’s unfinished novel, A Pyre for Gods and Heroes, with an ending written by Andrew Logan Montgomery

Q1 2027: The streamlined edition of the core rules, thinner, with fewer cults, with simpler chargen, but adding non-human adventurers (minotaurs, durulz, baboons)

Q2 2027: Welcome to Glorantha adventure pack; each adventure will showcase a different aspect of Glorantha:

- Prax

- the Lunar Empire

- disease spirits and Broo

- a hero quest

Q3 2027: Return to Snakepipe Hollow (adventure pack): the Dragonrise has affected the denizens of Snakepipe Hollow in unexpected ways…

Q4 2027: On the Royal Road (encounter collection): dozens of NPCs, each with their own adventure hooks, to be used as a collection of random encounters or as an NPC codex

Q4 2027: Cults of RuneQuest: the Gods of Darkness: as per its title, plus how to create troll adventurers

RIP Dario Corallo

Dario Corallo has suddenly left us, at the age of 66. On top of our gaming-related collaborations, he was a good friend, and although weʼve only met once in real life (in Palermo, of course), we exchanged jokes and gaming-related ideas almost on a daily basis on social media. As a result, I am still reeling from the shock of the sad news of his disappearance, and I wonʼt be able to add much to what I am writing here today.

Chaosiumʼs Rick Meints has written a beautiful, moving obituary.

There is also this piece from a Sicilian daily, amongst many others, as Darioʼs day job was in the publishing industry where he was well-known and liked for his keen humour. He did the layout and drew vignettes for the Giornale di Sicilia daily newspaper until about two years ago when he was part of a massive layoff. This, however, enabled him to spend even more time illustrating his beloved Jonstown Compendium and The Fantasy Trip supplements.

Opponent Create-O-Matic

I don’t know who created the Adversaries Generator for RuneQuest (the page doesn’t mention any name), but this tool is fuсking brilliant. I absolutely love the detail of being able to choose the format under which the stats of the adversary shall be rendered. I choose FOES for old times’ sake!

New NuRQ News

As I have written here, the so-called ‘nuRQ’ has been ditched. In its stead, Jeff Richard is working on a lighter/simpler (but fully backwards-compatible) clarified version of RQG.

Here are some news about the latter posted today by Jeff on basicroleplaying.org:

New core rules book. This is 200-250 pages laid out. It is very focused on Sartar, Prax, and Pavis. Combat is much clearer and easier (what we have found is that a typical 4 round combat with 5 adventurers versus a group of NPCs takes about 45 minutes to run with a newish GM). Character Creation is MUCH faster. You should be able to make your first character in around thirty minutes, with it being 20 minutes or less once you get the hang of it. Faster if you use the PDF worksheet. The cheat sheet for the core rules, magic system, plus all common rune spells description takes up three pages total.

Gamemaster book. This is 250-300 pages laid out. It includes a full bestiary that is focused on being plug and play. It teaches all of the core rule systems, how to create encounters tailored for your characters, how to handle social interactions, spirits, run campaigns in Dragon Pass and Prax and Pavis, between adventures, and how to handle treasure (plus plenty of unique items). It includes the official and complete heroquesting rules and battle rules. This is something that reflects years of discussion between Mearls and I about how people learn how to run games and what they actually need to know.

Pavis and Big Rubble. This is the setting. Fully updated and expanded, with at least a half-dozen brand new adventures, starting with a Welcome to Pavis scenario intended to bring brand new players into the setting.