From: oshaughj%project4.computer-science.manchester.ac.uk@NSFnet-Relay.AC.UK
Date: Wed 30 May 1990 - 09:56:33 EEST
I have been a player of RuneQuest for many years now and recently a GM. I have always been interested in the world of Glorantha just as much, if not more, than the actual role-playing game itself. I have only 'really' played RQ2. I have a few RQ3 books and boxes but as 'yet' I have never played/GMed it properly. Since the change from 2 to 3 I have been most disappointed. I feel the quality of the RPG has deteriorated, Some rules may have been improved, but the level of quality has fallen somewhat in my opinion.
The old RQ (2) was a system based around a world, Glorantha. You may say that the actual game was not based around Glorantha and Glorantha was supplied as a model world to play RuneQuest in. I disagree. The whole RQ system is supported by Glorantha, if you take Glorantha away you may as well play D&D (boy am I unpopular now!!!). In RuneQuest you play characters who must live and adventure in GLORANTHA. They try to succeed in their cults and become Rune level (Lord/Priest), etc. If you play RQ without Glorantha you play it without the cults and thus without a real motive. You may say that you have devised a world of your own with Gods, magic, etc. in it which can replace Glorantha. Good, you have used the system well but I doubt whether it will be as extensive as Glorantha. In this case I guess RQ3 would be better to use rather than RQ2 because it is well suited to that kind of environment.
I feel since the introduction of RQ3 RuneQuest has been diluted to be used in almost any setting. You may say this is good but I will remind you once again that originally RQ is a RPG to be played in Glorantha. Taking the game of RQ outside Glorantha takes out all the interesting points of the game. This is not to say RQ is a bad system. It is probably the best RPG system ever devised. Everyone has rules they don't like about it but the good thing is that it is so easy to change the rules to suit your desires. Imagine doing that to D&D or Traveller. It is also a very simple system to play/learn. Some systems get over complicated in the 'realism' and are difficult to make flow as a game should do. RQ is not like that.
Anyway, back to the original point. I believe that RQ3 is an inferior game (note the word game, not system) to RQ2. I like some rules a great deal. The armor points of weapons is very good compared to RQ2. The magic system is inferior. The cults are inferior. Elder races - especially Trolls have been destroyed compared to what they where in RQ2. Learning from experience has been 'improved' though it is not perfect. Some skills are better, some are pathetic. I think some people at Avalon Hill/Chaosium (not the original designers) are responsible for the generality of RQ3 in order to make it sell better. - economics - it stinks!!
I guess a lot of people switched to RQ3 from 2 because of the lack of availability of products. I currently own a great deal or RQ2 stuff but I still need: Borderlands, Big Rubble, a couple of Soloquests, Apple Lane, Plunder, and a couple of other things. I too have resorted to buying RQ3 material and trying to convert it for use with 2. I will in time convert myself to a middle ground of RQ2.5 but to do this I will need to rewrite the Sorcery rules. If anyone has done this I would love to see your efforts.
---
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.7 : Fri 10 Oct 2003 - 01:54:05 EEST