RuneQuest
Encyclopedia
RuneQuest is a fantasy
role-playing game
first published in 1978 by Chaosium
, created by Steve Perrin
and set in Greg Stafford
's mythical world of Glorantha
. RuneQuest was notable for its original gaming system (designed around a percentile die and with an early implementation of skill rules) and for its verisimilitude in adhering to an original fantasy world. There have been several incarnations of the game. The most recent version was released in January 2010 by Mongoose Publishing under the title RuneQuest II.
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
.
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
.
. However, supplements published by Mongoose showcase other settings. (Young Kingdoms, Sláine
, a pirates setting, a clockpunk
version of the English Civil War
, etc.)
The well-developed background of the game drew to the game many players, offering a breadth of material for players and gamemasters to draw from. At a time when many RPG settings were schizophrenic, cobbled-together affairs, RuneQuest offered players a vibrant living world, giving them much a more developed fictional world with established geography, history, and religion.
The basic rules described a handful of original and mythological gods. These were greatly expanded upon in the supplements Cults of Prax and Cults of Terror.
a character's magical strength is proportional to her connection to the divine.
The exact divisions of magic vary from edition to edition, but most contain divisions such as Battle Magic, Sorcery, Petty Magicks, Divine Magic, Spirit Magic, and Enchantments.
In many ways, the system was developed as a response to more scalar systems, such as Dungeons & Dragons' level-based system. Through the removal of levelling, and the adherence to skill improvement, RuneQuest avoided many of the perceived flaws of such systems.
The game is presided over by a moderator or gamemaster
, whose job is to interpret player decisions and their result on the shared game world. The gamemaster is also responsible for describing the setting and non-player characters. The gamemaster's role is fundamentally different from that of the other participants.
Characters in RuneQuest gain power as they are used in play, but not to the degree that characters do in other fantasy RPGs. It is still possible for a weak character to slay a strong one through luck, tactics, or careful planning.
. In the RuneQuest system, an attack is rolled using percentile dice. If the number rolled is equal to or less than the character's skill level, they have hit their target. The defender has the chance to roll to avoid the blow or parry it. The game features mechanics for critical hits and fumbling.
A key component of the RuneQuest combat system is a subsystem for hit location. Successful attacks are allocated randomly (or by decision) to a part of the target's body. In RuneQuest, a lucky hit against a character's leg, weapon arm, or head could have specific effects on the game's mechanics and narrative. This was a unique part of the game's combat system and helped to separate it from the more abstracted, level-based combat of competitors such as Dungeons & Dragons.
Combat in RuneQuest is more detailed, slower and often riskier than in competing RPGs. When combat takes place it is often highly tactical, and outcomes depend on strategic advantages from terrain, position, numerical superiority, or clever thinking.
(later Dragon Pass), produced and marketed by Chaosium
, a game publishing company set up by Stafford solely for the release of the game. The board game introduced the region of Dragon Pass and many of the creatures and personalities that would appear in the world of the RuneQuest games. In 1978 Chaosium published the first edition of RuneQuest, a role playing game set in the world of Glorantha (first explored in White Bear and Red Moon). RuneQuest quickly established itself as the second most popular fantasy role-playing game, after Dungeons & Dragons
. 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. RuneQuest is the original percentile die-based and skill-based rule set.
The game was 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.
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. 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. One reason for the new Glorantha-based game was that Avalon Hill retained rights to the "RuneQuest" name but not to the game's rules. A new game called RuneQuest: Slayers entered development in 1997, 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 during the Second Age (previous editions covered the Third Age). In 2010, Mongoose published a much-revised version called "RuneQuest II", this time with no OGL system reference document (SRD) for third-party publishers.
In May 2011, Mongoose Publishing
announced that they had parted company with Issaries, Inc.
, and that the RuneQuest II rules system that they had devised would live on under a Wayfarer banner, but without the Gloranthan content.. A month later Mongoose announced a further name change to Legend, so as not to conflict with the already existing Wayfarers RPG.
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). It was used for many Chaosium role-playing games that followed RuneQuest, including:
Minor modifications of the BRP rules were introduced in every one of those games, to suit the flavor of each game's universe. Pendragon
used a 1-20 scale and 1d20 roll instead of a percentile scale and 1d100. 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 on June 24, 2008 as a single comprehensive book with the title Basic Role-Playing. The book offers many optional rules, as well as genre-specific advice for fantasy, horror, and science-fiction. Currently Chaosium is selling both a printed and pdf 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.
Since losing the license to use the RuneQuest name and Glorantha setting, Moongoose Publishing have announced that they will release a new series of books under the title of Legend, which are designed to be 100% compatible with the RuneQuest II ruleset. Legend will be released in late 2011 under an open license so that others will be able to release books based on those rules. As well as a new series of titles to be released for Legend, current Mongoose titles for RuneQuest II, such as the Vikings sourcebook, will be re-released as Legend-compatible books.
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
role-playing game
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
first published in 1978 by Chaosium
Chaosium
Chaosium is one of the longer lived publishers of role-playing games still in existence. Founded by Greg Stafford, its first game was actually a wargame, White Bear and Red Moon, which later mutated into Dragon Pass and its sequel, Nomad Gods...
, created by Steve Perrin
Steve Perrin
Stephen Herbert Perrin, born January 22 1946 and simply known as Steve Perrin, is a game designer and technical writer/editor.Perrin is probably best known for creating the role-playing game RuneQuest for Chaosium...
and set in Greg Stafford
Greg Stafford
Francis Gregory Stafford , usually known as Greg Stafford, is an American game designer, publisher and shaman.-Glorantha and gaming:...
's mythical world of Glorantha
Glorantha
Glorantha is the Fantasy world created by Greg Stafford and since used as the background for several role-playing games, including RuneQuest , Hero Wars and HeroQuest , as well as several works of fiction and the computer strategy game King of Dragon Pass...
. RuneQuest was notable for its original gaming system (designed around a percentile die and with an early implementation of skill rules) and for its verisimilitude in adhering to an original fantasy world. There have been several incarnations of the game. The most recent version was released in January 2010 by Mongoose Publishing under the title RuneQuest II.
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
Joseph Campbell
Joseph John Campbell was an American mythologist, writer and lecturer, best known for his work in comparative mythology and comparative religion. His work is vast, covering many aspects of the human experience...
.
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
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
and Traveller
Traveller (role-playing game)
Traveller is a series of related science fiction role-playing games, the first published in 1977 by Game Designers' Workshop and subsequent editions by various companies remaining in print to this day. The game was inspired from such classic science fiction stories as the Dumarest saga series by...
.
Setting
With the exception of the Third Edition, the default setting for RuneQuest has been the world of GloranthaGlorantha
Glorantha is the Fantasy world created by Greg Stafford and since used as the background for several role-playing games, including RuneQuest , Hero Wars and HeroQuest , as well as several works of fiction and the computer strategy game King of Dragon Pass...
. However, supplements published by Mongoose showcase other settings. (Young Kingdoms, Sláine
Sláine (comics)
Sláine is a comic hero from the pages of 2000 AD - one of Britain's most popular comic books.Sláine is a barbarian fantasy adventure series based on Celtic myths and stories which first appeared in 1983, written by Pat Mills and initially drawn by his then wife, Angela Kincaid. Most of the early...
, a pirates setting, a clockpunk
Steampunk
Steampunk is a sub-genre of science fiction, fantasy, alternate history, and speculative fiction that came into prominence during the 1980s and early 1990s. Steampunk involves a setting where steam power is still widely used—usually Victorian era Britain or "Wild West"-era United...
version of the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
, etc.)
The well-developed background of the game drew to the game many players, offering a breadth of material for players and gamemasters to draw from. At a time when many RPG settings were schizophrenic, cobbled-together affairs, RuneQuest offered players a vibrant living world, giving them much a more developed fictional world with established geography, history, and religion.
The Dragon Pass Area
The original rules contained a map of an area called Dragon Pass, a region offered as the default setting for adventures. The original RuneQuest game was set during a period of invasion, offering plenty of opportunities for game scenarios. A supplement entitled Cults of Prax supplement added more detail to many of the setting's locations.Cults and Religion
A key element of RuneQuest flavor is a character's affiliation with a cult. Characters begin as lay members and progress through a series of membership levels, such as initiate or Rune Lord. This system offered narrative and mechanical benefits to players who chose to have their characters join a cult.The basic rules described a handful of original and mythological gods. These were greatly expanded upon in the supplements Cults of Prax and Cults of Terror.
Magic in RuneQuest
Characters in RuneQuest are not divided into magic using and non-magic using characters. At the time of the game's release, this was an unorthodox mechanic. Although all characters have access to magic, for practical gameplay purposesGame balance
Game balance is a concept in game design describing fairness or balance of power in a game between multiple players or strategic options. Each team or person would be equally matched in every aspect.- Overview :...
a character's magical strength is proportional to her connection to the divine.
The exact divisions of magic vary from edition to edition, but most contain divisions such as Battle Magic, Sorcery, Petty Magicks, Divine Magic, Spirit Magic, and Enchantments.
System
RuneQuest's system has been praised as a realistic, robust simulation.In many ways, the system was developed as a response to more scalar systems, such as Dungeons & Dragons' level-based system. Through the removal of levelling, and the adherence to skill improvement, RuneQuest avoided many of the perceived flaws of such systems.
The game is presided over by a moderator or gamemaster
Gamemaster
A gamemaster is a person who acts as an organizer, officiant for questions regarding rules, arbitrator, and moderator for a multiplayer game...
, whose job is to interpret player decisions and their result on the shared game world. The gamemaster is also responsible for describing the setting and non-player characters. The gamemaster's role is fundamentally different from that of the other participants.
Character Creation
As with most RPGs, players begin by making a Player Character. This character serves as the player's avatar in the shared fictional game world, and is the agent through which the player makes gameplay and narrative decisions. Player characters are devised through a number of dice rolls to represent physical, mental and spiritual characteristics.Characters in RuneQuest gain power as they are used in play, but not to the degree that characters do in other fantasy RPGs. It is still possible for a weak character to slay a strong one through luck, tactics, or careful planning.
Combat
The game's combat system was designed in an attempt to recreate designer Steve Perrin's experience with live-action combat. Perrin experienced fake medieval combat through the Society for Creative AnachronismSociety for Creative Anachronism
The Society for Creative Anachronism is an international living history group with the aim of studying and recreating mainly Medieval European cultures and their histories before the 17th century...
. In the RuneQuest system, an attack is rolled using percentile dice. If the number rolled is equal to or less than the character's skill level, they have hit their target. The defender has the chance to roll to avoid the blow or parry it. The game features mechanics for critical hits and fumbling.
A key component of the RuneQuest combat system is a subsystem for hit location. Successful attacks are allocated randomly (or by decision) to a part of the target's body. In RuneQuest, a lucky hit against a character's leg, weapon arm, or head could have specific effects on the game's mechanics and narrative. This was a unique part of the game's combat system and helped to separate it from the more abstracted, level-based combat of competitors such as Dungeons & Dragons.
Combat in RuneQuest is more detailed, slower and often riskier than in competing RPGs. When combat takes place it is often highly tactical, and outcomes depend on strategic advantages from terrain, position, numerical superiority, or clever thinking.
Non-combat
Non-combat activities are also determined via percentile roll. As an example, if a character has climbing at 35% and her player rolls 25 on a D100, the character has succeeded. Rules for skill advancement rely on percentile dice and were a key feature of the system: to improve a character's abilities, her player needs to roll higher than the character's skill rating. For the climber example used earlier, the player would need to roll greater than 35 on a D100 in order to advance the character's skill. Thus, the better the character is at a skill the more difficult it is to improve.Other Rules
The RuneQuest rule book contained a large selection of fantasy monsters and their physical stats. As well as traditional fantasy staples, (Elves, Dwarves, Trolls, Undead, Lycanthropes, etc.), the book featured original goat-headed creatures called Broo. Unlike other fantasy RPGs of the time, RuneQuest encouraged the use of monsters as Player Characters.History
In 1975, games designer Greg Stafford released the fantasy board game White Bear and Red MoonWhite Bear and Red Moon
White Bear and Red Moon is a fantasy board wargame set in the world of Glorantha, created by Greg Stafford and published in 1975. Stafford set up the Chaosium game publishing company solely to produce and market the game....
(later Dragon Pass), produced and marketed by Chaosium
Chaosium
Chaosium is one of the longer lived publishers of role-playing games still in existence. Founded by Greg Stafford, its first game was actually a wargame, White Bear and Red Moon, which later mutated into Dragon Pass and its sequel, Nomad Gods...
, a game publishing company set up by Stafford solely for the release of the game. The board game introduced the region of Dragon Pass and many of the creatures and personalities that would appear in the world of the RuneQuest games. In 1978 Chaosium published the first edition of RuneQuest, a role playing game set in the world of Glorantha (first explored in White Bear and Red Moon). RuneQuest quickly established itself as the second most popular fantasy role-playing game, after Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
. The first and second editions are set in the mythical world of Glorantha
Glorantha
Glorantha is the Fantasy world created by Greg Stafford and since used as the background for several role-playing games, including RuneQuest , Hero Wars and HeroQuest , as well as several works of fiction and the computer strategy game King of Dragon Pass...
, while the third edition in the mid 1980s is more generic and was much less successful. RuneQuest is the original percentile die-based and skill-based rule set.
The game was sold to Avalon Hill
Avalon Hill
Avalon Hill was a game company that specialized in wargames and strategic board games. Its logo contained its initials "AH", and it was often referred to by this abbreviation. It also published the occasional miniature wargaming rules, role-playing game, and had a popular line of sports simulations...
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.
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. 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
HeroQuest (role-playing game)
HeroQuest is a narrativist role-playing game written by Robin D. Laws and published by Moon Design Publications under license from Issaries, Inc....
, which is the successor to Hero Wars. One reason for the new Glorantha-based game was that Avalon Hill retained rights to the "RuneQuest" name but not to the game's rules. A new game called RuneQuest: Slayers entered development in 1997, but it was shelved when Avalon Hill was bought by toymaker Hasbro
Hasbro
Hasbro is a multinational toy and boardgame company from the United States of America. It is one of the largest toy makers in the world. The corporate headquarters is located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States...
. At some stage in 2003 the rights to the trademarked name "RuneQuest" were acquired by Issaries, Inc.
Issaries
Issaries can refer to:* Issaries, Inc., a role-playing game publishing house* Issaries, the fictional Lightbringer god of trade in the Glorantha setting of the role-playing game RuneQuest...
Mongoose Publishing
Mongoose Publishing
Mongoose Publishing is a prolific British manufacturer of role-playing games, miniatures, and card games, actively publishing material since 2001...
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 during the Second Age (previous editions covered the Third Age). In 2010, Mongoose published a much-revised version called "RuneQuest II", this time with no OGL system reference document (SRD) for third-party publishers.
In May 2011, Mongoose Publishing
Mongoose Publishing
Mongoose Publishing is a prolific British manufacturer of role-playing games, miniatures, and card games, actively publishing material since 2001...
announced that they had parted company with Issaries, Inc.
Issaries
Issaries can refer to:* Issaries, Inc., a role-playing game publishing house* Issaries, the fictional Lightbringer god of trade in the Glorantha setting of the role-playing game RuneQuest...
, and that the RuneQuest II rules system that they had devised would live on under a Wayfarer banner, but without the Gloranthan content.. A month later Mongoose announced a further name change to Legend, so as not to conflict with the already existing Wayfarers RPG.
Legacy
ChaosiumChaosium
Chaosium is one of the longer lived publishers of role-playing games still in existence. Founded by Greg Stafford, its first game was actually a wargame, White Bear and Red Moon, which later mutated into Dragon Pass and its sequel, Nomad Gods...
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
Lynn Willis
Lynn Willis is a wargame and role-playing game designer who has done work for Metagaming Concepts, Game Designers' Workshop, and Chaosium.Willis began by designing science fiction wargames for Metagaming, starting with the Godsfire in 1976. He also designed the microgames Olympica and Holy War...
under the name of Basic Role-Playing
Basic Role-Playing
Basic Role-Playing is a role-playing game system which originated in the fantasy-oriented RuneQuest role-playing game rules...
(or BRP, for short). BRP was a generic role-playing game system
Generic role-playing game system
A generic role-playing game system or universal role-playing game system is a role-playing game system designed to be independent of setting and genre...
, derived from the two first RuneQuest editions (1978 and 1979). It was used for many Chaosium role-playing games that followed RuneQuest, including:
- StormbringerStormbringer (role-playing game)The Stormbringer fantasy role-playing game published by Chaosium puts the players in the world of the Young Kingdoms, based on the Elric of Melniboné books by Michael Moorcock. The game takes its name from Elric’s sword, Stormbringer...
(1981) - Call of CthulhuCall of Cthulhu (role-playing game)Call of Cthulhu is a horror fiction role-playing game based on H. P. Lovecraft's story of the same name and the associated Cthulhu Mythos.The game, often abbreviated as CoC, is published by Chaosium.-Setting:...
(1981) - Worlds of Wonder (1982)
- SuperworldSuperworldSuperworld is a superhero-themed role-playing game published by Chaosium in 1983. Written by Basic Role-Playing and RuneQuest author Steve Perrin, Superworld began as one third of the Worlds of Wonder product, which also included a generic fantasy setting, "Magic World", and a generic science...
(1983) - ElfQuestElfquestElfquest is a cult hit comic book property created by Wendy and Richard Pini in 1978. It is a fantasy story about a community of elves and other fictional species who struggle to survive and coexist on a primitive Earth-like planet with two moons. Several published volumes of prose fiction also...
(1984) - RingworldRingworld (role-playing game)The Ringworld science fiction role-playing game was published by Chaosium in 1984, using the Basic Role-Playing system for its rules and Larry Niven's Ringworld novels as a setting.-Setting:...
(1984) - PendragonPendragon (role-playing game)Pendragon, or King Arthur Pendragon, is a role-playing game in which players take the role of knights performing chivalric deeds in the tradition of Arthurian legend. It was originally written by Greg Stafford and published by Chaosium, then was acquired by Green Knight Publishing, who in turn...
(1985) -see below- - Hawkmoon (1985)
- NephilimNephilim (role-playing game)This article is about the Role-playing game, for the supernatural beings, see NephilimNephilim is a role-playing game about powerful elemental entities reincarnating into human beings...
(1992) - Elric!Stormbringer (role-playing game)The Stormbringer fantasy role-playing game published by Chaosium puts the players in the world of the Young Kingdoms, based on the Elric of Melniboné books by Michael Moorcock. The game takes its name from Elric’s sword, Stormbringer...
(1993)
Minor modifications of the BRP rules were introduced in every one of those games, to suit the flavor of each game's universe. Pendragon
Pendragon (role-playing game)
Pendragon, or King Arthur Pendragon, is a role-playing game in which players take the role of knights performing chivalric deeds in the tradition of Arthurian legend. It was originally written by Greg Stafford and published by Chaosium, then was acquired by Green Knight Publishing, who in turn...
used a 1-20 scale and 1d20 roll instead of a percentile scale and 1d100. In combat, it used a single STR-based damage value where weapons only gave bonuses or penalties to the number of d6s. Prince Valiant
Prince Valiant (role-playing game)
Prince Valiant: The Story-Telling Game is the official role-playing game based on Hal Foster's comic strip of the same name. Created by Greg Stafford the game was first published by Stafford's company, Chaosium, in 1989.-Setting:...
(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 on June 24, 2008 as a single comprehensive book with the title Basic Role-Playing. The book offers many optional rules, as well as genre-specific advice for fantasy, horror, and science-fiction. Currently Chaosium is selling both a printed and pdf version of the game. No current version of BRP includes any Gloranthan content.
Steve Perrin
Steve Perrin
Stephen Herbert Perrin, born January 22 1946 and simply known as Steve Perrin, is a game designer and technical writer/editor.Perrin is probably best known for creating the role-playing game RuneQuest for Chaosium...
, one of the authors of the original RuneQuest game, later developed a similar system known as Steve Perrin's Quest Rules
Steve Perrin's Quest Rules
Steve Perrin's Quest Rules, or SPQR for short, is a role-playing game system created and sold by Steve Perrin.- History :SPQR rules are based on those Perrin created for the role-playing game called RuneQuest, first published in 1978 by Chaosium and set in Greg Stafford's fantasy world, Glorantha...
(SPQR), which some RuneQuest fans consider to be a successor to the original game.
Since losing the license to use the RuneQuest name and Glorantha setting, Moongoose Publishing have announced that they will release a new series of books under the title of Legend, which are designed to be 100% compatible with the RuneQuest II ruleset. Legend will be released in late 2011 under an open license so that others will be able to release books based on those rules. As well as a new series of titles to be released for Legend, current Mongoose titles for RuneQuest II, such as the Vikings sourcebook, will be re-released as Legend-compatible books.