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''RuneQuest'' was created by Chaosium in 1978, making it one of the oldest tabletop Role-Playing Games. Among other things, it introduced an experience system that replaces the levels (as in Dungeons & Dragons) with skills that increase if you successfully use them (Traveller replaced levels with skills first but they didn't increase with use). It also introduced hit regions instead of general Hit Points. |
''RuneQuest'' was created by Chaosium in 1978, making it one of the oldest tabletop Role-Playing Games. Among other things, it introduced an experience system that replaces the levels (as used in ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]'') with skills that increase if you successfully use them (''[[Traveller]]'' replaced levels with skills first but they didn't increase with use). It also introduced hit regions instead of general Hit Points. |
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The original ''RuneQuest'' was set in |
The original ''RuneQuest'' was set in a [[Constructed World]] named Glorantha created by Chaosium co-founder Greg Stafford. The setting shares many tropes in common with other fantasy worlds (despite Stafford's insistence that it was more inspired by studies in folklore than popular fantasy), though it does have some unusual features, such as talking, cigar-chomping Ducks (blame [[Howard the Duck (comics)|Howard the Duck]], who was at the height of his popularity at the time). |
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The history of the game is somewhat convoluted, with many offshoots. The first version was published as a booklet in 1978, and sold very well. Soon after, they decided to expand it into a small box set (which were popular at the time). The subsequent second edition, released in 1980, didn't change the game particularly; it included a pair of starter adventures, a set of dice, and a stripped down quick-reference for new players called "Basic Role-playing" along with the main book, which was given all new typesetting and error corrections. It sold even better and is still considered the definitive edition. |
The history of the game is somewhat convoluted, with many offshoots. The first version was published as a booklet in 1978, and sold very well. Soon after, they decided to expand it into a small box set (which were popular at the time). The subsequent second edition, released in 1980, didn't change the game particularly; it included a pair of starter adventures, a set of dice, and a stripped down quick-reference for new players called "Basic Role-playing" along with the main book, which was given all new typesetting and error corrections. It sold even better and is still considered the definitive edition. |
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After that, Chaosium, needing money to expand, sold the rights to the name to Avalon Hill, and co-wrote the subsequent third edition, but retained the rights to the Glorantha setting and editorial approval of all use of the world (the third edition, originally published in 1984 as a large box set, included both Glorantha and an alternate generic fantasy Europe setting). After some time, the game went dormant (a planned new edition in 1994 was cancelled mid-development) |
After that, Chaosium, needing money to expand, sold the rights to the name to Avalon Hill, and co-wrote the subsequent third edition, but retained the rights to the Glorantha setting and editorial approval of all use of the world (the third edition, originally published in 1984 as a large box set, included both Glorantha and an alternate generic fantasy Europe setting). After some time, the game went dormant (a planned new edition in 1994 was cancelled mid-development). Stafford left the company after unrelated financial issues, taking the rights to Glorantha with him (he retained a large ownership stake in Chaosium, though). Stafford then partnered with a company called Moon Design Publishing to create an entirely different, more narrativist game called ''HeroQuest'', and eventually bought the rights to the ''RuneQuest'' name from Avalon Hill. |
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Stafford licensed the ''RuneQuest'' name to Mongoose Publishing to create a new version, published in 2006, which cloned the basics of the rules but didn't use the original texts (which had reverted to Chaosium). A revised Mongoose edition was prepared by designers Pete Nash and Lawrence Whittaker and published in 2010, and was far better received than the first. However, Mongoose's license was not renewed, and in 2012, a new company formed by Nash and Whittaker, The Design Mechanism, received a license to publish a 6th edition of ''RuneQuest'', an expansion of the second Mongoose edition they had largely written. Three years later, however, after some more financial issues at Chaosium, Stafford engineered a merger between Chaosium (of which he still owned a large chunk) and Moon Design, leading to a full reunion of all classic ''RuneQuest'' rights, and the plan for a new edition firmly set in Glorantha based largely on the early editions. |
Stafford licensed the ''RuneQuest'' name to Mongoose Publishing to create a new version, published in 2006, which cloned the basics of the rules but didn't use the original texts (which had reverted to Chaosium). A revised Mongoose edition was prepared by designers Pete Nash and Lawrence Whittaker and published in 2010, and was far better received than the first. However, Mongoose's license was not renewed, and in 2012, a new company formed by Nash and Whittaker, The Design Mechanism, received a license to publish a 6th edition of ''RuneQuest'', an expansion of the second Mongoose edition they had largely written. Three years later, however, after some more financial issues at Chaosium, Stafford engineered a merger between Chaosium (of which he still owned a large chunk) and Moon Design, leading to a full reunion of all classic ''RuneQuest'' rights, and the plan for a new edition firmly set in Glorantha based largely on the early editions. |
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In the intervening years, Chaosium used the same underlying rules for other games like Call of Cthulhu, Stormbringer, |
In the intervening years, Chaosium used the same underlying rules for other games like ''[[Call of Cthulhu (tabletop game)|Call of Cthulhu]]'', ''Stormbringer'', the ''ElfQuest RPG'', and many, many others, and it was in 2004 developed into the generic Basic Role-Playing System (BRP), which included a generic fantasy version called "Magic World". |
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Other variants and off-shoots in the fantasy genre are plentiful; the first Mongoose edition was published under an open gaming license, leading to a fan named Paul "Newt" Newport using it (and years of personal house rules) as the basis of a rules-light version called ''OpenQuest'' (first released in 2009, 2013 saw a second edition), Mongoose themselves have continued to print their second edition as ''Legend'' (with the Glorantha material removed) and The Design Mechanism plans to do the same with the 6th edition under the title ''Mythras''. As it's a largely modular system, they're all largely compatible, and players can freely lift elements from any one edition and use them in their home games easily. |
Other variants and off-shoots in the fantasy genre are plentiful; the first Mongoose edition was published under an open gaming license, leading to a fan named Paul "Newt" Newport using it (and years of personal house rules) as the basis of a rules-light version called ''OpenQuest'' (first released in 2009, 2013 saw a second edition), Mongoose themselves have continued to print their second edition as ''Legend'' (with the Glorantha material removed) and The Design Mechanism plans to do the same with the 6th edition under the title ''Mythras''. As it's a largely modular system, they're all largely compatible, and players can freely lift elements from any one edition and use them in their home games easily. |
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Glorantha is also the setting of the video-game King of Dragon Pass and the web-comic Prince of Sartar. There are two separate continuities: that of Mongoose ''RuneQuest'' (Glorantha Second Age) and the main, more canonical one (set in the Third Age). |
Glorantha is also the setting of the video-game ''[[King of Dragon Pass]]'' and the web-comic ''[[Prince of Sartar]]''. There are two separate continuities: that of Mongoose ''RuneQuest'' (Glorantha Second Age) and the main, more canonical one (set in the Third Age). |
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