Heya, has anyone tried or seen this material? Ive played for years with the old dusty manuals and they are certainly dog-eared...just wondering before i spend a load of money on some new snazzy thing and it turns out to be 180 degrees in the opposite direction.
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I'm playing an RQ campaign at the moment as a player using the new stuff. It's interesting, and recognisably RQ, but they have beefed up/complicated the combat system a little (adding some elements which would seem to owe a little to the D&D 3E system, though it is still probably less complex that the D&D combat system) and magic is also a bit changed (most notably spirit magic, which is now called rune magic and now very explicity built around possessing and "internalising" different runes). Also, they (Mongoose) are concentrating on the Second Age rather than the Third Age, though if you have the old Glorantha supplements I don't get the impression this is any hindrance to playing in the Third Age - we are.
But character creation seems to have the same basic concept - same stats, and then starting skills based on background and profession (though the specifics are not identical). There is still MP, Strike Rank, hit locations (though not overall HP anymore, which reduces the lethality of combat a bit), skills (though now broken down into Basic (available to all) and Advanced skills (more specific to individual professions) (plus, starting skill chances are now based on stat points - e.g. STR + POW or whatever depending on the nature of the skill - rather than the flat 5% or whatever in the previous edition), crits, fumbles, and the basic use of the d100 to resolve actions. And all the Glorantha fluff remains perfectly valid (and a lot of the older stuff has been updated - there are (2, I think) books on the Cults of Glorantha, for example).
The other thing is that they have split the rules into a number of different books - a Basic Book, a more Advanced Book, a Monsters Book, and so on. Lots of books, in fact, all hardback. (As I'm British, and Games Workshop issued the previous version of RQ when I was a nipper, that is the approach they took, while the US version of the rules was a more unified boxed set which, assuming you are American, is the approach you might be familiar with.)
Having played nothing but D&D for years, it took a little getting used to. I'm finding it enjoyable. But I'm playing, not GM'ing, and I don't own any of the books, so I can't answer on value for money, or give you a deep analysis. But I'm finding it a worthwhile game system, and I'm having fun being back in Glorantha.
Hope this helps.
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The Base Rulebook, Companion and Monsters are available as a single volume called RuneQuest Deluxe.
It's a good system that will fit people who want something rules-light that runs fast, can be easily modified and house-ruled. The core concepts are simple and don't interconnect too much with each other (read: much less than in d20, for instance), so you won't have as much trouble coming up with say... alternate rules for critical hits, or plugging in feats, what-have-you.
It's not d20. It's really d100 basic system. It's just that you can plug your own stuff quite easily to it.
There are already many settings available, like Glorantha and Nehwon. Elric of Melniboné and Hawkmoon are sold as complete RPGs using the MRQ system. There's probably more on the way.
I've got most of the generic line, Glorantha and Nehwon materials. I like it personally. Great change of pace from D&D.
I started w/ Runequest back around '79/'80, before I ever got into D&D. I loved it, but didn't have the players to sustain me, so I switched to D&D. It was only in the past few years that I saw a resurgence of interest and materials for the setting; though it confused me that 2 publishers were handling it. Anyway, I'm a bit astonished that Mongoose can release all the tons of hardcover supplements they're doing these days. I hope it works out for them, as it's a great setting.