Introduction
In the mid 1970s the first popular fantasy role-playing game (FRPG) -- TSR's Dungeons & Dragons -- took the tabletop gaming world by storm. If your idea of adventure leaned towards high fantasy worlds in the tradition of Tolkien, then D&D was the right choice for you. However for many players both the mechanics and settings of D&D were lacking simplicity or style. In 1978 another FRPG arrived, one that possessed a gorgeously unique setting coupled with game mechanics far ahead of its time. Largely ignored by the mainstream gaming press (i.e. TSR's Dragon Magazine), and a distant second in popularity to TSR's offering, Runequest still managed to find a sizable and loyal audience.
The first edition of Runequest did not circulate very widely, so this review is based on the far more common second edition hardcover rulebook released in 1980.
As I've stated in other reviews, I try to concentrate on both objective and subjective analysis. While a gaming system is more difficult to review than a sourcebook (because of the added element of system mechanics and their functionality), I still hope to tell you what Runequest is, independently of my own subjective analysis. Even if you disagree with my assessment, hopefully you'll have a clear understanding of what the product provides.
A quick disclaimer here: I'm not a hardcore RuneQuest player. As a matter of fact, I'm an "armchair" RuneQuest player, meaning I've read the rules and a lot of source material, but have not actually played the game (ergo this is a capsule review, not a playtest review). The primary reason is that, back in my playing days, finding a local group that even knew what RQ was was very difficult; and in these days, with a job and family, finding time to game at all is extremely difficult. So if I have some facts or history wrong, feel free to correct me, but cut me some slack =)
That said, let's begin.
Presentation
The RQ hardcover edition was ahead of its time, both in terms of style and quality. Consisting of 112 pages (plus some character sheets and an index) in a 8 1/2 x 11 hardbound book, it is a testament to its quality that editions found today are often in very readable condition, unlike some other hardcovers that have shown up since then (*cough* Unearthed Arcana *cough*). The flow of the rules is logical, and the black and white illustrations are simple but still tasteful and consistent. And remember, 112 pages for a complete rulebook is downright ultraterse compared to the competition of the time.
To my knowledge, the boxed set differed from the hardcover rules only by including some supplementary materials and replacing the hardbound rulebook with a softcover. The additional materials were not particularly impressive. There was "Fangs!" (a forgettable set of example monsters -- basically typed numbers with no illustrations, crammed into a staple bound pamphlet), "Basic Role-playing" (a beginner's guide to role-playing) and "Apple Lane", the RQ beginner's adventure (Chaosium's equivalent to "Keep on the Borderlands").
One aspect of the RQ rules I really enjoyed was "Rurik's Saga", an on-going set of sidebars that describe the adventures of a sample character, Rurik, and his companions. These snapshots are generally well-written, easy to understand synopses of the various rules, given in context of Rurik or his pals.
The rules are subdivided into eleven brief chapters: Introduction, How to Create an Adventurer, Mechanics and Melee, Combat Skills, Basic Magic, Other Skills, Rune Magic, Monsters, Treasure Hoards, Appendices and Indices. My only real complaint with the rules is that often you will encounter a rule description without understanding the purpose of the mechanic -- a lot of "what"/"how" without the "why". But this is a fairly common problem with rulebooks in general.
All in all, very well done layout and presentation in a sturdy and attractive format. I don't remember how much it cost when it was released, but I'm pretty sure it was significantly more expensive than competing products at the time.
Setting
Setting, setting and more setting. The original releases of Runequest (prior to third edition, when Avalon Hill took over) were all about the incredibly rich and detailed world of Greg Stafford's Glorantha. For many players, RQ is Glorantha -- they'd be just as happy playing a D20 variant of Glorantha if one was available. For other players, myself included, RQ was about the mix of a detailed and original world combined with a set of game mechanics that were intuitive yet incredibly expressive. To me, the idea of playing in Glorantha with non-RQ mechanics is the RPG equivalent of a soup sandwich. It just doesn't make sense.
Flavor
Glorantha is what I'd call a "mid-fantasy" setting. Magic and the gods exist, and in abundance, however the civilizations are still in the bronze age of development. In terms of flavor, Glorantha has far more in common with ancient Greece, Mesopotamia and China than, say, medieval Europe. While spellcasters are ubiquitous (anyone can cast spells, within reason), most magic is limited to basic and utilitarian cantrips. Even the more powerful Rune Magic is fairly weak compared to the kind of artillery present in most high fantasy settings. Glorantha lacks the roving bands of street corner fireball slinging mages that many of us have become accustomed to. Magic is common, but strong magic is incredibly rare.
Races
Part of the "middle-fantasy" aspect of Glorantha is its emphasis on humans as player characters. While the rules do not explicitly forbid the player characters from choosing an alternative race, the setting tends to work against non-humans as adventurers. One interesting note is that the reason it's even possible to have a non-human PC is that the monsters and PCs use a unified stat system. Monsters have characteristic ratings just like PCs, and as a result they can act just like PCs because of a nice, clean orthogonal rule system (unlike D&D's inconsistent "hit dice" for monsters and levels for players).
Monsters
As mentioned earlier, most monsters in RuneQuest are defined using the same characteristics system as the player (in fact, many of the sample sidebars indicate the monsters will go off after a battle and increase their skills!). This gives the fauna of Glorantha a consistent interface for the system mechanics, however it still allows variety in the monster descriptions. Glorantha has a fairly large range of beasts and monsters -- lycanthropes, undead, elves and dragons are represented, however they are considered extremely rare. So while the rules do describe such creatures, actually finding one is quite the novelty.
Geography
Geographically speaking, Stafford took a very, er, historical approach. Glorantha is presented in mythical terms, not scientific ones. The planet is a large, squarish rectangular lozenge, not a globe. The borders of the world fade into mythic realms of the gods where few mortals tread and survive. The majority of the game is centered on a small part of the main continent, Genertela, in a region rife with history. One thing the world of Glorantha does not lack is background material. Numerous supplements abound that describe the setting in detail. By and large Glorantha is pretty Earth-like in its geographic distribution.
Religion
Religion and its organization are a focal point of RuneQuest. The gods of Glorantha are active and participate heavily in the affairs of men. All magic is derived, directly or indirectly, from the gods. Much like the gods of Lankhmar, the deities of Glorantha become more powerful as their base of worshippers increase. This gives a god a strong impetus to assist (via magic) its worshippers.
The religions of Glorantha are organized into "cults" (RQ terminology). A player may be unaffiliated, loosely affiliated or tightly affiliated (an active member) with a cult. In order to attain the highest ranks of power in RuneQuest, a player typically must become an initiate of a cult and, eventually, a Rune Lord, Rune Priest or both. Cults provide lodging, adventures and training (both mundane and magical), and as such really are a nearly inescapable aspect of RQ.
Story and Purpose
The nominal time period for a RuneQuest campaign is during the Hero Wars, a period when many adventurers polished their skills hoping to take part in one of the greatest struggles in Glorantha's history -- the battle between the Lunar Empire and the Sartarite rebels. Most campaigns use this as an enfolding framework for individual adventures. Adventuring allows the PCs to learn the skills and acquire the equipment necessary to achieve the status of Rune Lord (fighter) or Rune Priest (magic user) or, sometimes, both. Hence the name of the game.
However, the mechanics and setting don't force this particular time period on the players. In theory you could adapt the rules fairly easily to another setting; in addition, it is conceivable that the players could adventure in a time period before or after the Hero Wars.
Character Creation and Mechanics
While many argue that the true greatness of RuneQuest was its setting, I'm one of those that believe its mechanics truly set it apart from the other FRPGs of its day. RuneQuest provided refreshingly different mechanics, without succumbing to the now popular fad of inventing bizarre and complex dice pool mechanics. RQ's mechanics are extremely streamlined and useful, but still deep enough for a wide range of activities. In-game operation made sense, and such rigid conventions as levels and classes were tossed out the door. All in all, a fairly remarkable achievement by yesterday's standards. What I find even more remarkable is that RQ's mechanics still hold up well in today's climate of evolving system mechanics.
Characteristics
At first glance RuneQuest's character system looks very similar to traditional FRPGs of the time - a set of characteristics quantified using standard 3D6 dice rolls. However, once you get past their names it's apparent that RQ operates very differently.
The standard characteristics in RuneQuest are Strength (STR), Constitution (CON), Size (SIZ), Intelligence (INT), Power (POW), Dexterity (DEX) and Charisma (CHA). These are determined using standard dice rolls (3D6), however unlike other FRPGs some of these attributes can be increased almost routinely through (costly and time consuming) training or experience. As a result, an older adventurer is expected to have characteristics significantly superior to those of a less experienced one.
STR represents a character's strength relative to his size (SIZ). STR bonuses modify the things that you'd expect - to-hit, damage and strength based skills. You can expend money and time to train your STR value up to the greater of your SIZ or CON attribute.
CON signifies a character's constitution, or ability to withstand physical punishment, disease and poison. CON also determines a character's hit points, modified by SIZ and POW. CON may be increased up to the maximum of SIZ and STR through training.
SIZ is unique to RuneQuest, and as you would guess, represents the character's overall size. A character's hit point total is modified by SIZ. In addition, the ability to dodge or perform stealthy maneuvers are affected by this characteristic. Along with POW, SIZ has benefits/drawbacks at both ends of the scale. As a rule, SIZ does not change except through extraordinary circumstances.
INT represents a character's raw intelligence -- the ability to reason, think through abstractions and memorize data. Like SIZ, INT may not be naturally altered. Unlike other FRPGs, INT is important no matter what style of game you play, since it directly affects your ability to learn from experience and thus increase your skills. It also determines how many spells you may have memorized at once (remember that all characters can be spellcasters, so this is actually important).
POW is a combination of mana ("magic fuel"), favor of gods and luck. It directly determines a character's ability to cast spells -- higher POW means a greater chance of success and more spells that may be cast. POW can be increased through successful spell casting; as a matter of fact, for higher level aspects of the game (becoming a Rune Lord or Rune Priest), having a high POW is vital. One interesting aspect of POW is that, like SIZ, too much of it can detract from a character's abilities in certain areas, specifically skulking around and performing stealthy maneuvers. Apparently those with the favor of the gods generate a "buzz" or "aura" that is difficult to hide.
DEX is pretty much analogous to D&D's dexterity attribute. It controls the character's overall agility and the ability to manipulate small objects. DEX is widely used in the combat and magic mechanics, and obviously it is relevant to the "thieving" skills. As with the other physical attributes, DEX may be increased through appropriate training.
Finally, there is CHA (Charisma). This determines the character's innate ability to lead others and attract followers. CHA plays a pivotal role in the character's bargaining abilities (such as the ability to get a price break on training) and it is also vital when trying to gain acceptance in a cult or guild. CHA is somewhat anomalous compared to the other characteristics because it cannot be increased through experience or training, however it can be increased in alternative ways. For example, a high skill in Oratory, successful and unsuccesful campaigns/adventures, possession of any magic item, or even having a high weapon skill can all have an effect on CHA.
Training
After a PC's initial attributes are generated, it is expected that he will take out a loan from an appropriate guild to fund basic training (to raise characteristics and/or skills). This loan must be repaid in full, and no other training may occur until the loan is fully repaid. This offers an interesting mix of both point allocation and random dice roll attribute systems.
Abilities
There are a set of ratings, known as abilities, that are based on a combination of experience and characteristic bonuses. These are Attack, Parry, Defense, Hit Points, Damage, Perception, Stealth, Manipulation and Knowledge. Most of these abilities are actually just modifiers to skills. For example, Attack is used as a combat modifier in conjunction with the character's specific weapon skill. Defense is used as a penalty against an enemy's Attack. Hit Points are an absolute value computed from SIZ, CON and POW. Most of these ability ratings change only when an underlying characteristic is altered; the sole exception is Defense, which can be increased with successful use.
Skills
The most obvious difference between RQ and other RPGs of the time is that RQ is skill-based, not class-based. Characters may learn whatever skills they want, so long as they have access to the time, money and tutors necessary. Sometimes a character will pursue an advancement path that feels like a class (shaman, Rune Lord or Rune Priest), however the restrictions imposed by these categories make sense and are there for balance reasons: the abilities of a shaman, Rune Lord or Rune Priest are significantly powerful enough that some kind of trade off must be made.
Combat Skills are simple, since they correlate to a specific weapon. Depending on the weapon a character's initial skill rating will be between 5 and 25%. For example, a sling has a base 10% chance to hit, whereas a club has a base 25% chance to hit. These skills increase with experience, and are modified, as appropriate, by the character's Attack and Parry abilities during combat.
Other Skills are those that are used outside the confines of the attack and parry dance. These are divided into four broad categories: Stealth, Manipulation, Perception and Knowledge (which, not coincidentally, correspond to the like named Abilities). All skills have a base 5% chance of success (i.e. a completely untrained person still has a 5% chance of performing some skill), however a character can approach the appropriate band, guild or brotherhood for training. For example, the Alchemist's Guild may instruct a character on such skills as Acid Making, Antidotes, Blade Venom or Systemic Poison. Some guilds will only train adventurers after certain requirements are fulfilled, e.g. favors performed, fees paid, oaths taken, etc. For non-combat skills, credit is typically not provided to a character, so everything must be paid for in full, up front. This means beginning characters typically will not be able to train in secondary skills until at least a couple of successful adventures.
Task resolution is fundamentally percentile based, however skills advance in 5% increments (later rules modified this so that you could increase in smaller intervals). Success with a skill involves rolling a D100 underneath your relevant skill, adjusted by the appropriate characteristic modifiers (e.g. for STR). A roll of 01-05 is an automatic success (sometimes a critical success) and a roll of 96-00 is an automatic failure and sometimes a fumble.
Advancement
In addition to the lack of fixed classes, characters in RuneQuest do not accrue experience points or levels. Instead, after successfully using a skill under stress (that is, in an adventure), a character may "reflect" on his achievements and attempt to learn from it (between adventures, not during an adventure). The odds of learning are based on the character's current skill level (the more you know, the less there is to learn) along with his INT bonus. If the character rolls under (100-skill INT bonus) then he will gain 5% to his skill. This is a simple and elegant mechanic -- when the odds of success are low, the likelihood of learning go up. But as a character learns more, there is effectively less for the character to learn.
RuneQuest characters may also increase their base characteristics through training. Some attributes, such as SIZ, CHA and INT, are extremely difficult to modify through normal means. Others, such as STR, CON and DEX, are fairly easy to increase. STR, CON and DEX can be increased through training, and POW may be increased through experience (much like skills).
Combat
Like any classic game of the era, RQ emphasizes dungeon crawl hack and slash, so the combat system is extremely important. Once again, RuneQuest gives us a very simple, elegant and straightforward way to resolve conflict.
Each combat turn is divided into four distinct phases: statement of intent; movement of non-engaged characters; resolution of combat; and bookkeeping. Prior to each turn, every combatant has to formally state what he's going to do. From that point on, he may only abort an action, not change it, at least for the duration of the round. After movement, there is the resolution of attacks. The attack roll must be under Attacker Weapon Skill Attribute Bonuses - Defender Defense. Upon success, a d20 is rolled to determine hit location, damage is rolled, armor is taken into account, and finally damage is assessed. The bookkeeping phase is there to document changes in hit points, POW and successful use of skills.
Combatants take turns attacking according to their "strike rank", which is largely determined by their DEX, SIZ and weapon -- there is no element of randomness to it. There are twelve strike ranks per melee round, and assuming characters are fast enough, they can perform multiple actions per round.
Combat is generally very lethal. Armor directly absorbs damage before passing it on to the body, but delivered damage is often large enough that a character can be incapacitated with one good shot. Unlike many other RPGs, characters don't gain an inordinate amount of hit points as they become more experienced. One by-product of this is that a low power monster or NPC can easily kill a high level character with one lucky shot. This feels right from a realism standpoint, but it sure does suck in practice when you're Rune Lord is taken out by a street thug that managed to throw a dagger through the eye slit of your character's helmet.
At higher power levels, characters can begin using advanced techniques like dual wield and "spreading" their attacks and defenses against multiple opponents. Once again, these are relatively advanced concepts, but the implementation tends to be a simple and intuitive extension off the basic combat rules.
Magic
RuneQuest provides two different and distinct forms of magic. The first, Basic Magic, is a kind of generic, low-level magic that is derived from a character's innate POW. The second, Rune Magic, is much more powerful and requires the assistance of a deity. This requirement also restricts Rune Magic to those characters that have attained responsibility and power within a cult.
Basic Magic
In a nutshell Basic Magic is a simple, straightforward type of magic that involves temporarily modifying the fabric of the universe. The success of a spell is largely determined by the character's POW. In addition, the number of spells a character can cast without rest is determined by his POW, since POW also directly correlates to a character's mana. Finally, POW is also used when defending against enemy spells. As you can tell, if you're going to be using magic, POW is extremely important.
Battle Magic is the most common form of basic magic. It is the nuts and bolts spell casting you'd expect to see, consisting of basic "buffs", "debuffs" and similar tactical spells.
Since most Battle Magic is fairly basic, just about any cult will teach it to an adventurer for the right price or favor. As with skills, a cult will often extend credit to beginning adventurers so they can get their magical capabilities rolling. Without this concession, it would be very difficult to have a newbie spellcaster.
The other attribute that comes into play for Battle Magic is INT. A character's intelligence rating directly controls the number of spells he can memorize -- up to INT number of POW points in spells may be memorized. Purging then memorizing new spells is a fairly lengthy task, so players will not be able to selectively cycle through their list of memorized spells as the situation dictates, a smart balancing move on the part of the designers. Quick aside: one thing about the RQ rules I like is that the designers seemed to be able to head off many of the typical power gaming/munchkin tricks at the pass. For example, a PC Rune Priest is capable of teaching a spell to player character, but the rules specifically state that the fee cannot be bypassed (it must be paid to the Rune Priest who, in turn must donate all that money to his or her cult) or else you will have "cheated your god".
There are a variety of Battle Magic spells, with various attributes such as their duration, active vs. passive nature, range and whether they need to be "focused". This latter item is an important aspect of RQ magic. Most spells require a focus -- a carved rune that assists the player in channeling his energy. Some types of spells do not require a focus, other spells can get by without a focus but spellcasting takes a significantly longer period of time. Typically the runes will be carved on those items that need them, e.g. a Bladesharp rune may be carved on the hilt of a sword.
The use of a spell works very similarly to standard melee or missile combat. Spells operate in strike rank order, just as with melee weapons. When a spell's effect may be contested (i.e. it is used against something else, as opposed to acting on a cooperative or inanimate target), the caster must make a roll equal to 50% ( POW - enemy POW ) x 5%. Fairly straightforward rules giving equally matched opponents a base 50/50 chance of affecting the other. Once a spell is cast, it drains a fixed amount of POW from the caster temporarily. This POW may be regained through rest, but until then the caster has a reduced magical resistance (since magical contests leverage the two combatants' current POW, not maximum POW).
As stated earlier, the successful use of spells under stressful situations allows the character to make an attempt at increasing POW between adventures. Increasing your POW is a fundamental goal in RuneQuest, since POW is so pivotal in the magic system.
An interesting aspect of the RQ magic system is the ability to trap and harness the INT and POW of spirits. A character can attempt to attract and capture a spirit, binding it to either an animal familiar or a special crystal. If he is successful, he can leverage the spirit's INT for memorizing spells and POW for casting spells, although the spirit itself is unable to cast spells. This is an incredibly powerful aspect of the RuneQuest magic system, and fairly easy to abuse -- especially given that characters can sometimes have up to 6 spirits bound to them (depending on the character's CHA).
Somewhat related to this are shamans, a specialized form of spellcaster with strong ties to the spirit plane, and the closest thing RuneQuest has to a class. Characters from barbarian tribes can choose to become a shaman, which requires significant training and has some distinct drawbacks. The primary advantage is that character becomes a far more powerful spellcaster (through the use of a "fetch", for example). And I mean WAY more powerful spellcaster. Shamen have the ability to store extra POW in the spirit plane; their odds of increasing POW are dramatically higher than other characters; they can resurrect themselves (!); they can cure disease; and they can control spirits through a bargaining process (as opposed to a struggle of wills).
Of course, all this power does have its drawbacks, including obligations to their tribe or cult and a complete inability to raise any attributes except POW and CHA. Even worse, any DEX based skills automatically stagnate and cannot be raised past DEX x 5! Shamen also tend to be very visible, thus attracting attention, and finally, they can't stop being shamen except through suicide -- no "dual classing". The path of a shaman is a committed one.
Rune Magic
The other major form of magic in RuneQuest is the Rune magic itself. Runes are symbols that possess an inherent form of power, as opposed to Basic Magic which channels magic off the spirit plane. The Runes fall into four classes: Elements, Forms, Conditions and Powers. There are various specific types within each of the classes, for example Element Darkness, Form Plant, Condition Mastery and Power Harmony.
In Glorantha there are a myriad of cults that worship beings ranging from major deities all the way down to ancestor spirits. One of the driving goals for characters in RuneQuest is to attain mastery of a Rune, and to do this they must join a cult.
Entering a cult is fairly simple, the character simply "applies" (assuming he worships the cult's deity, obviously) and, if successful (based on an appropriate roll of the dice), he is accepted. At that point he gains some fairly low level powers, such as divine intervention and a limited use of rune magic. Of course, training for various skills and spells is usually presented at a discount also.
As the player progresses within the cult, he strives to become either a Rune Lord, a Rune Priest or both. Becoming a Rune Lord is fairly difficult, and given the requirements takes a long time. Specifically, the requirements are a POW of 15 or more; he must be an initiate for at least 1 year; and he must have at least 90% in five skills. If he's accepted as a Rune Lord, the character may extend his abilities beyond 100% (the nominal cap) with appropriate rolls against his INT. Other sundry benefits exist, including divine intervention; board and succor; the ability to ally (as opposed to capturing) a spirit; and the use of enchanted iron, which is incredibly rare and powerful in Glorantha. Under normal conditions, iron interferes with Battle Magic, so the ability to use superior iron weaponry and armor in conjunction with Battle Magic is a pretty serious boost to a character's strength.
Of course, it's not all perks for the Rune Lord. He now has a new set of responsibilities, including obedience (he has to do what the cult orders) and a 90% tithe (yikes!), however he can draw on his contributions for training and spells).
A Rune Priest specializes in the use of magic. Available to him are the secrets of Rune Magic hidden from those not of the priesthood. Once again, a set of prerequisites must be met, including a minimum POW of 18; knowledge of reading and writing his native tongue (a learned skill); and, of course, the lucky roll of the dice. Upon success, the new Rune Priest gains board and succor; training (on credit) in various skills; easier POW gain rolls; access to Rune Magic (the big perk); and the ability to ally a spirit.
Of course, the reason to become a Rune Priest is for the Rune Magic. Only a Rune Priest can cast Rune Magic spells. Unlike Battle Magic, Rune Magic leverages the power of the priest's "sponsor" god instead of the spirit plane. Basically, the cult's deity channels power through the Rune Priest -- the in-game effect is that the Rune magic doesn't eat POW, instead it may only be cast once per day. Of course, the god requires something in return, usually the permanent sacrifice of POW beyond 18. Each point of POW sacrificed allows a certain amount of Rune magic to be learned; this POW can be regained through normal POW gain rolls, otherwise priests would be fairly limited. A priest can amplify his Rune magic spells with his own POW by "bidding up", which increases the odds of success.
While at first glance a Rune Priest really doesn't seem that powerful, the ability to cast very powerful spells without draining POW is significant. The Rune Priest's magic resistance doesn't plummet catastrophically with spell casting, unlike users of battle magic. And Rune Magic, overall, has much more powerful spells than plain old Battle Magic.
It is possible for a Rune Lord to become a Priest as well, but this requires a POW of 18 and all the other prerequisites to become a Rune Priest.
Overall this is a competent magic system. Nothing particularly earth shattering, but a lot of flavor and feel.
Conclusion
In case you couldn't tell, I really dig RuneQuest. It's a classic setting with fast, intuitive and friendly mechanics. The rules are condensed into a single, thin rulebook but without being dumbed down or made overly simplistic. In fact, I would argue that RQ has a much more flexible and freeform rule system than many other games out there (including GURPS). In fact, the Chaosium house rules (Basic Role-playing, or BRP) were adapted for the rest of their lines like Call of Cthulhu, Elric and Pendragon (I think).
If you're looking for a change of pace from your dwarves, vampires and cyberjocks, definitely give Glorantha and Runequest a try. It's not so alien as to be unapproachable, yet it's different enough that it doesn't feel like yet another rehashed Middle Earth.
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