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I haven't reviewed Mongoose's RuneQuest yet, and since there are plenty of reviews at RPG.net I'm not sure if I'll do it. I will just say that I think it's a very simple and elegant system. I never played the Second or Third Editions, and therefore I don't know how it compares to them, but as a stand alone product it's a very good one.

Mongoose took the nice decision to release the new RQ system as Open Game Content. I suppose they try to create a new niche in the saturated RPG market, and attract those who are tired of the d20 system. Although Glorantha is the default RQ world, they are releasing new campaign settings like Lankhmar, Hawkmoon and Elric. And, at the same time, small companies are starting to publish their own RQ material.

The Lost Isles 1: Exile is the first in the Singleton Scenarios series from Sceaptune Games, an English company located in Tidsworth (Wiltshire).

The idea behind Singleton Scenarios is to release adventures aimed for only one or two players, so you don't need a large group to run them.

But Exile is (luckily) more than an adventure. It is also a sourcebook to The Lost Isles, a very intriguing and self-contained setting, and also has new rules for RQ.

The Setting

The Lost Isles is an archipelago and also a prison. Its inhabitants are either criminals that have been exiled there or mariners that arrived there through and accident (the book doesn't mention the people that will be born in the island, since I'm sure there are both men and women).

The aim of all people is to escape to the normal world, although this is a nearly impossible feat. The Guardians, a group of dragons and wyverns, will chase anyone trying to do this. The only safe way to leave the Islands is to convince the Wardens, the mysterious beings that rule the place.

The other important concept in this setting is the Haven, a place surrounded by enchanted stones set up by the Wardens, where no one can be harmed. Not surprisingly, many towns and villages are located inside them.

The book also introduces four cults, new runes, spells and enchantments, and describes the dragons, vermindrakes and other strange species.

The Adventure: Exile

The scenario is just 20 pages long. If you take its elements one by one, there's nothing special about it: it's a quite linear story, there are some challenging combats, and the characters must explore the ruins of a village and uncover a conspiracy.

But taken together it's a very good adventure, since it manages to create a sense of wonder and discovery. Step by step, from the beach where they have been dropped, the characters will learn what are the Lost Islands and how people behave there.

There are really nice touches, and let me tell you two. When they are still in the beach, after a severe storm, they can see “a large black creature flapping lazily to the south west”. The monster doesn't interact with them, but they will feel the sense of menace.

When they meet Greeter, the human who welcomes the new exiles to the Islands, he will hand them a copy of the Warden's Laws, but also a map courtesy of Master Tornidelm, one of the biggest traders in the Islands. In fact Greeter tells them that he has been paid to deliver the map! It's like going to a Tourist Information office where they “recommend” you which restaurants you should eat... These are the details that made The Enemy Within campaign really great, and it's very nice to find them in Exile.

As I said before, the adventure is aimed for one or two players, and the book includes several “accomplices” that can be used as secondary characters. There is also some advice about adapting the story to a normal 4 to 6 people group.

Style

The book is available in paperback and PDF format, and I have the electronic version. The layout is very similar to the one that Mongoose uses, and the few illustrations and maps are quite good. The text is easy to read and nicely distributed, and the index is very useful.

Conclusion

I don't believe in large campaign fantasy worlds anymore, and I think that independent publishers should concentrate in small, self-contained settings. I prefer a 80-pages book describing in detail an original town or island, than a 250-pages manual full of bland history (another war between elves and dwarves in the Second Age?), the usual pantheon and the overused races.

So I really loved The Lost Islands. The influence of The Prisoner is quite obvious, but the setting is nevertheless original and the adventure is really atmospheric. I can imagine running a lot of game sessions with just this book.

If the new RuneQuest is supported not only by Mongoose, but also by other companies delivering quality books, I think it can be a very successful game again.