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This forum exists principally to facilitate discussion of Chaosium's Runequest 2 set in Glorantha. However we also welcome discussion of any and all forms of Runequest in the interests of creating a viable online RQ community.
Please see the thread on "Issaries Inc Informal License" (General Board) for the terms and conditions under which this site operates in relation to Issaries trademark ownership of Runequest and Glorantha.
The discussion in the retor-clone thread, and it's spin-offs, leads me to the conclusions that:-
a clone is a good idea there are at least a few people who would be interseting in supporting it there are at least one or two people who might be prepared to contribute to it somebody actually needs to take a lead on it if it is going to happen rather than just get talked about
So this is me taking a lead on it.
The RQ2 retro-clone will be called Glyphmaster, at least for the time being. I will edit it, put it into a PDF when it's ready, investigate working with a publisher, such as Goblinoid Games, with experience of the clone market.
I will write as much of it as I can given constrainst of a full time job and family commitments. However I would be very grateful of input from anybody who wants to do some of the writing in exchange for ...
drumroll...
a writing credit!
If you want to write something it would probably be a good idea to send me a private message so that we don't end up with people duplicating work.
The idea is to make something 100% compatible with RQ2. Cults will have their proper significance in Glyphmaster although it will probably be necessary to use generic names such as sun god, death god, wind god, healer goddess. If possible we might create some kind of setting for the game which could be used as an alternative to Glorantha. I would like something similar to Rurik's saga in the Glyphmaster rulebook.
If it is possible to source art for free then we will include it in the rulebook provided it is of a quality that adds to rather than detracts from the overall package.
I know that there is at least one other person working on a RQ2 clone independently and I would like to wish him luck. I believe though that he is working solo and is not very far advanced. I also understand that a new version of Openquest is under development which I believe is intending to put some of the complexity back into the game. However as things stand I believe that there is definitely a place for 'Glyphmasters'.
We already have the list of RQ2 official skills i'm working on (need to put the bases and training costs, but on it). I think we should re-name them a bit too!
I have reformatted (i.e: different) tables for skill bonuses on my campaign site https://sites.google.com/site/rqadventures/adventurers (just ignore everything under "RQ Lite" thats F&S based)
The discussion in the retor-clone thread, and it's spin-offs, leads me to the conclusions that:-
a clone is a good idea there are at least a few people who would be interseting in supporting it there are at least one or two people who might be prepared to contribute to it somebody actually needs to take a lead on it if it is going to happen rather than just get talked about
So this is me taking a lead on it.
The RQ2 retro-clone will be called Glyphmaster, at least for the time being. I will edit it, put it into a PDF when it's ready, investigate working with a publisher, such as Goblinoid Games, with experience of the clone market.
I will write as much of it as I can given constrainst of a full time job and family commitments. However I would be very grateful of input from anybody who wants to do some of the writing in exchange for ...
drumroll...
a writing credit!
If you want to write something it would probably be a good idea to send me a private message so that we don't end up with people duplicating work.
The idea is to make something 100% compatible with RQ2. Cults will have their proper significance in Glyphmaster although it will probably be necessary to use generic names such as sun god, death god, wind god, healer goddess. If possible we might create some kind of setting for the game which could be used as an alternative to Glorantha. I would like something similar to Rurik's saga in the Glyphmaster rulebook.
If it is possible to source art for free then we will include it in the rulebook provided it is of a quality that adds to rather than detracts from the overall package.
I know that there is at least one other person working on a RQ2 clone independently and I would like to wish him luck. I believe though that he is working solo and is not very far advanced. I also understand that a new version of Openquest is under development which I believe is intending to put some of the complexity back into the game. However as things stand I believe that there is definitely a place for 'Glyphmasters'.
The idea is to make something 100% compatible with RQ2. Cults will have their proper significance in Glyphmaster although it will probably be necessary to use generic names such as sun god, death god, wind god, healer goddess. If possible we might create some kind of setting for the game which could be used as an alternative to Glorantha. I would like something similar to Rurik's saga in the Glyphmaster rulebook.
Here's an idea for the setting: a city built out of ancient ruins on a river bordering a vast expanse of plains. Nomads from the plains across the river constantly threaten the city. Their gods are a Chieftain, a Mother Goddess, a Berserker God and the Ancestors. The City has a City God. Other gods worshiped in the City include the Storm God, the War God, the Merchant God, the Lord of Knowledge, and the Lady of Compassion, all of whom are part of the same pantheon. The City has invited in protectors - first the hoplites of the Sun God, and now the legions of the Moon Goddess. The ruins also host trolls/goblins, who have a Mother Goddess and a Lord of Terror, and elves, who have a Forest Mother. All these places, peoples and cults should be named and detailed.
I'd be happy to work on the setting. Derivative, yes. But that's the point, surely?
Must say I don't care for the name "Glyphmasters." If Pazio can put out "Rise of the Runelords," and Marvel can have a saga about Runelords, I'm sure we can use the name too.
I'm confused. Why would you give this a setting? Isn't the idea just to make a set of publicly available RQ II rules since they are currently Out of Print? It seems to me that anything distracting from that general goal is superfluous and counterproductive. For setting materials folks can buy the setting books for HQ, MRQ, or Gloranthan Classics.
The main point is to make it possible for experienced RQ folks to introduce newbiews to the joys of RQ2 in Glorantha. However I tend to feel that some type of setting or background would help, for example in giving flavour to the play based examples in the rule book and also in making plain that the emphasis is on progression within a cult.
I also like the idea of being able to produce scenarios that could easily be transferred to a Gloranthan setting but which don't have to be licensed or approved by Issaries. I really don't think Issaries would be interested in supporting a fan based promotion of RQ2 so Iwould prefer to be able to work independently of them. If we could get away with something like Lukki Eddi suggests that would make a lot of sense to me.
As an aside; I understand that while Labyrinth Lord, Swords and Wizardry et al were originally intended to bring new players into playing old school D&D they have subsequently attracted quite a following of players who see them as games in their own right and have never looked at an official D&D product.
I see Glyphmaster as being mainly instrumental in getting people to buy the Gloranthan Classics PDFs!
As for the background, I think we could just pretend we're setting all the examples in Glorantha - but just not using any published names! That way they'll still retain the right Gloranthan bronze-age feel. Explicit background material is, after all, quite thin in the rulebook (apart from the introduction and the sample cults).
[...] I know that there is at least one other person working on a RQ2 clone independently and I would like to wish him luck. I believe though that he is working solo and is not very far advanced. I also understand that a new version of Openquest is under development which I believe is intending to put some of the complexity back into the game. However as things stand I believe that there is definitely a place for 'Glyphmasters'.
(Emphasis mine.)
Where did you see that there is a new version on the work, and which direction it is taking?
I have acquired the current version of OpenQuest, and found it is a very good light BRP system for fantasy play. I am a bit disappointed by the character enhancement mechanic though.
Sorry, I know this question is not directly related to the current discussion, but I am curious.
Where did you see that there is a new version on the work, and which direction it is taking?
To be honest I can't remember. I thought I knew and was just about to put in a link to the relevant thread on another board but when I checked it I realised that it didn't contain the post that I thought it did.
I'm now left with the horrible thought that I might have started a totally unfounded rumour!
I will keep thinking and try to work out where the idea came from.
Newt (designer of Open Quest) is working on an "Old Skool" version of OpenQuest. That is likely to reintroduce hit locations, Strike Ranks, skill increases through experience and such like.
I'm not sure how "old" he'll go, though. I'd be surprised if it goes further back than RQ3. Let's face it, we second-editioners are a dying breed - hence the need for Glyphmaster!
Newt (designer of Open Quest) is working on an "Old Skool" version of OpenQuest. That is likely to reintroduce hit locations, Strike Ranks, skill increases through experience and such like.
I'm glad I hadn't made it up, so where did I read it before? Was it your post somewhere else?