Chaosium Putting The Band Back Together

What are the problems at Chaosium? I'm guessing they have problems with their kickstarter campaign, but are there more details?

one of the owners passed away last year. Cant recall if it was Lynn or Charlie. They seemed to have lost a lot of steam since then (no pun intended).

I am VERY glad to see Greg & Sandy back, but I sure wish they were doing RQ..Moon Design is doing a great job with Glorantha, but RQ needs another ovehaul. TDM went overboard with complicating RQ6, and are charging an arm and a leg for the full game (recently offering up a stripped down version for free in PDF or cheap through Lulu, a smart move for a player but insufficient for a GM)

Seems a bit harsh against TDM. I think they have done a nice job with RQ6..it's level of complexity might tip in the wrong direction for you but it looks like a well considered and comprehensive roleplaying game to me. As to price...in my local store you can buy RQ6 for £39.99, about the cost of a game for an Xbox or Playstation...I think that is not too unreasonable. TDM have supported the game with high quality supplements and adventures...bit harsh maybe to suggest it needs an overhaul?

RevTurkey said:

Seems a bit harsh against TDM. I think they have done a nice job with RQ6..it's level of complexity might tip in the wrong direction for you but it looks like a well considered and comprehensive roleplaying game to me. As to price...in my local store you can buy RQ6 for £39.99, about the cost of a game for an Xbox or Playstation...I think that is not too unreasonable. TDM have supported the game with high quality supplements and adventures...bit harsh maybe to suggest it needs an overhaul?

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I meant what I said, though it may seem harsh.

Here, the softcover runs right about $70.00 then tax and/or shipping on top of it. That's expensive as hell for a softcover. Yes, big page count, but much white space/weird layout (big criticism at launch which got plenty of traction during the initial review phase). Yes it's easy on aging eyes, but the authors were throwing it around like a lame excuse everytime it was brought up. Combined, those two issues are not going to win them alot of sales except among the hardcore.

In addition, it's largely the MRQ2 System (which I owned and liked) BUT with a mass of added complex subsystems. MRQ2 was often criticized for being incomplete in one book, but with RQ6 they have gone to the opposite extreme. Thus the "essentials" version, which as I mentioned is great for a player but is woefully inadequate for a GM.

They have done a wonderful job of re-creating some of the "look" and "feel" of the golden days of RQ, but's it's similar to the lip service we saw with Greyhawk during 3.0.

The quality of the RQ6 supplements may well be good- I have not bothered with them, other than taking a peek at the GM pack, and the free adventures, which are definitely of high quality production.

IMO, at some point, RQ needs to get back to it's roots - A lethal, gritty, fast playing/easy running game that makes sense from a simulation standpoint- the things that drew so many players to it during it's heyday. That is if it wants to survive and enjoy a revival of it's fame. Every version post (Chaosium) RQ2, has expanded upon it's complexity and every version since Chaosium RQ2 has been far less successful. ESPECIALLY here in the states. Some would argue Glorantha is the missing link- maybe. I tend to agree. But, plenty of Non-Glorantha RQ fans are out there as well. Still, another "fantasy earth" implied setting is not going to draw many. Massive complexity combined with a lackluster implied setting is not the way to get people playing again. TDM has been given a chance, and AFAIC, they maybe be doing the game they want to play, and they may be cool guys, but overall RQ6 not much of an improvement over the Mongoose versions (again, the second edition of which, the principals at TDM wrote), is way more complex, and way more expensive. and I'd wager it's not the game the majority of RQ fans want to play.

I'd much rather see RQ back in the hands of the original company, & designers (if Steve would even bother).


YMMV.

Hi Jeff, well I get what you are saying and in some ways I agree that a simpler, leaner version of Runequest might be a good way to go (I enjoyed RQ2 back in the eighties). But..it is a matter of taste and it's not like the old version never existed or can't still be bought and played if you prefer it (ebay). I like what TDM have done, I think it is an elegant version of the game and not as fiddly or complicated as it appears on first pass or readthrough. Fair enough though if you are not a fan, no worries. As far as pricing goes...I think in that respect you are a bit off...I just did a quick bit of googling and Noble Knight are selling the Hardback in the US for $50. The hardcover has errata fixes and some updated artwork. I don't think that is too bad a deal for a complete game with 5 magic systems and a bestiary self contained. I think it is still a lethal, gritty, fast playing game but maybe you have a very valid point in that it isn't as easy to pick up, learn and run with as it once was. Hmm...the same can be said about many modern versions of classic games...good or bad? I dunno

Anyway...good to see the old guard returning to Chaosium. Hooefully they can bring back a lot of the confidence that has been lost from a drawn out, messy Kickstarter campaign.

JeffB said:

A lethal, gritty, fast playing/easy running game that makes sense from a simulation standpoint

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I rarely see the phrases "fast/easy running" and "simulation standpoint" in the same sentence. I've always seen RQ as medium crunch.

Hopefully they will get around to paying William Jones for his work on Pulp Cthulhu

This news is super awesome, hopefully I get my KS hardcovers this year!

RevTurkey said:

I just did a quick bit of googling and Noble Knight are selling the Hardback in the US for $50.

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Amazon.com has it for $41.61.

As for TDM, I think they are excellent stewards of RuneQuest. I've been a huge fan of RQ since RQ2 back in the early 80s (later transitioning to RQ3), but I have to say RQ6 is my favourite edition yet (a common sentiment in my experience), and I'm excited to see what TDM comes up with for Adventures in Glorantha and Luther Arkwright. Their supplements are amazing, especially Monster Island and Mythic Britain.

YMMV.

ETA: Damn, Luther Arkwright is out; I had it in my head it was upcoming. I need to grab this.