D&D vs Runequest?

[ghettognome]

I played a short game of it with my GM. We try all sorts of systems. The new RQ does have a neat advancement system. It encourages a creative use of all sorts of skills to better yourself and become more well rounded. It can be a tad difficult on survivability, partially because at low levels, if you get hit first, the damage can be pretty tough. If you hit first, and make the percentile rolls to do well, then you appear very heroic with hard hits.

The hit locations also add another neat aspect to the game, a wound in battle could disable an arm or something. Bones are more likely to get broken, and you suffer the negatives till you heal back. It really makes for a more intense game, a tad more gritty than I would prefer. Overall I like it, though I could see room for some improvements on it.

My preference still is D&D, or even better yet...Shadowrun 4e!

 

[JoeGKushner]

Anyone have any comparissions on some of the non-rules stuff?

Art?

Layout?

Format?

Page count?

I've heard a lot of complaints on RPG.net that the Mongoose books are too thin and too expensive and have poor art. The Lankhimar cover in particular gets a lot of bashing over there.

 

[T. Foster]

Original RuneQuest is IMO probably the best rpg of its era (late 70s-early 80s); either it or Classic Traveller. RuneQuest 3 improved some stuff but messed up a lot of other stuff, plus enough other games had begun to follow its path that it no longer seemed quite as unique or groundbreaking. Nonetheless, my old group loved it and it's pretty much all we played for several years in the 90s. I don't have any particular desire to play it nowadays, because what I want in an rpg is moving in the opposite direction (rules-liter, more freeform), but I have a ton of great memories that I wouldn't give up. I've heard mostly bad things about MRQ and from the peeks I've taken of it in the FLGS I wasn't too impressed. I'd say if you want "the RQ experience" RQ2 (or my c. 1995 house-ruled version of RQ3 ) is probably a better bet than MRQ.

 

[ColonelHardisson]

I just leafed through the Hawkmoon RPG by Mongoose, which uses the RQ engine. The artwork is vastly better than that of Lankhmar. Beyond that, I can't really evaluate anything else; I didn't have that much time to look at it.

 

[Modin Godstalker]

Old Runequest is cool if...

you like your characters to think more before they act and find solutions other than combat to solve problems within the game. This is due to the lethal nature of the game mechanics.
Watch out for the lucky peasant with a pitchfork.

The character improvement is much less like a videogame than D&D. You improve characters in a much more gradual logical fashion. You only get better at skills you use or train in. Also you improve in an easier quicker fashion skills you have a high ability score tied to.

Although characters are complex, it does not take a long time to make up a character, and the character has a lot of depth, background and skill wise.

Just some thoughts.

 

[Glyfair]

you like your characters to think more before they act and find solutions other than combat to solve problems within the game. This is due to the lethal nature of the game mechanics.

One of the things I liked about RQ is that they heavily pushed ransom. Players that were over matched were encouraged to surrender and offer ransom. Except for chaos creatures most enemies would let you survive for money, and didn't automatically kill you (as is pretty standard for D&D, even today).

 

[Wycen]

Me = likes DnD
Mark = likes RQ

This fundamental breakdown is why my RQ experience is blah at best. I'd say a bad game of DnD is better than RQ, but I've only ever played with my friend Mark as the RuneMaster or whatever they call the GM/DM and it seems like everything comes down to who gets lucky on the rolls. Also it seems common place in RQ that we are outnumbered by mooks 3 to 1.

Now, that isn't always the case. We've tried the new RQ rules. Based on experience with past rules we created some sick characters. I started with 80 percent in 1 handed sword and Chris started with 'set in form bronze' so by our second session I was wearing a bronze helmut and breastplate. Now I've got 100 percent in 1 handed sword. Not enough whatever to buy the super power abilities yet.

I couldn't tell you really the difference between editions, but I know I'm annoyed that we are house ruling things back to the old version where I had to worry about "your arm is chopped off. The bad guy casts healing 2 on you to cauterize the wound and now you have to get a rune priest to cast some ridiculous level healing to reattach the limb".

Conversely, I think they removed total hit points so a recent fight went on forever because we couldn't hit the head or main body.

I like being able to cast spells, wear armor and swing a sword all in the same character and some of the monsters are fun, the broo and trollkin come to mind.

I guess what I'm saying is your milage may vary.

 

[robberbaron]

Ducks? Pah.
Baboons? Now we're talking.
Morokanth? Three fingers and no thumbs so can only use spears. Can Quest to get magical thumbs.

What a fantastic game.

 

[meomwt]

I ran the AH/ GW version of RQ back in the early 90's. It went quite well, it was grim'n'gritty and one player had three characters perish to sucking chest wounds (ironically, in sessions he wasn't playing in).

I ended it after accidentally allowing the PC's to become warrior-priests of an influential temple and gain access to powerful magical weapons, after which combats lasted one round

I played RQ in the early 2000's under a particularly killer Ref. It was fun, but deadly, and some of the other players lacked the tactical nouse to survive such a campaign (in fact, that was one of the reasons why he recruited me... but that's another story).

In both games, the system didn't have the flavour I was after in my FRP - whilst I DM Greyhawk for D&D and don't have a high magic/ magic item count, there's more than in RQ. And that seems to make a difference to what I'm running.

I guess I prefer a medium-magic level in the games I play/ run.

Saying all that, I still have a good view of RQ, and wouldn't mind a look at the new version to see how it compares.

 

[Jhaelen]

I have very fond memories of the original Runequest. Imho, it had the best game mechanics at the time. It had a pretty impressive simulation of combat maneuvers and very intuitive advancement rules. It offered the best compromise between realism and playability - sort of like Rolemaster without tables.

And Glorantha, well, let's say, it's a pretty unique setting