Old (1st-3rd ed.) RQ is one of my favorite RPGs. It was the debut of Chaosium's Basic Role Playing system, probably most widely familiar via
Call of Cthulhu.
BRP Central - Downloads - Systems & Settings offers several games with more or less similar mechanical flavor:
Mongoose RQ SRD luxury edition (including errata and Companion material)
Ray Turney's Fire and Sword (from one of the designers of the original RQ)
GORE (a pretty generic and compact BRP set, most like CoC)
OpenQuest, from D101 Games at first glance (at the free PDF) looks more like old RQ:
Open Quest
or
D101 Games » OpenQuest
Rather than character classes and experience levels, the system uses %-rated skills that can be improved via experience or training (RQ -- realistically, IMO -- emphasizing the latter, while other games focus more or wholly on the former). The original experience system basically entails a roll to "fail" at any skill that was used significantly in the field (no limit on number of skills, but no more often than once per week each). I like that better than more recent approaches involving distribution of experience points, but YMMV.
Hand-to-hand combat involves a roll to attack, which can be countered with a defender's roll to parry (or perhaps to dodge). Armor reduces damage dealt. Elaborations include critical hits, impaling and fumbles; hit locations; weapon breakage; and initiative "strike ranks" (
very different in the Mongoose version than in old RQ). Fighting tends to be pretty quick except for duels between masters, and pretty decisively bloody (although there's a good chance of getting crippled but not killed, if hit locations are used).
Spells in the original game came in two flavors: battle/spirit, and rune/divine; the 3rd edition added a complex but versatile kind called sorcery. Anyone could learn magic, the main source being the "rune cults" of various gods. There were special benefits and responsibilities for those who rose to the status of rune lord or rune priest. There were also shamans, specialists in binding spirits. Combat with spirits of disease, ghosts, etc., could result in a character getting possessed.
Magic was generally low-powered relative to D&D. A character's Intelligence score governed how many spells could be kept in memory for immediate use, while Power determined magical strength both in casting and in resistance. Battle magic (and most sorcery) reduced Power temporarily by "spending" points. Rune magic called for permanent "sacrifice" of points, generally yielding a single use of a spell for a mere initiate or lord, or one reusable after a day of prayer by a priest. (In the first edition, rune magic was a priestly monopoly and required a week to renew.) Power could be increased through experience at difficult spell-casting and spirit combat.
Other characteristic scores could be improved as well, and Charisma (later Appearance) might fluctuate depending on a character's fortunes.
