So, right now we have Mongoose publishing Legend (Mongoose Runequest II minus the Runequest trademark), and The Design Mechanism (a.k.a. Pete Nash & Lawrence Whitaker, the authors of Legend) publishing Runequest 6.
We also have Openquest, which reamins in print even as the gifted Mr. Newt Newport crowdfunding a revised edition (http://www.indiegogo.com/oq2).
And let's not forget Chaosium, the creators of all this mess, whose BRP Core ("big gold book") sees abundant fantasy support, including the generally well-regarded post-apocalyptic science fantasy Chronicles of Future Earth (http://catalog.chaosium.com/product_info.php?cPath=37&products_id=5164) (which uses bits and pieces of the old Stormbringer demon-binding magic system), the historical Crusaders of the Amber Coast (http://catalog.chaosium.com/product_info.php?cPath=37&products_id=6548), and the more traditional, upcoming Magic World (http://www.chaosium.com/article.php?story_id=508).
All of this, of course, discounting the several out-of-print editions of Runequest and Stormbringer/Elric! (and spin-offs like Hawkmoon and Corum).
And people still whine about the proliferation of D&D clones and simulacra. :D
In this thread: what is favorite BRP-powered fantasy game (or games), and why.
Age of Shadow, based on Openquest (don't have the link right now). It IS Lord of the Rings BRP (with serial numbers filed off). PDF is free and its avaialble in print too, along with a setting book (that I forget the name of).
It's a great time to be a gamer in general.
We played some of The Laundry last year, and that was a blast. Modern-day monster hunting and investigation is fun to begin with, but it's really the petty bureaucracy that makes it stand out. Play it with a bunch of low-level clerical workers, people who all know (And maybe administrate) the processes the game makes fun of, and you'll have a lot of great sessions.
I played an overweight, unattractive blob who spent too much time playing games of all kinds, and ended up being possessed through the eyeballs by some black goop in an old mining town north of Cardiff.
Playing in the UK is also great for the game. You can't bring guns to a problem. A campaign set in the US would have a completely different feel.
Quote from: The Butcher;567668including the generally well-regarded post-apocalyptic science fantasy Chronicles of Future Earth (http://catalog.chaosium.com/product_info.php?cPath=37&products_id=5164) (which uses bits and pieces of the old Stormbringer demon-binding magic system)
You sonofabitch, now I'm gonna have to get this one.
Quote from: Technomancer;567674Age of Shadow, based on Openquest (don't have the link right now).
There you go. (http://ageofshadow.freehostia.com/) If I was running it, I'd rather make it BRP Midnight than BRP LotR, but I'm good with either. That game's a labor of love that feels like it's written by someone who played a bunch of LotR games with RQ2 or RQ3 back in the day. I actually think it'd be a good gift for an inexperienced gamer who's into LotR.
Quote from: CRKrueger;567681You sonofabitch, now I'm gonna have to get this one.
Sorry, man. I know the feeling, I've been there. :o
Myself, I think Openquest is pretty damn cool and I'm still trying to justify it to myself that I should really throw them some money. But if I was running Openquest I'd throw in shamanism. And hit locations. And background and career tables. And combat maneuvers... at which time I realize I should be playing "straight" Runequest. It's Castles & Crusades all over again.
I'm still reading through the massive RQ6 PDF. I like it that Passions have been added to Runequest, feels very fitting for a mythic fantasy role-playing game. I understand why Loz & Pete went with a generic sword-and-sandal setting as opposed to Glorantha in their examples, but I was kind of hoping that they'd go with good ol' Mythic Earth (a la RQ3) instead. And the bestiary is kind of small for such a big book. Ah well. The rest is solid writing and design of the sort we've come to expect from the MRQII team. Combat Maneuvers, now renamed Special Effects have been clarified. There's a whole new magic system, Mysticism. Maybe a review is in order...
Legend is not doing too bad either. I still have the faux leather hardcover MRQII core book, a handful of MRQII-era supplements and a couple of Legend-era ones. So far I see nothing that precludes use-as-is full compatibility between those and RQ6.
So, next time I run BRP-powered fantasy, I'll probably end up using a Legend/RQ6 hybrid of some sort.
Can any of these do the high magic fantasy of D&D type gaming? The magic in rq and such always seemed very low key iirc.
Quote from: The Butcher;567686Myself, I think Openquest is pretty damn cool and I'm still trying to justify it to myself that I should really throw them some money. But if I was running Openquest I'd throw in shamanism. And hit locations. And background and career tables. And combat maneuvers... at which time I realize I should be playing "straight" Runequest. It's Castles & Crusades all over again.
I'm still reading through the massive RQ6 PDF. I like it that Passions have been added to Runequest, feels very fitting for a mythic fantasy role-playing game. I understand why Loz & Pete went with a generic sword-and-sandal setting as opposed to Glorantha in their examples, but I was kind of hoping that they'd go with good ol' Mythic Earth (a la RQ3) instead. And the bestiary is kind of small for such a big book. Ah well. The rest is solid writing and design of the sort we've come to expect from the MRQII team. Combat Maneuvers, now renamed Special Effects have been clarified. There's a whole new magic system, Mysticism. Maybe a review is in order...
Legend is not doing too bad either. I still have the faux leather hardcover MRQII core book, a handful of MRQII-era supplements and a couple of Legend-era ones. So far I see nothing that precludes use-as-is full compatibility between those and RQ6.
So, next time I run BRP-powered fantasy, I'll probably end up using a Legend/RQ6 hybrid of some sort.
That's exactly my "issue" with OpenQuest, is that it's not MRQII/RQ6. Which I realize isn't it's fault, and lots of people love it, but it's just too basic for
my needs. I see it similar to OSRIC in that it serves a vital purpose, giving people a free lingua franca upon which they can build their own BRP games without having to do what Newt did - decode, deconstruct and rebuild the MRQI SRD.
Seeing Age of Shadow makes me want to revisit my 4th Age or "Sauron Got the Ring" MERP campaigns using RQ6.
Quote from: mhensley;567688Can any of these do the high magic fantasy of D&D type gaming? The magic in rq and such always seemed very low key iirc.
RQ6 does have a LOT of suggestions and ideas about how to turn things up a notch or drop things down, it's one of the reasons for the pagecount, there's probably never been a version of RQ so well explained. Part of that explanation is how to up or drop the magical power level and Pete mentioned additional info on that topic coming either in Monster Island or a free download (Dan might be able to recall better, it was during an IRC chat).
Now, how High Fantasy can you redline the system - Girdles of Titan Power, Vorpal Swords, a man actually fighting a dragon, etc. considering the rather gritty RQ6 wound system? That's something worth discussion and perhaps take a look at BRP Gold Book or one of the Fantasy supplements for better help there. (I think Monster Island will have some good ideas.)
Quote from: mhensley;567688Can any of these do the high magic fantasy of D&D type gaming? The magic in rq and such always seemed very low key iirc.
I'm not 100% sure what you mean by "low-key". RQ has some pretty over-the-top magic at the higher ends, e.g. Orlanthi Runelords are literally flying swordsmen (top that,
Exalted). Yeah, I know,
fly is a 3rd-level spell in D&D, and it does take a while to get there in RQ, but you do have the option to start out as an experienced character... and I still think a woad-covered, sword-swinging,
flying barbarian is a pretty damn impressive sight.
Even a character fresh of cult initiation might have the chance to blast foes with ranged spells like Dragon Breath or Sky Bolt.
So, what exactly is it about D&D's high-end magic that you'd like to replicate?
Quote from: mhensley;567688Can any of these do the high magic fantasy of D&D type gaming? The magic in rq and such always seemed very low key iirc.
Classic Fantasy (http://catalog.chaosium.com/product_info.php?products_id=5045) is designed to allow you to use BRP to do exactly what you're asking for, however I do not yet have it so I can't say how effectively it achieves the goal.
I learned in Pseudo's pbp game that Runequest is great for offline gaming, but OQ is better for online, especially pbp games. I also prefer OQ's mechanics for stuff like The Company (http://d101games.co.uk/books/the-company/), where IMO the CMs are not as important or desirable. I agree though that for a regular gaming group, I'd use RQ over OQ, and now especially DM's RQ6, which is looking pretty awesome to me.
Edit: Realized I had not addressed the actual topic, so here goes...
My fav fantasy BRP is shaping up to be RQ6, although up to now it's been MRQ2/Legend. I still hold a spot in my heart for my old, worn, yet lovingly cared for 1E and 2E Stormbringer though.
Quote from: The Butcher;567696So, what exactly is it about D&D's high-end magic that you'd like to replicate?
I guess I'm looking for something that has the depth and variety of D&D type magic. Most of the brp stuff I've looked at, the magic seems pretty dull and limited. I admit that's based on a very superficial reading of material, but if you look at a D&D phb, probably half of it is taken up by spells. I've never seen anything close to that with any brp based game I've looked at.
Quote from: Technomancer;567674Age of Shadow, based on Openquest (don't have the link right now). It IS Lord of the Rings BRP (with serial numbers filed off). PDF is free and its avaialble in print too, along with a setting book (that I forget the name of).
AoS is more inspired by the Silmarillion than the LotR (I believe that the author originally intended to adapt the OQ rules for a First Age Middle-earth campaign, but once he decided to publish it he had to come up with an alternative setting).
It should work just fine for LotR-era Middle-earth as well. I'm just being a nit-picker.
My favourite would have to be RuneQuest 6.
But OpenQuest is also great, and I'd probably use it over RQ6 for groups unfamiliar with BRP (or PbP/online games).
Chaosium's forthcoming Magic World is a de-Moorcockized version of their old Elric! rules (plus lots of material from supplements). It is a very solid system. I'd probably use it if I ever wanted to run some old Elric! adventures.
Does Cthulhu Invictus count as 'fantasy'? It does a good job of capturing a Howardian take on the Mythos IMO.
Too many good options! But, overall, I'm most impressed with RQ6.
I've not picked up RQ6 yet (I know, I know, I'm slacking), but I've really been taken with the Chronicles of Future Earth. I like the nod to the Dying Earth books and the weird races add a great sword and sorcery vibe to it. I've probably logged the most time on Stormbringer though. My group loves to rampage through the Young Kingdoms.
Edit: You know...the elements 'fallen civilizations' that I like so much in Chronicles of Future Earth, are also the elements I like in Gib's Metal Earth setting. Maybe I should transfer some of the Metal Earth stuff into BRP and try running a couple of games of that. I don't think it would be too hard. He's done a lot of work on presenting that setting on his blog.
Was there previously a free version of Openquest?
My main issue with the riches is that so many of them seem a bit bloated. BRP for me is a clean system, that's it's USP. Add too many options and it loses that.
The big BRP book was for me overkill. I wanted less. It's what's stopped me buying a lot of the new books. Great subjects, but they depend on that vast tome and it's just a bit too much.
Quote from: mhensley;567842I guess I'm looking for something that has the depth and variety of D&D type magic. Most of the brp stuff I've looked at, the magic seems pretty dull and limited. I admit that's based on a very superficial reading of material, but if you look at a D&D phb, probably half of it is taken up by spells. I've never seen anything close to that with any brp based game I've looked at.
OK, working through the Magic sections in RQ6,lets see what crazy over-the-top tricks one could pull.
Folk Magic - not much really, but its not meant for that. This is low-level stuff, on a par with d20 feats.
Animism - Make yourself a skill master (over 100%) rating, blight an area, kill from a distance, become an elemental, become scarily fast in combat (boost action points), shapechange, body snatching.
Mysticism - Ridiculous skill boosts, run on walls and ceilings, stand on saplings, levitate, immunity to damage types, heal within moments.
Sorcery - peel open a ship at sea, talk a group into a hero-worshipping mob army, fly, maker a magic portal, create undead, suffocate at range,shapechange, swap bodies, throw magic bolts of varying flavours/types, drain the life force out of a victim in various ways
Theism - Shapechange, drive berserk, create earthquake, call elemental, stop heart, suppress magic, throw lightning, cause madness, blast sapience, completely remove target from existence, create undead, resurrect, kill at range, incinerate with sunfire, knock over whole army company with thunder.
How does that sort of thing sound, powerful enough for you? :p
RQ6 Magic can definitely powerful, the only problem is, it can also be a little generic and difficult to put together. Sorcery in particular is based on effects, so instead of the Scabrous Hand of Dal'Karoth, or the Burning Fires of Akasha's Vengeance, you have Wrack.
It's definitely not "pick up and run" to get the most out of it for me, I'm not an old-hand at RQ.
But yeah there's crazy levels of power there.
Quote from: CRKrueger;569047RQ6 Magic can definitely powerful, the only problem is, it can also be a little generic and difficult to put together. Sorcery in particular is based on effects, so instead of the Scabrous Hand of Dal'Karoth, or the Burning Fires of Akasha's Vengeance, you have Wrack.
It's definitely not "pick up and run" to get the most out of it for me, I'm not an old-hand at RQ.
But yeah there's crazy levels of power there.
I get what you mean, each power set is generally specific and focussed in theme and utility. Unlike D&D a magician type cannot pick and choose from a wide array but gets a significant set of effects around a definite theme. It is up to the GM and player to define what effects fit, and then creative usage of the effects to discover what power is available.
My "peel open a ship" is an example of this, using the apparently dull animate wood and sculpt wood.