Big announcement today?

[DamonJynx]

I haven't been around Runequest for anywhere near as long as some of you, in fact I feel like an out and out newbie, but I am really enjoying the game and the community.

For those of you whose games are firmly entrenched in Glorantha 2nd Age, what can I say, this news must be absolutely devastating. But that isn't to say all is lost. There is a thriving community of GM's and writers who I am sure will keep the 2nd Age going, whether it be via the Fanzine Ultor is starting or more conventional publsihing media, it will not go the way of the Dodo.

For those of us who are new, the news is bittersweet. There have been several suggestions on various posts in these forums suggesting that Mongoose publish the core rules as a generic fantasy RPG by removing the setting specific information. It seems we got our wish. Wayfarer will be Mongooses baby with core rules that absolutely rock for a fantasy RPG. What Loz and Pete and the team at Mongoose have done with the system in it's latest incarnation is excellent. I feel sure that Matt and the team will continue to publish quality material for their fantasy RPG's that utilise this excellent rule set; the Eternal Champion series Elric and Hawkmoon, Wraith Recon and of course Age of Treason and whatever other settings may or may not come to pass.

Matt, will the Wayfarer rules be published under an open license agreement of some sort, to allow 3rd Party publishers to produce material?

 

[Pendraig]

but if you are serious about building onthe Wyfarer/MRQII system finish what you start. If you do you can have my money and product loyalty.

That is certainly our aim - but what do you mean by finishing what we start?

Make it Simple, elegant and complete. I think the biggest error in gaming companies is the churning out of crap we don't need. Example back in lets say the 1980s for D&D you needed 3 books and the $6 dollar modules. With RQ & Stormbringer you needed really one book and and 10-12 pages adventures. MRQII/Wayfarer, for me harkens back to the days of simplicity and good play. You have a real opportunity here to not follow the errors of 30 years of gaming industry failure.

The Glora whatever line, yeah it stunk... I understand that. My concern is a working set of Fantasy RP rules that work and that adapt to which ever setting I apply them in .... and I don't need 5 extra books.

 

[danbuter]

Matt,
I understand why you did it. I just don't like it. :?

 

[MongooseMatt]

No more Races of Glorantha books, no more Glorantha books, etc. There are a TON of things still not covored for RQII, and never will be. Crazy as it sounds, when people jump into a game line strongly aligned with a setting, they expect the setting to get enough books to cover everything.

That is a fair comment. However, the core problem is that they didn't jump in - not nearly enough of them to make it sustainable.

 

[MongooseMatt]

Matt,
I understand why you did it. I just don't like it. :?

Again, that is a fair comment.

 

[PhilHibbs]

We have ensured the game itself continues, with the only casualty being 2nd Age Glorantha - and while we sympathise, we also know that the number of people who will care about that can be counted on a depressingly small number of hands.

I'm afraid I have an opinion on whose fault that is. I know several Glorantha fans who bought some of the RQ1 line but gave up due to poor quality. I had hoped that the superior rules and production values in the RQ2 line would help, but I could not convince them to give it another try, and they told me to stay away from Mongoose. I think it's been worthwhile, I have just about enough material to run a couple of nice long campaigns, one in Pavis and one homebrew I'm thinking about, so although I'm gutted, I don't feel cheated.

 

[Da Boss]

Not really a big suprise - its been on the cards for several months at least.

Not being a fan of the Glorinthia setting not a major problem for me and we will continue with the excellent Clockwork campaign Greg is running in the same way as we carry on with B5 ACTA.

Quite interested to see how generic is generic in the future - what the basic book covers and does not cover. I do like some apsects of the core system but others need assitance in terms of rules cohereency and explanations for users (Combat Styles and charging come to mind) and be interesting to see if the republish gets that help. Magic is also somewhere I'd like to see it simplified into one core system with some options (like those in RQ, Clockwork and Elric). If it becomes a true tool box i'll be impressed

Wonder how the production values will evolve - up or down as apart from leather covers they are presently only a low average in terms of presentation.

 

[Pendraig]

This sucks. I've invested £250 and a lot of time and effort into a dead end.

Lets see I have felt that way about Stormbringer 3rd, 4th, Elric!, 6th edition.... Lucky for me I didn't by into tall the Traveller evolutions CT worked then and still works.
I feel the pain with you brother.

 

[Gamethyme]

This sucks. I've invested £250 and a lot of time and effort into a dead end.

Really? I've invested a similar amount into a game I can play until my books fall apart. And longer, since Wayfarer is the exact same rules (now with less Glorantha!).

As a latecomer to this RuneQuest thing, I actually don't mind the loss of Glorantha. I have some of the 2nd Age books, but the setting failed to grab me.

I look forward to seeing where they go from here ...

Eric

 

[PhilHibbs]

This sucks. I've invested £250 and a lot of time and effort into a dead end.

Really? I've invested a similar amount into a game I can play until my books fall apart. And longer, since Wayfarer is the exact same rules (now with less Glorantha!).

Eric

As I have clarified later, I mean the Second Age Glorantha dead end. You may see "Less Glorantha!" as a selling point, I'm on the opposite end of the spectrum.

 

[Simulacrum]

I fall into the category of people who enjoyed 3rd Age Glorantha for what it was, when it was...and while I bought most of the range 2nd Age didn't get me interested and I spent more money in the same period on buying OoP old Chaosium pubs to have a better preserved copy of my favourite gaming history relics sitting in the loft.

In the end my group followed the RQ system into new worlds, rather than followed Glorantha into new systems. SO I hope to continue writing for, and playing RQII in its new guise (whatever it is eventually called). There's huge appreciation of RQII out there at the moment, the vast majority of newcomers are coming for that, not for Glorantha - I hope that carries the new line forward as the system deserves.

 

[Deleriad]

This doesn't really surprise me as it's been clear that G2A hasn't been selling which is a shame. On the other hand, I've enough material between MR1 and 2 to run Gt2A for as long as I want. I personally hope that the age continues to see some love whether as part of the Stafford Library or even in HQ. It would also be nice if there is any unfinished stuff in the pipeline to see it made available in some form up to the end of the year.

On the other hand I'm pleasantly surprised to see the rules system continue. I'm all for a smaller, generic rulebook. Hopefully Pete Nash will be overseeing it and helping develop it. Can't help thinking that the name Wayfarer sounds like someone took Path and Finder and found synonyms.

Anyway here's hoping that we see Hawkmoon and Ancient Greece rebadged for Wayfarer and that Mongoose don't spend all their time copy and pasting RQ out of the current books and republishing them in a new format.

So colour me disappointed over the loss of Gt2A but hopeful about the potential for the re-badging.

 

[DigitalMage]

I can sympathise with Mongoose over this and see that they probably have made the best decision from a business perspective.

I am not so affected as I never made the jump from MRQ1 to MRQ2 - when 2 was announced I had not really played any 1 and I didn't just want to re-buy the same books without any chance of playing in sight.

When Living Glorantha was announced I must admit I was tempted to buy MRQ2 just to be able to play - now I am glad I didn't!

Ironically I just bought Darra Happa Stirs and Blood of Orlanth with the hope of starting a G:tSA campaign soon. It just shows that without the licence the game can still live on!

 

[DigitalMage]

Actually I have a very important question!!!!!!!!

Will Mongoose be pulling the sale of Glorantha PDFs? If so when?

I must admit if you are I would be tempted to buy the MRQ1 Glorantha PDFs I missed. I may even be persuaded to buy the MRQ2 ones if Mongoose do a big end of line discount on the PDFs!! hint hint!

Ditto for the RuneQuest PDFs actually - I could be enticed to buy a load as a bundle if they were very cheap, say 75% off

 

[AlphaStrike]

So, no more Glorantha material...

But, RQ2 lives on and will continue to be supported by Mongoose?

I certainly hope so, because I think it's a great system. The Deus Vult campaign I'm playing at the moment is as much fun as I've had with a game in years. And I like the look of the Age of Treason book slated for the summer.

 

[Stainless]

Anyway here's hoping that we see Hawkmoon and Ancient Greece rebadged for Wayfarer and that Mongoose don't spend all their time copy and pasting RQ out of the current books and republishing them in a new format.

Yes. Wasn't it the brief reboot of B5 for Traveller rules where they just cut and pasted material and left loads of inappropriate old B5 material in?

Please, please, use this opportunity to tickle the system a bit more and make sure the editing/proofing maintains the standard the core rule book showed.

 

[MongooseMatt]

Please, please, use this opportunity to tickle the system a bit more and make sure the editing/proofing maintains the standard the core rule book showed.

We will be doing _nothing_ to the core rules other than include errata. The transition will be all about proofing and layout, and nothing about rules fiddling. It _will_ be 100% compatible with the books around right now because, well, it will be the same rules!

 

[Odhanan]

So Matt, it seems to me like your announcement basically answers the question, but I just want to make it clear: this does not jeopardize the Elric of Melniboné game whatsoever at this point, does it?

 

[Dan True]

Please, please, use this opportunity to tickle the system a bit more and make sure the editing/proofing maintains the standard the core rule book showed.

We will be doing _nothing_ to the core rules other than include errata. The transition will be all about proofing and layout, and nothing about rules fiddling. It _will_ be 100% compatible with the books around right now because, well, it will be the same rules!

And please take into account the various needs for clarifications and examplifications discussed at this forum. Combat styles and charge for example.

Also, when will it be revealed what the new core line will consist of? I have planned on using some time this summer on writing a GM guide to RQ2 and hopefully get some input from some senior players from this forum. But I would hate to put a lot of effort into it, it a Wayfarer GM guide pops up mid winter.

- Dan

 

[Pendraig]

So Matt, it seems to me like your announcement basically answers the question, but I just want to make it clear: this does not jeopardize the Elric of Melniboné game whatsoever at this point, does it?

I wouldn't hold my breath....