Legend books that you'd love to see.

[Prime_Evil]

I'd love to see a product entitled Magic of Legend that collects the magic rules from existing RQII products such as Spellcom and Necromantic Arts, expanding them with new options and giving them a more generic treatment.

The idea would be to create a book that offers a variety of different approaches to magic, with expanded options for the existing magic systems and a heap of new options that allow you to customise the system to your own needs.

Here are some of the things that I would love to see in such a book:

• Rules options for tailoring the magic system outlined in the core rulebook to the most common campaign styles (high fantasy, swords & sorcery, dark fantasy, historical fantasy, steampunk, et al). This would explicitly address the needs of low magic campaigns as well as those campaigns that wish to incorporate world-shaking epic magic. Perhaps it might be possible to touch on such common fantasy tropes as Old Magic that is more powerful than existing forms of magic, but also more difficult to control.
• A selection of Common Magic spells that move beyond combat-oriented spells and reflect the kind of powers possessed by hedge wizards in folklore and fantasy. This would introduce spells such as Evil Eye, Create Protective Amulet, Love Spell, Bless Hearth, Increase Fertility, etc.
• An expanded divine magic spell list that reworks some of the existing material from Cults of Glorantha to remove the setting-specific content. Spells such as Celestial Divination, Counter Undead, Fateful Omen, Festival Ritual, etc could fit into just about any fantasy setting with ease.
• Rules for magic schools in the vein of Harry Potter, Ursula Le Guin's Earthsea series, Terry Pratchett's Unseen University, et al.
• A system for resolving formal spell duels between rival wizards in the vein of T.H. White's Sword in the Stone
• Rules for libraries and arcane research. Every wizard should need to consult the books occasionally!
• Expanded rules for Ceremonial Magic that build on the communal magic rules presented in Spellcom. This is an important fantasy trope and begs for expansion - how often do spellcasters conduct arcane rituals in fiction and how often do groups of spellcasters combine their powers to achieve some effect that is beyond the capabilities of any individual? A critical failure with ceremonial magic should be very risky - for example, ambitious groups of sorcerers who attempt to use ceremonial magic summon a powerful demon might discover that they can't control it when it arrives And remember the fate suffered by the Witches of Estacerp in Andre Norton's Witch World novels - one mistake at a vital point in the ritual and all of the nation's spellcasters were wiped out, leading to a shift in the balance of political power!
• Expanded rules for demonology (building on the rules provided in Elric and Spellcom. There is also a need for a divine magic equivalent, offering information on demon-worhippers and their infernal powers.
• Expanded rules for necromancy that clean up the best material from Nectromantic Arts.
• New rules for Lovecraftian sorcery, possibly adapting some material from the defunct Conan product line. This would introduce a Blasphemous Lore skill and rules for summoning and binding eldritch horrors from beyond space and time. There might also be room for some guidelines on Forbidden Cults and Elder Gods.
• A Corruption mechanic to ensures that spellcasters who meddle in demonology and other things that MAn Was Not Meant To Know suffer gradual degeneration of the type often seen in Gothic horror and dark fantasy.
• Expanded rules for crafting magic items, including some new rules for Alchemy. The new rules for enchantment from Age of Treason could be expanded with new options here.
• New rules for enchanted places that discuss common fantasy tropes such as places of power, haunted locations, ley lines, and places where temporary gateways to mythic realms such as faerie and hell spontaneously form.
• Rules for locations that enhance specific forms of magic, such as places that are aspected towards necromancy and areas that are aspected towards a specific element. This might also touch upon the concept of sanctified locations and the game effects of consecrated ground.
• Generic rules for planar travel, astral realms, and dreamscapes combat building on the existing rules from Elric.

Hell...I like this list so much that I'd volunteer to write the book myself if Mongoose would let me!

 

[Prime_Evil]

As I mentioned on a different thread:

I suppose that it would be possible to do a Magic of Legend book as a third-party publication, but so many of the ideas in it are applicable to a wide range of campaign styles and I feel that it would be more useful as a core book. Also, it would be better to build upon the existing material published by Mongoose...but most of this stuff won't be released as OGC under the Legend license. Some of this material deserves a broader audience than it has received to date - lots of people who aren't interested in Wraith Recon aren't aware that Spellcom includes some very cool expansions to the RQ II magic system that could easily be made more generic . Why re-invent the wheel?

 

[Jujitsudave]

I'd like to see Lone Wolf done for Legends.

 

[Prime_Evil]

I'd like to see Lone Wolf done for Legends.

That would be cool. Lone Wolf is such a classic piece of British fantasy history.

I think many people would love to see a Legend-based version of Conan too - I think that the game system would be a much better fit than d20.

Oh...here's another cool idea. For those people who are refugees from D&D, let's have Dungeons of Legend - a guide to designing and running old-school megadungeons using the Legend rules. It would include spot rules for common dungeon features and common dungeon hazards (traps, slimes, fungi, et al). This product would embrace the (somewhat silly) tropes of early megadungeons from Keep on the Borderlands to Snakepipe Hollow. There would be rules for the kind of gonzo weirdness that such enviroments contain - talking statues, magic pools that grant arbitrary bonuses and penalties, mirrors that change the gender of anybody who looks into them, etc.

 

[DigitalMage]

"Legend of Freeport" - a Legend companion to Green Ronin's Freeport setting. Perhaps tie it in with Pirates of Legend.

 

[Prime_Evil]

"Legend of Freeport" - a Legend companion to Green Ronin's Freeport setting. Perhaps tie it in with Pirates of Legend.

I suspect that Green Ronin might produce such a book if they think that there is a market for it. They have already produced Freeport books for Pathfinder and Savage Worlds. The idea of tying it to the release of Pirates of Legend is a good one though - I hadn't thought of that.

In a similar vein, I wonder if anybody would be interested in a version of Legend of the Five Rings designed to be used with Samurai of Legend?

 

[Stainless]

I'd like to see Legend of Black Powder. A compilation of rules and equipment that allows black powder weapons to be used (long arms, pistols, artillery) so that games in Napoleonic (and other) settings can be played.

 

[Malakor]

Legend of the Cold War - A mid 1950's - mid 1960's sourcebook for espionage and action adventure

 

[Prime_Evil]

It's fascinating how many people are keen to apply the Legend rule system to modern genres. I wonder if there is interest there in gradually expanding the game towards becoming a 'universal' system?

 

[MongooseMatt]

It's fascinating how many people are keen to apply the Legend rule system to modern genres. I wonder if there is interest there in gradually expanding the game towards becoming a 'universal' system?

If someone wants to write such a book, they should get in contact with us! We cannot promise to make you rish, but we will make you as famous as we can

 

[soltakss]

Legend is a Universal system.

The only things it lacks are backgrounds, professions, skills, equipment, heroic abilities and magic for thedifferent genres.

The core mechanics work as well in a Clan of the Cave Bear setting as in the most futuristic SciFi setting or a high magic High Fantasy setting.

 

[Mixster]

Legend is a Universal system.

The only things it lacks are backgrounds, professions, skills, equipment, heroic abilities and magic for thedifferent genres.

The core mechanics work as well in a Clan of the Cave Bear setting as in the most futuristic SciFi setting or a high magic High Fantasy setting.

Not having tried that, I can't agree. However my assumption seems to agree with you.

The CMs however, also need a slight re-work IMO, as most of them makes most sense in melee combat, which might not take place that often in futuristic settings.

It's fascinating how many people are keen to apply the Legend rule system to modern genres. I wonder if there is interest there in gradually expanding the game towards becoming a 'universal' system?

The idea is sound. But I think it'll be hard to make a universal setting, you could have probably a universal setting including most things, and then add 30 or so pages of different backgrounds and weapons depending on the setting.

 

[Richard]

It already has a universal version - BRP. Well there's a few changes I guess but it's not hard to cherry pick the bits you like.

 

[michaelsbagley]

I'd like to see Legend of Black Powder. A compilation of rules and equipment that allows black powder weapons to be used (long arms, pistols, artillery) so that games in Napoleonic (and other) settings can be played.

I was thinking an updated "Pirates" similar to what was done for Mongoose Runequest I.... But would be content with the above suggestion as well. Specially if whatever was done had rules that split the hairs that separated matchlocks, flintlocks, wheel locks etc.... These weapons while having similar range and accuracy, took differing amounts of time to load and different skill sets to care for.

For example, flintlocks loaded quicker than matchlocks.
Wheel locks were fussy and prone to breaking and jamming, but where likely one of the best of the lot (when they worked). Flintlocks, were the easiest to use (and likely the fastest) which is why they were the dominant weapon for almost 200 years. Snaplocks/snaphaunces could be included if one really wanted to be a completest.

As long as a "Pirates" or Age of musket was done, it would likely be easy to add some house rules to split those hairs... But including them in the rules already would be nice.

 

[Prime_Evil]

It already has a universal version - BRP. Well there's a few changes I guess but it's not hard to cherry pick the bits you like.

Obviously it's easy to mix-and-match material from the two systems as they are closely related. However, there are some differences in design philosophy. Although I love BRP and have recently upgraded to the hardcover version of the rulebook, I feel that the approach used by the system is a bit more 'rules-heavy' than the one adopted by Legend and includes some artefacts from earlier iterations of the system (eg the Resistance Table). It's still a great system and there is a lot of common ground with Legend and other games descended from the same common heritage, but it's always good to see some alternative approaches out there.

One point that is worth noting in passing is that BRP is not released under the OGL. Although the guys at Chaosium have been very generous at licensing to third-party publishers, it isn't an open system. In fact, there isn't a single universal system out there that has been released under the OGL (or a similar license) - the major players such as GURPS and HERO are largely single-publisher systems and alternative systems such as BRP and Savage Worlds have commercial licensing agreements with third-party publishers. If Mongoose released an open universal rule system, it might tempt more publishers and gamers across to Legend.

 

[Prime_Evil]

Legend is a Universal system.

The only things it lacks are backgrounds, professions, skills, equipment, heroic abilities and magic for thedifferent genres.

The core mechanics work as well in a Clan of the Cave Bear setting as in the most futuristic SciFi setting or a high magic High Fantasy setting.

It certainly has a strong set of core mechanics that could support a universal system with minimal work. But I think that having decent support for the most popular genres would be required to market it in that way.

 

[soltakss]

Legend is a Universal system.

The only things it lacks are backgrounds, professions, skills, equipment, heroic abilities and magic for thedifferent genres.

The core mechanics work as well in a Clan of the Cave Bear setting as in the most futuristic SciFi setting or a high magic High Fantasy setting.

It certainly has a strong set of core mechanics that could support a universal system with minimal work. But I think that having decent support for the most popular genres would be required to market it in that way.

I've never been a great fan of supplements for genres, but am a big fan of supplements for settings.

So, A SciFi or Horror version of Legend wouldn't appeal to me, but a Foundation or Dawn/Day of the Dead setting would appeal to me.

But, I would agree that Legend would need supplements covering different types of settings, or genres.

I wouldn't want to see one all-encompassing product that does everything in one book, though.

 

[tarkhan bey]

Surely with the name 'Legend', it's time to look seriously at trying for a license from the Gemmell estate. 'Legends-Drenai Tales' is a sure fire winner. Brit sword n' sorcery at it's most visceral finest(IMO).

 

[Pendraig]

If Mongoose released an open universal rule system, it might tempt more publishers and gamers across to Legend.

That would be nice wouldn't it.

 

[Prime_Evil]

If Mongoose released an open universal rule system, it might tempt more publishers and gamers across to Legend.

That would be nice wouldn't it.

Definitely!

RQ II is one of the best fantasy systems on the market at the moment, but I think that the RQ name scares a lot of people off because it is very closely associated with the Glorantha setting.

I think that rebranding the game as Legend may be a blessing in disguise, because it means that the game might be judged on its own merits.