The future

[robyn]

Never one to worry, but sadly i do.....lol

I notice that yet another RQ book has ceased to be. I know sales are not what Matt had hoped and to date i have virtually everything in pdf rather than dead tree. But i am somewhat concerned that the lack of sales are leading us towards the closure of the RQ line.

Anyone have anything to say that might lessen my fears?

Have to say i can already feel Age of Treason sliping away from my hot little hands and the last two Pete authored books seem to have disappeared from the shedules without trace.

 

[Dan True]

Never one to worry, but sadly i do.....lol

I notice that yet another RQ book has ceased to be. I know sales are not what Matt had hoped and to date i have virtually everything in pdf rather than dead tree. But i am somewhat concerned that the lack of sales are leading us towards the closure of the RQ line.

Anyone have anything to say that might lessen my fears?

Have to say i can already feel Age of Treason sliping away from my hot little hands and the last two Pete authored books seem to have disappeared from the shedules without trace.

The only thing I can say to lessen your fears, is that probably some of us on this forum will continue to write ressources and make them available, should Mongoose choose to cancel MRQ2.
Though that is hardly reassuring. I sincerely hope they will choose to invest more in the line, and try to get a wider audience and market share - instead of cancelling.

- Dan

 

[robyn]

Thanks for the positive note there Dan. To be honest thats the best i could hope for if it all does go horribly wrong, RQ will always be around in one form or another i think.

Actually started this post to see if those living in the "silent tower" that is Mongoose might have something positive to say.

I am well aware they are noted for their reluctance to communicate with the masses....no offence meant by that Matt, business is i am very aware, business.

 

[MongooseMatt]

I am well aware they are noted for their reluctance to communicate with the masses...

You _are_ kidding... I don't think you will find many other companies as open as us (to a fault, it has been said).

As always, when there is something to say, we'll say it. As it happens right now, there is not too much to be worried about

 

[Dan True]

As always, when there is something to say, we'll say it. As it happens right now, there is not too much to be worried about

That actually makes me less worried...

I am still planning on writing a DM's guide this summer though, since you won't

- Dan

 

[robyn]

It was meant somewhat tongue in cheek Matt. You are it has to be said somewhat iopen, it's just that when things are busy your end, communication does tend to lag.

That said i am pleased to have attracted your attention, shows your actually reading the forums.

Pleased by the not having to worry, disturbed slightly by the too much....lol

Will wait with bated breath for the future..... 8)

 

[ThatGuy]

8)

That made me feel a lot better.

Thanks Matt!

 

[GevatterHein]

Uff - me too. Matt, you can save my prorders for Blood Magic, Monster Island and anything Elric.

 

[danskmacabre]

Personally I see the future of MRQ2 and games that hang off it as potentially doing very well.
It's getting more and more attention on gaming forums and the vast majority of the comments are positive.

 

[Redcrow]

It's getting more and more attention on gaming forums and the vast majority of the comments are positive.

Thats what I'm noticing as well. Seems like at least weekly I read a forum post where someone announces they just picked up MRQ2 and absolutely love it.

 

[MongooseMatt]

Pleased by the not having to worry, disturbed slightly by the too much....lol

Will wait with bated breath for the future..... 8)

No worries

 

[Richard]

Age of Treason may help when it arrives. The preview gives the impression of a well written non-Gloranthan fantasy setting. It looks like it can be run with the core books alone and, importantly for long in the tooth old timers with very long campaigns of their own, seems, on first impressions, very adaptable. If it leads to a set of useable adventure campaigns and locations that would be terrific. Open minded Gloranthan enthusiasts could always adapt the material to their favoured setting. Fingers crossed.

 

[PhilHibbs]

Is RuneQuest perhaps suffering from too many settings? Glorantha, Deus Vult, Wraith Recon, Clockwork & Chivalry, Age of Treason - if I want to write a RuneQuest scenario for S&P, which setting do I target? It's hard to write a scenario that could be used equally in Dragon Pass or the Holy Land.

I don't know. Maybe having all these settings is a good thing for the system, broadening its appeal. But it is a little confusing from the point of view of an individual customer who's only really interested in one of them. Do I need to buy Spellcom for the enchanting rules? Will I benefit from Age of Treason and the enchanting rules in there, and are they compatible with Spellcom and A&E, and appropriate for Glorantha?

 

[Deleriad]

Is RuneQuest perhaps suffering from too many settings?

I don't think there's an issue with too many settings but there are two issues I do see.

1) It's nigh on impossible to figure out from the Mongoose website how the different books relate to each other. Maybe the new website will help.

2) There seem to be long chains of dependency. Glorantha is really prone to this. When I run a session of Pavis Rises I end up with RQ, Monster Coliseum, Glorantha 2A, Cults of Glorantha and Pavis Rises in my backpack. Anyone looking to get into Glorantha ends up spending a lot of money. The other settings don't seem to be so bad.

Having lots of different settings is a good thing because then you can pick your favourite stuff and include it. However just because enchanting rules turn up in one setting it doesn't mean that they have to be included in another setting.

It does strike me that although d20 and Traveller have pre-existing and successful publication models, RQ doesn't. I personally think the Savage Worlds model of single rulebook plus multiple independent settings is the best way to go. RQ sort of follows this but that isn't at all clear from the website. I'm hoping that Age of Treason is a success and points the way to a clearer model of setting books.

 

[Simulacrum]

Is RuneQuest perhaps suffering from too many settings?

Personally and as a consumer, I think the more the better, I'll buy some stuff to play with, and others for inspiration. But from a business point of view there is an argument for more settings allowing for more publications catering to a wider variety of tastes. On the other side some people will be concerned it impacts the volume of new books on their favourite setting, and of course they won't all prove popular or economically viable. Fracturing the market for what is already special interest publications may not work, but neither will churning out more Gloranthan books ad infinitum.

There seem to be long chains of dependency. Glorantha is really prone to this. When I run a session of Pavis Rises I end up with RQ, Monster Coliseum, Glorantha 2A, Cults of Glorantha and Pavis Rises in my backpack. Anyone looking to get into Glorantha ends up spending a lot of money. The other settings don't seem to be so bad.

This. And having to do a shed load of reading...In the end, the optimum for the buyer is to need the Core Rulebook and Pavis Rises or equivalent. What I intend, if AoT works at all, is that further publications will be more in the line of Spellcom (cool stuff to enhance play) or Pavis Rises (great adventures with enough new fluff to give it a compelling and entertaining context).

Having lots of different settings is a good thing because then you can pick your favourite stuff and include it. However just because enchanting rules turn up in one setting it doesn't mean that they have to be included in another setting.

Agreed. And in response to Phil's note above - the enchanting rules in AoT may not be to his liking for inclusion for Glorantha, but I am not aware of any reason they could not be if considered interesting and useful. OTOH the section on Magic in AoT specifically states:

Like great artistic movements, schools of sorcery may flourish then disappear, spawn some avant-garde and revolutionary new approach, or find themselves the subject of a revivalist movement long after their original aims and purpose have been forgotten. They may dominate a whole culture, or be the product of a single insane genius. A GM should feel completely free to borrow alternative systems of magic that are compatible with the RuneQuest system, or invent new ones, if it adds colour and excitement to their interpretation of the setting.

What I know of BM and have seen in Spellcom, is there are many ideas there I already know will be compatible and find a place in AoT (the phrase "Blood Magic" is used in AoT referring to a foreign practice of fuelling enchantments by sentient sacrifice, but not elaborated on).

I'm hoping that Age of Treason is a success and points the way to a clearer model of setting books.

Many thanks, I hope so too. As a setting book it has many of the same features as any other - chargen, new skills, alternative magic rules and tweaks, geography and cultures (see the contents page on the preview) - one of its main points of difference is to devote significant space to adventures (about 1/3 of the book). So you can get on and play with this and the Core Rulebook. A follow up, if not some companion volume, might transfer the action to a new area/location, provide any extra fluff needed, and deliver the adventure content with which to run mulitiple sessions of play. More like Pavis/BR/Griffin Mountain/Trollpack/Borderlands in approach.

 

[Loz]

Glorantha's always suffered from the lots of books approach. I remember carting around the rules, Cults of Prax, Griffin Mountain/Pavis/Rubble/Borderlands... its extremely difficult to get all that nuance and myth into one, handy to port volume.

Its not restricted to Glorantha, either. In the recent Rolemaster game I was in, the GM had with him about a dozen books, plus homebrew rules variants and the D&D modules he was using as the basis for the adventures.

And a HUGE box of miniatures, battle mats, scenery and other stuff!

 

[Deleriad]

Glorantha's always suffered from the lots of books approach. I remember carting around the rules, Cults of Prax, Griffin Mountain/Pavis/Rubble/Borderlands... its extremely difficult to get all that nuance and myth into one, handy to port volume.

Its not restricted to Glorantha, either. In the recent Rolemaster game I was in, the GM had with him about a dozen books, plus homebrew rules variants and the D&D modules he was using as the basis for the adventures.

It is a difficult balance to strike especially as if you're a fan of the setting you want more stuff.

I was just looking at Elric! for RQII and in retrospect I think the one thing that the Glorantha line suffers from is that the core setting book isn't quite focused enough on being a one-stop shop for playing in Glorantha. I think if it had followed the model of being a setting book rather than being a gazetteer with some supporting information it would have been a stronger book. It would have meant just a sampling of major cults and major species and a lot of the gazetteer information would have had to be left out but if in one book I could create characters for most of the major species with the most significant deities listed then I reckon it would have made my life easier.

Obviously it's a moot point now but I'm guessing that the reason that Mongoose has gone into a Purdah is that they're busy rethinking their strategy for RQ.

 

[mwsasser]

Is RuneQuest perhaps suffering from too many settings? Glorantha, Deus Vult, Wraith Recon, Clockwork & Chivalry, Age of Treason - if I want to write a RuneQuest scenario for S&P, which setting do I target? It's hard to write a scenario that could be used equally in Dragon Pass or the Holy Land.

If you want new blood like me to buy the books, you need to loosen your hold on things like Glorantha. Yes I do realize that things like Deus Vult are new and they are very interesting. Yet you need some generic fantasy available because a lot of people are interested in that. Something simple, playable and easy to grasp.

 

[Verderer]

Well, without these other campaign worlds, I would probably never have picked up RQII rules. Glorantha just doesn't appeal to me, and I have tried it in the AH 3rd edition form too. I don't suppose I am alone in this?

 

[Loz]

Well, without these other campaign worlds, I would probably never have picked up RQII rules. Glorantha just doesn't appeal to me, and I have tried it in the AH 3rd edition form too. I don't suppose I am alone in this?

You're not alone, no. For some Glorantha is impenetrable; for others it simply doesn't appeal for a variety of reasons.

However RQ's association with Glorantha is impossible to shake. Even though AH's 3rd edition attempted to make it more generic, there was still a substantial school of people who were Glorantha fans that wanted the associations to continue, despite efforts to broaden the base with the Vikings, Griffin Island and Land of Ninja settings.

Yet RQ's proved its flexibility time and again in spite of the Glorantha setting and this is why different settings have been able to work. BRP, which forms the core of most Chaosium products, is an RQ derivative and its successfully powered comic book fantasy (Elf Quest) through hard SF (Ringworld) and taking in superheroes, horror and dark S&S along the way.

Diversity is key, and RQ as a rules engine can handle it.