Like many of you, I've been waiting for MRQ for the best part of a year. I've really, really wanted to like it. But, sadly, from the previews I've seen - the last straw being the latest Companion preview - it looks like I'll take my dollar elsewhere.
Why?
1. The writing style is verbose and unclear, like that of a high school student. This is common enough in contemporary RPG writing, but I have a limited tolerance for sophomoric prose these days. I graduated from English class many years ago, and am able to think - and write - logically and clearly. I feel like I am the captive audience of some spotty munchkin when I read the overlong sentences replete with mixed tenses found in the previews.
2. From what I've seen so far, the game adds nothing new. I'm far from an old RQ2/3 stick-in-the-mud. I wanted to see a new take on the game, incorporating some of the refinements of the last 20 years of game design. But I have seen nothing of the sort. It looks like a rehash, with little of value added.
3. The splitting of the game into multiple books. The main book is 120 pages and the Companion a mere 96. For god's sake, who wants a 96 page hardcover? Just put them together. A 216 page book is hardly intimidating. And it's even worse when you can't even use sorcery or have a "Civilised" background without the Companion.
Personally, much as I had been hoping to rely on the pull of an in-print game to draw in new players to my campaign, I will be sticking to my RQ3/Stormbringer 5 house-rules, and hoping that in the end Deluxe BRP might be a better answer.
Salazar
Why?
1. The writing style is verbose and unclear, like that of a high school student. This is common enough in contemporary RPG writing, but I have a limited tolerance for sophomoric prose these days. I graduated from English class many years ago, and am able to think - and write - logically and clearly. I feel like I am the captive audience of some spotty munchkin when I read the overlong sentences replete with mixed tenses found in the previews.
2. From what I've seen so far, the game adds nothing new. I'm far from an old RQ2/3 stick-in-the-mud. I wanted to see a new take on the game, incorporating some of the refinements of the last 20 years of game design. But I have seen nothing of the sort. It looks like a rehash, with little of value added.
3. The splitting of the game into multiple books. The main book is 120 pages and the Companion a mere 96. For god's sake, who wants a 96 page hardcover? Just put them together. A 216 page book is hardly intimidating. And it's even worse when you can't even use sorcery or have a "Civilised" background without the Companion.
Personally, much as I had been hoping to rely on the pull of an in-print game to draw in new players to my campaign, I will be sticking to my RQ3/Stormbringer 5 house-rules, and hoping that in the end Deluxe BRP might be a better answer.
Salazar
