ralph@inuxc.UUCP (Ralph Keyser) (02/17/84)
Runequest is different from D&D. It is cleaner, simpler, and more elegant. The rules allow you, the player, to customize your character in any direction you wish. You might think that would make life easier, but it actually takes more role playing to make it work. Your character in RQ is open for development. There are no rules that say you are a thief, therefore you can do this, but not this over here. You have skills to deal with, not artificial classes. Most people drift into being a fighter because it is easiest. (Let's face it, fighters are easiest in D&D too) If you want to be a thief, then be a thief. You must learn to play your character like a thief. You must concentrate your time and money into learning to climb walls, move silently, pick locks, and etc. If you do that, you are going to have no time to learn to fight well, you will not be able to wear heavy (and noisy) armor, and you *must* not fight. If you fight something, your odds of dying are very high. But the direction of your character is your choice. You, not the rules, decide what you are going to be good at, and it is up to you to play that way. As for magic, Runequest is a magic poor world. D&D is a magic rich world. Comparing them is an apples and oranges operation. In D&D a character is often made by the items he/she has. These items keep you alive, and *everybody* has them. In RQ your character's wits and skills keep you from the void. Magical items are few and far between, and they take on true value. The combat system is where RQ really shines. It is simple enough to be playable, yet it captures the "feel" of hand to hand combat. You have the ability to parry the blow of your opponent or have your own blow find a weak point in his armor. Fighting can wear you down, as you lose the use of an arm or leg your situation becomes more desperate. Numbers are important, and tactical strategy can be used to good effect in RQ. Anytime you outnumber the bad guys, you have an edge. Armor will not stop a blow from landing, but it will make the blow hurt less if it does land. I play both AD&D and RQ these days, and I like them both for various reasons. Runequest is a very playable system, and an excellent addition to the realm of role playing games. I would strongly recommend it to anyone who enjoys fantasy. After all, the book (just one) is only about $12. A bargain compared to the buy-in cost of D&D. Ralph Keyser AT&T Consumer Products ...!inuxc!ralph
kechkayl@ecn-ee.UUCP (02/17/84)
#R:inuxc:-91400:ecn-ee:14500009:000:1473
ecn-ee!kechkayl Feb 17 00:37:00 1984
[Indented text is Ralph Keyser's]
As for magic, Runequest is a magic poor world. D&D is a magic rich
world. Comparing them is an apples and oranges operation.
Why is comparing them apples and oranges? Both games are treatments of
fantasy novel that allow role playing. That is like saying that you cannot
compare two WWII games.
In D&D a character is often made by the items he/she has. These items keep
you alive, and *everybody* has them. In RQ your character's wits
and skills keep you from the void. Magical items are few and far
between, and they take on true value.
Magic items are few and far between. That pretty much says it all. BORING.
Magic is low grade, and hard to perform. BORING.
Sorry, but Runequest is a 'Realistic' game. It includes all the boredom that
is sometimes present in real life. I get bored sometimes on my own, I DON'T
need a game to help me. In AD&D, yes, there is a lot of magic, but at least
there is some magic! The density of magic depends on your DM, but AD&D is
playable at all levels of magic. If you want magic to be as scarce as in
RuneQuest, it can be. However, if you want magic to be slightly more common,
that works also. Lastly, if you want every little kid to have a Staff of the
Magi, that will sometimes work, too! With RuneQuest, magic is RARE, period,
end of statement. Sorry, I prefer at least a semblance of choice.
Thomas Ruschak
pur-ee!kechkayl
"Aiee! A toy robot!"wombat@uicsl.UUCP (02/18/84)
#R:inuxc:-91400:uicsl:4900006:000:149 uicsl!wombat Feb 17 16:02:00 1984 But from the sounds of RuneQuest III, I'd recommend getting a copy of RQ II and using that. RQ III sounds more like D&D than RuneQuest. Wombat
steven@qubix.UUCP (Steven Maurer) (02/21/84)
> Sorry, but Runequest is a 'Realistic' game. It includes all the boredom that > is sometimes present in real life. I get bored sometimes on my own, I DON'T > need a game to help me. In AD&D, yes, there is a lot of magic, but at least > there is some magic! The density of magic depends on your DM, but AD&D is > playable at all levels of magic. If you want magic to be as scarce as in > RuneQuest, it can be. However, if you want magic to be slightly more common, > that works also. Lastly, if you want every little kid to have a Staff of the > Magi, that will sometimes work, too! With RuneQuest, magic is RARE, period, > end of statement. Sorry, I prefer at least a semblance of choice. You have obviously never played in a Runequest campaign. From your writing, I figure you tried playing a begining character for 2 advantures, and immediately gave up. If you think about it for more than about 2 seconds, you might realize that the amount of magic in a campaign is not a function of the game system, but rather a function of a referee. There is no rule in Runequest that a referee cannot play a magic rich world. In addition, you are falling into the D&D trap of believing that the "density of magic", in a campaign, depends upon the number of +3 Swords you can pick up in the local "dungeon"; in Runequest II, with half of the mercenaries running around with a spell that temporarily gives a +4 enchantment on their weapons, this is not necessary. What really seems to be the problem, is that Runequest (unlike D&D or AD&D) is play-balanced. That is, neither the characters, or their opponents, are particularly overpowering, and you might actually have to think twice before trying to kill off 100 trollkin. Brute force does not work as well in Runequest as it does in D&D. I sympathise. There are times when I don't want to think about the game, I just want to play "Gratutious Slaughter". If a 1000 man army comes up to one of my characters, I want to pick a fight and blow half of them away in one mele round. The mere fact that Conan never did that, the Fafrhd and the Grey Mouser never do, Gandalf did not do that, and neither did SAURON, does not bother me. The plain fact that characters from all the most famous fantasys, are almost never the equivalent of a tactical nuke, does not matter to me sometimes. I want to hear discriptions of guts popping out, and glorying in the many gross and awesome powers of my characters. In short, D&D Monty Haul is fun. I am glad that you like to play it. I only think that you are missing something by limiting yourself to a system, that if the monsters actually USED those items that they are "guarding", they would not immediately turn tactical nuke. For this, you need a reasonable Referee, or a reasonable system. Steven Maurer p.s. Have you ever ran your high level D&D Magic User against a Mirror of Opposition? Who wins is a matter of who gets the reaction roll....
wombat@uicsl.UUCP (02/21/84)
#R:inuxc:-91400:uicsl:4900007:000:654 uicsl!wombat Feb 20 15:49:00 1984 As pur-ee!ketchkayel said, it's all up to the GM: if you want a lot of magic, there's nothing in RQ to keep you from putting it in. If you want magic to be rarer, you can do that, too. And RQ will let you become a fighter/magic-user a lot more easily than D&D will. I've always thought D&D classes were a little silly -- instant stereotyping, no chance to learn things outside of your field, just like graduate school. But there's no reason to reject RQ simply because it doesn't "come with" enough magic for you. If you aren't creative enough to develop your own, what are doing playing these games anyway? Wombat ihnp4!uiucdcs!uicsl!wombat
kechkayl@ecn-ee.UUCP (02/22/84)
#R:inuxc:-91400:ecn-ee:14500010:000:433
ecn-ee!kechkayl Feb 22 02:40:00 1984
> there is some magic! The density of magic depends on your DM, but AD&D is
If you think about it for more than about 2 seconds, you might
realize that the amount of magic in a campaign is not a function of
the game system, but rather a function of a referee. There is no
If you think about it for more than 2 seconds, you might realize that
I just said that!
Thomas Ruschak
pur-ee!kechkaylfaustus@ucbvax.UUCP (Wayne Christopher) (02/23/84)
I agree completely that PC's don't have to be stereotyped. In one campaign that I am playing in now, there is a kangaroo magic user and a smurf fighter, both of whom get into great troubles because of their races. The trick is to not be afraid to play incompetent or otherwise defective characters -- they're the most fun. Wayne
elliottg@stolaf.UUCP (Glenn E. Elliott) (02/25/84)
I regret to say that AD&D classes are not stereotyped unless the DM wants them to be. In my campaign, PC's are allowed to be just about any class they want to be. Currently, in fact, one player is playing a Ranger/Druid/Magic User/Thief and it works just fine. I have never played RuneQuest, so I can't make value judgements for or against it. I think that every FRP game has its advantages and disadvantages, and that they should be taken for what they are. Glenn E. Elliott St. Olaf College ihnp4!stolaf!elliottg
steven@qubix.UUCP (Steven Maurer) (02/27/84)
>> > there is some magic! The density of magic depends on your DM, but AD&D is >> If you think about it for more than about 2 seconds, you might >> realize that the amount of magic in a campaign is not a function of >> the game system, but rather a function of a referee. There is no >> If you think about it for more than 2 seconds, you might realize that >> I just said that! Examine your sentence structure more closely: "depends on your DM, BUT AD&D .... " You went on to say that Runequest had less magic than AD&D, thereby contradicating yourself in one sentence! I was only pointing out this fact. Steven M.
kechkayl@ecn-ee.UUCP (02/29/84)
#R:inuxc:-91400:ecn-ee:14500011:000:264 ecn-ee!kechkayl Feb 29 02:10:00 1984 Ok, one last time, my point was that AD&D tends on the average to have more magic than Runequest. Yes, the DM is the deciding factor, but USUALLY, AD&D has more. Is that clear enough for you????? Thomas Ruschak ecn-ee!kechkayl "Aieee! A toy robot!"
mcewan@uiucdcs.UUCP (mcewan ) (03/01/84)
#R:inuxc:-91400:uiucdcs:9300023:000:846
uiucdcs!mcewan Feb 29 21:30:00 1984
/***** uiucdcs:net.games.frp / ecn-ee!kechkayl / 2:40 am Feb 22, 1984 */
> there is some magic! The density of magic depends on your DM, but AD&D is
If you think about it for more than about 2 seconds, you might
realize that the amount of magic in a campaign is not a function of
the game system, but rather a function of a referee. There is no
If you think about it for more than 2 seconds, you might realize that
I just said that!
Thomas Ruschak
pur-ee!kechkayl
/* ---------- */
I don't need to think about it, I just read your words:
With RuneQuest, magic is RARE, period, end of statement.
Please explain how this translates to "the amount of magic is
a function of the games system"?
I've never even played RuneQuest, but
I couldn't resist
Scott McEwan
pur-ee!uiucdcs!mcewan