In 1984 Avalon Hill published an updated version of Chaosium's popular RuneQuest RPG which became known as the third edition. Originally released in a deluxe version with five paper bound booklets and also in smaller player editions and game master editions which separated the game materials into smaller batches for some marketing reason I never understood, in 1986 Avalon Hill switched to the Standard Edition which contains the core rules, the magic booklet and some character sheets. The original setting, Greg Stafford's Glorantha, is not a part of the Standard Edition (and only appeared in its own booklet in the deluxe third edition).
A good friend recently gave me the Standard Edition copy pictured above and I have been thinking "outside the box" about RuneQuest as a result. My introduction to RuneQuest was through the 2nd edition rules in which Glorantha is an integral part. When the AH 3rd edition came out, I purchased the deluxe box and it included a booklet on Glorantha even though the included map and references were of a fantasy Europe setting and the rules purported to be usable with any setting. (world/setting is of great importance to me for establishing mood, tone and verisimilitude allowing for immersive play and a good fit between rules and setting is essential) RuneQuest remains for me closely associated with the world of Glorantha, although I ran (back in the late '80s) a brief campaign using the Vikings setting material published by AH for 3rd edition.
RQ Standard Edition is setting neutral in the sense that it does not include the Glorantha material, or any reference to fantasy Europe or any other setting. The magic book, which includes rules and spells for "spirit magic", "divine magic" and "sorcery", is really the only carry over from a Glorantha type setting and is the weakest part of the game if using the rules outside Glorantha. Fortunately magic is its own booklet. The core rules are all about character creation, skills and combat. RQ is a class-less, skill based system with fairly realistic (and therefore deadly) combat mechanics based on the original author's experience in the Society for Creative Anachronism.
RuneQuest sans Glorantha? I am wondering what that might look like? With decades more experience than I had in the 1980's, I am probably able to think more imaginatively about the possibilities the game RuneQuest presents divorced from the Glorantha setting. RuneQuest is a system built for a mythic world where the spirits interact with the living and the gods are an everyday part of the world, often expressing themselves through various magic runes which humans (and other creatures) may learn to access and control (hence the title of the game). The alternate setting of a fantasy dark age or medieval Europe suggested in the original AH presentation seems to miss the mark a bit. I think RQ works better for a bronze age mythical setting such as is found in the works of Homer or the epic of Gilgamesh (or the original setting of Glorantha). Hence, I am thinking about a "mythic" bronze age Scandinavian milieu where Odin (Wotan), Frey and Freya seem to interact on the lives of the characters as they struggle with the ljosalfar, trolls and giants. (I may post more on this later as my thoughts ripen).
I am somewhat amazed at the effect a previously unseen version of an old favorite has had on my thinking. Sometimes novel presentation and what is left out can greatly influence how we perceive even a familiar topic. The RuneQuest system in all its editions, remains a strong choice for role-playing, one that adapts well across settings and has formed the basis of Chaosium's Basic Role-Playing system which is at the core of several games including Call of Cthulhu, Stormbringer, ElfQuest and Ringworld. I am starting to wonder if I can adapt it for play in M.E.?
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