AKRATIC WIZARDRY: A blog wherein I scribble about role-playing games (Mythras, Against the Darkmaster, Dungeons & Dragons [esp. old school], Swords & Wizardry, Into the Unknown, Middle-earth Role-playing, Lord of the Rings Role-playing, Adventures in Middle-Earth, Crypts & Things, Call of Cthulhu, etc.) and RPG settings (Middle-earth, Cthulhu Mythos, Greyhawk, Lyonesse, Ukrasia, etc.). I also write about fantasy and science-fiction films, novels, art, TV shows, and the like.
Well, I was waiting to read your review on this, but after reading the two reviews you linked to, I broke down and picked MRQ2 up. Only read as far as Character generation so far, but I love it! RQ made simple, but with tons of fantasy flavour.
ReplyDeleteGlad you like it, Sean. MRQII is probably my favourite 'new' game of the past decade (excluding the various D&D 'retro-clones').
ReplyDeleteHow do you feel about the rule changes?
ReplyDeleteI recently picked up a Near Mint copy of the hardback edition of Runequest 2 (the original, not the new one) and have ordered some of the Moon Design Publications RQ2 compendiums. I don't know if I'll play it, but RQ is a game I have always liked the look of.
Overall, StevenP, I'd say that I like MRQII over RQ2. MRQII is more 'streamlined' at it's core (fewer fiddly bits). Moreover, it has a very good 'sorcery' magic system, something that RQ2 lacks altogether. Finally, I like that MRQII is both more 'generic' (not explicitly set in Glorantha) and more 'modular' (one can simply pick which magic systems to use, e.g., only sorcery, with no impact on the rest of the system) than RQ2. Nonetheless, RQ2 is a great system.
ReplyDeleteYou may also want to look at OpenQuest, which uses the MRQI SRD as its base, but essentially is a simplified version or RQ2 and RQ3 (e.g., it eliminates 'hit locations', streamlines the skill list, etc.). It should be 99% compatible with RQ2 material. The unillustrated version of the PDF is free.