Saturday, September 3, 2011

Mail Call: Runequest 2nd ed.





Not much to add, really. I've been wanting a copy for a while, and it's finally mine. I also really, really like the look of the thing -- the brown ink on the cover, Luise Perrin's artwork, the maps-- all of it.

Ok, the character sheet scares me a bit.

6 comments:

  1. It's a very yummy edition! Some lovely tables. (I have a hardback with an extremely tatty colour dust cover - same illustration by Luisse -sp?-). The original game!
    Does the character sheet in the back look like it's done on a typewriter?
    Where did you get it from?

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  2. Yup -- the character sheet indeed looks like it was laid out on a typewriter. I think I've just been spoiled because most of the games I've been involved in lately have been simple enough that all relevant character information could fit on a 3x5 index card.

    Oh, and I got it from a seller on ebay. I've just been waiting for one to go for a reasonable price.

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  3. Like the old Call of Cthulhu sheets, I reckon it's deceptive. In newer games skills and info are only named if the character actually possesses them, Chaosism used to list a lot of stuff on the character sheets. I have a slightly more recent character sheet pad by an independent publisher that was easier to follow (maybe I'll scan a copy and post it on my blog - can't find it in an image search online) I never really played it properly, but I think with RQ once everything's on the sheet, gameplay is pretty much about rolling the percentile dice every now and again and all the info is in front of you when you need it. Maybe there's some RQ1-2 pregens out there. I think if I was redesigning the sheet for new players, for a start I get rid of all the lines (I like the big blank boxes on the Basic D&D sheets) Oops, sorry I'm babbling. The Glorantha background can be a bit strange, not to mention some of the weirdest of monsters. There's some really ridiculous prices on ebay for items like this. Again, excellent find!

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  4. Sorry to keep babbling like some sort of mental old school RQ fanboy, :D but I've put a scan of an alternative character sheet, if it's of any use: http://adventuresandshopping.blogspot.com/2011/09/runequest-games-workshop-character.html

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  5. @Billiam -- Thanks! That is indeed a very nice character sheet -- nice clear, clean layout, and a definite improvement over the US Chaosium version. I'm not sure how it'll look on 8.5 x 11 " paper (A4 isn't as available on this side of the pond) but I'll have to run off a few sheets this afternoon. Thanks again for sharing it.

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  6. I'm jealous. I have the Avalon Hill/Games Workshop edition, which is okay, in a setting-sterilized sort of way. But I'd much prefer this one.

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