"RuneQuest: Slayers"?

[Angelo Pampalone]

Hi all!

Browsing the internet, I've found this link http://www.thalcos.com/rq.html and having little to no knowledge of the instoricall past of the setting of HQ,  I'm wondering if this is in any way linked to glorantha?

ps: HeroQuest is awesome!!!

Angelo

[Peter Nordstrand]

Hi,

RuneQuest was the first Gloranthan roleplaying game, published by Chaosium in the late 70s. Avalon Hill aqcuired the rights for RuneQuest in the mid 80s. They published a new edition of the game, and both Gloranthan and non-Gloranthan supplements. Chaosium and Avalon Hill ended their business relationship in 1997. Avalon Hill now owned RuneQuest, and Chaosium/Greg Stafford owned Glorantha. RuneQuest Slayers was, unless I am mistaken, an attempt to publish a roleplaying game using the name RuneQuest. It has nothing to do whith Glorantha whatsoever.

Check out Rick Meint's site for more detailed information about this and related topics: http://www.glorantha.info/

All the best,

[Brand_Robins]

There's a history of RuneQuest at this site here that explains everything in detail: http://www.maranci.net/rqpast.htm

The short answer, however, is No. At some point in the long publishing history of Runequest and Glorantha, the two got split off into seperate entities. Greg kept Glorantha, Avalon Hill went off with Runequest. Runequest: Slayers was an attempt to use the Runequest name to positivly brand a new game from AH that had little to nothing to do with either Glorantha or the old Runequest system.

It's kind of a neat game, and has a lot of cool ideas, but it isn't Glorantha nor old style Runequest -- despite the name.

[Eero Tuovinen]

Browsing the internet, I've found this link http://www.thalcos.com/rq.html and having little to no knowledge of the instoricall past of the setting of HQ,  I'm wondering if this is in any way linked to glorantha?

Not to Glorantha, no. Instead, the game is a discontinued effort to instate a new unrelated roleplaying game riding on the coattails of old Runequest. I misremember the name of the firm that owned the brand when dinosaurs roamed the earth (that'd be '90s), but a little before breaking up they were going to publish that game. After the prospect fell through the designer published it as is.

The interesting thing (apart from how they dared to make a game completely unrelated in mechanics, setting or style to the old game by the name of Runequest) is that the game is quite good. One of the better gamist designs, made all the more so by the general dearth of those in the nineties.

[Angelo Pampalone]

Thanks all for the info. Now I've a clearer view of the istory of the game(s).

[Ron Edwards]

Hello,

A minor point: by my standards, RQ Slayers is published, on the very link you've cited, Angelo. "Discontinued" would refer only to Avalon Hill's plan to publish it as a book, not to the game as a playable entity.

Thanks to everyone for providing the historical links - it's good knowledge to have available in this forum.

Best,
Ron

[buserian]

I've always wondered if Avalon Hill actually owned all rights to the game, and they and Hasbro just don't know/care that the authors put it up; or if by not publishing it the rights eventually reverted to the authors.

I once heard that the book was fully laid out and about to go the printing side of Avalon Hill (which was their own printer) when Hasbro bought up the company and squashed this project. But I don't know if that is how it actually happened.

buserian (who has been busy of late)

[Peter Nordstrand]

Buserian,

Follow Angelo's link, and you'll get access to the fully layouted version you are talking about. :-)

Cheers,