More 2015 Acquisitions: Renaissance Deluxe, Entropic Gaming System and Deus Vult

Continuing my January/Winter trend of snagging new RPGs to explore, I have acquired PDFs and print copies of a few more interesting RPGs worth discussing.....

Legend has three settings for those who didn't know: the citybook settings which include Sheoloth and Skaar (traditional fantasy with a D20 origin), the world of Xoth (hardcore traditional swords & sorcery in the vein of Howard, Smith, Wagner and Carter), and the third, which is Deus Vult, a world of medieval witchcraft and demon hunting in the name of the Catholic Church's top-secret medieval monster murder units. Or something like that....I have print copies but no PDFs on the way, will discuss more when the GM's book and Player's Book arrive.

Of very similar nature to Deus Vult is Renaissance Deluxe, published by the fantastically-named Cakebread & Walton. Renaissance Deluxe has been out for a bit, and if I recall it originally was slated for a release around the time Mongoose lost their RQ license, which put something of a crimp in release plans. Anyway....they seem to have a robust collection of D100-based historical and steampunk RPGs on rpgnow these days, and Renaissance Deluxe with its promise of a relatively purist take on historical renaissance gaming grabbed my attention. The PDF is quite interesting, looking forward to my print copy.

My third find is an exotic take on something I thought I'd never see: it's essentially a Savage worlds-inspired game system called the Entropic Gaming System. Published by Mystical Throne Entertainment, this is easily the first time I've encountered what could amount to (depending on how you look at it) a Savage worlds heartbreaker, an Advanced Revised edition of Savage Worlds, or a game system with heavy inspiration from Savage Worlds. Yes, it's got a lot of Savage Worlds DNA in it's design. Up to now, not surprisingly, Mystical Throne has been known for some concise historical supplements for Savage Worlds and even some Legend books....but it looks like they decided to branch out into their own system.

However, before you dismiss EGS out of hand as a SW-wannabe, I need to tell you this: I like it. A lot. The mechanics may have started from Savage Worlds, but the end result is a much more developed game with a metric ton of interesting additional content, extrapolations and improvements. This is in many ways what a future edition of SW might look like if that system ever saw progressive iterations beyond the most rudimentary. EGS adds a couple more attributes, a metric ton of additional skills, a more elaborate yet somehow easier combat system, and all with the same level of focus and ease of use in multigenre gaming that its forebear offers. It's Savage Worlds on steroids and Mutant Growth Hormones, and I really hope EGS grows and gets attention...it's a better version of the game.

So confident am I that I'll actually use EGS, that I actually purchased the first two supplements for it, both of which are revisions of prior SW/Legend books: The Xenopedia and Ultimate Roman Legions Guide. The books are decent looking but do rely on stock art (much of which I recognize)...but the formatting is concise and user-friendly.

Anyway, I wish Mystic Throne luck in this endeavor, they have taken the core concepts of a great game and made an even better one.

Mongoose Stealthily Returns to Releasing Actual Books - Arcania of Legend: Elementalism and Sheoloth among Others

Mongoose Publishing had a weird year in 2014 when you look at it: lots of planned releases, a few of which actually made it into PDF format, but very little traction in terms of releasing titles in print. Suddenly, they got a deal with Cubicle 7 to get their books back into print and distribution, which was a great move. So now, we have the following books out in print for Legend, which I may add are all on their way to my doorstep (and according to UPS my copy of Sheoloth from Noble Knight is waiting for me now):

Sheoloth, The Sprawling City - a revision of what was originally a D20 book from long ago, but they did a good job with the Skaar Citybook and these definitely add "flavor" to Legend that it needs...and also dark elves, lots of dark elves. (UPDATE: very nice book, and if Matt Sprange's Year in Review is anything to go by they plan more print follow-ups in Sheoloth soon).

Citadel Beyond the North Wind - a sequel to Legend of the Spider God's Bride that revisits the world of Xoth with an eye on expanding it as a full setting as well as reprinting the previously PDF-only Song of the Beast Gods adventure. Extra win! (but the Song of the Beast Gods is not in here....apparently its some very badly worded back-cover ad copy--pity). If you haven't seen Xoth, you're missing out on one of the better Conanesque sword & sorcery game worlds on the market, and its an excellent fit for Legend. (UPDATE: still well worth it for $14.99 and its a full-size format so it will match the main Spider God's Bride book; maybe Beast God will get a print version soon too).

Arcania of Legend: Elementalism - an expansion on elemental magic for Legend. Not too familiar with this one (don't have the PDF yet) but if its as good as Blood Magic was I'll be happy. (UPDATE: nice book, even includes a look at historical/mythic elementalism, Loz was involved at some point apparently, and it introduces a very nice looking new stat block format for Legend monster entries which I heartily approve of).

Legend remains a strong D100/BRP-based engine, and its material should be quite easy to convert to Runequest 6 if you prefer to use that tome for your gaming. For my purposes, I have added to my list of games this year a plan to run the full Spider-God's Bride campaign in Xoth soon, straight up as presented in the two books released so far.

Traveller is also getting back into print and distribution too, by the way. I'll have to start looking at some of the recent releases for that system again, as well....although I concede Savage Worlds SF Companion has sort of won me over for now.

Here are the links to the Cubicle 7 Pages as well:

Legend
Traveller

The Witch of Galitath for Magic World

Continuing my adaptation of Pergerron to Magic World, I look next to the revision of the Witch of Galitath....

Terragia - The Witch of Galitath

STR         13

CON       16

SIZ          10

INT         21

POW      24

DEX        18

APP        20          

Move                                10

Hit Points                          26 (immortal/heroic HP)

Damage Bonus                  +0

Magic Points                      24 (plus staff)

Skills:                            Bargain 90%, Climb 40%, Dodge 50%, Insight 100%, Listen 70%, Hide 90%      Move Quietly 90%, Nature 95%, Physik 90%, Potions 110%, World Lore 90%

Armor:                          none, but she has 12 points of natural resistance against non-magical, unenchanted attacks

Attacks:                        by staff 85%, 1D8+1D6 damage plus special (see below)

Traits:                           Sorceress (see spells below), immortal, helm of technomancy, regeneration (1 HP/round)

Terrain:                       any area in the Barbarian Lands of Galitath

Staff Special: A Staff of Power (24 MP), +1D6 damage (1D8+1D6 total)

Helm of Technomancy: Terragia's decorative helm contains ancient technomagical secrets which let her speak with and control the meks (see killer robots, page 359 BRP, but no ranged weapons) who serve her so willingly. Her helm also allows her to ethereally cut a portion of the katra of willing target away, and implant it in the ether engine of a mek to power it. An unwilling target of this effect (which she can do once per day) must make a resistance roll vs. potency 20. The target loses 1D6 POW but gains 1D4% per point of POW loss in a skill of choice. The experience diminishes the spirit but the immaterial bond with the mek proves an enlightening experience. Once one's katra has been bonded to a mek, that mek will always behave as a friend and protector to the donor (so long as he/she lives).

Immortality: Like all demiurges, Terragia has a form of immortality, such that she can only readily be harmed by enchanted weapons and spells, and regenerates 1 hit point of damage per round. To slay her requires dismembering and burning her body. She will resurrect 1D6 months after being slain, appearing somewhere in the bramblewood of her homeland. The myths say that she can only be slain if one finds the exact crop of bramblewood she will regrow in and burn it down, then salt the earth.

Sorceress: Terragia is a gifted sorceress and commands a range of spells. She typically has the following spells prepared: Agony (2), Animal Friendship (3), Babble (1), Affliction (4), Cave Bear Shape (4), Bird’s Vision (1), Brazier of Power (4), Captive Slumber (3), Cloak of Night (4), Curse of Sorcery (4), Earth Walking (4), Hag’s Flesh (3), Heal (3), Itch (1), Midnight (1), Moonlight (1), Omen (3), Scry (4), Sorcerer’s Beauty (3), Sorcerer’s Void (3), Summon Elemental (1), Undo Sorcery (4), Summon Passion Spirit (1), Wrack (1)

Terragia, the witch of Galitath

Some call her the Bramble Queen, for she is said to haunt the thick, spiny woods along the foothills of the Askofar Mountains. Others call her the Lady of Sar, for she seems to have an uncanny familiarity with the mechanical golems of the ancients, the so-called meks. Those men of the Barbarian Lands who claim to have met her in person say she is at once cunning and mad, and surrounded....always surrounded....by the hideous brambles that spring up wherever she walks.

On one occasion, the regional hero known as Arabast the Cleaver said he met Terragia on a dark night, under the harvest moon after a particularly gruesome battle against a horde of orcs. She was sifting through the hundreds of corpses that had piled high in the battle when she came upon Arabast, wounded and recovering from a rattling blow to the temple. She offered Arabast a choice: to suffer his wounds, but in so doing, if he healed, he would be stronger than he could imagine. Or she could heal him and insure his health, but in exchange he must give of her a portion of his spirit, his katra, as the Galitath call it, a concept similar to but not quite the same as a soul.

Arabast considered her offer and decided he would have none of her withccraft. She left him to his own means, as her hulking mechanical giants carried off dozens of corpses. A year later he found himself ruler of the entire Northrender clan, ten thousand warriors under his banner. "She knew my destiny," he once said to his young wife Ezeta, "and she let me choose it. I could have been fodder for her machines....I think she steals the katras of men, and that the meks she commands are powered by those fragments of our spirits."

The truth about Terragia remains a mystery, but there are a few other facts worth mentioning:

She is a friend to the efreet that dwell in subterranean cities beneath the silt deposits on the coastal plains

Terragia is visited once a year along the coast by a contingent of priests and nobles from the Great City Phantomax to the distant west, often bearing strange concotions and tomes of eldritch lore in exchange for some of her fabulous meks

Terragia is shunned by the orcs, and her mere presence at an engagement is enough to send them routing

At least a few priestesses of Suliversa in Tordalis claim that Terragia is the bastard daughter of their goddess, from a tryst with Tokandros

The Primordial Spheres in Magic World

Continuing my conversion of the world of Pergerron (and specifically the River Kingdoms of Anansis) to Magic World, I offer up details on the primordial spheres with BRP/MW stats. I've been using Pergerron as my default setting for my Saturday Magic World campaign which is currently in full swing, so it now looks like the first system to introduce these magic items will be MW...

The Primordial Spheres

The Primordial Spheres are ten potent magic items, one for each of the great elder gods called  primordials. It is said that each sphere was a gift forged from the primordial darkness, an embodiment of the sacred power and knowledge of the old gods. The primordials coveted these spheres, and kept within them the essence of their might, their magic and their secrets.

When the Enkanneth, the first men, rose up against the primordials and their chaoskin followers they did so with deliberate action, seeking out the hidden places in the Outworld where the primordials kept their spheres. Each Enkanneth stole the power from the spheres, taking all of the energy and lore contained within into themselves. When they were done, the spheres were cast aside, drained of the cosmic energy that had granted true divinity to the elder gods.

The legends say these spheres were discarded as useless, but useless to an Enkanneth...a man-made god....is a decidedly different connotation than useless to mere mortals. The spheres have appeared in various regions of the world, often coveted by those who find them, as each one, despite being drained of most power, still contain significant magical abilities that mere men can readily exploit.

Each sphere is about the size of a crystal ball (think a bowling ball) and exhibits a miasma of swirling colors characteristic of its title. The sphere cannot be used without first being attuned to the user: this requires one day of quiet meditation with the orb, after which the user is irrevocably connected to the orb until death or a remove curse breaks the attunement. To invoke the power of the sphere, one need only hold it firmly in both hands and concentrate. Unfortunately such power is also corrupting: each sphere has side-effects if possessed for too long. The side effects appear in three stages; the first stage can be stripped away with the remove curse that breaks the attunement. The second and third stages are more complex, and only a wish can remove their effects.

Here then are a few of the Primordial Spheres known in existence today:

The Cerulean Sphere of Trigaril

The sphere of the primordial of the seas is a deep blue in color, seemingly as if it were a hollowed glass ball with a slice of the deep ocean poured inside. The bearer of this sphere is able to breath water and can swim at his normal movement rate without problem, or suffer any encumbering effects of armor while in the water. The bearer of the sphere gains the following:

Magic Reservoir: equal to user’s MP

Spells: Bounty of the Sea (4), Breath of Life (1)

Corruption: After 1D6 weeks the bearer of the sphere begins to develop gills and webbed feet and toes. After another 1D4 months the bearer can no longer survive out of water for more than 12 hours. After 1D4 years the bearer loses the ability to breath air entirely. These effects transpire regardless of any shape-changing or transmogrification.

The Vermillion Sphere of Verethax

The sphere appears to be a glass portal into a smoldering inferno, and is always searing hot to the touch; it deals 1D6 fire damage to any who hold it, except for the one who is attuned to its use. The Vermillion Sphere allows the bearer the following:

Magic Reservoir: equal to user’s MP

Spells: Flame Walking (4), Flames of the Sun (4), Guide Fire (4), Sorcerer’s Sharp Flame (4); note that the sphere itself counts as a source of fire for spells like guide fire.

Other Traits: In addition the bearer of the sphere is immune to fire damage, and can speak the language of fire elementals with innate ability at 100% skill (this is lost if the attunement is broken).

Corruption: after 1D6 weeks the bearer of the stone develops elemental traits from the plane of fire, and finds that anything he or she comes into contact with that can burn will ignite (1D6 fire damage). After 1D4 additional months the bearer of the stone develops the ability to migrate to and from the elemental plane of fire at will. After 1D4 years the bearer of the stone assumes the full properties of a fire elemental of equivalent skill and power.

The Ebon Sphere of Yoka Vataras

This sphere is made of pure darkness, a swirling nothingness that all but disappears when the lights are out. The bearer of the sphere immediately gains the power of darksense, a unique trait which allows the bearer of the stone to "see" in total darkness as if it were day, albeit in shades of gray. The bearer of the sphere may cast the following spells:

Magic Reservoir: equal to the attuned user’s MP.

Spells: Midnight (1), Summon Demon (1), Sorcerer’s Soul (3), Sorcerer’s Weakness (3), Undo Sorcery (4).

Corruption: The quintessence of the void suffuses the attuned bearer with dark energy, and within 1D6 weeks the bearer takes on the outward appearance of a spirit shade, with skin of shadow and murky darkness wreathing his form wherever he goes. In another 1D4 months the bearer loses his corporeal body, becoming incorporeal, though still able to manipulate the orb. After 1D4 years the bearer becomes an Intellect Spirit. While in this form the bearer is beyond human understanding, but some form of great magic such as a wish or the power of a demiurge removing the curse will restore him to his old life.

Gear Maidens in Magic World/BRP

The gear maidens as a B/X D&D monster appeared a week or two back, but I have been steadily converting all that material plus the Pergerron setting to my Magic World campaign that is ongoing. Here then are the Gear Maidens D100 style...

Gear Maidens (The Maidens of Sar)

STR        3D6+6   16-17

CON       3D6+6   16-17

SIZ         2D6+6      13

INT        3D6+3    13-14

POW      12+1D6  15-16

DEX       2D6+6      13

APP       3D6        10-11    

Move 10

Hit Points  15

Damage Bonus +1D4

Skills: Climb Dodge 40%, Listen 50%, Hide 40%, Move Quietly 40%, Jump 80%

Armor: natural metal plating 1D8

Attacks: Unarmed (slam) 50%, 1D8+1D4 or arm blades (two) 75%, 1D6+1+1D4 each

Traits: healed by electrical damage; immune to cold damage but are slowed to Move 2; immune 

to mind-affecting magic

Terrain: any ancient ruins

Gear maidens are an unusual construct sometimes found in the ancient ruins of Pergerron. Each gear maiden has the appearance of a suit of armor or a mannequin made to look like a woman comprised of complex clockwork moving parts. Most of the gear maidens appear to be one of three types: jackal-headed, elvish-looking, and on rare occasion smooth, featureless faces with a mirror of silver where eyes, nose and mouth would be located.

Gear maidens may have served some other purpose in the ancient past, constructs designed for amusement, or to serve as guards perhaps. Today they are relics which haunt the ancient ruins, acting erratically and without purpose. When a gear maiden (or group of such) is encountered roll to see what their pattern of behavior is (D10):

1-4 - the gear maidens function as if the ruin around them is still alive; they prop skeletal remains up on chairs, serving them empty platters of food while serving long-dried bottles of wine. They will grow antagonistic to anyone who tries to point out the absurdity of their actions or the deathly nature of those they "serve."

5-7 - the gear maidens are mad, and appear to have suffered some sort of mania, which they may call "malfunctioning" to those who can prompt them to speak coherently. These are deadly, usually attacking randomly before fleeing, only to circle back later and strike again.

8-9 - some may be found which are coherent, usually hunting for parts. These gear maidens salvage relics of lore and preserve them, as if enshrining the lost civilizations of old Sar and other empires of the past. They are not above cutting down maddened versions of their own to salvage parts to repair themselves.

10 - Occasionally a cunning and vengeful gear maiden will be found. These are the deadliest, for they remember the fall of the old empires, and the destruction of those they served. They will seek to hunt down and exterminate all humans and demi-humans they come across, and will do so with great cunning and relish.

Aside from the retractable blades (about as long as a short sword, but much sharper) gear maidens have the traits of other constructs, and are immune to any gaseous or poison attacks, as well as any attacks that affect life force (POW draining, for example); they also can never increase their initial POW score. They are immune to mind-affecting spells, for their magical artificial brains cannot comprehend or react to the magical influence of the mind. Lighting damage heals them. Cold damage deals 1/2 damage to them but they are slowed to Move 2 for 1 round after being subject to the cold-damaging attack.

An entrepreneurial fighter with some weapon smithing skills could extract the arm blades of a destroyed gear maiden to find that they will make enchanted short swords of amazing quality (+10% attack and +2 damage).

Source

BRP/Legend/Runequest Resource Page

I finally got around to setting this up:

The Legend/BRP/Runequest Resource Page

There you will find all the links of the past of note to the D100 system of games. It's technically sitting on my sister blog site (Tales of the Middle Kingdoms) which I never did much with, but found makes a great dump spot for indexes like this.

Comparing the BRP family of Games

If you've never played any of these games before and want to figure out where to break in, then I suggest you start with asking yourself what are your most important needs in the game? In terms of layout, art, learning curve, support material and complexity, using a 5 point grade where 1 is abyssal and 5 is perfection, with 3 being the neutral middle ground standard for average, I would rank the various BRP-based game engines as follows:

Game                    Artwork   Layout   Learning Curve   Complexity   Support 
Legend                          4           4               3.5                      3.5               5
Open Quest 2                 1          3                3                        3                  3
Runequest 6                   5          4.5             4                        4                  3
Magic World                  3          3                2                        3                  2
Basic Roleplaying           3.5        3.5             4                        3                  5

The Unique Thing: each of the above systems have something that makes them stand apart. Here's what that thing is:

Legend: Legend is designed to be portable, and to have lots of plug-in modules of historical and fantasy settings. It's already got its own distinct flavor of fantasy going, and also has the World of Xoth in its corral. Even though it and RQ6 are functionally the same base game, Legend's written in a more conservative, matter-of-fact style that makes it more accessible.

Open Quest 2: it's designed to be a sort of cross between an introductory fantasy system and a faithful house-ruled variant of MRQ with some Legend and BRP mixed in (see Wednesday's review). It's got a few supporting books, and the core conceit of its design is Glorantha friendly.

Runequest 6: this is one of those "loveletter" games (I hate that term) but it's also the best damned version of Runequest made to date. It's learning curve and complexity ratings come from my assessment that the book's eloquence of design and presentation is nonetheless quite complex in presentation; it is effectively no more mechanically complex than Legend, but it demands that you spend more time with it, savoring it like a juicy steak, while Legend is that same steak put in convenient hamburger format. It's hard to explain....I find Legend eminently readable and quick to explain, but RQ6 requires extra care to read. Think of Legend as "Cliff's notes" to the full academic text that is RQ6.

Magic World: the fastest pickup and play experience of the lot, and keeps the core magic system focused on a retooled version of Elric's sorcery. For this reason it is the easiest to introduce outsiders to. MW's tight focus on getting the Elric system back in print as a generic setting has the side effect of making it a de facto quick-play version of BRP. I've had great success introducing completely new players to the BRP family of games using MW.

Basic Roleplaying: it's strength is in its multi-genre approach and its toolkit design. You can't go wrong here, but the other systems on hand are all the best choices for sword & sorcery fantasy gaming. However, if you want to do planetary romance or something really exotic, BRP is your system of choice.

Crossing Games

These games each have a lineage. BRP may be the grand-daddy of the lot, but here's how the actual relationship breaks down:

Legend and Runequest 6: No surprise here as both games were designed by Lawrence Whittaker, and both come from Mongoose's RQII. While terminology and some ideas changed from Legend to RQ6, the core conceit of each game is precisely the same, and so the supplements are compatible to a 99% degree of cross-play effectiveness. Ultimately you could buy both and use them all together with minimal fuss. In fact, that's probably the best way to go about doing it until Loz and co. finally release some more supplements for RQ6; until then, Samurai of Legend, Blood Magic, Spider God's Bride and the "Cities" books are on the Legend side of the fence, but deserve to be on the RQ6 side as well.

Open Quest 2 and MRQ: While the first edition of Runequest published by Mongoose (MRQ) is no longer around, much of it's DNA exists in OQ2. This means OQ2 has a reasonable degree of cross-compatibility with Legend and RQ6 (call it 80%) but since it also borrows from BRP, it sort of runs both ways. OQ2 stands out for this reason as being the edition I most closely associate with a "homebrew version" more than anything; an example of how anyone can mash these different games together to make their own stew, so to speak.

Magic world and BRP: Magic World is BRP, just retooled and in a few spots simplified to create a focused fantasy game with a very low bar of entry. It is BRP, just eyes on the ball.

My Personal Choice: If I could choose only one, I think I'd give RQ6 and Legend some weapons and let them fight it out, then go with the victor. For me, it depends on which of these two get the most support over the next year or two. On the surface it looks like Mongoose is winning that side, but each supplement Design Mechanism releases for RQ6 so far has been a power house of cool and new stuff (especially Monster Island), which beats out Legend's retooled reprints. Still, it helps that the core mechanics of these two games are essentially identical, so one could ostensibly pick either and use material from the other game with minimal fuss. It would not be hard to use RQ6 with Pirates of Legend, for example...or port over the Monsters of Legend II beasties as well. Conversely, Legend is OGL and if I wanted to publish content that was fully OGL compatible that's dirt simple to do....so...yeah...

But you know, if I have a group that just wants to have a fun game for the night, and doesn't want to worry too much about their cultural identity and special place in the universe, I think I'd have to grab Magic World or Legend for the job. RQ6 is serious business; it requires time and dedication to savor. You could pull off fast and dirty with MW or Legend easily enough. OQ2 could do this as well, but as I've indicated before, its art is hard for me to get around, when I have other equally good better looking games lying around. And BRP will as always remain my preferred system for modelling modern day zombie apocalypses.

Index by Site: 

Open Quest 2
Cost of Entry: $15.00 PDF, $31.64 print plus PDF

Magic World
Cost of Entry: $21.42 PDF, $38.95 print

Basic Roleplaying
Cost of Entry: $11.95 quickstart edition $0 for the free PDF of the quickstart edition; $44.95 for the big gold book, PDF is $21.97

Runequest 6
Cost of Entry: $60.00 in print plus free PDF; PDF only for $25.00

Legend
Cost of Entry: The core rules in PDF for $1.00; Print copy $19.95. However, you'll also want Monsters of Legend ($11.99 PDF and $19.95 print) and probably Arms of Legend ($11.95 PDF and $19.95 print) so the total PDF entry cost is $24.90 and print cost is $59.85.

By price alone Open Quest 2 wins, but if you look at the list in terms of sheer volume of content for price then it's a toss up between Runequest 6 and Basic Roleplaying, with RQ6 winning because you can get the PDF and core print edition for $60.00, a better overall deal than buying both the print and PDF versions of BRP from Chaosium.

Open Quest 2 vs. Runequest 6, Legend and Magic World

I have a physical copy of Open Quest 2 from D101 Games now, so it's time to crack it open and see what's different about OQ2 from it's sister games...namely Legend, Magic World and Runequest 6. Of the three OQ2 has features and rules which extrapolate from all of its sister systems, but the core conceit is a variant of the Legend and MRQ OGL with occasional BRP loans. There are a few things in OQ2 which are distinct, including some GM friendly content to aid in generating scenarios that would be of use in any BRP-derived game system. Anyway....the comparisons! I'm going to look at OQ2 in terms of how it's different, since to be honest, the choice of this edition over one of the other BRP variants is going to boil down to the nitty gritty.

First off....a bit about the art. Some people don't like the older recycled art in Magic World. Many people absolutely love the art in Runequest 6, which is stark but clean and evocative of the old-world "adventures in antiquity" feel. Legend's art is all over the place, but tends to rest on the good side, with occasional forays into the nebulous realm of cheesecake art. OQ2 has a fantastic cover by Jon Hodgson. The interior is illustrated by Simon Bray, who has excellent coloring techniques but problems with anatomy and perspective. You may like the mix, and I think the excellent coloring makes the art work better than it would in black in white (hard to say), but every time I see another flat pair of saggy, oddly-drawn monster boobs or a muscled warrior with....weird anatomy....stuff that looks worse than the doodles I was drawing when I was 14....it's disconcerting. But I'm not going to be too hard on it, because for some reason my two-year-old son loves pouring through this book and naming all the monsters before smacking them down (he hits the page with his hand); the art works for him, apparently, which makes me think that my ten year old self of yesteryear might have had no issues with it, either. My nearly 43 year-old self however far prefers the RQ6, Legend and MW look in that order. I have unfortunately been conditioned by Paizo to expect art I can show my players with pride; I would be embarrassed to show them the art in this book.

Character Generation

The core skill mechanic, along with the resistance/resilience mechanic from Legend are intact here, with some simplifications. You now have just three core combat skills, for example: there is only one close combat and one ranged skill, rather than an array of attack/parry skills in RQ2, or the more abstract and culturally specific list of possible combat skills in RQ6. This system has the advantage of simplicity, at the expense of a quicker leveling process to high skill levels over time.

Attributes are distributed by a point buy process in OQ2, and interestingly it keeps a separate process for random character generation in a different section. A notion of "concepts" is introduced with ten such concepts on hand (archetypes or classes, if you will) that fill the roles seen in other sister games for culture and professions. OQ2 does not use cultures or professions, interestingly.

The OQ2 system eschews hit locations and especially veers away from the "HP by location" methodology of Runequest and Legend. Instead it adopts the BRP/MW method of a core hit point total and a major wound threshold (provided as optional).

OQ2 introduces Legend's hero points, which is a fairly common mechanic in most games these days. It does not port over Legend's Heroic Abilities, however.

Skills

The core skill system functions very much like Legend does, but there are a few interesting differences. The strongest difference is how high level skills work: when you've got 100% or more in a skill, and enter a skill contest, the only chance your opponent has of overcoming you is with a critical success. This is a simpler but less mathematically elegant system than the way Legend and RQ6 handle it, but the advantage of a quick and dirty process that works well enough, I suppose. The problem with this is that skill advancement is potentially a bit easier in OQ2, so it is likely characters will reach high skill levels faster in this system than in Legend or RQ6, which means having a more meaningful resolution system for high level skills would probably be a better idea...or so I would think. As ever, if you tend to run quests that last only 5-10 sessions this is a non issue. Since I tend to run year-long 52 session campaigns, it would be a bigger issue long term for me.

Sitting in the skill section is a section on relationships which is a short mechanic for providing rules on character relations with friendly NPCs. Following this is a wealth system (also optional) which provides for a wealth skill mechanic for generating income in down times. Interesting optional features that are distinct to OQ2 in function.

Equipment

Although there's a slight bit of streamlining, the equipment rules follow the core conceits of the Legend approach to gear. Armor is a bit simpler since you don't have to buy it piecemeal, as OQ2 does not have hit locations.

Combat

There's an emphasis on how deadly combat can be, and how its not at all unexpected to break and run from a fight if needed. Combat is a streamlined version of MRQ (Mongoose's first edition of RQ) with some BRP modifications thrown in. Here are the big differences:

Combat Actions: OQ2 uses the action economy of Legend, but removes the variables; you no longer get more combat actions for high stats; everyone gets one combat action and one defensive reaction, plus a chance to move your movement rate. So it's Legend, but with a locked number of actions.

Maneuvers: The maneuver mechanic looks closer to MRQ, with a series of options such as charging, disarming and great attacks and associated modifiers. The attack vs. defense rolls work on a chart that is a simplified version of the same from BRP, rather than the maneuver-granting mechanic of Legend and RQ6. YMMV here, as anyone who has gotten used to the Legend and RQ6 maneuver system may find it hard to go back to the dull and ordinary old methodology. On the other hand, this is definitely a simpler approach to BRP-styled combat, so there are fewer variables to worry about for those who prefer to get combat out of the way as quickly as possible.

Overall this is a nice redux of the BRP and MRQ combat systems, with less Legend/RQ6 DNA in it. If you're used to another BRP game's style this one may seem a bit stripped down, but if you just want something quick and dirty it will work well. Restricting the action economy will help GMs who dislike tracking multiple phases for high combat action PC and NPCs in other games like Legend.

Worth noting: I think the strike rank system, as presented in the classic RQ2 and RQ3 along with the optional rules for such in BRP, is more or less dead now in terms of modern BRP iterations. No one seems to want the old strike rank system around anymore.

Quests

This section basically explains how you play a quest....the whole point of the game, essentially. It's old hat for the vets but if one of those vets bought this and gave it to a fresh new player it could prove helpful to them, I suppose. Improvement points as an experience mechanic are addressed here, and this is one of the spots that's changed a bit for the easier: you simply spend a point to gain a 5% increase in a skill,  removing the "improvement roll" and its variants in the other BRP editions. This does mean that as GM in OQ2, if you are too generous then characters could rapidly outstrip the environment you have created in terms of ability...but the expectation of OQ2 is that everyone gets 1 improvement point per session, plus 1 extra point to the person who "pushed the plot the furthest" and 2 points to the person who made everyone have the most fun. I've seen breakdowns like this in other editions....and tend to think it creates a rather weird playing environment where the players become subject to what the GM thinks of their performance, something which could have unhealthy repercussions for how players act in the game. Call me old fashioned, but I still prefer the classic BRP methodology of "if you used it, you get an improvement roll" approach, which directly rewards the player for in-game actions, and encourages them to be engaged without also making them feel like they have to perform for the GM. This isn't a problem exclusive to OQ2; it's problematic for other games, as well. Note that this is all from the perspective of a GM: I want players feeling like they can participate and get rewarded even if they're wallflowers, and I don't want a style of approach that favors only the vocal special snowflakes.

Toward the end of this section is all the variable environmental damage rules along with some cool and simple rules for handling mental damage (i.e. from madness or terror). It's a simple but effective mechanic. Following this are about ten pages of charts and rules for setting up your realm quests, figuring out who is what, planar (otherworld) realms and even handling warfare in the course of the quest. Interesting stuff, and regardless of what BRP system you use this could be poached for setting up quests in Legend or other editions.

Magic

OQ2 has three magic systems: battle magic, sorcery and divine magic. This should come as no surprise to anyone; it's sort of a requisite that a BRP-powered game divide magic up in this fashion. Even Magic World, which started with just one system (the Stormbringer/Elric-derived sorcery system) has a sequel in the works with more magic systems. There's no escaping it.

Battle Magic (once known as spirit magic) is the core "anyone can learn this" magic system. It's got variants in most other BRP editions, so the differences are the interesting parts. For example, you have the magnitude of spells, which you can learn by spending improvement points to gain higher magnitude magic. I actually kind of like this approach, and it means players have more stuff to spend improvement points on, which will slow down skill progression a bit for longer campaigns.

The spell list for battle magic is also pretty extensive; there are more spells here for battle magic than is seen in Legend's core, RQ6 or BRP's system. Magic World does not have battle magic (yet).

Following battle magic is a bit on the ever-present but always underrepresented shamans and their spirit magic, followed by hero cults and a quick dive into divine magic. Cults are discussed, along with holy warriors (rune priests) and a nice selection of generic deities to choose from and customize as needed. Interestingly, POW costs common to other BRP systems to gain divine magic are here replaced by spending improvement points, instead.

Up next is sorcery. Sorcery has a single casting skill in OQ2, and a simplified approach to magnitude/duration/range effects (and the rest of Legend and RQ6's options are gone). The sorcery spells here appear to draw from a wider range than just the standard RQ spells, such as "Create Godform." I don't recall seeing that one before (though I could be wrong).

All in all the magic systems as presented here seem to work, and the differences are negligible. You'll probably find this to be the least controversial of OQ2's distinct rules variances from other BRP editions.

Creatures

There's around 60 monsters presented in this section. Aside from the specifics of the OQ2 system (i.e. no hit locations) the stat blocks are all straight-forward and you get a decent range of monsters to choose from, including a few demons that are distinct to OQ2. About the only negative I can say here is that there's no "chaos mutations" list which feels like a weird oversight for a game faithfully aimed at acting as a fan-modified Runequest. Oh, and there are ducks here, which is just plain cool. Ducks are sort of a Runequest "thing" and I still think it's a same that RQ6 felt like it had to hide them (and Legend had to redact them just in case for licensing reasons I guess). Also...there are illustrations for most of the monsters, but only a few are not cringe-worthy in terms of the amateur look of the art. Even if you're drawing saggy dessicated harpy boobs, if you don't know how to draw boobs, even if they are saggy and dessicated....just....don't. Please!

Plunder

Every edition of BRP/RQ/Legend ever needs more on plunder. It's what adventurers want, and GMs need to hand out. There are seven pages on plunder here, including some conventional magic items. Worth stealing from for your preferred edition.

The Empire of Gatan

The book concludes with a short introction to OQ2's default setting followed by an introductory adventure. It's a brief but interesting introduction to what I presume is Newt Newport's home setting, and would serve as a decent springboard for someone who needs a default locale for his or her OQ2 adventures. The module is a decent introductory quest that a GM could have running with nominal preparation.

Conclusion

The goals of OQ2 is to streamline a number of features and make the game's core focus on a basic adventure engine that avoids any needless clutter whenever possible. The problem of course is that one man's needless clutter is another man's sacred cow of gaming. OQ2 does a good job at what it sets out to accomplish, but it doesn't really do anything that's simpler than Magic World, for example; MW succeeds in providing a very quick introduction to a system that remains true to the BRP core rules, while OQ2 feels a bit like an OGL rendition of someone's house rules. Choosing OQ2 for your default D100-powered game engine is going to work best if you want a version that avoids the Legend HP/location mechanic, and avoid the more complex combat skill systems, and especially the impressive and hard to forget maneuver system which Loz and co. introduced to RQII (now Legend) and RQ6. Put another way: if you like the things OQ2 does differently, it's going to work for you. But if you like the way the other BRP games handle these features, OQ2 is going to disappoint. I think the best and quickest introduction to BRP still rests with Magic World right now (keeping it limited to one magic system and an easy skill system is a huge plus), but OQ2 is probably quicker to pick up than Legend, and is definitely more accessible than RQ6.

So...my chart on the BRP family of games so far:

If you want a quick to pick up and play game that is still robust then get Magic World.

If you want a customized MRQ/Legend/BRP variant that aims for simpler combat get OQ2.

If you want a gorgeous, extensive treatment on simulationist gaming with a strong classic vibe mixed with explorations into new angles on pulp adventure, all with the best art of the lot then get Runequest 6.

If you want a great and smooth system with a cool combat system and a very portable design with lots of different plug-in modules for historical and fantasy gaming then get Legend.

If you love Glorantha and want to use it as a setting then grab RQ6 or OQ2 as your best bets.

If you don't want to play fantasy then get the gold cover BRP book.

If you want the prettiest game get Runequest 6. if you want the ugliest game then get OQ2. if you want the one with the most nostalgic art then get Magic World. If you don't mind cheescake now and then, Legend is a good bet.

Next: a more precise breakdown of the D100 games.

Nabbed from Akratic Wizardry!
Alas if OQ2 was full of art like this it would have won, hands down, in the looks dept.

Review - Monsters of Legend II

I finally picked up the PDF edition of Mongoose publishing's Monsters of Legend II. Last year was both great and terrible for BRP/D100 system players: it was a year with Runequest 6, Legend, Magic World, BRP, and Open Quest 2, not to mention the inception of the (late, of course) Call of Cthulhu 7th edition Kickstarter. There has literally never been a better time to be a fan of the overarching game system under which all these games loosely fit. The terrible part is the same problem: too much stuff! Decision paralysis over which iteration of the game to play can be a terrible burden, something D100 fans are not used to.

One of the perks of the BRP/D100 mechanic is that it's very consistent in its basic terminology; every version of the game to date uses the same array of stats and percentile skill system, and most of the tweaks boil down to how skill rolls are handled and combat is resolved. As a result, you can almost universally port any stat block from one edition of the game into another with minimal fuss, just tweaking the stat block by adding or deleting the specific set of info you need to make it work for whichever ruleset you're working with.

Because of this: Monsters of Legend II isn't just a useful monster resource for Mongoose's OGL-based Legend rules system, it's also a useful book for Runequest 6, BRP, Magic World and perhaps even Open Quest 2 (the only version of the game I don't currently own, although I plan to rectify that).

Monsters of Legend II is a 183 page sourcebook of new monsters for Legend. The format of the entries is fairly straight forward: each monster gets a page or more of background details and description, a one page stat block, and many entries then get one page for an illustration. The book includes details on 61 new monsters, as well as some discussion on creatures of the planes,a concept new to Legend (and BRP) as presented here.

A note about the art: Mongoose has a pretty large portfolio of stock art to choose from, but so far as I can tell all the art in this book is new. It ranges from average to pretty good; none of it is quite as good as the Runequest 6 art, but the book's got its own distinct look and the black and white line art will be very comfortable to old school gamers. In sharp contrast with some prior MGP products I did not detect any gratuitious pulchitrude, anywhere. Shocking!!!!

The monsters in this book are all new to Legend (although I think a couple may have previously appeared in some other tomes, such as Necromancy for RQII; others may have come from D20 resources, but I could not say for sure), and fill in some distinct flavor for the system, which right now has the distinction of being extremely generic in presentation, allowing GMs to make of the game what they want. If you're interested in a medley of weird undead, strange planar creatures, some odd fey and an occasional dungeon denizen MoL II has much to offer. Here's a quick run-down on what the book provides:

Alchemical Duplicate - a wizard creation, a hardened doppelganger of the targeted blood donor. Think "mentally challenged life model decoy with possible rage issues."

Amber Animals - creatures fused with the spirits of animals and plants made from amber.

Anachra - this includes several subtypes; Anachra are planar guardian servitors, and bear a slight resemblance to archons and other beings from D20. One gets the impression they are the equivalent of seraphs or angels, as they are aligned against evil, but the array is fairly diverse, with a cat anarchon, chain anarchons (chain-fighting butt-kickers for freedom), hammer anarchons (purveyors of conflict), herald anarchons (sort of a race of Hermes/Mercury types), storm anachrons (embodiment of righteous fury). The only negative here is that the text uses both anachra and anarchons as plural forms.

Barrow Trolls - bigger, nastier trolls with an aspect of death about them, now with 100% less Glorantha in them.

Black Shuck - sort of a ghostly haunted hound that emits deadly vaporous gasses.

Bladeleaf - evil fae pixies that are very "unseelie" and autumn-aspected. Utilize toxins and spells conjuring a storm of razor sharp leaves. I like 'em.

Bonecracker Ogres - if you thought the conventional Runequest ogre was a wimpy doppelganger, and the generic Legend ogre just a big orc, then these guys are right up your alley.

Candleman - these chaos beasts are really cool, men made of wax, whose burning flame represents their trickling life force.

Citywarden - the living embodiment or spiritual guardian of a old city. This is a cool concept, somewhere between "humongous poltergeist" and "city golem" in its execution, a protective spirit which protects its ancient living city.

Dissolute - if you are slain by an ooze while tainted this is what happens to you. Sort of the Legend stat version of the freaky zombies from the end of Planet Terror.

Dungeon Stalker - freaky ceature which was, if the legends are to be believed, formed from the oldest era of adventurers who delved deep into the earth, but were unable to return to the surface. They...changed....and now they hunt. Particularly enjoyable is the text description of their appearance vs. the picture, which both evoke a strong sense of "what the holy crap is that?!?!?"

Emergents - these planar elementals are a more conventional non-Gloranthoid version of elemental beings, including all four elements.

Eyeless - creepy otherworldly humanoids with dark sockets where the eyes should be. They have a haunting presence and can steal the eyes of their victims. The background on these monsters is very evocative; it makes me want to run a campaign with eyeless as a key foe asap.

Fingferfetch - undead evil strangling hands formed from the spirits of dead thieves.

Flaygaunt - flesh-flaying ghoulish humanoid carrion eaters,with a great illustration attached. They are reminiscent of the weird flesh-devouring beasts from the movie Beast Master, crossed with a cenobyte. Another favorite of mine in this book.

Harpooner - the Legend version of the piercer!

Headless Screamer - the hideous cross between the Headless Horseman and a fast zombie, these are some nasty variant undead that shake up the formula a bit, with hideous screams and head-tossing goodness mixed in.

Hearthfire Elemental - a variant on the kitchen god concept, an elemental that has taken residence in a home stove, hearth or fireplace. This, along with the citywarden, are examples of a special kind of grief monster, I believe, which depends on games like Legend/Runequest with stronger thematic ties to village/town/city raiding as a Thing adventurers sometimes do when they get all horde-like on the campaign.

Knockers - diminutive gnomelike beasties with earthwalking traits.

Lighting Elementals - exactly what you would think.

Living Ghouls - a nice non-undead weird Lovecraftian ghoul, carriers of a corpse-rupturing disease.

Mesmeric Specrtre - a domination-themed ghost which has bargained with its afterlife tormentors to be allowed freedom for a short time to harvest more souls for them. One of the better illustrations in the book, too.

Mirror Ghost - a hideous spirit bound into a mirror which is shattered the moment it commits suicide. Lots of glass shard attacks as a theme.

Mirthless - vile undead formed by necromancers to prey upon tomb robbers.

Nightrenders - a hideous monkey-man-cat that steals between shadows.

Oakstumps - stout little fey who are fond of lumberjacks and forest-trimming.

Parched Zombies - formed from those who died of thirst while wandering the desert these zombies can steal the moisture from their prey.

Platinum Unicorn - a planar unicorn, the platonic ideal of its kind. Designed to kick evil's ass.

Plundering Undead - piratical undead which would be very useful in a Pirates of Legend campaign.

Ragged Wraith - the undead spawned from those who were drawn, quarterered and/or mutilated at death.

Razorfiend - another monster made of pure awesomeness. These hideous planar beings were believed to be demonic constructs that became their own race. They are made entirely of razor edges, and their actual mass exists in another dimension entirely. They are capable of making everything around them sharper.

Root Guardian - the Swamp Thing of the Legend universe, now with more Druid Goodness.

Sanctified Defender - a grief monster, which the GM can use to attack players who trash temples for no good reason.

Sapphire Beetle - another planar elemental creature.

Searfellow - a heat-elemental of sorts.

Sentinels - more cool concepts ahead. The sentinels remind me of the ancient colossi in Shadow of the Colossus (a video game from the PS2 days) merged with the Titans of old. These ancient beings predate all other beings, and are literally the montains and other great monuments of the world. If you are fighting one then your campaign has probably jumped the shark.

Swamp Giants - large swamp hillbilly ogres.

Thing in the Lake - that creature in the water before Moria's Gates which tried to eat Frodo and co.

Thornsprite - even tinier and more evil fey fairies!

Thunderbirds - quasi elemental storm birds with weather mastery and thunderbolts.

Trash Rat - if you wanted ratkin in Legend, here they are. Trash rats are here for the enjoyment of everyone who ever wanted to play an anthropomorphic rodent.

Unraveller - sometimes known as the "End Boss" these are the antithesis of the sentinels, the creatures at the end of time which will unmake reality. Aside from the awesomeness their concept evokes, they are insanely powerful and aimed at legendary heroes as the sort of epicenter of an entire campaign. Or the ultimate grief monsters, your choice.

Vein - a hideous beast that looks like a mobile venuous circulatory system in action. Lots of blood-drenching powers.

Volcano Giant - that guy the villagers sacrifice virgins to.

Wastedwellers - remote humanoid race that is evoacative of Sand People from Star Wars.

Widowshark - ancient, pure evil sharks.

Windwarriors - air elementals who have learned to fight with sword and shield.

Wintersinger -a cold themed undead formed from those who die of frostbite and exposure in the cold.

Wise Hare - okay, I love this one. the wise hares are an anthropomorphic race of sturdy hares, who are ripped straight from the tradition of humanoid animal fiction. The wise hares, however, must survive in the dangerous human-and-monster dominated world of Legend, so they are a bit skittish. Runequest may have it's ducks (well, sort of....RQ6 sort of hid them) but Legend officially has its wise hares.

Withering Cadaver - a creepy half-formed undead that comes about when a more powerful undead's attempted creation fails. It likes to pull the flesh from its prey.

Woodsong - benevolent halfling-like fey with a strong penchant for music integrated with magic. Also the first friendly fey in the book, I think.

Wyrdling - a divine benefactor who seeks out reluctant heroes to give them a "push" in the right direction. A nice roleplay-centric creature.

So overall a nice selection of monsters, and a number of stand-out gems. Regardless of which edition of the BRP/D100 system you play I think you would find this useful, though the easiest versions to use it with will be, of course, Legend and RQ6. The book also has the distinction of making Legend's array of creatures more unique and distinct; the creatures in this book help solidify Legend as its own entity, a universe apart from its forebear. Well worth the time to pick up if you are a fan of monsters, and a fan of D100 systems!

All art in this article is from the MoLII book.

Runequest: Monster Island - an Overview

I'm still working through my physical copy of Book of Quests (don't have it in PDF) but I also have Monster Island in PDF format thanks to some timely PDF sales at rpgnow. This means I can provide some more details for those interested in what they get for the $14.99 PDF sale price.

Monster Island is one part sandbox setting and one part monster manual for Runequest 6. The book consists of a lengthy introduction to Monster Island proper, including a map. The print version has a full color pull-out version, and a separate Companion download for $4.99 includes this map with some collected charts and tables; presumably this keeps the price down on the main PDF. For those concerned about price, the black and white maps in the main book are perfectly serviceable. I haven't picked up the Companion yet, but will let you know if it's worth it when I do (come on rpgnow sales, don't fail me now!)

The  book spends roughly 187 pages on the island itself, although that includes 15 pages on the general nature of sandbox campaigns and how to run them. The latter half of the book is about 94 pages of monsters, and the book includes a wide variety of new beasties for your Runequest campaigns (and easily adapted to Legend, Magic World or BRP if you're using any of those systems, too). Here's a summary of the new monsters for those interested (note that some campaign specific monsters that appear in the setting section are not included):

Adaro (shark men, samebito)
Ahuizotl
Alan (moon bats)
Alicanto
Allosaurus
Ankylosaurus
Giant Ant Lion
Carnivorous Ape
Arumco (hellfrog)
Assassin Conch (terrifying sea snails)
Aswang (yes! I love Aswang as monstrous foes)
Bakunawa (a very neat and freaky shadow eel)
Bone Wraith
Bultingin (werehyenas!)
Bunyip
Byangoma (wise, fortune-telling magic birds)

...let me pause a moment to state that this monster list is AMAZING so far. Loads of fascinating and decidedly non-western mythical beasts, ripped right out of mythology and folklore....

Cannibal Spirit (wendigo)
Giant Centipede (welcome to Interzone, biatch)
Giant Clam
Cob Hobbler (probably one of the neatest new monsters in the book....a parasitic infestation that turns the victim into a spider-monster)
Giant Cockroach
Deathdrip Flowers
Deinonychus
Dudreyas (a carnivorous plant with a siren like twist)
Dune Haunter (a sand ghoul!)
Dziwozoana (succubus-like swamp demons)
Giant Eagle
Giant Eel
Lightning Eel
Ettin (treated as a template applied to other humanoid creatures that would like more than one head; did not include a sample...i.e. an ogre-ettin or something, unfortunately, but the template is easy enough to apply)
Febrilis (winged snakes)
Flocks, Hoards, Packs and Shoals (a mess of tiny monstrosities and how to manage the swarms of such, includign bats, leeches, pirahna and more)
Flying Worms (oh yeah, they went there...purely awesome here)
Gibberer (a template for one possessed by a dark spirit)
Heterodontosaurus
Hitotsume-Kozo (a jump to Japanese legend, cyclopean Japanese boys....and we all know that Japanese children are terrifying)
Huakaipoor (warrior ghosts)
Ophidian Hydra (OMG a hydra at last statted out in Runequest. The world may end soon)
Isnashi (skunk ape meets King Kong)
Ivory Impaler (another deadly plant....Monster Island is a tough place....)
Succubus Ivy (...)
Giant Jellyfish
Jempulex (okay, I love this one...a hand-sized wasp that stings you to turn you into its zombie servant)
Kanaima (a werecreature formed from people bonded with/possessed by shape-shifting spirits)

...This is already my favorite monster book, fyi....

Kapre (bear men)
Kitsune (fox folk, natch)
Kraken (!)
Kulamyu Pod (we're in little shop of horrors land here now)
Lakooma....okay, this is one of my favorites....it's...well:

Lammasu (the classics! yay!)
Blood Lizards
Thorny Lizards
Lizardfolk of Monster Island (at last...at long last....lizardfolk, real, honest-to-god lizardfolk in the rule system most suited to their use and presentation in classic pulp fantasy....swoon; EDIT: sigh, I keep forgetting that RQ6 has lizardmen in it, too; its MW and some other D100 system books that are missing them. My bad!)
Malcathorn (a nasty beast)
Manananggal (a terrifying form of vampire....one of my favorites, used it extensively in it's Pathfinder incarnation)
Mantithorn Cactus
Megalonyx
Mokele-Mbembe (my wife, being the cryptozoologist she is, should be happy to see him show up here)
Moonflower (there are a lot of deadly plants on Monster Island...)
Morko (a unique monstrous hag)
Lotus Moth
Naga (ah yes, one of my favorites)
Nanaue (weresharks of a fashion....disturbingly so...)
Nukekubi (a variant head-detaching monstewr ala the pennangalan, sweet zombie Jesus this book has a lot of cool monsters)
Olgoi (nasty worm)
Ophidiodis (literally a ball of snakes)
Oviraptor
Pachycephalosaurus
Panopticus (terrifying giant amoeba)
Pihuichen (another flying snake, this time vampiric)
Possessed Plant
Polong (a hideous thing created from the collected blood of the murdered)
Quathil (Runequest gets its version of the flumph)
Rokurokubi (long necked demons who masquerade as normal by day)
Saltasaurus
Giant Scarab
Sentinel (giant golem-like animated entities)
Spellbreaker Serpent
Serpent People (one cannot have a place called Monster Island without both lizardfolk and serpent people; I can now put my Malleus Monstrum book away, MI has all I need)
Snapdragon (one can imagine at this point the list of safe flora on MI is tiny)
Spineapple Tree
Tengu (for those who are accustomed to playing Tengu as PCs, I think these would work for such just fine, too)
Tetrapus (yet another great aberration; on MI they exude from the Smoking Mirror)
Therizinosaurus (hey....there are a lot of dinosaurs in this book...)
Tikbalang (another of my all time favorites; monsters of the forest formed from fetuses aborted by black magic)
Triceratops
Trifrond (read; triffid)
Tiger Turtle
Palm Vampire
Vorompatra (giant predatory flightless birds)
Vorslurp (brain eating slugs!)
Giant Vulture
Waheela (giant bear dogs)
Yeti (voormi...degenerate humanoids)

And that's just the regular bestiary. Many more sample monsters, NPCs and location-specific entities are detailed in the campaign section and the appendix is loaded with specific sample monsters. The best part of the appendix is on "The Gods That Walk," which is a polite way of saying "Kaiju!" Yep, we've got, among others (find the analogues...) Gamaru, Ghidoru, Kangu, Varanru (hint: Varanru is Gojira, m'kay) and more.

This is a loaded book. Will be buying the print version ASAP and now need to set my RQ6 campaign intentions to IMMEDIATE.

Monster Island is here!

It's out on RPGnow, as The Design Mechanism is always timing their releases for when I've just had a huge number of expenses and can't afford to buy something at that moment (very long and depressing story). Looks like it's available in print on TDM's site as well (here), and there is also a "Companion" set in PDF at both locations, too. I still don't see the sourcebooks showing up on Moon Design, though.

I snagged the Book of Quests on Ebay through one of the reliable regular vendors over there (Troll and Toad) as my FLGS has had a hard time getting this stuff in. I'll have to keep an eye out for it there, or maybe I can order it through TDM in a week or two.

Anyway.... I need to get a campaign going with the new RQ6 rules, I am way past due for starting one up. Maybe I can squeeze it in on a bi-weekly Saturday evening. FYI Book of Quests is so good that I might break my long-standinjg habit of not using modules to actually run the scenarios in that one. Pete, Loz and co. are doing some out-of-the-park amazing stuff over there.I should post a formal review, come to think of it. Maybe in a week or so.

Good News Everyone! Runequest Book of Quests is out!

Design Mechanism has released The Book of Quests for Runequest 6! It's up on rpgnow and Drivethrurpg right here. It's also only $8, but recent excess prevents me from buying it until this weekend. Bah!

I'll post a review proper on it once I secure my copy. Here's what the cover looks like:



Seven adventures for use with Runequest 6 (and presumably easy enough to use with Legend, too). Good stuff!