OpenQuest

[Finarvyn]

OpenQuest was mentioned in the "clone" thread. I also found a thread on it on therpgsite and I thought I'd share.

One quote in particular from the rpgsite thread grabbed my attention:

I am involved so I have a bias.

But I'd say it's a nice lighter implementation of RQ, feeling quite like the earlier Chaosium RQ (1+2), and since Mongoose have improved their RQII, quite like that. It reduced the skill list very well, so that the profusion of skills is much lower than other d100 and 3.5e games, whilst actually doing all that you need.

It is low magic and deadly if you turn off divine magic and make sorcery a GM only option, but I'd leave the battle magic in since you don't want it too deadly.

The first versions had some bad typos, but the [current] Final Edition is pretty cleaned up, but also so close to BRP and Mongoose RQ that you can easily port stuff in and out from any d100 game system to polish your version. [Add in stuff from CoC, or Stormbringer or Elric or any Mongoose book etc..]

It's pretty well supported with a growing collection of settings and variants, and a 'zine should be along soon.

Alternatives are BRP from Chaosium (a huge toolbox of a book) and Mongoose RQII (slightly more complex, but also very well done).

I have friends in all 3 camps, many of them at the same time!

I was particularly interested in his "feeling quite like the earlier Chaosium RQ (1+2)" comment.

[uncruliar]

Well my first reaction was that is was quite different to Chaosium RQ but, to be fair I haven't read it as closely as I might and I haven't played it at all.

There is certainly a fair deal of similarity but it seems to me that the 'complexity' of the RQ skill list is actually one of the attractions. I realise that it would be a turn off for some people.

[Haldo Bramwise]

Maybe OT: I have no background in any of the original games OpenQuest is designed from, but after reading OQ a few times, I have come to the conclusion that this rules-lite rpg can facilitate "old-School gaming (OD&D kind) in a way that is very similar to Lejendary Adventures - which is a BIG plus in my book. Lejendary Adventures always played (to me) like a skill-based OD&D game with all kinds of flexibility. It may be heresy, but I believe that with a few OD&D tweaks, OpenQuest could be a very familiar, easy-to-use rules-lite gaming system for "old-school (OD&D) gaming.

[James Maliszewski]

Jul 30, 2010 6:25:47 GMT -6 uncruliar said:

Well my first reaction was that is was quite different to Chaosium RQ but, to be fair I haven't read it as closely as I might and I haven't played it at all.

There is certainly a fair deal of similarity but it seems to me that the 'complexity' of the RQ skill list is actually one of the attractions. I realise that it would be a turn off for some people.

I feel rather similarly FWIW. I think OpenQuest is well done for what it is, but it definitely has a different vibe than RQ2.

[danbuter]

I like it because it's 90% compatible with RQ, but that different 10% is simplifying the sometimes over-detailed RQ skills, encumbrance, and crit systems.

[akrasia]

For what it's worth, I provide a rough comparison of OpenQuest and the current version of RuneQuest (MRQII) here:
akraticwizardry.blogspot.com/2010/03/runequest-ii-versus-openquest.html

I will say that I'm a huge fan of OQ. It captures all that is cool with RQ, but without all the 'crunch.'