The new edition of the iconic roleplaying game RuneQuest will be formally known as RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha, or 'RQG' for short, Chaosium announced today.

First published by Chaosium in 1978, over the ensuing decades the RuneQuest game has gone through a number of editions with different publishers and licensees. The new edition returns to Chaosium where it started and where, in its heyday, was second only to Dungeons & Dragons in terms of sales.

RQG is built off the chassis of the acclaimed RuneQuest 2nd Edition (1980). This enables RQG to be compatible with RuneQuest Classic, the updated reprints of the RQ2 line which Chaosium recently kickstarted to great success.

"Fans had been referring to the new rules variously as 'RQ4' and 'RQ7'", said Chaosium creative director Jeff Richard, "But our new game is simply not a layer atop the Avalon Hill edition (RQ3) or the Mongoose variants that came after that. Nor is it built from the version Design Mechanism produced under license (RQ6). So, rather than try to give the new edition a number, calling it 'RQG' neatly avoids any confusion."

RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha is scheduled for a Christmas 2017 release.



RQG WILL NOT BE KICKSTARTED



Chaosium President Rick Meints also revealed that the new edition would not be launched with a Kickstarter.



"If we Kickstarted the new RQ, the campaign wouldn't be able to be launched until September at the earliest, and if there had been stretch goals the first books would probably not be out until the middle of 2018", said Meints. "In our new timeline we'll have three RQG titles out by the end of the year, followed by additional items every month or two after that."



The products scheduled for 2017 release are the RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha core rules, a Gloranthan Bestiary, and a scenarios book featuring adventures by game design legends Steve Perrin (RQ1&2), Ken Rolston (RQ3's 'rune czar', Morrowwind, Elder Scrolls), Chris Klug (DragonQuest II, James Bond 007 RPG) and the 'grand shaman of gaming' himself Greg Stafford.



"We are building up a RQ product pipeline that will release 6 products per year, at a pace of a book every other month on average. Big gaps between new product coming out sap the momentum", said Meints. "Kickstarter is a wonderful marketing tool. It has many benefits and advantages. That doesn't mean it's right for every product we produce."



The first new RQG product is the RuneQuest Quickstart, which will be available in June for Free RPG Day and at the Chaosium website from July 1, 2017.

Andrey Fetisov's cover for the RuneQuest Quickstart is a homage to Luise Perrine's much-loved cover for the classic 2nd edition of the RuneQuest rules.