Runequest Essentials

It appears there is an embarrassment of riches at my gaming fingertips. I just finished posting about the D&D 5E Basic rules being released as a free pdf, when, lo! I see news of this (thanks to Akrasia).

RuneQuest Essentials

In a lot of movies and stories is an oft-heard line "We might have been brothers/friends in another life". Well, RQ may have been as D&D to me in another life. I wish I had the history with RQ that I do with D&D. Not replacing D&D, just alongside. Brother in arms, as it were.

On a side note, give a listen to this: 

Anyway, I've been mightily intrigued by RQ6 and everything Design Mechanism has been doing for it. It has been admiration from afar, though. The releases are getting a fair amount of love and appear to be of high quality, but I haven't taken the plunge. I have OpenQuest and Legend to scratch my infrequent RQ itch. RQ Essentials gives me a sterling opportunity to really get a look at what they're doing and how they're doing it: the writing style, editing, artwork, etc.

One of the things I love about RQ is the Bronze Age flavor that just oozes out of it. The new cover certainly keeps that alive, so now I get to really see what this is all about.

All Along the Watchtower

Alright, folks, here it is. The perfect D&D song. I love Celtic, New Age, Midnight Syndicate, and all that sort of thing for background ambiance as much as the next guy. This song though, is it.

This song is forever linked in a perfectly balanced trifecta with D&D and Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. The very first F&GM story I read began with the duo manning a watch on a city wall. Need I say more? From the very first strains of the guitar, my mind is taken to a decadent city-state, ripe for adventure. The music has a certain dancers-in-a-bazaar sound to it. The lyrics were D&D before there was D&D. I mean, they sound liked the boxed text that says "Read the following aloud to your players".

It just doesn't get anymore evocative than this.

WFRP and Pink Floyd

For some reason I can't explain, and have no interest in trying, Pink Floyd is and shall always be my WFRP soundtrack. Most especially the song Sorrow from A Momentary Lapse of Reason. The lyrics of the song and David Gilmour's peerless guitar work are perfect for conjuring visions of the Old World. Pink Floyd's music has a certain haunted, all-is-not-well quality to it that quietly screams Warhammer to me. Always has, always will.


A sample of the lyrics should illustrate my point (if you need convincing):

The sweet smell of a great sorrow lies over the land
Plumes of smoke rise and merge into the leaden sky:
A man lies and dreams of green fields and rivers,
But awakes to a morning with no reason for waking

He's haunted by the memory of a lost paradise
In his youth or a dream, he can't be precise
He's chained forever to a world that's departed
It's not enough, it's not enough

His blood has frozen & curdled with fright
His knees have trembled & given way in the night
His hand has weakened at the moment of truth
His step has faltered

One world, one soul
Time pass, the river rolls

It's not enough it's not enough
His hand has faltered

And he talks to the river of lost love and dedication
And silent replies that swirl invitation
Flow dark and troubled to an oily sea
A grim intimation of what is to be

There's an unceasing wind that blows through this night
And there's dust in my eyes, that blinds my sight
And silence that speaks so much louder that words,
Of promises broken 

This is the song from the end of last night's Walking Dead episode. This is a great gaming song to me. I can picture a group of inexperienced (1st level) people that have decided to band together and go face some menace to their peaceful village. I can picture them steeling their resolve, gripping weapons, and walking into a creepy, mist-shrouded forest, toward whatever destiny Fate has laid.

Anyway, give it a listen, I doubt you'll be disappointed.

Music for the Mood

The three main philosophical underpinnings of my world are:


Nihilism, being defined as an extreme form of scepticism that systematically rejects all values, belief in existence, the possibility of communication, etc.


Defeatism, acceptance of or resignation to the prospect of defeat.


Hedonism, the doctrine that pleasure or happiness is the sole or chief good in life.


We'll explore these further when I discuss Alignment. For now, let's just say that there is a grim, ugly slant on a party-like-it's-1999 vibe in the world. Here is some music that really sets the tone for me when I'm working on it:


Tool - most of it, but Undertow especially
Type O Negative - again, most of it
Johnny Cash - Hurt
Avenged Sevenfold - Nightmare
Disturned - The Animal, Indestructible, Inside the Fire
Drowning Pool - 37 Stitches, Let the Bodies Hit the Floor
Linkin Park - a lot
Five Finger Death Punch - Far from Home, Bad Company
Nine Inch Nails
Rob Zombie/White Zombie
Ronnie James Dio - Last in Line
Stone Sour
Slipknot
Skillet - Hero
Rage Against the Machine


So, that's a start. I'm sure it has you moving in the right direction. Now, grab a sword and go carve off your piece while there's still something left.
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