Mongoose Publishing released Legend, a new new fantasy roleplaying game based on the core rules from RuneQuest II, that serves as the basis for a multitude of settings and worlds. It is fully compatible with previous Runequest II books.
Legend, a new roleplaying game, based on Runequest II core rules has been released by Mongoose Publishing. The book, written by Lawrence Whitaker and Pete Nash, giving us rules which are usable for a wide variety of different settings and genres.
While we could play in different settings the most favored play-style is a somewhat heroic gritty fantasy, which is greatly supported by the rules. However Game Master could choose from several optional rules to tailor the system to their needs.
Basically what Legend presents to us, is an improved version of the RuneQuest II. system. In short, its a very easy to use RPG, mostly using percentile based checks as a core mechanic. The combat is based around combat actions (several actions per turn to attack, block etc) and different combat manoeuvres. The damage is dealt to body parts, and serious wound could really hamper a character. Overall, based on the sample combat in the available preview it is both bloody, cinematic, and relatively fast.
The character creation system was revised and streamlined, and takes a greater focus on character background. The structure and range of skills was greatly enhanced. Adventurers starts with greater competence than before, and training and skill improvement was also reworked.
The developers worked hard on Legend, to provide full backward compatibility with Runequest II. In the end, all RuneQuest II books and expansions remained compatible with Legend, including Elric of Melnibone, Deus Vult and Wraith Recon.
Mongoose Publishing is already developing several supplements to the Legend Core Rulebook : Monsters of Legend and The Spider God's Bride are both planned for this year, while Arms of Legend should be finished in January. For me it's Spider god's Bride which seems the most interesting, as it will be a collection of 10 bloody sword & sorcery adventures. But until those releases, we can enjoy the Legend Core Rulebook combined with Runequest II materials.
Zoltán "Cain" Mészáros