This is my favorite RPG, one I cut my teeth on! So glad it's available in this format. It led the field in innovation and continues to do so.

A good implementation of the RQ rules. I always felt Mongoose did a better job with the RQ books than they did with their d20 lines. Sadly no longer available.

An excellent incarnation of Runequest. A good revamp of the older editions.

The newest RQ update, that aims at being slicker, faster and more stream lined.

Over all it doesn't look as if to much was lost in the translation, the biggest change is the crunchiness of AH's RQIII. In fact a lot of the book tends to bring back fond memories of the glory days of RQII.

What changes there have been are a mixed bag. Strike Rank is gone, in favor of Initiatives, Resistance (trait vs trait) change, and Sorcery got a reworking, and Hero points, Heroic "Abilitiesare addded, to name a few of the changes. Most you will either love or hate. Among them the death of SR to a simplier system is a the most welcome.

Those wondering of "M"RQ is compatible with ealier games, the answer is yes- but a fair amount of tweaking and fudgeing is in order. "M"RQ uses far fewer skills, Armor and weapon stats have been toned down, and secondary traits (Damage Bonus, Hit Points, etc), are different.

All in all it's a fairly solid reworking, with the changes either being loved or hated by old timers.

Liked: The silcker/faster combat rules, reworked sorcery

Not to crazy: about the "Generic" rule set, like AH's edition, there is something very wrong with a "Generic" incarnation of RQ, as it was a system speficic system in the begining. Sure there are nods and a handful of references to the world of RQ's birth here and there, but it's not enough....

Needed: An introductory adventure for newbs.

Overall, well presented. There are some notable issues, specifically, dark backgrounds and sucking ink. Overall, the game is quite playable, but the combat table has a significant error, corrected in the RQ Player's Update (free on Mongoose's site).  ¶  

Character generation is nicely done. Random stats, pick skillpackages, starting levels based upon stats and choices, pump skills with some freebie points.  ¶   Magic works. Only rune magic is included, and it's short on spells for most runes, but it is a well ballanced starting assortment.  ¶  

There are further also several other nifty bits hiding in here. It isn't BRP, but it's close, and in some ways, far better. (AH RQ3 was a pain to generate characters.)  ¶  

Given the flaws, the game is a remarkable achievement

As a long time RQ2 and 3 player, I've been interested in the Mongoose re-release for a while, but I've been too busy with d20-based stuff before to take the plunge.

Pretty solid re-working without too much upheaval from previous editions, and I was tickled that many things I've been playing as house rules for years (severity of injury affecting how much First Aid fixes it by, for example) cropping up here.

It seems MGP have followed the same format as Games Workshop's printing of RQ3. This book really gives the core rules, basic character creation, one type of magic system plus a selection of basic spells, some monsters (including Ducks) and standard equipment. If you want more gamesmaster stuff, divine, sorcery and ritual magic, expanded equipment, more spells and more monsters you will at least need the Advanced and Monsters books. How very D&D.

Four stars - solid, didn't leave me fully wowed and I need to play more to really get to the meat of the system.<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: Most of the rule updates work and help to streamline the system. IN fact, the prior experience is almost like a step back to RQ2, with easier to calculate straight bonuses to skills, rather than age-base multipliers. Although this book makes no assumption about using Glorantha, finally Runes actually have a game-based function, whether or not all will agree with the mechanics. Previous editions have talked about characters 'Questing' to 'gain a Rune' (hence the name), but there's never been any formal arrangement of what that means.

It's still the same RQ at heart, but cuts down a little on the annoying tendency of characters to be hit in the leg straight away. The new 'combat actions' system is very nice. A little gamey, perhaps, but it works well. And being clever and dextrous is still better than being big and strong.

It's Open Content. A nice touch.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: I've heard criticism about the 'opposed checks' system and the method of dealing with skills over 100%. At the moment, I'm content. No edition of RQ has managed to address these satisfactorily - it's more a factor of a percentage-based skill system rather than a dice-roll plus bonus against target number style system. I'm sure this will get resolved in a third party product.

Not so much a criticism of this product but of the line in general - MGP have a habit of splitting stuff across many different products. Fine for splatbooks. If you aren't interested in an expanded sourcebook for a place or a race, you don't need to buy it. But there's still an element of necessity to get a large number of books in order to run, say, a Gloranthan game fully. Sneaky marketing.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>