This is my first post on this forum, so I apologize if this is in the wrong place. I've been a huge fan of the Runebound Universe since Runebound, First Edition. I played Red Scorpion in my first game, but fell in love with Mad Carthos my second game and stayed with him ever since.

My friends have been pressuring me to play a Runebound roleplaying game, but while Descent is enjoyable, it's a little too complicated and time-consuming to both set up and play, so I am trying to make for our group a system that works well on paper. Before I get too far though, is FFG working on something like this already? A pencil and paper roleplaying game set in the world of Terrinoth? If not, are there any legal repercussions from sharing my personal ambitions into such a project with my friends? (Or online.)

Secondly, are there threads on these forums already devoted to such a thing? If so, can anyone point them out for me? Thanks so much. Here's to my project, Runetouched, the Roleplaying Game.

Oh, also, are there any novels set in Terrinoth?

I think the appeal of a Terrinoth RPG is pretty low overall. A quick search of the internet shows some forums where it was discussed in the past and present, and the overriding view is that Terrinoth (and lands adjacent to it) are just too generic in makeup. That is not to say they couldn't be fleshed out, but with worlds, realms, and systems for RPG already out there, there probably isn't much of a market for it.

There are FRPGers would do play FBGames, but they aren't the ones that can support such products financially. Its the play ol' broadgamers buying these games that keep them profitable... or not. And they need something more generic, so therein is a bit of a conflict.

Okay, so FFG won't be making one of their own, most likely. Would there be any legal repercussions for me working on one independently, to share freely with my friends and online if anyone else wants it? Obviously not for sale, just shared freely.

Hmm... I don't know, but maybe someone else has some legalese input and not just fan opinion. Of course you can do whatever you want offline. As to redistribution, that's where it might get sticky.

ASIDE: you should take a look at the fluff and stuff for Descent, both in the FFG support section and over on BoardGameGeek.com. "Road to Legend" (???) is especially of interest, since the board matches the one for RB and overal that and the module for it might have some good brain food for inspiration.

I think it is a great idea! Probably better done over at BGG than here.

I only partially agree with JCHendee about it all being too generic. It is pretty generic, but then again so is the Dragon Age RPG setting, and a few of the D&D 4e settings, and Warhammer...

A new and innovative system would be welcome though. ESPECIALLY if it could somehow work in use of the board game components. If I had direct RPG translations of the various monsters in the adventure decks, the boards could be used to simulate overland travel and random encounters.

Ok, now you've got me thinking about working up a list of monsters using one of the above mentioned RPG's and the base Runebound game.

This will definitely be somewhat innovative. At least what I've come up with so far is. It is familiar, but not so familiar that I can label it as being a replicate of an already existing system.

And yes, I think it will definitely be off the FFG site, though if its acceptable to link to it when its completed, I could do that.

One of my main questions I have is what to use as the resolution mechanic. Runebound uses 2d10. Runewars uses Fate cards, and Descent uses dice pools. I think I've come up with something that is unique and works well (so far in playtest, anyway), but I'm interested to know what everyone else thinks.

Thank you everyone for the suggestions and encouragement.

Mad Carthos said:

Please note that I am not a lawyer, nor indeed an American (as I assume you are), so I'm not exactly qualified to hand out legal advice to you. That said, I have been publically discussing the Terrinoth RPG I recently ran with my friends both here and on BGG for several months now, and if FFG cares, they have showed little effort to stop me. I'm pretty sure running your own homebrewed RPG in the Terrinoth setting qualifies as fair use, as long as you aren't charging money, of course.

I used D&D 4e for my game, because I'm too busy to make my own system from scratch and because there's really not much in the Terrinoth setting that the D&D mechanics are ill-equipped to handle (The only road-bump I ran into was how to handle rune magic. It's not fair that wizards need to return to town to buy new runes before they can make use of new spells when all other classes just get their powers. It also creates a whole new layer of economy if the players can loot runestones off enemy wizards and sell them in town. I could factor that into the loot they find, but then any realistic wizard's rune collection would probably become the bulk of the loot they find, etc.)

If you're interested, I have all the fluff material I gathered from the various Terrinoth games collected here. (Newly updated with some details from the Rune Age previews!) There's nothing of mechanics in there (from the board games nor any RPGs), only background info collected from fluff text in the various Terrinoth games, and a map of the world derrived from such.

Mad Carthos said:

I don't RPG anymore and haven't in many years. I think Steve's approach to simply develop a "campaign" and then use a standard FRPG system would be best. Of the games you mention for combat mechanics, I have only played RB, though I've read up on the other two. The 2D10 system for RB isn't perfect, but it is the cleanest balance I've seem between simplicity and the needed curved probability range with some breadth. (Something like 2D6 is too narrow, and dice pools are a pain, and cards of choice are more about players than characters in the way they are used.) However, translating that into another gaming system would be too much headache as well... though I do wonder about how much it would change standard AD&D to use 2D10 vs. a D20. Curious if any has ever tried it.

Thanks for that. Its helpful!

As for the Runes, its helpful to see them as the Source of Magic. (That's what the Runemasters claim anyway). If you're using Dungeons & Dragons system, it would be the rune itself that imparts the knowledge of the spell or power. These are imbedded in the character's aura as a type of floating rune visible only to the character, who can then tap into them to use the power inherent in the runes themselves. I am working on the magic system in my game, but that is one way to do it.

So, in your chronology, the Rune Wars occur before the events of Runebound? I find that interesting, and like you, I see Terrinoth as one area in a much larger world.

Although, it should be noted, there are two other sources of spells in the Runebound character decks for the Battlemage and Shadow Walker. The Battlemage appears to be a priest-like warrior, perhaps a Paladin, of Kellos, and the Shadow Walkers tap into evil planes and summon fiends to gain powers. So, while Runes (and particularly Dragon Runes, or Shards of the Orb of Sky), are the source of arcane magic, while holy magic and dark magic have existed before the Runes came into existence. Don't tell the Runemasters that, though, or you're likely to be fed to a dragon.

Mad Carthos said:

If by "the Rune Wars" you mean the events depicted by the game of the same name.... no. "The Rune Wars" are something that are happening now, in present day, shortly after Vorakesh's attempt to raise Margath as described in the base Runebound game. Similar wars have been fought in the past as Waiqar has apparently been trying to collect these runes for quite a long time, but that is all detailed as history, laid out mainly in the fluff at the beginning of the Runewars rulebook.

The runes as they exist today ("today") were created throughout the Dragon Wars, as the Dragonlords inscribed their magic runes on the shards of the Orb of the Sky (also known as the Stars of Timmoran) whenever they found them. The wars described by Runewars are a culmination of past events, as various factions strive to collect the runes that have already been created and subsequently scattered across the realm by past conflicts.

The upcoming Rune Age card game seems to be adding new material while at the same time drawing on old. The "Resurgence of the Dragonlords" objective, for example, could be interpreted as Vorakesh's plot from Runebound being retold in that game, or it could be a whole new Dragonlord invasion that comes later (that's unclear ATM). The "Rune Wars" objective is obviously treading on the same plot points as Runewars (at least that seems obvious to me.) The other two objectives they've shown us in previews appear to be entirely new efforts being made by the same four factions defined in Runewars.

Mad Carthos said:

Yes, magic certainly does exist apart from the runes. For starters, the wizard Timmoran who created the Orb of the Sky and got this whole ball of wax rolling obviously had great magical power long before the runes existed. There's also evidence of more traditional spell books being used over in the Torue Albes.

Rune magic is very popular in Terrinoth, perhaps in part due to its history with the creation and distribution of said runes. Certainly, the Rune Keepers organization seems to be wide-spread and powerful; perhaps they are taking measures to suppress other forms of magic in the region.

Yes, and there was one wizard who apparently gained power from something called the Obsidian Library. Obsidian has often been portrayed as an evil or demonic stone in fantasy novels and games, so I would not be surprised if the Obsidian Library were a collection of demonic power spellbooks. But I have not seen that particular card, so I could not tell you specifically if that seems right or not.

Work on the Runetouched game is coming along well, though I have had to delay some of the work due to my dayjob. If anyone would like to design the character sheet, I could give some pointers.

Mad Carthos said:

There's nothing explicitly demonic about the obsidian library mentioned in the cards. Nothing explicitly denying that idea, either, of course. It was just a repository of magic knowledge, mainly in book form (one assumes.) It was also destroyed by the fire mage Astiss (something like that) after he removed the Book of Korsec-Amin, so it doesn't exist anymore one way or the other.

That doesn't mean the Book of Korsec-Amin is the only remaining spellbook ever, of course. The obsidian library may have been a large and well-known repository, but there could as easily be others scattered about, too.

Steve-O said:

It appears that this file is no longer available. Could somebody re-upload this?

Turevon said:

I don't have access to it right now (it's Turkey Day up here in Canadia so I'm not at home this weekend,) but I'll re-up it when I get back, if no one beats me to the punch. I'm thinking I'll send a copy to BGG this time so I won't have to keep doing this. =P

Thanks a bunch, Steve-O! Have a good Turkey Day!

Steve-O said:

Haha, good idea.

FYI, I just posted the most recent compilation of data to BGG, in the Descent files section. With luck it should pass their vetting process and be posted soon enough.

Got an email from BGG yesterday that the file was approved.. Terrinoth Fluff, under the Descent files section.

Thank you, Steve! I remembered a past file you presented on this but couldn't figure what I'd done with it.