Enough on heroquests for the moment. Let’s talk a little about adventure design and the role of combat in RuneQuest adventures.
In most video games and in 5e and Pathfinder 2, combat is attritional. In these games, combat is designed to be prolonged and survivable rather than quickly lethal. As a result, the climactic combat typically only takes place after lesser combats have attrited away resources such as hit points and spells. You chain lots of lesser combats before the climax — these lesser combats are all predictable but they attrit away resources. That way though there is some risk and uncertainty with the final combat.
Don’t Overdo That In Runequest!
RuneQuest has a much shorter path to lethality. The most important variables are not DPR+hit points, but rune points, armor points, and magic points+useful spirit magic. Of these, rune points are probably most important, although it depends on the cult. High armor points are an absolute advantage, and magic points+useful spirit magic push the contest one way or another.
Typical the structure in a RuneQuest adventure will go:
- Entry guardians. This is an initial obstacle – maybe it is literally a bunch of guards, a patrol, or just a monster hanging out near the entry. If it goes bad, you might lose a character or two. Chance to use magic points, rune points, and hit points.
- Stuff to explore and investigate. Chance to use skills and maybe some magic.
- The main obstacle. A bunch of trolls or broos, a dream dragon, an evil cultist, or even a rune lord. Rune points give the player characters their advantage here, but dice matter a lot. The fewer rune points they left, have the more likely this is to be lethal.
As your player characters gain Rune points, add more opportunities or needs to cast Rune points. It doesn’t take much – add a few more entry guardians, have some attacks that ignore good armor, throw a spirit in somewhere, and so on. And make sure the main obstacle can survive most rounds. Obviously you can’t prepare for the critical+fumble pairing, but if that Death Lord survives a round or two, it is going to hurt a lot.
And that’s it.