TEXT: Copyright Information
  RuneQuest – Player’s Update ©2007 Mongoose Publishing. All rights reserved. Reproduction of of this work by any means 
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  RuneQuest is a trademark (TM) of Issaries, Inc. Produced under license from Issaries. All rights reserved.
  PLAYER’S 
  UPDATE
  Matthew Sprange
  Lawrence Whitaker
  The purpose of this PDF is to ensure that everyone is playing the same version of RuneQuest. 
  Changes in this document should be considered ofﬁcial changes to the RuneQuest core rules.
  RuneQuest Logo: Anne Stokes    Page Backgrounds: Scott Clark
  Special Thanks: Pete Nash
  
  2
  Rule Changes
  Skills
  Opposed Skill Tests
  Page 20 of the RuneQuest rules describes the different 
  outcomes of an opposed test challenge and notes that 
  when both characters fail, the character who rolled lowest 
  in the challenge wins the contest.
  Whilst there is a certain logic to this, namely in producing 
  a positive outcome for one of the participants, it is not a 
  realistic treatment of results. It is perfectly possible, in 
  many (if not most) instances, for both participants to fail 
  and for there to be no positive outcome for either side. 
  Consider the following example.
  Tired of the constant jibes about his new hat, Mikhail throws 
  a wooden goblet at Jurgen. As Jurgen’s player states he will 
  try to catch the hurled goblet the Games Master says this 
  is an opposed test: Mikhail’s Throw skill versus Jurgen’s 
  Athletics. Both characters roll and both fail. Mikhail’s aim 
  is way off so that the goblet would sail wide of Jurgen’s 
  head, and Jurgen’s attempt to catch is clumsy to the  
  point of being funny. 
  In this instance the wooden goblet misses its mark 
  completely and that is the end of the episode (unless 
  Mikhail chooses to lob something else and take more 
  careful aim). However, applying the rule as they are 
  written from RuneQuest, whoever rolls lowest out of 
  the two failures wins the contest. In this case Mikhail’s 
  failure was the lower roll, and even though failing his 
  skill roll, would have struck the giggling Jurgen. In any 
  other circumstances, and certainly in a straightforward 
  skill test, failure means one has not succeeded. Therefore 
  ruling that the lower scoring failure in an Opposed 
  challenge results in a win goes against the intent of the 
  RuneQuest skills system. Establishing a clear-cut winner 
  is only essential when both participants have rolled 
  successfully; not when both participants have failed in 
  their respective objectives.
  The recommendation for Games Masters is to treat two 
  failures as a complete failure of the contest with no 
  success for either side. If there is a likelihood that one 
  side might gain some kind of advantage, even though the 
  character failed the skill test (such as in a thief attempting 
  to hide from an unobservant guard), then the Games 
  Master should take into account the full circumstances 
  surrounding the contest and make a decision accordingly. 
  There are instances where two failures might result in 
  an advantage for a character, but not an outright win – 
  evading observation, for example – but this should be an 
  exception rather than the norm.
  Opposed Tests and 
  Critical Successes
  A critical success is still completely possible in an 
  Opposed Skill contest. Any critical success rolled beats a 
  normal success – no matter how highly the opponent has 
  rolled. And, if both participants roll a critical, the higher 
  critical roll wins the opposed test.
  Skills in Excess of 100% 
  and Opposed Tests
  Page 21 of the RuneQuest rules offers a way of handling 
  opposed tests where at least one participant has a skill 
  exceeding 100%. This rule has been subject to much 
  debate owing to the statistical anomalies resulting from 
  simply halving the skills involved for all participants. 
  Here is an alternative method that does not involve 
  halving any of the skills.
  D 
  Apply all relevant test modiﬁers to both skills
  D 
  Participants roll against their skills
  D 
  Note whether the dice rolls were a critical, normal 
  success or failure (for participants with skills of 100% 
  or more this will only be on a roll of 96-00). A critical 
  success always beats a normal success, as explained 
  earlier
  D 
  If the dice roll was a normal success, participants 
  with skills exceeding 100% may now add the difference 
  between 100 and their skill value. Ignore the fact 96-00 is 
  an automatic failure; that is only applicable to the initial 
  dice roll, and not the modiﬁed result.
  RULE CHANGES
  
  Rule Changes
  3
  Important Changes to 
  Persistence and Resilience
  The following changes to the Persistence and Resilience 
  skills have been made following a great deal of 
  playtesting and analysis of how the skills work in play. 
  They constitute a recommended revision of the rules to 
  introduce greater game balance and accuracy, based upon 
  countless hours of playtesting and discussion.
  Persistence and Resilience
  Whilst described as skills, both Persistence and Resilience 
  are a combination of natural capability, personal fortitude 
  and training to deal with situations involving mental and 
  physical stress, including pain. All of us have untapped 
  reserves of Persistence and Resilience; these skills 
  measure the character’s ability to draw upon them to 
  resist a variety of different pressures and conditions.
  There are, however, limits to mental and physical 
  endurance; barriers beyond which the mind and body 
  cannot be pushed and surrender becomes inevitable. 
  To represent this, Persistence cannot exceed the value 
  of a creature’s POW Characteristic multiplied by 5, 
  and Resilience cannot exceed the CON Characteristic 
  multiplied by ﬁve. The starting values for each skill are 
  both calculated as per RuneQuest, but they are now no 
  longer ‘limitless’ skills. Of course, their limits can be 
  extended through the improvement of their respective 
  Characteristic scores.
  Resisting Magic
  The effects of a spell can be resisted by a character, as 
  noted in the spell’s description. Spell Resistance is an 
  opposed test between the spell caster’s skill with the spell 
  and the target’s appropriate skill. This represents the spell 
  caster’s expertise in weaving a strong, magical effect that 
  can overcome a target’s innate resistance, and the target’s 
  ability to call upon the necessary reserves to counter the 
  spell.
  Overcharging Spells
  If a spell has been overcharged, and the target also 
  succeeds in the opposed test, but has the lower roll, the 
  spell takes effect only at its base value; the additional 
  Magnitude of the spell is successfully resisted.
  Combat
  Opposed Test Combats
  Any combat, close quarters or ranged, is effectively an 
  opposed test, matching the skills of the attacker against 
  the skill of the defender. Thus, to resolve a combat 
  sequence, the opposed test mechanics described in main 
  RuneQuest rules are now used in place of a straight-
  forward test against individual skills.
  However, because the nature of combat requires a detailed 
  analysis of the result between the winner and loser of the 
  opposed test, it is still necessary to cross-reference the 
  result on a combat results matrix, as is the case using 
  the standard RuneQuest mechanics. But, there are some 
  important differences to note if opposed tests are used to 
  handle combat.
  D 
  In a real combat the decision to parry or dodge 
  is made in a split second and is very often in anticipation 
  to an incoming attack, irrespective of whether the blow 
  will strike. Because RuneQuest combat is an abstraction 
  of what really happens in a battle, such decisions need to 
  be made as part of the general statements of intent before 
  attack and defensive rolls are made. This means that you 
  should remove the word ‘successful’ from the Trigger 
  Event section of the descriptions of the Dodge and Parry 
  Reactions on pages 50 and 51 of the RuneQuest rules.
  Alternative Persistence and Resilience
  A possible alternative method for determining 
  Persistence and Resilience is the one used in our 
  Elric and Hawkmoon lines. Under this system, the 
  base scores for Persistence and Resilience are as 
  follows:
  Persistence = 30 + CHA + POW
  Resilience = 30 + CON + POW
  However, these skills now advance more slowly 
  than others and only gain a single point with a 
  successful Improvement Roll. If the roll fails, 
  nothing is gained. The skill caps mentioned above 
  are still in effect.
  
  4
  Rule Changes
  Dodge Table
  Attacker’s Result
  Critical
  Success
  Fail
  Fumble
  Defender’s 
  Result
  Critical
  Attack succeeds but 
  causes minimum damage.
  Attack fails.
  Attack fails. 
  Attacker is 
  Overextended.
  Attack fails. 
  Attacker is 
  Overextended. 
  Attacker must roll 
  on the appropriate 
  Fumble Table.
  Success
  Attack succeeds.
  Attack succeeds but 
  causes minimum 
  damage.
  Attack fails.
  Attack fails. 
  Attacker must roll 
  on the appropriate 
  Fumble Table.
  Fail
  Attack succeeds and 
  causes maximum damage. 
  Defender forced to Give 
  Ground.
  Attack succeeds. 
  Defender forced to 
  Give Ground.
  Attack fails. 
  Defender forced 
  to Give Ground
  Attack fails. 
  Attacker must roll 
  on the appropriate 
  Fumble Table.
  Fumble
  Attack succeeds and 
  causes maximum damage. 
  Defender must roll on the 
  appropriate Fumble table.
  Attack succeeds and 
  causes maximum 
  damage. Defender 
  must roll on the 
  appropriate Fumble 
  Table.
  Attack fails. 
  Defender must 
  roll on the 
  appropriate 
  Fumble Table.
  Attack fails. Both 
  sides roll on the 
  appropriate Fumble 
  Table.
  D 
  Both participants in the combat need to make a 
  test against their respective skills, having ﬁrst declared 
  their intentions. For an attacker this is straightforward: 
  ‘I try to hit the broo with my sword’. For a defender the 
  statement needs to be explicit: ‘I will try to parry the 
  broo’s axe’ or ‘I try to dodge the broo’s axe because my 
  sword is already damaged’. 
  D 
  The attack and defence rolls are then made 
  simultaneously by the combatants and the results 
  compared according to the opposed test mechanics: as 
  usual a Critical Success always beats a normal success, 
  but if the success levels are equal, the higher Success roll 
  wins and the lower roll is demoted by one level. I.e. if 
  both combatants roll a normal success, then the higher 
  roll remains a success, but the lower roll is downgraded 
  to a failure, or if both roll a critical success the lower 
  roll is downgraded to a normal success. This may seem 
  unfair when both combatants have succeeded, but it is a 
  logical outcome. In such situations the winning opponent 
  has exhibited either greater luck or greater competence, 
  and turned the situation to his advantage.
  D 
  If one of the combatants has a weapon skill in 
  excess of 100%, and the skill is a standard success, the 
  skill’s value in excess of 100 is added to the result of 
  the dice roll, increasing the chances of victory in the 
  Opposed contest.
  D 
  Where the participants tie: i.e. the result of the 
  Opposed roll, taking into account all modiﬁers, is an 
  identical score, and the level of failure or success is the 
  same, then both have achieved the same result on the 
  appropriate combat matrix.
  D 
  The outcome of each combatant’s roll is compared 
  on the table appropriate for the defensive method being 
  used and the results applied.
  
  Rule Changes
  5
  Parry Table
  Attacker’s Result
  Critical
  Success
  Fail
  Fumble
  Defender’s 
  Result
  Critical
  Attack succeeds and 
  causes maximum damage, 
  reduced by twice the AP 
  of the parrying weapon.
  Attack succeeds, 
  damage is reduced 
  by twice the AP 
  of the parrying 
  weapon.
  Attack fails. 
  Defender may 
  Riposte.
  Attack fails. 
  Defender may 
  Riposte. Attacker 
  must roll on the 
  appropriate Fumble 
  Table. 
  Success
  Attack succeeds and 
  causes maximum damage, 
  reduced by the AP of the 
  parrying weapon.
  Attack succeeds, 
  damage is reduced 
  by the AP of the 
  parrying weapon.
  Attack fails. 
  Attack fails. 
  Attacker must roll 
  on the appropriate 
  Fumble Table.
  Fail
  Attack succeeds and 
  causes maximum damage.
  Attack succeeds.
  Attack fails.
  Attack fails. 
  Attacker must roll 
  on the appropriate 
  Fumble Table.
  Fumble
  Attack succeeds and 
  causes maximum damage. 
  Defender must roll on the 
  appropriate Fumble Table.
  Attack succeeds and 
  causes maximum 
  damage. Defender 
  must roll on the 
  appropriate Fumble 
  Table.
  Attack fails. 
  Defender must 
  roll on the 
  appropriate 
  Fumble Table.
  Attack fails. Both 
  sides roll on the 
  appropriate Fumble 
  Table.
  Maximum Damage = maximum weapon damage + damage modiﬁer rolled normally
  Minimum Damage = minimum weapon damage + damage modiﬁer rolled normally
  If not otherwise speciﬁed, roll damage normally.
  
  6
  Rule Changes
  Close Combat Fumble Table
  1D20
  Result
  Effect
  1-3
  Falter
  Lose next Combat Action.
  4-6
  Drop Weapon
  Weapon falls 1D4 metres away.
  7-9
  Lose Balance
  Lose next 1D3 Combat Actions.
  10-12
  Damage Weapon
  Weapon takes damage from opponent’s parrying weapon. Else weapon strikes an 
  inanimate object (tree, wall, ground, etc) and does damage to itself.
  13-14
  Stumble
  Trip and fall prone. Forfeit next 1D3 Combat Actions. All defensive actions at a 
  –20% penalty.
  15-16
  Lose Armour
  Roll for hit location to determine where the armour fell from. If not armoured, 
  roll again.
  17
  Hit Ally
  Accidentally strike a nearby companion for normal rolled damage. If no ally 
  within reach, hit self instead.
  18
  Break Weapon
  The weapon strikes the ground, a wall, or a similar surface capable of causing 
  damaging. The weapon takes 1D10 points of damage, plus the user’s Damage 
  Modiﬁer, but reduced by the AP of the weapon. Roll three times.
  19
  Hit Self
  Inadvertently hit own hit location for normal rolled damage, plus Damage 
  Modiﬁer.
  20
  Unlucky
  Roll twice on this table. 
  Natural Weapon Fumbles
  1D20
  Result
  Effect
  01-03
  Hesitate
  Lose next Combat Action.
  04-06
  Numb Limb
  Limb is temporarily paralysed until a successful Resilience roll is made, starting 
  next Comabt Action.
  07-09
  Entangle Self
  Lose next 1D3 Combat Actions.
  10-12
  Damage Limb
  Limb is injured from striking opponent’s parrying weapon, armour or an inanimate 
  object (tree, wall, ground, etc) and does damage to itself.
  13-14
  Sprawl
  Trip and fall prone. Forfeit next 1d3 Combat Actions. All defensive actions at a 
  –20% penalty.
  15-16
  Break Limb
  Limb is reduced to –1 hit points (a Serious Wound).
  17-18
  Hit Ally
  Accidentally strike a nearby companion for normal rolled damage. If no ally within 
  reach, damage is done to self instead from wrenching a random location.
  19
  Fated
  Roll twice on this table. 
  20
  Cursed
  Roll three times on this table.
  Combat Fumbles
  Fumbling during a combat can have disastrous results. Depending on the opponent’s degree of success or failure, a 
  Fumble always results in a roll on the appropriate Fumble table at the very least.
  There are three Fumble tables; one for Close Combat fumbles (including dodges and parries), one for Natural Weapons 
  and one for Ranged Weapons. When a Fumble occurs, roll on the appropriate Fumble table for the action involved. 
  Reroll if the result seems inappropriate for the activity being conducted, or improvise!
  
  Rule Changes
  7
  QUESTIONS 
  ANSWERED
  Ranged Weapon Fumbles
  1D20
  Result
  Effect
  1-2
  Disoriented
  Attacker loses next Combat Action.
  4-6
  Drop Weapon
  Weapon falls 1D2 metres away.
  7-9
  Snare Weapon
  Lose next 1D3 Combat Actions.
  10-12
  Lose Weapon
  Weapon string either snaps or weapon is lost when thrown.
  13-14
  Damage Weapon
  Weapon when ﬁred or thrown suffers rolled damage to itself.
  15-16
  Hit Ally
  Accidentally strike a nearby companion for normal rolled 
  damage.
  17-18
  Misﬁre
  Inﬂict normal damage on self.
  19
  Bedevilled
  Roll twice on this table. 
  20
  Damned
  Roll three times on this table.
  Skills
  Q: In an Opposed Skill Test, if both characters fail or if 
  they both succeed and they both roll the same number, 
  what happens?
  A: Roll again, unless you are comparing combat rolls. In that 
  case, see above.
  Equipment
  Q: When is a character’s Damage Modiﬁer applied to 
  ranged weapons?
  A: All the time, except when listed as being otherwise in the 
  weapon’s description (such as with the blowgun).
  Combat
  Q: Can Armour reduce the damage from a weapon to 0?
  A: Yes.
  Q: Can Armour reduce the damage from a weapon to less 
  than 0? That would mean a hit would heal you, right?
  A: Nice try, but no.
  Magic
  Q: The rules say you cannot remove someone’s integrated 
  rune, but they also seem to indicate that they are physical 
  objects that you bind to. What stops enemies just taking 
  them?
  A: Nothing, really! Once a rune has been integrated to one 
  character, it can never be integrated with someone else, 
  unless the first character dies. You can never take that away 
  from someone. However, a rune has to be in the physical 
  possession of a character to gain its runic power. If he leaves 
  it at home or it is stolen, it is still integrated (cannot take that 
  away, remember) but he no longer has the benefits of its 
  runic power. Also, a rune needs to be actually held in order 
  to use it for runecasting – having it in your pocket is not 
  enough.
  Q: What is the implication of a character integrating a 
  Chaos rune? I’m sure you’ll appreciate that, from a 
  Gloranthan perspective, the concept sounds very dodgy 
  indeed – what is the intention here?
  A: No intention other than what is written in the rulebook. 
  Remember, this is a generic set of rules that can cover a 
  variety of settings. Glorantha will be covered in its own 
  range of books, which are based upon the foundation of 
  these rules, but are not slaved to it.
  
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