Black Shamrock has partnered with Chaosium Inc. to give the tabletop role playing game RuneQuest an update as a video game RPG. Published by Chaosium back in 1978, RuneQuest was created by Steve Perrin and based on Greg Stafford's Glorantha.
A new #RuneQuest computer game!
— Chaosium (@Chaosium_Inc) March 12, 2019
"We cannot be more excited than to be working together with Black Shamrock to bring the fantastic setting of #Glorantha to life as a video game," says Jeff Richard, Creative Director of @Chaosium.https://t.co/KwlXrIph7a
Similar to many tabletop games of the time, characters in RuneQuest are created by dice rolls. What made the game different from all its contemporaries was utilizing percentile dies rather than using different dice like the games under the d20 system.
RuneQuest was also known for introducing an early version of the skills rules. While Dungeons & Dragons only allowed players to improve skills once they increase their levels, RuneQuest had a different approach. All the player needed to do was get a higher roll than their current skill rating. This means that the better the skills, the more difficult it is to improve that skill.
In a blog post, Black Shamrock Managing Director Olivier Masclef said that the team is "excited to be working on such a legendary fantasy role-playing world and take very seriously the trust that Chaosium has placed with us." He added that given they are "up-and-coming RPG specialists, the opportunity to bring the world of Glorantha to life is a dream come true."
Based in Ireland, Black Shamrock has developed RPG titles for both PC and consoles. The studio was acquired by Virtuos in 2017, resulting in Black Shamrock putting in efforts to co-develop major titles by partnering with some of the world's largest publishers.
Talking about the partnership, Chaosium Creative Director Jeff Richard explained that they "cannot be more excited than to be working together with Black Shamrock to bring the fantastic setting of Glorantha to life as a video game." Richard said further that given the "vibrant characters and incredible mythology, this is what RuneQuest fans have been waiting for since RPG video games were invented!"
Chaosium was founded in 1975 by game designer Greg Stafford. Many of its products have received acclaim and are considered to be some of the more innovative board game titles. The latest edition of RuneQuest is titled RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha, and it was released in 2018.
No other information has been revealed so far about the game.
