Preview of Atlas Games' Rune RPG
Part 1: The Atlas Difference
By Gwynhala

Our report is based on a taped interview with the spirited Atlas crew, including President John Nephew, Rune Line Editor Michelle Nephew, and Media Relations Specialist Alex Knapik.

[Part One | Part Two | Part Three]

Early Rune Concept Art of Ragnar

Atlas Games of Roseville, MN, is known for its innovative role-playing titles like Ars Magica and Feng Shui. In March, 2001, Atlas hopes to build on that record of innovation with the release of the Rune RPG – a role playing game based on the upcoming Rune 3rd person melee action title from Human Head Studios. When Atlas says RPG, they’re talking about sitting around a table with rules and dice, adventuring to the limits of your imagination, not fighting linear battles against computer-generated monsters for experience points. Don’t get me wrong – there are some great computer-based RPGs out there – but with Atlas, we’re talking about the real deal.

Michelle Nephew, Editor at Atlas Games, knows what she likes. “That's actually, when you get to the bottom of it all, exactly what it is, because each game is something that at some point caught my fancy and I thought would be fun to do.” An Atlas title based on a hack-and-slash video game seemed like a risk to Michelle at first, but she intimates that “seeing the kind of stuff [Human Head] were doing with Rune – their interest and understanding of the roleplaying market piqued my interest.…Mainly Jeff Tidball (ed: former Director of Creative Development at Atlas) deserves the credit for selling me on the idea when I was so skeptical of the whole licensing notion.”

Another distinctive characteristic of Atlas Games titles is their tailored rules systems. Atlas creates rules for each title based on the game genre and type of player interaction needed, rather than recycling or extending a “house rules” system. “House Rules” systems I’ve played, such as GURPS from Steve Jackson Games, or the Amazing Engine from TSR, allow a lot of flexibility and simplify mixing of diverse scenarios – your vampire can adventure in my space marines campaign. But they also never really provide a superb gaming experience in any one scenario. Atlas Games’ Alex Knapik explains, “The Rune RPG is absolutely the best example we have of that. Once you see and play the game, you'll understand why it had to have very unique rules. It simply would not have been the quality title it is had Robin D. Laws (ed: lead author for the Rune RPG) used the Feng Shui system, the Unknown Armies system, or even the exact same system as Ars Magica uses. All of these games have great systems, but they just weren't right for Rune.…The key is that Robin knows how to make a system that best reflects the tone, objective, and roleplaying style of a given setting.”

At Atlas Games, tailoring the rules doesn’t mean re-inventing them for no reason. According to Atlas Games President John Nephew, the Rune RPG rules are based loosely on the rules of the popular Atlas title Ars Magica, but “Rune is quite different because it focuses on the Norse and their mythology. So the places that are part of the Norse cosmology are real places in the Rune game. And that makes it different from Mythic Europe or another world like Feng Shui.”

Michelle adds that, “Instead of taking the historical, and sticking with the historical an overlaying magic on top of it, you're actually taking the perspective of the Vikings and what they thought the world was like and turning that into a RPG. And so you actually have the Dark Forest with the elves and the underworld is an actually place you find by going through caverns to get there.”

One key to the innovative and tailored design of the Rune RPG is lead author Robin D. Laws, who’s industry credits include Over the Edge, Feng Shui (originally for Daedalus), and Hero Wars (for Issaries, Inc.) among others. During our interview, the Atlas crew couldn’t say enough good things about Robin, John flatly stating, “We selected Robin because he's the best freelance RPG writer active in the game industry.…he's very good adopting a particular attitude and keeping a consistent voice for the things that he writes. And that will help people get into the spirit of the world of Rune.” Michelle shares John’s high praise for Rune’s author, adding, “One thing I like about Robin's writing is that Robin has a very in-depth, very wry sense of humor and you can see that coming through in the Preview Kit. Also he's got a lot of "By Odin's Beard" kind of exclamations at the same time he's making jokes about beating each other with arms. So I think it's neat to lighten up that dark vision of Rune.“

Rune RPG Author Robin Laws at Human Head's Design Conference