Classic MMO RuneScape is getting a board game and tabletop RPG
Board game headed to Kickstarter, with RPG releasing later in 2022.
Long-running PC MMORPG RuneScape is being adapted into a board game and tabletop RPG.
The popular online multiplayer game, which celebrated its 20th anniversary last year and has also seen a release on mobile, will be turned into a board game and TRPG by Steamforged, the tabletop publisher behind adaptations of video games including Dark Souls, Resident Evil, Horizon Zero Dawn and Monster Hunter World.
According to the announcement from Steamforged and RuneScape developer Jagex, the tabletop games will be inspired by RuneScape’s fantasy world of Gielinor and its various regions, with quests and characters from its two-decade history making an appearance. The upcoming board game and tabletop RPG mark the first time that RuneScape has been adapted into a physical game.
The RuneScape board game will include tabletop adaptations of quest lines from the MMORPG, which players will be able to tackle in a party of up to five players or alone in a solo mode. A series of miniatures is planned for the release.
Along the way, there will be the chance to craft and upgrade bits of gear, and improve characters’ skills - which can then be used in various tests during adventures. Other gameplay elements mentioned include cooking recipes, interacting with the NPC inhabitants of Gielinor and completing side quests separate to the main campaign.
Meanwhile, the RuneScape tabletop RPG will let players run their own campaigns, including rules for character creation, advice on creating quests set in the world and background information on Gielinor. As well as featuring its own rules, the RuneScape RPG book will be fully compatible with Dungeons & Dragons 5E, Steamforged confirmed.
Two versions of RuneScape currently exist: Old School RuneScape, which preserves the look and feel of the MMO's earlier incarnations, and the modernised RuneScape 3. A teaser image for the tabletop games includes both the RuneScape logo and the logo for Old School RuneScape.
The RuneScape board game will launch on Kickstarter later this year, with the upcoming RPG’s hardback core rulebook skipping crowdfunding to arrive directly in stores sometime in 2022.