Review: Jorune Thirty-eight Years Too Late

 This game was been lauded as one of the biggest divergences from Tolkien-based fantasy back when Runequest was considered radical for being set in a Bronze Age style world. It was rumored to have the ever profound quality of immersiveness built into the very game mechanics themselves. Its cover itself was reminiscent of paintings by Reuben or Rembrandt. No elves or dwarves would be found in any of its 200 plus pages. At the time of its publication, like in the 80s, I said "meh" and bought other things.  I thought that I had first seen it around 1980, but according to the interwebs, it was 1984. In any case, I didn't buy it until this year. I bought it on a lark while walking past the Chessex dice dealers at GenCOn, at that.



So giving it a read and a look through. I can see it has been so influential a work in the RPG cottage while never selling that much. The work with its high standards of art for D&D campaigns like Dark Sun and its tone is more narrative-driven than most of its contemporaries. Only later works like Vampire: the Masquerade get as thematic as and un-dungeon crawl-based as it. It has no problem mimicking works like Edgar Rice Burroughs with making up words to give itself an alien feel. The GM is called Sholari and magic is called Isho, along with dozens of other terms. Not to mention it speaks of sky-realms and there are near-naked people on even the cover itself.  

As far as completeness goes, this work is a gem. It really tries to get combat as an acted out event. It's got more than a few kewl gadgets. Its magical system works readily, if a bit clunky. 

Still, I am unmoved by it. Even despite the gorgeous art both the color cover and the B&W inside. Maybe I've spent too many years, like since 1980, of doing my own nonTolkien-Based fantasy settings using a rule system that I already knew. Many of these settings were house-ruled into works by ERB, or Den from Heavy Metal. Dealing with the Monsters! Monsters! philosophy from Tunnels and Trolls I am used to creating my own major species that were not dwarves or elves.  The maps are laid out like any traditional D&D world and if the creature descriptions don't bite you in the imagination, it's just another "Joobs and Bahoobs" sort of world, without its author/creator selling it to me with their energy.

So while reading the book, I find its big selling point of the aliens and humans being not found anywhere else, there just isn't enough "sky realm" in the pieces. The title is click bait. There are mentions of this or that floating place, but no serious consideration of how this world is different than any other FFRPG setting with ray guns scattered around the place. Overall, I'd rate it a Bigfoot on the scale.

This as a race is better than an elf?