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NihilCredo posted:Are there any games that take inspiration from Ars Magica or that, in your opinion, scratch similar itches? Doesn't need to be in the pseudo-historical fantasy setting either. The important 'itches' are: There's Greg Stolze's REIGN, which to be fair is over a decade old at this point. Some clarification. -Troupe style isn't directly part of the mechanics, but can be done by just having different characters for the different levels of play. Not really different from other RPGs on this point though. -It has extremely robust rules for companies that can go from your friendly neighbourhood thieves guild all the way to empires and the conflict and relationships between said factions. -It comes with very flavourful magical and special skills that are part of its base setting, but it also has guidelines on creating your own spells/esoteric skills. It is not really stuff you can use from within the session though.
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Feb 14, 2024 23:09
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REIGN 2e just got released so it is no longer a decade old. it's still not got near the crunch of your ars magica style game, though.
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Feb 14, 2024 23:13
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Yeah blades in the dark et al are your best bet for that.
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Feb 15, 2024 00:44
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NihilCredo posted:Are there any games that take inspiration from Ars Magica or that, in your opinion, scratch similar itches? I've been considering how to run a campaign similar to the Commonweal series. After careful consideration, asking players to become familiar with the vibe of a world that you only get glimpses of through text closer to puzzle boxes than novels AND to learn the bookkeeping associated with Ars Magica seems like a lot. Which is to say I'm very interested in where you land with this. Please do keep us updated.
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Feb 15, 2024 04:14
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GladRagKraken posted:I've been considering how to run a campaign similar to the Commonweal series. After careful consideration, asking players to become familiar with the vibe of a world that you only get glimpses of through text closer to puzzle boxes than novels AND to learn the bookkeeping associated with Ars Magica seems like a lot. A Commonweal game sounds amazing! You might try running it as a systemless CYOA like some of the forum games here. The magic system is so flexible and has such a wide range of power I don't know how you could describe it mechanically. FYI, there's a Commonweal book series thread. Which seems like something you might be interested in.
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Feb 21, 2024 04:35
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LLSix posted:A Commonweal game sounds amazing! You might try running it as a systemless CYOA like some of the forum games here. The magic system is so flexible and has such a wide range of power I don't know how you could describe it mechanically. FYI, there's a Commonweal book series thread. Which seems like something you might be interested in. Thanks, Graydon.
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Feb 21, 2024 04:41
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Well I bought a book. Thanks!
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Feb 21, 2024 04:52
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Yep, that’s a $50 post so far.
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Feb 21, 2024 04:59
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It's a weird feeling clicking a thread out of curiosity only to find evidence the whole thing was built over the ruined remains of what was apparently a lot of drama spilling over that you have absolutely no context for
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Feb 21, 2024 06:01
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Yeah but it’s similar to the Black Company and that’s like nerd cocaine.
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Feb 21, 2024 06:10
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Xiahou Dun posted:Yeah but it’s similar to the Black Company and that’s like nerd cocaine. Without diving too deeply into the manner in which I disagree with you, I should mention that the FitD system to emulate Black Company type stories is something I am aware of and not on my short list of systems which may be suitable.
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Feb 21, 2024 15:30
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A friend of mine is having a big itch to plan and eventually run something wild west. She wants to get more towards the Red Dead Redemption sort of vibe, and was kinda put off of the cowboy BitD hack she found, and is just overall having difficulty finding stuff that isn't too far over to the crazy supernatural stuff.
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May 1, 2024 23:37
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My plan for Wild West gaming is core book only Savage Worlds Adventure Edition. It does a decent job of differentiating action movie characters without requiring supernatural stuff and has the cards and poker chips built in.
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May 1, 2024 23:49
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Despite my grumblings about the combat system SWADE is perfectly fine for western games, it even accommodates weird west since that's what Pinnacle uses for Deadlands now but you don't have to use those rules if you don't want to.
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May 2, 2024 00:06
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Another thought exercise! Which system and/or supplements would you use to represent X-Men/mutants in World War 2? After having read a great Godlike play by forum thread shared by a friend, we wondered how you could do it with X-Men/mutants in 1939-1945 across any of the Fronts/Theatres. Special mention to SWADE and GURPS and both of their Weird War 2 and Powers supplements.
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May 15, 2024 11:19
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crowtribe posted:Another thought exercise! GURPS could do it though the superpowers would be somewhat complicated to run, however it handles human on human combat better, so if your mutants are using their guns most of the time it might be a better choice. HERO's more geared toward superheroes- i think it really depends on the kind of vibe you're going for for your x-men. If you're looking for light, SWADE is probably the go-to.
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May 15, 2024 13:11
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TBH, I'd probably use Godlike/Unknown Armies if going for a more realistic take on WW2, since it's pretty great at extremely deadly combat.
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May 15, 2024 13:15
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Godlike is good at doing combat that's basically realistic and deadly, incorporating hit locations into the basic rules, with rules that are remarkably light. They don't call it the One Roll Engine for nothing. So it depends on how deadly you want it to be. My caveat is that if you want to do Godlike with PCs who are durable, you have to build them durable. You can't just give the players more points at character creation. Because it allows you to build e.g. a guy who's immune to weapons but has no protection from any other dangers, and you can blow infinite points on powers like super-science or seeing the future.
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May 15, 2024 17:50
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Halloween Jack posted:Godlike is good at doing combat that's basically realistic and deadly, incorporating hit locations into the basic rules, with rules that are remarkably light. They don't call it the One Roll Engine for nothing. Yeah, it's kinda the same if you do GURPS, when you let people make superpowered people you need to make sure people don't make one-dimensional 'arm cannon' type characters who have 200 points into an innate attack that can destroy Berlin in one shot or whatever. That would involve the GM curating what comes in mechanically and/or applying required templates to make people be more well-rounded e.g. a basic OSS training package that let people have some gun, melee, fieldcraft, and tradecraft skills.
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May 15, 2024 18:49
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This is once again me pointing at a sign that says "check out Cortex Prime." But also I just found out about FIST and that might be in the direction you're looking for?
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May 16, 2024 04:42
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the answer to 'how would I x-men' is almost always Double Cross
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May 16, 2024 05:25
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FIST perfectly handles weird operatives with powers, but they're a little low key, less X-Men more Metal Gear Solid. I think an experienced GM could up the scale safely but they'd have to be careful as FIST tends a little toward the absurd.
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May 16, 2024 18:29
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