'Fairy tale' fantasy RPG settings?

jdrakeh · Nov 30, 2008

Cadfan said:
Faery's Tale has a setting, but it really isn't very developed. See, Faery's Tale is for kids. So while there's a default setting that contains some basic elements (faery nobility, evil faeries and goblins, rules for conflict between the two, plus a fairy tale -esque human civilization set in a mixture of victorian england and medieval england), it isn't heavily developed. The idea is that you'll create your own stories within it, rather than read stories from it.

So is the material thin enough to disqualify it as a setting? How many pages of the game are dedicated to the setting? IMHO, if it's less than five, it's more of an implied setting than an actual, existant, setting.

dm4hire · Nov 30, 2008

The problem is, that outside of what has been mentioned, there hasn't really been a lot developed for Fairy Tales related toward children. It wasn't until Grimm d20 came out that we really saw the market open up for the most part to the point that Fantasy Flight Games created the new version for it. White Wolf even came out with Innocents which introduces the concept of playing Children within the World of Darkness.

Faery's Tale is going to be your best best if your intention is to angle the game for children. I think for the most part they don't really go into detail as you'd really be taking away from children by introducing a fixed setting. Kids are more willing to accept contradictory details about a world and see things for what they are suppose to be. Part of the real magic would be letting them create the world as you play. However if you're adults wanting to play children or faeries in a fairy tale then I'd just use one of the books listed or even all of them as source material and develope the world you want from there.

jdrakeh · Nov 30, 2008

dm4hire said:
Faery's Tale is going to be your best best if your intention is to angle the game for children.

That's not my intent at all, though — I just watched The Chronicles of Narnia the other night and thought that playing some D&D in that vein rather than the frequently revisited (and, for me, now horribly uninteresting) Medieval Europe analogue would be a refreshing change of pace. Not because it's childlike, but because it's arguably fresh and new compared to yet another reimagining of Medieval Europe plus Orcs. I guess if nobody has written anything in that vein, though, it might be kind of tough.

dm4hire · Nov 30, 2008

Not really. There are a few good companion books written for Narnia that cover in detail the world to where all you would have to do is add a rules system to it. Have you done a search for Narnia related RPG fan works? I'm sure someone has done something for it as it is one of the most popular fantasy settings around. An option you might consider is using a system like Furry Pirates or another game along that line for the rules.

Wiki list of Furry RPGs

Aus_Snow · Nov 30, 2008

There is a True20 Narnia PDF still kickin' around the place. Well, 'place' being the interweb in this case. And I know there are some other quick conversions for whatever system some dude was into at the time, kinda thing, based on similar-ish settings. Just can't remember what, or for what.

Hm. Yeah, there really aren't many published ones though, I guess. Which seems odd.

Were you looking for a particular kind of system as well, or did you have one in mind? Actually. . . what exactly do you need from this setting (or system-setting) book, should one exist? I mean, what does it have to contain, or what would you like it to?

jdrakeh · Nov 30, 2008

dm4hire said:
Have you done a search for Narnia related RPG fan works?[/URL]

I did a few years back, but what I found was less than encouraging (mainly freeform forum PbPs or scattered stat blocks for existing RPGs). I suspect that anything remotely professional was sued out of existence, but can't confirm it.

Imaro · Nov 30, 2008

Hey you might want to check out 7 Leagues, it's rules light but very much in the vein of what I think you're searching for. Here's some links...

Seven Leagues, a fantasy roleplaying game of Faerie by Hieronymous

and a review...

RPGnet : Review of Seven Leagues

jdrakeh · Nov 30, 2008

Aus_Snow said:
Were you looking for a particular kind of system as well, or did you have one in mind?

I would probably use Risus, The Window, or some other light-ish system.

Actually. . . what exactly do you need from this setting (or system-setting) book, should one exist? I mean, what does it have to contain, or what would you like it to?

Well, I guess one of the key things that I'd like from the setting is a link to our own world, but with a clear boundary drawn between the two realms (even if it has to be represented by a deus ex device, such as a looking glass). Also, the fantasy world should have no native humans (frex, in Narnia, the humans seem to have come from our world).

I'd like the setting to be predominantly cheery or light, though dark elements (even world-threatening ones) are acceptable. A good example of this is the world of Michael Ende's Fantastica, which is predominantly a happy, beautiful, world threatened by the encroaching darkness of disbelief. Also, if there is darkness, PCs shoudl be capable of vanquishing it.

I'd like, if possible, for there to be some way of defeating creatures other than killing them. For example, perhaps forcing an opponent to yield to you in combat is enough to form a magical bond of servanthood that makes killing said opponent unnecessary. I really haven't given this much thought, other than to note that bloody mayhem isn't desireable to me.

In fact, I'd really rather not see a world where certain races are deemed evil simply because of their genetic makeup (e.g., All orcs are evil!). It's an assuption that a lot of fantasy settings make and one that I really dislike.

I'll have to think about more specifics while at work tonight.

darjr · Nov 30, 2008

First, as an aside, I think you'd like the game 'Faerys Tale'. It was built with children in mind, but isn't, necessarily, childish. It's a very light system.

The setting, as others have said, is very light. But there is some substance there. The game is geared to play certain types of faeries that are part of the fey court, a very narnia type of fey court, for lack of a better definition.

Anyway, the antagonists are the goblins, faeries that have strayed and gone bad. Many taking the form of goblins but some still resembling the good faeries, but still obviously bad.

There are humans in the periphery, living out their lives in a medieval like analogue. Giants and dragons and hags and trolls are also present as antagonists.

The Fey court works to protect the good from the bad.

Actually there is less setting than I remembered. And there are better reviews.

Firefly Games
Firefly Games

The preview seems to have much of the 'setting' material: http://grfiles.game-host.org/gr_files/GRR3201e_PREVIEW.zip

I bought this game to play with my children, I've got really good memories because of it.

jdrakeh · Nov 30, 2008

darjr said:
First, as an aside, I think you'd like the game 'Faerys Tale'. It was built with children in mind, but isn't, necessarily, childish. It's a very light system.

The setting, as others have said, is very light. But there is some substance there. The game is geared to play certain types of faeries that are part of the fey court, a very narnia type of fey court, for lack of a better definition.

Anyway, the protagonists are the goblins, faeries that have strayed and gone bad. Many taking the form of goblins but some still resembling the good faeries, but still obviously bad.

There are humans in the periphery, living out their lives in a medieval like analogue. Giants and dragons and hags and trolls are also present as protagonists.

The Fey court works to protect the good from the bad.

Actually there is less setting than I remembered. And there are better reviews.

Firefly Games
Firefly Games

The preview seems to have much of the 'setting' material: http://grfiles.game-host.org/gr_files/GRR3201e_PREVIEW.zip

I bought this game to play with my children, I've got really good memories because of it.

I assume that that you mean "antagonists" when you say "protagonists" — or are the bad guys really the central figures of the game (i.e., the PCs), and their good counterparts (i.e., uncorrupted fey) their opponents? :-S