Argyle King
Legend
I highly enjoy the Mount & Blade games.
I enjoy the scaling nature of the game: starting with with a handful of brigands or farmers and then building upward toward political power. I also enjoy that combat feels more visceral (even if it is still video-gamey sometimes). Plus, I find things like castle sieges to be fun to play through -rather than just being skipped over with magic like is the case with many rpgs.
I'm not opposed to magic though. I'm also a fan of sword & sorcery stories such as Kull, Conan, and Witcher*.
* Yes, Witcher does contain a lot of magic, but it's rarely an "I win" button in the way it might be in a D&D campaign.
If we're talking D&D, I'd say that I enjoy the feel of the heroic tier the most. I enjoy saving the world as much as the next person, but some of my most enjoyable moments have been when dealing with smaller problems: goblins raiding farmland; a morally ambiguous fight between a tribe of orcs and barbaric human reavers; the long walk to visit a witch in the woods because she's one of the few powerful magic users around; and etc.
Is there a system you'd recommend for fitting into the general ballpark of Mount & Blade crossed with lower-tier fantasy?
I suppose that looks a little like early seasons of Game of Thrones. I'd also like character advancement to encourage breadth of play (gaining prestige, followers, and influence) rather than the more typical vertical (+N magical items; more HP; and so-on) advancement of a d20 game.
I enjoy the scaling nature of the game: starting with with a handful of brigands or farmers and then building upward toward political power. I also enjoy that combat feels more visceral (even if it is still video-gamey sometimes). Plus, I find things like castle sieges to be fun to play through -rather than just being skipped over with magic like is the case with many rpgs.
I'm not opposed to magic though. I'm also a fan of sword & sorcery stories such as Kull, Conan, and Witcher*.
* Yes, Witcher does contain a lot of magic, but it's rarely an "I win" button in the way it might be in a D&D campaign.
If we're talking D&D, I'd say that I enjoy the feel of the heroic tier the most. I enjoy saving the world as much as the next person, but some of my most enjoyable moments have been when dealing with smaller problems: goblins raiding farmland; a morally ambiguous fight between a tribe of orcs and barbaric human reavers; the long walk to visit a witch in the woods because she's one of the few powerful magic users around; and etc.
Is there a system you'd recommend for fitting into the general ballpark of Mount & Blade crossed with lower-tier fantasy?
I suppose that looks a little like early seasons of Game of Thrones. I'd also like character advancement to encourage breadth of play (gaining prestige, followers, and influence) rather than the more typical vertical (+N magical items; more HP; and so-on) advancement of a d20 game.