Waiting for Winds of Winter to come out? Does the winter weather give you more inspiration to run your games? Eagerly anticipating the last season of Game of Thrones? Sounds like the perfect time to start an A Song of Ice & Fire (ASOIAF) or Game of Thrones campaign! However, with the license expired in 2017 for Green Ronin’s A Song of Ice & Fire, what system options are available for players?
It should be noted that Green Ronin is still selling its stock of ASOIAF RPG products (both print and PDF) and if you want to use them, that option exists. You can also get Guardians of Order D20 version as well, should you want that. Either might be worth having just for the background material alone. There is also Fantasy AGE by Green Ronin that could work for you. If you are looking to run a campaign or even just a one shot, here are a few other suggestions.
[h=3]Magic World[/h]Magic World is the first system that came to mind, partly because I am working on a setting for it at the moment and partly because I think BRP handles any fantasy incredibly well. The sorcery is dark and limited to those with a high POW (Power) score. The combat is extremely gritty and deadly, with criticals that feel brutal. It is also a system that handled a previous IP very well, Stormbringer and Elric!. Basic Role Playing has the chops to handle a long term grimdark fantasy very well. The drawback is that it lacks an inherent narrative architecture, making the storytelling elements of ASOIAF heavy lifting for the GM.
[h=3]Warhammer (any edition) / Zweihander[/h]Warhammer is the very definition of a grim European-centric world with chaos and knights and just plain misery. Any game in the Warhammer franchise or its close cousin Zweihander should be able to handle Westeros extremely well. In addition, the Warhammer lineage includes some great adventures and adventure arcs, real iconic stuff. These would make great examples for how to put together your story in Westeros.
[h=3]Pendragon[/h]Likely the most obvious game that comes to mind for many. You have knights, quests, chivalry, and if magic exists, it is dark. Pendragon also takes a long term or generational view of game play, which fits the dynastic politics of Westeros. A focus on English mythology plays into similar inspirations that George R.R. Martin has tapped into.
[h=3]Cthulhu Dark Ages[/h]An oddball system that might seem out of place, but bear with me a moment. Cthulhu Dark Ages (CDA) has (almost) the right time period. If you want a game that focuses more on the dark magical lore of Westeros as opposed to big scary folk in armor using cuss words and hacking off heads, then something like CDA might well be the game. Especially if you see some Lovecraftian ideas in ASOIAF.
[h=3]Adventures in Middle Earth[/h]Adventures in Middle Earth (AME) and The One Ring from Cubicle 7 handle a literary IP world with great finesse. The structure of an AME game allows for the GM and players to again focus on a long term campaign, over many seasons or years. As a basic system, 5E is familiar and easy to get into for most players. It might require some changes in classes, backgrounds, and folk but those changes should be minimal and there are already great examples.
[h=3]Star Trek Adventures[/h]Why would you use a science fiction game for emulating a dark and gritty fantasy world? The answer is simple: Star Trek Adventures (STA) handles episodic play and support characters very well. It is baked into the system itself. If you wanted to run a campaign based on the show as opposed to the books, then STA by Modiphius might be the way to go. You could even hack something together by combining Conan with STA!
This article was contributed by Sean Hillman (SMHWorlds) as part of EN World's Columnist (ENWC) program. If you enjoy the daily news and articles from EN World, please consider contributing to our Patreon!
It should be noted that Green Ronin is still selling its stock of ASOIAF RPG products (both print and PDF) and if you want to use them, that option exists. You can also get Guardians of Order D20 version as well, should you want that. Either might be worth having just for the background material alone. There is also Fantasy AGE by Green Ronin that could work for you. If you are looking to run a campaign or even just a one shot, here are a few other suggestions.
[h=3]Magic World[/h]Magic World is the first system that came to mind, partly because I am working on a setting for it at the moment and partly because I think BRP handles any fantasy incredibly well. The sorcery is dark and limited to those with a high POW (Power) score. The combat is extremely gritty and deadly, with criticals that feel brutal. It is also a system that handled a previous IP very well, Stormbringer and Elric!. Basic Role Playing has the chops to handle a long term grimdark fantasy very well. The drawback is that it lacks an inherent narrative architecture, making the storytelling elements of ASOIAF heavy lifting for the GM.
[h=3]Warhammer (any edition) / Zweihander[/h]Warhammer is the very definition of a grim European-centric world with chaos and knights and just plain misery. Any game in the Warhammer franchise or its close cousin Zweihander should be able to handle Westeros extremely well. In addition, the Warhammer lineage includes some great adventures and adventure arcs, real iconic stuff. These would make great examples for how to put together your story in Westeros.
[h=3]Pendragon[/h]Likely the most obvious game that comes to mind for many. You have knights, quests, chivalry, and if magic exists, it is dark. Pendragon also takes a long term or generational view of game play, which fits the dynastic politics of Westeros. A focus on English mythology plays into similar inspirations that George R.R. Martin has tapped into.
[h=3]Cthulhu Dark Ages[/h]An oddball system that might seem out of place, but bear with me a moment. Cthulhu Dark Ages (CDA) has (almost) the right time period. If you want a game that focuses more on the dark magical lore of Westeros as opposed to big scary folk in armor using cuss words and hacking off heads, then something like CDA might well be the game. Especially if you see some Lovecraftian ideas in ASOIAF.
[h=3]Adventures in Middle Earth[/h]Adventures in Middle Earth (AME) and The One Ring from Cubicle 7 handle a literary IP world with great finesse. The structure of an AME game allows for the GM and players to again focus on a long term campaign, over many seasons or years. As a basic system, 5E is familiar and easy to get into for most players. It might require some changes in classes, backgrounds, and folk but those changes should be minimal and there are already great examples.
[h=3]Star Trek Adventures[/h]Why would you use a science fiction game for emulating a dark and gritty fantasy world? The answer is simple: Star Trek Adventures (STA) handles episodic play and support characters very well. It is baked into the system itself. If you wanted to run a campaign based on the show as opposed to the books, then STA by Modiphius might be the way to go. You could even hack something together by combining Conan with STA!
This article was contributed by Sean Hillman (SMHWorlds) as part of EN World's Columnist (ENWC) program. If you enjoy the daily news and articles from EN World, please consider contributing to our Patreon!
