Looking for RPG system for campaign.

[amerigoV]

Its got all that out of the box. There is also a race builder in the Deluxe version to create any race you want. The Fantasy Companion's most valuable material is magic items (the extra spells and race builder were brought into the Deluxe release).

Aside from what I linked, be careful if you are drawing from published material. The natural approach is to convert everything. But D&D has a lot of bloat in both rules and encounters. In 3.x, modules were built around the math -- you need 13 1/3 at ECL encounters to earn a level. Step back, see what the story is and then discard encounters that were just there to get you 1/13th of the way closer to another level*. Then, look to see how you can weave in Chases, Dramatic Tasks, and Social Encounters. They will give the game a much broader feel.

* I'll give an example. I ran Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil with two groups used D&D. 90% of the purpose of the Crater Ridge Mines was to get PCs from 6th to 10th level, and 10% was story. While I enjoyed the overall module, even in D&D I stripped that out and did other material to add more to the story.

 

[Blackbrrd]

I have DM-ed RttToEE and I got so fed up with the grinding through the crater ridge mines. I wanted to try out another game system to run a sandbox campaign in an area hit by the plague and because of it social unrest, a viking invasion and a goblin invasion. I want plenty of intrigue, but I also want some random monster bashing to make it a bit more lively.

The best D&D module I have played is Red Hand of Doom, but I stopped after defending the city from invasion. I want to run something similar, but a bit more sandboxy and without dungeons larger than maybe 5 rooms. I want to try to use some of the "score" keeping from RHoD that said how big the invasion army actually was and use it to keep track of the Vikings, goblins, and the 2+ factions of the civil war.

I do like random encounters, but I prefer to have planned random encounters that further the plot or make the characters decide what or who they want to save.

How steep is the "leveling" curve in SW compared to DnD? Can you use the same mobs, but 2-3x the amount after 10 sessions, or do you have to grab some more powerful ones to make combat threatning?

I do like the beanies as a resource instead of getting them from short/long rests in 4e. It sounds like it will make encounters during overland travel actually meaningful (threatning) without houseruling. If I haven't misunderstood something.

 

[Razjah]

I haven't stated it particularily clear in my first post, but I want to run a fantasy campaign with elves, dwarves, goblins, dragons, evil necromancers and dumb ogres.

If I were to run Savage Worlds, what is the supplements you would recommend? Any hints to what I have to think about that's completely different from running a 3e/4e game?

The tagline is "Fast, Furious, Fun" if it sin't that don't do it. Combat shouldn't just be there to fill a gap, there is no need to grind for XP. Nice thing is you can forget HP. Most enemies are either fighting, shaken (stun), or down for the fight. The game has pulp roots, so if you want fantasy to feel right you may want to lean towards Conan and away from Lord of the Rings.

Another thing is the when building NPCs- cheating is okay. If you want a BBEG to have an Edge she isn't qualified for, she gets it. The end. You don't need to find a way to make sure she can have access to it, just give it to her and game.

If you can get it, the Fantasy Companion has elves and dwarves. You could tweak the halflings to be goblins. Dragons are bad ass, they are meant to fought by powerful players. Evil necromancers is a pulp staple, and the spells are generic, you add the flavor. For example there is no burning hands, magicl missle, acid splash, etc. There is Bolt and you add trappings. One mage may shoot fire at his enemies, another may send a swarm of bees to sting the enemy to death.

How steep is the "leveling" curve in SW compared to DnD? Can you use the same mobs, but 2-3x the amount after 10 sessions, or do you have to grab some more powerful ones to make combat threatning

It is much flatter, and with exploding dice it is still possible for some low level shmuck to get a lucky strike aon one-shot a PC. This is very difficult, but possible. I would keep the mobs about the same and toss in a couple interesting things to fight. Orcs are fine, but then the bring a giant with them when the PCs keep beating the tribe.

 

[amerigoV]

How steep is the "leveling" curve in SW compared to DnD? Can you use the same mobs, but 2-3x the amount after 10 sessions, or do you have to grab some more powerful ones to make combat threatning?

To give you a D&D answer, its like playing 3rd to 10th under 1e for the most part. The starting heros are a bit more surivivable than D&D and the top end caps in overall power. But characters get more ability to diversify over time (example, you could start as a traditional fighter and pick up Leadership edges and be more like a Warlord towards the end).

 

[Blackbrrd]

For example there is no burning hands, magicl missle, acid splash, etc. There is Bolt and you add trappings. One mage may shoot fire at his enemies, another may send a swarm of bees to sting the enemy to death.

Are there any accessories with spells like Burning Hands and Mirror Image in them? Basically SW version of D&D spells?

Looks like I will have to give SW a try in a one-shot at least. If it works out as I want it to, I can start looking at running a campaign with it.

 

[Razjah]

The Fantasy Companion has some more spells, and it discusses how to make better use of trappings (the explorer edition doesn't have as much detail, and I don't have deluxe) with a bunch of examples for major and minor trappings. Generally you have the spell and describe it however you want. There are spells that are in D&D, but stripped down for more use. Bolt, Blast, and Burst are all damage dealing spells in a missile attack, cone, or template; they function similar to magic missile, cone of attack X, and fireball.

 

[amerigoV]

Are there any accessories with spells like Burning Hands and Mirror Image in them? Basically SW version of D&D spells?

The game has less specific spells and leverages you/Players using trappings. In the end, you can bucket a lot of spells in D&D that really just have fiddly differences (Magic Missile, Melfs Acid Arrow, etc).

So on the surface, it might appear a touch bland. You just need to press the players. "I cast Bolt" -- "OK, describe what it looks like" - then watch it open up.

Here are some trappings I have come up with over time:

http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaign/lab/wikis/trappings


One that is not listed but was one of the best that happened in our group -- a Goblin Shaman jumped up and down, screaming in a primal language, then put his now firery hand on a nearby goblin. The goblin goes screaming towards the PCs with his head on fire. When he gets to the optimal position, he blows up! Its a simple Blast Spell (aka, Fireball) - but its stuff like that the system encourages you to do.

(stop and think about this -- when was the last time a player ever remembered some random goblin casting a spell? That happened to me as a player easily 2 or 3 years ago).

I did one with the Entomber (its in Ravenloft, presume its in a Monster Manual). The power of the creature is to entomb someone and they start to sufficate. All I did to replicate that was the Entangle Power. A simple spell scared the crap out of my players.

Looks like I will have to give SW a try in a one-shot at least. If it works out as I want it to, I can start looking at running a campaign with it.

I hope it goes well for you! Be sure to visit their forums - nice folks that can help you through any confusiing points.

 

[griffonwing]

Features I am looking for:
- slow progression
- low to medium magic
- a good set of fantasy monsters
- not gritty
- not clunky

Any suggestions with a little blurb about why would be appreciated.

HackMaster is my recommendation. The system defaults, and is written for, a low magic campaign. No mage shops, you can't go and purchase magic items from a store. A +2 weapon would be a princely item.

The money is Silver-based, no gold, so characters won't have tons of silver and gold in their pockets, but coppers and a few silver, mostly brass and trade coins.

The character levels of HackMaster are about half the power level of DnD, meaning a 4th level fighter is about on par with a 2nd level DnD Fighter. Half of the Xp a character receives is based on kills, the rest are story awards. Also, the game rewards players who play their character as written (race/class/quirks/flaws). This is their Honor, and can be used to offset unlucky rolls.

The Hacklopedia of Beasts is a leather-bound hardback tome full of monsters like we used to have: dog-faced kobolds (not dragonlings), pig-snouted orcs, goblins, drakes, sphynx. The main monster missing form the book is the Dragon, and that's mainly because even a party of 20th level characters would be hard-pressed to kill a dragon. Theyve saved that, and others, for the HoB2.

The game isnt gritty, nor clunky, however, it is a bit crunchy. Opposed roll combat/defense, penetrating (exploding) damage dice, armor and shieds that actually make you easier to get hit, but harder to damage (like it should), weapon speeds and second-by-second combat actiosn make the battlefield a constant flow, and keeps every player active, allowing for tactical gameplay and removing the "ok, let me know when its my turn again" game-killer.

You can get the HackMaster Basic pdf for free, and it includes pregens for your players. Or you can spend 10 bucks and get the expanded Basic book, going up to level 10 and it includes the character creation rules. Or for 60, get the full color, leather bound hardback.

I suggest the Free or expanded 10 dollar version to get your feel for the game.

 

[Blackbrrd]

The game isnt gritty, nor clunky, however, it is a bit crunchy. Opposed roll combat/defense, penetrating (exploding) damage dice, armor and shieds that actually make you easier to get hit, but harder to damage (like it should), weapon speeds and second-by-second combat actiosn make the battlefield a constant flow, and keeps every player active, allowing for tactical gameplay and removing the "ok, let me know when its my turn again" game-killer.

First, a big thanks for posting all that info, I really do appreciate it.

Now, when does it go from crunch to clunk? I am not a fan of opposed rolls and the weapon speed and second-by-second combat actions just seems a bit much? I read this: http://www.kenzerco.com/hackmaster/downloads/HMb_KODT_Combat_Example.pdf and it looks a bit too detailed. 8 pages to describe 15 seconds of combat vs 4 goblins and an orc is... well, too much.

 

[Votan]

To give you a D&D answer, its like playing 3rd to 10th under 1e for the most part. The starting heros are a bit more surivivable than D&D and the top end caps in overall power. But characters get more ability to diversify over time (example, you could start as a traditional fighter and pick up Leadership edges and be more like a Warlord towards the end).

This is also the "sweet spot" for most D&D games. It's not perfect but it seems to reflect what people might be expecting based on films and media.