Any low fantasy games out there? Need a change of pace!

[MrHemlocks]

I and my group are really get burnt out from high fantasy style rpgs and in need of a change. Are there any pen & paper medival 'like' games , beside HARN, out there? Looking for a game where adventure is king and monsters and magic are very rare and feared.

 

[Crothian]

Conan can do that.

 

[Nagol]

Off the top of my head,

Black Company, Conan, d20 Past, many GURPS settings, Hero system, and Chivalry and Sorcery (though it may have too much magic for you), are the most likely.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

The Game of Thrones RPG probably fits the bill, too, as well as Runequest/Legend.

 

[Nojo509]

I played the Game of Thrones RPG (A Song of Ice and Fire, Green Ronin) and it's very low fantasy, and very gritty. While we had a great time in the campaign, we found the combat RAW rather one sided for combat heavies like knights, who could rip apart foes without breaking a sweat. Then our GM decided to give the NPCs all the combat advantages players get. This made combat take forever. There must be a happy medium.

BTW, ASoIaF does a wonderful job of recreating the gritty world of Westeros. The players can all come from the same small banner house, and you can build your house up, or watch it fall. Very memorable campaign.

Another one to look at is Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay. Magic is slightly more accessible than in ASoIaF, but not nearly as much as in high fantasy. I've played V2 (designed by Green Ronin for Black Industries) and V3 (FFG, I was a playtester for V3). V3 uses a lot of board game type components, such as cards and tokens to keep track of abilities and how your character if faring. The Warhammer Fantasy world is nice and grim. Not a game for powergamers, unless they really like a challenge.

 

[Argyle King]

many GURPS settings

Banestorm is probably a good start. http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/books/banestorm/

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Seconding HERO: if you can think it, it can do it.

But I have to say that, even though I don't care for the system all that much, I have to admit GURPS can handle low-magic fantasy very well. One of my favorite low-magic campaigns of all time was run in GURPS 2nd- I played one half of a set of twins, both warrior-sorceresses from a barbarian tribe.

 

[Jhaelen]

Pendragon, if you enjoy playing Arthurian knights.

Ars Magica might work, although it's kind of a low-fantasy, but high-magic game. The Mythic Europe setting would work well, anyway, just focus on the companion characters and keep the magi in the background. With some of the more recent supplements there's even support for an all-grog campaign.

 

[artikid]

What about Cthulhu Dark Ages? You just need to change the setting from medieval europe to some fantasy land.

 

[JediSoth]

The new HackMaster can do it. It's very low-magic and there's nothing that says you have to encounter monsters. Best of all, HackMaster Basic is FREE!