Dark, Grim & Gritty
- Thread starter Cherub
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Crothian
First Post
Cherub said:Thanks, Crothian!
C.
I don't know if that's going to be what you are looking for, there are lot of different types of Grim and Gritty when you get down to it. I'd siuggest finding reviews on drivethroughRPG is they have some there and RPG.net to do a bit of further research on the games.
Nuclear Platypus
First Post
Crothian said:
I always thought of CoC as slimy and squishy.
As for grim n gritty, Warhammer RPG (Hogshead or the more recent version), maybe Rolemaster (the tables gave interesting results) and Harn
Runequest (Avalon Hill version) probably is since its based off the original CoC but also Elric! (or Stormbringer if you can find it). Usagi Yojimbo could be after removing the anthropomorphs as combat seemed very much like jankenpo (Paper scissors rock).
Dark*Matter can be very dark. Xenoforms and the Last Church (both for Alternity) have some rather gruesome material.
Though it is not a pdf, I am currently reading The Book of Unremitting Horror from Pelegrane. The intro notes how it is not a book of monsters, but rather terrors and I agree with that statement. It is not a book that should be on shelves children can reach.
As for the non-d20, the darkest game I have read is Sorcerer. It has no setting though the 2 supplements, Sorcerer's Soul and Sorcerer and Sword have example settings. The whole game revolves around the simple question- what will one do for power? The PCs are not good guys (since they consort with inhuman beings to gain power) but neither do they have to be evil. It is all up to the players.
The next darkest is a pdf from Rogue Publishing. The Collectors: The Burning House is a Fudge based game where the PCs are demons who collect already sold souls. Killing is a no-no (offing potenital clients for the boss), but otherwise anything goes in the job. Again it is up to the players to decide how they go about playing. The magic system is just dripping with flavor and should be converted for other games.
Though it is not a pdf, I am currently reading The Book of Unremitting Horror from Pelegrane. The intro notes how it is not a book of monsters, but rather terrors and I agree with that statement. It is not a book that should be on shelves children can reach.
As for the non-d20, the darkest game I have read is Sorcerer. It has no setting though the 2 supplements, Sorcerer's Soul and Sorcerer and Sword have example settings. The whole game revolves around the simple question- what will one do for power? The PCs are not good guys (since they consort with inhuman beings to gain power) but neither do they have to be evil. It is all up to the players.
The next darkest is a pdf from Rogue Publishing. The Collectors: The Burning House is a Fudge based game where the PCs are demons who collect already sold souls. Killing is a no-no (offing potenital clients for the boss), but otherwise anything goes in the job. Again it is up to the players to decide how they go about playing. The magic system is just dripping with flavor and should be converted for other games.
Aus_Snow
First Post
Depends on the setting you want. . . if you even want a setting.
Anyway, I'll second (or whatever) the following suggestions:
Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (probably one of the best grim&gritty RPGs out there)
Grim Tales (probably the best grim&gritty product for d20)
Also, A Game Of Thrones d20 should be very good for dark, grim & gritty, but most patricularly if you're a fan of the books (A Song Of Ice And Fire) by G. R. R. Martin. It's also based very heavily in that world, of course. Looks like there's already a review here on ENWorld too, visible right there on the front page.
hth
edit --- I'll also second just about anything by Chaosium in answer to this kind of query, but you'd want to check them out first if possible, to be certain they're useful to you.
Anyway, I'll second (or whatever) the following suggestions:
Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (probably one of the best grim&gritty RPGs out there)
Grim Tales (probably the best grim&gritty product for d20)
Also, A Game Of Thrones d20 should be very good for dark, grim & gritty, but most patricularly if you're a fan of the books (A Song Of Ice And Fire) by G. R. R. Martin. It's also based very heavily in that world, of course. Looks like there's already a review here on ENWorld too, visible right there on the front page.
hth
edit --- I'll also second just about anything by Chaosium in answer to this kind of query, but you'd want to check them out first if possible, to be certain they're useful to you.
Last edited:
Cherub said:Are any of these available as PDF?
C.
Iron Heroes, I believe is available as a PDF.
Conan has an inexpensive Pocket Edition that I believe removed a lot (all?) of the art and the beastiary chapter.
Iron Kingdoms had a pretty inexpensive Player's Primer that was a nice intro to the setting. Not sure if it's still in print, though.
Azgulor
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