Drenai -> d20/OGL starting point?

[Aus_Snow]

Just by way of a thread-bump, I went ahead and picked up "The Legend of the Steel General" over the weekend. All I can say is if you want a Gemmell-themed game without having to put in too much writing yourself, GET IT

---snip---

Thanks for the tip, and the rundown of the skeleton of it, gh. Very much appreciated, and I'm pretty sure I will get it.

Maybe even the next two, too. . . only from RPGNow, not DTRPG. I'll say no more on that topic, but yeh, I prefer that store. Unless ENWorld's electronic store has them?. . . *goes hunting*

 

[grufflehead]

Thanks for the tip, and the rundown of the skeleton of it, gh. Very much appreciated, and I'm pretty sure I will get it.

Maybe even the next two, too. . . only from RPGNow, not DTRPG. I'll say no more on that topic, but yeh, I prefer that store. Unless ENWorld's electronic store has them?. . . *goes hunting*

Sounds like you had a problem with DTRPG - funnily enough I use them because I had issues with RPGNow....

I think you can also get it direct from 0One's own site (www.0onegames.com) and if you do decide to buy all 3 there's a bundle with a small cost break available. Let me know if you go that route, I'd be interested to hear how you rate the second and third parts.

Going back to tLotSG, I haven't read it all through, but as far as I got there were numerous bits where I found myself chuckling at the obvious similarity of the plot to a certain Gemmel book but I also found it reasonable easy to come up with ways of adapting/changing some of the encounters to make them less 'D&D-ish' and more like the style of Gemmell. Without seeing the other 2 I don't know how quickly they follow on chronologically, but I've now skimmed through both Song of the Blade and Dark Harbour and would think there's potential to adapt and slot them in, which would make for a fair bit of play (and a good few levels worth) without too much writing of your own.

Going back to the original question of the thread, having now read some adventures that capture the desired feel, maybe the system is less important. I certainly still stick by my assertion that IH would be very good for this style with it's feat system - I also noticed that over on the IH boards, they are taking submissions for zones and stunts (2 of the IH game mechanics designed to make combat particularly cinematic/dramatic) and will be showcasing suggestions next month. I would be perfectly happy (if I were playing in a game like this) to allow the GM free reign with things like Nadir shamen, or characters like the Thirty, without necessarily sticking to the Arcanist class per se, as long as it was inkeeping with the books.

 

[cignus_pfaccari]

Just as a thought, what's wrong with 3.5 D&D as it stands? There's plenty of magic in his books.

It's mostly that the magic in his books really does look very little like anything in 3.5 D&D. There are very few magic weapons, and those that are tend to be possessed by demons (the Rajnee swords are an exception). Characters either use the same weapon for nearly the entirety of their careers, or they're found and lost and replaced, in a Conanesque fashion. Similarly, magic-users don't typically spew forth fireballs, but act much more like psychics when they release their spirits from their body and manipulate minds and whatnot.

Stock D&D puts a lot of a character's capability in his gear, which really doesn't reflect the Drenai universe. IH is much, much closer to what I think it would look like.

I absolutely love D&D 3.5, but I don't think it would appropriately model the Drenai universe.

Brad

 

[Aus_Snow]

I absolutely love D&D 3.5, but I don't think it would appropriately model the Drenai universe.

Same here, word for word.

A while back, I thought I could find and/or house rule One System To Rule Them All.

. . . nope.

Each distinct system is just plain better for certain styles, genres, themes etc.

 

[grufflehead]

And just to keep this rolling along....

Thanks to a minor glitch at DTRPG which meant I got charged twice for an order (but very quickly sorted out, I hasten to add) I ended up with some virtual $$$ burning a hole in my pocket, and as the USD-GBP exchange rate seems to be somewhat in my favour right now....

I picked up parts 2 and 3 of the Seven Avengers and a cursory skimming suggests more of the same in terms of 'well enough written and not too hard to adapt' Gemmell-themed fun and games. With SotB and Dark Harbor in tow, I've got the makings of an IH game that should probably take PCs from starters into low double figures levels at a guess - and with hints of another 'official' IH scenario in the works plus continuing support from Malhavoc I think there's plenty of mileage to be had from this. All I need is some players :\

And something else that came to me as a source for other adventures: Lankhmar. Among my large collection of 'oh-that's-only-a-couple-of-pounds-I-might-use-it-sometime' stuff, I've got a couple of the old AD&D Lankhmar adventures. From what I remember of the set-up, being a magic-user was hazardous to your health not so much because magic was unreliable but because all spellcasting times were 10X longer than standard (and therefore virtually suicidally useless in combat much of the time), so most of the adversaries seemed to be fighter/thief/assassin types. Which might make soem of them useable with a bit of tweaking....

 

[Aus_Snow]

Ha, yeh. I remember Lankhmar with AD&D, years ago. Good times.

Could be usable, I agree. Definitely wouldn't be hard converting to Iron Heroes rules, say, and a Drenai setting.

Let me know what you think of the others there. I'm tempted with the Seven Avengers bundle at RPGNow ($25 for the three adventures and two other things, I think), but it seems about the same filesize as the first adventure alone (the 2nd edition, anyway).

Perhaps the one(s) in the bundle is/are cut down versions, or not the revised '2nd ed'. . .?

 

[grufflehead]

Let me know what you think of the others there. I'm tempted with the Seven Avengers bundle at RPGNow ($25 for the three adventures and two other things, I think), but it seems about the same filesize as the first adventure alone (the 2nd edition, anyway).

Perhaps the one(s) in the bundle is/are cut down versions, or not the revised '2nd ed'. . .?

Sorry, can't really help you with specifics. The back page of "WoD" does have an ad for those 5 products but no indication of what they are or how much. Maybe try 0one's own site (I would but our work webfilter has blocked it..)? You should also be able to buy from them - even with just a cursory glance I'd say you get a fair amount of material in the 3 I've got, so I'm happy I got good value even though I paid more for buying them all separately.

I think I've seen somewhere else that Brotherhoods is an organisation sourcebook for the campaign world, but I can't find anything on the Siege of Draman Del (but it sounds intriguing if it's a separate part of the story).

I'll have a more in depth read over the weekend and try and summarise what I've got sometime next week.

 

[SJE]

I've thought about a Gemmell style RPG, but keep hitting some roadblocks.

A lot of Gemmell Characters are 'Best Noun in World' types, where that noun can be "Swordsman", 'Gladiator', 'General', 'Wizard' or 'Killer'. Yet while they can beat almost everyone in their chosen field, they still remain mortal and vulnerable to beasts, rockfalls, starvation and superior numbers.

And most RPG systems, D20 especially has trouble in adjudicating when a PC should be effectively invulnerable and when he should be frighteningly mortal.

There are other themes in Gemmell work that are fascinating- faith, aging, love, pride and guilt. And all of Gemmells characters have history- something the motivates them and changes them.

So games that examine these bangs and kickers, that lets a player use their emotions and feelings to affect their successes would perhaps be a better model for a Gemmell RPG.

So while I havent read Iron Heroes, I am now exploring more indie and experimental games like Burning Wheel or Riddle of Steel to see if they have more of the answer I'm looking for.

SJE

 

[grufflehead]

A lot of Gemmell Characters are 'Best Noun in World' types, where that noun can be "Swordsman", 'Gladiator', 'General', 'Wizard' or 'Killer'.

Oh yes - that's why we love it!

Yet while they can beat almost everyone in their chosen field, they still remain mortal and vulnerable to beasts, rockfalls, starvation and superior numbers.

Hmmm, not sure I'd agree with you completely there - well, not on the superior numbers front anyway I guess part of it comes down to the great old 'game vs book' argument. For example, you put a challenge, say a trap or an encounter into a game. Do you actually want to kill a PC with it? And if so does that spell the end of the game? It's unlikely to happen to the central character in the book, because, well, you wouldn't have much of a book if your hero, fresh from fighting off a horde of demons plummets to his death off a cliff....

So while I havent read Iron Heroes, I am now exploring more indie and experimental games like Burning Wheel or Riddle of Steel to see if they have more of the answer I'm looking for.

SJE

With a limited number of game systems at my disposal, IH seems a decent fit to the combat aspects of the books. Back at the start of this thread there were a few other systems suggested but I don't have any of them and don't plan on picking them up (unless my lottery ticket comes up next week...). I agree with you about the more emotional side of the books but that's often hard to do in a game in terms of 'mechanics' - you hope your players will invest their PCs with enough life that it will just happen naturally. Then again it's perhaps not really what the players want in a game, they just want some high action hack 'n' slash!

A good point about Burning Wheel though - I do have it and think it's quite interesting as it approaches things in a unique way. My main concern with it was it's a lot more difficult to just 'pick up and play' as it requires a lot more input during the character generation process.

 

[Khairn]

In choosing a system for a Drenai / Gemmell campaign I would be split. I'm growing very fond of Grim Tales and feel that it would do a really good job in bringing Drenai to life. But Iron Heroes, with its tokens, feat mastery, combat area's and very stylish classes, just looks too ... "Druss-ish" to pass up.