Historical-based 4e games

[Kunimatyu]

Regarding your post, knight, I actually think healing surges are much better suited to low-magic settings, as long as you don't think of them as the PCs suddenly becoming trolls or the like.

 

[HalWhitewyrm]

Don't forget that there's an explicit instruction to rework the flavor text on any power you like. That should go without saying, of course, but it means you might be able to get away with "look and feel" changes to some powers instead of making up new power sets wholesale.

I had been considering this option as a fix to part of the problem.

Also, the Artificer playtest article in Dragon, while too over-the-top for your needs, introduced the idea that some powers can be flavored as devices or concoctions, some of which even require explicit preparation during the previous extended rest. Dunno if that would fit your quasi-historical style or not.

I missed that article. I'll download it now and check if there's some ideas there to steal.

I'm writing a 4E mediterranean setting right now. I've decided to roll with the high-magic nature of the system. Cut those out and its not really D&D anymore, might as well play gurps.

That's exactly my point: D&D 4e is set in D&D 4e World, which may look like (in your case) Earth's Mediterranean, but is really still D&D 4e World. That's not what I want, at least for this particular experiment.

I'm freer to come up with stuff like aquaducts that pump freshwater from the plane of water, drugs that unlock the human genome which allow regular humans to become 4E's superpower-ish classes, etc.

Again, while cool, this is uber-high fantasy, which is not what I want to achieve.

Regarding your post, knight, I actually think healing surges are much better suited to low-magic settings, as long as you don't think of them as the PCs suddenly becoming trolls or the like.

I agree. Healing surges are one of the core parts that would fit pretty well into a historical setting as a non-magical source of healing.

 

[Jhaelen]

I'm left with the impression that D&D 4e is meant simply to be D&D 4e and not so much a fantasy toolkit.

Is there anyone out there playing a historical-based 4e game? If so, how are you approaching it, by adapting things to the relative tech/magic level of the setting or by dropping D&D somewhere in history? Am I correct in my impression of the game and should I just leave this idea aside?

Imho, D&D never worked well as a (generic) fantasy framework.

If you're looking for an excellent rpg set in a (pseudo)historical setting, my suggestion would be Ars Magica.

I suppose you could make 4E work for a historical setting, but I'm unsure if it's worth the effort.

 

[HalWhitewyrm]

Imho, D&D never worked well as a (generic) fantasy framework.

I disagree, I think 2e, and especially 3e, had a lot of flexibility and options to be an effective fantasy toolkit. But we're talking opinions here.

If you're looking for an excellent rpg set in a (pseudo)historical setting, my suggestion would be Ars Magica.

I have Ars Magica and like it well enough, but that game scratches a different itch.

I suppose you could make 4E work for a historical setting, but I'm unsure if it's worth the effort.

That's what we're trying to find out in this thread.