Legends of the Dark Ages Q&A

[JPL]

Vig, I wish I could knock this stuff out half as fast as you do.

What's a typical PC group like?

 

[Vigilance]

Obviously a low magic world, but are we talking roughly a 5th level spell cap, similar to d20 Modern, or simply a more difficult/less fequent system of spell casting?

How are arcane spell casters viewed by the church? With a name like Charalatan I am guessing they don't hold a honored place in society.

No spells go up to 9th level, but the selection is somewhat limited. The Charlatan has mostly illusions and enchantments, while the seer has divination and some general purpose spells.

So both classes get potent spells, but will also have to rely more on their class abilities as well. I also gave each class a d6 HD to compensate for the total loss of artillery spells.

As for the Church, well they would indeed take a dim view of arcane magic. However the book covers a big frame, both geologically and timewise, so I dont pin it down and say "these classes face such and such a stigma".

That will end up being a campaign decision. It could go anywhere from King Arthur, where you could see Merlin cast in the role of the Seer class, to a campaign where arcane spellcasters were infidels and not allowed as PCs.

Chuck

 

[Vigilance]

Vig, I wish I could knock this stuff out half as fast as you do.

This one came together quick even by my standards. It also helps that I wasnt starting from scratch. The rules for bloodlines, nobility and spell points were firmly charted out in Legends of Excalibur and Legends of the Samurai, so those elements could just be ported in.

What's a typical PC group like?

This is hard to answer. Depending on when the campaign is set and where, I could see many different campaign makeups.

You could be a group of Nomads following Atila. Or a group of Vandal barbarians operating out of Carthage raiding Mediterranean shipping and occasionally sacking Rome.

Or you could be a group of brace French footsoldiers led by Charles Martel. Outnumbered 4 to 1 by Arabian Cavalry you have to defeat the infidel or see Europe undergo forced conversion under the Islam sword.

Or you could play a lighthearted fantasy adventure from Arabian Nights (set during the 8th century). Or you could play Charlemagne's Peers on magical, Arthurian quests.

The list of campaigns you could create with these rules is pretty broad.

My playtest games started out with the Battle of Tours (the aforementioned throwdown between the French and the Arabs) and has since moved into more traditional fantasy, with the PCs vying to become members of Charlemagne's Paladins (the respectable one anyway).

Chuck

 

[Stormborn]

OK, so more of a Rare/Limited Magic world than a Low Magic World as such. Sounds cool. I have long been wanting to do a kind of Dark Ages Delta Green type game, and this system may be what I have been waiting on.

 

[Vigilance]

That certainly sounds interesting.

My goal was simply to turn Europe into the ultimate fantasy setting, but I like the idea of something off the wall like that.

Chuck

 

[Turanil]

For a long time I had wish to run a game in a pseudo medieval/Dark Ages Europe of fantasy. For those others who wish to do so, I propose the map I created to this end several years ago. Below is the low resolution, but you can download it full resolution here: Map of Fantasy Dark Ages Europe. BTW: I release this map as a royalty free pic.

 

[JPL]

Fysts of Fury

Of course, the only logical thing to do is a Dark Ages / Blood and Fists crossover campaign.

Glima, the Viking martial art ---
http://www.martialartsplanet.com/forums/search/topic/29346-1.html

The lethal Celtic martial arts ---
http://maol.tripod.com/index-2.html

Throw in some late Roman pankration / gladiator techniques ---
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art26080.asp

 

[Razuur]

Well this looks aswesome, like all the Legends stuff.

I am casting a major vote for a hardback because I forsee an entire shelf of LEGENDS books from Vigilance.

Guaranteed sale.

Razuur

 

[Vigilance]

Just made my day Razuur, thanks

Chuck

 

[Masada]

I know "grittiness" is something you can customize, but what is the setting designed for? I know there were a large number of fatal occurances in the life of a human... disease, famine, bad medical treatment in general, exposure... heck even an absessed tooth could kill ya.