Let's Talk About Fantasy heartbreaks and other FRPGs

[Thomas Shey]

WRONG. Sword of Cepheus is derived from Cepheus Engine, which is itself derived from Mongoose Traveller 1E SRD, which is itself derived from CT1E with major changes. The chap behind Cepheus is a CT fan, and has specifically stated on COTI that the changes were to make it more like CT.

All I know is what I've been told, man, and multiple people have said to me what I said here. I'll take your statement as a data point, but that's all it is at this point.

 

[aramis erak]

All I know is what I've been told, man, and multiple people have said to me what I said here. I'll take your statement as a data point, but that's all it is at this point.

I suspect you've conflated Mongoose with Mega... older edition fans Identify Mega as MT and Mongoose as MgT; many ignorant-of-the-older-editions fans use MT to mean Mongoose.

In any case, Jason Kemp made CE to be a CT clone not a Mega one. He's been public about that. The biggest tell is that the carreers lack Special Duty and its extra skill (in the SRD.) But there's also the low number of cascades on the career tables. (MegaTraveller has many, many cascades on the tables. CT restricts them to weapons and vehicles)

Anything based upon the CE SRD is based upon a CT-ification of a CT-derivative ruleset.

 

[Thomas Shey]

I suspect you've conflated Mongoose with Mega... older edition fans Identify Mega as MT and Mongoose as MgT; many ignorant-of-the-older-editions fans use MT to mean Mongoose.

That's possible. And its been too many years since I did anything with MegaTraveller for the distinctions to jump out at me.

 

[MGibster]

Calling every other fantasy rpg a "heartbreaker" pretty much makes the term meaningless since all it then means is "a fantasy game that is not D&D".

I always understood a fantasy heartbreaker to be a fantasy described as, "D&D, but better." i.e. It's a fantasy game that tries to hit the same notes as D&D but improve upon it somehow. Legend of the Five Rings would not be a fantasy heartbreaker because it's not trying to do something that D&D already does. So I'm with you on this.

 

[Thomas Shey]

I always understood a fantasy heartbreaker to be a fantasy described as, "D&D, but better." i.e. It's a fantasy game that tries to hit the same notes as D&D but improve upon it somehow. Legend of the Five Rings would not be a fantasy heartbreaker because it's not trying to do something that D&D already does. So I'm with you on this.

It also is often applied to a game that makes a big deal of some particular non-D&D style mechanic as though the author was the first person to come up with it. Honestly, it often comes off as someone who's lived entirely or almost entirely in the D&D-sphere, and thus has no idea that people outside of it (even in other D&D derivatives) may well have been using that mechanic for decades.

One of the places I've seen it multiple times is people touting their game having no classes. My usual reaction is "Really? I only first saw that in 1978."

 

[Staffan]

One of the places I've seen it multiple times is people touting their game having no classes. My usual reaction is "Really? I only first saw that in 1978."

Bonus points if it instead has something that's exactly like classes but just using another name.

 

[MGibster]

Bonus points if it instead has something that's exactly like classes but just using another name.

You see, my Mercenary is totally different from D&D's Fighter because....

 

[Crusadius]

I always understood a fantasy heartbreaker to be a fantasy described as, "D&D, but better." i.e. It's a fantasy game that tries to hit the same notes as D&D but improve upon it somehow. Legend of the Five Rings would not be a fantasy heartbreaker because it's not trying to do something that D&D already does. So I'm with you on this.

Looking up some of the forge commentary about the term "fantasy heartbreaker", yes I agree - D&D due to its popularity is the game most people seek to "improve" with their heartbreakers. But then who can forget the game/LARP Vampire: Undeath?

 

[Staffan]

You see, my Mercenary is totally different from D&D's Fighter because....

I was thinking more about the structure itself ("No no, we don't have classes. We have professions, and as you gain experience you increase in rank. Completely different.") rather than individual classes, but yeah.

 

[Piratecat]

I was thinking more about the structure itself ("No no, we don't have classes. We have professions, and as you gain experience you increase in rank. Completely different.") rather than individual classes, but yeah.

You just made me laugh, because my new game has Professions and people improve their General and Investigative abilities by improving the ability's Rank. It doesn't feel like D&D, mind you! But you nailed the nomenclature precisely.