Medieval Player's Manual vs. Legends of the Dark Ages - How do they compare?

[HalWhitewyrm]

Name says it all, I'd like to know how these two books on the Middle Ages stack up against each other. Do they complement each other well? Do they conflict in approach? Which one is better for X or Y gaming approach and why?
Heck, if you can throw in Morrigan Press' High Medieval as well it would be great, but I'll be perfectly happy with a discussion of Medieval Players Manual and Legends of the Dark Ages.

 

[Vigilance]

I'm afraid this is going to be a hard question to tackle for anyone but me and Crothian, since the copy of the PDF he reviewed was a pre-release copy, no one else should have Legends of the Dark Ages

If you dont mind me taking a stab at it, since I own Medieval Player's Manual and wrote Dark Ages, Id say that the MPM is a toolkit designed to help a D&D GM run a more historical game and/or a lower magic game.

Dark Ages is more of an alternative PHB providing an all-human play environment (social class takes the place of race with all characters being human), new core classes, and alternative takes on alignment and the spell-slot magic system.

I happen to think both books are good, and they even both tackle some of the same archetypes (like the Hermit). I'd also say that the MPM would provide as much room for mining if you were running Dark Ages as it would if you were running D&D.

If you didn't like the spell-point magic system in Dark Ages, for example, you could substitute MPM's charisms and folk charms.

Anyway, that's my take and thanks for asking.

Chuck

 

[HalWhitewyrm]

Hey, I'll take the opinion of the writer any day.
Thanks for the comparison. Seems like they would complement each other beautifully. I like MPM's more historical approach, but I like the idea of rule modules I can adapt for varying situations.

I'll leave this thread here for once the book comes out, but you've got a sale here hands down. When's it coming out?

 

[Vigilance]

Very soon... the PDF is basically done, we're proofreading and error checking. Really it could go out now, but we always try to make it perfect on the initial release.

On the books complimenting one another, I really think they do. I am really intrigued by some of the things MPM did with alternate forms of magic and think they could be substituted to make LODA lower magic without a lot of headaches.

The Legends books are fairly compatible with D&D, the only real conversion that needs to happen is Alignment to Nobility.

Chuck

 

[Maester Luwin]

Hey everyone. The idea alignment to nobility is agood idea. I know it has worked for The Game of Thrones rpg. I have the MPM & Dark Ages sounds interesting. Thanks for your comments Chuck! Maester Luwin

 

[Vigilance]

Thanks

Yeah the nobility/honor points in place of alignment are working out great. We're still exploring new wrinkles of the spell points, trying to get the balance a little tighter while maintaining the volatility the system has now (Crothian explains this a little in his review of Legends of the Dark Ages).

Chuck

 

[Turanil]

Which one is better for X or Y gaming approach and why?

I believe that the maps provided in Legends of the Dark Ages are much better than those of MPM...

 

[Vigilance]

Lol.

You did good man, those maps were fantabulous.

 

[Maester Luwin]

Hey Chuck! I just read Crothian's review & the game sounds great. I will definetly give it a look when it comes out. Thanks Maester Luwin

 

[Vigilance]

Yeah, nothing bad about a 5 star pre-release review. Here's the link for those interested:

http://www.enworld.org/reviews.php?do=review&reviewid=2541120