SemperJase
First Post
Steve Conan Trustrum said:
I believe that Lewis did not intentionally write these stories as allegory. At the same time it is a great example of how one's internal beliefs will generally be evident in one's writings.
Narnia d20?
- Thread starter Capellan
- Start date
I believe that Lewis did not intentionally write these stories as allegory. At the same time it is a great example of how one's internal beliefs will generally be evident in one's writings.
Animal Characters
For anyone interested in playing Animal Characters, I started another thread with my ideas on Animal Classes.
For anyone interested in playing Animal Characters, I started another thread with my ideas on Animal Classes.
Capellan
Explorer
Re: Narnia RPG
1. Rolemaster: Narnia, anyone?
. I'd definitely agree with the need to keep it simple, but I think d20 - pared down - could work for it. The underlining mechanic of d20 is consistent and easy to understand, after all. I'd probably do the following:
There'd probably be more, but you get the idea.
2. I agree that the Christian overtones are an intrinsic part of the Narnian 'feel'. Just look at the motivation for all the adventures in Narnia: it's about helping people, rather than amassing lots of money and power. You'd need to be careful about how you did it, though.
KDLadage said:
1. Rolemaster: Narnia, anyone?
. I'd definitely agree with the need to keep it simple, but I think d20 - pared down - could work for it. The underlining mechanic of d20 is consistent and easy to understand, after all. I'd probably do the following:- 'condense' the skill list, and set standard DCs for all skills (maybe 10 easy, 15 average, 20 hard)
- remove spellcasters from the list of playable PCs
- simplify combat (you can move and attack, no AoOs etc)
- keep levels relatively low (1-5, tops)
- merge race and class (so you could play a Badger, or a Marshwigglwe, but not a Badger Barbarian/Bard.)
There'd probably be more, but you get the idea.
2. I agree that the Christian overtones are an intrinsic part of the Narnian 'feel'. Just look at the motivation for all the adventures in Narnia: it's about helping people, rather than amassing lots of money and power. You'd need to be careful about how you did it, though.
Capellan
Explorer
Narnia TPKs
To be honest I think that PC death of any kind would be rather contrary to the Narnian 'feel'. I don't know if fiudging per se would be necessary though (not that I have any qualms about doing it, mind you). It might be easier simply to adopt the standard assumption of the Hercules & Xena game, which is that - despite the swords and axes and such - combat is not generally fatal. Injuries happen, but rarely any fatalities (except, of course, to evil people ).
It might also be worthwhile to introduce some kind of 'Fate Point', or 'Benny' mechanic, a la WFRP or Weird Wars.
willpax said:As far as the idea of Narnia d20 as an introduction to roleplaying: I think it has some compelling advantages that have been mentioned. You will probably also want to fudge things so the rolls don't get in the way of the story (I don't think a total party kill would be the best introduction to d20)
To be honest I think that PC death of any kind would be rather contrary to the Narnian 'feel'. I don't know if fiudging per se would be necessary though (not that I have any qualms about doing it, mind you). It might be easier simply to adopt the standard assumption of the Hercules & Xena game, which is that - despite the swords and axes and such - combat is not generally fatal. Injuries happen, but rarely any fatalities (except, of course, to evil people
).It might also be worthwhile to introduce some kind of 'Fate Point', or 'Benny' mechanic, a la WFRP or Weird Wars.
Left-handed Hummingbird
First Post
Instead of PCs dying - they might just leave Narnia and return to the real world. That would go better with kids, I think. Especially if they are more or less roleplaying themselves in the story.
I agree that Narnia D20 would be a very good way of debunking a lot D&D myths, and I think it would be very playable. The genre of the game might be slightly different from the standard D&D: As stated above; no player wizards or clerics and much fewer magic items. And Aslan and Tash as deus ex machinas popping in from time to time.
I agree that Narnia D20 would be a very good way of debunking a lot D&D myths, and I think it would be very playable. The genre of the game might be slightly different from the standard D&D: As stated above; no player wizards or clerics and much fewer magic items. And Aslan and Tash as deus ex machinas popping in from time to time.
Left-handed Hummingbird
First Post
Nope. Sure enough isn't. But it could be Narnia d20, though.hong said:
My thoughts exactly. Or rather - sorta like Drizzt.hong said:
Would it be very playable? It certainly isn't as easy to create a Narnian adventure as it is to populate a dungeon with monsters and say, "go get 'em!" (I'm not saying it would be unplayable, simply that hack-n-slash D&D is extremely playable.)
Is a deus ex machina a good thing? If Aslan's appearance comes as a direct result of your good gameplay (e.g. making ethical decisions raises your Piety Index, allowing you to summon Aslan), then it makes for a good game (conceivably). If gods appear just to remind you how insignificant you are, it may teach a theological lesson, but it's certainly not good game design.
I think this is a GREAT idea, especially for young (ages 10-14), impressionable roleplayers with an adult DM. Having them play themselves, adventuring in the Land of Narnia, is particularly wonderful.
Simplifying the 3E D&D rules for this is essential. Here are some ideas, right off the top of my head...
* Get rid of AoO's and the rules for bleeding.
* Devise some simple alternative for the system that uses partial actions, move equivalent actions, free actions, etc.
* Instead of a PC dying when he reaches -10 HPs, have his Narnian self disappear and the player reappear as his true self, back in the real world. For young players, a PC's "death" should only be a minor setback for the group and/or a sort of a "timeout" for the player.
* Don't use alignments. Instead, the players should handle moral situations and make choices based on how they, themselves, would handle and make them, if they were to encounter such situations and choices in real life.
* Since the players will be playing themselves, the only PC race to be used will be humans. That's simple enough.
* It's probably best to use only the following PC classes: fighter, rogue, cleric, and maybe bard.
* If using clerics and bards, go through their spell lists and omit those that do not fit in with the Narnia setting.
* When the players enter Narnia for the first time with their characters, have them pass through some sort of keep or castle, where their starting equipment is laid out for them on tables and racks. (As I recall, one of the Narnia books somewhat started this way. Was it "Prince Caspain"?) Throw in some equipment that has no immediate or obvious use, but will come in quite handy, somewhere down the road, within the first game session or two.
* Someone else's idea: Condense the skill list, and set standard DCs for all skills (10 easy, 15 average, 20 hard).
* Again, someone else's idea: Keep PC levels low (1-5).
* As DM, declare that when PCs advance beyond 5th level, they have "grown up", and can no longer adventure in Narnia. (This is in keeping with the spirit of the books.) If players want to continue beyond that, they must play themselves again, only this time as different character classes, starting again at 1st level. When the players return to Narnia with their new characters, a considerable amount of time should have gone by in Narnia, introducing them to a whole new era.
Simplifying the 3E D&D rules for this is essential. Here are some ideas, right off the top of my head...
* Get rid of AoO's and the rules for bleeding.
* Devise some simple alternative for the system that uses partial actions, move equivalent actions, free actions, etc.
* Instead of a PC dying when he reaches -10 HPs, have his Narnian self disappear and the player reappear as his true self, back in the real world. For young players, a PC's "death" should only be a minor setback for the group and/or a sort of a "timeout" for the player.
* Don't use alignments. Instead, the players should handle moral situations and make choices based on how they, themselves, would handle and make them, if they were to encounter such situations and choices in real life.
* Since the players will be playing themselves, the only PC race to be used will be humans. That's simple enough.
* It's probably best to use only the following PC classes: fighter, rogue, cleric, and maybe bard.
* If using clerics and bards, go through their spell lists and omit those that do not fit in with the Narnia setting.
* When the players enter Narnia for the first time with their characters, have them pass through some sort of keep or castle, where their starting equipment is laid out for them on tables and racks. (As I recall, one of the Narnia books somewhat started this way. Was it "Prince Caspain"?) Throw in some equipment that has no immediate or obvious use, but will come in quite handy, somewhere down the road, within the first game session or two.
* Someone else's idea: Condense the skill list, and set standard DCs for all skills (10 easy, 15 average, 20 hard).
* Again, someone else's idea: Keep PC levels low (1-5).
* As DM, declare that when PCs advance beyond 5th level, they have "grown up", and can no longer adventure in Narnia. (This is in keeping with the spirit of the books.) If players want to continue beyond that, they must play themselves again, only this time as different character classes, starting again at 1st level. When the players return to Narnia with their new characters, a considerable amount of time should have gone by in Narnia, introducing them to a whole new era.
Last edited:
