Poll: Historical Kit & realistic rules

[Drifter Bob]

Would you be interested in a suppliment which included historical weapons and armor from various eras: bronze age, classical (greek and roman), dark ages, viking era, medieval, and renaissance, as well as Eastern (indian, chinese, and japanese weapons). Realistic portrayals of such equipment have yet to be seen in role playing games. Is the community ready for this now? Would you like to see it?

To compliment this, would you like to see Rules which easily incorporated features such as weapon effects on attack and defense, armor as damage reduction, defensive fighting abilities, and feats based on actual fighting technques from the Masters, and interpreted by historical martial artists?

 

[Aaron L]

I would.

 

[Mouseferatu]

Would you be interested in a suppliment which included historical weapons and armor from various eras: bronze age, classical (greek and roman), dark ages, viking era, medieval, and renaissance, as well as Eastern (indian, chinese, and japanese weapons). Realistic portrayals of such equipment have yet to be seen in role playing games. Is the community ready for this now? Would you like to see it?

Check out From Stone to Steel, from MonkeyGod Enterprises. It's 3.0, true, but it's pretty much exactly what you're talking about.

Unless, by realistic, you're talking about adding brand new rules for things like weapon type vs. armor type rules, random chance for weapon breakage, modifications to weapon strength based on the sophistication of the forging process, and other such things. In which case, on a purely personal level, the answer is "Nah." Game's complicated enough already, thanks.

Just my take, though.

 

[I'm A Banana]

I've got From Stone to Steel which does it all. Admittedly, there are some choices the designers made that I wouldn't have, but purely for descriptive purposes of the breadth and width of weaponry and defenses of humankind, From Stone to Steel is great. So you can have that exotic culture calling their wierd-lookin' dohickey something close to authentic.

 

[Crothian]

Check out From Stone to Steel, from MonkeyGod Enterprises. It's 3.0, true, but it's pretty much exactly what you're talking about.

its be updated for 3.5

 

[Drifter Bob]

With all due respect to monkeygods, this would have a slightly different emphasis. A more hard core functional perspective if you will, based on the historical fencing manuals and western and eastern martial arts techniques as practiced by the masters, interpreted by modern historical swordsmen. Not so much an examination of cultures, as an examination of fighting, how it was really done, how it really worked, how to really win.

In terms of the kit, in the spirit of D&D this is still reflected in an abstracted manner, but some provision is made to differentiate weapons in terms of attack and defense ability, and an alternate (quite simple) critical hit system allows different weapons to effect armor differently.

The feats and combat rules are designed to fit with D20, but allow for the actual feel and tactical flow of real hand to hand combat, without detracting from the heroic feel of D&D.

DB

 

[Drifter Bob]

the other idea is to break it up into a basic rules system, and several differnt small pdf's for different eras, so if you are only interested in romans or vikings for example, you don't have to bother with renaissance or indian stuff.

DB

 

[Aaron L]

I'd like feat chains representing different shools of combat, maybe leading into short (3 level) prestige classes for the absolute top students of a method.

 

[Umbran]

Realistic portrayals of such equipment have yet to be seen in role playing games. Is the community ready for this now? Would you like to see it?

I think there's a very good reason why we don't see such things. Real-world heroism doesn't fit well into a game of heroic action - picayune details slow down the action and the story. The combat system is very abstract, and that doesn't mesh with "realistic" portrayal of equipment.

Is the community ready for it? Perhaps - it isnt' like we're going to put together a lynch mob if you write it or anything. Would I like to see it? No. It sounds like too much detail that serves little dramatic purpose.

 

[Arnwyn]

I'm not interested in any of that stuff. (No interest in "realism" in my D&D game in any way, shape, or form.)