Purchasing suggestions..

[Aus_Snow]

Ack, don't get me started on these books .

AFAIAC though, it would come down to three (note: I own most of the books on your list, and all of the following): A Game of Thrones, Conan, and Thieves' World.

At the moment, I'm particularly enamoured with A Game of Thrones for many reasons, and Thieves' World for others. I'm using parts of Thieves' World already, and I would say it's worth every penny. A Game of Thrones I am wanting to use ASAP, it's that good. Conan I've used as a complete package, also parts of, and it's awesome fun either way.

Ideally, you'd want to work your way through purchasing most (if not all) of the list's contents. I mean, you don't need to get them all at once.

How would you rate your recommendations on how they deal with: 1) combat (I like armour as DR and an alternative to hit points e.g. damage save or reserve points, just to give you a taste for my preferences) 2) magic 3) fluff 4) adaptability to a low-magic, fantasy setting.

1) A Game of Thrones has the most seemingly (haven't tried it out yet) well-designed combat system I've seen in d20 so far, incorporating Armour as DR, a shock effect from taking certain amounts of damage, and many other appropriate things. Conan does what it does well too, which is S&S combat, naturally enough - it also has Armour as DR, but quite a different take on its implementation. Thieves' World keeps the combat rules essentially core, but adds in smaller MDTs (ouch), 'severe injuries' (ouch), and infection (um yeah, ouch).

2) AGoT is very minimal (in comparison with core D&D or AE, say) with its magic, as you'd expect. Conan is quite dark, and somewhat more minimal than standard D&D with its interpretation, again as you'd expect. I didn't know what to expect from TW, as I haven't read the books yet. There's quite a bit of magic there, but it utilises mana and rituals, as well as other changes.

3) Each of these books is well-written for its particular purpose, contains some excellent descriptive sections, and provides enough ideas, hooks, suggestions etc. to last many, many campaigns, I would think - whether you choose to use the default settings or not.

4) All great for the job (along with GT and IH), though in truth Conan and AGoT are 'lower magic' than TW. In terms of magic proliferation/power, it'd be TW > Conan > AGoT.


So, on the basis of 4), A Game of Thrones OGL and Conan OGL would be the two I'd suggest to you, given your criteria. *phew* Finally got there.


By the way, have you checked out the reviews that are out there, even right here on EN World? If not, I'd strongly suggest doing so. Good luck, and I hope you end up happy with your choices!

 

[amethal]

Hi all.. if you could recommend two purchases from the following list, what would they be? I've pulled this list from the many positive reviews I've read on this site for these products. I didn't include Grim Tales, Arcana Evolved, or Iron Heroes (all excellent), since I already own these products.

Conan d20
Mutants & Masterminds 2
Spycraft 2.0
Game of Thrones
True 20
Thieves' World
Blue Rose
Black Company

How would you rate your recommendations on how they deal with: 1) combat (I like armour as DR and an alternative to hit points e.g. damage save or reserve points, just to give you a taste for my preferences) 2) magic 3) fluff 4) adaptability to a low-magic, fantasy setting.

As a footnote, the game doesn't have to be 'gritty' (i.e. combat is exceptionally lethal, even to high level characters), but if it is, that's OK.

Would you believe that I only have two of those on your list. Makes me wonder where has all my gaming money been going this year ....

True 20 and Blue Rose use very similar mechanics, I'll consider them together.

They use the damage save, which some people like and some people don't. There's a comfort zone in D&D about knowing how many hit points you have left - sometimes its a false comfort zone, such as just before the ogre crits you with his greataxe - and the damage save takes away from this. Having to keep track of wound levels can be a bit of a nuisance as well. Its definitely different to D&D combat, so looks like you'd see that as a plus.

The magic systems vary between the two, in that Blue Rose has "bad" magic i.e. sorcery whereas True 20 doesn't. I like the way magic has been toned down - you won't find any 10d6 fireballs here - but also made more "realistic". Once the caster has spent time and energy learning a spell (in game terms, spending a feat), it can be cast as often as desired. However, using magic is tiring, so the more spells you cast the more likley you are to become fatigued and eventually exhausted. This strikes me as the way magic "ought" to work, but I appreciate the absurdity of that statement.

True 20 / Blue Rose is therefore ideal for a low magic game since you can restrict access to the spell feats - indeed, if you wanted a high magic game there would a fair bit of work involved beefing up the spells.

Regarding the fluff, True 20 doesn't have any. At all. This will change once the setting search has been completed, but we have no way of knowing what three settings will win. I imagine at least one of them will be suitable for a low magic fantasy game, but who knows?

Blue Rose has plenty of fluff, but its the sort of fluff that puts people off. A roleplaying game of romantic fantasy? Yuck!

Personally, I think it would provide a nice change of pace but no one I know has any interest in playing it.

Note that "romantic" is used in the wider sense of the word, so as a result I'm not really sure what it means. I'd take a stab at it by saying that its about character growth and emotional fulfilment, whilst protecting utopia from those evil or misguided people who are threatening it. With talking animals. Its a setting where everyone is supposed to be nice. Grim and gritty it ain't.

 

[Ulorian - Agent of Chaos]

Great stuff! Some interesting comments here.. I'll distill and analyse later today when I have a bit more time. Keep it coming!

 

[Ulorian - Agent of Chaos]

Okay, looks like Black Company is a no brainer based on the recommendations here. I didn't like the fact that Thieves' World has D&D combat with a few tack-ons (thanks for the tip, Aus_Snow). I'm reading the new George Martin book, so I will probably go with A Game of Thrones.. otherwise, Conan would be my other purchase.

Thanks to all who responded.