Using Iron Heroes for an Epic Fantasy setting?

[shadow]

I've been trying to design a homebrew setting for years, but unfortunately no published version of D&D really fit my vision. Several things bugged me about D&D assumptions: the reliance on magic items, the weird and irreconcilable arcane/divine divide, characters getting too many magic or "supernatural" using characters. 4th edition D&D threw out a number of traditions, but still the same high magic setting exists (except now all characters have a limited number of daily powers). I envision a setting somewhat like the high fantasy of Tolkien and David Eddings - magic exists, it can be powerful, but it is often subtle and rare. Characters fight not with magic items and special "powers", but with superior training and a destiny (although a few cool maneuvers and an occasional, rare epic item don't hurt).

I took a brief look at Iron Heroes and liked what I saw - characters not defined by a complete party role, but rather combat style which could allow more customization in role playing IMHO (e.g. - Does anyone ever play the cleric as anything other than a priest or holy man? Not in games that I've played in at least.) I also like the option of playing powerful heroes in a lower magic setting.

My question is how well the rules can be adopted to a high fantasy setting. Iron Heroes is explicitly written toward Sword and Sorcery style play which in many ways is the antithesis of High Fantasy. I'm looking for clear morality/Good vs. Evil, characters on epic quests, and the occasional, powerful epic adversary. Can Iron Heroes handle that style of game without completely rewriting the rules? How would I handle non-human races in Iron Heroes (elves and dwarves in the style of Tolkien). Also, what about the magic system? (I've been thinking of adapting Green Ronin's True Sorcery. Could that work with Iron Heroes?) What are some simple things I could do to adapt Iron Heroes to my setting to reflect high fantasy better?

 

[Khairn]

My question is how well the rules can be adopted to a high fantasy setting. Iron Heroes is explicitly written toward Sword and Sorcery style play which in many ways is the antithesis of High Fantasy. I'm looking for clear morality/Good vs. Evil, characters on epic quests, and the occasional, powerful epic adversary. Can Iron Heroes handle that style of game without completely rewriting the rules? How would I handle non-human races in Iron Heroes (elves and dwarves in the style of Tolkien). Also, what about the magic system? (I've been thinking of adapting Green Ronin's True Sorcery. Could that work with Iron Heroes?) What are some simple things I could do to adapt Iron Heroes to my setting to reflect high fantasy better?

Having played the system on a few occasions I would say that yes, it would be a very good match for the vision you describe. When it comes to a "low / rare" magic system, it provides a less gritty and more heroic adventure feel.

The original magic system offered in 1st edition IH is clearly incomplete. At least the author Mike Mearls thought so. I added the very excellent "Elements of Magic" for my magic system and it worked beautifully. EoM from EN Publishing allowed me to really tweak the magic system so that it fit perfectly into the vision that I wanted.

Adding fantasy races are not a problem and new classes weren't that difficult to create either. Adding magic items really can alter the power scale of the party, so I would be very careful when introducing them.

 

[Spikes]

As for a powerful epic adversary, try pitting a dragon or really Big and Mean Monster (tm) against the party. Oh, and play Shadow of the Colossus.

When we defended the central metropolis against an invasion of orcs and a dragon "distraction", the fight started atop the stone palissades. A ballista, some siege ladders and the bull rush rules doesn't quite sum up what happened:

As my character, an unarmed harrier, I summersaulted onto the dragons back then remained onto its back with nice balance checks opposed to the dragon's base attack bonus check. I then proceeded to run along its wings then backflip over its head, striking it as a "charge" (with harrier movement bonuses) when I landed. A few rounds later, I unfortunately jumped out of the dragon's general area to help a dying executionner against an orc captain. I ran onto the dragon's neck, then landed straight onto the flanking square. Next turn the executionner did a crit with sneak attack against the captain!

I then proceeded to use the nearby ballista to shoot the captain--but rolled poorly on my 5d6 of damage (AND he succeeded at his reflex save, halving the damage).

The orc captain was really messed around with thanks to our resident armiger (with juggernaut feat tree) who gets his armor roll (1d8+6) as a bonus during charges. Bull rush + palissade at 60ft height = dead captain.

This is just a small example of how Iron Heroes makes for awesome, flavorful and "like the movies" feeling when you play an RPG.