Zweihander - Grim and Perilous RPG

[Scott Christian]

I just picked up and read the rulebook this weekend (physical copy). Does anyone have experience running this? If so, what did you think, and are there any do's or don'ts you might recommend? Thanks in advance.

PS - I am really digging the magic system in it, although I can see how it is definitely not for everyone. Kind of like, all of character creation.

 

[AOieiosle]

Be clear that combat is deadly to players - and remind them it's a good idea to bank a single AP. So they'll spend 2 and keep 1 AP for Reactions like Parry/Dodge.

Secondly, the usage of Turn/Round can get muddled. Just houserule that for whatever makes the most sense.

Have fun . I've been playing it since the first kickstarter and really enjoy it.

 

[Jd Smith1]

11 sessions in, and my group (None had heard of it before they joined) and I are loving it. We're using a modified Harn as the setting.

Slow has very good points. My group of five doesn't include a spellcaster, but they have a barber/surgeon, and are surviving. It is a very tough combat system, but very easy to learn. We play online, and Roll20 supports the system.

I use the added damage optional rule, and fights are fast and brutal; you need a group that will stick together and cover each other or PCs will die. The healing system is a little complicated at first glance, but if you pay close attention to the difference between 'damage' and 'injury' it's not hard.

Just a really good game in all particulars. At the moment my players are moving to Intermediate Tier professions, and they are having intense discussions about options and choices. The penalties for communication between social classes really spices things up and makes it easy to draw the entire group in (hopefully they make up a mix of social classes). I have been using War Hammer and MERP-based scenarios, and the players are having a great time.

To keep combat flowing faster, I have a cheat sheet with the PC's Peril and Damage thresholds listed, so I can give the players actual effects.

 

[TheSword]

Sorry, not played it.

if I want Grim and Perilous I go to the source material.

 

[Scott Christian]

11 sessions in, and my group (None had heard of it before they joined) and I are loving it. We're using a modified Harn as the setting.

Slow has very good points. My group of five doesn't include a spellcaster, but they have a barber/surgeon, and are surviving. It is a very tough combat system, but very easy to learn. We play online, and Roll20 supports the system.

I use the added damage optional rule, and fights are fast and brutal; you need a group that will stick together and cover each other or PCs will die. The healing system is a little complicated at first glance, but if you pay close attention to the difference between 'damage' and 'injury' it's not hard.

Just a really good game in all particulars. At the moment my players are moving to Intermediate Tier professions, and they are having intense discussions about options and choices. The penalties for communication between social classes really spices things up and makes it easy to draw the entire group in (hopefully they make up a mix of social classes). I have been using War Hammer and MERP-based scenarios, and the players are having a great time.

To keep combat flowing faster, I have a cheat sheet with the PC's Peril and Damage thresholds listed, so I can give the players actual effects.

Excellent to hear. Thanks for the information. And second tier choices, just based off reading the rulebook, seem daunting for the players. But daunting in a good way. Thanks again.

 

[Hand of Evil]

Enjoy it, run it in a homebrewed setting. It ca be tough for players to get use to the combat system. Take the time to get a feel for combat and healing. Also, think about your setting, Warhammer works well as do some others.

Waiting to see how Blackbirds is.

 

[Jd Smith1]

Enjoy it, run it in a homebrewed setting. It ca be tough for players to get use to the combat system. Take the time to get a feel for combat and healing. Also, think about your setting, Warhammer works well as do some others.

Waiting to see how Blackbirds is.

The learning curve is much easier playing online, where the players can see the math after just clicking a button.

 

[Betamaxer]

Been playing for years. I find that I shouldn't try to take anything I've run and make it more challenging even if I think the players will walk through a challenge easily. Sometimes what I think will be easy ends up being quite the challenge, as dice exploding can have pretty dire consequences. One time I made a player use a fate point by tossing a rock that exploded several times.

Another thing I noticed just as a personal opinion is I don't use misfortune to turn Chaos dice into sixes on injury. As a player it's fun, but as a GM, I only had to do it once to feel like it wasn't earned. To each their own though

 

[Jd Smith1]

Been playing for years. I find that I shouldn't try to take anything I've run and make it more challenging even if I think the players will walk through a challenge easily. Sometimes what I think will be easy ends up being quite the challenge, as dice exploding can have pretty dire consequences. One time I made a player use a fate point by tossing a rock that exploded several times.

Another thing I noticed just as a personal opinion is I don't use misfortune to turn Chaos dice into sixes on injury. As a player it's fun, but as a GM, I only had to do it once to feel like it wasn't earned. To each their own though

I use them just for re-rolls. The players do likewise. But the party is very wary about the entire business.

Don't tell me about explosions. I had a player drop a basilisk in its track with a single arrow, fired at Hard. If we had't been using Roll20, I would have suspected his veracity.

 

[Scott Christian]

Been playing for years. I find that I shouldn't try to take anything I've run and make it more challenging even if I think the players will walk through a challenge easily. Sometimes what I think will be easy ends up being quite the challenge, as dice exploding can have pretty dire consequences. One time I made a player use a fate point by tossing a rock that exploded several times.

Another thing I noticed just as a personal opinion is I don't use misfortune to turn Chaos dice into sixes on injury. As a player it's fun, but as a GM, I only had to do it once to feel like it wasn't earned. To each their own though

Thank you for the advice. I was thinking of limiting the GM's chaos dice. But wasn't sure.

To everyone, thank you so much for the advice given. Very insightful. And the theme of combat is definitely noted.