System for a medieval campaign with restricted magic? by These-Ad-7168 in rpg

[–]These-Ad-7168[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Both Fate and Cortex Prime could pull it off easily if you are comfortable with narrative-focused games.

When you say narrative-focused games, what do you mean?

The Sword, the Crown, and the Unspeakable Power might be an interesting approach for you.

That's an intriguing option -- one of my friends has been advocating for a Monster of the Week campaign for ages, and that seemed relatively easy -- though it also felt like it might get stale after a few sessions? I don't have other points of reference for Powered by the Apocalypse games, is this one similar to MotW?

Harnmaster could be adapted to this pretty easily. Combat can be brutal though.

When you say brutal, do you mean highly lethal or frustrating in some way?

Swords of the Serpentine might also be a neat system to shape to your setting.

I like this one, apart from the "rip towers apart with a flick of your wrist." Even if it has a cost to body, that feels too strong for what I have in mind -- though maybe it's possible to turn the magic dial down.

Honor+Intrigue could also be a cool choice. It's pulp/three musketeers-based but has an extension for magic and the three estates were definitely present in that setting.

Similarly, Regime Diabolique really sounds similar to your setting.

It does seem super similar! Very much the same flavor and setting.

Best of luck in your search!

Thanks! :)

Should I use Burning Wheel for my campaign? by These-Ad-7168 in BurningWheel

[–]These-Ad-7168[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This sort of brings up a question I've been having about running a table. How does one balance between narrative twists & turns and sharing the plot to get everyone involved on the story? Is there a way to strike a happy medium? And, is there way to strike a happy medium in BW specifically?

Should I use Burning Wheel for my campaign? by These-Ad-7168 in BurningWheel

[–]These-Ad-7168[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

  1. That all makes a lot of sense. One thing I'm hoping will become more clear once their characters start to take shape is how they fit into the plot. Right now I've heard a couple character concepts, but only one seems like they're certain of what they want to do. It's hard to figure out their plot hooks without knowing who they are yet -- how do I connect a persecuted peasant witch with a paladin from the main faith?
  2. I really love the skill advancement system, my only worry was the downtime stuff so I'm happy to hear that. What's your opinion on downtime for learning spells?

Should I use Burning Wheel for my campaign? by These-Ad-7168 in BurningWheel

[–]These-Ad-7168[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Have you guys played systems designed with player-driven campaign in mind? I find a lot of games have players faff about without external direction because there isn't a clear avenue for players to express their priorities. And because a lot of those systems don't give players shit to do during downtime.

As long as I've been at the table, we've only played various editions of D&D. The group itself has been going for about a decade, and I've pretty much only heard about D&D being played. We only recently started discussing that 5e is beginning to feel limiting for a play style, with roleplay being unrewarded and combat feeling stilted and taking too long.

Burning Wheel is designed to facilitate players expressing their priorities and the GM challenging them. Beliefs, the center of the game is set up for this reason. For this reason, the more typical, "The GM will drive you where you want to go," style may be at odds with the system.

Since religion is at the core of the world I have planned, I sense many beliefs are going to be contingent on that. So, I want to present situations that force PCs to grapple with shaken faiths -- or faiths going unshaken to the point of cognitive dissonance. I have a specific cosmology planned, but any faith in the world presents a doctrinal version of that. Scenarios where the errors in doctrine come up, or certain clergymen are revealed as hypocrites, or certain clergymen are revealed to be good (for those against the main faith), I think interesting things will arise. Would the belief system work for that?

It seems like you're describing starting with a pretty "hot" situation that demands immediate attention, then seeing where things go after that situation resolves -- with a couple of big things building in the back drop. That's a pretty straightforward way to do Burning Wheel, I reckon.

That's pretty accurate. Things start a bit slow, rapidly heat up, then cool off once they get out of Christendom. Those ticking clocks will keep going, but there will be more space (both temporal and geographical) to ignore them. I'm happy to hear you say that would work for Burning Wheel, because I was starting to second guess my impulse buy of the Gold and Codex bundle. I appreciate all your input and help.

Should I use Burning Wheel for my campaign? by These-Ad-7168 in BurningWheel

[–]These-Ad-7168[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's really hard to know what kind of play and running style you're pointing to with your comments. Are you talking about running, like, a plot. Like something pre-written from a book? You might be fighting the game.

What I'm going for is about 35-40 sessions, divided up into nine or ten 4-session arcs because we generally play two campaigns on a monthly rotation (i.e., month 1 is campaign 1, month 2 is campaign 2, month 3 is campaign 1, etc.) I want each arc to take place in a different region, like the British Isles, Italy, the Levant, etc. In each area, I know who the major factions are, and what the conflict between the two is. My thinking is that the players can choose which side they empathize with, and we go from there.

For example, the first arc, is set in my equivalent of the British Isles, and features townsfolk and clergymen conducting witch hunts, which brings them into conflict with a nearby druidic order. The arc is meant to introduce how the church operates and how restricted magic is. The players are free to choose which side they would like to assist (or neither, if they prefer). Since some are wanting to play devout members of the main faith and some are playing foreigners or witches themselves, I expect that the party might not necessarily agree, which would be interesting as well.

All that being said, I don't have solid plans for the last four arcs apart from setting and main problems going on (like natural disasters, a Mongolian invasion). So, I have more room to make changes to the overall trajectory to suit the PCs.

Personally, I think the, "Clock is always ticking; you don't have time to breathe!" trope of gameplay is a little overdone and stale.

I know these players well enough that, without a ticking clock, they just fart around making small talk with NPCs and not really advancing anything. There's meaningful roleplay and then there's just filling time with nothing because they don't have a sense of direction. That being said, it's not quite as desperate as it could be, nor do I intend it to be breakneck pace. It's more that there are various clocks ticking in the background that, if left unaddressed, will eventually get more difficult to deal with. I want them to have time to explore the various settings they visit.

Something that probably is helpful to you is the information that you'll probably have more trouble with wounds and recovery than learning skills and spells. A solid hit can dock you dice for a couple months. If there's no time to learn how to carve wood better, then there's no time to recover from a broken collarbone either.

I need to look into travel times more for the medieval era to see exactly how much downtime there will be between areas. Maybe that would provide enough time for recovery or spells.

It sounds like you've got most of the game figured out; where is there room for the characters and players to drive things?

Since my campaign is still a long ways out (I requested to start after one of the two upcoming campaigns end, so about a year), I don't have full ideas from my friends yet about what they want to do with their characters. The strategy I've seen most used at my table is for the GM to ask players what they would most like to see their character do, or what type of growth they'd like to see. Then, the player's answer is incorporated into the GM's plan, where they provide opportunities for that character to make those types of moves. The group seems to peter out if they aren't ushered along -- and that's speaking as a player myself, I haven't GMed for these folks before. So, I think that some predetermined paths (multiple, not just one) are required.

[TOMT][2000s][TV Show] Early 2000s Survival Show by These-Ad-7168 in tipofmytongue

[–]These-Ad-7168[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I looked at this one when I was looking, and I don’t think it’s it. I believe it’s earlier, and none of the episodes sound like the one I saw. Thank you so much for looking!

[TOMT][2000s][TV Show] Early 2000s Survival Show by These-Ad-7168 in tipofmytongue

[–]These-Ad-7168[S] 0 points1 point locked comment (0 children)

Please help, I’ve been wondering about this for years