wartorn said:
Mark Galeotti said:
I still like the idea of using RQ for Renaissance Italy -- the combat rules should permit the thrust and parry of duelling, while the special abilities could easily be tweaked to allow for social combat and the like. And what a cast of NPCs! Da Vinci, Macchiavelli, Cesare annd Lucrezia Borgia, Cardinal della Rovere, Michaelangelo...
All the best
Mark
Sounds great! What is 'social combat'? Using dice rolls to model the ebb and flow of debate? - could you give me an example - sounds like an interesting idea.
I was playing with two approaches. The first would be a major hack, allowing social combat to work just like its physical counterpart: characters have certain core skills (such as Conversationalist, Orator, Seducer and Bully) which are appropriate for different situations, and instead of weapons, a list of approaches, each of which has its 'damage', etc ratings as per weapons. For example, a Coy Glance would be less 'damaging' that a 'Declaration of Love.' 'Hit points' would reflect willpower. While the 'combat' is under way, the GM keeps note of the tactics the players use, because the more powerful approaches would then get worked into the story -- sure, publicly declaring your love for the prince might help get your brother off the executioner's block, but as far as the prince is concerned, you are panting for his body, and as far as your fiance is concerned, you have just shamed him before the court...
That's a pretty full-on approach. A lighter one would be to have an especially rich and broad range of socially-oriented special abilities. These need not be linked to social skills, either -- for example, having a high Sword skill and DEX might allow you the precision to, in effect, use it to carve items in a damatic way, like Zorro and his Z or being able to topiary a hedge into a heart in a few quick strokes... Silly, but in my experience, players like silly and showy
(I know I do)
Then again, for a Renaissance game I'd also replace most of the magic, except some alchemical/astrological stuff, with advanced social and other gambits that become almost magical in their effectiveness -- think of da Vinci's ability to divine the workings of engines, or Macchiavelli's political acumen. It's more interesting, I would say, to have a range of abilities to which players can aspire than just say, 'oh, they have very high INT.'
All the best
Mark