Monkey Magic RuneQuest setting and others?

[TrippyHippy]

We could have fun for a while speculating on different settings that could be done with the ruleset.

This setting seems to be one of the perenially discussed topics on the 'What Should Mongoose do next' thread. It'd work very well too, as the setting is simply an Eastern version of Glorantha in many respects (anthropomorphic animals, spiritualism, etc).

Other suggestions would include, for now:

A straight Homer adaptation - Troy and the Illiad etc.
A Napoleonic setting, of some sorts.
Mad Max
Blue Planet- redone.

 

[Urox]

This thread's title is a little deceptive.

There actually magic usinig monkeys in Glorantha. Not only do you have those centered around the Monkey Ruins in Prax (who worship Grandfather Baboon), but I am pretty sure that Apple Lane has been menaced by the notorious Monkey Gang in the past...

 

[homerjsinnott]

We could have fun for a while speculating on different settings that could be done with the ruleset.

This setting seems to be one of the perenially discussed topics on the 'What Should Mongoose do next' thread. It'd work very well too, as the setting is simply an Eastern version of Glorantha in many respects (anthropomorphic animals, spiritualism, etc).

Other suggestions would include, for now:

A straight Homer adaptation - Troy and the Illiad etc.
A Napoleonic setting, of some sorts.
Mad Max
Blue Planet- redone.

Mad- Max, please no, no no no!

 

[Mark Galeotti]

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

 

[wartorn]

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.

 

[Adept]

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.

There is an absolutely brilliant game for this. Lace & Steel. Check it out if you can find it from somewhere. It has a special "duelling deck" cardgame for fencing (and repartee) and it's the most atmospheric combat system I've ever seen. It really feels like fencing.

 

[TrippyHippy]

Die Hard?

 

[Mark Galeotti]

There is an absolutely brilliant game for this. Lace & Steel. Check it out if you can find it from somewhere. It has a special "duelling deck" cardgame for fencing (and repartee) and it's the most atmospheric combat system I've ever seen. It really feels like fencing.

I confess L&S never really worked for me; I applauded the concept, but there was something about the mechanic which didn't sit well with me. Also, I like a system which can handle both the finesse of a rapier duel and the bloody, sweaty, knife in the side and thumb in the eye backstreets brawl, and L&S isn't suited for that IMO, while I think MRQ may fit the bill.

All the best

Mark

 

[Mark Galeotti]

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

 

[wartorn]

Thanks, sounds great. You'd have to have a pretty good handle on all of the subtle and overt relationships betwixt all the parties, but putting that together would be a load of fun in itself. Although I love armed conflict and all of its trappings dearly I really feel that it has held the center of attention in RPGs for far too long.

 

[homerjsinnott]

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

Hmmmm...I like it!
AEG had a great setting, 7th Sea which was set in a Renaissance world, a bit too high for my liking but the world was good.

 

[RosenMcStern]

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...

Not to be pedantic, but that would be Machiavelli and Michelangelo, not Macchiavelli and Michaelangelo :wink:

The Renaissance Italy setting was somehow "reproduced" by the Gloranthan setting of Safelster, which is usually depicted as the Gloranthan equivalent of Italian city-states in late Middle Ages and early Modern Age. I took part in a very funny PBEM campaign set in Safelster run by Jose Ramos some nine years ago, and the setting allowed for a lot of intrigues. So your idea sounds interesting, though I tend to like more "medieval" settings for my Fantasy Earth. Like your Mythic Russia, I mean

 

[Mark Galeotti]

Not to be pedantic, but that would be Machiavelli and Michelangelo, not Macchiavelli and Michaelangelo :wink:

So I'm typing in a hurry, merfle merfle, just as well you're not being pedantic, merfle merfle...

The Renaissance Italy setting was somehow "reproduced" by the Gloranthan setting of Safelster, which is usually depicted as the Gloranthan equivalent of Italian city-states in late Middle Ages and early Modern Age. I took part in a very funny PBEM campaign set in Safelster run by Jose Ramos some nine years ago, and the setting allowed for a lot of intrigues. So your idea sounds interesting, though I tend to like more "medieval" settings for my Fantasy Earth. Like your Mythic Russia, I mean

And a very fine example to use! Yes, the Renaissance Safelster setting is a nice one; I confess I have been working on trying to keep that aspect to it in the canonical Gloranthan material.

All the best

Mark

 

[Adept]

I confess L&S never really worked for me; I applauded the concept, but there was something about the mechanic which didn't sit well with me. Also, I like a system which can handle both the finesse of a rapier duel and the bloody, sweaty, knife in the side and thumb in the eye backstreets brawl, and L&S isn't suited for that IMO, while I think MRQ may fit the bill.

All the best

Mark

Interestingly enough I've run a lot of knife-fights with the system too, and it works quite nicely. Daggers are an integral part of Lace&Steel too.

Still, it isn't a generic game, and won't work for everything. Still one of my all time favorites, and a very rare game in that it works well without any modifications.

 

[Adept]

And a very fine example to use! Yes, the Renaissance Safelster setting is a nice one; I confess I have been working on trying to keep that aspect to it in the canonical Gloranthan material.

All the best

Mark

Backstabbing and political scheming doesn't need rapiers (and gunpowder). For Glorantha I hope we don't need high tech anachronisms for this. I like rapiers just fine, but for Glorantha they would be of the minoan variety

 

[Mark Galeotti]

Backstabbing and political scheming doesn't need rapiers (and gunpowder). For Glorantha I hope we don't need high tech anachronisms for this.

Who said anything about gunpowder or high tech anachronisms? That's certainly not what the Renaissance vibe of Safelster necessarily entails?

Mark

 

[TrippyHippy]

Actually, I knda feel that the Rennaissance has been done already in other games. I'd rather see something done for the Enlightenment period.

Or, more specifically the Napoleonic era....

Or maybe like the Three Muskateers.

 

[Adept]

Backstabbing and political scheming doesn't need rapiers (and gunpowder). For Glorantha I hope we don't need high tech anachronisms for this.

Who said anything about gunpowder or high tech anachronisms? That's certainly not what the Renaissance vibe of Safelster necessarily entails?

Mark

Ok. I was remembering some rapier fencing articles in an old Tradetalk.

And for those who didn't get the reference a "minoan rapier" is one of the oldest sorts of bronze sword ever found. They are long (for bronze) and slender stabbing swords, but definitely not the rapiers of renaissance.

 

[RosenMcStern]

[
Ok. I was remembering some rapier fencing articles in an old Tradetalk.

Yep. Tradetalk #2. The article was written by the Jose Ramos shortly before he started the Safelster PBEM campaign I mentioned before. It was a very popular article.

To be honest, I do not agree very much on the Safelster=Renaissance Italy parallel. I prefer a Safelster=Renaissance Germany parallel. Do not forget the importance of religious differences in Safelster, a theme that is totally absent from Italian politics but was extremely importatnt in Germany during the thirty year war period.

However, gunpowder and rapiers are not needed to create a good plot, so we can go with the renaissance equivalency even though we leave high tech weaponry to the Dwarfs.