OGL Ancients Question

[Golem2176]

How easy or hard would it be to use OGL Ancients to run a Hercules/Xena type campaign?

 

[Yuan-Ti]

Halfway through the book... Easy.

 

[Seroster]

Other than playing fast & loose with history and mythology, what do you think a game needs to support for a Hercules/Xena game?

Seriously... I want to know. I think most everything can probably be covered, from what I remember of the shows, provided you have characters of high enough level - i.e. Hercules and Xena ARE pretty high level, such that Xena can do those huge leaps and bounce chakrams off of walls to hit things. Maybe there are character definition things d20 doesn't have?

There ISN'T any coverage of Rome, China, or other more outlandish places that Herc and Xena visited, if that's a problem.

 

[Golem2176]

Other than playing fast & loose with history and mythology, what do you think a game needs to support for a Hercules/Xena game?

Probably not much. Some info on the Olympian pantheon, and probably rules/guidelines for playing a half-god character. Also, low magic rules. That should cover it.

 

[Seroster]

Other than playing fast & loose with history and mythology, what do you think a game needs to support for a Hercules/Xena game?

Probably not much. Some info on the Olympian pantheon, and probably rules/guidelines for playing a half-god character. Also, low magic rules. That should cover it.

Check, check, and check, although I'm not sure I'd call the system in OGL Ancients necessarily low magic.

One thing the game doesn't have is actual stats for the Olympic deities. So if you wanted your heroes to actually fight a god (which I think happens in some of the Herc/Xena episodes?), you'd have to make your own stats, or maybe the ones in Deities & Demigods would be appropriate, I don't know.

 

[Golem2176]

I do own Deities and Demigods. The stats in there should be fine, just modified a bit. Anyway you say check on the topic roleplaying half-god characters. Is that info open content?

 

[Seroster]

I do own Deities and Demigods. The stats in there should be fine, just modified a bit. Anyway you say check on the topic roleplaying half-god characters. Is that info open content?

Practically the whole book is OGL.

Those who have divine blood get 2 points of bonuses to ability scores, +2 to Prayer checks for their parents, and are considered beloved by their parent god, while despised by another. e.g. Heracles was Zeus' favourite but hated by Hera.

The effects of active divine patronage are larger, but with a nastier "tragic flaw" (e.g. invulnerability, or godlike accuracy... but you could be despised by 3 gods or accidentally hit your allies on any roll of 1.) Heracles pretty much had Athene as a patron, although maybe not in the TV show...

 

[trancejeremy]

There actually was a Hercules/Xena RPG, out several years ago from West End Games. It used the D6 legend system. Pretty decent. Should be able to get it cheap on ebay for $10 or so.

(Not that you shouldn't buy OGL Ancients as well. But Hercules/Xena was cinematic and campy, OGL A is more mythic)

 

[Golem2176]

Thank you for chiming in trancejeremy, but I am aware of the Xena and Hercules games. I saw them at my local comic shop before it went out of business. However, I do want something more mythic for my d20 gaming. Besides, I'm not looking to recreate Xena/Hercules, I'm looking for something similar to it, just toned down a bit with the added perk of being able to play a half-god character.