SWASHBUCKLING ROLEPLAYING GAMES PC

For example, the PC has four scores (Bravery, Chivalry, Romance, Physique), and each is assigned a die type (d6, d8, d10, d20). The good stuff includes some real innovations. My players absolutely loved the fight scenes in our game, which had a wild, free-wheeling, desperate, exciting feel best of all, they took all of fifteen minutes of real time and in retrospect they look choreographed by experts.Īs a whole RPG, however, Swashbucker is a mix of absolutely excellent material and not-too-good material, with very little in between. It is way more cinematic and exciting than any of the card-based systems. It moves fast (one roll-match per pair of combatants) and each round logically sets up the next. The real treat for combat, though, is that a given maneuver only has a limited number of possible subsequent maneuvers - so real duelling becomes a matter of designing and carrying out effective combinations. In fact, at one point during play I weenied out and permitted one PC, who should have been put out of the fight at the first exchange, to continue for a round or two before decreeing that he faint. Although in principle I like this idea, which makes combat chancy and dramatic, the possibility, however slim, of instant total collapse may be a bit harsh for some players.

We discovered that the damage system is quite innovative as well, and without wasting space on details, suffice to say that one must take fighting very seriously - a character can be put down quite fast, occasionally. A table of matched-maneuvers assigns a modifier to the player's roll of d20, which is compared to the GM's d20 higher wins, and if the winning maneuver does damage, one opponent is hit. During play, each round, maneuvers are chosen secretly, then shown simultaneously. Basically, you pick a number of combat maneuvers to define your duelling style. Its primary feature is the duelling system, which offers another approach to match-and-show, streamlining it into a very modern cinematic dice method.

If you have commercial ambitions of starting your own gaming company, his is the example to follow. Dietz should be recognized as a real self-made man in gaming, in that he is a one-man company that writes games for JR or another company to publish, publishes games written by others, and even acts as an agent if necessary for self-publishers.

The latest is Swashbucker, an RPG written and owned by Jim Dietz, published through his own gaming company Jolly Roger. and probably some more I don't know about, or am forgetting for some reason.Castle Falkenstein, set in Victorian adventure fiction and fantasy, which also used a match-and-show card system using regular playing cards.Lace & Steel from Australia (recently re-released, in fact, from Pharos Press), set in a fantasy version of the period, which introduced a novel card-based, match-and-show system into duelling.a gorgeous and well-researched 2nd Edition AD&D supplement called 'A Mighty Fortress,' practically a Master's thesis on 17th century Europe.a GURPS supplement called 'Swashbuckers,' which like all of its ilk is a fine encyclopedia with little direct relevance to actual role-playing.Flashing Blades in the very early 80s, with one of the most incredible research, detail, and insight into a historical period in all of RPGs to date - but the system, typical of FGU, was nearly unplayable.Not counting some wargame-ish early ones (one of them called Swashbucker), the history includes: There is simply nothing like the 1800s adventure fiction set in the 1600s, and RPG design has twisted, struggled, turned, and sweated to try to capture that distinctive flair during play. RPGs in the 'Have at you!' genre have been with us a long time. The Internet Home for Independent Role-Playing GamesĪbout the Forge | Articles | Reviews | Forums

Swashbuckling roleplaying games